Time really flies. It is now 8.30 pm Wednesday 31 Mar 2010, the 11th and second last lesson of this 12-lesson module which commenced (it seemed) an eternity ago.
What had changed?
For sure, my fear of anything digital has taken a back seat..."He is definitely not a brave man who knows no fear and that's not because it doesn't exist but rather he knew how best to handle it."
Knowing what caused the fear in the first place helps...
By the same token, since embarking on this Module, I did quite a bit of reading on 'anything digital' and I dare boast that during the last 3 months or so, it would be difficult for any article in The Straits Times with the word 'digital' to escape the scrutiny of my eyes.
Having Dr Philip Towndrow and Dr Mark Nelson as joint-facilitators proved to be the good fortune of the students as the lecturers very carefully and subtly planned each lesson to enable all the students to have maximum hands-on contact, supported by a wealth of literature on what else? but topics related to Digital Literacy, of course!...to be continued.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Blog # 12 -- Continuation of Blog # 11
The soulful voice of Louis Armstrong singing "What a Wonderful World" plays on, continuing to tug at the heartstrings of the viewers until the part when he sings:
" I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more and
I'll never know...
And I think to myself
What a Wonderful World..."
These lyrics seem to be speaking directly to me as they so rightly pointed out that I'll probably never know how Samuel will grow up.
The duration of this part of the song (about 15 seconds) will see the photos of 3 adorable Asian babies being flashed against a white background and a quotation "A Baby is God's opinion that life should go on" (Anonymous).
From this point onwards, all photos will only be of Samuel and myself. Texts describing some of the more memorable moments manifesting the close bond between father and son will be white against a black background signifying that the 'happier times' may soon be a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, the background music has turned classical, playing theme tunes from a 1979 American drama film 'Kramer versus Kramer', which won 5 Academy Awards; Best Picture, Director, Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Screenplay.
The reason for the selection of this movie was the strikingly similar storyline where the father (Ted Kramer, played by Dustin Hoffman) decided to spare his son, Billy the nightmarish scenes in court, having to witness the brutal character assassinations that the divorce lawyers will no doubt unleash on both his parents and chose to concede custody to his wife (Joanna Kramer, played by Merly Streep) instead.
Through the music (Concerto for diverse instruments in C major) the composers, Vivaldi and Purcell were able to describe the most intense, delicate, dramatic and intimate moments between father, mother and son.
Snippets from the movie will be imported.
The Kramers had it worked out. The plan was for Billy, to spend one evening with his father before his mother takes him away the next morning.
On that fateful morning, both father and son decided to make the morning memorable by making the 'Perfect Breakfast' together. Viewers could not miss the powerful body language signals sent when the doorbell rang and Billy looked into his father's eyes and slowly a teardrop began to form on the latter's left eye and flowed down, ever so slowly, his cheek.
Ted hugged Billy tightly and whispered, "Billy, I love you."
In reality, the voice of Wilson Kan, the narrator will be broadcast:
"Samuel, Papa loves you and always will."
Epilogue
In the movie "Kramer versus Kramer", there was a twist at the end when the mother knew in her heart of hearts that the son was better off with the father and unconditionally 'returned' the custody but...reel life is so different from real life, isn't it...?
" I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more and
I'll never know...
And I think to myself
What a Wonderful World..."
These lyrics seem to be speaking directly to me as they so rightly pointed out that I'll probably never know how Samuel will grow up.
The duration of this part of the song (about 15 seconds) will see the photos of 3 adorable Asian babies being flashed against a white background and a quotation "A Baby is God's opinion that life should go on" (Anonymous).
From this point onwards, all photos will only be of Samuel and myself. Texts describing some of the more memorable moments manifesting the close bond between father and son will be white against a black background signifying that the 'happier times' may soon be a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, the background music has turned classical, playing theme tunes from a 1979 American drama film 'Kramer versus Kramer', which won 5 Academy Awards; Best Picture, Director, Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Actress (Meryl Streep) and Best Screenplay.
The reason for the selection of this movie was the strikingly similar storyline where the father (Ted Kramer, played by Dustin Hoffman) decided to spare his son, Billy the nightmarish scenes in court, having to witness the brutal character assassinations that the divorce lawyers will no doubt unleash on both his parents and chose to concede custody to his wife (Joanna Kramer, played by Merly Streep) instead.
Through the music (Concerto for diverse instruments in C major) the composers, Vivaldi and Purcell were able to describe the most intense, delicate, dramatic and intimate moments between father, mother and son.
Snippets from the movie will be imported.
The Kramers had it worked out. The plan was for Billy, to spend one evening with his father before his mother takes him away the next morning.
On that fateful morning, both father and son decided to make the morning memorable by making the 'Perfect Breakfast' together. Viewers could not miss the powerful body language signals sent when the doorbell rang and Billy looked into his father's eyes and slowly a teardrop began to form on the latter's left eye and flowed down, ever so slowly, his cheek.
Ted hugged Billy tightly and whispered, "Billy, I love you."
In reality, the voice of Wilson Kan, the narrator will be broadcast:
"Samuel, Papa loves you and always will."
Epilogue
In the movie "Kramer versus Kramer", there was a twist at the end when the mother knew in her heart of hearts that the son was better off with the father and unconditionally 'returned' the custody but...reel life is so different from real life, isn't it...?
Blog # 11 -- a FAILED MARRIAGE is NOT a BROKEN HOME
The heading is the title of my Digital StoryTelling (DST) Project.
I am telling this story to raise the awareness of my readers that in the aftermath of a divorce, indeed, there is a group of fathers who suffer and are still suffering in silence because some Family Courts have decided to award the sole (or is it 'stolen' custody) of their child/children to the mothers, in the 'mistaken' belief that the first ten years of the children's lives are better spent with them (Article entitled 'Equal Shared Parenting' in the Toronto Star dated 2 October 2009).
My case in point...come end June 2010, I will join the abovementioned group of fathers as my only son, Samuel, who is now 7 years old, stays with her mother 'for good' in Hong Kong; I have no wish to subject Samuel to the trauma of a contested custody and therefore decided not to contest.
The DST Project begins with the heading, in written text, bright red in colour against a black background with the type and size of font selected to give a maximum contrasting effect and the viewers sensing an intangible tension...at the same time feeling rather uneasy, call it a foreboding if you like, as the story unfolds.
This first slide stays on for about 10 seconds, sufficient time for the viewers to feel its full effect before the music and soulful voice of Louis Armstrong singing "What a wonderful World" takes over and plays quietly yet audibly in the background.
Many peole have attested to the 'healing nature of a wounded soul' type of feeling after listening to this song which brings forth joy and optimism to carry on the living process. Naturally, Louis Armstrong needs no introduction as he was credited with being the best jazz musician in the 20th Century and even had an airport named after him (New Orleans Airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport exactly 100 years after his birth in 1901).
While the song is played, written texts giving the backdrop of the story will be flashed; this time, however, the background colour is red signifying the 'happier times' before the initiation of divorce proceedings two and a half years ago. Interspersed with the texts will be photos of Samuel' s early years from infancy to toddler, all photos in black and white and professionally contrasted using the Photoshop Software technology. Captions will be displayed as text overlays on the photos, again, the texts in red to show 'happier times'.
It is envisaged that through all the 'preparations' done so far, viewers will develop an 'affinity' for the 'protagonist' in this story, that is, my soon-to-be single-parent son, Samuel Kan.
To be continued...
I am telling this story to raise the awareness of my readers that in the aftermath of a divorce, indeed, there is a group of fathers who suffer and are still suffering in silence because some Family Courts have decided to award the sole (or is it 'stolen' custody) of their child/children to the mothers, in the 'mistaken' belief that the first ten years of the children's lives are better spent with them (Article entitled 'Equal Shared Parenting' in the Toronto Star dated 2 October 2009).
My case in point...come end June 2010, I will join the abovementioned group of fathers as my only son, Samuel, who is now 7 years old, stays with her mother 'for good' in Hong Kong; I have no wish to subject Samuel to the trauma of a contested custody and therefore decided not to contest.
The DST Project begins with the heading, in written text, bright red in colour against a black background with the type and size of font selected to give a maximum contrasting effect and the viewers sensing an intangible tension...at the same time feeling rather uneasy, call it a foreboding if you like, as the story unfolds.
This first slide stays on for about 10 seconds, sufficient time for the viewers to feel its full effect before the music and soulful voice of Louis Armstrong singing "What a wonderful World" takes over and plays quietly yet audibly in the background.
Many peole have attested to the 'healing nature of a wounded soul' type of feeling after listening to this song which brings forth joy and optimism to carry on the living process. Naturally, Louis Armstrong needs no introduction as he was credited with being the best jazz musician in the 20th Century and even had an airport named after him (New Orleans Airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport exactly 100 years after his birth in 1901).
While the song is played, written texts giving the backdrop of the story will be flashed; this time, however, the background colour is red signifying the 'happier times' before the initiation of divorce proceedings two and a half years ago. Interspersed with the texts will be photos of Samuel' s early years from infancy to toddler, all photos in black and white and professionally contrasted using the Photoshop Software technology. Captions will be displayed as text overlays on the photos, again, the texts in red to show 'happier times'.
It is envisaged that through all the 'preparations' done so far, viewers will develop an 'affinity' for the 'protagonist' in this story, that is, my soon-to-be single-parent son, Samuel Kan.
To be continued...
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