Join me in learning one of the secret weapons of parenting: The Supertickle!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Hans Rosling: Magician
As we spend some time this week exploring some truly bad Power Point presentations, it's refreshing to watch Hans Rosling mix key aspects of information and entertainment to create a very engaging presentation.
The first thing I noticed about Mr. Rosling is his energy. He's clearly passionate about his material, and takes steps to incorporate some humor into what can easily degenerate into a dry statistical lecture. Right out of the gate, that energy drew me in.
Rather than the standard bar graphs and pie charts, Mr. Rosling used circles of different sizes and colors distributed on the graph to represent the nations and regions of the world. He had clearly thought about the material, and how best to connect the audience to it. It caught my attention because it deviated from the norm, but when he began discussing growth and change of health and wealth, he had me hooked!
Mr. Rosling clearly understands the entertainment adage of "Show, don't tell." By conducting a fast slide show of the statistics year to year, he showed the change in nations health and wealth through movement on the screen. To complement, he also created energy in his commentary, making me, the viewer, sit up and take notice. He continued to "show" the statistics he was talking about, breaking up the world into regions, and regions into countries. The consistency and fluidity of his presentation was great, in that he spoke well enough to make his points, but kept the visual graphics moving at a pace that was engaging.
Often in Power Point presentations, I find myself racing ahead and reading the slides, but the pacing of this show kept my focus on Mr. Rosling, and allowed me to absorb what he was saying, not just what I was reading on the screen. I was really impressed with this discussion, and am going to strive in the future to incorporate some of the tips I've picked up by watching this magician in action.
The first thing I noticed about Mr. Rosling is his energy. He's clearly passionate about his material, and takes steps to incorporate some humor into what can easily degenerate into a dry statistical lecture. Right out of the gate, that energy drew me in.
Rather than the standard bar graphs and pie charts, Mr. Rosling used circles of different sizes and colors distributed on the graph to represent the nations and regions of the world. He had clearly thought about the material, and how best to connect the audience to it. It caught my attention because it deviated from the norm, but when he began discussing growth and change of health and wealth, he had me hooked!
Mr. Rosling clearly understands the entertainment adage of "Show, don't tell." By conducting a fast slide show of the statistics year to year, he showed the change in nations health and wealth through movement on the screen. To complement, he also created energy in his commentary, making me, the viewer, sit up and take notice. He continued to "show" the statistics he was talking about, breaking up the world into regions, and regions into countries. The consistency and fluidity of his presentation was great, in that he spoke well enough to make his points, but kept the visual graphics moving at a pace that was engaging.
Often in Power Point presentations, I find myself racing ahead and reading the slides, but the pacing of this show kept my focus on Mr. Rosling, and allowed me to absorb what he was saying, not just what I was reading on the screen. I was really impressed with this discussion, and am going to strive in the future to incorporate some of the tips I've picked up by watching this magician in action.
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Kindle Lover's Tale
I love books. I've been an avid reader since the age of four, and I count my books among my most treasured possessions, much to the chagrin of the friends and family that have helped me move over the years! When Kindles came on the market, I sniffed in disapproval, thinking that nothing would ever replace the feel and the smell of new book.
But as airline baggage fees increased, the idea of a Kindle suddenly seemed much more practical. Why pay extra to pack ten books in your suitcase when you could have all that and more in a Kindle? This Christmas I was presented with a Kindle of my very own. It was love at first sight! Light as a feather, easy to operate, and no back lighting means no eye strain. No need to travel to the book store when I was in need of a fix. I began to wonder why I waited so long.
Please note that in the short list of the best Kindle features, the text to speech function does not make the list. For me, it doesn't really merit consideration. This added to my complete surprise in reading of the concerns of the Authors Guild, and their assertion that TTS represents an infringement on an authors rights to publish their books in audio form.
With all due respect to Mr. Blount, the TTS function on my Kindle is not comparable to an audio book. You see, as a lover of books in ALL their forms, I also have a large number of audio books on my iPod, all of which cost me more than a paperback copy of the same book. The reason I am willing to buy audio books at a premium is because of the amazing talent that goes into creating these individual pieces.
Often, these books are read by only one actor, who has the challenge of bringing distinct and separate characters to life for the listener. In his Op Ed piece, Mr. Blount references the incredible Jim Dale, who gave such life to the Harry Potter books that when I read the text, it's his voices I hear, because they are just spot on. In addition to the voice talent, there are sound editors and directors and mixers that all contribute to the final product. These craftsmen and artists work together to deliver a product that can stand alone, and that many folks purchase at a premium.
By contrast, the TTS function is a computerized, delivering the text in a flat, inflectionless voice. There is no artistic interpretation, no craftsmanship. I actually find it a frustrating way to try and hear books this way, as everyone's "voice" sounds the same. Exciting, action filled passages are read at the same pace as quiet, introspective ones. If authors tried to save money on creating their audio books and just sold an audio file of a compterized voice reading their work, a la Kindle, they would soon find the lucrative business of audio books decimated.
Ultimately, in addition to being completely frivolous and slightly greedy, Mr. Blount's Op Ed piece represents a tremendous insult to the talented teams that create the audio books!
But as airline baggage fees increased, the idea of a Kindle suddenly seemed much more practical. Why pay extra to pack ten books in your suitcase when you could have all that and more in a Kindle? This Christmas I was presented with a Kindle of my very own. It was love at first sight! Light as a feather, easy to operate, and no back lighting means no eye strain. No need to travel to the book store when I was in need of a fix. I began to wonder why I waited so long.
Please note that in the short list of the best Kindle features, the text to speech function does not make the list. For me, it doesn't really merit consideration. This added to my complete surprise in reading of the concerns of the Authors Guild, and their assertion that TTS represents an infringement on an authors rights to publish their books in audio form.
With all due respect to Mr. Blount, the TTS function on my Kindle is not comparable to an audio book. You see, as a lover of books in ALL their forms, I also have a large number of audio books on my iPod, all of which cost me more than a paperback copy of the same book. The reason I am willing to buy audio books at a premium is because of the amazing talent that goes into creating these individual pieces.
Often, these books are read by only one actor, who has the challenge of bringing distinct and separate characters to life for the listener. In his Op Ed piece, Mr. Blount references the incredible Jim Dale, who gave such life to the Harry Potter books that when I read the text, it's his voices I hear, because they are just spot on. In addition to the voice talent, there are sound editors and directors and mixers that all contribute to the final product. These craftsmen and artists work together to deliver a product that can stand alone, and that many folks purchase at a premium.
By contrast, the TTS function is a computerized, delivering the text in a flat, inflectionless voice. There is no artistic interpretation, no craftsmanship. I actually find it a frustrating way to try and hear books this way, as everyone's "voice" sounds the same. Exciting, action filled passages are read at the same pace as quiet, introspective ones. If authors tried to save money on creating their audio books and just sold an audio file of a compterized voice reading their work, a la Kindle, they would soon find the lucrative business of audio books decimated.
Ultimately, in addition to being completely frivolous and slightly greedy, Mr. Blount's Op Ed piece represents a tremendous insult to the talented teams that create the audio books!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Losing Hope
This week, we've explored the recently settled dispute between street artist Shepard Fairey and media giant Associated Press regarding the iconic "Hope" poster created by Fairey for the Obama campaign in 2008. Fairey used an image copyrighted by the Associated Press in creating the image, asserting the principle of fair use, and the AP has asserted that by using the photo without license, Fairey violated copyright law.
My first feeling, when viewing the photo and the poster side by side, was that the resemblance in the physical stance of Mr. Obama in the two works is virtually identical, however in my mind the resemblance ends there. The photo, while nicely composed, does not hold a candle to the striking and iconic image created by Mr. Fairey. In fact, had the photos not been side by side, with foreknowledge of the relationship, I would not have associated the photo with the poster. To me, that is the true definition of "transformative". I also feel that Mr. Fairey's transformation of the original has raised the value of the original photo, and that the AP has probably had more requests to license the original photo based on Mr. Fairey's interpretation than they ever would have had without it. To me, they have already profited from Mr. Fairey's use, with or without an original license.
Ultimately, the AP may feel like their photo was the inspiration for the campaign image, the real inspiration was the man and the electricity and excitement that the campaign generated. Both the photo and the image were theoretically available to be used by the campaign, and only one of them was chosen: Mr. Fairey's image, which encapsulated the excitement and emotion of the campaign.
I'm glad that all parties have come to an agreement they can live with, but I can't help but feel that Fairey was unfairly dragged through the mud.
My first feeling, when viewing the photo and the poster side by side, was that the resemblance in the physical stance of Mr. Obama in the two works is virtually identical, however in my mind the resemblance ends there. The photo, while nicely composed, does not hold a candle to the striking and iconic image created by Mr. Fairey. In fact, had the photos not been side by side, with foreknowledge of the relationship, I would not have associated the photo with the poster. To me, that is the true definition of "transformative". I also feel that Mr. Fairey's transformation of the original has raised the value of the original photo, and that the AP has probably had more requests to license the original photo based on Mr. Fairey's interpretation than they ever would have had without it. To me, they have already profited from Mr. Fairey's use, with or without an original license.
Ultimately, the AP may feel like their photo was the inspiration for the campaign image, the real inspiration was the man and the electricity and excitement that the campaign generated. Both the photo and the image were theoretically available to be used by the campaign, and only one of them was chosen: Mr. Fairey's image, which encapsulated the excitement and emotion of the campaign.
I'm glad that all parties have come to an agreement they can live with, but I can't help but feel that Fairey was unfairly dragged through the mud.
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