The Click Heard Round the World

Rik Rides the Train: Playing Dance Central for First Time! (video)

Here's a somewhat embarassing video of me playing "Dance Central" on the XBox 360 for the first time at Spud's place.  The song: "Com'n Ride It" by the Quad City DJs (1995.) The level: Medium.  The experience: AWESOME.

Damn, I really want this game now.

 

My NYC Bucket List

I've been working on my list of things I want to be sure and do before I leave New York at the end of January.

Since I've lived here for so long, there aren't a lot of things I want to do that I haven't done. But there are a few that I'm itching to do for the first time, like going to Amateur Night at the Apollo and eating hand pulled Chinese noodles in Queens. And there a many things that I've already done that I want to do one last time, like go to Kuma Inn for Filipino-Thai tapas.

These activities are also good excuses to hang out with some of the many cool friends that I've made in my 15 or so years in New York. Cause good friends and family are the things that really matter.

Anything else that I should consider putting on my NYC bucket list?

Visiting the San Jose Friend's Meeting... and an Unexpected Memorial

The problem with memorial services is that the person being honored is not able to appreciate all the nice things that people are saying about her or him.  At least, that' usually the way it goes.

Today I visited the San Jose Friend's Meeting, a Quaker community that meets in the oldest Meetinghouse in California, built in 1885. It seems like a lovely small Meeting, with about 40 people in attendance when I was there.

I think it might have been an unusually large group because this was an exceptional ocassion. For this was the last Quaker Meeting for one of their regular attenders, an octegenarian who only had a few days left to live.

Ridiculous Xmas Light Display and Nativity Set at "Bob's Worlds" in Pleasanton

For Christmas Eve, the family decided to stop by "Bob's World" in Pleasanton, the home of Bob Stanley, longtime Pleasanton resident who has been creating ever-more elaborate holiday decorations outside his home for the past 20 years. 

What impresses you most about Bob's World is in the sheer AMOUNT of lighted Santas, reindeer, snowmen, cascading lights, icicles and candy canes he blankets his house with. It's completely dazzling. His garage is filled with Christmas dolls and stuffed animals. And in his backyard, Bob has built two holiday dioramas running the length of his house. One is a huge nativity set that you see a video of above, and the other is an entire wintery village scene with hundreds of minature skiiers, skaters, and merry-makers.  It's kind of ridiculous and awesome.

The impressiveness comes from the excess of it all. The question you hear repeated again and again by the visitors is, "How much do you think Bob's electric bill is?" That said, there is also a good amount of technical know-how in how he has synchronized the lights with the soundtrack of Christmas music playing every night.  And the laser light display in the front of the house must have taken some programming know-how. 

Speaking of lasers, Bob's World really makes me wish I had the know-how to decorate our house in TRON-y Christmas style.

Christmas Giving 2010: Supporting Peace and Justice in Brooklyn, DC, and around the World

In these times, contributing to charities and causes is more difficult for many people, who often are struggling to make ends meet and worrying about the future. I'm more fortunate than many, in that I don't have to worry about how the rent is getting paid, putting food on the table or healthcare. (Well, at least until February.)  And I live relatively frugally, my most expensive possession being my bicycle.

So counting my blessings, I am making a special contribution to nonprofits that I care about and that I believe are making an impact in the world in ways that I support. Here's how I'm spending my charity dollars this Christmas...

Kinky Ballgag Godzilla Attacks Christmas!

I don't usually catch these references, but come on, this Godzilla is totally into BDSM. Hopefully I'm not scarring for life the little kid I'm giving this to.

Right now, I'm at home with my mom, doing last minute shopping, wrapping presents, grabbing burgers at In n'Out, making pumpkin bread pudding, and watching "Law and Order" marathons all night.  You know, just a traditional Panganiban Christmas.

Hope your holidays are restful and fun, however you are celebrating.

 

“Life 2.0” : A Flawed Documentary about the Seemier Side of the Metaverse

The documentary “Life 2.0” tells the stories of five people who find themselves drawn to the virtual world of Second Life for various reasons. All of their stories are compelling in their own ways, but as a whole piece I found “Life 2.0” to be somewhat formless and at worse lurid in its depictions of la vie virtuelle.

“Life 2.0” portrays Second Life as a place where lovers cheat on their real life spouses, creepy dudes roleplay as children, and middle-aged women who live with their parents pretend there are sexy young divas. While this might be the reality for some part of the population of millions of residents of Second Life, it doesn't represent any of the people that I know there. Perhaps I'm hanging out in the wrong sex clubs and ageplay kindergartens.

On the other hand, “Life 2.0” does get it right that Second Life is a place where people can explore their identities, try on another skin, and re-invent themselves. These can have both righteous and dark manifestations, and perhaps a mixture of both.

Dancing on the Nostalgia Subway Train Part II (video, pics)

On Sunday, 80-some lindy hoppers gathered for a "lindy bomb" of the Nostalgia Subway Train that runs during the holidays on the F Train line. It was an incredible day of dancing, great music, and random New York weirdness.

At about 12:30, a bunch of us lindy hoppers were gathered at the 2nd Avenue Subway Stop, awaiting the arrival of the Nostalgia Train. As we waited, the Grand Street Stompers began playing on the platform, so of course we started dancing. LensJockey perfectly captured in the picture above the joy of dancing on the subway as a crowd quickly gathered.  That's the lovely Elaine and Voon in the foreground.

Then about 1pm, we piled onto the vintage F Train, stuffing one subway car with dancers and musicians. The Grand Street Stompers crammed themselves and their instruments onto a bench and continued jamming as the train pulled away from the station toward Queens. 

CNN: Global Kids Teen Leader Addresses the Security Council (video)

Here's a neat video from CNN of a group of young people from around the world who got to attend the UN Security Council during a special session.  More than 100 Global Kids teen leaders were among the youth who were at the session, called for US Ambassador Susan Rice.

A highlight for us was Keri, a Global Kids leader from China, who got to ask a question to the Security Council about what the UN was doing about the brewing conflict between North and South Korea.  The CNN commentator called this "the best question asked that day." He continued, "we could use more people like that young woman to keep the diplomats on their toes."

Great job, Keri, and the rest of the Global Kids leaders who participated!

Global Kids' Online Leadership Program is Hiring a Program Associate

The Online Leadership Program at Global Kids is looking for another program associate to add to our crack squad of educators and technologists. If you think you have what it takes to make a difference in the lives of marginalized teens using cutting edge tech and innovative pedagogical techniques, than you should apply. 

Global Kids is the finest non-profit I've ever had the privilege of working for, bar none.  Amazing staff, fun and ever-changing educational projects, cool partners to work with, and a very supportive work culture.

More info about the position on the Global Kids OLP site.