Twentymiglia
These photos are from a web series I am working on called “Short Tales from the Life of Norma.” It is based on a sub-reddit called the Life of Norman that I’ve written about before on this site.
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I started the project in winter, but it stalled in spring and for a brief moment seemed like it might not be.
“Norma” retreated back to that dark cavern where ideas are both born and still-born.
Ideas like bats at dusk, fluttering
shadows against cavernous pings
I have known the dark end of ideas.
What good is there in speaking?
But just because an idea returns to its dim source doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. Patience is key. A good set of binoculars. A scientist’s eye. But also an appreciation of the natural rhythm that all creatures are subject to, the ebb and the flow.
You’re a savvy, patriotic person, so I’m sure you’d heard of “gold star families” before the Democratic National Convention. If not, don’t feel ashamed. The memory of our fallen soldiers may always be in our hearts, but it isn’t always in our search history.
Continue Reading → The graph below represents the popularity of the search term “gold star families” between January 1, 2004 and August 7, 2016. You probably know the cause of the second spike. But do you know the cause of the first?
I’ve always been of the opinion that meeting an interesting person was the same as reading a good book. This sentiment was nothing more than a metaphor. Then someone at
the VR workshop mentioned this cool organization–The Human Library — a place where the “books” are people.
Continue Reading → the VR workshop mentioned this cool organization–The Human Library — a place where the “books” are people.
One of the main concerns of the creators inventors was what would happen if people would not get the point? Or if the audience just simply did not want to be challenged on their prejudices? Well given that there was a total of 75 books available, the conclusion was that with so many different people together in a rather small space for a long time, then they are bound to start reading each other if no readers come. And so it was to become. Before the first reader could take out a book, the talks where already going on extensively and the feeling of something very special was in the air. The policeman sitting there speaking with the graffiti writer. The politician in discussions with the youth activist and the football fan in a deep chat with the feminist. It was a win-win situation and has been ever since.
You know it’s a good day when you find yourself in a room full of cool people hungry to tell stories and humbled before a new and exciting technology. Projection Mapping, Holograms, Augmented and Virtual Reality…it was a lot to take in. But man, so worth it. 
Matthew Ragan from Obscura lead the workshop, while Roberto Buso-Garcia of the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund at Johns Hopkins played host in Baltimore’s beautiful Centre theater. I just wanted to give a shout out to all those awesome people I met today, including Toroes Thomas, Laura Wexler, and so many others. Keep up the good work!
Every age-group has its genius and the genius of the teenager is their love of speculation. I don’t think this gets enough play in education circles. Kids love to wonder: Why are we here? Who has authority and why? What the hell am I doing in school? What are we learning? And while the adult perspective often frames this as impractical, juvenile rebellion, I see it as a hunger for a better cut of meat: Philosophy.
So, here’s a brief summary of how I bring speculative thought into my classroom.
