Author Archives: shiraachess

Twitter: Voluntary Panopticon-as-Leisure

Written by shiraachess. Posted on September 3, 2008. Filed under Interactive, Web, failwhale, myron, myron oygold, shira chess, twitter. 2 Comments.
Twitter: Voluntary Panopticon-as-Leisure Shira Chess It all started with that damn Myron Oygold. For reasons that I still don’t understand, Mr. Oygold initiated a project that forced several of us to get a Twitter account. Until today, I had not yet created a Twitter account. I had seen it used, and grumbled about it. People kept telling me, [...]

WiiFit Review

Written by shiraachess. Posted on May 24, 2008. Filed under Gaming, Gear, Of Consoles & Pixels, games, nintendo, review, shira chess, wiifit. 1 Comment.
WiiFit Of Consoles & Pixels Shira Chess I had been anxiously awaiting the release of wii Fit, the new exergame for the Nintendo wii that has recently been getting shitloads of publicity. In part, I’ve been very interested in the productive aspects of the game (because I always think that “productive” and “play” together is somehow problematic), and [...]

Of Consoles & Pixels: Time Wasters

Written by shiraachess. Posted on April 26, 2008. Filed under Gaming, Of Consoles & Pixels, Video Games, and then there were none, endless ocean, games, reviews, shira chess. 5 Comments.
Of Consoles & Pixels: Time Wasters Shira Chess To many, I have an enviable job. Currently, I am writing my dissertation (on gender and video games) and one of my regular tasks for the last few years has been to play many games under the guise of “research.” What I have a difficult time explaining to [...]

“The Clintons”

Written by shiraachess. Posted on January 23, 2008. Filed under Marketing, Politics, clinton, commentary, editorial, feminism, presidential race, shira chess. 13 Comments.
“The Clintons” Guest Editorial Shira Chess I am a woman. I am a feminist. And I am a democrat. But that is totally besides the point. During this election cycle, I have become increasingly disturbed by one phrase that has occurred almost everywhere: by newscasters (on all new stations), by pundits, by anchors, and by the voters who have been [...]

Torchwood

Written by shiraachess. Posted on September 7, 2007. Filed under Torrent Talk, sci fi, shira chess, torchwood, torrents, tv. 2 Comments.
Torchwood: Doctor Who, but Better! Shira Chess According to Captain Jack Harkness, the 21st Century is when everything changes. I don’t know if this is true (fictional characters are so sketchy!) but the show he is on, Torchwood, certainly makes some compelling arguments to that effect. Torchwood, a spin-off of the New Doctor Who, aired [...]

Vaughan: The Anti-Moore

Written by shiraachess. Posted on August 23, 2007. Filed under Comix, Lost, Torrent Talk, comic books, comics, film, review, shira chess, television. 5 Comments.
Vaughan The Anti-Moore Shira Chess A few months ago, I binged and watched the second half of the 3rd season of Lost all at once. I had put this off, primarily because Lost had gotten pretty horrible in its second and third seasons. But instead of rolling my eyes and sighing petulantly at the erraticness of [...]

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac

Written by shiraachess. Posted on August 9, 2007. Filed under Books, Comix, JTHM, Weird, comics, review, shira chess. 2 Comments.
Johnny The Homicidal Maniac Z? Shira Chess Thirty minutes into reading the cult comic classic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac I began to suspect that I was reading it ten to fifteen years too late. It’s not that it wasn’t fun, or even good in a subversive and outsider culture kind of way: but it immediately roused [...]

Kill the Networks, Not the TV

Written by shiraachess. Posted on August 2, 2007. Filed under Torrent Talk, media, review, shira chess, television, torrents, tv. 3 Comments.
Kill the Networks, Not the TV Shira Chess I don’t care what the goddamn intellectual elitists say. I will not shoot my fucking TV. Television gets a bad rap on the culture scale, but I have a hard time trusting any society that places Andrew Lloyd Webber higher than Joss Whedon. I’m not saying [...]

The New Sincerity

Written by shiraachess. Posted on June 25, 2007. Filed under Books, Cinema, fashion, review, shira chess, tween movies. No comments.
The New Sincerity or, Why I Will Never Be a Teen Girl Detective Shira Chess I fully recognize that you are not Nancy Drew people. I imagine that not many of you went to see the new Nancy Drew movie, nor have seen the old ones. Under duress some of you might confess to having read some of [...]

How To Play A Feminist (2 of 2)

Written by shiraachess. Posted on May 19, 2007. Filed under Gaming, Politics, feminism, shira chess. 3 Comments.
How To Play A Feminist (in two easy parts) Shira Chess Women don’t play enough. Just blame it on feminism? Perhaps not, but certainly the tenuous relationship between women and play, which I have previously described, is inextricably linked to the past three hundred years of Western feminisms. Lets take a short ride down the lane of historical [...]