“In the once-upon-a-time days of the First Age of Magic, the prudent sorcerer regarded his own true name as his most prized possession but also the greatest threat to his continued good health, for—so the stories go—once an enemy, even a weak unskilled enemy, learned the sorcerer’s true name, then routine and widely known spells could destroy or enslave even the most powerful. As times passed, and we graduated to the Age of Reason and thence to the first and second industrial revolutions, such notions were discredited. Now it seems that the Wheel has turned full circle (even if there never really was a First Age) and we are back to worrying about true names again.” So begins True Names , Vernor Vinge’s 1981 cyberpunk tale in which protagonist Roger Pollack, aka the hacker ‘Mr Slippery’ finds himself under threat when his real identity is revealed to the ‘Great Enemy’, aka the American Government. If this opening strikes you as surprisingly fantasy-flavoured considering its otherwis...

Words by Curmudgeon Film Talk The Midnight Gospel (2020) is the latest creative endeavour from Pendleton Ward – the mind behind Adventure Time (2010-2018) – and for the love of Christ, it’s bloody difficult to talk about. Divided into 8 parts, the series is a sort of bizarre sci-fi adventure, centring around Clancy (voiced by co-creator Duncan Trussell) – an aspiring “space caster” (basically another word for “podcaster”). With the help of his bootlegged “multiverse simulator,” Clancy fumbles from dimension to dimension, interviewing a colourful cast of unusual characters on various existential and philosophical topics. Such topics range from recreational drug use, to occultism, to the inevitability of death. If that sounds like a ride , it is. Frankly, the biggest tragedy of The Midnight Gospel is that it is often boiled down to being “trippy.” That’s not to say that this is an incorrect observation, necessarily – the show certainly trips the light fantastic on ev...

You know those games you always heard were ground-breaking and era-defining but you never got round to playing? The ones you know, as a devout gamer, you must experience at some point in your life?  Have you piled up 50 or so of these games over the years and need an excuse to play through them?  ...No?  Well I do! Welcome to Green Ornstein’s Bucket List of Games! Where we go through the classics, the gems, and the hyped to which we all went “Wow, I should play that...if I have time and it goes on sale”.  Will these games ring true to their reputations or will all those recommendations have been for nothing? Either way, let’s have some fun. Now throw on your maid outfit, slap on those blindfolds and lets get existential. Are video games art? Well yeah, obviously. The only people who’d disagree nowadays are those who’ve never played one. These aloof parents and suburban housewives use it as a scapegoat to blame for little Bobby’s ...

I used to ponder on the Sinatra album, “Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely.” I believe there’s salt in that provocative title. Jazz is a genre long since jettisoned from popular music, so I’ll keep my geeky musings to a minimum. Nevertheless, in various junctures in my own life, I have found myself attracted to that idea. In moments of intense loneliness and solitude, I sought solidarity in Sinatra’s sorrowful tones and, more broadly, found comfort in the world of Jazz. I am 'the lonely.' Sinatra sings for me. It’d be unnecessary to point out the obvious influence of Jazz upon Shinichiro Watanabe’s 1998 series Cowboy Bebop . The title itself is evocative of a punchy, big-band style of jazz, and its opening theme Tank!  by The Seatbelts  is equally as evocative. Its soundtrack leans heavily on Jazz and its various iterations, from funk to soul to something more obscure. Perhaps for connected reasons, I’ve often considered Cowboy Bebop a remedy for loneliness. ...