Monday, November 22, 2010

Caddo Language App Now Available on Android Market

alterNative Media (aNm) is pleased to announce that we have deployed the Caddo Language app for Android devices, available for download from the Android Market. The Caddo Language app (v1.0.0) is a feature-rich mobile application that allows users to search for the Caddo translation of a word or phrase by entering an English word.

alterNative Media is committed to bringing the power of innovative technology to the Native community, so integrating this Cultural information with an Adroid app was a logical and exciting choice for us," says Michael Sheyahshe - CIO Developer for aNm - an enrolled member of the Caddo Nation. "By adding the Caddo Language app to the Android Market, we've made it extremely easy for the global community to help retain an immensely important Indigenous cultural resource. We developed an application that celebrates the Caddo language...available right on your Android mobile device."

Caddo is a language, made of several dialects, from the Caddoan linguistic stock of the Southern Plains and primarily spoken by members the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. The Caddo Language app allows individuals to interactively search for Caddo words from an internal database (no Internet connection needed after installation) and the app suggests possible entries to choose from, as you type.


Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android devices. An application program ("app") called "Market" is preinstalled on most Android devices and allows users to browse and download apps published by
third-party developers, hosted on Android Market. The website, rather than the
Market app itself, provides details of some of the available apps, in particular
those that are termed "Featured", "Top Paid" and "Top Free". For a comprehensive, up-to-date list of the tens of thousands of titles available,check out Android Market on your handset.


To learn more about Android Market or the Caddo Language app, visit www.android.com or http://www.alternativemedia.biz/. You can also scan QR code below to take you directly to the Caddo Language app's location in the Android Market.


qrcode

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Coming Soon...

Look for some exciting news coming soon from aNm...

...stay tuned for more !

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Book Lecture at SEOSU

 
Check out info on my book's website ("Native Americans in Comic Books") about a lecture I'm giving at Southeastern State University in Durant, OK on September 9, 2010.

http://nativecomicbooks.blogspot.com/2010/08/lecture-at-seosu-in-durant-ok.html

Monday, December 28, 2009

More Panels at CNMCC

alterNative Media is pleased to announce that we have completed design and installation of 9 new exhibit panels at the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Check out a slide show of all the panels at CNMCC (embedded at the bottom of this article) or use the following link to go directly to the Flickr site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheyahshe/tags/cnmcc2/show/

Just like before, many thanks to Billy Skaggs for his assistance in delivery and installation; without his help, none of this would've been possible (especially due to an unexpected turn of events involving a table saw).

aNm looks forward to working with the Comanche Museum in the near future on many new and exciting projects. Be sure to visit CNMCC and check out the other exhibits and keep your eyes peeled for more projects from aNm.

Friday, November 20, 2009

aNm's CFO, Mary Skaggs, Published in New Plains

aNm would like to spotlight our very own Mary Skaggs who has recently been published in New Plains Review, "a collective presentation of a wide range of cultural perspectives and demonstrates the drive toward academic excellence upon which the University of Central Oklahoma is founded."

Her work, Whole - a beautiful and contemplative musing on having an Indigenous son - is featured in the magazine's "Special Section: Oklahoma American Indian Experience."

You can read more about Mary and her professional, academic, and writing experience at aNm's Our People page.

Once again: congratulations to Mary Skaggs on being selected for publication. You rock !

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Art Video Game Credits on IMDb

After a very long wait, I am very pleased to announce that you can now view the credits for the video game, Helix for Nintendo Wii.

You can view the credits for my artistic work on Helix here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1508668/fullcredits

This game is special to me, as it represents aNm's collaboration on a game with a local development studio here in the regional area (Ghostfire Games, located in Austin, TX) and further exemplifies our goal of supporting and providing viable artistic services to the the Austin game studios and any others in the regional area.

If you are a educational institution, local studio, or indie game developer, contact us today to see how we can help with your video game or simulation projects.

Monday, July 13, 2009

aNm 3D Art at Arts Festival Oklahoma 2009 !

Exciting news for aNm: we will be at the Arts Festival Oklahoma 2009 at OCCC in OKC. Check out the acceptance/invitation letter.
Category: Graphics

Michael Sheyahshe:

CONGRATULATIONS!

The Arts Festival Oklahoma 2009 jury has been completed. There were more applications received than available booth spaces. Arts Festival Oklahoma is pleased to inform you that your application has been ACCEPTED and you are INVITED to exhibit in the Arts Festival Oklahoma 2009. The 31st annual Festival will be held on the campus of Oklahoma City Community College at 74th and South May Avenue.
We are very excited, as aNm will showcase art from our "Organic Noise" series (see slide show below, to see some of the art pieces we will have on-hand at the Arts Festival Oklahoma). Come check out our booth, meet / greet us, and see our exciting new 3D art.


Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Book Review from World Lit Today

The May/June 2009 edition of World Literature Today has offered a review of my book, Native Americans in Comic Books.

Please see the blog entry at http://nativecomicbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/book-review-world-literature-today.html to read more.

Introducing the NEW Book Website

As my hosting service at the illustrious (ha-ha) GeoCities has decided to close its virtual doors, I have transferred the contents of my website for my book, "Native Americans in Comic Books" to its new home, here at blogger.com.

While you can still access the book's website by entering the domain name, http://www.nativecomicbooks.com, you will now be forwarded to the website's new location at http://nativecomicbooks.blogspot.com.

Check it out and be sure to leave any feedback to help me improve the site. Thanks and take care.

Friday, June 05, 2009

Art Sold at Red Cloud

I am pleased to announce that my art, "Bottle Cap Blues" (thumbnail version seen here, at left) has been sold at the Red Cloud Art Show. The Museum & Heritage Center at Red Cloud Indian School has been gracious enough to allow my artwork in its annual art show. This piece is part of the Organic Noise series, which can be seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheyahshe/tags/noise/show/

Beginning May 31, 2009, the exhibit, will feature "Native American and Lakota art from across the United States and Canada," and will run through August 9.

The 42nd Annual Red Cloud Indian Art Show is a great opportunity and I encourage anyone in the area (Pine Ridge, South Dakota) to attend and see all the great work from artists everywhere. You may even see work by friend, America Meredith, at the show, as well. (Thanks, Meredith, for encouraging me to apply to this show !)

Purchased by the Heritage Center, "Bottle Cap Blues" will now become a part of the Museum's permanent collection. Much thanks to everyone involved in the show and all the artists represented.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Update - CNMCC

aNm is pleased to announce that installation of the first set of panels at the Comanche Nation Museum and Cultural Center went off without a hitch (unless you count the ones we used to hitch the panels up on the wall !). Here are some initial images of the panels, taken just before supporting material was added:

Much thanks to Billy Skaggs for his much-needed assistance in delivering and installation, without whose help, none of this would've been possible. aNm will return to install remaining museum panels later this summer. Be sure to visit CNMCC and check out the panels and other exhibits and keep your eyes peeled for more

Friday, April 24, 2009

New aNm Client - CNMCC

 
As many of you know, alterNative Media is focused on providing services to enhance various Tribal communities in the Oklahoma and surrounding areas. With this in mind, aNm is proud to add the Comanche Nation Museum and Cultural Center (CNMCC), located in Lawton, OK, to our list of ever-growing client success stories. aNm will provide artistic and technical design services to CNMCC for various visual components that support the exhibits within the museum.

CNMCC is committed to "Preserving and expanding the knowledge of local communities about Indian Arts and Culture with an emphasis on Comanche History and Culture" and aNm is eager to assist the Museum in this endeavor.

You can check out the Museum's website at http://www.comanchemuseum.com/ for more info and directions to CNMCC.

What can aNm do for you and/or your Tribal community or business? We offer a vast multitude of services, ranging from traditional/digital artistic design to high-end 3D modeling and simulation work. Check out our website at http://www.alternativemedia.biz to find out more about how aNm can help you with numerous projects that can potentially strengthen and enhance your Tribal community and/or business.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Report From OEGE

The Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo was a most excellent event for aNm. It was great to see all the individuals in the local OKC metro area come out for an event focusing on video games and electronic media. The staff and crew deserve many thanks and kudos for their accommodating attitudes and due to the fact that everything ran smoothly.

There were many vendors and sponsors and all the booths were busy with people interested in one aspect of video games or another. Indeed, aNm's booth received many visitors and friendly faces wanting to know more and talk about video games and electronic media.

At alterNative Media's booth, we displayed images from the digital gallery (which can also be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sheyahshe/sets/72157603892304375/show/), were able to pass out many information flyers - about my book, Native Americans in Comic Books, the studio itelf, and our outreach to other '3D people' in the local community - as well as exchange business cards and do some good-natured networking within the 3D community.

Friend, David Downs came in for the "assist" in manning the booth, distributing flyers, and fielding questions from our booth's visitors. Many thanks to him for his efforts and professionalism at the expo.

We appreciate all the good people that came out and talked with us at OEGE and look forward to hearing from all of you that have 3D skills and to those that had potential projects to collaborate with aNm. Feel free to use our contact page for any communications about potential projects or collaborations. Look for alterNative Media at next year's OEGE event.

Monday, April 06, 2009

AbTeC Interview

Beth Aileen Lameman - an Indigenous friend and creator of The West Was Lost and Fala comics, as winner of the APTN Comic Creation Nation contest from Zeros2Heroes - recently interviewed me for the Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace ("AbTeC") blog, "The blog of the Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace research network."

Here's a little info about AbTeC, from their website:

About

Aboriginal Territories in Cyberspace (AbTeC) is a series of projects investigating innovative methods for First Nations to participate in networked culture to tell our stories while populating and shaping cyberspace itself.

Main

The main objective of AbTeC is to discover, define and implement methods by which Aboriginal people can use networked communication technology to strengthen our cultures. AbTeC’s Skins project will bring Aboriginal community organizations together with academic institutions to conduct research into the means by which the power of digital and networked technology can be put to use in producing and preserving our knowledge, culture and language. We will work with elder who have stories to tell, bands who have histories to preserve, and Aboriginal language speakers who want to share their knowledge. The goal is to provide conceptual and practical tools that will allow us to create new, Aboriginally-determined territories within the collection of web-pages, online games, chat rooms, bulletin boards and virtual environments that we call cyberspace.

Beth asks questions about alterNative Media, my opinions on fine art, and the future of video games for Indigenous people. My responses also came with a small peppering of nostalgia for some video-games-of-yester-year some of you might well recall.

Check out the interview here: http://www.abtec.org/blog/?p=118.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Look for aNm's Booth at OEGE 2009

alterNative Media is proud to both sponsor and participate as an exhibitor for the Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo and Multimedia Conference - April 11, 2009, at OCCC in OKC. aNm will have booth space along with many other local business and services in the metro area. Click the link below to see the list of exhibitors at OEGE:

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/exhibitors-info/

aNm will showcase our many services and make exciting new networking connections within the local gaming industry. One of our main goals is to cultivate, support, and collaborate with Oklahoma's video game community and to foster growth towards creating a viable 3D game studio resources and talents to which regional studios (say, in Austin, TX) can outsource.

In addition, we will also have information about my book, Native Americans in Comic Books, from McFarland, available everywhere online.

Daily Oklahoman featured an article on OEGE. The article highlights the many events that will be at the expo including speaking presentations and the game tournament. You can access the store on the web at: http://newsok.com/occc-to-host-video-game-expo/article/3357567

Come by our booth, see what we can offer your projects, and say hello.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sheyahshe Serves as Chair on NCU Accreditation Committee

 
Northern California University ("NCU"), www.ncalu.us is developing an Accreditation Committee to receive accreditation through the DETC (Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council), a national accreditation body. Michael Sheyahshe - CIO, alterNative Media - has been appointed to this committee and will serve as Chair for Divisions III, IV, and V, providing oversight in the following areas:

Standard III - The institution and program provide educational services that meet the needs of students. The institution ensures that distance educational services are designed to optimize interaction between the student and the institution in order to encourage and facilitate learning.
Standard IV - The institution provides student services that encourage and assist the student to attain institutional and program objectives, intended course learning outcomes, and his/her educational goals.
Standard V - The institution verifies/demonstrates student success and satisfaction using valid and reliable assessment techniques.
The mission of the Northern California University School of Law and Business is to bring a traditional legal education to students with an online setting. NCU offers an alternative to the classroom by allowing our students live online lectures in the comfort of their home rather than a classroom setting.
...
Our instructional mission includes undergraduate, graduate, and continuing and distance education informed by scholarship and research. Research and other creative endeavors comprise an essential component of Northern California University‘s mission. All faculty members contribute to the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge. These efforts, supported by public and private resources, are conducted in an atmosphere of open inquiry and academic freedom.
The NCU Accreditation Committee facilitates assessment and accreditation activities within Northern California University; to encourage effective and fair assessment practices throughout NCU programs; and to support the accreditation needs of NCU. The primary purpose of the Accreditation Committee is to study program accreditation; development standards for the accreditation of NCU programs; and prepare for accreditation. The NCU Accreditation Committee will steer the university in the direction for DETC accreditation.

See http://www.detc.org/index.html for more information on the DETC

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Another Critique of My Book

A contributor to livejournal had the following to say about my book, Native Americans in Comic Books:

"The book annoyed me a bit with its critique of Native American comic book characters whose stories are set in the past. Sheyahshe commented that these characters reinforce the notion that Native Americans disappeared in the Old West days. It's a completely legitimate complaint--so the complaint itself I have no problem with...What annoyed me was the fact Sheyahshe brought this up each time he discussed one of these characters. It was very redundant. A few paragraphs at the beginning of the book, to comment on the problem and mention its applicability to all "historical" characters, would have made for a better reading experience."
*****
"Thankfully there are plenty of modern-day Native American comic book characters, so I didn't have to suffer through his redundant complaint too much."
****
"One omission that surprised me was the lack of commentary on the names that so many Native American comic characters have. The only name Sheyahshe commented on was Tonto's (Spanish for "stupid")."
*****
"Overall, though, I did enjoy reading the book. It made for a nice, nostalgic trip, and it sparked my interest in a comic book called Tribal Force, the creative work of a Tucsonan."

I can certainly see how someone might see parts of the book as repetitive: as an examination of many stereotypes and many comic books, there's bound to be a certain recurring element. Add to this, my use of a very specific set of criteria to evaluate the level of stereotype in each study and you can well imagine how a reader might feel this way, initially.

To certain extent, I agree that a short foreword / blanket statement about the problem inherent to all historic-only characters might have sufficed in some respects; however, given the sheer amount of continual stories that appear in comics, movies, and any other stories about Indigenous people, the event of portraying characters as historical artifacts only is exponentially more repetitive than I could ever be in simply documenting its existence. Yet, I can see how a reader might tire of reading about this tragic phenomenon - just as I tire of seemingly only seeing Native people with fringe, feathers, and on horseback.

But, as mentioned above, there are some modern-day Indigenous heroes in comics and we should celebrate them when we can.

This reader is correct about naming conventions for Native comic book characters: they certainly do seem formulaic and stereotypical, by nature. While the reader mentions the fine line between homage and misrepresentation, I would lean towards the latter, as I have seen far to few character names that seem realistic for Native people. Good call.

Also, I'm happy this reader was introduced to Proudstar's Tribal Force comic. My hope is that many readers will also have similar experiences of discovery and interest. Thanks for reading and taking time to comment.

Check out the full commentary here: http://footnotefetish.livejournal.com/458721.html

aNm Sponsors Local 3D Event

alterNative Media is dedicated to encouraging, supporting, and cultivating 3D talent in the local Oklahoma City metro and surrounding areas. With that in mind, aNm is happy to be one of the sponsors for the Oklahoma Electronic Game Expo and Multimedia Conference ("OEGE") - April 11, 2009, at the Oklahoma City Community College campus.

Check out our banner, as well as the other sponsors at the OEGE website:

http://oege.catblog.occc.edu/wordpress/sponsors/

Look for us at this exciting event and be on the look-out for many other opportunities to promote 3D modeling/animation/simulation/video games in Oklahoma !

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Late Entry to SF Art Show

Thanks to artist friend, America Merideth, and show Curator, Wendee Key, some of artwork was again showcased at the 14th Annual Bay Area Anarchist Book Fair, March 14th and 15th, 2009, SF County Fair Building, Golden Gate Park.

Here are some details about myself and the other artists that contributed to the art show:
http://sfbookfair.wordpress.com/art-show/

You can also see a slideshow of the images I submitted to this show here:
All this, despite a (horrendously) late entry, on my behalf...

...and America spending time printing out my images...

...as well as her FedEx-ing them to the show for me.

Wow. Ouch.

To America and Wendee: much thanks and please accept my continued apologies and thanks for letting me be a part of this show again.

See http://sfbookfair.wordpress.com/ for more details about the event. Be sure to check out the "A Bit of History" link, as it's immensely interesting.

Friday, March 13, 2009

The New E-Face of aNm

 
I'm pleased to announce alterNative Media's website has received a much-needed face lift.

Click the link below to head over to the website and kick the virtual tires. Let me know what you think !

http://www.alternativemedia.biz/

header-photo_003

As always, keep aNm in mind for all your technical and artistic needs. As Oklahoma's "indie" film and video game community continue to grow, alterNative Media is happy to offer such specialized services as 2D Animation, Concept Art, and even 3D Modeling / Animation / Simulations to this burgeoning artist community. Contact us today and put our expertise and creativity to work for you !