Articles from June, 2009

The Avian War

Brandon Lueken has been attacked by crows several times. This is his story.

The Rambling American: Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

An ocean away from home in pursuit of personal goals, Locke McKenzie reflects on capitalism’s effects on community and geography.

The Kids’ Books Are Alright

Based on their trailers, Tim Lehman compares the adaptation philosophies behind Where the Wild Things Are and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

“Disparate Phenomena”: An Interview with Bill Wasik

Bill Wasik is an author, senior editor at Harper’s, and most (in)famously, creator of the flash mob. Kevin Nguyen talks to him about his new book on internet culture, Pitchfork’s authority on indie music, and the failure of viral marketing.

Keywords: Intellectuals, Pundits, and Ideas

Darryl Campbell explains why the biggest problem facing contemporary intellectuals isn’t extinction, but indifference.

When the Lights Go Out

Nick Martens relates the tale of his senior-year physics teacher, and how the old coot’s ramblings sound a bit less rambly these days.

Land of the “Free” and the Home of the Pixies

Free Realms is Sony’s way of translating World of Warcraft‘s success to a younger generation. Jordan Barber shakes the kid-friendly foundations of Free Realms as a radical pixie.

The Rambling American: Bad News

The news media’s obsession with sensationalizing tragedy is a transcontinental trend, but Locke McKenzie finds hints of optimism in the doom and gloom of the financial crisis.

Getting Over “Game Over”: How Indie Developers Are Making Games Into Art

There’s a movement of independent “art games” that defy what we expect from videogames. Kevin Nguyen talks with the creators of Gravity Bone, You Have to Burn the Rope, and The Graveyard.

From Pong to Interactive Education

After a stint into the adult world of college academics, Colin Cronin returns to his childhood roots as an avid video game fan for a look at how virtual worlds can teach the real world.

Keywords: Success and Failure

In a new series about modern vocabulary, Darryl Campbell confronts the expectation of success and fear of failure that’s come to characterize Millennials.

London Scrawling: Syttende Mai Blues

In the final edition of London Scrawling, David Tveite leaves Europe feeling nostalgic and channeling Kerouac.