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There’s a meme going on over at Flickr called the “Song Chart Meme” that will probably appeal to your cultural as well as your analytical sides. The concept is this: Take the lyrics of a song, and represent them in graphic form. Some of the submissions are really good; I especially liked the “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina”. Other songs were a little more obscure (or maybe I’m just too old, who knows).

Here’s my contribution, and I’m a little surprised it wasn’t done already. “Take it Easy,” the classic tune from the Eagles. Of course, I’ve represented these lyrics:

I’ve got seven women on
My mind,

Four that wanna own me,

Two that wanna stone me,

One says she’s a friend of mine

How’d I do?

Technorati Tags: Flickr, meme, Eagles, music, classic rock, lyrics

I tend to steer clear of politics, but this one is too good to pass up. 

HT:  Mark Lee

Is it just me, or is she really that desperate?

The 2008 college baseball season is upon us. 

Will Oregon State University defend their second consecutive national championship? 

Will I owe Pat Riley some money for this post?

Attorneys inquire within.

This is a little on the silly side, but I thought I’d do it anyway. It’s a meme. Basically, use Wikipedia and Flickr to generate the name of a band, it’s current album, and it’s ten tracks. Here’s mine, then look for the instructions afterward. I’m blaming John for this one.

Band name: Alcombe

Album name: When Givers Prove Unkind

Tracks:

1. Lamar Heights, Missouri (A town slightly bigger than my backyard, but with fewer Starbucks)
2. Vanja Gesheva-Tsvetkova (Ode to an obscure Olympian)
3. Vissarion
4. Little Miss Helpful (One for the kiddos)
5. Gasbags (Don’t ask…)
6. Turfan Prefecture (Written on the World Tour)
7. Milas-Bodrum Airport (Ditto)
8. Glidden Tour (Had to appease the sponsor)
9. Jai Turima (Continuing our theme of obscure Olympians)
10. Gulf of Mexico (Popular live song, recorded with special guest Jimmy Buffet)

Album Photo:

You, too, can get in on the act:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
   The first article title on the page is the name of your band. Hit ‘random’ in the left nav-bar 10x for your tracks.
2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
   The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.
3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
   The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

Thanks for humoring me on this one.

I use the Google Home Page for my jumping off point on the internet, so I sometimes forget to go to the regular Google page on special holidays and events. Their logo art designs for these days are simple, elegant, and at times poignant. I’m not a big Valentine’s Day guy, but I happened to especially appreciate this year’s Valentine’s Day logo. That’s really what it’s all about.  Take a look at their other holiday logos as well.

Technorati Tags: Valentine’s Day, Google, logos, art

Just to let all of my faithful readers know (well, both of you anyway)…The lovely and gracious Susan and I were married this past Saturday, February 9, in a small but simple ceremony with just our 4 kids with us.  Afterward, all six of us checked in to a Red Lion hotel and had a family honeymoon, with games, movies, jacuzzi, etc… we had a great time.  Susan and I will have a honeymoon just the two of us over spring break.  It’s sure crazy…but life is very very good.

Dan Meyer doesn’t like Animoto. That’s ok, because I do, although I agree with the reasons why he doesn’t like it. First of all, let’s take it for what it is: You upload pictures, pick a soundtrack (or upload one), and wait for it to put together a nice video montage for you. It really is that simple. Dan’s objection:

Animoto is a staggeringly cool tool which almost everyone…appreciates for the wrong reason.

Specifically, Animoto creates photo montages better and faster than any other Internet utility but, over the long run, the fact that the montages jitter and bob with the music — its most celebrated and distinctive feature — does nothing for me as a media consumer and less than nothing for me as a educator.

And maybe those are the wrong reasons to like this service.  I just like it because I can preserve some memories in a web-friendly format without a lot of investment on my part.  I don’t think I would ever recommend teaching with this service, or that it can take the place of a well-crafted, professional video job.  It is what it is.  Here are our photos from last summer, Animoto-ed:

What’s your take?

Technorati Tags: Animoto, video, YouTube, Dan Meyer, teaching, education