Experience and Education

Experience And Education by John Dewey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars With theory, it's all about definitions. Even in less than a 100 pages, Dewey finds a way to muddle some of his together which damages the clarity of his theories. And there are two egregious typos on the summary on the back of the book... where was the editor!!?? That being said, this is an excellent argument for experiential education that is bold and unflinching, and a wonderful distillation of many of Dewey's ideas. And covering as much ground as he does in less than a 100 pages is also a reminder to us all that brevity is the soul of wit and wisdom. So I'll stop talking. View all my reviews >>

Nine Months, and Now Rebirth

Plato on Love: Lysis/Symposium/Phaedrus/Alcibiades/Selections from Republic & Laws by Plato


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Lovely ramblings about love. Those boys sure knew how to have a good time back then.

View all my reviews >>

World Wide Celebration of Robert Bell's 30th Birthday!

Hello everyone!

When Robert David Bell turns 30 years old this year (that is on March 28th, for those of you who don't remember), the whole world will be celebrating the event... that's right the whole world!

For one hour, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on this March 28th, millions and millions of people across the globe will be turning off their lights and their computers and all other electrical devices, to show their support and respect for all that Robert Bell has accomplished in his 30 years of life so far.

Robert's Response Upon Hearing of the Event -

"It is a wonderful tribute, and I am deeply honored by it. But I know, in my heart, that I could not have achieved all that I have without all those that I have come into contact with over the years. Whether by their assistance or resistance to my endeavours, it has made no difference in the end, because all of it has shaped me. It is by my interactions with all of the people I have known that I have found the ways to grow and change and become what I am today. And for that I am truly humbled and truly grateful to all of my friends and enemies... thank you."

For more information on how you (whether you are friend or enemy... or both!) can participate in the Robert Bell Celebration Hour on March 28th, 2009, check the link below:

http://www.earthhour.org/

.My Loopt

If you're interested in more frequent updates about the things I'm doing and the things being done to me, check in the "OTHERS" section of this blog, and click on ".My Loopt".... there you will find a GPS-based Photo Journal that stretches back to September, and will continue to have updates on a regular basis... or at least, more regular than this blog.

Enjoy.

Tea Party 2008!

Alice, will you come join our tea party?

Alice - March Hare/White Rabbit - Mad Hatter

Clean Cup! Clean Cup!

Alice, is this the moment where the white rabbit bites its own head off?

Swann's Way: My First Blog after Halloween & Obama

She wore a white hat, that sat a little too highly on her head. Her scarf seemed handmade. There was a moment of eye contact, but it was by no means flirtatious.  Rather, it was the eye contact people give to me because they want to make sure that the crazy wild-haired giant that suddenly appeared in front of them can be trusted in such close proximity.

She was reading Proust's "Swann's Way" in English. She was laughing. I did not think of Proust as an author who provoked laughter. So I kept watching. I've only read excerpts of his work. Then, somewhere around 42nd Street, she switched to a French copy of the same text. I was impressed, and I thought maybe she was laughing at the translation errors between the two texts. That's when I had to take a picture, to remember to find out more about this.

Turns out it is the first book of Proust's major work, "The Remembrance of Things Past", which I come to find is now being translated as "In Search of Lost Time", which provokes many different connotations to this English ear. So I kept looking for information, but the Internet Bible (Wikipedia) was unclear as to whether the text contained humor or not... so as I fall asleep tonight I am no closer to finding out whether or not the text itself is funny, or the translation is funny, or both... can anyone help me with this?

September... and then October

So, the blogging has really dried up here at iBellum. But what else is to be expected, now that I have been sucked into the twin engines of work and school? Every spare moment is spent on thinking of shift routines and Petrarch's letters, profit and loss statements and More's "Utopia", disciplinary meetings with unionized staff and the themes and methods of Humanist Literature in the 16th century.

Really... when there is all of that, how could there be time for anything else?

But there are a few fun things to report:

1. Went to see Built to Spill again... they played "Perfect From Now On", and it was a fantastic show.

2. Celebrated my friend Ray's 40th birthday... and what a clusterfuck of wine drinking that was... I don't know if you're supposed to get that  hammered on multiple bottles of vino at a co-worker's birthday party with all his friends and family in attendance, but that is certainly what I did, and it seemed like we all had a good time. Granted, my perspective was somewhat skewed...

3. Snezan introduced us to "Underground", a titanic 3 hour film about Yugoslavia. Everyone should see this movie... they drink, yell, dance, lie, love, and suffer through 40 years of Communist dictatorship... and through it all they are constantly surrounded by gypsy street performers playing a drunken variation of the music "Beirut" is so clearly inspired by.... Awesome!

4. Bob Dylan released "Tell Tale Signs", and I think I might finally care to listen to Dylan again after a year long fascination with Neil Young. I haven't really gotten involved with Dylan's last two albums, and the brilliant 70's work by Young has taken up a lot of my time and interest lately... but this Bootleg Series always finds a way to share a new side of Dylan, and I like what I'm hearing.

5. My iPhone continues to run my life... I don't own it, it owns me.

6. As you can see from the picture above... I had a chance, after a doctors appointment, to bike by the MET and have a martini on the roof amongst a few works by Jeff Koons. A rare and lovely afternoon away from work.

And in the near future I will be attending a Dance performance involving a neighbor, midterms are fast approaching, and I am involved in a plan to actually take part in Halloween this year... the first time since I was 12. I will try to put up some pictures of that insanity after it all goes down.

So... that's all I have time for. I am now very late to work, but I felt a strong need to put something out on this blog. It's not very clever or well-worded... but its something to hold us over till I find the time and the passion to start blogging again.

Take care everyone.