Hungarian Pastry Shop

I think Wednesdays are going to be my hardest days because I have 2 classes, and one of them I'm pretty sure is going to be challenging.  My Instructional Design Theory class seems to be a confusing structure with a lot of reading.  It'll all work out though I'm pretty sure, I'll figure out how to work within the professor's teaching style.  My 2nd class is the recitation portion (basically a lab) for my programming class.  I think this is actually going to be pretty fun.  The TA is fun and energetic and as long as the code doesn't kill me I think I'll be okay!  I'm going to try and post any of my flash assignments on here because I think it will amuse people to see and hopefully they will be interesting!

So I'm sure you're wondering when I'm going to get to the point of this post and talk about the subject title. Yes, last night I finally ventured into the Hungarian Pastry Shop.  I ended up on an impromptu quest for something sweet at about 9:15pm last night and so I suggested we go there!  The atmosphere was pretty nice, it's a very chill place with a lot of tables and people sitting there studying, or just chatting, or whatnot.  I had the Dobos Torte, which was only okay.  It was sweet and good and satisfied my craving for chocolate, but I've definitely had better.  To be fair the better one I had was actually in Budapest....so I hadn't gotten my hopes up too much.  I think the problem with this one is that the cake part seemed a little bit stale.  But anyway, I'm sure I'll go back and then I'll try some of the other pastries because they all definitely look good.  And Adam and Jenny, if you happen to read this, yes I will bring a boxed assortment at Thanksgiving :)

So, today!  It's about 9:40am currently, I'm meeting my friend Ju Yeon at 11 and we're going on an adventure to the grocery store (I've found someone who also doesn't really know how to cook!) and then meeting up with more friends for lunch at 1pm.  Class is from 3-4:40, which is the social internet media class.  I have to lead a group discussion on one of our readings which is all about does technology cause history to change or is technology just a result of the changed history (it's very chicken and the egg)  I'm thinking I'm going to show this youtube clip at the beginning as my way of engaging the class.  It's very amusing so I'll link to it here too:

Introduction to the Book

Then from 7:10-9pm I have my first coreseminar class, which is required for all first year students in my program.  The speaker actually sounds very interesting.  I'll repost her bio from an e-mail we were sent yesterday.  And then tomorrow is TGIF!  No classes, and probably lots of homework :P

e-mail repost:
On Thursday, September 9th, Debra Lieberman will be the speaker in MSTU 4000.   Dr. Lieberman is a communication researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she also directs the Health Games Research national program www.healthgamesresearch.org funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance the research, design, and effectiveness of digital games for health.  Additional information about her and her work appears below.  This event is open to all interested faculty and students in CCTE, whether or not formally enrolled in MSTU 4000.  We are fortunate that she has agreed to be a part of our class while she is visiting New York, and I hope to see you on September 9th.

PRESENTATION TITLE:  Health Games: New Developments in Research and Design

PRESENTATION  DESCRIPTION:  We are seeing explosive innovation and growth in the genres, technologies, and behavioral health strategies of health games.  However, we need more research to guide their design so that we can assure that they will be engaging and effective.  What have we learned so far about the design of health games?  Where is the field heading?  This talk will present an overview of the field, provide examples of well designed and well researched health games, and discuss prospects for the future.

PRESENTER INFORMATION: Debra Lieberman, Ph.D., conducts research with focus on processes of learning and behavior change with interactive media, with special interests in digital games, health media, and children's media.  She is a communication researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she also directs the Health Games Research national program www.healthgamesresearch.org funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance the research, design, and effectiveness of digital games for health.  Debra consults for health organizations, education agencies, and media and technology companies to help design and evaluate media for entertainment, learning, and health behavior change, for people of all ages.  She has contributed to the development of games that have significantly motivated and supported players' healthy lifestyles, self-care behaviors in a variety of health areas, health-related self-concepts and skills, and academic and problem-solving ski!
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Her clients have included Apple, Disney, HopeLab, Kaiser Permanente, Knowledge Adventure, Konami, The Learning Company, Philips Medical Systems, Pixar, WebTV, WestEd, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Zowie Intertainment, and many others.