Category: Monday videos

Watching twice and realizing I’m listening

I’m fickle.

I forget most movies the day after I watch them. Same for most books. Rarely do I want to see or read something a second time. So Monday’s video comes courtesy of a movie I have now watched twice and am actually thinking about getting a copy of the sound track and DVD – Across the Universe . (Sorry, I did not embed it. Tech issue.)

I was wondering why I like to hear music over and over again – a different pattern from books or movies. Then I realized Across the Universe is, in fact, a musical. And the other movies I have watched more than once have most often been musicals.

What is is about musicals?

If I look at the golden age of musicals they are often racist and sexist. But they, like our society, have evolved to convey real issues.

And they have music.

The music carries two things for me. One is emotion. I think of songs as the soundtrack of my life,  and they bring both a deeper connection with the emotion of the text and they embed a memory deeper in my brain.

The other is the switch between dialog and music allows us to step outside of our daily concept of “reality.”

It is like when I’m on a plane, 30,000 miles above terra firma and I can reflect on the world in a way that is different on the ground. A step away that gives a step closer to clarity.

There is a connection here with my recent playing with visuals. The addition of a different type of aural experience changes how we perceive something. I wrote a while back about the impact of adding music as background to a focus chat.  Facilitators often prime a room by having music playing as people arrive for a gathering. My dance and yoga teachers set the tone with their choice of music.

Is a fully lived life a musical?

Online facilitator humor

In lieu of a Monday Video, I am going out of character and posting a Monday Joke. I am not known for either my love of or telling of jokes. But this one is a keeper.

There has been a humorous thread on the Online Facilitation list this past week, started by the wise and witty Rosanna Tarsiero. You can see the original trigger post here: Message: How many list members does it takes to change a light bulb?. Read the responses to see the additions! 😉

How many list members does it take to change a light bulb?

One to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed.

Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently.

Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.

Five to flame the spell checkers.

Three to correct spelling/grammar flames.

Six to argue over whether it’s “lightbulb” or “light bulb” … another six to condemn those six as stupid.

Fifteen to claim experience in the lighting industry and give the correct spelling.

Nineteen to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb (or light bulb) forum.

Eleven to defend the posting to the group saying that we all use light bulbs and there fore the posts are relevant to this group.

Thirty six to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

Seven to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs.

Four to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL.

Three to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group.

Thirteen to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add “Me too.”

Five to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

Four to say “didn’t we go through this already a short time ago?”

Thirteen to say “do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs.”

Three to tell a funny story about their show dog and a light bulb.

AND

One group lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now with something unrelated they found at snopes.com and start the thing all over again.

(Photo by jagoLIVE)

Yes We Can – the role of emotion in system change

I tend to avoid political commentary in my blog. (Lots of reasons – I’ll not bother you with that at the moment.) But today I was pointed to a video about Barack Obama’s US presidential campaign that appears right now on Dipdive.com that is worth sharing. Oddly, it is not (yet?) embeddable video. It should be. (The http://www.yeswecan.com website itself is down for me a the moment.)

EDIT: 9:09 AM – here is the embeddable YouTube Version

What this video does is emotional motivation. It uses words and music – two very emotionally rich media – to convey a simple point of hope. The emotional state it can engender – if it resonates with you – prepares you for taking action.

When we think about facilitating change, we often focus on our logic. Our goals. Our tactics. What this video reminds me that we also need to attend to the emotional and emotive context of our change methods and plans. Read the note of will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas) the creator of the video, just below the video (also here on his blog). Read about why and how he acted. Who acted with him.

I think one reason I have been so captivated lately by graphic recording and facilitation is that images carry more than “the facts.” They trigger more than the logical and important “next step.” So does the music in this video.

will.i.am, thanks for the reminder. Yes, we can.

And, on a side note. I sense this video could be a sea change for the Obama campaign. “We are not divided as our politics suggests.” Oh, I hope so, regardless of the outcome.

yes, we can