I do not know what your introduction to the Internet was like or how your experiences with digital media have been, but if they were anything like mine were, the learning experiences were nearly always intimidating, boring, and frustrating. It just takes some of us a while to figure out why everyone else is so excited about technological developments, let alone learn to embrace them...(more).

There is a new entry in the Media Safe 101 page.

Here is the most marvellous virtual red tent that I’ve seen to date. I am dumbfounded by the beauty and simplicity of this participatory online exhibit called Imagining Ourselves. It is light years away from the Red Tent Blog, but it is wonderful to see that the whole concept of participatory action, finding your voice, sharing your ideas and notions, can be so successful. Take a look, it is inspiring and interesting to boot.

Spare time definition I

n 1: time when you are free to do things that you enjoy [syn: free time]
2: to that is free for leisure activities [syn: free time]

Spare time definition II

Main Entry: leisure Part of Speech: noun
Definition: free time
Synonyms: breathing space, chance, convenience, ease, freedom, goof-off time, holiday, idle hours, intermission, liberty, opportunity, pause, quiet, range, recess, recreation, relaxation, repose, requiescence, respite, rest, retirement, scope, spare moments, spare time, time, time off, unemployment, vacant hour, vacation
Antonyms: work

When was the last time you used these words in passing? When was the last time you had any spare time?

In my last entry I promised you media safe lessons in an easy-how-to-do-it form, and I will get there (i.e. to the step-by-step instructions), but you have to wade through a bit of impassioned rhetoric first. For today’s lesson is about constructivism/connectivism and blogging. And how you can use blogging to learn about yourself and the world around you...(more).

There is a new entry in the Media Safe 101 page.

I'm not sure I can answer the question about which book I'd recommend for each of the authors you list - it's a great list, which makes it all the more difficult - but I can add a few more authors to the list...(more).

There is a new entry in the Book Corner.

from karen, williamstown, usa

A week or so ago I read an article called “Divine Inspiration” by the psychoanalyst Adam Phillips.

The one paragraph in the article that particularly struck home was the following:

“… when people fear that domesticity, or a regular job or even therapy will destroy their creativity, it is usually because they have an apprehension that something about themselves is already sabotaging their inspiration, and this is then attributed, delegated to the family, or the work routine or the therapist. Of course, making anything depends on making the time and creating the best conditions for the work; indeed, actively creating the worst possible conditions for one's work is one of the commonest ways people have of sabotaging their inspiration. But it is also true, as anyone knows who has let themselves rely on their inspiration as well as their discipline, that it is willing what cannot be willed to believe that you can make an appointment with your inspiration. Without practice no one can play a musical instrument, but practice at best creates the conditions in which inspiration can happen; no amount of practice creates or guarantees the inspiration.”

In this world where everyone is sooooo busy all the time, it is questionable whether or not we even have an inclining of what Phillips means by “making time and creating the best conditions” for ourselves.

Does your day-to-day life consist, for the most part, of coordinating, compiling, and controlling the outside parameters of doing your job and nurturing your family, as mine so often does? Then perhaps we are all sabotaging something even more fundamental than the chance to experience inspirational creative work. Reading the article made me ponder on how much living a balanced life, in general, is dependent on “making” time for simple and creative occupations. And not, as I tend to do, just frantically try to “find” the time to do all of those things (e.g. yoga, mediation, walking, making collages, etc.) I yearn to do. For finding time has something to do with having lost it in the first place, or perhaps, having found it, not being able to use it to its full advantage.

Marie, one of authors in a blog (Crockatt & Powell Booksellers) I read regularly, wrote an entry titled, I Heart Books. The list of her favourite books was not based on notable literary merit rather it was complied of books close to her heart. The best types of books, don’t you think? (more)

There are two new entries in the Book Corner.

Here is a list of possible topics you might like to write about in the months of March/April:

Politics

Women in a Man’s World: politics, science, journalism, and economics ─ professions where women are still a rarity. Who inspired you to choose your profession and what kept/keeps you motivated?

Health

How is a your individual state of health a political/social dilemma?

Education

When, how, why, and what to study?

Social

Best Friend/ Worst Fiend: stories and discussion exploring what makes a best friend, and the flip side of the coin.

Travels

The trip that changed my life: stories about journeys taken which have changed the course of our lives in a way we never would have predicted.

Please, only take these topics as suggestions. If you have something else you wish to state an opinion on, feel free.

christine from luebeck, germany

One of the “regular columns” or postings we hope to get from participators to The Red Tent Blog is:

Guess Whose Coming to Dinner: make up the guest list of your choice for your dream dinner party - with people from both past or present.

A few months ago, I wrote in my blog the following dinner party guests list:

Margaret Atwood, Jodie Foster, Maureen Dowd, Michaëlle Jean, Kofi Annan, Joschka Fischer, Barack Obama, Bob Herbert, Michael Ignatieff, Michael Ondaatje

They are not listed in order of preference. I find each equally fascinating.

I would be much too shy to actually sit in on the conversation and would prefer, instead, to be a ladybug on one to the flowers in the table decoration arrangement.

Hello, my name is Lia and I am one of four women setting up The Red Tent Blog. I would just like to tell you where we came up with the ideas to create this blog and what we hope it will become.

Years ago, I read the book, “The Red Tent”, by Anita Diamant. Here’s a part of the Amazon’s book description:

“The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah.”

What I was most fascinated by in this book was the concept of women retreating collectively into a place for a few days each month; relinquishing their day-to-day duties and spending the days with other women in conversation and contemplation. The days, in my imagination, must have been spent giving voice to their opinions on a wide variety of topics, or medical or marriage advice, or telling stories about their personal remembrances or tribal history.

After reading the book, I wrote up a concept for a web platform, a virtual red tent as it were. After discussing the project with a few women, who were full of ideas, but had no technical capabilities to offer, I gave up on the idea. I didn't want to be the sole motor in the project.

Yet, recently, I reconsidered (reread) my concept and I have the feeling the time is right to execute the project. Particularly because I have been both witness and (humble) participator in various new trends that are currently taking place on the Internet. They excite me in their technical simplicity, as in their extensive accessibility.

I have always believed that once the Internet underwent an evolution that transformed it from an information medium into a communication medium, as once happened with the telephone *, a revolution would occur. In this revolution the “small people of the world” will finally be given a voice. Politically, economically, socially, and in the world of media, there are definite indicators that we are at the cusp of this revolution.

So, I talked to three friends about setting up “The Red Tent Blog”. My vision is that this blog will be a virtual meeting place for friends, friends-of-friends, or just interested women to exchange ideas, express opinions, give advice, recount past experiences, or reflect upon lessons about how to survive, thrive present social or economical challenges.

* My convoluted recollection about the development of the telephone goes as follows … The telephone was originally produced as a substitute for the telegraph because many of the post office employees could not decipher Morse Code. So they changed the dots and dashes with someone’s voice.

If it wasn’t for women, we would still all be receiving our telegrams from our local post officers. It was the female post officers using the new telephone services, with their insatiable curiosity for news, and their talent for spreading gossip, that instigated the a revolutionary change in the telephone. It changed from an information device into one where we can now talk to any person on the face of the earth. What would our world be without telephones!

I wrote the first entry to my Media Safe 101 column yesterday. It is called Media Savvy and discusses:

"Media literacy is an essential skill you need to succeed actively and participate constructively in social, technological interaction."

Many people, and at the risk of making myself unpopular, often women, are so overwhelmed by the rapid forward pace and diversity of technological trends, they live a digitally isolated existence. It is simple. It can be done... (more).

The next few entries are going to be:

• Murphy’s law gone amok, or bad digital karma
• Do machines have feelings?
• Easy, automatic, or idiot-proof: words that should be erased from every tech help line assistant’s vocabulary
• Stepping outside of your box

A blog I read that is written by the owners and employees of a bookstore in London got me onto a fantastic online radio show, Radio Déliro. It is an absolute must: such a wonderful eclectic mix of music and no advertising!

You just have to go to the site ….

Press the “Power” button on the radio. It should automatically open up your Media Player program. If not open the Media Player from the list of programs offered.

Enjoy, enjoy.

Ok, gals, here is the first draft of The Red Tent Blog. What do you think: just first impressions? The "workings" are not all up and running as I hope. But, if the three of you like the "look" then we are headed in the right direction.

It has taken me hours to get the blog to this point because I have had to jiggle the html code and I know absolutely ditty about html code. Talk about trial and error.