Category Archives: Other

Ballroom Dancing in Bovine County

Posted on by
3
No partner required- one will be provided

No partner required- one will be provided

Once the rubble was cleared from the big hurricane back in August 2015  I decided to dive headlong into ballroom dancing, taking lessons at Aunt Sappy and Anna Cow’s dance studio with little Sally Lou. I’ve spent all of my extra time and energy learning how to dance the Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Rumba, Cha Cha, West Coast Swing… and the list goes on. I feel bad that I haven’t been spending time with my DS106 family, but all of the time I’ve spent with you and the digital storytelling skills I’ve learned have been right here keeping me company – reminding me of you almost everyday. Your past presence and play have encouraged and supported my ever widening creative endeavors in the outside world. I’ve been creating videos and images at work to share the story of new technologies in development in the 3M labs. And I’ve been writing a monthly column chronically my journey as a middle-aged woman learning how to ballroom dance.  I can’t share my 3M work just yet, it’s considered confidential at this point, but if you’re interested in finding out what I’ve been up to on my dancing journey below are links to my past columns. I’m looking forward to doing some reading, viewing and catching up on what the rest of the family has been doing the last couple of months.

Middle-aged Moves

Rochelle & her dance instructor: 12/11/15 Showcase
Rochelle’s Fun Foxtrot – 12/11/15 Showcase

 

The How:

To create the “How to Dance” GIF I started with a public domain image of a postcard from 1878 of a couple dancing the Tango.  At the time I made this I was writing my Partner Dancing Partnerless – Nov 2015 Sheer Dance column and wanted an image to go with it.  Unfortunately, the magazine editors aren’t as creative as the DS106 community and weren’t up to using this image format in their on-line publication.  Oh well, I’ll keep on them and eventually I’ll wear them down. 😉

The quick selection and magnetic lasso tools found in Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 were invaluable.  I was able to cut-out the male dancer so I could make him disappear and reappear in the animation.  These tools were also used to copy nearby parts of the female dancer as well as liberal use of the clone tool to fill in the blanks.   For the animation the male image was added in and subtracting by changing the opacity of his layer in successive animation frames. With all of the experience I’ve had creating GIFs this was fairly easy.

 

Ballroom dancing at the trailer

Ballroom dancing at the trailer

Advertisement

NanaLou’s Digital Fridge

Posted on by
5

As a kid having your prized #Burgeron106 art projects posted onto NanaLou’s refrigerator meant it was “real” art.  I’ve always been oh so proud of my family’s creative masterpieces –  no matter what their age. But these days things are different. How can a refrigerator magnet attach an audio or video file? Or, heaven forbid, an interactive digital media project?  Ol’ NanaLou has figured it out with my new “digital fridge” that can display any of my family’s art projects. Simply click an image on the fridge door to find out more.

VisualAssignments1442: Storytelling Collage

NOTE: For an optimal user experience, use a computer rather than a mobile device to interact with my digital fridge door.

The hardest part about making this digital refrigerator door with the image mapper software was (through trial and error) figuring out I needed to make my original image 600px wide.  Anything bigger than that wouldn’t map correctly when it was actually displayed on our blog.

Resources:

#Burgeron106 Fridge Magnet

Burgeron106 Magnet

Burgeron Babes In Fairy Tale Land

Posted on by
Reply

The Burgeron children have been playing and preparing for the Bovine County Fairy Tale Festival.  Some more patiently than others.  Our evening story time has been a big draw for the little ones, not to mention all of the reading going on at quiet-time every afternoon.  I’ve got a whole book shelf of old illustrated fairy tales left to me by my grandmother that the kids can borrow.

OldFairyTales

 

3BearsText

My 4 year-old great-great grandson DJ and I have been reading from the fully illustrated, “The Old, Old Fairy Tales“, a collection of classic fairy tales published in 1890ish by Mrs. Valentine. One of his favorites is, “The Three Bears”. Sometimes Mama Boo and Aunt Sappy join us to do the voices for each of the bears and little “Golden Hair”.  Aunt Sappy, to the delight of all of the children, has also been sharing fairy tales she’s writing herself-  most recently of “The Lady of Stavoren.”

You might enjoy checking out some of the on-line fairy tale collections that the older kids have found and recommend festival goers have a looksie.

Highlander Don

Posted on by
2
DonBurgeron_braveheart

Don Burgeron stars in Braveheart with his bovine battalion at his side. (Original Movie Poster)

The Family was having so much fun this week riffing on movie posters that I decided this ol’ gal would have to take a go at it. Even Dr. M got in the act by creating a new DS106 Assignment: The Best Bond is a Dog.

With the flick of my Photoshop magic wand, cloning tool, and healing brush Don Burgeron is now starring in the hit film Braveheart with his trusty bovine battalion at his side- Anna Cow in the lead.

But that’s not all, as I was doing my research on the poster and movie I came across something very interesting.  That buzzing sound Don Burgeron heard last week before he went missing? It was quite possibly a time warp forming to pull him back into the 16th century where he first became a Highlander fighting bravely for the Burgeron106 clan back in the DS106 Highlands in 1536. There is a rumor going around that Don is seriously being consider for the starring role in the new Highlander remake that was to start filming in 2014 when lead actor Ryan Reynolds exited the movie  last summer.

highlander_DonBurgeron_2

Don Burgeron stars in the 2014 remake of Highlander. (Original movie poster)

#TvsZ Poetry

Posted on by
Reply

A Zombie Human Love Poem

by #TvsZ

Exhausted from running
and carrying all these
damned knitting needles,
I throw myself
onto this filthy floor
and sleep.

Nana Lou is fearless
Filled with moonshine
And bravado
She picks up a shoehorn
To battle the zombies

*******************
She falls to their charm and becomes enamored instead
***************

@writingasjoe
And @NanaLou022, too
Are chilling in the sewer
What’s a zombie to do?

Swarming is tough,
The rules can be rough.
But zombies like verses
Just like they like hearses.

Gnash gnash gnash
With teeth sharp as knives
Searching for brains
Will we swarm like hives?

Listening, always listening
For their moans
Their breathing
The shuffle of their feet
Their terrible
dangerous teeth

They’re gathering
I hear their voices
The swarm approaches
Ravenous
And yet strategic
They keep getting closer.

No way to take a bite
Or nibble on their toes
Guess I give up the fight
And admire my foes.

beautiful sunsets wild roses the dead and the undead alike are as one in the can

My eye burns,
and my ear bleeds.
Silence from the #poem,
is what this zombie needs.

@johncbeynon
O Zombie O Zombie
Where can u b
Its me Nana Lou
O can’t u c?
An admirer from afar
with your ear in a jar

*****

****

Sheep Shed #TvsZ Safehouse

Posted on by
Reply

It was a long day yesterday running & hiding from all those Zombies.  I’ve managed to keep myself alive along with a few of my friends. My safehouse at #NanasPlace was a life saver indeed.

Using Storify I was able to capture our conversation to share with you all.

==> CLICK HERE to follow the complete Storyfied experience at #NanasPlace <==

Those Zombies didn’t get us, but they were lurking right outside.  We could hear them.  Begging for body parts…… tsk, tsk….

==> CLICK HERE to follow the complete Storyfied experience at #NanasPlace <==

IMG_2209I was so exhausted that I slept through the night.  I wrote down some notes for today just before I nodded off.  I posted my #picsafe (A photo taken during the game and tweeted to #TvsZ gives humans immunity from Zombies as long as they are quiet.) kept me safe throughout the night. That horrible Zombie horde must’ve been tired after all that carnage.  They were pretty quiet last night.

But the morning rays did not bring peace to the Burgeron Family trailer.  We are still vulnerable.  There has been talk of antidote, but we humans are skeptical.  I doubt there are too many synthetic organic chemists among their lot.  And the humans are too busy just surviving to hang out in a lab.  And what about test subjects? Now that would be a tough one. Those Zombies would have no problem with biting the hand that feeds/cures them.

We are going to continue to need safe places to hide out until either we succumb to the Zombie infection or a cure is found.  It’s up to us remaining humans to do all we can to help the human race survive.  No tough guys left in Bovine County to protect us any longer. “Tough guy” Jean-Claude Van Damme ran away yesterday along with the Burgeron sheep leaving the #sheepshed as a #TvsZ #safezone for us.

“Tough Guy” Jean-Claude Van Damm ran away from the Zombie horde along with the Burgeron sheep. (Read about the making of this GIF here.)

 

Nana Lou’s Safehouse for Humans

Posted on by
Reply

Oh the horror of it all continues. Read all about it in the post by my grand daughter Rochelle Louridge reporting on my #TvsZ Zombie day. Those Zombie hordes swarm down on you at any chance they can get.  While we humans shiver in fear, remaining silent in the darkest of places, they go on biting and munching their way around the globe.  The infection is spreading so fast.  We humans can barely keep up.  But I’ve got a thing or two up my sleeve. I’m preparing a  #safezone right now at my place next to the Burgeron Trailer.  Those Zombie heads on spikes should keep them at bay for an hour.

NanaShed_ZombiePopsicles

Nana Lou’s place ready to be a #safezone for the humans at Twitter Vs. Zombies 4.0. The Zombie heads providing further protection.

 

I’m currently hiding out in another human’s safe zone Rhonda Jessen (@rljessen) and have a few minutes left to tell the family what I’m learning today.  As this is the first official day of our DS106 Summer 2014 Burgeron Family collaborative storytelling experience.

IMG_2210

Zombie head hacked off by Nana Lou during Twitter vs. Zombies.

Taking part in this Twitter vs. Zombie thing was a last minute decision. I was worried my old age would keep me out of really playing the game.  But no way.  Your ol’ Nana Lou has been hanging in there like a pro. I was at the top of the 4hr tweet report when this Zombie attacked and I chopped his head clean off.  Put it on a spike along with a few of his buddies and placed them around my place as a warning to stay away.

The speed at which this apocalyptic event is occurring is  what has taken me by surprise.  I have to stay on top of my game at all times.  The rules are severly slanted toward the Zombies and since I’m still human the rules don’t allow for me to have much playing time. I sit back, watch, learn and strategize. We were given a #picsafe (take a picture during game play and post it with a tweet) this morning that allowed immunity from bites as long as we didn’t say anything.  This gave me the 60 minutes needed to regenerate my #dodge and #swipe defenses, but it also meant I had to stay quiet and couldn’t really play.

IMG_2195

Zombie Selfie taken today at Stonehenge. The infection is spreading fast.

Well I didn’t sit idly by.  I went about taking photos of things I thought would come in handy like this Zombie “selfie” at Stonehenge.  I took Surfer Dudette’s head and placed it in front of my Stonehenge coaster and snapped the picture. Pretty clever if I don’t say so myself.

I’m new to this Zombie thing.  While for some this is their 4th round of #TvsZ.  I had to ask a lot of questions.  It’s nice that they give us humans a chance to remain safe with a #rules in our tweet.

I’ve been able to help others by answering their questions too, which helps me to feel like I’m still a part of the game.

 

I’ve also been favoriting tweets that I like.  Letting other players know I’m still here.  Just in hiding.

Even some of the Zombie tweets and pics were entertaining.  I’m an equal opportunity kind of gal.  They got favorited too.

I like this game.  It is teaching me how to do things quickly.  Like writing this post.  Normally I take forever writing something up to get it just right.  But I’ve got less than 10 minutes now to get this posted and tweeted before my current safezone is overrun by the Zombies.  I don’t really like having to sit back and hide like this.  I’m hoping there will be a rule change that will allow us to #Chop or #Hack or #Stomp on a Zombie.  I know the undead can’t be killed again, but we could at least stun them and make them wait 15 min to regenerate.

I’m getting ready for a full out offensive. I’ve already called in the Bovine Zombie Stomper Special Forces unit (BZSSF) to help us out.

BovineZombieStomper_WelcomeGIF

Bovine Zombie Stomper Special Forces (BZSSF) unit to the rescue.

 

Nana Lou Zombie Killer

Posted on by
Reply

It’s the first official day for the DS106 Burgeron family reunion preparations.  And you’d never believe what our dear old Nana Lou is up to. She’s been fiercely protecting her family from those horrible Zombie hordes that have been increasing their numbers exponentially ever since Patient Zero over at Twitter Vs. Zombies 4.0 took her first bite last night at 8 pm EST.

Nana was utterly disgusted when she found a half eaten body out on the back 40. She went so far as to shame those scum Zombies for wasting their food.

 

And that little old lady of ours has been given ’em a run for their money I can tell you.  Her cans of Zombie fogger have come in mighty handy.

IMG_2205

Nana Lou’s Raid Zombie Fogger to the rescue.

And she’s even ordered in reinforcements from the Old Country. The BZSSF (Bovine Zombie Stomper Special Forces) are on their way.

BovineZombieStomper_WelcomeGIF

Nana Lou is bringing in the big guns with the BZSSF (Bovine Zombie Stomper Special Forces).

She’s gone so far as to taunt those Zombies by placing their heads on stakes outside her little shed- Like great big Zombie Popsicles. She’s figuring it will scare them off long enough to give a few humans a rest in a safehouse for an hour or so.

NanaShed_ZombiePopsicles

Nana Lou is surrounding her place with Zombie- heads-on-a-stick. She’s hoping to keep them at bay to offer a safe house for remaining humans.

I’ll keep you posted as I hear more breaking news.