Would you walk away from Omelas?

Walking Away...

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” was written by Ursula K. Le Guin and published in 1973. In addition to being one of my favorite stories, I think it is a biting thought experiment that asks what type of community we want to live in and what we are willing to give up for it. There are vast spaces between the written narrative, and it leaves the reader with a lot of room to concoct characters, voices, and dialogue. The second episode [https://substack.com/@radagastbrown/note/p-186833365?r=6wl8z&utm_source=notes-share-action&utm_medium=web] already tangentially discussed the story, but here are some of the voices in my head when I read this story. What voices do you hear? What musical genre should I defile next?Leave a comment below. Get full access to In my professional opinion... at radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe [https://radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

32 Years Later, Does Teenage Spirit Still Smell Fresh?

Yumi and Martin join me in discussing the impact Nirvana had on our lives. They were a rebuttal to the highly produced music of the eighties. Given the changes in our media consumption habits and technological cocooning, can someone ever shake us like they did? A couple points, when Yumi refers to bijuaru-kei bands, it means hair metal bands. Also ohshee katsu is the phenomenon where people demonstrate their devotion to their media heroes. Of course no episode would be complee without a diversion into AI and work culture. Get full access to In my professional opinion... at radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe [https://radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

So Cute that It Will Takeover Your Life...

Martin and Kouji use Ted Chiang’s short story The Lifecycle of Software Objects as a platform to discuss the concept of personhood, inequity, and the political process. Along the way, Martin admits to failing the Turing Test and hunting culinary heretics. If you find this conversation interesting, and even if you don’t, look for Ted Chiang’s collection of short stories, Exhalation [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538034/exhalation-by-ted-chiang/] where this story resides. You can probably find it if you search on the story title from some errant English class that didn’t lock down their site. But I think he is an author worth having on your bookshelf, even if your bookshelf is in the cloud. Four AI songs help you get through the meandering. Do you find them amusing, or annoying? Please subscribe and leave your thoughts in the comments section. Get full access to In my professional opinion... at radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe [https://radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

You Only Live/Kill/Die/Knock/Mock Twice?

Martin and Kouji use the 1967 James Bond film set in Japan to discuss ecological disaster, class conflict, and the true meaning of power in LOTR. Get full access to In my professional opinion... at radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe [https://radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

If Life Is a Simulation, Who Should Write the Game?

This episode allows Martin and Kouji to flex their nerd gaming muscles. Hear Martin seethe over my shallow grasp of legacy graphic engines. I attempt to return serve with an origin story of Halo, but it is too little too late… game, set, and match Mr. Killman. The foundational piece of media for this conversation is a 30 minute stand alone episode in Apple TV’s Mythic Quest called Dark Quiet Death [https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/a-dark-quiet-death/umc.cmc.1lq91xrf07nyf61iezzgchyct?showId=umc.cmc.1nfdfd5zlk05fo1bwwetzldy3]. Aside from providing fertile material for my AI songs, the episode is one of my favorite pieces of television. If you don’t have Apple TV, spend the $3.99 to watch this show, but you can still listen to the song and get the gist of the show. We discuss the tension between creativity and commercialization. It is a fine balance that is hard to nurture and even harder to maintain. Is there any piece of media that you would like to see deconstructed in my professional opinion? Let us know. And definitely let Martin know if the AI songs bring joy into your life. Some notes for the not-so-nerdish, I don’t think Martin’s RPG hobbies are rocket propelled grenades, they are role playing games. Get full access to In my professional opinion... at radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe [https://radagastbrown.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]