I usually tell the truth

djymm @ 2008-05-03T20:29:00

2008-05-04T01:31:04Z

I hadn't posted that I went to Dr. Sketchy's Anti-art school last week. It was fun, and the Strib has a short video that gives the general feel of it.

djymm @ 2008-04-22T16:44:00

2008-04-22T21:50:02Z

Are you familiar with Johari? I was reminded of it recently, as well as the negative nohari that most people won't fill out anyway.

In other internet fun, Hulu has, among the TV shows and movies viewable online, Lone Wolf McQuade. It's fabulously awful! I might have to make a drinking game to go with it. Veoh has a pile of video as well, but primarily anime. I've been catching up on Stand Alone Complex.

equilibrium

2008-04-06T04:45:07Z

I watched the movie Equilibrium tonight. What a great way to explore some abstract concepts in an entertaining fashion! What a piss-poor execution!

The plot was as surprising as an episode of Star Trek - one you've seen already. The biggest surprise was how disappointing the big showdown was (oh, I'm not going to worry about spoilers, as I can't really "ruin" this movie for anyone. Well, maybe if your only complaint about Ultraviolet was the lack of hot dudes.

The plot: in the wake of World War III, a desperate humanity suppresses all emotion in an attempt to prevent further war. The protagonist is an enforcement officer tasked with hunting down those who refuse to take their emotion-suppressing drugs, who begins to empathize with the resistance when he accidentally misses a dose. Sort of a THX-1138 meets Fahrenheit 451.

It was bad, must be parent now.

three shots of espresso

2008-03-31T21:32:47Z

I submitted three more stories to Espresso Stories, which are currently ranked #1, 4, and 5. The rankings fall pretty steeply with time (my previous #1 story is now at about 1000) but it's momentarily flattering.

I think I might have a clue to our computer's continued poor performance, so I'm working on that right now. Enjoy the snow!

OKcupid

2008-03-13T20:46:26Z

I was recently reminded (by livsmama, for the record) that I have an OKcupid profile. I set it up when I was taking quizzes more often, quite a while ago, but "what the heck" say I "lets take a look!"

My top matches were someone with a completely blank profile, a lesbian looking for trans men, and a polyamorous pagan cat person looking for women. I'm so glad I'm not relying on that site to find dates!

As a related thought, I feel like I'm a pretty mainstream guy - not to the extent of being a dullard or anything, but not particularly radical. How did I come to be a part of my circle of friends? I don't expect an answer, so no pressure, but it's something to consider.

djymm @ 2008-03-11T19:39:00

2008-03-12T01:03:31Z

They're reshooting Funny Games for an American audience.

I say reshooting, not remaking, because it's apparently a very faithful shot-for-shot redo. The only review I've read talked about how many foreign films get Hollywood endings or are otherwise softened up for an American audience, and it was audacious to preseent this one in its original uncompromising SHEER AND ABSOLUTE HORROR!!! (ooh, scary)

But Funny Games isn't a horror film. It looks like it might be one, it has the plot and structure of one, but it's just using the form to carry it's own message. Nothing wrong with having a horror movie with a message, but in this case the message comes at the expense of the film's functioning as a horror movie.

The story pits the "typical family" against a pair of sadistic brutes at the family's secluded vacation home. They initially invite them in, thinking them neighbors, and find their intially merely annoying behavior quickly becomes threatening and violent. Rich ground for exploring a variety of ideas as the conflict unfolds, but in this case....

I was watching Coach Carter with my wife, who is a devotee of sports movies, and we came to the scene where the team, flush in the throes of a recent win, attend a party at an upper-class suburban home. The dread sets in - this is the part of the formula where the team's integrity is tested by adversity, after all. Will one of them be killed in a fight with fans of the local team? Will there be an accidental drowning in the pool, or an overdose? Well, no. In this case there's a stern lecture from the coach, and it becomes apparent that the audience has a much darker set of expectations than the film will provide.

Funny Games pitches itself as a horror film, but merely hints at sadism and violence to come. The audience is left to confront their own desire to see punishment heaped on the everyman protagonists one might expect them to empathize with, and their frustration when it becomes apparent that no meaningful resistance will be offered.

djymm @ 2008-03-09T23:06:00

2008-03-10T04:08:53Z

I submitted a (very) short story to Espresso Stories, and was surprised to find it in the top 100. I'll have to write some more!

But now, to bed. A long Monday with the kids tomorrow. I'm thinking of taking them bowling at Elsie's, if anyone's interested.

reality TV

2008-03-08T00:03:19Z

I turned on the tube just in time to see a promo for a reality show called "carrier", which captures life on an aircraft carrier. Fresh-faced naval recruits thrown into action, airplanes landing on the deck, live ordnance - that's how to do a reality show.

PBS kicks ass!

djymm @ 2008-03-05T18:24:00

2008-03-06T00:29:32Z

I'm wearing my wedding ring, which I hadn't been for some time because I'd lost some weight and it got loose enough to slip off, especially when my hands were wet. After having it fly off into snowbanks a couple times, and partially to prevent it getting caught on lumber at work, I stopped wearing it. Now that's it's resized it doesn't slip off, and my current position at work isn't so lumber-pitching intensive. I'll let you know if I get hit on more often with it on.

Pizza Pizza Pizza!

awwwww

2008-03-05T20:24:22Z

That movie quotes meme

2008-03-02T05:59:42Z

I'm sure you've seen it going around. Ten quotes from ten movies guess them all and win no prize! Post your own list to your journal to play along! IMDB is helpful but their accuracy is a bit dubious.

1: "All these adventures begin simply. The listener thinks it'll soon be over, but one story creates another, and then another."
2. "Hello Tom. What's the rumpus? How'd you know it was me?"
"You're the only one I know who'd knock and then break in."
"Your other friends wouldn't break in, huh?"
"My other friends want to kill me so they wouldn't've knocked."
3. "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy."
4. "I came from a wealthy family. I've joined the clan because I wanted to learn a special kung-fu, be a real expert, but in actual fact, I've just become a killer."
5. "You want to find an outlaw, hire an outlaw. You want to find a Dunkin' Donuts, call a cop."
6. "You pace the deck like a caged beast, for one who enjoys the hashish you should be more at peace."
7. "I think knives are a good idea. Big, fuck-off shiny ones. Ones that look like they could skin a crocodile. Knives are good, because they don't make any noise, and the less noise they make, the more likely we are to use them. Shit 'em right up. Makes it look like we're serious. Guns for show, knives for a pro."
"Soap, is there something we should know about you?"
8. "Asps... very dangerous! You go first."
9. "Oh my God, they found Tom."
10. "We both had half of a full life, which was somehow enough for us. But not for them."

extra credit: "He'd kill us if he got the chance."

djymm @ 2008-02-28T18:35:00

2008-02-29T00:41:20Z

I went to the library today. While I was unloading returns from my bookbag, Barbara the librarian checked out livsmama's hold items and gave them to me. While I was browsing the shelves, Julia calls the library and says "Hi Al, it's Julia. Is my husband there?" He walks over and tells me I have a call.

Regulars, perhaps?

Bond Movie Project: Nameless Days

2008-02-24T09:04:09Z

Thinking about a Mexican industrialist for my Bond-villain, I should have thought about the Mayan calendar sooner. The whole thing runs out in 2012, which has all sorts of apocalyptic overtones if you're the sort of person who feels the Maya had some sort of monopoly on eschatology - someone like a megalomaniacal Mexican industrialist bent on nothing less than casting the next incarnation of the world in his image, say? The Mayan calendar also features a five day pad (so inconvenient of the earth not to complete it's rotation in 360 days) called the "nameless days". I think it sounds suitable, at least as a working title. Better than Diamonds are Forever, anyway, which implies constant unyielding immutable crystalline structures instead of an action film (though perhaps that's suitable as well, it was one of the worst Bond films - and I'm not going to qualify that with "in my opinion")

Right, you can't write this sort of thing from beginning to end; at the very least you need to know what gadgets Q cooks up, and those aren't known until you've written the scenes in which they're used. Chekov's gun, and all....

time travel

2008-02-24T08:24:30Z

Pick a year and I will write about my life that year.

Younger people on my friends list have been posting the meme, so I thought it might be amusing to see if I'm approaching fogey status or not. You could go back to 1970, but obviously I'd have less to write about back then.

seven random things

2008-02-20T22:30:23Z

I'm not tagging anyone else, because I generally don't and most everyone seems to have been exposed and already posted or decided not to, but I'll play along and come up with seven random things about me.

1. meggyecske got me started on a daily self-portrait group at Flickr, which I've been somewhat keeping up on.
2. I'm no longer the first Google result for "Jim Janousek", but "djymm" is all me, all the time.
3. I'm a coke addict. No, the canned one. Most of you who've met me know this already, though.
4. My doughnut of choice is Bavarian creme-filled.
5. Once upon a time I biked 10 miles a day. I still think my legs are my best feature.
6. I don't have a favorite color.
7. I asked Olivia "what do you think people would like to know about me?" She said "That you're very smart, and very artistic? Did I mention that you take good care of us?"

On that note, I'd better quit surfing the internet and interact with my children.

a valentine poem for you

2008-02-14T23:12:45Z

My love is like a cuttlefish
Its tentacle ensnares
and loves the panic in your eyes
when you're caught unawares

My love is like a Cadillac
That races down the street
I slam into you drunkenly
When we should chance to meet

My love is like the bowling ball
You've picked off of the shelf
Your fingers fit my holes so snug
They feel part of myself

My love is like a safecracker
hands light upon the dial
I twist and pull attentively
Intruding with a smile

My love is like a calendar
Opened to month two
Reminding me of Valentine's Day
And President's day too!

I had to share

2008-02-11T04:10:47Z

djymm @ 2008-02-06T16:53:00

2008-02-06T22:56:59Z

I've seen the "post anonymous comments" message from time to time, and I doubt anyone would have an anonymous message to send to me, but here's your invitation anyway. I've been confused by humanity lately, so consider this an opportunity to add to my confusion.

Bond movie project first pass

2008-02-03T06:11:54Z

It's not going to be Quantum of Solace, but I've put a little thought into my Bond Movie Project.

Well, based on the poll, we've got a villain who's intent on tricking the world powers into destroying each other. There'll be a chase scene involving Bond in a hovercraft equipped with spy gadgets chased by thugs in rocket-launching watercraft. I'm liking Honey Potts as a Bond girl name.

An exotic sport of some sort beats out Baccarat, I haven't decided what to use. Are people still interested in Jai-Alai? I've heard about groups reviving the traditional Mayan ball game whose name I can't remember, but is rough and terribly exotic. I think I might have to go for that, which gives us a big head start on the identity of our villain. Shadowrun fans should be perking up their ears (and helping me out with leads) at the idea of a neo-Mayan villain.

I need to decide what method a Mexican industrialist would employ for world domination. Ideas?

ought for two

2008-01-18T21:33:14Z

We've got two tickets to the Mischievous Djinn show at the Bedlam theater Saturday night, but sick kids mean we won't be able to attend. If you're interested, let me know.

djymm @ 2008-01-13T23:10:00

2008-01-14T05:16:57Z

Watching 3:10 To Yuma, I'm worried about Alan Tudyk. Of all the things to be typecast as, "We made it! We *urk*" guy isn't the most satisfying.

djymm @ 2008-01-06T13:19:00

2008-01-06T19:20:45Z

88% Barack Obama
87% John Edwards
86% Chris Dodd
84% Mike Gravel
83% Joe Biden
83% Hillary Clinton
82% Dennis Kucinich
74% Bill Richardson
37% Rudy Giuliani
29% Tom Tancredo
24% John McCain
23% Mitt Romney
22% Ron Paul
18% Mike Huckabee
10% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Has anyone not had Fred Thompson dead last on their matches?

names

2008-01-05T20:29:08Z

Best Ikea name: Jerker computer desk
Worst Ikea name: Soda cocktail glass

Resolutions

2008-01-05T00:18:38Z

The traditional New Year's resolutions are a contentious subject, in that there's an arbitrary coercion to take up activities and commit to things that are good for you, even if they're things that you might not have taken up without the subtle cultural insistence. Conversely, if you've genuinely made a decision to alter your lifestyle there no point in postponing that decision until the turning of a calendar page.

I don't know, though. A few months into the year when the new gym memberships are going unused and old habits have reasserted themselves, there will still be some people who've kept with something new and beneficial in their lives, that they might not have done without the prompting of others.

I'm going to belatedly offer a New Year's resolution for you all, then. Resolve to fail. Success id just another way of saying you haven't set yourself a high enough challenge. The experiences and understanding that come with trying and failing are well worth the effort.

You can even skip the guilt.

Bring on the dancing girls!

2008-01-02T23:54:47Z

I'm looking forward to January, there are some fun outings ahead! The Ritz theater is hosting the Best Of Midwest Burlesque on the 11th and 12th, and the week after that Mischievous Djinn bellydance is performing at the Bedlam.

so, for those who can't go, I'll taunt you with what you're missing.