Author Archives: BT

Mass Effect 3: Change it or Leave it?

Roger Ebert was wrong. I’m not sure when it happened, but modern video games crossed a threshold at some point where they ceased being simple time-sinks. Since the Battlezone, Moon Patrol, Gravitar, and Pac-Man days, they spun themselves into a digital cocoon and emerged as honest-to-goodness art.

At this point, it isn’t even an argument any more. The Smithsonian has an exhibit on art in video games. And the California Literary Review and Forbes magazine have featured articles on the impact of games. Fucking Forbes! It’s clear that we have turned a corner, culturally, and the only people still calling games “adolescent distractions” are like those Continue reading

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Steampunk, Truthpunk, and Executive Producers

Artists create to share. You grow up listening to music, watching films, reading books, and you are inspired by what your favorite works did for you, and you want to contribute something of your own to the genre. So its … Continue reading

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Japan, Friends, and Facebook

Japan is still shaking as I write this. The aftershocks of the worst tsunami in recorded history continue to shiver in the bones of buildings, rattling homes and nerves, and settling into an awful uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring. … Continue reading

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Meet Athena

2011 was the year I decided to get a pet. Oh, as a kid I had various fish, which is basically like owning a short-lived three-dimensional screensaver. And years later, I interacted with other people’s dogs and cats, lizards and … Continue reading

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And so we arrive at the next leg of the journey, 2011…

For me, New Year’s is as close to a sacred holiday as anything in my life. Another year of journeying through space, learning, thinking, loving, fighting, and evolving. It has been a strange year for me, and for many people … Continue reading

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Published twice in Dark Valentine

Amid a wildly busy holiday season, I have had two stories published in Dark Valentine. It’s a young and terrific magazine of speculative fiction published by Katherine Tomlinson. What’s more, it has earned me my very first nomination for the … Continue reading

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A few words on friendship

“Friendship is the marriage of souls.” — Voltaire I have often said that my greatest gift in life has been friendship. For whatever roll of the dice and stir of the social pot, I have been gifted with extraordinary friends. … Continue reading

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Horror remakes that are actually good…

In the spirit of Halloween, Donna and I have been watching some horror classics of the 80s this week. Specifically, remakes that are (gasp) actually better than the originals. As a rule, I am furiously opposed to remakes, reboots, sequels, … Continue reading

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Farewell to a Generation…

Three weeks ago, my last surviving grandparent, Mary Tropasso, was checked into the hospital complaining of pain in her bones. The doctors diagnosed her with bone and lung cancer. Fourteen days later, she was dead. This pic is of both … Continue reading

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Death by Stoning… in the 21st Century

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani is a 43-year-old mother of two. She has spent five years in prison. She was given 99 lashes. And she has been sentenced to death by stoning. This particular execution is endorsed by Shariah law, and also … Continue reading

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