On Being the Mother of Isaac Newton

Interactivity of Art of Interactivity

2004-11-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

Cool, an interactive art site...homework should always be that easy and fun! I have to say when I opened the link to E2, I didn't see what I expected. I expected a site full of flash and mood and art. But the surprise, was not necessarily unpleasant.

“E” is for everything (not ecstasy -- or maybe it is) and I suppose the “2” is “squared”. That's a lot of “E”! While the site's home page looks standard, it contains a lot of new elements that invite exploration. There is a light hearted, colloquial feel with words like “cool”, “epicenter”, and “nodes” and phrases like “cream of the cool” and “primitive agression”. While my curiosity is piqued I am at a juncture of critical decision: do I learn something new from this site or move on to find something more along my expectations of “interactive art”?

One juncture leads to another tributary: Do I have enough information to make the decision? I google “interactive art” and the results are definitive. I'm excited by the different prospects to explore at sites that are for shoppers, kids, adults, scholars, and voyeurs. “Let's go surfin' now, every body's learnin' how, come on a safari with meeeeeee.....“

Bare Walls comes up in the search because “interactive art” is part of their incorporated name. As a shopping experience, my visit here is typical. There is room for interactivity on the site, that isn't taken advantage of in the music poster section. I would suggest that they enhance the shopping experience by allowing one to listen to the artist's music while shopping for their posters. As far as interactivity goes, music doesn't satisfy my definition, but the addition of an aural feature would enhance my visit, and perhaps the retailer's purse.

Interactive Art School teaches the surfer oil painting techniques through interactive, on line lessons. There is tuition, course outlines, and instructor critiques, just like a “school”. There are also lessons to learn how to draw, and a course for crafting for those who do not want to learn to paint. The surfer can test out free lessons before committing to “ride the tunnel”. This school proves to be a wave for which I would not want to pay the $995 tuition (includes a $100 digital camera). The interactivity is defined by use of a web cam to electronically transmit your drawings for critique, given the student via email, static pages with gif animations to demonstrate light, shape, perspective, and mood, and lots of links for buying supplies and learning about artists discussed in the lessons. With a subject like this, so very interactive and tactile, expectations for an online experience are very high and difficult to satisfy.

National Gallery of Art's The Art Zone for Kids promises “interactive art that you can make on line.” It seems to me that they understand how interactivity plays a role in learning; it also seems that most web sites for adults (that I have found) ignore the kid that remains in all of us.

I spent an hour playing with the Collage Machine. The only drawback to this Macromedia Shockwave driven application is that I couldn't save the collage or print it! I really wanted to show you how great an artist I am! I had no idea a guitar, roses, daisies, skyscraper buildings, scraps of fabric, sky blue automobiles and bottles, and parking signs could become an apple tree over a field of flowers and a country road leading to the Parthenon on a blue sky day! I definitely book marked this site; even if I can't save or print my art, there is much more to explore here.

Mobile, Pixel Face, 3-D Twirler, Cubits, Diamonds, River Run, and Paintbox are all things I want to explore at NGA's Art Zone, but haven't got time right now and I'm sure they will be as exciting as the collage experience. I'm very excited about Pixel Face; I've always wanted to create a photomosaic, like the famous cover of the 60th anniversary issue of Life Magazine'sMarilyn Monroe! You have GOT to try this site for truely interactive art creation.

But what is truly interactive is in the hand of the behandler. Ferry Halim's website, is created by a self proclaimed interactive artist. Ken Feingold seeks, the true meaning through his web site publication of Söke Dinkla's 1994 article The History of the Interface in Interactive Art. Finally, Eduardo Kac publishes Interactive Art on the Internet to discuss what it is, where it is, and what will become of art in relation to the Internet. Check it out for yourself; surf's up!

MSNBC news vs. CNN news: a no brainer -- literally!

2004-11-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

MSNBC has its member services and search bar at the top of the page. CNN has its member services at the bottom of the left nav menu or you can follow a link from the top of the page creating unnecessary clicks for the user who knows what they want. CNN's search bar is immediately below the banner ad space. The placement of MSN's member services might get missed due to “banner blindness” on the first visit, but for regular users, they will learn the location of these services quickly. I like MSN's better; MSN was thinking about my habits when they placed my needs at the “top” of the list. CNN's placement of member services tells me that these services aren't as important as the news...or so they think.

CNN has an international edition of their online presence and if MSN has one, I couldn't quickly find it. I look at news by events, not continent, so it doesn't effect me that MSN doesn't appear to distinguish itself geographically.

CNN runs a banner ad disguised as news at the top of the page. I am annoyed by this attempt to deceive -- or at least it appears to be an ad. Because it looks like an ad, I won't click on it to find out. That will be a problem for CNN, not me.

MSN starts immediately with their “right now” story and some nice buttons for the full story, video, and related stories. I like this; I don't normally look at news sites but when I do it is because I've heard of something that just happened.

CNN has something similar as an opening feature, but I can't tell if it is about “right now”, and it runs vertically. This is not good because I have to scroll. To the right is a list of other news stories with a link to the most popular stories; that is nice if one cares about what other's are thinking. As I scroll down I see choices to view videos and to listen to CNN radio, and finally, below that is a market update.

MSN seems to be more in tune with what I want and when I want it. It gives me all the things that might be important without making me scroll. Right Now, local news, other top news, and market updates is at the top, without ads, and without scrolling.

The MSN left navigation is arranged in an order that delineates importance or most frequently requested. Below the fold I find “also on MSNBC" with bulleted links on the standard background to sections of the site that are “news paper” familiar: letters, crossword, comics, etc. There are only 4 ads on the first page and they are all below the fold. This is great, and they are unobtrusive. MSNBC cares.

CNN's page is sprinkled with ads that look like ads, and that look like news but are really ads in disguise. I hate that! It's left nav is short, and interrupted by an ad. It's organization below the fold is visually confusing and illogical.

As for interactivity, neither site meets my definition of interactivity. The form to fill out to receive email updates seems to be the limit to interactivity on either site. This does not engage me in an intellectual and experiential level that merits the description of interactivity.

MSN's “right now” story on the attack on Fallujah includes an “interactive” map that allows me to click on cities for information of the insurgent strongholds. While this is not inter-active to the point I like, it is certainly active. Another activity of the story allows me to participate in an opinion poll. I like to give my opinion; most people think their opinion is the only right one so this feature is probably useful to engage many readers. These are two examples of the rich media content of MSN's story treatment. There is only one ad in the story, and there are many videos, all free, along with photographs and clutter free “print”. MSN's story treatment is simple, organized, and offers a lot of options.

CNN's story treatment of the “Fallujah Assault” is very news paper like; the story takes a center column position, is surrounded by ads, and the print appears crowded. At the top of the story column, in a very small font, under a heading banner, is “special report”. I thought this WAS a special report, but the words are a link to the REAL special report. Again CNN makes me jump through hoops to get to what I want to see, or better yet to what THEY want me to see...CNN is such a tease! I like the slide show of photos above the fold, that lets me view pictures related to the story without scrolling or changing the page. However, the photos relate to part of the story that I haven't read yet if I haven't scrolled, and the photos don't do a very good job replacing the text of the story. The photo slide show is the only medium used in their treatment of the story. There are hyperlinks to other features, such as a map and a gallery, but again CNN forces me to go through hoops to get the story and doesn't offer me a “biscuit” that I can see from this side of the hoop. (Thank goodness it isn't a flaming hoop...my option to get news elsewhere has the effect of an extinguisher.) No thanks; I'll get my news, immediately, richly, unobtrusively, and even in an entertaining way from MSNBC!

The Search for Political Pfun

2004-11-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

A search on Google for “political web sites” returned Political Web Info as the first link. It is well organized and easy to choose from by several criterion. For this assignment, multi media are the criteria, and all but one site uses audio and visual materials. As I’m surfing through the web sites, bored by standard design and media choices of video and radio archives, I begin to think about this question: “How do I define good multi media?”

So, I will take the back door approach. I’ll look for a site that turns me on. That stimulates my senses with media visual, auditory, and interactive. I’ll look for a site that makes me linger longer and actually has a chance to get its message across to my mind. So what makes me stay in one place for a period of time long enough that I can actually tell someone else what I got from visiting that web site?

It has to be cool. What is cool? There are 19 “cool political websites” according to Google. Life of Brian is cool when it opens up, but it is not political. The Moderate Voice is a political web site written by a professional journalist/ventriloquist, but it is not cool, nor does it use multi-media. Zeal For Truth is a forum for Christian libertarians and abortion and has a cool little gif animation of George W. picking his nose. Not cool enough for me.

Funky Stew is a very cool name. The site itself isn’t very cool; it looks like a blog. But the first entry on the screen has a link to Eminem’s “Mosh” video. Now THAT is a cool video. I can’t understand what he’s saying, but I will watch it several more times as I imagine the riot of students from many academic and political disciplines fighting over the rights to do content analysis on this video. But is this site a political site with multi media?

The entries are mainly political and there is a categorization menu that says political. I chose it expecting multi media goodies from a self professed “geek” who “loves me the technology”. This is more blog, but the first entry has a link to John Says which lets me create a cartoon of John Kerry saying anything I want; I can even make and buy a refrigerator magnet of my creation!

Okay; while this site isn’t fraught with multi media, nor political “stuff”, I’ve spent enough time here to a) run out time and b) tell you that this guy’s name is Joel, he likes technology, but talks about politics, and sets up a well organized blog with pics and links to things technologically political, or is that politically technological?!

Oh, What a Tangled Web Designers Weave

2004-11-02T17:46:00.000-08:00

I chose to examine Windows’ Media Player. I have to admit I don’t use any media player very much. I have a problem with my media card at home, so I’ve gotten used to not listening to music on my computer (which is really the only use I had for media players. I like to listen to my old Napster files on Real Player, and eclectic music stations and Coast to Coast talk radio archives on the Window’s Media Player (no particular reason I use either one except that is what worked the first time I tried to listen.)

My experience with the media players to listen to Internet and Live Streaming radio programs has been a frustrating one. It has been difficult to find the music I want to listen to because of categorization that differs from my identification of preferred music—“eclectic” is not a standard genre. I have also had difficulty distinguishing whether the links I chose are leading me to where I want to go as well as identifying where I am when I decide to stop looking. Because I have been away from media players for a while, I decided to see if anything has changed.

Unfortunately, the goal of seeking changes may not be possible. The graduate computer lab has not given me permission to install the most recent Windows Media Player update. After clicking on “radio” I see the “Top 40 Radio” choices; unfortunately they are flash and fade to the next menus too quickly for me to digest them and chose what I want. I mouse over to see if it will rotate back or faster, to no avail. I wait for the menu to come back and chose “see all stations”…oh, “top 40” song types, NOT top 40 stations! I hit the back button.

All I see are links to typical genres, and then I look to the right. Very light and thin fonts show an alternative menu and I chose “NPR All Songs Considered”. The screen immediately changes from a “radio tuner” look to a full screen, typical web page. Luckily, the announcer immediately verifies on my speaker that I am where I chose to be. But they are playing a tribute to Loretta Lynn; I guess crying country qualifies among “all songs”. The main window is snow white and there is no “art” to speak of. I guess this is “no nonsense” internet radio.

Well I do like nonsense and I do like art and I don’t like Loretta so I look at the comfortably familiar left hand navigation bar. Music videos by Joss Stone, Bjork, Beastie Boys, D12, and Franz Ferdinand…COOOL! Bjork is always good for art, live or pre-recorded…I click and expect the snow white main frame to turn into a Bjork video. It doesn’t; it turns into an informational, static page, that contains links to the songs I might want to hear.

Hey, where’s the art!? Oh there it is, at the bottom of the left nav bar. I’m not sure how I feel about this. It is bad, because it is not what I expected. It is good because it doesn’t interfere with the immediate knowledge that I can listen to many songs. It is bad because I want to see videos and it is not immediately clear that I can. It is good because I see a “stretch” arrow to enlarge the thumbnail video screen.

It isn’t a “stretch” bar, I find, but a button that causes the video to “fly” out. While the screen is a little bigger, it is still much smaller than I want it to be. However, I don’t panic because it is in a familiar “window” frame with an enlarging button on the upper right. I enlarge and it fills the screen completely. Nice, but by now the video “Oceania” is done playing.

I look for the play button; not there. I look for a rewind button; not there. As I’m mousing over I see “previous song”. I click and the screen disappears; within seconds “Oceania” starts to play on the speakers but I can’t see the video. I’ve been transported back to the main informational page, but the video is not playing as a thumbnail in the left nav bar like before. It also isn’t on my bottom “start” bar as a window that may be in the background. I decide to look at the information page for a clue to where I can find the video.

Now I see a list of seven songs, with typical “play” button icons to the left, but none of them are "Oceania." I scroll to the bottom of the page and see four albums, but I don’t know which one has the song “Oceania”. “Oceania” was playing when I opened the Bjork page; I didn’t chose it—it was chosen by the media player/web page. I see lots of clicks that say all songs, but Bjork has gazillions of songs and I don’t want to go to the trouble. By now the song is done playing, anyway.

But wait, what is that, oh so subtle blue at the top of the screen. It is the “bottom” of a media player in its own window. It fills the top frame (typical in size to title frames) and the color is the standard Window’s blue. No wonder I didn’t see it right away; I ignored it thinking that it was the same old title bar but really it was a window. The media player didn’t disappear; it partially reduced, changed size, and eliminated the video leaving me with the play button that was missing when I had the video screen up before! Well that is stupid! But I hit play anyway.

Bjork never disappoints the arts. Super, super, super cool video. But the art of the video has nothing to do with the art of the Window’s Media Player. The art of the media player is visual as well as tactile.

Visually, the art of the Window’s media player is a practical and expected blue. In addition to its visual design, its visual placement of the video is awkward. On a tactile scale, the art of the media player is misleading. I click on a button expecting to stretch the video screen, only to get a fly out. That is okay because I like that it is in a separate window from the one with all the information and choices of other songs to play. However the deception comes again with a viewer who is too slow to enlarge the video before it is over, and yet again by not replacing the “pause” button with a “play” button for slow-pokes like me. And yet again I am deceived by a window that changes function, dimension, and screen placement when I try to solve the problem I’m having. Trying to watch a video is a problem I should not have when it is the main function of the player.

The designer is telling me something about myself; I am too old, or too slow, or too stupid to be allowed to watch cool and artsy videos by Bjork! Well, the designer is an idiot! I happen to be in a demographic that contributes a large portion of my income to technology. Considering the information page is full of “buy now” buttons next to songs I am not likely to want to view on this player , considering the designer is insulting me, They certainly were not thinking of me when they designed this player, and they weren’t thinking about how to get my money…they only thought to ask for it. These days asking isn’t enough.

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

2004-10-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

If you can answer that question at the American Airlines web site, then the task of finding flight information is a straight forward one. I have to pick up a friend in Seattle, who is arriving on an American Airlines flight from Chicago. I've forgotten the flight number and the exact time. I know it will arrive between 10:00 a. m. and noon. I'll use the American Airlines web site and their telephone number to get the flight number, exact time, and check on the status of the flight before it arrives.

At the web site, my eyes first go to the navigation menu on the left. I see a button that says "Travel Information" which is what I would expect to lead me to arrival information. When I mouse over the button I am given more choices by a fly out menu. I expect to see words that say "arrival" but instead am hopeful with the links for "Gate, Times & Status", "Timetables & Downloads", and "Destination Information". I chose the first one, hopeful that I can inquire by city and time range. My expectations are met.

I am presented with a form, into which I enter "Chicago", "Seattle", and click on "Tomorrow", "Morning",and "Arrival". I receive feedback that the site is unable to determine airport codes, and instructed to select from a list of possible departing and arriving airports. I didn't know that there were so many airports in Chicago or Seattle. I select "all airports" for Chicago and Seattle.

The site returns a list of 14 flights and their schedules and a choice to “create” a status report. The flights include those that depart and arrive today, tomorrow, and the next day at all hours of the day and arriving at airports other than those in Seattle, even though I narrowed the parameters to tomorrow morning in Seattle. This is getting more complicated than I had expected.

I know the flight arrives between 10:00 a.m. and noon; that narrows the list down to four flights, however only one of those four is arriving in Seattle: Flight #1611 arrives at SEA at 11:44 a.m. I don't know what specific location SEA is nor the status of the flight.

I can create a status notification by clicking a button to the right of the information for the flight, which I expect will be an email to me from AA before the flight arrives. As it turns out, I can chose to have a text message sent to my home or cell phone, or my pager, or PDA, or email address. The notification does not reflect flight number changes nor does it guarantee information such as flight or gate changes within any given period of time in relationship to scheduled arrival or departure times.

Creating a notification, I chose to have an email sent and am thankful, and surprised, that I can test the service by clicking “test”. I can also chose to have a notification within a period of time of either a departure or arrival, as well as notification in the event of a status change. I chose a notification within 1 hour of arrival as well as one for status change. A footnote on the web page tells me what I can expect:

“***Departure messages are sent when departure time changes more than 15 minutes. Arrival messages are sent when arrival time changes more than 10 minutes. Messaging for flights canceled or reinstated will be sent starting 2 days prior to the flight. If selected alone, messaging for all other flight status changes will be sent starting 4 hours prior to scheduled departure or arrival time.“

I click ”submit“ and am given a confirmation number B9C3FFB2. I checked my email and hour and fifteen minutes before the expected arrival time, and AA had sent my flight status update 15 minutes ahead of the promised time.

So now I need to find out which airport is SEA. I can enter the code in the “search” bar or chose "TRAVEL > Destination Information > airport information". I do the latter. I find a navigation alphabet at the top, chose “S”, and see an alphabetized list of airports, some hyper linked, with the codes to the right. SEA is Seattle Tacoma Airport, which is hyper linked to a good information page on the airport.
Now it is time to use the web site for the status of my flight.

I select "TRAVEL INFORMATION > Gates Times & Status" and click on "GO" after entering the flight number and choosing "arrival". The site is again unable to determine the airports and asks me to select from list. I would have expected that each flight had a unique number! I chose the departing airport (which I discovered through the process of finding the flight number). I am given the flight status as “scheduled” and there are no flight or airport comments.

My previous experiences with automated telephone information systems tells me to say "operator" if I get stuck. At AA's 800 number, I am greeted by a pleasant, female voice which is more than friendly, letting me know that I can interrupt at any time. It has been my experience that telephone systems are able to handle only very limited enquiries, so I expect my task of finding a flight number to be more difficult than using the web site. I find, instead that it is easier than the web site, because the phone line is specifically to give only flight information and anticipates that I do not know the flight number. I give the departing and arriving cities, and the time range "10 to noon".

The system tries to confirm the information, but gets the time wrong: "9:10". Instead of leaving me hanging, or requiring me to start over, it asks for the specific area in which it was mistaken. I say "time" and am prompted not to enter all the information again, but efficiently only to re-enter the mistaken information. After I chose 10:00, it asks for morning or night, and returns a single flight, number 1611, arriving at 11:51 a.m. and provides the gate and the baggage claim areas. I am happy that it was able to recognize the airports I needed, and wonder why the web site wasn't able to do the same.

Because I am not sure of the time, and the system doesn't take any time less than specific, I will have to repeat the task for every half hour to make sure there is not more than one flight arriving from Chicago between 10:00 a. m. and noon. I find that there is another flight when I chose 11:00 a. am. but it is an Alaskan Airlines flight, so I don't need to worry. Now I need to check the status.

Unfortunately, at the end of giving me the flight information, I am given only the choice to repeat, start over or hang up. I decide that if I do not respond, the system will eventually connect me to a live person. It does not; it loops 3 times, changes the message to I'm sorry, and starts all over. I hang up and call the 800 number again, thinking I may have missed a choice in the initial greeting.

Because I now have the flight number, I am given a choice to check the flight status. I am informed that the flight arrives in more than one city, and chose Seattle Tacoma. I am informed of the estimated arrival at Seatac, and am reminded to check monitors at the airport for gate changes. I don't know if I can rely on this system to inform me of changes, because it is giving me information that I already know. If it told me the information was as of a specific time, or that there are no alterations to the estimated schedule, I would be more confident.

Using the web site for notification of flight status is better than the phone system. Finding a flight number and arrival information was easier to do on the telephone. Unfortunately, because both are important to me, this requires me to use two systems to get what I need; that is inconvenient and a little frustrating. However, now that I know how the systems work, I expect it to be less frustrating should the need arise in the future.

Conversation with a Hand Mixer

2004-10-19T15:26:00.000-07:00

Some say making cookies is an old fashioned endeavor left to those over 40. Well, I'm over 40 but far from old fashioned. I don't grind the wheat into flour, I believe it is still from "scratch" if I use baking mix already prepared with the proper measure of salt and rising agent, and I don't use a spoon and muscle, I use a hand blender that remains 24/7 plugged into the outlet on my kitchen counter.

I am very proud of my hand blender (though not enough to remember the brand name), which I won for being the first to correctly answer and submit all the Internet-scavenger-hunt questions. It is white, and when not in use is "plugged" into its stand along with the three sets of mixing tools. The stand is not very heavy and if I forget to push the button on top to release the mixer, when I'm ready to use it the whole stand comes up off the counter. Though I am proud of my mixer, I am not proud enough to remember this little characteristic often enough.

This cookie making occasion is no exception, and along with the mixer comes the stand, and the attachments spilling onto the counter. While forgetting to push the button is inconvenient, it becomes an instant convenience for correcting such spillage, because the mixer is easy to set back onto the counter if it is already in the stand!

Having put eggs, butter, and sugar into my mixing bowl, and having tediously replaced the two kneading tools, two whisking tools, and two general-mixing tools into the stand, I begin again. I grasp the handle of the mixer again, still in the stand, and place my thumb on top of the little green, rubber covered, release button, and press. The mixer is free and the tools and stand are still in their most convenient positions. I am now ready to chose the proper mixing tool to whip up a fluffy, sweet, and egg colored, butter flavored base for my cookies.

While I am proud of my hand mixer, I am not proud enough to take the time to study the tools and determine a method of knowing which tool goes into which hole on the mixer. You see, my mixer has a personality...a handed-ness. The holes in bottom of the mixer accept only the left tool in the left hole, and the right tool in the right hole, but the tools are not marked in any obvious way. I randomly chose one of the two general-mixing tools and insert it into the left hole. It goes in fine. However, when I try the remaining tool in the remaining hole, it won't penetrate. My mixer has a way of punishing me for my lack of sensitivity to its needs and considerate observation of its parts. I set the unfitting blade on the counter, and remove the inserted part to the right hole; now the remaining tool fits properly into the left hole.

I lower the mixer blades into the bowl and into the gooey, semi-homogeneous, soft ingredients. I grasp the bowl with my left hand, and apply pressure to mixer's sliding, graduated-power switch. I push my thumb away from me, and the switch clicks into the low-power position. I reminisce about the day I received my mixer in the mail, and my joy over the infrequent occurrence of winning at chance. As I watch the mixing blades cut easily through the butter, softening it further and incorporating it into the sugar and eggs, I am proud that I have a hand mixer to bring this 41 year old into the technological age...I am proud of the mixer and the efficiency of its modern strength. I set the mixer on end, blades still inserted and dripping over the bowl, creating an upside-down “L” shape, and watch it wobble slightly...it settles upright, and once again I am proud of my mixer, and it's mostly reliable agility, grace, and strength.

Strength is certainly something I saw my grandmother use, when after whipping the soft ingredients, the dry and hard were added to complete the recipe. Evidently, my hand mixer's personality is that of my grandmother; she used to say "Nothing worth having comes easily!"

With Mixer poised at "ready", I grasp it by the handle and tilt its blades once again into the bowl, and into the just-measured flour, spice, oats, nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. I slide my thumb to the low-power position and things progress as expected...for about five seconds. The mixer asks me gently to increase the power; as the ingredients thicken together, I oblige with my thumb pushing the power to the next click.

Medium speed works fine for the next few minutes. As the blades begin to slow their rotation, clogging with the thickening dough, I move into the next gear just after I notice a funny, electrical smell. Medium-high power is difficult to control.

As the dough thickens further, it begins forming a ball which resists the penetration of the mixing blades, throwing the mixer out of control, causing me to strengthen my grip for fear of twisting my wrist. My mixer and I persist, as a team, to the proper consistency and incorporation of ingredients, as the blades cut through the ball and clog again, and push for the final release of energy and blade-clinging dough.

The highest speed flings bits of Cowboy-a-la-Mona cookie dough out of the bowl, across the counter and backsplash and storage canisters, as the mixer lets out an increasingly-higher pitched scream of "Yes! We have cookiiiiieeees!" from its emptying mixing blades. I quickly increase thumb pressure on the mixer's power switch and slide it back in the direction of my wrist, hoping that most of the flying dough lands in the bowl.

With the power now off, I press my thumb once more against the green, release button, blades over the mixing bowl, and move my handy mixer back to its cradle, locked in place until the next time duty calls. I pick up the mixing blades from the bowl, and sample the last of the clinging mixture. "Not bad; I wonder how many cookies this dough will make?" I think to myself, as I survey the spread of dough that missed the bowl in the last leg of preparation.

"A little dirt never hurt" is the motto of this cookie baking, modern-mixing-utility-using, mother-of-Isaac-Newton. There will be no need to clean it all up; Isaac will be home soon, and he always asks me to save him some un-baked dough!

My Dream

2004-06-04T03:23:00.000-07:00

I'm in some place, outside, at night. I am flying.
It helps me escape some people committing some petty, drug related crimes.

I come to a house and I go in. I'm in the bathroom and I keep having to pick up some things off the floor and I can't get any privacy. I eventually let people come in. A mom and 2 teenage daughters are in the bathroom with me. A jewelry box is spilled on the floor and I help pick up the spilled contents. Not all gets picked up...some smaller earings are in the shag of the rug. I look at the girl and I say, "now you pick those up. I've picked up after you enough all ready!"

I'm in the living room and the family is ordering Chinese to be delivered. There are more children, adolescents. I notice a boy and a girl who look really familiar. I am talking to them "even though I don't even know your names yet, I know you." I look at the boy "you were my boyfriend" and to the girl "I taught you as a student."

I am looking for my pants so I can fly home (the pants help me fly). I must have left them in the bathroom. The father of the children is there. He won't give me my pants...he wants them for himself. He tries to bargain with me to trade them for another pair. He says "just take these and I won't tell anyone that you (did something illegal?)". The father is one of the criminals I saw outside, earlier. I told him, without fear, "give me my pants and I won't tell you are a criminal".

I teach the kids to fly and then I leave.

I am on my way home. There is camping. There is water. There are boats. There is a fair. I go into a booth. It is a sales pitch to company members. There is something wrong with the ad they are releasing, yet they are having a party as if the ad was ok. The ad is clearly offensive to me and boarders on illegal. I leave.

I see Mark and Isaac. I go into another booth with Isaac. It is a spiritual business that offers a method. The room begins to spin and melt as we walk closer to the counter. A woman, the business owner, and her son are fixing a plate of cookies and offering them to me and Isaac. Something is very very wrong. We are being tricked. The floor is sucking us in toward her like a vortex. The cookies are transluscent and wrong. I start praying, and grab isaac, and swim upstream to reach the door, "Our Lord who art in Heaven....Our Lord who art in Heaven"; I can't remember the words. The door opens and Mark is there, he won't come in. I ask for help. He only laughs. I am trying to save Isaac. We make it through.

There are funny boats under a different kind of power.

My son discovers sex and wants to have it with me. He finds someone to have it with, but still doesn't understand what it is. I am ashamed and disturbed and confused. Mark doesn't have a reaction; if anything he is happy.

Mr. Newton

2004-05-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

He is growing up so fast! I am so proud to be his mother.

He has a genuine desire to experience the world and learn from it. He has an even stronger desire to be an integral part of it. He loves people, and shines when he is around others. He is kind, contributing, and fearlessly loving and himself.

He has a dog. Even though the dog pays more loving attention to me, than to him, Isaac is protective of the dog's feelings and tells him "It's o.k. Max. I know you love me too."

He is such a blessing to this Earth and to me. I am excited and anxious and fearful all at once for his prospects in the world's future. I don't want him to grow up; I don't want him to stop giving love to his mommy and to stop needing me. I want him to grow up; I'm excited to see him be a wonderful man in this world, loving and needing others.

Diversity on Earth

2004-05-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Sonora, California, there were no people of color...that one could see. There was a census taken and the results showed that 25% of that little mountain community was Asian. I had lived there 10 years by that time, and not one person of Chinese desent did I know--and I knew a lot of people in that small, hick, but loveable town. Sonora is a "49er" town, on the trail where gold was struck by many miners coming from the east to make their fortune during the 1800's. In large part, this like many other gold mine towns, was built on the sweat and labor of the Chinese, as evidenced by the name of Sonora's neighboring town, Chinese Camp.

I moved to Berkeley, California, and was in diversity soup! What a wonderful place. So many diferent people, sight, sounds, and tastes. All coming from different corners of the world...India, Syria, Africa, America, Cuba, Germany, China, Japan, French...a real United Nation in my back yard!

I am reading a book called the Blessing Stone. In it is a time period where there was diversity in nature. Going from Sonora to Berkeley gave me a context for diversity in people. I have no such context for flora or fauna. Near Sonora is a town called Red Hills, where a specific plant grows there and nowhere else in the world. I also am aware of the Monsanto company and their bioengineering of food crops. Pretty soon (less than more time, geologically speaking) the whole world will be like Red Hills, each region bearing a plant unique on the planet...the last of its kind.

Can we get more diverse in the human race or are we destined to separate like the Red Hills plant? As the bible describes the division of the people to different lands, with different languages, shall we become unique to our own little corners of the planet?

I miss Berkeley. I miss Sonora.

What I would do if I had money

2004-05-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'd pay off my car.
I'd pay off Mark's fines and buy him a pick up.
I'd buy a motor home.
I'd buy a year's worth of insurance.
I'd buy a multi-family property.
I'd pay off my student loans.
I'd pay off my past debts.
I'd get a lower body and breast lift.
I'd buy 10 years of good health insurance.
I'd buy a trailer for lapidary equipment to pull behind the motor home.
I'd buy a lap top computer and a satellite link for the motor home.
I'd follow my "semester on the road" dream.
I'd landscape my yard.
I'd buy new furniture.
I'd take Mark to Germany.
I'd buy my brother a car and a house.
I'd pay off my mom's house.
I'd buy music lessons for everyone in my family.
I'd create "The Newton Family Creativity Center" art studio for Hillary.

Catching up

2004-05-16T23:40:00.000-07:00

Mother's day: Isaac wanted to buy me a gift for Mother's Day. I told him that I preferred he think of what he would buy if he had all the money in the world. He told me he would give me two ponies, a unicorn, and a rainbow. He asked me if I knew how much he loved me; he said he wouldn't bet me in a poker game! What a gift he is...

Max the pug: our new puppy! He's so wonderful and loving and sweet and willful and has so many personality traits, one would think he belonged in this family from the beginning. It really feels like he was waiting for us to find him. He loves us so much and we love him back.

Passion: Hard to find these days for my economics class. I didn't even do my assignment (which is due in 15 minutes!)

Passion: Easy to find for people these days. I've been doing a lot of self exploration and have given up "protecting" myself from pain and fear. What I've found is that loving is so much easier, and it opens my eyes to the possibility of others. The most significant thing I've found is that people seem different to me. It is as if I'm seeing them for the first time and they are more beautiful than I ever considered before.

Assurance: I saw a psychic a couple days ago. What a terrific first experience. It was comforting to know that I am on the right path in this life time.

Obsession: I feel a desperation to learn everything quickly. It leaves me asking myself "was it real?"

Looking forward: Tomorrow is Monday. I'm looking forward to catching up on all the things I let go by the wayside during my insanity. Not that I'm sane again, just that there's more room for every day craziness, and more hope that I can deal with it all. I'm looking forward to completing my economics assignment, catching up on blog research, dedicating myself to my group and individual web pages for the content creations class, and so, so, many other things.

Moving on....away...from the keyboard!

Whatever you want to call it....it sucks

2004-05-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

and so does my attitude. Change is difficult. More than you realize until your body starts breaking down and your legs literally come out from underneath you. Is it possible to own everything you have done with consequence in the last 8 years in just a few short days? Is it possible to have it noticed? Is it possible to be authentic? I can't focus. I'm a wreck. I've never been so silent. Waiting for the implosion.

On the good side of things, we have a new family member. His name is Max. He's a 9 month old pug and he's been waiting for us to find him. He's wonderful and binding to life for the rest of us.

The Magic Carpet Needs Beating

2004-04-27T20:03:00.000-07:00

The magic carpet is the node link diagram is the site map. Do we really need them?

My first thought when hear site map is yuk! Maybe that comes from my experience of nothing but bad ones. But, to answer my own question, yes we really do need them. We need, really need, good ones. But shouldn't the home page navigational links tell us all we need to know?

Yes, but...I don't know what everyone else knows and the space to tell people what they think they know is limited. Many times I've wondered if the navigational link contains the information I need. I guess that is why I know that we need good site maps...because I've tried to rely on really bad ones.

A mistake is an opportunity to learn.

The Pleasure Principle: Immersion, Engagement, Flow

2004-04-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

While I read this paper by Yellowlees Douglas and Andrew Hargadon for my content creation class, it fits well with my business proposal for my economics class.

This paper uses Schema Theory to discuss the the reasons we derrive pleasure (in the context of hypertext fiction and interactive narratives), in the activities of immersion, engagement and flow. It attempts to revoke previous studies that say pleasure comes in the form of either immersion or engagement. This paper concludes that immersion and engagement are not exclusive of eachother, and that the combination of both lead to flow.

Because I have no experience of hypertext fiction or interactive narratives, this paper can only be re-read by me---I have no schema as the paper discusses at its heart. Much of the paper sites examples as if they were a part of the readers schema, thus the experience for me was less than pleasurable. However, my experience was a good example of the paper's point. And while my experience was not engaging, it was immersive only through my desire to understand the topic.

The heart of the hypothesis is that pleasure derives from our cognitive and actual activity with a hyper text, and how well it meets our expectations driven by our past experiences. One might consider this idea as similar to the advise given on attitude through the quote "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade". In other words, you chose to derive pleasure when you chose the attitude.

The schema theory is formally introduced to me through this writing, although I've known it all my life. Stated to be the fundamental building block of comprehension, schema and its theory "charts how information processes shape perception and action alike, focusing our expectations--even determining the fine grain of our interactions with objects." I think I want to know more; it will help me convince news media sources that the schema of "game" can only bring pleasure to their existing audiences and increase their readership through the invitation of a new schema in hyper text news to those who know games to be pleasurable.

Today's events and an obligation completed

2004-04-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

I went to the humane society today. I am trying to become a foster parent for animals because I can't afford adoption fees. I think this will be a better experience for my son than "owning" a dog. I learned today that the loss of my previous dogs has prevented me from loving again. Today I got the experience of four dogs who loved me. I can't wait to have a dog in my life again!

I am really excited about my business proposal for my economics management class! It is so possible!

Well, the obligatory post is done.

To be or not to be--it is, I am, I will be

2004-04-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Okay. I won't be too serious today. I've noticed that I take my blogs seriously. I feel that they are being read, and so I approach them with readers in mind. I'd like them to be read. I'd like people to comment on my topics. I'd like to say something important, in an important way. Is blogging an attempt to make myself important?

I feel that I am important--I just need to get the world to agree! I'll be famous some day. Or not. I heard this saying, "being prepared for an opportunity that doesn't come is better than having an opportunity and not being prepared." I am the terminal boy scout (did girl scouts have a "be prepared" motto?) always prepared or in the midst of being so.

But I am a dichotomy, an enigma, in a conundrum with my own contrariness. If I am always pepared, how am I living in the now? If I'm always ready to fall, it is almost a guarantee that I will not fall. I may worry about falling; a sad waste of time, energy, and soul. But if I do not fall, what will I learn? In all the times I've snow skied, I've fallen only twice. I've learned that I am prepared for what I do not want to happen and that I will never experience it or myself through this avoidance. I've saved myself from the pain.

Is pain a real lesson? A good lesson? If I'm always prepared, does that mean I never experience pain? Oh, but I do. My life is full of pain, while more than some, not as much as others. What is it about me that changes when I permit my life to lead to pain? If I am always prepared, is the pain I experience real or full? Is the painful lesson less of one?

Interactivity--it's just a click away but then what?

2004-04-19T00:07:00.000-07:00

What is interactive? What is interactive news? These questions came up when I was thinking about the educational benefit of interactivity presented in conjunction with news stories. I was first clearly introduced to this concept during a presentation that included a game featured on MSNews.com.

Initially the game was attached to a news article regarding the effects of the attack of the U. S. A. on September 11, 2002. The player experienced being a baggage inspector at an airport. The news story itself was a dynamic flash presentation and now offers a link for players who want to license the game for a personal web site.

I would have liked to have seen the Java popup when I clicked on the link for licensing the game; unfortunately my computer will not open anything in a new window (I have to copy and past links into the address bar, and that doesn't work with Java.) So if anyone out there can help me figure out how to fix my Windows98SE machine with the most recent IE, email me. I searched Google for "interactive news"; following is a synopsis of some promising hits.

For kids, there is Ink News. This Australian based site is interactive in that it helps a visitor create and publish their own news story, but the only interactivity is going to their web site and reading the words.

The Interactive Museum of News is pretty cool. Opened in 1997, in Arlington, Virginia, the museum attempts to foster connectivity between news media and the public. I liked "Today's Front Pages" which features 226 hyperlinked pictures of the front pages of newspapers from 30 countries. But is a click of the mouse the definition of "interactive"? Also very cool is their Cyber Newseum's "Story Behind the News" which features how 30 countries have reported on a particular event and offers download of the PDF of any of these publications. Most interactive (I suppose, but because it is Java driven I can't say I know from experience) seems to be "News Mania" which is a trivia game about current news events.

There were many results that "…terms only appear in links pointing to this page: interactive news ", and many news web sites that by virtue of their being on the Internet, claimed to be interactive. Out of 94,900 hits, what would be better search terms to find news that a reader can literally interact with? How about "interactive game" and "news"?

The first page of 73,300 hits returns gaming publications and game reviews--predictably. Perhaps this is where I should start. Though I've started with a mountain, this mole hill looks more like a haystack, and the news story/game is the needle I'm looking for.

I've heard many conversations regarding the future of journalism and news in the digital age. Much of the discussion is about changing the "face" of this genre. I suspect my task seems difficult because it is only a small part of that discussion. A good position to be in, from my scholastic and research point of view.

Please, someone empty the shavings from the wit sharpener

2004-04-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

"The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
~Eden Phillpotts

A recent question posed by a homeschooling parent new to Portland (Oregon), "…Mt. Hood erupting. Is that something that most residents just don't think about?", provided an opportunity to see how adults school themselves. How do adults learn and what are their resources?

Growing from childhood to adulthood, most of us learn from our parents, peers, media, and a traditional education. We believe what we hear and see and until our experience tells us differently, we take these lessons as fact. As adults we have learned skills of critical thinking through experiencing situations that differ from the lessons we have otherwise learned. Do we learn from the experience of critically thinking when future opportunities to learn arise through our own questions and attempts to seek answers?

This recent thread in the ORSIG discussion group at Yahoo.com leads me to some interesting questions and the statement that, for the majority, the experience of critically thinking is not the primary source for learning new information, but the same adolescent processes of affirmation from peers and the complacent human tendency are the adult's primary sources for learning. The academic subject in question is geology. The following is an indication of what people don't know and what others think they know and the implications of a what a parent thinks they've learned and will pass on as fact to their own children.

Having a bachelor degree in Geology, I am far from an expert yet far from a novice on the subject. There are several types of volcanoes that erupt in their own unique way based on the chemical and mineralogical composition of the molten rock they extrude; magma (molten rock) containing higher amounts of silica will erupt more violently. There are simple reasons for the formation and geographic location of volcanoes.

The surface of the Earth is called "crust" and this crust is broken up into "plates" that move over the surface of the Earth. This movement occurs through the process of plate tectonics and at very specific places on the globe, thus locating the majority of volcanoes in specific geographic places. The familiar volcanoes of Hawaii form for very different reasons, through a process called "hot spot volcanism"; for this reason Hawaii's volcanoes are located, geographically, outside of the typical pattern of volcano locations. I don't want to give more geology lessons than that, but instead want to discuss some of the misinformation given in response to the original question.

"Mt. St. Helens erupting - so the possibility of Mt. Hood erupting is not so far-fetched"; an associative assumption. The response: " So I assume, after the eruption of
Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood has been monitored/studied more closely????" The answer from a third party: " The USGS are and have been, and will continue to be all over these
mountains, constantly monitoring them."

While this discussion resolved well, had the third party not responded, the assumption that a natural disaster in one place indicates the danger in another, proximal place, is misinformation. There is no consideration for the process by which volcanoes erupt. What will be the tendency to take such misinformation as fact, and apply it to other natural occurrences? What are the consequences of such a tendency? Do we only seek answers to questions and then move on or do those answers have a material effect on our lives, community, and society as a whole?

When the ice caps melt "we are all under water up to the mid west" as related by a friend who hasn't yet moved to the "safe zone". Adults still rely on peers as experts but this student shows a critical concern, noticing contradiction between action and statement of the friend.

"One must think about the coastal section of California breaking off from the main continent"; a statement of fact with no source or explanation. Like Henny Penny, someone said it first--the sky is falling and California will sink into the ocean. How much credence do people give to legend and rumor? How many people have assumed they know where the new coastline will be and have settled there homes in an appropriately safe place? How can we discover the real reasons for their geographic location and the information that led to the settlers' decision?

"Mind you, Hood is much closer to the Portland metro area than St. Helens, and we can expect tons of ash and maybe even bigger particles. But I'll take Hood any day rather than face earthquakes in Ca., hurricanes in the southern states, tornados in the midwest, flash
flooding, etc. etc." This response was qualified by the responders experience in high school geology by a professor who had a "talent" for predicting eruptions; natural events can be forecast but never predicted. Traditional education is not always provided by educators who are correct in their knowledge. Again we see an associative assumption in the degree of immediate danger, however the responder is unaware that the greatest danger from eruptions is the flash flooding mud flows, called lahar--the very thing they state they avoided by not living elsewhere.

"I think someone else mentioned the warning signs start early enough that we weren't too concerned… I am one of those that try not to bury my head in the sand, and keep a light eye on these kinds of things while not giving it much energy. Mother nature is a powerful force and she is always up to something trying to balance all our ravages." While this statement isn't misinformation in most cases, it gives no examples where there was no warning, gives no recommendations when there was (think of Pompei and the thousands of people fossilized because despite warning they had no recourse), and comforts those that prefer to go with the flow and resist investigation.

While above we have examples of learning from peers, experience, and traditional educators, there is no real critical thinking. How many people who know nothing about volcanoes will now worry about the one nearest their home? How many of those worriers, previously informed or not, will educate themselves through this thread alone until an experience contradicts this information taken as fact? How many of those who take this information as fact will feel informed enough to teach others? The potential for information and empowerment on the Internet is equally balanced by the potential for misinformation from the same source.

How these potential play out depend on how we seek information. If we are independent, critical thinkers more than we are communicators there is a better chance of receiving good information through independent research. But above all we are humans, and the Internet is clearly a strong satisfier of the most basic human need to communicate through conversation; if discussion groups are the preferred source of information the potential as a good source of knowledge is questionable.

Hollywood Video Games

2004-04-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

For the last two years we've been seeing games come out of popular movies; The Matrix, The Mummy, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Cat in the Hat, Stuart Little and Stuart Little 2, Dinotopia, Atlantis, just to name a few. There have also recently been movies premised on games; Final Fantasy, Mortal Combat, Resident Evil. While the latter has not been as successful as a movie based game, the movie industry may be having a bigger hand in the making of these games.

I recently received an article in my email: Out of Hollywood, Rising Fascination with Video Games by Laura M. Holson, published April 10, 2004, in the New York Times. Helping to create video games is a new source of revenue for movie makers; well, for Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame, it is. While he was less involved in the first two "Rings" games, the game revenue surpassing box office ticket sales may have influenced him out of complacency. John Woo, director of Mission Impossible 2 and Face Off, is developing a game for Sega, to which he will own rights, and hopes to make a movie subsequent to the games release. I can't wait to play this game and see the new perspective that will come from the point of view of a movie maker instead of a gamer.

While some game industry professionals do not feel that this perspective will be noticeably different, others remind the reader that movies are passive and games must be created to engage the audience in action and that the action chosen will effect the upcoming sequences.

So what is next? What about movies that have already been made? While the experience of a movie lasts hours, the experience of a game can last weeks to months. The revenue half life for cinema is also shorter. Is there an opportunity in creating games for older movies and releasing them again on DVD with games included?

Hollywood Video GAMES

2004-04-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Which came first, the creation or the creator?

2004-03-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

My assignment, should I chose to accept it (as if!): Identify three types of stories (content) that interest me as a content creator.....

This doesn't inspire me. I can think of three things that interest me as a consumer/reader: self-improvement stories; the combination of visual and literal text in clever advertising; new discoveries in science. So now, I can ask myself "what would I be inspired to write about?"

Anything! Just ask me to write about anything and I will. Ask me to talk about anything and I open my mouth. I am a communicator...there is nothing unworthy of discussion. So now I ask myself "What is important about what there is to read?" Reading offers an opportunity to grow, to expand, to improve, and to excel beyond where I am at and who I am being.

When I read about new discoveries in science I wish I were the one working on the research; I wish I'd had the idea first. Then I think about how wonderful the discovery is for others and I wonder how they will understand the heart of the science in the matter, and how I can play a part in that understanding.

When I read about an accomplishment that inspires me, it calls me to move...to action.

When I see something that inspires me to create, it calls me to express myself in a new way and to discover and overcome the blocks from within myself that cause my hesitation to act.

Now I'm cookin' with propane! Action! Movement! Blockades! Inspirations! Creations! Discoveries! Forging new ways to think, be, and do! This is the basis of content I wish to create. But what story genre do they fit? Which genre inspires me?

Creativity...the genesis of some one or thing born of original thought or new twists on old ideas. I want to teach through entertaining activity; create an illusion of playing, when learning is the task that underlies. Sounds like nonfiction. Sounds like advertisement. Sounds like persuasion....the business of it.

So, I have a start. I'll look into what motivates people to be creative and what stands in their way, through the genres of business, commercial, and nonfiction. Let's find some sites that seem to inspire users of the Internet.

My first stop is here. Andale has great tools to help people sell their merchandise. They have a new feature called "what's hot" that provides reports on the hottest selling items on EBay. Electronics and Computers are the hottest sellers...well what's so enlightening about that?! Last month it was a diamond engagement ring, a cam-corder, and a digital camera. The highest bidder can create a marriage, a baby, then film the baby in motion or still. Ah...creation! Where is the inspiration coming from?

I love HP's television advertisement that shows the multiple layers of different pictures of a single scene. Let's see what HP's site looks like. Their digital photography page is not very inspiring to me. Well wouldjya lookit that...the word "invent" right below the logo.

Google returns "digital photography" with this top hit. The Digital Photography Review has a nice looking site but it's for professionals or people who know what they are doing with a camera. Hmmmm....which came first the creation or the creator? Does the creation of a photograph, or website, inspire creation? Google's top ten hits are mostly "how to"s and discussion and news. Maybe I'm narrowing my focus to photography in commercial, nonfiction, and business media....nah. Too straight forward for me!

Here's an question....what is the experience of creation through photography? What is the inspiration to those who receive the creation? How closely related are the intent of the photographer, photograph, and viewer? Does the relationship differ among genres? Among media type or technique? Ooooooh...now were talkin, thinking, walkin, and snappin!

Which came first...the creation or the creator?

2004-03-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

My assignment, should I chose to accept it (as if!): Identify three types of stories (content) that interest me as a content creator.....

This doesn't inspire me. I can think of three things that interest me as a consumer/reader: self-improvement stories; the combination of visual and literal text in clever advertising; new discoveries in science. So now, I can ask myself "what would I be inspired to write about?"

Anything! Just ask me to write about anything and I will. Ask me to talk about anything and I open my mouth. I am a communicator...there is nothing unworthy of discussion. So now I ask myself "What is important about what there is to read?" Reading offers an opportunity to grow, to expand, to improve, and to excel beyond where I am at and who I am being.

When I read about new discoveries in science I wish I were the one working on the research; I wish I'd had the idea first. Then I think about how wonderful the discovery is for others and I wonder how they will understand the heart of the science in the matter and how I can play a part in that understanding.

When I read about an accomplishment that inspires me, it calls me to move...to action.

When I see something that inspires me to create, it calls me to express myself in a new way and to discover and overcome the blocks from within that cause my own hesitation to act.

Now I'm cookin' with propane! Action! Movement! Blockades! Inspirations! Creations! Discoveries! Forging new ways to think, be, and do! This is the basis of the content I wish to create. But what story genre does it fit? Which genre inspires me?

Creativity...the genesis of some one or thing, born of original thought or new twists on old ideas. I want to teach through entertaining activity. Create an illusion of playing, when learning is the task that underlies. Sounds like nonfiction. Sounds like advertisement. Sounds like persuasion....the business of it.

So, I have a start. I'll look into what motivates people to be creative and what stands in their way, through the business, commercial, and nonfiction genres. Let's find some sites that seem to inspire users of the Internet.

My first stop is here. Andale has great tools to help people sell their merchandise. They have a new feature called "what's hot" that provides reports on the hottest selling items on EBay. Electronics and Computers are the hottest sellers...well what's so enlightening about that?! Last month it was a diamond engagement ring, a cam-corder, and a digital camera. The highest bidder can create a marriage, a baby, then film the baby in motion or still. Ah...creation! Where is the inspiration coming from?

I love HP's commercial that shows the multiple layers of different pictures of a single scene. Let's see what HP's site looks like. Their digital photography page is not very inspiring to me. Well wouldjya lookit that...the word "invent" right below the logo.

Google returns "digital photography" with this top hit. The Digital Photography Review has a nice looking site obviously geared toward professionals or those who know what they're doing with the camera. Hmmmm....which came first the creation or the creator? Does the creation of a photograph, or website, inspire creation? Google's top ten returns are mostly "how to"s and discussion and news. Maybe I'm narrowing down the focus to photography in commercial, nonfiction, and business media....nah. Too straight forward for me!

Here's an idea....what is the experience of creation through photography? What is the inspiration to those who receive the creation? How closely related are the intent of the photographer, photograph, and viewer? Does the relationship differ among genres? Among media type or technique? Ooooooh...now were talkin, thinking, walkin, and snappin!

2004-03-30T20:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am the mother of Isaac Newton...Isaac Einstein Baroody Newton, to be exact. An extraordinary boy with an extraordinary name, although it was not given for obvious reasons. Isaac means "he laughs". Newton is a consequence of his existence. Baroody is the fine name and consequence of my own existence. Einsten was brilliant...so is Isaac!

Also a consequence of life is this blog. My life. My education. My interest in knowing how things work. My stronger interest in finding the answers to life's and science's questions. My strongest interest in connections between people, behavior, learning, education, and the state of being me in Isaac's world. Less ethereally, my interests are video games, education, communication, science (geology, oceanography, astrobiology), and collecting.

Curiosity. Exploration. Mystery. The journey. The questions.