Arts + Entertainment
The central nexus for all things film, gaming, art, and music.
Responding to "Gamer Shaming"
Well, it's been a few years, so "Gamer Gate" has kind of blown over by now. But that's precisely why I feel a pressing need to talk about it. Because, in the thick of it, it was hard to even say "Gamer Gate" without getting tongue-lashed or even censored. Now, hopefully, since "time heals all wounds" we can sit down like reasonable adults and have a reasonable discussion about it. It's worth discussing. We shouldn't try to pretend it didn't happen just because it was ugly and tantrum-y. Both sides raised important arguments and made interesting statements about what they think the "gamer" identity is and should be. These days, to move forward as gamers, we should address the concerns of the critics of the video gaming community. I think we should do this with rational arguments, which were lost to the firebombs of virulent hostility on both sides I witnessed a few years ago.
Tron KurosawaPublished 7 years ago in GamersAlive
A Poem. Alive In a Morning on Sunday Oh why? Why upon the lives of men, women, and children. Screams in the midnight air. Cries through the dense fog in early morning of Sunday. The sun will not rise within the seven of hours. Canon's blasting, gunshots firing. Oh why? Why upon the lives of the unknown souls being taken, lifted, and trapped upon the earth's surface. Free but unwilling to roam beyond the stars. Do I run? No I stand my ground. Do I weep for the dead? No I stay strong and take on this challenging life. Do I give in upon my weakened soul? No because I am alive in this morning on an unimaginable Sunday.
Kayla RosesPublished 7 years ago in PoetsA Matter of Perception
As a student of the occult (hidden knowledge), I have always been fascinated with witchcraft and the magical arts. Interestingly, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "Young Goodman Brown" is set in Salem Village Massachusetts, the site of the infamous witchcraft trials and executions of 1692. There, the main character goodman Brown (goodman refers to his humble birth, it is not his name, for it isn't capitalized in the text) departs from his wife Faith for a night to meet up with a distinguished older figure which can only be described as the devil. Although it is unclear if young goodman Brown knows this or not, Hawthorne gives us a hint in the text. He writes, “With this excellent resolve for the future, goodman Brown felt himself justified in making more haste on his present evil purpose” (620). The phrase "evil purpose" suggests that goodman Brown had some foreknowledge of who he was dealing with. As the two travel through the dark Forrest together, the devil reveals that he’s had dealings with goodman Brown's father and grandfather, who were Puritans, and with many of the prominent people of the town, including politicians. They also encounter historical figure, goody Cloyce, who in actuality is Sarah Cloyce, who was accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of the late 1600s but was subsequently released. She was also Goodman Brown's catechism teacher—someone who he looked up to. In the end, all of the so-called good people in Salem village that he looked up to were in one way or another, aligned with the devil, including goodman Brown's wife Faith; thus, shattering his faith and leaving him disillusioned in the end. Hawthorne's short story is full of gothic elements, occult references, and historical figures from the Salem witch trials. Through his use of characters and setting, Hawthorne challenges the concepts of good and evil and highlights the protagonist's disillusion and loss of faith.
Wilson GeraldoPublished 7 years ago in GeeksThe Storm
Rain taps on my window Like pebbles being thrown against the clear cool glass The wind howls Like wolves pointing their noses toward the sky
Emily RodriguezPublished 7 years ago in PoetsRemembering Tobe Hooper Through His Masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Director Tobe Hooper died today, he was 74 years old. Hooper’s very first film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre became an iconic horror classic in 1974 without getting the credit it deserves as a film. People like my critical brethren to this day write off The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as just a slasher film intended to shock and appall. But there is so much more to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre than just hack n’slash. Whether he knew it or not, Tobe Hooper was directing the last movie of the Hippie Generation and capturing, in the most visceral and violent metaphor imaginable, the death of the ideals of an entire generation of people.
Sean PatrickPublished 7 years ago in GeeksUpon the Ruin
The wind has died with the sun. Now the waves lap gently Against the soft shore. Before me lies the Lights and shadows of all expansion
A. F. LittPublished 7 years ago in PoetsMy Mind
Long ago I realized I'm different I'm not the type to walk with my head bent I strive to keep my head above the ocean And no I'm not smoking or drinking any of that special potion
Lynn StarrPublished 7 years ago in PoetsThe Magic of Words
Words. They are the medium by which we relate reality; a currency of intuition and thought. Toward lexiconical pools we cast our poles of cognition, weaving from our bounty elaborate tapestries of self reflection. To the spiritualist, words are aether made form. To the reductionist, words are impulse made vibration. Perhaps the beauty of words lies in the fact that they posses the power to relay intent, thus reassuring guru and scientist alike that we are not alone in the dark and infinite cosmos. Words reassure us that our senses do not lie. Remember a time when you basked in a cerulean pool under the soft light of a full moon? If you can not, make a note to do so; it produces a holistically pleasurable warmness. Remember a time when you exchanged glaces with your love? Such euphoria and understanding can not be properly expressed without metaphor. To sate our dire need of relation we cast our poles out yet again, for senses are meaningless if we can not make sense of them. Every word we use references each of its predecessors and provides context for each of its ancestors in the continuous dance of discourse by which we mediate experience.
Zeno AntoniusPublished 7 years ago in Poets