Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Was talking to my friend Scott Williamson, Red Deer's mightiest force for graphic design, about the spate of direct to video horror movies when this cool idea popped up:
scott says:
it would be cool if it was the same group of kids in alll the movies. same actors and everything
Joel says:
Hee hee. I think the cabin fever kids would be good.
Joel says:
Of course, the Evil Dead One kids would be too much to hope for.
scott says:
that woudl be funny, it would be like simpsons , where they would nt remember the last time they were all murdered one by one and they still decide to go camping in the same woods
Joel says:
That would be freaking awesome.
scott says:
what a concept
Joel says:
You should put that one on http://www.premisespremises.com/home.php
scott says:
a different monster hunting them every week and killing them
Joel says:
It's a site where you can stick ideas for other people to see.
Joel says:
Do a made-for-TV movie once a month for a year.
Joel says:
THe audience could get to know what the characters are like and to predict their moves. Then you could surprise them by having someone do something different for a tiny, strange reason.
scott says:
they would have a nagging deja vu throughout but alway s end up doing something stupid and getting killed
scott says:
they would get killed in a different order every week , it could be like a game. "who lives to the end"
Joel says:
"When does Blackie die?"
Joel says:
Do you mind if I exerpt this stuff onto my blog? I think Allie would love it.
scott says:
sure
Joel says:
Cool. What's you address again? She and Duncan might like your site
scott says:
www.onemillionmonkeys.ca/blogger.html
scott says:
we need to work this idea out , its cool
Joel M.
scott says:
it would be cool if it was the same group of kids in alll the movies. same actors and everything
Joel says:
Hee hee. I think the cabin fever kids would be good.
Joel says:
Of course, the Evil Dead One kids would be too much to hope for.
scott says:
that woudl be funny, it would be like simpsons , where they would nt remember the last time they were all murdered one by one and they still decide to go camping in the same woods
Joel says:
That would be freaking awesome.
scott says:
what a concept
Joel says:
You should put that one on http://www.premisespremises.com/home.php
scott says:
a different monster hunting them every week and killing them
Joel says:
It's a site where you can stick ideas for other people to see.
Joel says:
Do a made-for-TV movie once a month for a year.
Joel says:
THe audience could get to know what the characters are like and to predict their moves. Then you could surprise them by having someone do something different for a tiny, strange reason.
scott says:
they would have a nagging deja vu throughout but alway s end up doing something stupid and getting killed
scott says:
they would get killed in a different order every week , it could be like a game. "who lives to the end"
Joel says:
"When does Blackie die?"
Joel says:
Do you mind if I exerpt this stuff onto my blog? I think Allie would love it.
scott says:
sure
Joel says:
Cool. What's you address again? She and Duncan might like your site
scott says:
www.onemillionmonkeys.ca/blogger.html
scott says:
we need to work this idea out , its cool
Joel M.
Scott brought this one to my attention.
A Kurdish guy in London stabs the shit out of his daughter, the fuck. Why? She's living la vida Western. She wants a cell phone. She dates a guy. A Christian Lebanese guy. Embracing technological convenience and multi-culturalism. How much more western can you get without the Michal Jackson skin lightening kit?
So the sick fuck just stabs her a whole bunch.
What kind of fucking monstrousity is this? Is this just a clear cut case of an inferior culture? Should this be looked at as a backlash against western culture?
Well, for the backlash angle, the guy was living in London.
Lon-fucking-don!
As far as western culture goes, that was pretty much the belly of the fucking beast for a couple of hundred years. Nowadays L.A. and New York might be bigger repositories of your basic western evil, but if you have any problems with the whole westernization thing, London is not exactly the place to be. Getting pissed about westernization in that situation would be like getting all busted up if Pipin drowned. You know it's going to happen, so why the fuck are you there if it's a problem?
As for cultural inferiority, I'm really tempted to take this 'honour killing' bullshit as evidence of just that. Tempted, but I guess I'm not so informed that I can make that sort of judgement yet. I don't know if the Middle East has serial killers, for example, and I've never inventoried and compared the various attrocities that any given culture and religion has been extended to justify.
Still, I'm awfully tempted...
Joel M.
A Kurdish guy in London stabs the shit out of his daughter, the fuck. Why? She's living la vida Western. She wants a cell phone. She dates a guy. A Christian Lebanese guy. Embracing technological convenience and multi-culturalism. How much more western can you get without the Michal Jackson skin lightening kit?
So the sick fuck just stabs her a whole bunch.
What kind of fucking monstrousity is this? Is this just a clear cut case of an inferior culture? Should this be looked at as a backlash against western culture?
Well, for the backlash angle, the guy was living in London.
Lon-fucking-don!
As far as western culture goes, that was pretty much the belly of the fucking beast for a couple of hundred years. Nowadays L.A. and New York might be bigger repositories of your basic western evil, but if you have any problems with the whole westernization thing, London is not exactly the place to be. Getting pissed about westernization in that situation would be like getting all busted up if Pipin drowned. You know it's going to happen, so why the fuck are you there if it's a problem?
As for cultural inferiority, I'm really tempted to take this 'honour killing' bullshit as evidence of just that. Tempted, but I guess I'm not so informed that I can make that sort of judgement yet. I don't know if the Middle East has serial killers, for example, and I've never inventoried and compared the various attrocities that any given culture and religion has been extended to justify.
Still, I'm awfully tempted...
Joel M.
So I got a job interview today.
Guy calls me up, tells me he was forwarded his resume. Asked from who, he says some guy's name that I've never heard of and says that he, the guy, got it off the web. Tells me that he's froma financial services company and that he wants to interview me.
Great, says I, what's the job? Customer service rep?
No, says he. He says that I will be teaching people about their products and services and setting things up for them. Tells me they'll train me from the ground up.
What the hell, says I. I take an interview off of him fro Thursday and hang up. Then I turn around and plug the address he gave me into Google. I find out that the company is called Primerica Investments and that their website make quite the todo about their representatives and how said reps will swing by your house and sell you crap. Further, it offers this rep job to all and sunfry and informs me that I can work as much or as little as I want.
Yup. Commision sales.
You know, it really pisses me off that this guy would be such an evasive fuckwad. I asked what the job was. His job, right at that very moment, was to come clean and tell me that it was commision sales. Instead he tries to string me along into this bullshit interview, which I have no intention of attending, so that he can try to sell me into a fucking job that I am guaranteed to suck ass at.
Fuck you, Mister Primerica.
Joel M.
Guy calls me up, tells me he was forwarded his resume. Asked from who, he says some guy's name that I've never heard of and says that he, the guy, got it off the web. Tells me that he's froma financial services company and that he wants to interview me.
Great, says I, what's the job? Customer service rep?
No, says he. He says that I will be teaching people about their products and services and setting things up for them. Tells me they'll train me from the ground up.
What the hell, says I. I take an interview off of him fro Thursday and hang up. Then I turn around and plug the address he gave me into Google. I find out that the company is called Primerica Investments and that their website make quite the todo about their representatives and how said reps will swing by your house and sell you crap. Further, it offers this rep job to all and sunfry and informs me that I can work as much or as little as I want.
Yup. Commision sales.
You know, it really pisses me off that this guy would be such an evasive fuckwad. I asked what the job was. His job, right at that very moment, was to come clean and tell me that it was commision sales. Instead he tries to string me along into this bullshit interview, which I have no intention of attending, so that he can try to sell me into a fucking job that I am guaranteed to suck ass at.
Fuck you, Mister Primerica.
Joel M.
Monday, September 29, 2003
Watched Equilibrium this evening. Sorry, couldn't find the homepage in fifteen seconds, so no link.
Equilibrium starred Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Sean Bean, and Taye Diggs and was written and directed by Kurt Wimmer.
Watching like 1984 meets Fahrenheit 451 meets the Matrix meets Jet Lee, only not even slightly like the image that that description conjures, this movie seems to have been consistently overlooked, underrated, and ultimately doomed to obscurity.
It bears noting that I watched this flick under the Scorpion King doctrine, as I do with almost all movies. This means that I try to expect nothing more from a movie but constant physical and mental torture, which paradoxically means that I am almost always pleasantly surprised. The name comes from the first time I consciously attempted this stunt and came away from a full-price screening of Scorpion King without feeling as though I had been raped with a steadycam.
However, I wasn't just pleasantly surprised by Equilibrium. I was blown away by this direct to video wonder. It had excellent, and surprisingly believable, action which built up to a phenomenal and non-formulaic climax. This emphasis on action wasn't allowed to drown the high-brow concept that was the movie's heart and soul as happened in Matrix: Reloaded. And, though it had surprising twists and switchbacks as all movies now must, these obligatory revelations also didn't get in the way of the central thrust of the film.
Christian Bale was excellent in his portrayal of an emotionless killing machine learning to be something more, while Taye Diggs' sly smiles add a nice touch of humanity to a character that could have been airless and desolate.
I think that the reviews of this movie are unfairly tainted by a mulish insistence on comparing it to the Matrix and finding it a weak sister in the onslaught-of-action department. Instead, I compare it to the Matrix and find it comparable in terms of ideas and drama and see the action as simply moving in a different, though equally intelligent, direction. Frankly, after an overdose on bloated Matrix-style extended action sequences, lighter, but still entertaining, fare such as that presented in Equilibrium is a welcome change of pace.
My one real problem with the action is that Wimmer used the effect where a body part is severed so quickly that it remains in place momentarily before sliding off. This is heavily overused and silly in my opinion and should have been left to William Gibson's molywhip wielding assassin. To counter this, though, is the fact that wire-work was very rare and that, instead of resorting to bullet-time, Wimmer instead chose to accelerate combat as Ridley Scott did in Gladiator.
As an aside, I have heard rumors that Christian Bale has been tentatively cast as Batman in what would be the fifth movie of that franchise, not counting any made-for-TV tripe starring Adam West. If this is true, I think that Hollywood may have finally found a Batman worthy of the name. Not only does Bale have the dark, brooding expression that a Miller-inspired Batman needs, but he also has the sort of physique that I am sick of seeing simulated by rubber body-suits. If the casting can be matched by characterization, meaning that Batman can quit being such a gadget whore and actually display a little of the grit and intelligence that actually makes the character interesting, this movie would truly be something special. Naturally, I'm not holding my breath.
Back to Equilibrium, I would strongly suggest that it is worth watching to anyone who liked the Matrix or Gattaca for their high concepts, who doesn't mind a little violence to brace their attention, and who thinks that bullet-time and wire fu has gotten about as trite as it can.
Joel M.
Equilibrium starred Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Sean Bean, and Taye Diggs and was written and directed by Kurt Wimmer.
Watching like 1984 meets Fahrenheit 451 meets the Matrix meets Jet Lee, only not even slightly like the image that that description conjures, this movie seems to have been consistently overlooked, underrated, and ultimately doomed to obscurity.
It bears noting that I watched this flick under the Scorpion King doctrine, as I do with almost all movies. This means that I try to expect nothing more from a movie but constant physical and mental torture, which paradoxically means that I am almost always pleasantly surprised. The name comes from the first time I consciously attempted this stunt and came away from a full-price screening of Scorpion King without feeling as though I had been raped with a steadycam.
However, I wasn't just pleasantly surprised by Equilibrium. I was blown away by this direct to video wonder. It had excellent, and surprisingly believable, action which built up to a phenomenal and non-formulaic climax. This emphasis on action wasn't allowed to drown the high-brow concept that was the movie's heart and soul as happened in Matrix: Reloaded. And, though it had surprising twists and switchbacks as all movies now must, these obligatory revelations also didn't get in the way of the central thrust of the film.
Christian Bale was excellent in his portrayal of an emotionless killing machine learning to be something more, while Taye Diggs' sly smiles add a nice touch of humanity to a character that could have been airless and desolate.
I think that the reviews of this movie are unfairly tainted by a mulish insistence on comparing it to the Matrix and finding it a weak sister in the onslaught-of-action department. Instead, I compare it to the Matrix and find it comparable in terms of ideas and drama and see the action as simply moving in a different, though equally intelligent, direction. Frankly, after an overdose on bloated Matrix-style extended action sequences, lighter, but still entertaining, fare such as that presented in Equilibrium is a welcome change of pace.
My one real problem with the action is that Wimmer used the effect where a body part is severed so quickly that it remains in place momentarily before sliding off. This is heavily overused and silly in my opinion and should have been left to William Gibson's molywhip wielding assassin. To counter this, though, is the fact that wire-work was very rare and that, instead of resorting to bullet-time, Wimmer instead chose to accelerate combat as Ridley Scott did in Gladiator.
As an aside, I have heard rumors that Christian Bale has been tentatively cast as Batman in what would be the fifth movie of that franchise, not counting any made-for-TV tripe starring Adam West. If this is true, I think that Hollywood may have finally found a Batman worthy of the name. Not only does Bale have the dark, brooding expression that a Miller-inspired Batman needs, but he also has the sort of physique that I am sick of seeing simulated by rubber body-suits. If the casting can be matched by characterization, meaning that Batman can quit being such a gadget whore and actually display a little of the grit and intelligence that actually makes the character interesting, this movie would truly be something special. Naturally, I'm not holding my breath.
Back to Equilibrium, I would strongly suggest that it is worth watching to anyone who liked the Matrix or Gattaca for their high concepts, who doesn't mind a little violence to brace their attention, and who thinks that bullet-time and wire fu has gotten about as trite as it can.
Joel M.
The Pink Sock
This is seriously, seriously, seriously not for people who either have weak stomachs or don't get off at least a little bit on the various brands of evil available for popular consumption nowadays. Because it is evil. And it is hilarious.
Joel M.
This is seriously, seriously, seriously not for people who either have weak stomachs or don't get off at least a little bit on the various brands of evil available for popular consumption nowadays. Because it is evil. And it is hilarious.
Joel M.
Saturday, September 27, 2003
Film festival this weekend. Some good animation, a decent film about media activism, and the realization that I would love to deck Hunter S. Thompson.
Joel M.
Joel M.
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
So Brian Reder is dead.
He was a friend from Medicine Hat. More of a friend than a friend, but when I ran into him he was always a good man to talk with.
He worked as a mortician in Medicine Hat, so he was a good source of information about something that I've always been curious about. Now who will tell me how creepy it is to excavate one of your own co-workers and top off his fluids for the funeral.
The early rumours say that it was drunk driving and that there was a survivor. A female. The rumours say who this person probably was, and I believe them, but even though nobody reads this who would care too much, I'm not going to stick my neck out if it wasn't her. Let's just say that whoever it was, they're going to have a tough time living with this, and it'll be even worse if they were in the driver's seat.
I can't believe how bad Medicine Hat is for drunk driving. I used to drunk drive, back when I was young and mentally retarded. It's just insane, and now a man that I think of as a friend has either killed himself or been killed in connection with it.
Fuck.
Joel M.
He was a friend from Medicine Hat. More of a friend than a friend, but when I ran into him he was always a good man to talk with.
He worked as a mortician in Medicine Hat, so he was a good source of information about something that I've always been curious about. Now who will tell me how creepy it is to excavate one of your own co-workers and top off his fluids for the funeral.
The early rumours say that it was drunk driving and that there was a survivor. A female. The rumours say who this person probably was, and I believe them, but even though nobody reads this who would care too much, I'm not going to stick my neck out if it wasn't her. Let's just say that whoever it was, they're going to have a tough time living with this, and it'll be even worse if they were in the driver's seat.
I can't believe how bad Medicine Hat is for drunk driving. I used to drunk drive, back when I was young and mentally retarded. It's just insane, and now a man that I think of as a friend has either killed himself or been killed in connection with it.
Fuck.
Joel M.
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
I don't know if it is the power of suggestion and the fact that I spent all weekend with sick people, or just that I am getting sick, but I feel like I am coming down with something unpleasant in the throat region. It's a little sore when I swallow and I've had a dry, scratchy cough for a couple of days.
You know, I fucking hate being sick. I've probably got something opportunistic living in my system and it isn't doing a God-damned thing to help me. It's like my body is a country infested with dot com founders or kidnappers or something, and I hope that my immune system hunts whatever it is down and wipes it out just as fast.
In other news, I had better find a job really fast. I've got some applications out there for some really nifty jobs, but I'm concerned that stuff like Homeworld 2, Temple of Elemental Evil, my ongoing Morrowind fixation, Deus Ex 2, Half-Life 2, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. are going to be the death of me if I'm not at least moving boxes of stuff around pretty quickly.
Its sort of irritating, really. I have certain things I want to do, some of them good ideas that I could be making a living at one day, but I can't seem to not play computer games long enough to actually do anything about it. It's my own fault, of course: my instinct is to play them all out when, rationally speaking, the current glut of fantastic looking games coming up can't last forever and I should drag them out for as long as possible.
Joel M.
You know, I fucking hate being sick. I've probably got something opportunistic living in my system and it isn't doing a God-damned thing to help me. It's like my body is a country infested with dot com founders or kidnappers or something, and I hope that my immune system hunts whatever it is down and wipes it out just as fast.
In other news, I had better find a job really fast. I've got some applications out there for some really nifty jobs, but I'm concerned that stuff like Homeworld 2, Temple of Elemental Evil, my ongoing Morrowind fixation, Deus Ex 2, Half-Life 2, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. are going to be the death of me if I'm not at least moving boxes of stuff around pretty quickly.
Its sort of irritating, really. I have certain things I want to do, some of them good ideas that I could be making a living at one day, but I can't seem to not play computer games long enough to actually do anything about it. It's my own fault, of course: my instinct is to play them all out when, rationally speaking, the current glut of fantastic looking games coming up can't last forever and I should drag them out for as long as possible.
Joel M.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Optical Illusions
These things are really amazing. I find myself wondering how people figure out optical illusions. Is it a random process, or are their rules of thumb. Well, there would have to be rules I suppose.
Joel M.
These things are really amazing. I find myself wondering how people figure out optical illusions. Is it a random process, or are their rules of thumb. Well, there would have to be rules I suppose.
Joel M.
Friday, September 19, 2003
It's official!
I've withdrawn from all of my classes. I am no longer a student.
How do I feel?
So. Fucking. Happy!
I am thrilled by the idea of putting in a little time at a bookstore or a library for sub-standard wages! I am fucking excited not to be worrying about what other people think about my actions! I am dancing a little jig when I realize that I'm not going to concern myself with how my career choices rate when I compare them with my heros in fiction and reality.
Fuck you, heros!
So what does the future hold for me, then? Well, as I mentioned I am going to get myself a pointless job of some description for the time being. Something with books, I'm hoping. Once I've secured that, I'm just going to amuse myself for a few months. Play video games, read books or whatever without the constent sense of guilt that I've been carrying around for years. Put some effort into getting fit and having fun. Maybe teach myself to brew beer or something.
And after that? Long term I am thinking of trying to parlay my interest in writing into a paying job od some sort. I'm maybe going to keep applying to newspapers and publishers and trying to beef up my portfolio for the time being. Maybe I'll leave Calgary if something promising pops up, maybe not.
Basically, I'm just going to see where life takes me without worrying so much about where I am going to wind up. I'm not on hold anymore.
Over and out, baby, over and out.
Joel M.
I've withdrawn from all of my classes. I am no longer a student.
How do I feel?
So. Fucking. Happy!
I am thrilled by the idea of putting in a little time at a bookstore or a library for sub-standard wages! I am fucking excited not to be worrying about what other people think about my actions! I am dancing a little jig when I realize that I'm not going to concern myself with how my career choices rate when I compare them with my heros in fiction and reality.
Fuck you, heros!
So what does the future hold for me, then? Well, as I mentioned I am going to get myself a pointless job of some description for the time being. Something with books, I'm hoping. Once I've secured that, I'm just going to amuse myself for a few months. Play video games, read books or whatever without the constent sense of guilt that I've been carrying around for years. Put some effort into getting fit and having fun. Maybe teach myself to brew beer or something.
And after that? Long term I am thinking of trying to parlay my interest in writing into a paying job od some sort. I'm maybe going to keep applying to newspapers and publishers and trying to beef up my portfolio for the time being. Maybe I'll leave Calgary if something promising pops up, maybe not.
Basically, I'm just going to see where life takes me without worrying so much about where I am going to wind up. I'm not on hold anymore.
Over and out, baby, over and out.
Joel M.
I managed a decent 13 out of 16 on Fuhrer or Faker. See if you can guess which despots are the real ones! It's harder than it looks, since it appears that he got pretty flabby over his career. Who knew?
Joel M.
Joel M.
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Tonight is my night of decision.
I have attended classes religiously for the last two weeks, hoping that I would be struck with a pure white bolt of inspiration that tells me that I either should or shouldn't be there. That risking eight grand in borrowed money is a good or stupid idea.
If the bolt is coming, it had better hurry. In its absence, I am left to wallow and grub in a pit of dirty, messy confusion. Also to listen to Dennis Leary inform me that he is, indeed, an asshole..
No bolt yet, so what do I do?
On the one hand, I am finding school quite dull. I have taken the math class before, I self-studied what they are teaching in computer science years ago, I have actually made money writing for businesses (one of which was even not owned by a family member!) and, quite frankly, all the english class is doing is reminding me why I decided that english was useless years ago.
On the other hand, my GPA is in the toilet and I can't do any more education without fixing it.
The debate rages on and on. However, it seems to be devolving to base emotional responses. I had myself all psyched up before school got going, but I was never able to tell people exactly why I was doing it and settled on grad school as a convenient explaination. Finally, when I get there, I find that I've been walking around with a scowl on my face at school and I am actually embarassed to tell people what I am up to.
Also, I think I got too used to getting paid over the last year. Thinking back to my last month riding for West Direct, I remember how happy I was when I made it to a payday and realized that, not only were my bills all up to date, but I still had a couple of hundred dollars in the bank and that the pay stub in my hand wasn't spoken for at all. It was a pretty heady experience, knowing that I could wipe out my sixty dollar a month credit card payment in one go or buy myself a few of the things that I've always been wanting.
Speaking of paid, I've also got to consider that every year in school means another hundred and fifty bucks or so that I'll have added to my monthly student loan obligation.
Guh. I'm feeling pretty negative about it right now. I'll see how things look in the morning.
Joel M.
I have attended classes religiously for the last two weeks, hoping that I would be struck with a pure white bolt of inspiration that tells me that I either should or shouldn't be there. That risking eight grand in borrowed money is a good or stupid idea.
If the bolt is coming, it had better hurry. In its absence, I am left to wallow and grub in a pit of dirty, messy confusion. Also to listen to Dennis Leary inform me that he is, indeed, an asshole..
No bolt yet, so what do I do?
On the one hand, I am finding school quite dull. I have taken the math class before, I self-studied what they are teaching in computer science years ago, I have actually made money writing for businesses (one of which was even not owned by a family member!) and, quite frankly, all the english class is doing is reminding me why I decided that english was useless years ago.
On the other hand, my GPA is in the toilet and I can't do any more education without fixing it.
The debate rages on and on. However, it seems to be devolving to base emotional responses. I had myself all psyched up before school got going, but I was never able to tell people exactly why I was doing it and settled on grad school as a convenient explaination. Finally, when I get there, I find that I've been walking around with a scowl on my face at school and I am actually embarassed to tell people what I am up to.
Also, I think I got too used to getting paid over the last year. Thinking back to my last month riding for West Direct, I remember how happy I was when I made it to a payday and realized that, not only were my bills all up to date, but I still had a couple of hundred dollars in the bank and that the pay stub in my hand wasn't spoken for at all. It was a pretty heady experience, knowing that I could wipe out my sixty dollar a month credit card payment in one go or buy myself a few of the things that I've always been wanting.
Speaking of paid, I've also got to consider that every year in school means another hundred and fifty bucks or so that I'll have added to my monthly student loan obligation.
Guh. I'm feeling pretty negative about it right now. I'll see how things look in the morning.
Joel M.
Supply Side Jesus
I haven't even read it yet, and I just know I'm going to love it. Is that wrong of me?
Joel M.
I haven't even read it yet, and I just know I'm going to love it. Is that wrong of me?
Joel M.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
The Devil's Dictionary (version 2.0)
blog, verb
To noisily and simultaneously void one’s spleen, stomach, bladder and bowels.
“Get outta my way! I think I’m gonna blog!”
Who could ask for anything more?
Joel M.
blog, verb
To noisily and simultaneously void one’s spleen, stomach, bladder and bowels.
“Get outta my way! I think I’m gonna blog!”
Who could ask for anything more?
Joel M.
Monday, September 15, 2003
Star Wars fan films!
Just watching Broken Alleigence. The ship scenes, character design and fight choreography are all pretty darn good for a fan film. Also interesting was the Boba Fett one (top of the list.) Their job was tougher since they had to try to voice Boba Fett instead of an invented character and I liked the comic panel cuts.
Man, I actually like this stuff better than the last couple of Star Wars films.
Joel M.
Just watching Broken Alleigence. The ship scenes, character design and fight choreography are all pretty darn good for a fan film. Also interesting was the Boba Fett one (top of the list.) Their job was tougher since they had to try to voice Boba Fett instead of an invented character and I liked the comic panel cuts.
Man, I actually like this stuff better than the last couple of Star Wars films.
Joel M.
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Today I am extremely disppointed with myself that I never got around to living in a deserted factory and constructing heartless killer robots out of cars, trucks and construction equipment.
Joel M.
Joel M.
Check out Robot Bastard. It doesn't exactly make Batman: Dead End look like a piece of crap or anything, but it's still pretty cool.
Joel M.
Joel M.
Saturday, September 13, 2003
An awesome site that transforms retro-futuristic vacume cleaners into death-rays and robots. Sweet!
Cory Doctorow sez: 'I call this look "future sarcastic," and it's just about my favorite aesthetic. It says: "Well, it's the twenty-first century, where the fuck is my jetpack?"'
I would reply that it is missing because all of the people with real vision and passion for the duture tend to get sidelined into sculpting and writing. The sciences don't have enough of a place for visionary mad-scientists, and visionary mad-scientists are often not quite so good at math as they need to be to get in on the science game.
Joel M.
Cory Doctorow sez: 'I call this look "future sarcastic," and it's just about my favorite aesthetic. It says: "Well, it's the twenty-first century, where the fuck is my jetpack?"'
I would reply that it is missing because all of the people with real vision and passion for the duture tend to get sidelined into sculpting and writing. The sciences don't have enough of a place for visionary mad-scientists, and visionary mad-scientists are often not quite so good at math as they need to be to get in on the science game.
Joel M.
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Just finished Brave New World.
I rather liked it. I found it especially interesting in that I found both the savages and the civilized people to be horrible until Mustapha Mond pointed out how things were really working. Ha, ha! "Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have to little to eat..." Beautiful.
Now, I must say there are problems with the book. The problems generally centre on the fact that, as in most books, the assumptions that Huxley makes are based on a vastly simplified overview of the world and an over-application of the fundamental ideas that were devised for the book. However, as this is dystopian ficiton, a cautionary tale, I can forgive Huxley for his excess.
Other than that, I am not really certain that I agree with Huxley's notion that certain humans have to be held in bondage so that all may prosper. I think he underestimated the power of technology as much as he overestimated the ability of people to organise themselves. Of course, some people will always have to labour, but technology is in the process of removing the more boring, menial forms of labour, leaving the tricky bits that require fingers and brains. Even floor waxing, once a tedious hands-and-knees job, is something that can be quickly done by one person with a machine. Thus, I disagree with his assumption that a society of Alphas is doomed to instability due to boredom. In fact, now that I think of it, why didn't Huxley go farther? Why not allow for a little honest competition amongst the Alphas as a safety valve, much as honest labour is used to keep the proles in line.
As for the world itself, I found it very strange. On the one hand, happiness is a good thing to have, as are youth, fun, and all of that. Many of Mustapha's arguments in favour of the brave new world make sense. However, it did seem somewhat enfeebled. It was sad that people who did burst out of the top of the system, like Helmholtz, or out the bottom, like Bernard, only got to go and live on islands: subsets of civilization where, though interesting things happened, they were all totally under control. I would have preferred that exiles be sent to space where they could experiment with new ideas and perhaps spawn new worlds instead of just puttering away in obscurity.
In fact, that puts my finger on my problem with Huxley's world: it's very stability. The fact that it is down to ten thousand last names with hundreds of the same people running around. It does not have the diversity to cope with major problems. It is like cheetahs and bannana plantations. What if some horrible disease wiped out all the Alphas? What if an asteroid struck the earth and ruined a large part of the industrial infrastructure? All of these are unlikely disasters, but the dinosaurs have proved that the Earth is not immune to large scale calamity. I wouldn't mind if the planet were like this as long as there was a place for people to think and live differently in case something tremendously bad happened.
Joel M.
I rather liked it. I found it especially interesting in that I found both the savages and the civilized people to be horrible until Mustapha Mond pointed out how things were really working. Ha, ha! "Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have to little to eat..." Beautiful.
Now, I must say there are problems with the book. The problems generally centre on the fact that, as in most books, the assumptions that Huxley makes are based on a vastly simplified overview of the world and an over-application of the fundamental ideas that were devised for the book. However, as this is dystopian ficiton, a cautionary tale, I can forgive Huxley for his excess.
Other than that, I am not really certain that I agree with Huxley's notion that certain humans have to be held in bondage so that all may prosper. I think he underestimated the power of technology as much as he overestimated the ability of people to organise themselves. Of course, some people will always have to labour, but technology is in the process of removing the more boring, menial forms of labour, leaving the tricky bits that require fingers and brains. Even floor waxing, once a tedious hands-and-knees job, is something that can be quickly done by one person with a machine. Thus, I disagree with his assumption that a society of Alphas is doomed to instability due to boredom. In fact, now that I think of it, why didn't Huxley go farther? Why not allow for a little honest competition amongst the Alphas as a safety valve, much as honest labour is used to keep the proles in line.
As for the world itself, I found it very strange. On the one hand, happiness is a good thing to have, as are youth, fun, and all of that. Many of Mustapha's arguments in favour of the brave new world make sense. However, it did seem somewhat enfeebled. It was sad that people who did burst out of the top of the system, like Helmholtz, or out the bottom, like Bernard, only got to go and live on islands: subsets of civilization where, though interesting things happened, they were all totally under control. I would have preferred that exiles be sent to space where they could experiment with new ideas and perhaps spawn new worlds instead of just puttering away in obscurity.
In fact, that puts my finger on my problem with Huxley's world: it's very stability. The fact that it is down to ten thousand last names with hundreds of the same people running around. It does not have the diversity to cope with major problems. It is like cheetahs and bannana plantations. What if some horrible disease wiped out all the Alphas? What if an asteroid struck the earth and ruined a large part of the industrial infrastructure? All of these are unlikely disasters, but the dinosaurs have proved that the Earth is not immune to large scale calamity. I wouldn't mind if the planet were like this as long as there was a place for people to think and live differently in case something tremendously bad happened.
Joel M.
Monday, September 08, 2003
Today is the first day of school. Classes start in one hour. I should get moving.
I am feeling very ambivalent about the whole thing. I am coming to realize that if I go back to school and take it seriously and get the part-time job that I will need to afford it, I will be working sixty to eighty hour weeks. This doesn't leave a lot of time for me to do the things that I want to do, like read and write and play and design games.
Worse, though, I worry that I am going to be making another big mistake and putting my life on hold for another year. I'm twenty-freaking-seven and every time I hear about some young entrepreneur or writer or whatever, I feel like I'm transforming myself into a collosal failure by a thousand cuts.
Well, I don't have to pay today. I can try it out for a few days and see how I feel about it.
Joel M.
I am feeling very ambivalent about the whole thing. I am coming to realize that if I go back to school and take it seriously and get the part-time job that I will need to afford it, I will be working sixty to eighty hour weeks. This doesn't leave a lot of time for me to do the things that I want to do, like read and write and play and design games.
Worse, though, I worry that I am going to be making another big mistake and putting my life on hold for another year. I'm twenty-freaking-seven and every time I hear about some young entrepreneur or writer or whatever, I feel like I'm transforming myself into a collosal failure by a thousand cuts.
Well, I don't have to pay today. I can try it out for a few days and see how I feel about it.
Joel M.
Thursday, September 04, 2003
http://x-entertainment.com
This is mostly for my amusement. It's a pretty nifty site, though.
Joel M.
This is mostly for my amusement. It's a pretty nifty site, though.
Joel M.
Someone out there felt my psychic anguish and ripped a whole load of Aeon Flux episodes and dumped them on Kazaa. Joy!
Joel M.
Joel M.
Wednesday, September 03, 2003
applied-shadenfreude
Found the term in an article on kuro5hin.
To me, applied-schadenfreude isn't sitting on your ass and waiting for some unfortunate bastard to come along for your pleasure. The right-thinking man knows that he can make some schaden to freude whenever he wants.
Joel M.
Found the term in an article on kuro5hin.
To me, applied-schadenfreude isn't sitting on your ass and waiting for some unfortunate bastard to come along for your pleasure. The right-thinking man knows that he can make some schaden to freude whenever he wants.
Joel M.
A real map of Europe!
Someone has created a map where the names of countries are the names used by their inhabitants. There is no Germany.
Joel M.
Someone has created a map where the names of countries are the names used by their inhabitants. There is no Germany.
Joel M.
Some thoughts on narrative:
People seem to have some sort of strong, intrinsic desire to impose a narrative upon their lives and the world around them. In other words, we all want to have the story of how and why things happen make sense.
This desire takes many forms, such as religion and conspiracy theory.
Religion, for example, could be seen as people trying to impose an understandable, human story upon the universe. Take the story of the Fall: In one sense, before the Fall, people lived in paradise. They, however, were morons and managed to piss God off and get banished. In this view, all of the various ills that man has to put up with are the result of punishment being handed down from on high.
This is a grossly oversimplified sequence of events, but the upshot is that the reasonless biological fact that people have to suffer with the flu is now explained in terms that humans can understand.
Conspiracy theory is very similar in my mind only it is more an attempt to explain the forces of history, most especially why the rich get richer and why everything seems to get worse all of the time.
Perhaps this isn't really about narrative so much as it is about motive. Why am I made to be sick? Why can't I carry a concealed submachinegun? Motive is what drives a narrative, though, so I think my point is valid in that people working backwards toward the motive will tend to construct a narrative.
On a deeper level, I think that the various theories proposed to explain why things happen is not so different an exercise from those above. Religion and conspiracy theory, however, are generally simpler and still have the feature of putting a human face to the impersonal.
Anyway, this is all a bunch of crap that I'll probably never come back to, so don't pay it too much mind.
Joel M.
People seem to have some sort of strong, intrinsic desire to impose a narrative upon their lives and the world around them. In other words, we all want to have the story of how and why things happen make sense.
This desire takes many forms, such as religion and conspiracy theory.
Religion, for example, could be seen as people trying to impose an understandable, human story upon the universe. Take the story of the Fall: In one sense, before the Fall, people lived in paradise. They, however, were morons and managed to piss God off and get banished. In this view, all of the various ills that man has to put up with are the result of punishment being handed down from on high.
This is a grossly oversimplified sequence of events, but the upshot is that the reasonless biological fact that people have to suffer with the flu is now explained in terms that humans can understand.
Conspiracy theory is very similar in my mind only it is more an attempt to explain the forces of history, most especially why the rich get richer and why everything seems to get worse all of the time.
Perhaps this isn't really about narrative so much as it is about motive. Why am I made to be sick? Why can't I carry a concealed submachinegun? Motive is what drives a narrative, though, so I think my point is valid in that people working backwards toward the motive will tend to construct a narrative.
On a deeper level, I think that the various theories proposed to explain why things happen is not so different an exercise from those above. Religion and conspiracy theory, however, are generally simpler and still have the feature of putting a human face to the impersonal.
Anyway, this is all a bunch of crap that I'll probably never come back to, so don't pay it too much mind.
Joel M.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Clown Porn, the final frontier!
I picked up this link while looking into the Cacophony Society. Tragically, it seems that the C.S. has run out of steam, marking another trend that I managed to hear about and become interested in one to two years late.
The Cacophony Society is (was?) a group that popped up in several cities. Their schtick was to do unexpected, nutty things in the public eye so as to shake people up a little bit. Their activities were not strictly urban ones, though.
The whole thing seems to be a part of the same idea as Urban Exploration: exploring and engaging the environment in ways other than those intended. These almost seem like an outgrowth of Situationism, but I would need to do more research to know for sure. Makes sense to me, though.
Both of these faces of unconventional behaviour seem to be related to my own ideas on urban art, to wit that the purpose of urban art is to jar onlookers, not always unpleasantly, that it should be installed without permission but with respect for the city, and that it should never be attributed. This is yet another body of thought that I need to put more work into before I can really talk about it, though.
Joel M.
I picked up this link while looking into the Cacophony Society. Tragically, it seems that the C.S. has run out of steam, marking another trend that I managed to hear about and become interested in one to two years late.
The Cacophony Society is (was?) a group that popped up in several cities. Their schtick was to do unexpected, nutty things in the public eye so as to shake people up a little bit. Their activities were not strictly urban ones, though.
The whole thing seems to be a part of the same idea as Urban Exploration: exploring and engaging the environment in ways other than those intended. These almost seem like an outgrowth of Situationism, but I would need to do more research to know for sure. Makes sense to me, though.
Both of these faces of unconventional behaviour seem to be related to my own ideas on urban art, to wit that the purpose of urban art is to jar onlookers, not always unpleasantly, that it should be installed without permission but with respect for the city, and that it should never be attributed. This is yet another body of thought that I need to put more work into before I can really talk about it, though.
Joel M.
An article about Jenny Everywhere: Open Source Superheroine.
This is exactly the kind of thing that I want to see. Unfortunately, I'm also too cynical to think it will really come to much.
Joel M.
This is exactly the kind of thing that I want to see. Unfortunately, I'm also too cynical to think it will really come to much.
Joel M.
Monday, September 01, 2003
Urban Exploration Alberta. A very interesting website that details the efforts of people to explore cool, abandoned spaces in Alberta's cities.
Joel M.
Joel M.
