Hey now.
So, ready to hear about some craziness? Well, the short version is that, around 1:00 PM tomorrow, I'll be leaving on a flight for Washington, D.C., where I will be singing in front of Congress.
Yeah. Crazy.
Here's the long version - Thursday, April 26th, is apparently World Intellectual Property Day. In order to celebrate this event, a whole bunch of IP-related organizations are throwing this big celebration that will include a Creative Showcase. Seven different groups representing just about every facet of the entertainment industry will be presenting that showcase, most importantly (for the purposes of this story) the Electronic Software Association. See, they'll be showcasing videogames, particularly student-made projects. Apparently, they went through Electronic Arts, which went to Ben Noel (the guy in charge of FIEA), who went to me.
And now, as a result, I'm going to be showing off Opera Slinger to a whole bunch of industry and political higher-ups. Heck, the secretary of commerce is their special guest. Cool, right? Well, perhaps I need to couch this in slightly more italicized terms: I have to sing in front of congresspeople, the representatives of seven different entertainment industry organizations, and the freakin' Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, and I am tone deaf. Gah!
So this should definitely be an interesting event. My current hope is that I can get a representative of the dreaded RIAA (yes, they'll be there too) with singing talent to help show off the musical portion of the game in my stead, because while I may be perfectly content talking in front of anybody, I will be the first to admit that I can barely beat my own game on 'Novice' difficulty. By the way, if you want to read the official press release for the event, check it out here.
On the lighter side of things, I got the ESA to change my departure flight to Monday, so I'll be spending the entire weekend up at D.C. on vacation, and Simone is coming up to join me! Not only that, but we'll be meeting Lexa on Saturday and going to the National Zoo! As you can see, I'm really looking forward to the whole post-Thursday part of the trip! Thursday, however, is going to be scary.
So wish me luck as I go to do battle with Aria, the Opera Queen, in front of some of the highest higher-ups in the land!
...damnit, I'll probably have to wear something nice, too.
Yeah. Crazy.
Here's the long version - Thursday, April 26th, is apparently World Intellectual Property Day. In order to celebrate this event, a whole bunch of IP-related organizations are throwing this big celebration that will include a Creative Showcase. Seven different groups representing just about every facet of the entertainment industry will be presenting that showcase, most importantly (for the purposes of this story) the Electronic Software Association. See, they'll be showcasing videogames, particularly student-made projects. Apparently, they went through Electronic Arts, which went to Ben Noel (the guy in charge of FIEA), who went to me.
And now, as a result, I'm going to be showing off Opera Slinger to a whole bunch of industry and political higher-ups. Heck, the secretary of commerce is their special guest. Cool, right? Well, perhaps I need to couch this in slightly more italicized terms: I have to sing in front of congresspeople, the representatives of seven different entertainment industry organizations, and the freakin' Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, and I am tone deaf. Gah!
So this should definitely be an interesting event. My current hope is that I can get a representative of the dreaded RIAA (yes, they'll be there too) with singing talent to help show off the musical portion of the game in my stead, because while I may be perfectly content talking in front of anybody, I will be the first to admit that I can barely beat my own game on 'Novice' difficulty. By the way, if you want to read the official press release for the event, check it out here.
On the lighter side of things, I got the ESA to change my departure flight to Monday, so I'll be spending the entire weekend up at D.C. on vacation, and Simone is coming up to join me! Not only that, but we'll be meeting Lexa on Saturday and going to the National Zoo! As you can see, I'm really looking forward to the whole post-Thursday part of the trip! Thursday, however, is going to be scary.
So wish me luck as I go to do battle with Aria, the Opera Queen, in front of some of the highest higher-ups in the land!
...damnit, I'll probably have to wear something nice, too.