So I've been back on ACTUAL speed net with my 'puter for a while now. Slacking off from my actual tasks and reading random sites for amusement. I've moved on from online comics (for the moment) and there's a new trend emerging. My favourite ones at the moment tend to be collections of stuff that are just plain dumb. Here's a few that spring to mind..
Some Classics:
Fail Blog
This Is Why You're Fat
Average Cats (in response to I can haz cheezburger)
Look at this Fucking Hipster
There I Fixed It
Well written:
Cake Wrecks
Ugliest Tattoos
Text about text:
Texts From Last Night
Passive Aggressive Notes
Unnecessary Quotes
We truly love laughing at ourselves don't we? Enjoy your light relief!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sea change: take II
It's gone a full circle. I've spent some time in Perth, done some nice things and now I'm back home again in Melbourne.
It was a great experience and one that I'll value for a long time to come. Although there were some things that did not go as I had hoped and I've ultimately come back to Melbourne because I believe that it suits me better (read: home), I do not regret taking that initial fantastic leap of faith that got me there. In fact, I might go as far as to say that I'd probably do it all again if given the chance.
So now, with my new appreciation for WA beer, I bid adieu to Perth in all it's glory.
The pristine beaches are incomparable to anywhere else in the world. The tropical weather and stunning sunshine; with mild winters to match. The gorgeous, loyal and genuine people. The fun places like Deville's and Hula-Bula. My old hood of East Vic Park and it's gangland shootings. The good times spent with dear peeps. The loving swing scene which took me in under their wing and kept me sane. The traffic-free roads and the ability to get almost anywhere in around 20mins by car. The appreciation of simple things in life and total lack of oh-so-cool-wankers.
And I thank Perth for teaching me:
- to be a little nicer and more polite
- to chill the fuck out and stop being so impatient
- to appreciate what I've got
- to do research and dig a little harder for stuff
- have realistic expectations of myself
- to be a better teacher ..dare I say professionalism?
- have more confidence in myself
But really when it comes down to it, and the same reason that I missed Melbourne so dearly, is because of the people. They shape my experiences, make it real and keep me connected. I love them. And now I miss them.
ps. This post is not meant to sound wanky, just what I'm thinking right now. Shall we blame it on all the Mogwai and Neko Case I've been listening to?
It was a great experience and one that I'll value for a long time to come. Although there were some things that did not go as I had hoped and I've ultimately come back to Melbourne because I believe that it suits me better (read: home), I do not regret taking that initial fantastic leap of faith that got me there. In fact, I might go as far as to say that I'd probably do it all again if given the chance.
So now, with my new appreciation for WA beer, I bid adieu to Perth in all it's glory.
The pristine beaches are incomparable to anywhere else in the world. The tropical weather and stunning sunshine; with mild winters to match. The gorgeous, loyal and genuine people. The fun places like Deville's and Hula-Bula. My old hood of East Vic Park and it's gangland shootings. The good times spent with dear peeps. The loving swing scene which took me in under their wing and kept me sane. The traffic-free roads and the ability to get almost anywhere in around 20mins by car. The appreciation of simple things in life and total lack of oh-so-cool-wankers.
And I thank Perth for teaching me:
- to be a little nicer and more polite
- to chill the fuck out and stop being so impatient
- to appreciate what I've got
- to do research and dig a little harder for stuff
- have realistic expectations of myself
- to be a better teacher ..dare I say professionalism?
- have more confidence in myself
But really when it comes down to it, and the same reason that I missed Melbourne so dearly, is because of the people. They shape my experiences, make it real and keep me connected. I love them. And now I miss them.
ps. This post is not meant to sound wanky, just what I'm thinking right now. Shall we blame it on all the Mogwai and Neko Case I've been listening to?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
And now back to our regular programming..
Apologies to DancePants regular readers, it seems that our little blog is not safe from terrorism. Please ignore the previous post. I’m not sure what interest deranged and outspoken ‘hackers’ would find here but we’re taking the appropriate measures to ensure security in the future.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Oh, you're from..
YES I'm from another city but I'm not ashamed of it! I'm not going to feel ashamed that I feel so misplaced here I feel the need to talk about the things and experiences that I miss from my old life.
"Perth just requires a little more effort, you've gotta dig to find the good stuff" is what they say. I'm digging, I'm trying - but can't I put down the shovel for five minutes and do something fun? And where did all the energetic-spontaneous people go?
I'm so painfully aware of all my terrible habits that I can't seem to shake:
- short with people when I'm in a hurry at the coffee shop or supermarket
- don't always say 'hello' to every single person in the room every time I go somewhere
- expect to be able to do stuff at night that isn't going to the movies
- don't put up with bullshit sales people
- thinking beyond what is happening right now
- talking about the great features of other cities and thereby highlighting Perth's shortcomings.
I've never considered myself much of a bitch but all those things seem to make me come across as the rudest kid on the block. But can't this city just harden the fuck up?
A very mature reaction, but do I have to be careful and serious 24/7? I'm allowed the gratuity of one extreme blog post, surely! 7 months of frustration and biting my tongue cannot be suppressed forever.
"Perth just requires a little more effort, you've gotta dig to find the good stuff" is what they say. I'm digging, I'm trying - but can't I put down the shovel for five minutes and do something fun? And where did all the energetic-spontaneous people go?
I'm so painfully aware of all my terrible habits that I can't seem to shake:
- short with people when I'm in a hurry at the coffee shop or supermarket
- don't always say 'hello' to every single person in the room every time I go somewhere
- expect to be able to do stuff at night that isn't going to the movies
- don't put up with bullshit sales people
- thinking beyond what is happening right now
- talking about the great features of other cities and thereby highlighting Perth's shortcomings.
I've never considered myself much of a bitch but all those things seem to make me come across as the rudest kid on the block. But can't this city just harden the fuck up?
A very mature reaction, but do I have to be careful and serious 24/7? I'm allowed the gratuity of one extreme blog post, surely! 7 months of frustration and biting my tongue cannot be suppressed forever.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
almost done.
Ok friends, I'm very almost finished my degree I just have to get this last assignment done. I'm running on V limited amounts of sleep, locked away from the world and working like a demon. Something really neat that I've discovered I thought I might share with you. It's an educational thang called 'Power Teach':
Here we see it in action with a grade 6 group who have obviously had lots of practice at it. The class is loud, fast, active and fun. And they're just learning about order of operations. Its the way that they've been taught which is really interesting. Basically this type of teaching has been developed by Chris Biffle in the states and here are his main points:
Whilst I would find this quite confronting at first I'm sure I can see a lot of value in what he is trying to do with his classes. The things I love the most are:
So without more information or training I doubt I'd be giving this a shot any time soon but there are aspects of it that I would certainly take away. Like the use of peer to peer talk built in to break the lesson into shorter chunks. Although this makes me think of the only other class that I have observed where that was used on a regular basis with preps and they were all CRAZY talkative - sometimes to the point of utter frustration of the teacher. Could be worse though, imagine if they didn't develop those skills properly at all!
Here we see it in action with a grade 6 group who have obviously had lots of practice at it. The class is loud, fast, active and fun. And they're just learning about order of operations. Its the way that they've been taught which is really interesting. Basically this type of teaching has been developed by Chris Biffle in the states and here are his main points:
Whilst I would find this quite confronting at first I'm sure I can see a lot of value in what he is trying to do with his classes. The things I love the most are:
- - actions and gestures for kinaesthetic learners (and memory reinforcement for everyone else)
- - peer discussions mean social learning is taking place, peer to peer AND teacher to student
- - total involvement/participation at all times, not just the one student answering the questions
- - short sharp points of attention ensure students are not being over drained or glazing over
- - teacher has instantaneous feedback about what students are understanding by eaves dropping in peer to peer discussions. Also in classroom management, she knows who is listening/participating at all times
- - work ethic and success standards are built into the approach and not a separate thing to address. Students can celebrate their achievements instantaneously, Hooray!
- - use of voice and gestures includes tone and rhythm: created like a game/drama and communication.
So without more information or training I doubt I'd be giving this a shot any time soon but there are aspects of it that I would certainly take away. Like the use of peer to peer talk built in to break the lesson into shorter chunks. Although this makes me think of the only other class that I have observed where that was used on a regular basis with preps and they were all CRAZY talkative - sometimes to the point of utter frustration of the teacher. Could be worse though, imagine if they didn't develop those skills properly at all!
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