Streaming music is great, but you’ve probably heard songs you just have to own, or you an artist or band you’d like to support by purchasing their music. Doing so on the big stores is cheap and easy, but there’s a world of smaller music stores with interesting music you should check out too. Let’s take a look.
Learning to code is a popular topic in educational circles these days. For good reason. When young people code their own apps, games, stories, or websites they have a chance to think critically, troubleshoot, problem solve, and collaborate. It’s a way to create something real that can be seen and used by lots of different people.
Of course, not all teachers or library staff are proficient coders. But, we don’t have to be. There are several apps and Web-based tools that make it possible to learn, with kids, the basics of coding. These also give young people the chance to try things out on their own and even teach adults how to create with code.
Ramona Pringle’s life was like a sitcom — one of those cheesy, too-good-to-be-true shows about finding love and success in the big city.
She had a good job at Frontline; a number of smart, successful friends; and a boyfriend — “a fantastic one!” — whom she planned to marry. Things were perfect.
With a quick roll of the dice, though, everything changed. Her mother was diagnosed with a life-changing illness, and Pringle left her job in New York and moved back home to Toronto to take care of her. A week later, Pringle’s boyfriend broke up with her.
The dream, the city, the perfect life — gone in a flash.
“It was absolute rock bottom,” she says. ” Here I was, back in my childhood bedroom — and it was so quiet. It was so eerily quiet Here I was, back in my childhood bedroom — and it was so quiet. It was so eerily quiet.”
It was the type of situation in which some might turn to alcohol, drugs or even religion to cope. Pringle was looking for some kind — any kind — of answer. But her mother was sick, and she needed to be with her. Leaving wasn’t an option.
“People get these ‘pilgrimage moments,’ you know? When something happens to them and they trek across Europe or India in search of some kind of wisdom,” she says. “I couldn’t do that.”
Instead, she turned to the virtual realm of World of Warcraft (WoW), where she found an unexpected community of support and camaraderie. She was so inspired that she went to work on an interactive documentary, Avatar Secrets, about the lessons she learned. It’s set to be released in the spring of 2014.
A really inspiring story. I think many of us can empathize with her dramatic change in circumstances directing her life down a completely different path. The content above is only half the story…read more following the link: How One Woman Grappled With Grief Through Gaming | Mashable.
Teen Poet Sparks New Debate on Islam in Denmark | WSJ
Hassan – the 18-year-old son of Palestinian immigrants who are Muslims – is now creating his own brand of controversy in Islamic circles and elsewhere with a new book of poetry that was published in Denmark last month. The writing student’s self-titled book contains around 150 poems, many of which are severely critical of the religious environment he grew up in.
How Pinterest Plans to Woo the Rest of the Internet | FastCompany
Unlike social media platforms like Twitter that capture the here and now, Pinterest is for dreaming of what’s ahead, says CEO Ben Silbermann…“People use Pinterest every day to get ready for and excited about something in their future–what they’re going to make for dinner, what they’re going to teach their classroom of students. If we can create a set of connections between things that they’re interested in, we can help them plan for that future.”
If you’ve ever been convinced by a salesperson that you truly wanted a product, done something too instinctively, or made choices that seemed entirely out of character, then you’ve had an idea planted in your mind. Here’s how it’s done.
infophile 