Rock en Seine 2007 (Update)

After holding the tickets of one of the biggest concerts in France, Rock en Seine, finally the day had come. We bought the tickets for Day 3 where Bjork was the highlight, not only of the day but perhaps of the whole three-day concert. However, the ones I was equally, if not more, eager to see were Bat for Lashes, Mark Ronson and Faithless.

Bat For Lashes opened the day 3 on the 2nd stage at 2pm. Perhaps it was too early for the French as the audience seemed yet to be awaken and actually only 1/4 space was filled up. Standing too still with the eyes and ears focused like seeing and hearing the unfamiliar and for some, most likely, the unknown songs for the first time. Mesmerized by the voice and the sound? Maybe. The crowd had been quite a disappointment. Until the well-praised debut single; "What's a girl to do" began, which was almost towards the end of their show, the audience started to scream and clap loudly like they had come solely for this song. Natasha, the front vocalist, made a remark which to me sounds like a relief for the band that someone actually knew this song (and knew them!). Another song that got the audience moved and made noise was "Horse and I", although it's a shame that it was one of the last songs.

About 40 mins later, Mark Ronson appeared on the main stage. Again, the impression I had from the crowd was that 75% of them had no clue who these people were. Fortunately, some could sing along as the songs are the remix-and-remade of the classic like "Just" by Radiohead, "Oh My God" by Kaiser Chiefs (also made a hit with the help of Lily Allen) and "Toxic" by Britney Spears - not sure if this song counts as a classic, probably not.

Kings of Leon came up later with a loud applause from the crowd. Caleb, the front man, was too irresistible with his performance (and of course the hot haircut makes him no longer look like a redneck). They rolled out all their songs from the two hit albums. The front rows, of course, were the fans and acted so but from where I was standing and observing...only a few were shaking their head and moving along. For me, though "The Bucket" was my favorite, I wasn't a fan until I saw them live here. What an awesome show! At the end, before KoL played a few last songs, Caleb said that they didn't expect to have a good time here but they did. I was a bit surprised they pre-expected such a response from the French... what surprised me even more was that they had a good time. Did they really? I hope they did.

Faithless performed after KoL...as the mood had been built up quite well, I was more than excited to finally see Faithless as one of my English friends gave such a good rave to their live act. This time I was within the so-called front zone. It was just as amazing as I had expected. When "Insomnia" came on, the crowd went crazy. Nothing could stop the madness of the fans as people started to raise up their hands and jump along the beats. However, there were some people who seriously did NOT belong to the front zone. Why? Because they were just standing like they were watching a golf tournament! Worse than that when "We Come One" was on, they did NOT let out the word "One"...!

Of course, I know the French adore Björk. I do like Björk. But it was just too annoying to see these certain lot of people who paid faint participation in any form of support besides standing as still as possible and waited for their time to see Björk.

Björk's show was very impressive with all the lighting and laser effects, make-up, costumes...and all things Björk. The crowd was just PACKED. There was no room to move or breathe. All eyes were either on the stage or on the two big screens, as if they were being possessed by some magic power or others might say by the evil power...(listening to Björk's you wouldn't imagine it was a sound of heaven, would you?) The show was quite a fair share of a few songs from her latest album and her mega hits like "Hyper Ballad", "Emotional Landscape" and "The Army of Me".

All in all, though some part of the audience disappointed me, it was such a great experience to be part of the history of Rock en Seine.

*addicted*

Weegee at Museum Maillol

Since I'm into photography especially in black and white, it wasn't difficult for me to be drawn to visiting a photo exhibition of the well-known photojournalist Weegee (the phonetic sound of "Ouija"). The name is given due to the fact that he usually arrived at the crime scenes a few minutes right after the crimes were reported. He is known for the stark black/white documentary style photos and his adventurous dedication in capturing his news photographs.

"I have no inhibitions, and neither has my camera. I have lived a full life and tried everything. What may be abnormal to you is normal to me. If I had to live my life over again, I would do it all the same way...only more so. Everything I write about is true...and I have the pictures, the checks, the memories and the scars to prove it." -Weegee, from the Catalog of the exposition, text by Hendrik Berinson

The exhibited photos vividly and some shockingly lay open the crime scenes and street life in New York City as well as overcrowded beaches back in 1940's. Some of the photos reminded me of one Thai newspaper "Thairat" whose front page is usually featured a photo of a crime scene with blood all over...only that Weegee's are much more classic in both technique and in content. His photographs documented lives and history while those shown in "Thairat" only meant to push you to become anorexia 'cause you wouldn't be able to eat anything after seeing those beyond grotesque shots.

Pictures, my favorites, are two among over a hundred photos that are exhibited at Museum Maillol until October 15.

Fondation Dina Vierny - Musée Maillol
61, rue de Grenelle.
Metro: Rue du bac

More info: Weegee's World

My Bible

"in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine."

"Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. "

"Do one thing everyday that scares you."

"Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself."

"Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t."

"Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room."

"Live in New York City (Paris) once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California (Amsterdam) once, but leave before it makes you soft."

"Travel."

-Everybody's free to wear sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann

Le Souk, the Taste of Tajine

Another interesting restaurant we visited this weekend was a well-known Moroccan restaurant in the 11th arrondissement. Le Souk is only within 10 mins walk from the center of Bastille. The place is well decorated, along with the music, to bring up the authentic Moroccan atmosphere. The staff are also wearing the typical Moroccan clothes. The menu is composed of the typical Moroccan dishes, the Tajine and their restaurant's specials... Since I've already tried a few times of Moroccan food, I chose to go for Tajine d'Agneau aux Aubergines (Lamb with eggplant in the Tajine style) while others tried Tajine d'Agneau à la Confiture d'Oignons et Amandes and Tajine de Poulet aux Amandes. The big warm pots arrived only 5 mins later making all of us drool so badly while letting them to cool down a bit.

We ended the dinner with a stomach full with no room for any dessert. It was a pleasant evening in a pleasant restaurant. I would recommend Le Souk to anyone who is looking for a good Moroccan place.

(Pictured is the front decoration of the restaurant.)

1 rue Keller 75011
Métro: Bastille

Random Street Art in Paris (Part III)

Doesn't it make you feel good when you get to discover something by yourself? It makes me feel great. As a foreigner in Paris, you may enjoy the sense of discovery more often than the locals. But sometimes only to discover a new cafe or restaurant doesn't make me feel specially pleased anymore, unless that place has some unique details or serve incredibly yummy dishes. However, I've finally found something that makes me feel excited about doing it. I've started this little project to hunt for street art in the streets of Paris. At first I didn't plan to continue this as a project but the more I see, the more I recognize the styles... and the fact that I accidentally came across a source of these artists, it totally finds me a meaning to do it.

Here are the outcome of my recent hunt in the 6th arrondissement:
An image of Edith Piaf

An image of Alfred Hitchcock by MBW



Wonder where exactly this is? Anyone have a clue? ;p

A mixed breed KFC?

6th arrondissment
Métro: Odéon or Mabillon

Getting Lost in 6th Arrondissement

It is impossible to deny that Paris is such a charming city for someone to just wander around and get lost without any fury involved. Following the success of "Getting Lost in 3rd Arrondissement", Monsieur J. et moi let ourselves enjoy the wonder of Paris once again. This afternoon we chose the 6th arrondissment, one of the most popular hangout areas in Paris; full of cafes, restaurants, art galleries and hmm...visitors disguised as locals.

We were not so lost actually this time 'cause we come here every once in a short while, and I had a bit of a plan in mind - to grab an ice-cream chez Amorino and to drop by at Jardins du Luxembourg.

So, we dropped off at Métro Odéon and walked straight to grab ourselves a cone of ice-cream. Today was one of those chilly days of this crappy summer. But having craved for a cone of yogurt and banana for quite a few days, I just had to have it. Once arrived I ordered it right away, while Monsieur J. took a few minutes to pick his flavors. Satisfied as expected we continued wandering in the center of the happening area before taking off for our (more like my) little journey hunting for new street arts to add to my collection. Following rue de Seine, I was taken over by an excitement of discovering all these street arts on this one long street.

After being lost around rue de Seine, rue Bonaparte and other rues...we finally found our way to Jardin du Luxembourg.


There is an ongoing exhibition "Femme y es-tu?" (Woman, are you there?) presented by Artsénat. The exhibition features the contemporary sculptures dedicated to the queens of France.






For example, several wrinkled cast iron half body figures, the work of Polish Artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, are frozen in motion.


And these blue tall teardrop-shaped ceramics, made by artist Xavier Boggio, placed in the middle of the park.


But how are these artworks related to the queens of France? I'm not an expert to explain you that. Perhaps you will have to drop by to the park yourself. The exhibition is on until September 23.

Manoush

If you style is a bit of a mix, let's say colorful girly like, plus some kitschy features and the fact that your wardrobe is rather full of dresses, day or evening...you would definitely fall in love with this French brand, Manoush.

Frédérique Trou-Roy, the founder and the creative eye behind the brand, inspired by her travel in Morocco, has found the core design ingredients of Manoush. She released the first collection for the Winter'04/05. Manoush's unique clashes between a girly design for an adult, between the kitsch details and flashy details in the contemporary concept... The brand has scored quite a success both locally and internationally. You can find Manoush in their 5 boutiques in Paris, in Harrods and Harvey Nichols (London), Colette (Tokyo), Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus (New York)...for example.

3 Jours 3 Euros

Le Mairie of Paris with a collaboration of la Fédération Nationale des Cinémas Français is being generous for all the Parisians and visitors of the French capital by relaunching the 3 Jours 3 Euros event on August 19th, 20th and 21st. What is this supposed to mean? Well, it means that you will pay only 3 euros (which is about a half price or 1/3 of a normal price if you don't have any discount cards) for a movie during these 3 days!

So I suppose there are only a few days left for a single to find a date to go to see a movie with ;p *checking the movie schedules*

PS. Personally I prefer the Gaumont and Pathe cinemas 'cause the layouts are well put allowing more space between each row compared to others. Also, a short person like me doesn't have to worry if some tall guy is sitting in front of you. Just a note.

"Dek Hor", Thai Movie in the French Cinemas

While browsing for what's out in the Parisian cinemas yesterday, I could not help but be surprised to see one of our Thai movies of last year scheduled to be released on August 22. The movie "Dek Hor" or in French "Le Pensionnat", is a story about a 12 year old boy called Chatree being transferred to a new boarding school upcountry by his parents. Chatree has difficulty settling into his new dorm life and the habit of the dorm students staying up at night and telling ghost stories by torchlight. He learns of a story about a closed pool and a student fellow that drowned in it a few years back...

"Dek Hor" is claimed not to be just another ghost movie as it delves into different stages of emotions and relationship among friends. The movie was released in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and has received several international awards. One of the most recent was from Berlin Film Festival 2007. More info...

Source: Allocine

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

Went to La Fleche d'Or again last night with a plan to see Phoebe Killdeer and the Short Straws. It was slightly raining so we were not fully sure that there would be any people at the place. When we got there we realised how wrong we were, the place was packed! Phoebe and the band came out a little while after we got our drinks, guess what, it was blanche again. The fact that I was only 5'2 and that there were all these tall men blocking my scene, I had to tiptoe every once in awhile switching left and right. Imagine one of those Bollywood movies. However, Phoebe and the band rocked the place. Phoebe was awesome on the stage.

After about half an hour break for the next show, there were three guys moving a keyboard and a few props down the stage to be more in the crowd... It appeared that one of the guys was the DJ Dan Deacon. He was madly fun and so into the crowd. However, I haven't decided whether or not I liked his tunes since it sounded so very experimental. A few samples on his Myspace can't quite explain how strangely experimental of his gig last night though.

All in all, last night was quite satisfying, except the part that this crazy French frog who was standing and jumping right behind me, repeatedly yelling "MY NAME IS F*CKING JAMES, MY NAME IS F*CKING JAMES" and "MOTHER FUCKER"... I don't know what his problem was but I wish he could just shut the f*ck up 'cause my hair was filled of his spits already!

Check out what's on at la Fleche d'Or, maybe I'll see you around.

Note: Photos taken from their Myspace pages.

All Rubbish!

Dorothy Perkins is following the steps of the unexpectedly famous "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" by Anya Hindmarch by bringing an environmental bag purely made from rubbish collected in the streets of the Philippines. Rooted by a group of people who voluntarily clean up their local neighborhood, but this good deed with a creative edge has resulted beyond what it was expected. (Proven the rule of Karma.)

Since "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" has such a long waiting list of demand, this Rubbish Bag seems like a great choice and a good idea to help the environment while keeping yourself in the Green trend during this Summer. Another plus point is that the price is much much MUCH easier to embrace.

French Humor

The ad campaign is created to promote the Rugby World Cup that will be taken place in the French capital in this coming September. The ad doesn't only affirm Paris as the Capital of Love but shows their sense of humor too! (Not sure all the rugby players would be so gay, as in happy, to see this ad though...)

Style from the Streets of St Tropez

Style.com brings us a glimpse of what's going on on the luxurious streets of St Tropez... Tanned women full of sexy confidence stroll the town sporting fancy brand name or vintage shades. White day dresses and tunics rule over any others. A straw bag or basket seems like a must-have.























The style there is not so much different from the capital of fashion here but somehow, somehow, they seem way hotter than the heat in St Tropez. Poor Parisians, can only wear summer short shorts for only few days a week.

Oh, please the rain, please goes back to the UK...Oops!

Check more looks on Style.com

Random Street Art in Paris (Part II)

These street graffiti's found in the 3rd arrondissement (mainly in the Pompidou area and Le Marais.)





- by FKDL

- by C215





3rd arrondissment
Métro: Rambuteau or Saint Paul

Getting Lost in 3rd Arrondissement

On the Sunday evening, Monsieur J. and I decided to take a walk and get lost in the 3rd arrondissement. We took the metro to Arts et Métiers. Unfortunately, the rain poured down when we got there. So we decided to find a roof to cover ourselves at the cafe "Les Arts et Métiers", just right in front of the metro. One cafe that I promise myself I will come back more often 'cause there is a jazz band playing as well. It was very nice especially listening to it under the rain...agree? Sipping une blanche after awhile, our luck had turned as the rainbow had risen in front of us.My first rainbow in Paris. Like it's said, the good things (usually?) come after a storm. About 10 mins later, the second rainbow appeared. Yes, double rainbows. Speaking of being in the right place at the right time.

After trying to capture this beauty of nature for awhile, we finished our drinks and moved on to complete our mission.

Walking from Metro Arts et Métiers upward to Le Marais to Pompidou and walked back to where we started...I couldn't help but notice how quiet Paris could become. Sundays are usually quiet. The rain made it more so. Then again lots of people have already taken off on their annual holidays.


Lots of shops and restaurants are closed, even the Chinese restaurants...(I suppose they are the French-Chinese, not Chinese-Chinese, if you know what I mean.)

Wet streets, rain drops, and fallen leaves. Strange how sometimes the rain can make a city more charming in a different aspect. It was, to me, an ideal Sunday evening in Paris.


Cafe Les Arts et Métiers
51 rue Turbigo 75003

Camden Street

When compared fashion in the streets of Paris and London, you can see that the Londoners tend to be more let go than the Parisians. I definitely see lots more colors in a few days in London than a year in Paris...that is for sure. Actually, I have no rights to complain the taste of the Parisians whatsoever since what I was wearing when walking in the Camden Town was a black day dress and what I got from one of the shops there was this brown woven leather belt. Out of the crazy colorful stuff they offered, I bought a brown belt. How Parisian out of me...!

Anyway, here are some street style shots on the Sunday afternoon. Totally a mix of everything!

G'damn London (Part I)

I'm not sure how to describe the feeling once I landed at the airport and on the train to the city...a bit of a culture shock maybe. It was weird to be able to understand every single word people were saying. I mean after a year of living in the land of the Frog, my ears have become rather ignorant or having some sort of an ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). It was strange in a cool way, however, at some points I felt like I was Mel Gibson in "What Women Want". It was good at first but then was bombarded by too much info. Lucky that it was a British accent, and not some gibberish American accent. (No offense)

As this was my first time in London, walking in the streets passing all these stocky bricked buildings, one of the scenes in those British movies kind of flashed into my head...Snatch, Love Actually, hmmm... Again after being used to the tall skinny Parisian buildings, it was a bit strange, in a cozy feeling though. Well, if any of this makes sense to you, tell me.

Later on we went to TopShop, something that Paris doesn't have, and I couldn't help but constantly saying "Oh my God" as this place is HUGE! All things Paris are rather in a petite size and I wasn't used to a 4-storey shop completely full of the items you (*I*) want to take home! Well, whatever shock I had that day, I was insanely happy and at the same time, under pressure - how could I not spend too much time but still cover all the corners of this place!?!. Apparently I had to sacrify the accessory section and accompanied Mister R. to the menswear. (It was only fair as he did lend his shoulders for me to hold on to for the constant "Oh my God" effects I had.)

We left TopShop after spending over 3 hours there and just rested ourselves before the dinner/drinking time with the friends of Mister R.

The plan was to go to EGG club after we were done "preparing" ourselves with a bottle of Vodka and all these red bull cans. It seemed like a great choice when we were checking out the website and all but after waiting for quite a (long) while, the place didn't seem to pick up. So at around 3am, we called it quits and carried our disappointment home. Oh well, better luck next time then hey.

(Pictured here was the ONLY hight light at EGG, just 'cause she was drunk.)

Like Mister "Exclusive" was saying, the Top Ten doesn't mean anything. It's not no.1 Yeah, we should have gone to FABRIC (like recommended by Karl Cox in one of the columns in the esyJet magazine...*eyes rolling*)

That Suspicious Luggage

Before I would talk about the days IN London, let me start with the morning, the early morning at the airport. My flight was at 8.45am and the check-in would be closed *promptly* at 8.05am mentioned on the easyJet website. When I arrived at the CDG terminal 3, it was this chaotic scene where the staff found a *suspicious* luggage. One high ranking airport staff was *walking* to each spot to tell other staffs about the news. We were all confused 'cause only certain parts of the queuing passengers were supposed to get out of the terminal (which looks like a warehouse). We were walking slowly 'cause 1) we did not want to miss our flights (how stupid was that) 2) it did not seem so urgent as there were still some people quequing and working there. 3) there was no official announcement (I don't even know if they actually have whatever tool to announce publicly.) Then more policemen came as well as a few soldiers to *control* the situation...the whole thing was handled VERY badly and slowly. It was incredible how the French system would be undergone under a supposed-to-be an urgency.

Understaffed and way too unprepared whatsoever.

People had to wait outside without any notice or announcement. There was not a single announcement to tell exactly what was going on or to confirm the situation. Good that it was not a long period of waiting and it was only 30 mins delay of my flight.

However, if this was real, I seriously don't think that I would have a chance of writing this blog right now.

St Maxime - St Tropez, Just a Glimpse

ST MAXIME






ST TROPEZ





So here are a few shots from my trip...St Maxime, in my opinion, seems more like a family choice while St Tropez - the choice of the new rich, the investors and hmm courtesans...I must have been reading my new fiction too much but you would enjoy hot tanned chicks in white almost see-thru outfits there. I know I did...Oops!

I'm now packing my bag and getting ready for another trip to London over this weekend. Will come back with, hopefully, some interesting tales to tell.