melle_chantilly

Well, no regret about the Trippen shoes since I finally got my grandfather's insurance money! I woke up on Tuesday with a migraine (I'm kicking myself because on Monday night I was shivery and exhausted and that was most definitely the aura. Taking a triptan before bed would probably have saved me a headache, quite literally). We had planned to go to the Petit Bain birthday party/KVB/Oiseaux Tempête that night but I felt like as usual the migraine would probably cripple me for a few days.

I took a triptan as soon as I could in the morning and then was knocked down by exhaustion. And... then I refreshed my bank account and shazam! Monies! I know now the remedy to my migraine: getting a big chunk of cash. Might be difficult to put to use, but let's say the excitement compensated quite fairly for the exhaustion. Weird but not bad at all! So after telling Clémentine to find a concert buddy if she could (which she luckily did), I told her we could meet up for drinks at the Petit Bain deck (which is free access).

Concert 

So we met and had a pint, and then the concert didn't seem like such a bad idea after all. So I bought another ticket and went! I wish I had the opportunity to be that carefree and improvise more often. We had a lovely time, Clementine, her male best friend and I. Didn't see a lot of the concerts in fact. Ate fries, chatted, just all around nice.



Out and about

Yesterday I met again with Clémentine for a shopping spree. :)



We met at Sèvre Babylone, to go to the Marlies Dekkers shop. Well, turns out it doesn't exist anymore. Hah. So we walked in Paris, up to Saint Germain, then Saint Michel, where we visited the Un Regard Moderne book store. It's an insane store with thousands of books piled up seemingly randomly. Pretty hard to navigate (put your bag down somewhere). Lots of weird, indie, dark, kinky stuff. I bought a lovely (and oh boy, huge) red Val Denham screen print (in fact the very cover of that book). I might hang it in the bedroom, near the window. It would be smashing in the living room but I didn't realise how big it was! :D



I also bought some black toothpaste tablets at Lush. Boom! Love these. We then walked towards l'île Saint Louis (making a stop at Shakespeare & co and their coffee house). Then we wandered in Le Marais and found a little passage leading to a maze of courtyards with a few shops and restaurants. Amazing. So quiet. In the centre of Paris. It's called Le Village Saint Paul, and, as a plaque told me, it used to be Charles V's private garden. I definitely need to go back.



Then we went through Bastille, I bought a weird top in an outlet store (two circles in knit viscose, sewn together with holes for the neck and arms, cool). We went through another super cute village-like passage (cour Damoye). So many secret places in Paris! :)

We stopped by a small lingerie shop which stocked a bit of Marlies so I could figure out my size, even though I didn't buy anything. The owner was a lovely woman, and self-proclaimed medium. We talked shop (quite literally) as she saw I knew my shit when it comes to lingerie, so I explained HMS, and she was super interested and suggested we might work together. I don't know about that, but I gave her my email address. Talking can't hurt. She also saw that I have a very positive aura, with strong good values. *shrug* Thanks, I guess? :)

Then we walked towards Père Lachaise to make a stop at the Souffle Continu record store. But we passed a street, rue Pache, and my brain clicked. I had no idea where it was and turns out I passed it dozen times recently! So we made a turn and visited the beautiful gourmet food shop my friend Aurélie opened a few months ago. I hadn't seen her in a long while, and had meant to pop by for weeks. It was so nice seeing her again, and admiring the product of her hard work. It's a lovely, cosy place, with lots of great interesting products (including seasoned roasted crickets!), beer, chocolate, preserves... We had a beer and chatted for a while. I stocked up on chocolate and we all went our separate ways. I need to go back with Math, for lunch maybe?



I went on my way home to Souffle Continu and bought a couple of records. A lovely, tiny white cat has adopted the store, and came around after I arrived. Oh my. I miss cat headbumps so bad. I browsed records as she rubbed against my hands, and listened to new stuff as she plopped on the CD player and showed me her belly. It's not like I needed an extra incentive to go to the store often. :) I bought "Too" by Klara Lewis, on the owner's recommendation (neat dark ambient) and got a little something for Math.



Wow, I'm exhausted today. That was quite a walk! I think I managed to avoid sunburns, despite my going out with no hat or sunscreen, like a dumbass.

Music

I've uploaded a new mix. I've had good feedback so far (I'm really interested in critique, as i don't really know what I'm doing, tbh)

These days I've been listening to Boy Harsher, Ash Code, Geistform, Kite, Tiamat, and Ari Mason. it's interesting how Mason's record left me cold when it came out, and had me fall in love 30 sec in when I tried again a few days ago. So sensual, honest, captivating. There's something quite IAMXy to it, and her voice is wonderful.

Health

Well, I let my throat be and I think I'm in the clear. Fingers crossed! It's always hard to be sure, because few and far between are the days where my lymph nodes aren't the size of golf balls.

I'm pretty good these days. Very thankful for my friends, irl and online, and for Math. I feel loved and supported.

Out and about



We were supposed to go clubbing last night with Clémentine but we just hung out together at Les Furieux instead, drinking absinth. I was going to say we decided to be adults but I'm not sure it qualifies. :P


Givenchy by Ricardo Tisci

On Thursday we went to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs with Lawbenstriel to see the Fashion Forward exhibition. Lots of incredible garments, from the Eighteenth century to nowadays. Both of us have seen a lot of fashion exhibitions though, including at the Art Décos, so I suppose we're getting a little blasé. The most incredible pieces were already known to us. Still a great exhibition with, as usual for the museum, a stunning scenography.



Music

I've been listening to Kontravoid a lot, The Horrorist, Tempers again (Tempers is sooo, so good). 

Health

I've been meaning to write lately, mostly about the butoh performance we saw on Saturday, but I'm pretty tired (turns out having strep throat for over a month isn't too great. I don't seem to be very contagious, so that's good, still). Anyway, I'm around, hi!

Music

I've been on a post-punk/cold wave/new wave/minimal wave binge these days, exploring (and re-discovering) the more recent stuff. Tempers, Winter Severity Index, Ash Code, Veil Of Light, Circa Tapes, Cold Showers, Figure Study, Pure Ground, Bootblacks, Sixth June...

I've made a new mix with a bunch of these and older stuff:

Health

We're coping with Punky's loss better that I would have thought. The first days were quite rough, especially in the evening, but I'm okay now. 

Strep throat is back. I started a second round of antibiotics and discovered to my dismay that my arms got covered in hives again. It finally clicked and I think I might be getting allergic or oversensitive to antibiotics. :( It did the same thing with the first round (different molecule). Calling my doc today.

Out and about

I was pretty active this week. Saw lots of friends, enjoyed the sun and the streets of Paris, had a lovely time with Math (we did two garage sales in a row on Sunday and went for pancakes on Sunday).

Music

I bought records from TSTI and Charnier and have been playing these quite a bit. I also listened a lot to She Past Away, Luminance, Weird Candle, Essaie Pas... 

Photography

I'm super behind posting my concert photos! I have to upload my photo of Collection D'Arnell Andrea/Jad Wio. Here are my photos of Xeno/The Horrorist/Peine Perdue (link to album)



Crafting

I'm working on trousers from a Burda pattern. They're turning out great, so hopefully it will kick me back into gear as far as sewing goes (I wasn't very happy with my latest projects).

Perfume

I've also unearthed my BPAL collection. Wearing Ice these days (it's nice with the hot weather).

Health

I'm well! I saw my GP yesterday and she was pleased to see me doing good. She said jokingly she should see me less often (but still wrote me a script for only one months *eyeroll*)

I'm working out hard with my PT. No pain, just sweat. :)

Music

I've received the Hante LP this morning. I have listened to it a lot already and it is really pretty, so I thought I should buy it. :) A bit sad that I missed her show last week. Oh well. It's funny, but since the Teenage Menopause night with Essaie Pas, I find myself listening to a lot of francophone music, when I had a really hard time with most, not so long ago. Essaie Pas has really grown on me, and the last album from Peine Perdue is really good.



I've been listening to loads of Blush Response too (going to Lyon to see him live in a few weeks, whee), Blac Kolor, Ontal, Sarin...

Photography



Here are the photos I took of Clément. Nudes, just in case your boss is around and doesn't enjoy the sight of a surprise penis. (clicky)

Crafting

Ah! I've been struggling on the drop crotch trousers I am making with the black and rust tartan. They came out a wee small, and I've had to unpick the belt twice. Le sigh. They're... not great. The fabric is pretty fragile too and will probably get snagged at the first occasion. Oh well. I might alter them some more until I manage to get something satisfying out of them. I was bound to sew a failed project anyway!

Watching 



Yesterday, I watched Hush, by the guy who directed Absentia (and Occulus, which I haven't seen and am not sure I can). I liked it, overall. It is a home invasion movie, and the main protagonist is deaf, and it feels like a rather exploitative premise. I was iffy at first, but turns out her hearing impairment isn't the center of the movie in the sense that the intruder doesn't focus particularly on it, and she is totally badass, in a clever and composed way (and quite stunning too). So I'd recommend it (TW for flashing lights, and implied rape threat once). Also, Mike Flanagan, the director, doesn't like jump scares. I can't swear there aren't any, because I don't mind them (although they are 99.9% of the time very cheap and lazy).

Health

I got rid of strep after 3 weeks, finally! It was never too bad, but a bit scary.

Concert

We went to see Peine Perdue, The Horrorist and Xeno & Oaklander live on Friday night, Clémentine and I. We met Lawbenstriel and Clément there. I chatted a few minutes with Oliver too, finally. Peine Perdue was good, I like their new album. I was a bit underwhelmed by Oliver after his show at Cabaret Sauvage last time. It was just so early! So the audience was a lot less responsive. I did take tons of pictures though and they're different, a bit more action, a bit rougher. Xeno was honestly not my thing so we went on the roof with Clémentine to stare at the sky and get drunk.

We went, Clementine, Lawbenstriel, Clement & I, to the afterparty and proceeded to get pretty drunk and dance to EBM classics and newer stuff too (yay!). It was a nice evening, although not exactly how I expected it, and I am sad I missed Mlada Fronta and Hante in another part of the city.

Watching 



I watched It Follows (twice actually! Once when Math was away, and once again today with him).

There was a huge controversy on French feminist blogs when it was released. Reading such wildly contradictory reviews back then made me file it under "I don't know, maybe not" but somehow it cropped back up on my radart.

I really liked it. It's a beautiful tribute to Carpenter, with heavy nods to other horror classics, and a strong Sofia Coppola flavour (both thematically and visually). There are a lot of very subtle clues in the movie (I do not recommend watching it while faffing about like I did the first time because I missed things).

The plot is paper thin, but that leaves more space for certain themes to develop (teenage sexuality, becoming an adult, STDs, parental neglect and abuse).

To address the elephant in the room, I find it odd to condemn a movie for being sexist when it is about sexism. That's how I read it anyway. Yes, the young women in the movie are sexualised and objectified. And while their male counterpart aren't, they are depicted as constantly objectifying women. I don't think it's an accident.

It's a movie about becoming an adult and navigating society's expectations about gender roles. I don't think the objectification of women there as gratuitous at all. It would be like saying that Virgin Suicides (the parallel is quite easy) is a sexist movie when it's a movie about the male gaze.

Anyway, I recommend it. It's slow, scary and rather paranoia inducing.

As far as TW go, there's one sex scene that is disturbing, and an assault scene that you see coming and which I didn't mind it too much, for what it's worth. I can tell more with spoilers in the comments if anyone asks.

Health

I'm back to normal, mood-wise. Had a lovely day with Math yesterday. We went out a little bit: to Cream for coffee, to the cobbler for shoe polish (my shiny combat boots make me so happy) then to restock on chocolate. Then we played Netrunner. :)


:D

Music

I played a lot of records (Schwefelgelb, Exoteric Continent, The Present Moment, Horrorist) and we also listened to ANOHNI, Jessy Lanza, Blush Response and Circles.

Out and about

Friends were DJing at a bar nearby so I popped by after 22pm. It was pretty quiet but we had a good time and I was able to watch them mix. And I might have been giving it a go at home today. =D

Watching

We've resumed our watching of Fargo, and I really really like it (we're still at the very beginning). The cast is fantastic. I'm really tired of Martin Freeman's face but he's excellent in it.

Health

I'm feeling pretty energetic these days. Throat is better (although I yelled a lot last night lol).

Concert

Schwefelgelb!! OMG. They were so. amazing. I wasn't sure what to expect tbh but they were delightful (despite quite a few technical problems) and delivered an absolutely perfect show. Just, wow. The crowd was crazy too (turns out I knew Schwefel fans and didn't even know it). 

Ame De Boue and The Wheal were good too. Pretty short set. The room started getting pretty packed for Schwefelgelb and I took some photos (strobes, so much strobes, ugh) but soon, the heat became rather intense and my lens got all foggy. Everyone started stripping in the front rows. I put my camera away and danced like I rarely do (front row slamming!). I almost passed out twice by the end. The set was quite long and super intense. :D I was surprisingly not in pain from taking pictures or lugging my backpack around. Just, good times.


Gallery here

Bonus dorkface with Eddy:


Music

Listened to Liste Noire, âˆ†AIMON, Autoclav 1.1, The Virgin Prunes...

Watching

Yesterday, Math, anatsuno  and I rewatched Cuisine Et Dépendances. Classic. Doesn't get old, really. They started watching Un Air De Famille but I had to leave for the concert. 

Health

I'm not dying from strep throat! It's only laryngitis, but boy is it painful at night (during the day I'm fine). I am working at the fabric shop tomorrow and I should be fine. I'll try not to kiss any customer on the mouth. :P

I was pretty much a champ yesterday and managed to see the doctor to get my throat checked (harder than it sounds, all the doctors are bloody gone right now), call and get all the infos about how to be in the clear for my grand-father's insurance money, do some dyeing and knit a fair bit.

Music

Started the day with Mr.Kitty and Encephalon, did some dyeing to Manic Panic. :)

Watching

I started watching Bosch, and I'm considering resuming watching Person Of Interest (no clue where I left it at, might start at beginning of season 3).

Crafting

I dyed my third Viajante black and dyed two DK skeins for my Askews Me Dickie (one solid black, one deep teal).

Reading

Just started re-reading The Lord Of The Barnyard. It's as good as I remembered. :)

Health

I'm coming down with a cold. I'm a wreck this morning. I'm also sore from PT yesterday, which would be fine in normal condition, but adds an extra layer of hell today. Mood is good though.

Kitty is doing fine. Her meds seem to be helping. She is her regular old self now. It took a little while to adjust doses so she wouldn't be sick, but I think we're getting the hang of it.

Music

Lost of Schwefelgelb, and we listened to Mlada Fronta and Cervello Elettronico while playing Netrunner. I really love this game! We had lots of fun (and I won both games, haha :P)

Watching



I finally watched Ex Machina. I was wary at first, when the trailer came out, because I don't exactly trust Alex Garland when it comes to the treatment of women, but good friends told me I was missing out and managed to change my mind.

Well, for starters, it is obviously gorgeous. Not just Ava's design, but the whole photography. It is sleek and hazy at the same time, which is fitting for a movie centered on the objectification of women.

Interesting, albeit not revolutionary, things are said about AIs. It's particularly relevant after the Tay fiasco. Vague spoilers ahead:

I'm glad Domnhall Gleeson did TFA, because he was getting close to being pigeonholed as a self-centered douchecanoe (thinking of Frank in particular, where he plays wonderfully the Good Guy™). As the movie unfolds, his character appears like an even worse person than Nathan, who is unabashedly using AIs for his own personal gratification. Caleb doesn't even consider the possibility that Ava might have agency, all the while posturing as his protector/friend/saviour. And I personally prefer assholes who know and do not hide what they are. Intentions aren't magical and all that.

Anyway, good plot, not revolutionary, but makes you think, and very enjoyable. (A teeny weeny bit of gore, let me know if you need CW)