tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41141396177817525752024-03-13T00:38:41.857-07:00Jorgie's Book Blogmbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-88449850457804428782013-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:002013-04-22T07:00:05.977-07:00Cold Vengeance<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10291049-cold-vengeance" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Cold Vengeance (Pendergast, #11)" border="0" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328309334m/10291049.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10291049-cold-vengeance">Cold Vengeance</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12577.Douglas_Preston">Douglas Preston</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/596684419">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Having just finished this book I was very thrilled with it. And I have to acknowledge that I read it in about 3 days. It kept me moving through it. But after reading a few reviews I also find that there were things missing in this book that first got me into the books. First of all a large portion of this book was actually written from Judson Esterhazy's point of view. Which is not new. Several of the previous books treat Pendergast as if he is an unreadable character. We are often left watching Pendergast from the point of view of those around him. This literary device creates some mystery and intrigue around my favorite FBI Special Agent.<br /><br />This novel did give us a slightly less cerebral Pendergast. I do miss his brilliant deduction and carefully deduced solutions. His bursts of insight were always a delight and a magnificent part of the books. <br /><br />While others can't wait for this trilogy to be over, I personally have enjoyed it. It has been enjoyable to follow the revelations about Pendergast's personal life and to see him wrestle with the revelations that his wife wasn't who he thought she was. I also enjoyed seeing Connie Swanson come back and her part in the subplot. There were some very obvious red herrings where hints were thrown in the mix that were obviously misdirections. On the other hand there were revelations that in hindsight the reader recognizes were meant to lead you along<br /><br />As an installment in an evolving series I did love the book, but I hope in future installments we see some of the cerebral Pendergast back.
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews</a>
mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-36637275830575276992011-07-27T07:27:00.000-07:002011-07-27T07:28:13.005-07:00Harry Potter #1<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1286232871m/3.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3.Harry_Potter_and_the_Sorcerer_s_Stone">Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1077326.J_K_Rowling">J.K. Rowling</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/46429823">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />Bookworms of the world today I'm rating Harry potter and the sorcerer's by J.K Rowling is about 12 year Harry finds out that he is a famous wizard. This book was truly written as an epic and should be on any shelf. I give this book G rating and any person who can read at the 3rd grade level would understand this book. <br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2034770-jay-shadowbeak">View all my reviews</a>Shadowbeakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535214065222138245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-1488717931084513982011-07-26T13:10:00.001-07:002011-07-26T13:10:31.085-07:00Eragon<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113436.Eragon" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Eragon (Inheritance, #1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1293505063m/113436.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113436.Eragon">Eragon</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8349.Christopher_Paolini">Christopher Paolini</a><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/190183593">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />Bookworms of the world today I'm rating Eragon. Eragon is a exciting tale of an average farm boy finding a dragons egg while hunting in the mountains near his home and after trying to sell it to many different merchants he takes it home after hatching dragon inside changes his life forever <br/>this book gets a rating of PG. This book is long but if you stick with it you will be mesmerized <br /><br/><br/><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2034770-jay-shadowbeak">View all my reviews</a>Shadowbeakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535214065222138245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-85800621377947116272011-07-26T12:38:00.001-07:002011-07-26T12:38:55.926-07:00Hunger GamesBookworms of the world the book I'm rating the hunger games by Suzzanecol. The hunger games is about Katniss who has taken the head of the house as the provider of all the food and money. It is truly a epic that any mature reader will enjoy reading.<br /> I'm rating this book PG-13 for graphic violence but when you have gotten past that the story is very entertaining and well written this book will forever be on my shelf<br /><br />If you want me to read a book post it as comment and I will read it as soon as possibleShadowbeakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01535214065222138245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-11912958538577707282010-08-31T12:10:00.001-07:002010-08-31T12:10:48.125-07:00eBook FormatsNope, not digital literacy, but this will be a lesson in that as well, today we are talking about Digital Literature. My first device for reading was an eminently portable, inexpensive and 100% recyclable device called: a book. Now, the problem was that I soon had many of these portable devices, ones that I liked to refer back to and read again. Sort of like getting together with old friends.<br />
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<img class="alignleft" style="border: 2px solid white;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4b/Palmiiixe.jpg/347px-Palmiiixe.jpg" alt="" width="208" height="359" /><br />
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Fast forward 20 some odd years. I got my first PDA (no, not Public Display of Affection, I am a techie, I didn't even know that meaning until someone told me about it. I am talking about a Personal Digital Assistant) I had a PalmPilot IIIxe.I tinkered and toyed with getting my books onto this device and found a few things that worked but nowadays there are a vast jungle of options for reading books digitally.<br />
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When you go down to the store to buy a new appliance, you never stop to think about whether it will work with your electricity at home. Why not? There are different ways electricity can be delivered and if you have traveled out of the United States, you know that plugs aren't the same everywhere in the world. Why don't we worry? Because of standardization. Someone somewhere (or probably a group of someone's in a meeting) decided that one style of plug was going to be required either by law or by consensus. This is slowly happening with cell phone adapters, among other things.<br />
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It however hasn't happened with books. Why does that matter? Well, if you are deciding on a device that is dedicated to reading books, or you are decided to buy books that you want to use with multiple devices it's worthwhile to know what you are looking at it. With books, there are still a bunch of different widely adopted formats of eBooks. Below are three and where you are most likely to encounter them.<br />
<h3>.azw</h3>This is the file format for the Amazon Kindle. You probably won't ever see it because if you have a Kindle your books are delivered via Cell phone or Wi-Fi and they live on Amazon.com and your device. But it's good to know it exists. Also, since Amazon is interested in selling books, the software needed to read the .azw format is widely available on multiple platforms.<br />
<h3>.ePub</h3>This is the format of choice for iBooks on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It is an open format that while a little heavy on resource use, it is still a very good format that is being supported. The fact that it is the format chosen for the iBooks app means that it will be strong for as log as Apple is strong and supports it.<br />
<h3>.prc/.mobi</h3>These two file formats are variations of each other. The .prc format was created for the Palm™ devices. <a href="http://www.mobipocket.com/en/DownloadSoft/default.asp?Language=EN">MobiPocket</a> is a reader you can still use on many portable devices and the .mobi format is still commonly used.<br />
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To learn more you can start with the really great <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats">wikipedia</a> article on eBook formats: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-6268454785542483092010-06-26T20:34:00.000-07:002010-06-26T21:47:28.283-07:00iPad review: A short list for Steve Jobs of Apple Computers.Dear Steve Jobs,<br /><br />It's been awhile since we last chatted but I wanted to give you a list of things I would like fixed. My iPad is broken. I am sure this was unintentional but I would appreciate it if you could please fix the following things:<br /><ol><li>My iPad doesn't sync files properly. Please check with Bill Gates, he has been doing this right for a long time with WindowsMobile devices. Just for starters, there should be a sync folder on my computer and on my iPad and the files should sync.</li><li>I can't connect my iPad to other bluetooth devices. It isn't locating other bluetooth devices when I try to send the files (see above) to other devices and receive them. Again, chat with Bill on this.</li><li>My VGA adapter cable is broken. It only projects videos, Keynote Presentations and a few other selected items. Please make sure it will mirror my screen to the projector, screen, or TV. Please add a button so the iPad can toggle from mirrored to projecting for Keynote, videos etc.</li><li>This is more of a software glitch than a problem. For some reason, iBooks is not showing up in my iTunes software. Also because the sync folders are showing I can't load eBooks form others sources properly</li><li>Which brings me to another thing. Is it really iTunes anymore? Isn't it iSync? or MobileSync? It's not just tunes and there is some more stuff going on.</li><li>Also, iTunes is still using Genres to organize my music. I would like you to change that to tags. After all music can be Romantic and Hip-Hop<br /></li><li>My camera's aren't functioning properly. I can't seem to do face to face chat with my iPad and I can't shoot HD video. Since iMove for the iPad is being marketed I know this must have been an oversight.</li><li>When I connect a USB flash drive to the USB adapter kit it won't let me move files onto my iPad, please refer to #1 above.</li><li>For some reason the following Apple Apps aren't visible on my home screen: Calculator, Stocks, Weather, Voice Memo, and Clock.</li><li>There is also a slight problem with the size. Mine seems just slightly bigger than I was expecting. Below I have included the size it should be (it's the middle size):<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdfvIhNaBlZ_2Dh4UplTGTgfzhObrpPumCoJSbd3tSO4JHXiyOfiO48X_udwwpnPP4EPV8nnbUTfvJeC2AQofbwuSxmzhMZRwc-zwZrKO7eyjbDWdchuCxihBTS3jsIPF3NC8y6N3bZQ/s1600/iPad_Nano.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 457px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNdfvIhNaBlZ_2Dh4UplTGTgfzhObrpPumCoJSbd3tSO4JHXiyOfiO48X_udwwpnPP4EPV8nnbUTfvJeC2AQofbwuSxmzhMZRwc-zwZrKO7eyjbDWdchuCxihBTS3jsIPF3NC8y6N3bZQ/s200/iPad_Nano.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487309473994627954" border="0" /></a></li></ol><br />Otherwise, my iPad is working fine. I love it and use it everyday. Thanks for the great work<br /><br />An interested educator,<br />Mitchell B. Jorgensenmbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-47626995637250451332010-06-26T19:40:00.000-07:002010-06-26T20:34:47.532-07:00iPad review: Is the iPad a solution for 1:1 computing?I have had my iPad for about 2 months now. I didn't get it on launch day, and I didn't wait until the 3g model was out so I wasn't an early adopter, but I was an early adopter. People ask me often, "So, do you like your iPad?" My response! This is simply the coolest thing I have ever owned.<br /><br />When I was in high school, I carried a Franklin Planner. I loved that I could carry lists and papers and a calendar, and all sorts of others stuff. At first when I switched over to a Palm Pilot I loved it because it was so much smaller than my old planner. But, I soon found that it just wouldn't carry it all. It was great for what it was for, but I couldn't carry pictures, or other things. Later I moved up to the Dell Axim which for my money was the best device I had owned, until now. I got an iPod touch, but it wouldn't do everything my Dell Axim device with Windows Mobile would do. For instance and specifically. No creative features. My iPod Touch was a fantastic device for consuming media, but I could barely create notes. The stylus and shorthand I used for entering data on my Dell Axim was much more accurate than the tiny touchscreen keyboard, but the iPod Touch was good at lots of other things.<br /><br />So now, what's a guy to do. With the launch of the iPad I have a quickly and easily portable device with amazing battery life that does just about everything I need. With the update of the iPhone OS this fall it really will have it all except....two cameras: one forward facing for video chat, and one rear facing for taking video (Are you listening Steve?)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Interrobang.svg/75px-Interrobang.svg.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 75px; height: 145px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Interrobang.svg/75px-Interrobang.svg.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>So what's the problem? The problem is the question? Is the iPad really a solution for 1:1 computing for education? The answer is an echoing: Maybe‽‽‽ After a rousing discussion today at EduBlogCon I came away not as convinced that the iPad is really <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">the</span> solution for 1:1 computing. But wait a minute hold on. The question is: Is the iPad a solution for 1:1 computing. Well? Maybe‽‽‽ One theme that came out several times with people's comments was that the iPad does some things really really well and the coolness factor makes adoption as a 1:1 device very easy. Also, it does what about 90% of computing in the schools is: Word Processing and Web browsing. Now the fact that it will do more and that future versions will do even more (Steve, you still listening? how about them cameras‽) A couple of people were saying that if I have to compare two devices and one does this and this and this and the other does this and this and this plus that and that and that and costs less? Which should I adopt?<br /><br />Well there was a concern I had about that. The problem with comparing NetBooks which do this and this and this and that and that and that with the iPad is that while it is true that the iPad may not be able to do that and that and that, it still does t'other and t'other and t'other. For the Graphically inclined:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmiJWI2ows2xc6GL_pPPCeO2IqJW_4FYEWrvcZK9uzivn-SxeF486O1XSVvfdjrxevmSbHyzeWZ3SQ8EG2tolpx_VMCgwInyQGXLOVatj6rgYgs3Jo2fea00Fqu8GZkL9ZTzmaY-0N-A/s1600/iPad+vs+Netbook.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 306px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmiJWI2ows2xc6GL_pPPCeO2IqJW_4FYEWrvcZK9uzivn-SxeF486O1XSVvfdjrxevmSbHyzeWZ3SQ8EG2tolpx_VMCgwInyQGXLOVatj6rgYgs3Jo2fea00Fqu8GZkL9ZTzmaY-0N-A/s200/iPad+vs+Netbook.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487289504037701138" border="0" /></a>There is significant overlap. The challenge arises when you are looking at which of the things they can't do. If the netbook doesn't browse books easily and have a easy to share screen then maybe the iPad is better. If the iPad won't let you connect to a VGA projector and share web pages (Are you still listening Steve Jobs, get right on that one will you) Then maybe a NetBook is better. There needs to be a needs analysis done. Pick the right tool. Some argued that the iPad is like a pocketknife compared to a Swiss Army knife Netbook, but compared to the Kindle the iPad is the Swiss army knife.<br /><br />Personally, I valued two things highly from the discussion: What is the need? How much control do we want students to have? The iPad does have a drawback in that area. It tethers you to Apple. You can't do high level computing on it, not of any kind. It is designed as a peripheral device, a device to supplement a computer not replace it. But it does a great job of supplementing. And just wait to see what the future holds. <br /><br />Imagine iPads that can send to each other over bluetooth. Pictures, sounds, videos, and more. Imagine being able to watch every iPad in my room from my iPad and wirelessly share any individual iPad screen with every other student while one student showcases his work. Imagine being able to pass an iPad around the table or lay it in front of a group who are analyzing the graph of their latest lab results. With the iPad we don't have the device that will change the game, but the seed has been planted.mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-8968670723669294952010-06-02T20:05:00.001-07:002010-06-02T20:05:52.786-07:00Temple Worship<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1507997.Temple_Worship_20_Truths_That_Will_Bless_Your_Life" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266820503m/1507997.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1507997.Temple_Worship_20_Truths_That_Will_Bless_Your_Life">Temple Worship: 20 Truths That Will Bless Your Life</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/140627.Andrew_C_Skinner">Andrew C. Skinner</a><br/><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/96341509">4 of 5 stars</a><br />I really was amazed by this book. I read it in just a little over a week. It was simply amazing. The way that <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/140627.Andrew_C_Skinner" title="Andrew C. Skinner">Andrew C. Skinner</a> quickly and succinctly relates specific stories, scriptural references, and historical information to explain doctrines related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. <br /><br />Each chapter highlights a different philosophical idea related to the Temple. Two of the most powerful ideas for me were the idea that the same power that Christ and his apostles and the prophets have used to control the physical world is the same power that activates the ordinances in the Temple. This means that in a very real way we can be physically changed by the covenants we make in the temple. This book gave me a whole new vision and idea of the temple. I can't wait to get back to the Temple again after reading this.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews >></a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-67714610596023065912009-10-12T08:13:00.000-07:002009-10-12T08:20:59.563-07:00Seaman: The Dog who Explored the West with Lews and Clark<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1166933.Seaman_The_Dog_Who_Explored_the_West_With_Lewis_and_Clark" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Seaman: The Dog Who Explored the West With Lewis and Clark (Peachtree Junior Publication)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181580153m/1166933.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1166933.Seaman_The_Dog_Who_Explored_the_West_With_Lewis_and_Clark">Seaman: The Dog Who Explored the West With Lewis and Clark</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/300140.Gail_Langer_Karwoski">Gail Langer Karwoski</a><br/><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74266756">3 of 5 stars</a><br />This book was a fun perspective on the Lewis and Clark expedition. There were references throughout their records to the Newfoundland Dog that traveled with them. This book records the dogs exploits.There is an interesting Google Lit Trip of the book found at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/K-5/Entries/2008/11/15_Seaman_by_Gail_Karwoski.html" title="http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/K-5/Entries/2008/11/15_Seaman_by_Gail_Karwoski.html">http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/...</a> <br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews >></a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-40270999229052467132009-09-25T07:13:00.000-07:002009-09-25T07:14:22.552-07:00Tipping Point<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2612.The_Tipping_Point" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Tipping Point" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KdxNo4k0L._SX106_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2612.The_Tipping_Point">The Tipping Point</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1439.Malcolm_Gladwell">Malcolm Gladwell</a><br/><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45938129">5 of 5 stars</a><br />This summer at the final NECC Conference I got the opportunity to hear Malcom Gladwell speak. I had heard of him and heard of his books but mostly parenthetically. It was sort of assumed that if you were intelligent then you had read his books or understood what was meant by tipping point. It's interesting to actually be reading them and see how his ideas are becoming, to use his own words, sticky.<br /><br />I have really gotten a kick out of his book. I have learned at least a few things. <br /><br />First, I love reading books by journalists. I have also read <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83559.Radical_Evolution_The_Promise_and_Peril_of_Enhancing_Our_Minds_Our_Bodies_and_What_It_Means_to_Be_Human" title="Radical Evolution The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human by Joel Garreau">Radical Evolution The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42808.Joel_Garreau" title="Joel Garreau">Joel Garreau</a> Who did a phenomenal job of distilling all the disparate information and creating a sense of it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1439.Malcolm_Gladwell" title="Malcolm Gladwell">Malcolm Gladwell</a> has done the same. He has analyzed and translated the jargonese of the psychology so I can understand it. He puts multiple ideas into a language I can easily and rapidly assimilate. I read the jargonese myself too, but His skill as a journalist is fully realized in this format, a book, explaining what the news of the past has lead us to understand.<br /><br />Second, language is important. He had a sort of side note about a toddler and her advanced use of language. This description really resonated with me because of the ESL class I teach and because my wife is working on a degree in Spanish Education. Very interesting stuff about how much more complex our abilities can be than we sometimes let on.<br /><br />Third, and certainly not last, was the idea of Transactive Memory. Gladwell, described something that I understood, but couldn't define. As a husband, I notice that there are things that I do and know that my wife simply doesn't have to. I often ask <em>her</em> where my keys are. Not because I can't look for them myself, but because she probably knows and remembers better than I do. My kids ask me where their shoes are. Why? Because it is much more likely that I moved them back into their room than they are wherever they left them. The idea is this. We share memory with our family members. We don't remember things that we don't have too. The book I referred to before <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83559.Radical_Evolution_The_Promise_and_Peril_of_Enhancing_Our_Minds_Our_Bodies_and_What_It_Means_to_Be_Human" title="Radical Evolution The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human by Joel Garreau">Radical Evolution The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies -- and What It Means to Be Human</a> talked about this issue to but not in relationship to people but computers. Both books refer to this sharing of memory and the loss when that shared memory is gone. People who go through a divorce feel a loss partly at least, because some of their cognitive abilities resided in their spouse. People who have a computer fail and lose all of their data feel a loss and sometimes have to have grief counseling to manage it. Why? Not because they are weak or overly attached to material items, but because they in a very real sense have lost their mind, their soul.<br /><br />I think this has some unique implications in the education world. First, how much of our memory do we share with others? How do we share memory and even personality with the community. Gladwell discussed this transactive memory as having an influence on the success of small groups. People not only know each other but the <em>know</em> each other. They value each other. This I think has a serious implicatioin for schools. Where interdependence is fostered there is a much higher investment in the success of each individual and the whole group.<br /><br />Secondly, if we truly do share memory with our devices, we depend on them as we depend on other people, should we deny student their devices at school? We see their cell-phones and iPods, and MP3 players as nuisance items and distractions, but are we in a sense asking students to function with only part of their brain? What would it be like for us to function without the books we depend on? These students depend on their phones not just as a way to flirt but as a connection to their world. <br /><br />This connection also creates another implication. What about our World Wide Web of memory? In some way as each of us shares, creates, comments and adds to what is available we are creating in a sense a Hive Mind (blatant Star Trek/BORG reference or <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/375802.Ender_s_Game_Ender_s_Saga_Book_1_" title="Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card">Ender's Game</a> take your pick) But we are creating a world in which what one knows all can know. Access then to this mind becomes essential to be a part of the same memory as our global culture.<br /><br />Great book!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews >></a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-76080618460920677302009-09-25T06:05:00.001-07:002009-09-25T06:05:43.717-07:00The Son of Tarzan<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/589898.The_Son_of_Tarzan" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Son of Tarzan (Tarzan, #4)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176073415m/589898.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/589898.The_Son_of_Tarzan">The Son of Tarzan</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10885.Edgar_Rice_Burroughs">Edgar Rice Burroughs</a><br/><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44356524">4 of 5 stars</a><br />This is another terrific guilty pleasure. One of the books I shouldn't like. It has more evidence of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1875105.Burroughs_Edgar_Rice" title="Burroughs, Edgar Rice">Burroughs, Edgar Rice</a> infatuation with '<em>culture</em> Tarzan the noble savage has a son. A son who must also develop the muscle and jungle strength of his father. He inherited it in some way but it must be developed. He must fall in love, but it couldn't possibly be with anything less than a French Princess.<br /><br />But I've got to say the romance in this one for a naive 13 year old was awesome, and I loved it just as much this most recent time. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews >></a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-22139613222923206832009-09-25T05:41:00.000-07:002009-09-25T05:58:42.508-07:00Beasts of Tarzan<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/330110.The_Beasts_of_Tarzan" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Beasts of Tarzan (Tarzan, #3)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173804250m/330110.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/330110.The_Beasts_of_Tarzan">The Beasts of Tarzan</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10885.Edgar_Rice_Burroughs">Edgar Rice Burroughs</a><br/><br/><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44356575">3 of 5 stars</a><br />I have rediscovered <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10885.Edgar_Rice_Burroughs" title="Edgar Rice Burroughs">Edgar Rice Burroughs</a> I picked copies of a few of his books for Microsoft Reader on my phone. (<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.microsoft.com/reader">www.microsoft.com/reader</a>) and then located them on the Kindle Store for my iPod Touch. I have re-read a few of them on the bus over the last few weeks and I am struck by one thing. INACCURACIES. I read them before I went to college and got a Bachelor's degree in Zoology, before I had spent hours watching Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, before I had visited a Zoo. His description of 7 foot tall 'apes' and they aren't gorillas (the gorillas are even bigger) is astounding. <br /><br />Also his infatuation with the noble class of England and France. No one in the books has a good character unless they are Aristocracy and wealthy. <br /><br />I should hate these books, they should offend me. They are full of racial stereotypes, negative depictions, foolishness and speculation. I like to think of myself as a thoughtful, progressive rational human being. One who prides himself on knowing and understanding the worl accurately.<br /><br />But, I've got to tell you. They are so fun to read. It's kind of like a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sommelier">Sommelier</a> going to the local convenience store and buying a box of wine for a cheap drunk.<br /><br />Anyway the whole series is a lot of fun<br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews >></a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-9537138849212478872009-07-13T21:33:00.000-07:002009-07-13T21:46:46.165-07:00Runes of the Earth<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/337100.The_Runes_of_the_Earth" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Runes of the Earth (The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Book 1)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173853592m/337100.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/337100.The_Runes_of_the_Earth">The Runes of the Earth</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12980.Stephen_R_Donaldson">Stephen R. Donaldson</a><br /><br /><br />My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63384635">4 of 5 stars</a><br />Those who have read the first two series may be familiar with the anti-hero Thomas Covenant. He was my favorite protagonist to hate. All through the first 3 books his Unbelief was entirely unacceptable to me. I hated him and loved <a href="http://www.blogger.com/author/show/426806.Donaldson_Stephen_R_" title="Donaldson Stephen R.">Stephen R. Donaldson</a> for creating such an absolutely amazing character. One whom I ached to see accept his role and do what he needed to do.<br /><br /><br />With this book author:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/author/show/426806.Donaldson_Stephen_R_" title="Donaldson Stephen R.">Stephen R. Donaldson </a> has returned to The Land with another cast of characters that are just as rich. Stave in this book was for me like Covenant in the first series. I hated his denial and refusal and ached to see him accept what none of the <em>Haruchai</em> would.<br /><br /><br />Linden Avery returns as the Chosen, but this time it is her use of Power and her internal conflict that we must empathize with. Unlike Covenant and his conflict of Unbelief Linden has the conflict of two powers and whether she can accomplish good by evil means. An age old question. The conflict was not as resonant with me as was Covenant's but it is there. I look forward to the completion of this series and another journey with the Unbeliever.<br /><br />Both of you who have read my blog know that internal consistency is one of my personal favorites when it comes to fiction. Authors who plan well develop their internal consistency by foreshadowing and writing in clues for what will be revealed more fully in later books. Other authors, including in this case Stephen R. Donaldson, take advantage of elements left unexplored in previous books or expand references to include more complete ideas. Stephen R. Donaldson did this when the Demondim begin using the power of the Illearth Stone against Linden Avery and her company. This seemed inconsistent, but Donaldson slowly revealed that what was going on was entirely consistent with the previous books and with the current books in a manner that was both unique and unexpected and entirely satisfying. <div><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews >></a><br /></div>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-82848431431196609132009-07-02T08:45:00.000-07:002009-07-02T09:10:21.156-07:00Stephen R. Donaldson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Runes-Earth-Chronicles-Thomas-Covenant/dp/B000H2N49K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246550358&sr=8-2"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B5R82MYFL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA240_SH20_OU01_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I haven't had much time to read or write about reading. Since Summer started. I am currently teaching an Online class in Internet Safety (Yeah, ironic huh) And carrying a full teaching load. I am running 5 days of workshops next week and I have been at the National Educational Computing Conference for the last 4 days in Washington DC. We fly out today and I am going to read on the plane. On the trip out I was disappointed to find that there is now a TV in the back of every seat. I fumbled through it and watched Food network and played Trivia and kept checking where the plane was on the map.<br /><br />Not like the good ol' days of my youth when the only entertainment on the plane was a good book and the SkyMall magazine (BTW, what is the demographic for that catalog? Are the same people really buying a $14,000 home gym and lawn aerating spikes for their shoes)<br /><br />Well, on the way home I am firmly committed to reading Stephen R. Donaldson's Book: Runes of the Earth.<br /><br />That is unless, I get distracted by the TV again! :-)mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-86395934832634625392009-06-05T12:39:00.001-07:002009-06-05T12:39:54.788-07:00How Buildings Learn: What happens after they are built<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38310.How_Buildings_Learn_What_Happens_After_They_re_Built" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169113246m/38310.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38310.How_Buildings_Learn_What_Happens_After_They_re_Built">How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18698.Stewart_Brand">Stewart Brand</a><br/><br/><br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/58563854"><h3>My review</h3></a><br />
I am very interested in reading this book. Dr. Andrew Gibbons spoke about this book during his session at the #TTIX conference. He referred to the layered approach to building a building and how each part of the building is in a sense isolated from other parts. The framework is a separate process from the sheath or skin. The same can be said of educational resources they have different layers. His discussion of this book reminded me of the how well the book spoke to educational design.<a href="/book/show/841.Emotional_Design_Why_We_Love_or_Hate_Everyday_Things" title="Emotional Design Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman">Emotional Design Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things</a><br />
<br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews.</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-30586309570476637032009-05-15T11:00:00.000-07:002009-05-15T11:00:04.143-07:00Midnight Sun by Stephenie MeyerI posted this review on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1495732">www.goodreads.com</a> It really isn't a review it is more of an open letter to <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a> and to authors in general. Readers understand the way a story grows and matures. Ayn Rand spoke of this when she talked about coming back to her books after gaining a better command of English and better skill as an author and 'tightening' them up. She didn't change to basic story but she did improve the telling of it. Stephenie is angered by the fact that the draft leaked, and has every right to be, but no story is every really done. Readers understand that it's a process. I have lost the source on this but J.K. Rowling stated that she wished that she had included some 'good' Slytherins to make the stories more believable. People grow as authors and I certainly hope that Mrs. Meyers initial flare-up of anger and hurt over what happened will eventually grow to a refining fire that will allow her to see the reality that most of the people who scrambled for the draft were merely enthusiastic and not thieves. I for one would buy the book (or at least legitimately check it out from the library) to read the finished draft. While technically violating copyright the dispensing of her draft was not done for the basic reason of subverting her ability to make money but I honestly believe it was done out of a deep desire to see the growth of the story.<br /><br />You can read Stephenie Meyer's response to this situation <a href="http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4502877.Midnight_Sun" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5) (partial draft)" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1225139874m/4502877.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4502877.Midnight_Sun">Midnight Sun</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55259794"><h3>My review</h3></a><br />Dear Stephenie,<br /><br /><br /><br />First I want to express my sincerest condolences for the violation of your rights as a person, creator, and author. The leaking of your work before you were ready was clearly painful.<br /><br /><br /><br />Having said that, I fervently hope that you complete this book. Some of the comments indicate that what most bothers you is that the story was not complete, not polished, not done. That is the nature of storytelling. When our stories were oral traditions each telling must have been embellished, altered for the audience, improved, and renewed with each telling. I know for myself as I tell stories that is how I do it.<br /><br /><br /><br />We readers for the most part understand that the draft is still a draft, it is juvenile in it's lifespan (not necessarily in it's content) but clearly your readership craves for this story. I genuinely hope that you won't let the changing nature of our world, discourage you from finishing the story. There was a time when an artist could control their work until the time they were ready to unveil it in full glory, but so often now, the draft, the unfinished, the unpolished becomes available to the masses before the creator is prepared for it. Rather than spurn this, I hope you can see it in you to embrace it. We readers love both the process of watching you work and the final project.<br /><br /><br /><br />I am sorry I won't be able honoring your wish that no one read this draft, unless you can confirm that you will one day return to it and finish nurturing it to adulthood. I want to hear the story, I want to see it grow and to see you grow as an author. I value the story too much to want you to abandon it. Please, for your readers pick this back up!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews.</a><br /><br />p.s. After writing the review, and then this post I went to look for a way to send Stephenie Meyer the actual letter. Blearrgh NO CONTACT AVAILABLE. Nothing, Nada, zip. So if anyone actually reads this post and agrees with me, I would love a comment, (if you don't agree with me feel free to comment too) But if you agree with me please tweet this post, re-blog it, or link to it Hopefully with enough upswell from fans she will hear about it and finish the book!mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-74792595822681350002009-05-14T19:23:00.000-07:002009-05-14T20:15:46.936-07:00New Moon by Stephenie Meyer<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49041.New_Moon" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="New Moon (Twilight, #2)" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/414jgcy2FAL._SX106_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49041.New_Moon">New Moon</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a><br/><br/><br /> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55258876"><h3>My review</h3></a><br /> rating: 3 of 5 stars<br/>After finishing <a href="/book/show/41865.Twilight_Twilight_Book_1_" title="Twilight (Twilight, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer">Twilight</a> I of course had to immediately start the next book. My strategy for waiting until a series is done before reading it has again stood me in good stead. I have been able to finish the series in a two weeks without having to wait anxiously for the next <em>episode</em> (Which I had to do with both The Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson Series) I am glad I did it that way. <br /><br/><br /><br/>I am also glad I read the series. And not just the get in touch with the 13 year old girl side of myself. After teaching Junior High for 10 years I can honestly say I get why these appealed to that demographic. I watched the young ladies in may class devour these books like vampires on O Positive. <br /><br/><br /><br/>Well, my take on these comes from the perspective of having finished the series which gives me a chance to both criticize and compliment. While I was reading these books I was disgusted with two things. First, to some extent this book was just <a href="/book/show/41865.Twilight_Twilight_Book_1_" title="Twilight (Twilight, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer">Twilight</a> all over again, I mean after Edward made himself scarce this was all about the wounded Bella finding herself again with her new love Jacob. He was her new monster. It really felt like that, and the part of this that bugged me was her disloyalty to the memory of Edward. One part of Edward's departure that I found clever was the chapters that were blank (at least in the Kindle version) Bella's constant sorrow over Edward prevented her from devoting herself to Jacob. Her need for Jacob drove her to be with him constantly. It made for painful reading. Partly, I guess for me, was that I really value devotion and loyalty. On the other hand Bella's internal conflict was a central part of the story and the next book as well. The second criticism was the extreme fragility of Bella, I can see from the perspective of having finished the series how important that fragility is, but from my perspective as a male, I didn't find it appealing and it was very hard to relate to Edwards devotion to such a weak submissive girl. Again, maybe that's my bias and my perspective.<br /><br/><br /><br/>The compliments, which anyone who reads my blog might really relate to are about the foreshadowing and literary devices. First foreshadowing. without giving too much away, the relationship and devotion between Bella and Jacob was painful to read, but placed their relationship in a context that made the progression of this relationship in later books much more believable (and first more then less painful) The second was the literary device she used. Juxtaposition of the way that Bella was forced to compare fire and ice. Edward she loved for all the he embodied: Control, safety, protection, security represented by cold. Jacob with his fiery body represented: thrill, excitement, passion and uninhibited behavior. <br /><br/><br /><br/>Great book, although I had challenges with it, which is why I give it 3 our of 5 stars rather than more. <br /><br/><br /> <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews.</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-2949804652329787152009-05-11T09:00:00.000-07:002009-05-10T12:21:30.332-07:00Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41865.Twilight" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Twilight (Twilight, Book 1)" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DcKN0STkL._SX106_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41865.Twilight">Twilight</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a><br/><br/><br /> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55258869"><h3>My review</h3></a><br /> rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>This book has been touted as the best supernatural romance for teens....possibly ever. It has inspired dozens (potentially hundreds) of imitators. It certainly isn't the first story of its kind. In reality there is in my mind a striking similarity between this book and <a href="/book/show/17245.Dracula_Critical_Edition_" title="Dracula (Critical Edition) by Bram Stoker">Dracula</a>. <a href="/book/show/17245.Dracula_Critical_Edition_" title="Dracula (Critical Edition) by Bram Stoker">Dracula</a> was the story of the evil vampire bent on the destruction of both the lives and virtue of two Victoria Women. One theme that ran through the novel though was the the very real obsession that Mina Harker felt toward Dracula. She knew he was bad for her and would destroy her but she couldn't turn away from him. With that as a background it could be argued that <a href="/book/show/41865.Twilight_Twilight_Book_1_" title="Twilight (Twilight, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer">Twilight</a> is really <a href="/book/show/17245.Dracula_Critical_Edition_" title="Dracula (Critical Edition) by Bram Stoker">Dracula</a> from Mina's perspective. Although Edward is arguably less vicious than the evil Count of Transylvania.<br /><br/><br /><br/>Additional to the homage to <a href="/book/show/17245.Dracula_Critical_Edition_" title="Dracula (Critical Edition) by Bram Stoker">Dracula</a> there was a unique tension throughout the book. Edward first avoided Bella because he recognized his great desire for her. A desire that while couched in terms of his desire for her blood, could certainly be read as a subtle substitution for his sexual desire for her. He tries to avoid her to avoid corrupting himself. All through the books this them comes back. Bella would be more than happy to give in to her desire for Edward, both intimately and by allowing him to turn her into the vampire. Edward is the one who refuses to fall, refuses to give in to the desire to <em>harm</em> her. This substitution of sexual desire for his desire for her blood was in evidence in the evening conversations between Bella and Edward where you could easily replace any normal boy who doesn't want to allow himself to go to far with a girl. Edward's internal but verbalized dialogue about barely being able to control himself is a dialogue easily imagined between two teens who both want to become intimate and know that they aren't ready for it.<br /><br/><br /><br/>The detail with which <a href="/author/show/941441.Stephenie_Meyer" title="Stephenie Meyer">Stephenie Meyer</a> describes this dynamic in a teen relationship is truly astounding. <br /><br/><br /><br/>You may notice that I recommend this to LDS Readers, that is because the author is LDS and from a trivia/interest standpoint it is fun to read authors with our same background. If you are not LDS don't let that cause you to be shy. This book has no overt (or even subtle) LDS doctrine or perspectives in it other than an aversion to depictions of intimacy before marriage and an aversion to wanton murder.<br /> <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews.</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-51487749454462468892009-05-04T12:17:00.000-07:002009-05-15T06:50:06.669-07:00Kindle on my iPod<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fmitchelljorgensen%2Falbumid%2F5332050484288822097%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" height="400" width="600"></embed><br /><br />I have been very reluctant to take a $359.00 chunk out of my pocket to get a Kindle. despite the fact that I absolutely love the idea of having a whole library in my hands. I have used multiple other eBook formats on both a computer and handheld devices. My first PalmPilot had decent resources for eBooks. My first Windows Mobile with Microsoft's <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/reader/">Reader</a> was my favorite for years. Mainly because I was able to have the same books on my mobile device and on my desktop/laptop.<br /><br />The Kindle was touted as the iPod for readers, and it is undeniably doing well. I simply haven't been able to justify buying another dedicated device. So I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks back when the Kindle App for the iPod Touch and iPhone was launched. I downloaded it immediately but waited until I had finished a couple of paper and ink books before downloading my first book. I am a bit behind the times, but I bought Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.<br /><br />The app worked very well. As soon as I had purchased it and opened the App on my iPod it downloaded in seconds. I was able to send the book to another device too with no trouble at all. Activating and Deactivating devices is all done on Amazon.com. Books must be purchased there too. That is one place the Kindle Hardware beats out the iPod app. My two biggest challenges with it were:<br /><ul><li>Battery Life- When I started reading, I was on a bus with Wi-Fi access, and listening to music. The Kindle App allows these process to continue in the background and Whispersync keeps your book 'synced' while online. But this ate up my battery life. It took me a few days of reading to figure it out, but while sitting at home yesterday, I turned off the music, and shut off the Wi-Fi and read for 4 hours without putting to much of a dent in the battery. Half that time with music and Wi-Fi was enough to completely eat through the battery</li><li>Navigating- Turning pages is about as intuitive as it gets. Easier by some counts than the awkwardly placed buttons on the Kindle Hardware, but I found myself hitting the home button to try and get the navigation tools to open. There was something almost too clean about the reading frame. A simple info button like so many other apps have would have been useful, but I think it would detract from the clean look Amazon was obviously going for.<br /></li></ul>Considering the two faults I had with the App, I realize they are both user issues that just require me to relearn a little. I would definitely give this app two thumbs up.mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-10999436269273415632009-05-04T09:30:00.000-07:002009-05-04T09:30:02.473-07:00Tracking Trash<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/548695.Tracking_Trash_Flotsam_Jetsam_and_the_Science_of_Ocean_Motion" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field)" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175711494m/548695.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/548695.Tracking_Trash_Flotsam_Jetsam_and_the_Science_of_Ocean_Motion">Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/301375.Loree_Griffin_Burns">Loree Griffin Burns</a><br /><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/54588078"><h3>My review</h3></a><br /> rating: 5 of 5 stars<br />I read this for a book club at the Junior High I taught at. It was a fabulous example of the narrative of science. Science isn't just a collection of facts and answers it is a rich story of people and events and changes. This book illustrates that beautifully, by telling the story of the Giant Garbage Patch. A place in the ocean where much of the pollution collects due to the prevailing ocean currents<br /><br /><br /><br />The book details the stories of the people involved in discovering this and potential solutions to the problems that result. It teaches the facts of the case through a well developed story and history of the discovery of this unique phenomenon.<br /><br />If you want to know more about this phenomenon before you read it check out the TED talk by Capt. Moore the man who first discovered it:<br /><object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/CharlesMoore_2009U-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/CharlesMoore-2009U.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=470" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/embed/CharlesMoore_2009U-embed_high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/CharlesMoore-2009U.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=470"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews.</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-18895313823600482092009-05-01T07:35:00.000-07:002009-05-01T08:27:24.424-07:00FableHaven: Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary (From Goodreads)<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5217282.Fablehaven_Secrets_of_the_Dragon_Sanctuary" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Book 4)" border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rxK5eXrXL._SX106_.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5217282.Fablehaven_Secrets_of_the_Dragon_Sanctuary">Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25052.Brandon_Mull">Brandon Mull</a><br/><br/><br /> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53703475"><h3>My review</h3></a><br /> rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>Ok, so I had to re-read <a href="/book/show/2146957.Fablehaven_Grip_of_the_Shadow_Plague_Book_3_" title="Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague (Book 3) by Brandon Mull">Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague</a> before I started it and just as finished I found out my son had left it in his desk which had me waiting a whole weekend to get started.<br /><br/>The wait didn't slow me down much though, I finished it in 3 days, and that was reading only on the bus to and from work. <br /><br/><br /><br/>The book was well done, it moved Seth more fully into a participating part of the group and showed him taking on a much more mature role. He is genuinely analyzing why he does things and considering right and wrong. Seth also moves to the forefront by gaining some new skills. Skills that put him on par with Kendra, and together they gain even more skills.<br /><br/><br /><br/>There were disappointments to the book. One of the biggest was the betrayal in this book. Kendra, Seth and the rest of the Knights seem to have to regularly deal with betrayal and this book isn't an exception. The betrayal was big and a bit of a shock, but more disappointing was the almost flippant resolution. You'll recognize it when you see it. The resolution was so simple in fact that I wonder if it was misleading and that more will be forthcoming.<br /> <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/1495732-mitchell">View all my reviews.</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-27843355317275398572009-04-07T21:41:00.000-07:002009-04-07T21:47:18.108-07:00One of the cool things about Social MediaOne of my favorite things about Web 2.0 or Social Media is how we can become connected to people. I have loved Rick Riordan's books and was just today checking out his latest book so I can pre-order it.<br /><br />Here's a link to his video: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m5UOH61EB6XF7">http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m5UOH61EB6XF7</a><br /><br />It should show up here as well:<br /><br /><iframe src= "http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m5UOH61EB6XF7/ref=ent_fb_link" height="350" width="500"></iframe>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-23020967515777642502009-04-03T14:08:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:17:05.029-07:00Oh I love the blogosphere!I was trucking along through my Google Reader items and found an article about how digital libraries are boosting student learning. I loved the original <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/online-libraries-collections-digital-resources">Edutopia article</a> but just as valuable to me was the link the the <a href="http://www.nypl.org/digital/">New York Public Library</a>. Check out the digital collection!mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-14174894498488431052009-03-30T09:00:00.000-07:002009-03-30T09:00:33.377-07:00PendergastLiterary devices.<br /><br />Isn't it funny how memory works. I have been wanting to write about The Pendergast novels by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11091.Lincoln_Child">Lincoln Child</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12577.Douglas_Preston">Douglas Preston</a> for some time especially to point out an interesting literary device, only I couldn't remember it. Not the literary device. that was simple. What I couldn't remember was the term....literary device. Rolling through my head was the term affectation which means a pose or act one 'affects' in order to present oneself as something (usually, something you are not as in an affected accent) But I knew I wasn't remembering the correct term. This morning as I walked down to the bus stop. POP into my head jumps the term literary device. Finally remembered the term I have been searching for for over a month. I would like to blame it on the fact that with 3.4 languages rolling through my head I just have to much vocabulary to keep it all straight, but I chalk it up to to much sugar and not enough sleep.<br /><br />Anyway, on with the show. The literary device in these novels is one of perspective. When authors write novels they have to write in person. First person means the novel is written as though from that person's mind. You know only what that person knows. You can't read anyone's mind. Although sometimes authors will cheat a bit and slip conveniently into 3rd person omniscient in order to give us information they want. Now, we have introduced another person: 3rd person omniscient. From this perspective we the reader are clued in to everything. We know that the villain is secretly planning murder the protagonist and we know that the protagonist is completely clueless. Some authors will utilize a 3rd person format without the all-knowing aspect. This allows the reader to discover the thoughts and motivations of the characters based on their actions without hearing their thoughts. 2nd person novels a<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169235780l/39033.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 327px;" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169235780l/39033.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>nd writing are less common because it is difficult to convey things from the your perspective.<br /><br />What Child and Preston have done is to my mind quite distinct and like Pendergast himself borrowed from Sherlock Holmes. Now, I don't claim to be a Sherlock Holmes scholar (or any kind of scholar, just an average person with an avocation) but in the few Sherlock Holmes stories I have read, we don't get insight into the mind of Holmes except as he acts and explains himself to Watson. Pendergast is much the same way. Although Child and Preston have no problem revealing the thoughts and motivations of others Pendergast himself is rarely revealed. I noted this distinctly in Still Life with Crows. Through the entire book we 'hear' the thoughts of others but never Pendergast. We can only judge him by his actions, by what he does, and by what he says to other characters, and by their reactions to him. Whether this began as a conscious literary device or grew into one, we find it carrying on through the books. Only on the few rare occasions when Pendergast turns inward himself and meditates is his inner working revealed. I found this to be an powerful method of character development. It works much like real life. We learn about people largely through what we can observe and only rarely is their inner self revealed.<br /><br />Citation Nods:<br /><a href="http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/%7Ejlynch/Terms/index.html">http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/index.html</a><br /><a href="http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm">http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm</a><br /><a href="http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm">http://mrbraiman.home.att.net/lit.htm</a>mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4114139617781752575.post-6085896221062545852009-03-27T13:25:00.000-07:002009-03-27T13:35:15.443-07:00Literary Elements: Internal Consistency in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Warning minor spoilers)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qTZcMasSL.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 202px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41qTZcMasSL.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A few months back I did a seven week series on literary elements in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Undoubtedly the two people who read those posts know I am a fan of hers. Revisiting the series in that way gave me a new appreciation for her ability as a writer. One key feature of successful fantasy is internal consistency. In point of fact it is essential for not only fantasy, but all fiction and most non-fiction. Internal consistency is the concept that keeps character in character, keeps the historical references the same. For example, Dumbledore's nose. From our first introduction to Dumbledore, he is described as having a distinct, crooked, and previously broken nose. His nose carried all the way through to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows where we finally learn how his nose was broken. There are two ways an author can maintain this internal consistency. One, the author can do their writing and then as the write new story lines they can simply check their previous writing to make sure they are consistent with what they have written before. Lots of writers do this, but this sometimes does create conflict as new story ideas and direction for a series requires the author to introduce new elements or "magics" (in the sense of 'and a unicorn magically appeared') to justify some novel (in the sense of new) idea. Authors do this when some thing jumps in out of nowhere and introduces some entirely new element to the novel or series in order to resolve a plot conflict.<br /><br />J.K. Rowling seems to have taken a different approach. She seems to have very meticulously planned the end game of her book and the like a sculptor carefully chipped away the secrets until the consistent story is revealed as a masterpiece. Back to Dumbledore's nose. Not only was Rowling careful to give us good detail about Dumbledore's appearance, but she chose to reveal a clue about the end game right from the beginning. She knew that Albus and his brother Aberforth had fought, and why and what the causes and consequences of that fight had been. We like Harry were surprised to learn these details, but they were essential to Rowling and so she revealed them slowly and carefully.<br /><br />Another enjoyable consistency was Harry almost swallowing his first snitch. Now, from the perspective of the Albus Dumbledore, he simply took advantage of the fact that Harry had caught his first snitch in his mouth, but from the perspective of the author, it seems likely that she had planned that out. She knew that Harry would need to receive the Resurrection Stone from Dumbledore in a secret way that would allow it to be revealed to Harry in the nick of time. She wrote in him catching the snitch in his mouth so that when Scrimegour passed it on to Harry it wouldn't reveal itself. Now, I suppose it would be possible to argue that Rowling like Dumbledore simply took advantage of her previous cleverness.<br /><br /><blockquote>Oh, that's right, I thought it would be jolly clever to have Harry catch the snitch in his mouth, now how can I use that?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2438474146_95da9f2155.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 197px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2438474146_95da9f2155.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></blockquote><br /><br />I tend to give her a bit more credit than that, of course she is always welcome to correct me.<br /><br />Well, just two more examples of the effective literary elements in Harry Potter.mbjorgensenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10888253838240458522noreply@blogger.com