An Introduction to Interdimensional VIllainy

Friday, October 1, 2010

Contact Us

Phone: 778-998-1377
Email: ryan.leach@genusrex.com

Volunteers and Sponsorship

Genus Rex Enterprises Inc. is a social business and is not trying to maximize profit. That is not our goal. We need to make money so that we can continue to do what we do, and expand the services and resources that we offer. But we are not out to maximize profits. As a result, we give a lot of stuff away and do a lot of stuff for free. The reasoning behind this is simple- our number one goal is to get the message out. Money is simply the medium of exchange that society has agreed to use. So we use it, but we aren't very attached to it.

Volunteers

Right now, we are all volunteers. Nobody is being paid for what they do. We hope to reach a point where we can provide room and board for everyone and possibly pay people in the next year. This means we are all on the same level. Some of us have more of the picture than others, this site is a resource to put us all on the same level of information, so that we can all contribute on the same level.

We are working to create a massive social change that will improve competency in people under 30 across Canada. We want to save the world by making adults out of consumers, and leaders out of 'the masses'. This sounds huge and maybe a little intimidating, but it will happen one small step at a time. These small steps will not normally be difficult, but they will normally look difficult. We have to realize that things maybe scary, but they are not normally difficult once you grab them by the horns.

Sponsorship

As said previously, we do a lot thing for free and give away a lot of stuff. This is because we are trying to reach as many people as possible. We are looking to partner with other social businesses who would like to get word about their mission, product or service to people who would be interested in it, instead just throwing advertising at vast demographics and hoping to find people who want to change the world.

We'll go looking for them for you, and when we find them, your information will be among the resource pack that we give them.

We do we do this? Shakespeare's St. Crispin Spech from "Henry V"


This speech that follows is from "Henry V" by William Shakespeare, and I felt that it was important to post it. 

If we are mark'd to die, we are enow     
To do our country loss; and if to live,     
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.    
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.     
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,     
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;     
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;     
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.     
But if it be a sin to covet honour,     
I am the most offending soul alive.     
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.     
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour     
As one man more methinks would share from me     
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!     
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,     
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,     
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,     
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;     
We would not die in that man's company     
That fears his fellowship to die with us.     
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.     
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,     
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,     
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.     
He that shall live this day, and see old age,     
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,    
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'     
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,    
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'     
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,     
But he'll remember, with advantages,     
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,     
Familiar in his mouth as household words-     
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,    
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-     
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.     
This story shall the good man teach his son;    
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,     
From this day to the ending of the world,     
But we in it shall be remembered-     
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;     
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me     
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,     
This day shall gentle his condition;     
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed     
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,    
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks     
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

'Collapse!' A Game of Social Responsibility

In a free society, we are dependent upon the involvement of everyone to keep society running. The board game ‘Collapse!’ teaches, through play, about the interrelated systems that depend upon citizen involvement to keep working for all of our benefit. It’s a delicate web of systems that deliver food, run the buses, keep the peace, and respond to emergencies.

World Politics, economic upheaval, environmental concerns, and natural disasters (here and abroad) can disrupt the normal functioning of a city or community, and even cause its collapse if there is not sufficient infrastructure and community involvement (as in New Orleans during Katrina, Pakistan's recent flooding, or Haiti's Earthquake).

'Collapse!' helps players draw a connection between the world stage, the municipal stage and their own actions. It is available free as an electronic download for any use that is non-commercial in nature. And if you are located in the Vancouver area, contact us now to schedule a free demonstration session with mentors, enough boards for 30 to 40 players and a personal instructor.

The Red Cedar Project

his is our first offering.
We’ve noticed a problem. This generation doesn’t know how to really live. We know how to play Farm Town, but can’t grow food. We can play Street Fighter, but not defend ourselves. We can play Civilization, but don’t know how to contribute in our own town. As young people today, we have become The Matrix generation- living in a dream world. And worse, we’ve signed up for this dream world without any coercion. We’ve bought our own prison cells!
The Red Cedar Project is a toolkit to help us re-engage with the real world. The Project is a set of games and resources to help into adults that we can respect when we look ourselves in the mirror.
It’s time to stop playing at having adventures, and actually live them.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Off Topic Book Review: Ender in Exile

I just finished reading Orson Scott Cards's new book "Ender in Exile" which covers some of the territory between the end of "Ender's Game" and the beginning of "Speaker for the Dead" and also wraps up some story elements form the "Ender's Shadow" series.

I didn't care for the last two Ender books "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind". I thought that they were good, but I had come to expect greatness from Card and so 'good' tasted awfully bitter in my mouth when I read them. "Ender's Shadow" and the subsequent series improved my mood and seemed to find Card back in fighting form.

Fortunately "Ender in Exile" keeps the successes going. Like "Speaker for the Dead" it is a very different novel from "Ender's Game", but still reminds you just how smart Ender is and how capable he is. If there is a flaw in this book, the flaw is that the book feels like two novels and a short story stitched together. They are all great stories, but the work did not feel like a single work. This doesn't bother me because, as I said the stories are all great, but the effect does make the narrative a little bumpy as the author transitions from one story to the next.

I enjoyed the book enough that I bought it, which says something. I rarely buy fiction anymore. And having finished the book, I am still glad that I bought it. I will likely regift it- but even there I think the book will be enjoyed.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Monday Meditations: By Word, By Blood, By Tribe

I have nothing in this life, but three things.

I have my word. Do I do as I say I do? Every time I do, I place a hand full of earth on the place where I stand, and raise myself up a little in the eyes of those who matter to me. Every time I do not, I scoop out a handful of earth and descend a little bit into a pit of my own making. Most people spend their lives adding one handful of earth with one hand as they remove a handful with the other hand. And by doing so, and by attempting too much and many alone, they grow tired. And eventually they sink a little, and then the rally, but not quite enough. And so slowly most people sink in slow motion, becoming a failed compromised version of who they wished to be when they were young.

My word is magic. My word is an invocation that I cast upon myself to make myself better today than I was yesterday. My word is my promise to myself, and this is why we lose respect for those who have no word that matters, who have dug themselves a pit. For how do you respect one who does not respect their own word and themselves by association?

I have my blood. How much do I commit to what I do? What will I risk when the cause it right? I may always keep my word and be ill respected, because I will risk nothing. I toil each day in the service of a master, loyal and meek and well looked after. My word is good, but my blood is lacking. I need to spill a little blood for a good cause. I need to sweat and toil in a place where I could fail and fail when the world is watching. I need to raise the stakes now and then and put something of value into the pot or I will find that I have been playing for small stakes my whole life and have nothing worth protecting anymore. I will find that because I risked nothing, I am worth nothing.

My blood is magic. My blood is a ward that demands my commitment and my full attention. My blood is my bond and my proof that I will see this through. For how can one who has never bleed understand what I means to fight?

I have my tribe. Who am I loyal to, no matter the cost? For whom will I face death and court disaster? I cannot build a tribe for myself. I find my tribe, but they choose me. I must prove myself worthy of them through word and blood. If they deem me worthy they will choose me, and I deem them worthy I will choose them. Fear the tribe of worthy men and women who have chosen each other, for they are immortal.

My Tribe is magic. My tribe is the force by which I amplify my efforts. My tribe is my legacy long after I am gone. My tribe is my offering to the earth and my great grandchildren. For who can topple a wall made of warriors bound together so tightly?