Social Network Circa. 1912.

Social Network Circa. 1912, Edward Castle
Pen, ink, and watercolor on paper.

 

 

 

This is the first in what I hope are many pieces of my art I will post to the site.
-Edward

The American Dream Bailout

We all grow up chasing a dream of becoming something. Some of us dream of money, some of us dream of power, and some of us dream of making a change. No matter what your dreams are, our dreams all shares the same underlying principle of trying to make yourself a better person as we grow through life. We are told all through out our lives that the means to achieves these goals are simple: go to school, go to college, and then once you graduate you will have a career waiting for you and the only thing left to do is find a family that you can raise in your house with the white picket fence. Maybe it was the hardships I went through for this goal of the American dream or maybe I have hit the age in which I can see the flaws that most overlook (including me) due to the fact that we are so tunneled vision by the end reward. Whatever the delusion may be, many young Americans have had the wool pulled from their eyes, as life after college isn’t exactly playing out how most of us thought it would. There is a few reason why but the main flaws of college are first, there wasn’t a bunch of jobs waiting for us after the four years of college. Secondly college isn’t cheap so many kids have to take out students loans or try to work full time to keep up with the expensive lifestyle. Third, it is really hard to know what you want to do in life so many students will find themselves switching majors, tacking on another semester or two until they graduate in to a saturated job market. There are two reasons I wanted to write this blog post. I wanted to bring light to the flaws of a college life style and I also want to discuss the next American finical crisis: Student Loans.

Episode 36: Dash Files International

Check out episode 36 - Dash Files International on our site or iTunes.  Listen as we discuss lost glasses, Mass Effect 3, the Walking Dead season finale, Prometheus, and being unworthy of Ray Allen.  Spread the word.

The Mind of Swerve 2: Swerving Harder Vol. 2- Feb. '06

You know you love it.

Well, we meet again. In an effort to make my Swerve personality more transparent, I will continue to pretend that this blog is my therapist. My first post about Swerve was just an appetizer; a snack for those who were hungry, but a warning for those scared to dive deeper. This post features more explanations as to why I wrote what I did, and what the metaphors mean. Again, this Swerve piece was written in stream-of-consciousness fashion. To be honest, it was never actually "finished." Luckily for you guys and gals, I can actually remember what most of it means.  As I dig through the rubble of my mind to uncover the gems, I hope that your voyeuristic urges are satisfied.

The Inherent Art of Game Mechanics

thatgamecompany's Journey

It seems every year there are one or two games come out that the gaming community surrounds and proclaims, “See, games can be art.” thatgamecompany's Journey looks to be 2012's “See, games are art” game. So every year along with the adoration comes a backlash of people who argue games are not art or that games are inherently unable to be art. Roger Ebert infamously proclaimed “Video games can never be art" and still to this day probably gets more e-mails about that article then junk mail about home loans and penis enhancers- combined. Countless people have refuted Ebert's arguments so I won't rehash that here.

After the jump: A beardstrokingly long article containing my opinion on the art game debate (in short, yes they can be) the artistic merit of dead sharks, Mario's best mechanic and some Metal Gear Solid 4 spoilers, (which if you haven't played it yet, either shame on you)

Nintendo 3DS

My relationship with Nintendo’s handhelds has always been a rocky one for me. From broken parts to greedy hands I have had three Nintendo handhelds (Gameboy, Gameboy advance, and a DS) break beyond functioning properly and had two Nintendo DS stolen from me. Now, I find myself yet again with a portable Nintendo product and can’t help but wonder what fun times and heartbreaks await my new Nintendo 3DS future. My experience so far has been a pleasant one so I decided to give a little write up on some of the good and bad that Nintendo’s latest addition to the handheld world holds. Following the jump will be an analyze of the 3DS itself as well as four games that I recommend for those looking to expand thier 3DS library. 

The Mind of Swerve: Personality Switch '05

I don't miss the dreads.

Several people have been asking, "When is Swerve gonna drop something new?" "When is the next live show?" "Please Swerve, can I have your babies?" Well, all of these questions have been stirring in my brain for a few months now. While I cannot say when my next live show will be, I can announce here that Swerve has begun production on his new album. In the meantime, I want to become more transparent with the work that I do. So, over the course of this year, I want to bring you into my mind. Yes, it is true that everyone will not make it out alive.