Vincent (1982)

Frankenweenie (1984)

I'm different from the other children.
I'm a bit lonely, but I imagine things which are so real to me —

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

 
 
 
I like to have fun, too.
I will always be a kid at heart —

Beetlejuice (1988)

 
 
 
I'm not afraid of the dark. This is where my weird friends live; they brighten up my life —

Batman (1989)

 
 
 
Don't go thinking I'm meek though, I can take on huge challenges and deliver in a truly heroic fashion —

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

 
 
 
Yet, deep down, I feel I'm still this strange and lonely creature looking for emotional bonds —

Batman Returns (1992)

 
 
 
But you need me again. And so I come save the day with might and grandeur —

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

 
 
 
Oh, why am I growing so weary?
There's something missing in my life. I work hard to forget but the feeling keeps coming back —

Conversations with Vincent (1994)

Ed Wood (1994)

I turn to my idols for advice and helping keep the creative flame alive —

Mars Attacks (1996)

 
 
 
But something is still missing;
Anger is growing.
I hate this superficial world, I don't understand people, I wish I could destroy them all! —

 
Oh,
I'm losing my head.
Not everyone is horrible.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

 
 
 
I would just dispose of a few individuals in some particularly gruesome ways, while staying classy, naturally —

Planet of the Apes (2001)

 
 
 
But it's not happening. I'm surrounded by apes. I need to get away, to get back where it all started.
Wait! Who is that? Could it be... —

Big Fish (2003)

Yes, it is her, finally, the love of my life!
I live in a dream. Now I feel complete —

Corpse Bride (2005)

 
 
 
 
We won't really get married, but it will be as if we were —

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

 
 
 
And then we'll have children. I might make a quirky dad, but I think we'll enjoy life together, I have so much to offer.
Did I put on a little weight? —

Sweeney Todd (2007)

 
 
People are not taking me seriously anymore since I'm a family man. This is vexing me very much. Did they forget how frightful I can be? I will show them! —

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

 
 
 
This was maybe too much. I shall return to more peaceful imaginary kingdoms. I'm still the same kid as I was when I started. I know it, I just need to find myself again. —

Dark Shadows (2012)

 
 
 
 
I am still longing for the dark and the company of my monstruous friends.
My other family —

Frankenweenie (2012)

 
 
 
 
And then I will take the trip down memory lane and return to my roots.

A few notes on this imaginary autobiography

The idea for it came while listening to the fantastic Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack, by Danny Elfman and various contributing artists. For some reason, this year, I've been listening to it over and over. I don't remember doing that in years. Anyway, while listening, it came to me how closely The Nightmare Before Christmas and Tim Burton's movies in general seemed to mirror aspects of him and of his life. I can't believe no one noticed that before (well, maybe someone did!). The child-like innocence of his early movies in the 80s, the depth and maturity of the 90s, that came with a growing discomfort that turned into weariness in the early 2000s, until he met who we can assume is his true love, Helena Bonham-Carter. Then, there was a change of style during the 2000s as he became a father, the tone became lighter or extreme (to me, his weakest decade) and now maybe, he will go back, or at least try to go back, to a more refined style, with less gratuitous violence and CGI, and better scripts. At least I hope so.

I have seen every single one of these movies except, of course, the two that hasn't been released yet, Conversations with Vincent, which is extremely rare as far as I know (the photograph of Vincent Price is not from the movie itself; I couldn't find one), and Big Fish. I've owned Big Fish DVD for years but never got around to watching it for some strange and very mysterious reason which eludes my grasp. I also decided to leave some titles out, such as Stainboy, which in my opinion were of lesser importance.

Just for the record, if I had to rank Tim Burton's movies, from my most to less favorite, it would look something like this: Vincent, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Batman, Ed Wood, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Frankenweenie, Corpse Bride, Planet of the Apes, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Sweeney Todd, which is the only movie of his that I somewhat disliked. And I must add that the first picture from Dark Shadows had me excited about a Tim Burton's movie like I hadn't been in a loooong while! (since Mars Attacks and Sleepy Hollow?)

And yes, I know Tim Burton didn't direct The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the story is his and I believe it's such a personal one, that it has to be part of his imaginary autobiography.

I wish I had had more time to write each of the little comments and that my English was more natural or poetic, but in the end I think the result is pretty okay. I might update some parts later if I get inspired. And, who knows, maybe this will find its way to Tim Burton himself, so that he could tell us how far or close to the truth I have been!

Thanks for reading.

It's making the headlines all over the world, Steve Jobs, founder and longtime CEO of Apple has died. Every newsprint and online publication is coming up with its own, stately obituary, praising him as an innovator, sometimes calling him a genius, never afraid to say he changed the world. And truly, the man was important for our modern preoccupations, a great business and technology leader. His tragic passing at age 56, from a virulent cancer that could never be eradicated, even after undergoing a difficult transplant, makes the news all the more poignant.

From a personal viewpoint however, Steve Jobs and Apple mean little to nothing to me. I merely witness the reactions (and overreations) to his death from other people, from the Mac and iAnything users. I do not own a single Apple product, never have and probably never will, and this for a very specific reason that I will explain in a moment.

I had three opportunities in my life so far to use Apple products. The very first one was at a friend's home, when I was a young teenager. His dad had what I believe was the original Macintosh, with a boxy, rectangular design and a narrow integrated monochromatic screen, on which my friend used to let me play games like Shanghai and some golf simulation. It was interesting but not exactly mind-blowing, even back then. Then, years later, at my second university, the computer lab had a separate, all glass-paned room that was the Mac room. As far as I remember these were classic desktop computers, which most importantly, had color monitors. Because the PCs in the larger room had not and were running old, clunky versions of Windows, I ended up learning HTML and designing my first websites on Macs. Later on, when they upgraded their systems and it became more and more difficult to do proper versatile work on the Mac, who also had an increasing habit of crashing, I moved to the PCs and enjoyed the transition. My last, and much shorter Mac experience, was when trying out the newest models in some luxury shops downtown.

And that is all. I've never had an iBook, a PowerBook, a MacBook or any Book that wasn't a book, I've never even tried an iPod, an iPad or an iPhone. The reason why is quite simple, Macs and Apple products, from the biggest to the smallest, have always been, and still are, luxury products. There's the keyword: luxury.

When I was young, we didn't have a computer in my household. A computer, in itself, was considered a semiluxury item. The most affordable models were 8-bit computers like the Amstrad CPC line and 16-bit computers produced by Atari and Amiga (eventually I would get an Atari STe, when their end-of-life came close and prices fell). PCs, which were all well into the 4-figure price range, were in the league above, the "dream zone". I dreamt of the IBM PCs but knew I could never get one. As for the Macs, they were not even part of the dream; it was a tool for the rich, for such an elite that they would not even sell them in any department stores or shops. I remember thinking at the time: where can you buy a Macintosh if they don't sell them anywhere?

I never got over this association of Mac and luxury, mostly because their pricing proved it still held true. "You will find a Mac where money is", almost became a personal saying. I knew my friend's family was affluent because his dad owned a Mac, I knew this crappy university wasn't doing as bad as it looked because it could afford Macs, I knew I was in a luxury store because they sold Macs. If you don't have much money, you most likely won't be spending it on a Mac product, unless you have luxury cravings (which, mind you, a lot of people have). You will buy the Creative MP3 Player instead of the iPod, the cheap and sturdy Nokia phone instead of the iPhone, you will go on living without an iPad, you will buy PCs and laptops that costs much less than a thousand dollars or euros, instead of anything with an Apple logo that won't perform significantly better but will cost you easily two to three times more. People buy Apple products for the same reasons they buy fashion items.

To me, Apple is luxury before innovation. It's true that in recent years Apple's innovation has been leading the way, but as always, only to those who could afford it. Even the tiniest Apple gadget on Amazon, the iPod Nano or the track pad, costs about $50 or 50£. The way Apple affected me most after all wasn't by using their products, it's by affecting other people, who would then in turn affect me. The best example of this is Nintendo, whose hardware has often been inspired by Apple's own. The passing of Steve Jobs is a sad event, but what I will remember most is not the company he represented, that has never spoken to me, it's the human tragedy behind, that all the money, all the support he had, could not save him from death.

Here we are, the year is over! Goodbye 2010, hello 2011. I had so much fun keeping a list of the movie I've seen last year, and I watched so many movies thanks to my new TV, that there's no question about it: I'm doing it again this year. But this time I'll bump the present post once in a while; I had said before I'd do that but didn't because I thought it might look messy. I'll add some stats, too.

October

• Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
  

September

• Micmacs à tire-larigot (2009)
  
• Chakushin Ari (2003)
• The Karate Kid (2010)
  
• Vampires Suck (2010)
• Sweet Home (1989)
  
• Batman Returns (1992) — rewatch
• Scary Movie (2000)
  
• From Beyond (1986) — rewatch
• Batman (1989) — rewatch
• Rachel Getting Married (2008)
• Child's Play 2 (1990) — rewatch
• A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989) — rewatch
• Uzumaki (2000)
  
• Then She Found Me (2007)
  

August

• A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) — rewatch
• Matilda (1996)
  
• Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
  
• Two Lovers (2008)
• Rope (1948) — rewatch
• The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
• The Killer Inside Me (2010)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
  
• Re-Animator (1985) — rewatch
• The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)
  
• Iron Man 2 (2010)
  
• Coffy (1973)
  
• The Hurt Locker (2008)
  
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) — rewatch
• Innocence (2004)
  
• Greenberg (2010)
• Brothers (2009)
  
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
• Away We Go (2009)
  

July

• The Golden Compass (2007)
  
• Antichrist (2009)
  
• Genova (2008)
  
• Precious (2009)
  
• 9 (2009)
  
• The Birds (1963)
  
• Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
  
• Invictus (2009)
  
• The Ghost Writer (2010)
  
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
  
• Crazy Heart (2009)
  
• Vertigo (1958) — rewatch
• Hot Tube Time Machine (2010)
  
• Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
  
• Psycho (1960) — rewatch
• Shutter Island (2010)
  
• District 9 (2009)
  

June

• A Serious Man (2009)
  
• Tropic Thunder (2008)
  
• Metropolis (2001) — rewatch
• Fish Tank (2009)
  
• Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)
• Breaking and Entering (2006)
  
• Frenzy (1972) — rewatch
• The Fountain (2006)
  
• Ghost Town (2008)

May

• A Single Man (2009)
  
• I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
  
• The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)

April

• Hana-bi (1997) — rewatch

March

• Mary Poppins (1964) — rewatch
• Scream (1996) — rewatch
• Life Force (1985)
  
• In the Mouth of Madness (1994) — rewatch
• Alien 3 (1992) — rewatch
• To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
  
• Flightplan (2005)
  
• Red Eye (2005)
  
• Aliens (1986) — rewatch
• Alien (1979) — rewatch
• The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) — rewatch

February

• Dick (1999)
  
• Milk (2008)
  
• Five Easy Pieces (1970)
  
• The Mist (2007)
  
• Miami Vice (2006)
  
• Traffic (2000)
  
• The Black Windmill (1974)
  
• Speed Racer (2008)
  
• Silent Running (1972)
  
• Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
  
• Blowup (1966)
  
• Marley & Me (2008)
  
• Starman (1984) — rewatch

January

• The Quiet American (2002)
  
• Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
  
• Rembrandt (1936)
  
• The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
  
• Bewitched (2005)
  
• Moon (2009)
  
• The Girl Next Door (2004)
  
• Up (2009)
  
• Bedazzled (2000)
  
• Kung Fu Panda (2008)
  
• Anna and the King (1999)
  
• Clueless (1995)
  
• The Man Who Would Be King (1975) — rewatch
• Angels & Demons (2009)
  
• Twilight: New Moon (2009)
  
• Torture Garden (1967)
  
• Clash of the Titans (2010)
  
• Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
  
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
  
• Brüno (2009)
  
• Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
  
• Porco Rosso (1992) — rewatch

When I first came to Twitter, I thought the whole concept was pretty stupid. Too simple to be entertaining. It was advertised as a micro-blogging site, and blogging is a bandwagon I haven't been motivated to jump on as you can tell from the present Tabulas page which I never remember to update. Telling my life in short sentences or in long paragraphs is just something I'm not interested in.

I kept coming to Twitter for a few days, posting immensely pointless messages, then starting to forget about it; one more name in the endless list of websites I've signed up to just for trying out.

I don't remember why suddenly everything changed, why I returned to Twitter and became so active, perhaps because I kept seeing the name and logo everywhere, even mentioned in serious newspapers, to the point having a well-kept Twitter account seemed as indispensable as having an email address. Or perhaps because I ended up using the search feature and adding people to follow, which is the key to get things started.

Whatever the reasons, in the past year I've been writing 4700 tweets, most of them replies, and reading practically everything that the 89 persons I follow wrote. In practice, a lot of them simply don't tweet and I'm grateful they don't; because even reading between 15~20 persons' tweets daily take more time than I'd like to admit. The other 70 simply forgot Twitter better than I did.

Twitter started to become a problem when I realized I kept checking new tweets in real time, as they were posted. I always had a browser tab set on Twitter to check incoming messages. And this the asset I hadn't figured when I came to this site, the real potential of Twitter isn't so much about blogging, it's the concatenation of at least three key social aspects of the Internet: blog, chatrooms and instant messaging. You're invited to talk openly like in a blog, you meet strangers like in a chatroom, you have conversations at all times like in IM.

Some people are addicted to online games, some others may be to social networks, for my part I was hooked on chatrooms. That's one of the first things I did on the Internet and I spent an awful lot of time on it in the first years. Eventually I wised up and quit, but I know how easy it is to get dragged into conversations that last for hours. And now I realize that, imperceptibly, this is what I've done with Twitter, I've turned it into a subtle yet highly efficient chatroom. Day in, day out. The reason why I've decided to take a break from it is to get my time back and not fall into this same old trap.

Coincidentally, I just read today a medical article (well, the beginning at least) from the New York Times on the effects of computers, websites and other virtual gadgets on our brain. I don't think I am as badly addicted as the family man who's interviewed but I did find some worrying similitudes. For instance, the effects that it may have on long term concentration as we spend more and more time fluttering from one application to another, from one website to another, from one tweet to the next.

I know the way I write English is wrong, unnatural, I can see it, I can feel it, but unlike when I'm writing French I don't know how to fix it. I should have studied more! Except I couldn't... oh well. I will have to!

(...whenever I have time and that may not be soon)