My days are not just packed. They are coupled together into an infinite string of railroad cars, pulled by a deranged train engine, screaming along without respite from a clouded past into a distant future. Which reminds me that—at an art exhibition in Basel, Switzerland, a long time ago—I saw H. R. Giger’s original train model that was used for the ghost train dream sequence in Species. That exhibition also featured paintings, sculptures, concept art, and models for Alien, Alien³, and many other movies, and particularly the entire original set of the Harkonnen Throne Room Giger had designed for Jodorowsky’s Dune. (And yes, I sat down on Baron Harkonnen’s main chair—it gives you an entirely different view on the universe.) All that, dear friends and readers, was awesome.

Okay, snap back to reality. I wrote a post on my Voidpunk Universe’s Federation Age era and another post at my primary blog between drafts on Procedurally Generated Interactive Storytelling (a follow-up on last week’s Interactive Narrative vs. Interactive Storytelling). Then, I put up a massive new album on Flickr with 40 photographs from Pingyao “Ancient City” in China; one re-edited shot from that series on Glass, and a re-edited night street shot from Songtan, South Korea, also on Glass. Plus, as usual, some Instagram posts at betweendrafts and voidpunkverse.

Not a game recommendation (no time to play), but a game seminar recommendation this week: a »Ringvorlesung« in German language on narrative design basics and game writing, starting tomorrow. It includes lectures from Michael Bhatty (a colleague of mine) and Linda Breitlauch (a former colleague of mine).

Finally, for this week’s entertainment section, a thread chock-full of incredibly beautiful mosque ceilings; the perfectly normal Japanese way to welcome the prime minister of New Zealand; this exciting clip from a FPM (first-person meouw) shooter, and this little squirrel having a ball. Enjoy!

J.