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THRALL WORLD EXCLUSIVE: "REMEMBERING KRISTOV" Part 2: "Kristov - 1, Cancer - 0"

dietrichthrall — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:39:34 +0000

MARAZENE circa 04.21.06 from l to r: Kristov, Stiph, Thrall, Gash, Skum - backstage after A Pearl Room performance with American Head Charge. This picture was taken only weeks before Kris would be diagnosed with cancer.

In thinking about my times with Kristov over the course of the last 8 years this is what comes to mind. I thank you for understanding a random missed detail during a time of mourning.

I wrote this for myself. To make sure I would not forget. But I also wrote it for Kris. To make sure noone else would forget what he meant to me and to the band MARAZENE.

I miss my friend.

I found out Kris had cancer on May, 17th of 2006 at a HIM concert at Congress Theater. Nikk had slowed down to take a phone call while we were walking up to the entrance of the venue and I would later find out it was Kris who was relaying to us the awful news. It was extremely serious. He required immediate surgery. He would need further treatment with follow up chemotherapy.

This was also the same night our video for the song ‘XecuTe’ was making it’s Chicagoland area debut on JBTV. The ‘XecuTe’ video had been a major project for me not only as a band member but as my first significant producer credit. For the band, the video was our big introduction to fans who were outside the Chicago area that we had met online through various social networking sites. It was a teaser for the eventual touring we would do in ‘06 and ‘07. The celebration fell a little flat and the whole evening seemed a bit out of place.

Needless to say, cancer was a difficult thing to wrap the brain around. I had no real personal experience with the disease. Kris was far too young to have developed such a bitch of a diagnosis. I would find out later on that Kris had suffered from mild symptoms of his condition as far back as the 2002 tour with BILE that he was a part of. So he basically started fighting the disease properly well into the onset. It would prove to be a very difficult thing to manage with the cancer having that much of a headstart.

What I do remember about all of this very clearly is that one minute I’m up to my eyeballs in deadlines for album mixes, album artwork, CD tour dates, phone calls, emails, follow up phone calls, lining up press for the album – all very typical for an independent band – and then *KA-BOOM* Kris all of a sudden gets dragged off (literally) for major surgery that he has to do without a second thought or choice just to survive. Head-spinning doesn’t begin to describe the situation. It was a split second requirement for Kris and we (the band) had all of ten fukking days to figure out wtf we were going to do about our ‘MachiNation’ CD show which was scheduled for May 27th at Kinetic Playground in Chicago.

The first time I actually visited Kris in the hospital after the surgery was a very stressful time. I distinctly remember the feeling while we were on the way that I was just going to freak out. I think I hid that well but inside the thoughts were a chaotic jumble. You have to consider that over the years of playing shows with him and rehearsing and hanging out that Kris was a given. He was a rock to me. He always had my back and I didn’t even have to think about it. Even through hard times there was respect. So I knew I would have to brace myself for whatever came my way that night. I know I had a beer on the way to the hospital just to calm my nerves. I had a beer in the hospital room with me tucked away in my coat. At the least I needed something to take the edge off and something to do with my hands. It was a very sad moment watching my friend struggle in a weakened state I never thought possible. There was no logic to it whatsoever. Here was a key change I had no note to cover.

Cancelling the CD shows seemed the obvious thing to do – but nothing was ever really that obvious in those days. It would have destroyed the momentum we had built up for our album and I don’t see how the math would have added up to us taking part on the National tours in ‘07. We definitely would not have been prepared for them. Odds are we would never have left Chicago and we would have always been remembered as the band that could have been. Our detractors would have loved that.

For the most part, Kris and the band received a tremendous outpouring of support from our friends in the Chicagoland area but there were a couple of notable local nitpickers and naysayers that had been doing their best to derail the bands overall progress that we had been making by stirring up the pot about “leaving Kris behind” and all sorts of nonsense. But these people never had the bands best interests in mind. These were just a few people voicing an invalid opinion about a band and a collaboration that they never really fully understood. Kris, Nikk, and myself were determined to make a musical statement the likes of which the city of Chicago would always remember.

There had to be another way and Kris and I spoke about the pros and cons of cancelling or postponing this event or that event at one of my hospital visits. Our focus was always on building for the future but that didn’t mean we weren’t keen to the possibility of obstacles along the way.

What we eventually decided to do was to turn our CD show in to a sort of tribute to Kris’s struggle and with Kris’s blessing we agreed to play the out of town shows with a sub drummer. Kris believed in our album. And he was determined to fight like hell to rejoin us as soon as he could to help push it. So with the bands complete understanding and unified from the get-go we set our sites like we wrote our music – with a bigger picture in mind.

Marazene always planned for the future – and Kris was always a part of that plan.

On the night of our CD show I suggested that our videographer for the evening tape well wishes for Kris who was still recovering. Our MC for the evening made sure to dedicate the evening to Kris and there were many many toasts in the name our struggling friend that night. He wasn’t present but Kris was certainly on everyones minds.

Kris underwent an intense chemotherapy regimen in Spring 2006 following his surgery and determined fukk that he was, still managed to join us on the road for most of our shows. Despite all the hardships involving logistics I knew I wanted him there rather than have somebody else. And contrary to what many people think (including myself in the beginning) the doctors favored his staying involved with the band when it came to shows. They thought it was good to keep Kris active and involved. To keep things positive, etc.

Toward the end of 2006 I was able to land some really cool shows for MARAZENE with OTEP in Minneapolis, MN, and MUSHROOMHEAD in Flint, MI, and Chicago’s House of Blues through some of my connections. It was an especially optimistic time for the band which would end up leading to our first National tour with Mushroomhead the following year in March of 2007. I was able to confirm a tour with Deadstar Assembly about a week later for April of 2007. With the band at full strength and ready to promote the ‘MachiNation’ album it was nothing but shows, shows and more shows.

It was every bands dream to be able to tour in support of the music they created. And by not putting the brakes on in 2006 Kris, Nikk, and myself were able to capitalize on the momentum and do even cooler things in 2007. This completely invalidated the whole “leaving Kris behind” nonsense and consequently confounded both our local critics and our local competitors who – for the most part – have yet to acknowledge Kris’s struggle and the bands achievements that were borne in the shadow of incredibly negative odds and faced completely on our own.

Kris’s chemo regimen wrapped up long before we did the National tours but the after effects were still present. We wore the battle scars of a nasty fight for survival (his hair [dreadlocks] had fallen out) but it didn’t matter to him. I don’t know if I would’ve made the same decision to leave the house while still recuperating from an illness such as his and I think that gives you a good idea of how Kris – through thick and thin – managed to live his life to the limit no matter what was thrown at him. It’s what I admired about him. The never-say-die, middle-finger-in-the-air-mentality. It’s one thing to rock out with your cock out. It’s quite another thing altogether to undergo rigorous surgery, chemotherapy, and travel to do shows to rock out with your cock out. I’d be willing to bet that most people (myself included) wouldn’t leave the house until they were 100%.

Kris won the first battle with cancer. And he was able to join us on our tour dates and two National tours because of it. That’s quite an accomplishment and a victory for Kris and the band he helped found, however you want to look at it, by any measure of success.

to be continued…

WRONGLAND verso il Season Finale

Bonvi — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:01:52 +0000

La seconda stagione di WRONGLAND si sta avviando verso il proprio Season Finale ovvero il finale di stagione, verso l’episodio che, come di consueto, farà da cliffhanger per la terza stagione, quella conclusiva.

Come già scritto e ribadito, WRONGLAND fonde horror e fantascienza e trae spunto dalle serie tv più famose e più verosimili. Le avventure di Bob e degli altri protagonisti del progetto WRONGLAND vi terranno compagnia, dunque, fino alla fine di novembre ed una domanda continuerà ad assillarvi: da dove arriva la trasmissione?

Il Season Finale avverrà lunedì 30 novembre 2009 con la messa in onda dell’ultimo episodio (il 15°) e l’appuntamento sarà per l’anno prossimo con la terza ed ultima stagione della serie.

BNV Entertainment è orgogliosa del lavoro fatto sin qui ed è altrettanto orgogliosa del risultato ottenuto e delle critiche positive ed entusiastiche che la serie ha ricevuto, soprattutto nell’ultimo periodo.

A tal proposito, presto le prime due stagioni di WRONGLAND saranno ritrasmesse su VideoGiochItalia e BNV Entertainment si aspetta un buon successo. Lo stesso successo ottenuto, nelle prime fasi della ritrasmissione, dei primi due episodi di PROJECT CHRONO.

Ad oggi WRONGLAND è la produzione più longeva realizzata da BNV Entertainment ed anche quella più profonda. Aspettando la release di NOCTURNO, dunque, restiamo sintonizzati sulle frequenze di Bob per sapere che diavolo succede in questo universo narrativo distopico.

Machinima seminar på RUC

doctorasp — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:49:03 +0000

Virtual Worlds and Machinima

Roskilde Universitet
26. november 2009

10:00
Welcome and introductions
Professor Sisse Siggaard Jensen, Roskilde University

10:15
Introduction to Machinima
SL blogger Jimmy Hansen, www.mirrorworld.dk

11:00
Schome Park and machinima production in Second Life
Animation researcher Britta Pollmüller, Norwich University College of the Arts

12:15
Lunch

13:15
Machinima history and demo production in Moviestorm and WoW
Machinima pioneer Hugh Hancock, Strange Company

17:00
Wrap up and closing
Post doc Lisbeth Frølunde, Roskilde University

Dette seminar er åbent for alle med interesse for Machinima. Tilmelding til dixi@ruc.dk eller telefon 46 74 38 13 hurtigst muligt.

Machinima MONDAY...All the Little Fishes, a little bit of slMTV

Callahan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:00:34 +0000

Original song by the SL Music Artist, Winston Ackland.

Don’t Forget to HIT HD BUTTON.

Video by SL Machinima Artist…Toxic Menges…Touch photo to link to her Website!

Priwju

Jeffairson — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:04:18 +0000

Od przedwczoraj zajmuję się małą machinimą w Garry’s Modzie, która niedługo powinna ujrzeć świat internetu.

Mały plakacik na zachętę

Inside Gaming - 21 de novembro

killer182 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:36:40 +0000

Ah depois de 1 semana sem internet e sem PC eu estou de volta, infelizmente minha placa mãe pifou e fiquei 1 semana totalmente desatualizado mas estou de volta e espero nunca mais ficar sem PC, saiu SE que talvez eu traga amanha, vamos aos conteúdos:

News: Brutal sales ok, Halo: Legends, God of War Collection, Economic Sucks.

Rumor Mill: blizz con, AC 2 review, Natal.

DLC: Dante’s Inferno Demo, Borderlands zombies, Dragon Age 1kk.

First Look: Army of Two, Tony Hawk Ride, Dante’s Inferno Anime.

Fui!!!!!!1!!!!11!!!!one!!!!!™

La princesa y el guisante

piensl — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:43:50 +0000

Un machinima muy bien hecho por Toxic Menges

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 пакрыцця

Віктар — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:22:27 +0000

Між тым, мэтавая група 141 работа па адсочвання ўніз Макараў. Выведкі ад аэрапорта нападу прывесці і

Half-LifeVania - Machinima

dominiumundi — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:20 +0000

Si les gusto el post previo recordando a Mario, que les parece ahora “Half-LifeVania” un reamke de Castlevania del NES gracias al juego Half-Life 2. El canal de Machinima se lleva los honores.

Looking Back No More

aionemu — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:38:36 +0000

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l1aNLJjOeY
Author: BaronSoosdon

Blow me Away [Aion Music Video]

aionemu — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:34:21 +0000

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU6OArIRMcc
Author: EpicCookies

Ainda os CTT em SL

Marga Ferrer — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:40:14 +0000

Porque o trabalho é do Halden, e como sempre, resulta em algo de que todos gostamos muito, aqui fica a machinima, versão publicitária oficial, feita para os CTT em SL – World in Touch:

Parabéns, Hal! (conselho meu: a ver se consegues dormir pelo menos 5 horitas em cada 24h!)

Congresso APDC ao vivo no Second Life dos CTT

Tpglourenco Forcella — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:37:41 +0000

O vídeo em tempo real de todos os painéis do Congresso das Comunicações ’09, organizado pela Associação Portuguesa para o Desenvolvimento das Comunicações (APDC) e que se realiza amanhã e quinta-feira, vai ser transmitido pelos CTT no seu novo espaço no Second Life. Esta tramsmissão inaugura a disponibilidade online do “World in Touch”, o nome dado a este espaço dos CTT no Second Life.

O vídeo será transmitido no auditório do “World in Touch”, um espaço propositadamente criado para eventos deste tipo. Este espaço dos Correios portugueses é uma ilha virtual onde os visitantes, através dos seus avatares, poderão ter acesso a conteúdos culturais e informativos e onde poderão, também, adquirir produtos e serviços dos CTT. Poderão, por exemplo, produzir selos (reais) com imagens dos seus avatares ou enviar e receber mensagens SMS através de telefones Phone-ix virtuais. Esta última funcionalidade é pioneira no Second Life.

Com adesão à mais moderna plataforma 3D de comunicação na Internet, os CTT ampliam a sua presença no mundo digital, onde já se contam produtos e serviços como o ViaCTT, o Phone-ix, o mailmanager, o meuselo, entre outros.

No “World in Touch”, onde são utilizados os idiomas português e inglês, os Avatares do Second Life entram no mundo virtual dos Correios. A entrada na ilha é feita através da zona intitulada “O Mundo Começa Aqui”, a partir do qual se parte para a exploração de seis zonas diferentes: “Mundo dos CTT”, “Mundo da Filatelia”, “Mundo da Ecologia”, “Mundo da Cidadania”, “Mundo da Imaginação” e “Mundo da Diversão”.

Se já tem um avatar no SL pode aceder à ilha CTT directamente através dehttp://slurl.com/secondlife/World%20in%20Touch/127/130/22
Se não tem ainda o seu avatar pode criá-lo gratuitamente no site www.worldintouch.sl ou www.secondlife.com
Uma vez chegado à ilha CTT encontrará avatares dos CTT que terão todo o gosto em recebê-lo e ajudá-lo na exploração deste novo mundo.

World in Touch – Portuguese Postal Office in Second Life

Official Machinima

Super Half-Life Bros - Machinima

dominiumundi — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:41 +0000

Ya que andamos en la onda de Super Mario Bros que les parece este remake a la Half Live titulado . . . Super Half-Life Bros de veras que estos chicos del canal Machinima, saben hacer las cosas.

New Post 2

coke2010 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:25:35 +0000

This is yet another new post

Devenir prisionero en un Guantanamo Virtual

yoctobit — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:20:56 +0000

NONNY DE LA PEÑA & PEGGY WEIL regresan despues de presentar la instalación Virtual Guantanamo el año pasado, con una nueva propuesta de experiencias de inmersión en primera persona en ambientes virtuales, esta vez dentro de la exposicion Feedforward. El ángel de la Historia, comisariada por Steve Dietz y Christiane Paul, en la Laboral de Gijon.

“Esta simulación de Guantánamo creada por las artistas en Second Life incorpora vídeos documentales, experiencias guionizadas al servicio de los avatares de los visitantes y eventos en vivo. Gone Gitmo no aspira a capturar la realidad de la vida en la prisión, sino que se aprovecha del universo virtual para generar una vivencia de la pérdida de control y capacidad de acción derivadas del internamiento. La experiencia se inicia en un avión C-17, con el avatar del visitante encapuchado y teletransportado a una celda situada en Camp X-Ray. Allí se enfrentará a un vídeo documental del campo y de los detenidos así como a reportajes sobre las prácticas que tienen lugar en Guantánamo, incluyendo grabaciones de la antología Poemas desde Guantánamo y transcripciones de interrogatorios del FBI.”

LABoral Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial
Gijon
JUE, 22 OCT 2009-LUN, 05 ABR 2010

Was ist Machinima?

kulturundfortschritt — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:44:13 +0000

Wikipedia: Als Machinima bezeichnet man Filme, die mit Hilfe von Game-Engines produziert werden. Dieses Kunstwort setzt sich aus “machine”, “cinema” und “animation” zusammen. Machinimas können in Echtzeit wiedergegeben werden, werden aber häufig auch als Video-Dateien (z. B. avi, mov) zum Download angeboten um ein größeres Publikum zu erreichen. weiter

Machinima Monday...Do You Want To Date My Avatar?

Callahan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:00:57 +0000

I thought this was a great, FUN video. Mixing music and good animation. For you SL’ers you will identify with some of the dance moves…I am not sure what a POSEBALL is?

Great JOB Lowe Runo!

Meme: El mejor machinima que hayan visto

Atrani — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:45:00 +0000

Siguiendo con la cadena de memes que inició Mirlotus aporto el mío. Tal vez no sea “el mejor” pero a mí es de los que más me han gustado y que no me canso de ver

Elfa sexy y amante bebedora de sangre

Aisi — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:53:30 +0000

Me recuerda un poco a “Entrevista con el Vampiro” , ¿a vosotros?

World in Touch

Tpglourenco Forcella — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:38:33 +0000

O primeiro Spot da nova ilha dos CTT no Second Life

Got a Spare $3,000 Or So?

Harper — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:21:09 +0000

If you do, then your box and client can do this:

That was shot in sick city region by mk Curtiz, the builder, and it’s with the client graphics turned up to the max. Ya gotta love it, don’t ya?

(Thanks to Hamlet Au)

Video Game Critical Essays - Notes

whitey89 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:28:41 +0000

The Meaning And Culture Of Grand Theft Auto – Critical Essays – Nate Garrelts

Play-Fighting: Understanding Violence in Grand Theft Auto III – Tanner Higgin

- Recent games in the GTA series have often been utilized as the primary examples of a trend of excessively illicit and deviant content saturating the medium. In conjunction, many now fear that this content will manifest itself in the player’s behaviour.

- As James Paul Gee and other theorists now argue, the video game is more than a playful diversion, it is a tool within which incredibly intricate and highly effective processes of learning get exercised.

- When someone plays a Grand Theft Auto game they are learning something, but how and what they are learning is still, for the most part, elusive.

- If the proliferation of violent video games is contemporaneous with a drastic decline in violent crime, then why not study those connections too? Regardless of whether players experience more, less, or indifferent amounts of aggression during or after playing, the fact remains that the actual violent expression of this behaviour is significantly reduced outside of the game world in almost all cases. In fact, according to the US Department of Justice, violent crime rates have been steadily declining as games sales have been experiencing enormous growth

- GTA provides a space for the player to act out and stage a performance of this type of violence in situations which reflect, distort and exaggerate those of real life yet are contained within the safety of the virtual sphere.

- Gaming is not only a primary space of pleasure for the cultures but a space where performance is more and more a part of the discourse (Burrill)

- Often lost in the consideration of GTA’s translation of the real world into virtual performance is the satirical critique of society that it engages in. When regarded as a tool to satirize culture, the violence of GTA suddenly seems less dangerous to individuals in society and more dangerous to the mythologies of society

- To this end the game immerses the player in a carnival of caricature

From Stompin’ Mushrooms To Bustin’ Heads: Grand Theft Auto III as Paradigm Shift – Laurie N. Taylor

- Popular action based games are often stripped of social relevance and divorced from their potential political and social contents, GTA3’s satirical examination of society presented a needed entry in gaming. Its satires were also important because of their myriad references. The satires did not target one particular group or event, instead acting as an inclusive social satire akin to other popular texts like South Park, with GTA using satire to critique contemporary social structures like the criminal justice system, relationships, contemporary music and capitalistic society.

Everyday Play: Cruising for Leisure in San Andreas – Timothy J. Welsh

- The industry push to make video games more immersive has, for many producers, meant making games more true to life. Hyper realistic graphics sophisticated real world physics, expansive, fully interactive environments free from the segmentation of load screens and separated levels all serve as strategies for eliminating anything that reminds the audience that they are playing a game. This trend toward immersion through life imitation has also meant the inclusion of common, everyday activities

- The unique freedom supposedly offered by video games has been a central, and often politicised, issue revolving around the question of who controls whom. From one perspective, when a player picks up a controller, he accepts a design, meaning system and purpose not his own, hailed in the full Althusserian sense. This is particularly true of narrative based, progressive games.

- The product is more toy than movie, more sandbox than story. Video games are evolving into a grand anti-authoritarian laboratory. – Kevin Parker

- In regard to the freedom the game makes available for its players, GTA offers players a great deal of activities without restricting play to any particular goal. The game contains a definitive narrative and teleological progression that they player cannot influence

- Against the backdrop of the everyday, from which video games supposedly transport those engaged in them, GTA immerses its players in a world that resembles the monotonous daily life of modern capitalism but releases them from its pervasive responsibilities, restrictions and requirements

Tales of the Past 2 - sub español (parte 1)

Dhamer — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:52:18 +0000

Esta es la segunda parte de esta buena historia, verán que mejoran los efectos n_n y espero que la d

[Machinima] Sharada! Aion Music Video

aionemu — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:30:28 +0000

Author: EpicCookies