Culture – Page 98 – Steven Savage

Pick Your Passion Portrayal

November 14, 2012 by Steven Savage

Passion is a powerful thing. When given channels it can lead to miracles and amazing achievements. Admittedly it can lead to terrible things, as any surfing of obscure movies on Netflix reveals, but let’s focus on the good stuff for the duration of this column, OK?

We’re fortunate to live in an age where so many of us can leverage our skills and creativity on our own to create wonderful works, to manifest our passions. Well, by “on our own” I mean through software and services like Photoshop, Lulu, Amazon, Bandcamp, etc. But you get the idea; we can do publishing, composition, programming, etc. that we never could have a few years ago, and in ways that would be unthinkable a decade or two ago*.

Tribalism Trumps Cash In Politics?

November 8, 2012 by Steven Savage

The campaign is done, over, Nate Silver can go get drunk, and the formerly confident members of the Republican Party are asking “what happened?” Also they’re asking “What the hell did all that money go for?”

Now I could go deep into some of my own theories about political groups, which are roughly that a lot of lobbying and political organizations are just lucrative fronts to part donors from cash. But still there was a LOT of money sloshing around this election, and many is the time I hears someone predict it would break in the Republican’s favor. Doesn’t look that way.

I think there is an issue that money can only buy so much, and it’s worse in a time of highly “tribal” political divisions, as explored by Salon.

Adeptus Mechanicus Panicus

November 7, 2012 by Steven Savage

You know, when you worry life will imitate a deliberately over-the top dark science fiction game, you get a little bit philosophical.

In my case, the game is the Warhammer 40K game world, a delightfully dark setting of a grim future where humans, aliens, and psychic creations war endlessly and sell miniatures. The setting mixes dismal, horrific, heroic, and in some cases parodic elements mocking all of its own content. It winks and nods at you about just how crazy it can be.

In this setting, humanity is largely ignorant, part of a far-flung feudal empire. Technology is mostly controlled by a separate organization, really almost an “internal” or allied empire, the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Adeptus Mechanicus have their own culture, their own religion, and humanity both depends on them, yet treats them as separate – which the Mechanicus seem fine with. They’re busy seeking knowledge and worshipping the Machine God . . . and at that point I could go on for pages of insane detail. Just hit up the Lexicanium.

Now the idea of humans ever letting technology out of their hands, of a separate culture controlling technology, sounds all grim and dark and b-movieish. Except I see a less, grim, less over-the top, less miniature driven parallel being a real possibility, which concerns me.