I received a notification through one of my Facebook groups, advertising that the SL Educators have a new and improved area: including a 3 story French villa with cosy study places.

???

Why would it make a difference to me where I park my avatar? How can my avatar experience a cosy study space? My office is fairly cosy - when the door is closed - thankyouverymuch, and I can concentrate there and get my work done, and my home is very cosy indeed, brilliant for getting the mind to work and to generate ideas. But a virtual world? My avatar?

Interesting, isn't it? For all that I am looking into identity and immersion, the regard of an avatar as in "do you call the avatar in 3rd person or 1st?" and for everything I read and write and present about it - I don't get it. I am totally unimmersed and absolutely bored stiff by SecondLife, unless there is a purpose to being in it, or unless it is used for creation, such as scripting.

There you go, this is my confession for today. To be honest, I think that does help me a lot in looking at the research questions that I do look at. I believe that if I were very immersed in it and a great advocate and wanted to spend all my personal/private time in it ... I don't think I could regard the students' work and experience quite so neutrally.

Do you get immersed? If yes, let me know what it's like. Perhaps I am just too immersed in my own head all the time anyway, to not be bothered with an avatar on a screen. :-)

Well, off I am to another lab observation.

Memory Map Key: Steering Wheel

I think the reason I loved space camp so much was because it was like a hyper realistic version of the space ship game I played with my cousins. It was an experience that was truly special.

Memory Map Key: Space Shuttle

Today I feel like: a normal average girl, ready to make peace with the outdoors.

That's right, I'm gettin ready to go camping this coming weekend.  Like the most extreme camping I've ever gone, which isn't saying much.  I'm really nervous about it.  I've never slept in a tent that I had to set up.  I've never had to hike to go to the bathroom.  The roasted marshmallows better be worth it. 

Meanwhile, Josh and I finished watching season two of Dexter and last night I was a little anxious and every time I started drifting off to sleep, I would see visions of people being cut into pieces, and I'd wake up again, afraid of having a nightmare involving a serial killer.  I suppose its good that we won't be able to see the third season until it comes out a year from now.  It seems I can only handle so much Dexter.  The show is pretty awesome though. 

I realized I have an exciting two weeks coming up.  Christine & Seth will be in the city on Friday, and even if I only get to see them for half an hour, it'll be really great, and they'll meet Josh.  In fact, I'm starting to consider these two weeks the ultimate immersion weeks for Josh and I. First Christine and Seth, then Saturday I go to Jersey to meet his mom, stepdad, brother, and several close friends.  Then camping with more friends until Tuesday.  Then working wed-fri.  Then Friday, we head to Connecticut to stay with my parents, and to go to a big family party on Saturday and hopefully see Cheryl on Sunday before coming back to New York.  And that will round out almost everyone important in our lives.  Except Kim, and my mom's huge family, and his dad who's super far away.  still it's a lot.  Or at least it feels like a lot.  There are so many things that could be awkward or go wrong.  I really hope they don't.

Baptism comes before salvation (Mark. 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21)

Baptism comes before the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)

Baptism comes before the washing away of sins (Acts 22:16)

Baptism comes before newness of life (Romans 6:3-4)

Baptism comes before putting on Christ (Galatians. 3:26-27)

Baptism comes before putting off the body of the flesh (Colossians 2:11-13)

Baptism comes before being added to the church by the Lord (1 Corinthians 12:13)

I sat in my dinosaur PJ's unwrapping a box that was on the floor in my living room. Wether it was my birthday or christmas, I don't recall, but I do know that I was ecstatic to see what this "video game system" was all about. I had no idea. This was probably the one instance where my parents knew more about video games than I did. After they hooked it up to the T.V. I sat down in front of it with the controller in my hand and watched as my favorite dinosaur, the T-Rex appeared on the screen. Apparently I was playing Jurassic Park. I was terrible at first, physically jumping and lunging instead of using the controller to do it. I think most people have that problem when they first start playing video games. 

More importantly, the reason I believe I fell in love with video games because of their ability to transport you to another world, the ability to immerse you in fantasy. 

Memory Map Key: TV, Game controller, eye

Memory Map Key: silver convertible

Quite simply, it made me realize what I wanted to do in life. Being in that space ship, IMMERSED in that world of imagination, I was so happy and so confident. I wanted other people to be able to experience those same feelings. I realized that it would be possible to do that through movies. I could bring people into a new world where they wouldn't have but one care. All that would matter is being IMMERSED in imagination.

Memory Map Key: Space Ship

LEARN AS CHILDREN LEARN - IMMERSION

It is the best way to learn, at any age, and it almost guarantees that anyone can do it. Immersion is interactive which makes it fun and increases retention. Because Rosetta uses technology, they call it Dynamic Immersion which uses images and interactivity through the medium of computers. Through this method you absorb the sounds and even the grammar rules without arduous rote memorization.

The most important piece is trusting the method, and the explanation in the manual is insightful:

Rosetta Stone succeeds in teaching you a new language without translation. We don't want you to think of an idea or concept in your native language to recall a word in your new one. (italics mine)

Why is all this important?

VIA:

Ideas and concepts (as mentioned above), perspectives about the world, and worldviews themselves are very much carried through the medium of language. In it inescapable to recognize that a language is life, in many ways. Let me see if I can take a crack at seeing if I can explain some of the realities and explain why language learning is so important.

IMBUED EVOCATION & INTERACTIVITY: That is, the language "calls forth" by its mere usage of words and meanings particular cultural nuances such as ethics, emotions, feelings, and activity.

• In American colloquial, much of what we do is "running," (I'm "running" to the store. I'm "running" on time.) In many other languages, including Hebrew and Spanish, most activity is "walking" (הלך).
• The word "right" mean "direction," "correct," while also acting as an identifier, "that person is right."
• "Up" in American English means "north." "Up" in Ancient Hebrew (not so sure as much today) means "elevation."
• Hebrew doesn't have a word for "is," as in "the dog is white," or "John is walking." Recent American history has given us a much too graphic depiction of our obsession with what the definition of the word "is" is.
• GENDER: American English is much more gender neutral ("they", "them") where as in most other languages, gender identification is still very much a part of the grammar construct. Objects, as well as people, are generally "masculine" and "feminine."

All of these examples (and there are many others) tell a bit about how the culture thinks and acts and behaves with and inside the world. How a people group or an individual acts and interacts can often be found inside the language itself.

TRANSLATION: There are some words and phrases that don't easily translate into other languages, if at all. I like to use the examples of "flabbergasted," "contemplative," "dumbfounded," "kicked the bucket," "bought the farm," and countless others. In Hebrew words like חסד and סוף don't easily translate. Pick any slang in any language, and you'll have a difficult (but fun) time trying to translate into a receptor language. Meaning, therefore, is in many ways often confined to the very language it originates from.

As long as you read English you are always staying one good step away from what was actually written. - Bill Mounce.

CONTRAST: Perhaps one of the neatest realities, is that when one begins to grasp a new language, one is able to see more fully the meaning systems behind the original language. That is, once I began to learn Spanish, and now Hebrew (and this is true even in ASL-American Sign Language), I was able to see more clearly what and how I thought and processed meaning and understanding in my original language, American English. Learning something outside of my comfort zone helps to illuminate the zone itself.

POWER: Controlling trade, commerce, government, etc., is through the medium of language. Therefore, to dominate a people, you must own the language that dominates. Perhaps no one understood this better than Alexander the Great. Principally, if you know more than one language, your ability to then live in varying power structures of the world increases.

MEANING: Ultimately, language is the window into new systems of meaning in the world, and new ways of understanding the universe. And there are great discoveries to be made when you dive deep into the world of linguistics, for all the reasons above, and perhaps several more than we are unable to mine.

AN ARGUMENT FOR HEBREW: Genesis 11 accounts for one common language in the world until a dispersion happened that created multiple languages. Though much more study by myself needs to be done on this, perhaps learning an ancient Semitic language helps us get closer back to that time? Greek and Latin are fairly late in the game, comparatively speaking, to the Semitic?

]]> http://anyaaquebec.wordpress.com/?p=381 Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:50:55 +0000 anyaaquebec http://anyaaquebec.fr.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/29-septembre-retour-au-bercail-non-pas-le-film-avec-des-chiens-et-un-chat/ Une autre fois, un coup de tête m'a conduite droite au Saguenay à 2 heures du matin. Contrairement à la dernière fois, cependant, je n'ai pas dormi du trajet. J'ai eu un poil d'inspiration pour écrire. Je crois que même Immersion, titre de mon recueil en cours, ne pensait plus la chose possible. Je suis consciente que Présence n'est pas le meilleur texte que j'ai produit de ma vie, mais il est celui où j'ai juste pu me laisser aller. J'y arriverai peut-être, à récrire. Hitler, Hélène et Sang attendent impatiemment que je les termine... D'ici-là, Icisera sur mon Boudoir pour les intéressés !

Je n'ai pas étudié comme prévu lors du trajet, par contre. Ce qui fait que je dois me reprendre ce soir et demain. Un bel examen valant pour 30 % de la session m'attend mercredi matin et je ne me sens aucunement prête à celui-là. Souhaitez-moi bonne chance car j'en aurai besoin ! Mais qu'aie-je donc fait si je n'ai ni dormi ni étudié ? Je me suis tapé Gangs of New York évidemment. En me marrant bien au passage des pompiers qui préfèrent se battrent en eux que d'éteindre l'incendie dévorant la maison et la vie d'une famille.

Je ne devais pas aller au Saguenay. Ca ne m'arrangeait pas si on regardait la chose d'un oeil rationnel. J'avais une promesse à tenir, un pélerinage à faire ; la possibilité de le réaliser finalement a gagné. Rivière-Éternité est magnifique. Le trajet de la montée dure entre 3 et 4 heures aller-retour. C'est épuisant. Malgré tout, une randonnée pédestre, si je puis dire, dans la flamboyante automne reste une activité agréable. Les écureils sont habitués de voir passer les pélerins, touristes et adeptes de la forme physique : ils nous considèrent une fraction de seconde et retournent à leurs occupations dans se soucier de fuir. Ils n'ont pas peur. Ce n'est pas comme moi qui craignait les couguars à cause de Carl. Hein, Carl ? J'ai raconté la chose à Friederike, elle t'a trouvé méchant (même si elle était morte de rire en déclarant que cette attitude est mondiale et non propre aux québécois) !

Cette montée a été une très bonne chose. Non seulement j'ai pu tenir mon engagement, non seulement ma santé doit m'en dire merci, mon couple m'inspire davantage d'espoir. Vendredi encore, je pensais à quitter mon copain, trop incertaine de notre relation. Après la journée de samedi, je crois qu'il est possible pour nous de continuer notre route ensemble. Nous nous séparerons peut-être à un prochain tournant. Qu'importe ; la route que nous ferons main dans la main aura été plus agréable. Et si ça peut durer, je serai bien la dernière à m'en plaindre. Il a même écouté Pride and prejudice avec moi ! Jane Austen n'a pas particulièrement écrit une oeuvre virile, n'est-ce pas ? Et l'homme viril par excellence a tout de même apprécié ! :O

Je couperai probablement les liens msn avec Carl. C'est, je crois, l'une des grandes raisons de notre éloignement mutuel et de nos doutes. Je ne le verrai pas forcément plus souvent. Toutefois, plutôt que de passer par un médium froid comme le net pour se parler, je privilégierai le téléphone (la chaleur d'une voix et la compréhension des intonations) et le réel. Lorsque nous sommes physiquement ensemble, ni l'un ni l'autre ne doute. Lorsque nous sommes à distance sans pouvoir se parler, nous ne doutons pas non plus. Le net vient briser de cet équilibre puisqu'il s'agit d'un médium trahissant le ton réel du locuteur. Plutôt que de passer du temps à semi s'occuper de l'autre et à semi s'occuper de ses affaires, le temps que nous passeront à nous soucier de l'autre sera entier.

En plus que ça me permettra d'être un peu plus disciplinée.

Parlant de discipline, je dois aller étudier.

Bonne nuit à tous !

Barab, S., Ingram-Goble, A., & Warren, S. (forthcoming). Conceptual Play Spaces. In R.E. Ferdig (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education, 989–1009. New York: IGI Global.
Proposes a new framework for designing game-based learning environments and especially ones that involve play in an immersive virtual environment because of their potential for “empathetic embodiment” where a learner can take on different perspectives and generate a motivation to learn based upon positive affect (sense of empathy or mutual relationship).
Conceptual play is then a form of engagement that involves 1) the learner’s identification with a fictional character or taking upon that character’s role, 2) a fantasy problem context, 3) the learner applying conceptual understanding to transform the problem, and 4) some means to evaluate & reflect upon experience. Conceptual play spaces balance four elements that must be taken into consideration for their design:
Academic content, game rules, the framing narrative, and legitimate participation.
Barab describes 3 Quest Atlantis ‘conceptual play spaces’ that were developed. The 2nd one, Black Rhino unit, differed in its blurring of boundary between real and virtual, interesting note, Barab states that the virtual world was “not real” enough to be playful, not perfect 3D modeling. So it must be just “real” enough to be immersive, but not real enough to stay playful?
Also Black Rhino unit was considered more immersive because all play was within the virtual world, did not have to leave to find info in real world or go online, etc. as in other units of QA.
Barab describes the 3 QA examples as narrative driven and without explicit rules which makes them less game-like, he calls them simulations instead.

Squire, K. (2008). Open-Ended Video Games: A Model for Developing Learning for the Interactive Age. In K. Salen (Ed.), The Ecology of Games, pp. 167–198. Cambridge, MIT Press.
Open-ended video games (or “sandbox” type ) are opposed to role-playing games. Qualities of open-ended games are their exploratory nature, often player will take on a role but the game is less about identification with the role than with exploring the world of the character from a more general perspective and experimenting with different ways of being in that world, or system. The system (world of the game) is experimented with and explored and used for creative expression. An educational example of highly open-ended game is Quest Atlantis which has a commercial counterpart in WoW or Everquest.
General theory of learning from sandbox games also suggests a model of instruction: game experiences can become models-to-think with within players’ lives as they make meanings around their interactions within the game, just as in an educational context, sandbox games can function as a model-to-think with in academic domains.
Open-ended games can thus function as ‘possibility spaces’ which are interpreted by players who themselves participate in the interpretive communities that form within the game environment. There are multiple ways of being within the space, players learn from each other in the ‘interpretive communities’ that form, experts model the skills and language that enables newer players to enter the community and learn. Challenge for design of educational sandbox game to provide a social structure that supports specific learning outcomes when by nature, the open-endedness will result in divergent learning outcomes.

Svarovsky, G. N. & Shaffer, D. W. (2007). SodaConstructing Knowledge through Exploratoids. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 133-153.
Authors studied whether engaging in design-based activities using virtual simulations (microworlds) and the professional engineering practice of iterative design cycles would help students to learn about basic physics concepts.
The iterative design practice used was a design-build-test (DBT) cycle commonly used in the engineering profession where each of these rapid iterations functions as a short exploratory action- thus authors call this using ‘exploratoids’ that cumulatively develop understanding. Authors draw upon Shaffer’s ‘pedagogical praxis’ theory which argues for designing technology based learning environments around recreations of the actual practices of professional communities. The computer simulation was SodaConstructor, a Java-based microworld.
One part of the research question was thus whether the use of simulations made a difference for learning (rather than using physical materials) while engaging in design activities (used Kolodner’s LBD model). 2 properties of computer-based simulations seem conducive. 1 is ‘autoexpressivity’ which refers to the feedback cycle common to testing procedures and commands in the simulated system, similar to DBT. 2nd property is ‘expressivity’ which refers to capacity to design with the software, create and make design choices.
Use of DBT and iterative properties of microworlds leads to ‘exploratoids’, related to ‘explanatoids’ (Crowley) or short bursts of explanatory talk which foster increased interest in topic and increased understanding.
Students given design challenges to solve in the microworld environment.
Study tracked pre and post test differences on textbook physics problems but was fundamentally a qualitative study conducted through video analysis, interviews.

Steinkuehler, C. (2008). Massively multiplayer online games as an educational technology: An outline for research. Educational Technology, 48(1), 10-21.
Cognitive ethnography of the MMO, Lineage. Educational import is in examining the kind of individual and collaborative skills and knowledge that make for successful MMO participation. In particular article focuses on 5 types of skills and knowledge that are fostered as common game practice in MMOs: 1) collaborative problem solving, 2) digital media literacy practices, 3) informal scientific reasoning, 4) computational literacy, and 5) cultural mechanisms for learning (such as cognitive apprenticeship).
In particular, informal scientific reasoning practices are interesting – found in discussion boards, and Steinkuhler sought model-based reasoning and evidence of ‘evaluative epistemology’ from Kuhn (1992) which describes an attitude towards knowledge that values discussion and evaluation of claims in contest for answers. More recent studies of science classroom practice and even standard scientific inquiry activities in labs show little evidence of an evaluative epistemology or even basic scientific literacy. Current work such as Dede’s River City seeks to find characteristics of game environments that elicit such scientific thinking practices.
Steinkuhler’s goal is to draw upon better knowledge of valuable cognitive practices as they emerge ‘in the wild’ or in their natural context in informal game worlds, and then apply to building educational environments (for after school setting) that bridge between kids’ practices outside school and inside school.

Review
Crawford, C. (1982). The Art of Computer Game Design. Available Online: http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/peabody/game-book/Chapter3.html
Taxonomy of most game types- can be seen as falling under ‘strategy’ games or ‘skill and action’ games. Strategy games include educational games & adventure games- though Crawford distinguishes adventure games as being closer to ‘puzzles’ which are not games because of their static (solution, once cracked then fixed) nature.

Extra Article: Jenkins "COMPLETE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT": VIDEO GAMES AS GENDERED PLAY SPACES, from http://web.mit.edu/cms/People/henry3/complete.html

Jenkins writes about how video games provide alternatives to the outdoor play spaces of the past. Increasingly, children are cut off from access to outdoor play spaces, the back lots or undeveloped natural areas. In the 19^th century, children’s play was marked by a segregation of girls indoors with versions of domesticated play but boys were allowed to play outdoors with complete freedom of movement and a boy culture arose wherein boys could act out aggressive impulses as well as test their limits and compete with each other to define their power as boys becoming men. These outdoor play spaces, especially those in unregulated areas rather than sanctioned “playgrounds”, allowed boys to exert control and power over their environments. In these unsupervised spaces, boys could play out fantasies and exercise aggressive impulses that were otherwise prohibited. Now with working parents and latchkey kids that basically return to apartments where they ‘lock themselves in’ and cities where there are few outdoor playgrounds let alone ‘wild’ spaces for children to explore. Video games seem to provide an alternative play space that allows for children, especially boys, to play games of fantasy, power and control.

Optional (obligatory for doctoral students):

Galloway, A. (2006). Gaming Action, Four Movements. In Gaming. Essays on Algorithmic Culture, pp. 1-38. Minneapolis: Univ of Minnesota Press.

Galloway takes a systems perspective on games, foregrounds an understanding of games as software systems and gamic action (the enactment of the game through player actions and game responses) as constituting a ‘cybernetic’ system- closed and self-regulating but also cybernetic in the sense of a human-machine hybrid. Other interesting idea is notion of 'ambient act', that certain games suspend the player in an enveloping environment, a storyline without a climactic narrative, where the point is the pleasure of process, of just 'being' in this alternative world. Also interesting is discussion about diegetic space and breaking with diegesis (narrative), moments that break are when player hits 'pause' or when the machine calculates scores. Also talks about play and nonplay, but discussion about the 4 moments loses me...

As a credobaptist (believer's baptism) I often heard that the Greek verb means "to immerse, to dip."  The total argument was based on the "meaning of the word."  Let's briefly investigate this claim.

From The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (abridged):

The Meaning of

Jobzonen, sannolikt danmarks största arbetsförmedling, har intresserat sig för att engagera arbetssökanden på ett nytt sätt. Egentligen har de gått ett steg längre än så. Personlighetstester av typen Myers-Briggs, Belbin, DISC i all ära - det här är ett aktuellt exempel på interaktiv marknadsföring.

Så här har man tänkt. Det är möjligt att lämna kommentarer...

I will start by giving you a brief prelude in saying, the path to my baptism has been a long and at times difficult one, but the wheels only started turning at full speed this year...

For those of you who don't know Pastor Larry, please read this blog entry to provide some background on him...  "Walk the Walk" . When Larry Called and suggested Baptism to me, I felt impressed to take the opportunity as for years I have left the timing of this event in God's hands, and now it seemed to be his will, I was happy to take that step and it was quickly picked up By My Local Pastor, Frank Williams...

While I have always read my Bible, it was always in a somewhat intermittent fashion, but leading upto my baptism i knew that if i wanted God to be truly in control of my life it was going to take more than cursory reading of my Bible and Church attendance. So about a month before I was to be baptized I started driving down to the beach and spending an hour with God every morning, studying the Bible,and praying.

At first, it was a bit of a hassle, but soon the benefits started to show themselves, no longer was my faith blind, I had proof, references, information, and much more understanding than I had previously enjoyed or indeed expected.

This set me in a great place for my baptism, I was, on that day (and to now) totally sure of my Creator, what he did for me, and what i wanted to do for him, all my doubts were cast into the depths of the deepest sea... but those doubts were not alone, with them went my sins, My Saviour, Jesus Christ paid my debt many years ago on an old rugged cross. I accepted that free gift, and it gave me peace.

My Baptism turned into quite an event people came from far and near, many from Hervey Bay of course, the Samoan wing of my "family" came up from Brisbane and even interstate friends, Naomi and Collin Flew in from Sydney for the occasion...

Sabbath morning came, and I arrived at church amongst many well-wishes and smiles the day began, after a bit of running about, getting microphones sorted, the service started with the dedication of a new baby in the church, after which, Larry began his sermon on the rivers found in the bible, the rivers of life, discouragement, healing, restoration and living water, it was an amazing message made all the more amazing by Larry's health, after over a year fighting a very aggressive Cancer, Larry was, to the glory of God, Finally in remission, although still a shadow of his former self, when he preached, it was with such power and joy, there was no question left in my mind that he was working in the power of the Holy spirit...

At the end of his sermon, the whole church was amazed by this Physically small, Spiritual Giant, at this point there was a special item by Steve who, as I mentioned earlier is part of my "family" on the Samoan side, he sang a song he had written for his own baptism only a couple of weeks beforehand called “In my Father's presence” and it was Great, when God's people commit themselves to his service he really does bestow amazing talents.

Frank, Larry and myself then went into the baptismal font, after Larry briefly recounted my story they Baptized me... getting Baptized is a very individual thing, people react to it differently, some experience euphoria, others weep, some feel absolutely nothing, in my case it was none of the above, it was a realization, for want of a better term, it felt like I was Commissioned into his service, like up until that point, it was a wrestle for my personal salvation and now I just want to work for him, helping guide people into a saving relationship with him.

Definitely the most powerful thing that has ever happened to me...

However, the day did not stop there it continued with about 50 friends/family coming back to my place for Lunch/fellowship etc. that Day had a profound impact on me, and I just want to share that joy with all who would listen.

A relationship with God means living With Joy as your constant companion, that does not mean you will be happy all the time (in fact quite the contrary), there is a chasm of difference between joy and happiness, happiness is an emotion based on your circumstances, but True joy, is an attitude to life knowing that regardless of how bad the situation becomes you are under the care of the Creator and nobody can take that Joy from you.

I think Paul Said it best in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." That is to say (if you read the context of that passage) while I live, I will joyfully work for Christ and if I die in that pursuit, that is ok too, because the next concious thought I have will be The Second Coming of Jesus and I will be Going to Heaven with him. Not only does that allow you to live a life of purpose and victory, it conquors the biggest fear of all, Death.

May God Bless anyone reading this Post, I hope it has encouraged you, and if not, I hope it has provided a window for you to see the changes in my life.

|G|Luke|

Who knows why people like reality T.V.? Who can imagine why anyone in their right minds would watch a soap opera about the drama in another person's life but not care about their own. Is it the effect of caring about something else that helps them forget? Is there a reason why people like to immerse themselves in someone else's life yet not care about their own? Is there truly a reason why people care about other people? No. Why? Because people only care about others for their own self-interests.

Yes, let's dip into self-interests, shall we? Why does someone you know profess to "care" about you? Why is it that they always want you to look good and be the best you can be? Could it be that they want to be able to say that they know you because they themselves want to look better? Yes. We all know someone like this. Don't lie and say that you don't. Don't lie and say that you've never wondered if someone only cares about you because they care about themselves. You know, the one who always wants you to look your best so they buy you clothes, and then when you're wearing the clothes they bought you, they mysteriously want to go out with you. Yes, that person. That stupid, self-interested person. That one.

Maybe a different one will ask you what your greatest sexual fantasy is. We all know that girl, don't we, men? The one who asks you what that fantasy is of yours. Why is she asking it? Definitely not because she wants you to live it out. No. It's because she wants to see how fucked up you are. She wants to know what kind of sick, perverted monster you are. She wants to be able to gauge how much longer she's going to be able to be with you before you ask her to live out that fantasy that she asks you about oh so long ago.

It's all about self-interest. Self-interest. Don't count yourself out of it too. Don't play like you're oh so  innocent. Self-interest is a natural part of life, but with effort, you can change it. You can get rid of it. Look deep into yourself and find your self-interest. When you find it, throw it out with your garbage. When it's long gone, look deep into yourself again and see if you've developed self-interest again or if you're truly a different person. If you're a different person, a better person, welcome to the show. Sit back, grab a seat, and enjoy the ride.

Je me sens à ma place dans ce programme. Le goût du défi et la motivation m’aideront à réussir. Je ne m'en fais pas. Plus nous embarquons dans le sujet, plus je me sens jubiler. Le langage n'est-il pas la plus merveilleuse invention de l'homme ? De pouvoir s'exprimer, d'être en mesure de partager ses émotions ou ses pensées, qu'elles soient concrètes ou abstraites, n'est-ce pas impressionnant ? D'arriver à se comprendre malgré toutes les nuances langagières individuelles, de la parole, même si des différences de vocabulaire et de prononciation s'imposent pour donner une richesse incroyable et diversifiée à notre langue commune, le français, c'est une des plus belles choses qui puissent exister à mes yeux. Probablement parce que je parle trop.

Et que je n'écris plus assez. Quoique j'ai retravaillé Lune et je pense que le résultat final est bien meilleur que le premier. Je le reposterai sur mon Boudoir. À ce rythme, le cycle de l'immersion s'achèvera dans vingt ans. Plus que trentes nouvelles à boucler. Et j'avais eu la lubie de penser que j'aurais terminé d'ici Noël ! C'était sans compter sur mon manque de discipline en ce qui à trait à l'écriture...

Détail anodin : mes manuels de phonétique ont tous deux la même barre rouge sur le bas de la page couverture. Complot ou hasard ?

Nous sommes en droit de nous poser les vraies questions !

Telles que ''Pourquoi aie-je faim lorsque j'ai mangé comme un ogre trois heures plus tôt ?", "Pourquoi je n'arrête pas de déplacer le curseur de la souris (du touch pad) sans le faire exprès et que je ne cesse de perdre ce que j'écris ?", "Pourquoi je m'intéresse à quelqu'un que je ne peux pas avoir ?", "Pourquoi est-ce que je n'arrive pas à dormir quand j'ai des cours le lendemain matin ?", "Où est-ce que je perds mes élastiques à cheveux ?", "Quand est-ce que je vais me faire tatouer ?", "Quand irai-je à Rivière-Éternité ?", "Pourquoi j'endure une chanson que je n'ai pas envie d'écouter ?", "Est-ce que j'arriverai à avoir un Lucky pack Baby le 10 septembre ?", "Est-ce que je préfère devenir orthophoniste ou neurolinguiste ?", "Pourquoi je ne ferme pas ma fenêtre même si je grelotte depuis une heure ?", "Irai-je au concert d'Avenged Sevenfold finalement ?", "Est-ce que je mets un pyjama ou une camisole pour dormir ?"... Et ainsi va le questionnement.

Oh, et aussi : ''Quand réglerai-je ma personnalité conflictuelle ?"
J'arrive à me disputer toute seule. Ça n'a pas de sens. Je me nargue toute seule, je me provoque toute seule. ._.

Revenons-en à la question principale : Complot ou hasard ?

(8) Vodka, caramel, chewing gum fraise...

So I took some time to work on my code and get the PERFECT swing recognition code possible. Lo and Behold! I couldn't get the reading of the damn accelerometers working correctly! Apparently, there is this law that for every force in the universe there is an equal an opposite force countering that.... I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THAT BEFORE!!!! (jk)

Well, I didn't think about that at all when I was writing my script for GlovePIE, and so when I swing down, the accelerometers read negative gy (Y acceleration) and then positive gy at the end of it, because I'm slowing down my swing at the end. So I'm going to have to somehow make it time-based, and when my arm catches up to initial speed (for example: down) then it cuts off any reading for ... 3 seconds or whatever.

So I gave up last night after a few beers, and a very sore arm. I continue my scripting tonight or this weekend (or while I'm at work teehee!)

I was reading West Karana and realized that maybe this blog shouldn't be about simply creating a new immersive controller for AoC, but should touch on gaming immersion in general and how I'm simply sick of the mouse/keyboard set-up. I mean, there have to be other people interested in this idea (granted, I'm writing for the carthartic experience and to learn something new, not entertain others). Well, one step at a time, and once I get this AoC thing hammered out, I can start rambling on about different changes and add-ons from there (VR goggles anyone?)

It's just, Tipa from West Karana goes on to describe gaming and it's many aspects like a philosophy. The fact that the new Wizard101 game allows for horizontal progression (in a way) is extremely interesting. I'm not a Conan fanboi (although I'm reading the short stories right now, and they're good), but I simply really really like this game. Maybe it's just the shiny graphics, and the combat system, I'm not sure. It's enough to satisfy and at the same time ignore the godloads amount of bugs and missing content in the game that the developers are taking their sweet ol' time to fix. Sorry, woops my bold key was accidentally pressed. Sorry, I digress.

While game content, style, and play is extremely important, games like Rock Band proved that you can do something different with immersive controllers: thus explaining me ordering a Bokken, and wooden Gladius to try to mix up with my Wiimote for some real sword swingin! I feel like gaming is on the verge of something big, something that could transcend gaming into and past the realm of sports. Could we be seeing VR Fantasy battles on the television in the future? Damn right we could, if the gaming industry got off its ass and did something unique, innovative, and gutsy. Not the same ol' same ol' WoW-like copy after copy that truly began with Everquest, ok MAYbe Ultima Online, and now is split off into many iterations and specific niche groups aside from the Mammoth-like WoW stomping wherever it wants to.
If you're reading this game devs (I doubt so, since it's new), I want a 'Rock (Fantasy Warrior) Band'. Give me a sword with buttons that I can swing around and pretend like I'm a rockstar barbarian! I'm not exactly a cosplay nerd, or a LARP kid, but give me something to get my blood pumping and my ass off the couch!

The water awaits her, its surface like a sheet of ice, belying the warmth in the room. She has spent the last hour in mental and physical preparation for this moment. Her face and body are scrubbed clean, her long hair combed and knot free. She is without make up and has shed her expensive tailored clothing, her personal truth revealed in her near-nakedness.

Tomorrow she brings herself to the chuppah, to pledge her undying love and devotion to the man of her dreams. This step is one of many to be completed before the wedding, but the most important.

The attendant hands her a prayer that brides have said since time immemorial. She feels their bond, their sisterhood, feels their arms around her, their wishes for a life of happiness and joy, love and laughter.

It is time. The attendant turns away so that she can modestly remove her robe and descend the steps into the sacred waters. She allows her mind to slip into contemplative mode, and feels the cool water lap against her shins as she slowly descends into the depths.  Once the water is up to her neck the attendant turns, keeping her eyes on the brides face, wanting to spare her any feelings of embarrassment.

She nods to her, silently communicating that it is time to start the immersion. All that the bride has learned comes swimming into her head, and she briefly panics that she will not do this right. A calm suddenly descends, and she feels her body suffused with confidence and otherworldly light. Her soul, her very old soul that was at Mount Sinai, will steer her right, as it has done up until now.

She feels herself move her body forward, diving gracefully into the water. The water rises up to close over her head as she quickly catches her breath. She remembers not to tense her body but to allow every part of her to be caressed by the blessed waters, to allow this water to cleanse and purify her spirit, to ready her for the journey of a thousand lifetimes.

She surfaces and recites the blessing and hears her sisters around the world say Amen. She immerses two more times, each time feeling layers and layers of doubt and uncertainty lift from her. As she enters into the elevated state of purity, she feels cleansed from her past transgressions, and energized to fill the future with everything that is good and just in the world.

She floats out of the ritual bath on the wings of angels who tomorrow will accompany her to the chuppah, to the start of her new beginning.

One aspect of games that hardcore gamers often overlook are "teleporting" camera animations. A perfect example of this: Halo 3's vehicle flip. Whenever a player overturns their vehicle in Halo 3, a message prompts them to press a button to flip the vehicle. Ubisoft Montreal is trying to create a revolutionary sense of immersion in Far Cry 2. One of their main goals for Far Cry 2 "was to immerse the player in the physicality of his avatar," and "to make him really feel like he is physically embodied in that world." To acheive this, they have made fluid animations for virtually every action in the game. From wear and tear visable on the player's weapons, to navigating via a paper map in real-time, the folks at Ubisoft Montreal are attempting an astonishing level of realism. With as little as I used to know about this game, it is shaping up nicely to be my most anticipated shooter of the year.

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more about "Gametrailers.com - Far Cry 2 - PAX 08...", posted with vodpod

...When was the last time you remember a student, voluntarily, spending 4 hours working and learning on a Sunday evening? Reading, scouring in fact, the provided texts, expanding from that to research texts on the internet, determined to get every last little drop from the class? Dashing in and out of the "classroom" (the Poe House in this case) to where the teacher was waiting, exploring props, assigning them to stories, debating the story and how the content was at odds with it in places and so on. [...]

I don't think there is anyone out there that would suggest it's better to teach students who aren't engaged compared to those that are engaged. Engagement and immersion are not synonyms, at least I don't think so. But, I have yet to see a student who becomes immersed who does not also become engaged.

The premise behind LiteratureAlive!, that visual, tactile, and aural experiences contribute to engagement in learning, is one that sometimes separates students in various disciplines.  People who are "hands-on" learners may be destined to enjoy only subjects that focus on the tactile, like biology or archaeology. 

Programs like LiteratureAlive! remind us that there are ways to allow all types of learners to enjoy the study of literature.  After all, reading the American Romantics is one thing, but seeing Walden Pond and walking up the path to the Old Manse is another experience entirely.

Thanks, Eloise, for your thought-provoking post.

...A little more information about LiteratureAlive!:  This post from early 2007 lists the goals of the organization.  Also visit the LiteratureAlive! wiki or the Second Life virtual community that facilitates LiteratureAlive!.