Worldwide Social Media Day





Today is the "Worldwide Social Media Day". Portugal is one of the countries that join this initiative.






The aim is to have a global comprehensive conclusion of the revolution that has transformed the Media into a social environment.
The initiative joins the super social media blog Mashable. More than 340 meetups in the world in about 90 countries will take place.

You can keep up with the celebration on Twitter by tracking by following @mashSMday or #smday. 





In Porto (Portugal) the meeting will take place today at UPTEC. The Portuguese event will be cover in real-time  via Internet from 6:30PM (Portuguese time) on this website 
You can also keep up with the Porto's meetup on Twitter by following @Web_Mkt_Tuga
There will be some interesting speakers that will discuss the phenomenon of social networks in Portugal.
G-Souto
30.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

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Review: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor





"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime. "… Ernest Hemingway

" I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened." …Obi Wan Kenobi

  1. The Setting
  2. About the Author
  3. Pet Characters
  4. Force Philosophy
  5. Protagonist and Antagonist
  6. Integration with the Expanded Universe
  7. New Characters


I.Setting

Shadows of Mindor is set approximately 5 to 5.5 years after the Battle of Yavin (ABY), and six months after the events of Return of the Jedi. In terms of the EU novels involving the main characters it falls after The Truce at Bakura and before the Courtship of Princess Leia. It also occurs about 3.5 years before Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy.

This book is a refreshing change from the EU lately. In effect we are getting the characters as they were when we last saw them in the movies, without 18 plus years of EU material changing and growing the characters into different people then who they were in the movies. We see a cocky but tactically brilliant Lando Calrissian, the roguish scoundrel of Han Solo who still harbors doubts about his worthiness and relationship with Leia, a Leia who is unsure of her Jedi powers but still the active take charge Leia that staged her own prison break. We see the assorted members of Rogue Squadron in their cameo of what for them is prequel for the Rogue Squadron series of novels. We also see a return of a living Chewbacca, with extended dialogue, and get a chance to see the relationship between Chewie and Han. But ultimately this novel focuses on a Luke Skywalker who is caught between worlds, between being a soldier and being a Jedi. At this point he is more of a fighter jock with Jedi training, and then he is a Jedi with starfighter training. Instead of seeing as we do in the modern EU the Grand Master of the New Jedi Order, who has unparalleled experience, knowledge and powers in the force. We see a young man struggling with the weight of fame and unfair expectations.

II. About the Author: Matthew Stover

Mr. Stover is the author of four Star Wars novels and one short story. His novels are the NJO: Traitor,
Shatterpoint, the Revenge of the Sith Novelization, and Luke Skywalker and he Shadows of Mindor. Stover gets to handle some pretty serious leading characters in his Star Wars authorship, taking on Jacen Solo, Mace Windu, Anakin and Luke Skywalker. He also has a recurring theme of exploring the darkness and inner turmoil of his protagonists. In Traitor, we see Jacen being tortured and shaped by the teachings of Vergere. In Shatterpoint, we see Mace Windu in a homage to the Heart of Darkness travel deep into the jungle after his lost apprentice and how the war, evil and suffering can effect a Jedi. In Revenge of the Sith we see the hands down best novelization of one of the movies, with an exploration of the inner turmoil of the soon to be Darth Vader.

Stover's heroes aren't simple swash buckling do-gooders, but flawed characters that deal with doubt and guilt. In Shadows of Minor we see this in the extreme as the book opens with Luke in effect putting himself on trial, but more on that in a bit…

III.Pet Characters

Lorz Geptun:

Geptun who was one of the villains in Shatterpoint makes a brief cameo at the beginning and end of the novel in two scenes with Luke Skywalker that are set after the events on the main part of the novel. Somehow Geptun has wormed his way into the New Republic Judicial corps and Luke enlists him to investigate the events of the Battle of Mindor. In the end he takes advantage of his situation and writes a cheap holothriller to make a dime off of Luke's story.

Nick Rostu.

"Nick was absolutely certain that on the day of his birth the Force had looked down upon his life and smiled, and cheerfully made an obscene gesture. Or something."

Nick is a survivor plain and simple. Created by Stover but was also by Michael Reeves in his Jedi Twilight novel. Nick provides some of the novels humor. Nick is the reluctant hero, similar to Han Solo of Episode IV, he usually acts in his self interest but deep down and in the end you think he is going to end up doing what is right.

Kar Vastor.

Vastor was the main villain in Stover's novel Shatterpoint. He was a native of the planet Haruun Kal and was a relative of Clone Wars era Jedi Master Mace Windu. Vastor was what amounts to a witch-doctor; he was both extremely powerful physically and in the force. Following the events of Shatterpoint, Vastor who was imprisoned in the Jedi Temple managed to escape and was a fugitive. At some point he came to the attention of Cronal and was an unwilling test subject of the Pawning process. Vastor is the embodiment of the power and danger that is the jungle, and has a brain abnormality that prevents him from being able to talk, he grunts and growls but is able to communicate his meaning through the force.

IV. Force Philosophy

In Mindor we also see a new prospective on the force. The "Dark" as it is referred to by Cronal is a philosophy of complete destruction. Basically the only meaning of the universe is destruction. A follower of the Dark would not try to create anything, simply destroy. Through this destruction the practitioner could align themselves with the will of the Dark and gain the power of Darksight. The ability to see and choose between the different possible futures, guiding events to follow this vision. This is a pretty dark view of the universe and an interesting twist on the typical Jedi vs. Sith/Dark Jedi stories that we often get.

V. Protagonist and Antagonist

Luke Skywalker:

We see Luke in the Prologue of the book as a man racked with guilt, so we know something pretty bad happened. He holds himself guilty for approximately 50,000 deaths. What could Luke have possible done to bring about all those deaths?

The story proper begins with Luke as the reluctant general seeking guidance from the force, hoping for advice from Obi-Wan about what direction his life should take now. Does he devote himself to his studies as a Jedi or accept command of the New Republic Rapid Response force? Luke gives in to the advice of Han and Leia and takes the job. What he finds is that Command is not quite what he expected or what he needs to be successful. Luke's officers are to deferential to him, expecting that a Jedi has all the answers, not questioning his strategy or tactics enough. Was there anything that Luke could have done to anticipate and/or prevent the ambush at Mindor? Is Luke blaming himself for something out of his control?

Luke's morality appears throughout the novel, he chooses to incapacitate by punching Nick/Lord Shadowspawn instead of killing him, which in turn ends up saving Luke's life. He abandons all his moral questioning to save his sister. Ultimately I think the story shows how Luke's eyes are fully open to reality and the value of each individual life form. This appreciation for life

Cronal/Blackhole:

Originally a Sorcerer of Rhand, later a Prophet of the Dark Side, an Emperor's Hand, and Director of Imperial Intelligence. Stover didn't create the character, but this is his first appearance in a novel. The origins of the three characters Shadowspawn, Blackhole and Cronal are a very interesting story about how the EU is created and how retcons occur. But for the purpose of this review, I'm not going to delve past the level that this novel canonizes an interpretation where these three characters are merged into one. Cronal is a shriveled shell of a man destroyed physically by the dark side. In the novel he first appears using his Shadowcrown (a product of Sith Alchemy) to control the body of Nick Rostu and through the use of holographic projections presents the face of Shadowspawn to the New Republic and his own forces.

Cronal is a creepy kind of villain who has enslaved hundreds and thousands a people using his mind control devices. He also is attempting to find a new body to transfer his soul into before his current body dies. This part of the story echoes the Dark Empire comic book story where the resurrected Emperor Palpatine was looking for a new body to transfer his soul into.

Based on the cover art and the novel blurb, the villain we actually get in the story is not the one that you would expect. In many ways the villain isn't really that important in this story. This isn't a story focusing on some epic light saber combat between Luke and the big bad guy. It's more a story about the struggle that Luke has within himself, how to make a decision when all the options are wrong, and how to deal with the consequences.

VI. Integration with the Expanded Universe

In this novel Stover introduces a new substance meltmassif, a new species "Melters." He also expands upon the brief use of Shadow storm troopers, and gravity based weapons. But some of my favorite parts of the novel are the brief tips of hat that Stover gives to other EU works. Early in the novel we have Han Solo meeting Aeona Cantor (Nick's girlfriend) in which he reminds himself "no redheads." This refers to Han's first love Bria Tharen created by A.C. Crispin for the Han Solo Trilogy novels. Towards the end of the novel we have a tip of the hat to Timothy Zahn's novels, the escaping Cronal's use of the chunk of rock/volcano as a shield against radiation in the Taspan system gave Lando the idea to use Shield Ships in his mining operation on the planet of Nkllon. We also see Klick addressing Mandalorian Commando's lead by Fenn Shyssa in Mando'a a language developed by Karen Traviss for the use in her Republic Commando series. These are little things, but it helps tie the expanded Universe together and they provide a satisfying payoff for fans that are immersed in the EU.



VII.New Characters

Stover keeps a relatively tight cast for this novel, we see the Mindorese lead by Aeona Cantor, the Imperial faction featuring Group Commander Klick, and the New Republic Defense Force led by Admiral Kalback. Of the new characters the most interesting to me is Klick, aka Trooper Pilot 1000. Klick is an original Fett clone veteran from Geonosis and had fought for the Republic then Empire through the Clone Wars and Rebellion eras, and now found himself in the service of Lord Shadowspawn. Klick is interesting because at the same time we see a grizzled veteran we also have a bit of naiveté, he's a huge Holodrama fan, and a diehard imperial loyalist who falls for Cronal/Blackhole's con game. What does Klick's survival and the suggestion later in the novel that Cronal employs a number of clones in his forces say about the previously established fact of accelerated aging for clones that we have seen in other EU material.



VIII.Conclusion

As with all of Stover's Star Wars novels, this one is an entertaining and action packed read. In the end it's not what I expected going in, the best parts of the novels are the quiet moments that deal with what is going on inside Luke as he is faced with decisions that he is not yet fully equipped to deal with. In the end this novel helps us transition the character of Luke Skywalker closer to the character we see in the Jedi Academy trilogy.

I give it 4 lightsabers out of 5.
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Review: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

Coming soon Review #1 of Matthew Stover's latest SW novel...

Michael Jackson at Ubisoft



Electronic Entertainment Expo
Photo: Mario Anzuoni 
http://blogs.reuters.com

With the first anniversary of the dead of Michael Jackson gamers amd fans will have a new opportunity to moonwalk, dance and sing along with The King of Pop.

Ubisoft® announced June 14, 2010, at the E3 Expo 2010, in Los Angeles, the development of an interactive performance-based video game, inspired by the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson.  The game is family entertainment at its best and will provide an interactive experience that enables players to step into the shoes of Michael Jackson himself and re-live his most iconic performances through their own singing and dancing.  


Michael Jackson, the game

The upcoming game will include the most famous tracks from Michael Jackson's extensive catalogue such as Beat It and Billie Jean, as well as an array of his awe-inspiring dance moves for players to learn and emulate within the game. 

Additionally, fans will be able to sing along and test their vocal skills while immersed in the performance.

(...)





"We're delighted to have the opportunity to develop a game based on the songs and moves of one of the world's most incredible performers of all time," said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. "We expect the game to bring Michael Jackson fans, families and friends together with the energetic song and dance of The King of Pop." Read more ...



The game will be available for "Project Natal" for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 system with PlayStation®Move support, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Nintendo's Wii&tm; system and Nintendo DS&tm; handheld system, for holiday 2010.



G-Souto
25.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

References:


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Jose Saramago, the Portuguese Nobel of Literature






José Saramago, the Portuguese writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998 died, June 18, 2010, at the age of 87. His ashes remaine in Lisbon.

He lived in Spain and Portugal, his wife is spanish. After Saramago death,  Pilar del Río, will come to Portugal as the new director of Fundação José Saramago. The fondation will continue to promote and preserve the study of the increadible literary work, correspondence and other works of the Portuguese Nobel Prize in Literature.



"Promover o estudo da obra literária do seu Instituidor bem como da sua correspondência e espólio e respectiva preservação".


Born to hard-scrabble origins, Saramago dropped out of school at 12 to train as a car mechanic. After different works, he began a self-taught  full-time writer in his late 50s.


José Saramago/ ©DR
Nobel Prize in Literature 1998

http://sol.sapo.pt






At the age of 87 Saramago was writing  a blog Outros Cadernos de Saramago that has a million followers at Facebook.




He said November, 29, 1998:


Começar a ler foi para mim como entrar num bosque pela primeira vez e encontrar-me, de repente, com todas as árvores, todas as flores, todos os pássaros. Quando fazes isso, o que te deslumbra é o conjunto. Não dizes: gosto desta árvore mais que das outras. Não, cada livro em que entrava, tomava-o como algo único.1)

José Saramago
Outros cadernos de Saramago, blogue

His message in this document is about the power of literacy!

Among his enourmous work, he wrote one book for children "A Maior Flor do Mundo" (2002)



The video is a animated version (2007) of his book. He is narrated and featured by José Saramago himself and it has a spanish version. The book can be find here

The animated movie won the best prize at "Animation at Anchorage Internacional Film Festival". He also has been nominated for "Goya 2008" as short film.

His novel "Ensaio sobre a Cegueira" - Blindness was adaptated to a film (2008) by Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles,  Festival de Cannes 2008.




Perhaps two good suggestions to introduce Saramago at school's curriculum talking about Portuguese Literature, the first (k-12) the second (secondary school)


G-Souto
20.06.2010
Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®
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Prince of Persia: an interesting narrative text!



Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
http://prince-of-persia.uk.ubi.com

Do you remember my posts about using movies in the classroom and Alice a video game for young kids

Once again, let's talk about movies and games in the classroom, this time to   teach the "Narrative text".

A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format (as a work of writing, speech, poetry, prose, pictures, song, motion pictures,video games, theatre or dance) that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.1)

We all know the game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time! Of course!  But a live-action adaptation of a video game series to the cinema, sometimes, it's not a good idea! This is not the case of Prince of Persia.










Prince of Persia (PC)
http://www.gamespot.com


Prince of Persia Sands of Time, developed at Ubisoft Montreal, successfully captures the mechanics of the original platformer and extends it to the 3D generation.

The Sands of Time was praised for its visual design, finely tuned game mechanics, and intriguing storyline, winning the game several awards.2)
The game has been developped between playStatin and PC and now mobile phones.


http://prince-of-persia.uk.ubi.com

It's fairly short, and it's missing the console versions' bonus features, but Prince of Persia is a truly excellent action adventure game for as long as it lasts.




    http://www.imdb.com


    Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 epic action-adventure film written by Jordan Mechner, directed by Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures. 
    The film is based on a mix of  2003 video game of the same name, developed and released by Ubisoft Montreal.

    Prince of Persia (film)
    Despite the film having the same title as and being primarily based on the video game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, elements from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, two other titles from the Prince of Persia video game franchise, are also incorporated.3)


    Synopsis:
    Dastan a rogue prince (Jake Gyllenhaal) reluctantly joins forces with Tamina a mysterious princess (Gemma Arterton) and together, they race against dark forces to safeguard an ancient dagger capable of releasing the Sands of Time - a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. 

    Young people love this kind of stories, right?! A young warrior-prince and a fetching damsel scamper across the desert sands to keep a magical dagger out of the hands of villains who would control time.

    It's an interesting narrative, with a bit of magic and a lots of adventure and special effects. I just loved it!

    Prince of Persia, the film and the game have all the elements to motivate young students to  study the "Narrative text" in a literature course.

    Narrative is central to children’s and young students learning. They use it as a tool to help them organise their ideas and to explore new ideas and experiences.

    Composing stories, whether told or written, involves a set of skills and authorial knowledge but is also an essential means for children to express themselves creatively and imaginatively.




    It's a fun action-adventure movie. The camera exquisitely follows the video game’s style. That gives the real enjoy of the game, the interaction between the characters and the story are really attractive and not bored till the film's end.






    Immerse yourself and your students in the captivating Prince of Persia universe with an original and independent story that closely coincides with the action of the console & PC editions of the game, and talk about the "Narrative text" in classroom. Don't miss such important ressource! So funny to teach and learn in a different way!

    G-Souto
    16.06.2010
    Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

    References:
    1) Narrative
    2) Prince of Persia (game)
    3) Jakob Lothe, Narrative in fiction and film - an introduction, Oxford University Press, Google Books
    Prince of Persia (film)

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    Vizati a portuguese videogame



    Vizati 
    Portuguese Different Pixel

    A Different Pixel (Portugal) prepara-se para lançar um belo puzzle game. Chama-se Vizati e vem da softwarehouse portuguesa Different Pixel. Os autores são os dois jovens Rita Silva e David Amador.

    A ideia é juntar pedras por cor, havendo dois modos de jogo: um História e outro Arcade.

    O título estará disponível para download no dia 11 de Junho, no Gamersgate e o preço será de 7,45 euros.
    Entretanto, fiquem com esta obra nacional, dando uma olhadela pelos ecrãs e pelo teaser.

    Vizati is a puzzle game that will put your mind to the test. It has been created by two young people Rita Silva and David Amador from Different Pixel (Portugal).

    You have to rotate a magical cube to connect (group) the little vizati stones by color and figure out the best way to do it with a limited number of rotations/moves. 

    You can play the Story Mode and follow the story between Julie and Peter who discovered the Vizati cube, or play the Arcade Mode, which is a rawer, faster and even more teasing mode.



    G-Souto
    09.06.2010

    Copyright © 2010G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

    References:

    GameOver

    GamersGate

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