Notes from January 2025#
2025-01-01#
For the New Year's Eve, I finally managed to get our family to see "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" (2024), one of many late sequels that we had in recent years. In short, it's good, managing to pick up the original weirdness and most of the actors reprised their roles (with addition of Jenna Ortega and Willem Defoe, among others). The funny thing is that due to Betelgeuse looks, aged Michael Keaton doesn't look much different. I really liked the selection of the songs.
Then we saw "The Mask" (1994), which I must have seen 30 years ago in cinema and never rewatched. I remembered it as a bit goofy and wasn't keen on seeing it again, but to my surprise, the movie has gotten old quite decently. It is goofy, but maybe movies went this direction and "The Mask" fits now more? Who knows. It's funny. It's strange, though, to see all these actors so young, kids, really.
The funny things about watching "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" and "The Mask" back-to-back, which was not intended when we were starting watching the former, was to notice how similar the characters of Betelgeuse and The Mask are: the same type of gags, all the singing, even the scene in the church ("BB") and the ambush outside the park ("TM") are very similar. The thought wouldn't cross my mind before.
"MaXXXine" (2024) is the final entry in the X trilogy. The story continues "X's" Maxine's journey to being a star. The movie's plot resembles "Hardcore" (1980) a lot. The director claims the order is not relevant, but I would watch them as they were released. The style and recreations of the 1980s in this movie are truly remarkable. Funnily enough, despite having XXX in the title, there isn't really that much erotic scenes ("X" had more).
All the object in JavaScript are shallow and have only 1 level.
2025-01-03#
Every choice of words frames the message. Then it's placed in a certain context (time and place). There are no neutral messages in this view.
I realised that when I was reading butthurts about a passive voice used to describe a recent use of Tesla Cybertruck for the explosion in Las Vegas. Apparently, it was suggesting that it was self-inflicted. The wording in itself was neutral, but the outer context of Musk's and Tesla's reputation did a lot of work. And some took a personal offence.
Seizing the means of production is a last-century concept, if not earlier. These days, the means of narrative have to be seized.
2025-01-04#
"The Last King of Scotland" (2006) has been on my radar since its premiere (in no small part to Juriusz's recommendation), but it never fell in my direction. Now, thanks to Max, it has. Based on true events but mixed with MacBeth [sic!], it tells a story of an Ugandan dictator through the eyes of his Scottish doctor. Strong performances by Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy. It shows nicely why it's better to avoid people in power.
It looks like a short story that I have written in my previous work, which was really more of a sketch of an idea, did not make it past my then laptop. It's not a big loss because I wasn't planning on doing anything about it, but it was an experiment and it saddens me a bit to see it gone.
2025-01-05#
"Filth" from 2013 is an adaptation of Irving Welsh's book of the same title. The source material was believed to be unadaptable, but it turned out to be doable, albeit, some framing devices were demoted to one-scene wonders (looking at ya, tapeworm). A story of a terrible cop and a horrible and repulsive person but also kind of sad one, starring fantastic James McAvoy. As the story progresses, we learn to see he's a bit a of an unreliable narrator.
The second season of "Barry" luckily drops Dexter's vibes and develops its own essence. What I liked the most is good balance of funny stuff and unfunny stuff. It's comedic and at the same time it tells a story of its characters. And then, there was this fantastic episode with a taekwondo master and his daughter which reminded me of this "The Sopranos" episode where Chris and Paulie got lost in the woods with a Russian mercenary. I am looking forward to season 3.
I made some musical purchases on Bandcamp: all the Fornax Void discography and "Dead Cells" soundtrack.
2025-01-06#
"Love Lies Bleeding" (2024) is yet another example of a movie recreating 1980s to a very granular detail. Colours, props, music, and hairstyles—pure eighties. And the plot had a couple of twists that I didn't see coming. In fact, the plot was unpredictable in general. Huge props for casting Kirsten Steward and Jena Malone as sisters, albeit, it went a little unexplored. Two main characters reminded me of Wachowski's "Bound."
"Exit Through the Gift Shop" is a 2010's Banksy's documentary about a man who was making a documentary about Banksy but turned out to be a more interesting subject. I was eyeing this film for a long while but only seeing "F for Fake" last year inspired me to finally have a go at it. It's a high-octane cocktail about street art and art as well, and very funny at that. A bit like a video clip, perhaps. And those narrative layers!
2025-01-08#
"The Night Of" (2016) is an HBO show about a young man arrested for a murder of a wealthy girl. And maybe he did it, maybe he didn't. The series shows with surgical precision bureaucratic horrors of being put "in the system," for both the suspect and his family. There's police work, surviving in prison, and the court drama. All in one. I had this show recommended years ago, but finally decided to give it a go because it came from "Ripley's" creator.
It's a remake of the first season of BBC's show. Too bad it's not available anywhere from what I see.
My car's computer informed me recently that the air pressure in tires is below acceptable, and so I drove to the station to fix that. And oh boy, what a difference it made. As if I was suddenly driving a different vehicle. Just like with changing bedsheets, I promised myself to do this more often (I won't).
After 2 years of The Legend of Zelda ("Breath of the Wild" and now "Tears of the Kingdom") in Spanish, I have my Switch in English, and I have to say that while it's a very good approach to train my Spanish, it was a bit of a chore. Now, the immersion deepened greatly. I also have an impression that both translations create their own worlds and are not direct translations from Japanese. Interesting. It also feels that Spanish translation is a bit better.
2025-01-09#
The hardest part of thinking about my own death is this notion that I will stop thinking. One moment I will be and the next, I won't. The thought train stopped forever. Even the idea to become some sort of a cognitive process hanging out there in eternal isolation is less terrifying.
Somewhere in 2012, I discovered "Repo! The Genetic Opera," and as I'm not a musical kind of person, this one captivated me, and I listened to it a lot, knowing the whole libretto and all. Then new things came. I played it in the car yesterday, and two things. One, it got old musically: all these guitars are nice, but no one new makes music like that anymore. And two, I paid more attention to the titular Repo Man and his drama. Something that was less prominent before I had a daughter.
While technically it's a musical, it's actually more of an opera because almost all the plot is sung (apart from, fanfare, the climax, so the soundtrack has the penultimate moment and then, aftermath). So maybe I'm an opera-but-not-musical person.
2025-01-10#
I thought that I might as well gathering notes about CDs, now that I know that I'm planning to write a text by the end of the year. I hope it will go better than the one about Halloween timelines (the only thing published were the actual notes :D; but maybe it's fine as well, and what I'm discovering for myself is writing texts in pieces in a course of a year).
Mazzy Star's "Among My Swan" (1996) is one of my favourite album, and it's finally here in my collection. I found it through "Flowers in December," which were used on the "Wicker Park's" soundtrack. I see it's listed as a dream pop, but I never thought of them like that. Some dreamy alternative rock? Maybe. Their music is very often used in movies and series, so despite not being a hit band, you might have crossed your paths with them more than once.
2025-01-11#
"Dark Crimes" from 2016 is generally a bad movie. The writing lacks and the realisation is far behind, and it's 1 of 2 movies that I know to have 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. So, on paper, it sounds like something to avoid at all costs, right? Well, unless you're me, so... [Full thread here]
"Cunk of Life" (2024) is a single-entry continuation on "Cunk on Earth," where titular Philomena Cunk presents us with some wisdoms and interviews real-life scientists, putting them constantly in a tight spot (I can't imagine how they convinced all those people to participate in it, but maybe they did that for laughs as well). Extra points for using "Pump Up the Jam" again.
"Creature Commandos" is a 7-episode animated series in a spirit of The Suicide Squad and actually picks up directly after "The Peacemaker" (Amanda Waller and John Economos return with the live-show actors voicing them). It's edgy, it's funny, it's explosive, but also touching at times (the backstories are actually tragic). DC, which didn't have as much luck with cinema as MCU, finds itself pretty well in the world of animation. Can't wait for season 2.
2025-01-12#
"A Boy And His Dog" is 1975 post-apocalyptic movie with action set in 2024, with young Don Johnson in the titular role (the boy, not the dog). Visually it resembles Mad Max a lot, and it turned out it was an inspiration for his movies. As well as for "Fallout" (e.g., the underground community). The scenography was pretty convincing, with all the sets build from old furniture. Don Johnson speaks a bit like Matthew McConaughey here.
I do find it interesting that the plot starts from a telepathic dog that helps the boy to find "females" which he can basically rape. That is a plot point that would be unlike do be used in the actual year 2024. In all fairness, the closing comment from the dog was controversial even back then, so maybe I'm too harsh with the past here.
But fishing out the old cringe, which possibly wasn't cringe back in the days, is part of an experience of watching old movies.
2025-01-13#
No, mister singer-songwriter, you don't perform the song because it resonates with you; that's why you wrote it. You perform it because it resonates with the audience.
2025-01-16#
Having musical phases has this positive outcome that I have now a distinct playlist for each year. I've been listening to 2018 in the car this week.
2025-01-18#
Apparently, sighthounds need to see their owner at all times. I can confirm that.
2025-01-20#
Those who came before me lived through their vocations, from the past until completion.
I got this condition last week where I was losing balance and years of drinking alcohol turned out to be a good practice for that because all the muscle memory kicked in.
2025-01-21#
I'm reading a script for "There's Something About Mary," and as always with old comedies, I like to spot jokes that probably wouldn't be put in a comedy these days. We were so edgy back then.
2025-01-22#
You don't write it down immediately, you forget it. I was talking about myself, of course.
Speaking of dying. Dogs have a shorter lifespan, and that's going to be heartbreaking for their owners, but there is another side to that: it means that most of the dogs will have the same humans around from the moment they develop consciousness till their death. And I find it heartwarming that we can provide them life in which we're always there for them.
2025-01-23#
I cut the caffeine cold, and it went smoothly. But I like the taste of black coffee, so I don't expect that to hold.
(5 hours later...)
Aaand I had the first one. But, strangely enough, it didn't taste that good. It's a running thing with me: I pause an indulgeable activity, and it doesn't kick in like it used to. Maybe that's why I never got addicted to anything.
Whenever I need to take a nap during the day, I play the "Doom 64" soundtrack with its hellish soundscapes in my headphones. What does it say about me, I have no clue. But yesterday I didn't hear my dog sulking outside the bedroom because those children cries hid it.
Of four Ambient albums from Brian Eno, only "Ambient 4: On Land" actually fits in the ambient category. The rest have more instruments, which pushes them a bit further from that genre.
2025-01-24#
After possibly even 3 years, I bought a scale replacement, one that measures also fat percentage, etc. This time around there is also an app to track that. Nice. (And it has offline/no-registration option. Nicer.) So, I guess I'm back in the game. I have more muscles than the last time, so my weight is bigger. I think I'll focus on the fat percentage this time.
2025-01-25#
I decided to tag at least some of my posts. The experiment with writing is going well enough to become a tad bit more discoverable with it.
2025-01-26#
I read recently that there is something extremely intimate in never talking to someone, and it resonated with me strongly, probably because I have people like that in my life. We just ran out of things to say. And that's fine.
So, in other words, I am running here on Mastodon a circa 2002 blog. Nice.
2025-01-27#
It's getting warm again. The cold was much shorter than last year.
2025-01-28#
I thought I didn't read much because my book list is like 1 book a year (recently 3-4), but I started tracking the articles I'm reading, mainly so I can quickly find and reference them to someone who's wrong on the Internet, and it shows 1,000+ articles since last March. Not that bad. Obviously, books would be better, but still.
"Going Down" (and "Going Down: Turbo," which is the 10th anniversary revised version; more forgiving, according to the description) is the newest official mod in the official Doom client. I played 2 levels on the computer last year, and I thought that it would be appreciated if this landed in the official Doom. And here it is. I need to think carefully about the next add-on.
2025-01-30#
I got dizzy again yesterday. I suspect low air pressure. I imagine drinking salt water will help.