What's porn got to do with it? 01 July 2006.
Listening to: La Oreja de Van Gogh, “Dulce locura”, from the album Guapa.
Reading: Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World.
Watching: 予言 (jp: Yogen, en: Premonition).

Do you perceive something “provocative” when you look at the pictures shown in these pages? Is there something that arouse your “senses”, anything beyond the obvious? If not, then can you explain to me why some porn-related sites are redirecting their visitors to fractovia? What's going on? Yes, you're reading right. A couple of days ago I noticed there were several unrecognizable urls among the list of new referrers for that day. As usual, I tracked them down (I regularly do so to learn from where my visitors are coming), and to my surprise, there were some freaking <censored> <censored> <censored> with the biggest <censored> you can imagine in the forefront. And I said to myself: “What the <censored>? Are those... ambitious... pleasurizers fractal-bound?” In what position —I mean angle— should the Mandelbrot silhouette must be oriented in order to become a temptation (from the artistic point of view, of course)? Never mind the answer to that question. - JL

Out-of-the-art. 18 June 2006.
Listening to: Meredith Bragg & The Terminals, “My Only Enemy ”, from the album Vol. 1.
Reading: Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World.
Watching: interference.

It's very nice when you use a state-of-the-art generator to do a fractal picture. The results are usually spontaneously beautiful and lavishly fascinating. If you have the skills, you will get the best out of it in a short while. Yet, it is also nice to work with “out-of-the-art” stuff sometimes just for the fun of it, for the challenge, because you like it. I'm usually doing it because of that. And even though those generators aren't capable of immediately stunning results, they do produce interesting forms. Like this one, for example: you can say it is elementary, plain, and lacking an “attitude” (by today standards), yet it has a certain something that I simply love. There's a saying that warns: “The simplest things in life are often the most profound” (more or less). Maybe it's unnatural to apply that to fractal images —since they are complex by their very nature—, but I want to think so. - JL

NOTE: read the emphasis in selected words at your own risk.

Doom's Day 2006. 9 June 2006.
Listening to: Noir Desir, “Le Vent Nous Portera”, from the album Des Visages des Figures.
Reading: Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World.
Watching: Aeon Flux.

The world should have ended three days ago, according to the latest conspiracy theory on the subject. On 6/6/06, besides the premiere of The Omen remaking (oh, please, not again!), a huge rock from outer space should have hit the Earth, and we should have been all dead by now— or on our way to the land of the dead. That story was born from the recent approach of dying comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 (with a name like that, we should have feared it indeed). But once again, nothing happened. I just though: Well, let's wait Extintion in front of the computer, doing a couple of nice fractals (just to make it sweet and painless, you know). Three days later (and with some 37 pictures in the list), it seems Doom just missed us... again. Yet, I don't think we should say: “And they lived happily ever after”. -JL

Deleting the past. 24 May 2006.
Listening to: Sneakster, “Sweet Melody”, from Pseudo Nouveau.
Reading: this and that.
Watching: Miracle Mile.

Well, I'm back! Where have I been? I've been at home, deleting the past. Believe me, that's what I've been doing. At least some part of it. No, not erasing. Deleting. I've been deleting a lot of files I've accumulated over the years, most of them very good ones: music, pictures... etc. I started by reviewing them before hitting the DELETE key, but after several minutes, I thought I'd rather reformat the HD and start anew. Now I've realized I got rid of some files I should have kept (maybe some of them I would never find again), but what the hell. Some times it's better that way, and not keep moving forever on a loop. Loops can be satisfying —especially when they consist of the good things—, but sometimes they degenerate into vicious circles, which eventually cause more harm (in some manner) than good. Even the worst: stop progress altogether. I prefer to look at it this way: Now I have 500 GB to fill up once again. -JL

Where Have I been? 10 April 2006.
Listening to: Depeche Mode, “Nothing's Impossible”, from the album Playing the Angel.
Reading: this and that.
Watching: The Brothers Grimm.

I had something to say, but I forgot it. I'll let you know when I get back to it. -JL