A Busy Day…

Sorry blog readers, I know I promised a discussion of Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight TED talk… but it’s been a busy morning!  So I’ll have to postpone that for later in the week.  In the meantime, here’s a quick deal for you – 25% off photo gifts at Pinhole Press.  Use the code FAVORITES to get the discount, valid until April 23.  An excellent idea for mother’s day gifts!

Ken Robinson’s TED Talk

Did you watch the TED talk I posted on Tuesday?  The one from Sir Ken Robinson, about how schools kill creativity?  If not, here’s the link.

I found it very enjoyable and insightful.  I’m not an educator, and I don’t necessarily have strong feelings about standardized education. But I do know that it fails many people, and as Robinson says in the lecture, “Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not. Because the thing they were good at in school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized.  And I think we can’t afford to go on that way.”  Don’t we all know someone who struggled with traditional education?

And while you could come away from the lecture thinking that Robinson is advocating for the arts and artistic disciplines, I think that’s a bit short-sighted.  Creativity isn’t limited to the “traditional” arts.  I like Robinson’s description of creativity as “the process of having original ideas that have value”.  There is room for creativity within the more “valued” academic disciplines of math and science.

What did you think of the TED Talk?  What moments stood out for you?

Next up in our list of the 20 Most Watched TED Talks (So Far) is Jill Bolte Taylor’s Stroke of Insight.  I’ve actually seen this one already, but it’s worth revisiting.  Let’s all watch it this weekend, and talk about it next Tuesday.

 

 

Vintage Toronto

Here’s a nifty way to procrastinate on the internet… check out this Vintage Toronto page on Facebook.  It has over 13,000 “friends”, and there are so many great photos that people are sharing.  Of course, there are lots of really old photos of Toronto, but the ones that I thought were the coolest are the ones from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. (like the “Girls of Ontario Place” – ha ha ha!)

Two things I noticed when looking at the pictures:

1. So many of the photos feature streetcars.  The TTC really is at the core of Toronto’s visual identity.

2. There are lots of pictures of things that I remember about Toronto that have already changed.  Like the shot of the Eaton Centre, above, with the Eaton logo.  I’ve lived in this city for 13 years now, and it’s cool to see it changing right before my eyes.

[via blogTO]

The 20 Most Watched TED Talks

Do you like watching TED talks?  I do. I came across this list of the 20 Most Watched TED Talks (So Far), from June 2011.  I think I’d like to work my way through this list and watch them all.  Seems like a fairly achievable goal, right?  Feel like joining me?  Let’s watch them and discuss!

First up is “Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity”.  If you’d like, watch it, and then let’s meet back here (on the blog) on Friday with our thoughts.

Jenny Lawson Wrote a Book (And I Can’t Wait to Read It)

Oooooooh yes.  Jenny Lawson, aka The Bloggess, has written a book.  Let’s Pretend it Never Happened comes out April 17 (just in time for my birthday).  If the book is even remotely as funny as this blog post about buying a 5-foot tall chicken made out of recycled oil drums, naming it Beyonce, and giving it to your husband as an anniversary present, then I’m so in.

New HBO Series: Girls

Yep, I’ve been blogging about TV a lot lately.  John Doyle wrote a controversial piece in The Globe and Mail a couple weeks ago stating that television has killed the novel.  While I don’t necessarily agree with that, I do agree that television programs have come a long way, and are one of my favourite forms of storytelling.

Anyway, theory aside, have you heard about the new show that starts next weekend on HBO?  It’s called Girls, and it’s about twenty-somethings living in NYC.  Based on the trailer (above) I think it has potential.  And Judd Apatow is behind it, so that might help things.  The first episode airs Sunday April 15 on HBO.

How to Make Perfectly Hard-Boiled Eggs

I am a complete failure in the kitchen.  I don’t follow recipes well, I’m clumsy, and I often forget that I have something in the oven and I burn it.  So if I’m going to make anything, it has to be dead simple.  Trust me, perfectly boiling an egg isn’t as easy as it sounds – I often overdo it and get a chalky yolk with a weird green ring around it.

So I appreciated these instructions from Bon Appetit on how to make a hard boiled egg, the super-easy way:

Place 6 large eggs (older eggs will be easier to peel) in a medium heavy saucepan. Add water to cover by 1 1/2″. Bring to a boil; immediately remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water to cool. Gently crack the eggs and peel under running water for ease.

I know many of you will read the above and say “duh”.  But maybe you needed a reminder, and with Easter coming up this weekend, you can now make perfect hard-boiled eggs.

[img from Southern as Biscuits, via Pinterest]

Trailer for The Newsroom

I’m an Aaron Sorkin fan, for sure. Anyone who can turn a story about a nerdy college kid writing code (or how to build a baseball team based on statistics) into something I’d care about is alright in my books. Have you seen the trailer (above) for The Newsroom, Sorkin’s new show on HBO?  It looks quite good.  And I love the way the titles are displayed.  Check it out.

The Coolest Website Since Google Earth

I hope you have at least 20 minutes that you can spend (er… waste) on this website. It is so cool. Airpano is like Google Earth, in that you can look at beautiful places around the globe.  But on Airpano, you can tilt and pan the image, showing a 3D view. The website features approximately 70 places that have been shot by helicopter, light jet, or air balloon.  The resulting images are high resolution and gorgeous.

Check out Toronto, St Petersburg in “ultra high res”, Machu Picchu, Hong Kong, Angel Falls, the Swiss Alps, and even under the sea.

Wow, look at that, I just lost an hour of my day.

[via Twisted Sifter]