Sleepless, obsessed, drenched in digital blood and guts, computer geeks in River North crank out games for guys just like themselves.
Author Archives: Bill Mahin
Posted inNews & Politics
Folk Tales
By Bill Mahin “Folksingers are boring,” Andrew Calhoun declares in a song of the same name. But his send-up reveals a fundamental predicament for performers like himself: Folk music may not have a great beat and you can’t always dance to it. But, Calhoun argues, the stories are often terrific. Most folksingers are excellent storytellers. […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas
Have Yourself a Scary Little Christmas Flesh Feast. Bio Freaks. Mortal Kombat 4. The titles explain why computer games became part of the discussion this year about media violence, as schoolboys in idyllic rural communities continued mowing down classmates. After the Jonesboro shooting in April, Time magazine theorized that “game boys learn to associate gusts […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Play’s the Thing
How the founders of the European Repertory Company have endured illness, abject poverty, and rotten reviews to create the theater group of their dreams.
Posted inNews & Politics
Real Life, Real Death
By Bill Mahin There’s no explanation for why this night has been like watching paint dry. According to conventional wisdom, Mount Sinai’s tiny emergency room at 15th and California should be especially busy. As one of just four trauma centers left in Chicago, ambulances regularly bring the “life-threatened” here from throughout the city to this […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Battle Stars
In the Virtual-Reality Arena the Techies Are the Real Warriors