Here's another video clip of me using Rory's Story Cubes (Order here) to make up a story for my 3 year old daughter Niamh. Can you spot the continuity error in my tale?
Technorati Tags: creativity, dice, family, game, improv, Rory's Story Cubes
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
I have another go making a story using Rory's Story Cubes
Rory's Story Cubes - Storytelling for all ages
In this video my daughter Niamh (pronounced [Neev]) tells a story using Rory's Story Cubes. I have to resist the urge to tell her how to play the game 'properly', and simply let her use her imagination.
To order Rory's Story Cubes visit The Creativity Hub Homepage
Technorati Tags: creativity, dice, family, game, improv, Rory's Story Cubes
Wednesday, 28 November 2007
"Once upon a time..." with Rory's Story Cubes
Here's your chance to have a go with Rory's Story Cubes. Click on the video to see the roll of the dice.
The challenge is to make up a story that begins with "Once upon a time..." and somehow links together all nine (9) images on the dice into a story. There is no right or wrong kind of story.
**TIP** It helps though to talk faster than you can think. If you are unsure about this, check out the previous post to watch an example of me using Rory's Story Cubes.
Post your story as a comment below.
Rory's Story Cubes are finally here!
At last, I can finally announce that Rory's Story Cubes are now available. It's been over two years since I first had the idea using an invention technique known as Advanced Civilization. This game-tool has gone through 3 other prototypes (the original Rubiks Cube version, the stickered dice, and a molded version from China) before arriving at this one.
The video below shows just one of the ways in which Rory's Story Cubes can be 'played'. There are many more uses. And I will continue to expand on these in this blog.
Rory's Story Cubes are available to buy online by visiting the Creativity Hub homepage.
Monday, 5 November 2007
Innovating how we visualise data
From www.ted.com:
With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Prof. Hans Rosling uses software from Gapminder debunks a few myths about the "developing" world. This global health visionary has discovered a powerful new way to communicate complex data about the world; his remarkable interactive graphs help deliver profound insights about global trends and will change forever the way you think about "us" and "them." Rosling is professor of international health at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, and founder of Gapminder, a nonprofit that brings vital global data to life. (Recorded February 2006 in Monterey, CA.)
More TEDTalks at www.TED.com
As a bit of an info-graphics nerd, I really appreciated the clarity of this presentation, especially how Prof. Rosling used animation, and timelines to communicate his point. If you are interested in info-graphics and/or world development issues, please do take a look at this video from the TEDTalks series. In fact, why not check out the whole series of TEDTalks at www.ted.com.
Countdown to Rory's Story Cubes
After a lot of research into various ways to produce my new game, Rory's Story Cubes, I am very excited to be able to say that they will be available for sale later in the month - just about the same time that my third baby is due!!
To lead up to the release, I will be uploading sample video clips how Rory's Story Cubes can be used for storyteller.
Technorati Tags: children, creativity, dice, family, game, improv, Rory's Story Cubes
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
Love Tara March Scheduled for July 21st in Dublin
TaraWatch.org presents
LOVE TARA March
Dublin - July 21 2007 at 1.00pm
Please help us promote our LOVE TARA march which will take place on Saturday July 21 in Dublin at 1.00pm. We will march from the Garden of Remembrance to the Department of the Environment, Custom House Quay, where we will hand in 50,000 petition signatures. Please email your contacts, post a natice on your favorite message boards, write a letter to the newspapers, call your local radio station, contact celebrities, political parties, etc... This may be last chance for the public to have their say.Irish Times - TaraWatch steps up M3 protests
Irish Examiner - Ireland facing EU fines over environmental failures
Irish Independent - Tara protester threatens new court action to halt motorway
Sunday Business Post - Commission issues fourth warning over landfill pollution
Tara activists picket Irish embassies
Irish Times - Last Updated: 13/07/2007 14:32
Campaigners opposed to the M3 motorway running through the historic Tara Valley have started to hold a series of demonstrations in three different countiries today.
TaraWatch held protests outside Leinster House in Dublin and the Irish Embassy in London earlier.
There will be protests later in New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles.
A protest march will also be held in Dublin on Saturday, July 21st at 1pm, which will go from the Garden of Remembrance to Custom House, the headquarters of the Department of the Environment.
Campaigners have said they are "inflamed" by what they describe as the Green Party's election pact with Fianna Fáil to agree to the M3 motorway project and today's announcement by Environment Minister John Gormley that the Government will not re-route the road despite Euopean criticism.
The demonstrations come as Minister for the Environment John Gormley holds talks today with European Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas in Brussels.
Campaigners claim international support has grown rapidly since the World Monuments Fund designated Tara one of the World's 100 Most Endangered sites.
Darren Delahunty, one of the organisers of the London protest, said: "Irish people in the UK are outraged at the refusal of the Irish authorities to try and proceed with the road, even when the public are so against it."
A "Love Tara" march will be held on Saturday, July 21st, in Dublin.
Monday, 4 June 2007
Thursday, 31 May 2007
Workshop: Living in Harmony with our Values in a Profit-Driven World
[Note: I am not affiliated with this workshop, but am a big supporter of Nonviolent Communication (NVC)]
Facilitated by Dr Marshall Rosenberg
Date: 18th, 19th 20th September 2007
Location: Gozo, Malta
As awareness of the need for social transformation increases many individuals and organisations are keen to contribute. Implementing and working through this change can be a painful or progressive process within which words can be windows or walls. All too often we find ourselves in the midst of conflict when our intentions are to create a better world.
This conference will showcase workable ways to cross social, cultural and economic divides without compromise or resentment. This new paradigm promises to provide individuals and organisations with more effective strategies to meet their needs, whilst at the same time positively resolving conflict and making a recognisable contribution to the lives of the people around us.
At the conference we are proposing to work with group of survivors from a concentration camp (who have agreed to participate) and their discussion with the multinational company who have bought the site (who are currently in dialogue with us). Both want to see the site in full usage and reap the benefits employment would bring to the area but they are in conflict about how to preserve the memory of what happened and searching for bodies of over 1000 missing people. The communication around this situation has the potential to heal or harm many people. Our aim is open a dialogue that will meet needs for all involved.
In order to maintain full integrity, we are not accepting corporate sponsorship. Each ticket purchase will make an important financial contribution to ensuring this healing process can go ahead. We need at least 100 people to buy tickets to make this happen. Your attendance can make a vital difference. This message is being sent to a select audience who will recognise this as both a major learning opportunity and a tangible opportunity to contribute to social change.
For more information visit http://www.mariaarpa.co.uk/global.html or email Maria Arpa.
To see Marshall Rosenberg in action visit http://www.bigpicture.tv/speakers/df2ec9b08
Monday, 23 April 2007
What makes 'bad' children 'good'?*
[* personally, I don't buy into the whole good/bad thing. To find out why, I invite you to visit the links below. I just thought that I'd use it to grad your attention.]
http://www.alfiekohn.com/index.html - Website of Alfie Kohn, author of Unconditional Parenting.
http://www.cnvc.org/parents.htm - website for the Centre for Nonviolent Communication, founded by Marshall Rosenberg.
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/ - website for Attachment Parenting International.
I hear and read a lot these days about children and teenagers exhibiting antisocial behaviour, about children who have ADD or ADHD and are medicated because of it. When I hear these stories, I am usually left feeling pretty sad, as my experience of working with teenagers in Belfast teaches me that quite often what they are looking for is trust, respect and autonomy. Having a sense that they matter, and have something to contribute is also important. And so, I was pleased to read the following report in a What Doctors Don’t Tell You (WDDTY) email newsletter.
A new study among small children suggests it’s more to do with nurture than nature.
A group of socially disadvantaged children in Wales, who were raised with ‘positive parenting’ techniques – such as consistent praise and positive role models – displayed less antisocial behaviour than those who were neglected or abused.
Fewer ‘positive parenting’ children were hyperactive or had learning problems, which are normally remedied with powerful drugs.
In all, 153 parents from deprived areas with children aged between three and five participated. Of those, 104 adopted ‘positive parenting’ techniques, while the remainder continued with their usual approach to parenting.
(Source: British Medical Journal, 2007; 334: 678-82).
To find out more about approaches to positive parenting and needs-based communication, I would invite you to check out the following sites as a starting point.
http://www.alfiekohn.com/index.html - Website of Alfie Kohn, author of Unconditional Parenting.
http://www.cnvc.org/parents.htm - website for the Centre for Nonviolent Communication, founded by Marshall Rosenberg.
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/ - website for Attachment Parenting International.
Sunday, 25 March 2007
There's no excuse for procrastinating anymore...just an equation
I've just discovered this interesting information from a University of Calgary press release dated 10 Jan 2007. I haven't posted it until I realised that I was procrastinating, wanting to test the information first! Dr. Piers Steel, a University of Calgary professor in the Haskayne School of Business has recently published an paper titled “The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure” in a recent edition of American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin. In it he has formulated an equation that he beliefs can predict your tendency to procrastinate: (procrastination) :
Utility = E x V / ΓD
The equation reads as follows: The desirability of completing the task (U) is equal to the expectancy a person has of succeeding with a given task (E) multiplied by the value of completing the task (V). I read this as the total gain involved in completing the task (ExV). This is divided by the its immediacy or availability (Γ = GAMMA) and the person’s sensitivity to delay (D). Steel has dubbed his research Temporal Motivational Theory. His research has highlighted the following:- Most people’s New Year’s resolutions are doomed to failure
- Most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and
- Procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation
As someone who is involved in personal development, and Life Coaching, I am particularly interested in the role of procrastination in (not) achieving our goals, whatever they may be. I am going to experiment and see how I can apply this equation to help me understand how, and why I procrastinate, and also to aid my clients. in gaining greater understanding. But being a busy person, what is the actual likelihood of me doing this? Well, Utility = E x V / ΓD of course!
“Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task,” Steel says. “Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more.”
Other predictors of procrastination include: task aversiveness, impulsiveness, distractibility, and how much a person is motivated to achieve. Not all delays can be considered procrastination; the key is that a person must believe it would be better to start working on given tasks immediately, but still not start.
Steel says motivational failures such as difficulty in sticking to diets and exercise regimes – frequently the focus of New Year’s resolutions – are related to procrastination because impulsiveness is often at the root of the failure. “Temptations that are close at hand are difficult to resist. Addicts often relapse after returning from treatment facilities because drugs and alcohol become easily available and daily habits reassert themselves. Or we load up on bread in the restaurant before the meal is served. Or we check our email 10 times an hour instead of completing a project.”
The good news is that willpower has an unusual capacity. “The old saying is true: ‘Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right’,” Steel says. “And as you get better at self control, your expectancy about whether you can resist goes up and thus improves your ability to resist.”
Wednesday, 24 January 2007
Gene Whizz! How our perception affects our genes, and our health
Bruce Lipton PhD, author of the best selling Biology of Belief, has an article on his site, called Mind over Genes:The New Biology.
In the article he talks about the changing view of genetics, and how we are controlled by our genes...
Until recently, it was thought that genes were self-actualizing…that genes could ‘turn themselves on and off.’ Such behavior is required in order for genes to control biology. Though the power of genes is still emphasized in current biology courses and textbooks, a radically new understanding has emerged at the leading edge of cell science. It is now recognized that the environment, and more specifically, our perception (interpretation)of the environment, directly controls the activity of our genes. Environment controls gene activity through a process known as epigenetic control.What is of special interest to me as an Energy Psychology Practitioner is his mention of using Energy Psychology to help change beliefs, and in turn our health...
These new energy modalities provide the ability to rewrite limiting perceptions (beliefs) and self-sabotaging behaviors using processes that are mechanistically similar to pushing the record program on the subconscious mind’s tape player. With conscious awareness, one can actively transform the character of their lives into ones filled with love, health and prosperity. The use of these new modalities provides a key to personal growth and transformation.While this is not news to me, or other Energy Psychology practitioners, it is exciting to have other respected medical professionals talking about it. Combined with the growing use and references by Paul McKenna in his books and TV appearances to 'tapping' - also known as Thought Field Therapy (TFT) or the more accessible Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) - I am excited about how these universal tools, are becoming known, and accepted in the wider public domain.
By being fully conscious, we become the masters of our fates rather than the ‘victims’ of our programs. This path is similar to Buddhist mindfulness. Secondly, we can use a variety of new energy psychology modalities that enable a rapid and profound reprogramming of limiting subconscious beliefs.
To find out more about how Energy Psychology can help you change your limiting beliefs, email me. Alternatively, visit ACEP - the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology to find out more or read about the research into this emerging field.
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