The Unknown Studio

The Calgary Catholic School Board has, in this blogger’s opinion, completely overreacted to the notion that The Golden Compass books are anti-religious. In typically overzealous style, they’ve pulled the books from their library shelves pending a review:

“Given the controversy related to the book, the district will not promote and/or use it to support instructional and/or literacy development pending additional information and initial review,” said a Nov. 29 memo to schools from Ms. MacKay’s office.

“At the same time, since bans and censoring tend to draw increased attention to the potentially inappropriate materials, a course of quiet non-participation is recommended.”

What they’re reviewing is a supposed anti-faith stance the book has. But the school board is missing the point: and the point is education. I’m aware that they are a Catholic school board, but they must decide what is most important. Is it more important to educate youngsters so they can make their way in the world (a world replete with multiple religions and worldviews), or is it more important to ensure that these kids remain Catholic, and never question their views or their faith? The key is balance – in both directions.

I think the primary function of the board should be to instill Catholic values in children while providing them with the most well-rounded education, and the most informed educational rubric, as possible. Hiding something potentially controversial from kids is exactly the wrong way to deal with it. Teachers could use the trilogy to show students a differing world view, outlining what makes the books atheistic and how a member of the Catholic faith might have approached the situations found in the books differently.

The school board is missing an opportunity to teach children something. Instead, they’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes. It’s a knee-jerk reaction that ultimately benefits no one.

Popularity: 3% [?]

If you haven’t heard of this already, and you’re sucker for cool-looking watches, you’ll want to check out Tokyoflash.

I, personally, am a sucker for gadgets. I know some girls who like purses. Some people like shoes. I like watches. And anything made by the wizards at Apple. But that’s not the point. I also really dig watches. I own three, and I want more. My latest acquisition was the Biohazard Watch from Tokyoflash. It was only about CAD $150, and even though you need to do math to decode the time, it’s an incredible conversation piece:

This thing made it to me, direct from Japan, in five business days. Which is really unreal. The Japanese know how to do online commerce. Nineteen shopping days before Christmas. Maybe you know someone who needs a really awesome watch?

Popularity: 2% [?]

I quashed my Facebook account using a dummy email account to do so. Then I zapped the email account. I’m not terribly confident that Facebook has actually eliminated all my details, but if it were to fall into the wrong hands somehow, I think my intention cannot be misinterpreted: I want to be less than a ghost.

But I find it interesting that after ditching Facebook, the three people who immediately took notice reacted rather bizarrely:

• Emma said: RIP facebook:)
• Melanie said: I saw you finally did it! Bravo! It takes a lot of courage to stay off
• Erin said: Emma mentioned you’ve broken free from facebook!  Congrats!!
  

People will always have a love-hate relationship with FB. Still… intriguing!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Wellington Grey has an excellent slide show on what DMCA does (from boing boing). If IP and copyright issues interest you in even the smallest way, click on the image below.

Popularity: 7% [?]

After giving it considerable thought over the last few weeks, and with the advent and somewhat-demise of Beacon, I’ve decided that I’m going to go through the pain-in-the-ass process of deleting my Facebook account tonight. Some of the reasons include what Amy Tiemann said in this CNET piece:

You remember the old story about the frog placed in a pot of water that was slowly heated up, until it was cooked? When I read the about Facebook’s reaction to the anti-Beacon protests, my first impression is that Facebook’s concessions are essentially along the lines of, “OK, we turned up the heat a bit too much on this one, so we’ll turn it back down a little bit–for now.” Are marketers counting on the fact that we’ll get used to the warm bath, then the hot tub, calibrating their fine-tuned ability to stop just short of the lobster pot?

Moreover, while the web allows a largely indiscriminate flow of information, which has benefitted millions, certainly, the door swings both ways. And what little information I’ve been able to glean and share about my friends and acquaintances (willingly or not) during my short stint on Facebook (about a year), I’m growing old and curmugeonly, and am far less interested in what some douche from grade school is up to these days than I might have been a few months ago.

Ultimately, I just don’t feel comfortable with the lack of transparency around what Facebook is up to. If they were just straight and honest with their users, I might stick around. But right now, the risk of having my personal info up there, surrounded by all the uncertainly with what’s happening with that info, is unsettling.

I’ll just stick to emailing my close friends, thanks.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Michael Geist is stepping up and asking the tough questions on copyright. Since Jim Prentice is unwilling to be interviewed by the CBC before the Canadian DMCA bill is introduced, Michael has crafted his own questions he wants to put to the minister.

Snippet from Michael’s blog:

7.   The Conservative Party of Canada pledged to “eliminate the levy on blank recording materials” in its 2005 policy declaration.  Why has that pledge been abandoned?  Similarly, the 2005 policy declaration stated that “the Conservative Party believes that reasonable access to copyright works is a critical necessity for learning and teaching for Canadian students and teachers, and that access to copyrighted materials enriches life long learning and is an essential component of an innovative economy.”  Why has the party abandoned this position with copyright reform that will make it more difficult for teachers and students to access copyright materials?

Popularity: 6% [?]