Zizek used to argue that the Matrix wasn't so much about uncovering truth, but uncovering fantasy. That the initiate doesn't really want to escape the trappings of his simulated existence, so much as have a world of escapism to retreat to. (We should now add one's Wonderland can easily be 4chan.) "I want a third … Continue reading The Purple Pill
Category: observations
At the airport when the borders have closed
Long empty stretch of walkway, all to myself. Single hand-gel dispenser erect at the middle almost an accident of modern art. Sideways the space has been stanchioned off and desks await with forms and pens and more hand-gel. The airport is turning itself inside-out and municipal, a place where you hand over yourself to the … Continue reading At the airport when the borders have closed
What is ‘writing,’ anyway?
We don't always talk about the same thing when we talk about writing. Creative writing workshops always assume plot and characters like that's the garden variety. But when people tell me that they write, and indeed regularly, I never have a clue what they're talking about. Are they journaling? Working on an idea for prose … Continue reading What is ‘writing,’ anyway?
Nobody gets how people talk like HBO’s Succession
"Words are like, what... nothing. Complicated air flow." I wanted to do a whole bit about this but turns out Nerdwriter has me covered. Seven-odd minutes of coercion, equivocation, nothing words, awkward pauses, emotional dyslexia, and bringing things up just to have them squashed. See how poor fuck Greg just can't tell context from content … Continue reading Nobody gets how people talk like HBO’s Succession
Streaming has changed everything, again
The Guardian with the State of the Nation re the many ways the '10s have forever changed our media consumption habits: [...] something else has become apparent in the fallout over Netflix’s desecration of the theatrical experience. People are watching The Irishman and Marriage Story – millions of people, in fact, with many of them … Continue reading Streaming has changed everything, again
Tiers of Horror | a note
Horror, trash tier: the movie Oculus, which I once watched having decided I had abstained from horror far too long. Manipulative and meaningless, it didn't make a good case for lifting the ban. Some cool scares: I have seen the Devil, and he is me. Yet you kinda wish you had looked away--it's just not … Continue reading Tiers of Horror | a note
Great Writers might not be Good Writers (Mamatas v. King)
[Stephen King] s a great writer because he lets it all hang out. His hopes and sentiments, his awful bitterness, those wounds that never heal and those scars across his body and psyche which he cannot help but count and re-count more frequently than he counts his millions, his essential kindness (which informs the avuncular … Continue reading Great Writers might not be Good Writers (Mamatas v. King)
You Can’t Love Your Systems Too Much
Systems are nice. In the beginning, they're just about as complex as two sticks strung together and stuck in the mud. Then you add logic (the code or story kind, it doesn't matter) until eventually the logic becomes functional, i.e. it depends on input, and there are your subsystems/subplots. Next up are flags to track … Continue reading You Can’t Love Your Systems Too Much
When Are You Good To Go?
You mull over the notes -- you've been jotting them down for years. You fly through troves of PDFs in the interest of research. You've got characters, more or less, and themes, more so. Enough ideas to cut to fill a trilogy. Dreams are dangerous things. There comes a time when the research leaves you … Continue reading When Are You Good To Go?
What To Write About When You Don’t Know What To Write About
I often find myself wanting to send out something to the world that I don't know what it is. A shiny little wisdom nugget, Eliott Pepper style, perhaps. The feeling is there, but not the content. I give it a couple minutes but it doesn't form, so I let it go. Then I think about … Continue reading What To Write About When You Don’t Know What To Write About
the Budafoki amended 