Ok, I’ve loved the Western genre since childhood. I find it to be a genre not used enough today in Hollywood. So here are my Top 5 Westerns: 1) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: John Wayne + Jimmy Stewart = great movie. One of John Ford’s more philosophical films, this movie has very interesting comments on the formation of political societies, the basis of law, and the nature of America’s regime. Echos of Lincoln and Aristotle can be heard... Read more

You Decide: Is this a bad cartoon or is the reaction reading too much into it? Read more

“I think right now — in the future, when people look back, I think it’s the renaissance of video games.” – thatgamecompany co-founder and “Flower” mastermind Jenova Chen in response to a question about the affect of digital distribution on games via MTV Multiplayer » One-Liner: ‘Flower’ Creator Believes Gaming’s Renaissance Is Happening Right Now. Read more

Over at Opus, Jason Morehead has a great little writeup about a key song from Kanye West’s latest album: But West’s ego is precisely why “Welcome To Heartbreak” works (for me, anyhow). There’s no doubt that West feels very free to speak his mind, and therefore, such a sentiment coming from him does feel like a peek behind the curtain, an almost intimate moment where you hear a performer express their deepest fears and doubts. Even awash in the cold,... Read more

Scott McClellan of Collide Magazine says “Don’t Blame the Technology“: We need to constantly evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different media and then act accordingly. When we don’t, when we make poor technological choices, it’s us that have failed, not the technology. We fail when we respond to conflict via a microblogging service. We fail when we reduce the gospel to a bumpersticker. We’d fail if we attempted to make a marriage proposal via a text message. We’d fail... Read more

Gamasutra asks, “Who is the Thomas Kinkade of video games?” Read more

I know this is a little late for the holiday but here is C-SPAN’s ranking of our 42 past Presidents.  I like the first and last choices, though I think FDR, Teddy, and Wilson are too high while my favorite under-appreciated President, Calvin Coolidge, gets not nearly enough props. Read more

You Know You Are! Read more