Dork day (Vid3o Bl0g)

Blathering blatherskite, my merry maids and men! Fair winds and fine greetings from my royal fiefdom of geekdum. Feel free to park your

and  Turtle vans right next to whatever they called Wonder woman's horse, here in ye ol' bat cave. You know how I be loving 'off the radar holidays', right? Well, it turns out you probably just missed another chance to be as heartwarmingly esoteric as moi..

Click to enlarge...yep, that's what she said.

It's cool. You probably haven't even changed your favicon , you likely don't know what "favicon" even means.
Sigh
I'm sorry.
Surliness as a defense, times half joking, just gets me unfriended--so, I'll get to the point. Sebastien and I made a video documenting the playing of a turned based, table-top strategy game, using his  new units and rules. Big pay off at the end, hope you like it :)

Also, we've decided to take trip the third week of August to Budapest. There shall surely be some new chips to discover for the Chipster and if I ever come out of the Turkish bath, I may post a picture or two...
Oh and plus, I'm on google + You can adds me.
Remember, the Internet,  don't feel bad about being you. Sure, sometimes it isn't easy being green. But it does kinda rock when you glow in the dark. Am I right?

Jam for Jerry

Ay ay ay, Rangers. Raise your hand if you love to camp. Good. Now keep those hands up high if you're desperate enough to settle for sleeping outside. To the lame layperson, there really is no difference. But to the few the proud, the sportif, camping is not something you do for one night in someone's garden. Mais non! It takes weeks of preparation  planning and a good amount of traveling before the hike-in and camp-out  can even happen. Oh yes, it takes true grit my friends, true grit and a lot of trail mix--no chocolate in the mix either, because it friken melts.

Well, with a build up like that, you must already know that we didn't have weeks, or trail mix or frankly even a sleeping bag for each person. It was raining and we were in someone's garden. But Sebastien and I also showed a french chick and a german guy how to get down on some smores. I know the picture makes it look a little gross since there was meat cooking at the same time...and this from a people who refuse to mix fruits and cheeses at breakfast! Nevertheless our "camping trip" was win.
I absolutely adore snuggling up when it's raining and there is just something about small spaces that make me feel safe. Thus, tents equal so much love. We all crowded in to hear Sebastien read from one of our favorite steam-punk settings and eventually headed peaceably off to sleep. Well, not before we got a visit from an ambitious little kitten whom, when he deigned to sleep, preferred to lay directly between the faces of Sebastien and myself. It was oddly calming... Mostly though, he indulged in exactly NONE sleep.  He preferred to be chased in and out of the tent, attack the walls, bite my feet and bat at Sebastien's nose. That was, predictably, not so calming.
We went for a hike the next day in a national forest ripe with amazing climbing and bouldering outcroppings. Sebastien is basically half-scout, half-monkey, so he took to it right away. I'm still more of a 'lay in the sun and wait for everyone to feel like walking again,' kind of climber, but I had fun too.
We've had our hands in all kinds of different tricks lately. We celebrated Sebastien's birthday with a party here at our flat that migrated to a friend's house warming party.

Guess who got potato chips to review for his birthday? The Chipster, Aka Mr. Universe 

The whole gang got down

And many a new  friend was made

 We partied like it was 19-99 (on sale)

It was a great night. The second party was even more wild than ours. Seba and I were some of the first only to leave and we didn't even feel like heading home until 4 am. (Though I hear the 1pm breakfast was quite a thing to miss.)
It was also the 14th of July recently. That's the french revolution holiday where they celebrate the jail break of non-political prisoners, for political reasons. One of the traditional events is attending a firemen's fundraising ball where you get to dance around with cute, drunk recruits for less than bar prices on drinks.

I was  en forme that night, let me tell you. They also have fireworks and all of that typical patriotic stuff, like guns and parades. We skipped all of that--the crowds, lack of bathrooms, lack of trash cans, lack of picnic space, all of it--and instead availed ourselves of a great Vietnamese restaurant where I finally got some good Pho. Everyone has heard of Vietnamese soup, but a good Pho Bac come with the meat still raw--Not the meatballs version, of course--but when you've got the thin beef strips, the soup broth is actually there to cook it. So many times in the States they've waited until it was rubbery and grey to serve it to me. Yuck.
Hmm, what else?
Harry Potter's last movie came out on the 13th here but I waited until Bastille Day to see it in 3D. Just one day early, no big deal #mlib.

Are you a fan?
It's a series of both books and movies that have had a lasting and powerful impact on my life and my relationships. You can laugh at the power of love and it's ability to deflect evil in our hour of need. But I am going to remind myself of the boy who lived...

I may do a whole post just on the Rowling universe. I also plan to post the Tunisian Sfax wedding event very soon. I even have a video blog in the works for you from our observance of Dork Day!
Well, I'm out like a queer kid at the pride parade, but I just wanted to mention briefly that you should check out Fucking Bad Ass Recipe Box. Among other tasteables, drinkables and amusing prose, he's got a great idea for goat cheese meatballs up that I plan to make this week.
Moreover, if your looking for a new read and tired of the same old life/fashion/sports blogs, check out Mounting and Counting. It's a very intimate look at the life of a professional escort. Also, I wasn't able to participate in the KROD this month but click the link for the full list over at Sara Swears A Lot.
Well that's just about all I have time for.
Our flat looks like a bomb went off. I'll be cleaning for awhile. What kind of music do you like to clean to? I'll be listening to a lot of Holy Ghost! while I work. Check out Jam for Jerry, Wait and See, Say My Name and I Will Come Back if you want a good little emo-disco bop as the backdrop to your life for a bit. Oh, you read "emo" and were turned off, wellzers, it's kind of like Depeche Mode, Air and a Yamaha Scratch pad all spun around in one amazing musical buffet. Tapes may get older but It's Not Over, Eat up!

Tunisia. (Phase one, in which Doris gets her oats.)

I arrived in Tunisia after a brief stop in Milan, Italy, on the 28th of June. (Believe me that I wish I had my camera out while we were flying over the Italian side of the Alps.) My travel companion Shoraya and I, through a series of strange cancellations, coincidences and mistakes, happened to be on the same flight and were met by her father, aunt, and younger brother at the airport in the Tunisian capital of Tunis. Considering I bought my tickets 2 months after her, this was certainly lucky!

Shoraya grew up in France, but her father's family lives in Kairouan, a city 162 kilometers away from the capital, just a two hour drive by car.The plan was to get lunch and tour Sidi Bou Saïd, a beautiful coastal village popular with French tourists.

Residents of Sidi Bou Saïd have traditionally painted their buildings white and blue

When we arrived it was 39 C in Tunis, or 102 F. I was wearing a full pair of pants, tank top, and thin knitted sweater, no headscarf, for although Tunisia observes Muslin traditions, women are not required to don the veil. In fact if you work in the public domain, say as a mail clerk or for airport security, wearing a veil is prohibited.
It is common, however, for married women who do not work to wear a veil when outside of their homes or if non-family guests come to call. If it had been required, I would, of course, have obliged.
Anywhere I went with a man was open to me. No one but the vendors would haggle with me then. If I was with a group of just women or by myself, young men took the chance to blow kisses or comment, not unlike here in Paris. The only city this was not the case was Sousse. If you are a western woman who wants to lay on the beach with a bucket of beers, head to Sousse...but stop by Sid Bou Saïd...if you know French ;)
An important factor to consider when traveling with me is that I tend to over-prepare and arrive extraordinarily early. I was at the airport at 3:30 in the morning for my 7:45 flight. I was literally the first person through security and I brought my sleeping bag and a pair of wool socks...just in case. Tunisians are fond of their carpets. You can't wear shoes on them. This makes flip flops indispensable.
Breakfast was typically French: hot chocolate and pastries were our regular fair. However, folks who like spicy food are in for a treat.
They don't eat pork, so my Aloha pizza totally had chicken "ham" on it, but one learns to live with it.

Some of my favorite dishes were chorba, chakchouka, and brick.
Round puffy bread wheels are served with lunch and dinner. Watermelon is typical during meals as well. Often 3 or 4 spoons would be placed around a dish and they would be shared by all who eat at that time. Water from a glass or a jug is treated the same way. Foreigners must drink bottled water. I got a little sick because I didn't brush with it and may have had a glass of it, by mistake here or there. Nothing debilitating, and of course I had the necessary meds close at hand.
Bathrooms are different. For hot water use, one must boil enough to fill a pail. They don't use toilet paper. We brought tissues, but there was a hose in each bathroom stall. I didn't have the exact procedure explained to me but I do know that no one eats with their left hand.
Cats and dogs are not well liked, though cats are better tolerated. They eat garbage and food scraps. Chickens can live indoors.
Painted lines on the roads, when they're finished at all, are virtually meaningless. You may pass at almost any time on the autoroute.
I never brought up the revolution, but everyone I was around did that for me. The sentiment was that things were better organized before the revolution but much more corrupt. The sense I got is that bribes were as standard for parking spaces as they were for phony traffic charges.
Prayer happens at regular intervals throughout the day. I became well versed at sleeping through the 4 am one late in my stay. As for sleeping arrangements, beds are obviously an option, but all family rooms and parlors are fitted with sleeping mats, all so comfortable and inviting, I'm considering bringing the concept home to my future lodging. How many times has your mom had to tell you, get your feet off the couch? Well, take your shoes off at the carpet, flop on a mat and forget it ever happened.
The wedding itself was in Sfax, and while I was there I was lucky enough to be right in the heart of the old walled city in a home owned by Shorya's grandma that everyone called La Masion Bleu.

We also had two solid beach days and a chance to see an old Roman amphitheater. Not to mention camels...lots and lots of camels...

If you asked me today if I'd do it again, I would of course say yes. But there were aspects of the culture I did not like.

1. Over eating. I really wanted to be polite as possible and my mom is one of those pushy feeder types so I knew what I was getting into, but you have to draw a line somewhere. Espeically when the adult population is uniformly overweight in Tunisia.
2. The treatment of animals. Your cat at home wouldn't last a day in Tunisia. That fat ol' thing would be eaten by a gang of mean little flee-bitten mew monsters (in a mean way.)
3. Men's attitude to western garb. Go to a mall and you see rows and rows of men's stores flaunting tee-shirts and shorts. But go to most beaches and see women in the water in long sleeves. Sousse was the only city I saw Tunisian women unescorted and with tan lines.

 I don't particularly understand how people have productive and fulfilling sex lives in that heat, but then, I'm a fast learner. Truthfully, my visit made me question if Sebastien and I are a strong enough team to do two years with the Peace corps in Africa, but when I brought it back to him, we were totally on the same page. And not just because a week was a long time for us to be apart these days! He understands what we'd be up against, the two of us. And this is how I want to end this post: by telling you someone I read on my facebook feed:

Sometimes I want the Beatle's edition of Rockband so badly, I almost buy a tv.

But if you'll excuse me I have a rendition of "Two of Us" that needs singing, atm...

guess who's back?

Ahoy there, America!

The newest addition to the McCarthy-Roblin Treasure trove.

How was your Fourth? Mine was awesome! I woke up in Kairouan Tunisia, had a quick breakfast, bought a carpet and grabbed a plane back to France. Best of all, they let me back in! I had been very afraid I was going to have to start unpacking documents and talking fast. I want to tell you all about my trip but it will take at least two posts: one for my impressions generally, and another for the ceremony of the wedding, neither of which I feel like writing today. Instead here is the link to my flickr album. If you have any questions about the photos, costumes or customs, feel free to to ask me, and I will address those topics specifically in my posts. Frankly, questions would really help because there is just so much I could share or say. Feel free to inbox me.
Anyway, I'm posting a lot on my Tumblr and you guys should really go below deck to check out my last video blog post starring Matt from Normally I wouldn't say this, but..  There are some great pictures of him too!
Other than that, we're going to have a party for Seba's birthday this weekend, maybe camping the next, and I will have a post for you again on Monday. Swearzies.