Trip to the New York Commiccon

Reading comic books is cool, admitting to it is not.

In a way, it is a bit like the adult entertainment industry.  In both cases, few people admit to enjoying it, fewer admit to paying for it, and yet they are multi-billion dollar a year industries… and it sure as hell isn’t me keeping them afloat.

From February 24-26, New York’s Javits Center is hosting the first NY Comic Book Convention in over a decade.  For three days, comic geeks of all ages will get together to browse collections, gawk at collectables, and meet some of the greatest writers and artists their genre has to offer.  And as I write this, I am on the express train to Penn Station to join these people; at least I can say that I am getting paid to attend and therefor parry off any offending comments of geekdome.

I’ve been to smaller comiccons before and they can be fun.  The writers are fairly nice people.  The artists are friendly, if not a little desperate to make a sale.  The collection sellers are exactly the stereotypical people we have come to know and love from various interpretation on film and TV (although I have yet to meet a real-life Jeff Albertson).  Personally, I enjoy going through the vintage and bronze collections and finding now strangely named titles.  Hardboiled Dicks is still my personal favorite (named for a Dick Tracy collection…. but still!).

What will I find at this convention which is a little like all the others, but ten times larger?  I haven’t a clue.  I’m looking forward to schmoozing with someone dressed as Superman, maybe a friendly word with a Catwoman, and if I am really lucky I’ll get to meet a favorite writers from my childhood.  At the very least, I’ve praticed my vulcan greeting.

 Check out the podcast of this blog HERE

Dick… Cheney that is

So, do you suppose Dick has changed his views on gun control recently?

 Guns dont’ kill people, people kill people.

Yes, they certainly do.

PB Wiki Potential

Anyone who knows me would tell you that I am not a fan of using the Wiki-Encyclopedias for educational research purposes.  It is ever changing and sometimes provides incorrect information.  That being said, PB Wiki offers a neat spin to potential learning experience for students.

 For example, a Science teacher could show his/her students a reaction between baking soda and vinegar, then ask the students how to make a cork gun out of the chemical.  He/she then sets up a PBWiki page for the students to all mull over their ideas, discuss the successes and failures of their experiment.  Using PBwiki in this fashion allows the students to study, discuss, test, analyze, and test some more.  In other words, they will actively take part in the Scientific Process.

 Obviously, this type of use is not just limited to Science classes.  Any teacher offering an open ended question to their students will be able to provide an open forum for them to discuss their ideas and then write down and correct their findings.

 What is particularly nice about this, in educational aspects, is that it shows students learning can be a very active and social experience.  It shows teachers that some of their students who are poor at standardized tests may be more than capable than they realized.  It also brings the technology element into the classroom (something different than regular ol’ PowerPoint).

 I have forwarded this site to my wife, who teaches 7/8 Science, and she is very keen to try a lesson around it.  I expect she will find that her students will respond quite well to the challenge and her students will learn a great deal from it.

 In short, go PBWiki!