HYPERTEXT WONDERLAND

My Haruki Murakami marathon continued this week with the completion of his 2004 novel  After Dark . Unfortunately I read it in two instalments over the course of several months so I don't feel comfortable writing a full-fledged post about it but summed up quickly... yeah it's alright. It feels much like a minor novel in Murakami's canon (not literally a canon of course). I really love the atmosphere which perfectly encapsulates that sense of dread and awe you get when wandering around outside at 3am. Surprisingly it ends satisfyingly which, if you've been read any of my takes on Murakami before, is something I find to be a minor miracle. I'm disappointed by the lack of secret passageways or scenes where the protagonist completes a marathon. However, a combination of unexpected phone calls, cats, old jazz record, urban ennui and supernatural powers kinda makes up for it. More importantly, it means we have a clear winner in  Murakami Bingo! Next up I'l...

Her Love Boils Bathwater is a sentimental film meaning it's the type of film I usually try to avoid. In fact there was a point twenty minutes into the film where I felt it might be too much. I considered turning it off but persistence stuck me, which turned to be a great thing as it's an honest type of sentimentalism; more wholesome than tear-jerking. I liked it a lot. The story follows a working-class family led by Futaba Sachino, a matriarch who one day receives news that she’s suffering from a terminal illness. She’s given only four months to live but this doesn’t deter her. Throughout the film she reigns supreme approaching every situation with hardheadedness, helping many around her despite her increasing frailties. Notably this includes her daughter who she makes stand up to class bullies and in doing so provides an invaluable lesson about overcoming anxiety. She also forgives her deadbeat former husband for some reason and proceeds to give direction to ...

History of the internet is something I find fascinating. I took a class on it earlier this year which cemented my belief that it's important for everyone to know how we got to today's world of top-quality communications. Thankfully I'm not the only one it seems because last night I finished a game called  Digital: A Love Story  -  an anachronistic mystery/romance about that sprightly world before the internet. In its own words, the game is a visual novel set 'a minute into the future of 1988'. This was a time before Google; before Windows; hell, even before Netscape. Graphical user interfaces were made up of ASCII text - basically command line interfaces with some pretty graphics, as you can see above. The plot is set in motion when you meet Emilia, a strange but endearing girl who professes a fondness for you. She disappears one day leading to strange occurrences involving your favourite online haunts and searching for answers brings you face-to-face with ...

I wrote a feature for Metro recently where I mentioned that I’d finished Xenogears. This was a lie because I’d actually  almost finished Xenogears . I’d gotten to the final dungeon but died a few times so put the game down. I finally picked it back up last night where, low and behold, I did it. I saved the world, got the girl, and killed God in the process. Woo hoo! Xenogears is a JRPG first released for the PSone in 1998. It was produced by Squaresoft, who were still known as that at the time. It was directed by Tetsuya Takahashi with writing credits going to Masato Kato (Chrono Trigger), and Soraya Saga (FF VI). Soraya and Tetsuya were actually married at the time, which I think is just the most lovely thing really. The game is about a dude named Fei Fong Wong who is mysteriously carried to the village of Lahan. With no memory beyond the last three years, he spends his time idly painting when one day he's caught up in a fire fight between troops from warring states. In or...