Greetings, fellow internet traveler! Whether you’re starting your day or winding down, we’ve curated a selection of intriguing reads to brighten your screen. And if it’s neither morning, afternoon or evening for you, then it sounds like you’re in outer space. If so, these reads may help pass the time!
For the London Review of Books, Erin Maglaque delves into the world of passionate, if somewhat flawed, Italian thinkers, questioning the true nature of the Renaissance.
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, a count with grand ambitions, journeyed to Rome at the young age of 23, seeking enlightenment. The year was 1487, and he aimed to impress Christendom’s elite priests and theologians, with the Pope himself as his audience. Pico envisioned a performance of intellectual brilliance, commencing with a complex, symbolic speech designed to baffle the masses. This would be followed by nine hundred pronouncements, each more enigmatic than the last. For example: ‘251. The world’s craftsman is a hypercosmic soul’ and ‘385. No angel that has six wings ever changes’ and ‘784. Doing magic is nothing other than marrying the world’ and ‘395. Whenever we don’t know the feature that influences a prayer that we pray, we should fall back on the Lord of the Nose.’ In an ecstatic trance, he planned to transcend his physical form, ascending a mystical ladder to unite with the divine. This was to be the Death of the Kiss, a complete transcendence of his soul.
Samanth Sabramanian, writing for The Guardian, explores the consequences when underwater internet cables – those vital lines of communication – are disrupted by volcanic activity.
The Reliance meticulously retrieved the damaged cable stretching from Tongatapu, attaching it to a spare cable onboard. Slowly heading west, the crew carefully unfurled the replacement, ensuring ample slack. This section was then connected to the cable from Fiji. The splicing process is painstaking. It involves carefully stripping back protective layers, cleaning the glass fibers with a sonic bath to avoid breakage (even the slightest touch can shatter them), and precisely aligning the ends in a fusion splicer, a compact device used to melt and fuse the fibers using an electrical arc. Afterward, the glass must be re-sheathed. This entire operation can take the majority of a night, sometimes longer, and is carried out in a room constantly affected by the ocean’s movements.
While I’m still working my way through Silent Hill f (distracted by a lengthy review assignment), I took a peek at Madeline Blondeau’s analysis of the game’s “erotic and grotesque roots.” It looks like a great read for those who have finished the game.
Whether players choose to delve into Japan’s history of misogynistic violence, America’s role in it, or the artistic movement that grappled with these issues is their choice. Silent Hill f’s puzzles continue even after the credits roll. Much like Saeki’s art and the erotic grotesque movement, the game is filled with decades of discourse within every polygon, line of dialogue, and everything in between.
William Volk, former Activision VP of Technology (1988-1994), has donated a hard drive filled with development documents, memos, and product information to the Video Game History Foundation. This is a treasure trove for retro computing enthusiasts.
Of particular interest to the gaming community, Activision had plans to revive classic Atari titles like River Raid, Kaboom, and Pitfall with new iterations. While Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure saw release, River Raid: Mission of No Return and Kaboom!: The Mad Doctor’s Revenge remained largely unmentioned, save for brief mentions in Electronic Gaming Monthly.
This week marked National Poetry Day in the UK, with “play” as the central theme. Where are the video game poets, the wordsmiths who blend gaming and verse? To get us started, here’s a personal favorite: Owen Vince’s The Adrift of Samus Aran. You can find an excerpt here.
To conclude, enjoy Boris Lyatoshynsky’s Symphony No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 50. Have a fantastic Sunday! Stay strong and carry on.