The Sonikcycle Syndicate

In a letter ostensibly intended as a response to concerns raised by some of his constituents regarding Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison’s use of the Qur’an during his swearing in ceremony, Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode clearly expressed prejudicial sentiments towards Muslims. As an American Muslim of Scots-Irish descent and member of Mr. Goode’s constituency, my initial reaction was deeply personal. I was outraged that I was being made to feel unwelcome in my own home by “my” representative’s myopic and prejudicial views.

After this initial blush of indignation and disgust, however, I realized that the significance Mr. Goode’s views as expressed in his letter and on Fox News, extends well beyond a “personal” attack on me. As one of this great nation’s highest elected officials, Mr. Goode has exemplified some of the lowest characteristics of human behavior: prejudice and intolerance. This affects EVERYONE!

Mr. Goode has been fond of claiming that he is speaking on behalf of his constituency. If you reside in Virginia’s 5th District, and if you disagree with Mr. Goode, please “Write Your Representative” and let him know that he does NOT speak on your behalf.

Technorati Tags: Virgil Goode, Virginia, Islam, Islamophobia, Muslims, prejudice, intolerance

Photo by: .K.

Last night, I experienced the elusive “peak creative experience.” As I sat out on my screened-in front porch enjoying a thunderstorm roll over Lake Orion, I flipped on my digital recorder hoping to catch some big thunderboomers. I did — no big claps, but a few nice rollers. Without even thinking about it, it occured to me, “Hey, this might sound good under that impromptu kecapi+vocal music I recorded last year…” Sure enough, the two tracks fell into place like they were one. This piece is certainly not the most original of my creative endeavors (I just did the mixing), but it turned out to be very powerful… it takes me back to my life on the equator… I can smell the wet tropical lushness… Although I am thoroughly amused and satisfied by my more “crafted” works, the ones I like the most are those that just fall into place! Exercising one’s creativity is like fishing — one never knows when a big fish will strike ;->

BTW, the kecapi is in the zither family of instruments, and is native to West Java (Sunda). The musicians are Ismet & Ati (a husband and wife duo) and they hail from Bandung, West Java. They are the founders of SambaSunda.

Check out more Standard SoundFarm Issue.

Technorati Tags: kecapi, sunda, west java, indonesia, thunder

I love css galleries. Ostensibly for the purpose of inspiring (wannabe) web designers, css galleries aggregates over 2 dozen other web sites that have css design galleries. Each design thumbnail is linked to the actual site. THIS is what I find to be really cool, because in addition to the asthetic appeal, well-designed sites often have fascinating content. Scrolling through the pages at css galleries is like walking through a good book store, and then some! This morning I first got caught up in byteMyCode. Then I found myself at Cobra Creative which led me to Beat Hive, a set-up-your-own-online-audio-loop shop. Yes, Da SoundFarmer, is stoked ;->

Technorati Tags: css, galleries, web design, web2.0

OK… the title’s a bit of a stretch… but just as I put a full stop to my tool talk, here comes Zoho!!! With all this technology buzzing around my head, I feel like the pilot (and practically everyone else) in Wernor Herzog’s Grizzly Man. It’s no wonder since there are 7… lemme check that…and…yes, according to the good Dr. Hofer, there are…

something like 7 new web applications being developed each week… if we don’t just drown in all the new possibilities, we may be able to leverage these new technologies in ways that really resonate with teachers.

Hear him, hear him! And I do hear you, Doc

Technorati Tags: grizzly man, edtech, web2.0

Last Wednesday, I ran into an old buddy from the State Department at the 40th Annual TESOL Convention in Tampa. I had seen Damon’s name on an e-mail list and was prompted to dash off an note in the hopes that we might meet. As I walked out the door to look for a nice place to sit and to compose my message, who should be coming up the steps but my old pal Damon! To have run into him at that moment among the +/- 8,000 attendees was beyond coincidence. I felt VERY connected.

In 1988, when I was an English Teaching Fellow in Jakarta, Damon was the Regional English Language Officer (RELO). Damon had returned to Indonesia in 2003, just before I had headed back to the U.S.A.. We chatted briefly, then he invited me to a networking session where I met another old Indonesian friend and made several new ones. Damon then invited me to a Fellow reunion/recruitment function Friday evening. Little did I know, I would be dealing with more than recounting the joys of being a Fellow to the candidates who were hoping to make a good impression on one of the several RELO’s from around the world who were there to recruit. Damon pitched a Senior Fellow position to me, and he pitched it hard–he knew precisely which of my buttons to push…

I am now out of sorts. I am finding it difficult to relate to what’s going on around me, which may be due to the fact that I am in the environs of Universal Studios in Orlando, FLA. But such thoughts and feelings have always been harbingers of Michael’s migratory behavior. I’m stuck on thinking about establishing a language and culture center in Aceh, North Sumatera. I’ve been quite content to focus on my work in Charlottesville…but this center would be hosted by the State Islamic University of Indonesia, and it would afford opportunities on many different fronts: instructional design, Islam, diplomacy, EFL, research, educational technology….

Over the last couple of years, I’ve managed quite successfully to allay my desire to live the equatorial life that I’ve come to love so much (focusing on an advanced degree has had much to do with that!). But Damon has taken me back. Oh my, what ever shall I do?

Alhamdulillah

Technorati Tags: TESOL, RELO, USIS, USIA, Aceh, Sumatera, Indonesia