anyone want to do this?

High memetic potential idea: An updating of the musical version of Shaw's "Pygmalion" into the modern day.

Two elderly British faggots make a bet with each other: can one take this common, filth-spweing Internet troll and turn them into a refined, mannered member of society?

Music, image macros, and pathos abound in the world's first machinima musical: My Fair Loller.

"I will say 'hello', and they will say 'lol fag' and then shit in their hand and offer it to me."

(inspiration: trikotomy)

prophecy, early draft

skitterstart waiting slow waiting waiting held back starved

fairy bells you imagine you hear Ringing in the distance
little songs of wallsofworlds resonating shiftless

In the ocean of the storms the glowing monsters gathered round
the pretty glitter mistress
In the ocean of the storms the rains came grey and sharp
Skies turn down and open up The stars sold nothing new
Crawling down the finger walls the open wound again

In the city of the storms the windows gathered round
the deep and open waiting
In the city of the storms the poison cup was loaded
Minds turn down and in the holes They dig their own demise
Calling in to run it down and bloody maws again

greyheld rainbows cut the air Heralds of the beauties
gallop down the web-shot ways cataleptic interest

In the prettiest of storms the glowing widows gathered round
the pretty silent mistress
In the deadliest of storms she calmed it with her voices
Cups held high and crash the hands Rain trickles every eye
Drowning in the lovely times the never times again

tower stands, tower falls, tower stands

Nine times nine times nine again
Resonations gathered round
And bones held power tight
In the ocean of the storms The twilight held the sky

And bloody clouds forecast the night that nail us to the world.

talent and practice

Article in Scientific American on skill/talent/etc.

"Tracking skill increases, as repeated studies show, from childhood onward, rising in "a linear relationship, all the way out to the mid-30s, when it tops out," says John Bock, an anthropologist at California State University, Fullerton. It takes less time to train a brain surgeon.

...But how long does it take for that brain surgeon to go from a competent journeyman to a master of his craft?

"Talent" in a field does, I think, map to initial successes and positive reinforcement. I got encouraged to explore a lot of things, and I picked up certain amounts of basics quickly. It's drawing and cartooning that I really stuck with - and became complacent with more than once. My progress ground to a halt every time that happened. There were opportunities for study and advancement that I blew off; some of them still gnaw at me when I look back at them.

The description of the way novice, master, and grandmaster chess players approach their game fits with my changing attitudes towards drawing over the years. I consider more than I used to when I work on a piece of art, because I'm able to fold lots of details into a simple concept. Last night I let a large and complex drawing evolve on the paper; when I looked at it for a moment and thought about color, the entire color scheme came together in a couple of quick flashes because I've played with that enough to be able to break it down, and use easy shorthands.

I need to start doing regular exercises again; I've been letting some parts of my skills lie fallow, and it's aggravating to be reminded of this.

how to win at videogames

I have finally figured out how to properly play modern bulletstorm shmups. Turns out it takes all the fun out of them for me.

What I want in a reflex game is, essentially, a music visualizer with interaction and bleepy noises. I want to close a reflex loop between the screen and my hands, and turn my brain off. It's a kind of meditation, when it works.

What I get in a bulletstorm shmup half the time is a system to analyze and break.

I was playing 'Vasara 2' via the magic of emulation. I caught myself playing it in different ways: first an all-the-quarters-in-the-world continue fest that ended on the final level, where continuing resets to the beginning of the level, rather than picking up where you left off, then a few serious, analytical goes at it, playing with the weapons you're given and the rhythms of the game. I really noticed myself analyzing it.

( Peggy picks Vasara 2 apart like a paralyzed crab. )