Merci Beaucoup!!!

Many thanks to Daniela from New Zealand for honoring me with a nomination for the Reader Appreciation Award!  She shares wonderful writings and stories on her blog, “Lantern Post”  ~ Please be sure to click over to her site for a read-around-tour!

I am thrilled to participate in this award process, so without further ado and per her direction…

• 1st  I will share 7 interesting facts about myself 
• 2nd  I should go on to nominate 5 – 10 other bloggers
• 3rd  Then I will let them know how nifty I think they are when I notify them of the nomination!

So let’s see, 7 interesting facts in chronological order…

International Brotherhood Days on Pine Ridge Reservation, SD (1994).

#1  My parents are Canadienne, but I was born in the U.S.  Sadly, I do not have the pleasure of dual citizenship, but I love me some maple cookies & Tim Horton’s Iced Capps just the same!

Rockclimbing at the Falls

#2  During my college years, I was a rock climber under the misguided perception that dressing like David Lee Roth correlated to climbing agility and ability… I think the picture really says it all.

#3  At an annual Native American Pow Wow called “International Brotherhood Days”, I camped out for an incredible week at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and won the Rabbit Dance competition partnered with one of the assistant arena directors.  It was totally waste {pronounced wash-TAY, which is Lakota for “good’}!!!

#4 For the 4th of July parade held in Washington, DC on Independence Ave., I participated 2 consecutive years by operating the tail of a Chinese dragon for my kung fu school.  It’s a great workout no matter which section you choose to handle, however, the tail will guarantee a full sprint as it whips around behind the weaving trail of the dragon dance team!

Chinese Dragon Dance in the 4th of July parade
held in Washington, DC.

#5  I once started a fire with tater tots ~ to be filed under the headings, “Dumb Things to Do before a First Date” and “Don’t Try This at Home”… Yeah, THAT’s a story for another time…

#6  When my church decided to host a fundraising dinner theatre production of “Godspell”, I designed & painted the stage set, choreographed all of the musical scenes and then applied stage makeup to the cast before every performance… Ahhh, to be in my 20’s on summer break with a limitless supply of creative energy!

Sound checks before the concert at Longchamp.

#7  By the amazing grace of God, I was blessed with the opportunity to harmonize alongside some of my dearest friends during the 12th Annual World Youth Day in Paris, France.  We performed during this week long event on sound stages throughout the city, in Bercy Arena and in the final afternoon concert on a stage constructed at L’Hippodrome de Longchamp… an experience that I will always treasure for countless reasons!

Aerial view of L’Hippodrome de Longchamp at 1997 World Youth Day, Paris, France.

This is a tough one, with soOoo many terrific sites I have had the pleasure to read in this WordPress Blogosphere.  But now ‘paying it forward’, I will introduce some of my favorite blogs through my nominations for the Reader Appreciation Award (drumroll, please):

http://jumpforjoyphotoproject.wordpress.com  I love the premise behind this photographic project, and you will find plenty of inspirational quotes along the way!

http://rich-full-life.com  I find myself laughing out loud when I read these posts!

http://shesamaineiac.com  Another happy-place that keeps me on a steady chuckle-mode!

http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com  If you haven’t been here before, this is a great down-to-earth place for travel and general ‘getting your game on’ inspiration.

http://searunner.wordpress.com  I live vicariously through these traveling photo-posts.

http://irisinteriors.wordpress.com  This designer shares fabulous examples of decorating your interior personal spaces in your own unique style.

http://makinglifepretty.wordpress.com  More super DIY ideas for making your world beautiful and not breaking the bank to get there!

http://joyandwoe.wordpress.com  For more fun and hilarity in the world of Mom-blogs, this is a gem of a read!

http://aimsphotos.wordpress.com  Enjoy browsing through Amy’s warmly expressive portfolio of photographs… 

http://maplemousemama.com  When I need to go to my Disney happy place, this is a great place to start! 🙂

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Forty Years of Video Games

Summertime blues and boredom have gotten me surfing the web for ideas on how in the world we can get out of this house and explore something new and exciting.  We live in this vibrant area – in one direction you have Washington, DC, then drive north and you run into Baltimore, Maryland!  I grew up in Virginia, and there are still places I haven’t seen in this metropolitan mecca.  So with a Saturday of rest under our belts, we decided to head to the museums in the city after church.  It was a late start, but it was a tad spontaneous — I mean, we did go home and change out of our ‘Sunday’s best’ after all — yet it still qualified as an adventure!

A classmate had mentioned that the Smithsonian Museum of American Art was showing “The Art of Video Games” exhibit through September.  It wasn’t a mind-numbing electronic device — no, no… it was a trip to the museum disguised as a video game!  This was perfect!  So the, “What? We have to go walk around in the heat to boring museums?” morphed into, “Cool!!!  Are we there yet?”  It was magical…  I was even a little excited about it myself.  One area of graphic art that I have been intrigued by is 3D gaming animation.  I was able to get some introduction to creating a 3-dimensional space in my last summer course, but I would like to delve deeper into that virtual arena… especially with its dynamic rate of innovation!  I feel like Marty McFly hanging onto the bumper of technology with sparks shooting out from under my skateboard!  Well, if you think that last reference dates me, take a look at where the genesis of video gaming began with me… That’s right, “Era 1″… bring on your “Pac Man”, the “Space Invaders” and “Break Out!”  Those were the days, alright… when the characters were subtle and the audio was muddled.  Fast forward thirty years, and I am watching my children flailing their arms about while bringing their Miis to life in a virtual game space.  I wonder what the next 30 years will bring… Will we be installing a Holodeck in our basement for our grandchildren?  Fortunately, we’re not there yet, so I have time to savvy myself up to speed with the young-un’s and to jump into this genre of illustration.

While the exhibit was a fun stride down memory lane, it was much smaller than we anticipated.  Three virtual stations were available to people who wanted to showcase their gaming skills in public, with a loOong line of hopeful players watching on.  There were probably three small rooms with video interviews sporadically mounted throughout the exhibit — none of which I was able to hear well with the crowds.  So the obvious lesson learned here was, don’t visit on the weekend unless absolutely necessary… and if it IS the only time you can go, try to get there when it first opens.  For the homeschoolers & parents of younger children:  WARNING… I will advise you to move along quickly past the huge hypnotic wall of multiple screens.  As I was standing there trying to snap a visually interesting photograph, I was dismayed by the images of a topless women at the hub of this digital display that appeared rather suddenly (and then lingered) in the looped video sequence.  I felt that was inappropriately projected considering the target audience for video games, but I will stay off my soapbox for the moment.  At the end of the day, I would not recommend heading into DC specifically to see this exhibit, which we found to be somewhat underwhelming.  We felt that the potential to show 40 years of technological gaming evolution was underachieved.  On the upside, the kids enjoyed seeing all the different displays of games and listening to narratives through the phone tours.  Additionally, there are other engaging exhibits in the museum, and blocks of attractions to enjoy all over the city.