Yesterday, I was at DePaul University streaming a live video feed from a student-oriented event on the International Criminal Court to the web at JusticeCenter.net and Second Life to the International Justice Center. This was the first time I had organized this largely on my own, which was somewhat stressful. Luckily, event organizer Liz Drew,…
Sam Roberts video “Them Kids” combines The Sims and Lindy Hop!
This sweet music video combines stuff that I’m into: Lindy Hop and computer games. Check out "Them Kids" by Montreal-born mystic rocker Sam Roberts. Gotta love those lindy aerials and kitschy "Sims" aesthetic! And it’s gotta good beat you can dance to.
Headed to Chicago for ICC conference, streaming into Second Life
Tomorrow I’m doing a quick trip to Chicago for the Midwest Regional Conference on the International Criminal Court at DePaul University. Lots of amazing experts in international justice will there including: Judge Philippe Kirsch, president of the ICC Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the ICC Betty Bigombe, Former Minister of State and Chief Mediator in the…
Announcing RezEd: the hub for learning and virtual worlds
I’m excited to announce the newest venture at Global Kids Online Leadership Program: RezEd — the Hub for Learning and Virtual Worlds. Here’s the skinny from OLP Director Barry Joseph: Global Kids is proud to launch the open BETA of RezEd, the new online hub providing practitioners using virtual worlds with access to the highest…
Retiring “Rik’s Event Picks” : good luck, Charlanna!
Me hanging out with Hamlet Au of New World Notes, March 2007 For more than a year, I have had the pleasure of working with Hamlet Au of New World Notes to write a weekly "Event Picks" listing for the venerable Second Life news site. As Hamlet just announced today, I will be stepping down…
Demo of “B-Boy” video game for the Playstation2 & PSP at NY Comic Con
At the 2008 New York Comic Con, I got Will Phillips of SouthPeak Games to do a quick demo of the new breakdance video game "B-Boy," coming out this summer for the PSP and Playstation2. Looks pretty sweet, although I’m not really sure how appealing the game is once the thrill of pretend breakdancing fades. …
Straightening the gravestones at the Quaker Cemetery
Just had a wonderful day at the Quaker Cemetery in Prospect Park, a lovely acre of largely untouched land that we have possessed for 150 years to house our dead. Quakers traditionally have very simple graveyards, with modest, largely unadorned gravestones indicating where the cremated remains lie, and that’s about it. There are no mausoleums,…
[Scam] The Gunderson Foundation will not fly you + 5 friends to New York
Here’s a long, complicated scam email from someone purporting to represent Steve Gunderson of the "Gunderson Council Development Foundation." Basically the email contains a lot of random NGO-speak to convince you to send personal information to them so they can steal your identity or credit card information. These particular scams piss me off because they…
MIT Wizard Henry Jenkin’s speaks on Teen Grid about Harry Potter and civic engagement
Interesting close of the day at Global Kids. I just finished helping Rafi and Barry with a Teen Grid event featuring MIT’s Henry Jenkins called the "Harry Potter Dance Party of Good and Evil." Henry was speaking about the connections between Harry Potter and civic engagement, which apparently has more links than you might think. …
Global Kids simulcasts into four virtual worlds and the web (video)
Check out this sweet Global Kids video showing how we organized a simulcast of Kofi Annan receiving an award from MacArthur on March 20th. Produced by Kathy Vega and Barry Joseph, it shows how we were able to simulcast the event onto the web, and four virtual worlds — Second Life, Teen Second Life, Whyville…