promote more reading habits

1 Reply

week 4 of 2011
Joensuu, Finland

The days are SO FULL of ideas, events, activities, emotions, dreams and my brain’s digestion is not as fast as the things are happening. But this commitment to post once a week, without pre-awareness, is helping me to focus on the week’s relevant event to be shared.

In the week 4 of this year, I spent considerable amount of time at the university library. One of my favorite places, not only for research purposes as I have mentioned ealier.  But imagine, each library contains the ideas, life, knowledge, fantasy and much more of thousands of humans, from around the world, who have live in so many different periods of time.  The book’s authors might be dead, but their voices are still alive through their creations. Libraries, for me, are magical places.

By coincidence, in these days I also got impressed of the threat that some libraries have around the world. In this case, UK. I can’t believe it honestly. Decision makers in UK are contemplating to close libraries. People is protesting as we can read here. I found very interesting the article of Pullman expressing that decision makers do not really understand the value of libraries. I fully agree with him!

Books  support individuals to change their lives. Unlimited of examples support that claim, as the one I posted some time ago with William Kamkwamba. Books are good friends, they guide us and helps us to think, which supports in turn a life long learning process. This is not only MY personal opinion, it is a fact. In 2008 the UNESCO reported:

“The public libraries in the city play wider role to inculcate reading habits amongst youths and neo-literates. This study suggests that information literacy competency and lifelong education can also be imparted to marginalised groups through public library networks in the country”

Even that the report belongs to a study done in India, honestly I do not think is a exclusive statement for India.

Leaders and decision makers  in “develop” countries, wake up! Instead to take away libraries, we must promote more reading habits!

love books

Image source here

uniqueness

Leave a reply

week 3 of 2011
in transit…  (DF, Mexico -> Frankfrut, Germany -> Joensuu, Finland)


Each one of our experiences is unbelievable, as it is our planet.

Unfortunately, my memory betrays me often by forgetting facts. BUT somewhere, inside myself, is strongly marked by each moment. Each one of my moments is unique, special and unrepeatable. I am the result of the sum of my moments.

What amazes me the most of my sum of moments  is:

  • I am the same person wherever I go.
  • I inhabit the same planet, a.k.a. “earth” (I haven’t been elsewhere than in here)
  • My dreams, commitments, obligations and work are relatively constant (and most of them voluntary)

However I feel as living in different worlds while I move around.

The  uniqueness of each place, each person, each moments might be the real motivator that bring me to the  Hypercontextualized Game (HCG) concept  in my research. I think the seed of the HCG started long ago, even before I decided to pursuit a PhD degree.

I am convinced that we must go beyond of what our eyes see, as we are only able to observe the tip of a huge big iceberg. We must feel the life by immersing ourselves in it, discovering the uniqueness of each moment…

muac

Leave a reply

week 2 of 2011
from Distrito Federal, Mexico

Days keep on being busy, but I escape and assist to the  MUAC (Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo) , which it is a GREAT museum with FANTASTIC expositions.

Due to the lack of time, I  only visited carefully two exhibitions: Expectografias: memorias e historia, and the art of   Cai Guo Qiang: Resplandor y Soledad. Both exhibitions were very rich and impressive, highly recommended.

Below is a video that I found of Cai Guo Qiang when he did his gunpowder work for the MUAC, you will see how innovative and impressive his work is:

wondering about age….

Leave a reply

week 1 of 2011
from Distrito Federal, Mexico

why do we have the tendency to make age groups?  For example, we study specific age groups,  and  it exists a trend to be with people within certain age range. But does it make sense that always?!

My year started with full power, no time to waste. One reason was that for first time I was able to live intensively with people of different generations simultaneously (from 2.5 years old to 92 years old). It is such a rich experience I haven’t lived earlier.

generations

about this blog: reviewing basics

Leave a reply

week 52 of 2010
from Distrito Federal, Mexico

Once upon a time my research group suggested me to have a blog. My memories registered that the purpose of the invitation was to share between us. It made sense to me, but what to share and how to share it was blurry. I was following already some blogs (e.g. Frans Mäyrä, Henry Jenkins), and I never had a blog of my own, but there is always a first time, then I started my blog.

Consequently I started blogging without a virtual identity. I was mainly exploring and experimenting…. I had no idea of what I could, I want, I should do with the blog, which one will be its purpose and meaning, how to handle it, for whom…. Clear examples of my blog’s blurry beginning are my posts from 2006 to early 2009.

In late 2009 my posts started to have a clearer purpose and audience: to share my experiences with individuals who have similar challenges and interests than mine. As a result, some of my latest posts have supported me explicitly while talking with others.  My posts are outcomes of my learning journey. Each post is a mini-informal article where I write some sort of analysis or reflection, ideally with references and some writing effort.

Thus, an evident fact emerged while starting to have a virtual personality and purpose: my blog requires time, discipline and a concept if I want to make it useful.  Puff! it is not easy, sounds as a commitment!  but I know it will be useful, then here I go! 🙂

Resuming, the renewal basics of  “what am I doing” blog:

AUDIENCE:

  • Individuals who identify with my interests (e.g. discovering, enjoying, learning, games, technology, life) and challenges (e.g. be a researcher, thinking, writing).
  • Family and friends who want to follow what and where I am.

ITS PURPOSE:

  • Support me to learn while writing my blog
  • Support the blog’s readers (including me) to get something while reading it.

HOW

  • Writing mini-informal articles with some sort of analysis, reflection of my interests and challenges, ideally with references and some writing effort.

WHEN

  • I attempt to have minimum a weekly post (it happens a lot in a week!)

Today I understand that my blog will always be _work_under_construction_ but, life and internet are always under construction  😉

how to blog?

Source photo here