I had the privilege of interviewing Rob Rokicki for the National Writing Project’s Write Time Radio show. Rob is a musician and composer, who wrote the music and lyrics for a Broadway version of The Lightning Thief. We chatted about his work and how he composes, and the idea of story narrative in connection to music. Peace (talking it out), Kevin ..read more

Click on the wrench at the Rube Goldberg Machine comic at xkcd and build the machine inside the comic. Brilliant! Peace (and gears), Kevi ..read more

This is a visual look at the Blackout Poems my students were creating yesterday before we went to take in the Solar Eclipse. Peace (and poems), Kevin ..read more

Peace (plant it), Kevin ..read more

(NOTE: This post is a tutorial as part of Write Out, April 2024) Here is one way to create a blackout/erasure poem, particularly when the Solar Eclipse comes through and the moon “erases” or “blackens out” part of the Sun. Get it? For mine (above), I used some text generated by ChatGPT in which it explains what a Solar Eclipse is. You may want to find some other text or perhaps the Wendell Berry poem – To Know The Dark — as your main text. This is what ChatGPT gave me for my activity: A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, obscuring the sun ..read more

via GIPHY This morning’s DS106 Daily Create prompt (one I guess I originally submitted way back when?) was to find the background code of a website and use it for art. I perused behind the scenes of the John Coltrane website for mine. I grabbed a screenshot, and then used art filters, and ended with some animation on top. Peace (and sound), Kevin ..read more

Just in time for April and Poetry Month, Grant Snider’s new Poetry Comics book is a beautiful addition to the collection. Grant gathers together four seasons worth of poems in the form of comics, in his own distinct style (literally – the book is divided into four seasons), and it’s lovely for the ways that he weaves in his illustrations, perspective viewpoints and a child-like view of the world. (This book is appropriate for any aged kid or adult). Many of the comics are free-verse but he also uses rhyming patterns here and there, and haiku and other small form poetry styles. The book could ..read more

Peace (push it through), Kevin ..read more

Today’s DS106 Daily Create prompt was to “be a plant” and so I thought, let me invent a musical plant that doesn’t exist. I used ChatGPT to help me think of some musical scientific names and then Adobe Firefly to create an image of a plant with a musical theme, and then Soundtrap to compose a short musical piece. Peace (as you wander near me), Kevin ..read more

Peace (encased in ice), Kevin ..read more