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Day 242: Bedazzled Invader

Pixel art is fun, pixel art in bedazzled tiles is even more entertaining.

Spotted on a wall somewhere in the Marais (I cannot for the life of me recall the street name right now), this space invader is sitting pretty with coloured alien antennae (note the matching colour scheme) and a special one that sparkles and dazzles. Is there extra point for zapping the alien via that particular antenna? ;)

As a child, growing up, my first memories of computer/video games are of Mario Bros (ah the days of game cartridges and square Nintendo box), Space Invaders (black 8″ floppy disks!), Pacmac and Pinballs (giant machines at the arcade, anyone?) but somehow I seem to have outgrown them quicker than I’d anticipated. Nowadays it’s all nostalgia and reminiscing the past, and me unable to play wii without embarassing myself.

Day 238: Cultural station – Cluny la Sorbonne

I’ve previously blogged about a couple of cultural métro stations, and I think it’s not a bad series of sub-category to write about when it comes to things related to Paris. If I recall correctly from an article I read a while ago, there are some 50 such stations in the network. It would be fun to uncover them as I go along ;)

This work of mosaic on the ceiling of Cluny la Sorbonne was created by Jean Bazaine. Entitled Ailes et Flammes (Wings and Flames), some 60,000 handcut tiles were used to complete the piece that also includes forty-six (mosaic) signatures of Kings of France, politicians, architects, physicians, scientists, philosphers, poets, painters and writers. If you ever travel Line 10 and passing this station, keep your eyes peeled.

Day 164: Knight in shining armour

I am a knight and I am shiny

Street art in Paris is not just about mural or graffiti pictures. There are quite a lot of tiled and mosaic images too, such as the Invader series (I have a few photos from different locations which I should create a mosaic of sometimes, hehehe) but for today, let’s just work with a single tiled image. Of a knight in shining armour.

I have been joking with friends that I need a strategy to get my paperworks going. I’m still waiting for various documents, running around bugging different people for different attestations etc. Perhaps I should play a damsel in distress, and that I am really really worth rescuing from all the red tape inconveniences. Except I don’t quite know how to. And I don’t even have those huge round eyes à la Shrek’s Puss in Boots to evoke sympathy. Drat.

Now, where is my knight to come to my rescue?

Day 114: Polly Maggoo

Blue is my colour. It draws me like moth to the lamp; anything blue, you’ll get my attention rather quickly. On rue du Petit Pont, the mosaic fronting the bar Polly Maggoo seems like sparkling baubles to me. And the iconic picture of Polly Maggoo from the 60s’ movie Qui êtes vous, Polly Maggoo? has been assembled quite so elegantly, don’t you agree?

Culture is rich in Paris, there is no doubt about it. However, since I started street exploration of the city, I’m learning so much more about random little things with references to movie, literature, history etc that I have been zero knowledge prior to this. For example, I googled Polly Maggoo because it’s the name of the bar and turns out, it’s a reference to a movie of fashion excesses. A few days ago, I have just got acquainted with Arnaud Rimbaud. I enjoy knowing all these little snippets to our civilisation. It makes me wonder – what will I discover next? :D

Ps: I velib’ed in Paris today! First time ever cycling in a capital city (hey, I was a small town girl) and it’s not as bad as I’d imagined it to be. Then again, it is a Sunday on a long weekend so there are less traffic and people around. Still, must try to get a long subscription to Velib so I can try it again.


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