Wednesday, June 25, 2014

R.I.P. "Hey Arnold!" writer and voice actor Steve Viksten


In addition to working on "Hey Arnold!" (the movie adaptation of which he also wrote), Viksten scripted episodes of "Rugrats," "Recess," and "Duckman."

Read More.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

How Sega Nearly Won the Console Wars


Console Wars has arrived with much fanfare; it’s already being adapted into a feature film by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who provide the book’s foreword. The book itself is a fast-paced page-turner that anyone with an interest in classic gaming history will want to read for its unique behind the scenes insight into Sega, Nintendo and Sony through the eyes of its former employees.

Read More.

How Will Vinton Lost His Studio to a Rapper Named Chilly Tee


With no knowledge of animation, Travis Knight was assigned “mop duty” -- he started out in the doldrums of the CGI department, rendering whiskers on "The PJs"’ Thurgood Stubbs. Nobody at Vinton Studios knew he was the heir to a man worth $9 billion ($16.3 billion today) -- a man who’d just purchased 15% of the company.

Read the full article.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

How Netflix Is Transforming the Economics of the Web


In the past, a transit networks like Level 3 would trade traffic with home ISPs like Comcast without either party paying a fee. This is called “settlement free peering.” These arrangements worked because both parties were sending and receiving similar amounts of traffic. But that changed when networks like Level 3 started carrying Netflix’s streaming video, and they were delivering more traffic than they were receiving. This led to what’s called “paid peering,” where the transit network must pay for the delivery of its extra traffic.

Read More.

'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' Actor Bob Hoskins Dead at 71


Billed as a versatile character actor capable of menace, quiet poignancy and Cockney charm, Hoskins' acting resume also boasts appearances in a slew of acclaimed British films of the past few decades, including gangster classic The Long Good Friday, in which he starred opposite Helen Mirren.

Read More.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Obsessed Fans Finally Exhumed Atari’s "E.T." Graveyard


The excavator was approaching the limits of its reach when it hit paydirt. When Lewandowski saw a scoop come out of the trench with a copy of Space Invaders, he finally knew for sure he’d picked the right spot. He made a beeline to his wife. They embraced tightly for a long while, then he kissed her, and kissed her, and kissed her again. He was the happiest man in the whole dump.

Read More.

Friday, April 25, 2014

It's Adventure Time

An in-depth look at Adventure Time and the people who make it.

Adventure Time’s dozens of characters are complex in a way that is rarely seen on television for adults, let alone children; each seems to inhabit his own world. In E.M. Forster’s memorable phrase, they are round characters, “capable of surprising in a convincing way.” Lumpy Space Princess is a lovable but ghastly teenager, tediously obsessed with her old boyfriend, the unprepossessing Brad; she treats her well-meaning parents very shabbily. Marceline the Vampire Queen’s father is present just enough to make it impossible for her to ignore or forget his cruelty and selfishness—qualities she has inherited, to some degree. Princess Bubblegum is afflicted with intellectual arrogance and an inability to anticipate the dangerous consequences of her scientific experiments. (One of the story’s most provocative threads concerns the tension between science and magic).

Read the article.