 |
 |
 |  |  |
Paris 3
Paris - Pont des Arts
 |  |
Paris 2
 |  |
 |
 |  |  |
PAINTING - This hottie was painting in the Rubens room of the Louvre. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't like all the other tourists that were taking his photo - I wanted to tell him that he was really bringing the painting to life for me - the smell of the paint, his motions as he moved in for a brushstroke, his pensive decisions for mixing colors, his intensity when studying the subject. I wanted to tell him all that, but instead, I just snapped the photo - like all the other tourists.
 |  |  |
All the statues in one room were wrapped up in anticipation of moving "in case of a flood".
Best butt.
 |
---RANDOM STUFF---
MOVIE REVIEW - "Jesus Camp" was described as being about evangelical christians, "like George Bush".
POP CULTURE - Watching Shrek on VO w/ Larry: they totally missed the queen, voiced by Julie Andrews, getting hit on the head and singing a few lines of "These are a few of my favorite things..." They didn't really know who the actress was or that she had something to do with "Sound of Music".
AC - The heat can be terrible, especially in the metro; everyone complains about it. But, at the same time, everyone also still thinks that A/C is bad for you (sudden changes in temperature). I could only get B to admit that a little "climatisation" would be good in the metro, if only to bring the temperature down to the same level as above ground "with a light breeze". Larry tells me that it's the law that some buildings can only be 5 deg C cooler than the outside temperature (9 deg F).
ID - Bruno thinks it is insupportable that Americans MUST carry ID at all times (i.e. to get a cocktail and prove your age). Of course, on the train, we all had to get up and show our metro tickets with photo IDs attached for the surprise inspection.
PURITANS - One of my biggest problems is not being able to be funny** - with sarcasm or in reference to American pop culture. I was with a group of Bruno's friends and one of the women showed us her new denim jacket with the pocket cover on the chest that you could flip up and show the different fabric on the backside. I immediately thought "Janet Jackson". Of course, no one knew what I was talking about at all. 1) They would never watch the superbowl and 2) if they did, and saw Janet's "malfunction", they would think nothing of seeing a woman's breast.
I've gotten very good at saying - in french - "No, really, I can be very funny, but only in english. I prefer to listen and learn french."
WASHING CLOTHES - You load the machines and pay at one central kisk connected to all the machines - by the kilo as measured by the washer. More weight = more water = more money.
FETE DE LA MUSIQUE - On the longest day of the year, everyone goes out in the street to make music. I saw official concerts in the courtyard of the Senate building (children's choir) and in the Tuileries (the band of the Prefecture de Police de Paris), but in the Beaubourg and St. Germain areas, there was literally a band on every corner. As you moved through the neighborhoods, your soundtrack changed from rock to heavy metal to Tijuana to folk. One street was blocked off with a rave. Another had folks handing out music for a traditional french sing-a-long. Loved it.
DISNEY - I know, I know, what am I doing going to Disneyland Paris while in the middle of all this art and culture? Well, it's only 35 minutes away by RER and I'm here for 3 weeks and I'm not going to take a week of vacation to down to Florida anytime soon to the Disneyworld and I like Disney. It was cute - smaller and multilingual with kids yelling out to the characters in their native languages (like spanish kids screaming out "Alicia" and french girls swooning over "Cendrillon").
B and I went on the Buzz Lightyear ride where you are pulled through a shooting arcade, wracking up points with your "laser pistol". B bought our photo taken 1/2-way through the ride - it shows the two of us, me with the 2-handed, arcade-goober deathgrip on the pistol and B looking like frickin Han Solo. The worst part is the photo shows our scores - 4,000 for me and 34,000 for him. He couldn't resist talking about it with the guy in the photo booth who remarked something like "imagine; an American who can't shoot a gun."
**Some would assert that that is my problem in any language...I'll address that later. ...the rest of the story...
1000 words
Don't worry - I won't go on quite that long about this latest wedding photo - but I do love it.
 |
But I love it, and I think it's because their silhouette is so simple, except for the beautiful folds of the train on her dress, and him kissing her forehead is so sweet.
They are on their way out of the church, out into the world for the first time as a couple, with Fat Matt's in the background, and traffic, and a glimpse of their limo, but they haven't stepped out there, yet.
They paused for one more kiss. ...the rest of the story...
Oregon 3
A couple of leftovers from my trip to Oregon at the beginning of my sabbatical...
 |
 |
Oregon 2
 |
Hike Panther Creek to Spur Creek - 15 miles
Hike Spur Creek to Gillette Lake - 16 miles
Hike Gillette Lake to Columbia River - 4 miles
Hitchhike to Carson Hot Springs for a soak & a towel wrap - Priceless
 |
 |
...
...and a couple of stories:
Comparing newspapers: op/ed in the main section, classifieds in business, obituaries in living?
Headline - '13 firs in Sills Park to be cut.' They are serious about trees here.
A friend lost some property taken over by the city for a light rail line. He renamed the wine produced on his remaining vineyard 'Eminent Domaine'.
My hetero friend M is always curious about the gay lifestyle. 'Do you know any evil queens?' Enough to give Disney a run for the money, baby.
Taking a soak at Carson Hot Springs - When I finally relaxed, I leaned back in 1880's era, cast iron tub and listened to all the different water sounds - strong rush out of the tap, gentle dripping, rhythmic sloshing. Very calming...until I opened my eyes to see that the sloshing was made by this fat guy flipping over in his tub, face-down, like a walrus looking for fish, sticking his black-bottomed, claw-toed feet up in the air. (I guess even Bigfoot needs a soak now and again.)
All in all, a very relaxing experience, until the attendant came over to scrub and then hose out the tub next to me; suddenly it became very elephant house at the zoo for me.
A whale washed up on Seal Beach while I was in Oregon. The paper stated that following an autopsy, the body would be buried. Remembering a news story from years ago, this would avert the disaster following a previous whale death when officials attempted disposal by dynamite. (Immediately following that fiasco, it wasn't men it was raining.) link
The next day, a follow-up story was headlined 'Police seeking anyone who took dead whale parts.'
Weather - Temperature got up to 87 deg on Tues and I heard a lot of 'Boy, it's hot!', but with the humidity at only 30% and a low of 54 at night, it was v. comfortable to me (Atlanta had the same high, but only got down to 64 in the evening.)
Waiting on a stoplight at rush hour next to several bikers lined up in their own lane.
A flyer posted in brewpub/theater window: 'Wanted - Used saxophone for 8 year-old girl whose influences include John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, and Lisa Simpson.'
Lottery ticket proceeds pay for new State Park land. ...the rest of the story...
Oregon 1
 |
 |
Laguna Beach 3
 |
Two weeks ago, the day after I got to Laguna, the ocean air was clear enough to see Catalina Island off the coast for the first time in quite a few weeks. Then, the day after I left for Atlanta, it was on fire, shrouded in smoke.
So, I totally missed that, only to be wake up a week later to smoke-filled skies in Atlanta from the wildfires 250 miles away! Yuck! Al Gore! Save us!
(The tower barely visible in the distance is City Hall East, just over a mile away.)
---
Here are the last pics from Laguna (John at the beautiful Zinc Cafe in Laguna Beach is going to carry them - as well my faithful and tireless supporters at YES here in Atlanta.)
(They are the last new pics from Laguna...cuz camera and I are off to Oregon to hike in the snow this Wednesday!)
 |
 |
Laguna Beach 2
 |
 |
 |
I would sooner walk on my tongue than say I had more fun photographing and hanging out in Laguna than I did in Oh-Hell-Hole...but... ...aaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyeeee.... aaddddddddddd.... ooorreee.... uuun.
NIGHTLIFE - One fun - almost mandatory - thing to do in Laguna is to go to the Boom Boom Room to see the boys dancing in their underwear. We had to pony up a couple of bucks before seeing all the "sights", because - all due respect to the movie - there's no such thing as Free Willy.
DRIVING - D & A were super sweet enough to let me borrow their jeep to drive the 1.5 hours up to see relatives in Woodland Hills. They asked me "can you drive a stick?"
Rising to the Man Challenge, I puffed out my chest and said "Sure!"
Now, while that may be true (I've driven a BMW on the Autobahn), knowing your way around a manual transmission is not the only preparation you need to drive a jeep. There's also "can you drive with no top, no sides, deep brakes, a shallow clutch, bouncy mirrors, flickering headlights, and occasional, random clunking noises?"
It was awesome! I was much more aware of being...transported. The wind, the sun, the car next to me, the sound of the engine, shifting, changing speeds, taking corners with my whole body. Even though I was constantly wrestling with the wheel and the gears (there is no checking of the map, answering of the cellphone, fixing your make-up in this vehicle), I loved it. I wasn't just steering...I was driving.
TAKING PICTURES - There's 2 things I hate - people who are intolerant of other cultures...and the Dutch.* I was just sitting there at the Getty Villa, minding my own business, waiting for the crowd to disperse and watching this spikey-haired, 55-ish woman with a camera/lens rig longer than my arm just breeze through the gallery, quickly and dutifully snapping a picture of each and every statue. She was literally cataloging everything in the museum as she worked her way towards me. Suddenly, she was standing next to me, shooting a wall plaque, and, spotting my camera, leaning over and whispering in my ear.
'I just hate people, don't you?'
I knew what was next - she was looking for a fellow photographer so she could brag about her camera. Before I could escape, she asked the question:
'I was just in Amsterdam in (insert Dutch name) Gaarten and I couldn't get a decent shot for all the people. What are you shooting with?'
I told her - a Canon 20D - and she replied - 'I had one of those; I sold it to my son and bought the 30D with the profits - it's really much, much better.'
I just hate people.
* Thanks to Michael Caine in "Austin Powers" ...the rest of the story...
Laguna Beach
 |
It's no surprise that a 2600 sq. ft. house in this area is listed at $2.4 million!
The pics below are from that hike.
 |  |  |
 |
- 2nd Moment - Entering the ridgeline park and reading posted warnings that the fire danger is "extreme" and, by the way, watch out for ticks & rattlesnakes.
- 3rd Moment - While holding my camera on the beach, I was told by some drunk guy to 'take the pic man, really, cuz the light is perfect. No, really, a good friend of mine is the editor of Surf magazine. I should know. Now, excuse me, I've gotta go sit on my wife's $10,000 bench.' ...the rest of the story...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Catalog - 2006
Cards - Spring 2006
Contest - Scrapbook 2006
Cards - Xmas 2006
Cards - Atlanta Signs 2006
Cards - Xmas 2005 A
Cards - Xmas 2005 B
