Remi's Bloglet - Saturday 30 October 2004

Jack Hitt's This American Life segment on (largely Republican) efforts at voter suppression. _
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01:31:24 AM, Saturday 30 October 2004

Okay, this is pretty cool. The Clearview Highway Project is a ten-year-long study to improve the legibility of highway signs. They created, and have gotten interim approval for the use of, a totally new font for highway signs. The information on the site is fascinating and gives an interesting look at large-scale font readability issues.

[via kottke] _
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10:56:30 PM, Thursday 28 October 2004

Excellent article on the sexual under(over?)tones of Donnie Darko. Generalizations at the beginning and end of the article, about the nature of 'cult' movies and art, hit the nail on the head about why I like the movie so much. It's circular, it's confusing, it's completely open to interpretation, and the creator's explanation of it all is perhaps the most confining and unsatisfying angle. Trust the art, not the artist, indeed. _
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10:36:15 PM, Thursday 28 October 2004

I'm loving the Fiery Furnaces album of mini-rock-operas Blueberry Boat. Great blasts of ultradense near-nonsense lyrical extravaganzas like this chorus (one of . . . two? three?) from my favorite song of the moment 'Quay Cur':

A looby, a lordant, a lagerhead, lozel,
a lungio lathback made me a proposal:
Straight sail, top mast, astrolabe prospected
down in his dry dock erected infected;
Mocked up with silk strings and taffeta tricked
with nails out of driftwood already iron sicked:
now spy out the glass at whatever missteps me
and the press gang warrant's signed Sir Edward Pepsi.

Good stuff. I do note, however, this is the second band with heavy nautical themes that I've fallen for recently (the Decemberists being the first, new album in March!), must be a theme. _
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10:55:25 PM, Wednesday 27 October 2004

I had missed Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 2004. Not always brilliant, but there's some great stuff (including a wistful rememberance of Nixon of all people) in there. _
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11:38:27 AM, Friday 22 October 2004

I saw the Pixies Thursday night. Amazing show. They played stuff from all over their catalog and rocked every single song. A little disappointed that they didn't play 'Caribou', but that was the only letdown. They opened with 'Is She Weird' (one of my top 5 pixies songs) and rode it all the way to the end, including both versions of 'Wave of Mutilation', a Joey Santiago guitar freakout in the middle of 'Crackity Jones', and 'Holiday Song' interpolated into the middle of 'Nimrod's Son'. Frank Black even totally ripped those final low-to-high shouts in 'Tame', and throughout the show his voice snapped between his supple melodicism and all-out-rock roar. Kim Deal sounded great on Gigantic, Here Comes Your Man, and a really, really beautiful 'In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)'. So, so damn good. If you have a chance, and you like the Pixies even a little, this is the real deal, go see them. _
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11:31:50 AM, Saturday 16 October 2004

I tried Mountain Dew: Pitch black the other day and it ruled. A spiked grape soda with a pretty good flavor (and I love the occasional grape soda), maybe a little on the flat side, and nowhere near the perfect synthesis that was the orange Live wire, but a pretty decent soda. I'd drink it again, and probably will. _
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08:31:43 PM, Saturday 9 October 2004

This flew right past me, but apparently Bush's reference to Dred Scott in the debate the other night wasn't a total brainfart. Amongst some folks, Dred Scott is apparently code for Roe v. Wade.
[via Political Animal] _
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08:29:14 PM, Saturday 9 October 2004

Apparently Mountain Dew comes in black, now. Still, I kinda like grape soda. And Mountain Dew Live Wire rules, so maybe I can deal with drinking a black soda, maybe. _
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06:33:19 PM, Sunday 3 October 2004

Would anybody be interested in playing 'Kill Puppies For Satan' on AIM at 9pm EST this Thursday? Humor, depravity, and violence for any and all comers. This will be a short-term game, four sessions at the most, probably two or three. Expect to play until 11 or 11:30. _
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04:06:58 PM, Sunday 3 October 2004

Why do some (large, corporate chain) movie theaters insist on playing anti-piracy ads in front of a movie? We paid fifteen bucks to get into the movie, endured 15 minutes of ads and 20 minutes of previews (even if the previews for 'I *heart* Huckabees' and 'The Life Aquatic' ruled), but then we have to get some stunt dude accusing us of stealing the food right out of the mouth's of his children? WE PAID OUR MONEY, LEAVE US ALONE YOU GREEDY LEECHES! I'm never going to the Carmike again.

They also don't have latches on the Men's room stalls, and the stalls are too long for me to keep closed with my foot, so I'm sitting there on the john with the door hanging half open. Truly a great customer experience, I tell you. _
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04:46:02 PM, Sunday 26 September 2004

From an interview with Mamoru Oshii, one of the great animators of our time:
The Onion AV Club: You've been credited as a major influence on contemporary animators. Is there anything in particular you'd like them to learn from you?
Mamoru Oshii: I would recommend that they not go into animation. It won't do them any good.
O: Why is that?
MO: You won't make money, it's hard, and you'll lose all your friends.
O: And yet you're still an animator.
MO: Well, I don't care whether I have any friends. _
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03:04:16 AM, Saturday 18 September 2004

Wow, that's a good-looking coin. _
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10:04:20 PM, Thursday 16 September 2004

Warren Ellis is having another Rent Party to cover bandwidth costs. Another shot of Spider Jerusalem for those that missed him. _
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11:57:44 PM, Monday 13 September 2004

A fairly breathless Guardian Article, on the collision between design and art, encapsulates some of my recent thoughts on why I'd like to become a more educated, more thoughtful, and, hopefully, more employable graphic designer. Modern fine art has never held any real interest for me. I've always been more attracted to quickly-digestible to popular art (comics, advertisements, videos), and I think the way people react to design, even if it's unconcious, is an important form of expression that I could devote my life to.

This is a roundabout way of saying that I'm looking at graphic design Masters programs. Any and all insights are welcome.
[yeah, both this and the Lincoln post shamelessly stolen from kottke] _
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09:26:03 PM, Wednesday 8 September 2004

A New Lincoln Image. Despite the title, my first reaction upon seeing the 'new' photo was, "That can't be Abraham Lincoln, can it?" Flechette builds a fascinating, layperson-friendly, search for truth through forensic evidence. _
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09:24:08 PM, Wednesday 8 September 2004

Since it's 'dump g-mail invites day', anyone need a g-mail account? I've got 5 invites. _
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11:57:06 AM, Sunday 29 August 2004

For those who say, "I want to be buried in something that looks like it came from a County Fair midway," there's Art Caskets. Really, all the designs are awful (awfully funny), so I can't recommend one to look at. Click randomly and enjoy! _
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06:09:44 PM, Thursday 19 August 2004

Oi, Bill, how do I get a copy of 'Paruolo's Tree Farm'? _
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02:16:35 AM, Monday 16 August 2004

With thanks to Julia, and apologies to Warren Ellis, for the idea. _
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01:32:11 AM, Monday 16 August 2004

The cat has figured out how to work the answering machine (a device that has fascinated him for months). He can only make a new message play, but still.

He also knows how to work a doorknob. _
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12:09:48 PM, Wednesday 11 August 2004

I'm still downloading, but I will AAAAARGH in anticipation . . . Harry and the Potters, HP filkin'. _
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11:36:16 PM, Tuesday 10 August 2004

Also, who told Rick James he could die? _
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01:36:00 AM, Monday 9 August 2004

Mirabai, you must go to Shopsins, for those of us who cannot. _
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01:05:24 AM, Monday 9 August 2004

Exchanges at the Pizza Place
Guy: We're going to come visit you at your new coffeeshop job.
Gal: Oh! That will be nice.
Guy: But we're not going to buy anything, we're just going to stand there and laugh at you.
Gal: That would make me cry.
Guy: That's what we want. We'll collect your tears in a big, glass mason jar. We'll come in every week and find new ways to make you cry. When the mason jar is full, we're going to make pickles from your tears.
Gal: . . .
Guy: Don't drink too much water, we want to make sure your tears are nice and saline, makes better pickles.

---
Post Script
Standing around in the pine-tree 'landscape' in front of a bank, waiting for a coworker to finish their banking. Enjoying the breeze, the shade, and a perfect, warm, cloudless Georgia day, when an Assistant Manager-type of guy comes out and screeches, "What are you doing out here?"

Guess we were ruining the ambience. _
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03:34:05 PM, Friday 6 August 2004

Funniest Penny Arcade in a while. That's saying something, too. The quality of PA has been very consisten recently. _
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12:20:32 PM, Thursday 5 August 2004

I really can't say enough good things about ANY comic written by Brian K. Vauhan. Runaways, Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, all great. He has such a good understanding of plot and character, never relying too heavily on his ability to 'twist' out of a situation, never bogging down too much in whining characters. Just entertaining comics done well. Vaughan also has a naturalistic touch to his writing that is a nice change of pace from the constants tough-guy posturing that a lot of comics writers sometimes substitute for character (Warren Ellis does this in his bad comics, which Ultimate Nightmare doesn't seem to be. His Ultimate Fantastic Four run is also turning out be a lot of fun.)

Also, while I'm at it (so it doesn't seem like I'm just reading superhero comics), Daisy Kutter is every bit as good as the preview indicated, perhaps moreso. Kazu Kibuishi is clearly saving the bit set piece fireworks for later in the series, but the engaging dialogue and tense card tournament (yes, tense card tournament!) have me slavering for the next issue. The art is also wonderful, merging a manga sensibility with that of American independant comics. It's clear, it's beautiful, it's detailed, and it gives you a great full-page spread right when you might start feeling a little closed in by the heavily-panelled pages. The backup story, Mongrel by Phil Craven, is solid as well. I don't usually like talking animal stories, but there's an odd darkness to this story, and some good storytelling touches that pull the story up. I don't know if I'd buy a full comic, but I wouldn't complain if Daisy Kutter #2 has another backup story by the same artist. One neat thing about the physical object of Daisy Kutter is that it's a perfect-bound graphic novel, for 4 bucks! I really like the longer story this allows Kibuishi to tell, as well as being able to include the 12 page backup story. More, please. _
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10:46:33 PM, Wednesday 4 August 2004

Has anyone heard the new Modest Mouse album, Good News for People Who Like Bad News? I'm trying to get into it, but it's just not hitting any high notes for me. It's okay, but even the 'big hit single' Float On leaves me a little cold. I want to like this so badly, Moon and Antarctica is a great album, but I can't. It just feels too . . . forced? _
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10:25:17 PM, Wednesday 4 August 2004

The long household nightmare is finally over. After a year of helpless mewling to the landlord we, at long, long last, have a functional porch door! But no victory is complete without a small defeat. There is no latch on this new door. Tuxedo mourns the loss of his porch privileges. _
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10:22:19 PM, Wednesday 4 August 2004

We're getting a bunch of new equipment at the shop (new press, new dryer, general rearranging). The first piece arrived today, a big, blue, new COMPRESSOR. So I put on 'Rappers We Crush', which is the only KOMPRESSOR song I have on the iPod. It made me laugh. Everyone else just gave me the, "stand three steps away from the geek" look. Ah, good times. _
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10:18:25 PM, Wednesday 4 August 2004

I've been reading my way through the 1300+ pages of the Bone: Complete One Volume Softcover. This is one of the great fantasy epics in comics, far different from the darker, more political tone of Cerebus. Plus, Bone's creator, Jeff Smith, didn't go crazy while creating the only-slightly-less-ambitious story. I tried to get into Bone during the 'Dragon Slayers' storyline (when it was briefly published by Image), but felt like I was missing so much, and couldn't justify my interest enough to buy the trades. But now, 40 bucks for the whole deal? I couldn't resist. Buy one now. Bone is funny, literate, and a great adventure story, and the art hides a masterful grasp of storytelling and wonderful detail beneath its cartoony exterior, making the entire book a wonder to read and browse through. _
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01:15:53 PM, Saturday 31 July 2004

Well darn, now I might have to see that new-fangled Manchurian Candidate. Go Robyn! _
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07:18:30 PM, Saturday 24 July 2004

A new age, a new bloglet topbar graphic. This one is ripped directly off the cover of Daniel Pinkwater's new book Looking for Bobowicz, with illustrations by Jill Pinkwater. It's great, it's fun, it's new Pinkwater! I decided I had really taken the 'vs' concept as far as it could go, but who knows, perhaps I will eventually find another contender worthy enough to engage my blog in not-so-mortal combat. _
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10:59:57 PM, Saturday 17 July 2004

I believe we have a new draft. _
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02:40:39 AM, Monday 12 July 2004

A long, and somewhat exhaustive, examination of the newly-respectable literary graphic novels in the New York Times Magazine. I'm actually not sure if the examples he uses are the best ones, it seems like an awfully insular/similar group, but this article, as critical as it is, does seem to legitimize in a very real way the 'high art' strengths and weaknesses of comics. I dunno, but after reading it, I didn't particularly want to read any of the books mentioned. Is that the result of studied, popular criticism? _
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02:41:03 PM, Sunday 11 July 2004

Why didn't I buy Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over the Sea sooner? It's been recommended to me by a number of people, but noooo, I have to wait until the time is right, and then, years after the train has left the damn station, then I buy it. It's brilliant. How many albums go from 'as we would lay and learn what each others bodies were for' to 'I love Jesus Christ' to 'there was a two-headed boy' and maintain a brilliant, if eclectic, stylistic cohesiveness that never becomes dull? Well, there are a few, but Neutral Milk Hotel does it all and a bag of chips. Great pop, great psychedelia (without any of fellow Elephan 6er Olivia Tremor Control's occasionally obnoxious 'tripped out experimentation' tracks). Just, just . . . damn. Good stuff. A little too low-fi for its own good on a few tracks, especially when Jeff Mangum's voice is doubletracked, but other than that a classic of just-barely-pre-millenial indie rock.

And it doesn't hurt that Jeff Mangum's vocal stylings are a clear precursor to my current top band The Decemberists' Colin Meloy's, even if their approach to songwriting and instrumentation is radically different. _
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02:44:37 PM, Friday 2 July 2004

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