Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

  “’Drama in the Delta’ is a non-profit, educational 3D role-playing video game that puts the player into the experiences of two Arkansas concentration camps where the U.S. government interned 15,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II.” If there is an internet rule that says you can make a video game out of any topic or scenario, this certainly qualifies. Collaborators from the University of San Diego’s Department of Theatre and Dance and the San Diego Supercomputer Center are developing a video game called “Drama in the Delta”, which is intended to be an immersive first-player role-playing experience recreating what it was like to be an internee at the Rohwer and Jerome Relocation Centers in Arkansas in 1944. When the game is completed in 2013, you’ll be able to play as a number of characters, including one of four teenaged Nisei girls. In our estimation, this is a pretty daring, ambitious and touchy construct for a video game. But you can actually judge for yourself, as the 292MB prototype is available right now for Windows-only download. In fact, we’d be interested to know what internees themselves think about this project and actual game play. (Chronicle of Higher Education – Arkansas Nisei RPG) And here is the official website: Drama in the Delta.  
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[youtube]SGGYBbVxmmw[/youtube]   Goh Nakamura is a singer / songwriter hailing out of Saratoga, California. Most know him as a “folk-ish” musician, but little know his past as a shredding guitar player. He attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston straight from high school and learned with some of the best in the country. Goh Nakamura on guitar. The idea for this short film came from knowing that Goh can play intense solos, but most of you will never see him perform them. The video was shot at Hakone Gardens, the first and oldest Asian and Japanese Estate in the West, and not far from Goh Nakamura’s residence.  
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[nggallery id=14] An amazing evening at Giant Robot 2 curated by Goh Nakamura (on right). We put up the idea of doing a show in store, and he really wanted to do something special so he called upon two other musicians he’s often championing, Jane Lui and Big Phony. We borrowed a speaker from DJ Puffs, and the evening was on. It was a nice weathered wednesday and the show began at around 8pm. Earlier in the day, the three practiced for just a bit so they were familiar with each other’s songs, and live they pulled it off almost like a band. A decent crowd made it to the show which looked like the panoramic photo below! Guess what? We have the makings of a series. We’ll hopefully see you at the next one. Click on this a couple of times, you’ll be able to see it larger.
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APAUCLA Student Career Networking Conference(SCNC). What’s this? I swear I’ve never been a great alumni. When I think of alumni connections, I usually think of Harvard or USC. But UCLA? It usually doesn’t enter the picture. Maybe I’m a bad Bruin. A year ago, I was asked to do a similar panel and I didn’t make it. This year, I made it a point as a make up. Tritia Toyota, the legendary newscaster turned professor at UCLA suggested me. I didn’t ever meet her, but I’ve seen her on TV for years. Where there was a Connie Chung who was world famous, TT was more of a regional celebrity in one of the biggest markets in the US. She also has a song about her via the Dickies. I wonder if she likes that song. Thanks to her, I was back on campus. I wrote about her a bit in 2008. The event began with Ted Chen, a newscaster in SoCal. He came in and freestyled a talk that was all over the place. From his experiences getting into the business to the current state of broadcasting which is getting tough thanks to the net. My panel seemed geared a bit more to careers, so I’m not quite sure if entrepreneur is the right word for it, but it was actually fun talking to the students who look genuinely worried about graduating during a tumultuous economic time. I wouldn’t want to be them. Some will go straight into a corporation, and some won’t. I gave some pieces of advice. a) The idea of Networking sounds hideous to me. What’s it mean? Knowing that there’s someone talking to you to try and gain something usually is bothersome. I detest the idea. I pushed the idea that the best way to “network” is be a fair and good person. Looking for some kind of advantage by meeting a person is a “no no”. Anyone can sniff desperation a mile away. Don’t do that. Imagine the prettiest girl or hot guy gets hit up every other minute by desperate dudes or females. Who does she pick? It’s not the desperate who usually falls off and becomes the butt of bad jokes. You won’t be getting any. b) Help others. I think Networking for me is about helping others. Maybe it comes back in great ways, but maybe not at all. I can’t see it as a karma thing, it’s not like that. GR, not just me, has helped tons of artists, designers, and people to get inspiration. We might have pushed them more directly, and we do things with some of them, and others just run to the hills – the Beverly Hills kind. c) Adapt. Changing times mean adapting, or being flexible to adapt. That’s what we’re doing now. It’s exciting actually and challenging. d) Work for free. I told people that working for free isn’t a bad thing at all. Get used to it, and just do it. Don’t be desperate...
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