Quite Possibly the Best Snack Ever

This is possibly the best snack ever. Nilla Wafers, peanut butter and raisins dipped halfway in milk; then you drink the milk that is left over. Also, they pair well with a Calvin and Hobbs book.

Attack Bird

This blurry picture is of the bird that tries to attack my dog every time we walk down the street. It really makes me laugh, though I wish it's babies would hurry up and leave home so it doesn't have to be so protective.

tvontheradiothisisyourdowntownshipisland

On Friday night some friends and I went to see TV on the Radio at the House of Blues in New Orleans. We were standing in line at will call, when we heard the woman at the ticket counter say "I'm a big fan of yours Mr. Arnett! Enjoy the show!" There he was standing in front of us, full beard and baseball cap pulled tight... Gob Bluth. We all just kind of stared trying to confirm that it was actually him. We then broke out in various chicken dances. He sat behind the velvet ropes at the front of the balcony. The show was pretty fantastic, lots of energy from the band and the crowd. After the show we weren't quite ready to leave New Orleans, so we walked down to a really sweet little place called The Cave and had a Pimm's Cup.

Saturday I had to work at the THIS IS YOUR DOWNTOWN exhibit GCCDS is hosting in Moss Point, MS. It was nice, there was a soap box derby down Main St. in front of our studio and a number of people came in a looked at the exhibit and gave their feedback on what they'd like to see in THEIR DOWNTOWN. It is nice to have the community so involved in the design process!

Sunday I went to Ship Island to hang out on the beach but the rain only held off for 30 min, so I spent the majority of my time exploring Fort Massachusetts on the west end of the island. It was a beautiful place to be as the rain came down.

The Light at Night

The city of Biloxi is at least consistent with the type of light bulbs they use throughout the city. Everything has a warm vibrant glow at night. The uplights on the casinos make the clouds glow slightly pink as they quickly move from the ocean to the land.

The Point Where They Come Together and There is Nothing or Perhaps Everything.

Everyday when my dog and I go on our walks we go see the horizon; ocean and sky. Last night we went on a late walk and sat there on the beach for a while. It was a full moon so the water between myself and the moon was full of reflective life. When I looked directly south and scanned to the west, the reflections would disapate into the solid blue of the water. The sky's light also, moving away from the moon, would disapate, but at a different rate than that of the ocean. What happens then, is that there is one point on the horizon where you can't see where the ocean stops and the sky starts. That is the point in which everything or perhaps nothing happens. The point where there is space for you to fill in however you want, there is nothing else describing it.

I've noticed this point along the horizon a few times before but, it generally exist only at dusk or dawn, which is interesting, because that is also that magically blurry area between night and day.

Pig Roast '09

It was that time of year again; the annual Pig Roast at the Rural Studio in Newbern, AL. Some friends and I left Biloxi on Friday evening and got to Greensboro, AL where we camped for the weekend under a beautiful pavilion. We woke early on Saturday morning and headed to Newbern where we started the tour of all the new architecture projects. I won't elaborate on them but, I do have to say, they were all fantastic in very different ways.

After the tour ended around 4:30 in the afternoon we went back to the pavilion and napped while a guy visiting from new york cut himself a mo-hawk. It was nice. After a power nap we headed back to Newbern where we had some delicious southern eats: baked beans, fried catfish, slaw, hush puppies, some roasted goat (not pig) and beer, all while watching the Studio Awards Ceremony. Oh yeah, the plane flew over dropping whiffle dust (confetti). After the ceremony there was a run of three bands that played. They were fantastic, really fun dancy goodness. We danced and hula-hooped until 1am.

Sunday morning we woke to the bird songs and breezes; we washed up and walked over to Pam's house where she had started making fresh mozzarella at 6am. We were an hour and a half late but got to help in the end. We had coffee and then decided we should have some breakfast. I made biscuits, Jessie made cheese grits, Pam and New York Sarah made eggs, and Scott and Biloxi Sarah assisted on all fronts. The Project M people came over and joined us. In total I think about 15 of ate a glorious breakfast together. So fantastic.

We loaded up our cars and headed to Perry Lakes to check out a few more projects and go swimming at the river beach before heading back. One of those projects was the 100' tall bird tower that takes you above the tree canopy, something that everyone should go up at some point. After descending and getting back on ground we walked the mile through the woods down to the sandy beach of the river. We looked up and saw the storm clouds were moving in fast and then quickly realized they had an odd rotation to them; lighting and thunder quickly accompanied. We took off running back through the woods to take cover under one of the structures. We were too lake... the wind was blowing really strong and trees started to fall all around us. We jumped into a ditch and realized Vince wasn't with us. We started yelling for him; no answer. Within a few minutes the storm let up and Scott ran back to find Vince. Vince had taken cover somewhere behind us - a small tree fell on him but he was fine. After reaching our cars we changed into dry clothes and headed back home. It was kind of frighting. There were trees down along every road we went down. I later found out there was a tornado warning in the area. So, I guess we ran from a tornado and survived. At the time we were all really frighted and then were very amused and were laughing about it all. Now, thinking back on it. It really was a close call.