And 10 years before Dominique A, this album was an other french and indispensable revolution. Kas Product: Try Out. It was reissued recently by DSA (Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Acier).

Dominique A's first album "La Fossette" was a revolution in french pop in the early 90's. The last night I dreamed of him. He was singing a song with a nice bass line. I could remember the lyrics when I woke up: "laver la vaisselle avec de l'eau froide", washing dishes with cold water. This is how I see most of the french pop: "une morosité dynamique". I wanted to react against these tons of demi-teinte with something intensely tragic: this is why Lou Etendue.

Julie Delpy is our french Asia. She lives in LA and Paris. She has written and released an album through the french label Crépuscule (I also was involved with Crépuscule for a few years). She released in LA a DV movie called "Looking for Jimmy", which was seen by 120 persons in Paris (including me and madame toog). She's also working as a Hollywood actress. The most interesting info about Julie Delpy is her project for Muse productions as a film director: the bloody story of Comtess Bathory.

Dear hypothetical reader, you could express how you feel with this new Toog album called Lou Etendue. It would be nice to read from people I have never met. Many thanks if you make this happen.

And now we go back in the future. I was wearing suspenders as a kid and for sure I will have to wear suspenders again when I will become an old Toog. My brother Philippe is sitting next to me and I want to thank him very much here on this blog for having lent me some of his nicest ex girlfriends when I was to shy. My brother is a jeweller, he works in Strasburg and he is the best.

This photo has been made by Asia during the last christmas as we were visiting our ancient school Ecole Célestin Freinet (this is for the person who asked me for portraits of me made by Asia Argento).

From the same serie, here is a picture of a talented filmmaker making promo photos for the legendary Detroit rock band The Demolition Doll Rods.

I try to finish the CD for Ivan Améry's first novel Styx. It's the first time that I work on a command. Music and songs. I love it because I am free. There is one song called "Elle retire sa culotte" (she's taking of her panties).

Here is the only picture of the Emperor of the Small Water. I was very ducky to meet him in february 2003 (Venice, California).

L'Illustration, 25 octobre 1930:

"Quoi qu'il en soit, la défense de New York contre des agressions aériennes a été prudemment envisagée, et notre photographie montre comment, au moyen de nuages artificiels, on pourra rendre invisibles les gratte-ciel eux-mêmes."

To hide New York behind a smoke corridor to prevent airplanes (german airplanes especially) from attacking the skyscrapers...

Balthus was a kid-painter. Rilke was a poet. The original edition was printed in Zurich, 1920. I saw it at a friend's bookshop. Price: 3000 euros!

We went to the exhibition "Le troisième oeil", Maison Européenne de la Photographie, métro Saint Paul. I didn't know there was a trend, a market, big business with ghosts, fluids, médium pictures. The historical presentation says it's because of the civil war in America and the 1870's war. People were needing to feel close to their deads.

1 Une chose est sûre:
2 On va deux fois plus vite
3 Dans le Tiers Monde
4 En 4X4.

(Paris-Dakar)

Dans L'Afrique étranglée (1980), René Dumont écrivait : "Le rallye Paris-Dakar est indécent. Je compare cela à une bande de fêtards qui organisent un banquet, mais pas chez eux, et qui entrent chez un pauvre pour ripailler sans l'inviter à partager. (...) La vraie aventure, c'est la lutte contre la faim."

Thanks Digiki for sharing your magical OK FRED casquette with Florence. This casquette has a special power, it makes you laugh the time you wear it (and more).

Poetry once belonged to everyone. Then it was confiscated by the poets.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Dans la géographie de Dieu nous serons le Sud.


(from my lutherian side)

Here is my only picture from the year 1986 when I was searching for a real estate job in Paris. I found one at Groupe Immobilier Europe - 51, rue de Rome, thanks to the brown YSL tie.

René Schikelé
Jean Arp
Yvan Goll

3 artists from Alsace who were associated to early Dada. Why? The history of our moving borders made them schizophrenic enough to become dadaïsts. How to travel while staying home: my great grand father Joseph was born in France in 1866; he went german at the age of 4 in 1870, french again in 1918, german again in 1939, french again again in 1945. He could make all these trips in his seat.

In 1989 I visited Yemen with a blind man who asked me to be his guide. How is it possible to become the guide of a blind person in a country you've never been? Go straight to Bab Al Yaman in Sanaa, enter a bar and order a Coca Cola while chewing qat and everything will become possible.
In 1990 we went with Florence to Rumania by car (Citroen 2CV) since I loved the contemporary poets from this country. After 4 days driving when we arrived in Bucarest my contact told me that all the poets were on vacation on the sea shore in Constanza, the Ovide city. There was no poet left in the capital. Too bad...
Now I'm reading a book about "Expressionism, Surrealism, Dada and other ism" by Serge Fauchereau. Tristan Tzara is my hero. I want to read his "Mouchoir de nuages" and also the rumanian writer Urmuz, the dad of dada, dada's dad.

December 31

Our last dinner was a soba dinner in a restaurant called YEN near café de Flore. A very good place. I'm suspecting Yen of Apartheid since we were not allowed to eat on the first floor which was full of Japanese.

January 01

"My Architect" by Nathaniel Kahn. This documentary is smart, sensitive, moving, funny and spiritual. We were enthousiastic after watching it. It gives hope. Both my grandfathers were architects. Seeing Louis Kahn I can see my grandfather, elegant and smart. Old architects are always elegant and smart. I wonder how my grandfather could become an architect with only his left arm left being right handed. He lost his right arm as a kid during WWI playing with a bomb. I was born left handed.

January 02

Puces de Saint-Ouen. When we were 20 years old we loved the area of the Puces which is close to the Périphérique. Now, at the age of 120, we love Marché Paul Bert, Marché Vernaison, Serpette, Dauphine and the beauty of the old, instead of the beauty of the cheap and fake. We bought a 60's black chair and a 60's thin table for the computer since the previous fitting was a nightmare for the neck, a neckmare. We payed 200 euros for both which is less expensive than Habitat and more personal.

I wonder why when I watch a movie with Georges Clooney I'm always waiting for the time he will shave.

"Le Yakusa n'a pas même levé le petit doigt pour nous aider".
"Le sens de la propriété est la chose la mieux partagée au monde".

It's probably much too early to write anything. It's also terribly pretentious, indecent and far beyond my capacities. A check is probably better, even if it is a small one. But the Lou étendue syndrom is that.