Mr eel
Kojima sez: “Games not art”
Like fuckin’ far out man. Games are not art! That’s some heavy shit right there. Apparently after making a whole mess of games full of narrative (Metal Gear Solid) — story being one facet of artistic enterprise — Kojima has decided that games just don’t cut it as art.
Well, mate, paper isn’t art either. It’s a medium used to express thoughts, to create art. Games are the same. A medium. So no, they’re not art, but they can certainly be used to create it.
So thanks for contributing to the ever narrowing definition of art! Soon enough art with only involve painting. And that’s it. Yay!
On Politics and The Fuckedupness of Heads-of-State
So far I have avoided commenting on politics on this blog. For a few reasons. Discussion of politics on the web tends to revolve around the US for starters. As an Australian a lot of the issues don’t concern me directly, so I have no comment to make. Moreover, I don’t fancy getting into a piss-fight with strangers over the interwub. It’s almost inevitable when entering into a political discussion. All that aside, I do feel I need to comment on just this one thing.
If the US can impeach a President for getting a blowjob, why can’t they impeach one for clearly and directly breaking the law? Of course I’m talking about the use of domestic wire-tapping sans-warrants in the US.
As a non-US citizen, I could only look at this with a faint sense of bemusement and disgust. After all it doesn’t affect me directly, no matter how vile it is. But if you have the time perhaps you should read this speech from Al Gore. It puts things into perspective. This wire-tapping business isn’t a single incident. It’s the culmination of many years of manipulation and lies, all with the intent of giving the US Head of State so much more power.
I firmly believe that a head of state should have limited powers. No individual or executive branch so should have unchecked power within a democracy. Considering the influence the US has throughout the rest of the world, this issue becomes relevant for just about anyone. Remember, Bush and his crew are quite happy to start wars on the most flimsy evidence. What if they had more power?
I’m not trying to be alarmist. I’m not getting all frothy-at-the-mouth. I just think it’s time for people to start saying “enough with the bullshit, what the hell is going on?”