Re: Looking for love in all the wrong places

 I have been researching and reading lots of interesting books and articles.  Yesterday there was another intersesting article in the New York Times about technology.  The title of the article is "Technology  Provides an Alternative to Love" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/opinion/29franzen.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
by Jonathan Franzen.  In the article he talks about how he updated his Blackberry and how that words like "sexy" are used to describe new techno gadgets and the like.  He also discusses how marketing to what consumers want directly corresponds to our idea of an erotic relationship.  Interesting isn't?
In another book that I have been reading "Alone Together" by Sherry Turkle, she also discusses how technology is perhaps the architect of our inner most intitmacies.  Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilites of needs.  Did anyone say Maslow?  In her book, she talks about the "digital native" generation and how they are growing up wits cell phones and other techno gadgets that ask for love.
We bend to the inanimate with new solitude.

Re: Science of Optimism

In Time magazine this week there was an article on "The Science of Optimism". One of the key points of the article is that hope is not rationale. That the belief is the future will be better than the past and that the present is known as the optimism bias.  This resides in every race, religion, and SES group.  Another key point is that optimists an average work longer jours and tend to earn & save more, live longer, and are healthier.   It seems that our brains even when faced turn into a type of philosphers stone that enables us to turn lead into gold and helps us bounce back to normal levels of well-being. 
Information is key.  We are just beginning to understand the the inner workings of our brains and the optimistic illusions that reside within.  We really cannot know or even understand  our own biases. Those who see the glass as half full...have an inner protective mechanism that enables us to protect ourselves. How many of us know people who are "toxic", downers, and really no fun to be around at all?  Maybe the book "Great Expectations" should be a required read.

Re: Poem about Blogging

This is my not so successful poem about blogging:

This may sound really absurd,
But I have this obsession with words,
Instead of me clogging,
I have taken up blogging,
It's through words I like to be heard!
(Not really)

Re: What is the best way?

I had a conversation the other day with a colleague on my not-so-successful blogging.  And we started talking about what is the best way now days to reach people.  It actually was an interesting conversation.  I had really never gave it much thought but just knew or know intuitively how to get a hold of people quickly if need be.  For example...most people don't even answer their cell phones (or they have them on silent and can't hear them like me) if they know who is calling. Many people have even gotten rid of their land lines (something I am considering as well).  So the cell is really the only way to get a hold of someone. Email.....unless it is hooked up to your cell forget about it..many times people are not near a computer 24/7 like in the old days. Texting for most seems to be a quicker way to reach people and to get answers in a timely matter (not blogging for sure).

Re: Twitter and Wikispaces

A few days ago I tried setting up a Wikispace.  It did not work.  Actually, I have been trying out lots of so-called "new literacies" which is the basis for the class I am taking.  I don't want to be a Luddite.  I really have no aversion to new literacies or new technoligies as some might call them.  I do want to know how to use them.  That is the first step.  And often times just reading about them saying click here...click there...down there....does not help when you are trying to learn something new basically on your own.  I think I need to find my own "affinity space" an informal environment where groups of people come together that share a common interest. 
The common interest here for most people would be how to use many of the online new literacies or the websites mentioned in our text but also in daily media or in casual conversation with friends or colleagues. The goal is to first find out how to use it yourself, then how to use in your classroom or professional endeavors, or to simply improve and reflect upon your own practice.
So, since I was not successful in setting up a WikiSpace...I decided to join Twitter and follow a colleagues dogs "tweets".  That was successful ...and good for many laughs.  I also came across an article in the New York Times ..."The Twitter Trap".  It is worth the read.....here is the link.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/magazine/the-twitter-trap.html?_r=1&ref=memory

Re: Oprah

Well, it is a significanrt event in pop culture history....Oprah is going off the air.  She has been on the air for 25 years.  It is amazing and unbelievable at the same time.  USA Today stated that Oprah's success and legacy is through her sense of self.  I also believe that  people don't  really know what they want until someone gives it to them.  Bottom line.....Oprah has a sense of what people want or need and her adaptablity is her trademark. 

Re: Doomsday

Ok, what is this about doomsday come and gone?  Were we supposed to be gone on May 21st?