Je Suis Contente.

Can't deny that happiness is actually a state of mind, pretty much everything is. Obviously, we can't always control our so-called state of mind. We often hear that little things matter especially from women, but believe or not, such a cliché does happen and is true.

Today I had an appointment at the prefecture for my carte de sejour. It's an ID card stating that you are legal to stay in France. Set an alarm clock at 6.30 am to be able to be at the prefecture a little bit before 8.35 am. When I got there, there was already a queue of these non-French standing in front of the door. As I knew that it would require some waiting period I had prepared my escape tools. I hate to wait. I don't like that word, at all. I'm usually on time, unless I'm late on purpose - that happens when I know that whoever that is will be late. Anyway, back to my escape. They're actually simple tools; a new book I bought "French Trysts" Secrets of a Courtesan by Kirsten Lobe...It's not my typical kind of book I buy but the setting is in Paris so I thought I'd learn a lot more of this city from reading this one...and it turns out to be quite entertaining actually. (Did someone scream "excuse!"?) The other tool is, of course, music. Seriously music is my major mood soother. No fave series, no snacks, no shopping, that I can handle but no good music, I would become a red blooded woman 24/7 (or in another word , a woman who's always on her period.) These days as I've become an addict of Radio Nova, very non-mainstream playlists, I feel a bit quilty that I've left my pink iPod alone in a corner of one of my handbags...maybe I'll walk you around town one of these days baby.

Everything went smooth at the prefecture. Surprisingly quick...and friendly. That doesn't happen much within this kind of place. Probably it's because I was holding a queue ticket no.4 and not no.40, if you know what I mean.

On the way home from métro Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, as I was walking, I felt strangely happy. I started humming a song and even smiled to a homeless (this one I saw quite a few people actually talked to him) when he said "Konichiwa" to me...Perhaps it's the smell of morning air, the cool breezy weather, and the fallen leaves on the street... It's been quite awhile since I get to breathe the morning air. It gets much better especially when you're in the least hurry.

Though almost one year delay...I've officially begun to appreciate my life in Paris.

Paris Jazz Fesitival 2007 (Update)

After a night at Rex and the fact that I got home around 6ish am. I surprisingly woke up in one piece so I managed to drag myself and Monsieur J. to Paris Jazz Festival at Parc Floral. It was a long metro ride to Château de Vincennes and I couldn't help but looking a little like a zombie. When we arrived around 3 pm, there were LOADS of people queuing to get in. It was worse than seeing the homeless queuing for food or the shoppers queuing to pay during the 70% sales at a mall... To cheer myself up, I went to get a piece of a homemade brownie one lady was selling nearby. Monsieur J. was amazed of how much I had been eating all this weekend. "It's not me, it's my female body and its greedy stomach," I thought. Like what chocolate is praised for, it had increased my patience in waiting for at least 20 mins, or else...or else...

Once we paid €5 each and got in...only to find a beautiful grand park...overcrowded. Seriously, even though it's a huge HUGE park, there is not much of the space left. I mean there is room for people to sit or even lay down...but you couldn't possibly find yourself any privacy since everyone is next to everyone. However, that didn't seem to bother anyone and actually not us.













The place is pretty with all these flowers, a jazz band was playing on the stage. It was almost perfect. Besides a yummy ice cream, what else could you ask for?

We found our cozy space to relax. I spotted one young couple nearby, very cute, especially the guy (French wavy hair with beard, how sexy) and playful to each other...I couldn't help but to try to have a snapshot of them.

The place doesn't seem to be for only relaxation, it's also for a serious thing like a marriage - an Asian couple; the groom and the bride (and the whole families of both all dressed up) came to take some photos here. At one moment, I thought to myself whether the French would wonder whether or not this was some of an Asian invasion.

After awhile, we walked around the park, collecting shots of flowers and went to see the band at the stage. It was Joe Sample Trio & Randy Crawford playing. Amazing voice, amazing music. Listening to Jazz in a park under the blue sky , it was very refreshing. I wish the weather in Bangkok wasn't so hot, so people would not just go from a building to hide in another building for the cool of an air-con.

Parc Floral de Paris
Métro: Château de Vincennes

Summer Beach Feel in Paris

During the summer, some areas by the river or canal will be put together with a summer beach theme; adding some sand, beach chairs and umbrellas with some activities... and voila, the beach in Paris! We went to the canal de L'Ourqc to find it completely different from the last week. A lot of people; families, singles or couples were gathering to enjoy the weekend and the sun while it lasted. I felt like I entered another world...Smiles, laughters, tank tops, shorts, flip flops..."Wait, am I dreaming? This is not like the Paris I know.." A few bars were set up as well as a paddling boat service. There was also an outdoor dance floor with swinging and Elvis type of music. Sunshine with a cool breeze ahhh...

Chilling by the Canal St Martin

Just opposite the Canal de L'Ourqc is the famous canal St Martin, however it was rather quiet on a Saturday afternoon. Probably because there was a beach theme going on at de L'Ourqc. Very calm it was, we found a bench to park ourselves. I finally had a chance to eat my KFC chicken wings. Yep, I'll admit it here I luv KFC...but of course not so often. I was eating and listening to my new found favorite Nova Planet Radio while Monsieur J. was trying to take a nap but couldn't. Maybe I was eating too loud? Nah... After a peaceful while, we walked back to where we came from passing this hip cafe. Monsieur J. said it reminded him of one place in Switzerland... But I felt like I was brought back to Amsterdam once again. It was the relaxing ambiance with less uptight people and the graffiti around the area. We've found a new favorite hangout spot of ours...

Métro: Jaurès

Ice Cream Chez Amorino...Delicious!

What more do you need on a hot afternoon besides a good, really good ice cream made in the shape of a flower? I have tried quite a few brands in Paris and elsewhere, I must say Amorino is one of the best! No wonder there is always a long queue whenever I walk pass their shops. I haven't tried all the flavors but yogurt and banana are already registered as my all time favorites! (Passion fruit there is really refreshing too but I'm more into the creamy flavors.) And like mentioned above, their ice cream is not simply a round scoop on a cone, but the staff there will make it in a shape of a flower. I don't know about others but I see it as a rose. Very cool and yummy.

The branch we went to this time is opposite the Pompidou.

Métro: Rambuteau

Ryan McGinley at Galerie du Jour

McGinley's photos turn me on...

I don't remember how I first came across his work or his name but after I've fallen in love with his talent, I seem to have constantly come across his name in every magazine I bought. I wouldn't say that I love every single photo he took but many of them, many, I find quite dream-like yet very real and moving... Probably because all the people in his photos are real, no model or as such (except the Kate Moss project) and he has captured well the happiness in the real spontaneous moments (though within a set scene).

I was SO excited to find out that Galerie du Jour would exhibit some of his work again. It was made as the first thing to do on the weekend. Though only few photos are featured, I was too happy that finally I got a chance to see the photos in the frame in a real exhibition...not just on his website.

My favorites are mostly in the ones from his early projects...





When I see some of his photos like #3 and #4, it's like a motivation for me to just pack a bag and go on a quest of...the unknown...

Source: Galerie du Jour and Ryan McGinley

Tres Bon Week-end!

SATURDAY-SAMEDI-WAAN SAO
Walking towards the metro Anvers, always busy busy on the weekend. Popular Sacre Coeur and Montmarte are here.

On the way to Galerie du Jour...A weekend in a sunny Paris, what else to do but to enjoy the cafe lifestyle and people watch.

An exhibition of my Ryan lover, finally got to be part of it! (continued)

On a hot sunny day, I deserved a creamy ice cream. (continued)

Then we dropped by the Canal St Martin...(continued)

One hip cafe...that graffiti looks like an Obey logo, doesn't it?

Canal de l'Ourqe with the summer beach theme (continued)

Sun, sand, canal and a paddling boat...

Swinging anyone? *innocent grin*

Completing a good Saturday by clubbing at Rex with my favorite DJ D'Julz.

SUNDAY-DIMANCHE-WAAN A-THIT

Paris Jazz Festival at Parc Floral (continued)

The blue, the green and the happiness

Her cute red dress and his wavy hair and trimmed beard...

Not only us that were busy this weekend...

C'est sympa, non?

Last Night@La Fleche d'Or (Part I)

Introduced to La Fleche d'Or by my French friend and I just want to bisou him till his death do us apart. This place rocks! (and FREE!, very very important)


Last night's schedule:
Live Indie Rock
1/ OSCAR-U (Fr)
2/ PAN PAN MASTER (Fr)
3/ NOUS NON PLUS (Us)
4/ CASIOKIDS (Norv)

C.L.U.B Crash Bandi #8 Summer Specials
DJ : 2C (Microrama/Fr)
Dj : STEVE AUSTIN (Bandi/Fr)
Dj : MAGIC FINGERZ (Bandi/Fr)

We got there around midnight so only got to see the band CASIOKIDS. Although it was all in French, the show was pretty good, proving the fact that music has no language indeed...(excuse to enjoy it without learning French, ha.) Then around 1 am, the first DJ began to pump the dance floor with "Take me out" by Franz Ferdinand...it was good until he started to bring back the 80's...so we decided to leave the place thinking to catch the metro before 2 am, only we forgot that it was Friday night, NOT Saturday...so it was closed at 12.30 am. We decided to walk half way home from 20th arrondissement to almost 9th then we finally found a (fast and furious) taxi...I was thinking if I was drunk, his head would have been covered by my vomit (!)

Anyway, if you've been complaining you cannot find any FREE stuff in Paris (like me), stop moaning and check out La Fleche d'Or, there is something EVERYDAY.

102 bis rue de Bagnolet 75020
Métro: Alexandre Dumas or Gambetta

Note: Pictures are pulled from the LFD website.

Salute to Tang Frères

Any Asians or anyone who lives here and loves Asian food, if you don't know or have never been to Tang Frères in the Chinatown (13th arrondissement), it's like a tourist who leaves Paris without going to La Tour Eiffel or a Japanese who hasn't been to the Louis Vuitton flagship store on the Champs-Elysees...

I personally am grateful to this grand Asian supermarket 'cause it helps increasing a special immune to prevent me from getting homesick. Whatever sauces or pastes you might need for your cooking, they have it. Whatever nationality or taste of an instant noodles you need to survive with when broke, they have it. I can spend a day there without getting bored...OK way too exaggerating but if you're not sure what you want to get, you can end up spending an hour or two there. The Tang Brothers also introduced me to the Thai brand "AROY-D", which I would recommend to anyone. It's the brand that I can say, very reliable. I'd tried a few Thai restaurants here in Paris and they got me extremely disappointed as the tastes were far from original. I recommend anyone who want to taste the original tastes of Red Curry, Green Curry, Tom Yum Soup and Mussaman Curry, simply look for them in the AROY-D cans. Satisfaction guaranteed.

Talking about this makes me drool. Now I have to excuse my lazy self to get some AROY-D green curry for dinner.

13th arrondissement
Métro: Porte d'Ivry

A Picnic by the Canal de L'Ourcq

The weather was nice yesterday and the sun was so bright that we decided to go soaking up the sun, before the rainy days will come next week (according to accuweather.com), by the canal de l'Ourcq. It was the first time I was introduced to this area as normally I would just drop by St Michel to sit by the Seine.

We got off at Métro Jaurès where we went straight to the side of Bar Ourqc to find some beach chairs provided by the bar. This canal mostly goes through a poor area..and the Jaurès area in general is, to make it easy, the opposite of Etienne Marcel. However, this hangout spot with the Bar Ourqc is too popular among the down-to-earth locals, plus there are the MK2 cinemas at the both sides of the canal. (MK2 is known for showing independent movies both French and foreign.)

So after we picked our own spot,grabbed a beer...it was time to CHILL under the blue sky weather. This somehow reminded me of the feeling I had when visitng Amsterdam. The crowd was eclectic. Some just came straight from work while some prepared themselves with a bottle of wine and snacks to share among friends. In this area, you will barely see any tourists but more of the regulars to the place and to the bar.

You can go ask for a beach chair from the bar, if they're not all taken. Also, when you finish drinking, if you collect all the cigarette butts and all the garbages full in the plastic glasses, take them to the bar and you might get a free beer in return. We didn't try that 'cause there were only 3 cigarette butts...not enough smokers. Damn.

You can get a 25ml beer for €2.5 and a 50 ml beer for €5.

Métro: Jaurès

Thai Chic, can we compete with the whole world?

I've been out of the Land of Smile barely one year and oh my, when my friend showed me an issue of Cheeze Magazine where they gather the shots of some street style in Bangkok like Siam Square, Siam Paragon or the JJ market...I was so surprised to see how stylishly "in" my Bangkokian fellows are! Thanks to my friend or else next time I go home, I might have a culture shock myself...!

Here are the shots of my fave styles:

Street Chic

Browsing through The Face Hunter, the world renown street fashion shot snapper...I realized, fashion is very contagious indeed. Pretty much every woman is wearing a day dress with a belt on, grab a pair of cool sunglasses and roam into the city street. I like that look too but I suppose one's personality and confidence would count a lot when everyone, more or less, is following the same style. Like the latest shots of some cool parties in London, I mean, I don't see much of the difference compared to the shots from some cool parties in Paris or the streets of Berlin...However, I quite like the Copenhagen style; the concept of having a scarf as part of an outfit is really chic to me. It's said that most of the time, the Danish people would not leave the house without putting a scarf on. Then again, I'm sure they will consider having a bare neck when the heat is high during the summer...But suppose we're not talking about "this" summer 'cause the sun doesn't seem to last very long during the day. (Stop global warming, s'il vous plait!)













Paris














Berlin




Copenhagen


Source: The Face Hunter

You know you're from Paris when...

1. You consider Boulogne, Neuilly, Saint-Denis etc to be the countryside. I mean, Porte de Versailles or Porte de la Villette mean there IS a door, and therefore an outside and an inside, right?

2. You know that, when you take the subway and you have to go through Châtelet, you NEED a ticket because you know exactly where the police is hiding (behind those glass window things)...very much so.

3. You're SO over the sound the Carte Imagine R makes when you swipe it on the machine

4. Your very first clubbing experience was at Les Planches. Now you think it looks more like a nursery than a club.

5. You know that a martini means a martini, and not that gross vermouth and gin mixture.

6. You find it normal that someone is randomly peeing in the street.

7. You peed in the street at least once in your life. *making an innocent face*

8. You think that having a car in Paris is useless, but to go from Concorde to Les Champs Elysées, you take a taxi.

9. You can tell only by looking at their clothes from which arrondissement people are.
...yep for certain arrondissements I can tell.

10. Shopping is a competitive sport, fashion, a way of life. can I just double "bold" this?!

11. You actually consider walking in dog shit with your left foot lucky (it happens so often, it might as well be useful)...not yet

12. You know the subway map by heart, but you have trouble learning the different regions of France...I suck at maps doesn't matter how long I live here.

13. You know that coffee isn't suppose to be served in a cup that looks like a bathtub. And you drink it at the bar, standing.

14. You hate Paris and Parisians....so true.

15. You love Paris and Parisians....so true.

16. When foreign people ask where you're from, you say "Paris", and not "France".

17. You could write a poem on Ladurée/ Pierre Hermé macarons.

18. You have never been on the Eiffel Tower, or on a boat on the Seine, and you only
go tothe Champs Elysées when it's Sunday night and you need to buy a book at Virgin for class on Monday...*winks*

19. When people say "Paname", you want to bleach their mouth.

20. You're so dramatic, you say you want to kill yourself at least five times a day.

21. You're surprised when someone holds the door for you at the subway exit.

22. You're even more surprised when a sales person asks if you're looking for something in particular. Actually that would never happen....so frigging reality.

23.You know the guy whose sister's friend who's the cousin of a girl who knows the manager.

24. You got shit faced when you were 13, and now you drink real drinks, and look down on people who do vodka/beer shots at frat parties.

25. "Putain", "bordel", "merde" or the ever famous "putain de bordel de merde" are not considered "bad words"; I mean, you use them every day, and sometimes it's affectionate.

26. You don't really get excited when you go clubbing; you just take your bag and go.

27. You know that Paris is not a city, it's an attitude.... a snob I've become.

28. When you see "schales" in the street, you think that they should be banned from the city and burned at the stake.

29. You thinks it's normal when you know the life story of the butcher/baker/cashier of G20/homeless guy rue de Rennes/sales woman of H&M.

30. You KNOW that it's the most fabulous,angry, stylish, bitchy, comic, even romantic (even though you HATE clichés) city in the world and that, although you left, you will come back and stay for good...on verra.

- "You know you're from Paris" Facebook Group

Safe and Sexy

How much I love the stuff from Agent Provocateur... sexiness with class. What the "Porn and Dance Party" reminded me is the sexy pasties that are available at AP. I would say it's just a perfect gift for a girlfriend/wife, and a very nice surprise for a boyfriend/husband...It's rather expensive but hmmm...it could be worth it ;p

Pictured here is a good idea for the next Valentine's, methinks.

The Bastille Day - 14.07.07

A glimpse of the French national celebration in some parts of Paris; Opera, Pyramides and the fireworks...

Metro Bastille


Army troops around Opera



A Parade(?)with political statements from Pyramides towards Opera







Fireworks around Le Tour Eiffel (shots from our Balcony)

Porn & Dance Party Update

When something is (overly) advertised, you set a high bar of expectation... and then get disappointed. We arrived at La Java almost 1 am to find a more than half space empty. So we grabbed a seat and waited for party to get started. No one was dressed any revealing or any outstanding though matching the color themes; red, blue and white (the French flag)... I was in a reddish dress. Music, like it's mentioned, is a mix of almost everything from house to reggae... it could be nice but at the time could interrupt the continuity of the dance mood. I didn't get myself to dance 'cause basically I simply can't really dance to anything else but techno, electro and house. It is a curse; once you go electro, the beats are too high for you (me) to climb down for slower tunes. So I just sat and watched. Fortunately, there were some interesting things to watch i.e. this guy was dancing with a small crystal ball. He moved so smooth adapting to all kinds of music...with that ball of his. A few others were having fun in the drunk mode which I found rather amusing to watch (positive comment this is by the way). Then around 3 am, the lady with pink hair who was dancing on the dance floor earlier got herself half naked on the bed/stage...piece by piece was coming off, left only the panties on... I would say that I've seen better shows here in Paris but oh well, an almost naked woman is better than none at all...right? ;p

We left a bit after the show finished...walking home from Métro Goncourt to Métro Anvers...If you know the map of Paris you would agree with me that it was quite a walk indeed!

Porn & Dance Party

"For their third party the Crazy Babies team finally have a space as big as their ambition. At the Java, Bikini and Prince of Plastic curate their surprising cocktail of electro, accordion, jazz, funk, raggae, mambo, minimal techno, mexican music, brass bands, drum and bass, hip-hop, big band, jungle and 90s dance music, all inside a trash and sexy décor (there's even a canopy bed). On the eve of Bastille Day, Vive la France and people who dance, sweat and do what they want. Dress code: blue, white, red, think sexy, get naked, and sequins on your ass!"

So very tempting indeed. Let's see if I have anything revealing enough to make it in the party.

La Java, 105 rue du Faubourg du Temple,
10th. M°Goncourt.
www.la-java.fr

Source: Gogoparis

2 Days in Paris

I've been accompanying my best friend here for the past few days. She's got a bit of a homesick and been kind of sad. She's a happy type of person and when she gets upset or sad, you will definitely see it showing on her face. So this finally has given me a chance to play a role of a good friend for a few days.

Wed: We met at Opera, did some shopping in the area, then walked to rue du Temple near Hôtel de Ville. There're always some street art or graffiti on the Parisian streets...









some I find them cool and funny, some are just...names. Afterwards, we checked out the American Apparel store and the American retro one. These two are ones of my favorite brands. American Apparel does reflect the American lifestyle. What they offer are the 3C's; Cotton, Casual, Colors. Everything is simply casual like t-shirts, hoodies, shorts, leggings, socks etc. but you can find most of the basic items in all the colors you would hope to find. Amazing. For American Retro, actually, this is a French brand with a kitsch design...at least for the few past seasons. However, we didn't get anything...as usual for the sales season, if you don't come early enough, the chance of finding an item you like or the size that matches yours is close to none.


After, we walked towards le Jardin des Tuileries. This time it's different as there is a theme park with a ferris wheel, a carousel, etc. Not many people as the weather has been rather unpredictable these days; sunshine, heavy rain, and strong cool wind all in the same day...speaking of the global warming.

Anyway, we got there around 7ish pm. The sky was still blue with some clouds and sunshine. A few kids were running around and some were trying to get the little boats sailed with a stick...It's always pleasant and serene getting away from the daily routine or whatsoever to enjoy some bits of nature in the city like this...

Thurs: We met at Le Bon Marche, a Rive Gauche department store, very Parisian with a high positioning and image (unlike the tourist attraction like Galeries Lafayette). My friend wanted to find some gifts for her family and ended up getting a Long Champ bag for her mom... and I got a reddish pink dress from Comptoir des Cotonniers, a very French brand, subtle colors with an understated design.

Then as planned, we took a metro to catch a movie "2 Days in Paris" with Julie Delpy. The movie talks about a couple; a French girlfriend and a New Yorker boyfriend who can't speak French. Watching this, I couldn't help but being reminded of the Richard Linkslater's "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset"...savvy dialogue with a quirky charm of Julie Delpy... and some parts of this movie actually did remind me of...my life here as being rather lost in translation. Anyway, I'd say that if you usually enjoy a *dialogueful* comedy, you should give this movie a try.

I'm a junkie!

It's my bad habit that sometimes I totally lack the self-control. Luckily, I still have some conscience on what I can let myself slip into...(or not hmm...) It's been known to a few of my close friends that Paris could mean nothing when I get myself into certain things. I can completely disappear for a few days, phone off, MSN off...and just frigging watch my favorite series for a few seasons straight. I'm that much of an addict, ha. The first time happened a few months ago when my friend handed me the first two seasons of "The L Word", a series about the lesbian life and community in California...I was out of touch with the human kind for the whole two days...watching an episode after episode. Then other few days when I got the following seasons...my friends were threatening that they would cut me off. See how much I'm loved?

The latest junkie phase was last week, when I'd started watching "Grey's Anatomy". My apartment became rather a mess and my sleeping hours were corrupted while I was trying to finish the two seasons I had in hand and we're talking about 36 episodes here. While I'm waiting for my friend to mail me the 3rd season, I happened to bring myself into an addiction of all these stand-up comedy clips on YouTube...like yesterday I was laughing so hard that my head actually hurt watching Chris Rock's and Russell Peters' clips. Amazing. I hadn't laughed SO hard for awhile now and I'm very grateful for it. I hope that none of my neighbors were home yesterday or else they might have thought that there was a retard person next door...err

Here's one of the clips - "the world is mixing"

Hub of Home Decors

Paris is full of home decoration stores, mostly with the fancy price tags. With a student's monthly salary, I can just dream to have it when you get a decent job...but even those people with a decent job would still probably choose to go for cheaper offers. Luckily, there are places like IKEA and Conforama that provide some reasonable prices with good designs - here I suppose I'm probably talking more about IKEA ('cause hmm...seriously I'm not much of a Conforama fan).

I've been a regular customer of IKEA since I've moved in to the current place I am now. Maybe not so regular but today was my 5th visit to the Northern branch at Parc des Expositions. I love shopping for furnitures especially the ones that add an ambiance and a coziness to the place and make it "home".


The first section, there are all these spaces decorated into different rooms giving ideas to those who lack and add more to those who already have some. Quite a good job they do to seduce the customers I'd say. The other section is a huge storage where you can actually grab the stuff you decide to buy, not as fancy as the first section of course. Whenever I go there, it gives me this good feeling, to see a couple or a family choosing things together for their own place. However, it can be a little bit chaotic and long queues during the weekends because of the crowd. To avoid this, you can go during the weekdays or after work - it's open until 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays. Oh, and do avoid the first weekend of each month, you know you like to go shopping yourself after your pay check arrives.

Rock en Seine: Mark Ronson

As the increasing amount of junks on the available music channels on the French TV, I finally had a chance to convert my MySpace page to something meaningful. It has become my source to discover new bands and be enlightened about what's going on outside the mainstreams. Like Mark Ronson, I was searching for the new faces in music and found him through another artist profile. Mark Ronson has actually been known as a DJ and producer in both the US and UK. He's now out with the new album "Version" of cover songs like Morrissey’s "Stop Me", Radiohead’s "Just", the Zutons’ "Valerie" etc. Some critics say the album is a disappointment...which is always the case when someone is making a cover version of a legendary song. It might not be as great but they sound interesting and quite decent as its own. I actually like what I hear so far and am looking forward to seeing his gig this August.


"Oh my God" featuring Lily Allen

A Night by the Seine

After having a few drinks at an Irish bar around St Michel, we left and walked around the area. I, all of a sudden, had a crave for fries so we picked up one for each of us then went to sit down by the river.There were hardly any people at this time of the night which was around 11 pm. It wasn't a warm night, rather windy but we'd got a jacket and a pack of fries to hold on to. After living here for quite some months, this was the first time I got to capture the night scene by the river like this. It was definitely more romantic, though also more chilly. For the first time in awhile, I felt this City of Lights was actually romantic...

Palais de Tokyo: La Marque Noire

If you enjoy contemporary art, by visiting Palais de Tokyo you wouldn't be disappointed though at times, like many forms/types of art may put you in a "lost in translation" state. Like the new exhibition "La Marque Noire / Steven Parrino: Retrospective, Prospective" with the three subjects:
1) STEVEN PARRINO RETROSPECTIVE 1981 - 2004
A retrospective that gathers nearly one hundred major works by the artist
2) BEFORE (PLUS OU MOINS)
An exhibition of artists who influenced Steven Parrino
3) BASTARD CREATURE
Based on two exhibitions curated by Steven Parrino (in 1999 and 2003)
Without having any background knowledge of the artists, I was struck by everything exhibited there and wanted to understand the stories behind them. What I could grasp though was their relation to violence, destruction and sex. The whole show was dominated by the colors of black, white, and silver, learned later that these colors are the colors of Harley Davidson. As Parrino was claimed as a biker artist as well as the punk artist, there is no doubt why these three colors play such the main role here. There is an artwork "Electric chair" by Andy Warhol, one of the main references to pop culture that, in part, had influenced Parrino's work.

One powerful piece I personally liked is "Come to my house and cry". There is a set of four televisions showing the videos in mute of different men and women breaking into tears. A very melancholy music was playing in the background. Near the set was this empty untidied bed. I thought to myself if I kept watching it for too long, I could possibly break into tears myself.

The exhibition runs from May 24 - August 26, 2007
Opens: noon - midnight (except Monday)
13, avenue du Président Wilson, Paris
Metro: Iéna

Rock en Seine: CSS

CSS or Cansei de Ser Sexy (Tired of Being Sexy in Portuguese) is the art rock band from São Paulo. Who would have thought that the group that formed themselves for laugh (since they didn't know to play any instruments properly) would become such a crowd pleaser like now. Magazines like I-D, Vice and others mentioned CSS and the half Brazillian-Japanese frontwoman "Lovefoxxx"...and of course praised their songs of how they were obsessed with sex *coughs* and bitches (like that "Meeting Paris Hilton" song). When I was first introduced to their songs, I was giggling at quite a few parts of their lyrics(esp. in "Art Bitch") and with the loud and blunt sound of the guitar, bass whatever...It had become a morning ritual that I had to listen to the album every morning - it kinda energized me up to be alive for the following hours. I particularly dig "Art Bitch", "Alala" and of course "Music is my Hot Hot SEX"

Too bad I won't get to see them live. Must be fun....*sobs*

Here's an interview clip...very genuine.
"If you came from a place like this [São Paulo] you can go anywhere, you're used to so much...you can make it anywhere."

Rex, My New Love

Day 4: The first time I met Rex was around two months ago. But we had a rendezvous to meet up again last night and I took my friend along... I didn't expect much from him but he was full of surprises and really had me satisfied. We met up around 12.30 am. Nothing much was going on at the time, but soon the place started to be filled up. The DJ sets were nothing near dull. He got me a few shots; vodka then tequila...The night got on better and better. Rex introduced me a few guys. He was really open. A young American who has lived here for 12 years, apparently one of his fantasies was to "have" two Asian girls. When I teased him I would prefer a good proportion of 2:2, he listened (quality any guys should have) and introduced us his friend...hmmmm

The night went on, Rex introduced me another group of underage kids. One claimed to be a DJ who played at Le Paris Paris (famous club with trendy people) and knew Uffie and a few French local DJ's...The American already warned us about these kids but we were just having a laugh with/at them. The funniest part happened when they followed us to the bar and asked if they could "share" or "get" them the drinks. Of course as we were not their mothers we were not obliged to pay. They were still trying to keep us company for another while before baiting other people.

Another group came and got to know us for a bit then were really excited that we are Thai...as they would be making a trip there in two weeks.

Another UK guy came in a friendly gesture claiming his love for Thailand and Thai people. He got a black belt in Taekwon-do but practices Muay Thai every so often. "He REALLY loves Thailand," I thought to myself.

With all these distractions, the American kept pursuing "his American dream" and kept coming around us. But by the end of the night, he knew that nothing would be going his way...

Him: "I'm leaving. Nice to know you guys. I'm sorry I don't actually want to make love to you."
Me: *laughing* "It's fine. It's really OK." *laughing*
Him: "I'm very much in love with my girlfriend."
Me: "That's good for you!!"
Him: "You sure you're OK?"
Me: "Yesss it's really fine."
Him: "You're cute and a good company. Take care"
Me: *laughing* "You too take care."

Rex really brought in "interesting" people and it was a great fun/funny time we had there.

http://www.rexclub.com/rex.html