Visitors, Christmas and a Good Resto

Visiting period has opened. For the next few weeks, 5 different visitors will be coming to hang out in Paris. First up were my cousins from New York. We've been having fun just tooling around the city, catching up and trying to survive the bitter cold.


Had a great night out with my 10-year old cousin. We hit the town together and spent an action-packed evening that included bowling, air hockey, pool, Elvis pinball and multiple crepes.

Took a break from the city and headed out to spend Christmas Day in Ivry-la-Bataille, about 50 miles from Paris.


Spent a night laughing, eating, drinking champagne and watching the ups and downs of gift giving.

Speaking of eating, went to an excellent restaurant this week. It's called Alcazar and is located at 62 rue Mazarine in the 6th. The food is modern French but it's generally a non-French experience. Located on a small street, the restaurant is large (by Paris standards) and chic, almost LA-like, and is own by a Brit (Terence Conran). I can attest that the fish and chips are absolutely delicious. Go for lunch if you can because they have a great specials.

Photos of the week:

A new mosque? No, a Bush press conference (thanks to Norman)
Individually-wrapped french fries
Large paintings at the Louvre
Nipple pinch at the Louvre

Compassion ...

Not much happened this week but what did was a grand experience. Both good and bad. An elderly woman who I've been friends with for almost 7 years now needed to have a rather complicated form of cataract surgery performed on her this week. She's pretty much all alone in Paris and her relatives who live in the suburbs were out of town. So I picked her up at her apartment and brought her to the clinic for the procedure.

It's hard to explain the level of fear and anxiety she experienced, starting with the taxi from her apartment. By the time we arrived at the clinic, she was almost inconsolable. We checked in and sat for about 20 minutes in a waiting room. Every time the clerk would come in and call someone's name, she'd jump up and nervously say "was that my name ... I think it was my name". We eventually got called and admitted to a private room.

The room was absolutely perfect. Seemingly new, like a hotel room, with a touchscreen television that had an internet connection, telephone, cable, etc. I was relieved to see that the room was great, thinking that might help ease my friend's angst a little. Nope. She looked around for a few seconds and then launched into a tirade that maybe only a mother who's child throws a tantrum at the supermarket could understand. The bed was too high (of course we lowered it), she was used to taking baths and the room only had a shower, she's used to a bar of soap and here there was only liquid soap. But the topper was the heating system. The room and the whole clinic had a central heating system that would blow warm air into each room. It made noise but just above a whisper. Well, my friend convinced herself that there was no way she could sleep in a room that noisy. First she called the department administrator and said that she had specifically requested a quiet room. Of course the clinic had actually given her their best room, the most quiet and had even (I found out later) actually upgraded her to a VIP room. It had zero street noise and was at the end of the hall with only one adjacent room. She had the best room.

The administrator was quite kind and found a solution for my friend. They brought in a radiator heater which made no noise and turned off the fan in my friend's room. Perfect right? Wrong. My friend decided she didn't like the KIND of heat from a radiator heater so that wouldn't do. She demanded to be moved to another room. The administrator told her that all the rooms had the same heating system and besides that, the clinic was full. Well, over the next 2 hours(!) my friend called just about everyone involved with the clinic from the admitting officer, the janitor, the heating technician, the top person and a few people I didn't even know who they were.

At one point, there were 7 clinic people standing in our room trying to make the situation better. The were completely at their wits end but other than the heating technician, refused to give up. I tried to stay out of the situation the best I could because it was difficult for me to following everything in French and truly there wasn't really anything I could do. Finally, the top administrator, not knowing what else to do or who I was, tried to enlist my help but asking me "Monsieur, que-ce que vous pensez (Sir, what do you think)? Feeling a bit on the spot and having 8 French people staring at me and hanging on my response was quite a moment. I paused and then said "I think you've done everything humanly possible and that my friend has created a problem without a solution". Everyone looked around for a couple of seconds and then my friend seemed to realize that what I said might be true and quite unexpectedly calmed down a bit. She told the mob in her room that of course a clinic can not be like home and that she would just have to deal with the inconveniences, or something to that effect.

I ended up spending 7 hours there and another 3 hours when I went to pick her up two days later. My friend's behavior was outrageous and painful but what will stay with me the most was the compassion of the clinic staff. Can any of you out there imagine the employees of a clinic where you live being that compassionate? Seven people over two hours trying to solve an unsolvable situation. As often as I call the behavior of Parisians savage (and that's often), events like this happen and I gain a whole new respect for the people and the "humanness" of their culture.


Some photos of the week:

Metro scene

Metro scene

Boxing, The Spirit and Zimbabwean Dollars

This week I had a splendid time photographing a night of French boxing at the beautiful Cirque d'Hiver in Paris. The tournament titled "Le Grand Tournoi" featured professional French boxers in various weight classes as well as one international bout. I was quite surprised at the talent level. The two main fights were excellent.


Being ringside is thrilling as well as disturbing. Things happen so quickly in the ring and before you know it, the boxers can be right on top of you. I only hope and pray that they're tested for AIDS because all the photographers catch a fair bit of fluids during the fight. Boxing is problematic because from a human standpoint, there's no reason for a sport to exist where the rules are to basically hit the other guy in the head so hard that he can't even stand up for 10 seconds - it's real savagery. Yet at the same time, I find the intensity of a good boxing match to be one of the most engaging and exciting events in the world of sport.

Somewhat less violent (and interesting) was the French premiere of the film "The Spirit" with Samuel Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes (the women, at least based on this photo, arrived naked).


The most entertaining part of the evening happened when Samuel verbally smacked down one of the French photographers who kept ordering him to move around. Once you photograph Samuel on a red carpet you know that he's the one in charge and yelling requests really doesn't sit well with him. I loved it when Samuel stopped, pointed at the French photographer and said in his Pulp Fiction-like voice "You gonna keep on barkin' or take some damn pictures?" Not sure the Frenchman understood the words but he certainly understood the meaning.


In the "it could be much worse" category, Zimbabwe this week announced the minting of new 500 million dollar bank notes. Take a guess how much 500 MILLION Zimbabwean dollars is worth in terms of US dollars. The answer: $8 So if your desire to become a millionaire is strong, you know where to move. You'd need just under 2 US cents to be a millionaire in Zimbabwe.

Here is some very compelling and telling video shot by a photographer Robbie Cooper showing young people playing video games. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

Photo of the week ...

Danger of death

P.S. - Don't miss the special holiday video just below - only good through January 15

I Dance, Therefore I Am

Philosophy Cafe, Assemblee Nationale and Read After Burning

This week I attended a "Cafe Philo", or Philosophy Cafe event at the famous Cafe de Flore in Saint Germain de Pres. The idea of the Cafe Philo is to have organized debate in a public place, establishing a philosophical exchange, and quite democratically giving the right to speak (and the microphone) to anyone who wants it.


These public philosophy debates in cafes have been taking place here officially since the early 90's but unofficially for much longer. But more recently, at the Cafe de Flore, these debates have been happening in English, hence my participation - if you can call sitting there and trying to figure out what some people are talking about participating. There were some very lively and entertaining moments. You can read more about these debates HERE.

I covered an unlikely event this week. Five mayors of American cities came to Paris as the first officials to visit since Obama's election.


The delegation included mayors from Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, West Palm Beach, Albuquerque, and Hialeah, Florida. They met with the president of the National Assembly and the son of a former French President (Louis Giscard D'Estaing). The most interesting part was seeing inside the private residence of the president of the National Assembly.


I'm guessing it is quite different than the official residence of the mayor of Oklahoma City.


On the entertainment front, I shot the French premiere of the Coen Brother's film "Burn After Reading". Unfortunately, neither Brad Pitt nor George Clooney were there but only Frances Mcdormond and Joel Coen. Catherine Deneuve made an unannounced appearance.


One of the more fascinating websites I've found in recent times is this one: www.midomi.com
This is a site where all you have to do is hum a few bars of a song you like and it will tell you what song it is. Even pretty obscure songs. I didn't believe it but I tried it and it really works. It's a great way to find out the names of songs you know but don't know the title of. The only disconcerting part is that you have to give them the right to record you, both with your webcam and microphone. I've never seen my webcam light turn on so I know they're not recording video. And I didn't care if they recorded me humming songs.

If you find yourself feeling a bit down, take 5 minutes and watch this old video of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. I think it's more stunning that someone who not only did a soft porn movie (yes, he actually did) and starred in this clip could become governor of California than it is that a black man could become president.



Photo of the week ...

Peculiar flavor ...

Womens Kickboxing, Marrakech and My Birth Anniversary

Had to miss last week's blog entry with my travels so must make up for it today. The week before last I shot the French Women's Kickboxing Championship.

I don't know enough to judge the talent but the ambiance was great. It was held in a local gymnasium but very professionally presented, something I rarely find at these kind of events in Paris.

Fans were really into it and the lighting in the ring made it look like a movie that Mickey Rourke should be in. To see some images from the event CLICK HERE. Or if you prefer, you can see a short video I put together HERE (give it a minute to load).

I just came back from Morocco photographing the Marrakech International Film Festival. It's a festival not like any other I've been to as you can probably tell from some of the images of the red carpet.


The festival was relatively calm and included tributes to Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Yeoh. The jury was headed by director Barry Levinson and one of the jury members is my new dream girl ... Italian actress Caterina Murino (anyway, my dream girl needed updating since Elle Macpherson 15 years ago).

Frankly the best part of the festival was that it was 75 degrees and sunny almost every day there and we had a bit of time to explore.

I find the people of Marrakech extremely warm and welcoming in general, but of all the places I've traveled to, Morocco is the most difficult for taking photos. This was my second trip to Marrakech and both times I experienced the same difficulties. The general population there has an acute sense of their surroundings. This sense seemed almost supernatural to me; I could hide behind a tree and as I was about to snap a photo, my subject, who could be busy doing 5 other things, inevitably would whip his head around and make it clear to me that he didn't want his photo taken. I truly have no idea how they knew that I was there each time.


Most of the images I was able to take of people were done on the sly, after waiting patiently to blend into the background. This contrasts so strongly from places like India, where many people there actually ask you to please take their photo.

The heart of the city is the Medina (walled inner city). It is surrounded by about 12 miles worth of walls dating back to the 13th century. The souk (market) there is one of the biggest in Africa and is a serious assault on all your senses. I found the only way to enjoy it was to periodically stop, find a relatively open space, and let the action come to me. It sounds like a cliche but as you walk through the souk, the smells and sounds seem to change every few yards, from delicious and beautiful to intolerable and disgusting. And although the guys trying to sell you things can be exceedingly annoying, it's hard not to like massive amount of life that takes place there everyday.


To see some images from in and around the Medina, CLICK HERE.

To see some festival and red carpet images, CLICK HERE.

And if you'd like a little taste of what it was like on the red carpet at the festival, you can see a short video clip by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks to everyone for sending birthday wishes from all around the world. It was a unique birthday experience this year spending it in Marrakech. I had my first ever birthday couscous!

Some images of the past two weeks:

Swans in love in front of the Louvre
Nap time
Menu from my "5-star" (out of 10?) hotel in Marrakech
Menu from my "5-star" (out of 10?) hotel in Marrakech
Menu from my "5-star" (out of 10?) hotel in Marrakech

Obama, Supercross, Gwyneth and Leo

Ohhhhbama.


An aerial view of Barack Obama's face sculpted from gravel and sand by US artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada in Barcelona (Reuters photo).

I spent election night first shooting Gwyneth Paltrow and director James Gray at the French premiere of the film "Two Lovers" (tip to Gwyneth; not the best idea to wear see through lace with camera flashes close to you)


and then zoomed over to the Trocadero across from the Eiffel Tower to the official American election viewing party. The mood was good but visually it wasn't so interesting. Except for this lady.


I received around 10 text messages and emails from friends around the world congratulating me (as if I did something) about our election. The news was clearly the talk of the town here (like it was most places) and I know that there were many private election viewing parties in the city with people staying up all night, waiting for the official announcement that came quite early in the morning local time.

But my highlight of the election week (other than Obama winning) was a conversation I overheard in a cafe the day after the election. There was one older man eating some raw meat with a raw egg on it and he started a conversation with the waiter that I was thankful to hear. They started talking about the US election and I heard the dubiously black waiter say “il est un negre, comme mois” (he's a negro like me). Then I heard the word ‘N-word’ in English thrown around a couple of times. There were also a few references to Big Macs and McDonalds as well. It wasn't clear to me exactly what they were saying but it seemed to be good spirited.

On the photo front, I had a great time photographing the Supercross of Paris.


I dig how the camera takes me to places and experiences I would otherwise never know - like motocross. Who knew you could bring a chainsaw (granted, without the blade) into the stadium to make as much noise as possible during pauses in the show? It's pretty deafening.

To see more Supercross images CLICK HERE.


Leonardo DiCaprio was also in Paris this week for the French premier of the film "Body of Lies" ...


This is seriously one of the funniest and well-done political videos I've seen in a while. I literally laughed out loud:



Some photos of the week ...

Tricky
Inexplicable junk left in front of my door

Bond, Chocolate and Sculptures ...

Along with the freezing cold, James Bond came to town this week.


It rarely happens during these kind of shoots but I got to speak with him (Daniel Craig) for a few seconds before the Quantum of Solace premiere. Between his sling (shoulder surgery) and my pseudo black eye (don't ask), I think we shared a moment of mutual sympathy. He's pretty damn cool ...


But the highlight of the week was the Salon du Chocolat, evidently the world's biggest gathering devoted entirely to chocolate.


The show brought together over 140 chocolatiers from around the world and I can tell you that walking around there with a press badge on scores you free samples - one woman gave me a chocolate shoe! The craziest thing I saw there was a fashion show with women wearing designer creations made at least in part with chocolate.


To see more images from the chocolate show, CLICK HERE.

The city hall of the 5th district (yes, each of the 20 districts (arrondissements) of Paris has its own city hall) is putting on an outdoor exhibition near the Pantheon.


Giant, beautiful sculptures from an Italian sculptrice named Rabarama are sitting out on the sidewalk for all to see. They're quiet impressive works of art, especially in that setting.

A few photos of the week ...

Another Rabarama sculpture
Another Rabarama sculpture
Contrast

Rome, Prejudice and LifeGem

I spent this week in Italy, one of my favorite places in the world. I was in Rome shooting the Rome International Film Festival. It's quite a scene on the red carpet, with the attempt at organization being almost as entertaining as the festival itself.

The big names were men (Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Al Pacino) but it was the women on the red carpet that attracted most of the attention.


The low-light of the festival was seeing the zombie-like behavior of the hoards of children reacting to the premiere of High School Musical III. Evidently, many children in Italy (or maybe their parents) drank the same Disney Kool Aid as many American children have.

To see images from the festival, CLICK HERE.

Of course I ate well and enjoyed the fact that the same 1 liter bottle of sparkling water costs half of what it does in Paris. I had 1 full day to walk the city with my camera.


To see some images from my promenade, CLICK HERE.

One reason that I like traveling is that it forces me to become aware of and confront my own prejudices. For example, when I'm in places like Hungary and the Czech Republic, it takes me a couple of days before I realize that even though most of the men there look like the bad guys from 80's American action movies, they're fine and I can relax. And that not ALL the women there are for sale.

In Italy, it takes me a while to accept that people are not actually yelling at each other but that in their culture, screaming and arm waving with 9 inches of separation from another individual is not an act of aggression. I still struggle with the fact that our ears can be genetically the same and yet react in such different ways.

There's much to write about on this subject but I'd be curious to hear about some of your traveling prejudices ... good, bad or ugly.

Just when you thought maybe we as a society are not insane enough, have a look at what this company called LifeGem does. For anywhere from $3,500 up to $20,000, this company will take the carbon from the remaining ashes of a loved one and make a diamond out of it. I wish I was kidding. This is from their website:


What is a LifeGem®?

The LifeGem® is a certified, high-quality diamond created from the carbon of your loved one as a memorial to their unique life, or as a symbol of your personal and precious bond with another.

To learn (laugh) more, go HERE.

A couple of photos of the week:

Young and Happy
When it starts getting cold outside