Segway to New Experiences

         

 David and Bonnie pause on Annapolis SegZone tour. Photo by owner and tour leader, Debbie Wilson.

Bonnie practices before the tour. Photo by David. Ettlin

 

David feeling confident of his new Segway skills. Photo by Bonnie Schupp

Bonnie, feeling confident, picks up speed. Photo by David. Ettlin

I've been wanting to try riding a Segway for a while now but the expense slowed me down. Then a Groupon offer came through and David and I jumped on it for $25 instead of the normal $49 hour tour including a 30 minute training session. It was offered by SegZone in Annapolis.

The eight people in our group first had to sign waivers. Then we were given earphones which would be connected to transmissions from the leader's microphone. And we put on helmets. Steve Wilson gave initial demonstration and instruction while his sister, Debbie Wilson, would lead us around Annapolis.

When Steve asked for a volunteer to go first, I spoke up. Afterall, I was excited by this chance to try new technology...and I also thought it would give me extra practice time while the others were getting their initial instruction.

Steve steadied the Segway while I stepped on as instructed and just as he predicted, when he let go, I wobbled back and forth. I practiced getting on and off until I felt more steady and then Debbie supervised while I practiced going up and down the street outside their business at 131 Prince George Street. Wow! I could turn on a dime!

Soon David came outside astride his Segway and then the others one by one. Soon we were off for an hour to explore old Annapolis houses, including 5-part mansions, and to listen to interesting stories about people from the past who lived in them.

We rode over the bumpy brick Annapolis sidewalks and ducked low hanging branches. Afterall, we were about a foot taller than we would have been walking. There is no throttle. Nor is there a brake. The Segway becomes an extension of your body as you lean forward to go and backward to stop. Right and left movement is controlled by the handlebar.

Segways have the same rights as pedestrians. Anywhere a wheelchair is allowed, so is a Segway. Although its maximum speed at 12 mph doesn't sound fast, you feel like you're moving right along.

If you'd like to have a fun experience and also learn some interesting Annapolis history, I highly recommend this. Just call SegZone to arrange it. 410.280.1577 or 302.242.6615.

Read more about Segways here. See a video explaining how it works.

Rally to Restore Sanity

Squirrel at the rally advised, "Don't be nuts."

For more details of our rally experience, see David's blog here.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

American Visionary Art Museum's Educational Goals

Funny thing...no mention of standardized testing or standardized learning.

1. Expand the definition of a worthwhile life.
2. Engender respect for and delight in the gifts of others.
3. Increase awareness of the wide variety of choices available in life for all ... particularly students
4. Encourage each individual to build upon his or her own special knowledge and inner strengths
5. Promote the use of innate intelligence, intuition, self-exploration, and creative self-reliance.
6. Confirm the great hunger for finding out just what each of us can do best, in our own voice, at any age.
7. Empower the individual to choose to do that something really, really well.

Read more about the AVAM's education goals here.

And don't forget to visit one of my favorite places in Baltimore. The Visionary's new exhibit, "What Makes Us Smile," is bound to make you learn something while smiling.

http://www.avam.org

10/10/10

Today is October 10, 2010, or in another format... 10/10/10.

What were you doing at 10 seconds after 10 a.m. this morning? What will you be doing at 10 seconds after 10 p.m. tonight?

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/31496/today-is-101010-the-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything

Fear and Learning

 March/April 2010, Neurology Now

Why can’t Johnny learn? Often in looking for the answer to this question, the focus is on teachers and their teaching skills. However, even the best teachers cannot help their students learn if they are fearful. It’s impossible for the brain to learn when it is afraid and stressed.

The March/April 2010 issues of Neurology Now has an interesting article that talks about the science behind fear and learning. Higher learning occurs in the prefrontal cortex but fear leads to the amygdala’s fight or flight responses. 

Goldie Hawn is working with neurologist Judy Willis in this area with an unusual but educationally valid approach to helping students learn.

Metacognition.

Hawn’s MindUp! program teaches children how their brains work and why the right frame of mind is so important to their learning. Then students are trained to become more aware so their can identify their emotions and use the coping exercises they have learned.

It sounds like a reasonable approach for kids who are afraid  and stressed because of tests or being afraid to speak up in class but it may not work if a student is being abused at home or bullied in school.

Educators want to see their students learn and test scores rise. This article in Neurology Now points out that learning will not occur in a climate of fear. Schools must work hard to make sure students do not spend their time in a fearful climate. That means making sure that bullies do not highjack learning.

My doctoral work focused on schools, bullying and empathy. A summary presentation and accompanying notes can be found here. 

Bullying Presentation

http://bonnieschupp.com/Bullying.pps

Presentation Notes

http://bonnieschupp.com/bullyingnotes.doc

Beware the Fox

I am angry, dismayed, disappointed and worried.

I am also amazed there are so many, mostly older white people, who believe the twisted information that Fox calls news.

Yesterday I got yet another e-mail forward about Obama. This one was a copy of an editorial column from “Obama’s College Classmate” who claims that our President is purposely “overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos”  to eventually destroy capitalism and become a socialist ruler. (I’ll bet those who shout about the evils of socialism do not return their monthly social security checks.)

Then, in an attempt to give these outrageous claims credibility, this e-mail added, “True per snopes!” and “vetted by Snopes.” I am sure many people will not check the Snopes site that tries to set misinformation right and dispel gossip. For those who checked, they would have seen that Snopes does not claim that the writer’s words are correct but that it is  “correctly attributed” to Wayne Allyn Root.

Fact Check

In the past, Fox news has claimed they could not find any classmates who remembered Obama. The innuendo is that he lied to the public and didn’t really attend Columbia University.  Of course, it’s easy to find out the truth by quickly going to Fact Check.

 http://www.factcheck.org/2010/02/obama-at-columbia-university/

Fact Check, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, is a “nonpartisan, nonprofit "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.”

I am a former teacher who tried to teach my students how to think, how to analyze and separate truth from fiction. Have we teachers failed or is the American public just plain stupid?

Driven by Fear?

I am afraid that much of the split in our country could be the result of underlying racial prejudice. It saddens me so say this but just look at the sea of white faces in the Republican Party. There might also be a deep-seated white fear. The demographic snapshot of this country has changed and I believe many whites are fearful they will become the minority and lose power.

According to the European Union Times, within the next 40 years, the color of our country will have changed dramatically.

http://www.eutimes.net/2009/05/americas-quick-changing-demographics/

It reports statistics in 2005:

- 60% White
- 16% Hispanic
- 13% Black
- 5% Asian
- 2% Native
- 4% Other/Mixed

Projections for 2050 show whites as a minority:

- 33% Hispanic.
- 21% White.
- 20% Asian.
- 11% Black.
- 1% Native.
- 14% Other/Mixed.

Instead of clinging to the divisiveness that Fox encourages, we should be celebrating diversity. 

Manipulating the Masses

I am angry at the divisiveness nourished by the Republican party. I am dismayed at the condition George W. Bush left our country in, a condition that not even a smart President such as our current one can fix in eight years, if given a chance. I am disappointed in the gullibility (read that “stupidity”) of  a seemingly large segment of the American public. And I am worried for the future of our country.

It is incredible that people accept what Fox tosses out as real news. If people are so willing to believe Glenn Beck and his cronies, then who else might they be willing to believe?

Hitler writes in Mein Kempf, “The art of propaganda lies in understanding the emotional ideas of the great masses and finding, through a psychologically correct form, the way to the attention and hence to the heart of the broad masses... The broad mass of a nation does not consist of diplomats, or even professors of political law, or even individuals capable of forming a rational opinion...”

In Hitler’s Germany, people were easily led by his lies, innuendo and propaganda. Hitler seduced the masses.  In the United States, how can so many people be seduced by Fox?

Yes, I am worried.

I’ll be at Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity in D.C. on October 30. A large crowd at this event would be a good sign that there is some hope for our country.

http://www.rallytorestoresanity.com/

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Flash Rosenberg, Conversation Portrait Artist

Today online, I stumbled on a conversation portrait artist.

No, that’s not a typo. Flash Rosenberg is an artist-in-Residence at the New York Public Library who draws in real time and shapes conversations and interviews into a visual connection.

She says that she gives “visual, unifying fluency to conversations that are otherwise too complex and fragmented in today’s digital world to be universally understood.” She’s all about communication but in a creative way. Her drawings are filmed with voices of the conversations or interviews in the background.

“Our conversations in society are changing so much, too, because of email and Twitter and the Internet. When we talk and when we don’t talk, when we understand what somebody else is saying and when we don’t —these kinds of disconnects are all so common now,” she says.

Rosenberg’s art results in a unique and delightful connection. See for yourself her production, “Who is Mark Twain?” And after that, click on the link to her “Tribute to George Carlin.” You’ll love it!

http://vimeo.com/14021084

Conversation Portrait: A Tribute to George Carlin

See this blog for more information:

http://legacy.poptech.org/blog/index.php/archives/3364

Baltimore, Thugs But No Bugs

I guess you can’t have it all!

As a child, after bedtime prayers, my parents used to tuck me in with, “Good night. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” My mother was meticulous in cleanliness and I never felt threatened because she said bedbugs lived only in dirty beds.

Image from Wikipedia

Recently we been learning that bedbugs don’t care whether or not a bed is clean or dirty, just as long as they have humans to feast on. Although not as meticulous as my mother, even though I sleep in a clean bed, I may not be safe from these pests.

This is especially true because often during the year I do not sleep in my bed. My husband, David, and I travel. We sleep in motels, which are not immune, B&B’s and Servas and Couch Surfing homes.

Nobody is safe as these little critters begin to build their armies to feast on us at our most vulnerable moments when we are sleeping. However, if you come to Baltimore or any place in Maryland, it’s not among the top 15 places crawling with bedbugs.

According to the Baltimore Sun, these are the top ten cities for bedbugs and Baltimore is not on the list:

1. New York City, NY
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. Detroit, MI
4. Cincinnati, OH
5. Chicago, IL
6. Denver, CO
7. Columbus, OH
8. Dayton, OH
9. Washington, DC
10. Lose Angeles, CA
11. Boston, MA
12. Indianapolis, IN
13. Louisville, KY
14. Cleveland, OH

This is a bright spot among Baltimore statistics, but all news is not good. According to an August article in the Baltimore Business Journal,  the FBI reported that Baltimore’s murder rate is the 5^th highest in the country.

I think I’d rather have bedbugs biting me than thugs bugging me.

However...a comment on fear...I wouldn’t not visit one of the top bedbug cities and I love Baltimore and go there several times a week.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
 

We the People

What is all the fuss about President Obama's religion? I find it hard to believe that 20% of the population believes Obama is a Muslim. Haven't they read the facts...those not presented by Limbaugh and Fox? Besides, what difference does it make what religion he is...Muslim, Christian, Jew, Buddhist?

If he had no religious affiliations, then there would be no debate--at least about what religion he is. Of course, it will be a long time before Americans are ready to accept an agnostic or atheist.

Although the First Amendment of the US Constitution does not specifically spell out the separation of church and state, it is implied:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

I'm not worried about the government meshing religion and government. What really concerns me, however, is the push of the right wing (mostly well-to-do Caucasian Republicans) to tie together our government and religious beliefs.

I believe much of the ranting about Obama's religion has nothing at all to do with religion but, rather is a deep-seated, invisible fear and hatred. For some people, it boils down to them versus us. Those who protest that he is a Muslim see anyone different as a threat.

Consider the Latino immigrants. There is fear among some people that not only will they take away jobs (the ones no one else wants) but that the demographics of our population will eventually change so that Caucasians will be in the minority. That probably will happen.

But so what? So what if I'm in the minority?

We're all Americans who have hopes and dreams for ourselves, our families and our country. This group is a "we," not an "us" and "them." We are the people...together.

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

You might want to check out the following links:

Roger Ebert's Journal in the Chicago Sun-Times
Ten things I know about the mosque
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/08/ten_things_i_know_about_the_mo.html

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/08/people_who_hate_obama_think_he.html

Bruce Feiler's commentary on Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/08/20/bruce-feiler-obama-muslim-ground-zero-mosque-lincoln-catholic-fdr-jew/

Snopes

 http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp

Government Archives

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/bill_of_rights.html

KERQ and Kevin Robinson

Life isn't always linear. Of course we have to put one step in front of the other on a timeline as we make a living and cope with everyday realities. But the memorable times are those that transport us within the layers of life's fabric. This is what Kevin Robinson's music does to me.

It transports me to layers that invite emotional connections. I can forget about the academic realm that has pulled so much of my attention over the years. Instead, I can let go, forget the thinking...and feel.

And it is good, for life is all about the spirit. You will definitely find spirit listening to Kevin.

Here's a sample of Kevin Robinson and KERQ at SOWEBO a couple weeks ago in Baltimore. My little pocket Sony hardly does it justice but you'll get the idea. 



Hearing Kevin in person is much better than this sample. You've got to hear his group in person. In fact, there are lots of opportunities to hear Kevin with KERQ, LA and the Unusual Suspects or filling in with another group. Check out the calendar below:

October 10

Private wedding

Saturday

October 9

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

Saturday

September 25

Lexington Market

Noon

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Saturday

September 18

Kerq

Sowebo Recovery Expo

12 noon-5 pm

Poppleton & Hollins Sts. 

Baltimore

Thursday

September 2nd/9th/16th/23rd

7:30-10:30 pm

Black Fox Lounge

1723 Connecticut Ave.
Wash. D.C. 20009
202.483.1723
http://www.blackfoxlounge.com

Saturday 

September 11

2pm-2:50pm

Greenbelt Blues Festival

Roosevelt Center

Friday

August 27

Bobby's Jazz Club
1140 South Paca St.
Baltimore, MD  21230


Thursday

August 26

Black Fox Lounge

KERQ
7:30-10:30 p.m.

1723 Connecticut Ave.
Wash. D.C. 20009
202.483.1723
http://www.blackfoxlounge.com

Saturday

August 21

Private wedding

Gettysburg Pavillion

 

Saturday

August 21

LA & the Usual Suspects

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Thursday

August 19

Black Fox Lounge

KERQ
1723 Connecticut Ave.
Wash. D.C. 20009
202.483.1723
http://www.blackfoxlounge.com

Saturday

July 31

KERQ

8 PM-11

New Deal Cafe

113 Centerway
Roosevelt Center
Greenbelt , MD 20770
(301) 474-5642

http://www.newdealcafe.com/

Saturday
August 14
Adams County Winery
Concert in the Gardens
Wedding

Saturday

August 21

 Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Thursday

September 2nd/9th/16th/23rd

7:30-10:30 pm

Black Fox Lounge

Wash,DC 20009

Friday 

September 10

Kerq

9:30-12am

Bobby's Jazz Club

1140 S. Paca St

Balto 21230

Saturday

September11

Kerq

2pm-2:50pm

Greenbelt Blues Festval

Roosevelt Center

113 Centerway

20770

Saturday 

Sept 11

9pm-1am

w/Whiskerfish

Belisimo's 

Rte 140 

Finksburg,Md

Friday

September 17

Kerq

Bobby's Jazz Club

9:30pm-12am

1140 S. Paca St.

21230

Saturday

September 18

Kerq

Sowebo Recovery Expo

12 noon-5 pm

Poppleton & Hollins Sts. 

Baltimore 

Saturday

September 18

Private Party

Friday

September 24

Kerq

9:30-12am

Bobby's Jazz Club

1140 S. Paca St

Saturday

September 25

LA&US

Lexington Market

Noon

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

http://www.lexingtonmarket.com/

Saturday 

September 25

Private Party

Randallstown Md

21133

Thursday

September 30th

7:30-10:30pm

Black Fox Lounge

Wash, DC

Saturday

October 9

Noon-2pm

Lexington Market

400 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-6169

October 10

Private wedding

For a special treat,  click here to watch a slide show and listen to Kevin's original Shalom.

Evolution of Art

My friend, Petronio, just completed a collaboration that shows how art is evolving. A blending of art, performing art and technology adds yet another layer to possibilities!

Petrônio Bendito, Visual Design, Digital Graffiti, SoftwareDidier Guigue, Music
Solange Caldeira, Choreographer, Experiment Advisor

This work is an improvisational dance experiment with the software Kinetic Traces conducted at the Federal University of Viçosa (Summer 2010), Curso de Dança.

Dancers: Karinne Goulart, Rafaela Oliveira, Jessila Gomes, Jônatas Raine, Clara de Oliveira, Pedro Ferreira, Solange Caldeira, Marcella Alves, Daniele Duran, Cynthia Colombo, Andréa Bergallo, Alex Neural, Brenda Vilatoro, Maristela Lima.

Fine Art Photography

My still life, Home is Where You Hang Your Hat, has been accepted on this fine art photography site.


http://qwertypics.com/home-is-where-you-hang-your-hat-by-bonnie-schupp/ 

Montebello and Druid Hill Lakes

Bring back the good stuff

Recently as I was driving through the city and passed Lake Montebello, I realized that it had been many years since I'd driven, or walked, around it.

When I was a teenager, riding the bus from Erdman Avenue to Eastern High School, I used to pass Montebello every day.

The area was always alive with people and activities. I remember the days when teenagers parked around the lake to watch the submarine races. Needless to say there were no submarines and there were no races except to get to first base. Teens parked around the lake were oblivious to what might be going on outside their car.

Montebello was good for watching fireworks. I remember watching fireworks shooting up from Memorial Stadium along with a long line of cars parked around the lake.

Then over time somehow Lake Montebello...the community...died.

Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised on my drive around Montebello at the sense of community that had returned. Individuals and families walked, jogged or biked in the special lanes made just for them. And in case walking or jogging isn't enough, special exercise equipment dots the perimeter.

A larger but similar space is the Reservoir in Druid Hill Park where my family used to enjoy an outdoor art show that stretched around the water once a year. Many years ago, I applied to be an art vendor at the Druid Hill Art Show but was turned down. The letter I received said that photography was not art and therefore I couldn't exhibit.

Now, alas, Eastern is no longer a school but photography is considered art and Lake Montebello has made a comeback. It's time also to bring back the art show around Druid Hill.

Note: I wrote this in 2010. Now in May, 2013, the Druid Hill art show is coming back! Check details here: http://www.artoutsidemd.org/
.
.
.
.
.

New Beginnings...and More

Monday I spent two hours at New Beginnings, a barber shop, with my husband and neither of us got a haircut or a shave. We didn't need one at the time but, although New Beginnings provides haircuts and shaves, it's much more than just a barber shop. It's an experience.

When you walk in to New Beginnings, located at 1047 Hollins St. in Baltimore, you might mistake it at first for an art gallery. Then you notice the barber chairs. This barber shop appears to be the most unique in Baltimore—and maybe in the country.

Its windows are filled with three-dimensional art, walls are covered with paintings and photographs, good music plays in the background, Wi-Fi is available and books line a reading area below a spiral staircase. Oh, and did I say it offers haircuts? Even more than all these things, New Beginnings offers community.

In a time of Twitter, Facebook and hyper-connectivity, New Beginnings lets people find new connections in real time. The time and space is relaxed and friendly.

And you might even learn something too. For instance, customer William Gunn, who is usually called Skip, gave advice on cooking beets. “You wrap them individually in aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. Then soak them in vinegar and sugar.” He adds that beets from the local farmer’s market will beat what you find in a can.

Troy Staton, one of the owners and an art lover, has several goals in showing art in his barber shop. Besides adding class to the ambiance, he says, “I hope it will be a gateway [to art experience].” He mentions a client who was motivated to go to the National Gallery and take his son because of the art he liked on the barber shop walls.

Troy claims that New Beginnings should not be unique. “We’re doing what barber shops have always done in the past but today the standard has been lowered.”

 Besides providing an environment for interesting conversation, Troy and his partners are committed to community. As I sit and soak up the ambiance, Troy is constantly waving back to people in the community who pass by his window. Many of the clients have returned to this barber shop for 20 years, despite changes in location.

“It’s an everyday man’s social club,” Troy says. Add an occasional woman or two also.

 “It’s fun to come here. If I didn’t, I’d miss talk about sports and women,” Skip adds.

The commitment of this neighborhood barber shop goes beyond a friendly environment. Last year, they collected and donated more than 1100 pounds of food for the Food Bank. Troy talks about customer appreciation day during the holidays with free food and raffle prizes which include a free haircut, movie tickets and dinner for two at a good Baltimore restaurant.

Community participation also extends to the Baltimore Youth Work program by providing summer jobs for teens six hours a day.

Although decor and ambiance of New Beginnings provide a feel-good setting, Skip reminds us,  "It would be nothing without the people.” I think he's right.

You can learn more about New Beginnings here:
http://nbbs2.com











.
.
.



.....................................................................................