Althouse: A woman sits outside at the Casbah Café.

August 17, 2008

A woman sits outside at the Casbah Café.

(Enlarge.)

23 comments:

chickelit said...: Crop the Casbah please!; 8/17/08, 8:37 PM
Ann Althouse said...: ha ha; 8/17/08, 8:51 PM
vbspurs said...: Aww. Ann already posted my link.

All that is left to be said is, that girl to the right looks like Penelope Cruz inside a fishbowl.; 8/17/08, 8:58 PM
Mrs. Locanda Lubbish said...: But where's Christopher?

A picture without the Christopher....

...does not a pretty scene make !; 8/17/08, 9:09 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The woman is really fascinating, but you'll have to click to enlarge and scroll over to the corner.

This photo shows how the fisheye lens lets you take a picture of someone who has no idea she is in the frame.; 8/17/08, 9:13 PM
vbspurs said...: The woman is really fascinating, but you'll have to click to enlarge and scroll over to the corner.

Do you know how difficult it is to get away with an Hermès scarf, low-rise tank, Elton John heart-shaped sunglasses, Diesel skinny jeans, underside S-tattoo, and modern-fro AND STILL look as fabulous as she does?

Magnificent woman. Want that bag.

Cheers,
Victoria; 8/17/08, 9:33 PM
Maxine Weiss said...: What's so fascinating about a generic, ethnic woman, trying so hard to look preoccupied, yet absolutely no man to accompany her ?

We see that over and over again every minute of the day.; 8/17/08, 9:53 PM
TitusTuck said...: She's hot.

What is she eating?

Bread? That's a no no.; 8/17/08, 9:58 PM
TitusTuck said...: Do you eat at cafes Althouse? Or only drink coffee?

Do cafes have good food? I have never had anything to eat at a cafe.

I am talking meals. Lunch/Dinner. Not baked goods.; 8/17/08, 9:59 PM
Trooper York said...: She looks she would enjoy a good fish taco. Just sayn'; 8/17/08, 10:18 PM
vbspurs said...: fish taco

I did say she looked like Penelope Cruz...who is said to have her own fish taco stand.

(BTW, I think I know who Maxine is...); 8/17/08, 10:48 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Do I eat at cafés? Yes, I'll get a pain au chocolat at Café Soleil or 2 caramels at Espresso Royale. Sometimes I get a scone. At Barriques, I'll get the grilled cheese sandwich or something. Some cafés make nice sandwiches or salads. It's a good way to have a meal when you are by yourself, because you have the WiFi.; 8/17/08, 10:52 PM
It's.....Charmaine ! said...: Freckles:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/althouse/2767274338/sizes/o/

Do we know what happens to people with freckles who refuses to stay out of, and cover up in...the sun ?; 8/17/08, 10:54 PM
TitusTuck said...: I have never sat at a cafe. I don't see the appeal. You can do that at your home. Why at a cafe? I think of it as being distracting if you go to a cafe and work on a computer or do any other type of stuff. All the other people talking and noise would bother me. I understand meeting a friend and socializing but not sitting there alone.

Just never my thing. I would be looking up constantly to see if a hot guy walked in the cafe.; 8/17/08, 11:16 PM
vbspurs said...: I understand meeting a friend and socializing but not sitting there alone.

Titus, you could never live in Europe.

What are your feelings on the traditional Italian evening time activity -- the passeggiata?

Definition: As evening falls and the harsh sun inches out of the your favorite piazza, an evening ritual is bound to begin, the Italian tradition of passeggiata, a gentle stroll (slow! think slow!) through the main streets of the old town, usually in the pedestrian zones in the centro storico, the historic center.

Italians tend to dress up for passeggiata, and tourists are usually easy to spot in their shorts and fanny packs. Older folks sit along the route, nursing a beer or a glass of wine in the bar, and watching for things to gossip about; la passeggiata is where new romances are on display as well as new shoes.

Passeggiata is especially popular on Sunday evenings. During the summer, some Italians even drive to nearby cities, the coast, or the lakes for a special passeggiata.

This is more your speed, I think. Just the thought that one drives for an hour to have a more fabulous passeggiata than you would at home is so totally Titus.

(I love them)

Well, I'm saying good night. Hurricane Fay has us South Floridians in her sights, so if I disappear due to power outtage, don't worry. I'll be back.

Cheers,
Victoria; 8/17/08, 11:21 PM
Maxine Weiss said...: But that's not Europe! It's just a grubby little street sidewalk, that they've plopped down flimsy chairs and tried to create "ambience" with potted plants.

The noise pollution, exhaust fumes from cars going by, low-riders who rev their engines, motorcylces, helicopters on stake out, and sirens headed for drug bust....

Trust me, the overblown "ambience" is not what it seems.

There's a bunch of these little unsubstantial hole-in-the-wall places the toss down a few flimsy chairs and tables right on the cement pavement, and think they're creating European-style ambience....

It's just cement.; 8/17/08, 11:50 PM
Kev said...: I have never sat at a cafe. I don't see the appeal. You can do that at your home. Why at a cafe?

I can think of a few reasons:

1) Midday reading break. (I teach at up to four schools per day, and sometimes there's a break in between them that's not at lunchtime. I don't always want to go to the next school early, and sometimes my studio is being used by someone else before I get there.)

2) Grading papers. I don't always teach classes that require this, but when they do, I've used Starbucks or the like as an "office" for over a decade now.

3) Hearing (or sometimes performing) live music.

4) What Victoria described above. I'd always referred to it as "getting out of the house" or a "boredom break," but passeggiata sounds so much better! I'll have to work that into a conversation the next time I run into someone I know while doing this.

(Thanks for the word, Victoria, and good luck with the hurricane.); 8/17/08, 11:52 PM
vbspurs said...: Thanks, Kev!

Use passeggiata wisely but effusively. ;); 8/18/08, 5:47 AM
bleeper said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/18/08, 6:34 AM
bleeper said...: Fascinating is one way of putting it. Not the word I would use, but that's just me, sitting here thousands of miles from Los Angeles.; 8/18/08, 7:05 AM
ricpic said...: Ambience is how you triple the price of a cuppa cawfee.; 8/18/08, 7:49 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "I would be looking up constantly to see if a hot guy walked in the cafe."

Well, that can be the point. If you're sitting at home, you're unlikely to casually run into people. I like the feeling of being out in public, and I often go to a café so I won't be spending all my time at home or in the office.

Unlike you, Titus, I don't go to bars by myself. I've never done that in my whole life. I'm not saying I use cafés the way you use bars... But you obviously have a big bar/nightclub habit, so I can see how hanging around in cafés would unduly clutter your life.

As for the noise, sometimes the right amount of noise is helpful. But I recommend headphones if you're trying to work so you can blot out bad music or other noise when necessary.; 8/18/08, 9:07 AM
titushwhat said...: OK-I get it.

Still nothing I could get into. I am too antsy (I like the word) to sit around in a cafe.; 8/18/08, 2:22 PM