Author Archives: dogtrax

ASCII Art for the Holidays

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I wanted to share put this site of ASCII art by j. stark. This may be an old site (hosted by Geocities! I see some art dates back to 2000) but it has some neat artwork that is still timeless.

Happy holidays, where ever you are and whatever your beliefs. Thanks for stopping by.



 |"|")/"\<""|"\ /  "|"| ||_"   <"|\ |/"\|  ||\/||\ |\ |   | /|"|"
 |"|"\\_/_> |  |    | |"||_    _>| \|\_/|/\||  ||"\| \|   |"\| |
 """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

                         .-"""-.
                        /       \           ___,---,__
                       |        :|         (/_/|\ \|_/)
                       |       .:|            || \ |  
    .-----.             \   ..::/             ||\ \|
    |`"""`|            .-`     :-.            || \ |    /______
    |_____|          .'          ':.          `|\ \|   `\      )
  .-[____=]-.       /'            ':\          """""          /
  `"-------"`      /               ':\          <"/"|\ |")|"
       .          ;                  :;         _>\_|"\|"\|"
      /|\         |                  :|      
       |          |                  :|
                  |                 .:| ,__
    | ||\"|"      |                .::| |\  
    |"||"\|       :               .::::   \  |")/"\|"\\ /
                   \           ..::::/       |")\_/|_/ |
                 _,-`-.___ ..::::::-'-,_      ^
              -"                         "~-
     /"|\ |")|")/"\"|"                       __
     \_|"\|"\|"\\_/ |                       |--|  /___ |")||")|_"  
                                    ________|  | `\    |" ||" |_
            |                      `-----------'
           \|/
            '            | | ||\/||")<"  /"\|"  /"/"\|\ |   _____
   '-.  .--..,__         |_\_/|  ||" _>  \_/|"  \_\_/|"\|_       )
  ===->{::::.. _`:-                                             /
   .-'  `""""'`                                               |/_
                                                        (@)   `
     <""|"|/"| /<"   >==-=-=-=-=-==-<               (@)   (@)
     _> | |\_|"\_>                                     (@)   (@)  
                          >=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=<
              \      __,
               \______/|

    =======.==.
   _=-_-"-_|=_=`\_________________________    /___ |")|")/"\/"\|\/|
   _=_=-_-"| -=_=)========================`  `\    |")|"\\_/\_/|  |
    =_jgs=_|=_-./                                   ^
    ======='=='`

               (J U S T   B E   C A R E F U L   W H E R E   
                  Y O U   P U T   T H E   C A R R O T !)

 (art by j.stark)

                 _.--""""'.
               .'          `\
              /              \
            _/_ _,__ __ __/   |
            |`_o)/  `  `  |   ;
            | )/o\>       \   /
            ;"`""`""`"""`";.""-.
          .'   .--._.--.  /  '  \
         /    /  _   _  \ |'.  '|
        /     | / \ / \ |  \__'/
       ;    .-' \o/ \o/ '-.    ;
       |   | () .-"""-. () |   |
       ;   |    \     /    |   ;
        \  ;     \   /     ;  /
       /`\  \     \ /     /  /`\
      / .:`""--....Y....--::` .:\
      \:'   .:'   .:'   .:'  .:'/|
      /'._.:'   .:'   .:'  .:'.;':\
     /    ``;--::.___::.--;``` |   \
    /      /               \   |':.|
   ;      |                 |  \  ':|
   |      |      _..._      |   \    \
   |       \   .' o  o'.   /     |:. |
    \       './ o.-"-. o\.'      \ ':.\
     ;.       `-;     ;-'       .;\    |
     | `-._    _/     \_    _.-' | |:. |
     |   | ```\o (>0<)` /``` |   |/__':/
     ;   \     '._/`\).'     /   ;77777
      \   \      /```\      /   /
       \   '.             .'   /
        \    `-.__   __.-'    /
         '.       ```       .'
     jgs  /`-._         _.-'\
         /  ,  ``;---;``  ,  \
        |  /  |  |   |  |  \  |
        '-'|__/\_/   \_/\__|'-'

Peace (on earth, let it be),
Kevin

Playing Around with Bandcamp – two free holiday songs

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Some of you know I write and record music, mostly as demos for my band (Duke Rushmore).  But I’d like to try to get more of music out there and I am playing around with Bandcamp as a way to do that. To get started, I posted two holiday-themed songs from the past and am allowing them to be downloaded from Bandcamp for free. I don’t see my songwriting as a money-making venture. If you enjoy the songs, I’ll be happy.

You can also access the songs at Bandcamp directly. Or just listen here with the embed files. Whatever works for you works for me.

Thanks for reading and listening.

Peace (I mean it),
Kevin

One of those foggy winter days …

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We woke up to temperatures in the 50s and a thick foggy stew covering everything yesterday. It seemed a perfect time to do a little Learning Walk around the yard. It was a bit mushy, walking about, but the snow melting, the fog sitting there, and the warmth of the air gave the day a ghostly look, as if the Ghosts of Christmas Past were there in our midst.
I also began tinkering around with a photo lens app called Fragment. I can’t say I know what I am doing but the results are still interesting.

and

The thing about Learning Walks is that they provide you a chance to see the common everyday work from another view, or another lens. I’m still learning …

Peace (in the yard),
Kevin

A Digital Holiday Story: Breaking Glass

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I did a version of this story years ago as a podcast and updated the text a bit, and then used the iMovie app to pull it together as a digital story. This is one of our family traditions – writing notes to our future selves and stuffing them into glass ornaments. What’s yours?
Peace (in the glass),
Kevin

Sending You A Message of Peace (Posters)

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Our sixth graders recently finished up a Peace Poster project with our fantastic art teacher, and now the posters are all over the school. It’s such a great way to infuse art with a social message, and get young minds thinking of the world in global terms.
Here is a collection of some of the posters:

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

Graphic Novel Review: Mal and Chad – Belly Flop

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http://malandchad.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/bk3coverV8tweaks2.jpg

I’ve become a big fan of Stephen McCranie’s Mal and Chad series of books ever since he skyped into my classroom and taught my students about drawing and storytelling. So, I am biased with this review. But even if I had not had the pleasure of Stephen’s company, I would be a fan of Mal and Chad. The books (three, so far, I believe) center on a boy, Mal, and his dog, Chad, through adventures and misadventures as Mal uses his technology skills and navigates the awkward stages of friendship with a girl, Megan.

There’s plenty of humor built into the stories — visual and textual — and the books are accessible and relate-able to elementary and middle school kids (and I suspect a few high school students wouldn’t mind picking it up). The artwork has a Manga-feel to it and McCranie conveys a lot through the expressions of his characters. Some of the “silent” panels pack the most powerful emotional punches, particularly as Mal gets shunned by other kids in his school. That’s a credit to McCranie’s art skills and understanding of graphic stories.

What sets Mal and Chad apart, though, is its heart.

The center of all the stories — including this one, Belly Flop — is Mal’s desire for good friendship and his willingness to do what it takes to become a true friend.  His intentions are always right on, even if the results almost always end up in slapstick comedy. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and we the readers are right there with him. I’m always amused when Chad, the dog, kicks in with some dialogue, particularly when he is puffing up Mal with positive comments. Chad is Mal’s one-dog cheering section, and yet, it never falls into the cloyingly annoying phase, as it could. It’s genuine (well, as genuine as it gets with a talking dog.)

Belly Flop centers on a few storylines that come together, as Mal invents a Weather Cube that goes awry. Meanwhile, he gets invited to Megan’s birthday party, where some powerful glue on a gift undoes all of Mal’s ideas for impressing Megan and he ends up belly-flopping into a stream (thus, the nickname kids give Mal and the name of the book). So, he tries out for the Talent Show, only to have the audition fall apart when the Weather Cube goes crazy and unleashes a powerful storm. Mal races out to find Chad, to make sure his dog is safe, and finds himself in danger. Only Megan can save Mal … and she does.

See? Heart. That’s what storytelling is all about, and Mal and Chad is full of heart.

Peace (in the tale),
Kevin
PS — the trailer

Learning Aloud: Video Games and Student Engagement

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I had the pleasure to take part in a conversation the other night about gaming and teens as part of the Learning Aloud series from Connected Learning TV. The series puts the narrative into the hands of students sharing out their expertise with the world. I was invited as a sort of “token teacher” who teaches video game design, as a high school student from Chicago (the very articulate John) and the librarian who founded The Library of Games in the Chicago Public Library (Taylor Bayliss) talked about how a group of teens come together to discuss and create podcasts about video gaming.

It was a great show, with lots to think about. I brought in some views around gender, about making the switch from consumers of games to creators of games, about the need for teachers to open up the classrooms to more of students’ interests, and concerns about how to reach a broader audience than just an after-school program.

Check it out:

Watch live streaming video from connectedlearningtv at livestream.com

You can also listen to some of the Library of Games podcasts at Soundcloud.

Peace (in the games),
Kevin