august

08.30.01

the servers went down during a power outage last night. sorry for the downtime. thanks to my wonderful housemate, dominodigital dave, for bringing all systems back to normal!

this woman at a party read my palm a few months ago and said that i would live to be alert and active at a very old age. little did she know, it was because of the drugs. scientists discover the centenarian pill. (via signal vs. noise)

drunk beats up dalek. (via fark)

i'd say that 95% of the people i meet guess my ethnicity wrong, which is what makes the all look the same website so fascinating for me. i was actually pretty relieved to know that i scored above average. (via metafilter)

08.28.01

today at work, we got a special presentation from seth shostak, the public programs scientist over at seti. it was pretty cool to get his explanation about exactly what seti does, but he seemed a little obsessed about hollywood's representation of "eti's", which is understandable, considering all we do is get paid to make space aliens for the movies. i also didn't realize that seti@home is not related to the seti institute at all, but rather a program run by uc berkeley. hey, ya learn something new every day.

j and i just got back from john carpenter's ghosts of mars. i don't know why, but i'm a sucker for john carpenter. everything kind of falls into place like you expect it to be. all the carpenter archetypes go through their cliches while bad synthesized music rocks the soundtrack and things blow up everywhere in between fight sequences. it's like watching a corman movie, but with a slightly bigger budget.

just when you thought the rubick's cube craze was over... out comes the homer cube. (link via the summer)

this can get pretty scary looking, but how could it not?

i thanked andrew over at gmtplus9 for his awesome theremin & microcar links that he has been providing to the world - especially this npr report on theremin: an electronic odyssey. must... have... more... theremin!

08.24.01

tim, mj and i were desperately sober when we saw jay & silent bob strike back tonight. despite our perfectly clear state of mind, we thought the (meta?) movie to be surprisingly funny. it would be even funnier if it didn't try to be quite so over-the-top vulgar, but i guess that's all to be expected. when you go see it, make sure to stick around to see glenn cotter and vordo's credits at the end!

i saw sexy beast last night. we went because there was supposed to be some incredible editing in the film, but unfortunately, the incredible editing only lasts for about five or ten minutes. it was an ok film, i wasn't super-thrilled about it though. i do have to admit that it was funny to see ben kingsley swear like a madman.

well, at least there's one movie i'm in love this year. ghost world made me pine once again for the cheap suit serenaders, so i just listened to that all day at work today. after eight hours of musical saw, i don't think my co-workers shared my enthusiasm.

it's not a musical saw, but this mouth controller might be a wacky contraption for my theremin. i can't decide if it would be really, really cool, or make me look really, really stupid.

you have reached this in error.

08.22.01

what excitement - one of my video pieces has just been accepted into the apature arts festival! mark your calendars for september 27th - i hope to see you there (or i'll have to send some of my gangsters after you).

ben just returned from siggraph and would not stop raving about the wonderful wonderment of the japanese ferrofluid installation. now i'm jealous that i didn't see it.

the other thing that he raved about was keyhole's earthviewer site which was presented at siggraph's 3d web roundup. enter a san francisco address and get a satellite image that you can zoom in and out of. these appear to be cached images, since i looked up a street that i used to live on and could see my car still parked there.

i would kill to work for lars von trier (please let me kill to work for lars von trier). here's an interview i stumbled upon while looking for information on my favorite work of his, the kingdom. instead, i got some great info on his 100 cameras technique and the editing (cutting) process involved with dancer in the dark. the broken english is kind of cute and von trier's admission of his perverted luxury is funny.

if i hear another clown joke in relation to the new star wars movie title, i'm going to scream. fortunately, the brunching suttlecocks have produced alternate titles of their own! check out their new star wars title generator and i think you'll be pleased. (via pop culture junk mail)

mmmm... vectrex.

08.21.01

things have been pretty busy here at filmfatale industries. i'm moving the corporate headquarters into a new warehouse and constructing my room, pretty much out of scratch. the good thing is that my truly amazing friends have been helping me out a lot. it almost feels like a good old fashioned amish barn raising. except that we're using power tools, there's a lot more swearing happening, and we're not amish.

infocom games are available online!!!! did you hear me?!? online! oh my god, my dreams have been answered.

isbister has proclaimed that there has not been a use for genetics until now. why, didn't you know? it's all about the slow moving cows.

city hunter is a goddamned weird movie. nica explained that it's based on the manga by the same name, but that still doesn't keep me from thinking that it's completely bizarre. the street fighter battle was absolutely hilarious - all the foley and music is lifted directly from the video game and all the secret moves that the characters use are true to form. if you get a chance to find this at your video store, you should rent it. i'm warning you though, you won't know what you're getting yourself into.

08.18.01

i'm overdue for a bit of microsoft bashing. i now present you: the big blue screen of death. (via fuckedcompany)

you're probably wondering how the 5x5 eat-off concluded at in-n-out burger. both anthony and greg completed their burgers and fries at about the same time. when it was decided that the contest had ended in a tie, greg decided to break the tie by eating another cheeseburger. final score: six patties of meat for greg. five patties of meat for anthony. someday i'll have to show you the video footage.

i was coerced into buying the jackie chan city hunter dvd that nica and i saw at the anime store. i'm such a sucker. i've been dying to see this movie for years because it's been impossible to find even at the most hardcore video stores i go to. city hunter is the movie that jackie chan based on street fighter and at one point, he transforms into all the characters in the game, including chun li. stranger things have happened.

tired of your virtual avatar? oddcast now presents you with... dress 'm up dubya! (another fine link, brought to you by wayneco)

isbister forwarded me this article about gastrobots. it's an old article, but i was making funny noises at my desk as i tried desperately to keep myself from laughing too hard at work. you can make funny noises too.

i'm not the biggest fan of richard linklatter, but the trailer for waking life looks really interesting. the rotoscoping techniques seem pretty cool, even though i don't particularly like the art. sure, i'll go see it.

here are some panels from the ghost world comic that was linked from "the official ghost world website" (when you read the words in quotes, you should use movie trailer man's voice in your head. it'll make it seem much more official.)

i'm in a comic mode. when i went to see planet of the apes, some of my friends were really concerned about where the horses came from. the conversation went a little bit like this (thanks for patrick for the link, who was also involved in the debate)

08.17.01

please raise a toast to the birthday of our dear friend, the summer! if she drove a car, her insurance rates would go up, but since she is a woman sans vehicle, there are no worries at all. happy birthday!

08.16.01

we saw osmosis jones today. unfortunately, my enthusiasm leaving the theater was far less than the enthusiasm i had going into the theater - although i do have to admit that having william shatner as the voice of the mayor was pretty hilarious. i feel bad, because i keep trying to enjoy farrelly brothers movies, but the bad points always seem to outweigh the good points. i think i've come to the conclusion that i just don't like the farrelly brothers. alas.

i've been told by secret sources that this gulfstream ii business jet is the most expensive item ever sold on ebay. i better be getting a movie on that flight, damnit.

when the shimmer kids performed at noisepop 2000 at the great american music hall, we were honored to discover that shepard fairey had designed the concert poster for the festival. now i'm anxious to check out the shepard fairey authntik exhibit here in san francisco at 1800 bryant street. andre would be pleased.

speaking of giants, my co-workers were having a really bizarre debate today about the differences between midgets and dwarves. we came to the conclusion that tom thumb was a midget, terry gilliam uses dwarves and danny devito is just short.

ashkan sahihi's photo exhibit of straight people who get high on drugs is funny/scary/odd. just like being on drugs. (link via patrick)

08.15.01

i can't wait - the anticipation is killing me. they might be giants are playing at the warfield on september 19th! even after listening to them for 11 years, i've been so addicted to their mcsweeney's cd and i am dying to hear their new upcoming album, mink car. -=sigh=- when i go to their shows, i get so ecstatic in such a nerdly way.

i'm a little disturbed by how funny i think this is. you might not want to watch it at work, or you might. (link via anthony)

in a sick frenzy of cholesterol laden entertainment, my co-workers have agreed to compete in a 5x5 eat-off at in-n-out burger this friday. yes, that's five patties and five slices of cheese all between two buns. the mere thought gives me a heart attack.

i can't tell which is stranger - the fact that there are virtual staplers available on the web, or the fact that i really want these staplers. mmmm... office supplies. (link via /usr/bin/girl)

ladies and gentlemen, i am sad to report that the spike jonez/johnny knoxville creation, jackass, will be going off the air.

08.14.01

as we exited the theater for ghost world today, a homeless man listening to his walkman stopped us in the middle of the street. "he hit a grand slam!" he exclaimed, obviously ecstatic about the feats of a total stranger. i couldn't really decide whether i was still in the movie or not. go see this film. maybe i'll be in the theater with you while i watch it again. (and again)

gah! i'm starting to enter the world of dating again. it's very, very weird and surreal. wish me luck. cross your fingers and do all that other good well wishing stuff. it works in the movies, doesn't it?

as long as we're on the theme of cynicism, how about depressed robots? actually... maybe i should say depressed urls?'

back in college, i had a friend named kevin who had a prosthetic leg. kevin would stand by the side of the street and wait for cars to drive over his fake foot so that he could make a huge scene about it at the emotional expense of the drivers. it was kind of funny, in a sick, sick way. the cutoffmyfeet.com website is sicker than that. i can't really decide if it's real or not, which makes it all the more disturbing.

08.13.01

in the spirit of seeing anything and everything in the theater that i possibly can right now, i just saw rush hour 2. unfortunately, chris tucker has a way of being more irritating than small, hyper dogs, but i have to say that by the end of the movie, i was having a fun time. the big selling point for me is that zhang ziyi is hot - there's something about the way she smiles after beating the shit out of someone that makes me think she'd be a wonderful dominatrix. the added bonus would be that you wouldn't know what she was telling you to do (unless you spoke chinese).

ok, i have to admit that the samuel l. jackson soundboard cracks me up. yes - cracks me up. (link via wayneco)

i saw this on the side of the restaraunt where i had dinner. it was just this small patch of spray paint on an otherwise blank wall and it struck me as funny, because i wasn't quite sure who it was directed at.

08.12.01

the shimmer kids underpop association played a successful show at the post apocalyptic toxic beach yesterday. it was incredible to be playing out under the endless blue sky with our music bouncing off giant buildings and out into the stratosphere. nuts to burning man - we've got our own art to make right here in san francisco.

i love lynda barry. i've always thought that it was so fascinating that she used to be seriously involved with ira glass before either of them achieved any noteriety. they're both so incredibly interesting, you would think they'd make an amazing couple, but they're totally and completely incompatible.

speaking of relationships - i think i might be back into the groove of writing again. the latest rant is kind of a funny read. check to your right.

i'm glad to know that the serial killer profile quiz only lists me as 'borderline'. don't knock me over the edge, man! (via mempool)

nick, katey and i were able to see a few found footage expermental films by alan berliner. they were great to watch and it got me excited about utilizing found footage again. there's so many visual recordings of personal history out there in the world, it would be a shame to not keep the images alive.

08.07.01

two of my short films played at a small film festival on friday. the funny thing was that whenever i introduced myself to anyone after the screening, people would say "oh, you're the filmmaker!" i don't know why, but it cracks me up when people call me a filmmaker. i mean... i guess they're right, but it still seems kind of humorous.

speaking of which, my new video for the shimmer kids song 'electric industry' is now up at the underpop site. our servers are slow, but if you're patient with the download, you might enjoy it.

i can't remember the exact quote, but it says something to the effect of "obviously video games don't affect kids, why if that were the case, we would all be eating little white pills and listening to repetitive, electronic music." now, you too can play pacman in your very own home. (via wannabegirl)

you would laugh at me if i told you about my dr. who background. instead, i'll just point you to this poll that lists britain's top 20 cult tv shows of all time. shouldn't the prisoner be listed at number 6? (link via star)

08.06.01

i've been in communicado while camping. one of the people at our campout was standing at the top of a hill, waving his cellphone up in the air, desperately trying to get a signal. poor sod.

i went to see d.a. pennebaker's latest production, startup.com, with my ex dotcommer friends. they were traumatized by watching the fiery demise of the company and i was traumatized by watching the fiery demise of relationships. it's a documentary that is disturbing on so many levels.

my latest batch of clothes from domini arrived today and i'm far too excited.

08.01.01

we just saw planet of the apes at the (soon to be destroyed) coronet theater. although i wasn't enamoured with it, i gotta say that the charleton heston ape cameo and his anti-gun rant was priceless.

speaking of enslaving the humans, i thought i'd put myself up on the market - anyone want a human for sale? (via two things at once)

he makes me laugh, he makes me think.