If you were confused by the RSS feed talk today, check out this older post.  I have listed sites that I enjoy, as well as a video about setting up an RSS feed yourself.

I’d add Treehugger and Popmatters to the list.

Remember, comment below, telling me who you are (if it isn’t obvious from your name), which web sites you like to visit and anything else you care to share, like good music!  If you don’t have a site to share, click on a link that has been posted, have a look around, and report back.

Buy journals soon.

Amazing first day!  Thanks, guys.

you knoo-o-ow.  Not really.

Gladwell makes some interesting assertions in the second chapter, and today we focused on the effects of interpersonal communication.  He cites a study by Syracuse University that explains the impact of newscasters and their expressions in Presidential races, and explains what makes Tom Gau so convincing.  Derren Brown was brought up, and I promised videos.  Here they are:

Watch Brown’s movements as he talks to the man.  He mirrors his movements, then takes a step back.  The man follows.

This one is a bit off topic, but I think it effectively illustrates just how easily our creativity can be affected by our environment.  As always, you are what you eat, even if you don’t mean to consume it.

This one is similar.  You think you aren’t listening, but you are.

I’m trying to find video or an article explaining the microemotions explained in this chapter.  If anyone finds something, post it below.

Eh, that was a stretch.

First Hour

Finish chapter six of A Heartbreaking Work.  If you’re interested, here’s the Eggers video from TED.com:

Third Hour

We’ll be reading through page 73 for tomorrow.  To continue the discussion of a book’s impact on how we frame our language, write a journal entry in the style of Charlie.  The topic does not matter, though I would suggest pulling from the previous week’s events.  It is not necessary to think of something exciting.  In fact, a banal event night be best.  Look at it through the eyes of a "Wallflower."  How did the people act?  Why?  Try to "understand" as Charlie does.  He’s grappling with some very new concepts, and has been thrust into a world that he does not always understand.  How is he affected by this?

Charlie mentions reading To Kill a Mockingbird.  He is about the same age as Scout, and they are put into similar situations.  Are their reactions similar?  Why?  Maybe this quote by Shunryu Suzuki can shed some light:

In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.

Here’s the video we watched today in class:

And one that I talked about in class.  This is one of the most profound descriptions of right/left brain thinking that I’ve ever seen.  Check out TED.com for more videos.

Tonight you should read the rest of the second chapter of The Tipping Point.

*See Wm. Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Act 5 Scene 1