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Friday, October 31, 2008
Yesterday on the train from Strasbourg to Paris we met 3 OUTSTANDING university students from Germany. They were competing in Red Bull's "Can you make it (to Paris)" competition. If you go here, you can read about the competition. It ends today here in Paris...
I was really amazed that these three boarded the train for Paris for FREE all the way from Munich for the only 20 Red Bulls in exchange for their places on the train! I was happy we got to meet them so that I could learn about this competition! It sounded like of fun... Oh, to be young again and do things like that.
Anyhow, please check out their site (it's all in English) and vote for them today- GER025 is there team... You sign up at the Red Bull site HERE, it only takes a few seconds to sign up and then you go to their team and vote for them! The contest is over today in France at 4 pm so please take a few moments to vote!!!! Merci
Their team site is HERE, you can check it out.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The crowds at Versailles have moved on and showed up at the Salon du Chocolat!
A real chocolate map to help orient you at the fair...
We begin our tour with Beautiful cacao beans bien sur.
You want more chocolate?
Paris Salon du Chocolat
Comme des sardines
Beautiful cacao beans
Salon du Chocolat
Salon du Chocolat
crazy for chocolate
in the U.S.!
Truly wonderful objets...
Reflections in a car window...I'm really noticing architectural details this trip...
I've taken a gazillon photos of these decorative door mantles or cartouches, here in the 8th arrondissement enroute to the Metro to Versailles. I want to include them somehow in my drawings...
I didn't get to Versailles until 3 PM (when the crowds are supposed to be considerable less..hmmm) I LOVE this map at the entry.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
I have now completed the original Dead trilogy with Day of the Dead. My opinion is really mixed on this film because there are some things I really enjoyed about it and some things that kind of disappointed me with it.
Day of the Dead does take place well into the zombie epidemic and there are very few living persons still out and about; basically, people are in shelters or the dead walking the earth. Sarah and a team of scientists are in a shelter with a military team; along with seeking out survivors the scientists are doing research on the epidemic. However, while Sarah wants to find a cure Dr. Logan (a.k.a. – Frankenstein) wants to find a way to control them, and the soldiers merely want to flee. As such the soldiers and the scientists cannot get along and the already tense atmosphere in the shelter begins to rip itself apart until of course the zombies become an even bigger threat once again.
I think where my main issue with the film comes in is that the mere concept of Day of the Dead lends itself to so much possibilities with subtext about science vs. instinct, government vs. citizens, control and power, etc. and yet in Day of the Dead very little is done to explore this merely because it is the surface of the film – you already have a very obvious two groups of people each struggling for power over the situation and beyond the actual trappings of the story there is no way to delve deeper in that than what is shown. The soldiers are obviously bad and the scientists and citizens are obviously good. All the cards are on the table for you and you don’t even have to look at your hand to know what is in it.
It simply makes me sad because of the four Dead films I’ve seen three have very rich, era-transcending subtext and yet Day of the Dead lacks that same finesse. I’ve been told the subtext is about the Regan era military/government but that again strikes me as upsetting because that would mean the subtext isn’t capable of being understood by an audience in any era – at least not like racism, materialism and classism can be.
What I did love was the character of Sarah. George Romero had used a strong female central to the story in Dawn of the Dead but Sarah is pulled straight out of 80’s feminism right down to her tough as nails attitude that remains unafraid of the men in the film. The only time she backs down from a stand is when one of the characters threatens to shoot her, and even then she waits until it becomes obvious that this will actually happen and not be an empty threat.
I also loved that you had a scientist that has crossed the line from research to a twisted fascination with the zombies. His experiments are macabre and inhuman yet no one feels the need to stop him because they are still bewildered by the situation.
I am torn because on one level things like Sarah make Day of the Dead a candidate for my favorite Dead film, but the lack of subtext disappoint me so much that I appreciate Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead more. Possibly my opinion of this film is colored because I have already seen Land of the Dead and this film seems like a stepping stone to get into the story in Land of the Dead where society has begun to be reestablished. I adore the subtext in Land of the Dead, characters, plot and was gloriously entertained by that film. However, I don’t think Day of the Dead should be missed.
Director & Writer: George A. Romero
Sarah: Lori Cardille
John: Terry Alexander
Capt. Rhodes: Joseph Pilato
William: Jarlath Conroy
Miguel Salazar: Anthony Dileo Jr.
Logan: Richard Liberty
Sarah: Maybe if we tried working together we could ease some of the tensions. We're all pulling in different directions.
John: That's the trouble with the world, Sarah darlin'. People got different ideas concernin' what they want out of life.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Hi Everyone....
I'll be gone for two days to Strasbourg... not taking the computer with me... See you when I get back!!
Ciao, Leesa : )
No I did not take a taxi - I took the RER into Paris (8.64 euros) and got the best sleep on the train for about 35 minutes to Chatelet stop.
I changed to Line 1 and got out a stop early at St. PAUL to explore a bit...
I explored directly accross the street into this patisserie...
YIKES!
More yikes...