| Love to jam
"It gets kind of boring," said Boehlke, Salina, who plays the guitar and ukulele, "Playing with others is the best way to learn and the best way to stay motivated. And it's just a lot more fun." So when she saw in the newspaper that there is a monthly music jam for country, bluegrass and gospel singers, listeners and acoustic pickers in Salina, she decided to attend. After a few hours of playing with other musicians, she had no complaints. The musicians were warm and welcoming. The music was good and the crowd was friendly, she said. "It's been a great experience," said Boehlke, adding she'll likely continue to participate. Musicians from the area have been getting together the second Sunday of every month to play for three hours, for many years.
We are the web
The video's main message is simple: we are the web. Just as the languages created by the deaf Nicaraguan children, or the children of slaves in the West Indies, or indeed ourselves, exist only as functions of the communities that use them, so the web only exists as a function of the people who populate it. Moreover, the way we use the vast bodies of information amassed on the web both defines and generates its structure. Every time we link to a web page on our blog, or tag a photo on Flickr, we are teaching the machine what connects to what. Right now, we do this millions of times every day. We will do it more only as the generation of "digital natives" now populating sites like MySpace begins to reach adulthood. This new, bottom-up, collaborative landscape has the power to abruptly, and radically, change the balance of power in many spheres.
Daylight Savings Time Puts Kid in Jail for 12 Days
Jherek Carnelian writes "Cody Webb was jailed for calling in a bomb threat to his Hempstead Area high school (near Pittsburgh). He spent 12 days in lockup until the authorities realized that their caller-id log was off an hour because of the new Daylight Savings Time rules and that Cody had only called one hour prior to the actual bomb threat. Perhaps it took so long because of the principal's Catch-22 attitude about Cody's guilt — she said, 'Well, why should we believe you? You're a criminal. Criminals lie all the time.'" .
Where does the road lead for jazz?
The Pabst Theater was abuzz with excitement as Ahmad Jamal, James Cammack and Idris Muhammad prepared to take stage and their audience sat ready to be captivated. Pianist Jamal is well known to jazz fans and an influence on his peers. But, as popular music moves along, he and the other artists that created classic albums in the 1950s, '60s and '70s are fading away from the spotlight. Introducing his classic song "Poinciana," Jamal joked that most listeners knew the song only because Clint Eastwood chose to use it for his film "The Bridges of Madison County." "Jazz (has) entered the pantheon that it's a classic form of music. It's been given a golden status by our society," says Andy Noble, area DJ and co-owner of Lotus Land records. "There will always be a jazz club or bar in cities. "Jazz lives on in other forms of music, such as hip-hop, which contains a fair amount of jazz samples." Producers such as Pete Rock, Madlib, Q-Tip, and DJ Premier are but a few hip-hop artists who have used jazz samples in their music.
Pearson Achievement Solutions Introduces Enhancing Instruction in ...
International comparisons of eighth grade science teaching practices demonstrate that high achieving countries consistently link science learning activities to strong concept development. Yet, in U.S. classrooms, science lessons are often characterized by a variety of activities that may engage students in science work but do not necessarily connect to the development of science content ideas.(1) To help teachers better connect hands-on inquiry-based learning to the development of science content understanding, Pearson Achievement Solutions today introduces Enhancing Instruction in Science (EIS). Designed for science teachers in grades two through eight, EIS is a professional development program that helps teachers work with their students to draw coherent connections between classroom content and activities and larger conceptual ideas about science.
SAVVY KIDS: Products help parents teach finances
In my household most requests for toys, video games or trips to a fast-food restaurant are met with two words: College Fund. You may not realize it, but your children do watch, listen and internalize what you say and do about money. For example, my 8-year-old son was ordering from the kid's menu and couldn't decide between a hamburger and a cheeseburger when we were having brunch one day after church. When I asked him why he was taking so long to decide, he said, "Mommy, the cheeseburger costs 20 cents more than the hamburger and we need that money for my college fund." I put my right hand across my heart. I was so proud. I let him have the cheeseburger. "I think this time we can splurge and your college fund will be OK, honey," I said. Variety of piggy banks Now, if you don't know how to start teaching your children about money, let me help, since April has been designated Financial Literacy Month.
Off the Beaten Track: Bringing Relevant Technology to Rural Areas
Agricultural workers in China climb aboard high-tech InfoWagons as Microsoft launches rural-computing pilot programs in China and India intended to fuel social and economic empowerment for the world's underserved populations. ZHENGZHOU, China,(rushprnews) April 23, 2007 – Today in Henan province, Chinese government officials take ownership of two “InfoWagons" designed to open up new avenues of digital literacy for rural citizens. At a small village at Luohe, Henan Province in Central China, Will Poole, corporate vice president at Microsoft, participated in a rollout ceremony marking the delivery of two of six InfoWagons donated by Microsoft as part of an innovative rural computing pilot program. The high-tech buses — each outfitted with 15 student PCs and one instructor PC — will serve as computer training centers on wheels as they circulate to rural villages throughout one of China's most populous province.
Dance Alloy's 'Fragile' often takes flight
The fluidity of Marshall's piece is extends beyond her use of the arms and upper body -- which is the inverse of Irish step dancing where the action is all below the waist. Roles reverse impressively in the choreographer's piece, as the two characters need support at different times. And gestures receive different responses at different times in this compact masterpiece. .
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