December 2011
17 posts
[Transcript] Tyler Cowen on Stories - Less Wrong... →
This is tangential to the story, er, talk itself, but in a way which I have never been able to articulate well, I have always been suspicious about stories as forms of literary criticism (a la fanfic, or a la literary fiction responding to classical works). As stories themselves, fine, but I have always had this perhaps irrational suspicion that it was somehow not ‘true’ or...
“Media products act like solidarity goods – a permanent economic class of goods...”
– - Faris Yakob
For people who liked my final Poptimist column, this quote is the “replication” perspective in a nutshell. Not that it doesn’t apply to imitative stuff too, but if this is the criteria for value and worth, then things that spread by imitation will always be less economically efficient...
How You Got Videogames Wrong #2: The Vanity Glitch... →
Really interesting blog post on “The Vanity Glitch.” The comments by the author actually explain his point better than the article itself, IMHO, so scroll down after you read it.
I do actually seek something similar to this in fiction, the encounter with the Other, and I am gathering his point is that this ‘glitch’ highlights and foregrounds this aspect of storytelling....
Apps I am trying out on Transformer
So far, I have tried out the following apps on my Asus Transformer:
Since I bought it from Gamestop, I received some free games. Must say, of the ones I’ve tried, none of them really appeal to me because of the genre, or because they would be much better with a controller (like the Sonic game). Mind you, I have never been into platformers, racing games, or shooters, so I can’t...
Paris Review – Document: The Symbolism Survey,... →
In 1963, a high school student sends prominent writers of the day a questionnaire on symbolism.
Вне времени, вне пространства... - Клод Верлинд... →
The artwork of Claude Verlinde.
“Adolescent boys, of the kind who take up books in the first place these days,...”
– “The Lord of the Rings,” “Twilight,” and Young-Adult Fantasy Books : The New Yorker
This is TOTALLY LIKE SHOUNEN MANGA.
“Paul Graham’s essay “What You’ll Wish You’d Known,” which I teach in my first...”
– Paul Graham and not being as right as he could be in “The Age of the Essay” « The Story’s Story
From the essay. Oddly this makes me think of fictional works and responses to them: works that are “argumentative/essay-like” and more explicitly treat with ideas are IMHO more...
Paul Graham and not being as right as he could be... →
Quite interesting… I need to show this to some people I know who teach writing.
Asus Transformer First Impressions
Recently bought an Asus Transformer (I got it for significantly less than an iPad, BTW). I think it’s quite a good machine, quick, and with a nice screen. I’ll admit I bought it mainly to read manga and pdfs, and it does a good job with those. The “stretch to zoom” thing is very handy.
The interface presents rather a learning curve; I don’t have a smartphone, so this...