Last week, after getting back from the work trip to DC, I went to a holiday party hosted by Chris Heuer, organizer of BrainJams. I figured I’d stop by, chat with a few people, and head home. Instead, I ended up in this fascinating conversation with Brian of CivicEvolution (thus meeting the challenge from my […]
Stravinsky chorus page update
I finally got around to updating my chorus page to this year, with entries on the Messiah and the just-finished Stravinsky run. Man, I’m exhausted. I actually got a bit sick last weekend, which never happens. Of course, between working long days at work trying to get another client release out the door by last […]
BrainJamming
As noted previously, I went to a “BrainJam” on Saturday. It was excellent, everything I had hoped it would be. I met a bunch of interesting people, had some thought-provoking conversations, and was left wanting more, even at the end of a long day (9am-7pm) of talking. In the morning, they started off with essentially […]
Filling in the blanks part 2
I was thinking more about the topic of how our mind fills in the blanks last week during the Messiah concerts, particularly in the “He was despised” aria. I meant to write this up on Sunday or Monday evening, but didn’t get around to it. So, of course, I’m writing it up after a two […]
BrainJam this Saturday
Apparently, the Web2.1 BrainJam was successful enough that the organizers decided to do more of them. The next BrainJam is this Saturday in Menlo Park, and I’m planning to be there. Should be interesting meeting more folks, even if I don’t have any projects of my own to talk about or show off.
Filling in the blanks
As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been reading a book called Mediated, by Thomas de Zengotita, which examines the ways in which a pervasive media has altered the way in which we perceive the world. He has lots of interesting examples, but today’s topic will be his discussion of the demise of heroes in […]
Messiah!
We’re doing the Messiah this week with the chorus. I guess it’s early because they’ve got too many other concerts going on in December. Plus, they could be figuring they’ll take advantage of the Thanksgiving family time. I love doing the Messiah (see here and here and here for stories). It’s always a joy to […]
Responsibility
The topic of the week is responsibility. Individual responsibility. Community responsibility. Societal responsibility. How do we divide up responsibility among all affected parties? Who should be held accountable when something goes wrong? Where does the balance lie between being free to do as one wishes vs. being responsible to others? I don’t have answers in […]
On Intelligence, by Jeff Hawkins
Amazon link I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, and I added it to my last Amazon order, but didn’t get around to reading it until a few weeks ago. Jeff Hawkins was one of the driving forces behind Palm and Handspring, and now that he’s set for life, he’s indulging his childhood […]
Quick nonfiction reads
Reinventing Comics, by Scott McCloud I liked Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud a lot, because it had a really thoughtful take on why comics worked, and what the conventions were (representing the dimension of time in space, etc.). When I saw this sequel in the library, I picked it up. I didn’t like it nearly […]
