From the pod to the cell

Finished reading JPod today, which I really enjoyed. I like reading Douglas Coupland, because he's so good and so 'local'. In this book, he covers everything from the gaming industry, grow-ops, people smuggling, Hollywood North and condo-development. You can't get more local than that.

The book is about a group of corporate drones working at a gaming company based in Burnaby (a thinly disguised Electronic Arts). In one of the sideplots, they are asked to introduce a kid-friendly turtle character into an already well-into-production extreme skateboarding game. It's just one of the books many examples of how creativity is often stifled by corporate mentality. I think anyone who's worked in a so called 'creative' position can relate to having a 'turtle' thrown into their project at the last minute:

'Life is dull, but it could be worse and it could be better. We accept that a corporation determines our life's routines. It's the trade-off so that we don't have to be chronically unemployed creative types, and we know it. When we were younger, we'd at least make a show of not being fooled and leave copies of Adbusters on our desktops. After a few years it just doesn't matter. You trawl for jokes or amusingly diversionary .wav files. You download music. A new project comes along, then endures a slow-motion smothering at the hands of meetings. All ideas feel stillborn. The air smells like five hundred sheets of paper.

And then it's another day.'

Don't let that quote fool you though - it's also a really funny book.

Anyway, from corporate zombies, to good old-fashioned horror zombies, I started reading Stephen King's Cell ('Your number is up!' and 'There's a reason cell rhymes with hell!' read a couple of the blurbs.) I felt I was due for something mindless and trashy. Plus I've always had a soft spot for zombies - I'll watch any movie with 'dead' in the title.

In it, everyone using a cellphone suddenly receives a signal that transforms them into bloodthirsty maniacs. The first chapter alone is gory, scary and funny - all at the same time. You've got to hand it to King; he never runs out of things to write about. In another few years he'll probably be writing about killer coffee tables or something. Your shins are no longer safe!