J. Martin

October 2, 2022

There and Back Again

Last week was a blast—three fantastic days full of great presentations at the last and final Clash of Realities conference, planned and carried out by program and technical teams from the Cologne Game Lab and the ifs International Film School Cologne, who did the most terrific job. And what a line-up! Even if you’re not fully immersed in game studies or game design or film and media studies, names like Janet Murray, Eric Zimmerman, Jesse Schell, Tracy Fullerton, or Gareth Damian Martin should ring a bell. Several tracks were set up for hybrid presentations (my own included) for both on-site and off-site audiences, and it was every bit as nerve-wrecking for the technical team as my own hybrid lecture experiences had been during the summer term. This technology still has ways to go, on top even of Germany’s renowned infuriating internet quality. Also, I met awesome people, made new friends among them, and drew a lot of inspiration for my own indie game project and academic endeavors.

Naturally, no blog posts or other social media activity worth mentioning last week. To resume my publishing routines, I uploaded a new album on Flickr yesterday with 10 images from Pingyao’s “Living Museums” in China, and one re-edit on Glass from a shot I took at the Fort Siloso Skywalk on Sentosa Island in Singapore. Japan has reopened for individual travelers recently, but I doubt I will take up on it to go and visit my friends there this year—and buy a vintage Contax 139 Quartz and a Vario-Sonnar 1:3.5/70-210 for a (hopefully) decent price in Shinjuku or Akihabara, or online at Yahoo Auctions or Mercari, for my return to analog photography. Perhaps in 2023—fingers crossed!

For your entertainment, here’s a clip with some incredible dronework in and around Wrigley Field “To the best fans in baseball”; and another clip illustrating academics agreeing to exciting new papers & projects that has me in stitches each time because it’s so true. Enjoy!

J.