"...Badilisha Poetry Radio uniquely focuses on podcasts by poets from the African continent and its Diaspora. This online platform creates a dynamic space in which to appreciate, celebrate and discover contemporary Pan-African poetry. The weekly podcasts feature a vast spectrum of voices across poetic genres..."-site Watch overview video after the jumpvia Global Voices & Thoughts from Botswana
It began as an annual festival to host local poets in and around Cape Town but thanks to the power of technology the ancient art of African story-telling is spreading around the world.A poetry collective decided to set up Badilisha Poetry Radio, which in Swahili means change. Its aim is to celebrate the spoken and written word through online radio and live performance.Broadcasting from South Africa, poet Malika Ndlovu and her colleagues are spreading their reach far beyond this corner of the continent...[more]
...Flipped Eye publishes original poetry and prose on a not-for-profit model. The not-for-profit approach has allowed flipped eye to focus on developing new writers with potential, thus facilitating the emergence of truly unique literary talent. We are dedicated to producing consistently high quality fiction, non-fiction and related products, with a focus on poetry and authors who are comfortable with a live audience. This means that, while we seek to publish high quality literature, our authors are signed, not only based on how well they write, but also how well they communicate with an audience. This is because we consider conversation to be the oldest and most enduring form of literary creation.Watch their 8th year anniversary video after the jump.
The defining experience of Chinua Achebe’s life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967–1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe’s people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. By then, Chinua Achebe was already a world-renowned novelist, with a young family to protect. He took the Biafran side in the conflict and served his government as a roving cultural ambassador, from which vantage he absorbed the war’s full horror. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than forty years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa’s most fateful events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature.
Achebe masterfully relates his experience, both as he lived it and how he has come to understand it. He begins his story with Nigeria’s birth pangs and the story of his own upbringing as a man and as a writer so that we might come to understand the country’s promise, which turned to horror when the hot winds of hatred began to stir. To read There Was a Country is to be powerfully reminded that artists have a particular obligation, especially during a time of war. All writers, Achebe argues, should be committed writers—they should speak for their history, their beliefs, and their people. Marrying history and memoir, poetry and prose, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid firsthand observation and forty years of research and reflection. Wise, humane, and authoritative, it will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe’s place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age
Although not a competitive bodybuilder like theblogprof, I do enjoy weight lifting. I practice High Intensity Training (HIT), finding that it challenges both the body and the mind to be stronger, more powerful, and more disciplined. Yesterday, after lifting, I was struck by a bit of poetry, and because I want to, I thought I'd write it down here:
I won. The weakness tried to rise up and consume me, but with mind, body, and spirit, I fought it. The weakness receded, wailing in fury at being unable to claim me, but my fury roared back, triumphantly, and rejoiced in the fierceness of my victory over weakness.
Image by FaceMePLS via Flickr
“I used to think that anyone doing anything weird was weird. I suddenly realized that anyone doing anything weird wasn’t weird at all, and it was the people saying they were weird that were weird.” Paul McCartneyWhat makes you, you?
“Hey, you’ve arrived. If someone thinks you’re worth taking the time time criticize then you’re doing something that someone has noticed. Don't be so upset.”Daddy, when will I really listen?
“We all live in a yellow submarine.”
says that people who take vacations live longer AND actually get better performance reviews. The more vacation they take, the higher the reviews!
Pervez Hoodbhoy writes:
via 3quarksDailyFor three decades, deep tectonic forces have been silently tearing Pakistan away from the Indian subcontinent and driving it towards the Arabian peninsula. This continental drift is not physical but cultural, driven by a belief that Pakistan must exchange its South Asian identity for an Arab-Muslim one. Grain by grain, the desert sands of Saudi Arabia are replacing the rich soil that had nurtured a magnificent Muslim culture in India for a thousand years. This culture produced Mughul architecture, the Taj Mahal, the poetry of Asadullah Khan Ghalib, and much more. Now a stern, unyielding version of Islam (Wahhabism) is replacing the kinder, gentler Islam of the Sufis and saints who had walked on this land for hundreds of years.
Particularly relevant, black African and Arab scholars say, are accounts of how the African interpretation of Islam helped regulate the affairs of men, resolve disputes and provide a model of tolerance. Buried in the crumbling manuscripts of Timbuktu and neighboring cities, scholars are finding evidence of wars averted, sieges ended and lawlessness put to rest.Photo courtesy of Getty Images
The information is all the more valuable for moderate Muslim leaders because of the rise of less tolerant forms of Islam, like Saudi Arabia's Wahhabism or the Salafist movement in Algeria, that are expanding their foothold.
Includes the following Harry Bosch thrillers, award-winning and all voiced by standout Broadway veteran Len Cariou:
THE NARROWS (AudioFile Magazine Earphones Award Winner): FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years, the one that tells her the Poet has surfaced. She has never forgotten the serial killer who wove lines of poetry in his hideous crimes--and apparently he has not forgotten her.
Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call, too--from the widow of an old friend. Her husband's death seems natural, but his ties to the hunt for the Poet make Bosch dig deep. Arriving at a derelict spot in the California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the two are at odds with the FBI...and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own...
ECHO PARK (2007 Audie Award Winner for Mystery): In 1995, Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket in Hollywood. Harry Bosch worked the case but couldn't crack it, and the 22-year-old woman never turned up, dead or alive. Now Bosch is in the Open-Unsolved Unit, where he still keeps the Gesto file on his desk, when he gets a call from the DA. Michael Connelly's suspenseful new novel pits the detective People magazine calls "one of the most complex crime fighters around" against one of the most sadistic killers he has ever confronted. It confirms that Michael Connelly "is the best writer of suspense fiction working today" (Richmond Times-Dispatch).
THE OVERLOOK: In his first case since he left the LAPD's Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctor's death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city.
This highly entertaining anthology of verse is the comic, tender and telling story of life's seven ages - from childhood to old age. Within the framework of Shakespeare's speech, "The Seven Ages of Man", performed by Sir Ian McKellan, are 150 great poems from all ages - from Chaucer to Ted Hughes. They are presented by the finest cast ever assembled on one recording.
Last month I wrote in a post called "Tyranny: Healthcare Reform Threat to Life, Liberty, and Property:
The plan adequately address concerns that taxpayer money and government support will not be used to support or encourage abortions. It is not hard to imagine that a government that is concerned with keeping down the costs of healthcare coverage may somehow with some policy push for the abortion of special needs children who will indeed be a great cost on a national healthcare system.Many of Obama's thugs and supporters yell "you lie" at this charge and some even challenged me to a fist fight in order to force me to retract comments like this one. But the truth is that the Pelosi healthcare bill does allow taxpayer money to flow to abortion clinics, and in a way, this new healthcare bill will provide billions in funding to abortion clinics around the state.
Nothing in this healthcare bill shall be construed as preventing the health insurance option from providing for or prohibiting coverage of services described in paragraph (4) (A). (4) (A) Abortion Services.Repeat- the 900 billion dollars in taxpayer money that is going to be spent on this act is not to be prevented from being spent to abort babies. The government by law is saying that the money can and indeed will be sent to abortion clinics, and you, even though you pay taxes and may be pro-life, will have your liberty taken from you to be made to support attempts to end life.
Nondiscrimination on Abortion and Respect for Rights of Conscience: (A) Nondiscrimination- a Federal agency or program and any state or local government that receives federal assistance under this act (or an amendment under this act), may not... require that any health care plan created or regulated under this act to subject any individual or institutional health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer to abortions.Repeat- anyone who gets money from this plan (which includes nearly every aspect of the healthcare system) will not be allowed to discriminate against anyone who wants their abortion paid for. Again, more evidence that this Pelosi, Reid, and Obama plan not only supports your tax money going to fund abortions, but prohibits it from not going to support the aborting of babies.
Nonprofit Mission Poetry Contest: Win $10,000 | Beth’s Blog
Earn money for you nonprofit by writing a poem or stanza.
Fads and Fanboys: The Top 10 Tricks Bloggers Use to Drive Traffic ~ Stephen's Web
I was shaking my head "no no no" until the last paragraph. True to his typical writing, Stephen writes in a way to challenge the paradigm in a smartly written piece meant to challenge bloggers.
My friend Eric Brunsell, a U of Wisconsin professor who has participated in Flat Classroom projects in the past, writes this poignant inside glimpse into what is happening in Education in Washington State.
Computer Science Teachers Association - CSTA CS & IT Annual Conference
July 11-13, 2011
Columbia University Faculty House
64 Morningside Drive
New York, NY 10027
4 iPhone Apps for Learning a Foreign Language — Life Scoop
Some iphone apps for language learning. I think it is important to know how to download and use a translator even if you cannot speak the language - such as the mandarin pro app I used in China last week.
From BOOKS TO WATCH OUT FOR by RICHARD LABONTE, Volume 4 number 1 - Adolescence is a hazardous way of life for 17-year-old Jeremy Tyler; his father died in a mysterious accident when he was a child, and his mother has since descended into alcoholic hell and forced rehab; that's when he's sent from the Fresno slums of his childhood to the posh estate of his overbearing great aunt Katherine and her censorious husband - liberated from an economic prison, only to land in an emotional one - and is overwhelmed by the change. It's not easy for him to fit into the upper crust, particularly because he's trying to hide how much he's attracted to other boys. Jeremy's story of breaking free from the strands of dishonesty, deceit, and self-doubt has its parallels to the tale of Pinocchio, but Nolan's queer take is totally contemporary: think the TV series The OC - girls with mean cheekbones, well-built guys with snotty attitudes, and Jeremy in the role of a queer Ryan Atwood. He's a good-looking kid, with a sleek swimmer's physique - and the swim team's champ is out to get him. He dates one of the smart-set girls in an attempt to keep his gay hormones at bay - but that doesn't do him much good. Nolan's debut novel is a kitchen sink of genres - coming of age, coming out, mystery, romance, erotica, even a dash of the supernatural - that add up to an impressive story about the passage from boyhood to manhood.
Here is the time to grow Keynote that Julie and I did not so long a go. Was listening to it and I think the message is still relevant. It is about change and a willingness to grow.
"A new way of learning
Augmented Reality in School Environments
- A European Research Project -
Technological advances in the field of information and communication technologies enable innovative ways to mediate knowledge. Among them, Augmented Reality (AR) becomes increasingly a field of interest.
Integrated in e-learning systems, AR will provide innovative ways to transfer knowledge in education. This is the purpose of the project Augmented Reality in School Environments (ARiSE). The aim is to create an innovative teaching aid, enabling teachers to develop, with a moderate effort, new teaching practices for teaching scientific and cultural content to school classes in an easy to comprehend way. "
T.S. Eliot's masterpiece is now an app. An expensive app, topping at $13.99 but it has literary experts abuzz. It includes the poem, perspectives, sychronized performances from Eliot (at two points in his life) and other readers, the original manuscripts showing the process of editing the document, and lots of resources and readings. Created by Faber digital it is part of "Faber's mission to re-imagine poetry for the digital age."
If you teach literature or are an edtech professor, it is time to get this on your ipad and put in some serious academic reviews as to the quality of content here. Academicians now have a new place: writing reviews on the iTunes store. We may have an app-full textbook-free future.
Wordle - Chapter 7 of the Upcoming Clat Classroom Book
A wordle I made of the upcoming Flat Classroom book - chapter 7 of student choice. If you want to know when the book comes out (we'll only use your email to let you know the publish date) you can go to www.flatclassroombook.com - if you're into social media or doing book reviews, you can apply to be put on our reviewers list. (Sorry not everyone can be selected, but please apply if this fits you.)
TakingITGlobal - TIGed - Projects - DeforestACTION
The DeforestAction project has sstudents create local, national and international entrepreneurial initiatives that protect and regrow endangered forests and create local projects to promote awareness and action.
Asia Connections - Collaboration with schools in Asia
A ning promoting connections with schools in Asia.
From Library To Learning Commons.Ny.Slideshare
Lovely slideshow by Valerie Diigs on her school's transformation from library to learning commons. She's been featured in several books and in school library journal.
I think every librarian should be familiar with the learning commons concept to see if there are elements that will work to make your environment more relevant to learners. It isn't whether you like the concept yourself - for libraries to stay funded they must stay relevant. I think learning commons is just one way to do that. Valerie knows far more than me on this topic, so look at what she's done.
WinDirStat Portable | PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB, portable and cloud drives
Why is your hard drive full? Why does it keep filling up? I use this to help me find those pesky video files that keep FILLING UP MY HARD DRIVE.
Okekwe has set out to illuminate the literary world with her books. Already, she has written 16 published novels, seven collection of poems, two plays, and five literature books. Many literary icons who have assessed her works have acknowledged her prowess as a writer. Based on the quality of her writings, she had won several other awards before she emerged winner of the Pat Utomi book prize. In 1999, Okekwe won the ANA/Cadbury prize for poetry. The winning entry was her collection titled My Mother's Eyes Speak Volumes. Also in the same year, she won the ANA/Spectrum Prize for Prose with her novel, Surveyor of Dreams.
