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Read Part 1 here.
Aside from all the super special eliteness of being flown to Seattle and taken to Nintendo headquarters, I gotta say that the folks from Brand About Town and Nintendo planned that thing to. the. hilt. The logistics were mind boggling. They booked flight information for over a hundred people from around the country, coordinated it so that several of us could catch the shuttle at the same time, each one of us had our own room at the Hyatt, offered two cocktail parties, a dinner out in Seattle, and breakfast buffets.
Now I realize that 90% of you have stopped reading because I sounded like such a spoiled twit listing all that stuff. Who are we kidding? I am a spoiled twit! So spoiled that I even skipped out on the second day's cocktail hour because I was so stinking tired from flying coast-to-coast to be wined, dined, and video gamed.
But don't leave yet. I have lots of good info about the Nintendo 3DS. Trust me, you might think you don't care about handheld video game systems, but this thing does some pretty incredible, game-changing things for the world of technology.
When we entered the conference room after checking in at Nintendo HQ, we mingled and found places to relax on all the hip white-leather furniture, and after a few minutes people started picking up the shiny aqua and black devices scattered around the room on coffee tables.
I grabbed one and opened it up and saw that on the right side of the screen there was a little slide button labelled 3D. One hundred percent honesty here: I could not believe my eyes when I slid that button up. This thing not only moves seamlessly from 2D to 3D in real time, it does so without the need for any glasses and even allows you to customize the depth of the 3D.
I literally have never seen anything like it. It's one of the most remarkable bits of technology I've ever encountered. But it gets better.
Included with the 3DS is a pack of "AR Games," a set of yellow and black cards with various Nintendo characters on them. AR stands for Augmented Reality. I'll link to the official Nintendo description of AR Games, but it doesn't come close to describing what AR does. You take out a card and place it on a flat surface. You position the 3DS above the card, about 10 inches or so (the screen will indicate when you've hit the sweet spot), and the 3DS's cameras lock on to the image. What happens next is even more remarkable than the 3D technology.
The 3DS...I'm laboring to try and describe this, guys. It does more than capture the image of the card on the table. It takes that image and builds a new, interactive version of a virtual reality. Not only does the 3DS manipulate the real environment it sees through the lens—the environment you are physically standing in—it does so in complete multidimensionality. Holy cow, this description is not helping. I'll just tell you what happened.
I locked onto the AR Card with the 3DS, and while looking at the table through the 3DS screen, I watched as the center of the table expanded, collapsed, and from inside it sprung forth a set of boxes, sitting right there on the table in front of me. Only they weren't really there. They were only there when I looked through the 3DS cameras.
As I walked around the table, holding the 3DS cameras facing the AR Card, I could view the boxes from all angles. When I was standing in front of them, I saw the front. When I was standing behind them, I saw the back. When I selected one of them, out sprang a dragon that I then had to shoot, circling the table to hit him from all angles.
Short of actually being able to interact with the dragon using my own two hands, this was a true virtual reality experience, the kind you've only seen in sci-fi movies up until now. And that's just one of the AR Games.
In the same session, I also got to play Steel Diver, another game that showcases all the 3DS can do. In this game, you're situated as a submarine and the goal is to sink all the other ships and subs around you. You can choose missions, you can choose whether you're in a storm or calm weather. The trick is this: You have to either be sitting on a swivel chair or stool, or standing up, for many of the missions, because the 3DS places you in the center of the action. As you turn while holding the 3DS, your view changes. The game simulates a 360-degree visual capability.
I actually bought Steel Diver. I consider it my small part in helping to prepare Noah for the Navy. It's also my kind of game: a bit more strategic, less frenetic, and engaging. The touchscreen on the lower portion of the 3DS also plays a more vital role in this game; it appears as a periscope would, and you can control your level of depth by "pulling" the lever on the side of the screen. Plus, whenever you're hit by an enemy torpedo, it springs leaks that you must repair by tapping the leak on the screen. Pretty cool stuff.
As far as the parental controls and child-safety recommendations go, the 3D slide can be rendered useless if a young child will be using the system. Nintendo has not commissioned its own studies of 3D images on child development, but based on the data they've reviewed from independent studies, they believe 3D images could negatively affect the ocular development of children under 7.
Incidentally, sitting at this computer for so long is negatively affecting my ocular development, so I'll quit for now. Stay tuned for the wrap-up!
I'm sitting in the Seattle airport waiting for a delayed flight (oxymoron), and golly I'm just starting to process everything that happened these past couple of days. Off the bat I need to thank a few of my Princess Peach group/bus 1 buddies, who gave me a place to sit at lunch: Jenny, of She Likes Purple; Amy of Just a Titch; and Kate of La Petite Chic. Dolls, every single one of them.
There's a reason that penultimate sentence sounded something like a nerdy 7th grader wrote it; in some ways, the visit to Nintendo's headquarters was like a school field trip. There were over a hundred bloggers (which I heard one of my colleagues refer to as "a herd of cats"), the security was inscrutably tight, and we all had to be accounted for at all times and even escorted to the potty when the need arose. On the other hand, the wonders that we beheld while inside the Nintendo campus were made all the more alluring by their very elite-ness.
We weren't allowed to take any pictures, except in the conference room, where I took these photos:
That, friends, is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America. Let no one accuse me of name dropping, though. (Because I don't remember his name...okay, Google says Reggie Fils-Aime.)
Here are some of the Official (Sanctioned) Photos from the group flickr stream. Can you find me? Hint, I'm wearing a green jacket:
Reggie kicked off the day with some info about Nintendo's brand-new 3DS handheld system—which includes some truly stunning glasses-free 3D and "augmented reality" technology*—and a brief Q&A. I have to give him (and Nintendo) props: The president of Nintendo of America announced, unequivocally, that based on independent research they've studied, Nintendo recommends that children under the age of 7 should not view 3D images.
*I'll get into more details about the Nintendo 3DS in another post
As a parent, there's almost nothing more Nintendo could do to win my loyalty than very publicly endorsing a child-safety recommendation that could potentially hurt its bottom line. With all the 3D movies out lately—particularly kids' movies—I had never heard any recommendations from the film industry against bringing children under the age of 7 to 3D movies. At any rate, the 3DS comes with a number of parental controls, including one that prohibits the 3D function if a young child will be playing with the system.
After the meet and greet, we broke into small groups to play a number of 3DS games throughout the day (including an unreleased Kid Icarus: Uprising, which was literally chained to the table). Finally, we were given a tour of the campus.
Guys, I'm not much of a photographer, but it really pains me that taking pictures was prohibited. The building is spectacular. It's LEED gold certified, includes a 75,000-square-foot living roof, beautiful interior design elements (they even have really cool modern furniture in the shape of the D pad, the plus-sign control on old-school controllers), a mini museum of arcade games and awards, and a fantastic mural tracking the development of four major Nintendo characters ( Samus, Mario, Donkey Kong and Link) from inception to their present-day iterations.
Confession: Aside from the fact that I'm a Nintendo brand ambassador, I've never been big into video games. The Nintendo campus, however, compelled me to care about the industry and its history. Apparently Nintendo fosters a culture that makes people want to stick around; a surprisingly large percentage of employees has been there 10 years or more. The campus includes a soccer field, volleyball court and basketball court, and the cafe even offers a daily healthful option at a very low price, since the company subsidizes it.
Finally, we finished our tour with a stop at the employee gift shop, which is basically the mecca for 10-year-old boys and anyone who even occasionally thinks like a 10-year-old boy (I count myself among that group). With a $20 gift certificate we were all given, plus a little extra of my own cash, I bought three reusable Nintendo bags...
a keychain...
a t-shirt for Noah...
a cap for my brother...
and some Nintendo candy for Ethan (sorry, twas eaten long ago).
After refreshing ourselves on a deliciously stocked snack buffet, we fat and happy ambassadors were each given our very own Nintendo 3DS. Mine is aqua.
Boomshakalaka.
To be continued...
Prickly Pinecone! Congratulations!
So I'm going to Seattle next Thursday. All by myself. Actually, not technically by myself. Nintendo is flying out a plethora of brand ambassadors to...do something. I dunno, it's all very secretive. I know it has to do with the Nintendo 3DS, but I've compiled a list of tests for Noah to perform when I get back—like asking me questions I shouldn't know the answers to, such as "What's 7 times 8?" and "What's the capitol of South Dakota?"—to make sure that they haven't messed with my brain or experimented on me with new nanobot technology.
The point is, I'm pretty sure I don't know anybody else who's going, not even digitally. I know of plenty of them, because they're sort of Internet niche celebrities. As is my way, I will now proceed to view these people as Cooler Than Me, unapproachable, and consequently potentially trailed by a bodyguard ready to punch anyone in the neck who tries to approach and isn't on the Approved Approach List.
I don't think I'm a socially awkward person. I mean, it's normal to scratch your butt and pick your nose in public, right? And conversation wouldn't be genuine if I spoke through the filters of Tact and Social Grace.
Okay, so I definitely up my personal hygiene regimen and avoid words like "poo poo" and "tooter" when I'm around people older than 3, but I do become exhausted by mingling. (Also browsing, but I digress.) I guess I've just gotten used to Noah being my social crutch, Mr. I'm-a-Police-Officer-So-I-Know-How-to-Approach-Strangers-and-Talk-to-Them-Without-Feeling-Like-a-Twit. I'm certain these folks are perfectly nice and this Nintendo thing will be a blast and I can't believe my good fortune in being selected as a Brand Ambassador.
I guess the best thing to do to prepare for this is to practice smizing.
Okay guys, for realsies this time. I have in my possession the discount code for $60, to be applied to any CSNstores.com purchase of the winner's choosing.
My current obsession is finding a fairly inexpensive but cool wall clock for our house (we currently have none, and so rely on the thermostat and the microwave, which don't happen to tell the same time). If I were the winner, I'd consider this " Too Cool for School Retro Modern Wall Clock"...
or maybe this George Nelson Sunburst Clock (which, it so happens, is my late grandfather's name!)...
But that's just me.
What are you waiting for?! Leave a comment to be entered! Just make sure you include an email address. I'll randomly select a winner on Friday, March 25.
And if you want to up your chances, go and sign up for CSN's Joss & Main private sales by clicking here. Each sale lasts only 72 hours, but the discounts are incredibly deep. Just come back here and leave another comment saying you signed up, and boom. Another entry.
Good luck!
Apparently my recent and public spiral into the vortex of home decor has reached epic proportions, because Sean from CSN Stores contacted me about doing a giveaway.
In case you're not familiar, CSN Stores is basically the place where people like me go to unabashedly revel in our sickness. For instance, I could spend some serious time—serious. time.—combing my outdoor lighting options for sprucing up the back deck and adding some landscape lighting out front. Click on the link if you dare, folks. Click if you dare.
I'll be posting details of the giveaway soon—I can tell you the randomly selected winner will get a $60 gift certificate, though. Which, HOLLA. Am I right?
In the meantime, contact your support system and have an exit strategy in place, because I guarantee you'll all have mentally spent that sixty bucks and more after a few minutes of browsing.
Laura Walsh, our lovely host, and Watson, the house's blogger/pet in residence, got in touch with me about a program they've got going this holiday season. For just $5, you can buy a book of 20 coupons for a free square of Dewey's cake. AND, 100% of the proceeds go to RMH. That's a great reason to eat cake, am I right?
What's more, Laura sent me FIVE COUPON BOOKS to give away!
Unfortunately Dewey's is a local institution (with three locations, FYI), so anyone can enter to win one of the books, but you'll have to come to Winston-Salem to redeem your coupons. International winners welcome (airfare not included).
Let's recap: FIVE COUPON BOOKS FOR 20 FREE SLICES OF CAKE.
Leave a comment to enter, and I'll pick the five winners using Random.org on Friday, December 10.
These would make great stocking stuffers (once you're done stuffing yourself with Dewey's cake, of course), so please consider purchasing a book to benefit the house.
Because I have an extra one.
As a parting gift for everyone who came to my Nintendo party, Nintendo and the American Heart Association gave us goody bags. One of the things in each bag was a copy of Wii Sports Resort. Since even I got a goody bag, Noah and I each got a copy of Wii Sports Resort. Leaving us with one superfluous copy.
I promised there'd be something exciting for you guys, and this is it. Are you suitably enthused?
So! This isn't a Nintendo-sponsored giveaway, but I received the game from Nintendo, so...props to them? They won't be paying the shipping; I will. Happy Holidays!
If you want a chance to win this re-gift (which, at a $40 value has got to be a lot better than, say, a re-gifted purse from the 80s that smelled like a cheap knockoff of Chanel No. 5—something I've been given before), just leave a comment on this post. And if you follow me on Twitter, you can add an extra comment for another chance to win. Same goes for Facebook. Because why not? Oh, and make sure to leave an email address in the comment, so I can get in touch with you if you win.
I've never done a giveaway before, but I think I'm supposed to make you work for it. So how about in your comment you tell me what you'd do with the game if you won it. Give it to your nephew? Get your Wii on? Sell it on Craigslist? Readysetgo.
I'll pick the winner using Random.org a week from today, aka Fri. November 19.
So it's been two weeks since the Big Nintendo Party, and there are several really cool things that happened that day, not least of which was the hotel staff laundering Ethan's soiled pants and consequently Ethan running around in front of an American Heart Association Board Member in a diaper and sporty loafers. Everyone who attending recieved some Nintendo Wii coaching and some pretty cool information from the AHA, but that wasn't all! Each guest took home a goody bag with a Wii steel water bottle, a Nintendo hoodie, Wii Sports Resort, and a copy of the keynote speaker's (very cool and visually striking) book. I have some more exciting news to share that will affect you, my darling readers, but for now, here are a few photos from the event. I'm the svelte goddess in green, in case you were wondering. 
With Gwen Bell and Maria of Immoral Matriarch.
I love being a hostess, but I also hate being a hostess. Sort of like the Smeagol/Gollum situation.
A week from Sunday, I'm hosting my first Nintendo event! The American Heart Association is presenting, we'll get to play with Wii Fit Pluses, there'll be a delicious lunch and (shh, don't tell) a very exciting party favor for those who attend. Sounds fun right? And also, nightmarish for a hostess me as a hostess? Thing is, lovely Justine of Brand About Town has taken all the work out of it for me. All I had to do was invite people—even the invitation was set up, so all I actually had to do was enter names and email addresses.
Alas. In the two hours since I sent the invite, I've already checked the response list three times. Three Yes's: Justine, and my parents. Three No's. I could live tweet the progress, but who really cares. ME, THAT'S WHO.
Oh! And fun fact: Immoral Matriarch and Poobou are also hosting that day, so I'll get to meet some awesome bloggers. And then they'll know what a huge dork I am.
This is sponsored content from BlogHer and KFC.
Debbie looked away as the nurse pressed gently just above her collarbone. She was nervous, and it unnerved me to see my mother-in-law—a middle school teacher used to handling stressful situations—looking so ill at ease. I had witnessed this woman wrangle thirty sixth-graders at a theme park like Calamity Jane on a cattle drive. If she couldn't handle this, well...the situation was dire.
“Can you see the little triangle?” Debbie asked April, her nurse for the day.
“I sure can,” April replied.
I watched as April located the portacath in Debbie's chest and inserted the needle into a triangular opening only visible as a vague impression, at least to me. A strangely edged lump pushing outward from beneath Debbie's skin.
“Is it in?” Debbie asked with a sidelong squint.
“Yep.”
She smiled at the nurse and whispered, “That didn't hurt at all.”
* * *
Nineteen years ago, almost to the week, Debbie was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Noah, her middle son and my husband, was just 8 years old. When she talks about that experience, what it did to her three boys typically takes precedence over what she went through, which was considerable: She had a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation that left permanent scarring on her chest. It's what Noah said to her when she came home from the hospital, though, that she returns to again and again.
“I need to see what they did to you,” Noah demanded. So she showed him her scars beneath the bandages, the incisions leaving the last bit of evidence that there had been breasts there once.
By the time I met Debbie, she had been cancer-free for ten years. Not long after her fifteen-year remission anniversary, she underwent a second breast reconstruction. The original implants disintegrated, leaving her with constant pain and discomfort.
The second time around, she saw a specialist in New Orleans who, using fat from Debbie's own body, would construct breasts of living tissue. The procedure was broken into several painful surgeries over the course of a few months. Finally, she was well.
That's why we were stunned when in January her doctor in New Orleans called with the results of the pathology done on some scar tissue he removed from her right breast. She had cancer again.
* * *
After dispensing an anti-nausea drug and benadryl, April hooked a bag of chemotherapy drugs into Debbie's IV. It was her first chemotherapy session in almost two decades. Before, she had been stuck so many times her veins kept collapsing. This time, the portacath took care of that. The pain of ice-cold toxins flowing directly into an arm vein was happily a faint memory.
The side-effects would unfortunately remain the same: flu-like symptoms, nausea, mouth sores, hair loss. “There went the hair-taker,” Debbie told me after the first bag of chemo triggered a series of beeps indicating it was empty. “Next comes Herceptin.” At that, we looked at each other and smiled.
Debbie's cancer is HER2-positive, meaning it's particularly aggressive. Her team of doctors discovered the original cancer was HER2-positive as well after testing a tumor sample. (Apparently they keep these things in storage, which to me sounds a little Area 51ish. Then again, I'm a confirmed pansy.)
In 1990, women with HER2-positive cancer had no recourse. They endured harsh levels of treatment and survived on prayers and luck. Debbie was one of the lucky ones.
Although this cancer is an invasive scoundrel, we have Herceptin to give us hope. Debbie loaned us her rented copy of Living Proof, a Lifetime movie that documented the history of Herceptin including how so many times the research was nearly quashed. The belief and perseverance of just a few individuals made this drug a reality for thousands of patients who might otherwise have been terminal. Right on cue, Noah and I cried several times. Genuine tears! The thing is, it's a miracle drug for women like Debbie.
As Nurse April adjusted the dose rate, Debbie and I talked with a young woman in the treatment chair across from us. Her name was Laura, and she was just 28. Not two years older than me. Double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation. Before she cuddled up with her blanket and portable DVD player, I noticed the slogan on Laura's shirt: Fight Like A Girl.
April finished fiddling with the machine and told us she'd be back soon to check the progress. Debbie leaned back and closed her eyes. As the clear liquid began its slow drip, I looked at her and knew.
Everything's going to be all right.
* * *
I wrote this post for the BlogHer.com/KFC Shared Story Program. My post, as well as the posts of all the other participants, can also be viewed at the BlogHer.com special offers page.
I'm excited to announce that for every Pink Bucket, KFC makes a 50 cent contribution to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Pink buckets will be available in KFC restaurants through May 23rd. Even better, BlogHer will donate $1 for every comment left on the blog posts and across the other posts from the Exclusive Offer page at BlogHer.com, up to a total of $1,000 for the entire program. For more information on this program, go to the KFC website.
Programs like these help fund invaluable breast cancer research. Research for treatments like Herceptin, which give hope to people who previously had little. People like us.
By simply leaving a comment on this post, you are contributing to a life-saving cause. So let me ask, What do you do to make a difference in the lives of others?
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