Michael Steffen

Scrooged! (534 Final Project Progress)

I decided to go with well-known Christmas characters for my 534 game. I pencil-sketched good ol' Ebenezer, then colored him in Photoshop.

Response to Kellee's Post: Holiday Quiz

Wow, I understand 100%. It's kind of sad, but I always find myself hesitating before I answer--do you do that too? Hmm, let's see...

I generally spin it towards what I'm interested in, since it's such a broad subject. Often goes something like this:
- First, I mention that we're affiliated with the School of Cinema-Television. This often has the effect of setting the asker more at ease, since she at least thinks she knows what ballpark my studies are in.
- Then I say some spiel about how we're studying ways to take traditional film storytelling techniques and make them interactive.
- Almost invariably, the asker thinks she gets it at this point, and goes on to say "so it's like animation then?"
- "No," I reply, "because you can't change what's happening on-screen."
- "Oh, uh...so what other kind of things are like that..."
- At that point, I reluctantly mention games.
- "Oh games!"
- "Well, not really. I'm trying to move beyond games..."
- The asker is confused for several moments, until the phrase "Choose Your Own Adventure" pops into her head, at which point I'm tempted to go into the potential pitfalls of simple branching narrative. But then I think better of it and simply nod.
- The asker then makes a closing comment either to the tune of: "Well computers are the future!" or "Remember to cast me when you make it big in Hollywood," before walking away.

Ah Wonderful Sleep Deprivation!

Sleep deprivation! Such an easy thing to get into...such a difficult thing to get out of. I first learned of this its effects as an undergrad at UCSD--in fact, it got to the point where I almost found myself scientifically studying its effects, but anyway...

I'm sleep deprived, and trying hard to shake it. Easy, you say, just get some sleep. Heh heh heh, if only. Here are some contributing factors:
1) I'm a Nightowl - I tend to wake up mentally just before bedtime. This is often the most creative time of my day, and yet it's the time I most need to be mentally inactive.
2) My Room's Less-Than-Comfortable - You know something's wrong when it's easier to sleep on the living room couch than in your own bed...
3) My Schedule's Whacked - My schedule & the schedules of those around me are just not conducive to sleeping early. I've never been one to want to sleep when others are up having fun (or slaving over homework as the case may be). The worst offenders, however, are my two 'til-10PM classes. Come home and go to sleep? Yeah right!
4) I Just Don't Like Going to Sleep - Don't get me wrong: I LOVE sleeping--I just don't like going to sleep in the first place. It may sound strange, but at least part of it is an issue with losing control: somehow the idea of "losing consciousness" is less-than-appealing.

Another Thought

Maybe 8:30AM work shifts at Zemeckis are just too early. But on the same token, 3AM is just way to late to get to sleep. Ah well, such is the life of a grad student, I guess.

Rutherford B. Hayes!

Well with all this talk of hotly contested elections, I thought I'd post this lil' blurb I found on a past president--your friend and mine, good ol' Rutherford B. Hayes!

Safe liberalism, party loyalty, and a good war record made Hayes an acceptable Republican candidate in 1876. He opposed Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York.

Months of uncertainty followed. In January 1877 Congress established an Electoral Commission to decide the dispute. The commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, determined all the contests in favor of Hayes by eight to seven. The final electoral vote: 185 to 184.

From: http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/glimpse/presidents/html/rh19.html

Lyric: Phone & Digital Music Player (CTIN 532 Assignment)