5 euros for a photo

for all the pictures i've taken around paris so far, that was a new response. but the guy at the poissonnerie was adamant that i give him 5 euros for the photo i took of his fish. je ne comprends pas. so i'll just share some papier et fruits instead from the area around parson's voltaire campus.

pour tout dire

i got this cute little pink book at galerie anatome last week called "précis de conjugaisons ordinaires." yes, it's about putting the fun back in grammar. (if it was ever there to begin with?) yes, i'm a dork. but it's also insanely well designed. and has since sent me into a french typography tizzy. starting with the guy behind it: david poullard. he seems to keep a bit of a low profile (as i'm finding with most things using french google) but from what i gather he is sort of a french lawrence weiner, with a history of RATP gigs and a genuine love of words. from there i found this massive back story about the metro type (trés interessante, n'est pas?) and this charming explanation of his work. (what he calls "le cul entre trois chaises")

c’est ainsi que je pratique, bon gré mal gré, mon métier. trois territoires qui se chevauchent, se frottent, s’opposent parfois, se nourrissent souvent: la commande, le «hors-commande», l’enseignement. trois tiers d’un tout avec lequel je jongle, m’essouffle ou jubile, c’est selon. et au milieu de ce tout, comme point commun, le mot, les mots, les mots proches, et les lettres qui leurs donnent formes. m’y attacher.

la france

i finally found a used book store. .80 euros. can't beat it. i am in love with these maps.

sunday morning market

boulevard de grenelle

tomatoes?

one of my new teachers moderated a discussion today at gallerie anatome with dutch graphic design studio thonik. thank god the designer answered all of the questions in english. check out their stuff. simple in a way that opens up systematically to multiple applications. (sounds good to me.) most of their work is for a cultural elite (to them graphic design is a visual culture and they want to work with clients that appreciate that. ie. museums, institutions, etc.) but i like how they addressed the challenge of translating that artistry to reach a bigger audience. (see their widespread campaign for the dutch socialist party.) it's something i've been thinking about lately. (advertising vs. graphic design. not socialism. my new roomie is in the ad program at ccs... we've had a good time fighting about it so far.)

montmartre

i got a feeling

we got caught up in the excitement of this protest "pour la vie" by strasbourg saint-denis that a group of us stumbled upon a few days ago. mostly because they had speakers blasting the black eyed peas. the french sure know how to put on a good rally...

i like this

so many good books at the pompidou gift shop today. i kind of got in trouble for taking pictures of them, but it was too tempting. (or at least i think i got in trouble. maybe it was just the coffee that concerned them. i could only translate the tone of voice.) it took me awhile to find the section (i realized design is really graphisme.) but once got there, i was in heaven. i also want to get this book, "designing design." next time...

play money

or so it seems. but don't panic mom and dad...

jet lag is for losers

and i tried very hard to not look like a tourist taking these pictures. here's hoping i get better at that. more soon. (as soon as i find "wee-fee" somewhere other than mcdonalds and my school.)

here i go

"it takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure to embrace the new. but there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. there is more security in the adventurous and exciting. for in movement there is life and in change there is power."

-alan cohen

yup. still a sucker for quotes.