The Daily Create assignment #135: Make a video of you showing and telling a story of an old photograph.
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The Daily Create assignment #135: Make a video of you showing…
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2012Boy Scout Saver: A Video Daily Create
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012Today’s Daily Create 135
Menagerie of Chazeray
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012Here’s a little video greeting to all my fellow Camp Magic MacGuffin campers. Though I can’t join you in person, I will do my best to be there virtually.
For those able and interested, there’s an open invitation to stop by the Always Be Reflecting parcel at Corona Cay.
Homesick? Not Me!
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012Day one at Camp Magic MacGuffin and the best way to stave off homesickness is to stay busy. In that spirit I did a little exploring of the landscape with some activities and unpacking some of my camp equipment.
First, I opted to jump in and play with The Daily Create #134. The challenge was to redesign an image of an animal. I opened my camp kit and pulled out GIMP to alter a photo of an animal (so not truly the task) because I’d never used photo editors short of the auto-correct feature in iPhoto. Here’s what I came up with…
My personal favorite from the task was the Dande-hedgehog from CoachK though.
I also unpacked Minecraft and bee-bopped around there to see what that platform/game has to offer. Admittedly, this product has a tremendous following. A quick YouTube search of “Minecraft” and you’ll be up to your ears in video tutorials that rapidly take you through different aspects of the environment. Back in Camp Magic MacGuffin, it appears that Minecraft will be used for community and storytelling. Here’s a little trailer about Minecraft to explain the platform.
I did purchase a Minecraft subscription for the experiment so that I can be fully immersed in the DS106 experience. I will admit though, I am always a little skeptical about virtual worlds for learning and sharing. There was a time when I played World of Warcraft and after some time could begin to see potential lessons in leadership, anthropology of gaming environments, social protocols and mores, etc. It took some time and creative thinking to get passed the game to see those things though. None the less, Minecraft is different than WOW (even if it were just in cost alone) in many ways including the ability to host and create your own world with a specific purpose. So, I’m all in on Minecraft. Perhaps I’ll create my own little world (apart from my own little world I live in regularly) and explore some possibilities for learning, teaching, and fun.
I jumped in on the Twitter feeds, browsed my fellow campers blogs and began watching the week’s assigned video for reflection. I just need to find the time to do all this camping.
As for homesickness, being active and immersed is the best way to stave off those “I miss home” blues. So, stay busy campers!
Comrade Avatar
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Leelzebub continues to set the pace with her recent outpouring of fun and inspiring ds106 assignments. I learned more about using photoshop in the 90 plus minutes it took me to do the Warhol This assignment than I ever did watching those YouTube tutorials that the youngsters like to make nowadays. And that’s one of the great and wacky things about doing these things.
What at the beginning looked like a quick and easy warm up assignment for Camp Magic MacGuffin (it begins tomorrow, BTW), turned into a serious challenge. It again forced me to confront the digital skill set I am least comfortable with: image editing. I haven’t a clue about color, perspective and all that jazz. I’ll certainly look at Warhol’s soup cans with greater appreciation after my struggle to follow this helpful tutorial in trying to make something out of this old Second Life snapshot I found in my inventory recently.
And I suppose this virtual friend from a long time ago is where the story in this assignment is. She and I met at the headquarters building of the now defunct Communist Party of Second Life. The group had formed in playful opposition to the then rampant commercialization taking place in SL. Lots of PR and marketing firms were trying to get their clients to invest big in the virtual world. It was supposed to be the next big thing.
Though it was just a few years ago that I dabbled in such politics and activism, I’d completely forgotten about it until I found the photos of this character whose name I cannot for the life of me recall. There’s even the possibility that the avatar was me. How’s that for weird?
And suddenly there are dozens of potential story lines fighting for my attention. They’re just begging me to run with them for a little while to see what happens. There’s been a lot of these unexpected imaginative flights of fancy these days. The text files needing to be revised and revisited are piling up like Oreo cookie crumbs on a Tardis (new series) bed.
But I haven’t time for such frivolity. I need to get my bags packed for CMM. Leelzebub is miles ahead and I’m stuck on Corona Cay with my domestic Daleks. They don’t even exterminate intruders while I’m away. Things are getting serious here – very serious.
So Many People!
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012I’m still looking for the mess hall, but I’m groggy from last night’s long trip. Starving! Lots of new campers arriving, and I’m starting to get nervous. Hope they don’t run out of food. I’m trying to make sure no one messes with my stuff. That’s one of the most important things to me — that my stuff stays un-messed with.
I have a footlocker that I’ve always slid under my bed, and the beds here are too low, so I’ve got to have it NEXT to my bunk, which means everyone can see it. So, I have to padlock it (thank goodness I went to Dollar Tree and got the necessities!).
These campers look a little too “eager to learn,” if you catch my drift. I’ll have to keep my eyes open. For now, I want to find the nearest Sloppy Joe (yes, ladies, I’m talking about LUNCH!).
ASIDE – Camp’s Begun!
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Camp Magic MacGuffin has begun! I’m very excited about it. Meeting the other DS106 participants is one the best parts about the class, seeing who takes to it immediately, seeing who evolves into the course, and just getting to know everyone!
I’ve got a couple projects that I want to get done by tomorrow night that are camp-related. So, looking forward to that.
Scorphonic Radio Selector
Monday, May 21st, 2012
Anybody interested in a podcast? Actually I did a podcast devoted especially to my experiences in Second Life a long time ago. But I don’t want to be posting stuff in too many places. That makes it to easy too lose track of things.
So I think I’ll continue to use the Scottlo Radio Blog for the hodgepodge of offerings that have recently begun sprouting up. Take this podcast recording for instance. Though I’ve been thinking recording something of late, this one began spontaneously and without any forethought.
Well that’s not exactly true. I’d spent an entire hour long train ride typing into my iPod Touch about the main story that comprises this recording: finally making the Scorphonic recorder work as originally intended. The text file I wrote was far too technical and cumbersome to wind up as a blog post without a huge amount of revision. But the fact of having written about it a few hours earlier allowed the story to come out easily and hopefully in a coherent manner when spoken aloud amid the hustle and bustle of another Tokyo commute.
It seems that a useful explanation of the recent direction taken on this blog is also offered during the 20 minute recording. Lot’s of things are happening, indeed.
King of the Road
Saturday, May 19th, 2012
Though this entry doesn’t adhere to any specific ds106 assignment, the sacred position the animated GIF holds in the ds106 canon permits me, I believe, to try to weave some sort of digital story. I’m motivated by a sentiment I’ve heard from many ds106 friends since my recent return to Second Life. Essentially, a lot of folks believe that Second Life is dead. This evening I took a little road trip in my recently purchased 1967 Chevy II that hopefully will put that notion to rest. Second Life is not dead – yet anyway.
In terms of process, the GIF above was made with MPEG StreamClip from a video file I captured using iShowU HD while motoring in a SL road network. Since I’d forgotten the procedure, I revisited the Bava’s definitive tutorial on the subject. The idea was born from my emerging idea to build an animated GIF museum in Second Life.
One of the neat things about driving these roadways is the opportunity it presents to see the depth and breadth of what has been created in Second Life. For me the mind blowing part is that everything one encounters has been built and placed by other folks. There is certainly a good bit of frivolity and unsavory stuff on offer. But there are also breathtaking moments to be found along the way.
Travelling around in such a way also provides the opportunity to connect with random strangers. I had to skid to a stop when I saw the avatar above dressed in stunning traditional Turkish clothing. She was on her way to a cultural festival in SL that was to feature live music and dancing avatars. I offered to give her a ride there but she said it was on island region and she needed to teleport there after allowing me to snap a few photos.
After parting ways, I switched my t-shirt and hit the road again. It wasn’t long before I noticed this friendly pirate dancing on a picnic table along the roadway. When asked why I was driving around, I said I was planning on writing a travel log about motoring in Second Life.
When I asked what sort of story could I write about a dancing pirate, she said she had a few ideas. So we hopped in the Chevy and headed down the road and together brainstormed a madcap adventure in voice chat. The only problem was that our voice connection got cut whenever the car crossed from one region to the next. We drove a long loop around the region and were able to come up with an idea for a recurring series of photo blog posts and animated GIFs featuring a fast driving digital story teller who once was plagued with low self-esteem issues and his light-hearted sidekick: a scantily clad dancing pirate who’s forgotten more about Second Life than most people will ever learn.
I just hope Second Life lasts long enough for us to put a few of these together.
Waiting for the Dinner Bell. I’m Hungry.
Saturday, May 19th, 2012Well campers, I been waiting around and cleaning up the camp. Trimming bushes, racking leaves, beating the daylights out of rugs and a few squirrels and mopping the floors. Camp is looking good for opening day.
I been thinking about dinner bells because that is how you know the chow is on at camp. I have a favorite bell. It is at the bottom of the ol’ Grand Canyon and it tells the whole Phantom Ranch that chow is on in the morning and in the evening. Someday I am going to ring the dang thing just for fun.
Flickr image by By Al_HikesAZ
