March 2005
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Month March 2005

Entries 10 Total

All-Mix

Mar 29, ’05 9:08 PM

One of the most frequent questions I get relating to my blog comes in one of the following forms:

  • What’s “vj army”?
  • What’s “vuh-jarmy?”
  • Where did you come up with “vjarmy”?
  • What’s “vjarmy” mean?
  • Is your site about an army of Viewtiful Joe?

I figure it’s about time to reveal the “whole story” of the domain.

First things first: If you haven’t heard by now, I play a little game called Beatmania IIDX (that’s “two dee-echs”). IIDX is a “dj simulation game”, with some connections to DDR (both games are made by Konami). I’ll save the verbose descriptions of the game for another time, but one of the key reasons I play is the tremendously nice music. All the songs are around two minutes each, and the genres tend electronic (trance, techno, two-step) but also run eclectic (piano ballad, french bossa) and occasionally imaginary (cuddlecore, forktronica, techno chop). All the music also has an accompanying music video.

Having listened to a number of the soundtracks long before I started playing the game, I found songs I found pleasing and started listening to them like crazy. One of these songs was, of course, “VJ Army” by good-cool. The song was interesting to me because it crammed four genres (and tempos) into one song: drum’n'bass, techno, trance, and two-step. The genre for VJ Army is listed in-game as “ALL MIX”, due to the inability to confine it to one of the four genres. Even the video had four distinct portions, each done by a different resident VJ that works at Konami.

(I should note, a “VJ” is a video jockey – someone who does to video what a DJ does to music.)

If you’re wondering what VJ Army sounds like, you can listen to the mp3 from the Beatmania IIDX 6th Style Original Soundtrack.

When I was making the move away from my csoft account back in 2003, I had to start thinking about domain names and where I wanted my blog to be permenantly lodged. The domain name I had named my site after for a few years – remy.net – was taken in 1998 as a personalized page for a baby girl. So I was a little stuck for ideas, and the IIDX bug had me looking at song titles, wondering what would be apt.

It didn’t take long for the connotation to hit me like a ton of bricks with VJ Army and my site. Like the song, I have a hard time being confined to one genre or topic. Believe me, I’ve tried – it’s just too hard not to randomly jump from topic to topic to topic.

So that’s the story – VJ Army is an ALL MIX of music styles I enjoy, and my blog is an ALL MIX of my life. (cue fanfare)

As for the “Primary Vivid Weblog” thing – also a point of inquiry – it’s also a IIDX holdover. The game, like most Japanese games that tap into western culture, has a fair amount of Engrish. One of the games had the subtitle “The Primary Vivid IIDX”, and something about the phrase stuck.

And regarding the Beatmania IIDX score site I run having the same name as the domain – that’s just a lucky coincidence that the name of the domain fit in so well with the ideals of the score site.

Any more questions?

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Always Leave A Note

Mar 29, ’05 7:50 AM

This morning, I read on Defamer that they found a severed leg on the Fox lot. Am I the only one who upon reading this, visualizes J. Walter Weatherman hobbling up on one leg to the panicked production assistants, and saying “And that’s why you don’t think about canceling Arrested Development”?

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Upcoming Has Gone Straight Into Awesome

Mar 28, ’05 8:56 PM

I’ve been using Andy Baio’s upcoming.org for well over a year now; it’s always been a fairly neat site, hampered only by it’s potential lack of popularity. It’s been good for finding out about upcoming concerts and the like, at the very least.

But Andy luckily got a kick in the ass from Jon Udell about features that Jon would’ve liked, and Andy has stood and delivered a new version of upcoming that whips all sorts of ass.

What’s new? Well, for one, you can finally add private and self-promotional events; this means I can put everything I’m doing on my profile, rather than just the public parties. Also, tagging – just like Flickr and del.icio.us. Plus a developer’s API, a new layout, and email/SMS reminders.

If you’re in a major metropolitan area and not using upcoming.org, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. Jump on it, folks.

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Dr. Buttons the Caregiver

Mar 27, ’05 9:41 PM

Dr. Buttons the Caregiver

(cross posting this from Flickr)

As much as Buttons relies on me for food / water / litter cleaning, he loves to cling to Katie. And mysteriously, he seems to know just what Katie needs in the way of attention.

Yup, he’s gently hugging the foot that Katie injured. Cutest thing I’ve ever seen him do.

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Prognosis

Mar 27, ’05 12:00 PM

We went to NYP this morning to get Katie’s ankle looked at. After waiting around the emergency walk-in for a little while, a nurse looked at it and declared it to be 99% likely a sprain. They gave her some crutches and a prescription for some Vicodin if she needed it for the pain.

Katie has never used crutches before and, needless to say, hates them.

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Happy/Sad

Mar 26, ’05 11:13 PM

Happy: When we were at the Gothamist/Six Apart happy hour on Tuesday, we had our picture snapped by youngna, and it came out fantastically. Thanks, youngna – this makes up for all those annoying dodgeball messages! Hee.

Sad: While coming home today, Katie fell down a couple of stairs on the subway. Her foot is not in good shape, and I’m trying my damndest to keep her off it so it can heal; hopefully it’s not anything serious. We had to cancel some evening plans, sadly.

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Out Of The Woods

Mar 25, ’05 11:46 AM

Katie has informed me that our tax crisis – which is by now a usual occurance, although this is the potential last year we will have to deal with it – is over, as both of our owed amounts have been withdrawn from our checking account.

phew Now life can get back to normal.

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Jake Dobkin Is Some Sort Of Robot

Mar 25, ’05 6:42 AM

I’ve met Jake Dobkin a number of times, and it’s only today that I’ve come to the realization that the man is not actually human, but instead some sort of diabolical robot.

Seriously. There’s no other logical explanation about how the man can consume this much easter candy.

I just received a bunch of easter goodies from my mom, and I was all ready to have one of the delicious cupcakes (a light lemon cake with homemade key lime frosting) this morning. But now I don’t want to think about anything food related for at least a few days. Blargh…

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Addendum To Previous Post

Mar 21, ’05 9:53 AM

From the Associated Press:

Gibbs also filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Tampa as allowed under the new law. He said the suit names Michael Schiavo as a defendant. Also listed as defendants are George Greer, the circuit judge who presides over the case, and Hospice Woodside, where Terri Schiavo lives.

The lawsuit alleges a series of rights violations, including that Terri Schiavo’s religious beliefs are being infringed upon, that the removal of the feeding tube violated her rights and that she was not provided an independent attorney to represent her interests.

I need some sort of graphical symbol or macro for every time I lose my faith in humanity. Any suggestions?

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America – Now With Less Freedom!

Mar 21, ’05 9:06 AM

I’ve been following the Terry Schiavo case a bit over the last few weeks, keeping my fingers crossed this wouldn’t become a national issue.

Lo and behold, here we are.

Friends, this affects every last one of us. You have lost the ability to make critical care decisions for loved ones. You no longer can expect someone to be able to take mercy on you and end years of pain and suffering and vegetative state. Personal decisions and the decisions of your doctor have been usurped by the government.

I don’t care if you’re Democratic, Republican, Catholic, Jewish, Agnostic, or SubGenius – read the details of this case and realize how tragic this is not only for Terry Schiavo and her husband, but for the United States as a country.

In cases like this one, where there are serious questions and substantial doubts, our society, our laws, and our courts should have a presumption in favour of life.

-George W. Bush

By now most people who read liberal blogs are aware that George W. Bush signed a law in Texas that expressly gave hospitals the right to remove life support if the patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient’s family’s wishes. It is called the Texas Futile Care Law. Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against his mother’s wishes in Texas just this week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the Texas courts just yesterday.

-Digby’s Hullabaloo

I’m not even going to get started on his very much pro-death penalty ways; I’m content to stand pat and call the man a massive hypocrite.

While reading the fantastic MetaFilter thread on the ordeal – about Congress rushing through legislation to score political points; the stringent court cases that have assessed her as unable to recover; the fifteen years Michael Schiavo has spent flying her all over the country seeking treatment – I was struck by some odd nostalgia.

Bill Hicks, who by now should be up for sainthood, has a bit on one of his CDs (Rant In E Minor) about pro-lifers; it was one of the first Hicks routines I had ever heard. The jist of the bit was that if you’re so pro-life – if you so dearly value the sanctity of human life – then stop blocking abortion clinics, and instead links arms and block cemetaries.

Never in a million years did I expect anyone to actually take the suggestion to heart.

(As I write this post on the subway, I’m Afraid Of Americans by David Bowie + Trent Reznor came on my iPod. Irony noted.)

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