I have an ambivalent relationship with buzzwords and buzzphrases. I find them dangerous, especially when they contribute to groupthink, but I also like to play with them. Whether I try (perhaps clumsily) to create some or I find one to be useful in encapsulating insight. The reason I’m thinking about this is that I participated … Continue reading “Buzz Factor”
Attended Dan Dennett’s “From Animal to Person : How Culture Makes Up our Minds” talk, yesterday. An event hosted by UQAM’s Cognitive Science Institute. Should blog about this pretty soon. It was entertaining and some parts were fairly stimulating. But what surprised me the most had nothing to do with the talk: I was able … Continue reading “Note-Taking on OSX iPhone”
A friend posted a link to the following list of factoids on his Facebook profile: Useless facts, Weird Information, humor. It contains such intriguing statements about biology, language, inventions, etc. Similar lists abound, often containing the same tidbits: Have Laptop Will Travel » Unusual Trivia Trivia 1 and Trivia 2 Quotes for Everyday B.B. Goyal (India) Interesting Facts … Continue reading ““To Be Verified”: Trivia and Critical Thinking”
Keeping these tabs open. Maybe I should clear my consc… browser and post about them. But not just yet. I need more time as I try out the OLPC XO! Ah well… Creative Commons, Mixing, Royalty-Free Sounds, Sampling, OLPC, TamTam http://ccmixter.org/ http://www.thumbuki.com/20080325/olpc-donates-85-gigs-of-samples.html http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/articles.php?id=2 Access to music http://www.jamendo.com/fr/ Musical playfulness, Windows equivalent to … Continue reading “ToBlog: Music-Related Links”
Got a number of things about which I want to blog. Many of them in notes/outline form. Might have to wait a bit. But one thing which keeps coming up is the notion of playfulness. Been blogging about it a bit over the years, especially since this February 2006 post which was connected with my teaching. The next day, … Continue reading “Playfully Noted”
The more I think about it, the more Touch-style handhelds seem to make sense in educational and academic contexts. They don’t need to be made by Apple. But Apple’s devices are inspiring in this respect. Here’s a thought, which would be a deal-maker for many an instructor: automatically turn off all student cellphones. A kind … Continue reading “Educational Touch: Handhelds in Schools”
Started out the usual way, with emails and blogs. But then moved into very diverse and unique activities. Went to a workshop on the game Guitar Hero, organised by GameCode and Ludiciné. Stimulating conversations on music, games, gender, sandboxes, playfulness, musicking, performance, competition, etc. Then went on to the Ethnographic Film Festival. Was only able … Continue reading “Whaddaday!”
As a Francophone born and raised in Montreal, I could have been exposed to (Anglophone) Canadian literature early on. But it took until a few years ago for CanLit to enter my life. Here’s how it happened. In November 2000, my wife and I were staying at a friend’s place in the Richmond Hill suburb … Continue reading “Discovering CanLit”
Ethnography of bloggers, ethnography through blogging, blogging about ethnography… English is cool for ambiguity, even though many English-speakers follow a Gricean language ideology.
Wired News: DIY Tunes Turn It Up This is weaving together a few threads. Although the article comes from a rather specific perspective, it does offer some insight as to important issues of creativity, art, and specialization.
Disparate 