Bathroom Mirror

It Came Through the Bathroom Mirror

Girls at sleepovers daring each other to repeat the name "Bloody Mary", Southern mansions where they cover the looking glass as someone lies dying, myths of doom befalling those who stare too long at their own reflections ... Some of the oldest grim legends involve the allure and mystery of…
December 12, 2024No Comments
Taco Bell Decades Menu

Reviewbrah Discovers Food Ground Zero

For the past several years now, we've catalogued various cultural phenomena under the umbrella heading Ground Zero. Whether in movies, comic books, or anime, it's well-documented that consumers could no longer expect new iterations of popular IPs to improve on their predecessors, starting in 1997. Nor did Ground Zero happen…
December 11, 202418 Comments
Mall Comeback

Can the Mall Make a Comeback?

For decades, shopping malls were more than just commercial zones. They were social hubs, cultural hotbeds, and even fonts of information. Time was, if you wanted to know the next hot game's release date or keep up with current trends, you headed down to the mall and marinated in the…
December 10, 20249 Comments
Bloodstained retro

Should AAA Studios Revisit Retro Style Games?

The AAA video game industry stands at a turning point. Facing runaway development costs, dwindling consumer trust, and rising market instability, big studios must adapt to a rapidly changing market. Could the answer lie in the unlikeliest of places: reviving retro-style games? That idea may not be as far-fetched as…
December 9, 202418 Comments
A.I. Music

Why A.I. Music Can’t Replicate the Human Touch

As we've explored on this blog, A.I. has made remarkable strides in fields from image generation to writing. But when it comes to creating music that really touches people, A.I. faces formidable obstacles. Because while A.I. music generators can churn out competent melodies, their output often feels hollow or disconnected…
December 6, 20243 Comments
Elon Musk Hasbro

Could Elon Musk Revolutionize Wizards of the Coast?

Back-to-back seismic shifts rocked the tabletop gaming world in 2024: the resignation of Wizards of the Coast president Cynthia Williams and speculation that Elon Musk might be eyeing Hasbro, WotC’s parent company. While Williams’ departure marks the end of a tumultuous era for Wizards, Musk’s potential interest hints at a…
December 5, 202416 Comments
Tobit Christian Storytelling

The Case Against “Christian Fiction” and For Christian Storytelling

You'll sometimes hear critics of the idea that Christian authors should write compelling universal stories rather than Christian Fiction™ argue that Jesus commanded His followers to preach the Gospel, not to tell stories. But this objection misunderstands the nature of storytelling and the profound role it has played in advancing…
December 4, 202418 Comments
Anime Police

How A.I. Policing Anime Piracy Could Reshape the Industry

The anime industry has long been on the horns of a dilemma: Pursue artistic innovation, or bow to commercial pressures? And the latest move by the Japanese government to combat piracy with A.I. could change anime's trajectory. With $2 million allocated to develop an A.I.-powered system that tracks and removes…
December 3, 20243 Comments
Death of the Author

A.I. Books: The Death of the Author?

There's been a marked uptick in nervous chatter within the publishing world over A.I. books. Some say they'll upend the whole industry, while others once again predict the death of the author. Hat tip to author JD Cowan for pointing me to this piece in The Bookseller about an upstart…
December 2, 20244 Comments