Siftables, the world's first table-top gaming platform
via foundrygroup.com
This is one cool gaming platform. I can't wait to see what else they can create on Siftables.
Florence Wan // This blog is part personal expression, part sharing knowledge. I run XiMnet Malaysia with my colleagues. Harmonizing people's needs with technology is what I do best.
This is one cool gaming platform. I can't wait to see what else they can create on Siftables.
It's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Aurora possibly is a lesser known Foo Fighter song to the average music listener. But among fans, it's a favourite of Dave Grohl's to play it live.
A search on Google led me to this 1999 BBC radio interview with Jo Whiley:
JW We might do. Can we talk a bit first? Is 'Aurora' a love song?
DG Yes. It's actually about when I lived in Seattle I lived right off of this street called Aurora Avenue, and I miss it.
JW Right.
DG I miss it. I miss everything about my life I had in Seattle.
JW But you could never go back there?
DG No. Well I could never live there again, no.
To dig a little deeper, I found this little gem of an interview back in 2001 of how it was created & it's significance to Dave Grohl.
... since 'There Is Nothing Left To Lose' contains arguably the Foos' finest moment in the epic 'Aurora', Dave agrees that it's a career high:
"Absolutely. That was the first song that we've ever written that stemmed from a jam. I'd just gotten this new delay pedal and I started this riff and Nate and Taylor just played along. It wasn't demoed or arranged before we recorded it, it all just fell into place. We're very proud of that because it went from absolutely nothing to the best song we've ever written.
I think the next album will probably have a lot of songs like that," adds Grohl before candidly revealing how personal the lyrics to 'Aurora' were.
'It's about the death of my grandmother. Whenever you go through something as deep and profound 'as the death of a family member or friend, you really get knocked back by how huge and at the same time insignificant life can seem. You sit there realising that the most inane things that you can just look past are sometimes the most meaningful," he confesses, fully aware that we're both thinking about the same thing.
You're the man, Dave.
You believe there's something else
To relieve your emptiness
And you dream about yourself
And you bleed and breathe the air
And it's on and on and on and on
I just kinda died for you
You just kinda stared at me
We will always have the chance
We can do this one more time
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora
All this time
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora
Take me now, we can spin the sun around
And the stars will all come out
Then we'll turn and come back down
Turn and come back down
You believe there's somewhere else
Where it's easier than this
And you see outside yourself
And you buy the hole you'll fill
And it's on and on and on and on
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora
All this time
Hell yeah, I remember Aurora
Take me now, we can spin the sun around
And the stars will all come out
Then we'll turn and come back down
Turn and come back down
On and on and on Aurora wait for everyone
Wait till the last one's done
On and on and on Aurora wait for everyone
Wait till the last one's done
Take me now, we can spin the sun around
And the stars will all come out
Then we'll turn and come back down
Turn and come back down
Turn and come back down
Turn and come back down
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
On and on and on and on and on
Foo Fighters - Best Of You
I've got another confession to make
I'm your fool
Everyone's got their chains to break
Holdin' you
Were you born to resist or be abused?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Are you gone and onto someone new?
I needed somewhere to hang my head
Without your noose
You gave me something that I didn't have
But had no use
I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I break loose
My head is giving me life or death
But I can't choose
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
It's real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh
Oh oh oh oh
Has someone taken your faith?
It's real, the pain you feel
The life, the love
You die to heal
The hope that starts
The broken hearts
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
I've got another confession my friend
I'm no fool
I'm getting tired of starting again
Somewhere new
Were you born to resist or be abused?
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
It's real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh
Microsoft Surface recently launched in Australia. The multi-touch interface is set to hit restaurants, bars, hotels & schools. According to reports, ANZ, Curtin University & Lonely Planet officially took up the platform for development & deployment. Fine and dandy until I found this little gem of how Microsoft Surface was used to develop an interactive D&D game:
I just returned from the Microsoft campus (well, I stopped for a panini), where students from Carnegie Mellon University are showing off their awesome project, a version of D&D that runs on the Surface. Now, before you start rolling your eyes, just recognize that this isn’t just a holy grail for tabletop gaming nerds. I mean, it’s that too, but really it’s a proof of concept that shows how fun and intuitive something like this can be, and how accessible a team can make it. I honestly think that if they had these things scattered around like Golden Tee cabinets, they’d get a huge following.
The build we played with was last semester’s (it’s a student project, not a professional development), and since then there’s been a lot of bug-squashing and feature-adding, but the newest build isn’t playable. So they’ve got a short little scenario where we went from a zoomable map screen to a town where we… spotted some orcs! Roll for initiative!
This takes board gaming at new levels. Gaming doesn't have to be behind a screen and a keyboard or console only. Imagine having a game at your favourite bar or restaurant with your buddies!
The face-to-face & social interaction makes it more fun & definitely more engaging.
Love this!
I love the salsa dance. It's fun, flirty, free & fascinating to dance & watch. The first time I laid eyes on this dance was when I watched "Dance with Me" more than 10 years ago (see movie clip above). I saw it close-up again 2 years ago when a friend invited me to a private performance of some friends. I signed up for classes soon after and the rest is history.
I want to be able to hit the salsa scenes in New York City, Los Angeles & Miami and dance with the Latinos. I'd love to be able to shake it like the Latinas, with their uninhibited expression of joy & fun.
Here's to more social dancing & classes on Rueda de Casino.
I'll get there, dangit!
Trivia: Rueda de Casino is a salsa formation dance where couples dance in a circle and interchange partners as shown in the movie clip.
Got this through company email sharing via Wiley.
This is part 2 of the link Carolyn posted in my previous entry. This is absolutely exciting technology to look forward to.
Part 1: Patty Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense (Mar 2009)
A friend and I went for sushi at Sakae Sushi a few weeks back before watching Avatar. The ordering system at Sakae Sushi, if you're familiar with it, requires customers to pick & choose their selections via a touchscreen monitor.
I had a huge problem with it. The interface was clunky & the touchscreen was unresponsive. It took multiple clicks to get what I want & the information on our order was questionable.
I was sharing with my friend how the future of interfaces was via multi-touch interactive screens right on your table. Using our natural human methods of selecting & picking things with our fingers. This demo on video here shows Microsoft Surface in action, developed by Phenomblue. While it is not a great example but it's a good start of what the future can be.
And you don't have to live with ugly designs.
I'm looking forward to it.
I admit, I'm old-school. I still prefer writing with pen & paper when it comes to journal writing. Especially when it's intensely private stuff. :-P
I'm not dissing blogs, however. They're just a better channel for sharing with a bigger audience of more than 1.
