Probably not a lot of posting this week, for reasons I can’t quite get into. I mean, it’s Wednesday already, you’ve probably figured that out.
I’m not quite ready to do a First Few Hours of Alien Isolation, though maybe later this week I’ll have played enough to give a solid impression. It’s super-creepy, incredibly immersive, and it hits all the right notes for fans of the first Alien movie (of which I am one). A short, gut impression is that it feels like Dead Space set in the Alien universe, with the best ambient sound design since the first Bioshock. Headphones (or a good soundsystem) are mandatory.
I finished reading John Darnielle’s Wolf in White Van the other night, and it is remarkable; certainly one of the best books I’ve read this year. I went into it more or less blind; I knew of the author’s reputation as one of the best lyricists of this era (though I must confess I haven’t listened to his band, The Mountain Goats); I have a few friends who think very highly of him. And as for the book itself, I was dimly aware that the narrator had been in a terrible disfiguring accident in his youth and that he runs an interactive role-playing game through the mail; that’s pretty much it. To say much more is probably too much. It’s startlingly well written and uniquely insightful, and that ending.
Currently reading David Mitchell’s The Bone Clocks, which I had been intimidated by for months but finally started yesterday, and it’s already knocking my socks off. Man, it’s really nice to be in one of those grooves where every book you read is really enjoyable and satisfying, isn’t it? I’m looking over my “2014 Books Read” list and of the 13 books I’ve finished, I can’t give anything lower than a B-. That’s a nice run.
Your mandatory reading for today – if you didn’t read it yesterday – is Kyle Wagner’s piece about Gamergate.
And your hashtag of the day is #StopGamerGate2014.
#StopGamerGate2014 because opinions about videogames should never, ever, ever, ever, EVER cause someone to have to flee their home.
— Jeremy VAAAHHHHHH (@CouchShouts) October 15, 2014
Biggest difference between GG and #StopGamerGate2014 is that everybody knows what this hashtag means.
— Jeremy VAAAHHHHHH (@CouchShouts) October 15, 2014
Shouts From The Couch 