Vendome, Rufus, AaRON and Monopoly

I had a treat this week when I convinced the manager of the famous Ritz Hotel in Place Vendome to let me go to the rooftop of the hotel to take a few photos. I was really


surprised they let me but I’m glad they did. You don’t have to go very high in Paris for a spectacular view.

Shot two concerts – Rufus Wainwright (son of Loudon) and AaRON – both very well known here but not so much in the US (although I hear Rufus is finding a bit of a following there).


AaRON is a collaboration between two very talented men, one a Franco-American singer and the other a composer and arranger. They sing some songs in English, some in French. Their first album has gone double gold here but I doubt many in the US have heard of them. If you’re interested, have a listen to this song called “Lili” (⇐ click here to listen) and see why I think they’ve got a bright future.


The insane transportation strike has taken what most people think is just a pause. It’s been pretty horrible the last 2 weeks if you had to get on a metro, bus or train. For those of you that are confused as to why you can still take a train, bus or metro during a strike, the answer is because the strikers usually leave extremely limited service on certain lines. What this ends up translating to is that everyone on these limited service lines ends up wanting to kill each other because they are so packed together. A couple of days ago I was crushed like a sardine on a line 4 metro car and just before the doors closed, an idiot basically took a running start and smashed into us and wedged himself into the already extremely packed car. I learned some new French words from the others in our train and when the idiot turned around to me and tried to excuse himself by saying “c’est normal” (it’s normal), I responded with “sur quelle planete?” (on what planet?).


And finally, had dinner with my friend the Conquistadore and after we were done eating, a couple approached us and asked if we wanted to join them in a game of … Monopoly. It’s not everyday that I’m asked to play Monopoly so we agreed and spent the rest of the evening drinking wine and building houses on the Ave des Champs-Elysees.

Some photos of the week …

Cellist from the band AaRON
Proof of End Times
Black cat in the Pere Lachaise cemetery
Hotel de Ville in golden sunlight

Strike, Le Jean Burnt, Sinead and Beaujolais

The big news of the week is the huge general strike in Paris that started (and continues as of this writing!) this week. It mostly involves the transportation workers but like most big strikes here, various other unions join the movement in solidarity.The train, bus and metro system were mostly shut down but a few of the lines were still running with very limited service; I love the term they use for this … “quasi-nul”. I wasn’t here for the last big daddy strike in 1995 but my impression is that people here are handling it pretty well. There are tons of bicycles on the streets and although I’m sure regular commuters are livid, those who take the metro from time to time actually seem in a better mood than normal, probably because of the ridiculousness of the situation. A few other unions are expected to join the strike this week so things could get worse before they get better. Every poll still shows that the majority of people here do not support the strike and want Sarkozy to continue to fight. This could get ugly.

Some terrible news this week … an iconic café (well, it’s only iconic to me and a few of my friends) burned this week. Le Jean Bart café along rue Saint Antoine in the Marais had its interior pretty badly charred.My first few years in Paris I lived just across from “The Bart” and spent many hours there people watching, wondering which government program the barely-functioning waiters were hired because of, and trying not to look too closely at my meals. “Le Jean Burnt” will be missed … by at least 3 or 4 people (5 max).

This week I shot the premiere of “My Blueberry Nights” starring Norah Jones (yes, the singer Norah Jones) as well as the return of Sinead O’Connor. Sinead looked quite different than the last time the world saw her but she still sounded terrific.I was also supposed to shoot Kanye West in concert so I took the massively cramped metro across Paris, walked a long way in the freezing cold and upon my arrival was told the management changed their minds and no photographers were allowed to shoot the show. You can imagine how happy I and the other photographers were. The only saving grace was I found the motivation to take an invigorating 35-minute bike ride on a Velib (the “free” city-wide bicycles) all the way home along the canal.

Beaujolais Day also happened this week in Paris. The annual event happens every third Thursday of November (the release date chosen by the French government) and wine stores, wine bars, and restaurants fete the arrival of Beaujolais nouveau, wine made of grapes that were still on the vine only three months earlier (thus the "nouveau"). I’m far from an expert but this year’s Beaujolais nouveau tastes better than past years, although it’s still far from great. For more on Beaujolais Day, check out this BBC article.

And for all of you that asked, yes, I’m feeling much better thank you.

A few photos of the week:

Bicyclists near Place St Michel during the strike
Beaujolais Day
Beaujolais Day

Doc, Joss and the Metro

This week I got to experience the ease and simplicity of the French medical system. I’ve had a chest cold that I just haven’t been able to shake so Monday morning at 9am I called a British (read “English-speaking”) doctor in the Marais to see if I could come get checked out. He said how about 10:30am. I rode a Velib bike over to his office and he did an exam, gave me some anti-biotics and I was on my way. Stopped at the pharmacy next door and got the drugs and went home.

The office visit cost me 40 euros, of which 85% is fully reimbursable by my private health insurance, which costs 300 euros PER YEAR (not per month)! And by the way, the prescribed drugs are also reimbursable at 85%. But of course the best part was calling at 9am and getting an appointment at 10:30am that same day; that’s not always the case but it has been close to that each of the handful of times I’ve used the healthcare system here. It really makes me sad and embarrassed at the healthcare system in the U.S. – it’s disgraceful.


Photographically it was a slow week, but I did get to shoot Joss Stone performing at the Grand Rex Theatre. She put on a pretty good show I must say but maybe only because I didn’t have high expectations.


I’m posting a video I’d like to share with you. It’s nothing so special but I’m posting it because it’s typical of what you experience on the metro here in your day-to-day life moving around the city. Click HERE to see the video and be patient, the video might take a few minutes to load. {note: there is sound with the video}

I recently did some photo work for an international accounting firm here and they’ve posted a slideshow of my work on their website. You can see some of my Paris images (albeit a bit too small) by clicking HERE. {note: there is sound with the video}

And finally, a couple images of the week (of which I only took one):

Art or Vandalism? (view from my window)

God Bless America

World Conference, MTV Europe Music Awards and Pink Martini

Did some highly-entertaining corporate work this week. A big, international accounting firm had their world conference in Paris and hired me to capture the special events they had planned: a private party at the Louvre, an afternoon on a yacht along the Seine and a private fashion show and dinner at the Chateau of Versailles.


The event at Versailles was exceptional, something that evidently doesn’t happen very often. I wish I could post more photos for you to see but I’m seriously restricted due to very strict rules regarding photographs of the Chateau (but I’ll post a few anyway).


Spent 3 days in Munich to photograph the MTV Europe Music Awards. The show was hosted by Snoop Dogg and I thought how strange it was that two homeboys from Long Beach end up in Germany together at an awards show! The show was typically crazy with a big jacuzzi filled with models in the middle of the audience.


I got out and about in Munich but I was a bit under the weather and didn’t get to explore the way I normally would. I have to say the peacefulness, organization and general good behavior of its residents make Munich a really nice break from more latin-blooded cities.

English Gardens
I was most impressed with the number of organic restaurants and stores as well as the wide variety of quality ethnic foods available. I ate tasty Afghanistan, Ethiopian, Thai, Mexican and of course some German food (schnitzel) while I was there. And I wasn’t too disturbed when the menu at the German restaurant included things like a beetroot margarita and tuna puree (not kidding).

This last Friday, the Portland-based music group Pink Martini was back in Paris for a show at the legendary Grand Rex Theatre. I’ve photographed them a half-dozen times now and I really enjoy their music. I’ve become friends with a few of the band members and now each time they pass through Paris, we get together and they graciously give me excellent tickets to their shows. I had dinner with one of the band members this time and we had a good laugh at the fact that he went to a rival high school in Long Beach and we graduated the same year! The show was entertaining as always but it was especially nice to be seated in the audience instead of taking photos.

And a few photos of the week:

Waiters at the Chateau de Versailles
Good news!
Not sure this store name would work in the US
Disturbing
Trader Vics in Munich - Who knew?