Homeless Time Travellers

Wow. Homelessness is no laughing matter, but this guy seems to be taking it with good humor. (Thanks 2Spare.) What actually makes me mad, though is that gridskipper can publish what amounts to a DC homelessness travel guide that trivializes homelessness but hides this behind a veil of sympathetic comments. I hate hipsters. Ok, so hate doesn't make the world better, but I sure wish they'd move on to their pupal stage of development, no matter what it is. (If you have any idea, leave it in the comments.) Trivializing homelessness is especially disgusting in the context of the recent tide of unprovoked violence against homeless people. Now that I've depressed you enough, here's something useful a graduate student did to educate people about this problem: Homeless: It's No Game a serious (yet fun and engaging) 2D video game about the problems of homelessness. Play it, and be inspired to go do something!

Gamers to the Rescue!

If you're going to spend time playing games when you should be working, you might as well learn something. Games4Change is an organization that promotes digital games whose objective is social change. So instead of watching Strindberg and Helium for the umpteenth time, or playing the Plushies game (you know who you are), avoid work by playing games like Karma Tycoon, where you run a virtual nonprofit and "solve community problems, such as homelessness, in cities across the US," or try Melting Point, where you work to "balance the energy needs and economic growth of regions around the world against the accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2)." If you find one you think is particularly cool, let me know in the comments. (I only have so much time to screw around, so I can't play ALL of them myself...one-year MA programs are killer on the work front.)