I was super excited to find this plush Jollibee doll now available at your local Jollibee filipino fast food franchise. As you can see, he's wearing a lovely barong tagalog dress shirt, black dress pants, a somewhat Chinese-looking hat (??), and a bamboo design backpack. When you press a button on the backpack, it plays…
United Nations Climate Change sim opens in Second Life tomorrow (November 29)
Starting tomorrow, November 29, the Ministry of Media officially opens in Second Life, a sim dedicated to the UN Climate Change Conference happening in Poznań, Poland from December 1-12. The Poznań meeting, which is expected to draw 8,000 participants from around the world, is intended to "advance international cooperation on a future climate change regime…
Turkey, palabok, pumpkin pie and maja blanca: Fil-Am Favorites at the Santos Clan Thanksgiving Party
I had a really nice time with the Santos clan enjoying the company of the extended family on my mom's side. As usual we had a ridiculous spread of food for the 20-some guests, including both American traditional favorites and festive filipino dishes. Among the main course offerings: juicy turkey made by my sister, lovingly…
Giving Thanks in Cali
I'm in California with my parents and my sister Cori for Thanksgiving. Most of my time has been in Pleasanton in the San Francisco Bay Area at my mom's house. As usual, it's been all about cooking and eating over here, barely one meal finished while we are planning the next one. Then on Wednesday,…
Thomas Kelly on the spiritual discipline of saying “No”
This passage from the Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly's book A Testimony of Devotion really speaks to my condition: "The concern-oriented life is ordered and organized from within. And we learn to say No as well as Yes by attending to the guidance of an inner responsibility. Quaker simplicity needs to be expressed not merely in…
Speaking about the UN, civic engagement, new media, and virtual worlds
I had the pleasure of speaking to my friend Josephine Dorado's class on "Collaboration in Networked Environments" that she is teaching at the New School this semester. The course apparently this week is exploring virtual worlds and MMOs, after delving into a range of other social media, from social networks to micro-blogging to mashup technologies. …
Jenny and I dancing to “Roll Em Pete”
Here's the lovely and talented Jenny Sowden and me dancing last night to Count Basie's "Roll Em Pete." This was at a social dance after a show by Emily Vartanian's dance theater group "General Mischief." Video courtesy of my buddy Will. Thanks, dude.
Final breaking performance today
The PMT Breakers did our final performance today for the Fall Showcase. I'm happy to report that everyone brought the fun and in-your-face spirit of b-boying to the stage. Thanks to Pavan for coming up with the overall vision for our piece, and then giving us the freedom to create our own personal moments throughout…
Metaplace has the awesome-est EULA of any virtual world
I have heard rumors that some educators have been invited to be part of the Metaplace beta testers group for this new virtual world environment created by Raph Koster. According to one of those rumored educator beta-testers, Metaplace is "one of the most powerful, user-friendly web-based / flash-driven virtual platforms out there." But of course,…
Awesome breaking performance last night!
Last night at PMT Studios, my breaking performance group and I were the opening act for the Fall Dance Showcase. It was a packed audience — including a good 15 or so of my friends, family and co-workers, which was super awesome. It's both great and nerve-wracking going first in the lineup because you don't…