DeliberatePixel

A Sigh of Relief ...

2007-03-15T08:31:00.000-04:00

I am no longer Mac-less. I've just acquired a new G4 PowerBook - which, of course, is not new, but rather a mature and experienced model with a ton a of life left. I didn't realize how much I missed my iBook (and Mac life in general) until I cracked this one open. Now all is well again.

I'm on the hunt for an iMac for Elizabeth, though. Just a G3 that she can use to play games. She sat down at her daddy's PC the other day and calmly opened programs, deleted files, and changed the desktop image to a picture of herself. None of it was intentional, of course, but I think she's ready for her own machine. And my own inclinations notwithstanding, OSX will be so much easier and more fun for a child to learn than Windows. If anyone happens to know of a stray iMac looking for a new home, feel free to send it my way. iMacs of the Strawberry, Ruby, or Graphite variety will get bonus points for fitting in with Mommy's decor.

The Eerie Wisdom of Mike Judge

2007-03-05T13:59:00.000-05:00

So I finally saw Idiocracy this past weekend.

And in related news, also this past weekend, Wild Hogs made 38 million dollars.

Anyone wonder anymore why Idiocracy got buried by the studio who made it? Studio execs aren't stupid, at least not in the money-making way. All other ways, I guess, are still open to debate.

Bowl for Kids Sake 2007

2007-03-05T13:07:00.000-05:00

Two awesome people I know are participating in Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids Sake this year:

Todd, who is working to raise money for BBBS of Middle Tennessee (donate to his cause online);

And the lovely Amy, who will be bowling on behalf of BBBS of East Central Ohio (donate to her cause online).

Although I have not worked with the BBBS organization specifically, I spent many, many years in a local mentoring program, both as a student and as a mentor, and I know programs like these can make huge differences in kids' lives. A worthy cause if there ever were one, and if you can possibly donate a few bucks, I know it would be appreciated.

The Time Has Come

2007-03-04T09:51:00.000-05:00

I have been making some bigger-than-usual changes to the website lately, but I have finally admitted that more profound upgrades are really what is needed. So - I'm completely overhauling DeliberatePixel. Here's what is going to happen over the next couple of weeks:

1) Weblog software change. With the release of Blogger Beta, it's now unavoidably clear to me that Blogger is more and more interested with the Blogspot-hosted audience alone, and us FTP users are a dying breed. Therefore - I am finally, finally going to be leaving Blogger. It hurts. But sometimes these things must be done. Instead of jumping on the WordPress train, however, I think I'm going to give Textpattern a shot, so that I can also solve some of my other content management issues.

2) Website hosting change. I think it's about time to leave GoDaddy, too. See, DeliberatePixel is all grown up now. We'll be moving on to A Small Orange.

3) Website redesign. I've been going through designs at a frightening pace lately. Style has trumped substance, and I find myself going too far with large images and invalid markup. So I plan to launch a clean, strong, fast design that will stick.

Ideally, there will be very little downtime, and I'll have the new site coded and ready to launch with the switch to the new host. Other promised additions - ~~the Elizabeth redesign~~ (done!), the relaunch of DP Design, the new prose portfolio - will proceed after that. ~~Look for the new site with the new year.~~

UPDATE: I am currently building the test site and ironing out all the kinks. It's going to take a little while to get it launch-ready, though, especially because I'm also moving my daughter and myself into a new townhouse over the next couple of weeks. Should be up mid-February at the latest. Blog and companion RSS feed will continue that their usual blistering pace.

ANOTHER UPDATE: So February sucked, in a variety of ways, and as a result, no complete website yet. It's drawing closer, however. I'm itching to start actually posting again, and it's spurring me on to finish all the technical stuff and get the site launched already.

In addition to the changes I already mentioned, I've decided to completely restructure the site's content. I'll still have daily posts and weekly links, as of old, but I'm also starting a new section devoted to film reviews and essays. Much more content will be available on the front page, although I am excising a lot of dead weight in the other pages.

Textpattern development is moving along. Not quite as difficult to get the hang of as I anticipated, although I'm also pretty sure I'm not using it to its full potential yet.

I also will definitely be reviving my freelance design services, and my first project will be a new hub site for brandice.net. If anyone by chance has a web project they'd like me to work on, just let me know - the storefront is under construction, but I am again officially open for business.

Countdown to CIFF

2007-02-26T10:58:00.000-05:00

The 2007 Cleveland International Film Festival is March 17-25. As sadly in need of a vacation I am, I have decided this is the perfect opportunity. So the little one is probably going to have fun with Grandma while I take Saturday and Sunday to do the film thing in Cleveland for the final weekend of the festival.

My lineup (which may perhaps change because tickets aren't on sale yet, but probably not):

Saturday, March 24

- More than Anything in the World, 9:30 AM

- Deadpan Valentine, 11: 45 AM

- King and the Clown, 2:00 PM

- Boxers, 4:30 PM

- The Hip Hop Project, 7:00 PM

Sunday, March 25

- Relative Obscurity, 9:30 AM

I'm a little disappointed because there are several films I really want to see that aren't offered at the times I'm planning to be there. But, honestly, I love being at film festivals. It's very nice to experience a film in a theater filled with people who also want to experience the film, not just talk or crunch popcorn and wait for something to blow up.

If anyone feels inclined to catch a movie with me, consider yourself invited. All tickets are $10 ($8 for students), and the films are being shown at Tower City Cinema.

Filmtalk

2007-02-26T09:56:00.000-05:00

I'm breaking the blogging silence because I have too many recent thoughts on film to keep quiet anymore. In the new version of my website (coming soon! really!), I plan on devoting an entire section to film essays and reviews. This is more or less a preview, I suppose.

I generally don't talk about many Oscar specifics because I usually haven't managed to see all of the nominated work by the time of the ceremony. It used to be because I was stranded in the rural midwest with little access to quality first-run movies, and now has become the plight of the working mother who rarely gets to the theater. This time around I had only seen The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine (loved and liked, respectively). I was uninspired by most of the nominations, though. The one good thing about not being familiar with award show movies is that it's a nice primer on what to check out next. The Oscars, however, rarely give me anything that I a) don't already have on my list, and b) have any interest in whatsoever.

In that respect, the Independent Spirit Awards generally come through a little more successfully. This year, I added many titles to my must-see list from their nomination list. I noticed, though, that most of the awards simply went to the most financially successful films (i.e., Sunshine, which, yes, I liked, but did not feel to be a really great film). Coincidence, hopefully. But a bit disappointing when many rely on the Spirit Awards to stand up against the cash-driven big studio system.

I think there was still plenty of that rebellious spirit evident at these awards though. Worth quoting, winner of best foreign film director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck: "Follow your own voice. Don't make a film by committee. There's a simple way to get that done: downscale the budget. When you work on a small budget the people you are working with are not in it for the money. They're fine with being exploited as long as you're exploiting yourself."

Although - hurray for Scorsese, huh? Blogger Tom Hall sums it up nicely.

In related news, I am rejoicing in my new Netflix subscription, which is finally allowing me to catch up on my movies. Recently: The Illusionist (lovely), The Notorious Bettie Page (interesting), and Brick (fantastic, and deserving of a forthcoming full review.)

I have all sorts of things planned for my film section once the new website is launched. Those of you who always skipped over my cinematic ramblings may start cringing now. But look on the bright side - at least soon they'll be quarantined in their own, airtight column and that much more easily avoided. And you can enjoy my rambling on all other topics in peace.

And I Thought "Carry On, Wayward Son" Was (Relatively) Harmless

2007-01-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

There are so many ignorant and/or crazy people out there on the internets that most sensible bloggers have realized it's not worth chasing them all down to write about - unless you decide you want to devote entire your blog to that sort of thing. Because, if you start doing it, you ARE going to end up devoting your entire blog to that sort of thing. So I generally just leave sleeping undesirables lie.

However.

This one is too good to pass up. If you're a Gawker reader, you may have seen their posted video of youth pastor Donnie Davies singing his signature song, "God Hates a Fag." Yes, he is one of those you-can-choose-not-to-be-gay Christianists.

No, it's not a joke. Unfortunately.

The best part, however, is his ministry's website, Love God's Way, which thoughtfully is compiling a list of bands for young, impressionable people to avoid - i.e., bands who are gay, or who "propogate [sic] a Gay message."

There's the offenders you would expect: Pet Shop Boys, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Indigo Girls, Ani diFranco, Queen. (Oh, and the Village People, just in case you weren't clued into that one.) And a couple others that I didn't exactly expect, but I guess I'll buy: Wilco, Man or Astroman, Cole Porter. (They had better nip that Cole Porter thing in the bud - I hear he's all the rage with the kids these days.) But some of the list's other inclusions I find a bit mystifying ... Richard Cheese? Ghostface Killah? KANSAS?

Right now, there could be someone out there thinking, "At last. Someone has finally revealed the filthy subversion that is the band Kansas. No more will they infiltrate classic rock radio with their dastardly Gay message."

And even after doing a bit of research, I still can't figure out how Ghostface got mixed up in this whole debacle - although I did discover he has an action figure of himself, which is totally sweet.

Their list of pre-approved "Safe Bands" is only about a third of the length of the Evil Gay Bands. But don't despair - it includes Cyndi Lauper.

ADDENDUM - Should have mentioned that there is actually a good chance that it IS a joke, hard to tell with these people sometimes. I've fallen for it the other way around before (laughing it off at first, then finding out they're serious). Parody or not, enjoy.

Get Involved in Politics ...

2007-01-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

Play the State of the Union Address 2007 Drinking Game!

Happy Anniversary

2007-01-22T09:09:00.000-05:00

On the Roe v. Wade anniversary, I present to you Church Ladies for Choice.

(And if you'd like information delivered a bit more directly, check out NARAL's Who Decides for all the details on the status of reproductive rights in America.)

You Know What I Just Remembered?

2006-12-18T15:47:00.000-05:00

This:

I love this video.

The Return of the Weekly Extravaganza

2006-12-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

For various reasons, unfortunately none involving surprise trips to some place non-Ohio or a spur-of-the-moment proposal from Chris Meloni, I haven't blogged much of anything lately, and am particularly behind in my self-imposed "weekly" blogging sentence. So, here is an extravaganza of links and news.

- Only ten more days left to enter the Six-Word Memoir Contest. May make up for failing miserably at NaNoWriMo.

- John Waters's Top Films of the Year. I have a hard time figuring out when John Waters is being ironic and when he isn't. Which is why everything he says is so fascinating to me. This time his one-liners include both the truest and most succinct review of The Departed - "The best-acted film of the year from America's coolest director. The final shot is beyond perfection." - and the sentiment that another film (Sherrybaby) "is so depressing and great that I wish I could see it with an all-female prison audience."

- Onion's AV Club Interview Maynard James Keenan of Tool. An intelligent and interesting guy. Plus, he has his own wine now.

- Children's Music Revives Spirit of Punk Rock. I heard this piece on NPR the other evening and determined to pick up many of these CD's, and not just necessarily because I have a little one. The clips they played were great regardless of target age. I also like the fact that blogger Stefan Shepherd included in his list of best 2006 music for kids Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions album, which is an excellent call. Not just because it's kid-safe, but because the old narrative traditions of the Seeger Sessions' folk and old-time rock 'n' roll is definitely something kids don't hear much of today.

- Some times I still can't believe what I turn up in internet searches. This page from a llama farm website is a good example of that. I've now decided that I should write a novel that starts with the line: "What does a llama have that Colin Thibodeaux doesn't?"

- Bad Book Covers. Honorable mention to The Yul Brenner Cookbook. Hat tip to Dan for this, and for mentioning that not only does his mom own the Yul Brenner cookbook, she shares my bizarre fascination with said Yul Brenner. It's so nice to know I'm not the only one. It was starting to worry me.

- Website redesigns are rolling along ... I've created an upgrades page to keep up with the changes, past, present, and future. Oh, and sorry about any recent problems with the RSS feed. Bugs are being worked out.

[Image credit: XKCD.]

DysEnchanted

2006-12-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

DysEnchanted.

Technorati tags: fairy tales, film

Holiday Charity

2006-12-07T09:17:00.000-05:00

Helping out fellow human beings during the holiday season is a pretty good Christmas tradition. I think that for a lot of us, however, it's sometimes hard to do this, with time and financial pressures at hand. With this in mind, I recently created a donation drive that people could participate in with only a dollar or two and a few minutes of time - Child's Play Charity Drive 2006.

I decided to focus on the internationally-established Child's Play charity, an organization that gets video games and other toys into the hands of hospitalized children in a number of hospitals across the world. One of their partners is the Akron's Children's Hospital, which has their own Amazon wish list full of items their patients would like. I thought if some of us pitched in a few dollars, we could raise enough to buy a couple of games, DVDs, or books for the kids there.

Donations can be made via PayPal on my web page, or by other methods if preferred. I have also included a poll so everyone who contributes can vote on which items to buy. All other details can be found on the web page. Please check it out, and even if you're not interested in participating, feel free to pass the message along to anyone else you know who might be. The more the merrier!

Link: http://www.deliberatepixel.com/cpc/index.html.

Another recent cause that I believe might be worthy of our time and money is the sad loss of CNET editor James Kim, who passed away trying to find help for his family stranded in the snow. A website has also been set up by a family friend to accept donations for his surviving wife and two small daughters, and can be found at http://www.jamesandkati.com/.

If you absolutely, positively have no extra money to spare this holiday season ... I have been there before and I completely understand. That's why I thought this article, 10 Creative Ways To Help Charities for No Money, was such a good idea. There are a lot of little things we can do to make a difference without a huge financial strain on our part.

ADDENDUM: Since I'm on the topic, I thought it was worth highlighting the charitable accomplishments of my lovely and generous friend Vy, who suggested among her circle of friends that we "adopt" a needy family and buy gifts for them instead of each other. Above is a picture of (almost!) all of the gifts she collected. Thanks to everyone for pitching in, and to Vy for handling all of the organization and details!

The Weekly for 11/17

2006-11-17T08:39:00.000-05:00

- Self-Proclaimed Jedi Knights Want UN to Recognize Their Faith. "Umada and Yunyun, also known as John Wilkinson and Charlotte Law, want the UN to acknowledge Jedi is worthy of being called a religion. It comes after 400,000 people recorded it as their faith in the 2001 Census." Someone should cross-reference that number with the number of recorded smartasses in the 2001 Census. Might clear some things up.

- Continuing the theme, Wil Wheaton's Star Wars Geek in Review. And some extra bits on his website. Good points about the general suckiness of the new episodes, and how Lucas managed to take actors ranging from decent to excellent and trap them into delivering virtually worthless performances. However, where Wil is completely mystified about the choice of Hayden Christensen as Anakin, I am able to use my patented geek girl powers and find something that makes sense about it. And that is simply: Evil Hayden = Hot. I think we female Star Wars fans deserve that much, especially after all the fuss the guys have made over Natalie Portman from day one.

- As previously mentioned, I enjoy David Lynch thoroughly. The fact that last week he appeared on a Hollywood street corner with a billboard and a cow is a good example why.

- Polish Exchange Student in US: My Half-Year of Hell with Christian Fundamentalists. I would just like to point out that, during my last year of college, when I took the brand-new British exchange student under my wing, I took her to a goth concert in Pittsburgh, in which a band member was so drunk he ended up cutting a vein in his hand and not realizing how bad it was until there was blood all over the stage, and then the very next night to her first fraternity party. What a kickass ambassador am I.

- Cartoon Room. Awesome. The only thing it still needs is an Acme catalog on the nightstand.

- Wow. It started as simple snarky story about Nickelback and the OSU/Michigan game. They wanted tickets. They aren't important enough to get them. Boo hoo. Reading down through the approximate half mile of comments, however, one sees that the conversation veers off not only into completely appropriate Nickelback-bashing, but time-warp Beatles discussion, the evils of Canada, and a play-by-play description of the latest Degrassi episodes. WTF indeed.

- So while I'm not the biggest football fan in the world (or at all, as it turns out), it's pretty hard to work on the OSU campus and not care at least a bit about the big game. I happen to have better things to do Saturday than actually watch the game, such as take my daughter to get her Christmas portraits taken, do some website coding, and reduce Lego stormtroopers to a pile of, well, Legos - but go Bucks, anyway.

Hey, Is There a Football Game or Something This Weekend?

2006-11-15T08:22:00.000-05:00

Excerpt from the daily OSU newsletter:

OSU ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO SAFELY ENJOY MICHIGAN WEEKEND
As the university celebrates Michigan Week through Friday (11/17), faculty are asked to share their expertise in teaching and building relationships with students by taking five minutes at the beginning of classes to encourage smart behavior on game day, Saturday (11/18). Student Wellness will provide Party Smart handbooks for your students or a complimentary bottle of water with the Party Smart Web site displayed to encourage students to visit the site.

Translation: DON'T FUCKING BURN SHIT, OKAY?

It's not like I'm any stranger to football fanaticism. I was born and raised in Ohio - not only have I endured Buckeye fandom my whole life, I also attended both a high school and college known far and wide for championship titles, generally to the exclusion of all else. I grew up smack in the middle of the phenomenon of the Cleveland Browns/Pittsburgh Steelers rivalry. I'm well acquainted with the notion of football being akin to religion, and demanding similar devotion.

And, still, somehow, I was not prepared for Columbus, Ohio. You people are insane. You set fire to innocent couches and trash bins. You start riots upon either a winning or losing outcome. You have bands whose entire shtick is pro-OSU, anti-Michigan music, whose members also regularly refer to the "liberal Wolverine media." You're almost as crazy as the rest of the world's football/soccer fans.

All of which, in all honesty, I can overlook with ease, even fondness. Everyone's got his or her thing. I, for example, am currently filled with glee at the new Lego Star Wars video game. (Yes, glee. Not exactly arson-inspiring glee, but glee nonetheless.) My point being, of course, who am I to judge?

In the spirit of observation, however, I have been wondering what would happen if we could channel all of this football-related passion and energy into some sort of humanitarian endeavor. I bet Columbus, Ohio could single-handedly save the Darfur region. They would march in there, pummel whomever is doing wrong (we maybe could mark said wrongdoers with blue and yellow, just to facilitate matters), and make sure everyone else gets his or her very own necklace strung with buckeyes and red and white beads. It would be an amazing thing. Think about it, Columbus. You could all be superheroes.

I'm beginning to think it's my destiny to be surrounded by football. I'm going to have to move to ... some country that, while industrialized, doesn't have popular organized sports. I can't think of one right now, but I'm sure there's one out there. Isn't there? If not, then I'll just take one without sports-related couch fires. That's good enough for me.

The Weekly for 11/9

2006-11-09T13:35:00.000-05:00

One day early, both because I didn't post one last week, and because I'm off work tomorrow and will be too busy frolicking on sandy beaches to post. Well, maybe not sandy beaches, but it's 60 degrees and sunny in an Ohio November, so I guess I'll content myself with that.

- So. The election. In a practical sense, I'm reasonably pleased with the statewide candidate results (i.e., it's better than the same old Republicans). I'm also reasonably disgusted with the issue results. There's a certain irony in the fact that Ohio turned out the third most successful libertarian gubernatorial result in the entire country, but struck down the major issues that involved a return to individual rights and responsibilities sans government regulation. Which just happens to be the heart of libertarianism. How does that work out?

- In Politicians with Fun Names news, however, I would like to report that Zack Space emerged victorious. As did Kevin Bacon.

- I realize now how long it's been since I posted a Weekly when I have a Halloween link ... but, no matter how long it's been, there's no way I can pass up mentioning the wit and wisdom of Danzig. Bonus - he answers the eternal, much-pondered question, "Who would win in a fight - you or Henry Rollins?"

- Speaking of rock 'n' roll wit and wisdom - I give you Gene Simmons.

- I know I'm not hardcore-gamer enough to try for the Miss Video Game title ... but it's an awesome idea. If you've got more skills than yours truly, I urge you to go for it. And take me to the beach with you if you win.

- Want to adopt a microbe? Who doesn't?

- The Nietzsche Family Circus. Because often depressing German philosophers make anything better. Especially lame cartoons.

- Sorry, Safari users, to include you in this, but ... I can't help posting it.

The Best of Columbus Craigslist

2006-11-08T09:04:00.000-05:00

Craigslist, how I love thee. Over the years, you have connected me with great jobs, cheap stuff, and weird people. Not to mention the hours of reading entertainment. And although the official Best of Craigslist is priceless, my constant strolling through my own local CL, somewhat overlooked next to the bigger cities, has produced some worthy entries as well. So I present, the most recent best of Columbus Craigslist.

Get a piece of the rock...

Large limestone boulder big enough to prevent large trucks and semi-trucks from going where ever you don't want them. This is at the end of my driveway, placed there by the previous owner. It is about 40"x28"x36" and probably weighs about two tons.

It is waiting for my wife to crash the car into it.

You come and get it and haul it away- anytime is good [link]

Because many have been the times I've desperately needed a hunk of rock approximating the size of a small mountain and the first thing I thought of was, "Of course! I'll go look in the free section of CL and see if anyone is giving one away!"

To the man with the wicked hairstyle eyeing my crotch, who noticed I was staring at you, and then winked at me all in about 3 seconds as I was getting out of my car to go into Sam's club:

Hey.
I was the guy with shoulder length hair covering one eye, black and white scarf, hobo glove on the left hand with the skull ring, if you noticed.

I just wanted you to know...

What the hell? [link]

From the Missed Connections section, which practically amounts to an obsession to me. Seriously, it's better than reality TV.

Desperately seeking King Size mattress, boxsprings and frame.
You know how sometimes ya just need space to sleep......

Please no gross stains, or anything that the CSI crime lab might find interesting. [link]

It's also worth noting the title of the previous post is, "Please save my relationship!!!!"

In today's social climate, we're bombarded with facts, figures, statistics and logic. Where, I ask you, is the mystery? The wonderment? The success of such films as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Harry Potter, and From Justin To Kelly says to me that we're all just aching to bring a touch of enigma into our worlds.

And friends, I can offer you just that.

What we have here is one Whirlpool Super Capacity 465 electric range, which worked admirably well - until the day it didn't. I, being the fairly poor cook that I am, thought the oven was just rejecting my offering of garlic Texas Toast - as well it should have. I have no business trying to prepare such a sumptuous feast. But the stove continued to give the cold shoulder to my far more gastronomically skilled boyfriend, and at that point I had to face the fact that our stove was permanently on strike.

Here's where the mystery comes in - is it the stove which is broken, or is it the electrical supply? Your guess is as good as mine. We'll know for sure on Thursday when our new stove arrives - but wouldn't you like to cash in on a possible steal ahead of time? Maybe stoves are easily fixed. I wouldn't know. Our landlord has no interest in finding out, and, as we're renting, I don't care enough to put any energy or money into this problem. I am not, however, above trying to profit mildly from it. Clearly.

So, bring the childlike innocence and wonder back into your life today! Buy this possibly broken stove! Maybe it'll work like a charm. It's fairly new (I believe the landlord said 4 years), and we didn't use it much. And it's clean! And I'll clean it again before you buy it! Just ... you know, get it out of my house. [link]

The only thing I wish is that there were more follow-ups on Craiglist. I'd love to know if this got picked up, and, if so, by whom and why.

you email me -- a word, a phrase, a sentence, a paragraph, a rant, a question, a quote -- and then i write a response inspired by your words. it's that easy. go ahead and try it. you know you want to. inlcude your name (or what you want me to call you) and your blog/website address if you want linked.

get creative!

check out the site (http://www.bombtheworld.blogspot.com/).

thanks for your help. [link]

I just think this is kind of interesting. Check it out.

Technorati tags: Craigslist

Election Day

2006-11-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

In all seriousness, though - you have a voice. Use it.

Randomness for 11/1

2006-11-01T08:38:00.000-05:00

Some bits of news, in no particular order:

» In case you were not aware, this week The Daily Show is filming right here in my new backyard. It's a great thing. And Comedy Central has the episodes online.

» I saw Scorsese's The Departed this past weekend. And it is brilliant. That's all I have to say about it. Although I'm seriously considering a second viewing, so I may have a fuller review later.

» Down the road from my office building is a hotel whose sign proclaims it is hosting a "Glass Problems Convention." I had an immediate mental image of a bunch of somber-faced business men and women being told, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a serious problem with this glass stuff. It breaks." I have a strong suspicion I'm the only one who thinks it's funny, though.

» Today begins National Novel Writing Month. I'm not quite as confident about my topic as I was a couple of weeks ago. But good luck to those of you who are taking on the challenge as well.

By the way - I'm still messing around with my website layout. The problem I'm having is that my taste is so far ahead of my skills, and so I'm constantly learning new things and trying to implement them, with varying degrees of success. Be patient. And you can always avoid the whole mess by subscribing to my RSS feed, or reading blog entries at MySpace or Facebook.

An Open Letter to John Mayer

2006-10-30T14:59:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I had a craving for a vanilla latte. It happens from time to time. And it led me to the Starbucks drive-through, where hip, friendly barista Eric prepared the desired latte. During the preparation, however, a somewhat bizarre incident occurred. A skinny kid with orange, curly hair - presumably another barista, although I can't really be certain - popped into the window, handed over a postcard, and said, "Here's something on John Mayer, and, uh, how cool he is." Then this mysterious messenger, possibly some sort of elf employed by pop stars to regularly solicit coffee shop customers, disappeared again, without a trace.

It was an awkward bit of promotion in the first place, and doubly ineffectual considering who the recipient was - namely, me. Because I am not a John Mayer fan. I know you're all gasping and clutching pearls at that revelation, because you were certain the Slayer playlist was just a front for illicit John Mayer fandom. But, no, in all honesty, I really don't like the stuff. It bores the hell out of me, frankly. But despite that, or ironically because of it, I have my own John Mayer story to tell. And here it is.

I saw John Mayer in concert once, a few years back. I went with a friend who is a fan and needed a companion, and well, I'll obviously go to see just about anything. I honestly enjoyed the first opening act, singer/songwriter Martin Sexton (the second act, Guster, is easily the most annoying and untalented band I have ever personally encountered and if I ever get around to becoming that rock vigilante and destroying every weak, whiny, fluffy-haired excuse for a band the world over, they're at the top of the list). And then the Mayer. Who, contrary to my punk-snob expectations, didn't suck. In fact, I was very impressed by John Mayer himself. That boy can play guitar. The best parts of his show were easily the times when he went off on his own with just his electric guitar, into these great bluesy riffs, including a great song with aforementioned Sexton. To this day, if I had the opportunity to see him in some little basement blues club while he just played guitar, I would totally be there. As long as he promised none of that singing Top 40 hits stuff.

The worst part of his show was the audience, largely teenagers who knew the songs played on MTV and couldn't care less about hearing anything else. You could completely tell when they lost interest in what Mayer was playing by the audible rising buzz of conversation, which was how they filled the time until he played something else they could sing along to. After spending fifty percent of the show in the middle of that, I finally disengaged myself from the crowd, found a bench outside the tent, and enjoyed the Cleveland summer evening.

And so ends the first phase of my John Mayer tale. Still wasn't a fan, but gave him props when the subject came up. Which it hardly ever did. (Too busy getting drunk at Slayer and Misfits shows.) I didn't think much about the matter until recently, after the odd Starbucks promotion incident. I decided to do some Googling, which turned up John Mayer's blog.

And what do you know? He's pretty funny. He writes about zombies. And his numerous posts dedicated to different guitars and musical equipment smacks of a charming geek nature. Plus, the more I think about it, he's only four years older than I am, and obviously incredibly successful doing what he loves, and I respect that. All of which makes me realize it's about time to write an open letter of truce - nay, appreciation - to one John Mayer.

Dear John Mayer,

Sorry about leaving your show that one time. Now I think you're a pretty cool guy. Not like you care that much, but, you know. Just saying.

Good luck with everything. If you're ever bored in Ohio sometime (which, if you're ever in Ohio you probably will be, it's kind of what we do here), I'll buy you a beer. Maybe we can go visit the weird barista guy at Starbucks. He thinks you're really cool too.

Lots of love,
Jen

Technorati tags: John Mayer

The Weekly for 10/27

2006-10-27T09:42:00.000-04:00

Dayton Art Institute's Rembrandt Exhibition. I am going to go see this tomorrow. I figured I wouldn't have such a good opportunity to view a collection of Rembrandts for a very long time, if ever. It's been a long time since I've been able to art it up at a museum, one of my favorite pastimes, so I'm looking forward to it.

Firefox 2.0. Slightly sleeker interface, better tabbed browsing, and the wonderful automatic spell check. Approval registered.

Ten Worst Portrayals of Technology in Film. Not to be such a nitpicky, uber-geek about this, but they never get this stuff right. I even got irritated the other night at my beloved Law and Order: CI (and even more beloved Detective Goren) for the most inaccurate hacking of a computer logon password ever. There should be a serious market for technical advisers to media writers. Guys, it would save you a ton of complaint email from geeks like me with nothing better to do.

Oldest Computers on University of Iowa Campus. Seriously, after you work at a campus IT department for a couple of years, stories like this aren't nearly so funny. Somebody's got to support those dinosaurs. Although it does improve my memories of certain professors who refused to upgrade from Word Perfect for DOS or relinquish their five hundred floppy disks.

The Killers' Video for "Bones." I was really excited when I heard that Tim Burton was going to be directing this. But the result left me a little disappointed (not unlike the entire Sam's Town album, although I will admit it's growing on me a little bit). It's a cute video. I guess I just wanted it to be more non-music-video-ish. I get tired of the same formula, pacing, and shots. Skeletons are always a nice touch, though.

Jack Black's Anti-Piracy PSA. Save the rocket sauce.

Iggy Pop's Concert Rider. If I were a rock star, I would require that all my roadies be this funny.

Star Wars Desert Set Photo. Browsing on stock xchng, I found this interesting shot of the original Star Wars set, many years after the fact. Mos Eisley, if I'm not mistaken. And if you know me at all, you know there isn't much chance of that.

Feminist Filmmaking the Marie Antoinette Way

2006-10-26T09:18:00.000-04:00

I have a very long, complicated, tortured affair of opinions about Sofia Coppola. This is a common malady, as far as I can discern. It seems that very few film critics can pinpoint exactly why they like or dislike (or revile or worship) her. In the wake of the opening of her Marie Antoinette, I started thinking about the matter again. And while I definitely didn't crack the entire enigma that is Sofia, I think I managed to work out two facts: 1) I don't like her filmmaking style, and 2) why I don't like her filmmaking style.

[As a quick disclaimer, however - I have not yet seen Marie Antoinette. I think, in general, it's a good policy to not talk too much about things I haven't experienced; but in this case, I'm largely discussing the aura and phenomena of the film, and its director's past films, as opposed to a straight-up critique of the film alone. So I'm giving myself a pass this time.]

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Sofia Coppola owes a great amount of her success to her lineage. Having Francis Ford as a father undoubtedly gave her a head start on learning how the make films, not to mention bestowed upon her some of the best networking opportunities available. It's probably not worth harping on this overmuch, despite the fact it always has bugged me, and always will. But it does set the stage for a character very much like the historical persona of Marie Antoinette herself: privileged, distant, and concerned with matters internal rather than external. The heroines of Coppola's first two films, Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides, followed similar patterns. It's almost impossible to not loop them together as a fairly accurate and cohesive representation of Coppola's experience, values, and perspective. That is, if Coppola is in truth a filmmaker who is capable of accomplishing such representation.

And she most certainly is. Coppola is extremely talented, she has incredible taste, and a finely-tuned instinct about how to fit the various aspects of a film's puzzle pieces together into an impressive whole. Her films are beautiful, exquisite at times. Delicate, fragile, understated, and often misunderstood. As are her heroines. As she herself is. And this is where we drag in the charge of feminism.

Sofia Coppola is one of the most well-known and famous women working behind the cameras in Hollywood today - and she became well-known for that work, which is different from a famous actress who one day takes up directing or producing. She has an Oscar for screenwriting from the Academy that has given very few such awards to women (and absolutely none to female directors, thus far). Her films to date, (including early short films like Lick the Star) have all featured female protagonists making their way through a world often overwhelming and unjust towards young women. On top of this, she herself is a model of femininity - pretty, stylish, demure, for whom Marc Jacobs has even christened a handbag. She's a real-life philosopher-princess. She's a natural candidate for feminist heroine. And reviewers have hailed her as such (here and here, just for example). But I have my doubts that her style of feminist filmmaking is doing women, or film in general, any favors.

Let me recycle some of the terms of description I've already used: distant, fragile, demure, understated, misunderstood. Concerned with matters internal at the expense of matters external, and with the almost overwhelming pressures stacked up against women. The choice to make a sympathetic film about Marie Antoinette is a very telling one. It makes Marie into a victim. It makes her wronged and helpless and lost. And it pushes to the forefront the idea that Coppola has essentially been toying with all along - the idea of womanhood as victimhood.

At this point, we're still in valid feminist territory with this conclusion. She could be seen as a feminist heroine for drawing these parallels and holding them up for examination. But my question is - what's the next step? What should we women do about it? Instead of offering solutions, it seems as if Coppola is glamorizing the problems. She depicts women caught in overpowering life circumstances and unjust power structures great and small, and lays the blame and responsibility of change on the powers that be rather than the women themselves.

Feminist filmmaking? Not for me. I want to see women on film clear-minded and actively engaged in the world around them, not lost waifs in search of an audience. I want to see women on film as agents of change, not victims of fate. And I want to see women making films who are dedicated to leading the revolution, not willing to be swept away by it. If Sofia Coppola grows into this - fantastic, she'll have my full attention. But otherwise - I think it's time to keep looking elsewhere.

Technorati tags: Sofia Coppola, Marie Antoinette, filmmaking, women and film, film

Ohio Voting Guide

2006-10-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

I just sat down to fill out my absentee ballot, and it seemed like a good invitation to compile my political recommendations for online consumption. Be advised all this is comes from a philosophically-evolving, left-leaning libertarian, who has a hard time explaining what that even means.

The Issues: This year I have a pretty good perspective on the issues up for vote because I spent a large part of my summer working as a petitioner to get most of the issues on the ballot. (Granted, I did the work mostly for the money, but it had a bright side.) Anyway, here's the deal:

» Issue 1. Concerning worker's compensation - it appears on my ballot, but apparently has been officially withdrawn. I think it is a matter of questions with the petitions' validity. Which I can tell you firsthand is a bitch to insure, even with the best intentions and strategies. The referendum was very complicated and hard to understand anyway.

» Issue 2. Amendment to raise minimum wage. Includes some exceptions for small businesses, family-owned businesses, etc. That's pretty much all that's to it. This is where my left-leaning tendencies come into play - vote yes on 2.

» Issue 3. Familiarly known as the Ohio Learn and Earn initiative. This is the controversial one, at least for the conservative moralists (although, I suppose, what isn't). Basically, this constitutional amendment will allow slot machines at seven racing establishments across the state. 30% of the revenue will be used to fund college scholarships and grants for Ohio students; the rest goes towards establishment owners and operators, local governments, gaming addiction servies and a commision on gaming integrity.

The real issue at hand here is if one feels she has the right to tell other adults what they can and cannot do with their own time and money. I say, people can do whatever the hell they want without directly hurting someone else, in which category slot machines and gambling in general falls, and if as a result, money is made available for deserving students to attend college, by all means make it possible. Vote yes on 3.

Oh, and if you don't really care, then do me a favor and just vote yes, just to piss off all of the old, bitter and possibly crazy people who felt it necessary to literally scream at me on the street because they don't like gambling.

» Issue 4 & 5. Now I start to show my libertarian stripes in earnest. Both Issues 4 and 5 deal with laws against smoking in public places. Issue 4, in general, overturns many smoking prohibition rules already in place and makes future local prohibitions invalid. Issue 5 seeks to prohibit smoking within places of employment. There's a lot of fine print in these two, so please take the time to read the details on the OhioVotes informational pdf. Essentially, I don't think the government should be telling people if, when, and where they're allowed to smoke. I don't smoke, and I don't prefer to be around it; but I also do not believe this makes me inherently more special than those who do. While I wrote only two paragraphs ago that the one restriction on people's behavior I concede is when it is directly harming others, here we are talking about a nominal, temporary contact that will not necessarily cause permanent harm - and if even the smallest chance of direct harm does exist, I do not believe it is larger than the harm caused by a governmental imposition of preference on its citizens as a whole.

If you don't like direct sunlight and are scared of skin cancer, then you don't sit at a sidewalk cafe that puts you in the line of it. It's that simple. You certainly don't all ban sidewalk cafes that are in the line of direct sunlight. If you don't like smoke and are scared of lung cancer, then you don't go into an establishment that allows smoking. If enough people are boycotting an establishment because of a smoking policy, the establishment itself can make the call on whether or not it wishes to change its policy. If it does, then the smokers who previously patronized it will find or create someplace else to go, and vice versa if the policy is not changed. The bottom line is that individuals are capable of making their own choices about what to do and where to go without the government mandating it for them. They can enact the change they wish to see with their own power, instead of expecting it to be done for them by a condescending, micromanaging, Big Brother agency. Vote yes on 4 and no on 5.

Candidates: I'm not going to go into much on candidates. I got sick a long time ago of making compromises, picking the lesser of two evils, etc. So I'll only mention the libertarian candidate for governor, Bill Peirce. A highly educated economist, Peirce is the best bet for economy improvement, and is dedicated to ending eminent domain abuse. If you're into that, then go for it. In any case, you can make a stand against Blackwell's attempts to squash third parties.

Technorati tags: Ohio election, libertarianism

The Weekly for 10/20

2006-10-20T09:23:00.000-04:00

» Obviously the most important news this week: Jeffery wins Project Runway! He wasn't my favorite at the beginning, but he was by the end. And if I could afford it now, I'd be bidding the hell out of the auction for his red polka-dot finale dress. Don't tell me I couldn't totally rock that dress. Because I could.

» Fashion Designers Introduce Less-Than-Zero Sizes. So I've finally figured out why I can't find clothes that fit me - the trend of "downsizing," or giving standard sizes lower numbers so women feel better about their sizes. Which results in naturally small women (like me) being pushed into the negative size range, and thus into seeming obscurity. While it's great the majority of women feel better about buying clothes, I, however, feel like a freak because I search months for one pair of jeans that sort of fits. I have had it suggested to me that I am in fact a freak, though, so maybe that accounts for it.

» Richard Dawkins on The Colbert Report. Give 'em hell, Dick. Except, of course, it doesn't exist. But I mean apart from that.

» Scarlett Johansson To Make Tom Waits Cover Album. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, and no.

» Most mothers don't get enough sleep. Thank god someone put the time, money and effort into doing a scientific study on this. Instead of, oh, I don't know, simply asking any given mother on the face of the entire planet.

» Rock Band Name Origins. For those times when you absolutely have to know what KDFDM stands for. Or how the members of Aqua were inspired to name themselves.

In WebsiteNews: I fell behind on my post-publishing schedule this week (it was a terribly complicated and demanding one of a publishing a post a day), but I'm going to catch up this weekend. I actually have most of them written, just not published. I can always crank out a weekly list of snark, though, so there you are. Next week should see me on a regular post-a-day schedule. I also have finished all the pages of the site except for the portfolio pages, which I will also catch up on this weekend.

In JenNews: In case you hadn't heard, I now have a new cell number, contact me if I missed getting you the info. Work is going well and I am actively looking for apartments in the city. I have a viewing appointment this weekend that very likely could be the one. Oh, and I have awesome new boots. That's all you need to know.

National Novel Writing Month

2006-10-16T15:45:00.000-04:00

You may not be aware of this, but every year, come November 1, an alarmingly large number of people across the world commit themselves to writing an entire novel by the end of the month, for no good reason whatsoever.

This might not be entirely true - there are reasons. It's a challenge, obviously. For those of us who scribble regularly and suffer from writer's block at times, it pushes us to learn the habit of writing no matter what the circumstances. And it's a lot of fun to be involved in the creation of something like a novel. Not to mention that since so many people do particpate, there's a vibrant and supportive online community, as well as active writing groups who meet in person throughout the year.

But NaNoWriMo, which is essentially a competition to write 50,000 words of fiction within a month's time, is still a bit of a strange endeavor. I don't know exactly what attracts its participants year after year after year, but even after two failed attempts in 2001 and 2002, and not even any attemtps after that, I know I still thought about it every November.

The idea of being a "writer," with a novel and everything, is an alluring one. I've been a writer in some form or another since I was nine years old. For a long period of time it was my sole aim in life. But it takes a lot of discipline to keep it up. The extent of my material reward for years and years of doing it has been one short story published in a very small publication for no pay, and that's it. Of course the personal reward can make up the difference, but it certainly doesn't make a livelihood. And if you devote yourself to making a livelihood, you will struggle to find enough time and energy to write. I finally decided that I needed to live more before I could write more, at least in the way I wanted to, and so I gave up writing full-time to go back to school and, well, live. I continue to keep a freeform journal - which, being a common practice of hundreds of disgruntled teenage girls as well, probably doesn't do a lot to further my cause as a real, honest-to-goodness writer.

But last week I got a great idea for a novel, and, well, November's just around the corner. Why not try again.

If I make it to the finish line, I intend to polish up my opus and make it available for free download as an ebook. If you're interested in being a beta reader/editor of the first draft, leave me a comment or send an email.

[image credit: taliesin @ morguefile.com]

Technorati tags: National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, writing

The Weekly for 10/13

2006-10-13T10:13:00.000-04:00

» CBGB Closes after 33 Years. I remember reading a long time ago that this was going to have to happen eventually, due to the lease contract, but I couldn't quite believe it. So I chose to forget about it. But, sadly, it's happening all the same. Also, Paul Collins contributes an insider's memory of the schmucks who played CBGB.

» Red iPod Nano. Oooohhh. Pretty. Hope they keep it around for a few months, when I'll finally be able to justify dropping the cash for it.

» Littourati. Blogging the locations in Kerouac's On the Road.

» David Lynch Self-Distributing Three-Hour Epic. Let's get this clear - I love David Lynch. But that doesn't mean that I sometimes don't have the faintest clue what the hell he's doing. This digital feature, Inland Empire, may very well fit in that category, considering it apparently, "showcases musical dance sequences, sitcom-style family scenes featuring people with rabbit heads and dramatic episodes with actors speaking Polish." It's like he's dedicated himself to making the Log Lady look completely normal.

» Wil Wheaton Reviews Old Star Trek: The Next Generation Episodes. Because someone had to. Wait - no, not really.

» Bookslut's Review of Lost Girls. Part of the reason I love my comic book habit is that it's relatively cheap to maintain (at least in comparison to my desired fashion or technology habits). But Alan Moore's Lost Girls is a hardcover set that retails for about $70, which means it's going to be a little while until I can get my hands on it. I will, however, finally get my hands on it, because I can't wait to read it.

» Oh, and another friendly Project Runway fan is totally going to get this for me, right?

[image credit: nataliedee.com]

Meet the New Boss

2006-10-12T14:47:00.000-04:00

I have just relaunched deliberatepixel.com with a different format. Care for a quick tour?

The biggest change is the fact that only one blog post at a time is displayed on the front page. This means I'm definitely going to be putting more effort into blog entries with more length, depth, and original content. I've fallen into the habit lately of simply linking to other sites, and it's time to move away from that. But since I do still like some of those one-liners, I'll be compiling all of them into a large weekly post every Friday. I also intend to put more effort into producing at least one, if not more, post/s per day.

I have also excised a lot of dead weight from the content pages. The main content page now is the current page, where I keep the lists of books, music, film, and video games I'm currently consuming, as well as past and future concerts and film festivals. I have always had some of this information in my blog sidebar, but instead of the information just disappearing when I was done, I'm now archiving it in respective lists. Right now I'm coding it all in HTML, since there isn't a ton of info, but eventually I may move it all into a more powerful (and searchable) database format.

To take a page from Google, I'm going to officially label this site version "Beta." I have new features I'll be implementing over the next few weeks, including stylesheet swtichers to adjust text size and layout colors. I will probably also be making slight layout adjustments, since this layout format and color scheme is a new one for me. I've never done a light-on-dark layout before and I'm overly concerned about readibility (hence the prospect of style-switchers). Leave any comments, well, in the comments, and feel free to make suggestions. Comments are open to anyone (i.e. you do not have to have a Blogger account to leave one); however, I have turned on both word verification and moderation.

Oh, and if you've noticed the design of my MySpace page changing with alarming frequency - I've been matching it up to the various site designs I've been developing. But once I get this one locked in, it's staying for good. Until I change my mind.

UPDATE: I went through a couple of different adjustment and color schemes, but nothing was working for me - so I've stripped it down to black and white, got rid the the light-on-dark layout, and came up with this. I'm still building pages - if you come across a missing link, stay tuned, it will be there soon.

IE alert - for some reason Internet Explorer is displaying my Last.fm and Flickr boxes incorrectly. I'm not sure exactly what is causing the problem, but since it doesn't interfere with readibility, fixing it is not my top priority. A really good way to fix it is to view the site in Firefox.

[Photo credit: lemort @ morguefile.com.]

The Weekly for 10/6

2006-10-06T11:09:00.000-04:00

» Daily Show coverage of the Foley scandal. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?

» All Women Team Takes Yahoo Hack Day Top Prize. "The winning project, called Blogging In Motion, combined a camera, a handbag, a pedometer and the Flickr API to create a device that takes a picture after every few steps and then automatically blogs those pictures." Team features past Project Runway contestant Diana Eng, who is one of my artsy geek girl heroines.

» Theater Owner Shuts Down Theater for Lack of Good Movies To Show. I think it would be really awesome if he started a trend with this. Not that Hollywood would feel much hurt with the cushion of all the huge conglomerate multiplexes still up and running. But it would still be awesome to see it happen.

» Lucasfilm Leaves Movie Business. In related news, George Lucas isn't making movies anymore. Reasoning? "We've moved away from the feature film thing because it's too expensive and it's too risky." It's not quite as risky if you make movies that don't completely suck. But the thing is, I know people, myself included, who saw Episode III more than once in the theater, even though we knew from the start the movie sucked. If you can't even make money with audiences like that, I guess it's time to pack it up. (Hat tip: Slashdot.)

» Hollywood Is Calling. If for some reason you find yourself needing to send me a token of your appreciation, I humbly request that you NOT arrange a telephone call to me from Saved by the Bell's Mr. Belding. A card is just fine.

» Baby Rock Records. Lullabye renditions of the Pixies, Tool, and Queens of the Stone Age. Sweet. But where's the Ramones? Those songs would make great lullabyes. And Elizabeth already has the proper threads. (Hat tip: ExplodingBoy).

(Image credit: the fantastic Married to the Sea.)

The Capital City

2006-09-25T15:02:00.000-04:00

I have never truly moved away from my hometown. I grew up out in the country, and the nearest small town, where most of the "action" happened, was also where I went through a rather sheltered, liberal arts college experience. It's true that I put in plenty of party time in Cleveland, and spent a few summer weeks working in Pittsburgh - but I've never, in twenty-five years of life, pulled up stakes and permanently moved to a new city.

Now I am in the process of relocating to Columbus, Ohio. Not exactly the other side of the world, but it's a switch. And not just a switch from region to region, but to city life from country/small town life. Columbus may not be everyone's epitome of the bustling metropolis, but for a girl who grew up a mile down the road from a buffalo ranch, residing the same distance away from a Starbucks instead is a bit of a change. The Ohio State University alone, where I now work and where I will eventually be completing my undergrad degree, has more students than twice the population of the entire town from which I just moved.

And I already am enjoying it. Country peace and quiet is all very well and good, but after a lifetime of it, I am more than ready for the activity of a city. It's a pleasant thing to not have to plan a two-hour journey for a range of great restaurants, art galleries, or films. I like the novelty of busyness and purpose and drive. It makes me want to go and do and explore things. As if there's a constant, collective energy generated by so many lives and minds moving together in one place, and that you can tap into it for yourself.

It might be difficult for anyone not raised in a small town, especially a working-class Midwestern small town, to understand what exactly the big deal is about. But coming from that background, it doesn't take a whole lot to bring alive opportunities that always seemed out of reach. At the moment I am still staying with family outside of town, but soon will be living right in the thick of things - and I can't wait to be a city girl at last.

[Photo credit: click @ morguefile.com.]

In Which I Destroy My Tech-Savvy Reputation

2006-09-05T10:50:00.000-04:00

I present: the latest tale of website woe, the saga of my hosting account.

I host my website with GoDaddy. Yes, I know there are better web hosts. I've stuck with them because they're cheap, I can pay monthly, and I've never had any serious problems with them. In fact, I still haven't. Sadly, I can cause problems all on my own.

Somewhere along the line I was gifted with a few free economy hosting credits for domain names I've bought. Recently, when I needed to make a payment on deliberatepixel.com, I had the idea of using a credit. Perfect, right? But alas, these mysterious credits are for hosting setup only, not monthly hosting and bandwidth fees - a fact which you can only discover by trying to use one, since the rest of the site and help section seems convinced they don't actually exist. And despite the fact the system told me I could not set it up on the already active dp.com, it apparently did just that anyway, thereby obliterating all of my previously uploaded files. So my website right now is basically gone.

It's not a huge deal - of course I have backups of everything, and I have a new design I was going to upload soon anyway. All things considered, it actually helped to clear out a bunch of junk I didn't need anymore. But it's frustating I have to rebuild everything, and that I still can prove myself to be so technicaly incompetent that I erase my entire website. The geek pride smarts.

In better computer-related news, my work computer is brand-new and super-powered, AND I have a twenty-inch widescreen monitor. 1680 by 1050 anyone? It's yummy.

Item of Dubious Importance

2006-08-31T19:09:00.000-04:00

So I finally got around to making my MySpace page look sweet. It allows my design conscience to rest a bit more easily. Check it out. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mike Industries code was instrumental.

Taking up Temporary Blogspot Residence

2006-08-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

Hopefully everyone who needs to has found their way here ... I will be temporarily blogging from here while my domain is down. It should be back up within a couple of weeks with new site designs. In the meantime, I'll be posting here with the latest Jen-and-Elizabeth goings-on.

I begin my new job this Friday. For at least the first month or so, Elizabeth will be spending her days with Justin's cousin Amanda, who has two little boys of her own - I think the little girl will enjoy it, once she gets over me being gone. This past weekend she went to the zoo for the first time with her cousins. Observe her with a rather unenthusiastic goat:

The blog will slowly start getting more interesting again, as I get transitioned into the new job and home and city. I'm very excited about living in the city proper for the first time in my life. Once the dust settles, there will be all sorts of new things to discuss.

The Layout

2006-08-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

So obviously dp.com's layout has changed. This is one of two designs I've recently been working on and I'm testing it out for a litte while to see how it feels. Excuse any bugs, and don't be shocked if a new design materializes within a couple of days. Or if it doesn't.

Apparently Blogger is soon releasing a new version incorporating some of the features their users have been moving to WordPress or MovableType in seach of: categories, private posts, etc. I'm not terribly excited - part of the reason I've stuck with Blogger for so long is that its barebones approach suits me. It's extremely simple to insert Blogger code into my own web designs, and I'm not sure if I really need the extra bells and whistles. But soon I too will have to move into Beta, so let's hope it doesn't get too complicated.

This morning when I was flipping through the news programs, I saw an ABC report on Dell's laptop battery recall. It's title? CTRL ALT FIRE!

It was followed by a piece on Boy George's court-ordered community service and how he couldn't do it because so many reporters were hounding him. I followed that up by switching to BBC, who, oddly enough, didn't seem to care much about Boy George.

Elizabeth's First Birthday

2006-08-05T19:42:00.000-04:00

Although my daughter's birth occurred in the middle of a confused, stressful period of time, now, a year later, I can definitely mark it as one of the best things that's ever happened to me. I recently watched the Johnny Depp episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, and when he was asked how the birth of his own daughter changed his life, he responded with a line I keep going back to when describing my own experience: it's like the lifting of a veil. It snaps everything into focus. You think, "Oh, yeah ... that's what it's all about."

We had a huge cookout and party today with Elizabeth's father's family, and she loved it all. This evening she and I took a walk in the backyard (she just started walking last Saturday), and I was reminded again how wonderful it is to have her, and rediscover through her how wonderful it is to be in the world.

Happy first birthday, angel. You have a lot of exciting stuff ahead of you.

Updates of Tremendous Importance

2006-08-04T16:48:00.000-04:00

As promised, I have some announcements for those of you who care about that sort of thing:

1) Most notably, I have finally escaped Alliance, Ohio and am in the process of relocating to Columbus. Elizabeth, Justin and I are currently staying at Justin's mother's house in Mt. Vernon while I get things sorted out. Why did I flee northeastern Ohio at such short notice? Well ...

2) I got a job. A real job. Prospects in Columbus are better than Alliance, imagine that, and, starting September 1, I will be a Systems Specialist with the 4-H department of the Ohio State University Extension. Which means I'm doing website stuff for them. It's a great gig, and I'm very excited about it. I'm also very excited about moving to Columbus. It's definitely time for me to get out of the small town and experience city life.

3) Elizabeth's first birthday is tomorrow, Saturday August 5. We have celebrations of various sorts planned throughout the weekend. Although she really doesn't have a clue what's going on. It basically just means Mommy gets cake.

Even though it will take a bit of time until I find my own place and get everything settled, I'm pretty happy with the changes, and I'm spending the next couple of weeks before I start working to getting the blog back on its feet. Probably a new design as well. But you probably knew that was coming.

JenUpdate

2006-07-27T15:48:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! Hang tight - I'll have an Update of Tremendous Importance this weekend.

Quick Photo Study in Modern Americana

2006-06-27T08:39:00.000-04:00

I switched offices for my petitioning work, and am now in one much less intense and much friendlier than the first (no more getting stranded in downtown Youngstown during hail storms). Now I'm working in rural areas, which is generally fine, but which also means more down time. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours in Bowerston, Ohio without anything but my cell phone camera to amuse me when people were scarce. So I snapped some shots and uploaded them to Flickr. Enjoy a quick study in modern Americana.

Technorati tags: small town, Americana, ohio

A Little Something Nice

2006-06-26T18:45:00.000-04:00

Today I could use a little something nice, just to counteract all the other crap that insists on coming up. I think this story will do - the Porter County, Indiana library has lifted their ban on lending books to people in the local homeless shelter. One of those who spoke and acted out against the ban:

11-year-old Taylor Knoblock, along with his 9-year-old brother and 6-year-old sister, pulled a wagon around their subdivision near Valparaiso, collecting books and videotapes from neighbors to donate them to Spring Valley Shelter.

"I read in the paper that the public library wouldn't let kids from the homeless shelter check out books anymore," Taylor said. "I didn't like that idea, so I started to collect books for Spring Valley to have their own library."

That's It, Promise

2006-06-24T07:32:00.000-04:00

Okay, I can't possibly resist posting a story about Ann Coulter's love of the Grateful Dead, but I realize the constant Coulter-ism needs to end.

Technorati tags: Ann Coulter

BLOGregard Q. Kazoo

2006-06-24T07:17:00.000-04:00

Unbeknownst to some, I do in fact watch more TV than Law and Order - I also religiously watch Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Since I know a certain sense of humor is almost required to be able to read my blog, I think I can safely say to readers one and all that if you haven't seen this show, you probably should. It's a very funny and creative cartoon. And if you're already a fan, check out the official blog run by the creators, BLOGregard Q. Kazoo.

Yes, that's all I have to talk about now. Cartoons. My life is less than progressive at the moment.

Technorati tags: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Cartoon Network, cartoons

Muchness

2006-06-21T18:57:00.000-04:00

An annoucement to everyone who may possibly try to instant message me on AIM - Elizabeth now knows how to open my phone and press buttons, and has begun to sign me on to AIM without my knowledge. So if you IM me and get no response, or receive odd, seemingly encrypted messages - it's the baby girl.

Anyway, the last few days I have been working as a petitioner for a grassroots organization, simply and only because I need some extra money right now until a job comes through. It sucks. I am exhausted and suburnt and generally just sick of people. But some new freelance design gigs are coming in, and I should be hearing about two of my top job opportunities by next week at the latest, so I won't have to do much more of it.

If nothing else, however, this job did allow me to meet a rather crazy old black man in downtown Youngstown who told me all about his good credit and also his history of severe constipation requiring hospitalization and enemas. And when I mean told me all about it, he told me all about it. I enjoy the bizarreness of people.

Be patient with my and my blog ... I'm working on a variety of new projects, and hope to have about half a dozen new sites going soon. If I'm not keeping in touch with you well, rest assured things are okay, and will be even better shortly.

Make Your Own Necronomicon!

2006-06-13T10:25:00.000-04:00

Here's today's craft project, boys and girls: Make Your Own Necronomicon! Yes, all that ancient evil is contained in six printable pages. Who knew. Note: Bruce Campbell not included, unfortunately.

More Ann Coulter

2006-06-11T08:48:00.000-04:00

This blog is becoming at least 34% Ann Coulter, for some reason. I guess I can't help it if I find her so amusing. Eventually I'll get around to a full-length article about my bizarre fascination with her. In the meantime, Rollins writes her a letter.

Technorati tags: Ann Coulter, Henry Rollins

One Thousand Paintings

2006-06-09T15:21:00.000-04:00

Some more mathematical art: One Thousand Paintings. Individual paintings of the numbers from 1 to 1000. This is probably one of those things you either get or you don't, but I think it's great. Too expensive for me to buy, although the idea is good ... I'm thinking of trying this to create a couple of pieces for my new place soon. (Note: the new place is at this moment mythical, but once a job materializes, which event I am confident will take place soon, I'll be able to make more solid plans. And paintings.)

Technorati tags: One Thousand Paintings, mathematical art, art

Mariska Hargitay

2006-06-09T14:01:00.000-04:00

Today I happened to stumble across the website of Mariska Hargitay aka Olivia Benson on Law and Order: SVU - and I was very impressed by the fact that it's such a full-featured, interactive site, with a ton of information directly from the actresss herself, including a blog, as well as an entire section devoted to links to charities and helpful orgs. She also founded her own org, Joyful Heart Foundation, which helps survivors of sexual assault. When it often seems to me that some celebrities connect themselves with one or two pet charities almost exclusively for the press points, I appreciate finding one who seems to be very personally involved in her chosen causes, not to mention extremely aware of her role as a model for many types of girls and women. So I suggest visiting the site and checking out her resources - they're pretty thorough.

I also discovered that Mariska is the daughter of Jayne Mansfield, which is cool, and that a large portion of the site visitors think Benson and Stabler should date, which is insanity.

Technorati tags: Mariska Hargitay, Law and Order: SVU, activism

Grab Bag

2006-06-08T10:39:00.000-04:00

I'm back. With a grab bag of articles and other assorted items of interest I've been reading and/or experiencing lately:

1. Steve Buscemi's Golden Rules of Filmmaking. I'm interested to see him go further in directing, he seems to be very knowledgable and passionate about it. And he points to the Golden Rules to end all Golden Rules, those of Jim Jarmusch, who, among many things, has always been proof to me that something awesome can come out of northeastern Ohio.

2. Popurls.com. Has become essential.

3. The only mention I'm going to make about the whole immigration situation is Marginal Revolution's Open Letter. Sums it all up, and has the expertise to back it up.

4. Roller-Derby Psuedonymns for Literature Majors. This, by the way, has become a new interest of mine - those in the area should also check out the Burning River Roller Girls, a new roller derby league getting started in Cleveland. They're having some cool concert fundraisers.

5. Ann Coulter throws down with Hilary Clinton. This is so fantastic. I love Coulter catfights, but with Hilary? It's this individualist feminista's entertainment dream.

6. Had an interview yesterday for my ideal job ... went well, I believe, but think lucky thoughts for me anyway. I can always use some more.

JenUpdate

2006-05-27T08:43:00.000-04:00

Breaking the long silence to report that it may remain that way for at least a little while ... I'm going through some pretty bad financial times lately because of some unexpected expenses plus unexpected work hour reductions. I'm currently putting finishing school plans on hold while I look for a full-time job and some semblance of stability. So if anyone knows of a tech-type job in the general NE Ohio area, or any type of job for that matter, feel free to pass it along.

For this reason I've also added that little tip jar on the left to help defray hosting costs. If you love me, or have ever loved me, or ever plan to love me in the future, please consider dropping at least a few cents in it. Hopefully, within another month it won't be necessary any more.

I'm still working on pulling together the new design, so please bear with me as I reorganize things. I am also going to be putting more effort into the blog, to somewhat justify the donation request. I'm not sure if I can ever completely justify receiving rewards for my rambling, but I'll give it a shot.

It's Coming ...

2006-05-04T10:54:00.000-04:00

Preparations for 6/6/06 are already underway:

Slayer, one of America's most popular heavy metal rock groups, will start its Unholy Alliance tour, subtitled Preaching to the Perverted.

AND

Crown Forum, a US publishing giant, has seized on 666 as the perfect date for the launch of Godless, a new anti-liberal political polemic by Ann Coulter, a prominent right-wing columnist.

How appropriate.

Technorati tags: Slayer, Ann Coulter

Scientific Art

2006-05-03T07:53:00.000-04:00

The most beautiful periodic table displays in the world, including element samples and computer interactivity. See, kids, science can be pretty - and pretty can be science.

Technorati tags: science education, art and science

Female Gamers Are Nothing New

2006-05-03T07:24:00.000-04:00

Is it necessary to keep talking about female gamers? This post says no - we're here, we've always been here, and it's time to stop making such a big deal about it.

And that is the truth. But the problem is that the truth and the sterotype seem to exist on different planes of thought. It's essentially the same issue for women and many areas of technology - whether or not women are as deeply involved in the industry as men are (and, generally speaking, they are), the facts haven't impacted the prevailing impressions and ideas of who represents that industry. What we have to fight is not the truth, but perception.

If it were a simple matter of the media not recognizing us, I'd say forget perception and just get on with what we've always been doing. But it's more complicated. The other people receiving those inaccurate impressions are girls and young women who are still searching for their paths. I once mentored an extremely bright girl who loved computers and video games, and thought about becoming a video game designer. "But," she told me once, "it's too hard for a girl."

Maybe it is hard. But if we don't keep discussing and making a big deal about that fact, it may very well become impossible - in young women's minds, where it matters the most.

Technorati tags: video games, gaming, girl gamers

Primary Election

2006-04-30T10:47:00.000-04:00

So there's no one and nothing for which I am truly interested in lending my voting support during the primaries, with the possible exception of Libertarian Bill Peirce for Ohio governor. (Espeically like his insistence on ending eminent domain abuse.)

But the lack of inspiration depresses me a bit. When did an honest desire to participate in the democratic process come to require a willingness to compromise for "as good as it's going to get?" Idealism sucks sometimes.

But don't forget to decide for yourself.

As an aside, though, a neighboring district has a candidate named Zack Space. To me this is a super cool name that should belong to a fifties comic book superhero in a red-and-yellow caped costume and laser gun. If only I could vote for him.

Technorati tags: politics, elections

Questioning Blocks

2006-04-29T12:45:00.000-04:00

As a follow up to live Super Mario: Dan pointed me towards a story I somehow missed hearing about, although it happened less than a month ago about fifteen minutes away from where I live - five girls in the quaint Ohio hamlet of Ravenna got in trouble for placing life-size Mario-style question blocks around town. Apparently the authorities soon came to their senses and didn't charge the girls as they had threatened to (not quite sure what they could charge them with anyway). But seriously. If this were a few years into the future, the police department would most likely be comprised of people who had played Mario as kids and found this stunt funny, as it was supposed to be.

And although this probably isn't the type of victory the feminists exactly want to see, I think it's kind of cool a bunch of girls are wreaking video-game-related havoc. Next let's storm G4 and recruit Morgan Webb to lead us to world domination.

Technorati tags: Super Mario, video games

Where's Neil When You Need Him?

2006-04-29T08:10:00.000-04:00

Here's the details on the forthcoming Neil Gaiman tribute album, which features some fantastic artists. Particular favorites: Thou Shalt Not, who released a new album less than a month ago that I haven't picked up yet, and Tapping the Vein who have seriously been recording their new album for about three years now. No pressure, kids, just want to hear the new stuff.

Technorati tags: music, Neil Gaiman

Performance Art Reaches New Heights

2006-04-28T13:07:00.000-04:00

I'm not quite sure why this is so funny, but somehow it is: Super Mario re-enactment.

Technorati tags: videos, Super Mario

Just Because

2006-04-28T08:29:00.000-04:00

Wes Anderson's American Express commericial. Confirming my illusions that being a filmmaker is a sexy, sexy job.

Also just discovered his next film will be an animated adaptation of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox, about which I am mightily intrigued.

Technorati tags: Wes Anderson, film

Atlas Shrugging

2006-04-28T08:15:00.000-04:00

Okay, now I flatter myself that I am one of that rare breed - a rather sensible fan of Ayn Rand's books. Love the principles of individualism, hate the tendency towards cultish dogmatism. But even I am terrified by the idea of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie playing the heroes of Atlas Shrugged. They're just not going to even come close, especially in the limited movie time frame given. I don't even want to imagine the ire that will be unleashed in the official circles of Randians if this comes to pass ... actually, yes I do. I may try and find some more strident reactions later - because while I do object to some of Rand's tenets, I object to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie even more.

Technorati tags: Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Call in the Mercenaries?

2006-04-27T08:08:00.000-04:00

In the absence of a viable alternative, is the international community's aversion to what some call 'mercenarism' stronger than its will to fight genocide?

A discussion on the possibility of hiring private military firms to secure unstable areas in Darfur. No, the notion of mercenaries doesn't exactly jive with humanitarian efforts, but maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to expand our definition of "humanitarian." If a private security force could protect an NGO such as Save the Children so that the NGO could actually do its job and help people who need it, isn't that more humanitarian than waiting on convoluted government policy to finally deliver results? At the very least, it's worth a shot - after all, could the Sudanese situation get that much worse than it is now?

Technorati tags: Darfur, Sudan, activism

Cuppa

2006-04-24T12:40:00.000-04:00

Yay! Somebody else finally creates a computerized solution for a problem I'm too lazy to fix on my own - a tea brewing timer! Of course, I can't use it until I manage to get my iBook out of suspended animation, but I remain optimistic that this will happen shortly.

Technorati tags: Mac programs

The Juiceman and Michael J. Nelson

2006-04-21T10:12:00.000-04:00

If you haven't checked in at Michael J. Nelson's site recently, I suggest you do so. Should you follow my suggestion, you will be treated to infomercial juiceness, Iron Chef bizarreness, and text MST3K-ing of Congo:

REVIEW: Until I saw this film, the only thing I knew about the Congo was what I learned from the Billy Joel song, "We Didn't Start the Fire." Apparently, according to Mr. Joel, there were "Belgians in the Congo." When they were there and why remains a mystery, as he did not elaborate. But I now know that, in addition to Belgians, Ernie Hudson was in the Congo. Granted, it doesn't significantly contribute to my education, but it's more than is offered by, say, Billy Joel's other song, Pressure, which doesn't teach diddly about the Congo.

Enjoy!

Technorati tags: MST3K, Michael J. Nelson, film

Important Space News

2006-04-19T07:56:00.000-04:00

NASA is working on the creation of an antimatter-powered spaceship. Then they're going to take it to Mars. I think that this should be a priority project, so that there's a chance I could see it happen in my lifetime. Because it would be really cool.

Technorati tags: space, NASA

Hacking MySpace

2006-04-19T07:44:00.000-04:00

As if on cue ... after posting my MySpace rant, I found Mike Davidson's brilliant design hack. I've been in the process of creating a new MySpace CSS skin but it's been slow going because a) the markup code is beyond confusing, b) you can't use certain CSS code characters, and c) I'm not sure I really care enough to figure it out. But with the hardest work already done in this hack, I might give it another shot.

Anyone want me to hack their own MySpace page? This is an example of what the hack can accomplish. I'm thinking of offering this as a service for my design business, so if you're interested I'll see if I can make it work. At the very least I can give you a better color scheme and prettier link effects.

Technorati tags: MySpace, design

All About MySpace

2006-04-18T08:21:00.000-04:00

Of course I hate MySpace. I know of no self-respecting user who doesn't hate it, despite the fact we're all on it at least once a day.

My burning dislike of it, however, is mostly based on its horrible, horrible design. Not to mention its built-in capacity for users to make it even more horrible. Do you realize the terror struck into a designer's heart when viewing a profile with a tiled picture background, bright lime green text, and sparkly animated gifs? It's all the 1995 technique we though long and happily dead and buried back in full force. 90% of the modified profiles I see on MySpace are literally unreadable. I have to highlight text in order to read it, horizontally scroll to see information that should all be on one screen, and try to make out what's in that faded headline or picture. Why would you deliberately fade out all the essential elements on your profile page? None of it makes any sense. (Further despair in the article "Is 'Ghetto' a Design Choice?".)

If you manage to make it past the design, then you can get disgusted by the content. Now, I'm a pretty open, forward-thinking feminist, but even I feel compelled by the semmingly endless, tedious parade of wannabe porn stars to suggest they all find another method of building self-esteem that doesn't require the superficial praise of bored male teenagers and perverts. I'm geninuely, seriously sickened by the number of girls, most of them under twenty and in college, who list their ultimate life goal in their profiles as appearing in Playboy. That's all you can come up with? Glad to see that degree someone, probably not you, is shelling out tens of thousands of dollars for is going to go to good use. You know, there's empowerment and rebellion, and then there's exploitation. I don't think this is truly either ... I think it's just sad.

Oh, and on the other side of this, to all the guys in general on MySpace - just because I am a young single woman without any obvious disfigurement who happens to reside within your 75-mile radius, I do not necessarily want to be your new soul mate, or in fact have any contact with you at all. As incredible as it may sound, it is in fact the truth.

I guess this was all inspired by the various recent reports on the inherent evilness of MySpace. It doesn't have a thing to do with MySpace itself. It's the people who use it, who happen to be just as frustrating and occassionally dangerous as the people in the real world. Therefore, you use the same common sense in dealing with them as you're supposed to being using in the real world. And if you're not doing that, it sure the hell isn't some website's fault.

But, please, at least no more sparkly animated gifs. Let common sense prevail in design if nothing else.

Technorati tags: MySpace, design

Even Better Music News

2006-04-18T08:12:00.000-04:00

I have four words for you (albeit one hyphenated): all-dwarf KISS tribute band.

Technorati tags: music, KISS

My New Tattoo

2006-04-17T12:37:00.000-04:00

Metal: A Headbanger's Journey

2006-04-17T09:23:00.000-04:00

Just try and resist wanting to view a first-rate tour of musical metallurgy . Go ahead, try. See, you can't do it. Especially if it features "'Wayne's World'-like reverence," which apparently it does.

Technorati tags: metal, music

Silent Bob Speaks

2006-04-17T08:41:00.000-04:00

You know, Kevin Smith is a good storyteller. I just discovered that he's been blogging about friend Jason Mewes's past substance addiction, and it's worthwhile, if sad, reading. My favorite bit of absurdity is the woman from the rehab clinic who claims Smith's films influenced Mewes's drug use, because the character he portrays in them is a dealer. Brilliant. Just think about how many innocent souls have been lured into hard drug use by the wiles of cinematic Jay.

Technorati tags: film, Kevin Smith, Jay and Silent Bob

Mommy Wars

2006-04-14T09:48:00.000-04:00

At the Atlantic Monthly, another review of the essay collection The Mommy Wars, which refers to the escalating tension between women who choose to have children and women who choose to have careers. I like this review because it brings up a point virtually none of the dicussions about this topic I've encountered has: namely, that the majority of working mothers don't have the luxury of making the choice.

This entire issue just angers me, a woman's place in work vs. home. There's so many assumptions, prejudices and confusions, and so little of it is relevant to the fact that every individual has to make her own decisions based on her own particular circumstances. There is no all-purpose moral measurement that can determine which is the best path to follow.

I've come up against it in my own life, and it's led me to one conclusion: do whatever the hell you want to do. If you want kids and no career, career and no kids, or both, or you want to make the decision later in life ... you can find a way to succeed at it, no matter which you choose. Just don't judge or look down on anyone who makes a different choice than you do. Period.

See, I just solved a currently much-debated academic ideological and ethical quandary. Being a working-class mom who just has to get shit done helps clear things up remarkably.

Technorati tags: parenting, Mommy Wars

50 Best Robots Ever

2006-04-14T09:12:00.000-04:00

I missed posting this, and even though it's a couple of months old, I thought it merited inclusion in the All-Mighty Blog of Jen: the 50 best robots ever.

This reminds me that I'm seriously thinking of getting a Roomba, basically so that I can have my own robot to dress up and make fight my enemies. I guess I need it to clean my carpet, too.

Technorati tags: robots, Roomba

Victoria's Secret Goes Wireless

2006-04-13T08:42:00.000-04:00

The Ipex Bra Tech Forum:

Have you tried restarting the bra? If that doesn't work, you may have to reinstall the software. BE SURE TO SAVE YOUR PREFERENCES to an ext hard drive! First time I reinstalled, it switched from Earth Mother to Banana, ouch!

Technorati tags: tech humor, Victoria's Secret

Public Service Announcement

2006-04-12T18:14:00.000-04:00

This website has original drawings made by children who are abducted by aliens. It includes drawings of aliens, alien spacecraft, alien hybrids, children being abducted by aliens, and the things aliens do to children.

Sadly, this is an issue that just doesn't get enough media coverage. Please do your part to spread the word. And don't forget to click the link on the left for instructions on how to construct your own thought screen helmet. One can never be too prepared.

Technorati tags: aliens, aliens and children

JenUpdate

2006-04-12T08:16:00.000-04:00

Personal updates on the LiveJournal. Blog officially back in circulation.

Continuing CIFF Coverage

2006-03-21T19:48:00.000-05:00

Critic Mark Pfeiffer blogs the Cleveland Film Festival. I saw his less-than-favorable impressions of Karla coming ... if I weren't, as previously mentioned, a complete true crime junkie I probably wouldn't have been as intrigued by it.

Technorati tags: film

CIFF Day Review

2006-03-20T16:10:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my day at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Unfortunately life won't allow me to spend any more time than that (although I may try to make it back for the last afternoon and Marilynn Hotchkiss). But if I only can see two films from the festival, I'm glad to report that I managed to pick two worthwhile ones.

First up: Three Dollars. This is a film that I have a hard time describing, which is exactly why I liked it. If you can precisely sum up what a film is about, then there was really no point of it being made in the first place ... it's supposed to be an expression that transcends specific explanation; it is its own explanation. One of the most concrete impressions I took away from it is its point that people who hold on to their integrity and compassion in the face of ease and necessity are now living in a world where that is rewarded less and less, and sometimes they end up paying dearly for it - but it's still worth it. This is a film I would recommend you just simply explore on your own.

Then I saw Karla, which I had been looking forward to seeing - not so much as a film fan but as a true crime junkie. The showing was sold out, and the stand-by line was a mile long. This one is a bit easier to describe - it's about Canada's most notorious serial rapist and murderer, and more specifically, his wife Karla, who knew about and even helped in his crimes. Since the tale is told from Karla's point of view, to the doctor who is going to help decide on her parole, it's skewed in her favor, and potrays her as manipulated and victimized herself. But the film is still directed in such a way that you still question her intent, her actual involvement, and if her act of becoming his accomplice in rape and murder despite seeming to know how deeply wrong it was is actually more horrible than Paul's dementia. Actress Laura Prepon definitely carried it off. And I was fortunate enough that the film's director, Joel Bender, was at the screening and spoke about it afterwards.

There are two particular lines of thought Karla provoked in me - one, that I expected it to be much more graphically violent. The subject matter is [retty chilling, and there have been controversies all over the place about the filming of it. But when it came to actual sex and murder depiction, the film was surprisingly coy. I know that a large part had to do with strict Canadian regulations and a completely appropriate consideration for the victims' families. However, deliberate or not, it made the film so much more powerful. Remember in Double Indemnity where Neff kills Phyllis's husband in the car? You don't see either one of the men - all you see is Phyllis's face, looking straight ahead and listening to her husband die. You're not thinking so much about Neff's act as you are about her, and her monstrous indifference, and how much she is still guilty of murder despite never lifting a hand during the physical deed. That's what's in Karla, and stripped of Double Indemnity's noirish elegance.

The other thing I was intrigued about was the role of film itself, or at least video. Paul videotaped their crimes, including the first, the murder of Karla's sister, and kept the tapes. How close is the link between their desire to record and view such acts and the audience's desire to watch the story of a couple who would do a thing like that?

Technorati tags: Karla, film

Bill Napoli

2006-03-16T20:13:00.000-05:00

Another proud moment from an elected official on the subject of women's reproductive rights: I give you, Bill Napoli.

Courtesy of the Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Novels, who I have just discovered are hilarious.

Technorati tags: Bill Napoli, abortion

Clooneygate

2006-03-16T07:56:00.000-05:00

Apparently Arianna Huffington is so desperate to prove she has high-profile stars on her political side that she'll fake blog posts from them. How about we just stop caring about celebrities' political opinions in general? Then we can avoid problems like this.

Technorati tags: Arianna Huffington, Clooneygate, politics

Isolatr

2006-03-15T07:29:00.000-05:00

Isolatr - the anti-social network.

Technorati tags: networking, web apps

Dunk Malaria

2006-03-14T09:23:00.000-05:00

Shoot a basket this Sunday for Malaria Action Day.

Technorati tags: activism, Dunk Malaria, Malaria Action Day

Always Be Prepared

2006-03-14T09:09:00.000-05:00

Today's rather disturbing instructional link: what to do if your eyeball falls out of its socket.

Technorati tags: bizarre, Slate.com

The Notorious Bettie Page

2006-03-13T20:39:00.000-05:00

I don't know how I've missed the production of the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page, but apparently April 14 is the release date. I was skeptical at first ... but I like Mary Harron as the director, and Gretchen Mol is an dead ringer for Bettie.

However ... part of what makes Bettie Page special is the mystery about her real life persona. I saw her E! True Hollywood Story (the only episode I've ever seen, I swear), and I liked how she refused to have herself photographed as an older woman, or share many details about her current personal life. It wasn't for her own vanity or privacy - it was to keep the glamor and mystique of her model image intact. Bettie Page is, and always has been, a symbol, that trades on our ideas about beauty, sex, taboo, and fun, and out of these things creates a meaning for everyone who admires her. Would learning too much about the reality take her relevance, and her sense of humor, away? Here's hoping the filmmakers were as sensitive to this balance as she was. I really would like to see this film turn out well.

Technorati tags: Bettie Page, film, pinup

WoW Justification

2006-03-13T09:44:00.000-05:00

From Andrew Phelps, role playing at fatherhood:

Now I'm not going to stand here and say that everyone who plays RPG's should have eight children. But the connection is obvious - the planning, item management, and exploratory focus are totally congruent with the core of RPG design. At a superficial day-to-day level the process of managing life with a young child can be viewed as a game, a steady process of learning the ins and outs of the event/response pattern of the world around you.

Technorati tags: warcraft, gaming, parenting

Blood on the Red Carpet

2006-03-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

Wow, is Annie Proulx bitter about Crash's Oscar win.

She probably has good reason to be. But I've never been a fan of her writing style, and this article reminds me why. Poeticism without the comprehensibility. When I first read her short story "Brokeback Mountain" in a collection a few years ago, it did hit me as a particularly powerful story. But I couldn't make heads or tails out of The Shipping News, or most of her other fiction.

And is she blaming Scientology for the Oscar loss of Brokeback Mountain? That may be stretching it a bit.

Technorati tags: film, writing, Oscars

Dreaming (or, I Suck at Titles Today)

2006-03-11T20:20:00.000-05:00

Dreamsbox is kind of a Group Hug for dreams. People submit them anonymously, and some are interesting. Apparently you can also sign up for a private dream log as well.

I've always wished I could remember my dreams better; I rarely retain anything from them. I've tried at various points in my life to start my own dream diary, to practice thinking about and remembering my dreams better, but every time I do I start questioning why I'm not devoting the time and energy to my waking life instead. I still question that - but I'm also still fascinated by my dreams.

I also came across a FAQs for lucid dreaming. I think I need to have much more time to dedicated to sleep before I start tackling anything like this. Maybe when I'm eighty or so.

Technorati tags: dreams, dreaming

Important News

2006-03-11T20:14:00.000-05:00

Did you know the official Whitesnake website includes a repository of recipes, contributed by Whitesnake fans? I don't know who came up with this idea, but it's brilliant. I know I automatically trust the delicate taste that must surely define any Whitesnake fan.

By the way, this is one of many of 2005's Web Pages that Suck.

Technorati tags: webdesign

Unnecessary PR Stunt

2006-03-11T20:02:00.000-05:00

Finally, some real news: sex advice from Project Runway stars. Note: it's on Nerve.com, so it's a bit ... uninhibited.

Technorati tags: ProjectRunway, sex

Updates

2006-03-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

Been busy updating my own little media empire ... most importantly, I have finally, per many requests, set up a feed for this blog. Now, subscribe! The LiveJournal is also active again, and, as I mentioned earlier, will be the depository for most things of the personal and/or irrelevant nature. And I have finally, finally updated Elizabeth's blog. Still on their way: my design site, which is suffering cruelly from the loss of the iBook (my adapter is ordered, but not here yet), and some more improvements to this site. Let me know what's working, what sucks, and what's awesome.

Adequate Consolation

2006-03-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

I flirted briefly with the idea of trying to get to SXSW this year, but concluded it just wouldn't work out right now. Maybe next year. Instead, I'm focusing on my schedule for the Cleveland International Film Festival, which starts in a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how much time I'm going to be able to devote to it beyond the first weekend, so I'm just planning on seeing Karla, Three Dollars, Garua, and a shorts collection. If all goes well, I may add a couple more.

I've decided that I need to seriously get back into my film viewing - not only do I miss all my movies, I can use more opportunities to get out by myself and have some thoughtful time. So, readers, be prepared for the influx of unsolicited film opinions. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The Bright Side

2006-03-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

Jesse Walker at Hit and Run makes my day by listing David Cronenberg as one of his Oscar winners

... because now a bunch of people are going to rent his Crash by mistake.

That thought fills me with joy.

(By the way, this is what he's talking about.)

Dark Portrait

2006-03-07T08:09:00.000-05:00

So apparently, Thomas Kinkade - the devout Christian, massively popular "Painter of Light" who also claims that when he was saved, God became his art agent - is actually a bit of an asshole.

In litigation and interviews with the Los Angeles Times, some former gallery owners depict Kinkade, 48, as a ruthless businessman who drove them to financial ruin at the same time he was fattening his business associates' bank accounts and feathering his nest with tens of millions of dollars....

In sworn testimony and interviews, they recount incidents in which an allegedly drunken Kinkade heckled illusionists Siegfried & Roy in Las Vegas, cursed a former employee's wife who came to his aid when he fell off a barstool, and palmed a startled woman's breasts at a signing party in South Bend, Ind.

Heckled Siegfied & Roy? That's prety low.

I guess this is in part what I was talking about yesterday with sub-par art and business ... see, it can lead to abuse to of Siegfried & Roy. We've got to stop it now.

The Failure of Feminism

2006-03-07T07:31:00.000-05:00

Some interesting things to consider about modern feminism and just what it means after all.

The multicultural feminist canon has not led to independent, tolerant, diverse, or objective ways of thinking. On the contrary. It has led to conformity, totalitarian thinking, and political passivity.

Although author Phyllis Chester focuses on feminist foreign policy (which I agree seems to be somewhat unfocused itself), I'm ready to second her opinions on how they relate to women's everyday lives, and it's inspired me to mention some things I've been thinking for a while.

Going through the drama of being an independent, ambitious, computer science student who found herself pregnant before her degree was finished has given me a lot of insight as to what feminism has in all practicality given us. While I've had a ton of support, I've also had a fair share of disapproval, some open, some masked, for deciding to incorporate child-raising into my life. I know a large part of it is based on the drag on my career. I know some young women who are so career-oriented and so defensive of their rights to their careers that they've become offensive in their militanism and become condescending towards other young women who make different life choices than they do.

That's not feminism to me. Feminism to me is the right to choose one's path freely - it is not just making those choices which correspond to the new prevailing dogma. Although my situation has not turned out the way I previously expected, I've made all my own decisions every step of the way, and right now I can say I'm happy with them all. I am still independent, still ambitious, and I will be receiving my degree by the end of this year. In fact, now my energy is more focused than ever, I've learned a great deal more discipline, and I'm making more progress on my work and personal projects than I would have otherwise.

If anything, I now have the most important reason in the world to fight for feminism - a smart little daughter who is going to look for me for guidance and understanding. I don't want her to be limited by anything, especially an unexamined thought construct that is supposed to be helping her.

Girls Are Really, Really Good at Sniping

2006-03-06T12:06:00.000-05:00

So apparently, according to this Wired article, not only are we having trouble getting more girls into video games, we can't even agree on which direction to take to do it. One faction wants to emphasize less-intense puzzle games, and another wants to go blow things up. I'm down with both, as it turns out.

Okay, I'll Rant After All

2006-03-06T08:46:00.000-05:00

I really wasn't going to get on my high horse about the Oscars, like I promised ... but posting the previous story has driven me to at least a general rant on the whole sordid Academy business.

I was watching Sunday Morning Shootout yesterday, and the first thing they did was talk to Academy president Sid Ganis. Background in advertising and marketing. Produced, as Wikipedia kindly informs us, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Big Daddy, and Mr. Deeds. He spoke on the show about how much of its own money the Academy put up for advertising this year's awards, since the crop of nominated films were, for the most part, small films without their own popular draw. He explained bringing in Jon Stewart, to rope in the younger folk who otherwise probably couldn't care less, and specifically stated that one of the Academy's biggest concerns was to make their ratings goal.

This sounds like a mass marketing campaign for a leading corporation's new product. I understand that on a certain level, that's exactly what it is and that's exactly what it needs to be - I do get easily frustrated with artists who refuse to consider the business side of their work. But I also get just as easily upset when an artistic business becomes nothing but business. And the art industry seems to be one of the few in the world that can actually thrive on lower-quality product. Consumers wouldn't accept cars, or a million other products, that didn't perform as best as they possibly could. But they consistently accept movies that fall desperately short of what the film medium can possibly accomplish. And the Academy seems more concerned with justifying them than working on raising the bar.

That does sound horribly elitst, and I know if you take the metaphor too far, it says a lot of unfair things about society. But the point is that if the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences is dedicated to honoring and promoting the best of the cinematic arts, it should be willing to do just that, above, if not exclusive, of everything else. Forget ratings, forget advertising, forget tradition - meet the new ideological and technological movements, play a proactive part in their progress, and don't be afraid to hold high standards. Best Picture should mean best picture, period, not the best picture that will make their decision, and them, look good.

Chain Reaction

2006-03-06T08:17:00.000-05:00

Via Wiley Wiggins, a fascinating article with filmmaker Jen Cohen about her film Chain. I'm really drawn to the idea of this film, which seems to be as much, if not more, about the significance of its locations than its fictional story elements. It's heavily focused on the evolving suburban landscape of indistinct, interchangeable strip malls and stores - despite appearing to be shot in one location, it was actually filmed in eleven different states and five different countries. Unfortunately, Cohen hasn't found a distributor yet, but she sums up perfectly why that shouldn't be:

See, I never look at myself as being experimental or avant-garde. I make films about the world we live in. Why should that be more inaccessible than the films that have nothing to do with it?

Visual Complexity

2006-03-05T21:08:00.000-05:00

"... a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks."

The project's main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of disciplines, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web.

Had some server errors, but I'm assuming that's a temporary thing. The idea itself is super cool.

Disaster on an Unprecedented Scale

2006-03-05T20:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday evening the power cord for my laptop broke, and so Spike the iBook is currently in suspended animation. And it's driving me crazy. Even though I have my programming work PC, I'm so attached to my iBook at this point that it's torture to do design work on anything else. Plus, I'm right in the middle of building a couple of sites, and didn't get them backed up on the external before Spike died (since it's an older G3 with original battery, it doesn't hold a charge for anything). Grrr.

I can hardly believe that I never even owned a computer of my own until a year or two ago. What on earth did I do with myself without one?

Probably watched TV. Although I'm proud to report that I spent almost all of my day today cleaning and organizing the pad, running errands, and visiting with the mom and sis - and not watching the SVU marathon, or the various Project Runway episodes that have been on.

Except for now. I need consolation for the absence of the iBook.

Can Technology Break the Abortion Stalemate?

2006-03-04T14:53:00.000-05:00

I agree with William Saletan - it's the only thing that can.

Politically, legally, and technologically, the 33-year-old court decision is increasingly obsolete as a framework for managing decisions about reproduction. But pro-lifers can't launch the post-Roe era, because they're determined to abolish its guarantee of individual autonomy, and the public won't stand for that. Only pro-choicers can give the public what it wants: abortion reduction within a framework of autonomy.

I'm a bit frightened about the way this issue has been going recently. And I don't see it getting better in the very near future.

Free Comic Book Day!

2006-03-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

What a fantastic idea. Haven't yet tracked down participating stores in the area, but I'll post once I get them.

Top 10 Worst Best Picture Winners

2006-03-03T20:50:00.000-05:00

Drew does the honors.

I personally don't have much to say about the Oscars. Despite being a notorious filmhead, I haven't seen any of the nominated films because I live a completely inconvenient distance from theaters that show good films, even mainstream ones, plus having an infant daughter cuts down on movie theater time. I figure once the movies get to the second-run theaters I'll watch them all and then rant about how the winner didn't deserve it and how stupid the Academy is, about three months after the ceremony when no one cares anymore.

Female Role Models

2006-03-03T20:22:00.000-05:00

A nice list of some up-and-coming female role models in the tech industry.

The Geopolitics of Sexual Frustration

2006-03-03T18:26:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe some science fiction writer didn't foresee this scenario a couple of decades ago. In China, where male children are more valued than female, the technological ability to discover the gender of an unborn child has led to a generation without enough women. Now the country is facing a variety of social imbalance issues, including a rise in criminal female trafficking to meet the increasing sexual frustration of a huge number of young men without wives and families.

This article reminds me of a book I read a couple of years ago in a history of technology course - The Pinball Effect. It traces the sometimes bizarre paths technological innovations take through society and how far-reaching their effects can be. Who would have thought that the invention of the ultrasound would eventually lead to a scholar suggesting that "in 2020 it may seem to China that it would be worth it to have a very bloody battle in which a lot of their young men could die in some glorious cause"?

Technical Issues

2006-03-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have a new layout. I'm going to be modifying my previous one for another project. Still have some typography things to fix, and I'm finally really working on getting RSS feeds set up. But, since I'm relatively happy with this layout and need to start devoting more energy to other sites, it will stay around for a while.

Speaking of other sites, my web design business, which has become the stuff of legend since it's been "under construction" for so long, is actually nearly complete and will be live by the end of the weekend. Right now I'm creating small websites and doing related work for free to build up my portfolio, so if you or someone you know needs anything let me know.

Also - since I think too much of my private drama has seeped into this blog recently, I'm going to go back to my practice of keeping a large part of my life details in my LiveJournal. So those of you who desperately need to know that sort of stuff can head over there, and those of you who rightly don't care don't have to worry about it.