effervescent refractions

I’ve hit maturity (of the most essential form) today, according to U.S. law. So that’s nice, but not terribly exciting for a European. Moreover, my class work has become so suddenly overwhelming that I haven’t truly taken the time to celebrate. What you see above is the result of a month’s work with a brand [...]

It’s fascinating how a single thought will morph from a positive anticipation to a rather gloomy outlook - and back again, alternating in the mind, perturbing or thrilling the spirit. Today it has taken a turn for the better, or is it my unusually good mood? I type, Duvel by my side, odd beverage for [...]

Am I the only one positively insulted by Firefox’s new icons? Inaugurating the new version sent forth a legion of glossy simulacra as malapropos as the 1998 adaptation of Psycho. My toolbar is minimal as can be: back, forward, and stop/reload; yet I found the new graphical elements absolutely cloying to the point of urging [...]

By this point you’ve surely heard of Microsoft’s newest foray in hardware, the Zune media player. The Internet is very excited, it seems, about the prospect of someone finally introducing competition to Apple’s iPod - though it wouldn’t be the first time we hear the term iPod-killer misused. Nonetheless people appear to be paying attention [...]

Jean Cocteau, among the many things he is famous for, said the following:
“Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.”
I believe his statement relates remarkably to the Web 2.0 phenomenon and the monstrosity it has spawned within the [...]

Reading my feeds is much like building a good sandwich. My aggregator is distinctly split into categories each grouping feeds relating to one of my various interests whether that may be web design, cooking, gaming, etc. I assume most do the same. When I hop onto my Bloglines account, the bolded titles of updated websites [...]

It seems that the Leipzig Gaming Convention has yielded further footage of Valve’s new expansion pack, including HL2 Episode 2, but more importantly TF2 and Portal. In my relatively recent discussions about both games I mentioned my excitement for Valve’s new directions in mod development. The new videos (available on YouTube for TF2 and Portal [...]

My recent work on the Effervescence zenphoto theme got me in the mood for a little CSS coding but I got somewhat carried away and wrote up an entirely new version of the blog. Despite concerns regarding the light on dark format, I decided to take this route because it is one I have seldom [...]

After the thugs from the zenphoto forums coerced me in a back alley and took turns beating me with a golf club, I wholeheartedly agreed to release this theme. So here it is.

Effervescence is a rather simple theme which I originally created for my own use, deriving the work I had done on my blog. [...]

My absence apparently did not interrupt excitement here at the blog, nor at my fellow tenants’ places. I’ll save comments towards our common host for a time of obvious stress, as my own abode has not mustered such abundant tourism. - Break - The image you presumably see above, represents a cropping of an effort [...]

I’m hopping on a plane tomorrow for Egypt. I’ll be off for two weeks swimming in the Red Sea, reading a few books and trying not to get a sun burn. I decided I really need to refresh my French so I picked up three books, the first being The Last Days by Raymond Queuneau. [...]

I mentioned it in my last post but Portal’s first trailer was released last night. I’m glad I told you to look out for this one because it just looks freaking amazing. The concept from Narbacular Drop appears simply translated to a new engine, but this Source-ified version just radiates flair. Both the lead developer’s [...]

Valve announced yesterday that the release of the long awaited Team Fortress 2 would coincide with that of HL2 Episode 2. Valve has received a considerable amount of deserved criticism over the years particularly regarding what seems a latent behavior on the release of new games and updates. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to [...]

Of the many special logos created for Google over the years the version displayed at Google.fr for the Quatorze Juillet (Bastille day) is the first that clearly read “Gongle”. Gongle. It sounds a bit naughty.

The greatest act of maturity I’ve seen in the past 24 hours was awarding Zizou the Golden Ball despite his more than inopportune reaction in last night’s game. I see his departure as unfortunate more than any of the many derogatory adjectives used to qualify the event of this final. It very simply saddens me [...]

Last night’s game between Italy and Germany was beautiful. Football madness has struck nearly every nation in the world, and after the demonstration we saw from both squads, I wonder why some are still unconvinced. I suppose I wouldn’t have much of a problem with it, if I weren’t studying in the United States. But [...]

OOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!
ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!!

France is still present. That’s all I’ve got to say.

With this sudden two-day break in my now habitual evening football (proper) binge, free time has stacked to my creative limit. The result? I have begun working on a somewhat different medium, by joining the true orgy that is Threadless. My first effort is a bit shallow, I’ll be the first to admit, but I’m [...]

A new addition to the gallery, a series of self-portraits I shot for my photography class.

Yesterday I put the finishing touches on my other creative project on the web, what I now call Effervescent Gallery. My goal was to take what previously was disjointed addendum to the blog, and infuse it with a certain continuity. I decided to retain Effervescent Reflections’ color scheme and font structure but reshape it to [...]

What an unbelievable day. Yesterday I called up Westvleteren, and surprise - their beer was for sale today! I immediately decided I would drive up from Paris so I might finally get my hands on this elusive elixir. After having read many horror stories about the kilometers of queuing at the abbey I settled to [...]

Brazil will not win the World Cup. They will win all three of their group games but will have physical difficulties versus Australia and will concede two goals to Japan. I am positive they will make it at least to the semi-finals, but may be disturbed by a serious injury, an overtime win, overconfidence or [...]

Yesterday I went to the movies (which are becoming terribly expensive I must say - nearly 10€ a person!), it was a busy Thursday on the Champs as France was celebrating l’Ascension with a non-working day. So the family and I saw The Da Vinci Code, which as you might know is not faring very [...]

I have been meaning to address a few problems I had with the Archives here at my blog. I’ve made some progress and improvements but I’m not quite done; if you see anything fishy back there don’t worry too much about it. My primary efforts have been geared towards a somewhat secretive part of the [...]

I have been back in Paris for a few days, it feels good and slightly cold. I’ve slowly begun to enter the rhythm of the summer but the jetlag is still affecting me, though I must concede I have been quite lenient with myself.Saturday I had one of those great “life moments”, the purchase of [...]

Just got back from a field trip to the Kaibab Plateau (the very north of Arizona) with my Advanced Ecology class. We had lots of fun contemplating goshawks and Kaibab squirrels, the Vermillion Cliffs and its condors, the Grand Canyon and Buckskin Gulch - simply great opportunities for photography. I uploaded a few of these [...]

I discovered Wayfaring a few days ago and simply love the idea, so I decided to make my own map. The Paris Brew Tour is a compilation of beer bars and stores I have visited. I plan on adding more as I get a chance to inspect them myself when I return to Paris this [...]

Finishing Genetics was I suppose harder than I had originally expected or intended. Pulling off an all-nighter is never enjoyable, but c’est là vie… Anyway, my spring break was fairly uneventful but gave me time to catch up on the ludicrous stack of beer reviews that is continually growing on me. I was able to [...]