Free Music Friday
It's not like I really have an ongoing "Free Music Friday" feature or anything; it just seemed like a good title.
New Dashboard Confessional live set at Daytrotter.
If you don't follow Daytrotter Sessions, you're missing out on some great, FREE, live music.
Here are a few of my faves.
My Thoughts on Thor
I saw Thor. It was better than I expected. I would watch it again. Keneth Branagh was on Craig Ferguson last night and it was greatness. Now, let's dispense with the niceties and get on to the snarky review:
*Thor's Homies:
- The one dude looked like Andy Samberg from SNL. Great way to break the illusion.
- Who was that Asian guy? Wasn't he in Heroes?
- I thought the chick was Captain Liberty. I was waiting for Batmanuel to show up any second.
- GREAT CASTING: I didn't realize it until the credits. Ray Stevenson as the bearded guy! Brilliant method of fulfilling a multi-movie contract without subject us to more of this garbage.
*Rene Russo? Seriously? Eh, I'll let it slide since she only had about 5 lines.
*I haven't watched that much Deep Space 9 since college.
*Kat Dennings? It's not really her fault, though. We'll blame the writers for this one.
*Loki... and? "Everyone knows how he's always playing tricks." That is the extent of character set-up that we get? (Sure they go on to give a great deal of backstory, but it is all emotional/motivational and has nothing to do with his abilities. So, I spent half the time trying to figure out what exactly the guy is doing.
*Fire robot thing. Loki isn't really scary so let's throw this big metal thing at our hero - sure it's in the comics, but it felt more like they were trying to hit on an Iron Man type of enemy for him.
*The Avengers - Thanks for not over-doing it. Big pop for Hawkeye - I wasn't that impressed.
Uh, Yes. More, Please!
Seriously, if you don't own this by now is there honestly a good reason not to? (p.s. sorry if the video makes you watch an ad)
Teacher or Babysitter
A couple of days ago, Troy sent me a link to this article. In short, the author had been out to dinner and seen a family of four arrive. Upon seating, the two children both pulled out iPads, plugged in their earphones, and spent the rest of the evening glued to glowing, interactive technology. At first, the author was taken aback and then went on to realize the profound value that the iPad can play in the life of a child.
Troy asked for my response to this, so here it is - but first, the disclaimer(s)...
Per home computing: I grew up in front of computers, perhaps even more so than my peers. Even just 25 years ago, the personal home computer was more a luxury than a necessity. So we must concede that the changes in this area are TREMENDOUS. We've seen this all come about very slowly and naturally, but the technology gap between us and our parents is nowhere near what it will be between us and our children.
Per kids and TV: I was a weird kid. I don't know Transformers, but I'm a walking Sylvester Stallone encyclopedia. This was my childhood. Sure it makes my brain process things a little funny now, but I think I'm mostly ok. Some parents avoid television altogether. We held off for quite some time. When Katie became sick, we relied on it a little more heavily, but have scaled back. We prefer shows that are simple and don't have a lot of loud action and movement.
In short, my response to the idea that Every Child in America Needs and iPad is this: yes, absolutely if... it is a teaching tool, not a babysitter. The author of the aforementioned article sites various reasons why the iPad is better than television and I agree with most of those points. The real crux of the argument, however, should not revolve around technology but, rather, parenting.
I think that it will become more and more important for children to know and interact well with technology - I also know that this next generation will be some of the most creative people we've seen in years (maybe even centuries). Technology can help to foster that creativity and give it an outlet, but it should only be a supplement. This is the stuff of science fiction and what separates us from the machines. Creativity. The ability to dream. The ability to envision something that no one has ever heard of. The ability to make music beyond a string of complex "if-then" statements.
Is the iPad a better option than TV? Probably so (if you can afford it and if the kids don't try to flush it down the toilet). But how you parent has to remain at the forefront. This isn't an all-or-nothing situation. It's an issue of what's right for you and your kids. Parent well.
After 5 Months…
RE: Job Search.
It's more in the title than the song itself. But the song is greatness, too.
Songs We Wish We’d Written – Wounded
Wounded by Third Eye Blind - Surely you've realized by now my love of Third Eye Blind. I only recently discovered this song, which is a good thing because if I'd discovered it 10 years ago when it came out, I would have worn it out in a matter of months. (I mostly avoided the "Blue" album, but I'm coming to enjoy it more and more.) This song is just soaked in a multitude of emotions. I'm not sure that this live recording really captures all of it.
Check This Out
I've been working on two websites that launched this week. If you get a couple of minutes, check them out. Big thanks to Jeff and Dan for lending a helping hand along the way.
Life Stream Health Centre Weight Loss
Revisited: How I Read a Book
REVISITED: I figured that, after last week's massive book post, it wouldn't be out of line to re-hash this post from July 2009. Some content has been adapted to make it more relevant. So, if you've already read it, it might be worth checking it out, again.
Several people have commented about the amount of reading that I do. So, I thought I would give you a little bit of insight into my process of reading a book. I'm currently "processing" a book that I just finished reading The Thank You Economy, so the concept is fresh on my mind. (It should be noted that this only really applies to non-fiction books.)
I start by simply reading through the book at my leisure with a hilighter or pen in hand - I prefer the Bic Brite Liner. I highlight or underline anything that really captures my attention as I read, but don't spend too much time dwelling on it. Once I've finished reading the book, I go back to the beginning, taking my learning journal with me. (A learning journal is a small journal that I keep with notes about books I've read, quotes I've heard, ideas, or random thoughts.)
I go back through the book page-by-page reading the highlighted passages. Anything that stands out this time, I re-write in my journal. This is good because, for me, the act of writing down further cements it in my mind. I usually am able to boil down a 200 page book to about 5-6 pages of written quotes. (I know that this is a great disservice to the author.)
This makes it super easy when I want to cite a quote or review the content of a book. About every 6 months I'll go back through my learning journal and compile the best out of the 5 or 6 books that I've read and boil that down to several pages of key ideas that I want to reflect on.
I know that this may not be for everyone. In fact, it's probably not for most. But, if you want to be able to retain more from what you read, it might be worth a try.
Anything work better for you?
(photo by liveandrock)
Required Reading
I've had a bit of free time to read and think recently. I've revisited some old favorites and picked up a few new. This is my required reading for all friends and colleagues for the year:
Let me give you small bite of context:
- The Fourth Turning - the next generation (those kids that are in elementary school up through mid-high school right now) are going to be artists in every sense of the word - visual art, music, design, even making work itself into art (see Drive).
- Bowling Alone - somewhere between our great-grandparents' generation and now, our sense of community has eroded. We must re-build it to strengthen our neighborhoods, schools, children, even ourselves.
- Hello, I'm Special - Pop culture has told our youth that "You are special! You can be a star!" Social Media tools have the ability to make that dream a reality worldwide. Even those who never achieve fame, will still conduct themselves in that manner.
- Customer Satisfaction is Worthless - Simply providing a satisfactory service is not enough. You must go above and beyond. You must convert your customers into Raving Fans. (see Thank You Economy)
- Drive - Find better ways to motivate your employees than simple rewards/consequences. Most people (especially the artists of the next generation) will find more motivation in creativity and the opportunity to challenge their own abilities than in monetary rewards. Furthermore, once you attach a $ sign to a certain behavior, that compensation will always be expected for said behavior.
- The Thank You Economy - Social media opens up the opportunity for companies to not only push content out to their customers, but to engage in conversations and listen to them. Doing this well can be cheaper than traditional media and can lead to higher fan conversions.
I laid these out in this specific order because there is such a clear line between them all. The stuff Vaynerchuck says nearly quotes Fourth Turning. It's wild. There's something big on the horizon. Read all of them and I swear you'll get a glimpse of the next 30 years. Read one of them. Read all of them. Then - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE - come talk to me about it.
