March 31st is 'National Day of Awareness'

Seriously...just don't say it.

Holidays and Stereotypes...

So I'm currently sitting in a Starbucks on St. Catherine's watching the St. Patrick's Day parade go by and the crowd is getting progressively drunker and drunker. Then I realized something...why the hell is everyone drinking on our Irish holiday? Doesn't that perpetuate an already terrible stereotype, somewhere along the lines of doing math on Lunar New Year or banking on Hanukkah?

Guest Lecturing!

I found out on Monday that I will be guest lecturing a class at Concordia (Sociology of Cyberspace) and speaking on racial representation in video games. While I generally keep on-top of race and games stuff its been a long time since I've re-visited it since the big hub-bub over my honors thesis and man while I'm nervous as hell about speaking in front of 75 students, coming back to this stuff after two years feels like meeting up with an old friend. If you're free tomorow, come on down.

Sociology of Cyberspace
Concordia University
Hall Building 420
2:45

Some very cool news...

The very first Indian-developed console game is on its final leg of development. While plenty of programming has been outsourced to India, this (according to various reports) is the first to be locally made. The game, entitled 'Hanuman: Boy Wonder' is not only targeted at the Indian market, but also at Indians abroad. I found this news to be really uplifting. Not only does it show a growing game development industry outside of the U.S., U.K. and Japan, it also shows a growing interest in gaming in India! As well, I love the idea of games that caters to local cultural context. Lastly, the more game makers there are out there (especially from diverse cultures) the more interesting game play innovations will be brought to the industry.

Robby on the Radio

I will be on the radio tomorrow, March 13th, on Radio Canada International's show 'The Link' (which starts at around 12:30) as part of a roundtable discussion on the recent humanist advertisement campaign that was banned in various cities around Canada.

Ethnic diversity on television

After having watched a handful television at the GSA (I don't have a TV at home) I just realized that perhaps the show with the widest spread of ethnic diversity is none other than 'America's Top Dance Crew.' I'm serious. Blacks...whites...Asian...latin...its a pretty good shotgun spread.

And of course me being me I focused on how the Asian dancers were portrayed and man was I happy. I mean the team that won the show (Quest Crew) are comprised of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Filipino members. Hells yes. You can't believe how stoked I was to watch Asian folk on TV without hokey accents, kung fu fighting, or working in a lab (don't worry Masuka I still love you). Instead it was a group of kids doing what they love to do, and boy do they do it well. Moreover...Asian men depicted as potential objects of sexual desire? Oh man, times are a-changin' and its about time.

While I find reality TV a bit kistchy, I can't deny the raw awesomeness of seeing so many ethnic groups represented onstage. It would be great to see this kind of diversity in a storyline based television show but we're probably still a ways away from that yet. But hey headway is being made and I believe in baby-steps and I'd like to think things are getting better. Randy Jackson, your show has made me optimistic once again.

And since I don't watch a lot of TV perhaps things are even better than I thought. Anyone know some good examples? Battlestar is good (Grace Park), as is Dexter and Heroes, but I only frequent a narrow (primarily sci-fi) area of TV land. What else is going on out there?

Music to draw to...

This looks awesome and I feel I should promo it (plus I liked the apple juice line...). I think I`ll try to actually get some writing done here (or at least some marking)! Here`s the blurb...

Forget partying.... let's get some work done.

It's winter time in Montreal...
Are you slacking off on knitting that scarf you started in 2004? Maybe you've been trying to finish that third act of that play you've been writing...? How's that collection of Sonnets coming along? Are you still sketching out storyboards for that animated short you wanted to make?

Bring your sketchbook, yarn, or that lump of clay. Floor lamps, pens, knitting needles, and lap desks will be provided. Five bucks admission includes a free cup of hot chocolate or tea. Music will be provided by Kid Koala. Expect a full 5-hour set of some of his favorite quiet time records that he has collected on his travels around the world. Baked goods will be provided by Kid Koala's wife, Corinne, who dreams of someday opening a bakery in Montreal and would like to try some of her new creations first.

"I was working on the Space Cadet book and realized at 8 hours a page I would have to log another 800 hours of alone time before this book would see the light of day. It would be great if there was a place I could go be social and anti-social at the same time. Somewhere I could look up from my desk and see something other than the wall. I tried drawing in a couple of the neighborhood diners and coffee shops but they'd blast the radio, and the music and traffic reports kept throwing me out of the zone... plus they don't appreciate people who try to nurse one glass of apple juice for 8 hours."

Quiet people are invited. Bring something to work on. No dancing. Hope to see you there!

3 NIGHTS ONLY : 7pm until midnight :
March 2, 2009
March 9, 2009
March 16, 2009

Theatre St. Catherine: 264 St. Catherine E., Montreal, QC