Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Celebrating in Portugal!

WEEK5_ DAY6


"Greetings from Figueira da Foz! From Valencia, we took the boat and navigated all the way to Portugal. Attracted by the town’s lighthouse, we arrived and were greeted by the effervescent Belinha Fernandes"



OMG! I usually get here so early that the letter isn't showing yet. Today I was late and got this surprise. No need for this, honestly. But I am loving that you all loved it. So, thank you very much. It's so cute the way you pronounce my name, LOL! I just want to say I picked this song because to me it sounds kind of universal and able to convey a positive energy/message to everyone no matter the place or language they speak. 

Design 101 is a multicultural learning experience. We have people from around the world sharing all sorts of things. One month! I think that's still early to evaluate the impact this course will have on us. I get excited by knowledge itself, sometimes it's simple things, but amazing things, that I just don't know. Honestly, it's almost like a drug! It's strange and funny at the same time. I wasn't like this when I attended University. 

One thing I know. We can learn everywhere. Not just at University. But sometimes it's easy when we get some help. From family, from teachers, from peers, from work colleagues, from friends. We don't have all the time in the world. I don't know much about Design so I really apreciate this map Design101 is providing. I feel like my navigation is safer and quicker. Well, enough bla-bla-bla! Thank you, instructors and students. You are making a difference.


1. SOUNDTRACK OF THE DAY

Music for Aeroports - Brian Eno

2. PLACES TO KNOW

The river Mondego meets Atlantic Ocean here. 
This is my favorite spot in the city.
Welcome!

3. PEOPLE TO DISCOVER

Pharrel Williams - on The Guardian

Happy 24hour video: “The song itself is four minutes long and repeated on a loop for the video. By the end, Pharrell has exhorted the viewer to “clap along” 8,640 times”. 

"This is contemporary design. To be able to mix, to do one thing in an excellent way and then to work on other fields. The tensions and the relations between the different fields make the interesting design." From the Course Letter

Andy Warhol was doing a lot of different things also:


Velvet Underground's Warhol documentary

He directed Chelsea Girls movie

He was mostly a visual designer

4. QUESTION OF THE DAY

What did I learn from the other students?

That I belong to a community, Design101 community.

That I’m collaborating in knowledge construction.

That’s better to be on Design101 than learning by myself.

That we look at the same things but we see different things.

That I can’t please everyone.

That I must respect difference.

That there isn’t a unique approach to learning.

That it takes courage to show the work we do.

That sometimes isn’t easy to be on Design101.

That I learn both from observation and practice.

That some students are very passionate about Design101.

That some are not very passionate about Design101.

That helping each other feels good.

That making the others smile feels good.

That generosity is not just a word.

That every student can be a story teller.

That I must learn how to deal with frustration.

That we are connected.

That I am learning how to walk.


5. INSPIRATION


Polymath - is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas; such a person is known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. The term was first used in the seventeenth century but the related term, polyhistor, is an ancient term with similar meaning.

POLYMATHS: 20 LIVING EXAMPLES

Robert A. Heinlein :“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects”.

Gesamtkunstwerk: "Total work of art"

No comments: