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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2018 7:24:19 GMT
I'm sure you've all noticed how late it is in the holiday season, so I'm trying to post the necessary material before it is too late. So far I have only cobbled together a little video for Printemps. I'll try to do Galeries Lafayette in a day or two.
The theme of the Printemps windows is the search for Father Christmas, who has gone AWOL. The two children look for him everywhere, but I'm not sure if I approve of the little girl waterboarding the cow to extract information from it. In any case, all's well that ends well.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 10, 2018 10:54:41 GMT
Oh WOW Kerouac! Not a bit of "cobbling" but a triumph of superb photography in my mind. Thank you for telling us what the characters are doing because it all makes so much sense then. I thought Printemps have really pulled out all the stops this year.
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to capture the magic for us!
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ssander
member
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At the Belleville Arts Open Doors in Paris in 2007
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Post by ssander on Nov 10, 2018 13:08:15 GMT
Regretting [sigh!] that we cannot be there to see it in person...great job, K! Viewing this has become a new tradition in our home.
ss
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2018 14:15:38 GMT
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Post by mossie on Nov 10, 2018 15:58:26 GMT
A great video Kerouac, much hard work. But I must admit the concept behind these windows is beyond me, enough to give the kids nightmares.
In any case I can't wait to see them
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2018 16:59:35 GMT
Okay, it rained most of the day, so I ended up doing the Galeries Lafayette video, too. Frankly, I did not find the windows as good as Printemps this year. They have been doing "friendly weird aliens" for at least a couple of years, and I am not at all attached to them. Nevertheless, I am quite sure they do market research and polls about this kind of stuff and have found that lots of people (especially children) absolutely love these creatures, so that's fine. All of these aliens keep very busy in the "Dream Factory" but if would be better if more of them were actually making things. I kind of think that most of them are on a coffee break and that enjoy hanging out around products that are on sale inside the store. As for this year's Christmas tree, it was okay but not one of my favourites. A bit overladen and clunky in my opinion, but others have been even worse sometimes. I would not want to have a job as designer of something like that, because once you have passed in review everything that has been done before, there is basically nothing original left. |
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 10, 2018 17:11:02 GMT
I'm pretty sure that I will add a little supplement concerning the lights on the Champs Elysées, but they're not going on for another ten days or so... |
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 10, 2018 17:59:34 GMT
I was surprised to see this, as it seems early to me. I'm obviously still stuck in some past were Christmas didn't start until sometime at the end of November.
At any rate, more brilliant videos from you, although I admit I much prefer Printemps' display. Yeah, what is that child doing with the cow. I agree about Galeries Lafayette's aliens, and find their display somewhat jumbled. Maybe those creatures are something children recognize from a tv show? I do like the part of the display with the creatures waving from behind arched windows.
Looking forward to lots more of your dispatches from the Paris Christmas front.
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Post by Pat on Nov 11, 2018 2:15:08 GMT
Thank you, will be there in December.
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Post by nycgirl on Nov 11, 2018 3:18:24 GMT
I laughed out loud when I saw the girl dunking the cow. What was going through the designer's head?
I agree that the GL tree is not the best. They've been so spectacular in the past that it must be hard to continuously outdo the predecessor.
Thanks for the report. I'm always am interested to see what they'll do next.
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Post by SeamusSA on Nov 11, 2018 7:39:24 GMT
Ah, kerouac, once again you titillate my taste for Paris. Currently working on a scheme that will get us to Paris late December/early January so hope to see the windows in person. If not, I can return here as needed to salve my soul. Merci bien!
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Post by Hsturgeon on Nov 13, 2018 21:37:00 GMT
Thank you for posting these! We will be in Paris Nov 19-25 and both stores are on our “ to see” list! Even more so now!!
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Post by mich64 on Nov 13, 2018 22:51:44 GMT
It is snowing lightly outside, I have the fireplace on, I just finished watching a holiday movie on TV and now this wonderful annual thread. I really feel like the Christmas season has begun for me now. Happy Holidays to all who celebrate this season.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 13, 2018 23:15:55 GMT
Frankly, I am a big fan of the holiday season. I won't say that it can't start early enough for me, but I don't mind that it now starts in early November for certain things, because I remember how impatient I was as a child when it started just after American Thanksgiving. That meant that the season lasted just one month when it deserved to last longer.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 14, 2018 0:02:44 GMT
Kerouac, that makes sense because the primaeval idea behind it is the struggle against the waning of the days, utterly terrifying for early humans, with the prospects of cold and hunger.
I don't particularly like it, but I think that is because of how glitzy it has become. On the plus side, it has always been a time when one can get together with friends and relatives who are too busy at other times of year and have more time to socialise. And also just accept that I want to sleep a lot, curled up with champion sleeper Livia.
In France, at least urban France (I've spent the year's end holidays in Paris and in Lyon), "Joyeux Noël" has become utterly secular, voiced as much by secular Jewish and Muslim friends as by theoretically Christian ones. I like that as well as the more low-key decorations (except at les Grands magasins) and the fact that there are more variations on the menu.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 3, 2018 6:20:33 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 3, 2018 6:27:56 GMT
Oh, when you showed the Champs Elysées all battened down against the protesters, I forgot about the Christmas decorations. Were any of them trashed other places in the rioting? This looks so pretty and, even though the reason for the shape is sad, I quite like that goblet effect of the tree lights.
Avenue Montaigne looks as though it put lights on every single twig of the trees.
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Post by kerouac2 on Dec 3, 2018 6:36:15 GMT
I visited after the first riot of November 24th, and as far as I know the Champs Elysées was the only place where Christmas decorations were attacked, with the rioters trying to pull them off the trees. I saw that this had been done on about half a dozen trees, but everything was back in place yesterday. One thing that impressed me before the decorations were fixed was how resistant they are anyway, managing to still work even after being ripped down. When you think of how easy it was in the old days for a string of Christmas lights to go off at an inappropriate time after being just barely touched, I think it is pretty amazing. |
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Post by amboseli on Dec 3, 2018 9:14:05 GMT
Very nice displays and a WOW Christmas tree, but Christmas is still far away for me. I'm not at all in the mood for Christmas and it gets worse the older I get.
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Post by mickthecactus on Dec 3, 2018 11:20:16 GMT
Very nice displays and a WOW Christmas tree, but Christmas is still far away for me. I'm not at all in the mood for Christmas and it gets worse the older I get. Join the club... |
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Post by nycgirl on Dec 16, 2018 1:28:00 GMT
I also think the trees look quite nice, but the effects of climate change sure are sobering.
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