musee-a-museo

Danke Schoen

2008-09-02T21:15:00.000-07:00

Thank you for reading. This blog is complete - I have safely returned to NYC. I hope to see you all in person - soon.

Song of the day: Yo La Tengo - Tears Are In Your Eyes.

No Entiendo Nada

2008-08-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

Rome and Barcelona have taught me many things. Here's one: the way to keep cool in oppressive heat is: move slower. Walk slow. Don't let your heartbeat rise. Take stairs REAL slow. It works.

Song of the day: Dionne Warwick - Don`t Make Me Over.
Bonus Beat: Bang Gang - It's Alright.

Tancat par Vacances pt. N

2008-08-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Song of the day: Marlena Shaw - Woman Of The Ghetto (Live).
Bonus Beat: Odetta - Hit Or Miss.

Chinito

2008-08-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

I've been loving this politics/polling blog this summer.

Looks like the Tokyo Palace in Paris to me.

Tancat par Vacances pt. 2

2008-08-06T13:15:00.000-07:00

When out to Tapas last night with a few people, it were memorable.

It's so hot, water comes out of the cold tap ready to scald.

I've been running around, looking at art as usual, but all I really want to do is go to the beach vegetate.

Song of the day: Joe Tex - Buying A Book.

Tancat par Vacances

2008-08-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Barcelona is ... the very udders from which the milk of human kindness is reaped.

Highlight of yesterday was walking down the (nude) beach, my feet getting licked by the waves. Discovering my house was pretty good too... as was realizing that I'm in a graffiti wonderland. My house has a dedicated piece of furniture for siestas. I'll probably just use it as a place to sleep when I have my guests.

Stumbled into the red light district yesterday which was depressing. Prostitution and drug sales are done openly on the street, in full view of the present police.

Highlight of today was... the busker's festival? Absolutely great street music... had so much fun at the Cuban band's show in the harbor. There was a really tight cadence/marching band too.

I saw the MNAC (Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya today. The Romanesque and Gothnc holdings roll deep... I ran into a art restorer from the Wooster Museum and had an interesting conversation about conservation.

Song of the day: Gabor Szabo - Gypsy Queen.
Bonus Beat: Bad Brains - Banned In D.C..

Roaming

2008-07-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

Might be out of touch, as I approach the Catalonian mud hut from the East.

Song of the day: Lyrics Born - Pack Up Feat. Dilated Peoples And Krs One (Remix).
Bonus Beat: Minor Threat - Look Back And Laugh.

Birra, Pollo e Cappella

2008-07-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

July was the month I didn't blog. I was busy, throwing myself into creative projects, which was absolutely satisfying.

I leave for Barcelona on Friday. Completely excited to see BCN and Madrid, both for the first time.

Song of the day: Schooly D - P.s.k. What Does It Mean?.
Bonus Beat: Cobra Dukes - Airtight (Aeroplane Remix.mp3).

Basta Cosi, Part 3

2008-07-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

So many things... I've been super busy.

Saturday morning, I finally saw the Galleria Colonna. Yet another palazzo filled with art... but special nonetheless. The collection was really superb - far better than the Palazzo Corsini, for example. Ghirlandaio and Bronzino, oh my.

When you see so much work in such a short time, connections emerge. You realize exactly how odd certain pieces are, how out of character. You see work from artists with distinctive styles in a completely different style. Guercino's work at the Colonna is quite fascinating in that respect.

I've been spending huge amount of time doing creative writing lately. Last week, I was spending mornings at the Biblioteca Nazionale which is a great place to write... and looks at Art Monographs, when you feel like procrastinating.

Sunday, however, I found the ultimate place to write. Along the Tiber are quays where they temporarily build cafe/bars in the Summer. Oddly, these cafe/bars are never open when I'm there. In short, you have your choice of 1,000 empty tables by the river. I chose a table by the dam at Isola Tiberina. Its like a front row seat at a short, broad waterfall. Its simply ideal.

Song of the day: Irma Thomas - Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand).

Bonus Beat: Beck - Lost Cause.

Basta Cosi, Part 2

2008-07-07T04:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going to take a break from blogging for awhile, for a few reasons.

Mostly, I'm too busy.

Song of the day: Canned Heat - Wanda Rode Again (Wade Nichols Remix).

Song of the day: Basic Channel - Octagon.

Basti Cosi

2008-07-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

Song of the day: Akon Feat. Kardinal Offishall - Graveyard Shift

DANG

2008-06-30T13:56:00.001-07:00

Chronotopic Anamorphosis from Marginalia Project on Vimeo.

Song of the day: The Beatnuts - Clowns Feat. Biz Markie

Ambrozia

2008-06-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

Song of the day: Bill Evans Trio - My Foolish Heart

In Boats

2008-06-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

"If you believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing, half so worth doing as - simply messing around in boats!"

Venice.

Tried to get lost yesterday and ended up at the Accademia, the most famous museum in the city. Went in and was sorely disappointed. Perhaps it was just an anti-climax after Florence and Rome, but... there was no there there.

This took the wind out my sails right quick. I had been planning yet another 3 day blitzkrieg of churches and museums. Instead, I just rode around in boats all morning. On Colin's excellent advice, I bought a three day pass to the Vaporetto - the water taxis/ferries. Worth every penny. Eventually, I ended up dismounting near the Peggy Guggenheim palazzo, so I ducked inside. Fantastic!

Well, the permanent collection was mostly underwhelming - off-peak work from top tier artists - but the temporary exhibit was a selection of American painting from the Addison Gallery, a museum associated with Phillips Academy/Andover. There were a number of pieces I found fascinating, but Winslow Homer's West Wind was mindblowing. I am suddenly much more interested in his work.

Although this trip has been all about art (basically), I've eschewed trying to talk about art much. Its very hard to do well. Perhaps I should include more illustrations in my posts, but photos of paintings are terrible, especially on the web. The quality I found most striking in this Homer - his brushwork - would not survive in a photo or reproduction.

As in Rome, finding good food was nearly impossible in Venice. I had plenty of worthy recommendations, but finding anything in Venice - even with a street address - is beyond me. On the upside, I enjoyed getting off the beaten path and finding some joints for locals.

As usual, much graffiti was seen:

Entering The Labyrinth

2008-06-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Everyone tells me to expect to get lost in Venice. I consider myself to have a pretty good sense of direction, but Florence and Rome have humbled me. I have to walk with a map in hand and locate myself every 5 minutes. I've often found myself facing a river that I thought I had left behind 10 minutes ago, or some such. Both cities are supposed to be child's play compared to Venice.

A the Piazza d' Popolo I stumbled upon a military parade of... nuns. About 5 thousand nuns (no hyperbole) marching in lockstep in front of a bandstand with... 5 thousand more nuns. I have photos to prove it. If Rome is the HQ of Catholicism, then Catholicism is a largely female organization. You see clergy and nuns on the streets constantly, but the nuns out number the men 10 to 1. The men may be at the top of the pyramid, but the women are the base.

maps.google.com simply can't handle venice. also, it is impotent in the face of italian street numbering systems... which make no sense, period. Technology that can't handle human madness ain't technology at all.

Song of the day: Matias Aguayo - Argento.

Song of the day: Studio - Life's A Beach.

The Taming of the Shrubbery

2008-06-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Its a day for double-posting.

I met my neighbor today. Turns out she is a tour guide - she runs a tour guide agency. She confirmed a thought that had crossed my mind before, that the strong Euro/weak Dollar was having a severe impact on the tourist industry. That a few years ago, the same sights I am seeing would be miserably packed. That I should have waited two hours to see the Vatican museums, etc. So, my bank account weeps itself to sleep, but there's an upside. There's always an upside to bad news.

For example, I went to some churches this morning then went to check out a wine bar for lunch. It was absolutely fab. I finally tried that notorious Roman speciality: tripe. It was great, actually. I had no trouble getting a table, and the place was quiet... I'm sure today would have been a miserable slog with a strong dollar.

Song of the day: War - The Cisco Kid (Live).

Enormous Changes At The Last MInute

2008-06-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Song of the day: Rachmaninov Plays Chopin - Nocturne No 04 Op 15 No 1 In F

The Agony and the Ecstasy

2008-06-23T03:39:00.000-07:00

Woah.

It began Sunday morning, when I spilled a cup of water on my computer. I shut it down, prayed, and left the house, leaving it to dry in a sunny spot.

I began with the Galleria Borghese. The permanent collection was all I expected it to be, but the revelation was the temporary exhibition of Correggio. Somehow they managed to collect most of his major work - The Galleria must be fantastically well-funded to mount such a show.

There's really no substitute for seeing an artist's work collected in one place. Everything makes sense, subtleties emerge, themes develop. Its the easiest way to fall in love - or be disillusioned. In this case I developed a major crush on the intimate "affetti" (psychology) in his work.

The Borghese is run (perhaps neccesarily) in a rather awful way - You must make reservations a week ahead, you have to show at an exact time, you are ushered out 2 hours later. Two hours is simply not enough, and this is one of the many places I will be returning to.

The list of places I will return to are pretty much my suggestions for art sights to see in Rome. In order: Vatican Museums (esp. Pinacoteca, Sistine Chapel, Raphael Rooms/Borgia Apartments), Galleria Borghese, Palazzo Barberini (aka Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica), Doria Pamphilj, San Luigi dei Francesi, ... hmm. I'm leaving some out. There's a few major sights I have yet to hit, including the Santa Maria del Popolo. The list skews hard toward painting as I have zero interest in sculpture. I am looking forward to seeing Michelangelo's Pieta though.

In the Villa Borghese I stumbled into a progressive/bio/environmental fair which was lucky - the merciless Roman diet of pasta and pizza has me craving healthy food, and a vegetarian meal was lovely. The "bio" (organic/sustainably produced) food movement thinks of itself as a struggling minority in Paris, but its actually quite common there. In Rome, its virtually non-existent.

I then visited the Carlo Bilotti museum, which feature 22 De Chiricos. The work in this small collection was worthwhile, but the atmosphere in the museum is awful.

I returned home to test my laptop - to no avail. Tears were shed, oaths were sworn, and selves were recriminated. I went to an internet cafe to send out an S.O.S. I left the cafe in low spirits... As I walked down the street, I was subsumed by a procession of Catholics parading their Byzantine icon of Mary (of the continuous succor) down the street. Every was singing and chanting, and it kind of felt like the city was trying to comfort me.

It didn't work, but the city wasn't going to give up so easily. I went home and collapsed on the sofa. By Sunday night, I usually have a case of sun poisoning and feel hung over. I woke a few hours later to the sounds of cheering in the piazza. A soccer match was being broadcast on the steps of the Cathedral on an uber-widescreen. It was the semi-finals and Italy was fighting Spain. A large, raucous crowd had gathered to watch... It all came down to a sudden death shootout. With each goal or save everyone went nuts. This cheered me up considerably.

The cathedral I face across the square - San Giovanni - turns out to be the original Cathedral of Rome and remains to this day the Pope's official church - not St. Peter's, as many believe. The shrine facing my building is the "sanctum sanctorum" of Rome.

This morning my laptop seems to be more or less happy. Oh happy day.

Song of the day: Blonde Redhead - Silently.

Bonus Beat: Atlas Sound - Ready Set Glow.

Isn't it Romantic?

2008-06-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

I'm in a special state of ecstasy. I'm bad at hyperbole, it turns out, so I left out all of the verys, the best-evers, the amazings, from the following entry. Otherwise, it would be "very best-ever amazing" in every sentence.

In the interest of keeping things interesting, I left the two most famous museums in Rome for last - the Vatican Museums (collectively) for today and the Villa Borghese for tomorrow. So, it promised to be a good weekend, and its delivering in a big way so far.

Things accidentally got started a little early. I took a stroll around the city center on Friday morning and ended up just sitting in the Pantheon for an hour. I ain't much of a fan of architecture, but this place is perfect. When I'm inside, I'm resonating like a plucked violin string. Is this what people mean by the so-called "quality without a name"? After a while, I walk out feeling dizzy and exalted.

Outside the Pantheon, I overheard some British tourists discussing a nearby church "with a Caravaggio" around the corner and decided to tag along. This turns out to be San Luigi dei Francesi, which has three stunning Caravaggios in one of its chapels.

Tenebrism.

This morning I headed over to the Vatican Museums, which include Sistine Chapel. Its a huge complex of conjoined museums, and makes the Met feel small and manageable.

Its all kind of overwhelming, and I'm sure it'll take me a while to process it all. Perhaps the less said the better.

I'll say this: the museums contain large sets of Michelangelo and Raphael's masterpieces. The art historians, the guidebooks, the audio tour, even the layout of the museum clearly place Michelangelo in a rank above others, including Raphael. But for my money Raphael's work in the Pinacoteca serves Michelangelo two very familiar cheeks on a platter.

The Sistine Chapel reminded me of the Van Gogh room at the D'Orsay - a handful of guards were absurdly trying to enforce the "no talking, no pictures, no flash" rule in a mob. Supposedly, the chapel has an average of two thousand people in it at any given time.

I've conceived a love of Guido Reni in the last two years, and I was looking forward to seeing more of his work here in Italy. There's tons of it here, but most of it is pretty lame compared to the pieces I've seen in American museums.

I guess my provisional conclusion is this: I came to Europe thinking Painting was a dead medium. I now feel its very much alive and full of possibility. Put that in your blowpipe and shoot it.

On the other hand, I can't imagine being serious about painting without constantly traveling to visit paintings in person.

Tomorrow, the Villa Borghese. Tip!

If you enjoy driving crazy, Rome is the place. Multi-lane avenues have no lane markings. "Crosswalks" involve pedestrians just jumping out into traffic. People drive like its go-carts. Intersections are madhouses.

Song of the day: Magic Sam - Lookin' Good.

Bonus beat: Six Cups Of Rebel - Arp She Said. Why, oh why, did Lindstrom quit making music?

Oh, Romeo

2008-06-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

Song of the day: Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces.

Bonus beat: Sarah Vaughan And Clifford Brown - Lullaby Of Birdland.

The Aroma of Roma

2008-06-19T05:16:00.000-07:00

It would appear that I've found a place in Barcelona... thank goodness. I'm straight praying for a solid inet connection.

Rome is super white. I'm guessing it is 70-80% Caucasian, including the tourists. Woah - wikipedia suggests that Italy is 97.5% ethnically Italian or European. That's white-a-licious.

My work here is not done.

2008-06-16T16:14:00.000-07:00

My work in Rome will be done when I love the city... and want to live here.

Unleashed...

2008-06-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

Bought a bike today and had a most excellent time riding around... by the river, through Travestere, etc. (Travestere's food is not all that, so far.) Riding a bicycle in Rome is Perfect - far better than walking your feet raw every day. I'm so happy, and I covered a lot of ground today.

In Paris, gay men universally shave their heads. In Rome, most men (esp. young men) shave their heads. Perhaps its a way to keep cool. The only way you can tell who is gay in Rome is the lustful look in their eyes when they see my awesome pink bike. Rome is supposed to have a large gay community, but so far as I can tell there's no gay neighborhood per se.

My better internet connection fell through... oh no!

I've left off going to museums for a while, and started going to churches. The churches are museums, not just in the sense of having beautiful art, but in the sense of being swamped with tourists, full of gift shops, etc. They feel much more like a tourist destination than sacred ground.

All in all, I had strong feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving all day, from small things (I have yet to write a blog entry on being a victim of crime, despite the constant warnings about crime) to large (how privileged I am to be here). For some reason, I've been looking back over my trip lately, perhaps because I'm crossing the halfway point.

But I've also been looking forward: to my trip to Venice. To Barcelona. To improving my Italian and Spanish. To my upcoming visitors. To seeing the finest two museums in Rome - the Vatican Museums and the Museo Borghese - which I've been saving for last. I've also heard it said that Rome only really comes alive later in the summer, in July, and there's quite of bit of evidence that its true. I'm looking forward to it.

Romping and Roming

2008-06-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I saw the:
- Galleria Nazionale d.Arte Moderna
- Capitoline Museums
- MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome)
- Mercati Di Traiano

It was pretty much bollocks from start to finish. I don't enjoy Italian art from the 17th century on - it all came to a screeching halt with the Baroque period and only devolves from there (with exceptions, such as the Caravaggio school, Guido Reni, etc.).

The turn of the century work in the Galleria Nazionale d.Arte Moderna was downright embarrassing. They had their Picasso imitator, their Degas imitator, etc., all of them arriving 20 years too late and blatantly jacking their style. The GNAM is a beautiful facility, but the work looks like it was done by undergrads. Even their few holdings from non-Italian artists were poorly chosen. There was some nice work from the 60s though.

I've figured out how to find good restaurants in Rome - chowhound.com. I've heard a lot of people hate on chowhound, but the discussion threads are priceless.

I've decided to got to Venice the weekend of June 27-29th. I'm fighting the urge to overplan since I'll have so little time there. Would appreciate recommendations... I'm still trying to secure a place in Barthelona.

One thing that struck me while living in Paris was how easy it was to learn French in that immersive environment. There's an analogous thing with looking at this art in person. I'm really trying that hard to study, besides doing some (re)reading and seeing as much work as I can - but appreciating the work and integrating it into a narrative is far easier in person.

Question of the day: is there a way to mechanically reproduce paintings? ie. are there any printers that can lay down acrylic/oil paint? Are there scanners that captures depth, so that impasto etc. can be reproduced? Are there scanners that can record glossiness, iridescence, reflectivity?

Song of the Day: J. J. Fad - Supersonic, Carlton Livingston - 100 Weight Of Collie Weed.

Recommendation

2008-06-12T13:43:00.000-07:00

I watched the first part of a BBC documentary series on the war in the Balkans: The Death Of Yugoslavia. That's part one. Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Songs of the day: Eek A Mouse - Anarexol, Eek A Mouse - Ganja Smuggling, Eek A Mouse - Wa Do Dem.

Good Lord

2008-06-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

XXXXX

Fascism: The night of broken glass in Rome
By Gaither Stewart
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Jun 12, 2008, 00:13

ROME -- On May 31, Fascist goon squads armed with wooden clubs carried out a “punitive expedition,” that is, an organized raid on shops of Asian immigrants in Italy’s capital.

Ten or so men masked in scarves adorned with swastikas swooped down on immigrant-run grocery stores, a telephone call center, a laundry and various shops along the streets of one of Rome’s most multiethnic districts, smashing windows and the interiors of the stores. Yelling “dirty foreigner” and “bastards” the hoodlums beat up an immigrant from Bangladesh who was treated in a hospital.

TV newscasts showed broken windows and glass along the sidewalks, recalling similar events in the 1938 pogroms in Nazi Germany which came to be called Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) for the shattered store windows along city streets of Germany. The Night of Broken Glass became a symbol of violence organized by the Nazi-Fascist state against Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies and the other.

Despite the regrets expressed on Sunday, June 1, by post-Fascist political leaders, violent segments of the extreme Right today feel legitimized by the Right’s recent electoral victory which swept so-called post-Fascists into power in Italy.

XXXXX

On a related note, my curiosity about all of this pervasive anti-Gypsyism continues. Gypsies are everywhere in the city and are easily identified. Its a woman wearing distinctive clothes, lying on the ground near a lot of foot traffic.

Mo Photos, Mo Problems

2008-06-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

I live on the piazza (plaza) San Giovanni, dominated by the large Basilica of the same name. I haven't been inside yet, because I always wear "short pants" and that's a no-no. Went into the associated Porta Santa (shrine) across the street today. It basically one large chunk of marble into which have been carved a long series of steps. The faithful (in large numbers, day and night) climb up these on their knees, saying a prayer at each step.

In Paris, my neighborhood Cathedral (and Metro stop) was Jourdain. So, there's a pattern: St. John baptized Christ in the river Jordan. With any luck, in Barcelona I'll live down the street from a Cathedral called El Baptismo or something like.

Okay, I'm really struggling to eat something besides Pasta and Pizza. Its wearisome.

My project to learn Italian is foundering on my lack of people to practice with. In an attempt to "when in Rome," I've been doing other things, like re-reading Umberto Eco. The Name of the Rose puts me in the mind of the beautiful Mueseo San Marco in Florence, a convent. Each cell of the dormitory has a large fresco by Fra Angelico aka Beato Angelico.

Song of the Day: Land Of The Loops - Multi Family Garage (Bargain Bin Mix). Theme: bloggin'. I used to think blogs are kind of silly; I still do. I'm definitely past the point of feeling solipsistic. Its nice to reflect on things when things are happening much faster than you can process them.

Bonus Beat: Wu - Tang Clan - I Cant Go To Sleep Feat. Isaac Hayes. Theme: Obama. Black President.

Porto Vae

2008-06-10T05:55:00.000-07:00

Went to a few museums in the morning:
- Palazzo Massimo: Large but boring, mostly sculpture.
- Palazzo Ruspoli: Disappointing. Mostly tedious painting from the 17th century. Had the only boring Caravaggio I have ever seen.

I then went on a long walk around the city, looking for a nice place to sit and read. There's a music school just off Via Corso, with a little courtyard I enjoyed listening to the conflicting sounds of many bad musicians practicing. I even like listening to musicians tuning up, doing scales, etc. Its all very soothing.

Slow News Day

2008-06-09T04:16:00.000-07:00

I had an intense dream last night. I gave birth. I narrated the entire process aloud in order to keep everyone else relaxed. "See? The head is just beginning to appear. This is called crowning. This is perfectly normal." When I woke up I was so pleased with myself for having given birth. What a great way to start the day!

From Porto to Pont

2008-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Saint Lucy, Francesco Furini, After 1630

Another long day on foot. Slept through mass - the pope can wait til next week.

I saw 4 museums today:
- Museo Barracco: boring. Small, mostly sculpture.
- Museo di Roma in Travestere: awful, a complete waste of time.
- Palazzo Spada
- Palazzo Corsini

The Palazzos had a number of amazing works (especially the Spada), but it was all anticlimactic after yesterday.

On the upside, I had a lot of fun looking at graffiti today:

Note the last image - every single car on the B line is bombed liked its 1983 all over again. Oddly, I've never seen any graf on my line, the A.

I forgot to mention that I saw the Pantheon (absolutely breathtaking) and an utterly insipid Damien Hirst show at the Gagosian gallery.

All in all, Rome the streets are quite quiet - especially after Florence. Many of the museums I go into have only a handful of visitors, which makes for a very reflective experience. At the Uffizi in Florence, I waited 2 hours in line only to (more or less literally) wrestle with mobs inside.

I finally got to walk around the fashionable Travestere neighborhood today. Supposedly that where all of the good eating is. I wished it was more convenient to my casa.

I went to a small party at Alba's last night... every single song that shuffled up was American. When they started asking me about the US (ie. weed clubs in SF), "Born in the USA" come on. I asked about Italian music and they said quite simply: American music is better. It was a nice night... it does the soul good to hear laughter over the brim of a cup.

Song of the day: Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.

It turns out the wall that "obstructs" my view is part of the aqueduct. I guess it is the view.

Scipio Americanus

2008-06-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Cut a wide swathe through the heart of the city today.

I Saw:
- Renoir at the Complesso del Vittoriano-Roma: boring.
- Palazzo Venezia: small, but had some touching Byzantine Madonnas.

- Galleria Doria Pamphilj: an honor to see so many fine paintings in person. I especially enjoyed the audioguide, which ripped into some of the works ("the painter didn't have a clue... its amazing anyone thought this was worth hanging."). Caravaggio's "Rest on the Flight into Egypt" (above) was unexpectedly tender. They said that the violence he was involved in made his work darker, but seeing this early work brought that home.

photo courtesy of Lawrence OP

- Museo Del Corso: their "Il '400 A Roma" show was lovely collection of Byzantine and pre-Renaissance work. I was particularly taken by Melozzo Da Forli's work because it somehow overcame the saccharine subject matter and style. The example above looks kind of corny on the page, but in person it breathes.

- Palazzo Barberini/Galleria Nationale d'Arte Antica: Pure ecstasy. The collection is dense with masterpieces. The gem in the crown is Raphael's La Fornarina. Again, the photo doesn't do it justice. It feels absolutely contemporary. Sensuality in painting ages about as well as humor in literature - I don't find Shakespeare all that funny, but this painting is dead sexy.

The Caravaggios are among his best, there's a masterpiece in the style of Da Vinci. If you have one weekend in Rome, see this museum. I'm definitely going back to sit.

In addition to the permanent collection, the Barberini was also had a tiny show by Baronzio. Tiny - but excellent. I ended up buying the monograph for first time on this journey.

After museum hopping, I walked the streets. Reading Vasari's Lives on the steps of a fountain in Rome made me feel blessed indeed.

If I get up early enough tomorrow, I'll go to Saint Peter's for mass. It has been (infinity) years since my last confession, father.

Song of the Day: Everything But The Girl - Missing (Todd Terry Remix)

Way Home

2008-06-06T10:18:00.000-07:00

Alba explained to me that digging the subways of Rome has been difficult, since the digs frequently run into ruins that must be excavated/examined.

Everytime I cook in my new kitchen, I feel awful afterward: headaches, sneezy, tired, etc. I think I might be allergic to the dish soap or something.

The strength of Parisian graffiti (in my mind) was the sensitivity to the surface/context. ie. NYC graf tends to be done on a flat wall and treat the surface like a flat rectangle, a canvas. Parisian graf artists will put more care into where they work - in a corner, on the floor, a buckle in the wall - and respond to the location, ie. a window or pipe. They're at their best when not working on a flat, canvas-like surface at all. ie. They frequently bomb the sides of trucks and you'll notice that the work responds to the shape of the truck.

The Italian graf I've seen so far is quite simple. Tags are colorful, which gives a wall thats been hit a lot a kindergarten-like feeling, but the messages are often bleak (ie. "La Recreazione E Finita" =? "The fun is over"). It rankles me (to my surprise) that people tag/bomb Roman ruins... It seems like if you endure 2 millenia, you shouldn't have to put up with that crap.

Song of the day: Alton Ellis & The Flames - Cry Tough.

Pix Romana

2008-06-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

My sister successfully bid on a house in San Francisco... w00t! No small accomplishment, and it sounds like we'll have some nice meals there in years to come. The Chen/Edelin empire simply can't be stopped - why must our foes persist? Hmm... I need to find a housewarming gift.

While I'm traveling, I've gotten in the habit of bit torrenting like crazy. I've watched nearly all of Entourage, which is pretty hilarious. Its funny how stories lie entirely in the eye of the beholder. To me, the most interesting thing about Entourage is the atmosphere - its like a party where every sword is barely sheathed. Everyone is always at the brink of breaking off each of their relationships, personal and professional. The refrain of the series is: "You're fired... do X or you're fired... I can always fire you... You are replaceable... I've replaced you."

Tonight I watched this Norwegian film called Reprise. I enjoyed it - especially the acting. To me, it was about the pains of knowing someone who's truly talented when you yourself are just talented enough to appreciate them. It has me thinking about the nature of writing... here's the most thought-provoking thing that I read today. Coincidentally, its about writing too.

More about Rome: Pizzerias constitute 50% of the places that serve hot food. The pizza is _ing good, and cheap. Squash blossom pizza (no joke) is the trend, and I love it. Groceries are lackluster - I am going to find the Berkeley Bowl of Rome if it kills me.

I realized today that I missed a big opportunity... to make a "trains run on time in Italy" joke. The trains on the way here ran late as hell.

The guidebooks to Rome have this kind of condescending or apologetic tone. They say things like: "the food is crude, but satisfying" or "...and so Rome remained a chaotic, dysfunctional backwater - a brief fling with glamour in Fellini's films soon dissipated."

My mission is to buy a terrible bike, and explore the city on it. And thereby work of some of my euro-pounds. So far my euro-bike experience has been traumatic (see previous entries).

Song of the day: M83 - Teen Angst (Luciano Mix). I'd love to post some Italian music... but I can't think of anything.

SPQR: Sono Pazzi Questi Romani

2008-06-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Finally got to walk around a bit this morning.

The Appian Way terminates at my doorstep. I'm five blocks from the Coliseum. I stumbled on to the Mouth of Truth, saw the Tiber, etc. It was all kind of lovely.

My internet in my apartment is intolerably slow and unreliable. I'm working on getting access to my neighbor's connection, but it won't be active until next week.

I'm kind of curious about Gypsies, mainly because my ultra-xenophobic real estate has worked me up into a lather of fear in which I see Gitanes in every shadow and chamberpot. A Frenzy in Firenze about the Roma in Roma. Here's some rather distrubing info on Gypsies.

The fact is, I've heard quite a bit of negative info about Gypsies from many sources lately. I've never seen (or recognized) a Gypsy in person. Anyhow, this has become another question for my stay here: why this villification?

Speaking of Firenze: in case this didn't come through clearly (amid all of my complaints), Florence was amazing. As an art experience, my 3 days there compare favorably with 2 months in Paris. It just wasn't that livable a place.

After dinner with my neighbor Alba, we went out for a walk and ended up doing a a 4 hour tour. It was fantastic - She had an endless supply of advice and background to share, and her enthusiasm for the city is contagious. I've definitely turned the corner on getting excited about Rome.

Too much to write...

The Beagle Has Landed

2008-06-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Rome today.

This is my front lawn. I'm looking at an Obelisk when I take out the trash.

Grandeur aside, this neighborhood feels like Cleveland. My apartment is mudsill-level. My internet connection is stone-age and the place is small and dark. No one wants to live in Plato's cave. On the upside, I have a bidet.

I have resolved to stop being so negative about Italy... does it show?

I visited a few more of Florence's museums this morning, then went on a tear through churches. The churches of Florence are museums in their own right... The Basilica di Santa Croce and the Brancacci Chapel were particularly spectacular. All in all, I think I visited 8-10 museums and as many churches this weekend.

Audience Participation Segment:

I just learned that and old friend of mine - a reporter - is going to Iraq for 6 weeks this summer. We spent an hour on the phone last night brainstorming story ideas, which was fun. If you know anyone in Iraq, please put me in touch.

I'm also trying to start planning weekend trips out of Rome. Any ideas?

Lastly, if you have any suggestions about what to do (or WHERE TO STAY) in Barcelona, pls. let me know.

This weekend has been exhausting - I'm looking forward to a quiet week of establishing a foothold in Rome.

Song of the Day: Prince - Purple Rain. My appreciation for Prince is non-ironic.

Before Tomorrow

2008-06-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Florence is so overrun with tourists, that you don't want to do anything touristy - even take photos. I took this one anyway.

Many thoughts.

The Uffizi blindsided me. I heart Filippo Lippi and Botticelli. I had no idea it was going to be so amazing.

The cab from the train station to the hotel initially took me to the wrong hotel yesterday, so I actually got to see a lot of Florence. Florence is kind of hideous - crappy suburbs - except the historic city center which is hideously overrun with tourists. My hotel (Hotel Alessandra) turns out to be squarely located in the center of things; its kind of perfect.

I was going to write a long rant about how Italian food can't hold a candle to French food, but I had a superb pasta appetizer tonight, so there's a stay of execution. I'm in a very anti-Italian mood... I think I'm just carrying a torch for Paris. Italy is going to get me on the rebound.

Everywhere I go lately I meet people. The Uffizi had a two hour line, so I had plenty of time to get to know these fellows from St. Joseph's. I spent dinner talking with a Canadian remediation engineer. Apparently, that means cleaning up the Exxon Valdez and what-not. The world is full of great people.

I'm in the mood to write postcards. If you want one, let me know.

Italy: Third-World Country? More evidence is accruing. Everything is badly organized, everywhere. Its laughable.

John just gave me a great idea: go to Palio di Siena, a horse race in Siena. I'm in!

I'm firmly committed to learning Italian while I'm here, mostly because I blew my chance to learn French in France.

Song of the day: LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends.

Bonus beat: LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great.

ps. I'm going to start taking down the songs of the day after a week. I'll begin my taking down the old songs in a few days.

Leri, Oggi, Domani

2008-05-31T04:50:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired I'm nearly incoherent. I fell asleep at the National Museum "Il Bargello." Florentine people seethe with resentment at tourists. The way to tell if someone is giving you the exactly wrong directions is that they will slowly jerk an open fist up and down the whole time.

So begins my Italian journey. I have many unanswered questions: I know its disrespectful, but I am nursing the suspicion that Italy is a third world country. For example, people warn me about involving the police in your affairs. Things are very affordable here so far.

My housing in Barcelona just fell through... shnap.

I saw disturbing graffiti in Florence today: "Kosovo is Serbia." I saw exactly the same graf on a Paris bridge last month.

Song of the day: M .I.A. - Paper Planes (DFA Remix)

Stendhal syndrome: "or Florence syndrome, is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly 'beautiful' or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world."

Florence

2008-05-31T00:56:00.000-07:00

Just arrived in Florence for the weekend. Long overnight train ride. The people sharing my cabin were bikers headed to a huge international Critical Mass rally in Rome.

Had a wonderful goodbye dinner at Baratin (where else?) Thursday night. Stephanie, Christiane, Lerato, Mefilwe, Ambrosio. Ambrosio is like the favorite son of the otherwise surly owner. Goodbye, my lovely Parisians...

Florence! I've been so busy this week that I haven't planned my time here at all.

Progress Report

2008-05-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

That's right: Rochambeau, baby. Anyone who visited me knows about the mutarde obsession. Well, the quest is over. I finally tracked down these babies in a dark alley.

Cursing: I am successfully cursing less, but I'm using "the patch." ie. I say "shizzle," "heck of," and "dang" all the time. "Son of a b.b. gun" doesn't quite satisfy me.

Probably going to rent a place in Barcelona this week. Tempted by Berlin - should have done it in July instead of a second month in Rome. I had this idea that I should stay MUCH longer in a city than a tourist would, so you start to reap other non-tourist benefits, like knowing people. Definitely was true for Paris, so perhaps I didn't screw up after all.

Bought airfare from Rome to Barcelona and from there to NYC. Is it possible to look at Barcelona and NOT get excited?

Song of the day: No Age - Keechie.

Bon Temps, Mauvais Temps

2008-05-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

Weekend of much weekending.

Went to the Opera with Lerato on Saturday. The NY Met had better singing, far better set design (oh hecks yes), more fun, a more beautiful opera house, a better dressed audience - and it generally delivered on the idea of what I expected the Opera experience to be. But the Paris Opera rocked my world. The actress (not a typo) who played Romeo twice moved me to tears... at the age-worn tale of Romeo and Juliet, no less. There might be something to this Opera shiznatch after all.

Then, we went to another of Dan's restaurant recommendations: La Verra Vole on Canal St. Martin. Tip! The food was good at this wine bar, but the atmosphere was spectacular. No hyperbole, I loved our server Nicholas, who generously shared his love of music and wine (and life) with us.

Sunday, I had dinner with Bruno at Stephanie and Christiane's... hmm, wonderful?!? I arrived feeling exhausted and down - savoring the company around the table was chicken soup.

On the downside, I slept it so late every day this weekend that I accomplished jack booty.

Song of the Day: Slum Village - Fall N Love. This is my anthem.

Bonus Beat: Cat Power - Satisfaction (Live in Paris).

d said: burn the rest of the firewood. so I did.

2008-05-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Most fun night.

Stephanie and Christiane said: come out to the Columbian ex-pat house party.
I said: I have conference calls until 11pm.
They said: Silly boy, that's when the party starts.

Got home at 4:15, giddy.

You would think my language barrier wouldn't be an issue at a dance party, but it is: Columbians dance heck of well. You feel distinctly NOT Latino once the feet start slipping around. Attempt to learn Salsa - burning disaster.

The dress code was women in high heels, men in hats.

French-Columbians are sophisticated and charming until they start fighting over the ipod - reminds me of NYC parties, actually. Except people actually dance, and dance beautifully. Old fellows dance best. I couldn't stop smiling. I am the dance ambassador.

Song of the day: The Jamaicans - Ba Ba Boom.

Also: finally found the spider, mysteriously dead, in my bed! I must have killed it in my sleep last night. It instantly cured my nascent phobia to realize that I am a nocturnal sleep-killer-of-spiders. I am the bogeyman of spiders' worst nightmares - I strike in the darkness.

Dead, the spider is still enormous - but it seems smaller.

Midnight walk

2008-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

So much great graf around the Oberkamf neighborhood.

Without a guest, I have no excuse to run around eating out on a weekday. On the other hand, my time in Paris is running out fast, so I want to run around the city like PacMan.

I could definitely live in Paris. There's a gang of teenage thugs that loiter outside my building at all hours. As I walked home with a pizza today, they non-ironically called out "bon appetit" to me.

I'm missing Pina Bausch, who's coming to the Theatre De La Ville just after I leave. Dang. John, I'm jealous of you.

I'm missing a huge family reunion this weekend, which reminds me of all of the things I'll be missing this summer. No croquet, gosh-dang-it.

On the upside, I just watched Roman Holiday, which got me 100% in the mood for my next city. Mouth of Truth, here I come. I leave in a week - I'll be spending the weekend in Florence (Firenze) on the way down.

I realized this week that though I came to Paris for the museums, its the food and the people I've met that made it special. This might seem obvious to everyone else, but it definitely took me by surprise. I'm actually quite sad to leave people behind.

If any of you are considering coming to Paris, I can definitely attest to the fact that a) its quite easy to live here - even the language barrier presents few difficulties and b) its affordable as well. Let no one discourage you with tales of the weak Dollar. Dead presidents are still almighty.

Song of the Day: the outrunners- Blazing Speed & Neon Lights With You. 80s ultra-cheez madness.

Bonus Beat: Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers Pts. Two & Three.

There's an infestation of large, black spiders somewhere around here. Is this bad? My dad was bitten by a spider last year while my mom was away on a trip. He laid on a couch for 3 days without getting up, wracked by fever.

The first incursion of the spiders into my house came while I had a guest. The guest (who will remain nameless) shrieked like a girl until I killed it. This spider was about the size of littleneck clam - it took 10 blows with a wooden broom to bring it down. At the time, I laughed.

Tonight, a spider climbed up onto my bed. I didn't notice it until it was inches from my face. When you're really scared, you can go from lying down on your back to standing up without even bending a knee. You simply become vertical.

The spider is somewhere in my room and I'm afraid to go to bed. I'll see you all in 3 days.

Baratin

2008-05-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

Work, work, work.

Song of the day: Lykke Li - Dance, Dance, Dance

Bonus beat: Esg - Dance

Guest Blogger: Jason

2008-05-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

my last meal in paris.
attacked by color and deliciousness.
brushing up on hangman when i get back.

currently listening - jeff buckley - hallelujah

- Jason

Perfect Circle

2008-05-19T10:35:00.000-07:00

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”
—Robert A. Heinlein

I would add: "...tell a story, take advice and cook a meal." I would subtract: "solve equations, program a computer, and fight efficiently," and I speak from first-hand experience.

Song of the day: Queen - I Want To Break Free.

Bonus Song: Maino - Hi Hater.

Mo' Bonus Song: Scarface - My Block.

Ave Toutes Choses

2008-05-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

LAZY DAY.

Photo by Jan Von Holleben.

Blog of the day: Akon - Mama Africa (Remix) Feat. Kardinal

Guest Blogger: Jason

2008-05-18T02:58:00.000-07:00

the best part about not being aware of time
is not remembering the last time you ate.
this means more food. a beautiful thing.
as matteo promised, the culinary crescendo
has been (and still is) hard at work.

les bouqinistes / baratin / les rouge de gorges /
empanadas@stephanies / and everything in
between the rinds / is like adding salt to a wound that
feels good.

the days here have been fairly exhausting, but deeply
invigorating and inspiring. under healthy doses of
beautiful and fair weather, time streams unpredictably.

...

/ memento /

picking brain about next ventures / walking in the marais / pompidou / picasso / discoveries at oberkampf / ze bike, lost / dinner along the canal / baked brie with honey / tabac and strawberry ice-cream / hike around belleville park / view at the gazebo / perfect meal at baratin / mosque and tea in jussieu / reading, reading, reading / food and love@stephanies / tarot cards / fascination with p&p? / musee du quai branly / quest for internet access / sun showers through invalides / good bocce, bad bocce / stroll along rue de bac / pistache gelato / buber, i and thou / les rouge de gorges / cigar rolling documentary / mischief at the pompidou / vagina and teeth?

'ze bike, she is lost!'

currently listening to "Heaven - Last Emperor"

- Jason

L'Enfant Terrible

2008-05-17T16:40:00.001-07:00

I thought of a new name for the cocktail that I invented yesterday... the "Bittersweet and Sour." Encrust the rim of the glass with salt, and it becomes the "Bitter, sweet, salty and sour." If I could just figure out what the heck Umami is, it could be a complete tour of the mouth.

Blog of the day: Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick - The Show

Arc of Triumph

2008-05-16T16:28:00.000-07:00

Fantastic day... perfect lunch at Baratin, perfect dinner at Stephanie and Christiane's. 10+ lovely members of the international artistic set wandering down conversational alleys. Err... yes! There's probably a foreign language that has a word for "person who makes the way forward smooth." That, for me, is Stephanie and Christiane.

There were four Americans there... we left first, together. I wonder what language they switched to when we left.

Somebody stole my/Lerato's bike: a bike so broken that it couldn't be fixed, that was locked to a fence. !!! I have taken a solemn oath to stop swearing/swear less (oaths don't count). Otherwise this paragraph would be more salty.

Seriously, I have to swear less. I'm a career offender.

ps. I just discovered a great cocktail: 1 part pink grapefruit juice, 1 part Suze. I hereby dub this drink the "Bitters Chinois." Hmm, I need a better name.

For the last few months, Jason and I have been trying to think of an idea for a fundraiser we could organize to benefit a non-profit. Our latest idea was for a bartender-contest-judging contest. ie. the more money you raise, the more cocktails you get to "judge" in a bartending contest.

Did I mention that all I eat is beef tartare and snails? I had a close encounter with a bone marrow entree this weekend on La Butte Aux Cailles that haunts me still.

Song of the day: The National - Fake Empire.

Bonus Song: Tom Waits - That Feel.

Oh Snap

2008-05-15T15:42:00.001-07:00

New favorite dining experience: Baratin. Wine Bar. Heaven. Thanks Stephanie, for the tip!

Song of the day: Pitch Black Afro - Pitch Black Afro. Jason and I got in an debate about whether rap can work in any other language. Here's my argument: Pitch Black Afro raps in Zulu, etc.

Salut!

2008-05-14T04:50:00.000-07:00

Jason arrived. More feeding frenzy ensues.

Highlight of the day: crazy-moldy fromage in this wierd x-shaped form factor. I realized too late that we shoulda rolled it around in cracked pepper.

Took a wrong turn on the way to lunch - discovered yet another beautiful street in my neighborhood. The avenues of my nieghborhood may be a bit sketchy, but many of the quiet corners are gorgeous - village-like, with lush gardens.

Song of the day: Grizzly Bear - Knife.

French Seizurenaire's Disease

2008-05-12T02:25:00.000-07:00

J'ai la maladie. Blech.

Song of the day: Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized.

St. Martin's Wine Press

2008-05-07T16:11:00.000-07:00

Image from El Hombre Que Comía Diccionarios, via ffffound.

Getting a cold.

Took a lovely walk last night. I first explored the "Quartier de la Mouzaïa" in the 19th. Its a few blocks from my house, a hidden jewel of village-like Paris. Every house has a garden, the streets are wide, quiet and tree-lined.

I then walked along the Canal St. Martin. Perfect. The scene is: a gorgeous, wide canal that runs for miles. On either side are wide quays just packed with 20-40 year olds, hanging out, having a drink, having a picnic, chatting. There's obviously no open-container law in effect. People play music, its just perfect.

Baby blog day: Rowan Blacksher and Sadie Evangeline Walker Page

Song of the day: John Prine - Far From Me.

Place de Chen

2008-05-07T11:47:00.000-07:00

from jean jullien, via ffffound (see below).

I want to have a metro terminus named after me - they did it for Picasso.

My bike died on the operating table today. The bicycle repairman said to me: "[5 minutes of french]. Ze bike, she is dead." Everyone in the shop lowered their eyes and shook their heads.

Blog link: ffffound is a FANTASTIC group image blog. Eye/mind candy par excellence.

Song of the day: Arthur Alexander - Anna, simple feel-good new orleans soul.

Beware this link: docuemtary footage of whale hunting. Unbelievably disturbing. I seriously doubt you're wanting this...

Besoin Beso

2008-05-06T03:37:00.001-07:00

Photo by Bill Henson.

Had a 2.5 hour conversation with my sister last night. First of all, I love skype. Free unlimited calls to regular phones in any country for 12E a month. Its half that if you're only calling two countries. Also, I love my sister. I feel whole and grounded after we talk.

Tonight I saw La Zona, a Mexican film. Easily the best film I've seen in a couple of years - in spite of the fact that the dialogue was in Spanish and the subtitles in French. Do not miss this film if you get the chance. Interestingly, my Spanish is far better than my French, but it was much easier to follow the subtitles because I could read rather than parse speech.

The film is about a gated community in Mexico, encircled by extreme poverty. The inciting incident is a bungled burglary... I'd really rather not say much about the plot, but the film is absolutely devastating. Its hard to say why I found it so powerful. It felt real - no suspension of disbelief was necessary. At the same time, it felt hyperreal - a distillation of class issues. I shouldn't even say that because the film is in no way heavy-handed; its glides along like a crime drama.

Everyone in the film carried guns. When this came up after the movie, Stephanie said something that blew my mind: that many people at Williams had firearms. She tended to see them in people's glove compartments. Wtf?

After the movie, I finally met Lerato, who gave me a bicycle last week... she has a wonderful presence.

Blog link: Two of the people(Kris' wife and her friend) that I had a drink with on Sunday night had Phd's in Economics. To my intense disappointment, we didn't talk about the Dismal Science. My fantasy is to go to parties where everyone is an economist. Marginal Revolution is a blog written by two economists, and - best of all - they blog about their parties.

Song of the day: Erykah Badu - The Healer.

Gladiatrix

2008-05-05T11:57:00.001-07:00

Felt like a total a-hole (again) last night. Went out for drinks with Kris, an old friend of John's who I'd met a few times over the years. Everyone there was native French, Italian or Swiss and they all had to speak English on my behalf. Party foul! Yes, I am an ignorant tool.

Prices in Paris include tax and tip (you can tip, but its optional and small). Also, they don't bother with pricing a thing $499.99, its just 500 Euros flat. This simplifies things considerably.

I crave cinema, and I'm going into withdrawal. Thankfully, there's ton of English-Language Cinema in Paris. Unfortunately, its mostly Hollywood. Its easier to see French film in the NYC than in Paris, since they subtitle it for you. I saw Mongol the other night - in Mongolian, with French subtitles. Very fun to learn French that way, in spite the movie being fairly bad. Tomorrow, I'm seeing a movie in Spanish with French subtitles. Hopefully Stephanie and Christiane can break down the plot for me afterward.

Song of the day: Lithops - Kahn. Old school Electronica.

With only three weeks left in Paris, I'm resolved to seize on every opportunity to eat out.

Liberte, Equalite, Vigilante

2008-05-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Went to 5 museums this weekend: Musée du Luxembourg, Palais de Toyko, Grand Palais, Petit Palais & Musée Jacquemart-André. My feet hurt.

It was a weekend of successful quests... I found Xenophon's Anabasis in English. The funny part of the story is that I found it at Shakespeare & Co., this bookstore I used to hang out at pretty much every day the last time I was in Paris. I was dead broke at that time, and they didn't seem to mind my spending like 8 hours a day there, reading. That is, until the incident. I had a lot of time on my hands at that point and was reading voraciously. Consequently, I was buying and selling a lot of books. One day, I brought some books to sell... the workers frog-marched me upstairs and accused me of shop-lifting. They were convinced that the books I was trying to sell them had been stolen from them in the first place. Now, Shakespeare & Co. isn't a typical bookstore. Its very old and famous. It embraces its history of supporting struggling young writers by letting them sleep and eat there in exchange for helping maintain the store. Consequently, there were always a bunch of writers (in my mind, poseurs) around the place. Well, they ALL marched me upstairs that day into a tiny room and locked the door. They then proceeded to hold a vigilante tribunal. The old man who ran the place sat at a desk and kept repeating their accusations, while he went through the books. He was looking for a smoking gun, some proof that I had stolen the books. Meanwhile, these 6-7 expat-wannabes were doing a VERY convincing job of looking physically menacing. These guys were from the Hemingway "macho" school of expatriate-ism. I mean, these guys were INTO this scene. I doubt they left anyone to man the register - everyone wanted a piece of this beatdown. Finally, anti-climactically, they decided to let me go. I've thought about that experience often since... that's probably the closest I'll ever be to a lynch mob or real vigilantism (not that close, clearly). They were completely convinced I was guilty, but something held them back... I wonder what they would have done had they found the "evidence" they were looking for. I don't think it would have involved the police. Anyhow, it felt strange to go back to that bookstore 8 years later. This nice young fellow with a British accent played lovely jazz - I sat and read Xenophon and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere.

I just got home and found out that the people I'm meeting for a drink tonight want to meet at a place 5 yards from that bookstore.

Friday morning, I walked around the 14th Arrondissement, checking it out for some old friends who are moving to Paris right after I leave. I love that neighborhood, I wish I was living there instead. Its kind of bourgeois, but its a food-lover's paradise. It seems livable and affordable.

Sometimes you just start dicking around with photoshop for no reason. Sources: jorge just (sorry), Company Record Sleeves.

Blog link: Joaquin, the man who inspired this blog. flickr (highlight: his master of self-portraiture), live journal (highlight: "So I guess the upshot is that I have to remember to stay insouciant.").

Song of the day: Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes. Lead single off of much-buzzed hipster album is pretty nice. Rap meets new wave. I am the one millionth person to blog this.

Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

2008-05-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Day of random thoughts.

* I saw a dude chatting on his cell phone on the Metro. Why don't they have that working in NYC?
* Archaeology is only possible when you disregard the sanctity of the grave, of temples, etc. I wonder how archaeology works now, in a post-colonial era, when you can't just dig stuff up and take it away. Is it archaeology if you dig up a medieval graveyard?
* I missed May Day. Apparently everyone was frolicking and celebrating worker's rights... while I slaved away. I was like one of those Japanese soldiers marooned on a remote island who kept fighting WW II for 40 years after the armistice. I need Socialism for Dummies.
* Trip to Amsterdam canceled at the last moment. It was supposed to be a mission to save Marc from working too much... but he had to work this weekend. Never was a mission compromised so quickly and so completely.
* I may not have a place to stay in rome after all. If so, I might rewrite my schedule.

From Lynda Barry's What it is. There's a wonderful sample here.

The Flying Nun of Paris

2008-04-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

Discovery: clothes that are dried on a clotheslines are rough and stiff.

Definition of a good day: Any 24 hour period that includes: a discussion that leads you to challenge your assumptions, a walk in a new neighborhood, and a good cinema experience.

Blog Link: Soul Sides by Oliver Wang. My favorite mp3 blog: an ending stream of soul mp3s and record knowledge.

Song of the day: Erma Franklin - Piece Of My Heart which I first heard on Soul Sides. The original, later popularized by Janis Joplin.

Warwalking is no fun

2008-04-28T15:29:00.001-07:00

Back online, hopefully for good. People joke about going into internet withdrawal... hiking in the backwoods or sailing on a yacht. But that's voluntary abstinence. It's not really withdrawal until you have no control over when you'll get your fix.

I realized today that the happiest moment of this trip occurred before I even left the states. It was the moment when I was packing and realized I wouldn't need to bring a single key with me. It was a feeling of lightness that sang.

Blog Link: Sasha Frere-Jones, pop music critic at the New Yorker, has a personal blog and a blog at the New Yorker. His brother, a font designer, writes a blog on fonts and design with his partner.

Song of the day: Big Girl by Ghostface Killah. Over-educated people who aren't feeling rap: this song rewards close listening. In a way, it recalls the Crystals' He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss). Carole King wrote "He Hit Me" to confront the issue of battered women knowing full well the Crystals would "sing it straight," like any other love song. In a bizarre way, bubble-gum pop is a fitting means to discuss abuse: a subject you'd rather avoid catches you off guard as the meaning of the song dawns on you. Its downright subversive.

Just so, Ghost's lyrics pose more and more dilemmas as you parse them. The song is on Fishscale, the album in which Ghost jumps on the bandwagon of the Cocaine rap fad. But on "Big Girl," all of the misogyny, machismo, and dealer talk (that rap usually provides in neat, single-serving packets) collide in a train wreck of unresolved vectors.

The storyline runs as follows: you have a vain dealer making a fool of himself over a woman he meets in a bar, a woman who is alluring despite having the disgusting symptoms of a serious cocaine addiction. They have the most fleeting and crass of interactions, but his thoughts weave off into a fantasia of their (non-existent) possibilities together. His fantasy is all the more heartbreaking for being so poorly conceived. A life of integrity and well-being is so removed from this scene that it can only be imagined in the most child-like of ways.

Ultimately, he dreams of nurturing her, notwithstanding the fact that he is a dealer and she a junkie. Its the hope of having a non-toxic relationship, a hope that collapses upon itself. He paints a future for her in which there is no place for either of them.

Plus, the production is ill. Withdrawal-as-metaphor-for-heartbreak in the sample becomes the heartbreak-of-debasement, the debasement of an entire community.

ps. If you think I'm reading too much into this song, check out Whip You With A Strap from the same album.

pps. the lyrics for the rap that I've linked above are wrong. I've always wanted to get in a discussion about this: how and why the lyrics posted on the internet for raps are so consistently shoddy.

ARRRGGGHHH

2008-04-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I'll be out of touch for a while. The internet connection in my apartment stopped working this morning, I'm not sure why. This is driving me crazy. I'm currently huddled on a street corner where I found an open access point. Its like a Dickens novel.

Matthew.

Etrange Enigma

2008-04-27T11:14:00.001-07:00

Went back to the D'Orsay today and saw this painting:

Paul Serusier, La Lutte Bretonne.

It was painted between 1890 and 1893, depending on who you ask. In 1890 Serusier was 26 years old. It made me think of one of my favorite paintings:

Paul Gauguin, Vision after the Sermon, Jacob Wrestling with the Angel.

The vision after the sermon was painted in 1888, just two years before. Gauguin was 40 years old.

The two paintings are eerily similar: a crowd of women watch wrestling figures. They wear the traditional clothes of Breton, which resemble Nuns' habits. Shapes are loosely defined. Some shapes are modeled, but most of the painting (including the ground) is composed of flat fields of color. Above all, both painting are Symbolist.

Googling around for an image of Gauguin's painting, I came across:

Paul Gauguin, Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel). 1888

Is this some kind of bizarre alternate version I've never seen before?

ps. Every time I go to the D'Orsay I start shaking in anger at how many tourists take flash photos of the paintings. Its the same at the Louvre. Every few SECONDS a flash goes off in the popular rooms. I've gone through a few phases: shock (where are the guards?), denial (perhaps its not that bad for the paintings?), Anger (idiots!), bargaining (I need a beer), depression (my generation will destroy these irreplaceable treasures). Apparently there's an "acceptance" phase that comes later.

I did a little research. It turns out the problem is lazy, socialist guards who can't be bothered to do their jobs. This is not the Socialist Utopia we were dreaming of.

They should hang up enormous banners in every room that would read: "you are destroying beauty with your damn flashingness." There would be an illustration of a painting crying paint.

Ouaf Ouaf

2008-04-26T02:35:00.001-07:00

My dad throws up a gang sign at La Chappelle. True story: he almost got arrested at said cathedral for carrying a knife. Also true story: he's planning on smuggling enormous quantities of "mustard" into the states. Customs, you have been warned.

Spring arrived in full force this week. yes.

The footwear of fashion is like this: young hipster wear Chuck's lowcuts (holla, Keith!). Women wear ballet-slippers-type-deals, just like in NYC.

Paris isn't really all that fashionable. Its not "tasteful" to wear conservative black clothes all the time. There's a lot of black leather jackets. There isn't much creative dressing outside the Marais.

When I told people about moving to Paris, 3 or more people told me: "great, you'll finally figure out how to dress." Well, let's say this: I'm as poor a student of French fashion as I am of French philosophy. My brain is a walnut.

Song of the day: Panda Bear - Ponytail. Its funny what the parents like. Dad loves this song; Mom likes Burial.

Blog Link: Jason Kottke writes an excellent blog about "the liberal arts". Check out recent post. Probably my favorite blog.

ps. I am DEFINITELY going to see Iron Man in French. How much can I really miss?

Okay, one picture

2008-04-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

I hereby declare this weekend "french cuisine deathmarch." With my parents flying out Monday, we only have 5 real meals - 5 chances to sample Paris' offerings.

* Saturday, we lunch at the notorious Bon Marche. We'll get some take-away from the "Grande Epicerie."
* Saturday night, we dine at the highly recommended Chez Vincent in Parc des Buttes Chaumont.

I've been carefully tapering my eating for the last few days in preparation for this weekend. Monday, I'll post my new weight.

No-picture Fridays.

2008-04-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

I'm enjoying the "space invaders" tile graffiti around Paris: http://www.space-invaders.com/. The best one is at Chatelet - the tiles subtly blend in with the fountain at the center of the plaza. It's the opposite of graffiti-as-defacement; its more like graffiti-as-grace-note.

I may be going to Amsterdam next weekend. I can't wait... I'm dying to see the Van Gogh Museum. I can kind of take or leave most Dutch art, though. Portraits of rich burghers, we get it already! I love me some Pieter Bruegel the father and son, though. If you have recommendations for what to do in Amsterdam, you have 1 week to let me know.

A couple of people have asked me about my favorite blogs, so I'm going to try to post one blog link a day:
Here's an old favorite: Caterina Fake, co-founder of flickr.com. She has a wide variety of interests, but she often writes about books, ideas and the net. Try this recent post.

Speaking of Flickr: Cal Henderson, flickr CTO/head engineer has a great link blog. 75% of his links are silly, but the other 25% are gold.

Also, I'm going to post a song every day. Menahan Street Band - Make The Road By Walking.

New Yorkers, listen up: You might want to check out: Henry Darger at the American Folk Museum and Camp Bisco.

Guest Blogger: Marc

2008-04-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

Graf by Os Gemeos

i love the whole world
i love my friend matt chen
had such a pleasant time
wish i could go back again
we had a dinner
with Pfeiffer next to us
it didn't bother me
i had charcuterie
boom-di-yadda
boom-di-yadda
boom-di-yadda
boom-di-yadda

See Marc's amazing glasswork here:
www.el-mudo.com
www.marcbarreda.com

More Links:
A sick mp3
google map of some of my favorite Parisian things.

Non-Guest Blogger: me

2008-04-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Another memorable meal with Mom, Dad, Stéphanie, Dan and Christiane. Discovered the Canal St. Martin area, which I've been metro-ing past for weeks without realizing how sweet it is. Talking with Dan about his film-in-the-works is fascinating... I'm jealous!

I've been working like a dog lately, so I don't have much to say for the last few days except dinner just gets better and better. Stéphanie has turned me on to so many great restaurants that I'm getting dizzy.

Restaurants, museums, adventures: I'm learning about things I want to do much faster than I can actually do them. I've started to seriously consider moving to Europe.

ps. word up, terracotta hit the fan.

Guest Blogger: Dad

2008-04-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

Guest Blogger: Mom

2008-04-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

Here I am, feeling a little creaky but most happy, after another day of about 8 hours straight of walking through Parisian neighborhoods. Dad's busy cooking supper. Matt has only recently surfaced from his intensive day of softwaring and is now amusing us with his cheery taunts and tales.

Today we chose the tony 16th as our target for prowling. After sleeping in until 9:30, we packed out backpack for the day, we took the subway to Trocodero. We had a plan to find a place to have a morning coffee (thrown off a bit because in fact we arrived at noon); we intended to sip leisurely and plan the details of route of exploration, before setting out. But the 16th is so upscale we could find no place for coffee that we felt we should afford. Many of the eating spots were being patronized by very well-dressed clientele; our practical grungies would be out of place. (I am almost the only woman in Paris daily wearing bright white (they are new) tennis shoes--it simply isn't done.) So we began making our way north, zigging and zagging to see the neighborhoods we were passing through, searching for a suitable coffee place. Finally we made it to the not-so-spiffy but gentrifying 17th. Eventually we found an ok cafe (the minimum criteria was that it had to have a toilet). So the coffee was terrible and actually cold and Ron had a totally fat-infested croque monsieur. The food would have better next door, but they had no toilet.

After this repast we decided to be brave and cross the Peripherique, the multilane expressway that encircles Paris--so we would be-leaving-Paris for the infamous suburbs. Did we dare? Yes, we did. So we crossed over and found ourselves in a lovely neighborhood (turns out not all suburbs are questionable territory). We walked south several block to the Bois de Boulogne. The guidebooks all warn you NOT to go there at night and talk about all sorts of nefarious activity and warn you to stay on main pathway. But in the daytime when we were there it was filled with parents and children, old men playing bocce, joggers and folks out for exercise walks. The formal flower gardens were in bloom, In the center were two lakes. You could rent rowboats. The lakes were separated/connected by picturesque waterfalls. This is a huge 2,0000 acre park. Dad and I wandered through its diverse venues for about three hours.

Then we crossed over back to the 16th, found a small supermarket, bought some healthy snacks (a premade carrot salad, yogurts, and Orangina drinks). We sat on a nearby bench and ate. Then we realized that, if we were to get back to Matt's neightborhood to buy ingredients for dinner before the shops closed, we had less than an hour to make it back to the subway. So we made a beeline through yet more 16th neighborhoods, caught the excellent (but packed at commuter time) subway. We zoomed in as the shops we closing to buy fruits and sausage, etc. We got back to Matt's at 8 pm. Dinner is now ready. It's looking really good. Must go.

Mom

Centre Georges Pompidou

2008-04-20T11:34:00.000-07:00

Dad's cooking another wonderful dinner as I write. ah.

Secours!

2008-04-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

They traipsed. We discovered fantastic food at every turn. We were surrounded and had to fight our way out... biting and screaming.

The stretch of Rue du faubourg saint-denis around Rue des Petites Ecuries is an ethnic food wonderland.

These are the people that taught me to eat everything that will stand still. Or fail to outrun you. We're leaping upon tripe, snails & raw meat like Velociraptors.

We wandered by Sacré-Cœur. When I last stayed in Paris, I went there almost daily. I was broke, it was free, I lived three blocks away. This time I bothered to read the guidebook. Its a memorial to counter-revolution. The shameless bastards built it on top of the birthplace of the Paris Commune... after putting it down. I lifted my fist with feeling.

We returned home and had an air-guitar contest.

2008-04-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

The parents arrived today, eager as can be. My dad's french is... shockingly, humiliatingly good.

We had a wonderful dinner of random things that caught our eye on the boulevard. Marc's parting gift of cheese was absolutely delicious; my dad's "tripe aux cane" tripe terrine kicked ez as well. Almost good as the Lapin (rabbit) terrine I had at Le Rouge Gorge.

parallel video and transcript of democratic debate. I'd like to know what you thought about this.

nice article about ship salvage. not that well written, but a great story.

l'ParAsian

2008-04-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Marc left today... had a simply lovely visit with him. Walking around the city today, we got swept up into a huge socialist student greve (strike/protest). It was wonderfully fun, in spite of about 4-500 riot police. If they had those where I grew up, I would have been a socialist.

Tried to track down Miss Mood again, but failed.

Wrong-headed Boyz

2008-04-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Marc arrived yesterday. He brought me StroopWafels from Amsterdam... so tasty.

We had a delicious vegetarian dinner at Carlota's beautiful apartment. Actually woke up at 9am today, jet lag be damned!

Shopkeepers be knowing me. I love it.

Had an shattering night tonight - we discovered a two kick-ass things: Miss Mood, and Le Rouge Gorge - superb restaurant. Both on the same street.

Voulez Vous Manger avec moi?

2008-04-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful weekend, I hope you did too. Returned to the Louvre today. Discovered a number of amazing pieces I hadn't seen before, including the lovely pieta by Enguerrand Quarton.

Why don't they build a chain of super-museums in every major city with reproductions drawn from collections (public and private) all around the world? I don't think its an intellectual property issue. Also, why isn't there a fine art equilvanent of Project Gutenberg?

Why does Jesus look like Jesus? The iconic Christ with beard, long brown hair, etc. appears throughout Byzantine art back to 5th century. Non-Byzantine art from the 4th century is more varied; some portrayals are familiar, in others vary quite a bit.

Saturday I made it to the Picasso Museum. At the time, I was disappointed by the small collection and lack of large paintings. However, in retrospect, it was a powerful experience. A number of the pieces were very compelling. I was fascinated even by the pieces that I didn't like.

I'm rapidly overspending my budget... A 50cl mug of beer in Ste. Germaine (a trendy neighborhood) is 8-9 Euro ($17-19 USD). On the other hand, I keep having wonderful experiences going out. Last night I had wonderful roasted boar. It turns out my ghetto hood is full of wonderful eateries.

2008-04-12T13:35:00.000-07:00

Will left today... =(

Rocking it.

2008-04-10T03:40:00.001-07:00

Had a superb evening with Dan (a filmmaker), Stephanie (screenplay translator, production), Enrico (experimental filmmaker) and Christiane. Pretended to be a filmmaker in order to fit in. Everyone else spoke four languages; I felt like a total ass.

Apparently, I might meet up with another old acquaintance: Bruno. He's the original champagne-flute-and-blunt-wielding internet entrepreneur. He broke the mold. Does one say "they broke the mold" or "he broke the mold?"

The food was Columbian and fantastic. It turns out that there is a pocket of excellent restaurants in my backyard. Now I know where to take my guests. I've enjoyed eating out, but last night was my first truly memorable experience.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=32+rue+du+soleil+75020+paris&sll=40.718453,-74.005693&sspn=0.012734,0.017745&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=16&iwloc=addr

I might go to the Picasso Museo today with Will. The thing about Parisian museums is that they (like every other museum, ever) forbid flash photography. But everyone ignores the rule and no one enforces it. French museums have no security guards. To stand in a room full of god-given treasure while a flash erupts every 2-3 seconds is to watch history being destroyed by nabobs. It feels terrible.

All Parisian bars look identical... its the opposite of a chain: identical "branding" (as it were), local ownership.

Demi-Fou

2008-04-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

William arrived in the middle of the night... and has been a bad influence on me. Getting all of the how-to-be-a-expat lore firsthand.

Went to the Louvre for the first (but not nearly last) time today. Its free on the first Sunday of every month, so it was mobbed. Absolutely awed by walking through their galleries. I love Guido Reni more and more.

Reni, Escargot, beer on the boulevard... I am pretty content, nay, exhilarated.

Its snowing in Paris tonight...

(image borrowed from Mr. Pan)

La Reve D'Or

2008-04-05T08:19:00.000-07:00

My one lasting regret from the last time I "lived" in Paris was that I never made it to the D'Orsay. It was ... predictably great. They have a wonderful pre-abstraction Mondrian. Can't post any of my pictures yet as I have no card reader (doh!).

I can't figure out when French people eat out. All of the cafes are packed, have great menus, but no one ever has food on their table, just beer or wine.

Speaking of, the beer in Paris is piss. That's about the only disappointment so far, except the fact that French people's idea of what constitutes an electrical socket is a sorry joke.

Charles greeted by Parisians as Liberator

2008-04-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Occupation going smoothly, about to commence the "toppling of monuments to dictators" and "looting of museums" phase of invasion.

Parisians are super-nice. Everyone speaks English. The graffiti here is far superior to what I see in NYC. Clothes are no more fashionable than in NYC. City closes down around 1:30 AM on a Friday night.

I've accomplished my first goal: get someone to understand a sentence I speak in French.

Onto my second goal: every city seems to have its own palette of colors; articulate what's distinctive about Paris's palette. The most distinctive visual element of New York to me isn't a color per se: its the way the sidewalks and streets sparkle with tiny particles of glass.

This video is great. I can take or leave the song though.