http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com Futures, Options, and Swaps (the weblog of Alan DeNiro) Sat, 06 Mar 2010 22:04:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Vulpine Orders This verse is not about the spider marrying the deer. That verse is to the left and then inside the chamber. Nor is this verse about the Quizno's burned down by an evil story, which is still hovering in the smoke. (The verse is hovering in the smoke.) No verse about goose grease haunts ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/03/vulpine-orders-new-poem/ None of this has changed. Actually I think it's getting worse. Or I'm getting older, take your pick. RIP, DFW. N.B.: I actually do think in many recent instances, social media (though it's a wonderful thing, I use it all the time) has made this crank-turning worse. I don't care much ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/02/crank-turning-check-in/ Fair reader, Long have I been dormant on this matter, and indeed, I had harbored the secret hope that the transmissions of this nefarious document were a thing of the past. However, look at me, a fool! How could I conclude that the Palinomicon's logorrheic THIRST could not be vanquished? ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/02/the-palinomicon-returns/ So, just wanted to ask a few questions: 1. In nominating works for awards, is it ethical to do so with friends? In what instances? 2. Is it ethical to do so consciously, deliberately, and in a block? 3. Is it ethical to do so with members of your writing group? 4. Where is ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/02/1209/ "To divorce fact from fantasy simply by labeling the one as 'history' or 'medicine,' and the other as 'fiction' is merely to create a new myth about ourselves. Life is inextricably linked with literature, and that is why there are no passports to a myth-free future." --Gill Speak, "An Odd ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/02/1208/ (This is going to have a fair amount of spoilers, so if you have a Wii and are thinking of playing this game, at all, don't read this. Just buy the game.) Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is one of the most interesting games I've ever played. Now, this is also the ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/02/silent-hill-shattered-memories/ It's been a really busy month, so I thought I'd do some small-batch catch-up: Total Oblivion got a great review from the LA Times. I also partook in the Big Idea out in John Scalzi's blogosphere, where I delved into some of the ideas of oblivion that informed the book. Very fun. The ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2010/02/ketchup/ They're replacing the furnace in our house, so as the living room gets colder and colder, I'm typing faster, as if that will provide some heat. But before I set up some space heater contraption, I thought I'd post this, before the new year: a relatively short outtake from Total ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2009/12/the-watchers-journal-total-oblivion-outtake/ The question should be seriously asked, how do [cognitive sciences] compel us to redefine the most basic notions of human dignity, freedom? That is to say, what we experience as dignity and freedom is it all just an illusion, as they put it in computer user terms, a user's illusion. ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2009/12/review-of-avatar-3d/ Of late I've been exploring and trying to fetter out online what in 80s parlance would be called a gamebook: a novel with choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) plot branching but also with more of an RPG element as well--usually with a character with attributes and chanced to impact the story through combat ... http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/2009/12/the-gamebookthe-interactive-novel-fables-of-the-construction/