Akira's Page

Intro DreamWeaver Workshop

Computer Field Technologist - ALRI Boston SABES

617-287-4075

akira.kamiya <at> umb.edu

TCBoston - Technology Collaborative Boston

E-Square - A Place for Practical Information for Teachers and Students

Good Recent Read:

Beautiful Evidence by Edward Tufte

Tufte is considered by many as the preeminent expert on information presentation and data display. For him information presentation is both a science and an art. The book, Beautiful Evidence, can be seen like a work of art with a beautiful blend of text, statistical graphs, numeric data, illustration and photography, that is a "delight both by the wonder of the spectacle and the accuracy of expression". This quotation taken out of context was actually written by a colleague of Galileo's about his hand drawn observations of the sun and its mysterious and moving spots, but its equally applicable to the work of Tufte. Not really a how to book on presentation skills, its really more a meditation on the work of others in their artistic or scholarly quest to make information clear and pure. The book is just a delight to leaf through and peruse slowly as you take the data like a soothing bath. Items like the baseball stats become appreciated as deeply and as richly as work by Picasso. For me its interesting to see how these concepts can be translated to education and training. How can we as teachers organize and present information so the learning is transparent and deep ? Well Tufte offers us some ideas !

Good Recent Listen:

Natalie Merchant - Ophelia (1998)

This album is by no means new. But, it really hangs on. Its got staying power. Know how some works just fade after the first listen? Well this is one album that has lasted in my top rated category for years now. She is a singer with amazing inner power and with lots of soul. At its base its a really good rock album with a poetic lyrics and subtlety. Hear s song called St. Judas here, click Album version:

This is from her first solo album, Tigerlily, a song called Wonder

Good Recent See:

Tully
Peter Keough (Boston Phoenix) called it "a Contemporary East of Eden".
A debut independant film by Hilary Birmingham. Just found this gem on Netflix by browsing the Independent category.
What I like is the realness of the screen play. The film comes without the typical hollywood stuff of fast cut-aways and over the top mellow drama. Reminds me a bit of What's Eating Gilbert Grape or You Can Count On Me. Just a down to earth story about a struggling farming family brought up by a single dad somewhere in the sleepy mid west. The shows how the sons wonder about their mother's mysterious past as they grow and fight and fall in love. All of the character's evoke an empathy that really draws the viewer in to this intimate story. I recommend it highly.