I wanna dance

E3 had tons of different dance games this past week. I got to try ddr extreme 2 with the hands and feet, Into the Groove, and DDR Mario, but I got the most out of playing versus mode on Ultramix 3 with some super dude. Just compare these screens. His side is on the right.



He claimed to be all out of shape since he took up smoking but he was zooming along to 'Butterfly' on Heavy. I did alright but only on Light.

I talked to him afterwards about my struggle to complete Standard level. I can finish some of the songs on DDR extreme but certainly nowhere near all of them. He says it becomes more important to listen to the music rather than focusing on the visual arrows and to keep time with the beat. He also says it takes a Lot of practice. He's been playing for 8 years. Considering I only started at xmas 2004 and I don't even have time to play on a weekly basis I suppose that's reasonable, but i want perfection! now!

I wonder if there's anyone out there who gives ddr lessons.

Sony's Kinetic at e3 2005

I'm here in LA at e3 2005. The weather is wonderful; it's so gooooood to be warm. It didn't take long but I already have my pick for best of the expo: Sony's Kinetic for Eyetoy.

It caught my eye when I spotted the woman standing before the screen moving her arms slowly through the air, her hand following a green ball on the screen. Immediately to her right was a man doing martial arts, kicking his legs into the air and karate chopping his arms left and right and hitting targets with his head. This was the demo for kinetic.

I talked for a while to Mark Parry of Sony London who is a developer for Kinetic. The idea is a complete physical experience where the user has full body freedom. There are no constraints to a dance mat like DDR extreme which uses the combination of a dancemat and eyetoy.

The technology has added some invisible buttons which let the user know when they've stepped out of the camera's calibration by saying "step forward" or "step away" and they've added a fish-eye lense to the camera so that the user's entire body can be seen on the screen. Mark seemed to think that this fish-eye will be available either for purchase for people who already own the eyetoy or might even be given out free. With the currently lense on games like anti-grav only the user's torso is visible.

What I saw at their booth were the 'Mind body' and the 'Martial Arts' modes. Mark says there is also a cardio mode. Mind-body has a yoga section, a tai-chi section and a mediation section to help the user develop balance and 'peace'. The martial arts mode is not guaranteed to increase your skill in combat but I can't see any harm in it. Maybe there should be a recommendation to stretch first though. Those targets were over the demonstrator's head.

There is a 12-week fitness program Mark says can be set up and this increases in difficulty as you improve (or alternatively gets simpler if you stink). You can add some toning to the end of your workout as well where a character on the screen does some abdominal work on the floor. The screen splits so that the user can see themself on the screen and see if they're movements match the display. All along there are tips for increasing difficulty or keeping up incase you can't look at the screen. This is a bonus of the fish-eye lense. Without it would be just like looking at any old fitness video. Wouldn't you like to see yourself doing an ab workout?

I really really like the eyetoy. I'm so glad more cool games are being developed for it. I know there's more to gaming than shooting and killing. And developers like Mark seem to realize the market for fitness and wellness. I see some awesome potential: for example one day it would be great to practice some ballroom dance with your choice of lead or follow partner. Or a complete dance theme package with ballet, tap, modern, jazz, hip hop, belly dance . . . What a great great teaching, practice, and rehearsal tool.

K. time to get back to the exhibits.

e3 ballet

I'm off to catch the e3 plane as soon as I'm done teaching 3 ballet lessons.

This year I'm anxious to check out what's new in non-handhelds. Last year was sony's eyetoy (sooo cool. The 'kids' (ahem) got one for xmas last year and 'we' love it). I'm hoping for a new dance game - maybe something like ddrextreme that combines the dance mat with the eye toy. Or more complex eyetoy games. The ones that came with ddr extreme are kind of hokey. Maybe I just haven't figured them all out yet but I'd like the difficulty level to increase for hands and feet. Even my kids get bored.

Anyway - off to that dance class. I don't know how I'll concentrate. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

haircut

I haven't had a haircut in 10 years. My hair is long, straight, and brown and almost to my waist. There's no style, nothing fancy. I wear it in a bun or a clip or in little princess Leia twists on the top or sides of my head.

I just finished the final touches on what was a 5+ year epic divorce (and don't forget to count the years in hell). That's another story but it's finally over. Just like women in the 7th month of pregnancy feel like it's time for a change to refresh themselves, so do I now. My life is so different than what it was.

This is the same way I wore my hair from kindergarten to highschool. I feel like a little kid. When I was a teen I did the shaved head thing (ahh the 80s) but kept a ponytail on top. Now I want to feel like a grownup. I don't want to spend any time actually 'doing' my hair (what language, what a concept: that hair must be 'done') but I want to look a bit more professional when I'm schmoozing round the university.

I feel like it always looks scrappy and a mess so why not cut it, and look bad with less weight and a change?

It's really going to smell bad in the bonfire though. I wonder if I can find a way to give it to Locks of Love or one of those other places that make wigs for people who've lost hair to chemotherapy.

Until they close the scissors I can still change my mind. I didn't really think they would say come today at 1:30. But maybe they heard the fear in my voice and the courage/idiocy it took me to make the phone call. If they scheduled me for another day I might change my mind and never do it.

I guess I look at it as some sort of healing ritual too: shaking the rest of the bad stuff, instead of carrying around that history with me every day. And sort of a rite of passage. Can I do it? Can I really grow up?

breathing time

It's time to breathe. I've had a wicked and crazy semester. Now it's time to apply for a scholarship for next year, file my taxes (yes, late I know. I make so little money it really shouldn't matter) and clean the house and do all that stuff that's been waiting patiently in my virtual inbox.

This weeend at the frg was eye opening. I sat around listening to people present papers on research that is interesting but doesn't really seem to get anywhere. I didn't go to the ones on Buffy as a 21st century heroine (there were two) or the use of some feminist theory (I forget which one) in the novel Shirley. The closing remarks discussed the traditional relationship between Women's Studies and Activism and this is what speaks to me. I don't really see where the research is going to really make a concrete difference in practical life. It seems to be that it contributes to that elitist division between ivory tower academia and The Real World. Saturday's keynote speaker, Dr. Julie Fraser talked about how different it is to work in a university setting compared to actually being employed in public health. People do not have the same familiarity (or outrage) with issues of diversity and discrimination. The problems people face are so different: real people with real problems - food, shelter, disease, trauma. Reading about it and studying it needs to lead to concrete practice or change in practice.

So now I'm torn again. Is academia really a good way to do what I want to do? Over the course of listening to all these papers this weekend I kept a running list in my head of all the research I want to do. The conference was inspirational. Talking to the woman who's looking at impact of plastic surgery on a woman's life had not realized that sometimes breast surgery prevents or inhibits milk production which in turn affects a newborn. To me it was a 'hello' moment: I realized that standpoint theory is correct - it's important to look at an issue from multiple perspectives to really explore it fully.

The paper about childbirth practices and a later discussion with someone who's considering midwifery school showed me that my 11+ years dealing with the politics of birthing gives me a unique perspective. I've experienced midwifery care both before and after Ontario legislation and to me the negative impact is clearly visible. There was no mention of this but when I raised it I could see the looks of "I never thought of that" on many faces.

This is stuff that I could do. But as an undergraduate? Can this be done outside the university? Could I be involved in another way and make money (since I know there's no money in women's studies anyway)?

I won't give up plans for the master's yet since I have a good chance of getting a scholarship. Things like that only present themselves immediately upon graduation. If I wait it will be gone.

I think I'm going to record that list of research topics. Maybe I'll find a way to combine it with a get rich scheme someday.

keep it going

I have such a great life.

I mean, sure there are problems - (that's another post) - but things are really really good right now. I'm crazy busy doing a great project for the FRG conference. I framed my posters in some cheapie frames matted with black bristol board (shhhhh don't tell anyone) and they look so good! I'm working on a tie-dyed backing cloth and plan to quilt my title onto the sheet. I still need to make those dice and a few other things but it's all looking soooo good.

Dance classes are so good. It's so nice to be out and about dancing and stuff. For the first time in my life I really have the freedom to do what I want to do, when I want, and not have to worry about anyone else. There are good parts to being a grown-up. The possibilities seem endless. Days like this I really and truly feel like I can do anything. Really, the only limits I have are those that I imply on myself.

I know in another week this mood will all pass and I'll be swamped with classes again, (and trying to decide whether to take that ballet exam in June or December . . .) but for now I'm just going to enjoy this good feeling.

I don't even think I need chocolate today! Now *that's* a Really Good Mood.

Making Pictures

I made it back from Toronto. My whole weekend of vacation is now officially over. I went over the syllabus for my York course and it's massive. There's sooooo much reading.

Preparations are proceeding well for the FRG conference this weekend. I've got my photos printed - you can see two of them here - and my game board is printed as well. Now I just have to assemble everything, make some polymer clay dice . . . write a paper about it all and then print all that up too. It's going to be a busy week but it's all fun stuff.

I'm surprised how much work (and cash) goes into a poster presentation. At least as much work as writing a paper - and a lot more money. I set myself a budget and I'm still inside it, but barely. It would be nice to think that I'll have a use for these items afterwards but I can't imagine what. What will I do with a pile of ~12x18 b&w photo collages? It would be nice to take good care of them somehow. I don't really want to hang them in my room - Do You???