Lex Joy

@aeneas-nin

Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. Occasional game dev. Author of LEGEND OF THE RIVER KING (Boss Fight Books) and editor of FLAXMAN LOW: OCCULT DETECTIVE (MIT Press). He/him. alexanderbjoy.com

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Bluesky

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Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 15d

By some metrics, it is almost inspiring.

Another TORSO spread. This one has the same silhouette of two cops talking... Repeated twelve times over two pages. The Photoshopped background alone changes across the two pages (and even then, it only changes once).

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 15d

I am enjoying TORSO, but am regularly distracted by the laziness of its art. Look at all those identical copied-and-pasted drawings. This spread isn't even the worst offender.

A spread from the graphic novel TORSO. Approximately 50% of the art consists of portraits that are repeated at least once, without variation. It happens a LOT in this book.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 22d

Why fight one another over nothing when you could post or share a dog photo

My wonderful idiot dog curled up on his bed like a bindle sack, with his head hanging off the edge.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 23d

Sunset behind a wall of clouds

A sky entirely blocked by dark blue clouds, but the lower half contains light traces of orange from the setting sun.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 24d

Oh, that's some primo timeline synergy right there.

Two posts:

The first, by Rabih Alameddine, shows the artwork "Farewell Kiss" by Mahmoud Obaidi, which consists of an image of George W. Bush ringed by men's formal shoes.

The second, by Improbable Maps, outlines a hypothetical map: "The map's form: shoes / It shows: rainfall / Its purpose: sacred."

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 25d

Peak Business English: A rejection letter so avoidant and uncommitted that it never explicitly states you've been turned down for a role.

Dear Alexander,

Thank you for your interest in the [REDACTED] position at [REDACTED]. The search committee has spent a great deal of time reviewing the large number of resumes received for this position.

The review process was lengthy given the number of resumes and the qualified candidates that applied. The committee has narrowed the search to the candidates who best fit our needs at this time.

Again, we truly appreciate your interest in [REDACTED]. The committee joins me in wishing you all the best as you pursue other professional opportunities.

[No signature, because who the hell would put their name to a piece of writing this awful? Fuck off, you cowardly piece of McKinsey-brained shit.]

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 27d

This was a good one, but I managed to bullseye the culprit and main twist in the first ten pages. 😅

A paperback copy of Yukito Ayatsuji's THE MILL HOUSE MURDERS. It shows a pink mask on a green background. The background is a blueprint of the eponymous house.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· 27d

My parents sent me a picture of the orange skies where they live (i.e., close enough to the Canadian wildfires to notice). It looks like an aged photo from the 1970s.

A photo of tall treetops against a yellow-orange sky. The picture looks like an aged photograph rather than a modern-day digital snapshot.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jul 13

Lovely cloud formations tonight!

Some nicely textured clouds with a streak of blue sky roughly bisecting the frame at a diagonal.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jul 10

Interviewing Damon Lindelof about fixing plot holes is like consulting Jeffrey Skilling about above-board accounting.

Part of the table of contents from the Scriptnotes book. The chapter is called "Plot (and Plot Holes)." There's a section called "First Person: Damon Lindelof." You'll recall that Lindelof is famous for his work on Lost, in which all the mysteries stemmed from A LITERAL PLOT HOLE at the center of the island.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jul 8

I've been waiting for the opportunity to start this one, and it is finally here!

A paperback copy of Seishi Yokomizo's SHE WALKS AT NIGHT. The cover depicts a woman in black-and-white walking like a somnambulist with a sword at her side.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jul 2

Jack does not share my enthusiasm for the World Cup match.

A male Labrador retriever mix, curled up asleep on a couch.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 23

An oddly tall day lily I encountered this evening.

The orange bloom of a day lily. The photo doesn't capture the height well, but it must have been almost five feet tall.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 22

Wanter of chicken

A male Labrador retriever mix stretching off a dog bed and staring intently at the camera.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 22

Always proofread!

A snippet from Yukito Ayatsuji's THE CLOCK HOUSE MURDERS. A sentence nobody edited reads, "He look around."

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 20

Jack was clingy after being left at home during a grocery run.

A male Labrador retriever mix lying on his side. He stares directly into the camera with a manic sort of attachment as a hand scratches his chest.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 16

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY is a 10/10 comedy, not least because it has segments like this:

Some of Harry's lines from the WHEN HARRY MET SALLY screenplay. The passage reads, "I dreamed I was making love, and the Olympic judges were watching as usual. I nailed the compulsories. So this is it. The finals. I get a 9.8 from the Canadian. I get a perfect 10 from the American. And my mother, dressed as an East German, gives me a 5.6. You think there's any meaning to that?"

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 15

Here's the included manual for those curious.

Instructions for assembling the beetle model in Japanese. There's a URL in the bottom-right for those who want more info: https://gashapon.jp/dangomushi

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 15

My friend @hotsliceofjesus.bsky.social brought me a gachapon beetle from Japan!

A realistic model stag beetle with a yellow-brown carapace.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 13

I am reading the screenplay for THE BIG CHILL for various reasons, and was unprepared for this sudden act of violence against gaming.

Lines from a screenplay:

MEG (to Sam): ... What am I hearing? I don't want to hear that.

SAM: What d'ya mean?

MEG: Video games? You're telling me you relax with video games?

MICHAEL: Don't knock video games.

MEG: Jesus, I let you guys out of my sight for a little while and you develop a bunch of moronic interests.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 10

A shapely new exuvia found on the garage this morning.

A brown cicada molt (in excellent condition) against a background of painted white wood.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 2

Read this rulebook flavor text and tell me Blimp isn't the most relatable character ever.

Flavor text for Blimp from the Magical Athlete rulebook. It reads, "Built to fly, born to explode."

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· Jun 1

Playing Magical Athlete, I felt a great kinship with this anthropomorphic blimp who can only respond with confusion and terror as it randomly self-destructs.

The Blimp card from Magical Athlete. It depicts a cartoon blimp with a confused expression. Fiery explosions consume its rear end. Its rules text reads, "When I start my turn before the second corner of the track, I get +3 to my main move. On or after that corner, I get -1." Flavor text below reads, "BLOW IT".

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 29

A screenshot from Problem Sleuth. A scene of utter chaos in a hallway, including a door blocked by a large trombone and a dead body with a gunshot wound. The caption beneath reads, "You wonder what the fuck happened out here."

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 26

Remember when the icon for Apple Maps even suggested a car flying off an overpass?

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 25

A friend who's visiting Japan reports that you can buy realistic beetle toys from gachapon machines there. This would have eaten all my allowance money as a kid.

A white capsule toy machine that offers six extremely realistic beetles. Supplied by Bandai, if that's at all relevant to you.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 24

From today's morning walk. Might be a wild potato? Or else a morning glory.

White flowers with deep purple centers growing out of a vine on the ground. Dew is collected on the petals.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 24

Rarely do I see a timeline synergy this immediate.

A post by Corey Atad bemoaning Bluesky's "palpable desire to be ensconced." Immediately above, sky mocks it.

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 24

I realize it's far from Google's worst AI offense, but I am enjoying how badly the "budget" box, that no one asked for, is shitting the bed.

Search results for the film "Obsession." A box labeled "Budget" reads only, "hello world."

Lex Joy@aeneas-nin· May 23

My Cool Bug today is this Larger Elm Leaf Beetle I found.