Articles by Nick Martens

personal 08.01.07 My Summer Affair with Alton Brown or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Food Network

Most television is terrible. Great shows exist, but are few and far between. While exploring the vast, muddy mediocrity that comprises the majority of the medium, philistine Nick Martens stumbles upon the Food Network. Impressed by its mindless practicality, he ponders its place among America’s most degenerative cultural format.
opinion 07.27.07 The Many Similarities of Apple and Nintendo: Part III, Neglecting Fans and the Future of Touch

Apple and Nintendo are more alike than you may realize. In the last of a three-part series, Nick Martens examines why the companies ignore their adoring fanboys and how simple touch controls outclass more elaborate control schemes.
arts 07.16.07 Good Morning, Captain

Slint’s 1991 release Spiderland is considered by many to be a seminal post-rock album. Nick Martens examines the album’s brilliance and the band’s track-by-track performance of it at this year’s Pitchfork Music Festival.
opinion 07.09.07 The Many Similarities of Apple and Nintendo: Part II, Surviving the Dark Ages

Apple and Nintendo are more alike than you might realize. In the second of a three-part series, Nick Martens explores the importance of world-class first-party software and the supremacy of simple portables.
travel 06.27.07 Fuck the Grand Canyon

Hiking down the Grand Canyon sucks. Seasoned mountain man Nick Martens admonishes one of Earth’s greatest natural wonders in a demented rant accompanied by his patented brand of amateurish landscape photography.
opinion 06.25.07 The Many Similarities of Apple and Nintendo: Part I, A History Lesson

Apple and Nintendo are more alike than you might realize. In the first of a three-part series, Nick Martens discusses events that occurred before he was born to show you how much corporate DNA everybody’s favorite tech companies share.