HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

to all my dear fish

das psychological fish

ok- this one really got to me.
(warning - there may be mild spoilers in this post)

the other night we watched das experiment(2001), a german film based (loosely) on a the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment - a psychological experiment done at stanford university in 1971. Where a group of volunteers (all students in the real experiment) were arbitrarily split into prison guards and prisoners, and then placed in a prison mock-up in the university in order to observe the effects of the prison system on "normal" psyches. the prisoners were to follow simple rules and the guards were to keep order - both the movie and the original study adhere to the basic question: "What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph?"

in some ways i'm glad that i got to see the movie prior to reading detailed accounts of the actual experiment because i was left with this feeling of "no, that couldn't have really happened - wouldn't human sense kick in?" which is probably what the director/author meant.

the experiment is set up, the different roles are assumed casually enough. at first, everyone seems content to just take it easy, collect their money in two weeks and go home. well everyone but our hero Tarak. Tarek Fahd, prisoner #77 (above: Moritz Bleibtreu of Run Lola Run fame), enrolls in the experiment in order to detail it for a magazine article. there was actually a "insider" in the original experiment, who thought that the experiment was set up to determine how best to control radical students (this was the early 70's remember), but that's about where the character diverges as Tarek proceeds to cause havok by provoking the guards and refusing to fall into the role of the "good prisoner" - there's always one, right? besides, the more out of control this experiment gets, the better the story - just like: the more over the top the movie the better, right? not so much. it certainly is intense but the timeline was a bit ridiculous: "how is it only the third day?" and the violence was pushed over the top.

the movie may incorporate many elements from the standford experiment but it is actually based on a book, "The Black Box", by german author Mario Giordano. it is fiction but so well done that i was calling out in shock as the experiment gets out of control. now, i'm not a very squeamish person but the movie brings to mind disturbing images of concentration camps (not the least because it's in german) and it seems likely that this was a parallel that Giordano as well as the director, Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall, 2004) wanted the audience to draw, as the guards were certainly dressed similiar and at one point in the movie a 'prisoner' yells "you nazi motherfucker!" at one of the 'guards'.

the experiment was supposed to continue for 2 weeks but was prematurely terminated after 6 days when the psychologist reveiwed tapes of the 'guards' being sadistic and "escalating their abuse of prisoners in the middle of the night when they thought no researchers were watching... Their boredom had driven them to ever more pornographic and degrading abuse of the prisoners." This quote comes from a slide-show account of the experiment written by Dr. Zimbardo, the psychologist in charge of the experiment and applies to the movie as well.

however, this is not a documentary by any means.

in the movie the main researcher inexplicably goes absent right before the 'guards' take over but what amazes me about the actual account linked above is that it details not so much the 'guards' behavior as the behavior of the stanford doc, himself, acting in the role of the prison super-intendendant in response to the experiment - caring more about the security of his 'prison' than the well-being of the 'prisoners', though the researchers did intervene a number of times.

the actual researcher complains there was no violence in his experiment and that the movie is misleading but this could partly be because he never goes into detail about what exactly was "pornographic and degrading" about the behavior of the 'guards' - however, the filmakers were forced to remove "...inspired by incidents that occurred during a psychological experiment at Stanford University, Palo Alto, USA" from the movie.

conclusion: the actual Stanford Prison Experiment is fascinating, the movie das experiment was intense and well done, if not entirely believable and i love german movies (something about actors and the language, which i kinda speak and kinda understand).

(one last comment: "Black Box" also refers to a book: Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution by Michael J. Behe)

movie fish

don't know why but here's a list of movies i've watched recently (revised because i was being lazy and hung-over):

das experiment (2001) - review pending
lords of dogtown - not really worth a review, but not the worst movie i've ever seen. based on the true story of three teenaged surfers who started the skater craze in 1975. The movie got interesting about half-way through but the three kids are pretty much the architypal personalities of the three types of skaters: the athlete, the rebel and the rich-boy; so much so that is seems less than plausible.
children of the corn - not bad, not as scary or entertaining as i remember, bad special effects, but a classic
exorcist:the beginning - i was actually surprised that this was pretty good
the omen - fantastically scary, the epitome of creepy kids.
house of 1000 corpses- one long, really long rob zombie video. ok, so i didn't really watch this, it was mostly in the background and i left before the end but seriously, rob zombie directed it, wrote it and did much of the music so did you expect it to be any good?
mirrormask - wow - already fished here and here
something wicked this way comes - still one of the best halloween movies ever, creepy carnival of the devil (one of the originals) - written by Ray Bradbury, with Jonathan Pryce as the main villain. if you get a chance to watch this classic or read the book, i highly recommend both - bradbury's genius is in the details and unlike a lot of early horror movies, the special effects in this are minimal and well done.
alien vs predator - i was disappointed with the portrayal of the predators, but otherwise it was, well - alright (probably was better on the big screen)
donnie darko - fun! definitely worth all the hype. i watched the extended version with a friend who had seen the original - apparently there's only little differences like 2-min conversations and short detailed scenes that pull the movie together even more.
layer cake - had no idea what i was getting myself into with this movie and sometimes that's a good thing. this movie was well done and sharp. it's about a man who decides to get out of the illicit drug business but instead all things go to hell. there were moments that were a bit cliche (like "everything was going perfect, what could go wrong?") but so? didn't really take away from the movie at all. but i called i said that the main actor, Daniel Craig, would be a good Bond and two days later i found out that someone else had the same opinion.
downfall - details the last days of the third reich by following hitler, eva and his closest advisors into the bunker and on until the end of his life - based on a real-life account of hitler's personal secretary at the end of the war. intense and strange as eva throws a diner party for hitler's 56th birthday as bombs fall outside and magda goebbels kills her children because germany and she doesn't want them to live in a world without national socialism.

let me know if you want a full review of any.

wishlist (so don't yell at me for not watching them yet):
wallace & gromit in the curse of the were-rabbit
house of wax (1953) - classic horror with vincent price

a-muse-ing fish

i miss my muse
love, mysfit

reality, dreams, and the Mirrormask - sometimes i love my fish

last night, i stood on the precipice of an independent theater and looked down.

after pre-purchasing tickets to an empty theater i realized that my sense of reality was proportionally skewed but i was quickly informed that it's because i'm silly, so there you go. it's amazing how the little things get out from beneath your fingertips to slip like fish down streets of the imagination - luckily i grasped this experience by the tail (def:the last showing on the last night) with blue-sparkly nails didn't let go. go on - follow my fish

i want to draw like Helena.

Helena Helena Helena

and the film dragged me back to my childhood - to hiding in the attic of school reading a book that was writing itself about me... about me... about - oh wait that wasn't me - that was the Neverending Story...

and like the Neverending Story and Labyrinth- I want to take the characters home with me. Helena and Valentine (and his tower) have joined Atreyu and the Goblin King (as played by David Bowie) beneath my bed where they dialogue with dragons - (oh wow was the dialogue sharp in this film (cue sexy brogue): "I'm a very important man - I've got a tower"--- :) ---"I don't know where I am" "You're in another one of those things to avoid in life" "What's that?" "Trouble") - and keep me up all night with their music.

did i mention the soundtrack yet? the creepiest rendition of "close to you" ever and the rest: fan-tas-tic!

needless to say at this point - i loved Mirrormask - loved that the art of film is not dead, that the story was told through style, in words and good acting of virtually unnamed actors, love that i got to see it in an old, mostly run down place called the Chez Artiste and i loved the company...

enough said about real-life, now back to your dreams dear fishies

punksong fishhead

everyone wants to be audrey hepburn
but if they all were her they'd all be dead

chemicals swim like fish

hello my little fishies, i'm feeling rather contrary today so i've decided to expound upon a topic that has always irritated me. remember: opinions may not be reflected by other ichthyologists and i may even disagree with myself later today depending if this mood deepens into true antipathy. (this may seem like a trite issue, but sometimes it's best to vent about stupid things and just deal with the rest of the bullshit one has to live with.)

so i understand why some technical writers of scientific articles feel the need to relate to us lowly laymen, but seriously do they really think it works? i could do without some of these attempts at analogies as well as unsuccessful attempts at humor.

in an article about how coffee has biological benefits (good news for many Americans) this amazing analogy(simile) appeared: "Antioxidants...work like a sheriff in the Wild West by rounding up and neutralizing damaging radicals in the system." clarifies everything doesn't it? just imagine the little antioxidants wandering around your insides with six-guns and having showdowns at noon out side the Liver Saloon.

ah and if you don't actually have a sense of humor, you can at least be offensive, right? this fishy article, "Sex Done, Female Fish Stop Paying Attention" ends with "If estrogen does turn up the volume, perhaps this explains why some men don't hear their wives." not sure what this has to do with anything, but i'm laughing aren't you?

INTERMISSION: on a lighter note, check this gallery out: Under the Sea. It's cool.

for all the confused fish

dear fish,

a little over a year ago, i braved the 2000 mile trek from new jersey to colorado in a blue station wagon with just about everything i owned jammed in the back or strapped on top. the trip took a few days as we drove through the night and with the help of some audiobooks, my friend and i survived without the madness usually brought on by the elements, tunnel-vision, road-rage and kansas (****).

for those of you confused about the difference between new brunswick, new jersey and boulder, colorado i have recently discovered some new info that may clarify this:

In New Jersey it is illegal to "frown" at a police officer.

In Boulder, Colorado it is legal to challenge a police officer, but only until he or she asks you to stop.

just thought you might like to know.

your friend,
mysfit

(P.S. legal facts compliments of dumblaws.com.)
(P.P.S.**** - note edited out by author/editor)

once upon a fish

Once upon a time, (which is how all good stories begin), there was a girl named mysfit. Well, that wasn't her "real" name and noone really ever called her that except in print, but since this is printed I guess that'll have to do. Now, this girl lived in a far away kingdom and the only way she had of communicating with her myriad of friends all over the world was through a little weblog called "i am following my fish". It was called thus because she understood about fishes and wishes and wogs and following one to the other was about the best thing mysfit could do.

One day, mysfit realized that she had followed her fish right off the edge of the map - past the point where it said "Here There be Dragons", past all the sea serpents (which she waved at) and right off the end of the world. Other fish-followers called out to her but she was listening to thievery corp on her mp3 player and couldn't hear them yell. See what they were unhappy about, was not that mysfit was following her fish, nor even that she had fallen off the edge of the world but that she had neglected to pop into the Fish and say "CHEESE!".

so here it is, say 'Cheese'!!! good good, now a fun one: say 'meme'!!! (all of you are tagged)

misconceptions/misperceptions i had as a child (many of which have proven untrue):

1)i thought that only really special/official people could make trucks and pens with business names on them or make official documents - like these things were sacred or something. perhaps it's because i grew up with computers, but still - i have made and printed legal (and legally binding) documents in my home and there's something not quite right about that.

2)i thought people made babies by french kissing (enough said).

3)i thought that my birthday (11/19) was 5 days before christmas. this one has only proven to be false because they added more days between the two. it's amazing how there seems to be more days in the year and it still seems to go faster.

4)i thought that was i going to be really really tall (like 7ft). damn 5'4" damn being short.

5)i thought i'd be with my first boyfriend forever. that this misconception was proven false is kinda a tragedy (because love let me down) and kinda a triumph (because he was a jealous hypocritical self-righteous asshole).

6)i never thought i'd live past the ripe old age of 18. (ha! well for those of you who are counting, suddenly you have a hint about how old i am, if you care).

7)i really want to know where my flying car is. i was promised a flying car - i swear if this misconception doesn't come true in my life time heads are gonna roll! oh and why aren't we living on the moon yet? slackers.

8)when i was young i could control time with my mind. i'm not kidding. whenever i was late walking to school i would make time stand still or even go in reverse by visualizing the epitome of all clocks (digital of course, most likely atomic as well) and then i would make it do what i wanted with the force of my will alone(exhausting work, let me tell you). the weird thing was when it worked, i didn't see a living soul on my walk - no cars, no people, no cats, nothing - and i was always on time. the few times i did see a creature on my way to school, i was late because it wrecked my concentration. not because i was surprised that the creature moved but just because it was there at all. you see, though i knew i could control time, there was no way that i could control other people/creatures. the creature's mere appearence ruined the fragile mental image that time was standing still or moving backwards for everything but me. the perception that i could control time, though somewhat false originally, was only proven totally incorrect through a profound alteration in the space-time continuum. i countered the change by redefining time and the battle for ultimate time control still rages.

9)i thought i could talk to squirrels, but have since realized that they have nothing useful to say.

Well that's about all i can come up with for now: TAG! you're it!!!