Kate Messner's Blog, page 13

The Watch that Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

The Titanic story has certainly been told and told again over the 100 years since her sinking, but in THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT, Allan Wolf has managed to capture the voices of the beings that were part of that story in a wholly new and captivating way.

This novel-in-verse chronicles the story of the unsinkable Titanic, from the boarding and preparations to set sail to the voyage, the sinking, and Carpathia's rescue and delivery of the survivors to New York. The undertaker's voice is ever-present, too, capturing the scope of this tragedy intermittently throughout the story, always there from beginning to the end, lest readers forget how this one ends.

I'm always impressed when an author takes a story from history — a story to which I already know the ending — and manages to present it in a way that creates suspense and tension, nonetheless, and Wolf has done this beautifully. Who will survive, and how? The characters whose voices rise in poetry throughout the text feel fully realized, so the stakes are high when the inevitable collision happens and the ship begins to sink.

Those voices are unique, too, and that makes this a great book for book clubs, literature circles, and classes to discuss as part of a conversation on how form and meaning intersect. The young boys, for example, speak in short, back-and-forth bursts like a game of toss-the-ball, while the poems in the voice of the personified iceberg speak in cold, measured iambic pentameter until the very end. There's simply so much to talk about here, and paired with some nonfiction readings on Titanic and a film clip or two, this could be make for some great connections that meet Common Core Standards in a way that's truly engaging to kids.

This title would also make an amazing mentor text for a student research project. In THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT, Wolf has painstakingly researched two dozen individuals who were part of the Titanic disaster as well as the ship itself and the events surrounding her sinking, and he's pared what must have been volumes of notes into this beating heart of a story that not only chronicles the historical incident but also paints a haunting picture of the humanity wrapped up in it. Thirty pages of back matter provide the real-life biographies of Wolf's poetic voices, an extensive and comprehensive bibliography, and further details about Titanic. This format could be adapted to virtually any major historical event students may be studying. Teachers might challenge students to research the event and choose a selection of voices from the incident to speak in poetry, or each student in a class might take on one voice to create a whole group story of the event told from multiple perspectives.

THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT is an ambitious and beautifully crafted book. Share it with your advanced middle school and high school readers, history buffs, and writers; they'll all find something amazing to take away from this new version of an old story.

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In honor of National Poetry Month… "Poetry Speaks"

Poetry Speaks(by Kate Messner, Copyright 2012) Good evening.Thanks for coming.I'm honored to have this monthA whole month, and April, too (so shiny!)Dedicated to my words, my breath, my beat. But before I go on,I'd like to take this opportunityTo clear up a misunderstandingAbout who I am and what I doHow I speak and what I meanWhy my tears run blood-redAnd my red blood pulses with ancient drumsWhy my heart sprays out confetti when it beatsLike somebody shook up New Year's EveAnd sent juicy, frothy words
Busting outAll over your nice clean suit. Who am I?I am poetry, and let's get one thing straight.

I am not reserved.

I am not reserved for anyone –Not dead white menScribbling away with quill pensNot women in crisp black suitsSipping champagne in big city art centers.I got nothing against them,(I do enjoy a black-tie night now and again,)But don't you hang a reserved sign on me.This table has chairs and pens enough for everyone. I am too many things to be reserved forAny one thingAny one bodyAny one world. I am your best dayAnd your worst. I'm the bright-light joyOf brand new babiesBreathing air for the first time,Crying out,Hearing words – gushes, rushes of languageLife, super-charged. I am hands-touch, first-kissE-lectricityAnd all the muddled upJumbled up messes that come after. I am the dark-night-dying-red,Close-your-eyes and scream painOf towers falling.Over and overRewind- replay- still ends the same wayWhen all we have are wordsThat weep. Everybody knows painAnd everybody knows joy.
The wonder of crocus shootsAnd chocolate frogsStars that shoot across the skySo fast you're not even sureThey were real.But they were. So I am not reserved. If you need to slap that sign on meYou just add a note at the bottomIn magic marker or crayon, maybeMake it say"Reserved for the old and the youngThe rich and the poorHearts laughing or cryingOr almost too angry to write.Reserved for Whole Mad World."That'll do. Because I am poetry.And I am out-going –Out going on subways and busesIn school kids' lunch bagsAnd playground rhymesOn the lips of farmers praising early springAnd mothers whispering late-night feedingsI am out-goingGoing out –Going out to preach and party and mournGoing out to grow the blades of grassSing them up into springtimeWords breathe oxygen, sure as they make sounds. I am poetry, and – What's that? My time is up?I see the buffet table's readySo I'll step down. But I'll never be quietKnow that much. You'll hear me out there,Crying when you are, too.Screaming injustice till somebody listens,Laughing at bawdy jokesIn my too-bright red suspenders.You'll see me pointing to that sunrise the color of berries,That leaf that looks like an old man's face,That girl in the corner with dreams,WhisperingLook.Pay attention.See. Thanks for coming today.Enjoy this feast of words.And when it's over,You go on out.And make a poem.Do it.Make a poem of your own.

 

Copyright 2012, Kate Messner

A note about sharing poems online: Teachers – Feel free to share this poem with your students, no special permission needed.  Bloggers – If you'd like to share this poem with your readers, please do so by quoting a short excerpt and linking to the full version here. Thanks – and happy National Poetry Month!

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In honor of National Poetry Month… “Poetry Speaks”

Poetry Speaks(by Kate Messner, Copyright 2012) Good evening.Thanks for coming.I’m honored to have this monthA whole month, and April, too (so shiny!)Dedicated to my words, my breath, my beat. But before I go on,I’d like to take this opportunityTo clear up a misunderstandingAbout who I am and what I doHow I speak and what I meanWhy my tears run blood-redAnd my red blood pulses with ancient drumsWhy my heart sprays out confetti when it beatsLike somebody shook up New Year’s EveAnd sent juicy, frothy words
Busting outAll over your nice clean suit. Who am I?I am poetry, and let’s get one thing straight.

I am not reserved.

I am not reserved for anyone –Not dead white menScribbling away with quill pensNot women in crisp black suitsSipping champagne in big city art centers.I got nothing against them,(I do enjoy a black-tie night now and again,)But don’t you hang a reserved sign on me.This table has chairs and pens enough for everyone. I am too many things to be reserved forAny one thingAny one bodyAny one world. I am your best dayAnd your worst. I’m the bright-light joyOf brand new babiesBreathing air for the first time,Crying out,Hearing words – gushes, rushes of languageLife, super-charged. I am hands-touch, first-kissE-lectricityAnd all the muddled upJumbled up messes that come after. I am the dark-night-dying-red,Close-your-eyes and scream painOf towers falling.Over and overRewind- replay- still ends the same wayWhen all we have are wordsThat weep. Everybody knows painAnd everybody knows joy.
The wonder of crocus shootsAnd chocolate frogsStars that shoot across the skySo fast you’re not even sureThey were real.But they were. So I am not reserved. If you need to slap that sign on meYou just add a note at the bottomIn magic marker or crayon, maybeMake it say“Reserved for the old and the youngThe rich and the poorHearts laughing or cryingOr almost too angry to write.Reserved for Whole Mad World.”That’ll do. Because I am poetry.And I am out-going –Out going on subways and busesIn school kids’ lunch bagsAnd playground rhymesOn the lips of farmers praising early springAnd mothers whispering late-night feedingsI am out-goingGoing out –Going out to preach and party and mournGoing out to grow the blades of grassSing them up into springtimeWords breathe oxygen, sure as they make sounds. I am poetry, and – What’s that? My time is up?I see the buffet table’s readySo I’ll step down. But I’ll never be quietKnow that much. You’ll hear me out there,Crying when you are, too.Screaming injustice till somebody listens,Laughing at bawdy jokesIn my too-bright red suspenders.You’ll see me pointing to that sunrise the color of berries,That leaf that looks like an old man’s face,That girl in the corner with dreams,WhisperingLook.Pay attention.See. Thanks for coming today.Enjoy this feast of words.And when it’s over,You go on out.And make a poem.Do it.Make a poem of your own.

 

Copyright 2012, Kate Messner

A note about sharing poems online: Teachers – Feel free to share this poem with your students, no special permission needed.  Bloggers – If you’d like to share this poem with your readers, please do so by quoting a short excerpt and linking to the full version here. Thanks – and happy National Poetry Month!

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Why you're never too old for a read-aloud

Last night, my daughter and I gathered a pile of books to prepare the serious business of choosing our next bedtime read-aloud.  It's not a decision we make lightly; this is a book that will bring us together and linger in both our thoughts every night for a while.  It can't be too scary or too sad.  (When we read THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, wonderful as it was, we had to read parts during the day, because who wants to wake up with those red, puffy, crying eyes?)  We settled on SHAKESPEARE'S SECRET by Elise Broach for right now and Rebecca Stead's FIRST LIGHT is on deck in the book-cubby that hangs from her bed.

My daughter's been reading voraciously on her own  for years, and occasionally when I mention to a parent that we read aloud every night, I see raised eyebrows. Why read aloud to a kid who's been tackling Harry Potter on her own since first grade?   But I believe read-alouds have special powers.  They do. Powers to bring us together and create a shared reading experience that's different from the one we have, even if we're reading the same novel on our own, at the same time.

That's why I'm a huge advocate of reading aloud to older students in schools, too.  When I taught 7th grade English, we always had a read-aloud book.  Sometimes, all my classes read the same title, but other times, they voted by class and came up with vastly different choices that suited their collective personalities. One group of classes chose OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper, SCRAWL by Mark Schulman, GIRL, STOLEN by April Henry, and BREADCRUMBS by Anne Ursu — four titles that really couldn't be more different from one another. All four were perfect for the group that chose them.

Many older students who are struggling readers have fallen out of love with stories.  Ask a preschool class, "Who loves to read stories?"  Every hand goes up.  But ask that same question to a group of 5th graders, 7th graders, 9th graders…and you'll see the numbers dwindle as the kids get older. Somewhere along the way, our kids who struggle have learned that reading is hard work — and often, hard work that they're not especially good at. That makes it hard to love a story.

Unless….

Unless someone shares one with you aloud, with no strings attached, no test at the end, and that someone reads with expression and does all the voices.  Teachers of older students have the power to give stories back to struggling readers, to reintroduce books as a joy rather than a struggle.  It's such a powerful thing to see.

A few years ago, a guidance counselor stopped by my 7th grade classroom one morning to let me know that one of my kids was having a particularly rough day and probably wouldn't make it through class. When he arrived, I could tell he wasn't himself, and he came up to me right away to tell me he was leaving for the study room so he wouldn't get in trouble.

"I can write you a pass to go if you want," I said, "but we're reading CHAINS. And we're at that good part. Do you want to give it a try and see how it goes?"

He nodded and went to his seat, and I kept an eye on him as I read. I watched the story change his afternoon. I watched his hands unclench and his face relax, and watched him leave in a better place than he was when he came. And it wasn't my doing; it was Isabel and Curzon, I think, who made him feel like things might be okay, and it was those funny British soldier wives who made him laugh.  I saw him later in the day, too, and he still seemed to be doing all right.  I wasn't surprised.  Stories stay with us.  They nurture us, long after the reading is through. That's why you're never too old for a read-aloud.

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Why you’re never too old for a read-aloud

Last night, my daughter and I gathered a pile of books to prepare the serious business of choosing our next bedtime read-aloud.  It’s not a decision we make lightly; this is a book that will bring us together and linger in both our thoughts every night for a while.  It can’t be too scary or too sad.  (When we read THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, wonderful as it was, we had to read parts during the day, because who wants to wake up with those red, puffy, crying eyes?)  We settled on SHAKESPEARE’S SECRET by Elise Broach for right now and Rebecca Stead’s FIRST LIGHT is on deck in the book-cubby that hangs from her bed.

My daughter’s been reading voraciously on her own  for years, and occasionally when I mention to a parent that we read aloud every night, I see raised eyebrows. Why read aloud to a kid who’s been tackling Harry Potter on her own since first grade?   But I believe read-alouds have special powers.  They do. Powers to bring us together and create a shared reading experience that’s different from the one we have, even if we’re reading the same novel on our own, at the same time.

That’s why I’m a huge advocate of reading aloud to older students in schools, too.  When I taught 7th grade English, we always had a read-aloud book.  Sometimes, all my classes read the same title, but other times, they voted by class and came up with vastly different choices that suited their collective personalities. One group of classes chose OUT OF MY MIND by Sharon Draper, SCRAWL by Mark Schulman, GIRL, STOLEN by April Henry, and BREADCRUMBS by Anne Ursu — four titles that really couldn’t be more different from one another. All four were perfect for the group that chose them.

Many older students who are struggling readers have fallen out of love with stories.  Ask a preschool class, “Who loves to read stories?”  Every hand goes up.  But ask that same question to a group of 5th graders, 7th graders, 9th graders…and you’ll see the numbers dwindle as the kids get older. Somewhere along the way, our kids who struggle have learned that reading is hard work — and often, hard work that they’re not especially good at. That makes it hard to love a story.

Unless….

Unless someone shares one with you aloud, with no strings attached, no test at the end, and that someone reads with expression and does all the voices.  Teachers of older students have the power to give stories back to struggling readers, to reintroduce books as a joy rather than a struggle.  It’s such a powerful thing to see.

A few years ago, a guidance counselor stopped by my 7th grade classroom one morning to let me know that one of my kids was having a particularly rough day and probably wouldn’t make it through class. When he arrived, I could tell he wasn’t himself, and he came up to me right away to tell me he was leaving for the study room so he wouldn’t get in trouble.

“I can write you a pass to go if you want,” I said, “but we’re reading CHAINS. And we’re at that good part. Do you want to give it a try and see how it goes?”

He nodded and went to his seat, and I kept an eye on him as I read. I watched the story change his afternoon. I watched his hands unclench and his face relax, and watched him leave in a better place than he was when he came. And it wasn’t my doing; it was Isabel and Curzon, I think, who made him feel like things might be okay, and it was those funny British soldier wives who made him laugh.  I saw him later in the day, too, and he still seemed to be doing all right.  I wasn’t surprised.  Stories stay with us.  They nurture us, long after the reading is through. That’s why you’re never too old for a read-aloud.

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TED2012: Full Spectrum – Photos from a Magical Week

The TED Stage is a place I never imagined I'd be…so while I was in Long Beach last week, I made it a point to appreciate every minute of every day, and I took lots of photos. Here are some that I hope will give you an idea what an amazing and surreal experience it was…

A red carpet led to the door of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.  And inside…

Giant posters of all the speakers loomed over the TED lobby. This was a little scary.

And speaking of scary things…

This glowing hand offered me an apple when I opened the door to my room at the Long Beach Hyatt late Sunday night.  I made it past the scary apple-hand and was comforted by checking out the contents of the famous TED gift bag before I went to bed.

Monday was rehearsal day.  It was great to have the opportunity to stand on the stage and see what it would be like speaking later on in the conference. There are monitors on the floor as well as a digital clock that counts down your time (six minutes, in my case!)

TED curator Chris Anderson gave the speaker briefing Monday afternoon. "Let a thousand experiments bloom," he told us. "Be proud of what you've prepared and how you do it." Then he invited the whole speaker crew onto the stage for one last look before the official talks began the next day.

In the opening line of my talk on world building, I'd planned to ask the audience how many had played with Legos as kids. So I was delighted to find this on display in one of the TED social spaces…

It had to be a good sign, right?

The social spaces were full of all sorts of amazing exhibits, including this one from Genentech, where you could swab your DNA and then hear what it sounded like as music (they used algorithms to make DNA code into musical notes somehow).

You didn't think I'd pass up the chance to be part of a genetic symphony, did you?

If you'd like to hear the full symphony of TEDsters' DNA, it's available online. Sounds pretty neat, even though I'm not sure which notes I contributed. I hope it's one of the nice, zippy parts.

Here's Julie Burstein speaking at TED2012 – Her book, SPARK: HOW CREATIVITY WORKS is a favorite of mine, so I was excited to meet her, and she was so, so nice. Julie spoke early in the week and spent much of the rest of her week reassuring the rest of us that we would do just fine.

On Tuesday night, there was a big, fancy party.

And here is the dessert table, for those of you who value dessert like I do.

I will be doing gym-time penance for my TED desserts for months.

Regina Dugan is the head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and gave one of my favorite talks of the week. She asked what we'd do if we knew that failure was impossible…and that got us all thinking about how fear of failure impacts the choices we make, the chances we choose to take, and what we dare to try. Powerful stuff from an amazing woman.

Thursday night, there was another fancy party, at the aquarium.

Even the fish were fancy.

On Friday, the walk from the Hyatt to the Performing Arts center felt a little different; that morning was Session 11: The Classroom, where I was speaking along with Bill Nye, Ainissa Ramirez, Angie Miller, Al Vernaccio, John Bohanon, Awele Makeba, Rafe Esquith, Chris Anderson, and Aaron Reedy.  I was nervous, but my family had flown out to California to meet me on Wednesday so they could be at my session, and that helped so much.

There were lots of fascinating people at TED, but these three were my favorites.:-)

Here are two more super-nice people I met in Long Beach…

Nicoletta Daskolakas and Jessica Patrick were the official TED makeup artists, and they were both super-talented and incredibly kind (even to those of us who don't really know our mascara from our lip liner on a regular day).  Bill Nye and I had our hair/makeup appointment together.

I kept thinking, "How surreal is this? I'm having my makeup done with Bill Nye?!!  And usually I don't even wear makeup!"

Then it was time for The Classroom. The theatre looked a lot different than it had during rehearsals.

I was happy with the way my talk went. It was far from perfect, but it was me, and I got to share some ideas about which I'm truly passionate.

Official TED photo by James Duncan Davidson: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedconfe...

There's no video online yet, but you can read the TED blog summary here. After the last session on Friday, the conference ended with a picnic and goodbyes.

From left to right: Julie Burstein, Ainissa Ramirez, and Cyndi Parr (Encyclopedia of Life)

From left to right: Ben Lillie, who writes for TED, Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere, Angie Miller, Al Vernaccio, and Brandon Miller.

I met such great people here — especially my fellow speakers in The Classroom session. I'm hoping they'll visit my blog for interviews later on so you can get to know them better. But for now, I'm so thankful for the friendships that bloomed along with so many incredible ideas this week.

It was the opportunity of a lifetime – and one that I wish everyone could experience. Just in case you're interested…TED is holding open auditions for its 2013 conference, "The Young. The Wise. Undiscovered."
You never know…

I'm still processing all the amazing talks from last week and will have thoughts to share in the weeks to come, but for now, here are a couple that have already been shared online that you should check out.

Vijay Kumar shared his engineering team's robots that fly and cooperate. (There's an amazing robot-music-video at the end of this one!)

Susan Cain spoke beautifully about the power of introverts in our world.

And finally, Bryan Stevenson got what long-time TED attendees say was the biggest standing ovation in TED history with his talk on race, poverty, privilege, and justice. Please share this one where you can; it's a conversation that we so need to be having.

.

TED2012: Full Spectrum – Photos from a Magical Week

The TED Stage is a place I never imagined I’d be…so while I was in Long Beach last week, I made it a point to appreciate every minute of every day, and I took lots of photos. Here are some that I hope will give you an idea what an amazing and surreal experience it was…

A red carpet led to the door of the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.  And inside…

Giant posters of all the speakers loomed over the TED lobby. This was a little scary.

And speaking of scary things…

This glowing hand offered me an apple when I opened the door to my room at the Long Beach Hyatt late Sunday night.  I made it past the scary apple-hand and was comforted by checking out the contents of the famous TED gift bag before I went to bed.

Monday was rehearsal day.  It was great to have the opportunity to stand on the stage and see what it would be like speaking later on in the conference. There are monitors on the floor as well as a digital clock that counts down your time (six minutes, in my case!)

TED curator Chris Anderson gave the speaker briefing Monday afternoon. “Let a thousand experiments bloom,” he told us. “Be proud of what you’ve prepared and how you do it.” Then he invited the whole speaker crew onto the stage for one last look before the official talks began the next day.

In the opening line of my talk on world building, I’d planned to ask the audience how many had played with Legos as kids. So I was delighted to find this on display in one of the TED social spaces…

It had to be a good sign, right?

The social spaces were full of all sorts of amazing exhibits, including this one from Genentech, where you could swab your DNA and then hear what it sounded like as music (they used algorithms to make DNA code into musical notes somehow).

You didn’t think I’d pass up the chance to be part of a genetic symphony, did you?

If you’d like to hear the full symphony of TEDsters’ DNA, it’s available online. Sounds pretty neat, even though I’m not sure which notes I contributed. I hope it’s one of the nice, zippy parts.

Here’s Julie Burstein speaking at TED2012 – Her book, SPARK: HOW CREATIVITY WORKS is a favorite of mine, so I was excited to meet her, and she was so, so nice. Julie spoke early in the week and spent much of the rest of her week reassuring the rest of us that we would do just fine.

On Tuesday night, there was a big, fancy party.

And here is the dessert table, for those of you who value dessert like I do.

I will be doing gym-time penance for my TED desserts for months.

Regina Dugan is the head of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and gave one of my favorite talks of the week. She asked what we’d do if we knew that failure was impossible…and that got us all thinking about how fear of failure impacts the choices we make, the chances we choose to take, and what we dare to try. Powerful stuff from an amazing woman.

Thursday night, there was another fancy party, at the aquarium.

Even the fish were fancy.

On Friday, the walk from the Hyatt to the Performing Arts center felt a little different; that morning was Session 11: The Classroom, where I was speaking along with Bill Nye, Ainissa Ramirez, Angie Miller, Al Vernaccio, John Bohanon, Awele Makeba, Rafe Esquith, Chris Anderson, and Aaron Reedy.  I was nervous, but my family had flown out to California to meet me on Wednesday so they could be at my session, and that helped so much.

There were lots of fascinating people at TED, but these three were my favorites.:-)

Here are two more super-nice people I met in Long Beach…

Nicoletta Daskolakas and Jessica Patrick were the official TED makeup artists, and they were both super-talented and incredibly kind (even to those of us who don’t really know our mascara from our lip liner on a regular day).  Bill Nye and I had our hair/makeup appointment together.

I kept thinking, “How surreal is this? I’m having my makeup done with Bill Nye?!!  And usually I don’t even wear makeup!”

Then it was time for The Classroom. The theatre looked a lot different than it had during rehearsals.

I was happy with the way my talk went. It was far from perfect, but it was me, and I got to share some ideas about which I’m truly passionate.

Official TED photo by James Duncan Davidson: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tedconfe...

There’s no video online yet, but you can read the TED blog summary here. After the last session on Friday, the conference ended with a picnic and goodbyes.

From left to right: Julie Burstein, Ainissa Ramirez, and Cyndi Parr (Encyclopedia of Life)

From left to right: Ben Lillie, who writes for TED, Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere, Angie Miller, Al Vernaccio, and Brandon Miller.

I met such great people here — especially my fellow speakers in The Classroom session. I’m hoping they’ll visit my blog for interviews later on so you can get to know them better. But for now, I’m so thankful for the friendships that bloomed along with so many incredible ideas this week.

It was the opportunity of a lifetime – and one that I wish everyone could experience. Just in case you’re interested…TED is holding open auditions for its 2013 conference, “The Young. The Wise. Undiscovered.”
You never know…

I’m still processing all the amazing talks from last week and will have thoughts to share in the weeks to come, but for now, here are a couple that have already been shared online that you should check out.

Vijay Kumar shared his engineering team’s robots that fly and cooperate. (There’s an amazing robot-music-video at the end of this one!)

Susan Cain spoke beautifully about the power of introverts in our world.

And finally, Bryan Stevenson got what long-time TED attendees say was the biggest standing ovation in TED history with his talk on race, poverty, privilege, and justice. Please share this one where you can; it’s a conversation that we so need to be having.

.

TED2012: Full Spectrum, Day 3

It's been another amazing day at TED2012 – full of science and improvisation, nature and urban planning, robots and magic and gospel music. Two talks that really made me think yesterday have already gone live on Ted.com  – so you can watch futurists Peter Diamandis and Paul Gilding present their views, too.

Regina Dugan, the director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, gave an amazing talk today about the groundbreaking work being done by scientists and engineers on her team. Talk about a sense of wonder… You won't want to miss this one when it goes online.

My two favorite quotes from Regina today:

"When you remove the fear of failure, impossible things suddenly become possible."

"Be nice to nerds. Scientists and engineers change the world."

So true.  More quotes from today, from talks you'll be able to see online soon:

"I've been from one end of the earth to the other, trying to get the perfect shot and capture animal behavior we've never seen before."    ~Karen Bass, film maker

"I didn't want my grandchildren to grow up and say, 'Opa understood what was happening, but he didn't make it clear."  ~Climatologist James Hanson on why he speaks out on climate change

"Be the entrepreneur of your own life."  ~Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn

"A neighbor is a better and cheaper alternative to government services."  ~Code for America's Jennifer Palka, on the apps her code writing fellows develop to solve community issues. One lets people adopt a fire hydrant that needs shoveling after a snowstorm. You even get to name your hydrant.

The 2012 TED Prize was unveiled tonight, and it has to do with creating the city of the future. You can help… and you should. Here's how it will work.

One last TED story from today…

During one presentation, the speaker pressed his multimedia clicker to play a video, and nothing happened. He pressed it again and got the spinning rainbow of doom.

He waited.

We waited.

He pressed the button again and the computer made that clunking noise it makes, when it's frozen and you keep pressing buttons anyway.  Then he pressed it again. It thunked again. And another spinning rainbow appeared. We all thought the TED tech team would jump in any second. But they didn't.

The speaker squirmed.

We all squirmed in the audience.

And then another spinning rainbow showed up with another error message. And another.  And then…

Scattered audience members opened rainbow umbrellas and began spinning them. And then people in rainbow bodysuits and with rainbow hair ran out on stage and fired rainbow streamers out of a cannon. And then the beach balls rained down from the balcony.

Have you guessed it yet?  Improv Everywhere. It was amazingly fun, and you can read more about it (and see clearer images) on the TED blog.

Tomorrow brings a new cast of speakers & performers – I'm especially looking forward to hearing from Philippe Petit, the man who walked the wire between the Twin Towers, and Jon Ronson, whose book about psychopaths I recently read, enjoyed, and then had bad dreams about.

More soon…

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TED 2012: Full Spectrum – Day 2 & Overwhelmed

There really aren't words to describe how overwhelmingly amazing TED2012 has been so far, but I'll try. Imagine a really super-amazing lecture — one that engages every bit of your mind and heart and leaves you thinking for weeks.

Now imagine five or six of those in a row, with maybe a bit of international music or multimedia dance mixed in. And then repeat that…four times a day.

It will truly take me weeks to process everything I saw and heard today alone, and today was just day one of four. As raw, unprocessed and bursting as my thoughts are right now, all I can share tonight is a sleepy montage from the day…a few photos and favorite quotes.

Here's TED host Chris Anderson introducing the first session. Yesterday, at our speakers' briefing, Chris was reminding us not to worry if other speakers' talks are different from ours.  "Let a thousand experiments bloom. Be proud of what you've prepared and how you do it."

Toy Story and WALL-E creator Andrew Stanton on the greatest commandment of storytelling: "Make me care."

Seth Godin on creativity and the need for failure: "Innovation is just repeated failure until you come up with something that works."

Gary Kovacs on web tracking: "With every click of the mouse, we are like Hansel and Gretel, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs through the digital woods."

Billy Collins gave his talk today, showing some animated videos that have been created for his poems. When he was done speaking, TED host June Cohen came on stage, clearly delighted by Collins' humor. "Poetry can be funny!"

"Yes," Collins agreed. "Someone said once that I put the fun back in profundity."

Other things I learned about today:  India, biological dark matter, Yosemite's founder, a texting hotline, string theory, space archaeology, Pixar and storytelling, kinetic sculpture, doctors and checklists, transcendence, comebacks, and why the letter x represents the unknown.

In a word, amazing.

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TED 2012: Full Spectrum – Day 2 & Overwhelmed

There really aren’t words to describe how overwhelmingly amazing TED2012 has been so far, but I’ll try. Imagine a really super-amazing lecture — one that engages every bit of your mind and heart and leaves you thinking for weeks.

Now imagine five or six of those in a row, with maybe a bit of international music or multimedia dance mixed in. And then repeat that…four times a day.

It will truly take me weeks to process everything I saw and heard today alone, and today was just day one of four. As raw, unprocessed and bursting as my thoughts are right now, all I can share tonight is a sleepy montage from the day…a few photos and favorite quotes.

Here’s TED host Chris Anderson introducing the first session. Yesterday, at our speakers’ briefing, Chris was reminding us not to worry if other speakers’ talks are different from ours.  “Let a thousand experiments bloom. Be proud of what you’ve prepared and how you do it.”

Toy Story and WALL-E creator Andrew Stanton on the greatest commandment of storytelling: “Make me care.”

Seth Godin on creativity and the need for failure: “Innovation is just repeated failure until you come up with something that works.”

Gary Kovacs on web tracking: “With every click of the mouse, we are like Hansel and Gretel, leaving a trail of breadcrumbs through the digital woods.”

Billy Collins gave his talk today, showing some animated videos that have been created for his poems. When he was done speaking, TED host June Cohen came on stage, clearly delighted by Collins’ humor. “Poetry can be funny!”

“Yes,” Collins agreed. “Someone said once that I put the fun back in profundity.”

Other things I learned about today:  India, biological dark matter, Yosemite’s founder, a texting hotline, string theory, space archaeology, Pixar and storytelling, kinetic sculpture, doctors and checklists, transcendence, comebacks, and why the letter x represents the unknown.

In a word, amazing.

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