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brendansinclair.bsky.social
Brendan Sinclair
@brendansinclair.bsky.social
1.7K followers 560 following 1.6K posts
Recovering game journalist, now simply a journalist.
Context-Free Patent Art: https://www.tumblr.com/contextfreepatentart
Posts Replies Media Videos
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Love it when Context-Free Patent Art followers point out context/references/interpretations I had not considered. Today's was a good one.
Patent art drawing of a woman in jeans and a jacket on a city sidewalk. But the jeans stop abruptly mid-thigh and are replaced by robotic bird legs. 2016 social media post where user angelsguideher says, "I had a dream where I was watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians and Kylie had gotten cyborg legs like they had taken the legs of an AT-ST from Star Wars and put them on her lower half so she was like 11 feet tall and Kim was like, 'I think Kylie's new legs are SO fun.'" User boag responds, "I literally think about this post every day."
January 18, 2026 at 5:27 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
The thing I love most about K-dramas is how they let me escape to exotic foreign lands with unfamiliar problems.
Image from a trailer for "Can This Love Be Translated?" on Netflix. There's some bold hangul writing in front of a picture of the CN Tower. A road sign says "Gardiner Lane Restrictions."
January 17, 2026 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by Brendan Sinclair
edmondtran.bsky.social
We're looking for a News Editor to join TWIV. Ideal candidate would have proven experience with:

- Working in news for a games outlet
- Conducting original reporting
- Mentoring junior writers

...and genuinely enjoy writing news, diving deep, and talking to people. UK timezone preferred. Email me.
January 13, 2026 at 10:17 AM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
I just described a game as "Very Problematic, but a part of my childhood" and realized that applied equally well to various music, movies, books, TV shows, DJs, and condiments.
January 11, 2026 at 3:05 AM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
This is a bummer. NCSX was my introduction to the world pf gaming beyond my local Best Buy or GameStop. Their daily stock updates were the kind of discoverability tool game devs are begging for these days.
January 9, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Reposted by Brendan Sinclair
jrpotential.bsky.social
Hello, I'm still on the hunt for work opportunities. I have nearly a decade of experience with business, tech, gaming, and culture reporting for major sites. You can find the entirety of my portfolio below. Please feel free to reach out for any opportunities. Thank you

authory.com/JeffreyRouss...
Jeffrey Rousseau's Portfolio
Here you'll find award-winning journalist Jeffrey Rousseau's entire multidisciplinary journalism portfolio in one place and stay updated via email as new articles and features are published
authory.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:36 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Heads up that The Logic has dropped its paywall on some of its biggest stories of 2025, for a limited time. Check them out:
thelogic.co/news/special...
The Logic’s biggest and best stories of 2025 - The Logic
From the trade war to the productivity crisis, AI chatbots, the war on wine and Canada’s stuttering EV dreams, here are some of our favourite stories from the past year
thelogic.co
December 29, 2025 at 11:21 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Saw Zootopia 2. It gets a few bonus points for having the narrative revolve around a subject kids absolutely know, love, and care deeply about: patents.
December 28, 2025 at 7:46 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Yesterday I went looking for some Christmas-themed game-related patent art. The patent database fates decided that no, I would only find this instead.

www.tumblr.com/contextfreep...
It's one of those patent art images that exist to make a mockery of alt text. It's a poorly cobbled together image of a robot-like humanoid with Mickey Mouse gloves for hands, industrial robotic arms and legs, a monitor with eyes and a mouth on it for a torso, a basketball net beard, a cowboy hat with a stars-and-stripes design on it and matching cowboy boots. There's also another industrial robot arm with its arm apparently going into the backside of this robot like a ventriloquist's arm. It's honestly a lot. There's also a speech bubble coming from the abomination, but it's empty.
December 25, 2025 at 4:12 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Today's Context-free patent art is a whole thing.
Patent art of a shirtless dude meditating with legs crossed. He has some circuitry in his chest connected to a neck harness with electrode pads on his temples. He also has electrical straps of some kind on his arms. There are two spheres(?) on the ground in front of him. Or maybe he's floating above them? idk
December 22, 2025 at 7:34 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown.
December 20, 2025 at 12:08 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
When I wrote up the endearingly goofy Study Group for the annual staff picks article at The Logic, I didn't think they'd actually run it. They wound up making it the headline image on the round-up. Read up on it and a bunch of other great stuff. No paywall on this one!
thelogic.co/commentary/b...
Here’s what you should watch, read and listen to this holiday season - The Logic
Our picks for the best books, TV shows, films and music of 2025
thelogic.co
December 19, 2025 at 6:19 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Really great thread which heightened my appreciation of a really great movie.
clairewillett.bsky.social Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · Dec 16
Alice has now seen “Wake Up Dead Man” which means now I can talk about “Wake Up Dead Man” as approximately one million of you have asked me to do. intermittent live-blog in the quoted thread. gay Catholic musings below:
clairewillett.bsky.social Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · Dec 16
Alice is finally watching “Wake Up Dead Man” and we are having a great time
December 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Big fan of this album. Highly recommend anyone not allergic to the phrase "indie rock" give it a listen.
hplemke.bsky.social Harrison Lemke @hplemke.bsky.social · Dec 5
i've also still got some tapes of Forever Only Idaho, a scrappy indie rock album about angry people stuck in dead ends looking for reasons to live harrisonlemke.bandcamp.com/album/foreve...
Forever Only Idaho, by Harrison Lemke
14 track album
harrisonlemke.bandcamp.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:59 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
This is a really good list of amazing games that came out this year. Reminded me of a few I had been meaning to play, and introduced me to a couple more. Definitely worth a look.
December 4, 2025 at 1:32 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
The writing in Hades is remarkable from either a quality perspective or a quantity perspective. That it excels at both while also being a phenomenally deep-yet-approachable action game is something close to a miracle.
unormal.bsky.social 🐔 Brian Bucklew 🐔 ₑͤ＞∿＜ₑͤ ∞🌮 @unormal.bsky.social · Nov 30
I mean the fact that narrative is still so often painted on afterwards when hades is sitting right there as a production/quality counterpoint baffles me, but that's bro production for you
rowan.monster rowan kaiser @rowan.monster · Nov 30
the way the writing reinforces and discusses every part of the game loop as it happens is just incredible stuff
November 30, 2025 at 1:42 AM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Sony envisions a future where "my controller's running out of juice" has nothing to do with battery power.
Patent application US 2025/0352892 for "Fluid Adaptive Controller", applicant Sony Interactive Entertainment. Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a peripheral device for a video game device, the peripheral device comprising: a main reservoir configured to be filled with fluid, and a distribution system connected to the main reservoir and configured to transport fluid to and from the main reservoir, wherein, in use, fluid is transported to and from the main reservoir to adjust a property of the peripheral device.
November 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Brendan Sinclair
davidreevely.bsky.social
Faked sales claims. AI-driven hunts for malefactors jn a “high-trust company.” Executives heading for the exits. @aleksagan.bsky.social has an exclusive report on bad doings at #Shopify.
Shopify rocked by sales fraud scandal that led to ultimatums and firings - The Logic
Shopify salespeople were inflating the value of the deals they were closing. When management found out, they told staff to own up or face the consequences.
thelogic.co
November 24, 2025 at 12:07 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
If my dog ever gets lost, please don't bother sending me condolences if you're just going to outsource it to an AI that won't even get the dog's name right.
www.tumblr.com/contextfreep...
November 20, 2025 at 3:18 AM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
We need more fact-checkers for a post-truth era.
nickhunebrown.bsky.social Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · Nov 19
A few months ago @thelocal.to got a promising pitch from a writer with bylines in whole bunch of reputable publications—The Cut, The Guardian, Dwell, Architectural Digest, etc. Then I started investigating. Here's a story about fabulists in journalism's AI slop era. thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 5:40 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Come work with me at an outlet that is actually growing and investing in journalism!
thelogic.co The Logic @thelogic.co · Nov 18
The Logic is hiring for an assistant editor! Work from anywhere in Canada, full details and salary range here:
thelogic.applytojobs.ca/editorial/42...
The Logic Job Board - Assistant editor
Job vacancy for the role of Assistant editor
thelogic.applytojobs.ca
November 18, 2025 at 4:00 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Guitar Hero was released 20 years ago this week, so it's now about as old as Super Mario Bros. was when Guitar Hero came out.
a close up of a man in a military uniform looking at the camera with a serious look on his face .
Alt: Saving Private Ryan .gif of young Matt Damon in a military uniform dissolving into decades-older Matt Damon in seconds.
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:05 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Everybody in games was laying off people over the past few years, but Microsoft's cuts still stood out for how seemingly arbitrary and optional they were at a time when the company was consistently posting record profits.
jasonschreier.bsky.social Jason Schreier @jasonschreier.bsky.social · Oct 23
SCOOP: For the last two years, Microsoft has pushed Xbox to hit profit margins of 30%, an ambitious target that's far higher than the industry average.

This chase for profit has led Xbox to raise prices, cut thousands of jobs, and rethink everything.

Story: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Microsoft Pushes Xbox Division to Hit Higher Profit Margins
Management’s goal of 30% profit margins for gaming has led to job losses, canceled projects
www.bloomberg.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:33 AM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
I'll just note that the first Assassin's Creed game was set during the Crusades and made in the years after 9/11 during a couple U.S.-led wars in the Middle East.
stephentotilo.bsky.social Stephen Totilo @stephentotilo.bsky.social · Oct 8
SCOOP: Last year, Ubisoft cancelled an Assassin's Creed game set during Reconstruction. Was to feature a Black Assassin who, among other things, fought the rise of the Klan

Sources: Leadership nixed it over concerns re: U.S. political climate, backlash to Yasuke

www.gamefile.news/p/scoop-ubis...
Scoop: Ubisoft cancelled a post-Civil War Assassin’s Creed last year
Company leadership deemed the project too controversial for the moment, sources tell Game File
www.gamefile.news
October 8, 2025 at 8:35 PM
brendansinclair.bsky.social
Sony already applied for a patent on a literal banana controller, and now it's looking for one on a motion-sensing orb. I love this kind of stuff.
US patent application number 2025/0295987 shows an orb sitting on a base. The orb has a slot down the left side of it and a line across the middle. There's an X logo where the slot and line intersect, a square logo elsewhere along the line, and a triangle logo at the very top. The image is labelled "Fig. 1"
September 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM