me tube, YouTube, we all tube

In answer to the Library Lady's question, yes I enjoy the You Tube experience - especially since I now have the ability to put it in a blog (scroll down to see the last 2 entries).

Streaming has become so popular, in part, because it is so accessible. Younger generations who have been raised with media and computer technology in-their-face from the cradle have an intimate relationship with it. They are the driving force behind its popularity using it as a means of creative expression, communication and providing forums for exploration of ideas.

My generation has a distinct ambivalence towards it. With our reference to WWII and Orwell's classic 1984 , baby boomers, for the most part demonstrate a wariness about such public vehicles. We question: Will it control us or will we control it? How will it impact on our life and issues of privacy? Do we all need our 15 minutes of fame? Why would anyone want to be so out there?

The reality is, what you do with it is up to you. Whether you browse from afar or become more engaged with the technology there's no doubt that it is:

• entertaining - as you have noticed from the videos that I have chosen to add in the previous 2 posts
• informative - since I'm a visual type of person I prefer demos to the written word when attempting to learn new skills. I learned how to make my own juggling balls through a video like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdLB1WwKsfw
• a pleasant time waster - and soon I will be able to do this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8f8drk5Urw (note - request to embed was denied)
• a way to find factual information that you want quickly as many TV programs (or snippets of) are available on You Tube - without being held captive by: TV schedules, channel surfing beloved members of a household or commercial interludes
• potentially a forum for diverse perspectives on the human condition, politics and world events
• a way to interact with others world-wide - we really are a global community
• a form of advertising and promotion 

And, these are just some of the reasons that I feel it has become so popular. My classmates will have their views on the subject and I'll be interested in reading their posts.

Yes, I will continue to view YouTube and include it in posts when it is relevant, and I'm so inclined. Being a creative type I also hope to be able to explore making my own videos. I see it as another fun way for me to keep up with technology.

EARWORMS? BELIEVE IT!

I woke up this morning
And jumped out of my bed

I believe it
Yes, I believe it


With plans of Forrest Gumping
Dancing in my head

I believe it 
Yes, I believe it


Alf W was relaxing
Pedalled my bike instead

I believe it 
Yes, I believe it


Ate a croissant, drank ice coffee too
At my favourite cafe, Pane Fresco-oh-oh-oh

I believe
I believe
I belie e e e e eve


Wrote in my journal
Of dreams and plans to do

I believe it
Yes, I believe it

Went to Spencer Smith Park
And juggling did I do


I believe it
Yes, I believe it

Biked home in time
*To watch the Germans win


I believe it
Yes, I believe it

And through this time
Earworms
were singing from within


Believe it
Yes, you can believe it
You can belie e e e e eve it down in your soul
_____________________________________
*was watching World Cup Soccer - Germany won and placed 3rd

"EARWORMS? What are earworms?" You might ask.

If you have a touch of neurosis, (and who doesn't) you, no doubt, have at one time experienced that: "tune wedgy", song, portion, words or melody that you just can't get out of your head.

The above bad poem shows you just how I experienced my day yesterday. Since sharing and playing I Believe To My Soul I haven't been able to get it out of my mind.

It's a lot better than Skidamarinky dinky do which was my constant companion days after taking a trip with my brother and his family when this happened...

(copyright Nance Thacker 1990)

Skidda (I am not so cruel as to post this as a video as, as any Canadian parent knows, it's totally viral!) was played, over and over and over again to the delight of my sweet niece during a prolonged bit of driving. If she was happy; we were happy.

I also read somewhere that earworms tend to work their magic when people are feeling optimistic.
So to all you optimists out there here is another bit that'll worm its way into your brain. It's full of such great energy and so much fun that it's worth listening to and risking infection.

ENJOY!!!

MONTREAL Je t'aime - part III of III

On the same night of my previous entries - Montreal Je t'aime parts I and II, after Kathy and I changed into more suitable atire in Jim's van with its tinted windows we headed over to the Metropolis to catch Eric Burdon and the Animals. Yes, THE Eric Burdon; but no, not THE Animals at least not in their original form, none of the members playing that night were from the original band.

How very '60's you might say.

I felt like a stranger in a strange land as they played such tunes as: It's My Life and Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood while all around me ageing hippies, or shrubbies as they're called on Vancouver Island, rocked out. The  surreality got amped up when the band went into We Gotta Get Out of This Place and the whole place was brought to a riotous frenzy as geezers pounded their canes on the floor in time with the beat. And, I was awestruck as I witnessed the audience — a sea of swaying and bobbing grey heads — tripping back to the teenagers they once were, rebelling against (even though they are now) the establishment.

These songs were their anthems of protest, not mine. The '60's was the best time of their lives; the worst of mine. I am not nostalgic for that time and I found it difficult in this context to realize that I am one of them.

Instead of having flashbacks like the rest of them I was having flashforwards. I've been doing some Shiatsu for nursing home residents and frequently visit my Mom's who lives in Burloak Longterm Care Centre. Her generation is soothed by the gentle, bittersweet songs of the big band era, Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Satchmo, jazz and the like and it filters out into the hallway from resident's rooms as I pass by.

As the lyrics "We gotta get out of this place if it's the last thing we ever do" written by a rebellious youth but sung now by a grey haired 69 year old (albeit with an amazing set of pipes and agile moves) I couldn't help thinking that when we populate the nursing homes the desire to get out will rise up on occasion (as does in Mom's case) but when we do get out it really will be the last thing we ever do.

And, 20-30 years down the road when members of my generation, fuelled by songs of teenage angst and rebellion, become residents, if there's going to be any peace at all for the caregivers, we're all going to have to be heavily medicated. Soon ads like: TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE? HELL NO, JUST TRIP DOWN or YOU WON'T WANT TO GET OUTTA THIS PLACE or MARIJUANA MOMMA MANOR will have children of the '60's pounding on the doors to get in.

LOVE AND PEACE OUT

***

Now comes confession time. A most pleasant surprise of this evening was the band's virtuosity as individual musicians were highlighted with solos and tight jamming during  prolonged, blues-inspired segments. Stripped of '60's references, I can truly say that they blew me away! And they did a most excellent rendition of The House of the Rising Sun - a song I've always loved. 


And Burdon did a song called I Believe to My Soul which I'd never heard before and which showcased his amazing voice and his ability to interpret a song. Take a moment and listen to the power.


P.S. Thanks to Betty Blogger for making this so easy. It would have taken me days to search just how to do this!!!

FANCY SCHMANCY NANCY

HI ALL!

Aside from the fact that Flippy is busy at work depositing an ever so shiek, fine, layered blend of soft Flippy-fluff thereby transforming my once drab computer bag into an inspired creation, do you notice any new changes around here?

Uh huh, uh huh, I thought you would. It's all thanks to the BETTY BLOGGER course I'm taking and the assistance of the Library Lady.

My friend was right. This program is fantastic. I came in to the drop-in session this morning with a list of challenges I haven't been able to solve for months. And the Library Lady helped me solve all my problems within 90 minutes... I heard that. No, smarty pants, the Library Lady's not a counsellor or psychiatrist. She's a computer Web 2.0 whiz — which for me is a bazillion times better as blogging IS my therapy.

It's such a relief to work through and explore this stuff and all that can be done at my own pace AND have a guide who will also work at my own pace, no: jumping in, taking over, clicking at the speed of light to "voila" make the changes for me and expect me to get what she's done. She just calmly stands by my side, observing, directing and working alongside me on her own computer which allows me to follow along. BRILLIANT!!! And, anytime I press a key by mistake or launch anything into cyberspace due to my excitedly dancing fingers the Library Lady is there to act as my safety net.

And not a swearword has been uttered!

I have to take that back, only one, by me of course. But it was a tiny, little inoffensive one that just slipped out under my breath.

Now I've probably blown it. The next drop-in session will probably be filled with the 70 or so other students (no, less as some people are taking part from Victoria and India). I should have said that her assistance sucked and she's a real b***h. But the cat is out of the bag (damn enthusiasm). Not only is she efficient and helpful, she's nice and P-A-T-I-E-N-T.

I assume the title of the course was designed to draw the attention of my generation and to help us enter into the Web world (especially those of us without children aka computer consultants). Though I've been blogging for a while now it's taken me months and months to get where I am though a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But today as I worked alongside the Library Lady I could feel myself "getting it", becoming more courageous, enthusiastic and confident with exploring innumerable options, applications or whatever you call 'em (still have to work on the lingo) on my own.

Men take note, this is an entirely male friendly venue — we're really working hard on our tasks here, not talking recipes (we may be blogging about them, but we're not talking about them). Anyway, my point is that it's extremely user friendly.

Maybe I'll get up to snuff and be able to mix it up with the geeks. It could happen.

Please Note: (Vanna White sweep of the hands) I added on a new gadget which appears at the bottom of each post and shows what you might also like to read. Because I typed computer angst in my labels area at the end of this entry, it'll bring up posts related to my struggles with blogging and computer issues (happily many of these have been corrected over time so some of them may not make too much sense but you'll be able to get my drift). So to those students in the class who are new to this stuff, read and be assured that if I can do it so can you. The advantage is you won't have to go through all the angst along the way.
...

I just checked my post and those computer related entries don't come up. Never mind. Don't listen to me, I don't know what I'm talking about. You'll get some more RANDOM postings totally unrelated to computer stuff, but it looks nice.

To see more about my journey with computer angst hit the labels: computer angst, Betty Blogger or computer/blogger angst in the side bar.
...

OK, I'm back again. Every time I come in to edit my blog and publish it I get different selections in the "you might like" section. I'm just telling ya.

If anyone knows if I can select the 3 that I'd like to show up that would be really helpful otherwise I'll leave it up to the randomness of the universe.

I've had a bazillion hits on my site since I started it. They're all me cus I keep doing this. The geeks can rest easy, I won't be schmoozing with them any time soon.

That's it, I'm really done now...I mean it. I'm not coming back into this post again. All for now.  Bye bye.

come out, come out wherever you are

"Computer Nance" is getting some schooling in social media including: blogging, flickr, youtube, facebook etc, as I am now a student of Burlington Public Library's Betty Blogger - an 8 week program exploring Web 2.0.

After the gasillionth time listening to me whine about my inability to understand aspects of the web, witnessing me in the throws of blogger/computer angst (not a pretty picture, I assure you) and being thwarted in her attempts to explain how stuff works, (on a scale of 1 - 10 my understanding of all things Web 2.0 and its applications is about a 4; I know the names of things, even have a Twitter account, but I don't know what the hell to do with it), my friend said calmly, "You should take the Betty Blogger course. Really!"

"Betty Blogger? Ah, I don't know." I said. Revealing my child of the 60's perspective and feminist leanings I continued, "sounds like Betty Crocker and makes me think of the whole post WWII effort to entice Rosie the Riveter types (women had been encouraged to do their part in the war effort by working outside the home filling jobs vacated when men went to war) back into the kitchen when their men returned."

"No, it's fantastic... Think of it this way, Betty Blogger, Betty Crocker. It's as easy to use Web 2.0 as it is to bake a cake," she said, pleased with the analogy.

"Umm, you do know who you're talking to, don't you?" We met when we were in public school and she knows that I'm a bit of a feminist type and definitely no domestic goddess.

Cutting to the bare bones facts she emphatically stated the obvious, "You'll get help with your blog."

"Oh, there are classes?" This is starting to get me excited.

"Well, not exactly. You get your assignments through e-mail correspondence and it's done online."

"I need to talk to real people, to get hands on help sometimes when I need it." (I'm such a "baby la-la"  [aka whiner], as my friend Kathy would say).

"You can drop in at set times and get help from the Library Lady and from fellow classmates as one of the goals of the program is to encourage networking and collaboration. Even the staff at the library can assist you as we've all taken the course." I forgot to mention that she works at the library.

"OK then; sounds good. I'm in. So, you could help me then?"

...

"Uh...No, I'll be working where you can't find me."

Can't say I blame her.

MONTREAL Je t'aime - part II of III

Here is part 2 of our great Montreal expedition. We're still in the park in this entry. Jim and Rod are at our little picnic site and you can see the trees behind them. If you look real close at the tree on the very left you'll see a band around its base and a guy standing to the right. The band connects a slack line to the tree between the whirlygigs that Jim and Rod are holding up.

This is what happens when you put the lines up, give people the opportunity to drop in a little coin into the box (which you see on the far right tree) and let them go at it. If you have a drop of acrobatic blood in you, and I do, you'll find this irresistible. No, this is not me. I did take my shot at it though and Jim has the pics in his camera, which, if they're not too unflattering, I promise to post when I get them.

And this is what happens when you get really good at it. This guy is just coming down from a jump. He was jumping and dancing and running across the thing like there was no gravity. On another line a young woman in a simple summer dress, in bare feet, looked like an angel simply walking with such control, posture and grace that it took my breath away.

Meanwhile, in a field up the hill a battle was raging. Maybe raging isn't the right word; notice the smiles on the combatants faces. Anyway, these "re-enactors" were having a great time with their home-made weapons consisting of foam and wood and lots and lots of duct tape (Red Green would be proud). Two groups gather at either end of the field and then begin to advance.

They pick their target, the dust rises as they move closer and the battle begins.

If you get hit in the arm you have to put it behind your back and use your other one. If you're caught in the leg you have to jump around on the "good" one and continue the fight. And, if you're mortally wounded you fall where you were struck down as war is waged all around you. Once a side is defeated everyone regroups and it all begins again.

I swear, everyone was enacting their fantasy that day or at least letting the child in them come out and play. So I took out the juggling balls and amused myself. People watched, they enjoyed and then moved on. I was just one of the gang of all ages having fun.

TO BE CONTINUED...

MONTREAL Je t'aime - part I of III

Last Sunday Rod and I were hanging out with our friends Kathy and Jim and their son Chris on Mount Royal in Montreal taking in the "tam tams" as Kathy calls it. We got there around 2pm and the festivities were in full swing. People were gathered in groups scattered around a square playing drums of all kinds. Although there were other instruments present in some of the rag-tag bands, the focus was on the beat of the heart of mother earth. For hours on end a steady driving rhythm pervaded the airwaves enticing you (well OK, me and a few hundred others) to dance, sing, hoot, and clap or simply soak in the atmosphere from a distance.

People playing, dancing, singing and just enjoying the scene.

This happens every Sunday, weather permitting during the summer and is an event not to be missed! We brought a picnic and found a nice place under some trees to act as a home base from which to take in all the activities around us and people watch. Rod said it was like a flashback to the '60's, but I felt it offered the freedom and opportunity for people of all ages to play un-self-consciously; such a rarity these days. As you know, I'm big on playing so this is one of the many reasons why I feel totally at home here. There is a gaiety and abandon that is embraced in this fantastic city that I have not found in Ontario.

Around the perimeter of the statue vendors sell their wares.

Notice the curious man considering his next purchase.

Curious man, having made his purchase,

heads home after a day of fun and sun in the park with the "tam tams".

And here is our memento, all cheery and whimsical, at home in our little back garden.

Notice the rainbow effect on the lense?

It makes the picture look like an action shot;

as if the whirly gig is spinning, smokin' fast.

It's not, the air was still yesterday.

Just like me as I try and "land" and take hold of my everyday life once more after 8 days in glorious Montreal.

TO BE CONTINUED...