Intro / Preface / Extra Words
Yesterday came suddenly...
The next few issues will have some loose themes tying their content together.
Long ago when we could travel we spent time on airplanes going to remote and interesting places. There's a certain wistfulness and ennui that comes on the way to such a journey where you wonder about your place in the arc of history and the thousands of years full of broken humans trying to meet the needs of those they love. Something about going to sleep in one place and waking up in a completely different place always connects us to this deeper current. Someday we may travel again, but for now we can always still journey into the past. Join us.
Further Reading
Photoreal Roman Emperor Project
My take: Caligula looks like the freak he probably was, and Commodus looks like the moronic bro he probably was. - C
Journalist Spends Four Years Traversing India to Document Crumbling Subterranean Stepwells Before they Disappear
Truly breathtaking photos. And another reminder that all the fancy things we build will be eventually reclaimed by nature if left unattended. And another reminder that sometimes that reclamation process is beautiful. You can also follow Victoria on Instagram if you want to keep up with the project. - C
The Scholar's Stage: We Were Builders Once, and Strong
I know very little about Tanner Greer (it even took me 5 minutes of searching on his blog to find his name!) so I'm not recommending his whole body of work. But I find this reminiscing on how we've been changed by technology to be extremely well written and interesting. -B
Turney W. Leonard | World War II | U.S. Army | Medal of Honor Recipient
When I was a freshman at Texas A&M University many moons ago I met with several other RUF attendees for a men's bible study in the Memorial Student Center. Around the outside walls of that building were plaque after plaque after plaque, each one telling the story of an Aggie Medal of Honor winner. I once spent several hours reading these plaques until I was moved to tears. Here's one story that hangs on the walls of the MSC in Aggieland. -B
The Great Video Game Crash of 1983
I'm guessing that Brian saved this link since I didn't exist in 1983, but consider he's had his turn at editing this issue and didn't add any commentary here I'm going to make up some stuff to say about it. There's something extra silly about digging up a blog post about obsolete video game consoles using the Way Back Machine, but I can't figure out a quippy joke to write about that. I read this post and am in total disbelief at the detail with which the writer captures the minutiae of this moment in time before widespread use of the Internet, where the video game industry was in complete disarray in the US and paved the way for Nintendo. - C
My plan has worked perfectly. Also the greatest game ever made (Super Mario Bro 2) was a direct result of this narrative so all’s well that ends well. -B
Why 'Civilization' is a political masterpiece
I need to play this game right now. I can't imagine building something like this and all the thought and historical knowledge that was poured into its design. - C
Just one. More. Turn. Also how is it 3am? I just started playing... -B
Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
I'll be honest, this may be one of the longest articles we've ever shared. It was written twenty years ago by an OG computer engineer. In it he waxes eloquently about his concerns over AI, nanotech, and lets us follow along as his mind wanders. I enjoy reading pieces like this, where the writer is being candid despite knowing that the words they are writing may become outmoded worries that seem silly to a future reader, but writes them down anyway. Plus, bonus points for referencing the Borg. -C
Outro
On to the on to the on to the next one
The theme for the next issue simply depends on which one we finish editing first. We have a habit of collecting a massive amount of content and then not publishing it nearly as ambitiously as we plan to, so we hope you enjoy this method of sharing. And, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you may have had it and with whomever you may have spent it.