#look at me out here just bullshitting my way to literary freedom

[majorxmaggiexboy]

One of Us is a Ghost

Sixteenth Century: 

Goody Addams escapes from Joseph Crackstone. Across the sea, a Mr. Addams settles into matrimony. The union produces six children.

Early Nineteenth Century: 

Miss Adamms becomes engaged to Mr. Bramblestoke. Two days before the wedding, she elopes with Mr. Herring. Mr. Bramblestoke becomes a poet after serving the shortest military career in recent history. Mrs. Herring becomes a mother. The little Herrings grow up and begin families of their own. The surname is discarded by the daughters upon their own marriages, and so the pattern repeats.

Early-Nineteenth Century:

Miss Goodfellow and Mr. William Jopson are wed. The move into a modest but comfortable lodging on Gee Street. Mr. Jopson is a tailor. Sarah grows flowers in little boxes along the windowsills. She is happier than she’s ever been.

Early Twenty-First Century: Wednesday Addams begins having psychic visions.

Wednesday is fifteen, and she is surprised.

Of the half-dozen visions she’s experienced up to this point, one-hundred percent of them have been glimpses of the future. Unless something drastic is coming, this appears to be the past. 

Wednesday has always been a quick study. She’s getting used to the visions. She takes in her surroundings impassively.

Behind her, an alleyway that would make a gorgeous crimescene. She is situated directly inside its mouth. Were she to step backward, the shadows through there are so thick that her black attire would render her nearly invisible to a glance.

In front is less intriguing. A beaten cobbled street, sun glaring off it, lined with buildings like the ones to either side. Footsteps, accented voices at varying volumes. 

A little further down, a child is bawling.

He’s clinging like saran wrap around the waist of a taller boy, wailing into his side while having his hair petted like a fractious kitten. Pugsley would know better. 

The taller one is in earnest conversation with a woman even as he consoles the little geyser currently soaking his waistcoat. The woman’s right hand is tied in front of her with bandages. The woman’s face is pinched, but she smiles at something the boy says. There are affectionate gestures, soft as a forgotten tomato left to liquify in the back of a refrigerator. Wednesday shudders. 

Taller One turns, looks toward the alley.

A locker rattles shut beside her. Mykynzy Fletcher and her clique of assorted stereotypes are staring. Wednesday stares back until they disband.

***

Wednesday hears a string break as the vision snatches her away. Clearly, timing means nothing to the powers of psychic torment. 

It takes a moment to orient herself. The past again. The deck of a ship, crouched between crates and barrels. 

She recognizes The Taller Boy eventually. It’s been about three weeks since she saw the marshmallows-and-gummi-bears family and none of them were particularly memorable. 

Nodding vigorously along with instructions being relayed by an older sailor, Tall can’t be much older than Wednesday herself, she decides. He looks like a brand-new retail clerk, new enough to still greet every customer with a smile and try to make smalltalk. Not yet broken into the kind of employee maintaining soulless eye contact while single-bagging the loaf of bread with the gallon of milk. 

As the older man walks away, Taller’s smile follows. And then drops like a corpse over a wall. He keeps looking back toward the harbor. Already regretting his life choices, no doubt. 

Then his face goes impressively neutral and he’s scurrying past Wednesday’s vantage point. 

Even with the broken string, she finishes her concerto with only a few missed beats. 

***

Taller’s name is Jopson, and if an amputation is necessary, odds are he won’t live long enough to put the bread and milk in the same flimsy plastic bag. 

Technically, he’s already dead anyway. Unless he survives this ordeal and then discovers the secret of immortality. 

She’s crept as close as she can while staying out of sight. Unclear whether it’s necessary to do so, but watching from shadows is an instinct. Taller is up on the surgeon’s table, half-propped on his elbows and taking it all respectably. He’s shaking like an irate chihuahua and looks like he’ll pass out if he so much as glimpses the mess of his right leg, but surprisingly coherent. 

Why he won’t look at the wound is a mystery. It’s quite ravishing. The flashes of lightning from the storm still raging outside are a particularly nice touch. 

The surgeon declares that no amputation will be necessary.

Wednesday’s shoulders slump just as Taller goes practically limp. For a moment, she thinks he’s just died. But he’s back up in a minute, gazing up at an older man the same way cats look at Christmas trees. No one should look at their boss that way. 

The man mutters something chintzy about scars and stories to tell.

Whatever’s in the bottle Taller is handed will knock him out flat within the hour, but he’s only distractable during the cleaning and sewing, with very little mewling about it. Instead he’s chattering sluggishly- increasingly so -with the older man and the physician. He’s also beginning to goggle at things as though seeing them for the first time. 

The doctor has nearly finished. Wednesday could do better, even with the questionable lighting, but it’s decent work. 

Taller murmurs something that gets an incredulous chuckle and a “What did you say?” from the men. It’s a long moment before he answers, barely awake.

“Who is she?”

Ah. He can see her. The others exchange raised eyebrows and grins. They assume it’s the drug, and maybe it is. 

He’s looking directly at her, but he can’t keep his eyes open.

Wednesday blinks at the book she was reading before the vision, adjusts the lamp by her chair, and resumes reading.

Taller does not appear in her visions again.

***

Until the week after Joseph Crackstone’s defeat. 

[elisaenglish]

This Is Water: David Foster Wallace on Life

Revisiting the tragic literary hero’s only public insights on life.

On September 12, 2008, David Foster Wallace took his own life, becoming a kind of patron-saint of the “tortured genius” myth of creativity. Just three years prior to his suicide, he stepped onto the podium at Kenyon College and delivered one of the most timeless graduation speeches of all time — the only public talk he ever gave on his views of life. The speech, which includes a remark about suicide by firearms that came to be extensively discussed after Wallace’s own eventual suicide, was published as a slim book titled This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life (public library).

You can hear the original delivery in two parts here and here, along with the the most poignant passages.

On solipsism and compassion, and the choice to see the other:

“Here is just one example of the total wrongness of something I tend to be automatically sure of: everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute centre of the universe; the realest, most vivid and important person in existence. We rarely think about this sort of natural, basic self-centredness because it’s so socially repulsive. But it’s pretty much the same for all of us. It is our default setting, hard-wired into our boards at birth. Think about it: there is no experience you have had that you are not the absolute centre of. The world as you experience it is there in front of YOU or behind YOU, to the left or right of YOU, on YOUR TV or YOUR monitor. And so on. Other people’s thoughts and feelings have to be communicated to you somehow, but your own are so immediate, urgent, real.

Please don’t worry that I’m getting ready to lecture you about compassion or other-directedness or all the so-called virtues. This is not a matter of virtue. It’s a matter of my choosing to do the work of somehow altering or getting free of my natural, hard-wired default setting which is to be deeply and literally self-centered and to see and interpret everything through this lens of self. People who can adjust their natural default setting this way are often described as being ‘well-adjusted’, which I suggest to you is not an accidental term.”

On the double-edged sword of the intellect, which Einstein, Steve Jobs, and Anne Lamott have spoken to:

“It is extremely difficult to stay alert and attentive, instead of getting hypnotised by the constant monologue inside your own head (maybe happening right now). Twenty years after my own graduation, I have come gradually to understand that the liberal arts cliché about teaching you how to think is actually shorthand for a much deeper, more serious idea: learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience. Because if you cannot exercise this kind of choice in adult life, you will be totally hosed. Think of the old cliché about ‘the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master.’

This, like many clichés, so lame and unexciting on the surface, actually expresses a great and terrible truth. It is not the least bit coincidental that adults who commit suicide with firearms almost always shoot themselves in the head. They shoot the terrible master. And the truth is that most of these suicides are actually dead long before they pull the trigger.

And I submit that this is what the real, no-bullshit value of your liberal arts education is supposed to be about: how to keep from going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone day in and day out.”

On empathy and kindness, echoing Einstein:

“[P]lease don’t think that I’m giving you moral advice, or that I’m saying you are supposed to think this way, or that anyone expects you to just automatically do it. Because it’s hard. It takes will and effort, and if you are like me, some days you won’t be able to do it, or you just flat out won’t want to.

But most days, if you’re aware enough to give yourself a choice, you can choose to look differently at this fat, dead-eyed, over-made-up lady who just screamed at her kid in the checkout line. Maybe she’s not usually like this. Maybe she’s been up three straight nights holding the hand of a husband who is dying of bone cancer. Or maybe this very lady is the low-wage clerk at the motor vehicle department, who just yesterday helped your spouse resolve a horrific, infuriating, red-tape problem through some small act of bureaucratic kindness. Of course, none of this is likely, but it’s also not impossible. It just depends what you want to consider. If you’re automatically sure that you know what reality is, and you are operating on your default setting, then you, like me, probably won’t consider possibilities that aren’t annoying and miserable. But if you really learn how to pay attention, then you will know there are other options. It will actually be within your power to experience a crowded, hot, slow, consumer-hell type situation as not only meaningful, but sacred, on fire with the same force that made the stars: love, fellowship, the mystical oneness of all things deep down.”

On false ideals and real freedom, or what Paul Graham has called the trap of prestige:

“Worship power, you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is not that they’re evil or sinful, it’s that they’re unconscious. They are default settings.

They’re the kind of worship you just gradually slip into, day after day, getting more and more selective about what you see and how you measure value without ever being fully aware that that’s what you’re doing.

And the so-called real world will not discourage you from operating on your default settings, because the so-called real world of men and money and power hums merrily along in a pool of fear and anger and frustration and craving and worship of self. Our own present culture has harnessed these forces in ways that have yielded extraordinary wealth and comfort and personal freedom. The freedom all to be lords of our tiny skull-sized kingdoms, alone at the centre of all creation. This kind of freedom has much to recommend it. But of course there are all different kinds of freedom, and the kind that is most precious you will not hear much talk about much in the great outside world of wanting and achieving... The really important kind of freedom involves attention and awareness and discipline, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them over and over in myriad petty, unsexy ways every day.

That is real freedom. That is being educated, and understanding how to think. The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.”

On what “education” really means and the art of being fully awake to the world:

“The real value of a real education [has] almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:

‘This is water.’

‘This is water.’

It is unimaginably hard to do this, to stay conscious and alive in the adult world day in and day out. Which means yet another grand cliché turns out to be true: your education really IS the job of a lifetime.”

In the altogether excellent Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation, Tom Bissell writes:

“The terrible master eventually defeated David Foster Wallace, which makes it easy to forget that none of the cloudlessly sane and true things he had to say about life in 2005 are any less sane or true today, however tragic the truth now seems. This Is Water does nothing to lessen the pain of Wallace’s defeat. What it does is remind us of his strength and goodness and decency — the parts of him the terrible master could never defeat, and never will.”

Complement with the newly released David Foster Wallace biography.

Source: Maria Popova, brainpickings.org (12th September 2012)

[itsblosseybitch]

Griffin Dunne: Who’s That Man? (article from ARENA magazine, Sept/Oct 1987)

Double Exposure: The $4.5 million it took to make Martin Scorsese’s black comedy After Hours and the twitchily neurotic lead performance were both the work of the same man, hybrid movie producer and actor whose next assignments involve the likes of Sidney Lumet and Madonna. David Keeps spends some after After Hours hours with Griffin Dunne. 

Griffin Dunne, leading man to Madonna in the soon-come Who’s That Girl, is not the sort of actor who swoops into a photo session with an entourage of managers, publicists and gofers. He enters alone, armed with a briefcase full of business pertaining to the next three or four films he will produce, and introduces himself with a winning humility and, on this particularly sweltering Manhattan afternoon, a perfectly reasonable request for a Budweiser. He graciously and gracefully agrees to a quick bit of barbering and slips into samples from Paul Smith’s autumn collection -- clothes that look very roomy on his slight five-foot-seven frame -- without a fuss. “Are you sure these weren’t for David Byrne,” he jokes. Griffin Dunne is one cool character. 

The same can not be said for the neurotic yuppies he’s portrayed in After Hours and Almost You, two critically acclaimed films that were released back-to-back in Britain and helped to establish him as the archetypal Manhattan man. “That’s a coincidence,” he explains over breakfast at a Greenwich Village eaterie a few blocks from his home. “The pictures were actually filmed a couple of years, but I guess if you looked at them as a double-header, you’d see similarities because the main character is New York. One thing I have noticed is that the guy I’m playing always wears a blazer. I’ve got to be careful about what I do next. Those jaded laconic New York type roles are creeping up on me,” he continues, his almost-black eyes widening as his voice rises in mock terror. “I may never work again and die a pauper because these two pictures are so much alike!”

Now there’s an unlikely prospect. Having successfully produced Chilly Scenes of Winter, John Sayles’ Baby It’s You and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, Griffin Dunne is in the unique position of being able to pay the bills and choose his acting roles carefully or develop properties for himself. The latter is an option he has exercised only once (After Hours), the former is an admitted luxury. “The problem with success is, the more successful you become, the more careful and calculating you have to be. While I dread being an actor and never knowing where my next job will be coming from, there was a great freedom in going from one stupid comedy into a play in some no-name theatre down on Pitt Street in lower East Siobokia. I get sent a lot of scripts as a producer and I don’t want to spend my time looking for parts for myself. I have an agent to do that. But that still doesn’t give me the opportunity to pick up the phone and say ‘Get me a script that is completely different from anything I’ve ever done, and I want to start working Wednesday’. “

There was a time when the very prospect of working in films - as an actor or a producer - was something to be avoided. Born in New York City on June 8, 1955 to actress Ellen Griffin Dunne and Dominick Dunne, who evolved from a television stage manager to a producer and now, a writer for Vanity Fair, Griffin was raised in Los Angeles amongst the privileged sons and daughters of Hollywood. He attended a pre-preparatory school at age 11. “All boys. You wore a coat and tie and got little swats if you got out of line. It was called Fay School,” he recalls with a shudder. “It was a bitch to say ‘I go to Fay School’.” He turns his head to the side to improvise a dialogue and with a sneer asks himself sarcastically, “How’s Fay?” “Fine thank you,” he mumbles, suitably humiliated. In his final year it became his job to order films for school entertainments. His very appropriate choice was Lindsay Anderson’s public school drama If... “It was a real underground thing. The attendance rate was incredible. They were hanging off the rafters. If you know the picture you know it takes them forever to kill those fucking teachers!”

The Fountain Valley school in Colorado proved a more nurturing atmosphere for the lad. Influenced by his uncle and aunt (the literary lions John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion), Griffin thought he would become a writer. “I just knew that film business was the last thing on earth I was going to be in. It’s like if your father goes to work in a car factory in Detroit, the last thing you want to do is go into the automobile business. I didn’t sit in judgement of Peter Benchley’s (OP NOTE: author of Jaws) drinking habits, but it was just too close to me. I was really verbal about it. Openly vitriolic, I would never be in show biz. I said that right up until a friend talked me into auditioning for this play.”

That was Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story and Griffin knew instinctively that he was the best man for the job. “Somehow I just knew I could say these lines better than anyone else. It was like being the only one in that room who spoke that particular language.” An actor was born and a bullshit artist began to operate. “I was the guy who ran the drama club, the art paper, the student council planning board. Teachers treated me like an adult, they really thought I was going places. They said ‘You’re not like the other students.’ I was, of course, a source of total disappointment, because I was exactly like the other students. I would get high and take the car off campus and try to get laid at every possible moment as soon as their back was turned.” 

Then, just as he was about to make a dramatic triumph playing Iago in Othello, he was busted. “Got caught smoking a little hash,” he winces. “All that was really there was what was in my lungs and it just trailed out of my mouth as I denied what was happening. And the teacher did not get a contact high and forget what he was doing. What they were saying was, ‘We’re going to change the rest of your life for that amount of smoke in your lungs’.” He was sent packing, forced to face up to parents who were “grief stricken”, he says with a comic frown, “chopped off at the knees.” Convincing the school authorities in a brilliant final thespian act that he needed to take the bus home in order to have time to think about his misdeeds, he hit the highway and hitchhiked home.

The odyssey that followed could’ve been a foreshadowing of the hassles that befell him as the stranger-in-SoHo in After Hours. “I was very worried about getting into any more trouble. And every car I got in was the most troublesome, criminal car. One guy would be driving a huge Cadillac convertible that he’d bought with a bad cheque. Another guy was AWOL from the army and there was this kid who’d just left ‘Juvie’ (Juvenile Hall) who was only a year younger than me, but also about four feet shorter. We’d spend a good deal of the time daring him to do things like climb out of the hood of the car to straighten out the antenna as we were crossing the desert. As soon as he got out there the driver would floor it, going about 95 miles an hour and swerving to throw him off. I thought, ‘OK drug possession, hot car, and manslaughter, all on the way home. Look at it this way, Mom, Dad, I was only kicked out of school for smoking hash!”

He lived in Los Angeles for the last gasp of his teenage years, working in a bookstore and as a shipping clerk for a cooking utensils firm, while going for auditions that were few and far between. After a few small roles on TV, he moved to New York to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse, where, ironically, in the days before Dustin Hoffman, Griffin’s father had left his studies when he was told that he was too short to be a leading man. Though Griffin was spared the same advice, he worked more steadily in the restaurant trade - even selling popcorn at the candy counter of Radio City Music Hall - than he did in the theatre. Then he met Amy Robinson and Mark Metcalf (OP NOTE: misprinted with an e), two equally frustrated, equally unemployed actors, and the trio decided to become producers. 

(OP NOTE: Since Dunne, Robinson, and Metcalf were/are baseball fans, the original production company’s name was Triple Play Productions. When Metcalf left to focus on his acting, the company was renamed Double Play Productions).

“We went out to Cambridge and met Ann Beattie, who had written Chilly Scenes of Winter and she said it was like three of her characters walked into her living room.” Not surprisingly she allowed them to buy the rights for a film version at a very reasonable price. At age 23, Griffin Dunne had become a producer and had his first property. The trio turned the process of pitching the project to studios into an acting exercise. “It was exactly like a performance, but it was easier than going in on an audition. Here I had something tangible to sell, a book that I was passionate about. It’s hard to do that about yourself. What do you say? ‘Look at this interesting aspect of me. Then if you shade it with these particular attitudes I look like this!’ I wouldn’t want to see anybody do that.”

First released as Head Over Heels, and re-released more successfully in 1982 under the author’s original title, Chilly Scenes of Winter set the stage for the fledgling producer’s next triumph, John Sayles’ Baby It’s You, which introduced Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano to a large and appreciative audience of young filmgoers. In the meantime Dunne had appendaged several screen acting credits to his dossier, largely of the messenger boy variety.

“I’ve passed a ton of envelopes,” he laughs. “In this one film, The Fan (a potboiler starring Lauren Bacall as the intended victim of an overwrought admirer) I played a stage manager who was to hand a letter the killer gave me to Maureen Stapleton. The letter read ‘I’m going to kill you, I’m going to kill you,’ and sure enough he does. So they spend the rest of the movie looking for the killer instead of asking me for a description. When I told the director, he said ‘Yeah, well, fine, can we just shoot the scene please?’ So I just couldn’t resist on one take. I went up to Miss Stapleton and I said, ‘Here’s a letter from the killer -- oops! -- I mean the man outside’.”

He was able to use his comic gifts more successfully playing the sidekick role, “the very dead one” in An American Werewolf in London (OP NOTE: Title misprinted without the ‘An’) and the clean-cut brother of a gangster in Johnny Dangerously, “a big silly comedy.” Then a script crossed his desk which he simply could not ignore, for it contained all the elements he looked for in a film as both a producer and an actor. It was called After Hours, and it was the tale of a lonely word processor who meets a beautiful girl, loses her, loses his money and his house-keys and spends the rest of his evening on the run from assorted temptresses and loonies in the lofts and streets of New York’s SoHo. 

Griffin Dunne was no stranger to the inherent weirdness of such a scenario. “Last weekend I was out of town and a friend was in my apartment. I said don’t use the bottom lock. She did, and so I was locked out of my own apartment. I called my neighbors to let me in, but they were locked out of their apartment too. I found that out from the neighbors below. The owners are from Japan and they’re coming to get their apartment from me. I’ve now been through so many locks it looks like a Uzi got at the door. The locksmith is now an old friend of mine. I have the worst time with keys. I believe the first stage of manhood is when you live on your own and you’re given this set of keys. I’ve been through so many keys. They just leap out of my pocket!”

Griffin Dunne became After Hours’ hapless anti-hero Paul Hackett and his run-ragged energy leaped off the screen. Despite the fact that the entire film was shot at night, director Scorsese demanded that he remain celibate during the course of the shoot. For added punishment, Dunne himself also acted as the film’s producer: “As an actor your job is not to have distractions and be in a loose state where, when things are thrown at you, you can react accordingly. As a producer your job is to constantly anticipate problems, disasters, flare-ups, fiascoes. You’re in a constant state of tension. You have this little rubber ball with spikes sticking out of it in the pit of your stomach. In After Hours if there were times when it was five in the morning and I was starting to run out of anxiety adrenaline, I could think of how much the picture was going over-budget and I would suddenly get this hollow look in my eyes, my eyebrows would start creeping up on my forehead and I was ready to roll! But I never as an actor looked at the director and thought, ‘Gee, he’s shooting too much film, I must tell him to stop.’”

Though After Hours was a huge critical and commercial success, it pointed out some rather disheartening facts about the American film industry. “People are so obsessed with how much pictures cost. It really pisses me off,” he says with a furrow of the brow that makes you an instant sympathizer. “All anybody talks about with After Hours is that we made it for $4.5 million.(OP NOTE: $4.5 million in 1985 would be about $10.8 million in 2020) Who cares? Is it a good movie? Is it a bad movie? For some reason English films have avoided that. Probably because they were made with pounds instead of dollars and the critics are too lazy to figure out the currency conversion.”

Now he’s on a roll and it becomes quite clear that Griffin Dunne, as an artist and as a businessman, cares about the cinema passionately. “There are a lot of [OP NOTE: misprinted as off] young filmmakers trying to get off the ground here. It’s treated so condescendingly,” he splutters. “Those kids made that Personal Art film. Art film is a bad word for everybody - it’s a personal film. Or it’s an independent film, which must mean it’s personal. ‘Those kids made that picture and just look what they did. And their grandmother gave them $2.5 million for that?’ I don’t think it was their grandmother,” he continues with a lethal iciness. “I think they went to a major financing entity and they got the money, it’s playing in theatres now. GO SEE THE GODDAMNED MOVIE!”

(OP NOTE: Sir, this is a Wendy’s. All joking aside, I would love to hear the off-the-record version of this rant)

All of this seems particularly annoying to a man like Griffin Dunne because he’s proved that it can be done. “It’s just treated like it’s so cute. Now it’s possible to make films like Mona Lisa, Withnail and I or one of Stephen Frears’ movies in the States. There’s a lot more avenues of finance and they’ve figured out ways of distributing movies where they actually make serious money and it’s easier for people to get their money back on videocassettes and all the other rights. What we’re having a little bit of a problem with is the material itself. How do you find a script that doesn’t reek of being an Independent Movie?”

In Adam Brooks’ Almost You, which was written as a vehicle for Dunne and his then-girlfriend Brooke Adams, he found exactly that. An offbeat comedy about an adulterous husband, the film was warmly received in Britain after having been crucified by the American press. (OP NOTE: As someone who enjoyed that movie, I think the reason for that is because British audiences are more comfortable with unlikable or dysfunctional protagonists than American audiences. Also, this was the Reagan era with traditional values and all) “I found the character very touching and pathetic, but when it came out you would have thought I was a war criminal. An immoral louse. The worst of it was they would never say my character’s name.  They would say ‘Griffin Dunne is a duplicitous, weak-willed human being!’ People fuck around on their wives, what can I say? The way people went on, because I fooled around when my wife was in a wheelchair, it was like one of those Reefer Madness kind of movies. Like I was condoning it,” he says, lapsing into a sinister’s narrator voice, “C’mon kids, go out and smoke heroin. And while you’re there get married and fool around on your wife who’s in a wheelchair. Come with me to...THE MOVIES!”

His next screen appearance should raise the stakes considerably higher and may establish Griffin Dunne as a solidly commercial leading man in romantic comedies. “I’d known about the script for years,” he says of Who’s That Girl. “It was the first screwball comedy I’d read that wasn’t a rip-off or a parody . The characters were really contemporary. Over the years I just slowly watched it get put together, slowly, slowly coming around to me. I had a feeling it was going to work out and I have that feeling very rarely.” It’s the story of one Loudon Trott, the standard “uptight kind of guy” whose world is thrown into utter chaos by the appearance of a dizzy but dazzling vixen. “I’m one of those inside-the-little-globe-there’s-a-madman-dying-to-break-out characters. But I was going as much against the nitwit-nerd as possible. I wanted to wear the best suit I could find. I look unlike anything I’ve ever looked before. You don’t wake up with hair like what I’ve got in this picture. I don’t even know what the hell I look like.”

The vixen is, of course, played by Madonna. “It was externally pretty crazy,” he says of the shoot. “A lot of paparazzi and fans. I guess for my survival I just shut it out. It didn’t bother her, so why should it bother me? If it bothered me it would show on the screen, but nobody would say, ‘Gee, he doesn’t seem to be there right now, it must be the fans.’” He laughs at the very thought of it. “I’ll fight for a disclaimer at the end of the picture!”

He’ll have to juggle his next acting assignment between efforts as a producer. Running On Empty, the coming-of-age story of the son of Sixties dissidents living on the lam, is set to be directed by Sidney Lumet with River Phoenix in the leading role and Robin Williams has been signed as the lead for a Disney-financed version of the stage comedy The Foreigner.

[OP NOTE: While Running on Empty was eventually released in 1988, garnering Phoenix a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Globes, The Foreigner never materialized. I’m sure there’s some amazing stories that have yet come to light on the latter].

And industrious though he may seem, Dunne admits that he’s really good at not working, too. “It’s a talent that I’ve evolved over the past year or so. When I’m not working it never crosses my mind. I’m into maps. I’ll chart a trip and get a really good radio in the car, record a lot of tapes and hit the road. I’m really good at getting out of town and going to the beach. My problem has been collecting a lot of things over the years, but I’ve lived in sublets for the past 11 years, so I haven’t been able to settle into any pattern yet. Now that I’m moving into my own place, I’m glad. I’ll have people over so they can admire my spoon collection from my various journeys and I’ll even have shows. I will promise to bore them senseless with my passions.”

It’s unlikely he’ll be able to make the same claim in a professional capacity; his involvement on both sides of the camera and casting office have certainly produced an exemplary cross-breed of moviemaking professional, one that box office superstars-cum-executive producers of their own vanity projects could most certainly learn from. “One of the things I like about being a producer,” Dunne explains, “is that it’s opened me up on how to read a script. I like to think of the whole picture now, not just my role.” But having an awareness of what makes a film succeed in an increasingly byzantine business has not dulled his enthusiasm for acting, nor dimmed his onscreen spark. “It still is fun,” he demurs. “It should always be fun to get paid for taking fencing lessons.”

Always a wit, Griffin Dunne does seem most comfortable making a joke, even if it is at his own expense. Asked which of his screen characters he’d feel closest kinship to in real life, he deadpans, “I use so much of myself in them that I can’t imagine wanting to hang out with any of them.” And he’s equally nonplussed about his reputation as an independent force in the motion picture industry. The man simply has taste and if he likes to wear as many different hats as he can in this business, well, that’s his business - and he’s certainly very modest about his accomplishments.

“It’s difficult,” he concludes. “for me to say ‘I’m a rebel. I’m a maverick’ and put on little cowboy hats and stroll out of here into the sunset.” Especially, we both agree with a laugh, since it’s not even high noon yet.

[tongue-tied-ties]

I finally got through all 200,000 words of that freaking epilogue and GOD HAVE MERCY I SHOULD HAVE WENT CANDY AND THEN MEAT.

Overall though, I like it. I like it alot! I mean there are some things I feel weird about which like.......aren’t the things everyone else feels weird about apparently.

SPOILERS BELOWWWWW~!!!!

So it’s alot easier to get out of the way what I am weirded out about than to explain the many things I did like. 

- I feel weird about the xenophobia thing and how it’s being treated. Like it’s being treated like a huge issue but like non-issue all at once?? I guess that’s because from John’s perspective he’s just too busy being weirded out or suffering to truly get involved. Like I sincerely hope nobody on the team thinks standing by in a situation like this is a valid stance in any way. But it also happens in real life so like, I get it. I think this bothers me because these kids were heroes. But also they were heroes out of necessity and because they were main characters. Like that’s honestly it. They had a mission and fulfilled it and they were hailed as heroes.

- Hussie presenting xenophobia as both a joke and a serious issue and sometimes it’s hard to tell what position the comic is trying to take which makes me uncomfortable. 

- I think it’s in character, but I hate that Karkat alone had to defend himself every time Jane was being the #worstTM. I hate that Roxy just standing by knowing good and well these are the stakes every single time was never fully addressed. I wish somebody sat our beautiful bae Roxy to let them know that like this is shitty too?? Like you saying this is simply politics when a literal extinction is happening is shitty why didn’t anyone tell them that in stone cold, super serious terms for the love of GOD it bothered me so much. 

- Alright anytime Dirk used any sort of like reddit NiceGuy Are you triggeredTM 4-chan bullshit language it turned me all the way off. Like incel, beta, cuck?? Misgendering our void icon?? Yea. Cancelled but also not cancelled because I haven’t been this shook or excited over a villain in so long.

- Gamzee. Just...yikes all around. I’m not sure how I feel.

- JAKE DESERVED BETTER. HE REALLY FREAKING DID JUST SAYING. JAKE DIDNT DESERVE THIS MADNESS. Omfg i never hated anyone as much as I did Dirk when he snapped Jake’s psyche in half forcing him to love Dirk. It was so fucking iconic though and I’m still mad y’all. So many feelings. Oh god and when Jane like........did him wrong?? What le fuck? Jake i’ll be your friend, come here mate. Please let me hug my boi who I didn’t stan before but i stan now.

- Those kids.....I love those kids give them a good future, please. I’m begging hussie let John be a good father.

- I think the kids grew because they were with each other, and they fact they didn’t stay together and let each other be isolated kinda makes this make sense to me but it does feel like with some characters the growth went out the window. But also....people can regress especially if they stop after like one epiphany or whatever, so I see how this happened.

- Dave redirecting what should have been the core political issue (freaking extinction/controlled population of exclusively the trolls) to the economy every single time. Like Dave baby you were never the most racially sensitive dude (coming from a black girl who watched you say negrocity, call black people not shining shoes revolutionary (which could be read as irony in context but still) in the same rap, which, YIKES!) but like try please?? Hussie freaking fix this.

- I oddly feel weird about them getting rid of their flesh bodies for their ultimate forms and I’m not sure why but I honestly don’t want all bots. I can’t even explain that in a way that makes sense.

- Jade. Like....everything she did was a big yikes and honestly I’m reading the main story again to see if there was a character trait that led to her behavior. Cuz Dirk literally always had an overbearing personality and it was never truly addressed leading to what happened. Jane never really stopped with the whole business and control thing and she never really seemed to care for the trolls one way or another so I can kinda see it.

- Honestly?? I’m happy for the form of happiness that some characters had but MAN was it just the slowest most excruciating march towards that end. In candy, it felt like I was literally feeling John’s twilight-zone stir-crazy rise up in me as I read through. I think a “benefit” from reading Meat first is that like.....damn I ended up agreeing with Dirk. Like all of this shit was largely avoided and addressed sooner when Dirk was in charge and I hate/love that I’m saying this! Like what the hell y’all that's so brilliant to me. In Meat, I just.....wanted them to be free to make their own choices and when I was nearing the end in Candy, I realized they weren’t so damn isolated and I was happy that some of them finally got to heal.

To segue into I liked it starts on the same point my dislikes end.

 - I felt so frustrated by everything that was happening which.....dear God is great writing because if I was John feeling this for years instead of the solid day it took me to get through Candy I’d be handling it way worse than John. I almost wished that Dirk would come in and take charge because they were just.....fucking up on every level. With Meat, I wanted what was in Candy and I wanted them to have their fucking free will to choose instead of these awful circumstances Dirk forced them to be in.

- DAVE. DAVE. DAVE. Fuck I love dave just so much, he felt the most home to me the entire time. When he fought back in Meat to make his own choices I was so proud of him. When he decided to join the revolution I was proud of him, when he finally admitted he was gay I was proud of him. When he just existed and seriously thought about what he wanted and needed to work through he felt like he authentically was trying to figure himself out the entire time in both Meat and Candy and I was so proud of him. Honestly will always have my heart.

- NUBS MCSHOUTY. From awkward bottom to rebel leader he is just a breath of fresh air every time he speaks because it is always a freaking mood. LIke yes, the extinction of your people is awful and you should say it. Yes, people who stand by and just sidetrack the conversation into semantics is awful and you should freaking say it. Yes! Yes! Yes! omfg. YOU ABSOLUTE FREAKING ICON

- Dirk. I.....ugh I know this is controversial but I love everything that happened. Our Dear walking God complex becomes literal God and it all goes to hell. Our friend the control freak, controlling the narrative when he reaches his ultimate form. Ou dear Dirk who always needs something to fix horribly fixes the narrative. When he revealed himself and said “but you already know that don’t you” in his iconic yellow text color me FREAKIN SHOOK. Like literary reveal of the gods (specifically this god ha). Nothing will shake me the same holy shit I was horrified and the horror never stopped. Omfg shook Dirk just freaking shook. So since I read meat first I was like “holy cow was he always like this?” But like, the one dirk that was decent freaking killed himself with his last wish being for relevance and like.....of course he’s like this?? It’s Hal, Caliborn, ARDirk, Brain Ghost Dirk and Dirk One who honestly was only half decent most of the time. All of these pretentious beings in one? Oh yea edge lord self masturbatory train dead ahead. AND I LOVED IT, the absolute fear and horror as he took the narrative back from Calliope was horrifying, his increasing disdain after the reveal, the moment he forced Jake to fuck everything up for the resistance was ICONIC oh my god I was so here. I was loving it so much I was scared I was being controlled by Dirk.

- Jake was always passive and like.....it manifested so bad. I mean I thought he stepped up when he finally, defeated the felt crew but like....of course, one battle isn’t going to solve a lifetime of posing and passivity. I don’t know why I never considered the horrible implications. I do wish he grew a full spine in one of the epilogues.

- Regardless of how I perceived her in canon, Epilogue!Jane was never painted as a hero ever. THANK GOD cuz Epilogue Jane is doing some really bad stuff.

- Roxy - our voidey babe exploring their gender identity and deciding in both that they don’t care for their assignment in some way, valid. Having all stages of their identity and the stages respected (in what I viewed as a great and fully addressed way as a cis black girl) is surprisingly refreshing when I look at Roxy alone and not the transphobic stuff Dirk was doing which was icky and Caliborn-ish.

- Rose and Kanaya being happy in Candy. Like it seemed so OOC but Rose also was literally dealing with something that ENTIRE TIME. When she was little it was the alcoholism of her mother, when she was in paradox space it was from horror demons to literal death, to life-threatening situations to being the seer she needed, to her own substance problem etc etc. Being non-essential freed her from that and we got to witness her still be the badass, freedom fighter she became. And I just love the thing she chose without needing to, without absolute necessity, was to raise their daughter AND fully immerse themselves in troll revolution against an oppressive regime. Fuck yes Rose, you deserve some fucking peace without debilitation or circumstance. Rose in Meat shall never be spoken of because that is so so so sad honestly. She was dying and like...Dirk took advantage of that which is tactically freaking genius considering Rose is usually who can pull these dorks together into action but damn Dirk.

- Fuck you know what I’m gonna say it. Dirk is the best villain holy shit he is honestly, truly smart and manipulative and somehow charming in this sick sick way God I hate/love him right now. I’m.....omfg still shook.

- I honestly just loved how intertwined it is, how twilight-zone/gritty it felt. Every literary craving I didn’t know I was having was fed and in the best/worst way. I’m hooked and here for wherever this is going. Also, I typed it above and I’ll type it again. I didn’t realize it but these kids, while they ascended as Gods were not heroes. I don’t think the kids really cared about their denizens much ever in canon. They fulfilled their mission and we handed them the hero stamp because we’ve followed their story. They are simply people who had a mission to fulfill and did that mission in whatever capacity you choose. They are ultimately really flawed human beings who were traumatized to hell and back with no real devices on how to deal with it properly. Of course, when you give flawed humans God powers, a world to rule over and nobody really holding anyone accountable bad things are bound to happen. They grew because they were in a situation where they had to and they were removed too soon for them to keep that growth. Fanfic or not, canon or not, essential or not, I think these are valid outcomes, within the context of who they are.

[bettsfic]

hey betty! two things: first, congrats on the writing program- seriously, well done!!! and second, i was just wondering if you have any tips on how to Power Through when you feel like your writing is garbage? hope you're having a great day :)

thank you so much! and great question --

so, first, i do not believe in Powering Through. to me it feels like breaking a leg and continuing to walk on it solely because you need to get from A to B. the real solution is seeking help, setting it, and getting rest. in order to get back on your feet, you need to slow down a bit and take some time for yourself.

when you feel like your writing is garbage, there might be a few things going on:

something is not working -- maybe you picked the wrong voice in your WIP, or your conflict isn’t steady/compelling enough, or you’re staying too far in your comfort zone

you’ve hit a writing ceiling -- you’ve improved to the furthest degree you can, now you see all the faults in your writing, or maybe you just have a vague notion that it’s not as good as you want it to be, but you’re in that awkward space where it’s not great, but you don’t know how to get better

you’re bored or afraid -- you’ve set up a story that’s not doing anything ~interesting for you, that isn’t speaking to you and dragging you along to finish it. conversely, you might have set up something so ambitious that you feel your writing skill doesn’t do the idea justice, so you’re afraid to continue in case what comes out falls short of your expectations

here are some ways to counter these things:

do an experiment

when i can’t write, i play around with something technical. for example, i’ve been having a heck of a time with a story i’m working on, and one of my profs gave our class a prompt to write a braided essay. when i narrowed my focus to the braided essay only, it offered me the freedom to finally get words on a page. i wrote 10k in two days. 

so try something new. if you always write in third, try first. if you always write chronologically, write non-chronologically. if you always write prose, try poetry. if fiction, try nonfiction. 

which reminds me, i wanted to make a post of craft-based (rather than content-based) prompts. hopefully i’ll do that next.

read stuff for a while

specifically, read stuff you admire. read new stuff. read stuff you don’t normally read. read stuff that makes you go “oh shit i wanna write like this.” or maybe “this is cool, maybe i’ll try it.”

i highly recommend reading short stories and personal essays. it takes you out of the world of fanfic, which can sometimes feel confining, without forcing the commitment of a novel or longer work. moreover, you can find fucktons of them for free all over the internet. maybe i’ll make a post of reading recs too.

do not read things that bore you. you are on a hunt for inspiration, and boredom is the villain of inspiration. if you get 1-2k in and you don’t have Kill Bill sirens in your head, dump it and move on.

when you finish reading the thing, ask yourself, “what tools do i want to take from this for my own writing?” 

can you borrow the structure? the voice? the conflict or conceit? a character dynamic? a tone or cadence? narrow your focus down to what exactly you liked about it and then try it in your own writing.

get feedback

the best way to break through a ceiling is to let someone to call you out on your bullshit. specifically, you need an extra set of eyes to tell you what’s working and what’s not, either in a work in progress or with a piece you think is really polished. 

i had a workshop once where i submitted a chapter of something i had revised three times. i thought it was great, it absolutely did not need any more revisions. i had also hit a writing ceiling at that point, and found i was trapped in my own wheelhouse, spinning the same writing style and the same kinds of stories, never taking any risks. there was no experimentation anymore, no fun. 

obviously, the workshop shredded my chapter. we spent about two minutes going over what worked and then forty or so just tearing it apart. i loved it. all of my blind spots were being shown to me and i could finally see a broader picture of my own work. i definitely broke through the ceiling and my writing is better for it. sometimes you just need someone better than you (and by that i mean, who possesses a wider understanding of writing) telling you what to do.

write about writing

i am a firm believer that we write to think, not as the product of thought. so when you’re stuck, or bored, or uninspired, or down on yourself, writing about writing or talking about writing can really help move things along, like a verbal Ex-Lax.

talk with a friend about your story idea and use their interest to fuel your own. write a journal entry about your WIP and what about it isn’t working for you. vent your writing frustrations somehow. 

sometimes the act of meta-analyzing yourself as a writer can offer a new perspective. i feel like we’re discouraged from this because the focus should always be on the work and not the creator, but you as the creator are just as worthy of your own literary inspection as anything else. so try to shift the lens toward yourself and see what happens. what happens when you become the focus of your own work?

thanks so much for the great question, and i hope this offers you some guidance.

other writing advice articles

right now i have beta commissions open if you’re looking for feedback. 

or if you enjoyed this post and want to buy me a coffee, here’s my ko-fi. i’m currently raising funds to attend a workshop this summer. 

[cameoamalthea]

Drawn Child Pornography?: When is ‘Enjoying Garbage’ Illegal?

This post is academic in nature and does not constitute legal advice. This blog does not offer legal advice.

I explained in a previous post that fictional depictions if minors engaged in sexual activity are not legally the same as child porn, and not illegal in the United States. Simply put, there is no such thing as ‘drawn child pornography’ because the highest Court has decided that drawings and cartoons aren’t comparable to child porn. 

However, any adult material may be found to be obscene. Obscenity laws are complicated to explain, because even the Court has found it a bit tricky to pin down what makes something obscene.

“I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [“hard-core pornography”], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”

Since, “I know it when I see it” isn’t really a testable legal standard (and we can’t expect Judges to look at every bit of porn in the world to figure out what goes too far) the Court came up with “The Miller Test”.

Whether “the average person, applying contemporary community standards”, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest,

Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct or excretory functions[3] specifically defined by applicable state law,

Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.[4]

18 U.S. Code § 1466A pretty much reiterates The Miller Test’s standard; but notes that obscenity laws apply to cartoon images of minors.

This law really doesn’t change anything, as something obscene would count as obscene regardless of whether it’s of a minor or not.

Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition

Established that drawn images of minors are not child porn, but it didn’t create not create an exception where any porn can be  found obscene unless it’s about minors. Drawn porn involving minors is treated the same as all other porn (except real child pornography which is banned), which is to say - it can be illegal if it’s found to be obscene. 

All 18 U.S. Code § 1466A does is make it clear that just because something is drawn or sculpted, it’s not exempt from being found to be obscene under the same standards as everything else.

So would porn of underage anime characters be illegal? Well obscenity is also complicated because it’s not a national standard or even a State by State thing. 

It’s a ‘contemporary community standards’ thing.

So the standards of the exact community where you live…

So those standards can vary in the same state. The community standards in Miami may be different than the standards in a small, conservative town in North Florida.

For example in Texas, (conservative community, could only appeal to the conservative 4th Circuit) a man was charged with Obscenity for manga that didn’t have images of minors, they just weren’t for kids. In Texas v. Costilla a clerk in a comic book store convicted on obscenity charges for selling 18+ manga about adults to adults.

The Prosecution argued “I don’t care what type of evidence or what type of testimony is out there; use your rationality; use your common sense.  Comic books, traditionally what we think of, are for kids. … This is in a store directly across from an elementary school and it is put in a medium, in a forum, to directly appeal to kids. That is why we are here, ladies and gentlemen. We’re here to get this off the shelf.”

That’s community standards. Any cartoon or comic book that’s not children should be considered obscene because cartoons and comics are for kids.

So anything can be found obscene depending on the community. But let’s look at some cases that involved drawn images of children. 

In United States v. Whorley – A reader is convicted for viewing and printing manga of a sexual nature on a public computer

It was lolicon, but it was also a public library. He was looking at graphic porn at a public library (which are frequented by teens and children who could probably notice what he was looking at on his computer) and printing it out.

Even if it wasn’t lolicon, that still wouldn’t have been socially acceptable. Legally, the community standards applied would be that of the local library. He also wasn’t reading manga, he was just printing out the porn bits.

The article @sourcethatshit linked about the case also notes: “ Whorley used a VEC computer on two earlier dates in March 2004 to receive digital photographs of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct, the U.S. attorney’s office said. The 20 obscene e-mail messages described, among other things, parents sexually molesting their children.”

So despite the Header “A 53-year-old Richmond man yesterday became the first person convicted under a 2003 federal statute that makes obscene cartoon drawings as well as photographs an illegal form of child pornography” which leads with obscene cartoon drawings, this “as well as photographs” is the important bit here.

(And while this case is the sort I hate reading unless I have to - reading graphic criminal cases and bloody personal injury cases are the worst, I’m going to actually read the case).

Ok - so this is not a case of Man arrested and charged for having child porn because of cartoons. It’s a case of man who was charged with having actual live action child porn and also obscene cartoons. He was also clearly a sexual predator from his search history. So not the ideal candidate for a Civil Liberties group to use to fight about whether the loli/shota porn should have counted as obscene.

This was a sexual predator who belonged in jail, so the appellate Court (which is a conservative Court, this arrest happened in Alabama) didn’t see reason for to reverse.

“Whorley’s history of downloading child pornography, which was not represented in the recommended Guidelines calculation because, except for the 1999 conviction, the prior conduct had not resulted in Whorley’s prosecution and conviction.   The court also noted Whorley’s repeated failure to abide by the terms of supervised release from his prior conviction, including continuing to access computers without the probation officer’s approval, numerous false statements concerning attempts to obtain employment, failure to obtain employment, failure to report to the Department of Rehabilitation Services, failure to report to the Offender Aid and Restoration Program, and most disturbingly, his presence at local malls and public libraries frequented by children in direct disobedience of his probation officer’s instructions.”

The dissent recognizes the some of the charges are “bullshit” and should be reversed, but the majority of the Court and the Supreme Court don’t really want to wage a war over freedom of speech in a case that would give an actual sexual predator less jail time.

I recommend checking out the dissent for a good explanation of what artistic value might mean legally. The arguments made in the dissent would probably more compelling if it was just a man charged with doing dirty role plays with other adults or buying bad cartoons. 

This was a child sexual predator, a repeat offender in fact, and they wanted to throw the book at him. (Seriously, fuck Whorley) 

The other case @sourcethatshit mentioned has a misleading title “Manga Collection Ruled “Child Pornography” by US Court” 

In Handley, he pleaded guilty. 

The Court didn’t rule on anything. The prosecution accused him of something and he pled guilty. There wasn’t any deliberation or ruling. There was man backed into a corner agreeing to be punished rather than to fight for his constitutional rights. 

The thing about rights and what’s illegal is just because you have rights doesn’t mean the police and prosecution will respect them, just because you haven’t done anything illegal doesn’t mean you won’t be arrested. 

Many people accused of crimes that did not commit plead guilty because fighting it is costly and can mean spending a long time awaiting trial before getting on with their life. Additionally, prosecution often uses the threat of harsher sentences to convince the accused to plead guilty. According to the Comicbook Defense League

“When Handley awaited trial, prosecutors did not distinguish between manga and obscene material. They prohibited him from viewing or accessing any manga or anime on the Internet, ordering anime video or written material, or engaging in Internet chat, the latter harming his ability to prepare his defense.

When Handley awaited trial, prosecutors did not distinguish between manga and obscene material. They prohibited him from viewing or accessing any manga or anime on the Internet, ordering anime video or written material, or engaging in Internet chat, the latter harming his ability to prepare his defense.

Handley was also forced to undergo mental health counseling.

…the government assumed an aggressive posture towards Handley, and ultimately he chose to plead guilty rather than face a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison.’

Given the Texas case was never successfully appealed and a man was sent to jail just for selling comic books that were 18 + I can see the logic in not fighting. The Handley case, to me, seems more of a case of a innocent man pleading guilty of a crime he didn’t commit rather than fighting for his Freedom of Speech while waiting in a jail cell for the case to be appealed. 

 I stand with the Comic Book Defense League in my belief that:

“Art is not child pornography. Art provides a safe place for individuals to explore culture, identity and ideas. Prosecuting individuals for possession of comics does not prevent or punish the sexual abuse of real people.

Manga and comic books are realms of legitimate speech that are protected by the First Amendment.” 

[artist-tyrant]

I'm not sure what you're saying. Are you saying you'd be in favor of the British Whigs because they were against trade with France? I was saying you'd be in favor of them because they were in favor of free trade. And this matters because they, in their similarities with the Girondins (just like the Democratic Republicans), defined the origins of the left. Henry Clay's American System effectively amounts to the Federalist ideology, so I'm not sure how you can advocate for that over Jackson’s position (especially while claiming to be a Jeffersonian democratic republican). Jefferson Davis was seen in the same monarchistic light, however, there is no denying the tendency towards hierarchy, imperialism, and authority on both sides of the civil war. “I believe certain values vary too often to be considered political ideologies.  And there are certain differences in what egalitarianism means today that goes for the traditionalist classic right as well, which had its fair share of differing values.“ But clearly, despite the way leftist values are represented by a political system (and they’re usually represented by democratic republics in one form or another), egalitarianism and liberalism are common to both classical liberals and modern liberals (both of whom are leftist). Just because you cannot see the common values that have defined both ends of the spectrum doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Why don’t you try to prove that the right as I define it didn’t have the consistent values I’ve noted? Or at least prove how the values I’ve pointed out weren’t consistent within what I regard as the right. So far you’ve offered no rebuttal whatsoever to the values I’ve noted are consisted of what I regard as being the true right, nor have you pointed out any inconsistencies in the political systems I’ve associated with what I define to be the right (namely autocratic and elitist systems). Your inability to look at the system of ethics and political philosophies which underlie certain ideologies attests to just how thick-skulled you really are. “I’ve seen both a horseshoe spectrum as well as traditional linear spectrums labeling today’s right vs left dichotomy with fascism on the right and communism on the left.  This is preposterous considering fascism was born of Marxist collectivism and still was collectivist totalitarianism in the end.“ As I’ve explained, Fascism came to reject Marxism (there is a whole section in the doctrine devoted to this), and it came to identify with the origins of the right. It also rejected the very values that defined Liberalism and Marxism alike (namely freedom and equality). Marxism ultimately strived towards anarchistic ends even though it was prepared to use statist means as well as libertarian means to accomplish this. Here are a few quotes by Mussolini and Gentile about the true right btw: “Our Italian nationalism was less literary and more political in character than the similar movement in France, because with us it was attached to the old historic Right which had a long political tradition.” – Gentile, The Philosophical Basis of Fascism “Granted that the XIXth century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the XXth century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the ” right “, a Fascist century.”” – Mussolini & Gentile, The Doctrine of Fascism (I have more quotes if you’d like btw, you only need ask) Sadly bluebloodedweimerica (@redbloodedamerica), collectivist totalitarianism is more common to the right in terms of its origins, not its redefinitions. Stop trying to rewrite history, tradition, and heritage in favor of your weak ideology. The political spectrum did not come out of the cold war in case you didn’t know... And while you may call me a modern leftist, you’re just not a traditional rightist. The truth is that I don’t appeal to egalitarian or liberal values in any way like you or any of the other leftists out there. While the left may contradict its values, just as the Democratic Republicans did under Madison, like the Revolutionaries did in France under the Girondins, or like the Marxists did under Lenin and Stalin, the right stands forthright in its commitment to elitism, imperialism, and authority. Anyways, unlike you I don’t really care for freedom of speech and would rather not spam my page with your boomer bullshit. I, on the other hand, have no problem manipulating your weak, liberal tendency to stand up for freedom of speech by spamming your blog with informed hatred. I’m making an exception now because you refuse to show everyone just how well libertarian discourse prevails amidst open discussion. Hope you like the punch from the far right!

[rebuildhq]

Every television simultaneously flicked on. Three hooded figures appeared on every screen across the city.

They were holding knives. Bloody knives. “Let’s dispense with pleasantries,” said the middle figure, her voice a cool, collected whisper. “We are the Syndicate. And we are responsible for the death of Trish Walker.”

The entire city seemed to gasp, and the woman paused as if she could hear it. Her gloved fingers ran along the blade. “We had hoped our message would not need to be so blatantly stated. But you, dear citizens, are so good at ignoring what is right in front of you. The deaths of a few Inhumans and freaks are so easily covered up. The body of a ‘hero’ left in Times Square so quickly forgotten.” She spoke the word hero with a heavy disdain.

The figure straightened up, the hooded men behind her stock-still, standing like vanguards. “But our pain is not forgotten. For too long have we allowed these unnatural creatures to exist among us. To threaten our lives, our homes, our families. No more. No more will we cower in fear and mourn quietly while all around us, those things reign down hell in the name of ‘saving us.’”

It was impossible to see her face, but her sneer was clearly audible. “The Panel sought to control them. But it is clear that these animals cannot be controlled. They are wild, feral, and dangerous. And dangerous animals must be put down, for the greater good of society. For a normal society to once again be free to flourish. Sacrifice is necessary, and we of the Syndicate are willing to give our lives to see our goals become reality. Every hero, every ‘gifted’ person, every freak who wears a mask and leaves destruction in their wake, will be eliminated. Only then can we reclaim our city, our world from the blight of so-called superheroes.”

She held up the knife now, the blade glinting as if the blood was still fresh. Perhaps it still was -- there was no way to tell if this was a recording or a live broadcast. “Trish Walker defended heroes, and look at what it brought her. She claimed to be one of them, but we believe the ‘most honest voice in New York’ was nothing more than a liar. If you stand against us, your blood shall be the sacrifice paid to open the door to a new world, a safe and normal world. A sane world, cleansed of insanity by any means necessary.”

She passed the blade to one of them behind her. Folded her hands together beneath her long, dark robes as if she were a monk, praying. “But if you feel as we feel. If you see what we see, if you too long for the terror to cease, then we invite you to join us. We will find you, and we will welcome you with open arms. Consider this our last invitation -- and our last warning.” And the screen went black.

Half an hour later, The Panel announced a special broadcast. Karl Orse once again appeared at his stark desk, though no papers were in front of him this time.

“Greetings, citizens,” he said in a serious voice. His face, usually so stoic, was twisted in a deep frown. “We all know the fate of Ms. Walker. She was not only a beloved child-star, a trusted voice in these troubled times, and a person of upstanding moral character and judgment -- she was also a valued member of our team. Despite her comments in her final broadcast, we on the Accords and Accountability Panel deeply regret losing her.”

A heavy sigh left his lips. It seemed stiff and awkward, not quite human. His pale eyes fixed on the screen, and though they were watery, they were as fierce as ever. “Ms. Walker believed in the Accords. Whatever else you may take from this tragedy, please remember that. She believed that being a hero was a privilege, and not a right. That it was a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Accountability is one and only goal, protecting each and every citizen by holding heroes to a higher standard, to face the weight of the role they choose to take on. It is no easy task, being a hero, or being one of those who watches them. Who watches over them, and over every citizen of this city.”

He paused, hands folded lightly in front of him. “We have failed Ms. Walker. In the name of Accountability, we admit that. Just as we failed the unregistered hero who met his untimely fate in Times Square, and the countless more before him. But my fellow citizens, we are not the enemy. We never have been.”

His face grew stern now, eyes colder than ever before. “The so-called Syndicate has stepped forward and told you themselves the horrors they committed. Their ‘safe world’ comes at too high a cost, and we on the Panel do not believe in paying for peace with bloodshed. We renounce these people, see them for what they truly are -- a cult, preying on fear and weakness. Do not be swayed by them. We must stand strong if we are to face this new threat. We must stand together. A wise king once said, ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ And though he was nothing more than literary character, his words ring with truth.”

Orse leaned forward, towards the camera. “It is time we put aside our differences, and choose security over secrecy. We once again implore all unreigstered heroes to come forward, to stand with us, to fight against this cult and bring them to justice. A humane justice, a responsible justice. A true justice. We cannot do it alone. And thus we have made a difficult, but unanimous decision. We hereby waive all criminal charges that may arise from those who would seek to register. Whatever you may have done in the past, it is the present that matters now. If we wish to protect the future, time is of the essence. And as Ms. Walker has shown us, time is a luxury we do not have.”

He let the words sink in for a moment, as he sat back in his chair. His hands fell to his lap, hidden by the plain, empty desk. “The choice is yours, citizen and hero alike. We can allow our city to bow to terrorism, or we can stand tall and stand for justice. Goodnight, citizens. May tomorrow bring a brighter future, in spite of all that we have lost.”

“Five minutes of airtime,” the hacker promised, a bracing smile on her lips. “Then you’re on your own, Cap.”

Steve nodded. He could work with that. An hour ago, he was worrying over what to do next. How to help. Now, it was what to say. That was easier. Saying the right thing wasn’t as easy as doing the right thing, but it could be done. Sam once wondered if Steve pulled the words out of thin air, or memorized a script. The truth was, it was something in between.

Agent Johnson motioned to him. “And live, from Saturday Night,” she murmured.

Steve set his gaze on the camera. Attention, he thought, but changed his mind. This wasn’t a call to arms to the agents of SHIELD. This was a message to everyone in Times Square, a plea to keep going to the everyday people. “Hello,” he began, “this is Steve Rogers. In the words of this ‘Syndicate’, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries.” He paused, seeing Johnson’s smirk of amusement in the corner of his eye. “I’m here to talk to you about the Accords.” Steve would bet every cent to his name that some expected this to be the end of it. He could easily throw in the towel now—raise the white flag. He could, but he wouldn’t. Not ever. “Some of you out there have been hunting me down. Some of you stand with me, after all this time. I’m here to talk to both of you, and everyone in the middle, still not sure what’s right. What’s best. Listen to me, now, like you listened to the Syndicate and Orse. The right thing to do is to keep fighting,” Steve continued, looking down for a moment at the shield lying on the table in front of him. He could see Howard’s handiwork in the grooves, Peggy’s bullets near the center, Bucky’s catch as the Winter Soldier, Clint’s hand off against Ultron, and Natasha’s own volley—always picking up after you boys. The shield has always been held by heroes, heroes just as brave as Hellcat.

He lifted his gaze back to the camera. “The Syndicate wants you to stop. The Panel wants you to stop. Stop fighting this ridiculous, losing battle against them. A fight they started,” Steve reminded them, sternly as he dared. “They aren’t against action, though. They’re against you. Us. The ‘gifted’ and the ‘freaks’. They want to reclaim the city and the world from the people who make it better. I quote Trish Walker—I’m sick of this bullshit, aren’t you?” He demanded, leaning forward a little. “They both want to steal your freedom. They both want to steal the world from you. Trish Walker died for it. Trish Walker and that masked boy were murdered for upsetting the status quo.” Steve felt a flush of anger rising on his neck. That, at least, hadn’t been washed away by the serum. “Orse, meanwhile, calls this a tragedy. ‘United we stand’, he says. He’s got it wrong. He wants you to forget about the sword hanging over your heads when you blame the Syndicate for Miss Walker’s death, for that boy’s death. He’s wrong. Hear me? The Panel and the Syndicate are both responsible, and it’s up to us—up to you—to unite against them. See them for what they are: the common enemy. Orse wants security over secrecy,” Steve went on, coldly. “At a price. The price of your identity. I’m not willing to pay that price. Not this time, and neither should you. Stand for the right thing. Stand together. Stand as bravely as Miss Walker did, when she held the line until the end.” Steve paused again, letting it sink in. “I won’t speak for the Avengers, but I am speaking for myself, and for the Justice League. We’ve set aside our differences for the greater good, you see. For you.

“Compromise where you can, a friend of mine once said. Where you can’t, don’t. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say ‘No, you move’. I know I’m asking for a lot,” Steve said, acknowledging Johnson’s wrap-it-up gesture. He’d given them enough to chew on. “But I’m willing to do whatever it takes to give you the right to choose. The right to freedom. The right to privacy. The right to do what’s right, to the best of your ability. Goodnight, and thanks for listening.”

WHAT’S HAPPENED:

Trish Walker was brutally murdered in a live broadcast at 9pm last night.

The Syndicate have stepped forward out of the shadows. In a pre-recorded message, they claim responsibility for killing Trish Walker, the boy in Times Square, and the other brutal murders of Inhumans and heroes that have occurred over the last few months. Their message is clear: they want a world free of ‘freaks,’ and will kill to make it a reality. They warn those against them to stand aside, and those who agree to join them as quickly as possible.

The Accords and Accountability Panel gave a broadcast after the Syndicate’s message. Mr. Orse spoke of the Panel’s grief over losing Trish, their spokesperson, and once again implored all unreigstered individuals to come forward. The Panel has decided to waive all criminal charges that might arise against them, a blankest amnesty for any and all who choose to register now and help them track down the Syndicate.

Captain America gave the broadcast as seen above calling the heroes and citizens to arms.

PROMPTS:

REGISTERED HEROES:

A team of the registered heroes hunting down the Syndicate, this can be done either in pairs or as a group. We suggest that they find a lead, but no specific location of the Syndicate. (If you’d like them to discover something bigger, please message the main!) We’d expect this to be action packed and tense! The government is scrambling.

The registered heroes discussing what to do, whether they still support their cause, and together, rethink their position with the Accords. This can be a member of the Strike Force, a member of their heroes who have joined, or a registered hero with a citizen! This can also be done SOLO.

Registered heroes may also leave the government to ally themselves with the Alliance! We suggest you plot this further with the current members, which include Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. We’ll keep you updated as people join in the ooc blog!

UNREGISTERED HEROES:

Unregistered heroes banding together with the Justice League/Avengers alliance. They can seek them out at various locations to be plotted in the future. Current members include Bruce Wayne, Diana Prince, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff. We’ll keep you updated as people join in the ooc blog!

Like the registered heroes, the unregistered will likely take it upon themselves to hunt down the Syndicate. Like above, we suggest they find leads, but nothing concrete. This would be an action packed thread, and tensions would be running high.

GENERAL:

Shows of support for those that have not registered can also be seen through protests, blog posts, and simple discussions between characters. We’d love to see people participate through whatever means possible! Write up an open starter at a protest, write up a blog post your character did, we’re flexible.

[la-petite-marie]

So yesterday someone named @ragific decided to talk some nonsense on the yk tag, and now they are being extremely defensive and acting like “omg i’m a victim, a damsel in distress” and is calling me out because according to them, i was rude (and honestly i tried not to be but i’m done with bullshit n the tag). Oh, I’m also delusional, but aren’t we all?? Cause like i said before, what we know about them is from what we see on tv shows, vlive, fancams, etc etc.

Read at your own risk (but tbh this whole thing is ridiculous, we r all ridiculous so yeah...)

1. “And dont fucking tell me that Yoongi is always soft for Jk and that i need to stick to it because welcome to fanfics. Again its fictional. There are no defined answers and thats the beauty of it and if you cant grasp your head around it, I worry about you “ Again lemme just say what characterization means. ‘Characterization is a literary device that is used step by step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story.’ Now till here i get what you are saying but, “dont fucking tell me yoongi is always soft for jk and that i need to stick with it”, do you ever saw him actually not being soft with him tho? i mean, he is sassy at times, but with everyone that doesnt mean he is aggressive. but again, are you sure we r talking abt the same person?? oh wait do u, personally know him? im sorry, really, you TOTALLY RIGHT! omg. but anyways... “again it’s fictional” oh you dont say, i mean i should have got it when i wen to look for fanfic right? RIGHT?? but what do i know, honestly. I Besides, as far as i know he’s a real person, a human being, and if you want to characterize him in another way you tag it, but i clearly dont need to say it to you, cause you’re the master on it.

2. I have an idea on how fanfic stories works, but thanks for your input :) “Youve just passed judgement which is something you yourself stated you dont like.” what i meant and what my gfs trying to tell you was that the way you expressed yourself seemed off cause we all (and by we all, i mean me and my gfs) understood you said that yoongi was aggressive, as in whole body and language aggressive, which he is not, or never showed to be. Again, i wasn’t trying to be rude, i just EXPRESSED myself saying i didnt agreed with it, you were the one being rude to baah, when she clearly wasn’t so don’t try to act all innocent in here.

3. I may not be korean, but i’m well aware of some things about its culture and its places and people. I also know that people from both Busan and Daegu are expected to act a bit more colder than people from other cities, places. But again, the way you tried to convey yourself was that made me disagree with you, cause again, you didnt expressed yourself in a way we totally understood you. Yoongi speaks very aggressively and subtitles do not convey that. “Because I can respect people’s differences when it comes to information they come across.” I mean i get it, but imo i still think it wrong write them in a TOTAL different way, as in so ooc, that you don’t know who that person really is (idk how to explin myself, nor how to express myself rip). Yeah i get that, freedom of writing, and sometimes you want to change a few things abt them cause it’s the way you want it to be, but sometimes people really take it as a real thing, that’s where i have a problem, they (fans) think they r that way and start to talk abt it as if it’s really real and that’s not it. They are human like us, a living and breathing human being, you are supposed to be respectful of that person, cause you if are writing about them, so i’m 100% sure they would want it to be authentic and if it’s not, it’s ok, but don’t think they are that way, cause they are not.

4. You really are trying to teach me about shipping lmao cute. “Being a shipper isnt a title. You dont go to school for it and get a diploma out of it.” Omg i never knew *gasps* bitch please i’ve ranted before about the shit this fandom does and says. It’s like you’re trying to teach me about life. Nice try, but i can’t handle it :) Also I’m not trying to dictate or govern you I just expressed my disagreement with your post.  Im’ well aware people have diffenrent opinions, but that’s not what I was and am tryig to say to you, and honestly I’m tired to try and explain it, ause you’re clearly don’t get it. And yeah i know i don’t own the tag, lmao because if i did it would be free of bullshit and it would be all rainbows and sunshine, cause that’s what yk is about. If you want drama and go @ me then do it, but it would be nice with you didn’t tag yk on it, cause now you’re calling me out is there, and honestly again i don’t mind ppl going @ me, but just don’t mention yk te way you do, cause we already have other ships there that are not yk, so the less bullshit and drama on it, the better. “If you are going to be a baby about it then thats on you and I have zero sympathy for you.” The only one being a baby about this whole thing is you, who are acting like a victim, when you’re not honey, sorry to inform this to you, but yes I was rude, but you weren’t any better than me so pls sit down.

5. I have to agree with you there, “If you dont like then dont read.” Amen. Praise the Lord. “You giving yourself that entitled attitude is like me saying Ive known kpop for longer so you dont know shit.” lmao ok sure jan. And gotta agree with you on the “fucking stupid”, this whole drama and discussion (or whatver the hell this is) is fucking stupid.

And to end, come @ me all you want, but if you are doing another post after this pls use yk instead of the whole ship name, i’m sure other peaceful and nice shippers would appreciate it. 

Anyways, have a nice day ;)

[obsidianarchives]

AJay Jordan

AJay Jordan, has always been a person who likes to tell a story. She’s always sought to communicate with people in a creative way, having studied vocal performance for 14 years before moving onto film production and screenwriting which brought her back to creative writing. She loves writing magical revenge plots featuring “fantastical dope black girls and boys.” In an effort to make stories centering the experiences of marginalized people, she created The Bookshelf, an online database of 500+ books by underrepresented authors.

Black Girls Create: What do you create?

I am very self conscious about the stuff that I create, and I’m never sure if it’s enough, whether it’s good enough, or enough work, or enough quality. So I feel like I create, and beyond that I stop my brain from going into imposter syndrome mode. I can say I create websites and I create stories, but if I were to get deeper—I don’t know. It’s really hard. I can see everyone else and I can see everyone else’s purpose with their actions and what they create and what they’re trying to do but it’s hard seeing myself.

I hope that I create more space for marginalized people, more specifically brown and Black people, and more specifically Black people, and more specifically Black people with dark complexions because that is what my family reflects and that’s what my children will reflect. And I guess those are the stories I would have wanted to see as a little brown girl, brown Black girl, Black Black girl. When I was creating The Bookshelf I knew right away I wasn’t going to make it just for the age category that I write for. I also wanted to make finding those books accessible for parents finding stories that look like them.

About The Bookshelf

As a writer for the past couple of years I’ve gotten to know this writing community…and through it I found it was hard to find books by people of color. Usually Goodreads is my go to place to look for books, but even then our percentages are so abysmal. I would rather there be a place where I can find a book or even discover new books that are own voices because there are so many tricky people out there who don’t share ethnicity or marginalization with these people. Nothing against them. [I'm] not saying that they can’t do their due diligence, but they’re writing from a place where they’re not experienced and that’s inauthenticity.  I’m sitting here with a book that’s not on the shelf and I’m reading your story that has to do with my culture and you’re profiting from this.

Long story short, I wanted there to be a way to find books easier. I was actually going to hold onto The Bookshelf because that was my filler name for the time being. I was going to change it to something but then Barnes & Noble dropped that bullshit changing all those classic white titles and putting brown faces on the covers and I was like, “Dang, I can’t even hold onto my database anymore and perfect it and make it better before I go live. I just have to do it now because I have to combat this issue with Barnes & Noble," because that is such a slippery slope and a bait and switch. I wasn’t here for it.

BGC: Why do you create?

I think very linearly and I imagine a line being drawn across the paper and you draw the line up, and you draw a line down, and squiggle it or you swirl it—that’s the trajectory of that one person. I feel like if maybe I had a second book as a child, not just the one [with Black representation], that trajectory that I had maybe would have been a little bit off; it may have changed the direction of what I would be today and so I feel like that’s why I do The Bookshelf, too. Because you don’t know what you don’t know and you never know where inspiration or where something will spark some level of interest in a child.

Black people don’t have all of the same experience. For me, I am a Black American and in turn an African American, but I don’t know my lineage enough to be able to connect to my culture. So, when I say things like, “Write stories about Black people even though Black people don’t all share the same experience,” it’s for all of those people like me who don’t know their own history. I’m seeing a little bit more stories feature African fantasies, which is still abysmal in the grand scheme of things, that Black stories are like 3% of publishing as a whole or whatever that percentage was. Although I love [African fantasy] stories, I want to write stories for those who don’t have those connections who would still be able to relate.

BGC: Who is your audience?

Definitely, I want to gear my stories towards Black teens, but I feel like you’re not going to find my book in the Scholastic Book Fair. Maybe some time in the future I'll write a middle-grade and you’ll find that at the book fair (you can get your little book and get your little bookmark to go with it).

I still want to gear toward a Black audience but at the same time I got so much inspiration from watching anime. When I watch it there’s a level of freedom. I want that freedom, but with Black characters. So I’m hoping that my audience would be those who like anime but also those who like to game (because I like to game sometimes and I get some inspiration from that, too). I want people to dress up and go to Comic Con in their costumes of my characters.

BGC: Who or what inspired you to do what you do?

"I want to create experiences but I want to have fun while creating those experiences as well."  -- AJay Jordan

This is a fair question but the gag is I don’t know if I am inspired by anyone. It’s more like a self motivation for me because I want to create something fun for people to experience. I want to create experiences but I want to have fun while creating those experiences as well. You know how in high school people would be like, “Oh this is the person I look up to. I want to be just like them.” That was not me. 

I’ve always been the person to go left when everyone wanted to go right. It’s almost like I was challenging myself to be my own inspiration. I am a competitive person in all things. I will kill you in Uno, Monopoly is my game. I can look up to people but it doesn’t give me the fire to create. It’s the competition with myself or seeing others do something terribly that makes me think, “Hey! I can do that!” 

I want to be better everyday. Every time I do something I try to surpass what I created because I don’t have someone to look up to and gauge myself [by]. I just work hard and hope it works out for the best.

BGC: Why is it important as a Black person to create?

My first answer is representation, because that percentage in publishing is so low that it’s almost like we shouldn’t even exist. Animals will take a higher percentage than a person of color — I think in total, too. On the flip side, those in publishing that share the same marginalization of us querying authors is abysmal, as well. Which is why it’s so hard when agents say things like, “Oh I couldn’t connect.” You couldn’t connect because you don’t share these experiences. Your own biases are getting in the way of stories that are authentic.

Representation will allow those that come after us to feel like they have the ability to do what we do. A Black little boy isn’t going to know he can become a bio-engineer unless he sees one. It’s almost like feeling like it’s OK to be here, you deserve to be here, too.

BGC: Why is it important that folks, but especially marginalized people, have access to these stories?

I think that [The Bookshelf] is a great resource for writers who want to comp their own books because sometimes literary agents ask for two titles to see where your book would sit on an actual bookshelf. I’ve even had editors tell me that they use it as comps for the stories that they’re reading for. 

I’ve had teachers and librarians tell me it helps them build their lists, that they would also maybe have their students come to the website and find new books. I always tell them to do their research before you have them jump on the site because I have books from picture books all the way to adult. 

I’m hoping that it will create baby writers. So those who didn’t think that they would be a writer will see these stories and will be excited to write more. It’s like a virtual hand reaching back to pull up children of color or Black children to write these crazy fantastic stories and become authors. 

But also to up the percentage of reading. Reading has definitely changed my life. I was not a reader when I was a kid. I had that one picture book [that had Black representation]. My godmother even tried to pay me per chapter to read this book. I did not finish the book. It was only because I did not have the right story in my hand. It wasn’t until there was finally a book that I was like, “Wow that was actually a good book.” It was that moment that I found a book I actually liked that it changed the trajectory of my career. I don’t think I would be a writer today, I don’t think The Bookshelf would exist, I don’t think I would be as passionate about representation and trying to make these books accessible to people. None of this would exist if it wasn’t for that one book. This is serious. My life could have been completely different if not for reading that book. If that happened to me, it can happen to someone else. And if it can happen to someone else, it can happen earlier in their timeline for their life and trajectory and change their life for good. I feel like books are good things and we have to uplift them especially Black and brown and marginalized voices.

BGC: How do you balance creating with the rest of your life?

I feel like I’m good but I feel like I’m not. I feel like I’m good because I think very linearly and I will be doing multiple projects at once and I’m like Go-Go Gadget, let’s-get-this-shit-done. Let’s do it and have fun. 

At the same time when I work, sometimes I forget to eat, sometimes I forget to drink water, sometimes I forget to stretch, maybe go out into the sun and get some vitamin D. I don’t exercise because I’m so into my creative work. I’m always doing something and when I’m glued to my screen and I’m just going. I don’t feel like my health deteriorates, but I forget to take care of myself. I have to work on that because I’m not going to stop doing something until I finish X, Y, and Z and that can backfire. I have to learn to stop and be OK with stopping. But I feel like I have to keep going so I can have results.

BGC: Any advice for people who don’t see themselves reflected in the stories around them?

One thing I didn’t get to do growing up was shadow people. I didn’t get to see this job or this art, I didn’t get a chance to see what something was about. I was very much in the dark. I essentially felt along the walls and found a light switch. If you want to skip that, try to shadow someone or even interview someone who does what you want to do. Try to get as close as you can in regards to things you have similar with the person. Whether you’re a little Black girl and you want to speak with a Black woman who is an architect. If you just do the research and find them and reach out and interview them because there’s potential in you having interest in whatever that is then I feel like you will find your path to creating much easier. 

Then, after talking with these people who are doing what you want to do, make sure to keep in contact with them…because if you keep those relationships you never know if it can help you down the line. If it’s a genuine interest in these different things, you never know.

BGC: Any future projects?

I am expanding The Bookshelf. I don’t know if I’m going to keep it under the same name, but it’s definitely moving in the direction of having its own website. And with that, I hope to add some other special things on that website too aside from just books. I am in the literary community and I know that writers struggle in the trenches and just struggle with writing period because writing is hard. So, I hope to add some tidbits on The Bookshelf for that and for those who just started writing and think they may want to write.

I’m drawing more. I can’t say that I’m the best artist but I feel happy with my work art right now, so I’m hoping to start doing some commissions with that but I’m probably going to limit my time on that because in order of importance The Bookshelf and my writing career take precedence.

I’m working very hard to find a literary agent that sees me and would be ecstatic to champion my book and champion my future stories. I’ve tried many different careers in my life and the only thing that has really stuck has been writing.

You can follow AJay on Twitter @AJay_Author and check out The Bookshelf here!

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from curator/video game industry veteran Simon Carless, rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend. This week's highlights include a classic Deus Ex postmortem, making Steam games successful in China, and the surprise smash hit Lineage 2 mobile game, among other things.

In particular, I was taken by that piece on the success of Lineage 2: Revolution for mobile - $176 million in a month in South Korea alone? Wow. It's a good reminder that when franchises have fans - and Lineage is gaming royalty in Korea - then startling things can happen.

Oh, and FYI - we opened up registration for our standalone Virtual Reality Developers Conference this week - happening this September in San Francisco. We've added board members from ILMxLAB and HTC to a stellar set of advisors from Valve, Oculus, Sony, Magic Leap, Microsoft & more. Lots going on in the VR, AR, and mixed reality space, and it's good to have a truly platform-independent show to explore it...

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Highlighting History's First Female Game Designers (Manon Hume / Game Informer) "Though it might be difficult today to imagine Uncharted without Amy Hennig or Journey without Robin Hunicke, women in the early days of video games rarely had their time in the limelight. Carol Shaw and Dona Bailey, creators of River Raid and Centipede respectively, were two of the first female game designers in video game history, yet their contributions have often been overlooked… Until now."

Building Worlds in No Man's Sky Using Math(s) (Sean Murray / GDC / YouTube) "No Man's Sky is a science fiction game set in a near infinite procedurally generated universe. In this 2017 GDC talk, Hello Games' Sean Murray describes some of the most important technologies and interesting challenges behind generating both realistic and alien terrains without artistic input, using mathematics."

College Esports Programs Are Growing, But Can They Field a Winning Team? (Will Partin / Glixel) "The doors to University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Cox Arena and Pavilion open at 12, and every seat inside is filled by 12:30. If it weren't for the occasional StarCraft cosplayer or the elaborate apparatus of club lighting enveloping the stage, you could be forgiven for mistaking Heroes of the Dorm for a division one basketball game."

Making Horizon Zero Dawn's Machines feel like living creatures (Willie Clark / Gamasutra) "One of the most memorable features of the recent PlayStation 4 title Horizon Zero Dawn are the sophisticated robots, known as Machines, that wander the game world like a natural part of the landscape. How were these distinctive robot/creatures conceived of and designed? We talked with several devs from Guerrilla Games, the studio behind HZD, to see just what went into the making of the Machines."

Persona 5 deserved better: a translator's take on a subpar script (Molly Lee / Polygon) "I found myself mentally rewriting A LOT of Persona 5. What should be a gripping tale of outcast kids became an outright chore to parse … and I was barely a few hours in. The start of every game is the part that's meant to hook you."

The 15 year quest to mod the mainland into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Luke Winkie / PC Gamer) "It has been said that everyone’s favorite Bethesda game is the first one they play, as if stepping into that freedom for the first time is far more powerful and resonant than any prospective gameplay upgrades or graphical bumps. There’s probably no better proof than the community at Tamriel Rebuilt—a mod that’s been in development since Morrowind’s original release date."

A No Bullshit Conversation With The Authors Behind The Witcher and Metro 2033 (Piotr Bajda / Waypoint) "Witcher novelist Andrzej Sapkowski says he doesn't owe games anything, but Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky thinks games made them both."

Unleashing the Benefits of Coviewing With Minecraft Videos (Matthew Farber / Joan Ganz Cooney Center) "Both Minecraft and YouTube are ubiquitous in today’s children’s media culture. And like millions of other children, my six-year-old son loves to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube. He frequently watches Grian’s how-to-build-it Minecraft videos. He enjoys the silly antics from Pat and Jen of Gaming with Jen, the husband-and-wife team who produce PopularMMOs. And he loves Stampy Cat—but more on Stampy later."

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, By Holly Nielsen (Holly Nielsen / Shut Up & Sit Down) "Continuing our collection of talks filmed during the V&A’s Board Game Study Day, here’s 15 minutes from journalist and historian Holly Nielsen on the hilarious, horrifying history of British board games."

Steam games in China: Making the most of a lucrative opportunity (Chris Priestman / Gamasutra) "There are now over 15 million Steam users based in China (according to SteamSpy). That makes it the country with the third largest number of Steam account holders, behind only Russia and the USA. Numbers like that should be enough to convince any game developer to make efforts to appeal to the Chinese audience. Yet many don’t."

How Ghosts ’N Goblins helped video games find comedy in failure (Anthony John Agnello / AV Club) "Most games tried to lighten up your failure to soothe the loss. Pac-Man touches a ghost, the music stops, and the game bloops as the little semicircle winks out of existence, vanishing with the last of your extra lives. The sounds are disappointing in tone but fun in execution, enough to make another quarter seem worth it. And in 1985, Ghosts ’N Goblins made failure infuriating but also hilarious, giving video games their very own comedic language."

"Creating an MMORPG that anyone can play": The making of Lineage 2 Revolution (Matt Suckley / PocketGamer.biz) "It's safe to say that Lineage 2 Revolution has been a huge success for Netmarble. On the face of it, this hardcore MMORPG based on a PC title is one that caters to a relatively niche audience. But despite only being available in South Korea, the game hit $100 million in revenues within 18 days - $176 million in a month - powering its developer to an 81% leap in profits."

Clark Tank: Steam user review changes and SimAirport! (Ryan Clark / YouTube) "I'm veteran indie game developer Ryan Clark, and this is the Clark Tank! Every second Friday at 1pm Pacific time we stay on top of the latest game industry trends by examining the Steam top 50, scrutinizing the latest Kickstarted games, and by playing the most prominent recent releases. [SIMON'S NOTE: this is the second YouTube stream compilation, and is still catching up, but the commentary and analysis in here is still super helpful for devs & interesting to others!]"

From Squadron To Ringleader (Jimmy Maher / The Digital Antiquarian) "European developers remained European, American developers remained American, and the days of a truly globalized games industry remained far in the future. The exceptions to these rules stand out all the more thanks to their rarity. And one of these notable exceptions was Chris Roberts, the young man who would change Origin Systems forever."

The Virtual Life – The Unsettling Humanity Of Nina Freeman's Kimmy (Javy Gwaltney / Game Informer) "Kimmy is a different kind of game from the rest of developer Nina Freeman’s works. Freeman, who now works at Fullbright as a designer on Tacoma, has released a number of personal vignette-like games throughout her career."

The Metal World: Horizon Zero Dawn (Matt Margini / Heterotopias) "In the sleepy suburb of Sydenham, south-east of London, the statues of the Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park stand watch over nothing in particular. By today’s standards they look hilariously inaccurate: the Iguanodon is little more than a fat alligator, while the Megalosaurus looks like one of No Man’s Sky’s misshapen dog-like quadrupeds. [SIMON'S NOTE: watch out for Heterotopias, it's a super-promising new outlet about game worlds - its first zine was in my recent Storybundle, and more zines & more web-exclusive articles are coming!]"

Classic Game Postmortem: Deus Ex (Warren Spector / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC postmortem, acclaimed game designer Warren Spector walks through the development of the 2000 hit game Deus Ex and reflects on some of the key lessons from launching the critically-acclaimed immersive sim."

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games (Graham Oliver / Electric Lit) "Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,”Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative."

Meet the most honest man in EVE Online (Steven Messner / PC Gamer) "When you're the most trusted person in EVE Online, your reputation has a way of preceding you. For years, the name 'Chribba' felt like an urban legend to me—a man you can trust in a galaxy where the first rule is to trust no one. Inside the Harpa convention center in downtown Reykjavik, I meet Chribba amid the bustle of players gathering for EVE Online's annual Fanfest."

How An Offbeat Video Game Got 100 Japanese Bands To Write Its Soundtrack (Jared Newman / Fast Company) "Let It Die is a game about a mysterious tower in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where players control an emotionless, reanimated corpse, and are guided by a cheery, skateboard-riding grim reaper named Uncle Death. Strange as that sounds, the story behind Let It Die‘s soundtrack is even more unusual."

-------------------

[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at http://ift.tt/2dUXrva we crosspost to Gamasutra later on Sunday, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to vgdeepcuts@simoncarless.com. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from curator/video game industry veteran Simon Carless, rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend. This week's highlights include a classic Deus Ex postmortem, making Steam games successful in China, and the surprise smash hit Lineage 2 mobile game, among other things.

In particular, I was taken by that piece on the success of Lineage 2: Revolution for mobile - $176 million in a month in South Korea alone? Wow. It's a good reminder that when franchises have fans - and Lineage is gaming royalty in Korea - then startling things can happen.

Oh, and FYI - we opened up registration for our standalone Virtual Reality Developers Conference this week - happening this September in San Francisco. We've added board members from ILMxLAB and HTC to a stellar set of advisors from Valve, Oculus, Sony, Magic Leap, Microsoft & more. Lots going on in the VR, AR, and mixed reality space, and it's good to have a truly platform-independent show to explore it...

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Highlighting History's First Female Game Designers (Manon Hume / Game Informer) "Though it might be difficult today to imagine Uncharted without Amy Hennig or Journey without Robin Hunicke, women in the early days of video games rarely had their time in the limelight. Carol Shaw and Dona Bailey, creators of River Raid and Centipede respectively, were two of the first female game designers in video game history, yet their contributions have often been overlooked… Until now."

Building Worlds in No Man's Sky Using Math(s) (Sean Murray / GDC / YouTube) "No Man's Sky is a science fiction game set in a near infinite procedurally generated universe. In this 2017 GDC talk, Hello Games' Sean Murray describes some of the most important technologies and interesting challenges behind generating both realistic and alien terrains without artistic input, using mathematics."

College Esports Programs Are Growing, But Can They Field a Winning Team? (Will Partin / Glixel) "The doors to University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Cox Arena and Pavilion open at 12, and every seat inside is filled by 12:30. If it weren't for the occasional StarCraft cosplayer or the elaborate apparatus of club lighting enveloping the stage, you could be forgiven for mistaking Heroes of the Dorm for a division one basketball game."

Making Horizon Zero Dawn's Machines feel like living creatures (Willie Clark / Gamasutra) "One of the most memorable features of the recent PlayStation 4 title Horizon Zero Dawn are the sophisticated robots, known as Machines, that wander the game world like a natural part of the landscape. How were these distinctive robot/creatures conceived of and designed? We talked with several devs from Guerrilla Games, the studio behind HZD, to see just what went into the making of the Machines."

Persona 5 deserved better: a translator's take on a subpar script (Molly Lee / Polygon) "I found myself mentally rewriting A LOT of Persona 5. What should be a gripping tale of outcast kids became an outright chore to parse … and I was barely a few hours in. The start of every game is the part that's meant to hook you."

The 15 year quest to mod the mainland into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Luke Winkie / PC Gamer) "It has been said that everyone’s favorite Bethesda game is the first one they play, as if stepping into that freedom for the first time is far more powerful and resonant than any prospective gameplay upgrades or graphical bumps. There’s probably no better proof than the community at Tamriel Rebuilt—a mod that’s been in development since Morrowind’s original release date."

A No Bullshit Conversation With The Authors Behind The Witcher and Metro 2033 (Piotr Bajda / Waypoint) "Witcher novelist Andrzej Sapkowski says he doesn't owe games anything, but Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky thinks games made them both."

Unleashing the Benefits of Coviewing With Minecraft Videos (Matthew Farber / Joan Ganz Cooney Center) "Both Minecraft and YouTube are ubiquitous in today’s children’s media culture. And like millions of other children, my six-year-old son loves to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube. He frequently watches Grian’s how-to-build-it Minecraft videos. He enjoys the silly antics from Pat and Jen of Gaming with Jen, the husband-and-wife team who produce PopularMMOs. And he loves Stampy Cat—but more on Stampy later."

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, By Holly Nielsen (Holly Nielsen / Shut Up & Sit Down) "Continuing our collection of talks filmed during the V&A’s Board Game Study Day, here’s 15 minutes from journalist and historian Holly Nielsen on the hilarious, horrifying history of British board games."

Steam games in China: Making the most of a lucrative opportunity (Chris Priestman / Gamasutra) "There are now over 15 million Steam users based in China (according to SteamSpy). That makes it the country with the third largest number of Steam account holders, behind only Russia and the USA. Numbers like that should be enough to convince any game developer to make efforts to appeal to the Chinese audience. Yet many don’t."

How Ghosts ’N Goblins helped video games find comedy in failure (Anthony John Agnello / AV Club) "Most games tried to lighten up your failure to soothe the loss. Pac-Man touches a ghost, the music stops, and the game bloops as the little semicircle winks out of existence, vanishing with the last of your extra lives. The sounds are disappointing in tone but fun in execution, enough to make another quarter seem worth it. And in 1985, Ghosts ’N Goblins made failure infuriating but also hilarious, giving video games their very own comedic language."

"Creating an MMORPG that anyone can play": The making of Lineage 2 Revolution (Matt Suckley / PocketGamer.biz) "It's safe to say that Lineage 2 Revolution has been a huge success for Netmarble. On the face of it, this hardcore MMORPG based on a PC title is one that caters to a relatively niche audience. But despite only being available in South Korea, the game hit $100 million in revenues within 18 days - $176 million in a month - powering its developer to an 81% leap in profits."

Clark Tank: Steam user review changes and SimAirport! (Ryan Clark / YouTube) "I'm veteran indie game developer Ryan Clark, and this is the Clark Tank! Every second Friday at 1pm Pacific time we stay on top of the latest game industry trends by examining the Steam top 50, scrutinizing the latest Kickstarted games, and by playing the most prominent recent releases. [SIMON'S NOTE: this is the second YouTube stream compilation, and is still catching up, but the commentary and analysis in here is still super helpful for devs & interesting to others!]"

From Squadron To Ringleader (Jimmy Maher / The Digital Antiquarian) "European developers remained European, American developers remained American, and the days of a truly globalized games industry remained far in the future. The exceptions to these rules stand out all the more thanks to their rarity. And one of these notable exceptions was Chris Roberts, the young man who would change Origin Systems forever."

The Virtual Life – The Unsettling Humanity Of Nina Freeman's Kimmy (Javy Gwaltney / Game Informer) "Kimmy is a different kind of game from the rest of developer Nina Freeman’s works. Freeman, who now works at Fullbright as a designer on Tacoma, has released a number of personal vignette-like games throughout her career."

The Metal World: Horizon Zero Dawn (Matt Margini / Heterotopias) "In the sleepy suburb of Sydenham, south-east of London, the statues of the Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park stand watch over nothing in particular. By today’s standards they look hilariously inaccurate: the Iguanodon is little more than a fat alligator, while the Megalosaurus looks like one of No Man’s Sky’s misshapen dog-like quadrupeds. [SIMON'S NOTE: watch out for Heterotopias, it's a super-promising new outlet about game worlds - its first zine was in my recent Storybundle, and more zines & more web-exclusive articles are coming!]"

Classic Game Postmortem: Deus Ex (Warren Spector / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC postmortem, acclaimed game designer Warren Spector walks through the development of the 2000 hit game Deus Ex and reflects on some of the key lessons from launching the critically-acclaimed immersive sim."

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games (Graham Oliver / Electric Lit) "Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,”Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative."

Meet the most honest man in EVE Online (Steven Messner / PC Gamer) "When you're the most trusted person in EVE Online, your reputation has a way of preceding you. For years, the name 'Chribba' felt like an urban legend to me—a man you can trust in a galaxy where the first rule is to trust no one. Inside the Harpa convention center in downtown Reykjavik, I meet Chribba amid the bustle of players gathering for EVE Online's annual Fanfest."

How An Offbeat Video Game Got 100 Japanese Bands To Write Its Soundtrack (Jared Newman / Fast Company) "Let It Die is a game about a mysterious tower in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where players control an emotionless, reanimated corpse, and are guided by a cheery, skateboard-riding grim reaper named Uncle Death. Strange as that sounds, the story behind Let It Die‘s soundtrack is even more unusual."

-------------------

[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at http://ift.tt/2dUXrva we crosspost to Gamasutra later on Sunday, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to vgdeepcuts@simoncarless.com. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from curator/video game industry veteran Simon Carless, rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend. This week's highlights include a classic Deus Ex postmortem, making Steam games successful in China, and the surprise smash hit Lineage 2 mobile game, among other things.

In particular, I was taken by that piece on the success of Lineage 2: Revolution for mobile - $176 million in a month in South Korea alone? Wow. It's a good reminder that when franchises have fans - and Lineage is gaming royalty in Korea - then startling things can happen.

Oh, and FYI - we opened up registration for our standalone Virtual Reality Developers Conference this week - happening this September in San Francisco. We've added board members from ILMxLAB and HTC to a stellar set of advisors from Valve, Oculus, Sony, Magic Leap, Microsoft & more. Lots going on in the VR, AR, and mixed reality space, and it's good to have a truly platform-independent show to explore it...

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Highlighting History's First Female Game Designers (Manon Hume / Game Informer) "Though it might be difficult today to imagine Uncharted without Amy Hennig or Journey without Robin Hunicke, women in the early days of video games rarely had their time in the limelight. Carol Shaw and Dona Bailey, creators of River Raid and Centipede respectively, were two of the first female game designers in video game history, yet their contributions have often been overlooked… Until now."

Building Worlds in No Man's Sky Using Math(s) (Sean Murray / GDC / YouTube) "No Man's Sky is a science fiction game set in a near infinite procedurally generated universe. In this 2017 GDC talk, Hello Games' Sean Murray describes some of the most important technologies and interesting challenges behind generating both realistic and alien terrains without artistic input, using mathematics."

College Esports Programs Are Growing, But Can They Field a Winning Team? (Will Partin / Glixel) "The doors to University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Cox Arena and Pavilion open at 12, and every seat inside is filled by 12:30. If it weren't for the occasional StarCraft cosplayer or the elaborate apparatus of club lighting enveloping the stage, you could be forgiven for mistaking Heroes of the Dorm for a division one basketball game."

Making Horizon Zero Dawn's Machines feel like living creatures (Willie Clark / Gamasutra) "One of the most memorable features of the recent PlayStation 4 title Horizon Zero Dawn are the sophisticated robots, known as Machines, that wander the game world like a natural part of the landscape. How were these distinctive robot/creatures conceived of and designed? We talked with several devs from Guerrilla Games, the studio behind HZD, to see just what went into the making of the Machines."

Persona 5 deserved better: a translator's take on a subpar script (Molly Lee / Polygon) "I found myself mentally rewriting A LOT of Persona 5. What should be a gripping tale of outcast kids became an outright chore to parse … and I was barely a few hours in. The start of every game is the part that's meant to hook you."

The 15 year quest to mod the mainland into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Luke Winkie / PC Gamer) "It has been said that everyone’s favorite Bethesda game is the first one they play, as if stepping into that freedom for the first time is far more powerful and resonant than any prospective gameplay upgrades or graphical bumps. There’s probably no better proof than the community at Tamriel Rebuilt—a mod that’s been in development since Morrowind’s original release date."

A No Bullshit Conversation With The Authors Behind The Witcher and Metro 2033 (Piotr Bajda / Waypoint) "Witcher novelist Andrzej Sapkowski says he doesn't owe games anything, but Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky thinks games made them both."

Unleashing the Benefits of Coviewing With Minecraft Videos (Matthew Farber / Joan Ganz Cooney Center) "Both Minecraft and YouTube are ubiquitous in today’s children’s media culture. And like millions of other children, my six-year-old son loves to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube. He frequently watches Grian’s how-to-build-it Minecraft videos. He enjoys the silly antics from Pat and Jen of Gaming with Jen, the husband-and-wife team who produce PopularMMOs. And he loves Stampy Cat—but more on Stampy later."

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, By Holly Nielsen (Holly Nielsen / Shut Up & Sit Down) "Continuing our collection of talks filmed during the V&A’s Board Game Study Day, here’s 15 minutes from journalist and historian Holly Nielsen on the hilarious, horrifying history of British board games."

Steam games in China: Making the most of a lucrative opportunity (Chris Priestman / Gamasutra) "There are now over 15 million Steam users based in China (according to SteamSpy). That makes it the country with the third largest number of Steam account holders, behind only Russia and the USA. Numbers like that should be enough to convince any game developer to make efforts to appeal to the Chinese audience. Yet many don’t."

How Ghosts ’N Goblins helped video games find comedy in failure (Anthony John Agnello / AV Club) "Most games tried to lighten up your failure to soothe the loss. Pac-Man touches a ghost, the music stops, and the game bloops as the little semicircle winks out of existence, vanishing with the last of your extra lives. The sounds are disappointing in tone but fun in execution, enough to make another quarter seem worth it. And in 1985, Ghosts ’N Goblins made failure infuriating but also hilarious, giving video games their very own comedic language."

"Creating an MMORPG that anyone can play": The making of Lineage 2 Revolution (Matt Suckley / PocketGamer.biz) "It's safe to say that Lineage 2 Revolution has been a huge success for Netmarble. On the face of it, this hardcore MMORPG based on a PC title is one that caters to a relatively niche audience. But despite only being available in South Korea, the game hit $100 million in revenues within 18 days - $176 million in a month - powering its developer to an 81% leap in profits."

Clark Tank: Steam user review changes and SimAirport! (Ryan Clark / YouTube) "I'm veteran indie game developer Ryan Clark, and this is the Clark Tank! Every second Friday at 1pm Pacific time we stay on top of the latest game industry trends by examining the Steam top 50, scrutinizing the latest Kickstarted games, and by playing the most prominent recent releases. [SIMON'S NOTE: this is the second YouTube stream compilation, and is still catching up, but the commentary and analysis in here is still super helpful for devs & interesting to others!]"

From Squadron To Ringleader (Jimmy Maher / The Digital Antiquarian) "European developers remained European, American developers remained American, and the days of a truly globalized games industry remained far in the future. The exceptions to these rules stand out all the more thanks to their rarity. And one of these notable exceptions was Chris Roberts, the young man who would change Origin Systems forever."

The Virtual Life – The Unsettling Humanity Of Nina Freeman's Kimmy (Javy Gwaltney / Game Informer) "Kimmy is a different kind of game from the rest of developer Nina Freeman’s works. Freeman, who now works at Fullbright as a designer on Tacoma, has released a number of personal vignette-like games throughout her career."

The Metal World: Horizon Zero Dawn (Matt Margini / Heterotopias) "In the sleepy suburb of Sydenham, south-east of London, the statues of the Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park stand watch over nothing in particular. By today’s standards they look hilariously inaccurate: the Iguanodon is little more than a fat alligator, while the Megalosaurus looks like one of No Man’s Sky’s misshapen dog-like quadrupeds. [SIMON'S NOTE: watch out for Heterotopias, it's a super-promising new outlet about game worlds - its first zine was in my recent Storybundle, and more zines & more web-exclusive articles are coming!]"

Classic Game Postmortem: Deus Ex (Warren Spector / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC postmortem, acclaimed game designer Warren Spector walks through the development of the 2000 hit game Deus Ex and reflects on some of the key lessons from launching the critically-acclaimed immersive sim."

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games (Graham Oliver / Electric Lit) "Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,”Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative."

Meet the most honest man in EVE Online (Steven Messner / PC Gamer) "When you're the most trusted person in EVE Online, your reputation has a way of preceding you. For years, the name 'Chribba' felt like an urban legend to me—a man you can trust in a galaxy where the first rule is to trust no one. Inside the Harpa convention center in downtown Reykjavik, I meet Chribba amid the bustle of players gathering for EVE Online's annual Fanfest."

How An Offbeat Video Game Got 100 Japanese Bands To Write Its Soundtrack (Jared Newman / Fast Company) "Let It Die is a game about a mysterious tower in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where players control an emotionless, reanimated corpse, and are guided by a cheery, skateboard-riding grim reaper named Uncle Death. Strange as that sounds, the story behind Let It Die‘s soundtrack is even more unusual."

-------------------

[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at http://ift.tt/2dUXrva we crosspost to Gamasutra later on Sunday, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to vgdeepcuts@simoncarless.com. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from curator/video game industry veteran Simon Carless, rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend. This week's highlights include a classic Deus Ex postmortem, making Steam games successful in China, and the surprise smash hit Lineage 2 mobile game, among other things.

In particular, I was taken by that piece on the success of Lineage 2: Revolution for mobile - $176 million in a month in South Korea alone? Wow. It's a good reminder that when franchises have fans - and Lineage is gaming royalty in Korea - then startling things can happen.

Oh, and FYI - we opened up registration for our standalone Virtual Reality Developers Conference this week - happening this September in San Francisco. We've added board members from ILMxLAB and HTC to a stellar set of advisors from Valve, Oculus, Sony, Magic Leap, Microsoft & more. Lots going on in the VR, AR, and mixed reality space, and it's good to have a truly platform-independent show to explore it...

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Highlighting History's First Female Game Designers (Manon Hume / Game Informer) "Though it might be difficult today to imagine Uncharted without Amy Hennig or Journey without Robin Hunicke, women in the early days of video games rarely had their time in the limelight. Carol Shaw and Dona Bailey, creators of River Raid and Centipede respectively, were two of the first female game designers in video game history, yet their contributions have often been overlooked… Until now."

Building Worlds in No Man's Sky Using Math(s) (Sean Murray / GDC / YouTube) "No Man's Sky is a science fiction game set in a near infinite procedurally generated universe. In this 2017 GDC talk, Hello Games' Sean Murray describes some of the most important technologies and interesting challenges behind generating both realistic and alien terrains without artistic input, using mathematics."

College Esports Programs Are Growing, But Can They Field a Winning Team? (Will Partin / Glixel) "The doors to University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Cox Arena and Pavilion open at 12, and every seat inside is filled by 12:30. If it weren't for the occasional StarCraft cosplayer or the elaborate apparatus of club lighting enveloping the stage, you could be forgiven for mistaking Heroes of the Dorm for a division one basketball game."

Making Horizon Zero Dawn's Machines feel like living creatures (Willie Clark / Gamasutra) "One of the most memorable features of the recent PlayStation 4 title Horizon Zero Dawn are the sophisticated robots, known as Machines, that wander the game world like a natural part of the landscape. How were these distinctive robot/creatures conceived of and designed? We talked with several devs from Guerrilla Games, the studio behind HZD, to see just what went into the making of the Machines."

Persona 5 deserved better: a translator's take on a subpar script (Molly Lee / Polygon) "I found myself mentally rewriting A LOT of Persona 5. What should be a gripping tale of outcast kids became an outright chore to parse … and I was barely a few hours in. The start of every game is the part that's meant to hook you."

The 15 year quest to mod the mainland into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Luke Winkie / PC Gamer) "It has been said that everyone’s favorite Bethesda game is the first one they play, as if stepping into that freedom for the first time is far more powerful and resonant than any prospective gameplay upgrades or graphical bumps. There’s probably no better proof than the community at Tamriel Rebuilt—a mod that’s been in development since Morrowind’s original release date."

A No Bullshit Conversation With The Authors Behind The Witcher and Metro 2033 (Piotr Bajda / Waypoint) "Witcher novelist Andrzej Sapkowski says he doesn't owe games anything, but Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky thinks games made them both."

Unleashing the Benefits of Coviewing With Minecraft Videos (Matthew Farber / Joan Ganz Cooney Center) "Both Minecraft and YouTube are ubiquitous in today’s children’s media culture. And like millions of other children, my six-year-old son loves to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube. He frequently watches Grian’s how-to-build-it Minecraft videos. He enjoys the silly antics from Pat and Jen of Gaming with Jen, the husband-and-wife team who produce PopularMMOs. And he loves Stampy Cat—but more on Stampy later."

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, By Holly Nielsen (Holly Nielsen / Shut Up & Sit Down) "Continuing our collection of talks filmed during the V&A’s Board Game Study Day, here’s 15 minutes from journalist and historian Holly Nielsen on the hilarious, horrifying history of British board games."

Steam games in China: Making the most of a lucrative opportunity (Chris Priestman / Gamasutra) "There are now over 15 million Steam users based in China (according to SteamSpy). That makes it the country with the third largest number of Steam account holders, behind only Russia and the USA. Numbers like that should be enough to convince any game developer to make efforts to appeal to the Chinese audience. Yet many don’t."

How Ghosts ’N Goblins helped video games find comedy in failure (Anthony John Agnello / AV Club) "Most games tried to lighten up your failure to soothe the loss. Pac-Man touches a ghost, the music stops, and the game bloops as the little semicircle winks out of existence, vanishing with the last of your extra lives. The sounds are disappointing in tone but fun in execution, enough to make another quarter seem worth it. And in 1985, Ghosts ’N Goblins made failure infuriating but also hilarious, giving video games their very own comedic language."

"Creating an MMORPG that anyone can play": The making of Lineage 2 Revolution (Matt Suckley / PocketGamer.biz) "It's safe to say that Lineage 2 Revolution has been a huge success for Netmarble. On the face of it, this hardcore MMORPG based on a PC title is one that caters to a relatively niche audience. But despite only being available in South Korea, the game hit $100 million in revenues within 18 days - $176 million in a month - powering its developer to an 81% leap in profits."

Clark Tank: Steam user review changes and SimAirport! (Ryan Clark / YouTube) "I'm veteran indie game developer Ryan Clark, and this is the Clark Tank! Every second Friday at 1pm Pacific time we stay on top of the latest game industry trends by examining the Steam top 50, scrutinizing the latest Kickstarted games, and by playing the most prominent recent releases. [SIMON'S NOTE: this is the second YouTube stream compilation, and is still catching up, but the commentary and analysis in here is still super helpful for devs & interesting to others!]"

From Squadron To Ringleader (Jimmy Maher / The Digital Antiquarian) "European developers remained European, American developers remained American, and the days of a truly globalized games industry remained far in the future. The exceptions to these rules stand out all the more thanks to their rarity. And one of these notable exceptions was Chris Roberts, the young man who would change Origin Systems forever."

The Virtual Life – The Unsettling Humanity Of Nina Freeman's Kimmy (Javy Gwaltney / Game Informer) "Kimmy is a different kind of game from the rest of developer Nina Freeman’s works. Freeman, who now works at Fullbright as a designer on Tacoma, has released a number of personal vignette-like games throughout her career."

The Metal World: Horizon Zero Dawn (Matt Margini / Heterotopias) "In the sleepy suburb of Sydenham, south-east of London, the statues of the Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park stand watch over nothing in particular. By today’s standards they look hilariously inaccurate: the Iguanodon is little more than a fat alligator, while the Megalosaurus looks like one of No Man’s Sky’s misshapen dog-like quadrupeds. [SIMON'S NOTE: watch out for Heterotopias, it's a super-promising new outlet about game worlds - its first zine was in my recent Storybundle, and more zines & more web-exclusive articles are coming!]"

Classic Game Postmortem: Deus Ex (Warren Spector / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC postmortem, acclaimed game designer Warren Spector walks through the development of the 2000 hit game Deus Ex and reflects on some of the key lessons from launching the critically-acclaimed immersive sim."

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games (Graham Oliver / Electric Lit) "Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,”Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative."

Meet the most honest man in EVE Online (Steven Messner / PC Gamer) "When you're the most trusted person in EVE Online, your reputation has a way of preceding you. For years, the name 'Chribba' felt like an urban legend to me—a man you can trust in a galaxy where the first rule is to trust no one. Inside the Harpa convention center in downtown Reykjavik, I meet Chribba amid the bustle of players gathering for EVE Online's annual Fanfest."

How An Offbeat Video Game Got 100 Japanese Bands To Write Its Soundtrack (Jared Newman / Fast Company) "Let It Die is a game about a mysterious tower in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where players control an emotionless, reanimated corpse, and are guided by a cheery, skateboard-riding grim reaper named Uncle Death. Strange as that sounds, the story behind Let It Die‘s soundtrack is even more unusual."

-------------------

[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at http://ift.tt/2dUXrva we crosspost to Gamasutra later on Sunday, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to vgdeepcuts@simoncarless.com. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]

[symbianosgames]

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from curator/video game industry veteran Simon Carless, rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend. This week's highlights include a classic Deus Ex postmortem, making Steam games successful in China, and the surprise smash hit Lineage 2 mobile game, among other things.

In particular, I was taken by that piece on the success of Lineage 2: Revolution for mobile - $176 million in a month in South Korea alone? Wow. It's a good reminder that when franchises have fans - and Lineage is gaming royalty in Korea - then startling things can happen.

Oh, and FYI - we opened up registration for our standalone Virtual Reality Developers Conference this week - happening this September in San Francisco. We've added board members from ILMxLAB and HTC to a stellar set of advisors from Valve, Oculus, Sony, Magic Leap, Microsoft & more. Lots going on in the VR, AR, and mixed reality space, and it's good to have a truly platform-independent show to explore it...

- Simon, curator.]

-------------------

Highlighting History's First Female Game Designers (Manon Hume / Game Informer) "Though it might be difficult today to imagine Uncharted without Amy Hennig or Journey without Robin Hunicke, women in the early days of video games rarely had their time in the limelight. Carol Shaw and Dona Bailey, creators of River Raid and Centipede respectively, were two of the first female game designers in video game history, yet their contributions have often been overlooked… Until now."

Building Worlds in No Man's Sky Using Math(s) (Sean Murray / GDC / YouTube) "No Man's Sky is a science fiction game set in a near infinite procedurally generated universe. In this 2017 GDC talk, Hello Games' Sean Murray describes some of the most important technologies and interesting challenges behind generating both realistic and alien terrains without artistic input, using mathematics."

College Esports Programs Are Growing, But Can They Field a Winning Team? (Will Partin / Glixel) "The doors to University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Cox Arena and Pavilion open at 12, and every seat inside is filled by 12:30. If it weren't for the occasional StarCraft cosplayer or the elaborate apparatus of club lighting enveloping the stage, you could be forgiven for mistaking Heroes of the Dorm for a division one basketball game."

Making Horizon Zero Dawn's Machines feel like living creatures (Willie Clark / Gamasutra) "One of the most memorable features of the recent PlayStation 4 title Horizon Zero Dawn are the sophisticated robots, known as Machines, that wander the game world like a natural part of the landscape. How were these distinctive robot/creatures conceived of and designed? We talked with several devs from Guerrilla Games, the studio behind HZD, to see just what went into the making of the Machines."

Persona 5 deserved better: a translator's take on a subpar script (Molly Lee / Polygon) "I found myself mentally rewriting A LOT of Persona 5. What should be a gripping tale of outcast kids became an outright chore to parse … and I was barely a few hours in. The start of every game is the part that's meant to hook you."

The 15 year quest to mod the mainland into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Luke Winkie / PC Gamer) "It has been said that everyone’s favorite Bethesda game is the first one they play, as if stepping into that freedom for the first time is far more powerful and resonant than any prospective gameplay upgrades or graphical bumps. There’s probably no better proof than the community at Tamriel Rebuilt—a mod that’s been in development since Morrowind’s original release date."

A No Bullshit Conversation With The Authors Behind The Witcher and Metro 2033 (Piotr Bajda / Waypoint) "Witcher novelist Andrzej Sapkowski says he doesn't owe games anything, but Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky thinks games made them both."

Unleashing the Benefits of Coviewing With Minecraft Videos (Matthew Farber / Joan Ganz Cooney Center) "Both Minecraft and YouTube are ubiquitous in today’s children’s media culture. And like millions of other children, my six-year-old son loves to watch Minecraft videos on YouTube. He frequently watches Grian’s how-to-build-it Minecraft videos. He enjoys the silly antics from Pat and Jen of Gaming with Jen, the husband-and-wife team who produce PopularMMOs. And he loves Stampy Cat—but more on Stampy later."

SU&SD Presents: British Board Games 1800-1920, By Holly Nielsen (Holly Nielsen / Shut Up & Sit Down) "Continuing our collection of talks filmed during the V&A’s Board Game Study Day, here’s 15 minutes from journalist and historian Holly Nielsen on the hilarious, horrifying history of British board games."

Steam games in China: Making the most of a lucrative opportunity (Chris Priestman / Gamasutra) "There are now over 15 million Steam users based in China (according to SteamSpy). That makes it the country with the third largest number of Steam account holders, behind only Russia and the USA. Numbers like that should be enough to convince any game developer to make efforts to appeal to the Chinese audience. Yet many don’t."

How Ghosts ’N Goblins helped video games find comedy in failure (Anthony John Agnello / AV Club) "Most games tried to lighten up your failure to soothe the loss. Pac-Man touches a ghost, the music stops, and the game bloops as the little semicircle winks out of existence, vanishing with the last of your extra lives. The sounds are disappointing in tone but fun in execution, enough to make another quarter seem worth it. And in 1985, Ghosts ’N Goblins made failure infuriating but also hilarious, giving video games their very own comedic language."

"Creating an MMORPG that anyone can play": The making of Lineage 2 Revolution (Matt Suckley / PocketGamer.biz) "It's safe to say that Lineage 2 Revolution has been a huge success for Netmarble. On the face of it, this hardcore MMORPG based on a PC title is one that caters to a relatively niche audience. But despite only being available in South Korea, the game hit $100 million in revenues within 18 days - $176 million in a month - powering its developer to an 81% leap in profits."

Clark Tank: Steam user review changes and SimAirport! (Ryan Clark / YouTube) "I'm veteran indie game developer Ryan Clark, and this is the Clark Tank! Every second Friday at 1pm Pacific time we stay on top of the latest game industry trends by examining the Steam top 50, scrutinizing the latest Kickstarted games, and by playing the most prominent recent releases. [SIMON'S NOTE: this is the second YouTube stream compilation, and is still catching up, but the commentary and analysis in here is still super helpful for devs & interesting to others!]"

From Squadron To Ringleader (Jimmy Maher / The Digital Antiquarian) "European developers remained European, American developers remained American, and the days of a truly globalized games industry remained far in the future. The exceptions to these rules stand out all the more thanks to their rarity. And one of these notable exceptions was Chris Roberts, the young man who would change Origin Systems forever."

The Virtual Life – The Unsettling Humanity Of Nina Freeman's Kimmy (Javy Gwaltney / Game Informer) "Kimmy is a different kind of game from the rest of developer Nina Freeman’s works. Freeman, who now works at Fullbright as a designer on Tacoma, has released a number of personal vignette-like games throughout her career."

The Metal World: Horizon Zero Dawn (Matt Margini / Heterotopias) "In the sleepy suburb of Sydenham, south-east of London, the statues of the Crystal Palace Dinosaur Park stand watch over nothing in particular. By today’s standards they look hilariously inaccurate: the Iguanodon is little more than a fat alligator, while the Megalosaurus looks like one of No Man’s Sky’s misshapen dog-like quadrupeds. [SIMON'S NOTE: watch out for Heterotopias, it's a super-promising new outlet about game worlds - its first zine was in my recent Storybundle, and more zines & more web-exclusive articles are coming!]"

Classic Game Postmortem: Deus Ex (Warren Spector / GDC / YouTube) "In this 2017 GDC postmortem, acclaimed game designer Warren Spector walks through the development of the 2000 hit game Deus Ex and reflects on some of the key lessons from launching the critically-acclaimed immersive sim."

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games (Graham Oliver / Electric Lit) "Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,”Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative."

Meet the most honest man in EVE Online (Steven Messner / PC Gamer) "When you're the most trusted person in EVE Online, your reputation has a way of preceding you. For years, the name 'Chribba' felt like an urban legend to me—a man you can trust in a galaxy where the first rule is to trust no one. Inside the Harpa convention center in downtown Reykjavik, I meet Chribba amid the bustle of players gathering for EVE Online's annual Fanfest."

How An Offbeat Video Game Got 100 Japanese Bands To Write Its Soundtrack (Jared Newman / Fast Company) "Let It Die is a game about a mysterious tower in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, where players control an emotionless, reanimated corpse, and are guided by a cheery, skateboard-riding grim reaper named Uncle Death. Strange as that sounds, the story behind Let It Die‘s soundtrack is even more unusual."

-------------------

[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at http://ift.tt/2dUXrva we crosspost to Gamasutra later on Sunday, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to vgdeepcuts@simoncarless.com. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]