Jealousy: Life Aquatic

If there's one thing I don't miss about living in Paris it's having to worry about what I'd wear to go buy muësli trois chocolats (very good chocolate-y cereal) at the nearest Franprix every Sunday morning. However,a couple months after moving back home I got myself a Jalouse subscription for my birthday, as in a way to keep practicing my French and also to drool all over their pretty editorials and what seem to be the coolest/most hipster events/people ever. If only I could still stroll out in my best clothes on a crisp Sunday morning to buy triple chocolate cereal, sigh.

Photos Édouard Plongeon

Réalisation Marie Gilbert

in Jalouse n.167, February 2014

There are actually two new numbers that have come out after this one, but I'm so behind with school work that I've just finished reading the February one :(( I guess the other two ones will be waiting for me right after I hand in my thesis project (only its project, not the actual thing) on May 2nd! 

Seriously though, can I dress in blue strawberry pants, cute hats and lobster brooches everyday for the rest of my life? 

A pleasant day to you,

V.

Movie Night #2

 Feeling lonely? I'll lend you a cat!

 

Rent-a-neko, 2012

I had little doubt I'd like this movie when I came across it online. IT'S JUST SO CUTE. It's the story of a young Japanese woman whose grandma, her only company, dies - and she's left behind with this weird gift of attracting cats. Since she knows that you can't feel lonely if you have cats around, she makes it her job (literally) to rent cats to lonely people. WHERE DO I SIGN UP? (for both the job and renting kitties). 

 

To find new clients, she walks around a lake with a megaphone yelling "feeling lonely? I'll lend you a cat!" with 6 cats in the back of her wagon. Lonely people respond to her call and, after she inspects their houses to see if they aren't just some creeps after cats, she lends them a cat that suits them.

 

At the end of their interview, she charges them only 1,000 yen. If you're not familiar with Japanese currencies, know that this is worth today less than 10 dollars! So her clients, always very thankful for her to have relieved them of their loneliness, ask her "oh, but how will you get by?" and she answers "why, do I look like I'm having trouble getting by?" and they'd go like, "yeah" (rude). So she always makes up a different day job that makes her millions of yen everyday, like a stock trader, a fortune teller or a commercial jungle writer (in all of which she's aided by her kitties, of course.)

 

The movie is also a great way to become familiar with Japanese culture. For example, her main dream is to find a husband (jeez). One thing I don't get about the movie though, is that she thinks of herself as this super weird person who can't deal with other people, when in reality she's just really kind and adorable to everyone. Also, a notion of Japanese people's problems: one of her clients is really sad because his daughter said he smells worse than her dog, hahaha. Oh, and there's also her transvestite neighbor who is always telling her how weird and ugly she is, and how she'll never find a husband. DUDE YOU'RE AN UGLY UGLY MAN-WOMAN. STOP TELLING HER LIES. RUDE.

OK, maybe I went a little overboard with my screenshots? It's just that this movie is so cuteeeee. Check out her flowery playsuit + polka-dotted red shirt combo, so pretty <3 Anyway, if you think you'd like a movie about cats, loneliness and filling up holes (not in a dirty way), I totes recommend this to ya.

A pleasant day to you,

V.

Top 4 Songs for Procrastinating

Committing to 30 hours of independent study a week is always a challenge, especially when you're at home surrounded by Easter eggs, a fluffy bed and the internet. It's even harder when you can enjoy all three at once.

I've come up with a number of ways to get myself motivated, such as a study timesheet to monitor my study hours and leaving fresh flowers on my desk to lure and keep me there. I've even created playlists of my Songs of the Week (yes, I have a spreadsheet of that too) to get me to work whilst the snazziest tunes are in the background. They also help me achieve arbitrary goals, like being able to work 10 songs in a row without opening 2048. Sadly, I've come to realise that these songs are Procrastination Songs that only distract me from working. I'll tell you why.

#4 Amber, Dick Diver
A gorgeous afternoon song. Everytime it plays, I want to eat bikkies and tea outside in the sun whilst it drips of syrupy afternoon gold. But I can't right now because it's autumn and cold. But the bikkies and tea still happen.

#3 Looking for the Magic, Dwight Twilley Band
I don't know. It kinda makes me want to dance.

#2 Twin Rivers, Big Scary
I think the first few lines of this song summarises my feelings for the day. Except I'm going through study apathy in place of a break up. I wish I could break up with my thesis sometimes.

#1 Wild Love, Gossling
This super fun song by Australian artist Gossling just gets me so giddy. Especially because I am soooo smitten at the moment. By many boys. But also one in particular.  And this song makes me think of how I want to make him fall in love with me. Not really. But really.

What are your Procrastination Songs?

N.

Lollapalooza Brazil ~~~~

Last week we had Lollapalooza here in São Paulo and it was really awesome: three of my fave bands played, two of which I had already seen before (Phoenix and Vampire Weekend), and, for the first time, ARCADE FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so excited, seriously. I had been waiting to see them live since I was 14. 

 

The festival was at São Paulo's racetrack, where Formula 1 happens. I had obvz never been there (racing ain't really my thing) so it was cool getting to know it. I couldn't help thinking "imagine how many people have died here!" all the time though. 

 

On Saturday, the best concert was definately Phoenix. They were so much better than the last time I saw them live, back in 2010. I also saw Julian Casablanca's concert, but I must confess it was a letdown. The Strokes were my favorite band for a good part of my life, so it was really sad for me seeing how Julian kinda sucks live - or maybe it's just his solo work that didn't work for me at all, I don't know. He did play two Strokes' songs, and they sounded really good. A little later that day there was Muse, but their singer was sick and didn't sing any of the choruses so...

 

On Sunday we decided to get there really early so we could enjoy the "Chefs' Stage", where a bunch of Brazilian chefs were making some good grubs. I had a burger from a place called Vinil Burguer, it was really good, and the best french fries from Bra.Do. The best was definitely a brownie milkshake from Barbar Confeitaria, so yummy! I guess I must have gained about 4 kilos that day. Totes worth it! Then my friend M. wanted to see Ellie Goulding with all the other teenagers, and everyone was going apeshit for her haha. She actually sings pretty well live!

Then it was Vampire Weekend's turn! Me and M. were really excited to see them together, because we also saw them together back in 2011, so we got there super early to get good spots. Then I saw two guys with a tshirt that said "production" and I was like, "Excuse me mister, can I help you in anyway?" and they said "Actually, we need someone to dance and sing along to all their songs in the VIP area so we can film them", to which I answered "Well sir, you're in luck, because I have more energy than a gogo dancer". So yups, me and M. stayed comfortably at the VIP area getting photographed and filmed by cool guys while firefighters offered us water hahaha. Good times!

 

Then, finally, there was Arcade Fire. Dang, what a fucking good show. They are so theatrical, so full of life. I even dressed up party style for their concert <3 I think it was one of the best concerts of my life (and indeed I have many to compare it to, as going to concerts is one of my favorite things to do!). Their new album, Reflektor, is just so good. And they played all my favorite songs from their previous albums, and even some Brazilian songs in between! They actually started their show featuring scenes from a great Brazilian movie called Orfeu Negro, which has a similar energy to their music - if I'm not mistaken there's also a version of one of their video clips for Afterlife that features the same film. Anyway, I still can't find the right words to describe how that concert went, it was just so good that I can't describe it!

On the second day I brought my fujifilm Intax with me and took a few pics! They're so cute, I love how everyone looks more beautiful in them. They just feel so special. I can't wait for N. to come visit me so we can take a million together!

And, finally, since I'm so famous, here's a pic of me looking gross during Vampire Weekend's concert! Ew, right? I was having the best time! 

And that's it! What a great festival. I must confess there were way too many people though (like, 170 thousand per day)... The next concert I'm going to now is Eddie Vedder's, yay! So good to have things to look forward to :))

A pleasant day to you!

V. 

Tassel Garland DIY

Somehow, having a tassel garland stayed in the back of my mind after I saw this hello sandwich post from 2011 (!) of her lovely flat in Tokyo. I don't know if you know her, but Ebony is a crafty Australian girl (like N.!) who lives in Tokyo scrapbooking and being some type of Martha Stewart of the kawaii Asian arts. 

I couldn't even understand what materials were needed, so thank god N. pointed me to a proper tutorial and it was so easy even I could make one!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED
* tissue paper of the desired colors
* matallic ribbons (the thing we use to make carnaval wigs here in Brazil, known as metalloid ribbon)
* adhesive tape (preferably cute)
* string
* patience

HOW TO
1) cut the paper in rectangles (mine were about 25cmX40cm), fold it in half. shred it as if it were a Hawaiian skirt. go at it like crazy, once you twist the paper around itself no one will be able to see if the tails are the same size
2) careful not to ruin the tissue paper, because it's pretty thin (main difficulty of the project)

3) twist it around itself (see fig.3) to make little holes the string can be pulled through

They looked so cute next to my Kanken!

4) cut the ribbons into approx. 30cm smaller ribbons and wrap them around the string

SO SHINY

5) arrange different colors according to how you like them best on the string
6) tape the string it to your wall
7) ta-dah! I hope this won't be on the floor when I wake up tomorrow (it is now 11pm. Have I done my econometrics list? Nah. But I have pretty tassels <3)

Featuring my deer slingshot from Athens, my witch puppet from Prague and my

angry cat illustration by T. Ungerer, which I bought at the Museum of Illustration of Strasbourg <3

DO THIS IF
-> you feel like doing some ~artsy~ stuff but, like me, have no skillz at all
-> you like cutting paper
-> you enjoy the ruffling sound of paper
-> you're attracted to shiny objects

DON'T DO THIS IF
-> you have just painted your nails white, like I had. Scissors do not go well with recently painted nails.


BONUS: wear this as an actual hawaiian skirt next time you're invited last-minute to a costume party.

A pleasant day to you,

V.