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Christian's Friends
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Rock Hard
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If you're ever feeling down, rock hard like this kid:
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Bluepill Redpill
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Hmm, so last Thurs MC kindly suggested that I should take a chill pill at least one day per week (DC reiterates this point, as does everyone who knows me, I'm sure). Well, I'm embarrassed that I still have to be told this sort of thing - I'm a grown woman!! IV thought this last phrase was hilarious... =( Well, I don't want to be the stresser or the sad one, or generally show any weakness, because history has shown that our lab does not take 'weakness' lightly. No, in all fairness the lab is very supportive and understanding, but it's just scary to watch people drop out of a PhD or not get offered one. It's scary shit. I guess that in general, people prefer extroverted, witty, clever/skilled at many things, humble, easy-going, deep, involved, logical and compassionate types - just like von Neumann. I know about von Neumann from Chapter 5 of "Who Got Einstein's Office?", which talks about people who have been through the Institute of Advanced Study in (not of) Princeton. I read that chapter last night. And Chapter 4 the night before, 3 the night before and 2 the night before that... Yes, you're quite right, I was offered this book at the meeting with MC. I can look at brief biographies of people like von Neumann in three main ways: (1) a goal I can never attain; (2) a goal; (3) a goal I used to achieve. Depends on the day, I guess. Chapter 4 was about fractals (see also) and set theory. I am fascinated by fractals, simply because I don't really understand them and I cannot imagine these extra dimensions in my mind. In fact, I couldn't get to sleep because I was probably thinking about transcendental numbers and I couldn't stay asleep for very long so I could look them up online in the morning. I hate that. The subconscious OCD-ness, despite conscious self-discipline... most of the time. Chapter 1 was boring - about the Institute's beginnings and Flexnor, the guy who visioned and ran it for a while. Chapter 2 was on Einstein I think and it was disappointingly scarce on detail. 3 was on Godel and I found it sad that he thought he had not given enough to the Institute, the world, nor God. The writer goes on tangents sometimes, it's a bit weird and ever so slightly annoying. Well, since Chapter 4 (and installing bloody CS3, which took 5x more time than what I allocated) gave me only 3.5 hours of sleep on Sun night, I think all of the new information from various people in my life was teetering me like a Jenga tower and I got horrendously upset last night and in fact, this morning. Don't get me wrong, I feel privileged to be in the know, but I guess there are many things to think about now and my brain bled some tears. It's also why I'm not talking to people, because there's a traffic jam into the Broca's. Hm... I know I don't have any control over the family worries, but at least I can offer my ears and money. I guess. Well, I made a worry pie. I won't make a happy pie, simply because too many things make me happy and I'm easily amused, anyway. It's sort of funny that IJ's worry is over whether or not he wants to stay in science, moreso than whether or not he has the ability to do well, whereas I am definitely the other way around.
12 months from now, 7 people in my life are expected to no longer be in "reachable" distance. Well, why not.
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Microsoft Regional Innovative Students' Forum 2009
Related to country: Malaysia
About this category: Education
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It's over, it's over. :(
Luckily, I still have my reflections before I pop this bubble
and breathe reality's air again. Disclaimer: ~ 5 hrs sleep for ~ 7 consecutive nights didn't lend to real-time blogging, as I intended. But you know I'm more of a retro-blogger... Anyway, you have been warned: (1) This is long; (2) I am crazy; (3) Pick and mix - the bits you skip won't cry - I promise; (4) the Boxes are tangents. Hell, I feel like a tangent at times. :P
BACKGROUND
 This was the 5th Asia-Pacific Microsoft Regional Innovative Teachers’ Conference, with participants from New Zealand, Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, to name a few. It was sponsored by Microsoft Corporation, with support from the Ministry of Education Malaysia, UNESCO and TakingITGlobal.org (TIG), to bring together teachers from Asia-Pacific to showcase innovative approaches to teaching that involve technology. The teacher attendees were chosen within their own countries as the best (don't ask me about this process, I don't know) and presented posters throughout the short Teachers' Forum (2 days) to each other and to a panel of judges who graded using the following criteria: level of innovation, effect on student participation and involvement, extent of student autonomy, relevant use of technology, in the context of available resources (e.g. funds, equipment, skill and connectivity). One winner from each country will have the privilege of competing at the global Teachers’ Forum in Brazil in November.
This year is the first time that Student Voices have been present at this region’s forum. Though it may seem like an obvious idea, its acceptance requires a leap from many educators, particularly in areas where education is still highly disciplinary and learning is assumed with teaching. TIG played a key role in finding and engaging students who would best represent the student body of the Asia-Pacific region. Students were invited to participate in online discussions over a period of ~ 3 weeks to discuss the state of education in their countries, as well as ideas about what the ideal or the future of education may look like (cf. Student Voices 20051). 15 students were chosen to attend a ‘Student Forum’ (ISF09) that occurred alongside and at the same venue (Le Meridien) as the Teachers' Forum, immersing the students in ~ 4 days of intense development and voice.
THE ISF09 PROGRAMME included:
- discussion with local students about education: 57 students from a local KL school (who had to write an exam immediately following the meeting!) met with the student delegates and answered questions about education in groups for about 2 hours - I thought this was a good idea, at least to get more students thinking about their education and for them to know that this sort of work goes on "behind the scenes"
- brainstorming workshop by Bernise Ang and Shaun Koh of Syinc.org: a session to help the students think more deeply about issues surrounding education and what they can do to help inspire change - I thought this was timely, especially since all of the student delegates had already talked a lot about their ideas online and it was a great time to explore them a bit more deeply and to think about their ideas in more realistic terms
- presentation by Joel Neoh on entrepreneurship: he shares his experiences and thoughts after winning Malaysia's version of The Apprentice, 'The Firm', modelling and co-founding YouthSays.com, Malaysia's largest for-profit network of youth opinion - sort of like what 18tracker was, bu obviously better model since they have a larger contact base and also hold real events to retain and attract new members) - I think his "for-profit" model turned a lot of the students off, but nevertheless I thought it was very clever of him to harness the power of a contact list - he is obviously a very resourceful person and pragmatic about what he wants.
- presentation and personal help by Brian Lariche on project management: Brian shares his experiences as a teacher/tutor, working with NGOs and life in general! He generously gave up his time to come back and give priceless one-on-one advice and support to the students' projects - Brian is a very interesting person, who is generous with his time and opinions - I would have liked to battle some of the topics that were raisedt if I had not felt that I might have overshadowed the students' opportunity.
- student projects: students were given time and mentorship to brainstorm and present their ideas for improving an aspect of education through use of technology. The aim was to submit these projects for a chance to receive funding from a pool of USD5000, provided by Microsoft. These 'Micro-Grants' are intended to give the students a taste of what it takes to develop, plan and execute projects on a small scale and more importantly, provides an opportunity for their models to be tested before application for further funding and expansion. On top of this prize pool, there was also the opportunity to win free enrolment into TIG's e-course 'Sprout' for youth professional development - I think these projects were the most enjoyable part of the forum for the students - they felt like they were contributing something. However, with perspective, these will just be small stepping stones and I hope the students will remember lessons from side-conversations in years to come, as I will, no doubt.
- student-teacher interaction: a formal session for students to address teachers was provided, as well as informal gatherings during poster presentations and breaks - to be frank, I don't think there was enough opportunity for the students and teachers to talk. Even at the Gala Dinner, I felt that the student presence was being side-lined. However, I realise that this is the first time students has been at this forum and I think it was a good first effort. Hopefully, it will continue to grow in creative ways in the future.
- mentors and TIG staff: to help enable Student Voices on the ground, Michael Furdyk (co-founder and Director of Technology of TIG), Kat Walraven (Education Program Manager, TIG), along with 3 mentors, Bernise Ang, Shaun Koh and I basically tailed the students at every waking hour. :P Although the 3 mentors were initially designated 3 groups of students, I found that we all got along so well, it was basically one big happy group - I very much enjoyed observing and learning from this interesting group of people, with amazing skills and ideas. I only wish that I had more time with each of them to talk about our thoughts and experiences!!! I think at this age, it is difficult to find people who you connect with because everyone is moving in their own directions so rapidly. I thought we all got along extremely well.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS
Projects and Hope In my opinion, the one theme that resonates with all of the student project ideas is equality. The students wanted others to receive the same opportunities they had/have, regardless of their socio-economic status, locality, teacher/school system or temporal-residency. I made this last term up to describe some students’ focus on sustainable development and ecological preservation, which in essence ensures that future generations have the same opportunities as we do. Observing young people of diverse background/opportunity share a unified desire for equality makes me think about all of the families, teachers and communities that are successfully teaching (instructing and demonstrating) compassion. I think that the ability to place ourselves in others' shoes is a fundamental ingredient in achieving sustainability. However, teaching compassion is not easy, particularly when basic selfishness is confused with greed, and when young people are difficult to reach. I imagine thin golden threads wavering from a small child’s inner eye, attracted to and caught by larger threads that are coloured and tarnished from experience. Each cable can spark a connection that transfers love, understanding and knowledge. Together, all of the cables caress and shape this child's potential. However, the ability to spark is contextual and each community needs to establish and understand its own values and find its own way in engaging its youth and citizens. Without this, no community or society has a positive future (Box 1).
Box 1:
Building Communities Of course, not only are cultural behaviours important, societies must also reconsider its behaviours that are biologically suicidal. For example, if we continue to pummel through our limited resources, then we are essentially killing our chances of survival. I don't really want to go into all of the arguments about 'climate change', but I think the basic idea of sustainable development makes sense. See, perhaps, Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed. I have yet to read this, but have heard Diamond talk about it when he visited the University of Auckland a few years ago. Society is More than The Sum of the Individuals
 I was staring at the night-scape of Kuala Lumpur, marvelling at the lights when I suddenly saw that we can solve everything by understanding each other, so that we are able to unite our individual efforts. The problem is engagement and one can only spark passion in others by first understanding the way they view the world. For example, it would be ideal to reduce the number of city lights turned on at night to reduce power consumption. However, lighting is considered important for safety (though the validity of this is disputed in some places), so basically, we need to reduce crime. To stop raising criminals, we need equal distribution of resources and responsible communities that work to raise children together. We need more holistic/inclusive thinking/planning, for example, using ramps instead of short escalators, adjustable thermostats, smarter water cycling. The narrow thinking evident in various facets of society may be a result of an education system where the world is arbitrarily segregated and consumed in a well-pre-processed manner. Where are our integrators? Where are our high NA lenses with large fields of view?
Youth
 I have learned a lot from each individual of our 20-strong crew. Every person was interesting, with their own talents, idiosyncracies, ways of thinking, stories and passions. I think one characteristic that defines youthfulness is agility. They are open-minded and open-hearted. They are eager to learn and unafraid to be optimistic.
I enjoyed observing: their faces light up at the chance to talk about their passions, at the making of new friends, at the seeding and germination of new ideas; their features break into smiles and laughter at wit, irony and fun; their eyebrows furrow at difficult concepts, tight deadlines and lack of sleep. I watched the TIG team work: listening to the students and offering insightful/motivating suggestions and stories when necessary, while I tried to do the same. I was inspired by everyone’s dedication and rapid connection with each other - TIG continues to catalyse precipitation of like-minded youths. =P
My favourite moments were the one-on-one conversations. I hope I imparted some useful "wisdom", but at the same time clear that I am learning, too - I don't claim to know everything, if anything! If only I had more time to get to know everyone and learn about their stories and ideas, not just about education.
"Night,
Field of stars above us.
You pick one, we frame it with our fingers intertwined.
Seeds, of every generation, between our hands and
I promise to teach you the little I have learned,
So far..."
Seeds, Brooke Fraser
I am so excited about what these young people may experience. Many of them are moving through school and entering college and indeed, the world, with a lot of hope. They will face challenges and disappointments and I would like to be a source of support and friendship, if they will let me. But already, I feel that this experience has been a privilege, for I am young, too. I am excited about my future, too.
Box 2: West Vs. East
There may be an interesting and not necessarily sharp contrast between students schooled in Eastern and Western countries. Of course, this is not surprising if you listen to stereotypes, but it should surprising if you consider that most, if not all, of the education systems and curricula in South-East Asia are based on Western (e.g. Cambridge) systems. This leads me to yet another rant about community values (Box 1), where the culture of school and wider communities (including upbringing), more than the school system itself, shapes a child's attitudes towards formal education. No doubt, the lack of formal credit towards non-academic endeavours will also play a role in student motivation, but this are also reflect community values. I am always ranting about values, simply because I don't think many people know what their own are and why.
As a group, I was impressed with their diligence, aptitude and dedication in listening and completing tasks to a high standard. But they also giggled and whispered during boring presentations and you knew when they lost respect for someone. I would really like to dispel the myth that all Asian students possess an academic advantage. In all of the students that perform well, I think the common theme is that education is held in high esteem. They have been taught that only a sound education will allow them to get ahead, get out of poverty, realise their dreams, in life. Not just a pass or a piece of paper, but a good education. It is not just the family unit either, it is the entire nation - yes, I am actually saying that NZ does not value intellect as a nation. It doesn't. It seems like even intellectual people put themselves down or try to prove themselves by excelling in a lot of other areas. Do the same pressures fall on sports people? I think the tell-tale sign is to ask children what they think are cool or worthwhile - they are the values of that society, hmm?
Honesty
Most of the teachers and students at these conferences have English as their second language. Though it is a barrier for participation, I think it enables honesty. I guess it is a balance between being able to express yourself and being able to spin your expression. I am profoundly attracted to honesty.
Teachers and Students
Students wanted their teachers to listen to them and respect their questions and suggestions. Students wanted mentors, not instructors - guided autonomy? Students liked teachers who are able to admit their mistakes/weakneses and try to improve them. Most students already have information at their fingertips - they need help digesting it. Students have lots of ideas - they need help formulating it against existing knowledge and presenting it in a logical manner.
OTHER 'FIRSTS' AND NOTES
La
Malaysians and Singaporeans end their sentences with 'la', a lot. It is interesting as a rapport-creating rhetorical device, blah blah blah - but you know what is MORE interesting about it? It is the perfect platform to launch into song, e.g. "Don't worry, la... la la la la la la....l-l-l-l-la x 2.... LA..LA..LA...heee taught me hooooow toooo waaash...." (Oh Happy Day, Sister Act)
Icecream Teppanyaki
Icecream + toppings + chopping = good, nutritious meal. Video here (2x speed).
Fish on Feet Dr. Fish were in the house (Central Markets) and for NZD2.5, they entertained me for 10 mins. I think they enjoyed it, too (see image - that is one content fish). YouTube video (warning: squealing).
Serama - Smallest Chickens in the World
A tiny chicken, it's true! OK, at first I was sad (because they had strange posture and vocals, see video), but they are a naturally-occurring species, which means they are less likely to have problems associated with breeding (e.g. pure-bred dogs). 
Batik Painting (1) Pencil; (2) wax; (3) water-colour; (4) remove wax. Stoked I got to try it. Trying is always a win.
Movies On Planes
- Last Chance Harvey: bad script + good actors = still bad movie.
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: interesting idea - creativity = moving Brad Pitt gallery = still boring.
- I Am Sam: interesting story + great acting (except Michelle Pfeiffer's dramatic scene) = balling eyes out on the plane = good. Being moved is always a win.
Flying
Saw another plane flying by while in our Boeing... first time EVER!!! Wow, it was so fast - I knew but never grasped visually how fast it was until now. And for the first time, I noticed our plane's shadow and enjoyed watching us meeting it on the ground and seeing how fast our land speed was (ignoring the movement of the sun and our approach to the ground, etc.). Image shows tail of the other plane (bright streak) - I was too slow to capture the plane itself - and video shows the shadow.
Things in a Box/Game of Things
Great game that we played after a night at the pool. Great introduction by Kat! Will remember for the future. Also thought of a PostSecret game we could have played. Oh well, next time.
The Circle
So at the beginning of this trip, I was pondering about the self. I think Brian Lariche sums it up very well:
If you will think about what you ought to do for other people, your character will take care of itself. Character is a by-product, and any man who devotes himself to its cultivation in his own case will become a selfish person.
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Genetically Modified Rice - What Would People Be Up to Next?
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I wouldn’t exactly call myself an environmentalist but when some hotshot private corporation or any government entitites try to manipulate any food supply in liue of higher monetary gain, then I have a problem with that. I previously blogged about the “adding” of the chemical “melamine” in milk in China in my blog entitled “The Food Crisis: Adding Insult to Injury.” Now here comes another one - it’s in rice. I have encountered the term GMO (Genetically-Modified Organism) used in corn after a rough campaign by the school where I used to teach. The provincial government in Negros Occidental, Philippines, assured the public back in 2006 that no GM corn are shipped in the province. But last year, I read a news about it that some GM corn were said to have been found in one warehouse. It’s not hard to believe how something like that can pass through the government’s lenses, especially when graft and corruption is a major trade in some parts of the world. Really sad. Money over conviction. Money over Public Good.
Here comes another one - GM rice. I love rice and even my husband loved it. We have it in every meal. Heck, we even got ourselves a rice cooker here! Back home, “rice” was regular white long grained rice that was Php24.00 per kilo. Here, we get a 5 lb Jasmine rice called “Mahatma Jasmine” (Thai rice) at Food Lion for less than $7 and the 25 lb at Sam’s Club for like $17. The first few attempts we had of getting affordable rice was a disaster- low grade rice that never seemed to grow soft after 10 minutes of boiling. Now that we found the kind of rice we wanted (and smells good, too!), we are sticking to a kind we want. So basically, everybody can assume that I am very particular about my rice.
Greenpeace has been in the forefront about campaigning against GM (um..not General Motors). According to a Greenpeace report, Bayer (try to remember bug spray), a German company, has genetically-manipulated rice in order to withstand toxic doses of a pesticide called glufosinate. Well it’s toxic so it means that it’s harmful to living organisms. Since Bayer is based in Germany, naturally the European Union has a say whether they would agree to the import of GM rice. If they import GM rice, then farmers will plant GM rice. This means, in the near future, we would be eating GM rice, as they would now be available for sale in supermarkets everywhere.
So now you know why it’s very frustrating to make people understand that “better invention” doesn’t necessarily mean “better for humankind.” Okay, so Bible classes would tell us “go feed the poor” and the next thing we know we are doign a lot worse by feeding them GM rice. What is safe to eat then? And heck! What’s next?!?
You may go to this link for more information from Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/genetic-engineering/hands-off-our-rice/hands-off-our-rice
Below is a concrete explanation of GM rice:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsxFZ0rUCoM[/youtube]
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Genetically Modified Rice – What Would People Be Up to Next?
|
I wouldn’t exactly call myself an environmentalist but when some hotshot private corporation or any government entitites try to manipulate any food supply in liue of higher monetary gain, then I have a problem with that. I previously blogged about the “adding” of the chemical “melamine” in milk in China in my blog entitled “The Food Crisis: Adding Insult to Injury.” Now here comes another one – it’s in rice. I have encountered the term GMO (Genetically-Modified Organism) used in corn after a rough campaign by the school where I used to teach. The provincial government in Negros Occidental, Philippines, assured the public back in 2006 that no GM corn are shipped in the province. But last year, I read a news about it that some GM corn were said to have been found in one warehouse. It’s not hard to believe how something like that can pass through the government’s lenses, especially when graft and corruption is a major trade in some parts of the world. Really sad. Money over conviction. Money over Public Good.
Here comes another one – GM rice. I love rice and even my husband loved it. We have it in every meal. Heck, we even got ourselves a rice cooker here! Back home, “rice” was regular white long grained rice that was Php24.00 per kilo. Here, we get a 5 lb Jasmine rice called “Mahatma Jasmine” (Thai rice) at Food Lion for less than $7 and the 25 lb at Sam’s Club for like $17. The first few attempts we had of getting affordable rice was a disaster- low grade rice that never seemed to grow soft after 10 minutes of boiling. Now that we found the kind of rice we wanted (and smells good, too!), we are sticking to a kind we want. So basically, everybody can assume that I am very particular about my rice.
Greenpeace has been in the forefront about campaigning against GM (um..not General Motors). According to a Greenpeace report, Bayer (try to remember bug spray), a German company, has genetically-manipulated rice in order to withstand toxic doses of a pesticide called glufosinate. Well it’s toxic so it means that it’s harmful to living organisms. Since Bayer is based in Germany, naturally the European Union has a say whether they would agree to the import of GM rice. If they import GM rice, then farmers will plant GM rice. This means, in the near future, we would be eating GM rice, as they would now be available for sale in supermarkets everywhere.
So now you know why it’s very frustrating to make people understand that “better invention” doesn’t necessarily mean “better for humankind.” Okay, so Bible classes would tell us “go feed the poor” and the next thing we know we are doign a lot worse by feeding them GM rice. What is safe to eat then? And heck! What’s next?!?
You may go to this link for more information from Greenpeace: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/genetic-engineering/hands-off-our-rice/hands-off-our-rice
Below is a concrete explanation of GM rice:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsxFZ0rUCoM[/youtube]
© rustan108 for Babel: The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas, 2009. |
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Bound for Kuala Lumpur
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10:30 Pacific Time 26.05.09 Auckland Airport
I am waiting for my 12:50 flight and thinking about what I need to be to be a good mentor for Student Voices and person in general.
I need to listen.
I need to be more intellectually and emotionally flexible so that I can live more in the moment (i.e. be available). I need to move from quick understanding (passive) to quick debating (active). I need to be emotional agility to better respond to others. That is, discard any emotional baggage, so that I am not living in my head, so that I can look people in the eye and receive a compliment, notice and respond when somebody needs me and listen to and consider criticism to ask questions right there.
I’ve slowly come to realise that this availability is required for me to understand where I stand with people. That is, if I gauge the meaning of a relationship on an absolute scale, I will fall short of a correct measurement. I need to compare how people treat me versus how they treat others to gauge how they regard me, if not at a similar time (best comparison), then over a longer observation period to try remove the confounding day-to-day variation. In other words, I need to consider my relationships with people (simplistically 3 entities: me, the other and the connection) in a context of a network. That is, whatever they feel towards me has to be viewed simultaneously with their other connections, because they are constantly being pulled in those other directions.
I say this because I worry a lot about what others’ (whom I respect) think of me, but have little idea, because I am good at explaining away any positive signs of respect or affection. And with this sort of "weakness" in mind, I want to formulate a way to examine the world for feedback without imposing my need and without becoming self-centered or naive about the idea of self-improvement.
I can't wait to meet these students. I can't wait to meet the other mentors and the 'new' TIG Education programme manager and I can't wait to see Mike again! I worry about my relevance. I worry about my social skills, given my current passion/obsession is not really a topic that anybody else has an interest in. But - get on with it! Just do it!
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New Country, New Segment
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The Country Thing Am going to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in just over 4 hours. The flight will cover ~ 8713 km in ~ 12.5 hours 1. I am going for the Microsoft Regional Innovation Teachers' Conference 2009 (Twitter #isf09) with MF and other TakingITGlobal.org members - I should probably try to remember that before I get there. I'm excited, but nervous!!! More about that later if I have time. I have spent too much time doing data analysis as opposed to preparing for this. Still - 12.5 hrs left to prepare... The Segment Thing Maybe I will try record at least one interesting and/or entertaining conversation from each day, along with one photograph/video depending on how good the internet is.
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Jon Schmidt’s “Love Story” and “Viva La Vida” - touching rendition but copyright violation?
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I have heard about this rendition that Jon Schmidt did with Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” from the movie “Romeo + Juliet” (well starring Clare Danes and Leonardo di Caprio) and “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. It was a superb rendition! It relaxes you - sort of calming. I remembered attending my nephew’s piano recital last May 2 at Texas Tech University and remembering how I learned to play the piano by myself years back- learning to read notes from Music class at school and then listening to the rhythm of a song intently. I would always combine one piece with another and just be silly and play it. So listening to Jon Schmidt rendition made me thoughtful as it is a unique ability to combine two pieces and make it sound so fun. Well, I’m a fan now! 
I actually wanted to download the music format of this and hoping to upload in my ipod (without resorting to P2P sites). It seems like the free download was temporarily postponed due to some legal matters, according to the site. Copyright issues, I assume. The rendition/combination of two songs can be genuinely unique for the artist as the artist who combined and created something new. But the other means to come up with that genuine, artistic piece was not wholly owned by the artist. I think obviously that is where the legal aspect come in. I’d say personally, both Taylor Swift and Coldplay may even get more recognition for their songs due to this special rendition. Wouldn’t this rendition by Jon Schmidt then be categorized as a “remake” - where some artist would sing an old song and record it again under a new label/artist?
I await the mp3 download. So watch out at http://www.jonschmidt.com/catalog/index.php
The YouTube video is below. You may also watch it at Tangle: http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4c06065c76d3284dc3dc
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys[/youtube]
© rustan108 for Babel: The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas, 2009. |
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Jon Schmidt’s “Love Story” and “Viva La Vida” – touching rendition but copyright violation?
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I have heard about this rendition that Jon Schmidt did with Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” from the movie “Romeo + Juliet” (well starring Clare Danes and Leonardo di Caprio) and “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. It was a superb rendition! It relaxes you – sort of calming. I remembered attending my nephew’s piano recital last May 2 at Texas Tech University and remembering how I learned to play the piano by myself years back- learning to read notes from Music class at school and then listening to the rhythm of a song intently. I would always combine one piece with another and just be silly and play it. So listening to Jon Schmidt rendition made me thoughtful as it is a unique ability to combine two pieces and make it sound so fun. Well, I’m a fan now!
I actually wanted to download the music format of this and hoping to upload in my ipod (without resorting to P2P sites). It seems like the free download was temporarily postponed due to some legal matters, according to the site. Copyright issues, I assume. The rendition/combination of two songs can be genuinely unique for the artist as the artist who combined and created something new. But the other means to come up with that genuine, artistic piece was not wholly owned by the artist. I think obviously that is where the legal aspect come in. I’d say personally, both Taylor Swift and Coldplay may even get more recognition for their songs due to this special rendition. Wouldn’t this rendition by Jon Schmidt then be categorized as a “remake” – where some artist would sing an old song and record it again under a new label/artist?
I await the mp3 download. So watch out at http://www.jonschmidt.com/catalog/index.php
The YouTube video is below. You may also watch it at Tangle: http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=4c06065c76d3284dc3dc
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys[/youtube]
© rustan108 for Babel: The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas, 2009. |
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Post tags: Coldplay, Jon Schmidt, Love Story, Romeo+Juliet, Taylor Swift
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Wolfram Alpha versus Google?
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I sent a posting recently to the ISOC PH mailing list - just sort of an observation I had while trying out Wolfram Alpha.I tried it and just spontaneously typed weather information in my city. To my surprise, it gave me a “Wolfram|Alpha isn’t sure what to do with your input..“ According to the BBC article I read about Wolfram, it should return annotated pages rather than list of sites. Instead I got a “…isn’t-sure-what-to-do-with-your-input.”
So I did another search and key in “value of pi,” after Gonz, an ISOC PH member, told me that Wolfram is quite good with computational information. I actually got the answers to my query and not just links to sites. I got the value of “pi” in decimal, fraction and in other representations. That was cool for me since I didn’t have to browse through several sites just to find answers. I was even thinking that if only we had Wolfram during college days, I wouldn’t have to dig into my notes, decipher my handwriting (and get some answer or formula wrong with my own handwriting that I couldn’t understand!) and just use the Internet instead.
My husband told me that if we need some information, we can “wolf” it now instead of “google” it.
Here’s the BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8052798.stm
Wolfram Alpha: http://www.wolframalpha.com/
© rustan108 for Babel: The multilingual, multicultural online journal and community of arts and ideas, 2009. |
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Post tags: wolfram alpha
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