New posts at GeekyDomain, in which I give up trying to avoid talking about CoronaVirus and face it head on:
Things CoronoaVirus Has Taught Me About Apocalyptic / Dystopian Sci-Fi
Now that I’ve seen what a real doomsday scenario looks like, I’ve drawn some comparison with classic sci-fi apocalyptic tropes. Those Mad Max biker gangs have to go! Ditto the heroic and adventurous daring-do; our greatest quest is for toilet paper. Also, you can stick anarcho-capitalism where the corona don’t shine. However, 12 Monkeys and Stephen King’s The Stand called the shots right on the mark.
If you’re ready for my characteristic dark humor to take the edge off the CoronaVirus pandemic, head there. I’m told that I’m good at this kind of thing.
You probably missed Tolkien Reading Day, but it’s not too late to peruse a volume or two and nitpick the differences from the movie. Tolkien’s fiction is just right for a world pandemic, because his heroes struggle through spiritual warfare just as surely as melee combat.
The Doom Eternal Launch : First Impressions
Perfect timing, the legendary id Software dropped Doom Eternal, which gives us a welcome diversion for quarantine, a refreshing update using the latest in-house Quake engine, and a nostalgic spin back to the days when cacodemons were cacodemons and marines were marines. In preparation for the release, I waxed historic over the birth of id Software in the lap of Apogee, and revisited the classic Apogee days of DOS gaming. Someday I’ll revisit DOSBox, a great free way to play those old classics and actually finish them this time.
Android Gaming : Monument Valley 2 and Other Adventures In Geometry
For those of you who prefer your video game escapism to be more fancy and less gruesome, I explore the Monument Valley series on Android and its related genres of platform puzzle games that explore bent geometry in the vein of MC Escher’s style.
Apocalyptic log: COVID-19
Me, I’m a smug work-at-home freelancer whose bottom line hasn’t really suffered that much in the new crisis, who’s already self-quarantined in my barricaded igloo and this close to declaring my household a sovereign nation. But my heart goes out to the world, America, and my fellow Iowans dealing with the shitstorm. My worried kids, some of whom are laid off from their jobs, have called with concerned question and my answers aren’t that reassuring.
As I write, the epidemic has taken 2.3K US lives with 131K confirmed cases. Forecasts predict up to 200K US citizens may perish before this is over, a number that dwarfs every US disaster in living memory. Currently, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is already in the top worst death tolls of the 21st century, and is on track to match Swine Flu (2009) for deadliest epidemic this century.
The Corona Virus pandemic did not have to be this bad. Various countries with a dictatorial bent have made the situation worse by suppressing news of the pandemic while it continues t spread unchecked. The worsening global financial panic is inevitably going to make it worse. The wealthy have the luxury of extra safety precautions and quarantine comforts which those in poverty do not have.
Working in media, it’s becoming harder by the day to talk about anything else. But I know that I need to, because there’s people out there who need something to take their minds off the situation.
UPDATE: RIP Alan Merrill, lead singer of the Arrows and songwriter who wrote “I Love Rock and Roll” for Joan Jett. A Corona Virus victim.
Way back at one of my very first steady gigs for a blog, on one of my very first assignments for that site, I wrote up the Songfacts interview with Merrill for “I Love Rock and Roll.” Songfacts was a cool gig for awhile, we got to interview a lot of music legends. This hurts.
