Contrasting authors and life

Two non-related authors popped up in my assorted reading over the weekend;

first off Upton Sinclair, and his work The Jungle [Wikip 1 and 2, including a link to the free e-verison] - presenting a grim view of what lie hidden behind the doors that society would rather not peek at. And certainly would rather not have burst open. But they did, and in time it became better.
Now, a hundred years later? Well, as the world turns, so does the sins of the fathers. Still there are sweatshops, child labour and limited options for some, while others have too much of everything but time and happiness.

Then there is the author known as Yukio Mishima and mainly the book Spring Snow, part of the Sea of Fertility quartet [Wikip 1, 2 and 3]. Here it was certainly the man and not the books who had the most apparent impact, in terms of his rather public ritualized suicide and apparent attempted coup.
But it is the writings that live on, telling of a time gone by but bringing up issues and problems that are as eternal as the duality of man (good and evil, love and hate). So, another book to read and another perspective to consider or just enjoy.


One a sidenote, I just got around to finishing Slaughterhouse-Five( from 1969, the year after Spring Snow) during the week. So it goes. Somewhere in time they are all alive, and Dresden is beautiful. So it goes.

Hidden in plain sight

A pretty good article in Wired this issue on "ARG" or alternate reality games, focusing mainly on the NIN and Trent Reznor game around Year Zero. The article itself included several pretty obvious clues and mini-games, but it is the online edition that really shines - including links to special video and a bit more background. Among them a clip that ends with a link to the Open Source Resistance.

One minor gripe, having the same question online makes sense - but that makes the magazine redundant, so perhaps there should have been a more direct pointer to the 'hidden' link and the content (or perhaps there was? In a hex transformation of the text, or as the first letter of each word of the hidden message? The possibilities are almost endless, considering the complexity of some of the the other "hints")

...and the sun shone brightly on the new snow...