Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with Cancer

Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with Cancer

July 1, 2009

At the White House yesterday, President Barack Obama lauded a California non-profit which publishes a PC game designed to help children and teens cope with cancer.

As reported by the San Mateo Daily Journal, Obama recognized HopeLab and its game Re-Mission as an example of the kind of social innovation that is worthy of support from both the public and private sectors. Praising the work of HopeLab and three other non-profits during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, the President said:

If we work together — if we all go all-in here — think about the difference we can make. Think about the impact we could have with just the organizations represented in this room.

A White House press release praised HopeLab and its game:

HopeLab is dedicated to finding solutions that have broad impact, and works closely with tweens, teens and young adults to create fun, innovative products that meet their needs. Among them is Re-Mission, HopeLab's groundbreaking video game for young people with cancer. Data show that that Re-Mission improves treatment adherence and other key health outcomes... HopeLab is also developing products to combat sedentary behavior in children as a way to fight the effects of childhood obesity.

C-SPAN video of the ceremony is available here. More details of the event are available via HopeLab's Twitter account.

Comments

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

That's just terrible.  Those kids should put down this game and read a book about coping with cancer.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Oh I c whu u did, and I approve.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Stop hopping the fence there, Mr. President. Either be For or Against video games, or acknowledge and admit that you sit on the fence. You can't be "All video games are for the Devil!" one day and then say "Well, this video game is the greatest invention since the wheel and fire COMBINED." Just say what we all already know:

"I'm generally against video games but I accept some of it's revolutionary edges and it's a part of our culture now."

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

He has never been outright against video games. He only said that there are more important things.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Exactly! People are too quick to judge Obama about the video game issue of this site they don't even get the message about what he's saying.

http://www.magicinkgaming.com/

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

"Look at me in this photo-op, aren't I fantastic!"?

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

That's nearly half of his presidency!

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Or indeed, any presidency.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Well, after being attacked so much a kneejerk reaction is understandable.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

I hope one of his aides reminds him that a big factor in his election had to do with his campaign (the best in American history) reaching out to the "videogame generation". 

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

His campaign was hardly the best, considering he didn't even get 50% of the vote...

-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Uh, Obama got 53% of the popular vote.

Way to spout off uninformed crap there, skippy.

Source

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

But this is how we do things on the internet!

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Your response is apt, but 53% hardly makes Obama's campaign the best ever.  It was the most technological, with Facebook and YouTube stuff, but hardly the best.

Plus, it's not that hard to win when the people backing him were calling anyone who spoke out against him racist.

---

Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Games are evil, apart from when they can get him votes or make for a good photo-op.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

All you cunts are so fucking reactionary it's unbelieveable and unbearable in equal measure.

 

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

While calling people cunts is of course the paragon of a reasoned, calm and non-kneejerk response.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Just calling a spade a shovel.


Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

So you're an idiot then? What do you call a car, a mobile carriage?

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Etymology: Call a spade a fucking shovel

The more vulgar "call a spade a fucking shovel" means to state one's opinion with brutal honesty, sparing nobody's feelings, and without any regard whatsoever to the consequences.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

But you still haven't proved that your own behaviour is any improvement on it whatsoever.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

True 'dat.

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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Indeed.

"De minimus non curat lex"

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

"I am aware that a spade and a shovel are not the same implement. Part of the point is that such a person would not know the difference and refer to them as the same thing."

So you are admitting you're stupid, then?

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

And you just can't accept the fact that there are people in this country who don't like doubletalk and photo opportunities by someone who has much bigger things on his plate to sit on the fence over, like the economy, Iran, North Korea, and figuring out how to release suspected terrorists without being kicked out of the Presidency.

 

Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Apparently Obama doesn't hate games, but rather only games that don't serve some "higher" social purpose. Makes sense now, the douchebag doesn't seem to appreciate media for media's sake. Entertainment can't just be... entertaining.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Whenever Obama says games are "bad" is when family values decline. If you had a kid who just played games all the time when you wanted to spend time with him, would you be happy to just let him play games? In this case, he likes this cancer game because its helps children cope with cancer. But I guess that just makes him a douchebag.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

If you had a child that only played video games, then you failed as a parent at some point.  It isn't the President's job to tell parents to have their kids put the games down at some point, but when elected leaders try to paint a picture of gaming being the root cause of obesity and low test scores, it will soon be followed by legislation to control the industry.  That is what we fear.

---

Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

PEOPLE.

Obama is honoring the creator of a game for kids with cancer.

THAT IS ALL.

THERE ARE NO ULTERIOR SLITHERINGS, NO HIDDEN AGENDA, NO PHOTO OP

IT IS WHAT IT IS.

BLARG.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

If it isn't a photo op, then why the picture?

---

Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.

Re: Obama Honors Creator of Game That Helps Kids Cope with ...

Who cares what Obama says.  Going back and forth without actually setting foot on one side is what he's good at.

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:40am
JDKJ: We can sit here all day and debate the relative merits. However, I think the events of recent days suggest that an FN Five-Seven ain't exactly the same as that Daisy BB gun you got for Christmas when you were a kid.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:38am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: tumbling can be quite dangerous. However, the rounds that commonly tumbled were variants of the SS90. Civilian ammo tends to tumble far less commonly.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:33am
JDKJ: I understand that while they don't have much expansion effect, they tend to "yaw" on impact. Yaw can be almost just as damaging as mushrooming.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:30am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: Except when one considers the lack of expansion for the 5.7, it basically ends up leaving a far smaller hole.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:29am
JDKJ: But if the latter's travelling at close to twice the speed of the former, there's a compensatory effect on the weight difference.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:27am
Austin_Lewis: And of course, having nothing pass through or into one's brain is always the preferrable outcome.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:26am
Austin_Lewis: For comparison, commonly available 9mm run from 115 to 147 grains. 5.7s run between 28 and 40 grains.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:24am
JDKJ: Again, I'd rather not have any foreign objects either lodge in or pass through my brain, thank you very much.
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:22am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: Better than a larger projectile expanding as it lodges itself in one's brain.
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