For a moment MOOCs epitomised how 'extremely online' technology could transform education. But while Massive Open Online Courses still exist there's a chill in the air towards them due to their limitations. Big Time They aren't called Massive for nothing. Students enrolled in a MOOC can number in the thousands. The first MOOC I began … Continue reading MOOC it for what it’s worth
Reviews
Rewatch: The Fifth Element
I rewatched Luc Besson's The Fifth Element from 1997. For no reason. Here are some of my thoughts. Ah, hahahaha. Totally forgotten Luke Perry's cameo as the inattentive sketch artist in Egypt. The Platonic idea of Luke Perry over-rides whatever his character is called. Had to look it up: Billy. Could've been anything. Casting includes … Continue reading Rewatch: The Fifth Element
Bec in Wonderland
I took in ACMI's Wonderland exhibit. It had inklings of a classic Sherlock Holmes-like escape room vibe, but that receded. What replaced it was a journey. There were rooms featuring original illustrations, footage from the oldest filmed versions of Alice in Wonderland. There were rooms for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson ephemera, as well as for magic … Continue reading Bec in Wonderland
The slow path picked up it’s pace
Aaannnd the really real Doctor Who trailer has appeared. Calloo callay! Like sand through the hour glass, or like grains from the dune featured in one of the scenes... Thanks to Comic-Con 18 we get to see this trailer, which featured some actual dialogue, all the newbie companions and The Doctor being Doctory in two … Continue reading The slow path picked up it’s pace
The path has never seemed more slow
So the first teaser for the upcoming series of Doctor Who has dropped. It isn't really a trailer or preview as much as a taste. The few seconds presented as an entree or Tapas, there are morsels of something that provides a hit of flavour, but they may bear no resemblance to the main course. … Continue reading The path has never seemed more slow
Review: Ant-Man & the Wasp
Some spoilers. Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp is an energetic romp. It's fun, family centric, and well-intentioned. There were laughs thanks to Luis (Michael Pena) and his side kicks. Really Luis stole the show from Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly, as Hope Van Dyne, even with the ant-puns. Having said that Michael Douglas … Continue reading Review: Ant-Man & the Wasp
Review: Dark Imaginings
Gothic literature can be dramatic, macabre, and weirdly insightful. To my tired eyes some examples of Gothic, like Castle of Otranto are also unintentionally and refreshingly hilarious. Yet Gothic tropes persist in popular culture even as they were interrogated centuries ago, and continue to be. Since it is Rare Book Week in Melbourne I took … Continue reading Review: Dark Imaginings
Seen one, haven’t seen them all
Wandering around the Art Gallery of New South Wales was weirdly disorienting. It was a new building to me, but it was filled with familiar artists: Australians like John Brack and Grace Cossington Smith in addition to the usual Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painters. Obviously, the individual works were different to those in the NGV or anywhere … Continue reading Seen one, haven’t seen them all
Rereading’s good medicine
I confess to being the kind of reader who will stop and never return to a novel if it's not to my taste or standards. I couldn't even really begin Cloud Atlas. Apart from a missing page, I just didn't get it and it didn't draw me in. On the other hand, I did go … Continue reading Rereading’s good medicine
Review: A mammoth undertaking
One of my favourite places growing up was the Adelaide Museum. I didn't get to visit very often, but the gigantic whale skeleton in the front window is seared into my memory, as are the painted walls of the quiet Egyptian room. Part of the attraction of museums is the melancholy. The dead live again … Continue reading Review: A mammoth undertaking
Writing Bec 