This is funny, since the guys asked people not to stream the keynote because of bandwidth issues- so they did anyhow. Not only that, but dozens of people were watching the backchannel FROM THE SAME ROOM!!1! Sheesh. Teachers are such children!
Just finished a session with Ewan McIntosh called “Thinking outside the XBox” that discussed ways to creatively use video games (both computer and console-based) in the classroom. He touched on a number of excellent resources, and talked in depth about a few: specifically, MYST. Video games can be used as teaching tools for pretty well any subject including math, science, and creative writing. In the MYST example, Ewan talked about how some teachers are using it as a jumping-off point for their writing classes, including second-language courses. Very good session, and if you’re a teacher, watch that Youtube video.
Well, we’re here. Meh. In order to save a bit of money for our District, we took the red-eye flight from Vancouver to Toronto, which meant we got next to no sleep for the whole trip. Then when we finally got to our hotel here in Boston, our rooms weren’t ready so we had to wait for a few hours before we could finally rest for a bit. Not wanting to get completely screwed up by the time differences, we decided to go downtown instead of just sleeping. That was fun, but a bit tiring, and when we went to an Irish pub (Ned Devine’s, in case you care) and they had NO Guiness, I about went MENTAL. Anyhow, we did have a nice dinner, and Rychard gave me his glass of Guiness which was the last one in town, apparently. So it was a really nice time after all!
The hotel we’re at is, as I mentioned two years ago, a bit less than stellar. I’d rate it as maybe 3-star, and considering the conference rate is $140 a night, it’s a bit expensive for the quality. But the beds are comfy (ok, mine is- I haven’t tried any of my colleagues’ beds to confirm the comfort of theirs), and the AC works, and there’s free wifi that can be (mostly) be found throughout the building.
Right now, I’m sitting at a table with Marco Torres, while we wait for the session to start, and some guy is talking about Huey Long and some football stadium.
Will post more as time goes by. Yays!
But I’m heading there for my second trip during the summer. I get to go to BLC ‘08, which is bound to be very cool once again! Unfortunately, the organisers haven’t figured out yet that they should stop holding it in the U.S. and move it somewhere slightly less politically volatile, like Chile or Kenya. So that means I get to endure the FUBAR that is the TSA, and hope against all hope that I get in, do the conference, and get out, all without any unscheduled body-cavity searches or having my electronics stolen and sold on eBay by TSA agents confiscated.
I am really looking forward to taking Marco Torres’ preconference this year, and there’s a ton(ne) of great keynotes and sessions lined up. Of course the best part is that I get to go with teh Goddes (and don’t tell anyone, but I think we’re even going to share a hotel room!). It’ll be a lot of fun and very helpful in my job, and hopefully I’ll be able to live-blog from some of the sessions- maybe even do a Ustream or two!
I will post some pictures as I have time next week, so watch this space!
Considering the lack of recent posts, that would be an appropriate title for the entire blog, I think. Not that I’m apologising, of course.
Right now I’m back in Gingolx, visiting friends during the fifth annual Crabfest, which is a music festival, not a massive bacchanalia. This year featured Glass Tiger, a band that greatly influenced my own musical carreer was a lot of fun to listen to when I was a teenager, so I really had to go see them perform. It was a great concert- a bit short at an hour and a half, but a tonne of fun. Glass Tiger is still pretty energetic after all this time, which raised a few suspicions I’ll get to in a minute. In the meantime, here’s some pictures:
As you can see, everyone was having a great time, even the kids who hadn’t been born in 1986!
After the concert, we lined up to buy commemorative merchandise and get autographs. Fortunately, I was right near the front of the line, so I didn’t have to wait long to get my swag signed. Then we all got to have our photos taken with the band, which was funny to watch. People do wierd things in the presence of celebrities, as you can see from this picture:
It was while in such close proximity to these heroes of the Candian music scene that my earlier suspicions were confirmed, and I had the following conversation with Alan Frew, the lead singer.
Alan: This will all soon be but a happy memory because Glass Tiger’s tour bus “Revenge” is parked at the far end of the lot. And we, as you know, are Glass Tiger.
Me: But how is that possible, since they’ve been marauding performing twenty years and you only left me Toronto five years ago?
Alan: I myself am often surprised at life’s little quirks. You see, the band had grown so rich, they wanted to retire. So they took us to their hotel room one night and told us their secret. “We are not Glass Tiger,” they said. “Our name is Fishbowl. We inherited this name from the previous Glass Tiger, just as you will inherit it from us. The band we inherited it from was not the real Glass Tiger, either. Their name was Cummerbund. The real Glass Tiger has been retired fifteen years and living like kings in Patagonia.” Then he explained the name was the important thing for inspiring the necessary awe. You see, no one would ever buy tickets to see Cummerbund. So we drove to a new city, took on an entirely new road crew and they stayed around for awhile as groupies, all the time calling us Glass Tiger. Once the roadies believed, they left the bus and we have been Glass Tiger ever since. Is everything clear to you?
Me: Ummm…will you sign my butt?
I’m not sure if anyone got the irony in “Diamond Sun” when they sang it, but seeing as this concert was held in a First Nations community, I thought the lyrics were particularly appropriate:
When they came to this land
We gave our friendship
Gave them our hands
But it was never to be
Oh! You must bow down
They said, “Fall to your knees”
etc…- you can find the rest of the lyrics online if you know how to use Google. Hee.
Also, for your reminiscing pleasure, here’s a couple MTV clips from way back when:
And while I never actually wore a blazer with rolled-up sleeves, I definitely had a mullet back then!
Well, I’m on vacation in Thailand right now with the Goddess, Tex, and Ferf. Normally I wouldn’t be bothering to do any updates, because, who cares!
Today, we flew into Chiang Mai, and got a cab to our hotel. I booked this place online at Asiarooms.com, kinda blind, as there’s only two reviews up on it as it only opened in December. The price was right, so I figured we’d be okay (a two-bedroom suite set me back a whopping $139CAD per night).
Turns out it’s a freakin’ FIVE STAR “serviced apartments” facility, that ROCKS IN EVERY WAY. I mean that seriously, folks. Unreal. I have pictures, and I will post them. But trust me when I say, this is the poshest place I have EVER been in. We just got back from an amazing dinner, that for four people cost us $70. And that included drinks, too! This place is amazing!
The first thing we did after arriving was hit the pool, which to the Goddess’ delight is room temperature! We got rained out at the pool, so we went to the saunas for a bit, and then went for dinner.
Anyhow, I have to go- will write more later! Going to the night bazaar!
*Update: We met the general manager on our way out for the evening, and it turns out he lived in Halifax for a while! Small world.
For my birthday I got the car detailed. The weather hasn’t been nice enough for me to do it here, so it was nice to have someone else do it. Except they missed a spot on the dash, and when they washed the car, they only cleaned some of the mud from the inside of the wheels, causing my wheels to become unbalanced. Argh. Now I have to take the tires off and clean the rims.
Also, I bought new shoes. For me and the Goddess. She is a shoe freak now. A freak, I tell you.
From the Goddess, comes this little gem:
It’s a depiction of American military action from WWII to the present, using foods to represent the various factions. Very well done. You can go here for a cheat sheet on the various factions in the film, if you’re confused.
Filmmaker’s website
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