Lilian Nattel's Blog, page 77

Tomorrow

a meeting. And now? Straighten up the bed, crawl between sheets cool to the skin. Say "Come to bed," and I am not alone. #aros

Filed under: Miscellany

Jerusalem Prize

Ian McEwan won the Jerusalem Prize! http://bit.ly/enpfMR. For 2009 the winner was Haruki Murakami. The prize is awarded for the novelist who best expresses "freedom of the individual in society."

Filed under: Literary Tagged: Haruki Murakami, Ian McEwen, Jerusalem Prize

Irony Is Good!

But it was really the Internet that salvaged Chinese humor, and especially irony of the embittered sort that Wang Shuo had pioneered. In the late 1990s, the Internet was still entirely uncensored (it would remain that way as late as 2004 or 2005), and it became, at last, a public space for writers and thinkers…to explore new kinds of voices. Wang Xiaoshan was the founder of the "Black Humor Wire Service," a parodic news service reminiscent of the Onion. The wire service, founded in 1999 and still in operation today, in gentler form, gave journalists and writers a desperately needed outlet. "

via foreignpolicy.com

The whole article is worth reading for the importance of laughter and the internet as an instrument of freedom.

It reminds me that we, as writers and readers in free countries, all the more need to refuse despair, and refuse knuckling under to the ostensible demands of the market. We have the privilege of being free to laugh together, have tea together, and remember what matters to us, what touches us most deeply. And we are free, as well, to use the internet to connect and to communicate that.

Okay, enough procrastinating, back to draft 1 of my new novel.

Filed under: Interesting Tagged: Chinese politcs, the power of humour

Show Don't Tell–Kids

[I]n a new study by Elizabeth Bonawitz from University of California, Berkeley. Through two experiments with pre-schoolers, Bonawitz has found that teaching can be a "double-edge sword". When teachers provided specific instructions about a new toy, children learned how to play with it more efficiently. But the lessons also curtailed their exploratory streak. They were less likely to play with the toy in new ways. Ultimately, they failed to find all of its secrets.

via blogs.discovermagazine.com

Bonawitz presented 4-6 year olds with a brightly coloured toy that had various appendages which squeaked, played music, and other interesting things. When the children were left with the toy, they discovered all its functions. The same thing happened if Bonawitz played with it or if she began to talk about the toy and then "forgot" something she had to do and left the room.

But if she taught the children one function of the toy, they assumed that was all there was to it, and in the main didn't discover anything else about it or use it in the creative ways they did if left to their own devices.

This isn't only true of young children, from my experience. I've noticed that my kids, ages 9 and 12 now, fearlessly explore the uses (and occasionally abuses!) of new devices. This can be a bit scary for me when the device is a sewing machine that is pounding a small sharp object up and down at high velocity.

But I am amazed at the creativity, inventiveness and fearlessness of my children when allowed to explore the sewing machine, the computer, and even old fashioned tools like hammer and pliers.

There is a lesson here for me. Actually there are two. The first lesson is "Hands off, Mom" The second is, "Don't feel guilty for being too busy to instruct." They just need to be let at it. I just need to let them.

Filed under: Interesting Tagged: education

When teaching restrains discovery | Not Exactly Rocket Science | Discover Magazine

[I]n a new study by Elizabeth Bonawitz from University of California, Berkeley. Through two experiments with pre-schoolers, Bonawitz has found that teaching can be a "double-edge sword". When teachers provided specific instructions about a new toy, children learned how to play with it more efficiently. But the lessons also curtailed their exploratory streak. They were less likely to play with the toy in new ways. Ultimately, they failed to find all of its secrets.

via blogs.discovermagazine.com

Bonawitz presented 4-6 year olds with a brightly coloured toy that had various appendages which squeaked, played music, and other interesting things. When the children were left with the toy, they discovered all its functions. The same thing happened if Bonawitz played with it or if she began to talk about the toy and then "forgot" something she had to do and left the room.

But if she taught the children one function of the toy, they assumed that was all there was to it, and in the main didn't discover anything else about it or use it in the creative ways they did if left to their own devices.

This isn't only true of young children, from my experience. I've noticed that my kids, ages 9 and 12 now, fearlessly explore the uses (and occasionally abuses!) of new devices. This can be a bit scary for me when the device is a sewing machine that is pounding a small sharp object up and down at high velocity.

But I am amazed at the creativity, inventiveness and fearlessness of my children when allowed to explore the sewing machine, the computer, and even old fashioned tools like hammer and pliers.

There is a lesson here for me. Actually there are two. The first lesson is "Hands off, Mom" The second is, "Don't feel guilty for being too busy to instruct." They just need to be let at it. I just need to let them.

Filed under: Nature & Science Tagged: education

The New Sherlock

Yes, that Sherlock Holmes, who appeared in dozens of short shorts and four novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, will once again be investigating mysteries, sifting through evidence and not saying, "Elementary, my dear Watson," in a new novel authorized by the Conan Doyle estate. The Guardian reported that Anthony Horowitz, the author of the best-selling Alex Rider novels for young adults, has been tapped by the Conan Doyle estate to write the new book, which will be set in traditional Victorian London and aimed at adult readers.

via artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com

When I was 12, I read my first Sherlock Holmes. It was Hound of the Baskervilles. In the course of reading it, I'll confess, I got a bit bored, but it was for school. What to do? I flipped to the end and found that last sum-up bit, where Holmes rounds up all the suspects, reminds everyone of the clues, and outlines his deductive process. After that, whenever I was a bit bored with a book, I'd read the end, and, if the end made it worth my while, I'd go back and fill in the middle. It worked pretty well.

Filed under: Literary Tagged: new Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes to Resume Winding His Way Down Baker Street – NYTimes.com

Yes, that Sherlock Holmes, who appeared in dozens of short shorts and four novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, will once again be investigating mysteries, sifting through evidence and not saying, "Elementary, my dear Watson," in a new novel authorized by the Conan Doyle estate. The Guardian reported that Anthony Horowitz, the author of the best-selling Alex Rider novels for young adults, has been tapped by the Conan Doyle estate to write the new book, which will be set in traditional Victorian London and aimed at adult readers.

via artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com

When I was 12, I read my first Sherlock Holmes. It was Hound of the Baskervilles. In the course of reading it, I'll confess, I got a bit bored, but it was for school. What to do? I flipped to the end and found that last sum-up bit, where Holmes rounds up all the suspects, reminds everyone of the clues, and outlines his deductive process. After that, whenever I was a bit bored with a book, I'd read the end, and, if the end made it worth my while, I'd go back and fill in the middle. It worked pretty well.

Filed under: Miscellany

Golden Snub soned monkey

via flickr.com

They share a lot of our DNA, but they're cuter than the average human, don't you think?

Filed under: Beautiful Tagged: golden monkey

Golden Snub soned monkey | Flickr – Photo Sharing!

via flickr.com

They share a lot of our DNA, but they're cuter than the average human, don't you think?

Filed under: Miscellany

At Night

Everything looks different my 9 yo says. By day walking somewhere new is exploring. The dark is scary. Except on our street.#aros

Filed under: Miscellany