I'm heading out on vacation, and bringing Steven Johnson's "Everything Bad is Good for You" book about the educational nature of pop culture (including video games). So I should have some posts when I return on the first of the month.

I've been out for a while working on my summer class. Sorry. But I've just finished a detailed research and analysis project on the value of video games. I'll post segments on here to share my thoughts with you. Here is my summary of the current legal challenges of video game regluation:

Legal Regulations

As a result of the concern expressed over the content and potential effects of that content, cities and states passed legislation to regulate the sale of violent video games. Both the cities of Indianapolis and St. Louis passed video game regulation which the courts struck down (Smith, 2006). Judge Posner stated in the Indianapolis case that shielding children up to the age of 18 from violence would not allow them to be equipped to handle the outside world (Lowenstein, 2006). Within the last year, the courts in Illinois, California, and Michigan struck down regulations that attempted to limit and penalized the sale of “M” rated video games to those under 17 (Smith, 2006). These court decisions on video game regulation focused on both the freedom of expression, as provided within the First Amendment, and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Sixth Circuit court ruled in the cases of James v. Meow Media, that video games fell under the protection of the First Amendment in cases of liability. The court in the Michigan case ruled that video games are creative expressions of free speech covered under the First Amendment (ESA v. Granholm, 2006). Each of the regulations restricted violent video games, but not other media and this violated the Equal Protection Clause in the Fourteenth Amendment (ESA v. Granholm, 2006). Isolating the regulation to violent video games and not other violent media contradicts rights established by the Constitution (ESA v. Blagojevich, 2005). The court ruled that the California regulation was unconstitutional since the definition was too vague and would limit the free expression of creators (Video Software Dealers Association v. Schwarzenegger, 2005). The courts have consistently ruled that setting video games apart from other media is unconstitutional and the current regulations violate the First Amendment. The only video game regulation that has stood up to constitutional scrutiny is a Maryland law that regulates the sale of games with explicit sexual content, and thus treats them like any other media with explicit sexual content.

In spite of these rulings, the state legislatures of Minnesota, Louisiana and Oklahoma all passed laws this year that regulate and penalize retailers for the sale of violent games to those under 17. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and others in the industry have filed lawsuit in each of these states. Video game software president Ted Price filed a statement with the United States District Court of the Middle District of Louisiana, in the case of ESA vs. Foti. He stated Louisiana law that limits the sale of games does not clearly define what “a morbid interest in violence” is. Due to various definitions and extents of game-play it would be extremely difficult to create games that would fit all definitions (Price, 2006). The Senate and the House of Representatives held hearings on violent video game regulation this March and June respectively. The challenges to regulation at the federal level involve both the established violations of free speech rights, but also the enforcement of a ratings system (ESRB) that is independent and not government mandated (Smith, 2006).

Up next: Social Informatics Analysis

It's never to early to start gaming... He found my "earmuffins" this morning and sat down for practice. The interaction with the game is what he enjoys. Storytelling, prediction, logic, colors, shapes, numbers, words are all concepts learned through the limited experience gaming. Just think of the possiblities.

Tonight I started reading "Don't Bother me Mom - I'm Learning" by Marc Prensky. And I'm already engaged and eager to continue. In it Prensky sets out the claim that kids are learning from video games and learning more than within traditional educational settings.

"frustrated by the wide gap between their exhilarating experiences playing games and their slow-paced lessons in school."

This is a key for improving how we design, plan, and teach to our students. Not all lessons need to be "games" but there are principles that we can learn from games and the interaction with them that can and should be applied to education.

Over the coming weeks, I'll continue to summarize some key points within Prensky's text and share my own thoughts on what he conclusions mean for how we should teach.

Prensky, M. (2006). Don't Bother Me Mom - I'm Learning! Paragon House: St.Paul.

Recently on a rainy afternoon, I was playing video games with my 3 year old son. On this day I had a surprising realization - 3D space is intuitive.

My son and I "played" Mario 64 prior to this date with me controlling the analog stick and Carter jumping. And because Carter had trouble running and jumping (and the size of the N64 controller provided a slight handicap) I thought we would go back in time. Back in time to the simpler game design created in 2D worlds. He and I tried to play Super Mario Bros. 1 & 3, classics with straightforward control schemes. At least they were straightforward to me since I grew up in the era of 2D gaming during the 3rd and 4th generations.

Run left. Push left. Run right. Push right. Simple, yes. Basic, yes. Intuitive, no. Carter was challenged to understand why that's all he could do. Navigating in a 3D space is a reflection of life. Carter moves the analog stick and Mario runs in the same directions Carter does. The artificial barriers created by technology no longer exist.

Life is 3D, gaming is 3D. Regardless of what world we play in, we play in 3D. And that opens up doors for us as educators...

Like The Fat Boys, 1988, I'm coming back. I tossed around the idea of starting my blog back up at the 1 year anniversary, but that came and went and I was in the hospital with Carter (that will be another post). Then this week, I gave a speech to the English Honors Society here on campus, Simga Tau Delta. I was there guest speaker and had a free hand to talk.

My speech was on different forms of literary expression, one of which was video games. I had a overwhelming positive reaction from both the faculty and students present. I decided to continue to peruse this avenue of study needed an outlet to express and organize my thoughts. Thus, my blog was reborn.

I'll still have some posts about my family and life, but the focus of the blog will be video games as research expressions and educational tools.

Stick around, join in and let's see where this takes us...

I refuse to give up my source, but I can tell you that he does like Green Eggs & Ham. Karl Rove that brillant, evil man didn't tip me off to this story either.  

Well, no baby yet. Although Amy's having massive contractions right now. So maybe we are almost there. Soon. Very soon.

Beyond that, not much to report. I know it's been a long time since my last update, but life's been full of contractions, meetings and new hires at work, and outside play with Carter. Lots of playing with Carter.

Work is very busy for the summer. Lots of planning meetings (excitment, blah, blah, blah), new hires, and trying to tie up loose ends before Anderson comes.

Hope all is well with you guys. My obsessions are doing better, but more on that later.

Tonight Carter said this for his bedtime prayer:
"bless grandma poppa grani gws angiemike meggiejoshauntiejulieauntiesarahbobandlarrypieceatoast"

That's right, he prayed for a piece of toast. Now you might be thinking, maybe there's an image of Jesus or Noah on it (really, how come none of those Christian images on food are ever Old Testament people...ever think about that). Or maybe we starve our kid. But no he's just concerned for the well being and eternal life of toast.

And why not, everybody (thing) needs someone looking out for them.

My obsessive mindset has actually produced a few productive days at work. Not sure how, but it's a step in the right direction. Lots of motivation, just very little desire to move on it.

Carter is getting ready for Anderson by acting out. Lots of biting. Very interesting to observe that he knows something is coming.

Sometimes your worst fears are given voice to. This happens at times, and then you realize that there is absolutely nothing to change that feeling. I guess this is part of being an adult, is accepting that reality and finding a way to live within it. Just like AA, "accept the things I cannot change."

See all that work at the native american drug/alochol treatment center paid off...

So when that balance of obsessions slip and stress builds up you need to make choices. Set priorities. But making decisions is hard when you want to be everything to everybody. Obsession in leisure is fun, obsession in work can be rewarding, obsession in life can be fulfilling. But as much as I may want it, I can't have all 3. Dealing with the obsessive mind once it realizes that it can't balance all 3, that is the danger.

It's a spiral. Want more, realize there is no time for more, get anger at time, get even less done, and then want more again. That is what the state of my mind has been over the last few days. Falling down that dangerous spiral of an obsessive mind.

Hope your weekend been more fun than my self abusive, and family intrusive one.

I just found out that I am now in charge of the instruction program at work. It's my program to make it what I want. I've been the lead for the last year, but now I've got the vote of confidence to run with the program. I do a lot of teaching, but the structure, goals and mission are no where. I feel like it's a real blank slate. With this I feel like I've found a new obsession. I've got a lot to and people with more experience underneath me.

Speaking of obsessions, I'd be curious to know what ones' you would list for me:

What obsessions of my have you observed over the years...

It's been a couple of days off work is busy plus I've been wallowing in my own pity party for a day or so. I've realized a few years ago, okay realized it long before I actually admitted it, that I have an obsessive personality. This should come as no shock to any of you. But the difficultly with an obsessive personality is maintaing it. Hell, stablity is out the window. Balance is hard for those with a one track mind. Consistancy is the challenge. When you throw everything you can into one thing the trick is maintaining that intensity.

This personality worked great for campaign work. 14 hour days - no problem. It was all intensity and consuming. That type of pace and work flow doesn't translate the best for library work. Finding motivation to force yourself to dive into something is the challenge. Artifical motivation only lasts so long.

Parenting is great for this distructive personality type. It's easy to throw everything you have at your kids. The tough part is admitting that you need to throw something at the rest of your life, spouse, work, health. That's probably something all new parents work on. And now as we get ready to be parents again, remembering this balancing act weighs on my mind. All the scales get shifted again.

Well, now you see the pity party I was starting to throw. Feeling like I should throw more to my job, but not finding the desire to. Looking forward to throwing everything at my family, but trying to cope with the balance issues.

Don't get me wrong, I love my obsessive personality. Really how else could I have the desire to sit on the floor playing video games, eating junk food, not sleeping until the game was beat. Obsession may not be healthy, but it's sure damn fun.

Happy Father's Day to my dad! The lessons I've learned from you, the fun we had, and the quiet moments we share shaped me into who I am today. And I am thankful for that. I've learned a lot from you and your dad and I hope to always keep those lessons in mind with my own sons. Thank you and I love you Dad. 

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. My life as a father has been pretty remarkable. I love my sons and I cannot wait to see Anderson. My time with Carter is a true joy. He's turning into a kid and not just a little guy. But the times like picture here are the quiet moments that top everything. There's nothing quite like snuggling up and sleeping with your son who looks up to you and love's you. Happy Father's Day. 

I do not think Carter could have asked for a better morning, we went to all of his favorite places.
- Wal-Mart - bought Anderson a crib mattress. Carter got a Batman coin from the greeter. He carried it all around and never tried to eat it.
This opening weekend of Batman reminds me of my Batman craze for the first Burton movie. I had the soundtrack (which turned me on to Prince - okay so "turn on" is not the word to use when talking about Prince), buttons and the T-shirt. I actually wore the T-shirt and the buttons when I went to see it for the first time. Now I wish I had a picture of that.
- Downtown library (that's what Carter calls the public library). They were having their summer reading festival and Carter made a crown and got his face painted. Plus he just got to play at the library always a treat.
The library was always a treat for us over the summer. Books for a week. See my mom was raising a librarian from the beginning. She just forgot to tell me so I could spend thousands of dollars on other degrees.

That's all for now.

Being back up in Duluth made me think of a small story...

It was the first day of classes (no need talking about the actual classes the people), and after class I was going to go rollerblading. I got rollerblades from my high school girl friend and spent the summer practicing (on flat ground). So it was a wonderful afternoon in Sept (not too often in Duluth) and I went out for exercise. No sooner was I out the door than I realized how unskilled I was. Not only were the hills a challenge, but I looked like a kid compared to everyone else. All this talk about living your own life and being yourself in college... still has to deal with self image and peer groups.

No freshman wants to look like a punk in front of someone they might want to hang out with or date.

So I went all of 30 yards on my rollerblades. Walked back to my dorm and then went for a run. I ended up running miles and past where I would eventually live during one summer. A good run all in all. Except right after running I went with some friends to get our ID pictures taken. Red faced, sweaty, ragged hair and all, I took my ID picture. A picture that would stick with me all 4 years...

So much for trying to keep a good self image. Everyone has moments when they think too hard about how they look to others. I've had plenty in my life... I'm sure there are more to come.

Ah, Griggs Q315. That is where my college years started. I remember moving in - but really who doesn't. Although, I do remember seeing this cute girl out on the softball field during the crazy Bulldog bash. That girl turned out to be someone named Amy Deloach. That first weekend there are many stories, many stories... but that's another post. Here is the place where it all started (thanks Lucien for the pic) 

It's been a while since I've posted a Carter picture. He makes life pretty amazing. Plus, he's a snappy dresser.  

It's been almost 10 years since Kyle and I drove up to Duluth to check out the college. We were visiting a friend/ex-girlfriend in the Cities and decided to drive up and check out the city on our way home. Who knew that would be the first trip down a strip of road I would know like the back of my hand.

As soon as we drove over the crest of the hill on I35, I knew that place was special. What a view. Most of you know what I'm talking about. Water, hills, and great atmosphere, much of which I was looking for in a college. I visited LaCrosse and loved the hills but it didn't seem like anything special. That's probably because I knew too many people going there. I visited Grove City, PA and loved the hills. It was a beautiful private college with great connections in D.C. (although the whole private college no girls in your room with the door closed or after 8:00 really sucked).
But Duluth was beautiful. And that doesn't even begin to touch on the emotions and memories triggered by the city.

10 years the city still evokes those strong first impressions. Sometimes things just come together. Kyle and I never even got out of the car. We drove around the block of campus and under the Kirby walkway and then drove downtown. Without, UMD I would not be who I am (on so many fronts) and most of you would not be here reading my ramblings. That first drive with the emotions of running away and finding someplace new for college changed the course of my life. Duluth has done that many times to me through the years.

More on Duluth tomorrow.

Amy I love you and am so thankful for our friendship and love that continues to grow after these 7.5 years (at least by my count). Thank you and I love you.

Just a quick note to say thank you to all of you (well most of you after yesterday's post) for the help, support and friendship that we shared 4 years ago at the wedding.