Ted Friedman
As contributor
As commenter
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The Immaculate Collection
Ivan- I dug up my VHS copy of The Immaculate Collection as soon as I read the article in my first semester of grad school, Fall 1992. The video wasn't instantly accessible, but it was on a collection for sale in any decent Sam Goody. What's chan ... -
Grammy Tweets
Thanks to everybody who tweeted on Grammy night. Click here for an archive of all the tweets, and click here for some further reflections on projection. ... -
Democracy's Napster Moment
Fascinating piece, Ivan- and what a video! I love the Napster metaphor: like WikiLeaks, Napster destabilized institutions and bureaucracies, it produced cultural confusion and economic dislocation, and its ultimate consequences are still in doubt. They� ... -
If a Game Is Muted Does It Make a Sound?
My favorite way to play games is to mute the game sound and play music off my iTunes through the computer speakers. It's a wonderful way to grow familiar with new music because your conscious mind is preoccupied with pointing & clicking. I find t ... -
Pastoralism
Great points, Alenda! I’ll definitely have to think more about how pastoralism functions in contemporary American culture, and how one might avoid the pitfalls of naive pastoralism (the critique writers like Anthony Bourdain fairly make of Alice Waters) ... -
Re: Open Source
My point is that the economic model within the gameplay itself is a gift economy. As you play the game, the primary form of exchange is gifting, rather than buying & selling or barter. You get most of your supplies- bricks, nails, animals, etc.- via g ... -
Re: Cooperative Farmvill-ing
Yes, FarmVille has introduced cooperative farming, although not the jointly owned farms you suggest. Instead, players create ad hoc alliances to put together specific projects, which is fun but less radical than the kibbutz model. I would disagree that ... -
For More on Farmville . . .
Click here for my latest project, Farmville Mandalas. And for 2 other very different takes on Farmville, see game designer Ian Bogost's wickedly satirical Cow Clicker & A. J. Patrick Liszkiewicz 's sober critique " Cultivated Play." ...