PicoBlog

This column is “Retro spotlight,” which exists mostly so I can write about whatever game I feel like even if it doesn’t fit into one of the other topics you find in this newsletter. Previous entries in this series can be found through this link. Jungle Strike — and the entire Strike series, really — don’t feel like shoot-em-ups in the way most people consider that term, and yet, that’s what we’re supposed to call these games.

Happy 2022! RABBITS Season Two is available everywhere free podcasts are found! Episodes 1&2 are up and the rest release weekly every Tuesday! EPISODE 201 EPISODE 202 TANIS season six is still in progress, and we’ll have updates on that as we move closer to a release date. RABBITS book two is coming in 2023. There are new seasons of The Last Movie, and FAERIE coming as well, and we’ll have some new stuff for your ears in the beginning of the new year.

Kenneth Stanley's and Joel Lehman's book Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective has two components: theoretical, describing something about the reality, and ethical (practical, political), prescribing what people and other agents should do. On the theoretical side, the authors show that the ideas from the quality diversity field of science (I'm hesitant even to say "computer science" because computation and algorithms are now ubiquitous in all disciplines of science; Steven Wolfram even calls multicomputation, which is closely related to quality diversity, a new paradigm for theoretical science) apply to many domains of human and agentic activity: choosing projects (business or scientific) to join (or deciding what project to start), looking for a partner, deciding what to do with one's life and career next.

According to an article in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, “42% of consumers who dined out in May were frustrated by the lack of staff.” That’s down only slightly from a peak of 45% in February. I’m willing to bet that many of us who have dined out lately have landed among that 42%. Hopefully, we’ve all been patient as restau… ncG1vNJzZmivmaO2rrvRmqWvoZyhsm%2B%2F1JuqrZmToHuku8xop2iqlau2psOMqJ1mmpmteqK6w2aaqA%3D%3D

Last week, Kellie-Jay Keen, UK founder of Standing for Women, released her documentary Kellie-Jay in the USA. The film chronicles her 2022 Let Women Speak tour, during which she visited major cities across the US, staging events similar to those she hosts in the UK. Members of the public (women first!) are invited to take the mic and hold forth on their experiences and criticisms of gender identity policy and law.

The critical acclaim for 2007’s Michael Clayton was deafening. Roger Ebert and the usual suspects maxed out the stars. Oscar nominations including Best Picture followed. 15 years later the film, like so many of this type, is all but forgotten. Forgive me for dredging it up, but some critical justice is due. One hopes, going in, that the inevitable heavy-handed “message” will be made palatable through a compelling plot. Michael Clayton fails spectacularly in this regard, most notably by opening with a car bombing from the third act, in an apparent bid to intrigue us through the drudgery of first and second acts.

The first of a three-part review of Stephen Wolfe’s book on Christian Nationalism. Imagine if your country was ruled by Oliver Cromwell, with the racial policies of 1970s South Africa, where Quakers are tried for heresy, ruling elders roam the streets to inspect women’s attire for propriety, armed guards are posted at the exits of churches to prevent anyone leaving the service before the benediction, there only restaurants permitted are Chick-Fil-A and Famous Dave’s BBQ .

A lot of people do not know Lucille Ball starred in a movie about a homeless woman named Florabelle.  Reportedly, she really wanted to do this film instead of just keep “doing Lucy again.”  Many people told her not to do the film, saying it was a terrible idea.  However, many homeless people, ex-homeless people, advocates for street people, fans of Lucy, and critics of film who actually know something about homelessness have said time and again this was an incredible movie.

A ho-hum score without a single transcendent, let alone hummable, tune. A set that is mostly wood-paneling. Dowdy period costumes. A plot that veers so far from historical accuracy in its embrace of a myopic version of feminism that it stretches the limits of credulity for anyone except those already invested in that view. This is “SUFFS: The Musical,” which just opened at The Magic Box Theater this week. Although there are enthusiastic performances from the cast, the script is as wooden as the set.