“Alphaville” by Scott Teplin

Scott Teplin's cool art is going to be on display in NYC from May 1st through 7th. The exhibition features meticulously rendered pen and ink and watercolor drawings of fantastical rooms in which odd scale shifts, implausible situations, and strange juxtapositions of furnishings are the norm, as well as a series of artist’s drawn books. For some reason these images remind me of polly pocket combined with a twist of M.C. Esher plus a tad of magic eye books. Apparently this specific body of work is meant to embody the spirit of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1965 film, ALPHAVILLE- Teplin has filtered the city of Alphaville through his own imagination and drawn a world devoid of people - only evidence of their domestic and work environments remain for exploration. Check out some samples here.

Another reason to stay up past 10

Season 20 of MTV's “The Real World” will be coming out soon (10pm probably Wednesday nights on MTV). Turns out the network is doing a huge environmental push with it. Trying to shows viewers that a green lifestyle is easy, and fashionable. The clad out pad the 7 stay in will include everything from solar energy solutions to bamboo flooring, recycled glass counters, some sustainable furniture and recycled vintage decor, energy star appliances, a solar heated swimming pool and energy efficient lighting. The MTV houses have been pretty sweet in the past (I liked the huge fish tank the best), so I can't wait to see the cool stuff in this one.

Another fun change is that viewers got to vote on who would be the 7th roommate this time around. For the past three months, about 20,000 wanna-be-roommates submitted 90-second “confessional” videos to RealWorldCasting.com. 2.9 million total votes were cast throughout the contest and “Pretyboy” from Daytona Beach, Florida won. MTV's really mixing it up and keeping it fresh 20 seasons later, no wonder “The Real World” launched the modern reality television genre and is the longest- running reality series in history. Will you be watching?

The game

So Saturday was a sad night, if you live in NC. Because if you live in NC and you have half a brain, you HAVE to be a Tarheel fan (not a Duke and/or State fan- gross). Anyhow our men's team took on Kansas in the final four. The majority of my friends either couldn't watch the game or were screaming at the tv the whole time, because they were so horrified at what was happening. From the start we were down- by a lot. Kansas went on something like an 18-0 run. Finally we almost caught up and were only 5 points away; it was a huge comeback. But it slipped away again just as fast. Everyone was saying Roy needed to take a time out, to at least try to change the momentum- but he didn't. He, like coach Dean Smith, is extremely stingy with timeouts and likes to try to let the boys "figure it out." It almost worked I guess, but in the end Kansas came out on top.

Say what?

Where I live it costs money to recycle. Seriously. First the state doesn't pay for your trash to be picked up. If that's not bad enough, the two companies that will pick up trash for my neighborhood (waste management industries is one, I forget the other) charge extra if you want to recycle. $20 a month gets you a huge black trash can, and trash pick up twice a month. If you want a recycling bin and your recycling hauled away with your trash it's another $15 a month. $35 to get rid of things you already don't want! R.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s. The nearest drop off for recycling is over 15 minutes away and they also charge you an entry fee (something like $10). My roommate and I are thinking about writing a letter; if anything people should be paid to recycle, not paying to do it. Don't know who to send the letter to- our local county's congressman? Why is North Carolina operated like this!?

Lake Wheeler

This past weekend was rowing alumni weekend, and the current team raced at Lake Wheeler too. On Friday the alum had a dinner at Top O. It was a little bit awkward because I didn't know a ton of people, but my novice coach said I HAD to come, so I did. We had to wear name tags too haha. She sat next to me and we talked the whole time- we only see each other about once a year now so it was a good chance to catch up. And for the first time she could tell me lots of insider info, as she is no longer a coach and I am no longer a rower, wahoo. She lives in Asheville which is about 3 hours away from here. She has a beautiful daughter now too, Bella. Anyhow that was fun, lost of good food- crab dip, sweet potato fries etc. And then on Saturday morning Cali and I drove out to Lake Wheeler to watch the girls race. We got there a little late, around 9, as I walked her at home for an hour first. The girls took on GW, GM, and Duke- and the results were pretty stellar. They raced 8s, and 4s. It was fun because a ton of my friends are on the team, and a few old teammates came too. Unfortunately it started raining and got rather cold later on, so it could have been better. The races went from 8 to around 1. Then we had a barbecue lunch under the pavilion.

Yeeegawds

It's hot out! 82 and sunny sunny sunny today! It was even warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt and shorts already this morning.

Cali and I spent some time in the backyard. Her munching on her huge log of wood that she found on one of our walks and dragged home as her treasure, and me weed-wacking (my way of mowing the lawn). Weed wacking the lawn now takes about 40 minutes, if I had a mower it would be far more effective- but I don't. And I never have room in my car to bring my dad's spare one back. But it's definitely better than cutting the grass with scissors...which I actually sadly had to do twice. I was afraid the neighbors were going to complain because it had gotten so long, and I didn't have the free weed wacker yet. Cali tries to attack the weed wacker, thinking its a game, so it gets a little bit obnoxious, because it could really hurt her. So I have to keep my eye on her as she tries to sneak up.

I planted a whole bunch of grass seed back in August because the yard was pretty barren when I moved in. It has now filled in pretty well, although certain parts could use work; there are a few spots with no grass where Cali has dug in some 6 inch holes. Apparently its a husky thing, they love digging. The one time she has been to the beach she dug in the sand almost non-stop. She was also afraid of the waves ha. Anyhow here are some pictures of the little stinker frolicking in the backyard. Her hair has almost grown back in completely after her surgery, hoooray!

Dolla dolla bills ya'll

It's a good day, when you find money, any amount, just laying around somewhere. Today I found one single shiny penny on the path across the bridge, going up the hill towards the train tracks. It was heads up, so of course I pocketed it. But really, even if it hadn't been I would have picked it up anyhow. There is just no way to lose when you find free money. It's one thing that always keeps my walks entertaining, I never know what I'll find.

At brunch last Sunday, I was in a bad mood and one of my friends asked, if she threw 5 cents on the ground, and I "found" it, would I be in a better mood- ha.

My most recent successful find was this past summer. I found a one dollar bill laying in the grass right along the curb on the main road that runs through Carrboro. Now that's definitely not a lot of money (I've heard of others finding $20s in the past, etc) but it was all it took to brighten up my entire day. I could have bought 50 tootsie rolls, not even, because of tax, but it was still a bit deal!

What's your best money find?