I’ve read about it in one of my favourite newspapers as I was on holiday in La Rochelle a few days ago, but as when we hear some bad news we don’t want to be true, I just kept believing a solution was to be found.

Unfortunately not. A short walk led me yesterday to the old (1) bookshop, just to find a paper taped on the front : definitively closed. And inside everything looks like it happened all of a sudden : books and notebooks were still there, as if waiting for some customer in spite nobody will ever enter again. Strangely enough, the traditional free magazine kept being offered. And their website for the time being (07/11/09) looks as usual.

As I don’t work in the neighbourhood any more, I haven’t been a regular visitor for the last months, but I keep having memories of books I couldn’t find elsewhere so easily, from the Philip Pullmans my daughter appreciates as much as I do, to my beloved Virginia’s books, and some recent Louis Sachar novels.

If you’re in search for English or American books in Paris, do not worry, you still have several and steady bookshops amongst which the oldest (Galigniani - 1520 -), the famous WHSmith, both rue de Rivoli, and the traditional Shakespeare & Co near Notre Dame. But it’s just that for me and I guess a few other “habitués”, loosing Brentano’s means the end of a privileged period. And some memories left behind.

PS : About the same subject, a friend of mine, in french. And as usual, a few pics. Sorry if for once they look a little bit sad.

(1) It truly is or used to be (oppened in 1895)

I realize I have been a very bad Grito, a lazy one: I forgot to tell you that this year was the 120th birthday of the oldest parisian Lady: the Eiffel Tower.

King Negrito: Happy Bday madam!

The Eiffel tower is Paris as much as Paris is the Eiffel tower. She personalises so much Paris that millions tourists come to say hello every year, and she is always welcoming - except when people working there are on strike, or, like now, when the elevators are being redone. And when you think they built it for the universal Exhibit and planned to destroy it after, what a stupid idea they had, happily they changed idea. I would not recommend the restaurant that is in, a bit pricey for the food even if the sight is great. But next week this will be the best place to see the fireworks for the national day on the 14th.

Maybe we’ll see you there ?
Kisses to all
KN
.

Strange things happen these days. Two days ago I was walking by the Trocadero and I saw this on the Seine :

King negrito: oh an Unknown Floating Object!

That was really weird.. It looked like an iceberg, and at some point I thought it was maybe a stellar ship full of little green men - as if such things could exist…So I went nearby, and no it was just .. a fake iceberg put there by an organisation to remind us that, as we speak, the global warming is hitting us… But on top of that, it reached my artistic mind, and that made me think, it would be nice to see to have some icebergs in the Seine in winter ! :-)

Kisses to all
KN

I’m 18 and going to Paris in a week with my mum. Are there any hidden gems or must visit places that aren’t well publicised? I am interested in art, music, shopping - the usual kind of stuff. The other thing is I’d be interested to know places mum and I will enjoy because I don’t want her to be bored.

I look forward to reading your suggestions!

Thank you!

Located inside the Buttes-Chaumont park, this bar / restaurant is Paris outside of Paris, an ideal place to go to watch the sun set over the city.

You can either sit on the grass with your friends on the hill right under the bar or join the festivities inside, as they play music of the likes of Benitez and Nebula, David Bowie, Jennifer Cardinni, Jacques Brel, and Siouxie & The Banshees.

Saturday nights are a must in the summer.

Open Wednesdays through Sundays from 12h - 00h. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Metro Botzaris or Buttes-Chaumont
Access after park closing hours (23h) at 74 rue Botzaris.

Rosa Bonheur
2, allée de la Cascade
Paris 75019

Boasting some 150,000 objects, the collections are privileged testaments to the French art of living, the savoir-faire of its craftsmen and industrialists, the research and creativity of its artists, the passion of its collectors, the generosity of our donors and the desire to pass these riches on to others. There is not a single technique, material or type of object that cannot be found in the Arts Décoratifs inventories: tiepin, escritoire, doll’s house, scenic wallpaper, stained glass, wood, enamel, plastic, shark’s skin and amaranth…the list is endless. Many criteria governed the selection of some 6,000 objects for permanent display, including their exemplarity, use, economy, craftsmanship, prowess and symbolism.

To enable the public to explore all these aspects, two different itineraries of the collections were devised:

The first is chronological: this is the only museum in France which can offer such a vast panorama of the decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the present day. The team of curators’ joint reflection resulted in indispensable shifts in emphasis in the light of scientific research and the new interests which have emerged in recent decades and led to an evolution in our way of seeing. Thus the 19th-century collections, particularly from 1850 to 1880, and the 20th-century collections have had their exhibit spaces doubled. Numerous recent acquisitions have renewed the choice of works displayed. At any rate, our objective has never been to show more but always to show better. We are no longer the museum of ‘series’ we were in the past but a museum in which the eye is constantly accompanied and stimulated.

This journey through time is structured by thematic presentations focussing on technical and stylistic concerns, and monographic displays punctuated by period rooms. The period rooms have always been one of the museum’s singularities. Even before it moved to the rue de Rivoli in 1905, they were a feature of the retrospective exhibitions organised by the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs at the Palais de l’Industrie in 1882. In this new museum, the ten period rooms, the fruit of gradual and often chance acquisitions, provide homogenous visions of a period in which elements are combined with great archaeological accuracy. They were created with the collaboration of the interior designer François Joseph Graf.

Musée des Arts décoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
France
Metro train stations: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre, Tuileries, Pyramides
Bus: 21, 27, 39, 48, 68, 72, 81, 95
Parkings: Carrousel du Louvre, rue des Pyramides

From 30 June 2009 until 27 September 2009.

Loud colours, strange patterns and concise narratives are what characterise the photographs of Martin Parr (born in Bristol in 1952). While some of his images may seem over the top, they are always astonishingly inventive and richly humorous. Over the last thirty years, Parr has been documenting Western society, and in particular his fellow citizens of the United Kingdom. However, he is also interested in phenomena linked to globalisation such as mass tourism, consumerism and so-called leisure. His work is seen as a satirical look at contemporary life which unmasks the grotesque element behind banality.

As a member of the legendary Magnum agency, Parr is one of the most active and dynamic photographers at work today. Since the 1980’s he has published some thirty books and shown his photographs in countless group and solo shows.

Produced in collaboration with the Haus der Kunst in Munich, the exhibition “Planète Parr” proposes a dialogue between the artist’s photographs (his latest series, “Luxury”) and his vast collection of objects. It reveals the keenness of Parr’s vision and his fascination with the everyday, and features a mixture of the personal and the collective, with works by recognised artists alongside popular art.

This is the first exhibition to feature not only his extraordinary collection of photography books and prints by British and international photographers, but also large numbers of objects and curiosities closely reflecting political and social events (Saddam Hussein watches, Osama Bin Laden toilet paper and Margaret Thatcher teapots), or the absurdity and vacuity of our consumer society (the objects sought out and collected by Parr are dominated by the biggest packet of potato crisps ever sold).

1, place de la Concorde
75008 Paris
métro Concorde

Information:- 01 47 03 12 50
Hours:-
Tuesday: 12:00 - 21:00
Wednesday - Friday: 12:00 - 19:00
Saturday and Sunday: 10:00 - 19:00
Closed Monday

Yes it’s in Corsica, but it’s still France !!!

Calvi On The Rocks is not only the best festival in the world, it’s much more than this: Sun above the sea, sea under the sun, Corsican food and lifestyle…

…and obviously, the best DJs and acts in the world:

FRIDAY, 3rdOF JULY

/// On The Beach///Tao vs le Baron///
Vincent Orsini
Mlle Stéphanie
Greg Boust &
Moru

///On The Rocks///
Anoraak (Live Set)
David E Sugar (Live Solo Set)
Man Like Me (Live Set)
Arnaud Rebotini (Live Set)

///Aftershow Club 24///
Joe Hot Chip (DJ Set)
Half Nelson- Full Nelson (DJ Set)
Drums of Death(Live Solo Set)
Kurt Dolto (Live Set)

SATURDAY, 4th OF JULY

///On The Beach///mein Disko vs Toilet Disko///
Eazy A (Lipstick)
Mein Disko
Toilet Disko

///On The Rocks///
We Have Band
Ebony Bones
Busy P

///Aftershow Chez Tao///
James Murphy (DJ Set)
Pat Mahoney (DJ Set)
Holy Ghost! (DJ Set)

SUNDAY, 5th OF JULY

///On The Beach///Happy Ending///
Misty Rabbit vs Holy Ghost!
James Murphy vs Busy P

///On The Rocks///
Magistrates (live)
Friendly Fires (live)
Klaxons (live)

///Aftershow Club 24///
Brodinski (DJ Set)
Yuksek(DJ Set)
Ellen Allien (DJ Set)

MONDAY, 6th OF JULY

///On The Beach///Marco en slip de bain///
Marco Dos Santos & guests

///On The Rocks///
Poni Hoax (live)
Phoenix (live)
Aeroplane (Dj Set)

///Aftershow Chez Tao///
Jennifer Cardini (Dj Set)
Superpitcher (Dj Set)

and many, many more, only at CALVI ON THE ROCKS!

This Wednesday @ Respect.

People Numbers Money Business

Dj Feadz Release party

Feat : DJ FEADZ (ED BANGER)
ORGASMIC (TTC, STUNTS DJs)
ROMAIN BNO

Bateau Concorde Atlantique
23 Quai Anatole France, Paris 7 (Sub: Assemblée nationale or Concorde

Open: 6pm
free before 10pm, then 10 euros

We are all very sad, but despite that we all have to dance to pay tribute to this genius who left us too soon. It is always too soon.

Paris moonwalks under the Eiffel tower or at Oberkampf. And Paris loves Michael.

Kisses to you, Michael, your fans still love you!

King Negrito

A friend of mine, who had one of those desperating last minute problems, gave me an unexpected gift in May: two low cost places for “Love is my sin” at le Théâtre des bouffes du Nord.

Peter Brook, Natasha Parry and Bruce Myers made an amazingly sensible performance of Shakespeare’s words, sometimes putting tears in our eyes - admitting I wasn’t the only one among the spectators to have a close-to-love heart -.

The reading is now all over, but I hope they’ll have a new session next year, may be somewhere else in Paris. It has been all in English and if you’re a native, it is nice to know that you can sometimes listen and see in this city performances in your mother tongue.

No pics, weren’t allowed but I’ve got a few from the nearby district.

It will last until 20th July, so hurry up it’s not too late: there’s a good and interesting exhibition of Calder’s worksin Beaubourg, exhibiting pieces from his first little metal animals and toys (and a whole charming circus) to his latest research to express things. You can even see some of his paintings and here and there, little video films which show how he worked and how some pieces of his art move.

This is a good place to visit with children as some of the work are of real fun and humourous, enough to even make them laugh as well (no, art isn’t always boring), and some of the background is explained (for instance, who Josephine Baker was).

Pics weren’t allowed, so I’ve none but just a short set with photos taken from Beaubourg, where there is a lovely view and surroundings.

Schiaparelli was an amazing designer, to whom many accredit the very concept of pret-a-porter (ready to wear fashion). She was famous for her little shop on Place Vendome and her rivalry with Madamoiselle Chanel. She dressed many important people of her day including Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo. She was very close friends of the Surrealists as well. Salvador Dali was the creator of her famous shoe hat and the lobster hat that she wore to the rather infamous Surrealists Ball.

There have been a lot of rumours that the current owner was going to reopen the house and bring the label back to life. But until then, this is a rare chance to see a real bit of fashion history and it’s free and open to the public.

Last year I managed to track down a copy of Schiaparelli’s autobiography, “A Shocking Life” and after reading it my love for the designer was complete.

Schiaparelli is survived by Marissa Berenson, her grand daughter.

Galerie Alaia
18 rue de le Verrerie 75004

Some friends of mine have got a quarterly magazine publishing short stories and pieces of poetry. Once in a while they offer us an evening’s reading. Texts, somehow lightly played (1), and musicians to give the words a smooth or peaceful backround.

Yesterday’s evening was one of these and a delightful one as usual. But what makes it different was the building where it took place: a splendid, typically parisian appartment, used as an office by some interesting enterprises with a very special view onto ‘La Place du Palais Royal’ and its charming passers-by or waiting man and a cute little cat as a attendant.

I know we’ll have to wait until September for the next “Borborygmes” rendez-vous (always in different places) but I’m already looking forward to it.

Some more pics by this way. My life and sentimental heart are running fast these days so they are all mixed, the good and the failed one, but it gives a hint to how nice it was.

(1) I just don’t know how to say “lecture théâtralisée” in english. It means we’re not in a real play, but what we show is more part of a show than a classic reading aloud session.
By the way “Borborygmes” is a funny name for a magazine which means ‘Rumblings’ (as in the gurgling body sound)

Could you help me to find some nice vegetarian restaurants to try please?

I look forward to seeing your suggestions!