Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A creative way to beat the competition


The person on the right must be a marketing genius.

Creativity is not lost...

Using its playlist and some tech savvy, lost iPod reshuffled to its original owner

What’s the chance of tracking down the owner of a lost iPod when all you have to go on is the playlist?
There are perhaps a quarter of a billion of the music devices circulating around the world now, and given the global traffic that passes through the Washington area, the owner could be . . . anywhere.

So after finding a pink iPod Shuffle during a jog on Sligo Creek Parkway recently, my first inclination was to stuff it in a gym bag and enjoy the music. The trail was empty, and it did not seem worth the trouble to hunt down the owner of an inexpensive device whose content was probably stored on a home computer and easily duplicated.

But after I gave it a listen, the personality of the owner seemed to peek through — and made it hard not to help the orphaned device find a way home.
“It’s a pink Shuffle,” Dar Maxwell said excitedly when The Washington Post called her Friday to say that her lost music player was in safe hands. “How’d you know it’s mine?”

Certainly not by the playlist itself. The thing had a personality — annoying at first, when Eminem came blaring through, but more subtle when Cake, Shirley Bassey and Florence and the Machine followed along.

To help track down the owner, some of my Web-savvy colleagues offered to play along in a little armchair anthropology. They posted the playlist online and challenged readers to identify the owner based on the music.

That drew plenty of guesses, none correct.
“Female in her late 20s to mid 30s. Likely to be white, educated and sporty,” RubyRedbag commented.
“The owner is a dude aged 39-42,” offered 0073, while jonmiller1 got more specific: “a college-educated Caucasian female in her 20s with Appalachian heritage.”

Actually, the owner is Miami-born Maxwell, 47, who was walking her dog on the Silver Spring trail and lost the Shuffle just before she turned off to go back to her neighborhood.

As the guesses indicate, you can’t really judge a book by its cover when it comes to mining playlists for clues to character. Although some of the hip-hop and rap was courtesy of her two teenage sons, the Eminem tracks were her doing.
And Maxwell is also responsible for “Teenage Dream” from the cast of “Glee.”
“This is what I listen to,” said Maxwell, who works at an international development company. Despite some ribbing from friends about the “Glee” track, she said she felt the playlist was a good reflection of her personality: a born-in-the-’60s core with plenty of modern flavors.
“I will go to my grave saying Aerosmith is my favorite.”
So how did we find her?
The Post’s Ryan Kellett knew enough about iPod technology to examine the digital “watermark” associated with each purchased iTunes track.
You can find that by right-clicking on a song and going to “get info.” That brings up various pieces of data stored with the file — including, in this case, an e-mail address that served as the “Apple ID” on one of the tracks.
From the e-mail, he was able to find a phone number using other databases and — voila.

More evidence of the sacrifice to privacy that comes with the digital soup we’re swimming in? Proof that the cloud is not a metaphor?

“It was surprising” that enough information was embedded in the machine to track her down, Maxwell said. Unlike some devices, the Shuffle can’t be locked with a password.

But ultimately, she said — her pink cache of music back in her hands — the reunion was “a great holiday story,” like Rudolph helping Santa deliver all those misfit toys to homes where they belong.

“Thank God it was a cool playlist.”


Staff writer Ryan Kellett contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lost-and-found-ipod-shuffle-reunited-with-owner/2011/12/20/gIQAVmcy7O_story.html?tid=pm_lifestyle_pop

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

A Direct Link Between the Chicken Dance and Creativity

In Part 2 in my crash course on stimulating creativity, I'm clearly demonstrating a correlation between the Chicken Dance and creative thought. Have a gander:

The Best Chicken Dance


Chicken Dance Champions


Number One Chicken Dancer


Harry Potter Chicken Dance

If you have played all of these videos, at least once, you have surely tapped into your creative spirit. So, get busy, get to work on your final project!!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Must-Read Success Lessons from Michelangelo

Browsing through the Internet looking for sources of creative inspiration, I found a fabulous website called Pick the Brain. One of my favorite Michelangelo quotes has inspired me in my creative work. I'm using it in my final CMC11 project.

Enjoy these lessons put together by Mr. Self Development:




Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer.  His work in each of these fields was absolutely ingenious.

When you take into account the quantity of correspondences, sketches, and reminiscences that currently exist, Michelangelo is the best documented artist of the 16th century.
Two of his most popular works, David and the Pietà, were sculpted before he turned thirty.

As an artist he created two of the most influential works in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library. When he was 74 he succeeded “Antonio da Sangallo the Younger” as the architect of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his sense of awe-inspiring splendor.  It was the attempts of subsequent artists trying to imitate Michelangelo’s highly personal and passionate style that resulted in “Mannerism,” the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance.


5 Must Read Success Lessons from Michelangelo:

1. Work Hard

“If people knew how hard I worked to get my mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all.”


It’s true; it takes hard work to succeed!

The idea that “people succeed because they’re lucky” may make you feel better, but it’s simply not true.

The reality is that success is the result of hard work.  Are “you” working hard?  Are you giving your all to this game called life?  You won’t succeed on a half-effort; to succeed you must give your all.

2. You Have to See It
“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.”


What you can see you can do!  If you can’t see it, you can’t do it.  So what do you see for your life?  Do you see more of the same, or do you see greatness just around the corner!

Before you arrive you must see it; what you see is “exactly” what you’re going to get.  So what do you see?

3. Carve Out the Angel
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”


Michelangelo said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”  Every person is like that block of stone, there’s greatness inside, but it has to be carved out.  It has to be carved out through hard work; it has to be carved out by the individual who can perceive their own greatness.  To succeed, you must carve your greatness out of the block.

4. Have Faith
“Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.”


To succeed you must believe in your ability!  You must be the first member of your fan club.  As the famous poem goes, “If you think you’re outclassed, you are, you have to think high to rise, you must be sure of yourself, before you can ever win a prize, think big and your deeds will grow, think small and you’ll fall behind, think like you can and you will, it’s all just a state of mind…”
Do you believe in you?

5. Aim High
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving the mark.”

You can do more than you’re presently doing!  You’re capable of accomplishing things that you can not currently perceive, things that would astonish you.  There lies dormant in you potential that has yet to be tapped; you have to aim high in order to unlock that potential.  Greatness is inside of you, but it’s up to you to release it.
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!

Mr. Self Development is an author who teaches a motivational and practical guide to success. Please visit him at Mr. Self Development.com.

Source:


Saturday, December 10, 2011

Jumpstart Your Creativity

If you need to be creative and find that you are feeling sluggish and uninspired, sign up for my Jumpstart Your Creativity crash course. It's easy, it's fun, it will make you feel creativity in your very bones.

Directions: Get up and dance to the music videos below. I guarantee you'll feel more creative instantly!






Replay as necessary. Advanced courses available upon request.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Working Class Hero - John Lennon

This song speaks to the topics we've discussed relating to the fear of being creative, how schools and life itself can kill our creative spirit. Lyrics below...



Working Class Hero - John Lennon


As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and class less and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

Monday, December 5, 2011

Creativity from: Critical Thinking and Creative Literacy

Image source: http://www.jimkukral.com/creativity-ideas-come-best-when-you-shut-down-your-brain/

Can creativity be clearly defined or articulated through scientifically researched facts or formulas? We can all experience the results of creativity but the human process behind it is complex and a challenge to describe accurately or fully. From the beginning of human history people have been creative and have put this creativity to every day use in life. Development, progress, discovery and advance, have been fueled in some way by creativity.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word creativity as:
  • a quality of being creative
  • an ability to create (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 2008).

Creativity can be generally viewed as an activity where the mind is involved in producing new ideas or new ways of connecting and understanding existing ideas, being original. Although it is a difficult term to define or measure accurately it can be seen and experienced in daily life. Music, literature, art, dance, and theatre are all tangible products of creativity. It can also be viewed as a part of critical analysis, problem solving, inventiveness and innovation. Creativity is a part of human beings, it affects how we live and understand, how we see, hear, taste, smell and touch the world round us. It is an integral part of education and learning, not an added extra.


creativity1.png
Image source: http://www.glasbergen.com


2. Is it of any use?





vismap.png
Image source: http://natalieshell.com/2007/04/10/visual-mapping-another-way-to-story/

'Creativity now is as important in education as literacy. We should treat it with the same status.' Sir Ken Robinson (see section 4 below)

The significance and necessity of creativity for contemporary life is being recognised more and more, presenting schools with a challenge to change pedagogies in order to be effective educators in preparing future generations of children to take their place in the world ahead. Loveless states that creativity is 'an essential life skill through which people can develop their potential' and human beings have immense potential if our educational systems encourage, guide and nurture creativity in people (Loveless 2002, p. 2).

viscreativity.jpg
Image source: http://www.wvexecutive.com/featured/summer07/21st-century-education/


3. How does it affect literacy?





visualspeak.png
Image source: http://www.edutopia.org/visually-speaking

Literacy has been the foundation of education through the areas of reading, writing, and speaking, but are these sufficient in a rapidly changing world and a future that is difficult to prepare for or predict? Leask cites Wagner in giving an interpretation of literacy as, 'being able to communicate within the medium of your culture' (1995 cited in Leask 2001, p. 192). The communication medium for many cultures around the world today is being driven by new techologies, the medium of the computer, the web and the mobile phone. Technologies like the web and mobile devices are becoming very important in the way people communicate with each other in society and worldwide.

Visual literacy can be understood generally as a way of understanding and reading images, signs and symbols. Like an old proverb states, 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. People have used images, signs and symbols to communicate since creating prehistoric cave paintings. How would humans navigate through life without them? Educational scholars now believe that linguistic and visual literacies need to be integrated for effective learning to take place (Kress 2003). Educators view visual literacy as being necessary to an effective pedagogy and learning in the 21st century.


4. One size does not fit all





mindmap.png
Image source: http://www.scriptmapping.com/images/Gallery/MindMappingBig.jpg

People have different ways of seeing and understanding the world that they live in; there are different and creative ways available which are very effective for educators and learners. Humans are unique individuals; some learn by doing, some by thinking things through, and others by reading manuals, drawing pictures, or watching videos. There are many possibilities and tools available (like mind mapping software example above) which provide a wonderful and creative variety for teaching and in learning experiences.

The Futurelab initiative for innovation in education has excellent information and resources on new approaches in learning.
Futurelad http://www.futurelab.org.uk/
Futurelab http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications_reports_articles/literature_reviews/Literature_Review382/

Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources.
Interview with Sir Ken Robinson on Creativity and Education (Podcast mp3 - part 1 & 2) http://www.electricsky.net/?s=Sir+Ken+Robinson&cat=1


5. Variety is the spice of life





foobar.png
Image source: http://hello.eboy.com/eboy/wp-content/uploads/shop/EBY_FooBar_35t.png

New technologies can create valuable learning contexts that enhance education or training, and provide an effective learning process and outcome. Norton and Sprague state that technology can assist learning that is; ‘active, constructive, collaborative, intentional, conversational, contextualised and reflective’ (Norton & Sprague 2001, pp. 5-6). Molnar refers to research conducted by Kulik at the University of Michigan where his results found that computer based education reduced time in completing tasks, increased scores and performance (Molnar 1997, p. 66).Technologies should not be seen as an end in themselves but a means to an end. The printing press and television were once new technologies and are still used to great advantage in education and training today. Technology and pedagogy should be viewed as ‘fundamental and inseparable elements of education’ (Evans & Nation 1993, p. 198).

Contemporary life is now immersed in a digital world full of multimedia that is having a tremendous effect on how we communicate, work and live. Young people use popular new web technologies like You Tube, Face Book and My Space (along with various others) at home but these are not currently allowed to be used within some educational contexts. Technology itself is a very good tool and benefit but its use may not be particularly educational or positive at times and perhaps even illegal. There is a conflict between having access and being restricted due to censorship or security. How is this to be dealt with so that opportunities can be seized and the potential of new technologies realised for a better future?


Soiurce: http://criticalliteracyandcreativity.wikispaces.com/Creativity

Saturday, December 3, 2011

My Brain on Math

This is what my brain looks like on math.

Reflecting on STEM:

I did not take Algebra II in high school because my Algebra I teacher made me feel like a complete and utter failure at math. Until just a few years ago I would be paralyzed with fear anytime anyone asked me a mathematical question. I would experience a brain fog where even a simple multiplication exercise would cause me to sweat. As I tried to sort out the answer in my head it felt like the numbers were each seeping into separate sections of my brain and I couldn’t bring them all together to figure out the answer.

...Good grief, I just googled “math fog” to see if I might come up with examples of my experience, instead, it turns out math fog is actually a mathematical problem.  Check it out: http://forum-3.com/math-forum/math-help-finding-fog-t368.html

This is what I wish my brain looked like on math.

Some funny math images from Google: