Orchestra Hall and Greatness

I read the blog of "Information Literacy Ramblings" and visited the WCCO link. Very interesting what appears as news online. I'm sure somebody thinks "bit on X or Y or Z" is news but...

I really wanted to put in a plug, actually for the MN Orchestra's stretch of concerts of film music. I went to hear the Orchestra play Chaplin's City Lights on Friday night. It was superb. But even better, in my mind, was the pre-concert given by Central High School's orchestra and chorus. I always knew that Mr. Oyen and Ms. Graber do fabulous jobs in the education of Central's music students. But in Orchestra Hall, one could hear every mistake and all of the harmonies that very likely are missed in the auditorium at school. Mistakes, let me tell you, were very rare on Friday night and the harmonies were glorious! I truly love listening to a great high school ensemble and to play at Orchestra Hall must have been a real treat for both the students and Mr.Oyen/Ms. Graber. I also had fun seeing former students of mine performing that night. (I used to teach elementary music at Jackson School.) All of you teachers/librarians should attend your schools concerts as much as possible. It will bring you new connections you can make with your students, even if you don't know that much about music!

Wikis -- thing 32

Wow! I was thinking about our meeting yesterday and what kinds of uses for wikis I could find. Not being a teacher with a class means that I need to look at other groups of which I am a part. I think any committee work could be done via a wiki which could cut down on meetings (hooray! but, we all love meetings, don't we??). My family decided over XPmas to plan a mini-reunion sometime this summer. Again, this could be planned on a private wiki set up for just our family to use. So that is something in which I will try to involve them. I think it would be an interesting experiment; especially since few of them have actively embraced use of computers or the internet (beyond email, I mean). I also belong to an intentional Christian community and we could find uses for this too, I think. So wish me luck in this endeavor.

It was a great meeting! The talk about copyright (and copyleft) is pertinent to me as a creative music composer and poet; I liked the discussion of a continuum with respect to copyright and the innovations/realignments taking place. Though the tension between individual rights and community's "common good" is always present in my understandings. I'm not sure about the "gold standard of individualism" which has hurt our society in many ways while driving discoveries and creative endeavors forward at the same time. hmm...

Thing 11 & 12

There is much to help in one's search process. Google has so much "help" that I felt overwhelmed: financial help, geology, book searches, blog searches, images, maps, patents, news... oof da! Plus the information and tools to "customize" the way one works with one's computer: blogger, gmail, calendar, IM, YouTube, Picasa (to share photos), mailing lists and discussion groups, and it just goes on and on. I wonder if Google will become a major target for computer virus-makers like Microsoft is? And would my Mac still be safer and easier to use than a regular (windows) PC? {I do like the fact that Macs run Microsoft Word easier than PCs do and will also run both formats. Training students to use any computer (ie Macs in schools) will help them run PCs in the business world. I am wholly convinced and completely sure of this; yet also know that some are "PC people" and unwilling to believe that it could be true. :-)} It strikes me that as one company seems to begin to "control" the market by growing large that people rebel and then the virus-makers tend to crop up. Just a thought...

There are a lot of search engines that one could use, some which search differently than Google does. I have always recommended Ask.com; I was told of a site that searched with 2 engines together. http://www.polycola.com/ is the URL; it is pretty cool to be able to use 2 engines. There is a drop-down menu of 6 engines each side; Live, Ask, AltaVista, AOL, Dogpile, and Yahoo or Google. It is nice.

My dad has read my blogs and was curious about where the word "blog" comes from. I'm not sure myself, and don't have time to dig out the answer now.

from a book on tape

On my drive to South Dakota, I was listening to a book on tape and the writer said the following: A bad student makes the best teacher. So my question is, how many teachers were not-so-good students in school and how did you decide that teaching was for you? Do you agree with this statement? And does the corollary also apply: that a good student will make a bad (or at least a not-so-good) teacher? That is something with which I don't think I can agree. What do you all think?

Thing 24...

Greetings from Haifa, Israel!
Yes, it is true; I am in northern Israel visiting my daughter who is studying for a term at Haifa University. What a great opportunity for seeing how others live. I have been to Akko (the oldest port in the Middle East), the Mane-Katz Art Museum, the Mount of the Beatitudes on the Sea of Galilee, Tiberius, Nof Ginnosar, and Zippora National Park. I have seen tour buses full of tourists and locals catering to locals as well as the occasional tourist. We drove past a mini-demonstration a few "blocks" from our hotel, presumably for or against the summit taking place in Indianapolis with the leaders of Palestine, Israel and the US. [Not much impact for it didn't make the local news... well, as far as we know... :-) ]

Cross-cultural experiences are truly unique opportunities! They leave us a little bit more humble and grateful. They are good for the spirit but not necessarily so for the pocketbook. :-) They broaden our horizons, our outlook on life, our vision of things important. They allow us time for reflection as well as teaching us about the past and the present. Perhaps even giving us a glimpse into the future. Cross-cultural experiences, however short, can also well inform our teaching content and maybe our teaching methods as well. I saw how adults help their children and how amazed children are at little things. Young adults can be completely overwhelmed ("blown over" or "overcome with awe") at things that we older adults take for granted! We must always provide opportunities for these things to happen.

The time here is now 11pm (3pm in St. Paul) and since we leave to come home tomorrow, I need to close. I look forward to my daughter's return from Haifa on 1 Jan 2008 and will feel a bit sad leaving her now. But study abroad cannot be equaled anywhere else and I am very happy she has had this wonderful experience. I would not have guessed even 10 months ago that I would be here now! Sweet dreams to you all and as I process our trip, I will share more reflections.

David

thing 10

A quick note to emphasize the importance of copyright and the "damndableness" of needing it. As an amateur who writes music and poetry, I often think about royalty fees and how I could make all this money if I could only sell some of what I write. If I spend a lot of time writing something, I would hope that someone would compensate me for the time spent. The practice of copyright allows for the just recompense on such creative output and ensures that this creative output will continue. On the other hand, when musicians get together to "jam," it doesn't seem to matter who's ideas are used for the improvisation. It is also true that when the community gathers, the community is engaged in the creation and is entertained by that product as well. What is good for the community is also what is good for the individual. No individual is above the good of the community. In some churches, prayer is made on behalf of "the common good." It is where all begins and where meaning is true. It seems to me that the "common good" is in some ways in direct opposition to individual rights; and that if the society moves away from community it will fall apart. People used to sit on the steps of their houses and talk to those who walk by. Today people are so absorbed by the music on their iPods that there is little communication. And so which is better? In today's world the realist understands that one person won't change society by individual actions. So protecting the creative output of individuals is one way to also protect the creativity of the community. Today is December 27th; I thought this had been posted last month but apparently distractions ruled. Isn't that a librarian's real task... to be interrupted?

question for all - MILI folk

Hey, is anyone bothering to read my posts? Shouldn't we be commenting on what we're posting?