AmericanaFest2019 through mine eyes

Mine eyes have seen the glory...

I had an absolute BLAST going out to hear live performances of music all week, thanks to AmericanaFest2019. Initially, my lovely person was planning to take a highly unusual week off from her fantastic business, Tinwings, to go stay at a beach home in Pawley's Island with a dear friend. I discovered Americana Fest and thought, well, okay, I'll go hear some music while she's gone. The week changed due to her friend's schedule and I was about to bail, but Lee Ann told me, hey, do it anyway. So I did!

I sprung the 90+ dollars for a wristband that would get me into any of the shows at any of the venues I chose to attend Tuesday, September 10 through today, Sunday the 15th. It was fun to hear moving lyrics sung by brilliant songwriter/performers every night at many Nashville locations, some of which I'd never attended. See the list of performers in this graphic:

And take a few miniutes to run through my album of snapshots and video snippets at Google Photos. 

What was my favorite part? Wow. That's a tough one. I would say it's that I got myself out, met some nice humans, and formed some new fan relationships with a double handful of talented people some of whom I'd never heard of! I saw some acquaintances perform, including another former student from my first 3rd grade class in 1996-7. You may recall my good fortune to meet up with Lizzy Plotkin at the end of last May.

I thoroughly enjoyed Shawn Colvin's work as she performed her breakthrough record "Steady On" from top to bottom, just her and her acoustic guitar. And to witness Mark Erelli's award-nominated "By Degrees" sung by him the same way at a venue new to me, The Anchor, was unforgettable.

This time it was the incredibly talented Forrest O'Conner I got to see perform at One in Cannery Row performing an intimate set with Kate Lee and others. 

It was a fun week and I'll be back next year, "believe it to me."

Droning on a Saturday Morning

This may be a fun before and after in a year or so. This is the former home of Renaissance Stone and a couple other very small business endeavors, and if recent huge residential building in the area is any indication, we'll be seeing at least hundreds of new homes built. It would be possible, actually, to extend New York Avenue from its end place at 59th Avenue (straight ahead at the video's beginning) to 60th, at the video's end; but I'd be surprised if that happens, considering the profit value of each square foot of residential property in The Nations.

Edited in Screencast-O-Matic Pro. Music from an online album of rough acoustic instrumentals, "Still Waiting." Song is "Colin's Walk." Enjoy...

Living Proof, 1983

Hey all,

Yes we're sneaking up on the school year and teachers report in my district just two weeks from today. Hard to believe, but while I do wish for more summer there is a nagging excitement about getting back into the computer lab with a new batch of 5th graders and many children I will recognize and who will recognize me. We're in July 30 for meetings and prep and such and the kids show up Monday, August 5th.

Meanwhile, I'm finishing up some music and fishing and fun goals I set for myself before returning to school. One is sharing the one tiny tv work that I did back in 1982 or so, released as an NBC TV Movie in 1983, and though I only worked three days or so and only appear in this last 3 1/2 minutes of the movie, I some pretty good camera time and I hope that you can tell that I was having fun. At the time I was bartending at TGIFridays on Elliston Place. I recall that I answered a casting call and auditioned for the roll of the doctor who patches up Hank Williams, Jr. after his drunken fall from a mountaintop. That would have paid more, I suppose, but I'm glad I was invited to audition for the band members for the two bands at the end of the movie. I recall Richard Thomas and the casting directors out in front in a warehouse-like space with 20 or 30 aspiring musicians and that when it was my turn to step up to the mic I sang "Rollin' in my Sweet Baby's Arms." They actually allowed me to finish and called the next day to make me an offer. We filmed in what is now the Children's Theater, I'm pretty sure, then in TPAC's Jackson Theater.

Here's the thing: With the ongoing national dialog about the South and its perpetuation of myths about the racism that was essential to the notion of "Dixie," this song actually makes me a bit uncomfortable. As a supporter of both the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center, I believe there's a New Dixie out there that can embrace all of us, no matter what race or creed. And I don't believe that New York City is anything close to a synonym for Hell. All that said, at the oblivious time of the filming, it was fun. I'll struggle to rectify these dichotomous things, in my daily work and in my personal heart, but meanwhile I hope you can enjoy...

Difference between Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality?

Whether you are exploring "the realities" for learning and teaching or you are just curious, these technologies, along with Artificial Intelligence, have been gearing up to change our lives for quite some time now. Do you understand the...

Panning Nashville's West Park on a Sunny Summer Day

Visualblog @Snapwidget

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Recapping ISTE19 through Snapshots and Comments

Hey!

I've said for years that any school or school district who supports Professional Learning with travel funds should REQUIRE a detailed account of how time was spent at conference or workshop. Though my "budget neutral" school district (hate that term) did not support this trip, I am in the habit of providing same. So.

Instead of my traditional rambling post or series of posts, I'm choosing to document this year's International Society for Technology in Education's annual Conference and Expo in Philadelphia with all the photos I took along with notated comments. Comments contain links to places visited, colleagues hugged, and more; including beaucoup resources from events at which I presented or which I attended. My work here is done. All I can say is--Go for it! And enjoy!

Scott's Google Photos from ISTE19

There will be a live recap discussion with Andy Wheelock and yours truly in Second Life on Tuesday, July 16, at http://tinyurl.com/istevenetwork -- join us at 5pm Pacific Time!

Days 1 and 2@ISTE19, pics first

I will come back on over the coming week to add descriptions/comments on these, but for now this is the sum total of my pics. Some are with Colin and his lovely girlfriend Kat, some are dining, etc., and there are a few from the poster session with dear Mary Howard, the Community Networking Fair, and a whole bunch from our Games and Simulations and Virtual Environments Playground, which I pronounce a rousing success. All our planning paid off and we made tons of new friends and gained a ton of new members. I love me an educator hungry to learn more about developments in AR/MR/DR and Virtual Reality for learning and teaching. Here's the first batch of photos, from Friday night with my boy-o and his lovely girlfriend Kat to the moment, approaching PLN Happy Hour back at the Convention Center followed by the Flipgrid Party. I'll pretty this post up later, but for now:

Scott's ISTE19 pics at Google Photos

Upcoming Week in Philly @ISTE19

Here's my week! Come find me for a hug and an LFB album download card!

scottmerrickdotnet drone adventures

Hey, all,

I recently came into possession of a Parrot Bebop 2 FPV drone and I'm beginning to use it for, well, FUN. I'll post more little videos here and on their own  YouTube Channel Playlist  as I collect images from on high with this tasty little tech tool!

I have been collecting filets in my freezer from fishing expeditions this summer, in order to have enough to feed us and friends at an end of the summer fish fry at Chez Merrique (our lovely little home in The Nations Nashville), and yesterday I had a good morning, bringing home 3 catfish and a good sized Redear, also known as a Shell Cracker. But before I ventured out onto my favorite little fishing lake I pulled out my new drone to get some video with the lake manager, Stevie: The swirling, rising mists on the lake were breathtaking on this cool summer morning.

I need to match up some music for this li'l ditty, and will, but for now, imagine some restful morning guitar and mandolin whilst you enjoy:

VSTE VEN Will Relocate at the End of this Summer

Good morning, world(s). 

Because of my real life work and also my dedication to my volunteer work for ISTE via our Virtual Environments Network for that organization, I don't get out much--into other worthy organizations' activities. But since I do know that the Virginia Society for Technology in Education, a remarkably active learning network in Second Life, is at the top of the list for research and community about learning and teaching in virtual worlds, I want to share a recent announcement. The ISTE VEN made a similar change in 2009, downsizing to our cozy HQ in Second Life at http://tinyurl.com/isteven, so it's not surprising, but it is noteworthy! I encourage one and all to quickly visit their Jamestown reenactment build at the link within the post before it goes away: I'm not sure whether it will be rebuilt in their new smaller location! Here's the message, posted on a sign at our HQ by our dear Beth Ghostraven (Beth O'Connell, former recipient of our annual Virtual Pioneer of the Year Award at the ISTE Conference)...

The VSTE VE PLN Is On the Move in Second Life!
June 1, 2019
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/VSTE%20Island/62/130/21
For over 10 years, the VSTE Virtual Environments Professional Learning Network has maintained VSTE Island, a full region in Second Life, as part of our professional development program. With a shift in focus to expanding to other virtual environments, we have decided to downsize and move to a parcel on the Second Life Mainland, with significantly lower costs.
SAVE THE DATE - The new parcel will be revealed on Monday, August 19, 2019 at 8:00 pm EDT (5:00 pm SLT / Pacific time).
The VE PLN will very much still be in Second Life and other virtual worlds, meeting (almost) weekly on Mondays at 8pm Eastern time. Minecraft Monday will continue on the first Monday of the month at VSTE Place, our shared Minecraft server. Our other excursions include Opensim on Avacon, Unity (including SineSpace and ViWoLe), and other virtual environments new and old. As VSTE Island Facilitator Kim Harrison says, “We need to be good stewards of VSTE's funds."