Carly A. Kocurek
@sparklebliss.bsky.social
Experience design, video game history, writing. Prof and associate dean @ Illinois Tech. Books: Coin-Operated Americans (Minnesota), Brenda Laurel (Bloomsbury), Historiographies of Game Studies (Punctum).
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
The more I played @unpackinggame.com, the more it was clear that it was speaking back to the usual technomasculine norms (per @sparklebliss.bsky.social) that appear in games. There’s no score, no leveling up, no timer. Proceed at your own peaceful pace.
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com/2026/02/unpa...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com/2026/02/unpa...
February 3, 2026 at 7:10 PM
The more I played @unpackinggame.com, the more it was clear that it was speaking back to the usual technomasculine norms (per @sparklebliss.bsky.social) that appear in games. There’s no score, no leveling up, no timer. Proceed at your own peaceful pace.
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com/2026/02/unpa...
thetallrobreport.blogspot.com/2026/02/unpa...
1. Computers & Society
2. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia
3. Generation X
4. Feminist Film Theory
5. 12 Works of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia
3. Generation X
4. Feminist Film Theory
5. 12 Works of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Modern Japan
2. Philosophy & Literature (Dostoevsky)
3. Vertebrate Biology
4. German Translation
5. Advanced Topics in Music Analysis (this was *a mistake*)
1. Modern Japan
2. Philosophy & Literature (Dostoevsky)
3. Vertebrate Biology
4. German Translation
5. Advanced Topics in Music Analysis (this was *a mistake*)
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
1. Marine Biology (we got to go out on a boat!)
2. The History of the Holocaust
3. Logic and Critical Thinking
4. Eastern Religions
5. The French Revolution
January 31, 2026 at 4:16 PM
1. Computers & Society
2. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia
3. Generation X
4. Feminist Film Theory
5. 12 Works of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
2. The Disintegration of Yugoslavia
3. Generation X
4. Feminist Film Theory
5. 12 Works of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
A great line, and a great legacy.
"THIS IS MY ART, AND IT IS DANGEROUS. DO YOU THINK I WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS?" Katherine O'Hara in Beetlejuice is The Best.
January 31, 2026 at 4:12 PM
A great line, and a great legacy.
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
Looking forward to making my Games and Culture students read @sparklebliss.bsky.social on Night Trap (and, very likely later on, about arcade culture too)
January 28, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Looking forward to making my Games and Culture students read @sparklebliss.bsky.social on Night Trap (and, very likely later on, about arcade culture too)
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
We are through the looking glass where the US government believes alliances and diplomacy are gay, and the only way to appear Strong is by doing the geostrategic equivalent of drunk driving without a seatbelt.
January 6, 2026 at 12:53 PM
We are through the looking glass where the US government believes alliances and diplomacy are gay, and the only way to appear Strong is by doing the geostrategic equivalent of drunk driving without a seatbelt.
Pretty sure the ultimate recession indicator is the algorithm trying to convince me to soak in lithium.
January 4, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Pretty sure the ultimate recession indicator is the algorithm trying to convince me to soak in lithium.
Gave my spouse a triple Phillip Glass album, which is a really hilarious soundtrack to him and the kid loudly and chaotically doing Mad Libs.
December 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Gave my spouse a triple Phillip Glass album, which is a really hilarious soundtrack to him and the kid loudly and chaotically doing Mad Libs.
When teens go missing in my neighborhood now, I generally assume they were kidnapped by the federal government, which is ... a way to live, I guess.
December 13, 2025 at 2:12 AM
When teens go missing in my neighborhood now, I generally assume they were kidnapped by the federal government, which is ... a way to live, I guess.
Finals is hard on everyone, but a semi-delirious student TOOK MY DIET COKE this week, and I almost cried. I didn't ask for it back, because once you've put your mouth on the straw, it's yours now, but dang, I was really looking forward to that bucket of soda.
December 12, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Finals is hard on everyone, but a semi-delirious student TOOK MY DIET COKE this week, and I almost cried. I didn't ask for it back, because once you've put your mouth on the straw, it's yours now, but dang, I was really looking forward to that bucket of soda.
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
Carly Kocurek's digital collage "Becoming Lara" imagines a middle-aged Lara Croft through the lens of an imagined feature in a women's magazine @sparklebliss.bsky.social
Open access now!
online.ucpress.edu/.../11/3/118...
Open access now!
online.ucpress.edu/.../11/3/118...
November 5, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Carly Kocurek's digital collage "Becoming Lara" imagines a middle-aged Lara Croft through the lens of an imagined feature in a women's magazine @sparklebliss.bsky.social
Open access now!
online.ucpress.edu/.../11/3/118...
Open access now!
online.ucpress.edu/.../11/3/118...
Chicago is an easy city to love.
www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...
www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...
From the PublicFreakout community on Reddit: Community Yell "Get Real Jobs" to ICE
Explore this post and more from the PublicFreakout community
www.reddit.com
October 6, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Chicago is an easy city to love.
www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...
www.reddit.com/r/PublicFrea...
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
This week on the pod, @sparklebliss.bsky.social came by to discuss her book, Coin-Operated Americans. If you have fond memories of going to the arcade, this episode is for you. youtu.be/blWlUj07d7I
Beyond Solitaire Podcast 211: Carly Kocurek on Coin-Operated Americans
YouTube video by Beyond Solitaire
youtu.be
October 6, 2025 at 2:41 PM
This week on the pod, @sparklebliss.bsky.social came by to discuss her book, Coin-Operated Americans. If you have fond memories of going to the arcade, this episode is for you. youtu.be/blWlUj07d7I
Like, I'm not lazy (I was a full professor at 40, it's all downhill from there), but you also couldn't pay me enough to work 13 hour days.
"We millennials." I spent TWENTY YEARS hearing about how "kids these days" (ie, we millennials) didn't WORK hard enough and QUIT things.
You sound like a dork when you say things like this
October 5, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Like, I'm not lazy (I was a full professor at 40, it's all downhill from there), but you also couldn't pay me enough to work 13 hour days.
"We millennials." I spent TWENTY YEARS hearing about how "kids these days" (ie, we millennials) didn't WORK hard enough and QUIT things.
You sound like a dork when you say things like this
“We millennials know that there’s no such thing as work-life balance. My career is my life, my life is my career. I would never be at peace if I wasn’t working so hard.” trib.al/suc3yU6
October 5, 2025 at 1:42 AM
"We millennials." I spent TWENTY YEARS hearing about how "kids these days" (ie, we millennials) didn't WORK hard enough and QUIT things.
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
New statement from National Lawyers Guild of Chicago: 18 total arrests at the protest yesterday at the Broadview, IL ICE facility; 13 by feds and 5 by state or local police.
Four more arrests observed today in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. Likely being brought to Broadview, per statement.
Four more arrests observed today in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. Likely being brought to Broadview, per statement.
October 4, 2025 at 11:52 PM
New statement from National Lawyers Guild of Chicago: 18 total arrests at the protest yesterday at the Broadview, IL ICE facility; 13 by feds and 5 by state or local police.
Four more arrests observed today in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. Likely being brought to Broadview, per statement.
Four more arrests observed today in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. Likely being brought to Broadview, per statement.
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
Genuinely crazy how much we went from debates about body cams to "is the camera rolling? good. now watch me assault this dude."
October 5, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Genuinely crazy how much we went from debates about body cams to "is the camera rolling? good. now watch me assault this dude."
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
At the Broadview, IL ICE detention center—
IL state troopers are already pushing non-violent demonstrators out of the street and away from the ICE facility. One arrest so far.
IL state troopers are already pushing non-violent demonstrators out of the street and away from the ICE facility. One arrest so far.
October 4, 2025 at 9:49 PM
At the Broadview, IL ICE detention center—
IL state troopers are already pushing non-violent demonstrators out of the street and away from the ICE facility. One arrest so far.
IL state troopers are already pushing non-violent demonstrators out of the street and away from the ICE facility. One arrest so far.
Local Chicago news is covering a lot of what is happening. I am not seeing this reported in any detail in national outlets (I assume it might get there eventually) but the harm is being done right now. www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/t...
Tear gas deployed by federal agent in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood
Reports emerged of multiple immigration raids on Friday on Chicago's Northwest Side, including one in which tear gas was deployed by an agent.
www.nbcchicago.com
October 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Local Chicago news is covering a lot of what is happening. I am not seeing this reported in any detail in national outlets (I assume it might get there eventually) but the harm is being done right now. www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/t...
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
More feds and protesters have arrived. Maybe 100 neighbors here now. Close to 50 Feds. Agents appear armed with a full assortment of chemical munitions.
Protesters moved 30+ feet back as agents with tear gas launchers moved to the front line.
It’s also 86° in Chicago rn.
Protesters moved 30+ feet back as agents with tear gas launchers moved to the front line.
It’s also 86° in Chicago rn.
October 4, 2025 at 6:33 PM
More feds and protesters have arrived. Maybe 100 neighbors here now. Close to 50 Feds. Agents appear armed with a full assortment of chemical munitions.
Protesters moved 30+ feet back as agents with tear gas launchers moved to the front line.
It’s also 86° in Chicago rn.
Protesters moved 30+ feet back as agents with tear gas launchers moved to the front line.
It’s also 86° in Chicago rn.
The news cannot show what is happening in Chicago because the FAA banned all non-government drones for 12 days over a 15-mile radius (100s of square miles). They don't want anyone watching them disappearing our neighbors. They don't want anyone reporting what they're doing. Please, don't look away.
October 4, 2025 at 3:49 AM
The news cannot show what is happening in Chicago because the FAA banned all non-government drones for 12 days over a 15-mile radius (100s of square miles). They don't want anyone watching them disappearing our neighbors. They don't want anyone reporting what they're doing. Please, don't look away.
Reposted by Carly A. Kocurek
My old neighborhood, historically a Mexican neighborhood. The lawlessness and criminality is from the US government.
Logan Square neighborhood, Chicago. Man wearing a balaclava in a white, unmarked vehicle, pulls the pin on a tear gas canister and tosses it in the road.
"Just trying to grab some lunch and these fucking losers showed up. FUCK ICE!"
source: www.reddit.com/r/LoganSquar...
"Just trying to grab some lunch and these fucking losers showed up. FUCK ICE!"
source: www.reddit.com/r/LoganSquar...
October 3, 2025 at 7:34 PM
My old neighborhood, historically a Mexican neighborhood. The lawlessness and criminality is from the US government.
My alderperson was cuffed by ICE agents because she showed up and asked if they had a warrant. The agents are wearing masks and not displaying badges, in violation of city policy. My neighbors are organizing grocery pickup for perle afraid to leave their homes and standing watch over school pickup.
October 3, 2025 at 8:58 PM
My alderperson was cuffed by ICE agents because she showed up and asked if they had a warrant. The agents are wearing masks and not displaying badges, in violation of city policy. My neighbors are organizing grocery pickup for perle afraid to leave their homes and standing watch over school pickup.
A lot of people have weirdly strong opinions that letting a second grader play a massively multi-player battle royale game us Good, Actually.
September 30, 2025 at 6:53 PM
A lot of people have weirdly strong opinions that letting a second grader play a massively multi-player battle royale game us Good, Actually.
Sorry, kid, I don't care if other parents let their kids play Fortnite, your mom researches games and so is a HUGE DRAG who is not going to let you play anything multiplayer with strangers for a long time.
September 30, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Sorry, kid, I don't care if other parents let their kids play Fortnite, your mom researches games and so is a HUGE DRAG who is not going to let you play anything multiplayer with strangers for a long time.
Sometimes I think about how much I love the west Texas desert, and my heart just breaks all over again.
September 28, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Sometimes I think about how much I love the west Texas desert, and my heart just breaks all over again.