ROUND THE WORLD #7. CHANCE ENCOUNTERS.
January 27, 2010

With most of our Paris work schedule finished, it was time to try and enjoy the sights of the city. Spent the morning circulating around the Louvre museum. It was almost impossible to get a clear shot of the Winged Victory of Samothrace without a dozen heads in the foreground. Patience is the key.

Had a chance encounter at lunch with a bunch of people I didn't expect to see. Originally, we were supposed to catch up for a quick bite with Everybody-Loves-Levi, who was in town in Paris filming an episode of his rather popular show after covering Bread & Butter Berlin, but when we walked into the restaurant (Chez Omar, Rue Bretagne) I was pleasantly surprised bumping into a familiar group of people, including some I hadn't seen in a few years. Dave (High Snobiety), Jeff Carvalho (Selectism/HS), MDot (Booji), Julien (Shoes-Up), Jason, Hu Yue, and a few others - I apologize if I forgot your names.

Had a great conversation over lunch with Levi about Maestro Knows, and we chatted about what drives him and motivates him to create the show - something I've always been rather curious about. From what I gathered, Levi has a really pure intent on sharing, quite simply, him and his friends' lives and works. Sure, he has to make a living, but at the same time, I don't get the impression that he doesn't personally believe in any of the product or talent that appears on his show, unlike some incredibly blatant product placement I've seen out there in others. In other words, it looks like he really does enjoy everything he talks about. I get the feeling that this show was originally produced primarily on his own whim, and for one reason or another ended up resonating amongst a large audience. Despite what people might think about the show, the content, or Levi, MK brought a refreshing air of positivity to the industry in a year of negativity, and not just around issues related to the GFC. Levi effectively managed to mobilise and energise an entire demographic of people who may have felt a little alienated with the elitism that sometimes plagues our industry. It may have irked a few people, but in the end, he's created a movement behind his show, which is not something others can hold claim to. Well done, and keep it up. Very refreshing to see someone chase their dream in the way you do.

After lunch, we fulfilled the quintessential Parisien tourist dream - Le Tour Eiffel. Since I was rather impatient I chose to climb up the tower via the stairs, rather than wait in the ridiculously long queue for the elevator. Good idea at the time. Not such a great idea half-way. Still, pretty breath taking when you finally arrive at the observation decks.

Continuing the theme of seeing people I hadn't seen in a couple of years, we wrapped up the day with dinner with Min and perhaps the most suave man in all of Singapore, Earn Chen from the Surrender collective. Crazy guy, came from a straight weekend of partying with Verbal, Busy P, Kiri, and Masatoshi to jumping on a plane from Singapore to Paris. And I thought I was pretty mental.

Overall, a nice day amongst good company. Thanks everybody.