Wednesday, June 12, 2024

"Sunrise" An epic view of Torres del Paine. In the early morning, when conditions are just right, the first sunlight beautifully highlights parts of the mountains. — “Sunrise” An epic view of Torres del Paine. In the early morning, when conditions are just right, the first sunlight beautifully highlights parts of the mountains.

Greetings Starfighters,

Yesterday, I had the chance to present at the Murray State University Summit and show off some of the amazing work our students completed this past semester. You can find my slide deck and the resources I shared with those fine folks right here.

And now, on with the show!

Quote of the Day

“The ability to dream is all I have to give. That is my responsibility; that is my burden. And even I grow tired.” (Harlan Ellison, Stalking the Nightmare)

Musical Interlude

The world is a little brighter in the past few weeks, as Common has blessed us with some new music and an upcoming album release in July. Here’s his latest collaboration with Pete Rock:

Long Read of the Day

Engineers carefully lowered the Cyclops 2 model into the testing tank nose-first, like a bomb being loaded into a silo, and then screwed on the tank’s 3,600-pound lid. Then they began pumping in water, increasing the pressure to mimic a submersible’s dive. If you’re hanging out at sea level, the weight of the atmosphere above you exerts 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi). The deeper you go, the stronger that pressure; at the Titanic’s depth, the pressure is about 6,500 psi. Soon, the pressure gauge on UW’s test tank read 1,000 psi, and it kept ticking up—2,000 psi, 5,000 psi. At about the 73-minute mark, as the pressure in the tank reached 6,500 psi, there was a sudden roar, and the tank shuddered violently.

“I felt it in my body,” an OceanGate employee wrote in an email later that night. “The building rocked, and my ears rang for a long time.”

“Scared the shit out of everyone,” he added.

The model had imploded thousands of meters short of the safety margin OceanGate had designed for.

This conversation took place in July 2016, long before the Oceangate Titan imploded on its way down to the wreckage of the Titanic. This tragedy can be traced to a series of lies, personal hubris, and cheating. While creativity and dreams were certainly involved in this work, there’s something to be said about working with and trusting experts when universal laws are at play.

Video of the Day

Ludwig Göransson’s work on the Oppenheimer score, especially “Can You Hear the Music?” offers great insights for teachers as designers of learning experiences. His process with Christopher Nolan shows the value of collaboration and giving space for creativity. Starting with a simple four-note baseline that evolved into something complex reminds us that big ideas often start small. Experimentation and iteration were key, reflecting the importance of trial and error in the classroom.

Göransson’s focus on the emotional core of Oppenheimer’s journey underscores the power of integrating emotional and narrative elements into lessons. His blending of mathematical elements with music demonstrates the benefits of interdisciplinary approaches. The innovative solutions to recording challenges highlight the need for adaptability and problem-solving. Finally, his emphasis on impactful elements over complexity reminds us to prioritize clarity in lesson design. Teachers can create engaging and effective learning experiences that resonate deeply with students by seeing themselves as designers.

Final Thoughts

I’m watching the 1948 film version of Hamlet and am fascinated by the practical effects. What were they doing in 1948 to make a ghost on film? Does anybody know or can direct me to some reading?

It still amazes me that I can be blown away by work done over 70 years ago.

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On finding time to be creative

This semester, I’m in a class called “Leadership for Creative Problem Solving,” with the ever-impressive Mary John O’Hair leading our group. We’ve talked a lot about what it means to be creative, specifically in the land of educational leadership, but my conversations always come back around to finding ways to be creative and flexing those muscles.

In my attempts to follow Austin Kleon’s advice and show my work, in our final discussion board post–something else I’ve tried to spice up this semester because oh my god can discussion boards be an absolute pain in the you know what and I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy but understand why we have to do them–we were asked to share an article or video we found in our studies on creativity and leadership.

Like the good oversharer and curator that I am, I linked to this blog, specifically to my tags on creativity, leadership, and creative leadership.

It’s not a great usage case for setting up your own public commonplace book, but it works.

One of my peers, an excellent educator and union leader, made a comment about not knowing how I do it all.

I don’t know either, I just do it. And I think that’s the key.

Creativity is an act of repetition and drudgery. Rarely, if ever, do the clouds of your mind part, allowing rays of glorious creative inspiration to bombard your brain with ideas. Nor is there an “idea factory” in Schenectady, NY, offering a subscription idea service–but that never stopped Harlan Ellison from telling people there was.

No, creativity is backbreaking, mind-numbing, and difficult. It should be difficult. It should be work. It should take something out of you and make you pause multiple times throughout the act of creating. It should make you think and it should make you question your life choices.

But, creating is what we were born to do. And everyone has something different to create, something different to express their unique gifts.

And being creative is something we must do often. Daily, as a matter of fact. Stephen King talks about writing 2,000 words a day, no matter what. Ryan Holiday says to “two crappy pages a day” to progress toward your goal.

One of the best rules I’ve heard as a writer is that the way to write a book is by producing “two crappy pages a day.”

It’s by carving out a small win each and every day—getting words on the page—that a book is created.
— Ryan Holiday (@RyanHoliday) October 7, 2022

It isn’t all going to be pretty–trust me, it’s not–and you’re going to get frustrated. Teachers, you’ll always be improving lessons. Students, you’ll always be thinking about how you can improve that last bit of work.

Each of us has a gift and someone is waiting for us to share that gift with the world.

Let’s do this.

The City of the Singing Flame

As I attempt to finish this year’s reading challenge, I’m looking for some shorter books than my usual fare. As luck would have it, J. Michael Straczynski shared something great on his Patreon.

Back in 1986, Harlan Ellison did a reading of Clark Ashton Smith’s “The City of the Singing Flame,” and let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

I’d never heard of Clark Ashton Smith, much less read any of his work. Gang, this one is an unqualified banger.

In the recording, Ellison notes that this story was the first fantasy/sci-fi story he had ever read, and it impacted him greatly. If you’ve read Ellison’s work and read this story, you’ll see the impact clearly.

This is the beauty of always being open to reading, listening, or watching new things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m the world champion at rewatches and rereads. But sometimes you need to broaden your horizons.

I’m so glad I did. I’m absolutely reading more of Smith’s work in the future.

8 November 2023

Quote of the Day

“Anyone anywhere could publish to everyone everywhere.” (Lawrence Lessig, Code)

Ah, the dream of a democratized publishing platform. A place where all voices could be heard regardless of background or socioeconomic status.

I’ve often said, “The greatest promise of the Internet is that it gives everyone a voice.”

And I’ve also said, “The greatest problem of the Internet is that it gives everyone a voice.”

It’s a bit of a Stockdale Paradox in that while we realize the great benefits of having a way to connect people around the world, sharing ideas and information in an attempt to make the world a better place, we must also realize that there are people who will take advantage of that system for their own advancement or to spread their horrible, destructive ideals.

The only cure I know is to keep doing good things and hope that others follow suit.

Musical Interlude

Pegasus by Arlo Parks (ft. Phoebe Bridgers)

Got the red eye

Just to be near, ’cause my head eats me alive

You’re makin’ sure I’m eatin’

I call my mother just to tell her that I’m happy

Long Read of the Day

With the most recent Israeli/Palestinian conflict dominating the news cycle, it’s a good time to remind all of us that there should be a more nuanced approach to the situation. No one side is completely in the right and no one side is completely in the wrong.

However, when calls are made from either side that inflame the situation, no one wins. There must be a measured response.

In schools, we do our best to teach our students empathy. It’s definitely something that can be applied to this—and many other—volatile situations.

What we should guard against is inflammatory language:

Last week, Tlaib circulated a video on X, formerly Twitter, that sharply criticized President Joe Biden for supporting Israel’s military retaliation against Hamas in Gaza. She went on to justify a highly inflammatory Palestinian-resistance slogan. “From the river to the sea,” she wrote, “is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence.”

The burden of promoting a more civil discourse shouldn’t fall only on Tlaib and others sympathetic to the Palestinians. Supporters of Israel should not assume that pro-Palestinian means pro-Hamas. Students on many campuses genuinely view Israeli administration of the Palestinian territories as immoral; to portray their activism as mere anti-Semitism is to stifle legitimate inquiry. To defend any and all Israeli military actions by pointing out that Hamas started the war is to deny Israel agency.

Photo of the Day

Treat yourself to the bewitching sight of barred spiral galaxy M83 — which comes alive with detail in this new image by the Webb telescope’s MIRI instrument.

Final Thoughts

Kentucky just wrapped the latest gubernatorial election, and, thankfully, the voters have chosen to return Andy Beshear for a second term. While there are a number of issues with the rest of the statewide government, I’m happy to have Andy still in that position.

The alternative would have been a puppet of right-wing extremists and would likely have done little to advance anything of worth in Kentucky.

That is, of course, my informed opinion. Which, as the great Harlan Ellison would say:

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

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