[kj] "Last Pogo in Paris"

Ford Prefect gathering@misera.net
Mon, 20 Oct 2003 09:28:52 +0100


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good to see you're safely back. better to see those typing fingers =
getting a good work out ahead of thursday when an equally detailed =
account of all things wednesday is expected :-)

graham
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Alex Smith=20
  To: gathering@misera.net ; gathering@misera.net=20
  Sent: Sunday, October 19, 2003 5:59 PM
  Subject: Re: [kj] "Last Pogo in Paris"




  Bonjour y'all....

  Back from beautiful Paris, and a hearty thanks to everyone's advice of
  where/what to visit. Peg and I had a marverlous time and were truly =
sad to
  leave. Some highlights....


  Highlights....

  - Instead of a hotel, we rented an apartment on Isle St.Louis from a =
little
  operation called Guest Service Apartments. It was completely =
wonderful, and
  probably a closer approximation to what it's like to actually live in =
Paris
  than staying in a hotel. Visit them here: =
http://www.guestapartment.fr/

  - One of the nicest views of Paris is from the roof of the Arab =
Institute
  (itself well worth visiting).

  - With one tiny exception (courtesy of a maitre'd at newly-opened
  Franco-Asian hepcat lounge, Kong), everyone in Paris was unfailingly =
nice to
  us.

  - Apart from maybe Japan, France displays the most refreshing =
appreciation
  for the much-maligned art medium of comic books. The sheer number of =
well
  turned out and immaculately presented comic shops was truly heartening =
(for
  a recovering comix geek like myself). Bought a lot of needless Tintin =
&
  Asterix crap.

  - Want to really hate your fellow countryman (more than you already =
may?)
  Travel abroad! Americans in Paris stick out like viscous clumps of =
tepid
  dung in the Foie Gras, and behave accordingly. No wonder they hate us. =
Also,
  the second they find out you're a Yank, the fist words out of their =
mouth
  are "Ahhh, George Bush!" Yeah, thanks alot. You then spend few minutes
  apologizing for him.=20

  - Courtesy of some of the folks on the ILM boards, I found a great =
record
  shop in the Bastile area called, inexplicably, BIMBO TOWER. It's quite =
hard
  to find (down at the ass end of a easily missed back alley), but it's =
well
  worth seeking out. It's teeny tiny, but they pack the place with all =
sorts
  of ephemera (not just music related). It's a bit of a geek's paradise, =
as
  its brewing with all sorts of odd material (Japaense toys, odd =
fanzines,
  t-shirts, totschke, etc.) Didn't find anything too mind blowing =
(wasn't
  looking for anything specific actually), but picked up a Rough Trade
  Post-Punk compilation just to show my support.

  - While sipping a beer (preggy Peggy had an Orangina) at Les Deux =
Magot on
  the Left Bank (where Hemingway used to hang out in between visiting =
Gertrude
  Stein and Alice B. Toklas at Shakespeare & Co.), we spotted John =
"Duran
  Duran" Taylor (well, he actually passed our table on his way to the =
men's
  room). At Peg's wide-eyed urging (herself a recovering zealous =
Durannie) I
  later interupted his salad consumption (much to the chagrin of the =
pissy
  woman with two-toned hair he was sitting with) and got him to sign and
  autograph (on the back of our receipt). To his credit, he happily =
obliged
  and was quite a hecka-swell fella about it.

  - On our first night (my birthday), Peggy's parents (in town on their =
way
  back to Houston from Tunisia, long story) took us out to the legendary =
Lido
  for dinner. A highly touristy and somewhat embarassing joint on the =
Champs
  Elysees, the Lido is famous for being the first place to zealously =
display
  female breasts. Huzzah! Along with a very nice dinner, you are treated =
to a
  glitzy Vegas-styled show featuring countless numbers of topless French =
women
  and various acts of ridiculously over-the-top shobiz shenanigans. =
Honestly
  speaking, after a while, one is numbed by the sight of naked French =
nipples,
  but it was completely hokey and fun all the same.

  - On behalf of a friend of mine here in NYC, I dragged poor Peg off =
one day
  in search of a mysterious place on the Left Bank (in the Latin =
Quarter)
  called Deyrolle. Apparently, my friend Sam's brother had purchased a =
strange
  poster there called "Squelette de Lapin" (Skeleton of the Rabitt) and =
he
  covetted it considerably. Happily obliging, Peg and I pinpointed Rue =
de Bac
  (the street is was supposedly situated) on the map and set off for it. =
When
  we reached the storefront, we found an empty, dusty, bare =
room....though
  with a sign saying "Le Boutique Deyrolle ouvert". After a few awkward
  moments, a rather disagreeable woman descended a flight of stairs, =
chewing
  me a new one in furiously speedy French for interupting her lunch. I
  stammered out my apologies in my broken French (you'd think after =
eight
  years of the language in grade school, high school and college I could
  manage at least one coherent sentence). After squinting and furrowing =
her
  brow at me, she led us upstairs into a truly strange set of rooms, =
flanked
  with disarmingly lifelike taxidermy and medical charts. Fetal pigs in =
jars,
  exotic jungle bugs under glass, wild boar heads protruding from the =
walls,
  it was like room out of The Adams Family house. Turns out they did =
indeed
  have the poster (a rather grotesque image which Sam's wife will =
invariably
  resent me for life for once he frames it and mounts it on their wall). =
I
  tried to convince Peg to search around for something for our house, =
but she
  politely demured (disembowled farm animals aren't really her =
aesthetic).
  Mission accomplished. In any event, next time you're in Paris, search =
this
  freaky place out.

  Anyway, that's all for now, but we had a truly tremendous time.

  Cheers,
  Alex in NYC







  ----------
  >From: "Alex Smith" <vassifer@earthlink.net>
  >To: gathering@misera.net
  >Subject: [kj] "Last Pogo in Paris"
  >Date: Fri, Oct 10, 2003, 11:40 AM
  >

  >
  >Gatheruzz....your assistance, s'il vous plait...
  >
  >    As I may have mentioned, the wife and I are taking a last minute =
holiday
  >before the spikey mallet of impending parenthood biffs us in the =
hooter.
  >Peg's already in Germany on business right now (for the annual =
Frankfurt
  >bookfair), and I'm flying over on Saturday to rendez-vous with her. =
From
  >there, we're taking a train to Paris for a few days (back on the 18th =
with a
  >few days to rest up before KILLING JOKE DISEMBOWEL NEW =
YO....er.....Killing
  >Joke squeeze in as much music as they can into their paltry one-hour =
set at
  >Webster Hall) being that once our baby arrives in April, we probably =
won't
  >be going anywhere ever again. Honestly speaking, I haven't been in =
Paris
  >(the "City of Light", if I'm not mistaken) since the balmy days of
  >1987....and most of that period was spent drunk anyway (although I do
  >remember finding probably the only Punk Rock record store in Paris at =
the
  >time called L'EVASION. Wonder if it's still there!) In any event, I'm =
going
  >to be there for about one full week, and would *HAPPILY* welcome any
  >suggestions of places/things to go see/do/experience/etc. I'm not =
talking
  >about the obvious touristy shit like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and =
stupid
  >Jim Morrison's grave, I mean cooler, a bit more esoteric stuff. Most =
of you
  >know my sensibilities, so let them be your guide. Nothing outside of =
Paris
  >either, as being that Peggers is preggers, we want to keep this =
journey
  >relatively low-maintenance.
  >
  >Merci beaucoup in advance, mes amis!
  >
  >
  >Alex dans NYC
  >_______________________________________________
  >Gathering mailing list
  >Gathering@misera.net
  >http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering
  _______________________________________________
  Gathering mailing list
  Gathering@misera.net
  http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering
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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#800080 size=3D2>good to see you're =
safely back.=20
better to see those typing fingers getting a good work out ahead of =
thursday=20
when an equally detailed account of all things wednesday is expected=20
:-)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial color=3D#800080 size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>graham</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
BORDER-LEFT: #800080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A title=3Dvassifer@earthlink.net =
href=3D"mailto:vassifer@earthlink.net">Alex=20
  Smith</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=3Dgathering@misera.net=20
  href=3D"mailto:gathering@misera.net">gathering@misera.net</A> ; <A=20
  title=3Dgathering@misera.net=20
  href=3D"mailto:gathering@misera.net">gathering@misera.net</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 19, 2003 =
5:59=20
  PM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [kj] "Last Pogo in =

  Paris"</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV><BR><BR>Bonjour y'all....<BR><BR>Back from beautiful =
Paris, and=20
  a hearty thanks to everyone's advice of<BR>where/what to visit. Peg =
and I had=20
  a marverlous time and were truly sad to<BR>leave. Some=20
  highlights....<BR><BR><BR>Highlights....<BR><BR>- Instead of a hotel, =
we=20
  rented an apartment on Isle St.Louis from a little<BR>operation called =
Guest=20
  Service Apartments. It was completely wonderful, and<BR>probably a =
closer=20
  approximation to what it's like to actually live in Paris<BR>than =
staying in a=20
  hotel. Visit them here: <A=20
  =
href=3D"http://www.guestapartment.fr/">http://www.guestapartment.fr/</A><=
BR><BR>-=20
  One of the nicest views of Paris is from the roof of the Arab=20
  Institute<BR>(itself well worth visiting).<BR><BR>- With one tiny =
exception=20
  (courtesy of a maitre'd at newly-opened<BR>Franco-Asian hepcat lounge, =
Kong),=20
  everyone in Paris was unfailingly nice to<BR>us.<BR><BR>- Apart from =
maybe=20
  Japan, France displays the most refreshing appreciation<BR>for the=20
  much-maligned art medium of comic books. The sheer number of =
well<BR>turned=20
  out and immaculately presented comic shops was truly heartening =
(for<BR>a=20
  recovering comix geek like myself). Bought a lot of needless Tintin=20
  &amp;<BR>Asterix crap.<BR><BR>- Want to really hate your fellow =
countryman=20
  (more than you already may?)<BR>Travel abroad! Americans in Paris =
stick out=20
  like viscous clumps of tepid<BR>dung in the Foie Gras, and behave =
accordingly.=20
  No wonder they hate us. Also,<BR>the second they find out you're a =
Yank, the=20
  fist words out of their mouth<BR>are "Ahhh, George Bush!" Yeah, thanks =
alot.=20
  You then spend few minutes<BR>apologizing for him. <BR><BR>- Courtesy =
of some=20
  of the folks on the ILM boards, I found a great record<BR>shop in the =
Bastile=20
  area called, inexplicably, BIMBO TOWER. It's quite hard<BR>to find =
(down at=20
  the ass end of a easily missed back alley), but it's well<BR>worth =
seeking=20
  out. It's teeny tiny, but they pack the place with all sorts<BR>of =
ephemera=20
  (not just music related). It's a bit of a geek's paradise, as<BR>its =
brewing=20
  with all sorts of odd material (Japaense toys, odd =
fanzines,<BR>t-shirts,=20
  totschke, etc.) Didn't find anything too mind blowing =
(wasn't<BR>looking for=20
  anything specific actually), but picked up a Rough Trade<BR>Post-Punk=20
  compilation just to show my support.<BR><BR>- While sipping a beer =
(preggy=20
  Peggy had an Orangina) at Les Deux Magot on<BR>the Left Bank (where =
Hemingway=20
  used to hang out in between visiting Gertrude<BR>Stein and Alice B. =
Toklas at=20
  Shakespeare &amp; Co.), we spotted John "Duran<BR>Duran" Taylor (well, =
he=20
  actually passed our table on his way to the men's<BR>room). At Peg's =
wide-eyed=20
  urging (herself a recovering zealous Durannie) I<BR>later interupted =
his salad=20
  consumption (much to the chagrin of the pissy<BR>woman with two-toned =
hair he=20
  was sitting with) and got him to sign and<BR>autograph (on the back of =
our=20
  receipt). To his credit, he happily obliged<BR>and was quite a =
hecka-swell=20
  fella about it.<BR><BR>- On our first night (my birthday), Peggy's =
parents (in=20
  town on their way<BR>back to Houston from Tunisia, long story) took us =
out to=20
  the legendary Lido<BR>for dinner. A highly touristy and somewhat =
embarassing=20
  joint on the Champs<BR>Elysees, the Lido is famous for being the first =
place=20
  to zealously display<BR>female breasts. Huzzah! Along with a very nice =
dinner,=20
  you are treated to a<BR>glitzy Vegas-styled show featuring countless =
numbers=20
  of topless French women<BR>and various acts of ridiculously =
over-the-top=20
  shobiz shenanigans. Honestly<BR>speaking, after a while, one is numbed =
by the=20
  sight of naked French nipples,<BR>but it was completely hokey and fun =
all the=20
  same.<BR><BR>- On behalf of a friend of mine here in NYC, I dragged =
poor Peg=20
  off one day<BR>in search of a mysterious place on the Left Bank (in =
the Latin=20
  Quarter)<BR>called Deyrolle. Apparently, my friend Sam's brother had =
purchased=20
  a strange<BR>poster there called "Squelette de Lapin" (Skeleton of the =
Rabitt)=20
  and he<BR>covetted it considerably. Happily obliging, Peg and I =
pinpointed Rue=20
  de Bac<BR>(the street is was supposedly situated) on the map and set =
off for=20
  it. When<BR>we reached the storefront, we found an empty, dusty, bare=20
  room....though<BR>with a sign saying "Le Boutique Deyrolle ouvert". =
After a=20
  few awkward<BR>moments, a rather disagreeable woman descended a flight =
of=20
  stairs, chewing<BR>me a new one in furiously speedy French for =
interupting her=20
  lunch. I<BR>stammered out my apologies in my broken French (you'd =
think after=20
  eight<BR>years of the language in grade school, high school and =
college I=20
  could<BR>manage at least one coherent sentence). After squinting and =
furrowing=20
  her<BR>brow at me, she led us upstairs into a truly strange set of =
rooms,=20
  flanked<BR>with disarmingly lifelike taxidermy and medical charts. =
Fetal pigs=20
  in jars,<BR>exotic jungle bugs under glass, wild boar heads protruding =
from=20
  the walls,<BR>it was like room out of The Adams Family house. Turns =
out they=20
  did indeed<BR>have the poster (a rather grotesque image which Sam's =
wife will=20
  invariably<BR>resent me for life for once he frames it and mounts it =
on their=20
  wall). I<BR>tried to convince Peg to search around for something for =
our=20
  house, but she<BR>politely demured (disembowled farm animals aren't =
really her=20
  aesthetic).<BR>Mission accomplished. In any event, next time you're in =
Paris,=20
  search this<BR>freaky place out.<BR><BR>Anyway, that's all for now, =
but we had=20
  a truly tremendous time.<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR>Alex in=20
  NYC<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>----------<BR>&gt;From: "Alex =
Smith" &lt;<A=20
  =
href=3D"mailto:vassifer@earthlink.net">vassifer@earthlink.net</A>&gt;<BR>=
&gt;To:=20
  <A =
href=3D"mailto:gathering@misera.net">gathering@misera.net</A><BR>&gt;Subj=
ect:=20
  [kj] "Last Pogo in Paris"<BR>&gt;Date: Fri, Oct 10, 2003, 11:40=20
  AM<BR>&gt;<BR><BR>&gt;<BR>&gt;Gatheruzz....your assistance, s'il vous=20
  plait...<BR>&gt;<BR>&gt;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As I may have mentioned, =
the wife=20
  and I are taking a last minute holiday<BR>&gt;before the spikey mallet =
of=20
  impending parenthood biffs us in the hooter.<BR>&gt;Peg's already in =
Germany=20
  on business right now (for the annual Frankfurt<BR>&gt;bookfair), and =
I'm=20
  flying over on Saturday to rendez-vous with her. From<BR>&gt;there, =
we're=20
  taking a train to Paris for a few days (back on the 18th with =
a<BR>&gt;few=20
  days to rest up before KILLING JOKE DISEMBOWEL NEW=20
  YO....er.....Killing<BR>&gt;Joke squeeze in as much music as they can =
into=20
  their paltry one-hour set at<BR>&gt;Webster Hall) being that once our =
baby=20
  arrives in April, we probably won't<BR>&gt;be going anywhere ever =
again.=20
  Honestly speaking, I haven't been in Paris<BR>&gt;(the "City of =
Light", if I'm=20
  not mistaken) since the balmy days of<BR>&gt;1987....and most of that =
period=20
  was spent drunk anyway (although I do<BR>&gt;remember finding probably =
the=20
  only Punk Rock record store in Paris at the<BR>&gt;time called =
L'EVASION.=20
  Wonder if it's still there!) In any event, I'm going<BR>&gt;to be =
there for=20
  about one full week, and would *HAPPILY* welcome =
any<BR>&gt;suggestions of=20
  places/things to go see/do/experience/etc. I'm not =
talking<BR>&gt;about the=20
  obvious touristy shit like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and =
stupid<BR>&gt;Jim=20
  Morrison's grave, I mean cooler, a bit more esoteric stuff. Most of=20
  you<BR>&gt;know my sensibilities, so let them be your guide. Nothing =
outside=20
  of Paris<BR>&gt;either, as being that Peggers is preggers, we want to =
keep=20
  this journey<BR>&gt;relatively low-maintenance.<BR>&gt;<BR>&gt;Merci =
beaucoup=20
  in advance, mes amis!<BR>&gt;<BR>&gt;<BR>&gt;Alex dans=20
  =
NYC<BR>&gt;_______________________________________________<BR>&gt;Gatheri=
ng=20
  mailing=20
  =
list<BR>&gt;Gathering@misera.net<BR>&gt;http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/=
listinfo/gathering<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>=
Gathering=20
  mailing list<BR><A=20
  href=3D"mailto:Gathering@misera.net">Gathering@misera.net</A><BR><A=20
  =
href=3D"http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering">http://four.=
pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering</A></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>

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