Anthem - Travel

Paris Paris

nik.mercer — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:38:44 -0700

I really do love taking the red eye flights over to Europe, especially on Air France. Completely comfortable and relaxed, you just think of all the fun things you'll be doing there and all the wonderful people you're soon to meet. That is, until you actually get to your destination and it is already 7 PM. Major bummer, considering you’re just waking up from a four-hour slumber on the plane and thrown into a rather cold fall setting in Paris. But it’s fashion week here and the whole town is going full force getting ready for the week ahead.

I got to catch up with Xavier Veilhan at his studio on Friday to talk about his recent visual art project Furtivo that features the current symbol of romanticism Sebastian Tellier. The short film shows Sebastian conceptualizing 3-D objects that later come to life and become a part of the real life story in the film. Shot on location in Turin at the Fiat factory and aboard the auto tycoon family’s private yacht, the film is every artist’s wet dream, at times prompting you to mentally check in with yourself to make sure you can keep up with the story.

Xavier and his staff were very welcoming and quick to point me in all the right directions for the rest of my stay in Paris. Stay tuned for the next issue of Anthem where we get some insight into his next big undertaking at the Chateau de Versailles in 2009. With a follow-up to Jeff Koons 2008 installation, it shows Xavier taking on something a lot bigger and quite unique.

While in Paris, you must visit Paris Paris, a Parisian club staple at which I met up with our Amsterdam-based editor, Femke who was rotating behind the decks for the night. Good tunes and great décor, which I would reference when I stepped into Andre & Lionel’s new recently opened club Le Regine. Once owned for more than thirty years by Regine herself, this club gave off like it played host to some serious disco action in its day. Madame Regine is still a celebrity in Paris, frequenting their equivalent of the Surreal Life reality shows here & there but according to the new owners her clubbing nights are long over.

Brainchild of Paris elite Andre & Lionel of Le Clique, the club now houses world class DJ talent that includes people like DJ Falcon, Pilooski, Midnight Juggernauts, and yours truly this past weekend. We also saw the European premier of Parra’s new band Le Le while Tekilatex and Leo Fitzpatrick controlled the decks with the beautiful Uffie on the mic.

I have had a very busy weekend thus far and it is about to get a little crazier with all the shows starting up this week, it should be nothing short of amazing. Until we meet again...

On Sarajevo Time

nik.mercer — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:10:16 -0700

I got into town early last week after having not enough sleep and already starting my travels in Monterrey, Mexico early in the morning the day before I left for Sarajevo, Bosnia. This is my second time in the region, so the process of getting here was a little more familiar to me, and I was more prepared for the intense jet-lag that ensued.

Since the 14th Sarajevo Film Festival started last week, the airport was full of interesting people and paparazzi looking for stars to arrive. I quickly met up with my partner in crime, Valida, and drove into Bascarsija (Old Town) for Cevapi and a couple Sarajevsko Pivo's (a favorite local beer that operated one of the only functioning factories during the war and one of the only sources of water in the city).

We did a little people watching there while catching up on the local gossip; it appears Orlando Bloom is in town, location scouting for a film about a British reporter’s diary during the war. Since this is big news for a small country, everyone around is talking about it. We did cross paths later on our way home but, being an Angelino, I had to maintain my integrity and not get star-struck. I can’t speak for my partner, but I quickly defused this situation and insisted we remain on our way.

Since the festival starts this week, everyone in the region flocks to Sarajevo to attend sold-out screenings of current regional films like The Seeker and Snijec, a Bosnian post-war film that took the opening ceremony duties and is stirring a lot of controversy here in town. There is also a Tribute to Todd Haynes screening series this week along with special screenings of Man on Wire and Shane Meadow’s new film Somers Town. Kevin Spacey will host the closing ceremony which will feature Bryan Singer’s 1995 classic, The Usual Suspects.

I will also be embracing the opportunity to attend "Coffee with Agnes B," the French designer's high-profile get-together (Charlie Kaufman and Kevin Spacey, for example, are thought to be coming as well). Everyone chats (or schmoozes?) while indulging in an unusual, extra-strong Turkish specialty coffee which is favored by locals in Bosnia.

It’s the best time of the year to be in Sarajevo, and I am looking for to the next ten days. Stay tuned, as I will be rolling out updates periodically with interviews, photos, reviews of films, extended after-parties, and my struggle to find a cold drink in this town.

Brian Finke's "Flight Attendants"

nik.mercer — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:55:56 -0700

PingMag: Shibuya vs. Marunouchi

nik.mercer — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:36:21 -0700

Over the year's of its existence, PingMag has repeatedly found interesting, unusual, and unexpected facets of Japanese culture to focus on. From unearthing the most common ad tricks in Tokyo to highlighting the aesthetic appeals of Subway construction signage in the capital, PingMag is never in want of bizarre and compelling stories.

Today the Web publication rolled out the latest in a series of "urban research" pieces focusing on the core differences between the many districts of Tokyo, this week's being titled, "Shibuya vs. Marunouchi". Shibuya is generally know to be the fashion center of the metropolis while Marunouchi is traditionally noted as one of the city's major business hubs, albeit one that's attempting to hip up its image. PingMag looks at the subtler and less immediately noticeable details that distinguish the city, though: Shibuya's train station has many narrow staircases covered with colorful posters while Marunouchi's is comprised of wide hallways and bland direction cards; Shibuya is plastered with ads whereas Marunouchi is littered with office buildings and complexes; Shibuya offers little in the way of public places to relax, but in Marunouchi, such benched spaces are plentiful and decorated with immaculate potted plants and ornate shrubbery.

One would never imagine the prefectures of Tokyo to be so intrinsically distinct―the place is governed in the same capitol!―but that seems to be the reality.