Sunday, June 30, 2013

an afternoon stroll in the 10th

My afternoon stroll through the 10th arrondissement of Paris last Sunday to run Operation 50 First States was rather eventful.

Even though my goal was similar to that accomplished during my visit of the 9th ‒ ask 50 groups comprised of both men and women if they came from the capital of a given American state ‒, I had to deal with certain difficulties that were virtually absent the last time around.  First of all, there was the rain, which stopped by on three occasions to disrupt my flow.  In addition, I encountered some serious mental obstacles, especially when I doubted myself and consequently hesitated to approach several groups.  To get myself to persevere through these trying moments, I sometimes recalled a statement that I had heard last week from Miami Heat forward/center Chris Bosh.  He said the following during his press conference after the Heat lost Game 5 of the NBA Finals against San Antonio Spurs: "When you are overthinking too much, you get into your own way".  Lovely.

It took me more than three hours ‒ or what seemed like an eternity ‒ but I made it to Cheyenne, Wyoming, otherwise known as State Capital Number 50.

The following are the sites that I discovered along the way.


Gare du Nord
Paris' premier train station (gare) is also one of the busiest in Europe, if not the busiest.  It's where you can catch trains to England, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Northern France.

Gare du Nord

This is where the afternoon got started.  And the kick-off was certainly not smooth.  I needed to approach two groups before I left the site, and I ended up hesitating on the first candidate, then the next, then the next, all the while walking around the corner of the train station.  I even thought about tanking the operation as I held myself scoreless.  I eventually mustered enough courage to push through, and after the first approach, I was good to go.


Eglise Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
A church (église) built during 1824 to 1844 on the site of the ancient Saint-Lazare prison enclosure.

Eglise Saint-Vincent-de-Paul


Gare de l'Est
Another of Paris' six main train stations, located close to Gare du Nord, this one caters to several destinations east of Paris, including Reims, Strasbourg, Munich, Frankfurt, Luxembourg.

Gare de l'Est


Jardin Villemin
A garden (jardin) located on the site of a former military hospital of the same name.

Jardin Villemin


Upon entering the garden, I saw a group of 20 or so people having a picnic in a semi-enclosed corner.  Some were eating, and others were playing pétanque.  The garden being virtually empty of groups at that time of day, I decided to go say hello to the picnickers.  This was not without some anxiety.

As soon as I walked into their space, a guy from the group came to greet me as I was about to start my routine.  Before I could finish, he stopped me, lashing out a barrage of statements, sometimes in French, sometimes in English, that left me a little lost: "I don't speak English.  I speak Japanese, you?  Chinese?  I speak Chinese.  I am Arab.  You speak Arab?  I don't like English people."  He was being totally difficult, or maybe it was simply his nature, but I didn't budge.   Even though I came to expect that he would not understand my question, I still had to ask it though, and in English: "Are you from Annapolis, Maryland?"  Without a surprise, his response was incoherent.  But he created a wonderful opening for me to escape.  Facing me, he pulled out his hand inviting me for a handshake and, at the same moment, turned his torso away slightly, as if he was posing for someone taking a picture in front of us.  Then he shouted, "Photo!", and amusingly enough, having understood what was going on, I posed.  He smiled at me, after which he went to join his group.  Suddenly alone, I collected myself and left the area.

The least ‒ and the only thing ‒ that I could say that was my mission had been accomplished.


Canal Saint-Martin
On the border of Jardin Villemin lies this 4.5-kilometer long canal, whose course through the 10th arrondissement is open or visible (as opposed to underground, like its course through the neighboring 11th).  Its construction began in 1805 and lasted until 1825, due to difficulties of carrying out such an extensive work in an already very urban city.  The canal is home to 9 locks and can be crossed via 2 movable bridges, 2 fixed bridges, and 6 footbridges.

Canal Saint-Martin

Canal Saint-Martin

Canal Saint-Martin

Canal Saint-Martin

It was here that I first witnessed the mechanism of locks four summers ago.  I thought that it was the coolest thing to experience.

During my stroll, I noticed that there were a lot of English speakers around the canal.  It was also a Sunday afternoon.  In addition, there seemed to be many trendy places to eat and drink in the neighborhood, and the mood appeared to be cheerful, in spite of the visiting rain.  I suppose that it all attests to the charm of this popular area.  Some people undoubtedly find it romantic.

As far as Operation 50 First States is concerned, I encountered my most serious doubts along the canal.  While groups of people were frequent on my path, I just was not sure how to manage the situation.  I was asking myself a lot of questions: "Should I approach that family with kids?  The pregnant woman with a stroller who's accompanied by her husband?  This guy clearly kicking game to the girl walking with him?  That group of teenagers?  What if those people coming up are Americans?  Yes, I was right, they are Americans, good thing that I did not approach them.  But it would have been funny if I had, right?  This is just too weird.  Not to mention daft."  Yet all I needed to do was to ask two groups the same question that I had already asked more than a thousand times, and then I could leave the canal for good.  It took a decent while and some repeated steps, but I eventually pulled through.  Go me!


Hôpital Saint-Louis
A hospital that specializes in dermatology, as well as hematology, oncology, and plastic surgery.

Hôpital Saint-Louis

Quadrilatère Saint-Louis
Quadrilatère Saint-Louis

Quadrilatère Saint-Louis
Quadrilatère Saint-Louis

Exit to Place du Docteur Alfred Fournier
Exit to Place du Docteur Alfred Fournier

This hospital has one of the aesthetically pleasing grounds that I have ever seen in a Parisian hospital.  Then again, I have not been to many hospitals in Paris.

As I walked on a sidewalk across from the hospital, I noticed a young couple headed in my direction.  Since it was time to ask a guy the question, I went to the guy of the couple and asked: "Are you from Trenton, New Jersey?"  I found him smiling after he heard the question.  Still cheerful, he replied: "No. You thought I was from there?"  I then conceded, saying: "No. I was just bored."  He let out a bigger smile, and the girl who was with him was amused.  We went our different ways afterwards.  It was the highlight of the my day.


Place de la République
This square (place), which borders the 3rd, 10th, and 11th arrondissements, is one of the largest of Paris at more than 33,000m².  It is located at the site occupied in the 14th century by the Porte du Temple stronghold, at the Wall of Charles V, one of the seven former city walls surrounding Paris.  Formerly named Place du Château d'Eau, the square became, in 1883, home to a large monument symbolizing values dear to the Republic : liberty, equality, fraternity.  Each of these values is represented on the monument by a statue fixed to a central column, on which stands a "Statue de la République" in the form of Marianne, the national emblem of France.

Today, the square is popular meeting place in Paris as well as a top site for demonstrations and protests.

Place de la République

Place de la République

Place de la République

It was only during my stroll that I discovered the new look of Place de la République, which was inaugurated on June 16.  The square is now much more pedestrian than it was during my previous visit.  I do not remember having seen a grand square in Paris so accessible on foot before.  The atmosphere was especially playful, with residents and tourists everywhere.  Until the rain revisited and the square suddenly became vacant (see above).


Porte Saint-Martin
A monument commissioned by Louis XIV to commemorate his military victories, this 18-meter high triumphal arch built in limestone and marble was erected on the site of a former gate of the Wall of Charles V.

Porte Saint-Martin


Passage Brady
This passage, constructed in 1828, is one of two iron-and-glass covered arcades located in the arrondissement.  It links Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis to Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Martin, and is famous its numerous Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi restaurants.

Passage Brady

This may be where I had my first Indian meal in Paris, more than 10 years ago.

One thing that I quickly sensed upon entering this 216-meter long passageway is that the groups of both men and women that I crossed paths with would be rare.  And I didn't want to pace the passage back and forth waiting for the right candidates to show up; that would only attract the suspicion of restaurant attendants doing their best to entice visitors to try their food, and I didn't want that.  So I had no luxury to let a group pass me by; I had to give it a go without hesitation.  I carried out my duties without problems for the two couples that I passed.  Concerning the second one, I left the guy of the couple confused after asking the question ("Are you from Charleston, West Virginia?"), causing a nearby restaurant patron to head towards us, as if I was asking for directions.  As soon as I saw him coming, I asked the guy hurriedly: "Are you from there or not?"  Still looking confused, he nevertheless replied "No" and instantly we went our separate routes.  The experience was quite akin to a transaction: I got straight to the point, certainly without trying to lighten up the mood for the few seconds that it lasted.


Porte Saint-Denis
Like its neighbor only 200m south east on Boulevard Saint-Denis, Porte Saint-Denis was built in the 17th century in honor of the victories of Louis XIV and is situated on the old site of the wall of Charles V.  Both triumphal arches even bear the same bronze inscription: LUDOVICO MAGNO (To Louis the Great).  However, Porte Saint-Denis is taller (25 meters) and was designed by an architect different from the one who designed Porte Saint-Martin.

Porte Saint-Denis


Below are the "bonus sites" ‒ other interesting things that I saw ‒ that did not make it to the Top 10.

Eglise Saint-Laurent
Eglise Saint-Laurent


Building facade on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis
Building facade on Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis


Antoine & Lili own this block
Antoine & Lili own this block


Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin

Friday, June 21, 2013

changing the world


This is the message that I took away from Color Me Katie, the blog of professional fun maker and Improv Everywhere photographer Katie Soloker.

So yes, we should not fight to change the world itself, but to stop it, from changing us.  Have you ever heard anything so simple, so beautiful?

How can we stop the world from changing us?  I believe that we can do this by asserting our uniqueness.  This requires us to not only recognize our uniqueness ‒ be it a vision, an idea, a business, a method, a technology, a personality or whatever ‒ but to also cultivate it and celebrate it with the world.  This is where the fight is.  A fight against peer pressure perhaps, but more importantly, a fight for ourselves.

Ironically, this would be how we can change the world for the better.  History is replete with examples of people who, in the process of asserting their uniqueness, have changed the world for the better.  One of my favorite is Kanye West.

If changing the world seems too big of a challenge to deal with, you can assert your uniqueness instead.  Recognize it, cultivate it, and celebrate it with others.  Don’t be surprised if you see the world around you changing afterwards.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

advice and examples

When it comes to solving personal problems, like low self-esteem and others related to individual psychology, I like to believe that what people really want is not advice, but examples.

Advice is good and there’s plenty of it to be found out there, whether the source be a book or a friend.  Besides, some of us already know the advice we are seeking.  By itself though, advice has limited weight.  For example, someone who tends to experience loneliness may learn – if he does not already know – that he should try engaging more in social interactions to alleviate his problem.  But if this advice comes from a person who he does not perceive as being naturally sociable or determined to become naturally sociable, it becomes easy to neglect the advice.  It’s just not compelling enough.

Better than looking for advice, I think, is looking for examples.  It is easier to relate to the example set forth by someone, and, because of this, an example is generally more inspiring.  An example is like advice personified; a concrete idea of what we want to be that we can see, hear, and point to.  This kind of tangible evidence goes a long way in giving us hope that things are possible and, more importantly, in letting us know we are not alone with the problems we are facing.

Even better than looking for examples, I think, is being the example.  Looking for examples instead of advice is great, but to solve the personal problem, the one that got things started in the first place, the examples – once discovered and deemed valuable – have to be ultimately integrated with one’s own life.  This, to me, is a kind of problem solving that is not only authentic and creative by definition, but that also can serve as an example to others.

I have gotten some advice, I have found some examples, and I will probably keep doing more of both.  More than that though, I am going to serve as an example.  To myself, at least.  It’s just more enjoyable.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

– Mahatma Gandhi

Sunday, June 9, 2013

teenage dream

I just discovered Katy Perry.



Well, that's not exactly true.  I had heard of her when she became a major celebrity a few years ago, but since then I considered her only as trivia.

All that changed three weeks ago when a colleague of mine gave me a large collection of songs.  Among them, I found Katy Perry's Teenage Dream album and got to listening.  One catchy pop song followed another, and I found most of them quite good.  Of course, there was the anthemic "California Gurls" and the mesmerizing "E.T.".

But no track caught my attention like "Pearl" did.  The music and especially the lyrics struck a chord, as if I was being called upon to pay more attention.  So pay more attention I did.  Soon enough, I was looking up the song on Wikipedia and the lyrics on RapGenius.  Little did I know that I was falling in love at the same time.

It did not take me too long to figure out why, of all the songs on the album, "Pearl" was the one that touched me the most.  It paints the story of a girl, who possessed a force that was once incredible but that has since been tamed by a male character, who, out of fear, "keeps her in the dark".  So the girl has come to live as a prisoner in this new reality, one in which she believes that she is powerless.  And Katy arrives ‒ so to speak ‒, lamenting that the girl has become a shell [of herself], before reminding her that she is a "pearl" and letting her know that there is a way out.

Once I understood this, I was convinced that I was in love.  I collected more trivia ‒ Did you know that Teenage Dream is the first album since Michael Jackson's Bad to spawn five No. 1 singles? ‒ and listened to all 12 original songs on the album again, with more focus.  I found all of them brilliant, with the exception of "Not Like The Movies", which was just good.

My ears more finely attuned on a subsequent listen of the album, I stumbled upon "Firework".  Wikipedia and RapGenius confirmed what I was suspecting.  A song in the same vein as "Pearl".  Not only that, it was catchy enough to become the best-selling single off the album.  Naturally, it went to No. 1 on Billboard.

I checked the video out.  Excellent.  It reminded me of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful", which I also enjoyed for similar reasons.  But I'll take the more festive "Firework" any day.



I ask myself sometimes: "Why do I keep getting drawn to this kind of music?  Is this the quest that I have chosen in life?  To liberate myself from a reality in which I have come to live as a prisoner?"

Perhaps answering the call of "Pearl" will provide answers to these questions.  So I'm not going to be a shell.  I'll rather be a pearl.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

culture générale américaine

With the weather warming up in Paris, I took to the streets on Saturday last week to resuscitate one of my earliest operations: 50 First States.

"Culture générale" is one of those French terms that I instantly took a liking to when I discovered it.  It turns out that the French like it too.  The words translate roughly to "general knowledge" in English.  So someone having "une excellente culture générale" can be considered a person who is very cultivated.

Operation 50 First States has me wandering one of the 20 arrondissements (districts) of Paris and testing the culture générale of my fellow Parisians ‒ and the omnipresent tourists.  But I am not being too general here; I am talking about American general knowledge.  Specifically, I ask the passers-by so fortunate to cross my path if they come from the capital of one of the 50 American States.  In English.

Hence the name of the operation.

In the past two years, I covered Arrondissements 1 through 8, with different challenges almost each time out.  Saturday was therefore about the 9th arrondissement, with a new target of passers-by: groups of men and women, especially couples.  Through the 50 questions, I alternated between asking the man and the woman in the group.  Ladies first, of course.


While testing the culture générale of others, I made sure to develop mine by (re)discovering important landmarks in the arrondissement during my stroll.  Below are 10 of such landmarks that I passed through:

Palais Garnier (Opéra)


Olympia


Galeries Lafayette


Printemps


Grands Boulevards


Musée Grévin


Passage Jouffroy


Folies Bergère


Note: Place Blanche and Place Pigalle, landmarks 9 and 10, were visited but not photographed.  It is worth discovering them at night (as opposed to daytime), when their red lights are up.

In certain respects, I surpassed myself on this challenge compared to the previous ones.  For one thing, once I got out of the Opéra metro station, I just went off, approaching almost every couple or group that I crossed.  I must have gotten through 20 of them within 20 minutes.  When I got a break to reflect on what I was doing, I could not believe it; I had managed to step out of my usual self to become someone else.  What I had feared doing ‒ because of what people in the vicinity would think of me ‒ all of a sudden became seriously effortless.

As far as reactions, I got a good deal of rejections, as some people who were not interested in paying me any attention.  I wondered if they grouped me with the women who try to persuade tourists to sign some obscure form, especially since I had in my hand a clipboard with sheets of paper (one showing a map of the arrondissement and another listing the 50 states and capitals).  Several people admitted that they were French or that they were from Paris, which pretty much ended the interaction.  Some took the time to understand what I was asking and simply replied "No".  A few of the people figured that it was some kind of a joke, smiled, and continued on their way.  I even tried to help matters by smiling to hint at the ludicrousness of the situation.  It's fascinating how contagious smiles can be.

By far the most surprising reaction came from a lady (with some guy) that I approached just in front of Galeries Lafayette, in the midst of a bustling scene ‒ as always.  After saying "Hi", I popped the question ‒ "Are you from Saint-Paul?" ‒ and only completed it once she had crossed me.  She however seemed to stop in her tracks as if she was deciding whether to pay me attention or keep on her way.  I took advantage of this moment of hesitation to repeat my question and we ended up closing the space separating us, as if us investing in the moment was worth it.  The lady revealed, in perfect English, that she was from the Saint Paul area, in Minnesota. I was pleasantly surprised.  I mean, what a coincidence!  Confused, she asks the natural question: "What, why, are you doing this?"  And I go: "I am just bored".  It was then her turn to be surprised.  "No kidding!  That's interesting.", she says.  Within a few seconds after that, the interaction was over.  It was definitely a high moment for me.

Another remarkable encounter occurred at Place Pigalle, on the very last capital and state, Cheyenne, Wyoming.  I spotted about a dozen young student-looking people hanging out together at Place Pigalle.  A great way to finish the operation, right?  So I went over and found a guy standing at one end of the group.  I had to speak up and put myself in his line of vision for him to notice me as he was chatting loudly with two guys.  As expected, he replies that he's not from Cheyenne, but we had a brief, lively conversation, encouraged by the disappearance of two other guys.  When he asked me what I was up to, I just told him that I was trying to creative.  Then he tells me ‒ for some reason ‒ that he's half-Polish.  In the meantime, I noticed his lips were remarkably red and asked him if that was lipstick.  He replied yes, saying that one of the girls ‒ whom he pointed to ‒ put it on him.  "Oh, she kissed you?", I asked.  "No, she just put it on me.  You know, it's red, like we are in the red light district and everything, so it all fits in."

Riiiiiiight.

After that, my mission was accomplished.  I was relieved. Despite the quick start, it took me two hours to complete the operation.  But the timing was great ‒ the sun was out the whole time, and I avoided the rain that would come a half-hour later.

My feet weary at the end of it all, I still found my way on foot back to the metro at Opéra, my starting point.

I will leave you with a few "news photos" taken during my stroll.

Figurines of Psy in various Gangnam Style poses


Slogan on the sidewalk
("We want work, not gay marriage")


PepsiCo promoting a new beverage