I was looking for information about something else (blikis, or the blog/wiki combination) when I stumbled across a comment on an interesting site, Minding the Planet: Integrating Blogs and Wikis — A Higher Unifying Framework, which rang true for me: “I’m ambivalent about the no-thought-required aspect of blogging – free, uncensored writing is excellent practice; on the other hand the discipline of thinking about where something goes is often clarifying.”
Maybe it’s because I’ve made my living as a writer and an editor for almost a quarter of a century now, but this blogging thing has, for me, definitely seemed to be a double-edged sword. I’ve already deleted three blogs because they skated too close to places I didn’t really want them to go. Was that my fault as the writer/blogger – or was it somehow the seductive quality of the media, the blog, that leads one to write things a little less cautiously, a little more carelessly, than one might otherwise?
So does that somehow make us bloggers closet exhibitionists? Likewise, are those who read our bloggings a wee bit voyeuristic? Am I reading too much into the whole thing, or is this “free, uncensored blogging” creating a whole new dynamic by which people relate? Not just the writer/reader dynamic, but the “why am I writing and why are you reading” dynamic, which usually doesn’t go beyond a somewhat superficial reasoning like because it’s there.
Food for thought.
Howstuffworks: “How Invisibility Cloaks Work”
An “invisibility cloak” seems perfectly believable in the magical world of Harry Potter; but in the real world, such a garment is impossible, right? Not so fast. With optical-camouflage technology developed at the University of Tokyo, the invisibility cloak is a reality. Find out how it works and what other applications the technology may have.
Howstuffworks is one of my favorite browsing sites.
Do you have small children looking for something fun to do during the lazy days of summer? If so, you might want to visit author Diane Flynn Keith’s discussion list, Unpreschool for some great ideas such as:
• Gardening with little ones
• Visiting a U-Pick berry farm
• Creating octopus-shaped hot dogs
• Several fun summer water games
• Sidewalk Art with home-made chalk
Check out these terrific ideas and suggestions for learning with little ones at home!
HEM’s News & Commentary changes editorship today: outgoing editor Ann Lahrson Fisher hands the reins over to incoming editor Valerie Bonham Moon! Click on over for some great reading from two of my favorite writers!
from HEM SUPPORT NEWS – October 2004
Lynn and Sarah Leslie are long time homeschool advocates and publishers who recently released: “Homeschooling Under Fire: The Iowa Homeschooling Crisis of 1989-90 – A history of the plot to depict homeschoolers as truants and child abusers,” by Lynn and Sarah Leslie, August 30, 2004.
An excerpt:
“In our present era the only hope is that grassroots homeschoolers will rise up, possibly even in opposition to their own leadership, and draw a firm line for no more compromise. We know already, simply based on the ed reform plans, what the end goal is. NO child will be left behind. This means that every child is to become part of the ’system.’ This means that the reformers are intent on monitoring, databanking and assessing (testing) each child into conformity with State Standards. When the crisis comes, when the pressure mounts to a national drumbeat (possibly even a ‘manufactured “crisis’) for more ‘accountability’ for homeschoolers, what dangerous compromises will be forged by homeschool leaders? The ‘battle’ may take place first within the ranks of homeschoolers themselves, dividing those who homeschool out of ‘preference’ from those who homeschool out of ‘conviction’ once again.
