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Friday night after hanging around the Nokia booth and recording the vids, we got invited to the Nokia private party. The event was held in the San Jose Museum of Art, which is a spectacular place to hold a party. They began the evening by forcing everyone into the rather small lobby, forcing us to ‘interact’ as it were. As the night wore on, they opened up different wings of the museum, so your senses were gradually met with more and more aesthetically and mentally pleasing situations.
One such exhibit is the one depicted in the included video. Beyond Manazar, 2000 by Tamiko Theil and Zara Houshmand is an interactive exhibit in which you assume the role of an interned person, unable to escape from the confines of your barbed wire enclosure. You move through the space by means of an analogue joystick.
Along the walls are quotes from caprives, news clips and the like in multiple languages. Further in the background are newsprint pages from the periods. Through the windows of the internment structures, you can see black and white images of ethnic peoples. A very effective installation, and one quite related to our chosen obsession. Click here to see a still of the museum’s description of the exhibit.
Back to the party, there was a much better selection of food this time, and my vegetarian self was able to eat a total of three of the available 10-or-so dishes. Cheers Nokia! The bar was well stocked, and its tenders friendly.
Four drinks later, we decided to head off to the evening’s other party; the one put on by the GDC themselves. They had a live band by the name of Discreet: stonejamchainsgarden. Quite obviously a grunge coverband, who were really not bad at all.
Several more drinks later, it was time to go home…or was it? Nay, for Jaimie wanted to nerd it up in the gameroom, which was open every day from 7:00 pm-12:00 AM, for those who just don’t feel that videogames are enough. This is a room filled with board games and the like, and was surprisingly well populated. After getting thoroughly trounced at Omnigon (had never known this game existed), it was time for us to call it a day.
All in all, it seems as though even nerds know how to party, at least in their own way. And they sure do like to consume alcohol. Weeding our way out through the crowds teeming with the unwashed, we headed to the parking lot with our new-found Canadian friends, Okayfun, to sober up.
brandon sheffield
[next: Post-show Wrapup]
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