Category Archives: educational

Being a Community Tutor in English on iTalki

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Click on video to experience the digital transformation.

Since late February 2021 I’ve been a Community Teacher on an online platform called iTalki, a Chinese company headquartered in Shanghai. You can visit my profile page by clicking on the following link: [CLICK HERE TO VIEW MY iTALKI PROFILE PAGE]

To date (4/14/21) I’ve completed around 75 online lessons with approximately 35 students. It’s conversation-based learning, so I target students who can already speak English at intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency. Each “lesson” is about an hour. I currently charge $10 per lesson, although I may increase that once I reach 100 completed lessons. Some students purchase packages of 5 lessons at a slight discount.

The conversation topics are completely open ended. Occasionally, I pause the dialogue to provide feedback on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and expressive, interactive style. So far I’ve had students from Russia, Estonia, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Peru, China, and the list is growing. It’s a remarkably eye-opening and rewarding experience.

If you know anyone who might benefit from such a learning experience, please help them book their first iTalki lesson with me or any number of other qualified teachers. Thank you.

Intra-independence

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I was in a slump and felt overwhelmed by all the revelations that politics as usual is all about acquiring and retaining power. It happens on both sides of the aisle, but Republicans, I’m convinced – because they’re wealthier and have more to lose – are better at it. And that was before RBG died (see an RBG post from 2014 with video), prompting Republicans to activate their pituitary glands once again for the world to see! So, I sketched out one of my stock, bald-headed “establishment” guys in Sketch Club on my iPad. I copied it, flipped it, added some more details, tweaked it a little in iColorama while recording the “movement,” and then finally editing the video with a soundtrack in Videoshop. As I did this, I realized I was working through an insight, or at least a suspicion, that we attach ourselves to mental constructs, even our sense of self, with whom we dance and dance and dance, as reality goes on in the overlooked background. It’s so hard to detach or let go, but very little acceptance can occur until we do.

Help a friend of mobile digital art and photography

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Use the link below to help Meri Walker (aka the iPhoneArtGirl), who lost her home and all her belongings in the fire that ravaged Talent, Oregon on September 8, 2020 – an unimaginable loss. This tragedy follows upon a year during which Meri also suffered significant medical issues from which she is still recovering.

Those of us who know and love Meri, believe that her indomitable spirit will help her get through this. But all of us, her friends, need to help her, financially, emotionally and spiritually, during the weeks and months ahead, so that she can replace some of her belongings, buy her medicine, and figure out her housing. And most importantly, so that she knows she is not facing this alone.

Please, be the change you want to see in the world – one life supported, one burned house rebuilt, one helpful shoulder to lean on at a time.

Click on this link: Help Meri Walker Rebuild After Devastating Fire

or try the following:

https://www.gofundme.com/static/js/embed.js

Colin Kaepernick

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I saw a photograph of Colin Kaepernick on a meme that called my attention. I liked it enough to want to draw it free hand in Sketch Club. The meme’s below. The painting took 1 hour and 10 minutes, and I applied 2,895 brush strokes, 65 undos.

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This one’s thematically related to a rather fundamental icon here at portfoliolongo.
Last week I noticed that the Tayasui Sketches app had an update. I was hopeful that the update would finally allow us users to reduce the canvas size while drawing without closing the drawing; and it did. There are some cool features in Sketches. My favorites include the “ink” and “watercolor” tools, as described here: https://tayasui.com/sketches/tools.html

Also, the “fill, pattern, text, object” tool, as shown here:

I used iColorama to sharpen and add vibrancy to the image.

Malignant Narcissist in the New Poison Ivy Garden

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I saw an interview on TV with Jay Rosen, who had written a compelling piece, brilliantly arguing that 45’s plan is to have no plan at all! It’s the ultimate commission by omission in some ways, and it’s been diabolically effective on those who’ve sadly been marginalized from education and hope. He’s a sociopathic prankster, the magical answer to some people’s hollow prayers. Some say he has a mere learning disability; but no, it’s not that simple or  partial, as his own niece suggests in her book. He has an aversion to learning, and he’s become the patron saint for all those who decided to show up for the exam without cracking a book. He sows discord. He creates chaos. He will destroy others while he destroys himself.

Roger Schnozz

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Disgraceful; however, about the illustration: I initially painted it in Sketch Club, used Procreate’s liquify tool to wiggle his nose while doing a screen video record, which I then resized and trimmed in VideoShop and then saved it. I opened it KinoGlitch, which I think I got through iColorama. In KinoGlitch there are several video effect editing features, and I believe I used Pixelate. Hope that helps. Let me know if I can clear anything up.

Camilo José Cela

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I’ve been thinking a lot about tremendismo lately even though it’s been years since I read La Familia de Pascual Duarte and La Colmena. I’ll set aside the politics and philosophy and focus instead on Cela’s beautiful face.

The #TimeVirus

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The digital art piece I present below, entitled The #TimeVirus, was partially inspired by the following short talk by Eckhart Tolle, in which he refers to the experience of grief and the virus that will finally get us all, if another virus or something else doesn’t get us first, time.

I painted the Neanderthal image on an iPad Pro using Procreate and posted it back in 2016, (see post here including details on the Neanderthal skull). I created the background in Tayasui Sketches and “liquified” it in Procreate in 2019 (see that image further on down). Tolle’s talk prompted me to combine and adjust the two in Procreate and then iColorama as a way of making sense of the corona virus and reactions to it.

I hope you like the image and especially Tolle’s talk!

The #TimeVirus

Liquified Background

Liquified Background

 

What I’ve Learned from my Eleven Year Shit Show

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I’ve reblogged posts from my neice, Linda before. She always has something to say, and it’s never based on vicarious experience. She’s generous, direct, and funny. So, from the bottom of my heart – via my funny bone – I share this post for your benefit and for the possible benefit of those in your circles just in case you sense any tangible or intangible applicability.

LindaBP

I spent the entire weekend documenting everything I’ve tried for my MS. Thank God for iCal, my Amazon order history and the “purchase” file I keep in my email app. I’m not surprised by the vast majority of medicines, therapies and equipment as much as I’m shocked at what I forgot. For example I literally had no memory of taking an expensive medication as well as many treatments until stumbling upon them in my digital calendar.

At this point I need to stop, post and hit publish. Over the next few weeks I’ll be describing what’s been working for me these last two years. In the meantime if you have a specific question about what I’ve tried at any point feel free to ask in the comment section or message me.

And no, I didn’t have the courage to tally up how much this has cost me out of pocket.

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