A Good Spectator

Sir Ken Robinson Speaks on Creativity

2007-05-30T18:14:00.000-05:00

His central premise: creativity is, at this point in history, more important than literacy. He's not knocking literacy, but he makes a convincing argument that the world ahead of us needs new solutions. We've stigmatized mistakes for too long - it's time to take a few chances and see what bursts through.

The video is quite amazing. I wish to be a speaker like Sir Ken.

Test for Camp

2007-05-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

Here goes nothing...

Web Services Meme

2007-05-18T17:59:00.000-05:00

From freeform goodness...

List the websites you use daily, weekly and monthly

Daily:

Gmail - woot!
Google Reader - RSS feeds will change the way you think about the internet. Google Reader is a pleasure.
Facebook - my social network of choice.
tracks.tra.in - web-based GTD system that seems to do the trick.
30Boxes - my online calendar
Google Docs - I do lots of collaboration and Google Docs is a must.

Weekly:

Google Maps - the best-in-class for directions and maps.
AirSet - used, but not by choice. This is a slow, though feature-rich calendar.
Flickr - photos
iTunes Music Store - podcasts, mostly.
Banking site
Camp Website - I work here.
Blogger, Typepad, Vox - I work on a number of blogs.

Monthly:

Digg - with Google Reader up and running, visits to digg are rare.
TSN.ca - sports web-site.
Craigslist - I think I want to rent an apartment.
Jumpcut - I make online slideshows for work.

That's it.

Pretty Gmail

2007-04-24T12:46:00.000-05:00

I just prettied up my Gmail with a new Firefox extension from the folks at Lifehacker.
There are lots of "behind the curtain" features of Better Gmail, but the graphics tweak made me immediately happy. I spend all day in Gmail...it might as well look nice.

Digg This Test

2007-04-23T22:58:00.001-05:00

I'm just testing the "digg this" button I'm trying to add.

Back in Blog

2007-04-23T20:45:00.001-05:00

I'm really good at starting things. Really good. The follow-through is always much tougher.

An extension of this personality trait is my tendency to start a new blog every few weeks. The blogosphere is littered with my abandoned ideas and posts.

Is there a way to merge a few blogs? I have stuff I like on Vox, Blogger (2 different blogs) and blog.com. I'll have to look into it.

Meantime, though...I've done a good job with the link blog (see the sidebar). There's an RSS feed for that, if you like.

Blue Man Group - Global Warming

2007-03-20T13:03:00.000-05:00

I saw Blue Man Group in Toronto last year. They were great.
***Side note: the funniest performances are the ones that let you decide where to laugh. Laugh tracks should be banned.
the Blue Man Group

Add to My Profile | More Videos

A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

2007-03-18T22:33:00.000-05:00

This movie was really, really...really good. Really.

Based on the book by Dito Montiel - who also wrote and directed the film.

iTunes, your days are numbered

2007-03-17T17:58:00.000-05:00

I'm just saying...

With the flexibility and verve of Google Reader, the total lack of good, new music, the power of VLC and the rise of Songbird - my iTunes days are drawing to a close.

Reasons I hate iTunes?

Slow
Unstable
Poor video quality
Terrible and awful update process
Memory hog
Did I mention slow?

I'll find another way to put podcasts and music on my iPod. There are no compelling reasons to stay with iTunes much longer.

London (2005)

2007-03-17T17:12:00.000-05:00

Over the hurried feet bridge and into the rushing across the wet city core.
Taxi cabs and big, red slippery buses tripping in the street.
So many stories.

Bad coffee through a window sipped, at St. Paul's slowly gazing.
The busy back and forth wet hair of dripping traffic on the street.
A river runs through it.

Fleet street heads down dailies hawked splashing on the corner in the rain.
Construction briefcases everywhere, in every hand.
Where is the strand?

A big lost and carefree city.
So many (haven't I seen that already!?) stories.
I try now, getting homesick, to listen:
It's a going home cacophony.

Ficlets - what a great idea!

2007-03-15T11:31:00.000-05:00

Some ideas are so cool they almost bring a tear to my eye.

Bookcrossing.com was one of those ideas.

Yesterday I found Ficlets - and I can feel the tears welling up.

Ficlets is a service that prompts you to write short stories (very short, 1024 characters max.). Those stories, or "ficlets", are released to the wider community. Anyone can then write a sequel (or prequel) to your ficlet. In this way, the story never ends.

I love Ficlets because it's just a'brimming with story ideas. It's a community wall - everyone throws things up and you just take what sticks.

S.O.D. - Lover Lay Down

2007-03-14T14:38:00.000-05:00

To commemorate the first day of Spring, I have a "song of the day"

Lover Lay Down - Dave Matthews Band

Lover lay down
Spend this time with me
Walk with me, walk with you
Hold my hands your hands
So much we have dreamed
And you were so much younger
Hard to explain that we are stronger

First Day of Spring

2007-03-14T14:35:00.000-05:00

I don't care what the calendar says, today is the first day of Spring.

How do I know?

It SMELLS like Spring.
I drove across the township with the windows down.
Every song on my iPod was great.
All the girls were pretty.

Time to stop blogging and go outside!

Stand Up in Kandahar

2007-03-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

From the Hourblog - which is a good read most days:

"It's interesting to watch the Canadian military regain its prominence in popular culture."

Stand Up in Kandahar is a one-hour CBC comedy show, filmed live at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. It features some Canadian Stand-Up talent, including Shaun Majumder and Tim Nutt. There are web clips available on the CBC website, and they are pretty clever - especially when the show (but not the filming) is interrupted by a rocket attack.

I find myself supporting the Afghan mission - and the "war on terror" more and more. I'm certain it's un-winnable, yet I fear the consequences should we abandon these countries to warlords and terror-groups. I think we have an obligation to fill the void we created when we entered the countries. This includes Iraq and Afghanistan. We can't change the past, but we can work towards a better future. Isolationism doesn't work in the 21st century.

meebo.com

2007-03-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

I'm a fan of Instant Messaging. I used ICQ in the late 90s, MSN in the early 2000s, and now I try to make cross-platform clients work. See, my friends are pretty evenly split between MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk and AIM - so I have to be able to keep things organized.

Recently I moved to meebo.com, an online cross-platform IM client. And it's Ok. Not perfect - there is a message I have to see EVERY time I login, but I can accept that.

However, I'm now suspicious that my contacts are disappearing. I can't prove this (well, I could, but I'm kinda lazy), but I honestly feel like names drop off my list every few days.

Nevertheless, give meebo a shot. It sure beats having 3-4 IM clients open on the desktop all the time. It also works nicely with Twitter.

The Evening News

2007-03-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

How can we keep the story straight?
Politics, suffering, change.
Where is the tapestry?
I see the threads
Scattered and spread,
Lost in confusion,
Intersecting only in conflict,
Tangled in the noise.
A multiplicity of madness and mess and misunderstanding.
Too much, too soon, too often,
Spilling from the guts of the world.

A Telegraph to Civil Society

2007-03-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

"THE GREYS HOPE TO WIN STOP RAINBOWS NEEDED URGENTLY."
- Subcomandante Marcos

RSS Replies

2007-03-08T11:02:00.000-05:00

It seems to me that RSS feeds and e-mail are exactly the same thing. Both (basically) bring elements from many different people to one place (me!).

If we could reply to articles that came via RSS, we would (as a community) create a meme around each article. Our contributions (call them comments), would be attached to the original article as a searchable, rich history.

It would require powerful and fast controls to keep everything sorted, but it's definitely the future.

I'm going to miss you too...

2007-03-07T23:38:00.000-05:00

I'm going to miss you too, Ze Frank.

Today's edition of the show.

Up Late Writing Poetry

2007-03-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Up late writing poetry.
A pathetic attempt at tired honesty.
Understanding by exhaustion -
or something like that.

Daylight will blind any glimpse of talent.
And once again writing will be a task for souls wiser than mine.

But just for now I'll savor the glimpses.
I'll marvel at the ease and calm of creation.
Every flowing sentence is joy.
Every word comfy, silky and smooth.
I slip into a sea of my own thoughts and watch the proof splash onto the page.

We live by our illusions. Dreams are merely dreams.

The New City

2007-03-06T23:59:00.000-05:00

I grew up in a small town. It used to be a nice, close community. Now, it's simply part of wider suburbia. I don't know my neighbours. I spend too much time in my car. My life is way too planned and lonely.

This couple moved to the city and - to their surprise - discovered community.

I'm moving to the city in September...and I'm really excited.

The New City, in our global and connected world, represents hope. The Old City was smog, crime, traffic, crowds and strangers. The New City is community, local-interest, neighbours, culture, transit and environmental responsibility.

These differences might only exist in my head, but the concept is strong enough to make me act (and leave town).