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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Prisoners in their own home How do you feel about new cell towers? Oregon Shakespeare Festival designer for a half-century says he's still learning Louie's to donate sales to Helman Hug Fund Ashland High School Drama Club to host Showcase Night on Thursday Education Prisoners in their own home Louie's to donate sales to Helman Hug Fund Ashland High School Drama Club to host Showcase Night on Thursday Ashland Kiwanis recognizes Samara Diab Hands-On work with robots at ScienceWorks Environment Wild Side: Selfish and other reasons for saving endangered species Mt. Ashland Ski Area: Low snow closes 'bunny hill' chairlift for beginning skiers With pre-season conditions worst in 25 years, catastrophic wildfires expected in region this summer Legislature might be divided on clean fuels bill, but these Ashlanders weren't Ashland Rowing Club members put their backs into Emigrant Lake clean-up Business Breaking ground on organic vineyard practices Southern Oregon University: Recent and pending projects at SOU total about $132 million Test Drive: 2015 Subaru Outback Limited Silvio Calabi: 2015 Cherokee is a modern Jeep Ride & Drive: 2015 Hyundai Genesis Politics and elections Short-term rental restrictions kept in some areas, loosened in others Arthur I. Cyr: South Korea represents long-term triumph – for them and for US Mark L. Hopkins: Looking for a political straight shooter Oregon's governor appoints new secretary of state Ballots on Jackson County marijuana tax go out today State News Oregon's governor appoints new secretary of state Kate Brown sworn in as Oregon's 38th governor Nation - World Leonard Nimoy, famous as Mr. Spock on 'Star Trek,' dies Obituaries Death Notices Shiela R. Ettlich Karen June Shaw Death Notices Death Notices Shareable Bank of America is predicting a massive Tesla collapse Mars One attracts science fiction geeks and people who hate society Sports Latest Stories Wade scores 32, Heat rally to beat Blazers AHS grad Bailey claims national wrestling title Ashland boys capture another Sato Cup snowboard title at Mt. Bachelor Fredrickson leads Grizzlies to season-opening romp Thompson, Weber to play in all-star game High school Ashland boys capture another Sato Cup snowboard title at Mt. Bachelor Fredrickson leads Grizzlies to season-opening romp Grizz alpine skiers finish strong at state Ashland High's Honsinger tops field in final nordic ski meet Grizz snowboard team heads to state with repeat potential Southern Oregon University AHS grad Bailey claims national wrestling title Thompson, Weber to play in all-star game Beavers get No. 3 seed, host NCAA games Young shoots Ducks into Pac-12 title game Raider softball team opens league play with split at Northwest Voices Latest Stories Landgren cartoon: Boston gets a ‘Frozen’ sequel Our View: SOU's economic clout Letters to the Editor, March 18 Letters to the Editor, March 17 Landgren cartoon: Sunshine Week Editorial Our View: SOU's economic clout Our view: Keep it simple in developing marijuana rules Our View: Ashland is at risk as a bad fire season looms Our View: Ashland backs residents over visitors in lodging decision Our View: No need for blame in Hannah Thomas-Garner case Letters Letters to the Editor, March 18 Letters to the Editor, March 17 Letters to the Editor, March 14 Letters to the Editor, March 12 Letters to the Editor, March 11 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Ashland is asking for trouble with new room rental rules Guest Opinion: More reasons to oppose Jordan Cove Guest Opinion: It's Groundwater Awareness Week; test your well Guest Opinion: Ashland schools failed to protect my son from bullying Guest Opinion: There is nothing uniform about the Uniform Crime Report Columns Guest Opinion: Ashland is asking for trouble with new room rental rules Council Corner: City considers the sharing economy Herb Rothschild Jr.: Demonizing Putin makes case for war Guest Opinion: More reasons to oppose Jordan Cove Jeffrey Gillespie: The opaqueness of Hillary Clinton Chris Honore Council Corner Editor's Notes Jeffrey Gillespie Herb Rothschild Revels Latest Stories Community blog: Herzog scholarship for young writers Movie listings: March 13-18 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder John McEuen performs at the Unitarian Fellowship in Ashland Thanks for the Memories presents 'Anastasia' Community blog: Take a peek at poet Scott Wozniak Theater Oregon Shakespeare Festival designer for a half-century says he's still learning Ashland High School Drama Club to host Showcase Night on Thursday Theater review: Thanks for the Memories pulls off challenging 'Anastasia' in Ashland Ticket availability Ticket Availability Music The Farr Side: Madonna — ever the trendsetter Nitty Gritty Dirt Band co-founder John McEuen performs at the Unitarian Fellowship in Ashland Alice DiMicele plays Unitarian Fellowship The Farr Side: Another career highlight for Kelly Clarkson Music on the Mountain: Ski area launching concert series Visual Art Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies 8 must-see spring films Movie review: ‘Wrecking Crew’ is a look at the people who really put the bomp Movie review: ‘Cinderella’ is an instant classic Shailene Woodley returns as Tris in ‘Insurgent’ Movie listings: March 13-18 Food and Drink Sammich does it Chicago-style Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Oregon Shakespeare Festival designer for a half-century says he's still learning Page H. Onorato: How food names came into being Tammy Kelly: Healthy leftover ham Lost in Suburbia: Top 10 reasons I like my dog better than my kids Dear Monty: Tips for checking out an existing septic system Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Rogues: Tales from the Valley Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business Business Services NEWS NOW Louie's to donate sales to Helman Hug Fund ... Ashland High School Drama Club to host Showcase Night on Thursday ... Our View: SOU's economic clout ... Louie's to donate sales to Helman Hug Fund ... Ashland High School Drama Club to host Showcase Night on Thursday ... Our View: SOU's economic clout ... EDUCATION Work your body to save your braaaaains SOU students, alumni working on zombie-based fitness app Comment By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings Posted Mar. 11, 2015 at 7:08 PM By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings Posted Mar. 11, 2015 at 7:08 PM » Social News Which would you rather have for a personal trainer: A well-toned fitness enthusiast or a zombie apocalypse? Southern Oregon University student Christopher Applegate is working on a capstone project that utilizes the latter, specifically with "Zompocalypse Fitness," a unique fitness app that takes a page or two from a George Romero movie. it's basically a hybrid of a workout trainer and serial zombie story where a group of survivors fights to stay alive. “It’s like when you pick up a good book. You fall in love with a character. You get into it and you can’t put it down,” Applegate, 41, says. “We’re absolutely counting on that for motivation.” Patient zero Applegate's idea for the app started with an assignment in one of his digital media classes at SOU, where he was tasked with designing an iPad app. A fitness enthusiast who fights wildland fires during the summer, he says he gets "kind of bored" with the usual workout regimens. The night before class, he thought of an idea for how to change that oft-mundane grind. “I was thinking about zombies, watching ‘Walking Dead,’" Applegate said. "At the same time, I was thinking, 'I should go work out before class tomorrow.' It just kind of came to me." The idea was to turn a zombie story into a series of workout routines. Project artist and SOU alum Chris LaGasse, 35, says the 18-episode story will follow a character through a journey that starts in Ashland and heads north. App users are thrust into the middle of the tale and experience it as it happens through the workouts. "It's a really kind of action-packed, really interesting, character-driven kind of story," LaGasse says. "Along the way you're running into all these different zombie situations." In one scene, the character has to escape from zombies by heading to a body of water and swimming for a certain amount of time, as zombies can't swim. In another, the character has to run a certain amount of time to escape a closing horde. With each challenge completed, another chunk of story unlocks. "You are actually having to feel what the characters are going through on a physical level," Applegate says. Pandemic In preparation for his class presentation, Applegate designed the first few pages of an interface and included some elaborate exercise routines. It went well, he says, with several classmates saying they would use such an app. So Applegate kept at it, and the app continued to take shape over the summer.  “The more I kind of honed it and polished it up, it was like, 'You know what? I can do this. I’m going to do this. This can happen.' " As a zombie plague is apt to do, Applegate's idea spread. Students from other SOU departments — theater, computer science, emerging media and digital arts, and athletics — got involved. "I was thinking, 'Man, this is the only thing that could get me to work out,' " LaGasse says with a chuckle. "I just thought the idea was really great." Months later, the team project has become an intricate balance of storytelling, programming and health. "Everything has its own little challenges," says SOU student Jeoffery Puglisi, 29. Applegate says he hopes to make "Zompocalypse Fitness" live for iOS and Android operating systems by Halloween. Until then, the team soldiers on, one sweat-inducing undead attack at a time. "It's really moving, and a lot of that has to do with Christopher," LaGasse says. "He's just really motivated and always keeping us motivated. All the pieces are coming together."  For more information, see www.zompocalypsefit.com . Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Ryan Pfeil For the Tidings Posted Mar. 11, 2015 at 7:08 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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