La Rentrée, The Convention and France 24

Even though I've enjoyed some of the calm that comes with August in Paris, I must admit I miss the usual sense that things are happening here in this city. Nothing has really happened here since July. The vibe of the city will slowly start to change over the next couple of weeks, as "la rentrée" (the return) to Paris is completed.

I can't help but comment on the recent Democratic convention. Imagine being here in Paris, sitting down in front of a TV, watching what should be an extremely important political event with important consequences for the whole world, and seeing grown men and women dressed up in wigs, wearing clown makeup, putting on Elton John-like sunglasses and reacting like they were at a Nuremberg rally. This is serious politics? I find it shameful.

I know it's a couple of years old but my friend recently sent me this video clip from The Daily Show and I found it damn funny:



And finally, some photos of the week:

"The square is mine!"
Interesting "A"
Metro turnstiles at an RATP building
My friend's baby

Tour Montparnasse, Tree IDs and a Blind Driver

I had an assignment this week shooting on top of the Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in France at about 700 feet (210 metres). The shoot was bizarre (don't ask) but it gave me the opportunity to shoot some images of Paris from above.


To see more images of Paris from above, CLICK HERE.

Paris has a lot of trees - approximately 95,000. They line most major boulevards and most public squares.


How does the city and their 108 lumberjacks keep track of them all? Starting in 2003, each tree had a Radio Frequency ID Tag (RFID) planted inside of it and the lumberjacks use graphic tablets to document the history and treatment of each one. Pretty impressive. If for some reason you're interested in learning more about this (not sure why you would be), CLICK HERE.
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I just loved this AFP story this week:

Blind Frenchman fined for drunk driving 22/08/2008

A blind Frenchman was given a month's suspended jail sentence and fined EUR 500 for driving while drunk and without a license.

NANCY-- A blind journalist was given a month's suspended jail sentence and fined EUR 500 by a French court Friday for driving while drunk and without a license.

The owner of the car, who was also drunk as he sat next to the blind man when he drove the vehicle, was given the same sentence and had his license suspended for five months by the court in the northeastern town of Nancy.

The pair was arrested on a country road in the early hours of July 25 by police who spotted their car zig-zagging suspiciously and moving at a very low speed.

The police were astounded when the 29-year-old driver informed them that he was blind. The police breathalysed the driver and his passenger, a 52-year-old photographer and found they had drunk twice the permitted level of alcohol.

"I really wanted to do it (drive the car)," the blind man told the court.

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I checked the statistics for my blog and found that at least one person in each of the following countries is reading my blog:

1 United States
2 France
3 Germany
4 United Kingdom
5 Israel
6 Italy
7 Australia
8 Argentina
9 Canada
10 Brazil
11 Serbia
12 Norway
13 Spain
14 Malaysia
15 Indonesia
16 Finland
17 Chile
18 Netherlands
19 Georgia
20 Moldova
21 Thailand
22 Austria
23 Iran
24 Vietnam
25 Hungary
26 India
27 Romania

This is particularly interesting because I don't know anyone in most of these countries.

Some photos of the week ...

Where I buy my veggies
Deep-fried spring roll filled with a banana chocolate hazelnut spread
Street artist

Olympics and Keziah

There's nothing like the Olympics to stir up good ol' feelings of nationalism. It's entertaining how my friends and I, who normally consider ourselves more humanists than nationalists, run to opposing corners during the Olympics. Americans talk about how much they hate the French swimmers and the French think that Michael Phelps is on drugs.

photo from a UPI colleague
Watching the games outside of the US really magnifies the effect. I experienced this is Australia in 1992 and have noticed the same thing this year. The MOST painful thing about watching the Olympics here is that just when Kobe Bryant is about to do a helicopter dunk over some poor Angolan, the French TV coverage cuts away to watch a Frenchman go for that ever-elusive bronze medal in windsurfing or fencing. It's understandable but painful nonetheless. On the other hand, the best part is hearing what a different style the French commentators use compared to American commentators. Sure the American commentators focus on American athletes but the French commentators shriek, cry and completely lose it in support of their athletes ... as if they were family members.

My favorite moment of the Olympics so far came yesterday when a French boxer was beating a Chinese boxer but with about 10 seconds left in the match, the Chinese boxer landed a couple of clean, scoring punches. When after the match, the referee raised the hand of the Chinese boxer indicating that he had won, the French commentator yelled out "MERDE!" (shit in French). I couldn't believe my ears. Imagine Bob Costas or one of those guys yelling out SHIT! after the announcement of some result going against an American.

This is a good opportunity to relive one of my all-time favorite Olympic moments from the 2000 Games in Sydney. Check out the video below of NBA star Vince Carter and keep in mind that the French guy in the video is 7 feet 2 inches tall (2.19 metres):


A very talented guitarist/musician named Keziah Jones played a free concert at the closing night of the Paris Plages. The "beach" was completely jam-packed with people and now I understand why.


Jones, originally from Nigeria, is very talented and plays a unique style of guitar. Can any of you tell me if he's known in the US? He seems to be quite known here. Check out this video from French television to see what I mean about his guitar-playing style:


And finally, a few photos of the week:

Keziah working hard

"Chic" phone booth

Typical workspace

My nomination for car dashboard of the year

The countryside ...

Other than watching the Olympics this week, the highlight of the week was a weekend getaway to my friend's home in the countryside. I took the train from Gare Montparnasse and headed to the town of La Loupe, about 1 hour and 25 minutes from Paris.


Spent the weekend cooking, eating and trying not to seem like too much of city boy on a field trip to the countryside (I don't think I fooled anyone). It was a good time, even with the occasional meal time taunting. Despite its high quality, no one can get me to eat a pile of raw meat with a raw egg and other colorful things swimming on top of it. Imagine my friends' exasperation when I insisted that they cook my ground beef.


The grounds of the home are beautiful and include an orchard and a dozen or so sheep running around.


I can assure you that despite it being a guys' weekend, nothing like this took place:


And on an unrelated note, ake a few minutes and watch this video. I love the spirit of it. Thanks to my friend "Go" for sending it to me:



Photo of the week:

Rain and sun at Place de la Bastille

Not Much Going On ...

... and I didn't really feel like writing much this week, so the photos will do the talking.

Dancing on the Paris Plages

Dancing on the Paris Plages

Music on the Paris Plages

Starbucks virus spreads

Evildoers laugh as they spread the Starbucks virus

Wrong Wrong Wrong