Inspired by Blueprint for Counter Education by Maurice R. Stein and Larry S. Miller, I have created my own Bibliography à la Blueprint as a preparation for my upcoming thesis in Media Studies. So as to not waste a design and paper I'm proud of (and to fill up this recently empty blog) I am sharing my poster and … Continue reading Personal Blueprint: Mapping Adaptation in the Digital Age
Patrick Higgins: Would you say you are a liar? The Devil: Yes. But I’m only saying that to be honest. PH: Are you a compulsive liar? TD: In a sense. I lie compulsively as a choice. My whole being is constructed from compulsion and spontaneity, it’s all eating meals where I can. Ingesting what will give me a new feeling. … Continue reading Manifestophilis: Lies, Reality, Dreams
With any sort of artistic creation, particularly those that one hopes to show to the world and maybe make a bit of a living off of, there always seems to come up the question of how relatable the work is. Does it speak to the audience on a personal level? Do they feel drawn in … Continue reading Relatability is Not Necessary for Good Art
The Face of Joan: Balázs’s Theory in La Passion De Jeanne D’Arc Born in Hungary in 1884, Béla Balázs became one of the first filmmakers to delve into film theory, publishing works such as Visible Man, or Film Culture, The Spirit of Film, and Theory of Film. His work dissected the unique qualities of film, … Continue reading Academic Abominations (Or: Poor Papers from College) #4: “The Face of Joan”
While sitting in my dorm reading about Memetics I was struck by an idea that snowballed into a vague philosophical discussion with myself regarding the difference between "Truth" and "facts." Before I begin I will put a big, fat disclaimer here in that I am not a philosopher, or at least not a very traditional … Continue reading On Truth and Facts
[SPOILERS FOR THE MAGIC CIRCLE MAY BE FOUND BELOW!] Last time in this pseudo-series I talked about The Beginner's Guide and how I felt it's personal nature and sincerity worked against it on the whole; it's narration trapping the player into an ambiguity that robs them of a real connection to the game. After playing … Continue reading Deconstruction, the Player, and the Played Pt. 2: “The Magic Circle”
"Dumb Fun." It's a phrase that gets thrown around a lot. It's associated with horror movies and action flicks, with videogames, with mass-market paperbacks and bubblegum pop. It just is. It's dumb fun, a guilty pleasure, an indulgence. But why? Sure, there's plenty of media that lacks artistic substance, that succeeds because "it's so bad … Continue reading Fun: it’s Serious Business
Writing for machines is monotonous - they are born fully formed, yet stupid; requiring precise instructions for specific contexts to control their actions. As machines become more intelligent and more flexible in their programing we find that this “machine writing” may be replaced with creative dialogues. Already machines in the field of games have mastered … Continue reading Thinking Machines and Digital Narratives
One of the things that fascinates me the most within the realm of Fantasy and Sci-fi is the presentation of morality systems with the concept of the “other.” Much has been written about otherness, and what I’m writing here is in no way going to be a comprehensive review of this very broad, heavily debated … Continue reading Other, Self, and the Fictitious Identity
Earlier this year I read The Golem Triptych by Eric Basso. The book (or plays, rather, as it a dramatic trilogy) had intrigued me long before I read it; I myself was working on drafting a play about the Golem of Prague, and I was very surprised that someone had already written, not one, but … Continue reading A Look at a Book: The Golem Triptych
Pen and Screen 