I've had a cropped version of this photo at the top of this blog for a while:
Ever wonder what it is?
Here's another view of the same thing:
M_____ told me the other day: "It doesn't give people a very clear idea of what the blog is about."
"Well, I think it actually does relate to the blog."
"Fabrics?"
Nope, it's not fabrics.
It's this!
Look at the enlarged version if you really want to get a sense of the scale. (Find the person!)
And here's some perspective on it.
It's in La Défense, the astounding financial district on the western outskirts of Paris.
An apt conversation by some English-speaking men (probably American), overheard from a nearby cafe table:
You know, if this were anywhere else in the world, this would be the center of the city. But here, it's just a relatively obscure suburb. This is what makes Paris so amazing.
Blogging under a Parisian banner -- that just shows you what an un-American, French-like, liberal elite I am.
1 comments:
It wouldn't be hard to paint the fact that the financial district is on the outskirts as a negative as well.
Given that France has a long tradition of viewing capital accumalation as an undignified enterprise, merchants and financeers as a necessary but suspect evil. One could argue the separateness of the financial district from the heart of the city might reflect their reflexive disdain for anything commercial.
But then, where in the United States is any 'financial district' really in a place that you'd describe as the center of its city?
Is Wall Street really the center of NYC. Downtown LA certainly isn't the center of the suburban sprawl of the LA Basin. Maybe Chicago fits as a place where the financial district could also be described as the center of the city, but I think it's the exception rather than the rule.
Post a Comment