Philippe Jaroussky – Ambronay 2008

A delightfully funny concert by countertenor Philippe Jaroussky to put a smile on your face and take you in paradiso. Anon: Ciaccona di Paradiso et dell’Inferno and Claudio Monteverdi: Ohimè, ch’io cado. From Isabella.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I’ve been away from the US for so long that I’ve got a few blind spots regarding US popular culture. But I’m working on it! One of the things I truly regret missing are some of the better TV series, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (March 1997 until May 2003). Just the snippets of teen […]

United Breaks Guitars

United Airlines broke Dave Carroll’s guitar, so he wrote a song about it and used YouTube to get his way. In his words: “In the spring of 2008, (my band) Sons of Maxwell were traveling to Nebraska for a one-week tour and my Taylor guitar was witnessed being thrown by United Airlines baggage handlers in […]

Michael Wesch and being initiated into the politics of authenticity

Michael Wesch, Professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, explains how YouTube culture is moving us toward a politics of authenticity. It’s one of the best talks I’ve heard in ages and rings absolutely true. Michael Wesch talks about how our conversations are mediated, whether on Twitter or on YouTube. He focusses on context […]

Fred Neil: The Dolphins

My brother Chris sent this week’s song after spending time on the beach, so I’d say it was clearly a good vacation. Fred Neil is better known, perhaps, for the equally beautiful “Everybody’s Talkin’” popularized by Harry Nilsson. “I only know the peace will come when all hate is gone.” Exactly. This old world may […]

How to learn English: Reflective journal

Can keeping a reflective journal help you learn? Yes, but you need focus: good guidelines with a catalogue of questions. Is feedback neccessary? Not really, but it can be motivating – especially feedback from your peers. At a recent conference on Personal Learning Environments, Marc Graber of the University of Zürich studied the progress that […]

Question: What’s your New Frontier?

http://annehodgson.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/frontier.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadToday is the 40th anniversary of Armstrong and Aldrin walking on the moon and I’m up there too today, somehow. Kennedy called space the New Frontier, and that was certainly what it felt like 40 years ago. I’m leaving out the Cold War context here to focus on social […]