#ben mullen

[superiorstr8men]

[nofatclips]

Softcore by Kristoffer Borgli - A promo video for Softcore Untd. starring Greta Titelman and Alex Warren

[nofatclips]

Malibu Barbie by Miya Folick - Director: Ariel Fisher

[vulturehound]

The Power of Solace - Malady (Film Review)

The Power of Solace – Malady (Film Review)

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[pennibackrecords]

Get Hungry Thanks Ben Mullen

[makeyourownmyth]

I don't want to get too effusive in my praise but this is damn sure one of the best articles I've read in this young, new year. Superb parallels to sports and enthusiastic embracing of a nerd culture without the subtle mockery that so often accompanies pieces like this. Chris Higgins has crafted the first must-read blog post in my eyes. You've got to get to this. Plus, I've tagged it as a long read, but it's rather middle-length. More than worth your time. 

*The author, Chris Higgins, has a book for sale that's linked in the piece, but I'm linking to it here, as well. Get it: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AV2FZZW/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=snugglesstore&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00AV2FZZW

[ticketforone-blog-blog]

ECSTASY OF ORDER: THE TETRIS MASTERS

i've known dana wilcox since we were both twenty-something undergrads at uc berkeley. she was in legends-in-their-own-time band blanche devereaux and i was in a scrappy little garage band. we often played the same shows and parties all over town. she once came to see us play at this horrible dive bar. we were in a juvenile mood, "played" for five minutes, trashed our instruments, and then promptly fled, leaving an audience of eight to scratch their heads. dana told me later it was one of the dumbest things she ever saw, and that we needed to be friends.

nearly ten years later, dana is behind the wheel, i'm riding in the backseat, and billy ocean's "when the going gets tough, the tough get going" is pouring through the car's tiny sound system. we are cruising south on interstate 5 to a house party in laguna beach. but it is no ordinary party-- it is in essence, an assembly of the world's greatest classic tetris players. this historic meeting of the minds (and thumbs) is a prelude to the inaugural classic tetris world championship which also happens to be the focal point of adam cornelius and robin mihara's documentary "ecstasy of order: the tetris masters".

a natural reference point is "the king of kong", as both films document the dogged pursuit for high score supremacy over a classic video game. but in "ecstasy of order", there is no billy mitchell or controversial villain to root against. rather, every single "tetris master" (jonas, harry, dana, ben, thor, alex, and jesse) is interesting and affable. and all speak with an infectious passion regarding their obsession with maxing it out.

obsessions are generally regarded as an unhealthy state of a pre-occupied mind. the implied judgment being that one is squandering one's time and energy on trivial pursuits when one could be applying oneself more "productively".

accordingly, monomanias with dance dance revolution, pinball, crossword puzzles, yo-yo's, world of warcraft, magic the gathering, sudoku, and online poker must be abandoned as the price of adulthood and replaced with the more respectable and productive labors of "having a career", "making lots of money", "owning a house", and "raising a family". the only socially acceptable adult "obsessions" seem to be shopping and pro sports. any other fixations must be publicly tempered with at least sly embarrassment mixed with a little self-conscious guilt.

but why? "ecstasy of order" makes very clear that jonas, harry, dana, ben, thor, alex, and jesse derive immense satisfaction from their years and years of devotion to mastering the art of tetris.

the tedium of adulthood can be so stultifying that anything that inspires such profound focus where space and time melt away should be applauded-- even moreso when the pursuit is driven by a transcendental inner-satisfaction, and not some banal future promise of money, fame, or success.

because obsessions/otaku are so deeply associated with youth, there is something particularly pure and noble when they survive and continue to be cultivated and nurtured through adulthood.

so thank god for documentary filmmakers who dedicate themselves to legitimizing, historicizing, and celebrating interesting human beings doing interesting things.

in the abstract, the obsessive allure of tetris is difficult for the uninitiated to comprehend. but in a crowded arena with multiple projections of real-time screens of players simultaneously battling rapidly rising lines and conjuring tetrises from thin air to narrowly escape certain doom, tetris suddenly becomes a thrilling game of life or death. and amid all the chaos, everyone quietly ponders and regrets why they weren't previously obsessed with such an obviously beautiful game?