Nugae Inutiles

(Apologies to Dr. Merrick.)

Some pleasant things I'm enjoying in the interstices of the busy times...sharing with the world, as is the blogging custom, on the off chance that some one of you may also enjoy them.

1. To Be or Not to Be: That Is The Adventure, by Ryan North. Published by BreadPig, originally a Kickstarter, now available for the general public. A "choosable path" adventure version of Hamlet. You don't have to be Hamlet - you can play as Ophelia if you like, or even King Hamlet. This is truly Awesome Sauce.

2. Persian Letters, by Montesquieu. A delightful melange of social commentary, political satire, and philosophical analysis. I can't believe no one ever made me read this in school.

3. In Treatment, season 2. HBO series set in the office of therapist Paul Weston; each episode is a single session with a patient. Compelling portrayal of the complexities of human relationships.

4. Girl Genius. Webcomic combining multiple tropes well: the mad genius, the steampunk (though the authors
eschew that label as inaccurate, preferring "gaslamp fantasy"), the rollicking adventure. I absolutely advise you to start at the very beginning, else you'll be very confused.

5. Gone Home. Very cool, brand-new video game. Just reviewed in the NY Times on 18 August. Available for Linux, Mac, PC. Absorbing gameplay, and a slew of memories from the '90s. It's games like this (and Braid and [eventually!] Miegakure...) that give the lie to the foolish generalization that video games are all about mindless violence.


Enjoy!