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Elizabeth Simins
Elizabeth Simins's Articles
Retro Games Are More Than Just Child’s Play
| Jan 31I had heard good things about Yoshi’s Island for years. And the fact that the game’s Gameboy Advance incarnation was sold out everywhere I looked just served to confirm that positive word-of-mouth.
Playing Catch-Up
| Nov 29There’s something wrong with most funny games. Anyone who isn’t a fan of Pixar movies—or hates them with a passion, like I do—probably hasn’t bothered to pick up the Pixar-esque Ratchet and Clank games.
Playing Catch-Up
| Nov 15I’m embarrassed to say that the first video game I ever owned was Pokemon. Yes, when I was 11 years old, my brother and I spent a happy summer trading virtual creatures between our Gameboy Colors.
For Those About to Pretend to Rock
| Nov 9I’ve always been an outspoken opponent of those who claim that video games cause violence in otherwise balanced people—but perhaps it’s time to reassess my position.
Wadding-Up A Beautiful Gaming Experience
| Nov 1Japan is notorious for producing incomprehensibly bizarre video games. Last year’s Elite Beat Agents, for example, was a rhythm game in which wacky problems could only be solved by a set of male cheerleaders in suits and shades.
Fall’s New Albums Are All Grown Up
| Oct 10The most stunning aspect of In Our Bedroom After the War is its craft. The songs are saturated with layered instrumentation and carefully spun narratives, which are often so arresting that the real world pales in comparison to the universes of Stars’ songs.
Link's No High Roller, But Zelda Will Rock Your DS Anyway
| Oct 9Saving a princess is probably the most clichéd story line in history. Yet the Legend of Zelda video game series, which has thrived for over 20 years, has never stepped too far out of the damsel-in-distress box.
How to Party Like a Fake Rock Star
| Oct 1On its Web site, Digitallife claims to be “the ultimate consumer technology, gaming & entertainment event of the year.”
Xbox RPG Blues
| Sep 13Blue Dragon isn’t the first game to be created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, and Nobuo Uematsu.
The Future of Art: Now Sold at GameStop
| Apr 27At the end of this year, a cinematic work of art will be released that has a multi-million dollar production value, an all-star cast, and a director with over two decades of experience in the industry.
The Only Free Ride at Columbia
| Apr 13Three years ago, when University President Lee Bollinger asked Gregory Mosher if he could make art a part of the Columbia experience, Mosher went around asking students what that would take.
A Dialogue of Donkeys, Christian Rock, and Matzah Balls
| Apr 6Art and religion have had a tumultuous relationship over the centuries. It's true that an overwhelming number of works that are widely acknowledged as timeless masterpieces contain religious content.
Roundtable: Is Expensive Dorm Food the New Gourmet?
The nominations for the 2007 James Beard Foundation Awards have just been announced.
Dali Upstaged by a Gaudi Sofa
| Mar 28Barcelona. Modernity. If you just thought of Salvador Dalí, you only get partial credit.
CONFUSING THE MEDIUMS AT MOMA'S "LIVE/WORK"
| Feb 12Drawing and performance are not usually placed in the same category. Though both are visual art forms, they are vastly different and thus tend to be thought of as separate.
Staring Into Tutankhamun's Tomb
| Jan 25Few can deny the mysterious lure of the tombs of ancient Egypt. The many movies and books that have been inspired by what lies inside the pyramids are evidence enough of that. America in the 21st century is, however, worlds away from the heyday of pyramids, mummification, and hieroglyphics.
Clash of the Comic Shows
| Dec 7When someone says "comic book," do you picture a 12-year-old boy begging his dad for more allowance to buy just one more installment of Superman, then staying up late and reading under his blankets with a flashlight? For whatever reason, people tend to associate comic books and graphic novels with children, and think of them as nothing more than a youthful diversion, comparable to a Sunday morning cartoon.
Clash of the Comic Shows
| Dec 6When someone says "comic book," do you picture a twelve-year-old boy begging his dad for more allowance to buy just one more installment of Superman, then staying up late and reading under his blankets with a flashlight? For whatever reason, people tend to associate comic books and graphic novels with children, and think of them as nothing more than a youthful diversion, comparable to a Sunday morning cartoon.
The Glamour of German Debauchery
| Nov 22Breasts exposed through exaggeratedly sheer dresses, horribly deformed faces, and an open head revealing a steaming pile of shit for a brain are just three of the images that startle the unsuspecting museumgoer upon walking into the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new exhibit, "Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s.
Picasso: One With America
| Nov 1By Elizabeth Simins
Columbia Daily Spectator
Pablo Picasso is probably one of the most recognizable names in art. Whether you're a college senior majoring in art history, or a first semester first-year who has yet to take Art Humanities, chances are you would be able to pick out one of Picasso's famous distorted faces.







