We Are All Syrian

Read the profile. Follow the twitter feed. If you are one of the lucky few with some extra currency-units handy, these folks need your help.

New Webcast And Kojima's Latest

Webcast 25 is up.

Also, be sure to watch Kojima's latest stunner of a trailer: Metal Gear Solid 5. (And just how cool is Kojima's trailer? It's so cool, it has ridgebacks. Yes, ridgebacks - look carefully at Snake's shoulder-patch near the end of the video. We're talking a level of coolness normally found only in the ice-mountains of Neptune.)

7 Billion Stories

Uplink 28 (HTML version or PDF version) explores videogame criticism, CD Projekt Red, and Nokia's travails. Happy reading!

The Transitive of Occupy Is Educate

The fine folks at Network for Public Education are fighting back against the plutocrats' war on public education.

Never heard of neoliberalism, a.k.a. the oligarchic enrichment of the wealthiest 0.1% at everyone else's expense? Want to know how greedy plutocrats are destroying the schools and trashing the lives of millions of children? Check out educator Diane Ravitch's indispensable blog.

Learning From the BRICs

Between 1999 and 2011, the combined GDP of the US and the EU -- the heartlands of Wall Street neoliberalism and Wall-Street-wannabe euroliberalism, respectively -- plummeted from 58.9% of world GDP down to 45.5%. During the same period, the BRICs share of world GDP went from 4.1% to 19.3%.
The BRICs didn't succeed by imposing austerity on the majority of their people. They grew by ending austerity and by investing heavily in education, science, health care, and infrastructure for all.

We can end the Great Downpression tomorrow, my fellow Americans and Europeans. Junk austerity, spend on people instead of bombs and banksters, and voila -- 99% of our problems go away.

Walk This Way

"The Rebellion begins as an urban promenade. Against the traffic regulations during working hours. The streets belong to the pedestrians..." -- Heiner Mueller, Hamletmachine (1977

Digital Artists Who Deserve Your Support

I'm completely broke, but if you can help, here are some of the most amazing creators at work today. These are all 100% non-commercial, not-for-profit, community-based projects. Visit their sites, chat with their communities, pitch in any way you can, because they are all making digital history:

Ross Scott (Accursed Farms)

The Freeman Chronicles (web series)

Freeman's Days (Russian Half Life fan series)

The Worm Has Turned

We're still pinching ourselves. But it looks like starvation and homelessness will no longer be  problems, that productive scholarship awaits, and that Uplink's airship has finally found a safe berth.

First, a moment to breathe.
 
*Breathe*.

Yarrr. Onwards to plunder!