I was there in Paris four years ago, passed by the University of Paris, Sorbonne and bought a tshirt, then took some pictures of Jardin de Luxombourg. These were all in the Latin Quarter, I believe. I wish I knew more French words though.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > So where did I wind up on a Friday night in Paris? Sitting > at a really bad Mexican restaurant in the Latin Quarter, > eating one of the worst tostadas I've ever had, drinking > one of the worst margaritas I've ever had, but chasing it > down with a not-half-bad Reposado. > > So why here? Simple. It has a window table, where I can > sit and watch the people walking by. Even better, this > table has an electical outlet next to it. Power plugs > near the tables are scarcer in France than hen's teeth. > And, to top it off, the restaurant has a not-half-bad > mariachi band. The guys in the band know me, because I > used to sit and write here when I lived in Paris, and > whenever I come in they come to my table and sing me > songs from the soundtrack of the film "Desperado." > > It's one of my favorite films, the second by that enfant > térrible of the cinema from Austin, Texas, Rodriguez. > He's one of my favorite directors because of his ability > to juxtapose seemingly incompatible elements in his films. > Action and romance. Fear and side-splitting humor. His DVDs > reveal his True Inner Nature, because on each of them > he includes one of his Ten Minute Film School clips, with > the clear intent of inspiring young filmmakers around the > world to do what he did, and turn their cheap HD video- > cams and computers into full-fledged film careers. > > "Desperado" was the bigger-budget sequel to Rodriguez's > first film, "El Mariachi." That first film was made on > a budget of -- no shit -- 7000 dollars. He planned to > shoot it and move it direct to video in Mexico to raise > money for a "real" movie. Instead, someone entered it at > the Sundance Film Festival, and history was made. I think > it won the Audience Prize, and some studio offered him > the chance to make a sequel. He did, in "Desperado," > cementing his career as a bankable director, and taking > along with him on the road to stardom Antonio Banderas > and Salma Hayek, both of whom were relatively unknown in > the US until then. To this day, both of these now major > stars will go out of their way to do bit parts in > Rodriguez's films -- partly because they feel they owe > him a Big One, but also because people have FUN working > on his movies. > > He's lighthearted, and creative, and open to feedback > from and improvisation by his actors. He shoots in HD, > on video, so the cost of film stock is not a concern > for him. Between takes, as he steps out from behind the > camera to interact with his actors, he keeps the camera > rolling. And some of the best moments in his films have > been caught before he got back to the camera, with the > actors just bouncing off of one another, thinking they > were "off camera." > > This restaurant is not terrribly Rodriguez-like. If it > were, Bad Guys would have whipped out submachine guns > and knives and done in most of the crowd by now. The whole > restaurant would be awash with blood and gore. Only the > bartender and I would have survived. (You'll get this > in-joke only if you're also a fan of his movies.) But > it's still pretty neat being here tonight, recharging > my batteries (both computer and mental) before venturing > forth to new adventures. > > In "Desperado," the hero's guitar case is really full > of guns, with which he does his real "performing." Mine > contains a laptop, on which I write shit like this at > cafes and restaurants like this. Both of us are pretty > weird by society's standards, but damned if we don't > seem to be having more more FUN with life than many of > the people around us who are carrying Gucci and Chanel > bags and believing that others should be impressed by > them. >
