Window Clings

I know that Halloween is long gone. In all honesty I can't really believe that November is almost over. Where did the fall go? I'm not yet ready for Christmas, despite the continual reminders that have been up in every store since the day after Halloween.

I've been saving the picture above to post on the blog. I found it on Lovely Listing the day after Halloween or so and just had to keep it. I don't normally put up window clings or do any major decorating for holidays. But these made me laugh. I would put up these clings. They're so whimsical and cute and odd. All the things I like.

It's images like this that make me think that I need to start a Pinterest account. A place that I could keep all the pictures that I want to save. Then I remember that's what the blog is for.

I Want To Be A Pirate!!!!

I'm sure I've mentioned that when I was six, my life's dream was to be a pirate. Not a terrible rum-swilling, murdering, plundering pirate. Just the type that lived on a ship and sailed the seven seas looking for adventure and excitement. Now of course that I'm older I still want to live on a ship and sail the seven seas looking for adventure. I'm not as sure about the pirate part...or at least I wasn't until I saw this on Beautiful Life.

This is a bedroom. A children's bedroom. A very, very lucky children's bedroom. The room was designed by Minneapolis based design firm Kuhl Design Build for a client. There are two beds in the room, the first which you see in the picture is below, among the stone walls and fish. The second, and here's where it gets good, is above in the pirate ship. You can either walk along the bridge to reach the pirate bed or you can climb the rope in the closet to your perch.

I want this bedroom. I want to go to sleep perched up high near the ceiling. I want to wake up on the deck of a pirate ship and slide down a rope to breakfast. I love the fish and whales painted around the room. I just love the sheer beauty and whimsy of this place. I would gladly become a pirate if I got to sleep in this room. Or maybe I should just hire a design firm.

Why Build Square Buildings?

I'm in the mood for something fun and silly. I had an amazing weekend filled with friends and family and then promptly spoiled it by going back to work. Today's not been my greatest day ever. I'm spending too much of my time at work thinking. I've been a little fragile about both my physical therapy (yes I'm somehow still going) and my work situation so I figure that I need to distract myself. If I distract myself long enough, the problems go away right?

And what better way to distract myself than to look at pictures of interesting buildings online? Or am I the only one who does that? Actually what got this post started was a building that was featured on Neatorama. The image below is Waldspirale (or Forest Spiral) an apartment building in Darmstadt, Germany. The building has no straight wall, forms a gigantic U shape, and has a forest planted on the roof. So it's pretty much my dream apartment building.

It's not only the lack of straight walls that fascinates me, check out those windows. I love that each one is unique and the difference adds something of a Seussian quality to the structure.

Looking for pictures of the Waldspirale led me to this building, Krzywy Domek or The Crooked House in Sopot, Poland (pictured below). I'm not sure what is housed in this building but I love the crazy whimsy of the place. Be careful when looking up images of this one, after about ten or so pictures I started feeling a bit sick. Apparently this one crosses the boundary between fascinating architecture and too much for my little brain to spatially organize. Still an incredible structure.

I realized that in all the time I've been writing this blog I haven't discussed my fascination (bordering on obsession) with Antoni Gaudi's buildings in Barcelona. How can you not love a building that looks like it was designed for hobbits? The Casa Batllo, which used to be an apartment building in Barcelona, includes such unique characteristics as a dragon-scale roof, round doors, mosaic tile walls, and spiral ceilings. It is the place of dreams. I would recommend checking out the full photo gallery on the building's website.

Gaudi created a number of buildings and parks throughout Barcelona, Spain. His style is focused on rounded walls, whimsical additions, stained glass, and plenty of oddness. I've been dreaming of going to Barcelona for years in order to see Casa Batllo, Park Guell, Casa Mila (pictured below), and perhaps Gaudi most famous work, Sagrada Familia.

An image of Sagrada Familia. This church was unfinished at the time of Gaudi's death in 1926 and is still under construction since his full design for the building was not known at his death. Consider it the longest construction project ever.

Other worlds

The first time I saw the box for American McGee's Alice, I knew I had to buy it. Not only is Alice in Wonderland one of my favorite stories but the dark images in the game fascinated me. I have strange tastes, I love whimsy and darkness. Best if both are together. And who can pass up this version of the Cheshire Cat. Creepy and bizarre.

I love games for the look of them. I love animation for its otherworldly quality. Alice did not disappoint. Jeff and I played the game for hours, exploring the world and killing things. It was bloody and violent but more than anything it was intriquingly and beautifully rendered. I have often bought items for their visuals. I've always called myself a writer but in the last year I have realized how much imagery moves me. A picture or some graphics will make me buy things that I normally wouldn't.

So imagine my delight when I went to Cabinet of Wonders today to see this image.

Not only that, this beautiful image is a game called Mechinarium. (or will be soon) An interactive world that I can enter and move the characters around in. I can play with these paintings. There are more beautiful images just like this to explore. I'm already saving my money for when it comes out. And have no doubts, I will take a break from WoW to spend some time in this world. The game is being created by Amanita Design studio and is supposed to be out this year.

The game image drew me for a number of reasons. It combines all of my favorite things. Like the fish in Shaun Tan's The Red Tree, the mixture of dark and whimsy is intoxicating. It the same mixture that brought me to Polish surrealist Jacek Yerka when I was only 18. If you want other worlds, this is the man for you. I bought two of his books with the little money I had after looking at his images. I can almost see his influence in this upcoming game. At first I thought he was the designer.

So more games to play, more images to enjoy. I better start saving my pennies.