A spray of links and goodies. I’ve been saving up.
The Shining:
Since watching Room 237:
… and then rewatching The Shining, I’ve been a little fascinated with the film, and a lot fascinated with others’ (often slightly-to-very-crazy) fascination with it:
- Staircases to Nowhere: a documentary on the making of the film, with interviews of the crew:
- The Overlook Hotel is a tumblr dedicated to ephemera from the film’s production/promotion/etc.
- STANLEY KUBRICK’S MASTERPIECE, “THE SHINING”: Basically a book-length reading of the film in the form of a blog, which I have yet to read though I’ve read fascinating reviews. Apparently this one is more masterly than most, and while it goes off the rails like most other obsessive investigations, it’s supposed to do so such a glorious way that it’s worth a read, if you have twelve hours to spare.
One more:
- The connection between the end of The Shining and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner:
Okay, enough of that…
Braaaaaaains:
- Joi Ito posts a great link. In terms of consciousness, we’re not just what we self-perceive ourselves to be, and design needs to consider that. (Yes, reminds me of Ligotti.)
- The DSM-5, read as a work of Borgesian dystopian fiction. And yeah, there are actually some insights in it, or so it seems.
You, Geek?
- Star Trek Continues Webseries Kickstarter: Some fans are raising money to complete the five-year mission of the original Star Trek series, since the show only ran for three years in the first place. There’s a week left in the Kickstarter. They’ve already reached their funding goals, but there’s always stretch goals… and even if you have nothing to spare in the way of contributions, it’s worth a look anyway. (There’s a full episode up at the Kickstarter, too.)
- Among lotsof interesting posts in a collection of articles titled Geek Empire, a great essay by “Monty” on why he’s rooting for the failure of the new Star Wars trilogy:
The cultural logic of blockbusters is in dire need not of renovation but complete demolishing. I don’t mean this optimism in the hope of preserving the coffers of the wealthy financial stakeholders, but in the hope of experiencing something new. I’m starved for the new. I’m starved for the exciting, the thought-provoking, the productive, the beautiful, the intelligent, the science fiction (or any other genre) not of my youth, but of my dreams.
Writing:
- I tried Scrivener back when there was a beta release for Linux, but I figure now that I’m on a Mac, I may as well try the “real thing.” This series by Jamie Rubin on using that software is proving useful in helping me get my bearings. (I also liked his post on his office workflow.)