Reading/Watching List
- Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter Party On With Bill and Ted – The New York Times
Reeves is now the star of franchises like “The Matrix” and “John Wick,” and Winter is a director of documentaries like “Showbiz Kids” and the upcoming “Zappa.” But they’re forever connected by “Bill & Ted” and the fact that they genuinely like each other, as they explained in a Zoom conversation earlier this summer. Notes: - The Pandemic’s Biggest Mystery Is Our Own Immune System – The Atlantic
Picture a thousand Rube Goldberg machines, some of which are aggressively smashing things to pieces. Now imagine that their components are labeled with what looks like a string of highly secure passwords: CD8+, IL-1β, IFN-γ. Notes: A really terrific breakdown of how our immune response works. - James Baldwin Debates William F. Buckley (1965) – YouTube
Social justice
Historic debate between James Baldwin v. William F. Buckley Jr. at Cambridge University on the question: "Is the American Dream at the expense of the American Negro?" Notes: - Simulating an Ecosystem
game development,science
A game programmer builds a simulated ecosystem of rabbits and foxes. Notes: What I love about this is how you can watch evolution happen in real time, even in a simulated environment. - Tier Zoo
video games
Analyzing the meta to determine nature's best builds. Notes: If you're a fan of r/Outside, you'll dig this. TierZoo analyzes animals as though they were character builds in an video game. Apparently pigs used to be OP, and parrots are great INT builds. - Black Game Devs
game development
Notes: - ECS 1: Inheritance Vs Composition and ECS Background
game development
A breakdown of the ECS programming pattern Notes: ECS is the programming pattern that allows games with incredibly intricate and interdependent systems (like Dwarf Fortress) to function. I'm still wrapping my head around it, but it may be the solution to a problem I've been fiddling with for awhile. - A Conversation on Race and Privilege: Angela Davis and Jane Elliott
Social justice
Angela Davis and Jane Elliott discuss racism and achieving social justice. Notes: The contrast between the two of them is really interesting to watch. I almost imagine Elliott as the Penn Jilette of the pair: the carnival barker, practiced in getting people revved up and keeping them revved up. Whereas Davis is more the Teller of the two: much quieter, more thoughtful and carefully considered, intending to inspire more than enliven. - A Million Dollars vs a Billion Dollars Visualized: A Road Trip
Tom Scott uses distance to convey the difference between a million and a billion. Notes: - Jane Elliott – Typical Statements
Social justice
Typical statements used by people in positions of social privilege. Notes: - Girlfriend Reviews: Last of Us II
Girlfriend Reviews does a sincere and really cracks into the heart of what happens in Last of Us Part II. Notes: I haven't played the game, and after the backlash I had no interest in doing so. But as I've allowed it to be "spoiled" and I've read/listened to the reviews, Last of Us II looks like something I may need to play. - Keegan-Michael Key Has the Perfect Metaphor for Improv – YouTube
Notes: Probably the best explanation I've ever seen of how improvisation works, and how to set up a scene that's ready to be funny. - Sparkling Dialogue – Jon Ingold
game development,video games
Notes: Jon Ingold walks the audience through creating narrative structures in games that preserve subtext. - There’s No Longer Any Reason to See Fantastic Beasts 3
Notes: - A new brain study sheds light on why it can be so hard to change someone’s political beliefs – Vox
Why we react to inconvenient truths as if they were personal insults. Notes: - Up Like A Rocket – Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
Last month I gave my quick list tips for getting started in marketing, but this month let’s get into the weeds on the launch itself. Notes: - Derek Lieu – Game Trailer Editor
Game trailers are the most important marketing asset for a video game. Notes: - How to Safely and Ethically Film Police Misconduct | Teen Vogue
The human rights organization WITNESS provides guidance on exposing violent and discriminatory policing. Notes: - How to Abolish the Police: Lessons from Rojava – Hawzhin Azeez
Notes: - If You Want To Be Anti-Racist, This Non-Optical Allyship Guide Is Required Reading | British Vogue
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, writer Mireille Cassandra Harper took to Twitter to share “10 Steps To Non-Optical Allyship” Notes: - The Tragedy and Mystery of the ‘Best Game of the Decade’ | WIRED
Now that the fifth and final chapter of Kentucky Route Zero is out, we know how it ends—and have more questions than ever. Notes: An excellent piece on KRZ by Laura Hudson - Help! I Think I Might Be Non-Binary, But How Can I Know? – Everyday Feminism
Notes: (To avoid confusion for those who think I might be coming out; this is research for a story 🙂 Need to understand my non-binary siblings better) - Starduck Valleybond – Yahtzee’s Dev Diary – Escapist Magazine
Notes: - Sweden Has Become the World’s Cautionary Tale – The New York Times
Notes: - In Conversation: Thandie Newton
After decades onscreen, what she’s ready to share will surprise you. Notes: