Archive for March, 2006

• 3.13.06 "Touch, Dance, and Confidence" is posted in Dance, Reflections

I recently enjoyed a posting on teaching dance to kids that Kate shared with me. The posting discussed some of the common benefits of teaching dance as an alternative activity for youth, but in particular it pointed out how dance is a safe way for kids to find touch:

At their core, the teens I know crave touch, they crave contact, they crave intimacy. But they are also often confused and frightened, unsure of how to ask for what they really want, afraid of losing control or of being violated. The lesson of ballroom dance, whether it has its origins in the tropics or in Viennese salons, is that with practice and with respect we can learn to touch each other safely. We learn to move not only in response to our own needs, but in response to the needs of our partner.

As someone who has taught parter-dance (swing, salsa, ballroom, etc) to children & adults, danced for about seven years, and had many a conversation on the topic…I must say the posting is right on the money. Not only does dance help to create intimacy (more…)

• 3.6.06 "A Swift Kick in the Butt" is posted in Reflections, Reviews

A couple articles have motivated me lately to really get moving on some of my interests.  I wrote about one of them today on my technotheory blog, and the other is an interview of Malcolm Gladwell (author of Tipping Point and Blink) on ESPN.com.

Interestingly, they go in somewhat different directions.  The first article contends that you don’t need to have been doing something all your life to be very successful at it.  The second article (the Malcolm Gladwell interview) raises the point that, to be the absolute best at something, it’s quite helpful for you to have been doing it throughout your life.

Where the two articles converge is on the need to be passionate about whatever your interest may be.  They both speak of an ardent desire to enjoy improving your skillsets, be it a gratifying or frustrating experience.  With enough work, it’s possible to be a leader in whatever your industry or interest.
Best of luck :-).

• 3.4.06 "Dealing with the daunting task of (book) education" is posted in Reflections

The last few months I’ve spent literally hours every day catching up on and learning about what’s going in the world. I now have some understanding of what’s going on in technology, in world events, and with a lot of things I probably don’t need to follow. At the same time I’ve still bought and made it through some books…and of course worked, danced, and the usual. But I have a long way to go…

I spent some time tonight organizing my books and finishing some articles I’d saved…but there’s so much on my shelf I want to read. I’m fairly quick to buy a book, and I have a tendency to justify it by thinking I’ve at least given to the cause of something I’m interested in. But really, there are so many books I want to read and topics I’d like to comprehend. Just a few samples (all on my shelf):

Nonfiction / Culture:

• The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
• The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom (given to me by Andrew)
• We by Robert A Johnson (lent by Polly)

Nonfiction / Tech & Design :

• Getting Real by 37signals
• Professional Excel Development by Stephen Bullen
• The Non-Designers Design Book by Robin Williams

Fiction: (more…)