The Influencing Machine is an insightful graphic manifesto that offers a broad, contextual overview of the history of media, recounted with a healthy sense of humor, and a refreshing undertone of optimism.
Category: Reviews
Reviews of books, comics, movies, and other random stuff.
Poke the Box, by Seth Godin
One of Godin's running themes throughout Poke is to be an initiator, and that risking failure is the best road to achieving success, and by making Poke the Box the first offering from The Domino Project, he's practicing what he preaches. He initiated, he shipped, and he pretty much failed to deliver a good book.
The Art of Immersion by Frank Rose
The Art of Immersion is a much-needed bridge to/from Henry Jenkins' seminal Convergence Culture, as Frank Rose crafts an engaging, insightful overview of how storytelling has evolved in the digital age that's accessible to all, whether enthusiast or skeptic.
Goodreads 2010: My Favorite Books
I'm not a big bestseller, hardcover or literary fiction reader, though, and have only started to embrace ebooks recently, so most of what I read is unlikely to appear on any mainstream "Best of 2010" lists.
The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
Brook's worldbuilding skills are impressive, her Iron Seas setting rivaling Cherie Priest's Clockwork Century for potential stories, and I daresay its backstory is actually a bit more compelling, despite my general preference for American-flavored steampunk.
Fragmented Marketing: Making Mickey a Transmedia Epic
While Epic Mickey can certainly be used as an example of transmedia development, I'd argue that the process only got it half right since there doesn't appear to be an integrated marketing plan in effect.
Fragmented Marketing: Making Owls Appealing
"From the Director of 300 and Watchmen" isn't an ideal tagline for a PG-rated movie aimed at kids.
Review: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers My rating: 5 of 5 stars In ZEITOUN, Dave Eggers does an excellent job of weaving Abdulrahman and Kathy Zeitoun's compelling backstories and Katrina experiences together, shaded by post-9/11 xenophobia, and delivers a powerful documentary of what will most likely be looked back upon by history as one of this country's … Continue reading Review: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
On Inception, The Passage, and Writing in The Obama Era
The weakness of "It's all a dream" — why we hate that, why we feel cheated when narratively anything is revealed to be all a dream — is that you've just asked me to spend so much time and emotional capital investing in the stakes of this, and you've now swept it away with the … Continue reading On Inception, The Passage, and Writing in The Obama Era
Reading Is Fun(damental)
“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints” Wilfred Peterson (via dhammza) At the beginning of the year I made several resolutions, one of which I … Continue reading Reading Is Fun(damental)