UPS had delivered it the day before. I do not live in the bar, but above it. Abbey is my landlord, and he's a good dude, happy to collect my large packages. In any case, I was anxious to…
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The cute bartender and her unimpressive boyfriend opened Abbey's Pub at just after 1PM on Saturday afternoon. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a small black top. Who cares what he was wearing? I noticed them from where I stood, at my living room. Not that I was eager for them to open the bar or anything. It was just that my VPI 16.5 record-cleaning machine was waiting for me in there.
I knew that the VPI 16.5 measured around 15" x 9" x 14" and weighed something close to 30 lbs, but it still struck me as large and heavy. I sliced through the packing tape to find that the machine was carefully and securely set within its carton, held in place by heavy wedges of foam. Once unpacked, it was clear that the VPI was all business and built to last, as though it could withstand great amounts of strenuous work over much time and from place to place. It's a product made to satisfy its owner. With solid, black side panels and an acrylic top, it may be nothing much to look…
This carved detail from a house in Bourbon-Lancy reminded me of the marginals Sergio Aragonés drew for Mad.
This carved detail from a house in Bourbon-Lancy sort of snuck up on me. I walked past it, got about five steps down the street and did a classic double take.
This dashing zouave graced an antiques store in Bourbon-Lancy. What did it sell? Why, military antiquities, of course. I was tempted by a Hussar's sabre, but I was pretty sure I couldn't carry it on the airplane home with me.
Lyon, I was told, has an extensive network of underground tunnels, which helped its citizens hide Jews during the Occupation. As I walked by this wine shop, I snapped a photo of its stairs to underground Lyon.
The series of shots that follow has nothing to do with audio. I simply like these photos, so I present them hoping you will, too.
Lyon has some spectacular hills, which means it has some spectacular stairs.
Here's another example of how Guy.HF combines hand processes with modern technology. The finish room is state-of-the-art, combining heat with super-sophisticated polymer finish formulations. "Yet," Jean-Paul Guy told me, "there is always some orange peel. Machines can't detect it and they can't correct what they can't sense, so a human being carefully checks each piece and makes it perfect."