... is a word that my French prof used to describe our class performance in recent times, which is completely and utterly true. It is getting increasingly harder to wake up in the mornings, and increasingly harder to get myself to do work... if this continues in a similar fashion then i'll be spending all day in bed by next week. So sad that when i think about getting up in the mornings, the thought of going for lunch between classes motivates me just about as much as the actual classes do.
Then again today i felt like just staying home and doing the readings for today because they were interesting and i didn't quite get to them (altho i have now finished Spybots)... where i previously wouldn't care two hoots about reading something i wasn't actually going to use in a paper or in class discussion. Realignment of my objectives in life!
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Italy
So i realise i haven't posted any photos from that country that i spent the whole of last week in, and thus i'm temporarily displaying only the last 3 posts so the page isn't flooded with photos and a long load time. So here are some reasons why Italy rocks:
Italian cappuccinos dusted with coffee powder for breakfast.
The one shot i got of part of the palace barberini ceiling before they got close enough to stop me. Thankfully the casio is fast. Unfortunately I was too nice to persist in taking photos after the "art student needing to write a paper" gambit failed.
Italy rocks because it has gelaterias. This one has cone-iferous vegetation growing in the shop. I can see you wincing. Good.
Italians are really crazy about their sports.
Loads of sculptures outside.
Loads of sculptures inside.
Holy people abound and make you feel like being a good person. Note also the gelato stand behind the nun.
People trying to figure out the latin.
Nice bridges. Note the dome in the background -- that's St. Peter's Basilica.
Angels.
The buildings have elaborate facades! So many of them! Even random houses!
Old school pizzerias.
New fangled gelaterias.
Pretty churches.
Rome has a colosseum. The Colosseum. But i think Tunisia's one nicer.
It has the Vatican museums. Which, sadly, are superdupercrowded.
Multiple copies of Michelangelo's David lying around (and an original, too.)
Pretty bridges, yes.
Having the time to sit and wait for Sunset.
Riversides by night.
Full moons.
Venice.
More beautiful churches.
Even the doorbells are funky.
Jedi Gondola races.
Huuuuuuge shopping alleys.
Narrow streets.
The streets are crawling with god....grandfathers.
The most elaborate flying buttresses i've seen in my life.
And finally, the reason why Italy REALLY rocked:
Spending more money on desserts than on the main course. Meet the honorable mssrs Tiramisu, Wildberry cheesecake, and wildberry-fied Panna Cotta.
Ya apparently the above made me really happy.
Of course there was also a lot a lot a lot of pretty art, but unfortunately I couldn't take photos of most of them. Suffice to say that I'm avoiding any artworks made from 1200 to about 1500s for now.
Italian cappuccinos dusted with coffee powder for breakfast.
The one shot i got of part of the palace barberini ceiling before they got close enough to stop me. Thankfully the casio is fast. Unfortunately I was too nice to persist in taking photos after the "art student needing to write a paper" gambit failed.
Italy rocks because it has gelaterias. This one has cone-iferous vegetation growing in the shop. I can see you wincing. Good.
Italians are really crazy about their sports.
Loads of sculptures outside.
Loads of sculptures inside.
Holy people abound and make you feel like being a good person. Note also the gelato stand behind the nun.
People trying to figure out the latin.
Nice bridges. Note the dome in the background -- that's St. Peter's Basilica.
Angels.
The buildings have elaborate facades! So many of them! Even random houses!
Old school pizzerias.
New fangled gelaterias.
Pretty churches.
Rome has a colosseum. The Colosseum. But i think Tunisia's one nicer.
It has the Vatican museums. Which, sadly, are superdupercrowded.
Multiple copies of Michelangelo's David lying around (and an original, too.)
Pretty bridges, yes.
Having the time to sit and wait for Sunset.
Riversides by night.
Full moons.
Venice.
More beautiful churches.
Even the doorbells are funky.
Jedi Gondola races.
Huuuuuuge shopping alleys.
Narrow streets.
The streets are crawling with god....grandfathers.
The most elaborate flying buttresses i've seen in my life.
And finally, the reason why Italy REALLY rocked:
Spending more money on desserts than on the main course. Meet the honorable mssrs Tiramisu, Wildberry cheesecake, and wildberry-fied Panna Cotta.
Ya apparently the above made me really happy.
Of course there was also a lot a lot a lot of pretty art, but unfortunately I couldn't take photos of most of them. Suffice to say that I'm avoiding any artworks made from 1200 to about 1500s for now.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
A sudden downpour of artistic inspiration
Waking up late today, I notice for the first time the beautiful lighting effects caused by the sunlight ceaselessly attempting to pierce through the thick red curtains which veil my unparalleled view of the tramway construction. Everything is bathed in a warm red glow, so of course I turn over in bed and take a few photos.
(ok so it looked better through sleepy eyes than through a camera lens)
(attempted early morning false artisticness)
I decide at that moment to wander around Paris with my camera (and readings, of course) and explore this beautiful city and do a photo series on the exploration of light. Whereupon it immediately started pouring sheets of rain.
Undeterred, I wait for it to stop (as sudden showers always do, soon enough) and rush out, armed with my double-layered Chicago umbrella -- leaving my key in the room in the process (damn). Frontdeskguy is nowhere to be found, as usual, so i head out anyway.
I walk around the St. Paul area, find a village of antique shops, and eventually sit down at a cafe along Rue St. Antoine, after 30 minutes and 1 quick spatter of rain. Order a confit de canard and a beer. The duck turns out to be the fattest thing ever, with the potatoes smothered in garlic and parsely. In other words, it was the best i've ever had. Potatoes are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle, and oh how much I've missed garlic! Duck is sauceless, but it doesn't need any, moist and flavourful and falling off the bone. As i sit there having my private food orgasm, it starts to rain again. Fuck, it's diluting my duck. The sombre serious waiter extends a canopy with a press of a button, bringing a dry (dark) sky above my head. I eat my hot potatoes, people scurry along the streets.
I get so much utility out of the main course that I happily order a dessert when prompted. Tarte tatin avec glace arrives, I burn myself on the hot plate. Good sign. The apples are dusted with cinnammon and I hurry to eat the pie before the ice cream melts, pausing only to take a photo after the initial excitement.... which turns out not to do the apple pie justice, so i won't show it here.
A van drives off opposite, I get a clear view for once of the colorful fruiterer opposite before a car comes and takes its parking spot 1 minute later.
Amazing meal. The pocketbook takes a bigger than intended hit, and I decide to just hang around Paris next weekend and use travelling money and time to just eat well, instead.
Cafe-Brasserie La fontaine Sully, Corner of Rue St. Antoine and Rue de petit musc. Musc what? I don't know.
Popped down to meet Anson and Wincy for dinner after my fruitless reading afternoon (didn't bring correct books so ended up just reading ahead ahead ahead). Dinner was at a discovered place in Montmartre, touristy, but intriguing. First time i've had Raclette, but probably also the last.
Raclette is sort of like Fondue, only instead of a hot pot of melted cheese heated from below, it's a huge slab of cheese melted on the spot with this huge heating element that you put 5cm from the cheese. You scrape off the cheese, and slather it upon your food (in this case coldcut meats and potatoes). It's rather fun, but quite heavygoing and in this case quite salty, too. A picture says a thousand words:
(ok so it looked better through sleepy eyes than through a camera lens)
(attempted early morning false artisticness)
I decide at that moment to wander around Paris with my camera (and readings, of course) and explore this beautiful city and do a photo series on the exploration of light. Whereupon it immediately started pouring sheets of rain.
Undeterred, I wait for it to stop (as sudden showers always do, soon enough) and rush out, armed with my double-layered Chicago umbrella -- leaving my key in the room in the process (damn). Frontdeskguy is nowhere to be found, as usual, so i head out anyway.
I walk around the St. Paul area, find a village of antique shops, and eventually sit down at a cafe along Rue St. Antoine, after 30 minutes and 1 quick spatter of rain. Order a confit de canard and a beer. The duck turns out to be the fattest thing ever, with the potatoes smothered in garlic and parsely. In other words, it was the best i've ever had. Potatoes are crispy on the edges and soft in the middle, and oh how much I've missed garlic! Duck is sauceless, but it doesn't need any, moist and flavourful and falling off the bone. As i sit there having my private food orgasm, it starts to rain again. Fuck, it's diluting my duck. The sombre serious waiter extends a canopy with a press of a button, bringing a dry (dark) sky above my head. I eat my hot potatoes, people scurry along the streets.
I get so much utility out of the main course that I happily order a dessert when prompted. Tarte tatin avec glace arrives, I burn myself on the hot plate. Good sign. The apples are dusted with cinnammon and I hurry to eat the pie before the ice cream melts, pausing only to take a photo after the initial excitement.... which turns out not to do the apple pie justice, so i won't show it here.
A van drives off opposite, I get a clear view for once of the colorful fruiterer opposite before a car comes and takes its parking spot 1 minute later.
Amazing meal. The pocketbook takes a bigger than intended hit, and I decide to just hang around Paris next weekend and use travelling money and time to just eat well, instead.
Cafe-Brasserie La fontaine Sully, Corner of Rue St. Antoine and Rue de petit musc. Musc what? I don't know.
Popped down to meet Anson and Wincy for dinner after my fruitless reading afternoon (didn't bring correct books so ended up just reading ahead ahead ahead). Dinner was at a discovered place in Montmartre, touristy, but intriguing. First time i've had Raclette, but probably also the last.
Raclette is sort of like Fondue, only instead of a hot pot of melted cheese heated from below, it's a huge slab of cheese melted on the spot with this huge heating element that you put 5cm from the cheese. You scrape off the cheese, and slather it upon your food (in this case coldcut meats and potatoes). It's rather fun, but quite heavygoing and in this case quite salty, too. A picture says a thousand words:
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
For those wondering, I'm in Italy at the moment for the rest of the week. More precisely, Florence, birthplace of Renaissance!
Long story short, have made a tour of plenty of churches/cathedrals/basilicas as well as pizzarias/osterias/gelaterias.
My favourite artpiece from this trip so far: The Triumph of Divine Providence as a ceiling fresco in the Palazzo Barberini. Truly amazing usage of depth and shadows and stunning details! Plus i'm biased since i've spent about 2 week staring at this painting, even if i didn't know its name at the time, while i was piecing together this 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
But more to the point of the title: I've seen works by Michelangelo and Leonardo and Raphael so far these 4 days, and am going to hopefully see Michelangelo's David tomorrow, which leaves just 1 more artist to check out and complete the ninja turtle collection. Plus i guess i need some shredded vegetables and splinters of wood panelling from altarpieces.
No photos yet! Soon i will remember to bring a CD to the internet place.
Long story short, have made a tour of plenty of churches/cathedrals/basilicas as well as pizzarias/osterias/gelaterias.
My favourite artpiece from this trip so far: The Triumph of Divine Providence as a ceiling fresco in the Palazzo Barberini. Truly amazing usage of depth and shadows and stunning details! Plus i'm biased since i've spent about 2 week staring at this painting, even if i didn't know its name at the time, while i was piecing together this 3000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
But more to the point of the title: I've seen works by Michelangelo and Leonardo and Raphael so far these 4 days, and am going to hopefully see Michelangelo's David tomorrow, which leaves just 1 more artist to check out and complete the ninja turtle collection. Plus i guess i need some shredded vegetables and splinters of wood panelling from altarpieces.
No photos yet! Soon i will remember to bring a CD to the internet place.
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