Arts Union Science

"Honour died on that beach."

Aaaaaaand, we're back for Volume 2! This week, the Arts Union Science journal opens its second volume with an in silico analysis of a video game: Ghost of Tsushima. Join our friendly, neighbourhood Corresponding author - Tyler D. R. Vance - and this week's first author - Byron T. Hunter - as they wade through 50+ hours of Open-World-Stealth-Archer-Somersault-Stab-Loot-&-Craft-Detective-Mode-Tower-Climb-to-reveal-map-Then-Get-Side-Quest-Fatigue* gameplay. Along the way, they'll give chase to such strange conversations as the value of video games as storytelling utensils, the integration of cinema into triple A games, and the honourless few who intentionally screen peak in Halo.

If you would like to review our findings, feel free to email us at [email protected]. You can tell us if you accept our findings, accept them with revisions, or out-right reject them.

"YOU HAVE NO HONOUR!" / "And you are a slave to it."

*if you don't know what this is, you need to be watching Girlfriend Reviews on Youtube.

With the dawning of a new Volume for AUS, we decided to shake things up and discuss something a little different. Ghost of Tsushima is a 2020 video game about samurai facing off against a Mongol invasion in the latter half of the 13th century. While not a movie, it relies heavily on cinematic tools to tell its story, providing a more in silico version of samurai cinema.

Episode 1 of Volume 2 will release on January 18th. We'll see you there!

With 2020 in the rearview mirror, Volume 1 of the Arts Union Science podcast has come to a close. It left us with 6 solid episodes, plus three bonus Christmas episodes, all of which remain ripe and ready for your listening pleasure. 

But the desperate need for the novel carries on! And so, we announce Volume 2 of the Arts Union Science podcast, to begin releasing episodes on January 18th. We'll have a whole new set of first authors, a whole new slew of interesting movies to discuss, and the same old Corresponding Author (AKA Tyler D. R. Vance).

Come listen in, wherever you get your podcasts. Also, feel free to reach out via [email protected] to leave your thoughts on our analysis.

Happy New Year, and stay safe!

"There are more important things than comfort: SELF RESPECT!"

2020 is coming to an end, and with it ends our December Special Issue of the Arts Union Science podcast. As such, we felt that there was no better Fat Lady to coerce into singing than the Rankin 'n Bass stop-motion animated shorts. These awkward little gems have become a perennial pass time for every Christmas-observing human being in the modern world . . . well, except for one little misfit. Enter Daniel G. Schep, this week's first author and resident neophyte when it comes to ol' R&B (Rankin and Bass, not Rhythm and Blues). Join he of the no-prior-knowledge and your corresponding author Tyler D. R. Vance as they navigate the foamy stop-motion waters of creaky animation, unintentionally dark messaging, and the so-very-memorable musical number "My World is Beginning Today".

If you'd like to review our findings, feel free to send us an email at [email protected]. You can tell us if you accept your findings, accept them with revisions, or just flat out reject them. 

Happy holidays from all the authors at the Arts Union Science podcast!

"What a great Grinchy [trap], With this [mic] and this [script] [it'll sound] just like a [podcast.]"

The Arts Union Science podcast carries on with its Special Issue combining holiday movies and fluorescence microscopy. This week, your corresponding author (Tyler D. R. Vance) and first author (Sean W. Phippen) embark on a quest to steal Christmas . . . three times. They will overlay the three film adaptations of Dr. Seus's beloved Christmas story about a hairy, green hermit that decides to ruin everyone's December 25th by draining commercialism from it. Along the way, the two Christmas-happy authors will also discuss the dangers of shaving with a straight razor, the previously unseen connection between The Grinch and Bug's Bunny, and the frustrating magnetism between Danny Elfman and the syllable "la" . . . again. 

If you'd like to review our episode, feel free to email us at [email protected]. You can tell us if you accept our findings, accept them with revisions, or just flat out reject them.   

"Marley was dead, to begin with."

Starting with this first gripping sentence, Charles Dickens sent forth a tale of redemption that still resonates to this very day. "A Christmas Carol" has been adapted over 100 times, including plays, movies, and a Bug's Bunny cartoon to name a few. Today on the Arts Union Science podcast, the intrepid duo of Tyler D. R. Vance (Corresponding Author) and Keegan Turner-Wood (First Author) take a look at but a few of these adaptations, using fluorescence microscopy as an analysis model. Join them as they overlay the inherently similar (though aesthetically divergent) images of "A Christmas Carol" (1951), "A Muppet's Christmas Carol" (1992), and "Scrooged" (1988), while still finding time to discuss the industrial revolution, the secular appeal of Dickens' tale, and the parameters of Muppetry as an artform.

If you would like to review our Special Issue, feel free to email us at [email protected]. You can tell us if you accept our findings, accept them with revisions, or outright reject them.   

After our brief hiatus at the end of Volume 1, we are moving into a month long Special Issue release that combines a very relevant film genre with a fascinating scientific technique. Curious? Then have a listen!

"Extreme ways are back again."

After a week-long break from Bourne, our intrepid duo returns for another crack at the only JB that counts. Once again join your corresponding author, Tyler D. R. Vance, and your returning first author, Marina Lochhead, for a shaky trip down memory(less) lane, AKA The Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum. Pit stops down said lane shall include (but are in no way limited to) the timber of Albert Finney's voice, the resemblance of Noah Voson to Big Bird, and the continued merciless chirping of Nikki. As always, if you would like to review our episode feel free to email us at [email protected]. You can tell us if you accept our episode, accept it with revisions, or outright reject it.  

Brandish your pens and roll up your magazines, 'cause Episode 6 of the Arts Union Science podcast is ready for a real shaky fight. Join your corresponding author, Tyler D. R. Vance, and this week's first author, Marina R. Lochhead, as they assemble to solve the puzzle that is Jason Bourne. Listen as they discuss everything from the beauty of John Powell's score to the mystery that is Julia Stiles in these movies. In a podcast first, the conversation's girth could not be held by a single episode; therefore, this Part 1 (which contains only the discussion of the Bourne Identity) will be followed up with a Part 2 to be released on November 13th. For the time being, enjoy the episode and feel free to leave us a review at [email protected]. You can tell us if you accept our review of the Bourne Identity, accept it with revisions, or flat out reject it.

"Jesus Christ. That's Jason Bourne."

The 6th episode of the Arts Union Science podcast is getting ready to tear up the streets of some poor unsuspecting European town with our second review article on a beloved action franchise: the Bourne trilogy. On November 6th, come for the discussion of car chases, stay for our hosts unhealthy fascinations with Paris, Julia Stiles, and the early aughts office aesthetic.