Nov21
Category Archives: RLiterature
Jun20
Passion + Action = Innovation
In 2009, a resident of Hudson WI built a tribute to his mother-a former school teacher. Todd Bol created a miniature box filled with free books. His willingness to connect innovative ideas of others, create a shared space, and give back to his community became the cornerstone of the Little Free Library movement. In partnership with Rick Brooks, they created an enterprise model that has supported the installation of over 40,000 registered libraries in all 50 states and 70 counties around the world.
What developed out of Bol’s interests created a revolutionary way to support literacy, bring together neighbors and connect visitors/tourists to a community.
How have you made a positive mark on your community, region, state or the world?
May18
Shared Spaces
Public spaces are shared by both residents and visitors alike. With the weather warming community streets are full of life. If your community looks vacant chances are it needs a space and reason to pull people out of their homes. For a small investment, a community can grow public interest. Consider pocket parks, and set aside a dedicated space for neighbors, students, retirees, tourists and passer-byes to stop, chat and/or relax.
Feb17
Culinary Tourism
Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance (OCTA), a nonprofit organization that consults on F&B-themed tourism development worldwide produced a special report on food tourism. OCTA defined “Food tourism is any tourism experience in which one learns about, appreciates, and/or consumes food and drink that reflects the local, regional, or national cuisine, heritage, and culture.”
Aug19
Traveling History
Image by Nation Geographic (February 2014)
Classic, historical architecture has the ability to command attention. These buildings create the iconic skylines etched throughout our travels.
In honor of their creators, I would like to re-introduce a few of these historical resources in a mini series. The first stop is Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence Italy. Learn more about innovation, rivalry and ultimately perseverance in NatGeo’s article, Il Duomo (February 2014).
Nov20
Travel & Reading
Image by Arriba. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Think about the ways in which travel shapes our lives?
- It is an escape.
- It requires us to let go while others are at the helm.
- It expands self concept.
- It allows us to experience the exquisiteness and at times, the degradation of the world around us.
In a recent article in Book Riot, the author Jeremy Anderberg, binds these same contextual ideologies of travel with the literary world. Click here to read his full article, Reading as Travel (October 2013.)
Nov11
Robert Frost
Image retrieved from Pinterest Diego Esparza Esparza
Nov11
Travel Season Tips
Image by Matt Hutchinson. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
U.S. Travel Association estimated that U.S. residents took 1.6 billion person‑trips for leisure purposes last year. Respondents listed the number one reason for travel was to visit relatives (March 2013.) With the largest travel season approaching, I thought a friendly reminder of what to do (and not to do) would be helpful. RCompass points to an article by Amy Farley, written for Travel + Leisure. Farley includes tips and tricks on how to cope with noisy hotel neighbors, wild taxi drivers, mission impossible plane changes, and more… To add some levity to your pending travel season; click on Farley’s full article , Travel Etiquette Dos and Don’ts (October 2013.)
Aug7
Interpretive Writing Workshop Opportunity
The Art of Interpretive Writing
Image provided by Alan Leftridge. Some rights reserved.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
3815 American Blvd East
Bloomington, Minnesota
Saturday, September 14, 2013
9 am to 4:30 pm
Write compelling interpretive messages! This workshop offers you the basics of interpretive writing that apply to signage, exhibit labels, brochures, websites, public service announcements, books, and magazines. You will understand how to create clear, dynamic, and concise interpretive texts, reveal meanings, and ways to excite visitors about your site, whether it is a museum, park, zoo, nature center, or aquarium.
Topics include: The Interpretive Writing Process · Concept Mapping · Universal Concepts · The Five Elements of Interpretive Writing · Meeting Your Audience’s Needs · Concise Wording · Keeping Your Reader’s Attention · The Importance of Fluency · Redundant Wording · Understanding Readability Indexes · Using a Human Interest Scale ·Capturing Your Reader’s Attention · What to Avoid · Connecting with a Narrative · The Editing Process · Evaluation
The fee is $295 and includes instruction, refreshments, handouts, and a copy of the Interpretive Writing textbook.
Contact Alan Leftridge, leftridge@blackfoot.net, 406.754.2940 to register.
Alan Leftridge, Ph.D., is the author of Interpretive Writing, and specializes in interpretive
training seminars across North America. Access leftridge.com for additional information.
Jul29
School Tour!
Sauk Centre, MN. Image by RCompass all rights reserved.
This past weekend I stumble upon an open house tour of a beautifully staged one-room schoolhouse.
These historic buildings are a piece of American history, signifying early settlements in rural communities across the United States. Before the construction of a more modern school building and the convenience of being driven to school in large orange buses. Children would walk or ride horse (sleigh and buggy) to a small schoolhouse that consisted of a singular room where multiple grades were taught by one teacher.
Many of these structures have been lost over the last century; burned, left to decay, torn down, salvaged for parts and even re-purposed as single family homes. However, some have been saved for special events, school field trips, history day classes and community museums-open to the public like the one my son and I visited in Sauk Centre, MN. We would like to thank the kind retired school teacher who talked about her years as a teacher and shared her story with us.
If you are interested in learning more about these iconic structures, the One-Room Schoolhouse Center website was created in 1998 and provides a host of information about early education in the United States. Tip: Click on the “Villages/Museum” link to find a site near you.
Shoolhouse Interior. Image by RCompass all rights reserved.
Shoolhouse Interior. Image by RCompass all rights reserved.
RCompass 