Ace of Spades HQ

November 26, 2012

The Noir Photos of Brassai
— Ace

I stumbled across this guy on a routine Internet drunken stumble (not really drunk but aimless and time-wasting). He was a Hungarian named Gyula HalÃ¡sz who came to Paris in the 30s to be a journalist. He wound up discovering his pictures of foggy, haunted nighttime Paris were more interesting than his articles and so tried his hand at that. (He also seems to have been a painter and sculptor but gave those up in favor of night photography.) He changed his name to "Brassai" because it had more letters in common with "Batman." Not really, but you'll see why I made that tiny joke.

I saw two interesting details about him. He liked taking long-depth pictures but didn't like that photography rendered distant objects out of focus, so he shot on foggy nights to disguise that. (Wouldn't that make it worse? I don't know, just telling you what I Saw On The Internet.) The other interesting thing was that night photography, in deep focus, requires long exposure times, but that's not the interesting part.

The interesting part is that he had a timing system worked out, depending on the type of shot, where he'd time the exposure by cigarette. A long exposure would get an American cigarette, while a short one would get a French Gauloise:

"Une gauloise pour une certaine lumiere, une boyard s'il faisait plus sombre" (a Boyard is thicker than a Gauloise, thus takes longer to burn) therefore "[t]he cigarette is not a cigarette but a clock."

That's pretty much all I know about him except for the fact that his photographs are pretty arresting.

This is my favorite, I think, just because of the vantage and deep focus.

Some police outside a police station; I Saw on The Internet that this was/is the oldest police station in Paris. I have no idea if it still exists.

A woman standing outside a cheese shop. Now, given the fact he took a lot of pictures of les filles des cooches (this is an old French expression I just made up to see if I could sneak it past anybody), and I don't see why this woman should be standing under a streetlight at night, I'm going to guess she's a prostitute, but I have no idea.

I like this guy because every picture he takes, it seems like something is about to happen.

A gargoyle on the cathedral of Notre Dame. This is actually a detail of a picture showing more skyline, which I'll post next.

Very neat.

I know there's a word for these pillars on which people affix handbills but it escapes me. Anyway, a very dramatic photo, even though nothing really is happening. It just seems like something's happening.

I like the rooftop shots.

I'll call this one "The Witnesses."

One of those steep stairs, like in Montmartre or somewhere. I call this one "Prelude to Murder."

I call this "Ransom Delivery."

I call that "Night of the Fugitives."

And finally, uh, "Last Stop at Blood Station:"

If you want more, google for "Brassai" and either "Paris Night" or "Paris Nuit." There's a coffee-table book containing most of the pictures I posted (but I don't think it has that first one, the "4 Etages" one), available on Amazon, of course, or most places.

The first link I liked above has a YouTube video of a bunch of his pictures; like I said, he photographed a lot of prostitutes at hotels des cooches, so expect to see some boobies and flapper-ass.

Old French Whore: Since someone mentioned it.

Posted by: Ace at 04:27 PM | Comments (197)
Post contains 603 words, total size 6 kb.

1 Neat photos

Posted by: Alex woke up at November 26, 2012 04:31 PM (aPAIU)

2 I doubt he took pictures of belly dances

Posted by: Alex woke up at November 26, 2012 04:33 PM (aPAIU)

3 Whatever you think of the French,Paris has some beautiful places.These could be used to illustrate Murders in the Rue Morgue or a Sherlock Holmes in Paris mystery(Doyle hints at Holme's work in foreign countries but wrote little about it).

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:33 PM (9XBK2)

4 And a monster popped out

Posted by: Alex is still sleepy at November 26, 2012 04:33 PM (aPAIU)

5 sssssssssssss booooooooom

Posted by: Creeper at November 26, 2012 04:34 PM (aPAIU)

6 My grandfather spent time in France during WWII. He said Paris smelled like piss. He also referred to the French as Frogs until he died.

Posted by: Jmel at November 26, 2012 04:35 PM (c+D8V)

7 Ace, you have many interests don't you. One month its about fapping the next its collections of night photos

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:35 PM (aPAIU)

8 Ace,ever see "Midnight Meat Train"?I thought it was actually pretty good,it's not a porn btw,it's a horror movie with Bradley Cooper based on a short story by Clive Barker.Worth checking out.

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:36 PM (9XBK2)

9 6: they didn't have a proper sewage and municpal water system till after the war

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:36 PM (aPAIU)

10 These are stunning, ace, thanks for sharing.

Posted by: elizabethe at November 26, 2012 04:37 PM (fdrxo)

11 Bet that Panther cheerleader does deep focus, too.

Posted by: The Mega Independent at November 26, 2012 04:37 PM (6JMZR)

12 BOOBIES

Posted by: Average moron at November 26, 2012 04:37 PM (aPAIU)

13 I think the cop photo is at rue de Huchette. "Bacteria alley." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rue_de_la_Huchette

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 04:37 PM (Lxw+T)

14 9 Didn't Paris have the earliest modern versions of both?

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:37 PM (9XBK2)

15 Weeping gargoyle?

Posted by: EC at November 26, 2012 04:38 PM (doBIb)

16 11: Close up Boobehs

Posted by: Average moron at November 26, 2012 04:38 PM (aPAIU)

17 >>>Ace,ever see "Midnight Meat Train"?I thought it was actually pretty good,it's not a porn btw,it's a horror movie with Bradley Cooper based on a short story by Clive Barker.Worth checking out. I actually DID see that, a couple of years ago, and was surprised it was actually a reasonable attempt at a decent movie. I had read the Cliver Barker story years before. I think they added a bunch of (shallow) depth and backstory for the Bradley Cooper character which didn't previously exist. The orignal story was just, well, about a midnight meat train.

Posted by: ace at November 26, 2012 04:38 PM (LCRYB)

18 Let it dodge.

Posted by: The Mega Independent at November 26, 2012 04:38 PM (6JMZR)

19 14. Yes but they got into each other, and they were 50 years behind chlorinating there water compared to america

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:39 PM (aPAIU)

20 could be the Rue de Hachette. The station says "Veme" or fifth arrondissement.

Posted by: ace at November 26, 2012 04:40 PM (LCRYB)

21 He kinda looks like Bilbo Baggins.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 04:40 PM (NIZHJ)

22 The gargoyle looks sad

Posted by: Average moron at November 26, 2012 04:40 PM (aPAIU)

23 And his brother Glassai did a lot of shallow focus stuff.

Posted by: The Mega Independent at November 26, 2012 04:40 PM (6JMZR)

24 17 These pictures reminded me of that movie and Cooper's character.I wouldn't be surprised if the Barker got the idea from this guys work.

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:40 PM (9XBK2)

25 Ripping good stuff.

Well done young man.

Posted by: Jones in CO at November 26, 2012 04:41 PM (8sCoq)

26 I've been afraid of gargoyles since that Jonny Quest episode where one was alive.

Posted by: USS Diversity at November 26, 2012 04:41 PM (9ghZ6)

27 This thread needs some sodium ethyl xanthate.

Posted by: Average moron at November 26, 2012 04:41 PM (aPAIU)

28 I like how there's no hobos to be seen anywhere.

Always the best food in Paris.

There's a connection, somewhere....

Posted by: uterus cannon at November 26, 2012 04:41 PM (RLTt1)

29 >>>ce, you have many interests don't you. One month its about fapping the next its collections of night photos I gotta do something with my recovered fap-time.

Posted by: ace at November 26, 2012 04:41 PM (LCRYB)

30 26 That was a damn good kids show,unlike the crap they have today(and it was before my time but I saw reruns).Get off my lawn!

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:42 PM (9XBK2)

31 Imma teach my kid french. 'cuz it'll be giving me colds all time anyway and I'll be saying it all correctly then.

Posted by: uterus cannon at November 26, 2012 04:44 PM (RLTt1)

32 Cheese shops are the late night hangout of choice for the Frogs.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 04:45 PM (QupBk)

33 Not all of todays shows are crap, though a lot of it is. My theory is that people remember the memorable stuff and discard the crap, thus, the further back you go the better it looks. Remember Super Friends?

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:45 PM (aPAIU)

34 I hear zither music when I look at these photos, I don't know why.

Strange?

Posted by: General Woundwort at November 26, 2012 04:46 PM (0fxcV)

35 The thing you put ad on?

It's called a big Penis.

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 04:46 PM (wR+pz)

36 The MÃ©tro station might be near where the modern Palais-Royal/MusÃ©e du Louvre station is now. You can tell from the signage directing an exit to the Palais-Royal. There is an awesome cigar store near there on rue Saint-HonorÃ© called Ã€ La Civette. http://www.alacivette.fr/

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 04:46 PM (Lxw+T)

37 34. The senses are interconnected. Some people taste words that they here.

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:47 PM (aPAIU)

38 Black and White photography?

Racist!

(see, I made a play on the words for color and skin as a kind of a joke about the post-modern sensitivities often displayed on the Internet)

Posted by: weft cut-loop [/i] [/b] at November 26, 2012 04:47 PM (ON54M)

39 >> hotels des cooches, I stayed there in Taiwan and I didn't even know they spoke French. All seriousness aside, nice photography.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at November 26, 2012 04:47 PM (pUqSw)

40 I liked Superfriends.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 04:47 PM (NIZHJ)

41 34: The disorder is called synesthesia

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:47 PM (aPAIU)

42 33 Yeah,don't get me wrong,some of that old stuff is crap too.The animation was horrible.Nostalgia makes things better in retrospect,I know.

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:47 PM (9XBK2)

43 Shit the 5 hour energy girl is singing her ad on O'R. I'd do that!

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 04:48 PM (wR+pz)

44 40: everything has a fan base, even al franken

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:48 PM (aPAIU)

45 Amazing that gargoyle has been looking out over Paris for hundreds and hundreds of years. Oh the things he's seen.

Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 04:48 PM (M/TDA)

46 >>>>Some people taste words that they here.

I say it tastes like azithromycin and its crap!

Posted by: bacteria at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (RLTt1)

47 The pictures are unsettling and beautiful.

i am a Big fan of black and white photgraphy

Posted by: willow at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (hX8cq)

48 The best SuperFriends were the ones with the Legion of Doom.Which,I've since found out looking up DVD sets was only 1 season.

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (9XBK2)

49 It's called a big Penis. In fairness, it's le gros pÃ©nis.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (QupBk)

50 I know---Boomerang has a lot of those shows. Something gets lost as you get old, I guess. Actually a lot of things.

Posted by: USS Diversity at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (9ghZ6)

51 43: we have The Moron of the Thread. Congratulations, you have one an all expense paid trip to a porn site of your choosing

Posted by: Alex at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (aPAIU)

52 Didn't some of these appear in a Batman Movie?

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 04:49 PM (NIZHJ)

53 This post does not interest me.

Posted by: Clueless Idiot Commenter Who Believes The World Gives a Rat's Fuck What He Thinks at November 26, 2012 04:50 PM (+AV7H)

54 34 "The Third Man"

Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 04:51 PM (M/TDA)

55 meh.
Not feeling it.
Seems less like art and more like blurry photos taken in the 20's

Posted by: MikeTheMoose is Shrugging at November 26, 2012 04:51 PM (0q2P7)

56 46. HAHA THAT CRAP affects you

Posted by: Herpes at November 26, 2012 04:51 PM (aPAIU)

57 Cool pics. It is mesmerizing to see groups of French men practicing how to surrender.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 04:51 PM (bWwMZ)

58 Bullshit these were Paris. All I saw was some old city.

Posted by: USS Diversity at November 26, 2012 04:51 PM (9ghZ6)

59 Those are pretty cool shots. The lighting is local and limited due to the fog. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

Posted by: ErikW at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (kHiD4)

60 There is a blog called Good Shit that often posts old photo's from lots of sites, check this one out.

http://tinyurl.com/d5wpub9

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (wR+pz)

61 >>>he MÃ©tro station might be near where the modern Palais-Royal/MusÃ©e du Louvre station is now. are you sure it's a Metro station? it could just be a train station.

Posted by: ace at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (LCRYB)

62 57 Hahahaha

Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (M/TDA)

26I've been afraid of gargoyles since that Jonny Quest episode where one was alive.

Nice Doggie!

Posted by: Louis Tully at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (OOML8)

64 Latrine!

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (bWwMZ)

65 Hey,did you see we have something new to look forward too,drug resistant Gonnorhea.And they think it may become completely resistant to antibiotics.So we have THAT to look forward too.

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (9XBK2)

66 58. Paris is interesting because its old, not because its french

Posted by: smallpox at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (aPAIU)

67 I think I'm maturing. I actually read the whole post instead of running to the comments to be First! I tried to take up photography as a hobby. I bought an expensive Nikon camera and lots of lenses. after spending a lot ofmoney, I discovered that it is an art that is very mechanical and more suited to men. I'm going to go back and look at the pictures again.

Posted by: L, elle at November 26, 2012 04:52 PM (0PiQ4)

68 Ceci n'est pas une comment

Posted by: uterus cannon at November 26, 2012 04:53 PM (RLTt1)

69 @43. I mute the sound, because the song teh shit, but, yeah, she's a saucy wench

Posted by: Pug Mahon at November 26, 2012 04:53 PM (cujSl)

Yes, those steps are the way down (or the way up) to Montmarte. I've trotted down them in daylight. Montmarte is the site of the Sacre de Couer Church (Churh of the Sacred Heart), which is a very beautiful place. The day I walked up there, there were a lot of Muslims lounging about the top of the hill, because it's a neat place just to hang out. You could tell they were "Muslims" because they behaved like louts. The French are many things, but they usually do not behave like louts in public. Someday Notre Dame will be a mosque.

The French did not chlorinate water because they used Ozone to kill bacteria. The tap water tastes pretty good, and my former French co-workers always complained when they drank our tap water (full of chlorine). They had very advanced drinking water plants, but they did not start to treat sewage until the last twenty years or so. So yeah, the place could be a bit stinky on a warm day.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 26, 2012 04:54 PM (Md8Uo)

71 There is a blog called Good Shit that often posts old photo's from lots of sites, check this one out. http://tinyurl.com/d5wpub9 Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 08:52 PM (wR+pz) That is an awesome site, but it is as addicting as bacon.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 04:54 PM (bWwMZ)

72 These photos are some awesome shit, I'm betting the photog had oodles of talent but didn't know how to market them properly and thus died a broke hobo.

Posted by: Christina Hendricks's Mighty Jugs are Really SMOD in Disguise at November 26, 2012 04:54 PM (+AV7H)

73 Even the gargoyle is bored....

Posted by: Cicero Kid at November 26, 2012 04:54 PM (OOML8)

74 art , It's interesting what others enjoy or some abhor.

anyway i enjoy these. i wouldn't mind having a living room of these, with a solitary chair just for me.

sad i'm so poor.

Posted by: willow at November 26, 2012 04:54 PM (hX8cq)

75 65. Resistant to current antibiotics. Nothing can remain immune to everything forever, it is unproductive.

Posted by: smallpox at November 26, 2012 04:54 PM (aPAIU)

76 like I said, he photographed a lot of prostitutes at hotels des cooches, so expect to see some boobies and flapper-ass. So, he was a Moron?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at November 26, 2012 04:55 PM (GEICT)

77 66 Yeah,Paris was a little fortified mud village on an island back when Julius Caesar was conquering Gaul.

Posted by: steevy at November 26, 2012 04:55 PM (9XBK2)

78 I like the rooftop shots.

Ditto, upper floor windows, mon ami.

Posted by: Le Harvee Oswalde at November 26, 2012 04:55 PM (QKKT0)

79 Here is another site with great old photo's. He has hundreds.

http://tinyurl.com/3229fp

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 04:56 PM (wR+pz)

80 "pillars on which people affix handbills" wouldn't that be a kiosk? someone else already answered this question, right?

Posted by: L, elle at November 26, 2012 04:56 PM (0PiQ4)

81 I actually like that moody, dark noir theme, to the point that I'd consider living there to ensconce myself in said, dark, moody noir-ness.

And then I wake up and remember this is France.

Posted by: Christina Hendricks's Mighty Jugs are Really SMOD in Disguise at November 26, 2012 04:57 PM (+AV7H)

82 Did Patton crap in Paris? If so, there should be a road that goes around it.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 04:57 PM (bWwMZ)

83 are you sure it's a Metro station? it could just be a train station. There are no train stations near the Palais-Royal, only MÃ©tro stops. All of the direction signage still shows the endpoints MÃ©tro lines use today. For example, Ligne 7 ends in the south at the Mairie d'Ivry (direction Porte d'Ivry) which in fact goes through the Palais-Royal MÃ©tro stop today.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 04:58 PM (Lxw+T)

84 I think that Gargoyle is stoned.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 04:58 PM (NIZHJ)

85 A Moron in Paris. "Hey, buddy, do you speak French?"

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 04:59 PM (bWwMZ)

86 Site is Shorpy. http://tinyurl.com/3229fp

Ace you will love it, he has 1,000's of old pictures in B/W.

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 04:59 PM (wR+pz)

Paris is an old city, but is has changed MORE since the beginning of the 19th century than it had between the time that Notre Dame cathedral was finished and the time of the French Revolution.

There are still Roman ruins to be visited (an old Gymnasium in the Latin Quarter, for instance).

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 26, 2012 04:59 PM (Md8Uo)

88 >>>wouldn't that be a kiosk? someone else already answered this question, right? I thought it was a kiosk but then I remembered looking that up at one point and discovering a kiosk is just where you buy stuff, like a newspaper stand. But m-w.com says this can also be a kiosk. I'm pretty sure I came across a specific word for this, this pillar-handbill thing, distinct from kiosk.

Posted by: ace at November 26, 2012 04:59 PM (LCRYB)

89 Nighttime photos of a city always seem to imbue the photo with uncertainty, maybe even menace...most of the time, anyway. I took a photo one night in Munich after stumbling out of the Hofbrau Haus, and for some reason my digital camera had the right settings to render the scene in a similar manner to those above.

There seems to be lots of smoke in the Parisian air...shitloads of Gauloises, or does the car-b-que have a longer tradition than we know of?

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 04:59 PM (E23Tl)

90 I had his pictures of Jean Genet and Henry Miller up in my room, back when I was the kind of person who has pictures of Jean Genet and Henry Miller up in his room.

I didn't know he did flapper ass pix. That's my favorite ass.

Posted by: óblig. at November 26, 2012 05:00 PM (cePv8)

91 Seems like an elaborate way to make Paris look like London.

Posted by: OnePercenter at November 26, 2012 05:00 PM (REGaT)

92 Oh yeah?? How about this. Mr Spock likes to take photographs too. Of....very very large women... nudie kazoo. Don't believe me? Google it. I shit you not.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 26, 2012 05:00 PM (jNqz6)

93 I think i like the steps to nowhere or anywhere the best.

the men looking down the alley i imagine as mob. watching Arnouide's legs getting broken

Posted by: willow at November 26, 2012 05:00 PM (hX8cq)

94 I think it's all those lights that give you the sense that something is happening.

If I didn't know the timeframe already I'd think all those lights were from the German army goose stepping the streets at night.

Posted by: Christina Hendricks's Mighty Jugs are Really SMOD in Disguise at November 26, 2012 05:00 PM (+AV7H)

95 82 Did Patton crap in Paris?

If so, there should be a road that goes around it.

Well, I shit there. Got drunk, too!

Posted by: Papa Hemingway at November 26, 2012 05:00 PM (wR+pz)

96 >>>Seems like an elaborate way to make Paris look like London. What a vicious thing to say.

Posted by: C. Auguste Dupin at November 26, 2012 05:01 PM (LCRYB)

97 Parisian pastries are worth the trip. You can see the word pastries as you like. Where are the burning cars? Isn't that a tradition?

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:01 PM (bWwMZ)

98 73 Probably by now he's seen everything from beheadings to burnings at the stake to the guillotine to revolution, uprisings,the Nazis marching in and out and on and on.

Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 05:01 PM (M/TDA)

99 They need a diminutive guy in an Abe Lincoln costume to tie it all together.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:01 PM (NIZHJ)

100 Nighttime photos of a city always seem to imbue the photo with uncertainty, maybe even menace...most of the time, anyway. I took a photo one night in Munich after stumbling out of the Hofbrau Haus, and for some reason my digital camera had the right settings to render the scene in a similar manner to those above. There seems to be lots of smoke in the Parisian air...shitloads of Gauloises, or does the car-b-que have a longer tradition than we know of? Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 08:59 PM (E23Tl) Did that shadow move?

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:02 PM (bWwMZ)

101 Where are the hookers? What kind of travel report is this?

Posted by: Invictus at November 26, 2012 05:03 PM (OQpzc)

102 I think my old French whore is dead.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 05:03 PM (QupBk)

103 Where are the hairy pits?

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:03 PM (uis79)

104 What a vicious thing to say. Posted by: C. Auguste Dupin Meh. Everyone remembers me, not you, frogface.

Posted by: Sherlock Holmes at November 26, 2012 05:04 PM (Lxw+T)

105 the photos remind me of Orson Welles' The Third Man

Posted by: soothsayer at November 26, 2012 05:04 PM (jNqz6)

106 Shit the game started. I thought it started at 9

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 26, 2012 05:04 PM (wR+pz)

107 They re impressive photos. I normally am not impressed when someone says something is great. These are wonderful. I went to Paris once. Within minutes after landing, I had grand mal. Nothing like being carried on stretcher looking up t the stars and Notre Dame feeling better than I ever felt in my life.

Posted by: Baldy at November 26, 2012 05:04 PM (opS9C)

108 I can't smell the foot and ass.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:04 PM (NIZHJ)

109 FYI, just got the following email

Hello ***,

We are sorry to announce that due to legal and regulatory pressures, Intrade can no longer allow US residents to participate in our real-money prediction markets.

Effective immediately, US residents can no longer open an Intrade account. Existing US customers are asked to close out all open predictions and request a withdrawal for the final balance of their Intrade accounts before December 23, 2012...We strongly urge all US customers to read this information immediately and begin the process of closing their accounts.

We understand this announcement may come as a surprise and a disappointment to our US customers, but this in no way signals the end of Intrade in the US. In the near future we'll announce plans for a new exchange model that will allow legal participation from all jurisdictions Â– including the US. We believe this new model will further enhance Intrade position as the leading prediction market platform for real time probabilities about future events.

For our non-US customers, we will continue to offer real-money prediction markets. In the coming weeks and months we plan to implement a number of improvements to the Intrade website. These include expanding our market categories to include sports, adding more convenient funding options and a new and improved trading interface. We'll keep you posted on these initiatives as they develop.

Kind regards,

Carl Wolfenden

Exchange Operations Manager

Intrade Â– The Prediction Market

Posted by: Methos at November 26, 2012 05:04 PM (hO9ad)

110 Shit the game started. I thought it started at 9 Hurry! Or you'll miss Philly stinking up the place.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 05:05 PM (QupBk)

111 google "Leonard Nimoy photos fat naked women"

Posted by: soothsayer at November 26, 2012 05:06 PM (jNqz6)

112 Ha Ha I feast on Philly angst.

Posted by: USS Diversity at November 26, 2012 05:06 PM (9ghZ6)

113

The burning cars are out in the suburbs where they have segregated the Muslims The Banelieus.

The subways (the Metro) in Paris are much better than the Tube (subways) in London. And that came from my ex-boss who was British. The Metro actually runs on time.

The French really love their trains.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 26, 2012 05:06 PM (Md8Uo)

114 Paris is very much worth visiting. It is History and everything great and rotten about people all in one place. The food is great and the gals are uber hot. Beware, they are kitten smugglers.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:07 PM (bWwMZ)

115 The photos are haunting, kind of creepy in a good way. The photographer does a great job creating a mood.

Posted by: Mayday at November 26, 2012 05:07 PM (F3s39)

116 I bumped into three separate very angry people on the way to the grocery store and back. Is it a full moon or something?

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:07 PM (NIZHJ)

117 The French really love their trains.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 26, 2012 09:06 PM (Md8Uo)

Talk about damning with faint praise!

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:07 PM (E23Tl)

118 A Moron in Paris. "Hey, buddy, do you speak French?" "Mais non, clochard. Seulement l'anglais. As-tu une gauloise, oÃ¹ un flacon de Val-U-Rite? C'est mon petit dejeuner."

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:08 PM (Lxw+T)

119 Ace, So m-w says I'm right. I feel great! You, however, think I am wrong but are being generous, aren't you?

Posted by: L, elle at November 26, 2012 05:08 PM (0PiQ4)

120 Paris is very much worth visiting. I don't know how I missed seeing the catacombs the one time I was there. I didn't even know they existed until recently.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 05:08 PM (QupBk)

121 The name for the advertising bill-poles (in French) is "Colonne Morris."

Posted by: SarahW at November 26, 2012 05:08 PM (LYwCh)

122 Best SuperFriends I ever had were the ones who danced in titty bars.

Posted by: Bildo at November 26, 2012 05:09 PM (eToum)

123 "Beware, they are kitten smugglers " I like chops down the inner thigh. If I can't Braid it, then I won't Raid it!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:09 PM (uis79)

124 I didn't understand the pictures because I cannot understand French.

Posted by: Truck Monkey at November 26, 2012 05:09 PM (jucos)

125 The name for the advertising bill-poles (in French) is "Colonne Morris." That's also a special name Mrs. Morris uses at home.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:10 PM (Lxw+T)

126 I didn't understand the pictures because I cannot understand French.

Posted by: Truck Monkey at November 26, 2012 09:09 PM (jucos)

Me too! Literally! HAHA!

Posted by: Joe Biden at November 26, 2012 05:11 PM (/YJYi)

127

I've been to Paris a bunch of times on business and I never saw the Catacombs, and once I was staying at a hotel that was really just a short walk away. I've seen a lot but missed a lot too.

I'll probably never get to go back, as my company has changed. It is a very interesting city, and sometimes it is really beautiful. The French can at times be very charming and pleasant. They are not all rude and obnoxious. Just the ones that run the hotels.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 26, 2012 05:12 PM (Md8Uo)

128 Freedom Fries!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:12 PM (uis79)

129 I didn't understand the pictures because I cannot understand French. Posted by: Truck Monkey at November 26, 2012 09:09 PM (jucos) Turn them upside down and then wallow in ironic angst. The pictures will reveal themselves to you after ten cigarettes, a bottle of uninspired Bordeaux, and the sound of an old housewife chasing cats out of an alley.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:13 PM (bWwMZ)

130 Freedom Bread!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:13 PM (uis79)

131 I thought he was famous for taking photos of outdoor toilets, aka, pissoirs.

Posted by: Walkers! at November 26, 2012 05:14 PM (TYO2p)

132 "The Third Man" Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 08:51 PM (M/TDA) First thing that popped into my gourd seeing these.

Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Waiting for the Sun at November 26, 2012 05:14 PM (iGvsh)

133 Freedom Dressing!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:14 PM (uis79)

134 @127 Parisians are no worse than Los Angelenos, which isn't saying much. At least they make an effort to say "good day." If you can ever get outside of the big cities, it is quite wonderful, and they quite appreciate it when you speak some French, in my experience. The catacombs were sort of interesting, but you didn't miss much, frankly.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:14 PM (Lxw+T)

135 Freedom Wine!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:14 PM (uis79)

136 Freedom Onion Soup

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:16 PM (uis79)

137 Freedom Toast!

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:16 PM (E23Tl)

138 What...no photos of car-b-ques?

Posted by: Walkers! at November 26, 2012 05:16 PM (TYO2p)

139 Freedom Toast!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:16 PM (uis79)

140 Freedom Bulldog!

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:16 PM (E23Tl)

141 Heh #IfObamaWasJesus he would have pointed to the Earth and yelled to God - "You didn't build that!".

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at November 26, 2012 05:16 PM (piMMO)

142 Freedom Kiss!

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:17 PM (uis79)

143 I bet a Moron could become rich and famous in France by becoming "a thing". "Louis, have you been to Paris to see ze Moron fry ze bacon? What?! You must come with us now!"

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:17 PM (bWwMZ)

144 There's nothing quite like a hairy Frenchwoman who will do anything to keep you warm on a cold night for nothing more than the cost of a pack of smokes and a bottle of screw-top wine.

Posted by: Fritz at November 26, 2012 05:17 PM (d8K+M)

145 Free rubbers!

Posted by: Sandra Fluke at November 26, 2012 05:18 PM (Lxw+T)

146 Freedom Cut Green Beans?

Posted by: Walter Sobchak at November 26, 2012 05:18 PM (uis79)

147 There's nothing quite like a hairy Frenchwoman who will do anything to keep you warm on a cold night for nothing more than the cost of a pack of smokes and a bottle of screw-top wine. Posted by: Fritz at November 26, 2012 09:17 PM (d8K+M) This is true in many places.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:18 PM (bWwMZ)

148 Have the French discovered graffiti yet? That would be a shame...seems like a beautiful, complicated city.

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:18 PM (E23Tl)

149 The catacombs were sort of interesting, but you didn't miss much, frankly. Probably, I did see a full crypt in a German cathedral and it was creepy enough. The story is interesting though. So many people had died and been buried in the cemeteries over the centuries that the ground was actual a toxic ooze of human fat. I guess that's what happens with a couple of thousand years of continuous occupation of the same site.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 05:18 PM (QupBk)

150 149 The catacombs were sort of interesting, but you didn't miss much, frankly.

Probably, I did see a full crypt in a German cathedral and it was creepy enough. The story is interesting though. So many people had died and been buried in the cemeteries over the centuries that the ground was actual a toxic ooze of human fat. I guess that's what happens with a couple of thousand years of continuous occupation of the same site.

Posted by: toby928Â© for TB at November 26, 2012 09:18 PM (QupBk)

World class stench!

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:20 PM (E23Tl)

151 Did he say a cigar is a cock? 'cause I said that too...har har har

Posted by: Bill Clinton at November 26, 2012 05:20 PM (NE7P+)

152 Have the French discovered graffiti yet? That would be a shame...seems like a beautiful, complicated city. Mon Dieu, oui. It's everywhere in the low class suburbs and in train cuttings or overpasses, and there is even some in the center of Paris although the try to clean it up.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:20 PM (Lxw+T)

153 Those are amazing photos of Paris. You can almost smell the cowardice and sodomy. :::I tried to take up photography as a hobby. I bought an expensive Nikon camera and lots of lenses. after spending a lot ofmoney, I discovered that it is an art that is very mechanical and more suited to men. I'm going to go back and look at the pictures again.::: I disagree, L. The gear doesn't make a bit of difference. Do some reading on composition. Then find some photography books that focus strictly on lighting. You'll find you see things differently when composing shots. The mechanics are the easy part. Learning the visualization aspect takes the most time, and you never really finish - you just learn more. That's why I dig it.

Posted by: Empire of Jeff at November 26, 2012 05:20 PM (JDIKC)

154 149 the ground was actual a toxic ooze of human fat. I guess that's what happens with a couple of thousand years of continuous occupation of the same site. Posted by: toby928Â© for TB at November 26, 2012 09:18 PM (QupBk) So, sorta of like the Democratic National Convention?

Posted by: BCochran1981 at November 26, 2012 05:21 PM (GEICT)

155 Probably, I did see a full crypt in a German cathedral and it was creepy enough. The story is interesting though. So many people had died and been buried in the cemeteries over the centuries that the ground was actual a toxic ooze of human fat. I guess that's what happens with a couple of thousand years of continuous occupation of the same site. Posted by: toby928Â© for TB at November 26, 2012 09:18 PM (QupBk) Paris and all other European cities are giant cemeteries. Dig anywhere and see for yourself.

Posted by: eman at November 26, 2012 05:21 PM (bWwMZ)

156 152 Have the French discovered graffiti yet? That would be a shame...seems like a beautiful, complicated city.

Mon Dieu, oui. It's everywhere in the low class suburbs and in train cuttings or overpasses, and there is even some in the center of Paris although the try to clean it up.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 09:20 PM (Lxw+T)

Quelle dommage!

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:22 PM (E23Tl)

157 Some of those crypts have more bodies in them then live in the city overhead.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:23 PM (NIZHJ)

158 I always wanted to visit Marseilles, but the language barrier is off-putting. I never quite did get the hang of Algerian Arabic

Posted by: boulder hobo at November 26, 2012 05:23 PM (QTHTd)

159 Some of those crypts have more bodies in them then live in the city overhead. ***** The zombie apocalypse is going to be ugly.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at November 26, 2012 05:23 PM (piMMO)

160 Anyone interested in Paris and the Jesuit college therein during the latter part of Louis VIV's reign should read the Charles du Lac novels of Judith Rock. Start with "Rhetoric of Death". Fun reads.

Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 05:23 PM (M/TDA)

161 If you run into French sailors in uniform, try not to notice the red balls on top of their blue hats. The're pretty sensitive about this.

Posted by: Old Glazier at November 26, 2012 05:24 PM (YGHl3)

162 Paris and all other European cities are giant cemeteries. Dig anywhere and see for yourself. That was the point of the catacombs. They were originally deep quarries under part of the city. When the health effects of the old cemeteries, and remember, every one of hundreds of churches had it's own graveyard, stacked three deep, they dug up something like 2 million skeletons and transported them to the old quarries. At night by wagon, IIRC. For years this went on.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 05:25 PM (QupBk)

163 i have a photography question.

why when photos are taken of me my eyes always glow red?

Posted by: willow at November 26, 2012 05:25 PM (hX8cq)

164 One of the sadder things is how they just lease out burial plots, then reuse them. I guess they have to do it, but still I like my dead relatives not having dead strangers dumped in with them.

Posted by: Baldy at November 26, 2012 05:25 PM (opS9C)

165 What's it been 500 years since the French Navy had a victory?

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:26 PM (NIZHJ)

166 If I were to wear the French flag as a shirt, would a plain white wifebeater do?

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:26 PM (E23Tl)

167 Those are amazing photos of Paris. You can almost smell the cowardice and sodomy. They make it fresh every morning. You see the French send their little children out early to get some from the shop down the street.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:26 PM (Lxw+T)

168 You may be a Daywalker.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:26 PM (NIZHJ)

169 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catacombs_of_Paris A bit creepy, but not as creepy as having your cellar wall collapse and a greasy black ooze with skeletons slide in.

Posted by: toby928© for TB at November 26, 2012 05:26 PM (QupBk)

170 166 That's the French Battle Flag.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:27 PM (NIZHJ)

171 but not as creepy as having your cellar wall collapse and a greasy black ooze with skeletons slide in What, we're talking about the fiscal cliff again?

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:28 PM (Lxw+T)

172 How long until Wiki stops begging for coin?

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:28 PM (NIZHJ)

173 167 Those are amazing photos of Paris. You can almost smell the cowardice and sodomy.

They make it fresh every morning. You see the French send their little children out early to get some from the shop down the street.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 09:26 PM (Lxw+T)

I like mine with ennui sprinkles.

Posted by: model_1066 at November 26, 2012 05:28 PM (E23Tl)

174 I guess I'm swimming upstream here but the French suck and so dark photos of French shit also suck and I wont buy Frenchie wine because well the French suck out loud. I'm just sayin.

Posted by: Guido at November 26, 2012 05:29 PM (8EKcT)

175 o sure make me google.

Posted by: willow at November 26, 2012 05:30 PM (hX8cq)

176 Of course: http://bit.ly/WTUhfk

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:30 PM (Lxw+T)

Posted by: Blanco Basura at November 26, 2012 05:31 PM (xKC/c)

178 Freedom Ticklers, of course.

Posted by: CMU VET at November 26, 2012 05:31 PM (dPSpR)

179 155 Read "Necropolis: London and Its Dead" by Catharine Arnold to learn just what an oozing death zone London's burial grounds were until the advent of the modern cemetery. Fascinating stuff. My favorite part describes the problem they ran into when drilling for their subways. Drilled smack into a plague pit so packed with bodies that it could not be penetrated.

Posted by: Tuna at November 26, 2012 05:33 PM (M/TDA)

180 Definitely a metro station, sign says Porte d'Ivry, which is nowhere near the Louvre. I'm guessing the Louvre sign is just an indicator for the direction the line goes.

Posted by: wahhaw at November 26, 2012 05:34 PM (k8CqN)

181 I can't figure why foreign people don't have the decency to learn to speak properly.

Posted by: Butters at November 26, 2012 05:36 PM (NIZHJ)

182 How long until Wiki stops begging for coin? **** I would strongly advise against holding your breath.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at November 26, 2012 05:37 PM (piMMO)

183 Miss Lindsey on Greta tonight.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at November 26, 2012 05:38 PM (piMMO)

184

144There's nothing quite like a hairy Frenchwoman who will do anything to keep you warm on a cold night for nothing more than the cost of a pack of smokes and a bottle of screw-top wine.

Well...there ARE those nubile Asian girls who will keep you company for a bag of M & Ms and a bottle of Skin-so-soft.....

Posted by: crotchetyoldjarhead at November 26, 2012 05:51 PM (aUHCG)

185 Old French Whore video? But I HATE watching John Kerry on TV.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 26, 2012 05:55 PM (Rhie+)

186 Definitely a metro station, sign says Porte d'Ivry, which is nowhere near the Louvre. I'm guessing the Louvre sign is just an indicator for the direction the line goes. It's the opposite. Porte d'Ivry is a direction sign. It's on every station along Ligne 7.

Posted by: George Orwell what knows 47% got a fever and Uncle Sugar is the only cure at November 26, 2012 05:57 PM (Lxw+T)

187 Dude did nice work

Posted by: Winston Smith (Islam edition) at November 26, 2012 06:51 PM (hPavS)

188

"What the hell is it?"

"I don't know, I've never seen anything like it."

"Hey kid, don't put your tongue on that!"

Posted by: The Witnesses at November 26, 2012 08:23 PM (k6nVE)

189 What a better time to have lived. The world is shit now.

Posted by: Buffoon at November 26, 2012 08:39 PM (PWhkm)

190 Only problem with the Brassai oeuvre: all the 'smokey' ambiance came from ambient POLLUTION, due to the pervasiveness of direct burning coal devices, mainly furnaces for heatng and coal oil lamps for night lighting. The air quality in major European cities remained appalling well into the 1960s, eventually to be 'solved' (reduced a lot, at least) by rising use of electricity from nuclear-powered and coal-fired electrical plants. Also lost, along with the Brassai 'effect': record-breaking levels of respiratory ailments.

Posted by: Rex the Wonder God at November 26, 2012 09:03 PM (21TJo)

191 6 "My grandfather spent time in France during WWII. He said Paris smelled like piss. He also referred to the French as Frogs until he died." Can we gather that your grumps didn't exactly get short-listed for the Nobel prize in tolerance at any point?

Posted by: Rex the Wonder God at November 26, 2012 09:05 PM (21TJo)

192 the pics have a fake quality

Posted by: dick at November 26, 2012 10:34 PM (5gJCH)

193 reminds me of death

Posted by: dick at November 26, 2012 10:36 PM (5gJCH)

194 Very nice. Great lead. Thanks, Ace.

Posted by: and irresolute at November 26, 2012 10:38 PM (DBH1h)

195 ace, they will never understand, as they are stupid, you see that don't you?

Posted by: dick at November 26, 2012 10:39 PM (5gJCH)

196 SAP billboard in the train station, Halasz.

Posted by: Dept. of Accuracy Dept. at November 27, 2012 03:11 AM (BAnPT)

197 enjoyed that.