I had a lot of really interesting conversations with Quakers this weekend on the subject of "Balance," which was the theme of the retreat I was attending. I wanted to capture some of the best bits of insight here so I can come back to it later. Imbalance and Fear We talked about what makes…
Finding balance with the Brooklyn Quakers at the Powell House Retreat Center
I just got back from the Powell House retreat center in upstate New York, joining 40-some Quakers from the Brooklyn Friends Meeting. It was a relaxing and spiritually recharging weekend among some very deep souls. I'm fairly new to Brooklyn Meeting, having only started attending a couple of years ago. So going on a weekend…
Quaking and Swinging: Teaching Quakers how to social dance
This weekend I am up in Old Chatham, New York at the Powell House retreat center for the annual retreat of my spiritual community, the Friends Meeting of Brooklyn. Tonight I taught a small group of Quakers the basics of social dance both as a fun activity and to deepen their understanding about the concept…
Reframing social media for non-early adopters
Yesterday I had the pleasure of helping facilitate an all-day training on social media for educators and nonprofits at the Global Kids offices, as part of our regular professional development services. It's always fun to talk with an eager and open group of folks about social media, particularly if they have no particular background in…
Apl.de.ap of Black-eyed Peas wants to “Take You to the Philippines” (video)
I got that news that Philippines-born member of the Black-eyed Peas Apl.de.ap recently launched a new music video / tourism spot called "Take Me to the Philippines" on MTV Asia. It's a catchy little number and a slickly produced music video, created by LA-based We Are Royale, with support from the Philippine Department of Tourism. …
Settling into my Prospect Heights pad
I finally got a few hours today to get a bit more settled into my new Prospect Heights apartment. On the plus side, I've got the bedroom and the bathroom basically sorted at this point. On the negative side, the two middle rooms are kind of a disaster and the kitchen is still pretty messy. …
Interactive “Shim Sham” line dance instructional video
Here's a really well-produced instructional video on how to do the "Shim Sham Shimmy," a popular line dance that is performed at swing dances all around the world. The video project was conceived and created by lindy hoppers Patrick and Natasha of Montreal. Here's why they made this video: We all know how frustrating it…
Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown Streaming Live Video on Saturday October 10!
My friend BigCash sends out the exciting news that they are going to be streaming live video from the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown in New Orleans on Saturday, October 10! That evening, ULHS' Saturday night dance/competition will be streamed live from the National WWII Museum. Head here to watch it live that evening. The Ultimate…
Metaplace to be first virtual world with full voice chat & video chat?
Metaplace community manager Cuppycake posts today on the Metaplace forums about the development path for this web-based virtual world. Lots of interesting new features in the pipeline, including changes to the internal economy. But most exciting to me is the addition of both voice chat and video chat into Metaplace! One of the most frustrating…
Premiere of “Push” trippy, visionary machinima film by Lainy Voom on October 25
Push (Mini Project 4) from Lainy Voom on Vimeo. This machinima film "Push" is so good, it's kind of hard for me to believe it was created in Second Life. Every time I watch it I notice something different and evocative. On Sunday, October 25 at 10am PST you can meet "Push"'s creator Lainy Voom…