Bonus Blog

To all future personal journeyers,

This course was by far the most time consuming course i took during this semester of college. I honestly thought it would be the easy way out of doing a real course, but it was a lot more work than i would have ever imagined. Don't think you can slack in this course because you don't have to physically be in a classroom. Deadlines creep up on you fast, and those incomplete assignments you don't think matter most definitely do in the end. You can learn a lot in this course if you do the work, and almost all of the content given turns out to be really interesting. Check the website at least three times a week, and make notes on important deadlines. Make the effort to put aside a few hours of your day to complete assignments, the readings are much more time consuming than you may expect.
Overall, this course is simple if you pay attention. I wish i got this letter before i started the course, maybe i wouldn't be sitting here nervously waiting for my grade to be posted.

Good luck and all the best to you!
Laurel Benzaquen

Passion, People and Principles

The two podcasts I listen too were a series from a chapter in David Maister book " Strategy and the Fat Smoker". This chapter is called Passion, People, and Principles; he talks about the world and what we need to do to succeed in life. I feel that these podcast relate to this course because he talks about what is needed to keep your work managed. Since we are doing an online course I thought that this was suitable to relate to. This online course takes a lot of management, not only time, but to remember to complete the work. I also thought it related to our memoirs because he talks about people and passion. I felt that this was similar to our memoirs because he was talking about life and how passion is needed to succeed. The memoirs we have read are filled with passion, and I feel that they are very successful. I would recommend this podcast to anyone who wants to learn how to manage their work, and someone who wants to find a strategy to being successful with their lives. I felt that it was interesting, and I would recommend it.

Pain d'épices Recipe

This blog is about the culture of French baking in Paris. David Lebovitz talks about a baker who he believes is the best in the world. He relates American baking to french and how the French feel about out sweets. He then adds the Pain d'Epices recipe by his favorite baker Flo Braker. My observation on how this blog relates to this course is that David Lebovitz is a Canadian author, and his blogs seemed to be more about his opinion. This blog in my opinion is most similar to the blogs we have written. They seem more personal then informative. That is what i really enjoyed about this blogs, it felt like he was talking directly to me in a conversation. I found that it drew me in. He seemed to tell a story, and i found that this related to our memoirs we have read, very personal and real. I would recommend David Lebvitz blogs to anyone who likes to read about peoples personal opinions about simple things in life, such as baking. It is not boring and it was interesting to see anothers opinion.

Podcast: "As it Happens Daily"

The podcast I listened to was CBC’s “As It Happens Daily.” The podcast simply informs listeners on the latest global news.
Today, we have access to several different methods of education through technology, much like the course we are attending now. “As It Happens Daily” educates listeners through the technology that we have access to today, making education accessible right at our finger tips.
Many of the news stories told in this podcast are often tragic or life altering experiences. We’ve read several memoirs in this course relating to loss and uncertainty. I can’t help but think about those involved in these news stories and how much it will affect themselves, much like the authors writing the memoirs we read.
I would recommend this podcast to those who love to keep updated on the news, but may not have time to sit and watch the television or read the newspaper. I found it excellent for multi-tasking (In fact, I’m listening to it right now as I type this!) This podcast is great for someone who can listen in on the news while completing other tasks.

Does all life writing need to be profound?

The blog I chose to follow is from a radio station, Edge 102.1. It is called Dani's Diary-A. I discovered this blog while listening to the radio one day and realized that music has a great influence in my life as I'm sure it does for many others. So I assumed this blog would be fitting and somewhat relevant to the class information despite the random vulgarity, crude humor (including the title) and strange posts. However, this blog did appeal to me much more than many others that I tried to follow. I like to think I don't take myself too seriously in my down time and neither does the blogger on this site.
I've come to realize that this blog is essentially Dani writing out something that has happened that is interesting, strange or hilarious that has happened during the week. I think it's similar to what we've studied in that it is a recounting of an event or situation that took place in the author's life. I've also realized that these recollections don't have to be profound or overly interesting. They are exactly what they are supposed to be, a memory or reflection. Even if it is about dreams, shopping and no cable t.v.
I find it interesting that I am actually interested in what she has to say. I would have assumed that I just didn't care for blogs or what other people have to write if it does not pertain to my interests or life. However, it is actually quite eentertaining to read about mundane ongoings in life. Much in the same way we read about someones life ongoings in our class text. It can be simple, to the point and humorous and still be life writing.
I would totally recommend this blog if you're interested in reading about something ridiculous, or pointless or just for sheer procrastination. It is strange, at times vulgar and mostly pointless but entertaining nevertheless!

Morton's Musings: Canadian Law and Policy

The name of the blog I followed is “Morton’s Musings” written by James C Morton, a Canadian lawyer, law professor, and media commentator. Morton discuses and gives his input on the latest news stories going on in Canada on a daily basis.
While reading Morton’s blog, I found two similarities between the memoirs read in class, and his blogging. Besides the obvious fact that he is a Canadian author, I found there to be other interesting similarities in these two pieces.
Morton blogs about news reports that often reflect tragedy and loss, such as the memoirs we have read during this semester.
I also found that Morton discuses information that relates to the subject of truth or lies. Although the subjects he reflects on in his blogs are news pieces, they are not necessarily completely factual, much like the memoirs we have read.
I would recommend Morton’s blog to anyone who reads the newspaper, or keeps up to date on Canadian newspaper websites. He has an interesting input on different topics, and is constantly up to date on subjects occurring in Canada. His blogs aren't the most entertaining thing in the world, but for someone who reads the newspaper quite often, he's a good change of pace.

Engadget

Ah, Engadget. Where cool meets nerd. Some even say, this is becoming the norm now. Well, almost...

Engadget pretty much covers anything to everything related to tech. It could be the development of a new way to use lasers, a new hybrid vehicle which stands out, or just simply the latest and hottest television on the market.

The reason people visit Engadget, is because they say what they want. All of the writers have a personality which stands out on the screen. How this relates to this course is beyond me. I guess the news of the new Kindle might be noteworthy to some, but that's about all I can think of. Maybe the connection of Engadget to this course is more obvious than that; I mean we are in an online course, Engadget is a technology blog, where the latest and greatest advancements matter. This is the way things are straying now, laptops everywhere, ethernet jacks right behind them, and a screen for which you use to look at your online course, and then check out Engadget, I highly recommend it.