crooked house: Terrific Techy Toy: The Flip

We got a Flip video camera on Friday and ever since we've been busy taking videos of Luke and then watching them on the television. We've got him helping David blow out the candles on his birthday cake; we've got him picking blackberries with Uncle Tim, Aunt Annette, and Grandpa; we've got him feeding ducks, playing soccer, and rolling down hills with his cousin Keefe; we've got him sweeping the front porch, watering his plants, helping with the laundry, dancing to Sly and the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music," playing golf in the backyard, eating a blueberry scone, singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and reading a book with accompanying dramatic movements (which resulted in him smashing his head on the footboard of the bed in the middle of the performance and a sudden end to that particular video). We've even got him watching his Blues Clues DVD:

LUKE: Let's make another video, Mommy!
MOMMY: Of what?
LUKE: Um, um... of me watching my DVD!
MOM: Oh, no. That would be a very boring video.
LUKE: No it won't! It will be interesting! Please, please please!
MOM: Why don't we just hook up a video camera in the corner of the room and videotape your every move? Then you can watch it all on television later.
LUKE: Okay! Yes! Let's do that!

He is a child of the new millennium.

This is one of those cases where less is definitely more (um, in terms of the camera, clearly not in terms of videos). While we seldom use our larger, fancier video camera -- it's bulky and it's so complicated I haven't figured out how to upload or edit the videos -- this Flip thing is so easy. It's easy to carry around, easy to operate, and easy to hook up to the television or the computer. Until now, we've been relying on the webcam for little spur-of-the-moment videos to send to Grandma and Grandpa but the Flip's resolution is much better and, of course, unlike the webcam, the Flip is portable. (Grandma and Grandpa, you've been warned. Watch for the coming deluge. I will try to restrain myself here on the blog -- although the only reason this post doesn't contain a couple of the aforementioned videos is because I can't get my hands on the camera. Luke is using it.)