I haven’t seen a new Improv Everywhere video for awhile, so I was pleased to encounter this one when I visited their site tonight. Oh, to have a leisurely afternoon like that one. It seems all my days recently are filled with obligations. Must indulge in some good old fashioned downtime sometime soon, or I just may implode!
A long school day today as it extended into night by helping supervise at my school’s ‘Branch Out’ concert in support of the Oaktree Foundation. It was a great occasion, and the students did a wonderful job in the organisation and running of the night. Events like that convince me that our next generation is in good hands.
Enjoy your weekend. Looks like it will be a chilly one here in Melbourne. Stay warm wherever you may be. 🙂
I knew the good folks at Improv Everywhere would create a little something special for the festive season and give me a little something to share with you all this week. Here’s their Mall Santa Musical for you to enjoy.
School holidays have found me, and I very happy to be held captive. It was a full frontal attack on the shops today as I attempted my first spot of Christmas shopping. I can see I am destined to engage further with retailers in the coming days. Wish me luck.
I was excited today to receive the news that my proposal for the ISTE 2012 Conference was accepted. My presentation is about the work I have been involved with this year at my school, much of which I outlined in yesterday’s post as chance has it. It’s validation for a year where my head was down doing my damnedest to make change happen in a systemic sense in my school. I’m proud of what we have been able to achieve, and will be very happy getting the opportunity to travel to San Diego to share our experience with others from around the globe.
A big clean up this weekend awaits me in preparation for Christmas festivities at my house. We have a skip in our driveway right now, and we’ll be filling it to the brim in an attempt to clean up what’s lying around from our back room renovations (that have yet to be completed, but that’s another story!). I hope your weekend sounds more exciting than mine!
Now this made me smile. Charlie Todd, who heads up Improveverywhere, was married recently. In true Improveverywhere form, his wedding ceremony became part of his ‘we cause scenes’ movement. His bride was in on the act, being an improveverywhere member too. What a lovely way to make your wedding just that bit more memorable!
I’ve travelled a bit in the last few years, and have never really felt the effects of jetlag. Most of the time I’ve been able to correct my sleep patterns within a couple of days and get back on track. Not this week. After returning home from Italy early last Saturday morning (hence the no School’s out Friday last week – first time ever!), I’ve been struggling to get back to feeling like a normal person. It’s been compounded by a head cold I picked up while in Assisi, and a bit of a trying time on the work front. Hopefully I can get myself back into the swing of things this weekend. I’m supposed to submit slides for a conference I’m presenting at the week after next, so things better improve otherwise those conference organisers are going to be a tad unhappy with me!
I hope your weekend sees you relaxing and making the most of time spent with family and friends. I best head to bed to attempt to get myself back to the time zone I live in!
Improveverywhere‘s latest effort, ‘Say Something Nice’, is like visiting an old friend. It’s filmed in Union Square and this was where I caught the subway every day when I visited New York last year. The shoe store in the background is where I purchased shoes for my family. It’s funny living here in Australia and seeing something that is so far away and yet so familiar to me. Here’s hoping I get back there some day. It’s definitely my kind of town.
I’ve had an interesting week. I wrote a post for the VFLR blog called ‘5 Reasons Why Our Students Are Writing Blogs and Creating ePortfolios‘ and it was picked up by Zite, the iPad app that creates a personalised magazine based on your interests. It got a lot of attention as a result and was retweeted from people all around the world. Thanks to John Norton, who helps us with the Voices blog, it was picked up by the Mind/Shift blog in the United States. It was formatted for their readership and titled, ‘Six Reasons Why Kids Should Know How to Blog.‘ The post has been tweeted out 279 times and liked 76 times on Facebook according to the stats running on their page. It was also picked up by Zite. I know it’s being read throughout the US, UK, Finland, Canada, Germany, France and many other countries. Interestingly, it hasn’t seemed to spread too far throughout Australia, and yet the example being provided is from this country. I’d like to see more Australian educators reading it, and sharing it around their networks. I think the message it holds is an important one for our consideration, and for the futures of the young people we teach. I’m in the process of writing a lengthy post detailing how these blogs form part of a wider initiative at my school, and I hope to get it posted in the coming days.
Gorgeous weather is descending on Melbourne tomorrow. I intend to get my fair share of Vitamin D in the process. I hope you get an opportunity like this too.
Improveverywhere’slatest mission took place on June 27th and was located in Bryant Park, New York City. It looks like a lovely day there. My experience of Bryant Park was in the dead of winter, just as they were disassembling a portable ice rink! It was freezing cold; nothing like the delights of summer on show in their latest video.
It certainly is a genuine School’s out Friday this week. Victorian school holidays have just begun, and I am fortunate enough to be looking in the eye of three weeks of holiday bliss ahead of me. One of those weeks will see my family venture to Port Douglas, a lovely holiday location in the state of Queensland, closer to the equator and warm at this time of year. Cannot wait to soak in some sunshine and feel warmth in my bones!
So, the weekend ahead will be relished, deep in the knowledge that I can sleep in Monday morning too!
“The ever-present cacophony of traffic, construction, and commerce; the struggle for mental and physical space; and the anxious need for constant communication in person or via technology are relentless assaults on the senses. One wonders how locals and visitors can escape, find respite, and make peace with their space in this “city that never sleeps.” “
The Guggenheim Museum takes their Stillspotting exhibitions out to the five burroughs of NYC, to places where they identify a need for ‘stillspots’. I’d never heard of this idea until now, but it makes sense to do something like this in New York. Having spent just a week there, you do notice the ‘always on’ pace of life. I would love to live in New York for a period of time at some stage in my life, but I do wonder if I would get to a stage where I craved for a quieter existence.
I’m craving a good night’s sleep and a decent lie in right now. Thank goodness it’s a long weekend here in Australia. Three wonderful work free days ahead. With any luck, I’ll get some time to devote to the HTML and CSS course that I am failing miserably at right now. If not, it might be time to graciously admit defeat!
If a long weekend awaits you, enjoy. If it’s a regular weekend for you, enjoy that too. They’re always good. : )
The improveverywhere crew are at it again, this time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This time, Agent Elliot, who bears a striking resemblance to King Philip the IV of Spain (from the 17th Century), spent time dressed as the King standing in front of his portrait. The scenario this time was that Agent Eliot was the actual King, and was there to sign autographs. It never ceases to amaze me how many people out there take what’s being presented to them as the gospel truth, or maybe they were all just going along for the ride.
As is often the case, the story behind the story is the most interesting one. In this case, Charlie Todd tells on their site how he asked their user base for any ‘special skills’ people had that they could build a mission around. This was the response he got from Agent Elliot;
“The mission I would like to propose is to cause a scene in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the museum there is a painting of King Philip the IV of Spain and I look identical to him.”
He does too!
I spent today at the SLAV conference here in Melbourne and might try and write about it ove the weekend. Right now, I’m looking forward to laying my head on my pillow and drifting off to a sound night’s sleep.
Have a good weekend everyone. I hope good times find you. : )
Improveverywhere have posted their 2011 No Pants Subway ride, an event that has grown in size and stature over the last 10 years, and saw participation from people in 50 cities globally this year. I loved the view of Union Square at the end of this video. It brought back happy memories of my time in New York last year, when Union Square was the closest Subway station as I made my way to the many magnificent sights that make up that wonderful city. In fact, it was exactly this date last year that my plane landed at JFK airport in New York. I’d love to make a return visit one day – sooner rather than later I’d hope. Who knows? Sometimes the things you wish for do come true!
In the meantime, I’ve been unbelievably busy this week back at work getting the new library at my school organised for the school year. We took possession of the building on Monday, and I’ve been there every day, except for Tuesday when my time was punctuated with a bout of Gastroenteristis! Just what I needed- NOT! Today was huge. All of the books were stacked on the new shelving and everything, office supplies, digital equipment, the small amount of furnishings we are bringing over with us, were placed in the building. We had specialist removalists helping thank goodness, or there’s no way I’d be typing this now. In fact, it’s pretty surprising I’m doing this at all, because I am thoroughly exhausted. Time for bed methinks.
I’ll see if I can get a post happening where I include some pics of the building. In the meantime, here’s my favourite space at the moment.
Lucacept - intercepting the Web 