Life remains interesting.  Sometimes it is interesting in the sense of that probably fake Chinese proverb –  ”May you live in interesting times” – and sometimes it is simply fascinating. I am enjoying the ride on the whole though I would like to be getting to more classrooms than I am. Transitioning between cities makes that difficult; I can’t be booked to go on Books in Homes visits if we don’t know where I’ll be.  Happily,  I am really starting to get my teeth sunk into Chapter Four of Somewhere Else. There may also be changes ahead for this web site.

Here as some tidbits from tabs I need to close. The first is footage of tempests battering light houses in France. It thrills me.

Next, The Places We Live is an amazing exploration of life in the worst slums in the world that incorporates the sounds, places, and people of slums really effectively.  It’s not online poverty tourism; but it does give you a real feel for the day to day conditions of an ever increasing number of people.  This would be a great site to run through with kids and I loved the insight it gave me. It’s cleverly done. Recommended.

Finally, I loved learning that someone else is as utterly addicted to TED as I am. What’s TED? It’s an invitation only conference that has now been running for 25 years; a shared mindgasm for the lucky attendees and, for those of us who get to watch it at home, the talks are an incredible source of inspiration. The theme of the talks is “ideas worth sharing” and they bring thinkers from all over the world to share those ideas with us. If you’re not enjoying the TED talks yet,  I’d urge you to go along and have a look at them, and then check out the lists of  “best TED talks” in the NY Times article linked to above.