Monday, September 23, 2019

Video games bring older family members’ individual history to life; September 18, 2019 12.06pm EDT

https://theconversation.com/video-games-can-bring-older-family-members-personal-history-back-to-life-123065?utm_source=pocket-newtab


It is one thing to learn about history in a classroom. But as any visitor to a living museum or historic site can tell you, a fantastic way to learn is to make a personal connection.

In early 2019, media entrepreneur Mati Kochavi and his daughter Maya brought the stories of Eva Heyman, a Hungarian Jew who was murdered in Auschwitz, to social media with the simple question, “What if a girl in the Holocaust had Instagram?” “Eva Stories” was a one-day project told through Instagram stories that amassed 200,000 followers before the morning it began and reached 1 million by its end the next day.

Regular people care about the past, and can now engage with it in new ways. As a researcher of games and aging, I’m noticing a trend emerging that has the potential to build even more powerful emotional connections with its audience, through the crackling voices of people who lived through important historical times and events. My fellow game designers and I refer to it as “gaminiscing” – using the tools of video games to share personal history. 

These projects, including my own, combine audio recordings of their subjects with modern gameplay, letting players explore a virtual environment to hear – and sometimes even experience – meaningful life stories that are told to them by the older adults who lived through them.

Connecting generations

In general, few video games portray older characters accurately. Often they’re presented as a cartoon, or an over-the-top caricature or in a dehumanizing way. Before gaminiscing, there was almost no opportunity for older people to use their own voices to tell authentic, personal stories.
An early trailer for ‘Grandma Game.’ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JXslq_6Muc#action=share
“Grandma Game” is the working title of an intergenerational game by brothers and media artists James and Joe Cox, in collaboration with their grandmother, Barbara. The game is a walking simulator, a popular genre of video games in which players trigger stories by exploring 3D environments. In “Grandma Game,” players find themselves inside the watercolor paintings done by Barbara and her grandsons, while hearing her tell stories of what the images and places mean to her.The game intentionally limits a player’s interaction, to make it more fun for Barbara herself to play it. 

“We want the game to be playable (and enjoyable) to her, so we have to design the controls and play around what she can understand and handle,” James told me in an email. “She sees it as a way to preserve her family’s history and as an opportunity to share skills with, and learn from, her grandchildren. Both our watercolor painting sessions and audio recording sessions have given us the chance to spend … quality time with our grandmother – time focused on creating work together as artists.”

Looking at history

Other games have emerged that take on more expansive historical topics, though still using very personal experiences. 

“Memories of Manzanar and Tule Lake” is the working title of a game aiming to recreate the stories of the game designer’s Japanese American grandparents during their time in an internment camp following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In the game, players will be able to direct their own journey, interacting with other internees and learning about personal experiences with pivotal events in history, like the infamous loyalty questionnaire, and joining the U.S. Army.

Similar to the Cox brothers, game designer Brent Shiohama wishes to honor his grandparents, the bravery of interned families, and the Japanese Americans who served in the 100th Infantry Battalion/442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.
A virtual reality game explores one boy’s experience of World War II in France.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6tqg__x2P0#action=share 
“La Peur Bleue” tells the stories of the creator’s grandfather in World War II France. The artist states, “By focusing on specific, emotional moments from my grandfather’s past, you are given the opportunity to experience the context of the war and empathize with the emotions my grandfather felt.” Players interact with objects in recreated locations and hear a grandfather reminisce about his past, adding another layer of historical immersion by using virtual reality rather than just a computer screen.
My own game, the forthcoming “Brukel,” uses recordings of my grandmother’s own voice, to tell stories of her childhood growing up on an occupied farm in Belgium during World War II. 

As the player, you enter the Brukel farmhouse equipped with your smartphone camera and a vague list of topics that your grandmother told you about. By photographing items that match well with each topic, you unlock audio recordings in which she reveals her past to you. 

However, when it eventually gets dark, you find yourself trapped in the house as the ghosts of the past come to life. Through a series of survival-based vignettes, you must try to outlast some of the horror stories that my grandmother lived through as a teenage girl, while slowly learning about how the war deeply affected everyone in the family.
A Belgian grandmother tells the story of her childhood in ‘Brukel.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P-alvHXGnc#action=share 

A welcoming response

Even before the release of “Brukel,” I have been able to showcase it, most notably at an event at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in early August 2019. So far, playtesters have told me they appreciate its ability to engage the player through the use of modern technology.

Because of my own research, I had anticipated that older gamers would appreciate “Brukel” for its meaningful engagement and mature story. Those are two qualities that my research has shown are paramount to older gamers. In particular, for my qualitative work, I met a number of older adults who deliberately sought out games that would meaningfully contribute to their interest in the post-World War II era.

For example, an 82-year-old Belgian man told me, “I barely remember the Second World War but I was a child back then. What I remember is extremely vivid, though. The lights, the bombings, the noise. Airplanes flying over our house and being shot down. I can still see it. It was an adventure, and I relive that adventure by playing games about it.”

Similarly, another Belgian man, aged 62, explained, “I recently went to Normandy; it is amazing to visit places in games that you can later on visit in real life. You have never been there but you know the place from the game. They can be so realistic.”

However, I had not expected the response that “Brukel” received from children. At the Smithsonian event, people from all age groups – including pre-kindergartners and octogenarians – played “Brukel.” As a group, pre-teens turned out to be most engaged with the game, spending the most time playing it and even returning multiple times over the two-day event to play it again.

When I spoke with the parents of these young gamers, the general theme of their response was that they loved how engaged their children were with “Brukel” while learning about history. One parent told me, “They’re going to play video games regardless, so it’s great that they’re drawn to something educational.” 

Another parent who said his child was on the autism spectrum with trouble concentrating in school praised “Brukel” for its ability to engage his son. He said his son was more comfortable learning through playing the game because he was familiar with using a keyboard and mouse, which he found far less stressful than being in a classroom.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that many of these gaminiscing projects are centered around war. The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II will be in 2020; as those who faced its terrors firsthand die, the stories of their experiences are fading away. The risk – and my concern – is that society collectively will forget the lessons and the promises of “never again.”

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Sunday, July 28, 2019

Neale Sourna's COOL MUSIC VARIETY (eclectic radio)

Neale Sourna's 
COOL MUSIC VARIETY (eclectic radio)

Migrated station to Shoutcast, end of May 2019.

Great music with great voices: singers, rappers, instrumentals! Timeless music variety, eclectic classics both old and new; from beginning of recording - 1920 to 2018.

Classic oldies, classic hits, & classic new hits: pop, R&B / R & B / rhythm and blues, rock, hip hop, American country, jazz, swing, film music, symphony, world music, humor, & protest; plus newbies, song originals, & song covers. American Songbook. 

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame / Rock Hall Inductees and future inductees.

Programming Questions and Answers

LISTEN FREE @:
https://streamingv2.shoutcast.com/CoolMusicVariety

https://www.radioteka.org/cool-music-variety

or just find us how you like us through your favorite search engine and online radio streaming service: 

"Cool Music Variety"

LISTEN to 
Cool Music Variety 
at 
https://directory.shoutcast.com/Search 

and search for 
Cool Music Variety 
with visible song titles / artists

LISTEN to
Cool Music Variety
at 
https://www.pickradio.net/cool-music-variety
with visible song titles / artists

 LISTEN to
Cool Music Variety
at 
https://www.radioteka.org/cool-music-variety
with visible song titles / artists

LISTEN to
Cool Music Variety
at 
https://streamingv2.shoutcast.com/CoolMusicVariety

Shoutcast mobile version 
includes visible song titles / artists

LISTEN to
Cool Music Variety
at 
https://streamingv2.shoutcast.com/CoolMusicVariety

play in free media players, like:
ITunes 
or VLC Media Player


Neale Sourna's HOBBLE recommended by Cushcity.com on Facebook

Neale Sourna's HOBBLE recommended by Cushcity.com
Awarded Best Romantic Erotica by BlackRefer.com, author Neale Sourna's latest book, "Hobble," features a healer caught up in a compulsive sexual and love entanglement. Medical professional Bennet Gillepsie, who is half Native American, thinks he could be falling in love with Day, a knife-happy African American innocent. Either it's love or the "hottest sex he's ever had." But Day's stepfather is keeping his stepdaughter as his sex slave and could send her back to lockdown far away from Benn. Available at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LCo9wI






National Black Book Festival / Cushcity.com: Neale Sourna's HOBBLE


National Black Book Festival / Cushcity.com
 Awarded Best Romantic Erotica by BlackRefer.com, author Neale Sourna's latest book, "Hobble," features a doctor caught up in a compulsive sexual and love entanglement. Medical professional Bennet Gillepsie, who is half Native American, thinks he could be falling in love with Day, a knife-happy African-American innocent. Either it's love or the "hottest sex he's ever had." But Day's stepfather is keeping her as his sex slave and has her on lockdown far away from Benn. Available at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LCo9wI

Tuesday, May 07, 2019

New Black Historical Romantic Adventure Novel Coming Summer 2019 - "Becca DuMaurier" by Neale Sourna

http://becca.neale-sourna.com/

http://becca.neale-sourna.com/

"Becca DuMaurier" by Neale Sourna
Book 1 

of the Black Rogues Series

Full Novel of Book 1 Coming Summer 2019
       It's 1688 AD, in the midst of the Glorious Revolution, a British civil war between Protestants and Catholics which has international players interested from France, Ireland, Spain, and the Netherlands, while the English king is absent from his throne, a huge invading force of sails and swords fills the Channel.
         However, royal favorite of Charles II's Restoration reign, the brown-skinned British courtier Lady Rebecca, has more personal cares; on the run from a forced marriage to a famous white-haired earl, she’s running home to the very edge of England, to her stormy Atlantic-tossed Cornwall, where pirates are stalking the tiny coves, villages, and homes of Cornwall's shores.
        And where Cornwall's rocky, treacherous coast is but a stepping stone for lively Becca, her ever persistent soldier fiancé, and an intriguing Irish Catholic pirate of many faces.

Historical Romantic Adventure Fiction / Novel
http://becca.neale-sourna.com/

black brit, new novel

Sunday, March 03, 2019

Cheat Sheet to Becoming a Successful Freelancer by Bethenny Carl

https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-being-a-freelancer/

Our Ultimate Guide to Being a Freelancer

Bethenny Carl
Bethenny Carl

If you’re thinking of becoming a freelancer, you’re probably bored with your day job and looking for new challenges in your life. Maybe you love the idea of being your own boss, or maybe you just need more flexibility in your work schedule. Either way, the freelance life could be perfect for you.

When you’re a freelancer, everything’s up to you. You can choose to work from the comfort of your own home, from your favorite cafe or from a shared office space. If you’re the adventurous type, you can even be a digital nomad, traveling the world with your trusty laptop. 

You can work for several clients at a time or find one reliable client who can provide you with regular work. You can work regular business hours just like the rest of the world, or sleep till noon and do your work during the wee hours of the night.

The most important thing is to determine what will work best for you, and find your own way to do it successfully. Because after all, that’s what freelancing is all about: finding your own way.

With all the different options out there, if you’re just starting your freelance career, things can seem quite overwhelming. But don’t worry – we’re here to help you figure it all out.

Your Cheat Sheet to Becoming a Successful Freelancer...

Monday, November 12, 2018

Buy Neale Sourna / PIE: Perception Is Everything stories at Payhip

Neale Sourna at PIE: Perception Is Everything

Neale has been authoring, editing, doing book/ebook layout and publishing about a decade and won BlackRefer.com's Best Erotica Novel award for her first novel, "Hobble," published through her own company, PIE: Perception Is Everything, and Neale successfully ranked as a finalist for New Century Screenplay's national contest for her script, "FRAMES." 

Neale also writes and edits for others through her writing company Neale Sourna's Writing-Naked.com; including stories for the Orchid Games' / Sandlot Games distrib: Heartwild Solitaire Game Series and Inertia Software's Margrave Manor Game Series. Neale's many published works, for ebook, print and online, have an edge that always brings the reader back to the core of being human. 

"I don't write 'romance' stories, but character love stories. http://www.neale-sourna.com/Sournabio.html

  http://www.neale-sourna.com/

Sunday, May 20, 2018

The Freelancer_epub available

The Freelancer_epub

Annie’s new temp, Ryan, with the fascinating ass ... and mind, is great at his job, even on his first day; but, he’s driving her to distraction and she can’t get anything done!

When Annie works late and alone, to catch up on work, gorgeous Ryan returns in order to show her what he’s really freelancing in; loving Annie.
_1602 wds

You will get a EPUB (5MB) file.
$ 0.50
Buy Now 
 
https://payhip.com/b/1d3r

North Coast Academies' Journal 1 (NCAJ1): North Coast Academies' Diary (NCAD) Vol. 1-3 Compiled_epub available

North Coast Academies' Journal 1 (NCAJ1): North Coast Academies' Diary (NCAD) Vol. 1-3 Compiled_epub

Journal compilation of six (6) hardcore, sexual short stories previously published individually, as "Neale Sourna's North Coast Academies' Diary" entries:
  1. Laila: Cozy With Daddy [7857 words];
  2. Yune: Suck My - - - - [3677 words];
  3. Ross: Daddy's Little Whore, uh, Seductress [8401 words];
  4. 3 Sex Views: Ross, Laila, and Sascha [16,337 words all 3 stories totaled]—
  • Sascha: Laila's Classmate—Public Parking, Sex Squared [8289 words];
  • Laila: Smarty Schoolgirl—Daddy's Willing Little Slut [3711 words];
  • Ross; Laila's Stepdad—My Daughter's Asshole Cherry [4337 words].
http://north.neale-sourna.com/ncaj1.htm

You will get a EPUB (2MB) file.
$ 6.00
Buy Now 
 
https://payhip.com/b/DxOp

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Dia's Team Bang (3)_epub available

Dia's Team Bang (3)_epub

Dia's the only cheerleader on the team bus filled with excited, champion ball players, managers, a middle-aged co-coach, and Mr. Dean, the one teacher / coach Dia'd open her lovely thighs wide for, anytime and anywhere, and secretly already has. Dia would do ANYTHING for her man's pleasure. 

So, Mr. D will test his girl's trust and love for him, because the man has a banging hot surprise for her AND his teenaged athletes, on the long ride home after their championship win. There will be slippery hot fun for all, as sweet Dia opens wide for her first willing gangbang. 

"Gentlemen, get in line."

_16,006 words

http://stories.neale-sourna.com/Dia.html

Table of Contents:
Falcons’ Team Bus—Night, Post Game
Team Bus—Her First Man - Coach Dean
      _Dia Strips for Coach
      _Dia Fellates Coach
      _Dia’s Throatfuck Fun
      _Dia Swallows Coach’s Cum
      _Dia’s Cunnilingus Fun
      _Dia Fucks Coach
Team Bus—Mr. Dean’s Fuck Laws
Team Bus—Who Fucks Her Next?
Team Bus—Side Games
Team Bus—Good Friend Stevie’s Turn
Team Bus—More Men
Team Bus—Gay Mr. Jones Assfucks Dia
Team Bus—Lesbian Ms. Smith Fingerfucks Dia
Team Bus—Co-Captain Yune, the Lover
Team Bus—Mr. Cross, the Roughneck
Team Bus—Dia Gets Rough Used
Team Bus—Co-Coach Carlson and More Boys
Empty Team Bus—School Parking & a Driver
Empty Team Bus—Mr. Dean Takes a Second Fuck
_____________

[excerpt, Full Short Story ON SALE] Dia’s Coach (1)


Synopsis_Dia’s Coach (1)

Mr. Dean’s House—Late Friday Night

You will get a EPUB (976KB) file.
$ 5.97
Buy Now 
 
https://payhip.com/b/EPyn

Dia's Weekend With Coach (2)_epub available

Dia's Weekend With Coach (2)_epub

Naughty cheerleader Dia continues her virgin lovemaking weekend with one of her school’s favorite teachers; Mr. Dean, the tri-state area’s most popular and winningest team coach, in two sports!

“Dean builds men!” the sports press crows.

Now, behind the closed doors of his home, Mr. D’s building a lover to satisfy his most intimate appetites, molding young Dia, teaching her what it means to “come of age,” while teaching this willing teenager wicked activities to play in all her feminine entrances.

Anything to please Mr. D pleases sweet Dia.

14,210 words approx. / Romantic Erotica (Hard)

http://stories.neale-sourna.com/Dia.html

Table of Contents:
  • Dia’s Weekend with Coach (2)
  • Mr. Dean’s Bed—Saturday Morning
  • A Breakfast at Mr. Dean’s
  • Snooping Around Mr. Dean’s
  • Mr. Dean’s Surprise Return
  • Mr. Dean’s Extra Meal of Dia
  • Presenting Her Backside to Mr. Dean
  • Getting to the Point, with Mr. Dean
  • Mr. Dean’s Other Surprise Guest
  • Mr. Dean’s Smells His Hand
  • Dia’s Nosy Mistake
  • Mr. Dean’s Closet Girl
  • Dia Comes Out of the Closet
  • Dia’s Time to Learn Ass-Loving
  • Mr. Dean’s Foreplay Sex Story
  • Mr. Dean Takes Dia on the Carpet
  • Chillin’ with Mr. Dean
  • Mr. Dean’s Nighttime Surprise
  • Dogs in the Ass Grass
  • Sunday Morning with Mr. Dean
  • Parting from Mr. Dean
  • Sexting Mr. Dean
  • Synopsis:  Dia’s Coach (1)
  • Synopsis:  Dia’s Team Bang (3)

You will get a EPUB (3MB) file.
$ 4.97
Buy Now 
 
https://payhip.com/b/bLfl

Dia's Coach (1)_epub now available

Dia's Coach (1)_epub

Dia is a naughty cheerleader, who prefers older men, well, one particular older man. She wants everyone's favorite team coach and teacher, Mr. Dean. He's been good and strong, resisting her; but, he's weakening.... 

And lovely young Dia always gets what she wants. So, when she slips into Mr. Dean's home, in nothing but lace and desire, he'll break and teach this “of age” teenager what a man, not a boy, really wants when in sex and hard love.

_10,746 words Hardcore XXX Romantic Erotica
_184 + 548 words additional 2 story excerpts

http://stories.neale-sourna.com/Dia.html

Table of Contents:
School—Main Hall—Day
Mr. Dean’s House—Front Door—Friday Evening
Mr. Dean’s Bedroom—Friday Evening
Mr. Dean’s Bed—Friday Evening
Mr. Dean’s Kitchen—Friday Evening
Mr. Dean’s Kitchen—Late Evening
Mr. Dean’s Kitchen—Friday, Full Night
Mr. Dean’s Office Den—Friday, Full Night
[bonus excerpt] Dia’s Weekend with Coach (Part 2)

Mr. Dean’s Bed—Saturday Morning

[bonus excerpt] Dia’s Team Bang (Part 3)

Team Bus—Friday Night, After the Game

You will get a EPUB (2MB) file.
$ 4.97
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https://payhip.com/b/9Rcm

Hobble [An Adult Fiction] _ epub now available



Hobble [An Adult Fiction] _ epub

https://payhip.com/b/RGDN
 
Half Native American medical professional BENNET GILLESPIE'S "off track" life dangerously spirals, as his compulsive and sexual, love entanglement with DAY, a "knife-happy" African American "innocent", and her overbearing, elderly British "guardian / stepfather" threatens to cost Benn more than his life._Full novel

[Fiction / Adult Fiction / Adult Erotica / Explicit / Erotica for Women / Dark Sensual Romance / Erotica / Dark Romantic Erotica / Dark Romantica™ / Paranormal / Psychological Erotica / Spiritual Erotica / Multiracial / Interracial / Literary Fiction]

http://hobble.neale-sourna.com

"Dipping into several genres from erotica to mystery, even sprinkling a little comedy into the mix, Sourne created a story like no other. This ... tale had me shaking my head in astonishment and I can honestly say I never read anything like Hobble before. Sourne wrote a novel with such a large supply of twist and turns it'll have you dropping your mouth in shock. But be forewarned, Hobble has a crazy mix of characters.... 

"Some of the sex scenes had me (a person who loves erotica) squirming. Although the book is racy, it was an interesting read and should be picked up by anyone who enjoys reading something different from the norm."
--Joy Farringdon, Nubian Sistas Review
 
READ Full Review

"Hobble is a story of lust and obsessive sex...I was so moved...I went back to my (Franklin) dictionary...hobble means to limp along ... to impede ... to tie-up, shackle or leash...all of [which] were used in this steamy story, of sex, incest and betrayal!"
--Delores Thornton, www.BlackRefer.com Reviews

http://hobble.neale-sourna.com


You will get a EPUB (2MB) file.
$ 9.97
Buy Now


https://payhip.com/b/RGDN

Saturday, May 05, 2018

ebooks by Neale Sourna at PIE: Perception Is Everything - BUY at Payhip.com

https://payhip.com/NealeSourna

Neale Sourna at PIE: Perception Is Everything

Neale has been authoring, editing, doing book/ebook layout and publishing about a decade and won BlackRefer.com's Best Erotica Novel award for her first novel, "Hobble," published through her own company, PIE: Perception Is Everything, and Neale successfully ranked as a finalist for New Century Screenplay's national contest for her script, "FRAMES." 

Neale also writes and edits for others through her writing company Neale Sourna's Writing-Naked.com; including stories for the Orchid Games' / Sandlot Games distrib: Heartwild Solitaire Game Series and Inertia Software's Margrave Manor Game Series. Neale's many published works, for ebook, print and online, have an edge that always brings the reader back to the core of being human. 

"I don't write 'romance' stories, but character love stories. http://www.neale-sourna.com/Sournabio.html

https://payhip.com/NealeSourna


neale sourna, payhip, ebooks, adult ebooks, adult fiction, erotica, erotica books, romance, erotic fiction, erotic romance,