Moving Blogs

Hey! I have actually moved my blog! Each place had things I liked more than the other, but I actually figured out ways to mimick what I like here over there, soooo...! (plus the photo upload time is ridiculously faster on the other site.)

See you there!
The address isn't all that different.

Space Invaders

I have an immense love for an anonymous artist by the name of Space Invader.
After reading an interview with him in the 10th anniversary issue of Giant Robot, I've thought that this guy is just the coolest "street" artist out there. Seriously, making space invader images out of mosaic tiles and in the middle of the night installing them on buildings all around the world is such a nice spin on the whole overrun-by-amateurs world of Graffiti art.

Imagine my surprise when we found not one, but two Space Invaders in Paris!



It was the best part of Paris!

On the Behavioral Instincts of Air-Born Insects

In the United States:
Bugs go about daily business. Fly around. Make buzzing noises.

In France:
Bugs divebomb my face.
Constantly.

Shippy

This little guy has won my heart. He came in when we left the door open, and proceeded to make himself very comfortable.
I'm honestly not complaining.

New Cat to Name

It takes us a while to call cats by their actual names, but we've finally started calling Monsieur Fluffy Butt Cat "Shippy", which is his actual name. Fortunately, we now have a new cat to make up a name for. This sweetheart suddenly came up our flight of stairs out of nowhere to say hi, and I'll admit she was tricky to photograph. She was also clearly in heat. For now, she is In-Heat-Cat.


She's also very friendly, and when she noticed I was taking her picture, ran at my hand and headbutted me.

Columns at Senanque

This entire place was freezing cold, but the columns were worth the trip. Every single one had a different top based off of a different flower. Not sure which flowers, but they were amazing just the same.

Big Ass Cloud

forced me to use the panoramic funtion on photoshop to be able to show the whole thing. Sadly the lantern didn't make it out so well.

Lame Tourism at the Abbaye de Senanque

The Valley Disappears

So all we can see is construction.

Travel Portfolio in Bonniex

This guy was barking at me earlier in the morning, and I was overjoyed to realize he was sleeping after I left. I'm a sucker for dogs, of course, and before a classmate of mine woke him up with her constant photo-taking, this guy was a pleasure to draw and watch. The barking right after though, not so much.


I'm not very good at landscapes, though it may just be that I don't like them. Half the class was up on this wall drawing the view across the valley, and I sat with them and pretended to do the same. Hopefully they didn't notice that I was drawing them.

Life Drawing

First life drawing session was the other night. Apparently I forgot how much I enjoy them. Almost two hours flew by in what felt like twenty minutes.


I guess only having to go half a block really makes things easier. In Savannah, it was more of a bus system hassle, mixed with obligations to classes I disliked and bad, grumpy models.


Up a flight of stairs, though? I can do that. Especially if it ends at 10:00PM and I can be in bed at 10:03.

Future House Plans

I believe that in the future, I will meticulously hand paint my wallpaper.

It can't be all that hard, really...

So much love for the mortified and disgruntled children.

So much love.

Bories in Gordes

I love how seemingly half of the French language is not pronounced.

After our history teacher sent us on a treasure hunt to find a bories nearby, we discovered that it was actually an outhouse.

Now, do we tell her? Or just play along?

Either way, the actual bories were surprisingly cool. Living in one wouldn't be all that bad, though this area does get cold, and I can't imagine them being too warm in the middle of winter. I must admit that I was thoroughly impressed by the fact that some of these had lofts and second floors. Not bad! These things are sturdier than they look! Of course, they were somewhat restored, but I imagine it was only to the original point.

Tire-Bouchon?

Near Lacoste in a little place called Menerbes*. In such little place, where I can't tell one end from the other as it is all in a valley of farmland, there is a magical man named Yves Rousset-Rouard, who created the Musee du Tire-Bouchon. 

The wine culture here is huge. Of course, being as I don't drink wine, I have not been joining in on it. Not because I'm against wine, not because I'm cheap. I like the idea of it, I like the smell of it, the colors, the land, the creation, the culture, all of that, but I am in the opinion that it tastes kinda not good. It's pretty gross. It makes me squint and take tiny sips and then put off swallowing it until it's the temperature of my spit, and then I squeeze it down my throat while making a weird face.

Now, back to the tirebouchon, which are VERY IMPORTANT HERE!

Tire bouchon are corkscrews. And there is a museum of them. Over 1,000 of these little bottle openers.

Given, most people think of corkscrews as just simple spiral wire like devices that allow you to drink away your sorrows, but these go beyond that.

These things were awesome.

They were all different metals, woods, animal feet (wat?), tree branches, plastics, you name it. I somehow didn't end up with a photo of the one that was literally an animal hoof, including the fur. They had ones with penises, monks with the corkscrews where there crotches were, 1970s themes, corkscrews built into guns, into pocket knives, ones that reminded me of Shadow of Colossus, anchors, animal shapes,  it goes on and on.

Oddly enough, I have to say that out of all of them, the one I would probably buy for myself, if the situation came about where I would need one, it would be one of the simplest ones they had.
Call me odd, but these two caught my attention right away. I have to say they were my favorites. Weeird.

Dogs in Lacoste

In my mind, Savannah is known for its awesome cats that I find around the streets. Jones cat, Calvin, Garbage Butt, Punkin, Puddles, Buddha...* We go out of our way to name them, regardless of whether or not their owners (if they have any) put tags on them.

Here in Lacoste, there are a few cats, but even better are the dogs! Not because I'm one of those people that claims one species is superior, but because I rarely see free roaming dogs. People don't let their dogs loose in Savannah like they do their cats. One little guy here resembles Wishbone and likes to follow people around town until a new group comes along and pets him. There is a golden retriever that is always going somewhere, and will only stop momentarily to be petted, and barely reacts. He just stops walking like a train pausing on a track. 

This guy was at the goat gate watching Taylor eat pizza with adorable intensity. He apparently came out of nowhere. He was a beauty, though he moved more than my camera can deal with.

*Feel free to guess which of those names are given by owners. Two of them are not thought up by myself, my roomies or my boyfriend.

Greatest can design of all time.

I love this. I bought it as soon as I saw the art.

Orangina, I am your biggest fan.

I'm thinking Pulpeuse is a pun for pulp and pamplemousse? Either way, it tasted like grapefruit. I'm probably completely wrong.

Hot dog trees and walking tours.

With the legendary Andy. I swear this guy doesn't look like a teacher when he doesn't have classes. Otherwise he has dress pants, belt, and brightly patterned button up shirts. I kind of prefer this...

Also, we like the hot dog trees. 

View from the front door after nonstop rain.

Zombie Trees

For about a month now, my boy Pip and I have been trying to find the perfect zombie tree.

What is a zombie tree?

Well! A zombie tree is where we would hide in the event of a zombie infestation and attack! Think about it! A tree would be good shelter, would keep you out of reach, and are easy to get in and out of. Also, they allow you to survey the area. Zombies aren't known for tree climbing. 

Now, a zombie tree must have at least 5 key parts. 

• The first is that it must be tall enough to keep you safe, aka out of zombie arm range. Now, Pip and I have some tall, tall friends, and roommates, and roommates' boyfriends. So it must be at least 8 feet before the branches start.
  
• Second, a ZT must have multiple branches thick enough to support weight. Given, I'm pretty tiny, but you want a tree that'll hold more than just one person that weighs just 100 pounds.
  
• A ZT must have somewhat horizontal branches that you won't slide off of. 
  
• It must be able to fit more than 2 people, or fit 2 people comfortably, so that they may sleep.
• A good ZT should be relatively easy to get in and out of. Now, a tree with branches 30 ft up may sound awesome, but what if you fall? What if you need to get down? No, you want a tree that you can scale easily with the aid of a rope ladder or just a rope.

If you can't tell, this is a distracting hobby, which I sort of got Rachael into. And apparently, Lacoste and Apt has some good zombie trees!

Starting a trip with bad news.

Today I found out that last night on my Dad's birthday, my baby of 7 1/2 years died. She'd been okay for a while, my family believed she was recovering from an infection, but I suppose it flared up or something because she died last night...

I got her the weekend we went to see Harry Potter 1 in theaters. I've had her since 2001. I hope poor Elli fares well without her, I know he loved her, even if she was a little snot sometimes.

RIP Little Tombo, I'll miss you and your adorable little tear drop face.

Since her photo is nowhere to be found on my laptop, a little picture of her namesake should do.