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I knew Chartre would be a cool village to visit. I wasn’t prepared for the amazing blue windows. Perhaps I’m getting conditioned to the effect of stained-glass windows. I’ve been to some of the finest cathedrals: Notre Dame de Paris, Sagrada Familia (even the empty windows are amazing), the Vatican, and of course Sainte Chappelle. But the blue glass in Chartre is amazing.

It reminds me of the Venetian paintings. As a port city, the artists of Venice had access to precious raw materials at a discounted rate. They piled the expensive blue pigment (crushed lapis from egypt) onto their canvases to demonstrate their skill and wealth. Chartre also used these expensive pigments in their windows. The effect is overwhelming.

Yves Klein created and trademarked a particular hue of blue. He claimed this perfect blue would send the viewer into a meditative state. Klein subsequently bathed everything he could find, including the random naked model, in the blue paint. His signature color became a cartoon of the artist.

As silly as it sounds, his blue paintings really do work. I’ve stood in front of a 4 foot by 4 foot square of IKB(tm) blue and my mind started to go into meditation state. It’s amazing how this color can change your physical and mental state.

Walking into the Chartre cathedral reminded me of Klein. It was much more relaxing and comfortable than Notre Dame. I felt at ease and inspired at the same time. Luckily, I brought some fast color film and was able to capture some images of the windows that remind me of the atmosphere.

I’m a cheese-a-holic. I love my cheese. In fact, I’d consider going vegan if I could get over my love for the cheese foods.

So, what does a cheesie (a foodie who loves cheese) do when they prepare to move to Paris? Why, start a cheese blog of course! Fromageblog is still in its infancy, but keep an eye on it over the next few weeks as I customize the look and add new content.

Jim and I went on an adventure to Point Reyes Station last weekend to visit the Cowgirl Creamery. It was a two hour journey to see a few stainless steel sinks filled with white goo. While the factory wasn’t as amazing as we expected, the cheese was great and the ride a joy.

Cowgirl Cremery’s cheeses are available in other locations. Don’t pass up their fresh cottage cheese. It’s to die for. I also got a half pound of fresh chevre amongst other goodies.

I love my cheese.

I was cleaning out the garage this weekend and came across an old letter from a New Zealand pal, Iain Cowper Smith, a.k.a. “Lube Boy.” We traded music way back in the early 90’s. So, I decided to do a search for him on the internet to see what he’s up to. I came across this little snippet that described him and me.

I came up with the name ‘decreate’, and wrote to Michael Morley for an interview – he replied and was very forthcoming (I’d reviewed his Guitar LP in the Vic Uni paper earlier that year – the first ever review of a Gate release in any kind of ‘mainstream’ paper, he later informed me). I did a mail interview with Omit, and this guy Ted who Iain had gotten in touch with in San Francisco (he had gotten into the habit of writing abusive and nasty letters to those people who would place classified ads in magazines like Flipside looking for musical penpals to flirt with; this one happened to write back) was friends with Trumans Water, then one of Iain’s favourites, and interviewed them for us.

Nick Cain of Opprobrium Magazine

Iain’s a real character and responsible for introducing me to some really twisted music and literature.

I’m moving to Paris. It seems impossible to actually believe that last sentence. I’m actually moving to PARIS!

I will be transferring to European Yahoo! to work on the Finance web site amongst other projects. This is a dream opportunity and I can’t begin to describe the mixture of pride, anticipation, anxiety, hope, and sadness. I have been working towards this move for the past decade. Years of traveling, trying to learn french, working my ass off to become a good programmer, you name it. I always hoped that sooner or later I’d have a skill that would be needed in the city of lights. Now it is here.

Jim will stay in San Diego with his kennel and we won’t sell our house immediately. Our hope is to buy a flat in Paris in 6 months to a year and sell the house around that time. Jim will travel to Paris and stay for a few weeks at a time. I expect to come back for Christmas with the family and more.

I will probably move sometime in May or June. I’ve got tons of things to sell, close, clean, and organize. I’ve also got my goodbye tour to handle (Heidi). Sure I’m hoping to come back regularly, but this is a big move.

I never, ever thought I’d have a hard time moving to Paris. I just figured it would be a no-brainer.

But, I’ve met some amazing people that will be hard to live without.

My closest friend in the Bay Area, Jim du Nord, has made living away from San Diego exciting, productive, and sane. I don’t know what we’ll do without our weekend trips to the coast, Napa, and most importantly: the shopping malls of Gilroy. I’m determined to get Jim onto a flight to Paris sooner rather than later. Friends like Jim make life in a new town wonderful and leaving the town heartbreaking.