Read My Review of Matt Bell’s Cataclysm Baby in Quarterly West

 

I just had the opportunity to read and review Matt Bell’s Cataclysm Baby. Check it out in the current issue of Quarterly West, and while you’re there be sure to enjoy all the rest of the wonderful work on offer.

The War on Reason: Don’t Mess With Texas, Or They’ll Write You Out of Their History Books

Texas has recently done a monumental disservice to their youth by choosing to rewrite the history of this country, and their hegemonic rumblings touch on the larger issue of religious fundamentalism and its creeping influence in our country.  As a red-blooded and loud-mouthed American, I feel the need to throw my hat into the ring.

Before I address the religious issue I’d like to talk briefly about gun control, since the Texas School board feels the need to highlight the importance of the Second Amendment, which strikes me as the least important part of our Constitution.

Diablo III vs. Torchlight II, or: DRM vs. F-U-N

We just learned that Diablo III will be saddled with DRM that requires an active internet connection.  If your internet is down, or you want to play on a laptop without a WiFi hotspot, that’s just too freaking bad for you.  This announcement is generating all the usual rancor, “Burn in hell, Blizzard,” and, “ur drm iz 4 n00b fagz who eat teh p00pz,” etc.

But why do we even care?

We all know the deal with piracy and DRM, have heard the arguments both pro and con, and we all have our own rabid opinions on the matter.  I’m not going to debate the need for DRM, I’m going to debate the need for Diablo III.

What’s Up With Your Wagon Wheels, Red Dead Redemption?

I’ve noticed that the wagon wheels in Red Dead Redemption have that counter-spin effect on the spokes when in motion. Why?

Why I’m Not Excited About the Final Harry Potter Movie

I need to get this off my chest:  I’m not excited about the final Harry Potter movie, and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.  I’m just not.

The $17k Convertible Challenge: ’07 Miata v. ’02 Boxster

I recently found myself with a little money and a desire to drive just about anything other than the Subaru Outback I’ve been stuck in for the last two years, so I went out to find a fun, affordable sports-car. I took my $17k budget and hit the local used car lots for some test drives, and I wound up driving an ’07 Mazda Miata Grand Touring and an ’02 Porsche Boxster back-to-back. Then I had an opinion. So I thought I’d share it. Forgive the lack of pictures – this is another experiment in reviewing, and I didn’t bring a camera with me to my test-drive. I guess I could steal photos, but that would make me feel like a jerk.

Dammit, Jamie Oliver

I watched Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution the other night, and while I fully support the idea of feeding children better food, I’m a wee bit unhappy with Mr. Oliver.  You see, he’s publicly shamed the LA school district.  He’s painted them as this big, evil monster – essentially a dastardly corporation.  Watch the show, you’ll see what I mean.  He’s given the district a healthy dose of bad PR, and it’s going to cost them to fix their image.

And they are guilty of trying to keep him out of school kitchens.  They are guilty of trying to pinch pennies and continue feeding children horrible food.  But they’ve got a damn good reason.

Nintendo Was Hard Pt. 2: Story vs. Discovery

To make my point here, I’m going to break down the ways video games motivate us to play into two categories: story and discovery.  Consider Oblivion; the game had a distinct (if somewhat uninteresting) central story that dictated its action and progression.  It also had a strong emphasis on exploration (which was more interesting than the story, but that’s neither here nor there) and discovery.  Here’s where things get tricky: it also had an RPG skill development model, which, in my taxonomy, falls under discovery – the unlocking of new gameplay elements.

Zombies Should Be Dead

Really,  Rockstar?  Zombies?  You took Red Dead Redemption, the highest rated, multi-platform release of the year and decided to add zombies?  Gee, that’s really fucking original.  And unique.  Very unique.  Really, extremely, very unique.

District 9 and the Documentary Style

I finally got around to watching District 9, and for the most part I enjoyed it.  So often movies with premises that center around social issues have problems maintaining profluence (see A Day Without A Mexican), but District 9 managed to shoehorn in an extensive criticism of humanity while keeping the story moving.

My biggest problem with D-9 was the point of view.  The movie starts off as a faux documentary and then transitions into a more traditional omniscient camera POV, an unusual choice.  Most faux-docs maintain the documentary POV for the sake of realism, and leaving it behind felt jarring.