In the late 1950s film jukeboxes were all the rage in France. These jukeboxes, called Scopitones, were supposedly made from surplus WWII airplane parts and played 16mm film reels. The Scopitones made it across the pond in 1964 and made their U.S. debut in the late lamented Ambassador Hotel.
This early French Scopitone from 1958 takes us to the Porte des Lilas Metro Station in 1958 and Serge Gainsbourg acts as the poinçonneur or ticket puncher.
It’s lots of fun and even shows the first and second class cars that are no longer in service. —Eric See
I like finding places or stores that have vintage things that are either great fun to experience or realtively easy on the pocket book. A New York Times blog pointed me to a fantastic looking little bicycle shop in Paris that is run by “two childhood friends who decided to open a totally awesome vintage bike shop.”
I’d love to check out their store in the 18th arrondissement next time I’m in Paris and maybe “test drive all or any of our [Velo Vintage’s] old school bikes.”
Enjoy their colorful website with all the “charm retro des années 70/80”: www.velo-vintage.com/
A recent rainy day forced us inside at the Alcove, where seating is quite limited. As a result, we were privileged to sit very close to a birthday celebration consisting of four women and one very gay boy in Ugg boots.
After breakfast, my friend Eric transcribed this approximation of their conversation, in the manner of an online chat.
Gayboi: “My friend saw Christina Aguilera pole dancing at a club. So. He took her picture. Then he sold it for $22,000.” Birthdaygurll: “I could never, like, do that. I mean follow people around just to take their, like, picture.” Gayboi: “Oh no. he was just AT the club. And then took her picture.” Birthdaygurll: “Oh well that’s different. OHMIGOD! Did I tell you my boyfriend loves my naked feet?” MatronLady:“Like he has a foot fetish?” Birthdaygurll: “Well I donknow. I mean he likes to see my feet like naked and is always, like, asking me to take of my shoes. He just loves them” MatronLady: “Oh” Birthdaygurll: “He is always wanting me to paint my nails. He asked me to, like, paint them white” Gayboi: “So you couldn’t tell you had toenails or something?” Birthdaygurll: “I guess. Like I asked him if he wanted me to paint them with white out and make them that color. He said I guess. And then I was like no way, ohmygod. Then I asked him if he wanted me to paint them pearly-shiny white. He was, like, YESSSS!” Gayboi: “oh my was he really like a puppy like that. Did his eyes really get that big” Birthdaygurll: “They did. I haven’t done it yet cuz I can’t figure out what color to paint my fingernails to match. I mean, like, when I go to yoga people are going to see what color they are and I don’t want them to look like totally different” Gayboi: “you should just do them French.” Birthdaygurll: “THAT WOULD LIKE LOOK TOTALLY CUTE!”
MatronLady: “I wanted to ask Jeanne if she was being paid by the word. All her jokes were so long and bad” Gayboi: “Oh, I know, right?…I still haven’t been paid on that. That jewelry making was so hard the other night. I spent like hours and I was using my teeth and feet and hands and mouth and then like she just took it from me and it was done. In like two seconds. I was so jealous. Like do you do that all the time” MatronLady: “My hands hurt the next day. I don’t usually make that much jewelry. It was a total workout. Those are cute shoes” Quietgirl: “They’re new. I didn’t want to wear them in the weather but they are just so cute” Gayboi: “Oh by the way these are edible too” Birthdaygurll: “My birthday flowers? Maybe I’ll get hungry later. I have to go to the bathroom. Then we should go.
Birthdaygurll: “Sorry that took so long.” Gayboi “Would you stop saying sorry already?”
