In response to "Where Things are Hollow" from The Escapist Forum:
One woman had been clandestinely following him around all week, finally accosting him on his way to the airport to show him her sketchbook. He had a beguiling manner about him, she said, showing him how she'd captured the jaunty tilt of his hat with pencil and ink. The experience was jarring.
.....Yeah. Well.
God help me, I'm a Creepy Fan Anecdote.
For what it's worth, I was not following anyone around all weekend, not even the party I came with seeing as I did so much running around, I drew lots of people over that weekend as it's what I do whenever I'm sitting anywhere for extended periods of time (
(Especially at panels), and I'm pretty sure I never said the word beguiling...
I talked about his weird walk: he sort of glides from place-to-place, no up or down, and I have no real excuse for that observation besides that people who know me know I'll say just about anything to just about anyone, consequences be damned, which is probably why I have never found anyone in any sort of profession willing to employ me. Except as a baby-sitter. Kids seem to think I'm funny, rather then scary. Fear for your next generation, humanity.
I sure as hell never meant to jar anyone or anything, and I apologize whole-heartedly for the weirdness of it all. I'm really very sorry, and I appreciate that no one called security or kicked me down the escalator.
Mr. Russ is an exceptional writer with a malancholy but very beautiful voice, so at least when he described my moment of public humiliation, he did it poetically. That's some consolation prize I guess. I'll have to thank him if I ever see him again.
- DreamerM
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In response to "Programming as Art?" from The Escapist Forum: In the following, forgive me for neglecting classic aesthetic treaties by philosophers such as Kant or Hume, but this doesn't quite seem to be the place to debate stuffy modern philosophy.
The notion of art merely being something that we have pleasure in is certainly compelling, but breaks down when we are then forced to call something like potato chips art. They are certainly pleasurable, and there is definitely a craft involved in creating them, but a potato chip in and of itself doesn't seem, to me at least, to suggest something artistically beautiful (beautiful being the loaded word that typically gets thrown around in this kind of talk). Art makes a statement and, like the author intelligently states, is something that reflects on the endeavors and existence of humankind.
To me, that axiom suggests that the judgment of art is reflexive, that is, it is not possible to create something and have it immediately be universally referred to as art. Since art becomes so by being perceived as impressively or interestingly commenting on humanity, it seems that humans must be the ones to declare it so (this most certainly invites relativism into the picture, so I apologize to those who fight against it).
Bringing Flores's creations into the picture, as well as any similar electronic creations, it seems that such products have the potential to be referred to as art. Such work brings questions such as the purpose of computing, how humans derive pleasure, or even the nature of affection between something called a "mouse" and a lobster (I'll admit, that last one is a stretch). Another great example: artistically analyze the popular death clock that floats around the internet. That thing is ripe with reflection.
The point is, the impact of these programs do potentially exist, but their wealth is unknown to our time. I think that programming for the sake of programming will definitely become a maxim of the art-grammer and that such projects cannot remain unnoticed in the age of computers.
- TheWickerPopstar
