Scraps of ideas

Solids Matter by Cecilia Galiena

Threads of thought currently running through my mind:

• What is the most unique way of mapping locations? Click --> here <-- for a curiously fascinating PDF that samples some interesting maps picked up along the decades / centuries. I especially like River / Mountain diagrams, as well as the Yellow on Black US 202 map.

• The above PDF is a find from my Interface Design class. Definitely in the Top 5 Classes I've ever had. The class itself is a mixture of Product Design, Graphic Design, and Goodness Extract. But that's not what I started this bullet to talk about. I wanted to show you --> this <-- PDF, which is an extremely intuitive 'instruction manual'. It talks to you. It is your friend. Or at the very least, an acquaintance whom you must work with to get a job done, but very importantly, SPEAKS ENGLISH (or whatever your native language is. But who am I kidding? I know it's English). (Don't hit me). Anyways, yeah. Just look at the file.
  
  
  
• Wil Shipley has a nice article on the way we view celebrities (Notice how a well composed post becomes an article, while an ordinary one is simply "talking about __(whatever)__"?)
  
  
  
• Grand Theft Auto is to Junk Food as __(video_game)__ is to Ennel Crusted Ahi Tuna with Wild Mushroom Ragout and Roasted Tomato Sauce? Any nominees? (I don't suppose you expected to see that combination of words this week)
  Chris Crawford has said of game design:
  
  

  We are now in a position to address one of the most vexing problems facing the computer games industry: violence in games. The industry's response to the accusations leveled against it (that computer games are too violent) has disappointed me. For the most part, people in the industry circle the wagons and deny the problem. They denigrate their accusers, wrap themselves in the First Amendment, and close their minds to all arguments. This saddens me because all this ruckus is so avoidable. Game designers cling to violence only because they cannot imagine other forms of conflict ... Violence is the most intense, direct, physical form of conflict. What strikes me is the industry's obsession with the most extreme manifestations of these elements ... Violence in games is like chocolate cereal in chocolate milk with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate fudge on top.

  
  Yes, it's a lot of words for when you weren't expecting a lot, but it makes for an interesting read. And an open-ended idea. (Before you say that ideas, by nature, are open-ended, I will say "Not always").
  ... Dang, I suppose this is more than a bullet point. If you're really fascinated with this topic, read more about it --> here <-- and / or just comment.