Quick Photo Note : last weekend in Valthorens

A park day with the young guns, M4tt, Lulu, Hervé, and the Snowsurf Crew... I almost killed myself dropping over some rocks, then sticking to backflip on a handrail, but very fun way to end a shitty season.

Private link to flickr gallery here

I bought a video game

A long time ago, I remember working a whole summer to buy my first computer, an Amiga 500, and despite what I told my mother, and most importantly myself, this was truly and almost uniquely a gaming machine. You had to swap up to 5 floppies to play some heavy graphic games, but I never really engaged in programming, or keeping track of my brand new bank account.






Before that, I have a vivid and caring memory for my first console, a Nintendo Entertainment System, aka NES. Christmas 1988, best present ever from my mom (I believe grandparents where sollicited, money-wise), a night spent playing Super Mario Bros which, ultimately, I would finish hundreds hours later.





Since this golden pre 90's days, I enjoyed Battle Isle on the college computers, then Civilization on my first very own Pentium 90 (sold from a friend who had it burglarized at its work as a vengeance).
But I scarcely played video games, and never again owned a console, mainly because I know I am a pathological player and that should I start, I would have all the problems in the world to stop.

So that spring sunny day I had one of my front teeth taken out and I had to make up for the loss. I entered the FNAC with a mission : buy Starcraft 2, which I had been playing from time to time on my former roommate iMac. I knew it was an addictive strategy game I should not even come close to, but this teeth gave me a perfect excuse that not even the bright sun and the short dresses would overshadow.

I spent 60€ for this piece of software, not even a box with a DVD really, as you can download the whole thing on Blizzard's website... 60€ is for the battle.net code, that will allow me, when I have completed my training, to play on a Massively Multiplayer level ;)

60€ seemed pretty steep, then I reflected that it allows hundreds of hours of gameplay, so it does compare to a theater ticket (around 7€ in my small town) or a concert performance or a day skipass (30 to 40€ around here).
So far, I find I've been pretty moderate, and my girlfriend surprisingly so. I wonder how this will end, if there is an end...

Striptease in Roquefort La Bédoule

Few may know of Roquefort La Bédoule (RLB), even in southern France, and even in Bouches du Rhone county. But any french speaking will crack a smile at this name, funny, borderline ludicrous.

My sister Nanou told me the other day of this blue collar's restaurant, down in RLB, which «offered» live striptease shows every workdays at noon for the enjoyment of its clients. While the workers and other carpenters and representative enjoy their Blanquette de Veau (veal stew) with the mandatory Quart de rouge (25cl red wine, on the table before your meal, like it or not), they are thus entertained by a show of inconstant quality.

«On christmas eve and new year's, they even have two of them!», squeeled my sickened sister.

Made me think of this «Bar à danseuses» down in Revelstoke, BC. It was the first time I got to see what we call «stripteaseuses» outside Munich, a city where I often go for work and which is well known for its lapdance joints.

Back in Revy, we were shown to the place by Alex, a young quebecois, who was excited to show us in as he heard to his astonishment that «we did not have this kind of place in France». We had a good time at the  Traverse, look like it was part of the exotism here, and an obvious stop after the day snowmobiling.

I'm sure my sister would disapprove, and I do not particularly enjoy strip clubs, but I sure was impressed by this girl dancing with lighted candles on her tits. And the beer was good too.

To come back to the title of this post, I was not aware we had such displays of flesh in France, thought it was forbidden or something. And if I should have thought it possible, never would I have gone to Roquefort la Bédoule. Naked truth.

Japan «difficulties»

I cant help but look at various sites and informations as this country I've been led to love, where I have been riding some of the best snow and terrain I ever dreamed of, and where my girlfriend Alice lived for two years, was struck by a terrible natural disaster.


I write «terrible natural disaster», but my friend Yosuke in Tokyo answered to my concerns on facebook this morning : «Hi.Mat.
Thank you for worrying about our thing. We work hard to put ones' efforts together, and to get over this difficulty.»

Anyway, here are some of my favourite news sources about this «difficult» situation (latest to oldest) :

- (màj 23/3) lots of Maps (french mainly) on the France Culture Globe blog post : Face à la Catastrophe, recours aux échelles géographiques

- Matt from AltJapan summarized the public data available on the nuclear situation in Fukushima

- The New York Times updated its infographics explaining the failure of Fukushima with another explaining How a reactor shuts down and what happens in a meltdown

- a Q&A «Meltdown Alert on Japan Reactor» on the BBC news website

- The New York Times published an interactive map of the damage

- Maggie Koerth-Baker explains how a power plant works and fails on boing boing

- an infographics about «How the Nuclear Emergency Unfolded» on The Washington Post

- Cristine Russel/The Atlantic «What the media doesn't get about meltdowns»

- a photo gallery by my favourite info site The Guardian : Japan before and after the Tsunami 

- an impressive and insightful diaporama from The Big Picture (Boston.com) 

- an image I saved from the www.jma.go.jp on friday :

I'll update this post...