E3 Briefing

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My favorite week of the year, besides the week of Christmas, is E3. It always happens not long after the semester ends, so it’s like the first real celebration of summer. I mean, who doesn’t love to spend the beautiful hot season in a dark room playing video games? I’ll be honest–summer is not my season. But it’s usually the best time of the year to get caught up on all of the games I need to play and get excited about new releases.

I tried to watch as much as I could from yesterday’s press conferences and saw several games that look awesome. Here’s what I’m most excited about.

Mirror’s Edge

Sequel, prequel, reboot, or re-imagining? I don’t really care because I’m just so excited about another installment in this franchise. I nearly fell out of my chair during this announcement at the EA press conference. Mirror’s Edge is one of my favorite games of all time. People tend to love it like I do, or completely hate it, but I’m so glad that EA believes in this game enough to give it another shot. So far, we don’t have much to go on–a new character design, a short teaser trailer, and no release date. But if this is the biggest announcement at E3 for me, I can live with that.

Elder Scrolls Online

At this point, I’ll play anything related to the Elder Scrolls franchise, but I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of MMOs. I just prefer single-player experiences. But the chance to explore Tamriel with my friends sounds pretty damn appealing. I was pretty bummed that this a) isn’t coming out until 2014 and b) is coming out on PS4 before PC. Playing an MMO on a console is pretty much the opposite of how I like to play games, but I’ll definitely give it a shot. The classes are supposed to be much more dynamic and open, which is good, because character creation is largely what makes the Elder Scrolls games so amazing.

The Division

I’m obsessed anything post-apocalyptic. I especially love bio-related collapses when it doesn’t involve zombies. They really knocked this trailer out of the park. It could have easily been a great movie or short film, but it’s going to be awesome to actually participate in this universe. This is why gaming is the best art form. (OK, that’s a totally biased statement but not unsupported by research!) Anyway, The Division is a multiplayer, open world, post-apocalyptic RPG. It’s beautiful, and the HUD is sexy. Does anyone else think Dark Winter would have been a better title for this game? That’s what I thought it was called before they said the actual title. In any case, I’m really looking forward to this game. It’s nice to have some new games that aren’t part of an existing franchise.

Destiny

I’ve seen the promotional images for this game at Gamestop and have been looking forward to learning more about this new game from the creators of Halo. I’ve only played a bit of Halo, and this game does resemble it a bit, but I thought the gameplay demo shown during the Sony press conference was awesome. The graphics look great, the story seems compelling and the multiplayer capabilities are impressive.

Battlefield 4

Despite the popularity of this franchise, I’m not very familiar with it. This game looks really cool. The gameplay is nearly seamless, considering how many players are participating. The setting and HUD are also nicely done, and it seems like the gamemakers want this to be more than just a mindless FPS–strategy, teamwork and bonds are all a priority. Although, I did laugh quite a bit at this comment on Polygon: “Nothing connects me more to a narrative than shooting men in the face.”

So that was Day 1! Actually, it was just press conference day. I’m so excited to see more throughout the next few days. If you need to get caught up on E3 announcements, Polygon and The Verge are killing it with their awesome coverage! And feel free to follow me on Twitter, @ashleyhennefer, and we can chat.

#hackresearch

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Last, we announced the first Initiative through my research institute, Tribe. Initiatives are a series of programs intended to involve the community in different aspects of the research process.

Recently, I heard about a project called “HackYourPhD” (il est en Francaise, au fait) which is basically a forum where professional researchers can exchange research outside of their institutions. I love hacking-related efforts, so out of curiosity, I looked up “hack research.” While there were a few very small research hack programs, there was nothing on a large scale that was bringing together people interested in citizen-led data projects.

This first Initiative facilitates the first part of the research process–establishing a research question. Participants will do this by taking photos, shooting video, or updating their status on social networking sites using the hashtag #hackresearch. Each hashtag has to be accompanied by a question prompted by an observation. For example, as in the image above, our prompt came from the trees in my apartment complex. Reno’s air quality fluctuates, so our research question is “Will planing more trees improve Reno’s air quality?” Throughout July, we’ll compile everyone’s questions and documentation on the Tribe website to see what the trends are.

In the weeks leading up to July, we’re sending out weekly “briefings” to participants, so sign up! While the emphasis is on Northern Nevada, you don’t have to live here to participate!

When one door closes…

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cuddleworks

So it’s official–we were offered a space for the Northern Nevada Tool Library! We’re going to be part of a space called Cuddleworks, which is basically a group of locally-owned businesses run out of this awesome building on Fourth Street. We have our own area in the back, but the area we’ll be in needs to be completely renovated. This means we’ll just have to put in a bit of elbow grease to get it ready, but it also means that we’ll be able to design it exactly the way we want!

I’ll share progress of the library soon once we have a move-in date. I’ve wanted to start and manage my own library since I was a little kid, so this is all a bit surreal!

Epic Fantasy Weekend 2013

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Last weekend, Andrew and I went to the Valhalla Renaissance Faire in Lake Tahoe. It’s pretty much my favorite event of the whole year. Normally, it’s part of a tradition called “Epic Fantasy Weekend.” We’ve celebrated Epic Fantasy Weekend for a few years now. It consists of us watching fantasy-themed shows and movies, cooking food from my A Feast of Ice and Fire cookbook, playing an Elder Scrolls game (see previous post), and going to the Renaissance Faire. This year we had some family commitments and weren’t able to go all out, but we did manage to watch Game of Thrones, go to the Ren Faire for a few hours, and squeeze in some Skyrim.

Playing: Skyrim

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Skyrim is my favorite game of all time. (Besides Oblivion, Mirror’s Edge, Portal, Portal 2, Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, etc. etc.) Although the game has been out for nearly two years at this point, I still haven’t finished the main quest. I know. I know!

Well, I decided to finally give it a go so I created a new character. But first, I wanted to re-do the Thieves Guild quest since I really wanted to play exclusively as a stealthy sniper and the Thieves Guild is my favorite faction. My first character (the one I’ve logged most of my hours on) didn’t really have a specialty, and that kind of takes the fun out of things. So I made a much stricter set of rules for gameplay this time around.

My character stats:

Race – Nord (I used to only play as Breton but I thought I should do something different)
Skills – Archery, Sneak, Pickpocketing, Alchemy and Smithing
Sign – Thief
Alignment – Chaotic Good (Yes, I’m a thief, but I’m a good thief–like Robin Hood)
Quirks – Loves collecting mushrooms, has a dagger and a copy of The Book of the Dragonborn at all times

To keep things interesting, I also wanted to set “goals” for my character. The first was to buy the Honeyside house in Riften, which I finally did the other day by completing a random assortment of money-making quests. The Honeyside house is kind of awesome. I don’t normally spend time in Riften but it might be my new favorite city.

In other Skyrim news, I just ordered the Legendary Collector’s Edition Guide by Prima. Impulse buy!

Life in constant beta

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As I mentioned in my Life Lately post, I have a startup research institute called Tribe, and through that I’m developing Tribemind, which is the web app component to that. Given that I’m not a computer programmer (I’m learning!), this has been a tough project to tackle. But this week I’ve finally made a breakthrough and the website is coming to life!

I was talking to a friend of mine this morning about works-in-progress and he said, “Life in constant beta.” That’s definitely how I feel lately. Testing and researching and building and creating and breaking apart just to build again.

Listening: Eisley, Currents

My favorite band Eisley just released a new record, Currents. Like all of their music, I fell head-over-heels on the first listen.  I still can’t pick which song is my favorite, although I’m leaning toward Save My Soul and Millstone.


Swinging from the background, swelling from beneath
What was in the darkness blooming under me?
Rising from the ashes, waking all the dead
Tearing through the sadness ringing through my head

Life lately

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I’m resurrecting this blog because I have a lot to write about. I tried out a few other platforms but I always come back to WordPress!

In a nutshell, here’s what’s been going on lately:

I started a library.

Yep, I finally am living my ultimate dream and started the Northern Nevada Tool Library! We’re hoping to be up and running in our own location by the end of June! Check it out here. I’ll be posting a lot about it in the near future.

I started a new publication.

A few months ago, I laid my first magazine, Wildflower, to rest. Wildflower was an amazing project but I started it when I was in a very different place in my life–I hadn’t even graduated from college yet, the economy was terrible, and my career was heading in a different direction. But it was becoming too much of a burden, financially and emotionally, so I closed it down. But I can’t stay away from publications too much–so I started a website with my boyfriend called The New Artemis, all about gear, gadgets, survivalism, everyday carry and exploration. The feedback has been AMAZING and it’s much more enjoyable to write about the things I love!

I started a startup–and was the runner-up in Reno’s inaugural Startup Weekend Reno.

After leaving my full-time job because I received a grant for grad school, I wanted to recalibrate my career path to focus more on research and libraries. Initially, I’d been looking at applying for jobs at the Institute for the Future. But then one night, I had an epiphany: Why not do that here? Reno is the perfect place to conduct original research on its many burgeoning movements. So I founded Tribe, a collaborative research institute. Tribe has a software component called Tribemind, which helps the general public facilitate meaningful research. Apparently it was a good idea, because we won second place in the first-ever Startup Weekend Reno.

I’m working in a library.

This summer, I was hired at the DeLaMare Science and Engineering Library on the University of Nevada, Reno campus to help out with a large-scale maps inventory project. It feels so good to be back working in a library–it’s truly where my heart is. And I’ve never worked with maps before on such a large scale (I did a bit of map cataloging during my internship with the Nevada State Archive, but nothing this extensive). I’ve been researching cartography and maps cataloging, and it’s fascinating. I’ve worked in several other libraries before, but I’m approaching my experience this summer like an apprenticeship–preparation for running my own library. (Plus, I think we need to start using the word “apprentice” again because it’s awesome.)

I’m graduating in August with my Master’s degree–and starting my PhD in the fall.

My thesis is titled, “Is cyberactivism inherent among digital natives?” I’ve long been curious about how political movements like the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street were largely formed on the internet, so I’m surveying people under the age of 25 to learn about how they use the web for political purposes. Then, I begin my PhD in the fall! My research will be more focused on community literacy and library science.

I’m freelancing.

I loved working full-time for the Reno News & Review, and leaving that job was so hard, so now I’m freelancing for them! It’s great because I get to write about the topics I care about and still get to be a part of my favorite local publication. Check out my latest articles on some local community projects: Down to the Valley, The Next Generation, Fashion Forward.

Maybe peace is the size of a teacup

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I found one! A teapot, that is. And it was just $5 from a local thrift store.

The title of this post is one of my favorite quotes from my favorite childhood book, Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye. It alludes to the unifying power of tea across cultures. It’s a sweet sentiment, I think.

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Watching: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I’m not sure what compelled me to start watching Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles–I just really wanted a good quality sci-fi show to delve into and this fit the bill. And I’m so glad I gave this show a chance because I loved it. I’m also totally bummed it got cancelled so early on. Sigh. This comic I found on Tumblr sums it up pretty well.

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This show, as suggested by the title, is part of the Terminator canon, although the producer notes that there are several discrepancies in the timeline. TSCC stars Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister, among other notable roles) as Sarah Connor, Thomas Dekker as John Connor and Summer Glau as Cameron, a T-800 model Terminator. There’s only two seasons but both are very well done.

The story revolves around Sarah Connor’s efforts to protect her son, John, so that he’ll eventually fulfill his role as the messiah of humanity. The two travel around through time to prevent Skynet from being built and eventually causing the apocalypse.

This show surprised me with how funny and quirky it was at times, particularly in the first season. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I am a huge sci-fi fan but it’s a genre that takes itself pretty seriously most of the time, so it was nice to have some comedic relief. It helped me really connect with the characters.

I also have a much bigger appreciation for Summer Glau. Her character, Cameron, was incredibly interesting–especially her relation to a human version of herself (you’ll have to watch the show to understand what I’m talking about). She’s also hilarious! I think she’s great at deadpan humor.

I highly recommend this show, whether or not you’re a big sci-fi fan. It’s free on Amazon Prime, and it’s also on Netflix.

full-summer-glauAlso, Summer Glau’s Terminator face might have to be my Halloween costume this year. What do you think? ;)