wallstalking.org

Some friends and I are starting a graffiti project called Listen to the Walls Talking.
On my way to school some two or three weeks ago I noticed a pile of old desks next to the trash can. I stopped and had a look - they were covered in scribbles, verses, sketches... some already disassembled and ready for their final destination. Those scribbles and carvings all over them made me think of the countless hours students had spent sitting there, being productive (one way or another ;-)). I thought how these marks are in a way reflection of somebody's feelings caught in time. Bored, in love, happy, mad, creative, you name it. So when I later that day entered the classroom and registered the blank white student desks, those struck me as sterile, lifeless, cold... There were no stories there, no emotions - the desks were nice and clean. So I started looking around, at walls, chairs, schoolbags... and I thought - wouldn't it be nice to collect and share scribbles meaningful to us, see why we find them meaningful, what do they tell us? What does this tell us about us?
I talked about this to some of my friends and ended up in a fun collaborative project - people from different parts of the world started sharing photos of the graffiti they like or find meaningful. It's fun already and it has only just begun. Check it out and join us! Hope to see you there.

Buy a drink? ;-)

A new name

Needed to rename this place… I didn’t quite feel at home here. So goodbye EFL blog and hello Cybermill. Why Cybermill? Sounds like something practical, hands on... Also I kind of like to name my cyberspots so that they mean something to me. This is now this blog's 3rd name (never took the time to think properly of a name, which is a real shame). When I opened it I titled it Roštilj but later, when the 'Roštilj' student generation finished class, I renamed it to EFL Blog... never liked that name, sounded kind of empty… Cybermill at least makes it consistent with some of my cyber spots. Not sure this will encourage me to blog more regularly, but at least I will feel more at home when I do. So... Cybermill from now on - in case anyone is still around this place and wondering what's happened.

Meetup

I've just learned about Meetup through S. Downes Old Daily and thought it might be of interest to you too. It's an online site where you go to meet people who share similar interests so you can meet them f2f... I checked Nova Gorica, nothing there yet.
Here's a lovely Common Craft video on Meetup:

Earth Day 08

Earth Day is celebrated tomorrow. Tjaša wrote about it and my dear friend Cris is one of the many volunteers around the globe involved in a fascinating project dedicated to this: a 24 hour earthcast. It starts 22 April at midnight GMT (i.e. 2 am our time), bringing together voices from around the globe to speak live about the health of our planet (students, teachers, researchers, scientist, engineers,… anybody). You can give it a listen here and are most welcome to join in.
Here's my humble contribution to Earth Day (used Bee's idea, quotes and Flickr CC photos). What do you think?

| View | Upload your own

Anyway, while uploading to slideshare I also came across this really awesome slides by Sunita Williams… Beautiful, aren't they?

| View | Upload your own

Now… concerning the health of our planet… there are many little things we can do… recycle, reuse, support the organic, the local… think positive, be respectful of others… After all we are just part of the system here, aren't we? Life on Earth does not depend on us really, does it?
I recently listened to a cool TED talk by M. Pollan. A really lovely talk, radiating hope and good vibes… It's funny, he notes, that Darwin's On the origin of species was published more than 150 years ago yet we still mostly stick to the cartesian view of man, consciousness, and culture on the one hand, and nature on the other… We are really just one of the many species around, we act and are acted upon… Just like a bee, seduced by a flower's color and fragrance, pollinates and spreads its genes around, so are perhaps we seduced by a certain sort of potato so we choose to plant that one and not some other, or by grass so we mow it like crazy and thus help it outcompete the bushes and trees, its natural competition, or by corn so we keep planting it and spreading its habitat…
Ever thought of that? Interesting, isn't it?
We seem to be pretty much oblivious of the world around us… but if we choose a different species point of view, we suddenly see our role in a very different light. 'The cure for the disease of human self importance' believes Pollan. I like the idea a lot.
I remember Bolte, the TEDster from my previous post, talking about the role of our brain concerning our view and perception of the world; while the right hemisphere connects us to it, blending our body with the environment, the left one separates us from it, making us individuals, persons of our own… Our skin is not the boundary of our being…. there is more to it. A whole lot more!
Let's not fail to see the forest for the trees. Let's respect Mother Nature’s treasures and be thankful to be part of them. Happy Earth Day everybody!

Brain Awareness Week

This week is a Brain Awareness Week. I heard it on the radio earlier this week, it made me curious so I googled it up and found some sites promoting this event. To contribute a bit to this, I'd like to share with you lovely tutorials on human anatomy at getbodysmart.com (check the brain section ;-)) and on the National Geographic site .
Also I'd like to share with you a fascinating TED talk by a neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, who

... had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another

Enjoy!

Downloading music... did you know?

Here's a nice quote from a blog entry entitled Apple iTunes Store Environmental Impact. ... I had no idea. How many CDs and DVDs do you have? How many have you thrown away?

Sooner or later, all Music CD’s and the Jewel Cases they are packaged in will end up in a landfill somewhere. CD’s are mostly manufactured from Aluminum and Polycarbonate along with Lacquer, Dyes, and other materials such as water, glass, and nickel. Most of these materials must also be processed before manufacturers can use them to make CD’s. As an example, to make plastic, crude oil from the ground is combined with natural gas and chemicals in a processing plant. In addition to manufacturing, there are transportation costs (shipping CD’s in trucks to the store) as well as packaging costs (the jewel cases, shrink wrap, etc.) to consider as well.

By buying your music from the Apple Store, you are helping to prevent a stack of CD’s 2.6 miles high from having to be manufactured PER DAY.