My father was recently in the Philippines and came back with some presents for my sister and I. This is a small painting he brought back for me called Bayanihan. Here's where the word comes from, as it was described on the back of the painting: The origin of the term bayanihan can be traced…
“Play”: A Mind-bending Short Film on Games and Reality
Check out this unpredictable, thought-provoking short film "Play." The film examines what happens when digital game play becomes indistinguishable from reality. By David Kaplan (Little Red Riding Hood and Other Stories, Year of the Fish) and game designer Eric Zimmerman (Gamelab, Rules of Play). (I personally find the First Date level extremely difficult to beat.)…
Rik’s Reading List for March 14, 2010
Here's some cool stuff that I've been reading lately: Biomega, Volume One: Violent, dark, beautiful manga by Tsutomu Nihei. It's kind of got everything that geeks like: motorbikes, zombies, talking bears, and damsels in distress. And that's just in the first 30 pages. Can't wait for volume two! Fashioning Technology by Syuzi Pakhchyan. A good…
America’s Best Dance Crew Episode 507: The Disco Challenge
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 5) – MTV Shows Here's my notes on America's Best Dance Crew episode 507. This week was the disco challenge, which wasn't particularly challenging. Here's how they all did in my opinion : Blueprint Cru: Killed it! Great locking moves. Nice synchonicity and incorporation of various dance styles. These Canucks…
Ken Swift and Joe Schloss on Preserving B-Boy Culture for Future Generations
Last night I was fortunate enough to be among a packed audience of 60+ folks at a "Conversation with Ken Swift and Joe Schloss, PhD" at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Ken and Joe were speaking on the subject of b-boying as a cultural phenomenon historically, in the present day, and into the…
“Q Train Manhattan Bound 942am” (poem)
Written this morning on my commute on my iPhone.
Google Shows Me How to Bike from My House to My Mom’s (Brooklyn to San Francisco)
I decided to check out how extensive is the new "bicycle directions" tool on Google Maps by putting in my address in Brooklyn and having it plot a bike route from there to my mom's house in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here's what Google suggested. I find it super useful to know that if…
World Bank Launches “Urgent Evoke” Online Game to Inspire Youth to Social Action
EVOKE trailer (a new online game) from Alchemy on Vimeo. The World Bank, working with ARG master Jane McGonigal, have launched a new online game called "Urgent Evoke" that's geared toward getting young people — particularly African young people — to come up with creative solutions to the worst of the world's social ills. It…
My Team at the Global Kids Online Leadership Program! (pic)
Here's a super cool picture of the current team at the Online Leadership Program at Global Kids. We took a lovely day-long retreat yesterday, visiting the "Silk Road" exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, followed by a relaxing hang in Central Park. So nice just spending QT with my fantastic colleagues on a…
America’s Best Dance Crew Episode 506: The Lady Gaga Challenge
America's Best Dance Crew (Season 5) – MTV Shows This week's challenge on America's Best Dance Crew was to assign each crew a Lady Gaga video and have them create a routine inspired by it. It was a smart move given how hot Lady Gaga is right now and how much dance plays a part…