Me with Michele

The minute Eliot and I got a notice from the Perez Art Museum Miami, better known as PAMM, that artist and author Michele Oka Doner, was going to be interviewed by curator René Morales, we knew we had to attend. 

We did, and we just got home.

We wanted to meet her. Oka Doner was commissioned by our condo board, in South Beach, to redesign the massive floor in our lobby. She is internationally known for her numerous public art commissions, including the “Radiant Site”, at New York’s Herald Square Subway and “A Walk on the Beach” at the Miami International Airport.

Oka Doner’s work is inspired by her passion and appreciation of the natural world. Her new book, “Intuitive Alphabet,” is all about the insights into the way language has evolved over the years.. It’s really fascinating. The books are for adults, and for adults to share with children. 

How beautiful is that?  

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Michele Oka Doner being interviewed by curator René Morales

Oka Doner signing books.

Some folks bought six copies each for holiday gifts.

Oka Donor was happy to see so many people loving art.

At 73, there are no signs of her stopping.

She has a formula that works.

Did you hear the news? Dictionary.com chose “complicit” as the Word of the Year.

Dictionary.com is the world’s leading online source for English definitions, synonyms, word origins and etymologies, and audio pronunciations.

Scarlett Johansson helped to make the word  very popular this year. Her performance in a satirical perfume ad on “Saturday Night Live” generated a huge increase in the search for the meaning of the word. 

Com·plic·it is an adjective. It means that someone is involved with others in an illegal activity or wrongdoing.

In a press release, Dictionary.com said online searches of this word increased by 300 percent over 2016. The word received  the support of the staff of Dictionary,com which included lexicographers, marketing folks, product teams, and the CEO, Liz McMillan.

CNET covered the story as well. Click here.

I never heard of the band “OK Go,” but I learned something very high tech about them today. They are known for their very creative music videos. They use scooters, cars, planes, treadmills to underscore their  unique choreography. 
The new video, called “Obsession, “ has a wall of 557 printers that are used as a backdrop. See the above video.

“This video has a lot of flashing colors. If you’re susceptible to seizures, be careful, 

Image: New York Times

This is one for the books. College educators are now saying that there is increasing evidence that  students learn less when they are using a laptop or tablet during lectures. 

I was stunned to read this in the New York Times because I have been pretty envious of folks who can take notes on their computers while listening to a discussion, file them in a designated electronics folder, and/or distribute the information to targeted audiences. 

I have always had to do this in several steps, over several hours. Yet, young folks can do all this while the meeting they are listening to is still in progress. Now, educators are claiming that students are not really absorbing the information. I find this very strange considering how many years laptops have been in the classroom environment.

Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles, have conducted a number of experiments comparing the scores of students who use laptops versus students who use pen and paper for note-taking.  Both institutions found that the students who used laptops had less understanding of the lectures.

The reasons why are so ridiculous that I urge you to read the New York Times story.

All I know is that I watched a young neighbor takes notes on his iPad during a coop board meeting and before the discussion was over, he accomplished all of the follow-up work. Everything was done on-the-spot. I wish I could do that. 

I would have to go home. look at my notes, and then start attacking the “To Do” list. My young friend was trained very differently. He is far more efficient. It’s difficult to believe that he didn’t hear, absorb, and completely understand all of the facts being discussed. 

You decide after reading the story.