Mindablaze» Video

Laughing & Learning – Making Brainy Babies

Mike Askew — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 04:41:41 +0000

Exposing kids to opportunities to learn never starts too early. A company named Brainy Baby has been committed providing these opportunities through video for over 10 years now. Brainy Baby‘s series of educational DVDs starts with material suitable for a 9 month old, spanning all the way up to 5 years of age.

Each DVD is designed to stimulate the child’s brain through choreographed blend of sounds, shapes, and colors as well as images of kids of similar age. There are many videos that you could expose your little one to for entertainment. But, with the Brainy Baby series you can provide your child with edutainment -- entertainment that educates and stimulates.

Here are sample clips from the Laugh an Learn DVD, designed for kids from age 1 to 3 years old. The Laugh and Learn DVD can be purchased at Brainy Baby’s Online Store.

Coming soon this entire video learning system will be available through an iPhone App. Parents will have all the educational value of the Brainy Baby system available for their toddler while out and about town.

Buy the Laugh and Learn DVD HERE.

Super Paper Poppers – Startle a Buddy, Be More Creative

Mike Askew — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:45:27 +0000

It is proven science that laughing lights up almost every circuits in the human brain. So, those who laugh have their brain pathways lit up and ready to go. If your brain is lit up and glowing, then you are primed for some creative thought.

My point? To help be more creative during the day you need to laugh often. To help you laugh more I am sharing a video on how to make a super-duper noise-making popper from a sheet of paper. If you are good at sneaking up behind your buddies at work then you can get a great laugh unloading this popper behind them. Watching them jump straight up and begin to curse you will be good for at least 5 minutes of laughter. After that, you will be ready for some quality creative thinking.

Make a Popper, Startle a Friend, Laugh Out Loud, Be more Creative!

ANY_CHARACTER_HERE

Just A Good Ol’ Boy…Never Meanin’ No Harm…

Mike Askew — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:45:27 +0000

Even after you have grown up over 6 feet 4 inches tall and eaten your way to 260 lbs, you can still have fun in a Go-Cart. This is the footage of my lap around James and Christy’s house while visiting family in Chattanooga, TN over Thanksgiving holidays. It reminded me of many a carefree day as a kid riding my go-cart around my childhood neighborhood.

Never look at a go-cart and say, “I can fit in that thing!”. Be creative! There is always a way to squeeze you butt in the seat. Don’t waste your life making excuses for not having fun. Seize the moment! Go live your life!

Checkers – A Game That Crosses Generations

Mike Askew — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:09:51 +0000

The first game I remember playing with my Granddad is checkers. I think the reason it sticks out in my mind after 33 years is that I remember him focusing 100% on me. When I played this old-school game of strategy with my dad’s dad he gave me all his attention for as long as I wanted it. I felt like I was important to my Granddad and I am sure he felt like he was important to me. Yesterday, I got a chance to watch my son play checkers with his dad’s dad. Noah spent an hour of cross generation gaming, pitting his strategic wit against Granddad in the time honored battle of checkers. I am thankful that the tradition has continued to the next generation.

Footage of the event is provided below.

sk Worship Team Video – Lion of Judah

Mike Askew — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:51:53 +0000

I took some footage of the sk Worship Team introducing the song “The Lion of Judah” to our church family. I have included the lyrics below for those who want to follow along. (Oh, did I mention the young man in the red shirt is my son? So proud of him!)

Lion of Judah
Isaiah 11, Revelation 11

You’re the Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain,
You ascended to heaven and ever more will reign;
At the end of the age when the earth You reclaim,
You will gather the nations before You.
And the eyes of all men will be fixed on the Lamb
Who was crucified,
For with wisdom and mercy and justice You’ll reign
At Your Father’s side.

And the angels will cry: ‘Hail the Lamb
Who was slain for the world, Rule in power.’
And the earth will reply: ‘You shall reign
As the King of all kings
And the Lord of all lords.’

There’s a shield in our hand and a sword at our side,
There’s a fire in our spirits that cannot be denied;
As the Father has told us for these You have died,
For the nations that gather before You.
And the ears of all men need to hear of the Lamb
Who was crucified,
Who descended to hell yet was raised up to reign
At the Father’s side.

FourPlay – Ugly or Obscure?

Mike Askew — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:57:58 +0000

Design Iteration, a North Carolina based iPhone App publisher, released a word game application about a month ago. Given the recent popularity of word games on Facebook, thoughts were that FourPlay would sell a reasonable number of copies on the App Store. However, this has not quite been the case. Sales of Fourplay have been low, starting off at 10 downloads per day at first and now only touching maybe 2 downloads per day.

The gameplay is very simple. You are trying to maximize your score by making as many two, three and four letter words as possible in two and a half minutes. The player has 4 letter tiles to work with at any one time. 10 points are earned for a two letter word, 20 points for a three letter word, and 40 points for a four letter word. If you exhaust the word possibilities with the letters you have, you can swap out for another letter for a price of 5 points per swap.

Take a look at the video below to see the game in action.

There are many thoughts on why the game is not selling at the rate expected. Perhaps it is a victim of being lost within a sea of 73,000 apps. It is simply a needle in a haystack. Or, it could be that the game board style graphics are just too old school and it does not capture the fancy of today’s word gamers. Deep down in the gut of the development team, thoughts are that FourPlay is a solid, fun game. The question is – “What to tweak – marketing approach, graphics, or both?”

If you have downloaded the app and tried it or just took a moment to view the video above, please drop a comment in the box below this blog with your opinions. Hopes are that the right face lift to FourPlay may make her the prettiest girl at the dance. Thanks for taking a moment to share your thoughts…