words are worlds I sailed upon: 11/1/06

The Decemberists on Conan O'Brien

I haven't slaked my iPod's feeding frenzy. Fifteen gigs down. Fifteen to go. Thanks to the constant recomendations of my little brother, I've discovered a ton of new music. Much of these recent aquisitions have become instant hits in my books. Take The Decemberists for example; their albums are in constant rotation. Too bad I missed their most recent tour. I'll have to catch them the next time around.


The Decemberists Performing "O Valencia" on Late Night With Conan O'Brien on 10-3-06

The Modalities of Blogs and Wikis

Objective

Rather than make claims about a specific website, I will make generalizations about the modalities of blogs and wikis.

Blogs to Visit

Weblogg-ed: weblogg-ed.com/
Snazzy Kat: www.snazzykat.com/
Zach Braff: www.zachbraff.com/

Wikis to Visit

Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com
Whole Wheat: www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
KOL Wiki: kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Main_Page

Guiding Questions

What modes are utilized?
What info can you gather about the author?
Do you notice a pattern in the layout of header, side-bar menu, and content?

Modes of Blogs & Wikis

Both blogs and wikis still rely on text as the primary mode. Menus, content, hyper-text and tags all need text. Choice of fonts, size, colors, and formats (ex. strikethrough, italics).
Images appear in more or less frequency depending on the nature of the website. Notice the blog’s use of an image in the header.
Blogs may also utilize audio and video. Prevalence of these modes depend on the nature of the blog.

Halliday’s Functional Grammar of Blogs

Interpersonal:

Typically authored by a single user; info flows one way- from local to global.
Audience is invited to leave comments on individual posts. Comments not visible on main page.

Ideational

An “individualist” technology; content thematic to the identity of the author.
Written in first person; presents their perspective of the world.

Textural:

Reverse chronological organization emphasizes most recent ideas.
Posts are often text, but can also include hyper-text, images, audio, and video.

Halliday’s Functional Grammar of Wikis

Interpersonal:

Typically authored by a global or hetereotopic group; a “collectivist” technology.
Audience invited to collaborate on shared documents.

Ideational:

A depository of information on a given topic; typically a nonfiction text.
Collaboration of authors creates a neutral voice; no mention of author within the text.

Textural:

Info accessible through hyper-text, tags, and search features.
Posts are often text, but can also include hyper-text, images, audio, and video.

The Design of Blogs and Wikis

Are specific varieties of websites organized by a CMS, or “content management software” that allows publication without much knowledge of how to code HTML.
Blogs and wikis take form of their software. There is little variation in layout from blog to blog, and wiki to wiki.
Popular blogging software & services include: Blogger & Wordpress.
Popular wiki software & services include: MediaWiki & WikiSpaces.

The Layout of Blogs

Since blogs have a similar layout, the feature of the image header to make a particular blog distinct from the others.
Images are used to draw the readers and maintain their interest. Blogs that combine images and text have higher viewership.
Notice that the blog post is arranged on the left hand side, the point of departure. The post, the identity of the blogger is what’s “given” information (as highlighted by the header).
The right side-bar menu links fellow bloggers and an archive of past posts. Once the audience reads the most recent post, they can explore these links for additional information.

The Layout of Wikis

Most wikis are used as depositories of nonfiction. More times than not, images support the informational text; diagrams and models serve to deepen knowledge.
Title headers are less important in wikis than blogs; rather, headings and subheading text take prominence at the top of the page.Notice that the side-bar menu is arranged on the left hand side, the point of departure. The reader can access information with the “given” key word or search.
In wikis, content is a destination and not a point of departure. Wikis are used to access “new” information on a given topic. Notice the content appear toward the right of the menu.

Conclusion

Although blogs and wikis are both examples of websites organized by a CMS, each has their own set of affordences; another case of form follows function. The temporal and individual nature of blogs lend themselves for users to express their personal ideas over time. The group write / edit nature of wikis lend themselves to collaboration and organization of information. That is to say, blogs can't do the job of a wiki and vice versa. They each evoke specific interactions and representations of the world through various modes.

Birthday Boy the Midnight Bowler

Maybe it's just my preference, but major holidays have a tendency of absorbing nearby birthdays. I'm OK with that. After all, there is a good showing of family and food on Thanksgiving;nevermind the fact that the roving date intersects my birth date once in a blue moon. Ever since I can remember, I've celebrated in this way.

Perhaps it's because my birth date proceeds my Thanksgiving "birthday". Then again, maybe it's because there isn't much sense of having an all out celebration on Sunday night. Either way, I didn't make plans outside my holiday gathering. So, come Saturday night, my wife and I were twiddling our thumbs about how to spend the evening.

That was, until our neighbor Diana bursts through our kitchen door unnanounced. "Wanna go bowling?" she asks.

Bowling.

I have a huge disdain for bowling alleys. Does anyone seriously make plans to go bowling, or is it a fall-back plan when there is nothing else to do. People don't go bowling. They wind up at a bowling alley either through high school intramurals , a boy scout trip, or as some twist on the good old church outing. At least in my mind. I guess it goes as an unrelated detail that my parents belonged to a bowling league and had a blast with their friends.

Saturday night. The eve of my birthday. Nothing to do. Those weren't the reasons I said "yes". Rather, it was the idea that Diana had convinced several other groups to go out as well. Anything can be made fun when you go out with the right group of friends. It's not the activity. It's the social aspect. My parents were proof of this.

I was birthday boy, the midnight bowler . It's funny to mention that I rolled highest game twice in a row. Who knew.

A couple of beers. A couple of strikes. A couple of friends.

It was a good time. Though, I don't expect to go back bowling anytime soon.

NWP and NCTE in Retrospect

I'm still wrapping my mind around four "Compleat" days of professional development. I don't know if I can summarize the experience in a paragraph, or a series of blog posts; though it will filter through the way I teach, facilitate my middle school, and work with the NWP.

I was rather impressed with the Red Cedar Writing Project's team coverage of the event. They wiki'ed, blogged, and podcasted the event quite thoroughly. If you are interested in a blow-by-blow recount of the convention, I'd check out their pages. One of their TC's interviewed me about if / how digital writing will take dominance over the pen and page in years to come. I'm anxious waiting for that MP3 to be posted on their site.

This was my fourth year attending the twin conventions - I'm getting quite experienced at this event. In fact, I'm starting to get the itch to present next year at either NWP / NCTE in NYC and / or the NWP Rutgers Midwinter writing conference. I have several ideas relating to technology, writing, and New Literacy Studies / multimodality. If you are interested in co-presenting a session in a similar vein, please contact me by adding a comment to this post.

Well, goodbye to Nashville, the Music City. Goodbye to Opryland - the gaudy "Disney" village under a glass dome. Goodbye to Jack Daniels and the honky tonks. Goodbye to the ghosts, phantasm orbs, and the ghost of Skull that haunts Painter's Alley. Goodbye to the all-to-noticeable teachers with their tote bags filled to the brim (yeah, you know what I'm talking about). To national and local NWP and NCTE teachers alike.

Another end. But for every end, there's a new beginning. Here's looking to NWP and NCTE in NYC 2007.

Taha Muhammad Ali’s "Revenge"

The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation released QuickTime video footage from Taha Muhammad Ali's unpublished poem "Revenge" from the Poetry Festival. The poem was originally recited in his native tongue of Arabic; credit also goes to Peter Cole for his English Translation. I have an appreciation for both versions, though I find Taha's rendition has a "raw" quality. For those that were attendance, this was an emotional peak during the poetry sampler portion of the festival.

Tags: Taha Muhammad Ali, revenge, poetry, festival, Geraldine R. Dodge, QuickTime, Arabic, translation, recital

iMix

I didn't know how to broach the question with my wife. After all, would it be socially awkward. Affter all was said and done? Boston was so far away. We were spending the entire weekend. Not to mention my Mac Book was so new, and I'd go bonkers if I couldn't conveniently check my email over the weekend. This was such a geeky thing to ask - could I bring my laptop to the Boston social gathering?

Heh.

Turns out she is just as much of a geek. Actually, almost all my friends brought their laptops with them as well; just as you might pack your pillow or cell phone. Go figure.

Picture this: Saturday morning, six of us sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee, checking emails, and IM'ing each other. Why? Well, because we could. Turned into a poker-bluff game of insider jokes sent back and forth. Someone would get the punchline and start cracking up as the others turned and stared. Good, geeky times.

Interestingly enough, every computer (with the exception of one- we won't talk about that) was a Mac. This spurred an interesting show-and-tell about the lesser known features of Mac. Well, at least lesser known to me. For example, my laptop automatically sensed the other Mac's in the room, and gave me shared access to play music from theiriTunes collection.

Sweet, eh?

Just another nod to Mac's intelligent design towards the computer as a social tool.

I also learned about iMixes - an iTunes playlist uploaded to iTunes for all to see. A social, and economically responsible way to share music. Here is a list from my first iMix. Enjoy - these are all great songs IMHO.

Fav Tracks

Song Name

Artist

Sunglow	The Couriers
Once Around the Block	Badly Drawn Boy
Pop Song 89	R.E.M.
Fall	The Commons
The Perfect Crime #2	The Decemberists
Staple It Together	Jack Johnson
Shiver	Coldplay
Fell in Love with a Girl	The White Stripes
Add It Up	Violent Femmes
Rift	Phish
Baby Britain	Elliott Smith
Your Heart Is an Empty Room	Death Cab for Cutie

Your iMix will be available in the iTunes Store for 1 year.

The Exposure Project

The Exposure Project is an art collective from Boston. Last night their gallery opened at the New England School of Photography. Not only do I get to visit with a good friend, but an entire crew of peeps are drivng and flying for a get together. Been a long time in the works; should be a good time in Beantown this weekend.

NJEA Boardwak 5K in Review

There was no proof to claim I might run a sub-22 minute 5K. In fact, everything proved to the contrary.

Yet, there is a strong tradition with the NJEA Boardwalk 5K. Jon and I managed to shatter our own personal records the past three times we ran this race. Once is pure chance. Twice acoincidence . Three times you begin to wonder. It seems only right that a fourth time should naturally follow. So, after racing a 22:29 last year, the sub-22 goal only seemed natural.

If there was a race to PR, this would be it. The boardwalk is a flat, fast course - straight as a pin. As an out and back, you could view the turnaround from the start. The lack of vertical markers on thebeach side horizon gave the course the appearance as being much shorter than it really was. In other words, you run your heart out because there doesn't appear to be much distance between start and finish.

Twenty two minutes five kilometer race. Sub seven minute pace. Eleven minutes at the turn around. I can't remember the last time I ran a sub-seven. It came as a shock that I clocked 6:50 at the first mile. Or that I crossed the half at 10:45. That was a goal worth achieving.

Something gave out after the turnaround. It wasn't my mental determination. Will was strong. Breathing in control. Arms bent to achieve running efficiency. It was all in my legs; they felt like rubber bands. I willed them to carry me forward, but it was like trekking through mud. This time the illusionary horizon worked against me, as it appeared as if I wasn't even moving.

Every race can't be a "winner" if your goal is to PR. I clocked in at 22:55, maintaining my recent strand of running 22-minute 5K's. I can't be disappointed by my finish time knowing that by mid-race I was on track. This means I'll need to train harder for next year.

NJEA 2007 Boardwalk 5K, just you wait.

Tele-Politics

Several years back my wife and I signed onto the National Do Not Call Registry. For a while, all was silent... at least until the approach of Election Day. Now the phone is ringing off the hook with automated solicitations for votes- democrats and republicans alike. Apparently politicians are excluded from their own policy.

How convenient.

Read the fine line. FAQ #30 states:

Political solicitations are not covered by the TSR at all, since they are not included in its definition of “telemarketing.”

Could politicians do any more to turn me away from their platform? From mock-Sopranos mudslinging politics, to the deluge of dinner-time political solicitations- I'm fed up.

What next- political spam?

Run the Bridge 10K in Review

Somewhere between the pillow and flannel blanket pulled over my head, my cell phone's distant ring tone brought me closer to waking.

"Where are you?" asked Jon.

"Uh, just woke up. Where are you?"

"Camden. Aren't you running today?"

Crap. Was it November already; what ever happened to October? Several weeks ago, Jon and I bounced around a potential race schedule for the fall. Apparently November sprang much quicker than I expected.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." I dragged myself out of bed and into my running outfit. By the time I full came to a waking realization, I was racing down route 130 headed for Rutgers Camden. Today was Amerihealth's Run the Bridge 10K. Unfortunately I was running late and hadn't registered for the race. At this pace, I'd be lucky to arrive in time to toe up to the starting line much less register.

This wasn't the first time either one of us had a late start race day. In fact, we have quite a strong history of arriving in the 1th hour. Somehow we always managed to arrive in time to register and find the starting line before . Guess that's why we never learned our lesson- the hard way.

Only today was different. By the time I arrived, registration had closed. I could either turn back home, or... There was barely enough time to meet up with Jon, suck down a running gel, and find the starting line. Catch that. I illegally immigrated into the holding pen - an "undocumented" runner. In the mix of 3,000 other runners, I could manage to loose myself in the crowd.

Jon took the day- I managed to rabbit him most of the race. There was an opportunity to challenge him in the last mile. Instead I found a convenient location to duck out of the race a block before the finish. Jon crossed in 47 minutes and 50 seconds, clearing his personal best by 3 minutes. This was a minute faster than my best 10K. Too bad I can't list an official finish time.