Scream for me!

In space, nobody can hear you scream. In cyberspace anyone can hear you scream, and when they do they'll tweet about it. They'll blog about it. They'll discuss it on Facebook.

Because that's the reality and the beauty of the internet - it's part of the public space, part of reality.

Tender and election

The Swedish election is coming up, and things go crazy. As they always do at times like this, yet this time is different. I can't really put my finger on why, but there's something there.

And for some unknown reason this song is on repeat in my head:

In class

Don't

Ok?

Just - don't do this, don't go down this road, don't pick this fight, don't try.

There's no way you can win, there are many ways you can lose. None of them very pleasant. Some of them rather painful. For you.

So, just don't.

Ok?

Unlearning.

To have knowledge of certain things means one suddenly has a responsibility one didn't have before one had that knowledge. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes it just is. But sometimes one would be so happy if one could unlearn those certain things again.

But that is impossible.

*sighs*

Motor Mania

Becoming Mr. Wheeler can cause unmentionable grief and sorrow. Please be careful and remain Mr. Walker even while driving. It saves lives.

How do they ever get anything done?

Yesterday I was at a conferece at a school not far from my work. A very nice conference, very interesting things were said and talked about, lots of inspiration floated through the air.

But one thing kept distracting me. Just look at the view! See the sea, and (if you squint and use a lot of imagination and try to look through the fog) the island out there. Boats kept passing, and my mind kept getting on board. I can't imagine how they can work here, day after day, and actually get things done?


Still, a very interesting day.

(No, there were not UFOs flying around out there, those are the lamps of the room reflecting in the window. I took the picture through the window since I couldn't figure out how to get outside without wandering around half lost, and the breaks were too brief for adventures like that)

Surprise surprise

Quite unexpectedly they did come to visit after all, not all of them but two thirds, and we had a lovely night with games, fun and laughter.

Some surprises I really do like.

Once upon a time

Once upon a time there were stories. The stories carried the wisdom and knowledge of generations into the future, they allowed the young to learn from the mistakes and experience of the elders, and also allowed the young to pick up and carry on without having to learn everything from the beginning. The elders felt their responsibility to pass things on, to give to the young ones, and they honored this responsibility.

It's a pretty good idea, this sharing of knowledge and wisdom, isn't it?

Demon's Lament

So

Here he is

All the way up here

looking down

Right where he wanted to be

Then

When he was down there

Down there in the pit

with the other poor devils

They're still down there

many of them

most of them

But he's up here

They're looking up

No doubt

wishing they were up here

Up here

Where they too wanted to be

Where they've never been

Where they'll never be

Up here

Where he is

Little do they know

just as he did then

that up here

Is still in hell

This is so not ok

Two days on the sofa, again. What's up with this? I was sick last week, that's enough, that more than covers my share for this year.

Heading home

450 km on train, 7 insanely intense hours at the university. Another 450 km on train. That makes 900 km in one day.

Yep, so worth it. Will sleep in my own bed tonight. This was so much better than two days there, thought the day has been full and my head feels like things will start falling out of it any moment.

Admits defeat

No matter how I turn I do not seem to be able to fit Pavlov's cat into the paper on didactics. A pity, it would have lifted things to a new level!

Oh well, here it is, at least. Pavlov's cats, even more interesting than the dogs:

An unexpected gift

One of the players gave me a lovely and unexpected gift last night, it made me so happy! Just look at it, aren't they lovely?

These dice I will use as GM, I'm not sure I'll use them as player. I might, but have not decided yet. They feel very Special, you see, but we'll see!

Thank you dear player, you made me very happy! Also, thank's to the photographer!

Neiter dead nor dying

but far from well. Cats seem to think I need constant watching, they are taking turns treating me with constant purring while the other one sits and looks Very Serious and stares at me. It's very nice, actually, though it makes me slightly worried. They are cats. No, they are Cats, thus Know Things.

The Perfect Soundtrack

I am drudging through a very blue and very boring book. I need to read it, then I need to write about it, and to top it off I need to talk about it in a S-e-r-i-o-u-s way.

The subject, the importance of context in learning, is dead important and very interesting, but for some reason I am not allowed to focus on THAT but must focus on what this tedious book has to say about it.

So I opened Youtube to find something to cheer me up, and this is what they suggested:



Well done, Youtube, this could be the Perfect Soundtrack to this book!

About the need of a boat, I think.

It's been raining for two days. The snow is not so much melting away as it is collapsing like an unfortunate soufflé. Most likely there'll be a grand flood this year, houses will float away, roads fall apart, the face of the landscape will change.

Nature does things like that every now and then. She has her reasons.

Serj Tankian

I like his way of performing, and I do like his lyrics.

Thank you!

Someone said something unbelievably beautiful about me the other night.

I think you were born to be a beginning, not a continuance

Wow.

It may be so, it may be why there are no roots. To see it phrased so beautifully turned it into something poetic, and slightly amazing.

Thank you!

Headaches and ghosts

Woke up with a headache this morning. To ease it I'm burning a little incense, sage works well for headaches of this kind, the kind that comes from being tense and a bit stressed out.

But it's also said that this kind of incense will drive ghosts out. Now, mind you, I have never seen a ghost in my life. I'm not even sure there are such things as ghost, but there are more things and phenomena between the sun and the moon than we'll ever know so I guess there's a chance they do exist in some form.

So while my headache lifts and dissolves in the smoke, I also feel a little sad for any ghosts disappearing the same way.

I'm sorry, possible ghost. You've been a great guest. Fare well!

Don't do drugs

As I climb onto your back, I will promise not to sting
I will tell you what you want to hear and not mean anything
I will treat you like a dog as I shoot my venom in
'Cause you knew all along I am a scorpion, ya!

On a grey February Sunday

Valentine's Day is a day when the fairytale version of love is celebrated. Therefor, a poem that tells you what to do when you're stuck in a fairytale seems suitable:



The wisdom of Neil Gaiman seems indefinite.

Good luck!

the opening ceremony

Today I will be blogging about a sports event. For those of you who know me well this might come as a shock, but it can't be helped, this must be said. I was watching parts of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics this morning. And I liked it.

There. I said it. I feel better for it.

I tried to watch the part where all the ones who are to compete walks in, but got too bored. I did, however, very much enjoy the parts with all the dancers, the whales were fantastic, the trees, the stars and the Northern Lights and the magnificent voice of Donald Sutherland. It was a beautiful part of the ceremony, wasn't it? And to make things even better, all by a sudden the fantastic Shane Koyczan appeared. I loved that part!

Perhaps sports aren’t so boring and incomprehensible after all?

So, to celebrate the spirit of the Olympics (there is such a one, I'm told) here is my favourite poem by Koyczan:

Boomdeyada

If you're not already familiar with Olga Nunes I think you should look her up. She's one of those persons who are placed in this world to brighten it, and takes their job seriously.



And it really is true, this here world we have, it's fantastic in so many ways. There's so much more to it than meets the eye.

Weather and clothes

The difference between going outside wearing long johns underneath your jeans and not wearing long johns underneath your jeans is 'infernally brutally macabre'. Or so I'm told.

So do wear them when it's snowy and cold outside.

Teenagers and words

Dear everybody living with, in one way or another, teenagers, and every now and then ending up getting frustrated by their behaviour,

may I offer one tiny piece of advice? It comes from once being a teenager, not really remembering anything of the things that must have happened, school and stuff, but remembering every single emotion, feeling, fear and frustration of it. It also comes from working with teenagers and young adults for more than *mumblemumblemumble* years, and also having the privilege to live with such people for, so far, almost ten years.

I may? Thank you. So, here it is:

Give them a few kind words.

Even if their behaviour drives you nuts, say a few kind words before sending them off to school. When they do kind things (which they do, all the time), mention it casually and kindly to show them you've noticed. You do mention when you've noticed them doing the other stuff, don't you? Balance is important, mention the kind things too. If they look nice, let them know. If they give you nice words, smile and be happy.

You'll never regret kind words, and they will carry them with them and the words will act like a shield towards teenage life's general awkardness.

Ok, that's all.

Kind words.

Umbrella - at last!

I may have heard a hundred different versions of this song, and never liked a single one of them. This, however, is too cute to resist:

Congratulations

One of my favourite authors is getting married to one of my favourite artists. It's like a fairytale in so many ways.

Vacillatingly

And again we turn in a new direction. I am not surprised anymore, I'm beginning to realise that this is what is to be expected, but this constant change of direction and pace is making me weary.

Today is the first day of the semester. I should be full of energy, and the plan for the semester should be done. Neither one is as it should be, due to aforementioned vacillation.

*sigh*

Only three more semesters to go. Oh joy!

Invincible

Some times I feel like this:



I like days like that

Nighty night

I like nights. In many ways I prefer nights, I prefer the stillness and the coolness, the peacefulness in the knowledge that around me, society is asleep. The phone will not ring, there's nothing on TV, all is calm, all is dark and any thought can be followed from its beginning to its end.

I think nights make us wiser. I know there's generally more oxygene in the air during nights. The sky is more beautiful at night, and conversations more spiritual and witty.

In some aspects I'm frustrated beyond words by having to go to sleep when night falls, in order to be able to rise with the sun. In other aspects I'm grateful that society is organized in this way.

Thus, the night remains peaceful and empty.

Let's keep it that way.

A slight frustration

I'm writing an essay.

No, I'm not. I should be writing an essay, and I would be writing it right now had my train of thoughts not derailed. Again and again.

Don't get me wrong, I love every single one distracting me, I really do. And I honestly don't mind being distracted either, most of the time. It's just that, well, derailing. It takes a while to get the train back on track.

For me, you see, writing is a process. We may be talking about blog posts, essays or comments to students' essays, the process is essential. It takes a bit of time to get it in motion but once it's rolling things fall into place almost magically. Unless...

I'm not asking to be left alone. I'm not asking for solitude. I'm just telling you that repeated derailing inevitably leads to two things - a slight frustration, and a prolonged process.

Don't take it personal, remember I do love you, and I don't mind you disturbing me, but please stop asking me when I'll be done. Every time you do that you add a few hours to the process.

No more Mrs Nice

It's beginning to dawn on me that this course I'm taking, a course that's really very important for my job, supposed to make me a better teacher and lasting four very long semesters of my life, is not at all what I was hoping for. It's very frustrating.

I love to study and learn, I firmly believe that the day one stops learning is the day one stops living, and I never wish to go there again. It's a cold and hard and lonely place! I love to spend hours, days, weeks and more on discussing things, to turn and twist and toss thoughts around and gain new perspectives and insights.

But I also need to be able to balance this course and my work, which means I really need to know times and places and workloads ahead, to be able to plan. When deadlines move and workloads shift without warning it's not just me that's affected, all my students are too and that... is a bad thing. A really bad thing.

I'm very very proud of my students, you see. They work hard, they grow, they learn, they develop wings and learn to fly, and to be able to help them in that process I can't afford to keep too much focus and energy on keeping track of the unproffessional behaviour of my teachers. I'm also rather protective regarding my students. Therefore I'll need to talk to my teachers about this.

It feels really stupid, but it needs to be done. I need to protect my students from the consequenses of my teachers' unproffessionalism.

2010

So this is 2010? So far it resembles 2009 in many ways, a bit colder but not very different. Last year was a hard year in many aspects for many people and I am still hoping we'll be able to change the course. It would be nice, wouldn't it?