Gwen Gordon, Defender of the Playful

Last November I wrote about Gwen Gordon, and her remarkable article "Play, the Movement of Love." Today, I am pleased to share her new website with you.

Gwen is a remarkable spirit, who has brought her profoundly play vision to as many people as she can touch, and there are many, all over the world. You can read and witness more of he work here. Download her videos, her essays, her stories. You will be inspired. And maybe even a little bit transformed. There is so much there. I leave you with a small taste, from her essay "Laughter for No Reason," in which I am anonymously present, hence, deeply drawn to:

"I notice that whenever I lose my sense of humor, it’s a sure sign that I’ve lost my perspective. As a friend of mine likes to say, 'the truth shall make you laugh!' No matter how difficult and heavy the facts might be, facing them makes us lighter. The truth makes us laugh because, after all, it sets us free and when we’re free, we’re free to laugh. With every joyful breath, we assert our freedom, reminding us that even ordinary life rests inside a bigger enchanted game, a larger truth in which all things hold meaning."

from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith

Patty Wooten - Compassionate Humor

Nancy Nurse is one of the three clowns developed by one of the few people I know who has mastered the art of compassionate humor, Patty Wooten. Patty becomes this particular clown as part of her effort to lighten the often overwhelmed hearts of the nursing profession. Nancy Nurse, explains Patty, "is a wild, red-headed clown, armed with a combat belt of weapons; such as, bedpans, urinals, enema buckets, and over-sized syringes used to fight disease.. Her stethoscope is made from a garden hose and a toilet plunger which is great to use on those big-hearted patients... it can also be used to relieve constipation!"

Several years ago, Patty came down to one of my seminars at the Esalen Institute. She made us laugh so hard, and so deeply, and with such a loving purpose that, for many of us, fun became even more functional, even more central to our reasons for being.

Patty's attempt to bring a little joy to those who so desperately need it, has been a constant struggle for her. Bottom-line priorities, twelve-hour days, scant appreciation for their dedication and skills have all but overwhelmed the caregiving professions. And yet, Patty continues, when- and wherever she can, to heal with humor, to soothe with silliness.

Patty Wooten, Defender of the Playful.

Of Work and Wonder

Read this:

REJUVENILE (made) a brief appearance this (Monday) morning in the first hour of ABC's "Good Morning America" in a story about play at the workplace. News flash: work is boring. A few office monkeys are fighting back with inter-department playground slides, break room foos-ball tables and other goofy innovations. Cue remark from yours truly on the importance of play and fun in the workplace and how these changes reflect the larger rejuvenile phenom.

One remark is unlikely to make the cut -- too often, the merry chattering bosses who institute "playful" reforms are putting window dressing on salt mines. There is little more infuriating than having a Wacky Fun Day hosted by an employer who skimps on health insurnace or restricts family leave. I don't think there's any doubt a genuinely playful attitude toward work can benefit both worker and the bottom line, but it's not about climbing walls or bobbleheads. It's about doing our work with the same wonder and imagination and sense of fun that too many workers ditch in the name of professionalism.

Christopher Noxon, you, too, have earned the full panoplay of rights and privileges due to a "Defender of the Playful"

Matt Weinstein, Emperor of Playfair

Matt Weinstein, "Emperor of Playfair" has been advocating fun to colleges and business around the world. He and I started Playfair together at the Games Preserve, and he has taken it beyond our wildest hopes, and most ambitious dreams. Matt is the co-author of several entertaining enlightenments, like the book Work Like Your Dog

Bruce Williamson - Certifying the right to play

This is a picture of Bruce Williamson, at 2 years of age, on his way to becoming author of The Certificate of the Right to Play. With this certificate, you, too, can become "A lifetime member in good standing of the Society of Childlike Grownups." It is a delightful thing, this significantly silly certificate, demonstrating a keen, honest, heartfelt understanding of what it should mean to be a grown-up.

It comes from a fellow named Bruce Williamson, whose remarkably mature understanding of the nature of childlike grownuphood is reflected with clarity and a certain hard-won innocence on his Kaleidoscope chock-full-of-resources website. Devoted to teaching us how to become Childlike Grownups, the Kaleidoscope is a spare little website, and yet it presents a rare depth of playful wisdom which is evident just from the titles of its main pages:

Remember the Child you Are
Save the World
Sing in the Shower
Take Good Care of Yourself
Come out and Play
Make Stuff Up
See Things Differently
Wonder Around
Color Outside the Lines
Laugh for the Health of It
Restory Yourself
Pick Up Your Toys
Look on the Bright Side

Amazed that I hadn't encountered Bruce before, I called him up, only to discover that we had met at the Games Preserve more than 25 years ago. Though we haven't crossed paths again until now, Bruce is clearly a fellow traveler, and a gift to all of us who follow the Playful Path.

Putting a Face on Time

Of all the endearingly silly ways to watch yourself waste time, Daniel Craig Giffen's Human Clock is by far the most of both - endearing and silly, which explains why it is a recipient of the coveted Major FUN Award.

Everything on Giffen's site shows an almost maniacal dedication to human-scale whimsy. There are three clocks: digital, analog and text. Each mode is sillier than you'd expect it to be. To change between clocks, you go to an equally silly, but fully functional control panel that looks like something drawn by a fifth grader, and acts like a grown-up web interface. Try all three.

Then there's artist Yugo Nakamura's Industrious Clock. Not as human, perhaps, but it definitely conveys a certain "hand-made" humor. Nakamura's art, and playfulness, are even better represented by his "Surface" collection. Click on the small circles on the bottom of the page to explore.

Ze Frank, Prolific Player

Ze Frank receives the Major FUN Award for being perhaps one of the most prolifically playful presences on the web.

There are so many examples of his work that he is sharing, virtually for free, that it is difficult to select any as truly exemplary. Let's begin with this rather straightforward collection of virtual matchstick puzzles. Why? Because it's what you'd expect from a collection of virtual matchstick puzzles: clear, challenging, easy to use, fun to solve. Not particularly playful, but respectful of play and the needs of players. Now let's try just one more game-like experience. It's a Memory Game. All right, it's Concentration. But notice how each image is animated? Now it's truly a virtual game, not just translating a card game into the electronic medium, but transforming it.

Now take a look at Ze's Animated Snowflake. Not a game at all, but a unique bit of interactive delight. Technologically sophisticated. Easy to understand. Lovely to behold.

And here's one more, well, maybe two more examples of yet another gift of Ze's playfulness. It's called "Blow." It's an invitation. People are asked to send in a picture of themselves, blowing. Ze adds their picture to a growing blowing collage. It's, well, silly. It's also an invitation to fun and sharing and community. And here's one more: My Cat Annie. It's a statement, is what it is, of the further reaches of Ze's playfulness. And, for those of us who wonder whether this world can be made more fun, it's a reason for hope.

Ferry Hailm, Whimsymaster

The world of compter games, and, consequently, of computer game players, can get very harsh. Despite the endless possibilities of faster processor and more graphic glories and completely surrounding sound, most of our games are given over, as we are, to violence. Not that violence can't be fun. Not that there's anything wrong with violent games. Just that there are far too few respites. Ferry Halim is one of the few. A true respite.

Ferry Hallim demonstrates that all it takes to make something as interesting to play with as violence is a little applied whimsy.

Whimsy. Hallim is a master of it. His games are true diversions, invitations to worlds that simply don't take themselves very seriously. He is the creator of light-hearted games that are bouyant enough to lighten-up even the dark of desire and the heavy of heart - at least for a few minutes. Like the game Summer Walk, where you make three bird-like things hop into the good floating things, to the tune of the pleasant guitar. Or A Cupid's Day where you, as Cupid, shoot arrows into clouds.

Whimsy. What a powerful concept.

Ferry Hallim is the newest inductee to the Major FUN Hall of Fame.

Streetplay

There's a lot of reminiscing going on about how kids used to play back in the days when kids were kids. It's a good kind of reminiscing, a sweet nostalgia for the inventiveness and irrepressible, undeniable spirit of play. Unfortunately, we almost always follow those moments of wistful wonder with the conclusion that kids nowadays just don't do those kind of things.

Streetplay is a faith-restoring site - restoring our faith both in our memories of childhood, and in childhood itself. Streetplay's collections of photographs documenting actual kids in actual play, here, and around the world, yesterday, and today, provides us with incontrovertible evidence of the preeminence of the playful spirit.

Then again, there's the nostalgia part. Surely you didn't forget those long summer afternoons playing Stickball? And who could forget Halfball? Or, for that matter, Skully? Reading about those games, seeing the photos and film clips, even if you never played them, is a journey into the past, present, and future of fun. It not only documents what we used to do, it reminds us that we can still do those things, that we have a heritage to pass on to our children and children's children. And our children, and children's children have a heritage to pass on back to us.

This is a remarkable site. Rich in depth and detail, preserving and nurturing a wealth of rock solid invitations to play. It is free. You can help support the site by purchasing cool stuff from their store. There are no advertisements. A genuine gift to us all.

Public Art, Public Play

Today's Major FUN Award goes to Rafael Lozano-Hemmer for his "Relational Architecture" projects, as exemplified by his body movies piece - (this link takes you to a very large quicktime movie, requiring a fast connection and great patience - all well worth the effort).

In this remarkable work of art, Lozano-Hemmer invites people to play via complex and subtle uses of light and technology. I quote from his website:

Body Movies transforms public space with 400 to 1,800 square metres of interactive projections. Thousands of photo portraits taken on the streets of the cities where the project is exhibited are shown using robotically controlled projectors. However, the portraits only appear inside the projected shadows of local passers-by, whose silhouettes measure between 2 to 25 metres high, depending on how far people were from the powerful light sources placed on the floor of the square. A custom-made computer vision tracking system triggers new portraits as old ones are revealed.

Body Movies effectively transforms a public square into a public playground, where strangers play with light, shadow, and each other. It illustrates every principle I can think of that characterizes an effective play environment: It supports almost any degree of involvement. Players can choose to ignore it completely. Players can watch other players at play. Players can dip into and out of it at will. Players can get silly and stay safe, get serious and take risks, become fascinated and fascinating, play alone or in groups. Players can spend hours figuring out how to make it do things.

Lazano-Hemmer came to my attention via an email I received from Madamjujujive, aka Julie Ferguson, a contributor to two of my "Blogs o'Fun" - Metafilter and Everlasting Blort. She knew that I'd be at least as excited as she was about her discovery of the art of as described in this discussion on MetaFilter. I mention this by way of thanks, to Madamjuvujive, Rolo, who passed the lilnk on to the MetaFilter community, and to the many wonders and powers of we who blog.

Want to see more of Lazano-Hemmer? He recommends HUMO: A mobile platform for the rapid deployment of huge images and his "ambitious net project" Vectorial Elevation.

Dr. Toy

Today's Major FUN Award goes to (aka Stevanne Auerbach) for her lifetime, one-woman campaign to help people make the connection between good toys and effective parenting.



I've known Dr. Toy for maybe 20 years and consistently been impressed by her good heart, her commitment to children, her dedication and fortitude. She had at one time created an amazing resource for kids and parents - a toy library and museum - a "Games Preserve" for toys and teaching the wisdom of play. Money was never her prime objective, and, sadly, when her museum was affected by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and forced to close she was never able to amass the resources to rebuild. In 1986 she lost everything in a five alarm fire in her home and office in SF (fortunately her book The Toy Chest had already gone to the publisher and was printed. Limited copies are available from Dr. Toy.)

She resumed evaluating toys and consulting to rebuild her life. Her web site was the first site on the internet devoted to toy information. The San Francisco International Toy Museum opened in 1986 at The Cannery in Fisherman's Wharf and served over 50,000 children until it was forced to close. Dr. Toy is working with a dedicated group to relaunch a new toy museum in Oakland.

Her spirit is clearly indomitable. Her Dr. Toy award is recognized throughout the industry.



She is the author of two new books: Dr. Toy's Smart Play: How to Raise a Child with a High PQ, and FAO Schwarz: Toys for a Lifetime: Enhancing Childhood Through Play.

Her website is a rich resource of toy reviews and articles about play. She is the kind of person who makes the BERNIE award worth the effort.

Play on, Dr. Toy!

The Varieties of the Balloon Hat Experience

You wouldn't think that making balloon hats could evolve into a spiritual path. Unless you happened to stumble across a website called "The Varieties of the Balloon Hat Experience." As the authors explain:

In 1996, Addi Somekh and Charlie Eckert began traveling to different places in the world to make balloon hats for people and take photos of them. The goal was to show people all over the world laughing and having fun, and to emphasize the fact that all human beings are born with the ability to experience joy. In total, they visited 34 countries and have over 10,000 pictures.

I am amazed at what a rich, luscious, thoughtful, inspiring, and profoundly gift this Balloon Hat Experience proves to be: the amazing gallery of Balloon Hatting around the world, the gallery of Threes - depicting stories of love and balloon-hatted glory in series of three images.

I found this on their What is Laughing page.

"In the Navajo tradition we have what we call Chi Dlo Dil, or a Laughing Party, for a newborn. The Laughing Party is the first laugh you hear from a child. It's usually around six weeks. It's the baby's first expression to the world, saying 'I'm ready to interact.'

...At the party everybody sits around the baby and has a big meal and plays with the baby. The person who makes the baby laugh first plays an important role in the child's life."

Nancy Evans, Shiprock, NM (Navajo Nation)

And this piece of poetic anthropology about the meaning of hats from Mary Holmes is Professor Emerita of Art at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

The head has always been a battlefield. We think of ourselves as livingin our head. Our most important acts aren't performed by our hands or our legs. We think and speak with our head. So the head becomes sacred. It has meaning. Which is why there came to be so much meaning attached to hair and headdresses, to what they look like. And it has enough meaning that it¹s worth fighting about ...I have great faith that hats will come back, because they have been important to humans for millennia. And the balloon hats give people, at least momentarily, a return of that experience of dressing the head. I think that's why it evokes that bubbly, giggly, happy response. People feel that at last they have the recognition they deserve.

I give you a Major FUN Award, o Balloon Hatters of the heart.

Discover games at Discover Games

If you like games enough to want to expand your repertoire beyond the offerings of commercial conglomerates, or if you are an independent game producer hoping to get the word out, DiscoverGames.com could prove to be a major find.

Founder Mary Couzins explains:

I have been through the process having invented and produced five games myself including one licensing/consulting agreement with University Games. I started DiscoverGames.com to help other game inventors. There is strength in numbers. That was obvious the first time we went to Toy Fair as DiscoverGames.com. I had been there previously under Game Geste with my games. Many industry people (retailers, licensors, manufacturers) walk past your booth if you are a 1 or 2 game booth. As DiscoverGames.com we were jammed with people the last 5 years. In addition we receive over 250,000 page views per month. Hasbro, F X Schmidt, Mattel, University, as well as European and Australian game companies and many others all visit. They search for new product at our site because it is the only place Independents
can get together. Several of our members have received licensing agreements (both here and abroad) due to our services (including myself).

We do not review product. All games are welcome. We are here to help you promote your product by taking it to Toy Fair (the biggest industry show) in New York, in September your game would go to The Toy and Game Inventor Forum pn Las Vegas (where we are not only exhibitors, but I am a speaker on the Inventor Success Story Panel), in the summer possibly GenCon and Origins, promoting your game on our site, we do emailing to over 7,200 people in the industry, and you would be eligible to participate in our postal mailings to catalog (March), retail people (August) and our press release mailing in the summer/fall. Members also have available to them many industry lists, retailers who will carry their product, tips for saving money and have access to the private member bulletin board. In addition, I give out my home number and will try to help you in any way I can.

We are also working with game companies (Hasbro on down to our independents) to put on a huge consumer show set for Labor Day weekend on Chicago's Navy Pier next year. This type of show has been popular in Europe for some time. We think it is time it be done in the U.S. There will be life size games, game shows on the Skyline Stage, dockside inventor signings and much more. As I am sure you know, there are no game shows aimed to the family in the states (GenCon and Origins are a different segment of the game world). In Europe such shows are very popular.

I want people to rediscover game playing. Get to know your kids in a non-confrontational way. It is a good excuse to get together with your neighbors (or anyone).



For the huge collection of independent games, for the innovative, modestly priced service to independent game producers, for the vision, fortitude, and heart needed to produce a game show aimed at the family, DiscoverGames.com gets a Major FUN Award.

Arteroids 2.02

Blow up words (not worlds). Hear funny, human-made sounds. Play the Major FUN Award-winning Arteroids - "A literary computer game for the Web — the battle of poetry against itself and the forces of dullness."

Note that this game is actually funny, and fun, and, well, puzzling in a poetic sort of way. Try the play mode. Increase the level. Note - this is very cool.

Then read the essay.

Part of the idea of Arteroids is to investigate the slide of game, play, and art into one another. When is a game art? When does a game impose a competitive emphasis that rules out certain types of play? If the text becomes unreadable, it rules out certain types of play that are simply a part of reading. But, also, when the text becomes unreadable, it makes for a better game, if you like playing the game.

Arteroids shifts the focus between game and play, between text as readable literary object that gets its primary meaning from the meaning of the words to text as meaning via sound, motion, and destructive intent. When does "poetry" mean poetry, and when does it mean arteroid? It is a question of velocity, density, and other such concerns of visual (even multimedia) rhetoric, of emphasis and intent. This slides around in Arteroids.

What are the possible roles of language in dynamic multimedia work for the Web? Can poetry go here and live? Well, judge for yourself.

My own feeling is that a synthesis of media and arts, including text, along with things like programming and its domain of art such as computer games, changes them all in certain ways, limits them and expands them in ways that are challenging and generative of new media language.

A bit more about Jim: "I've been a programmer since about 1990. Before that, I worked in radio/audio and did a literary magazine. My site has been up since 95. The Canada Council gave me a Senior grant to do Arteroids. Currently, I'm Artist in Residence at a college in Toronto.

Humor Fusion

I announced Major FUN Award to the DeepFUN group, and was delighted to hear that Roz Trieber has announced her candidacy:

At this time of my life I switched from bugs to people that means changing from a medical technologist to a health educator turned humorist. I have branded myself "silly" by wearing a "beanie" hat (like Cecil and Beanie) covered with silly buttons. I wear this hat everywhere including business and social functions.

I am involved in many business and civic organizations. People laugh, chortle, guffaw and point their finger. We laugh and I observe more people change a frown to a smile and say "you made my day."

I'm silly, funny, and include laughter and the unexpected in all of my presentations. Publicly, I'm the lady with the beanie hat on. I actually have several hats that go with different outfits. Talk about coordination!

He deserves paradise who makes his companions laugh. --The Koran

Roz calls herself "The Naturally Funny Lady who wears a "beanie hat" all of the time"

Here's an article from Roz: "When Things Get Tough, Take Yourself Lightly".