Skip to main content

Initial Capitulation Recapitulated

I started this blog over a year ago. (I was going to do a follow up blog on the actual date, sort of a 'full circle' thing. But I forgot.) It was—and still is—designed to let me sound off on things that tickle my fancy, a breeding ground for the rough drafts of essays that I will probably never get around to fleshing out and finalizing.

It's been remarkably useful for that.

Lately, with my work on Press Start, the blog has been useful to me for getting different ideas off the ground, hearing what my students think of my current work, and feeling like I'm not writing into a complete void; that my voice is, in a sense, heard.

My life has changed significantly from that night last June when I scribbled down my thoughts about the Metal Gear Solid series, but one thing hasn't changed: I still think that 'blog' and 'blogosphere' are inane words.

Meh. I take the good with the bad.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What Awaits

Where I live, there's just enough light pollution to keep most stars at bay. How interesting it is to consider that technology can push away the ancient photograph of celestial bodies that nightly parades, moving so predictably that we long assumed the stars more permanent than kings, more powerful than rulers. Were a civilization 65 million light years away to look through its telescope at our pale blue dot, they would see the light reflected off of dinosaur hides and feathers. Maybe that's why aliens haven't visited our planet: They're afraid of our teeth. The vastness of space is so mind-boggling big that it's sometimes easier to entrench than explore, to recoil instead of redouble our efforts to learn more. That emptiness--the same sky that almost everyone I know sleeps beneath--means something different to each person. How interesting it is to consider that the immensity of the galaxy in which we live, despite its ubiquity, can mean something so separate fr...

Dark Necessities

The second of my "music video essays", I'm exploring the single from Red Hot Chili Peppers' newest album, The Getaway , "Dark Necessities". As I did before, I'm posting the video and the lyrics here on the essay, and encourage you to watch and read along. In the case of the Peppers, it's always a good idea to have the lyrics handy, as the lead singer, Anthony Kiedis, has a tendency of mumbling and/or pronouncing words uniquely to create a particular effect--or he's super high, either possibility is there.  The Set Up Here's the video: And here are the lyrics : Coming out to the light of day We got many moons than a deeper place So I keep an eye on the shadow's smile To see what it has to say You and I both know Everything must go away Ah, what do you say? Spinning off, head is on my heart It's like a bit of light and a touch of dark You got sneak attacked from the zodiac But I see your eyes spark Keep the breeze and go Blow...

I Will Possess Your Heart

This is the first of a series of essays in which I look at music videos as an avenue to expanding the meaning of a song. Thanks to friends who have sent me dozens of recommendations, I have a larger quantity of possibilities than I have time to rewatch and analyze them. Nevertheless, I hope that I can dig something out that people enjoy, even if their suggestion didn't make the cut. I'm starting with an easy one to try to get myself situated. I selected Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Possess Your Heart". Below are the video and the lyrics. This particular video is over 8 minutes long, but I think you need to watch it in its entirety before going on. The Set Up I've embedded the YouTube version of the song for you to watch. Again, it's a little bit on the long side, but it needs to be watched, not simply listened to. And, for convenience's sake, the lyrics ( found here ): How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me It...