Be An Online Drummer

Via John Gushue: Buckle, which is apparently an American clothing retailer that would like to be cool has put up a virtual drum kit on their site that actually is pretty cool (too bad they sell clothes instead of drums) - anyway, click on the image below to give it a try (you play with the number buttons on your keyboard.)

Most Serene Republic Wants to Play (PS3) With You

Nick, Sean, Ryan and Simon from The Most Serene Republic have posted their user names on their Myspace blog so that they can hook up with you (and vice versa) on the Playstation 3 - they have invited friends and fans to comment and leave their usernames as well.

Nick: themostnickever

Sean: footlong09

Ryan: AwesomeKing

Simon: SemyonPetlyura

The Most Serene Republic: Content Always Was My Favourite Colour

Whoa, the Jetlag...

I finally got back into Ottawa yesterday morning from an overnight flight from Vancouver Island, where I was happily priviledged to attend a wedding in the family. Those of you already following my home blog will have noted some of the posts I've set up, as well as some of the photography I took during side trips into Vancouver.

One thing you should really take in if you're in Vancouver in the next little while is Krazy, a pop-culture arts exhibit featuring comics/manga/BD, animation/anime, video games, and related stuff and non-nonsense. It's being held at the Vancouver Art Gallery until September 7th. I think it'll be worth the time and the money.

Myself? I doted maybe a little overlong on the original art from Chester Brown's biographical, Louis Riel...

Care to Test the Odds?

Personally, I'm not much of a "gamer' I just never seem to find the time for them, but John Gushue has drawn my attention to a game developed by the UNHCR. The UNHCR is the agency that deals with refugees and the game "Against All Odds" invites you to virtually experience the life of a refugee:

The Web Facts of Against All Odds are designed to provide more information about the activities in the online game. Each section contains fact sheets, profiles, videos, or other interesting links about refugees.

War and Conflict
War and violence are all too present in our world today. This section contains information about the rights that all people, including refugees, have. There are links to information about the numbers of refugees and who protects them. This section contains profiles of people who fled their homes because they faced political persecution

Borderland
Not everyone who leaves their country is a refugee. This section contains information about who is considered a refugee and descriptions of the different options they have for finding a safe haven. There are links to profiles of people who are trying to find a new home in a new country. It also has profiles of famous people you may not have known were refugees.

A New Life
Life in the US can be very different from the countries that refugees come from. This section contains information about what the US does to help refugees make the transition. It also contains information about the true origins of things you use in your daily life. The profiles in this section describe how refugees try to transition to their new life in a new country.

Why We're Here

This is the best video game trailer I have ever seen.



Too bad there's no CFL video game.