Cave Story: Nostalgia, celebration, and exploitation

I have to admit that I am way behind Daniel and Gavin in my playthrough of Cave Story because I have been clocking a lot of hours into Diablo III, which actually makes for an interesting comparison. Like Cave Story, Diablo III is a game that panders to one’s nostalgia, in this case nostalgia for … Continue reading →

Have you ever been down?

Sweet Jesus that song, that song. That sound, that sample, that lyric. Every time I hear The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony,” every single solitary time I hear the opening refrain of the song I sigh, droop my shoulders, and hear the hairs stand up on end all over my frame. I can remember Australian streets, … Continue reading →

Where have all the Muppets gone?

There’s something so sincere about Muppets. Though made of felt in Crayola colors, they seem to radiate something more human than the human. A stringy ear shake from Sesame Street’s Barkley, a gentle spindly-frog-armed gesture from Kermit, a huffy contraction of the snout from Piggy –these non-verbal cues were so expressive and meaningful and alive. The … Continue reading →