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-   -   NealOz: (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/nealoz-459723/)

mgmargate Jul 14th, 2004 10:52 AM

NealOz:
 
I'm not that old.

HeatherH Jul 14th, 2004 11:02 AM

Me neither 8-X

capo Jul 14th, 2004 11:36 AM

On the subject of Oz...

. I love that nickname for Australia.

. Don't know if it's still there, but there used to be a bar in Paris, in the 5th not that far from Rue Mouffetard, called Oz. Needless to say, it was an Aussie hangout.

. The name of the movie <i>Zardoz</i>, with Sean Connery and the lucious Charlotte Rampling, was extracted from <i>The Wizard of Oz</i>

. Quite some time ago, I had read an article claiming that L. Frank Baum's <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> was a populism parable (with the scarecrow representing farmers, the tin man representing industrial workers, etc.) and that Oz was an abbreviation for &quot;ounce,&quot; having to do with a &quot;silverite coalition&quot; whose slogan was &quot;16 to 1&quot;, the ratio of sixteen ounces of silver to one ounce of gold. But that may not be the case. See...

The Rise and Fall of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a &quot;Parable on Populism&quot;

http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/Populism.htm


SeaUrchin Jul 14th, 2004 01:15 PM

Capo, you are quite a character, I admire your quest for knowledge. Whatever subject comes up you delve deeper to find the meaning or origin.

You don't let life get boring do you?!
Good for you!

So, where does OZ come to be the nickname for Australia?

cigalechanta Jul 14th, 2004 01:32 PM

Neal, I Am!

capo Jul 14th, 2004 01:35 PM

Merci, SeaUrchin. 'Tis a bit easier than the quest for the Holy Grail. :)

As for Oz in Paris, the one I remember is apparently still there -- &quot;The original (quieter, more mature, and some may say better) Caf&eacute; Oz is near Le Panth&eacute;on.&quot; -- but it looks like there's another larger one in the 1st.

http://www.parispubs.com/pub2.php?id=14



Neil_Oz Jul 14th, 2004 03:12 PM

No offense, mgmargate - it would have been a case of the pot calling the kettle black anyway.

Australians are very keen energy conservationists and so we like to abbreviate words wherever possible. 'Aussie' rhymes with 'Ozzie', but we've managed to get it down to one syllable.

The Queen pronounces it to rhyme with 'horse', though - as in 'Mai pipple in Orse-trellyah'. But she had the benefit of elocution lessons as a young gel.

Capo, you're an inexhaustible fount of arcane information. I never guess that Baum's story was a socio-political parable, but now it all falls into place. I'm looking forward to your upcoming dissection of Lewis Carroll's works. (Forget all that scurrilous stuff about the Rev. Dodgson photographing naked children, though - too obvious).

And thanks for the tip-off about the Aussie bar in Paris. I'll be sure to avoid it.

cigalechanta Jul 14th, 2004 03:16 PM

Balthus has become the Lewis Carroll of our generation.

Beatchick Jul 14th, 2004 03:36 PM

Capo, it's good to see you get your due on Fodor's!!

Neal_Oz, actually, dude, have you ever seen pictures of &quot;Alice&quot;? In the younger photos she looks depressed, in the older photos he took of her, her eyes cannot meet the gaze of the camera. I don't know!

Back to the subject at hand: As old as what?

Capo, it would cool to hang out in that Oz bar you mentioned and then one could hang out at the Irish bar in the same area (rue Mirbel) called Connolly's Corner! Just for the juxtaposition, you understand.

Scarlett Jul 14th, 2004 03:52 PM

Neither am I :D

SydneySteve Jul 14th, 2004 04:42 PM

Me too ! We change our identities when we travel ! there is nothing more anti-climactic than meeting another.

elle Jul 14th, 2004 04:51 PM


And then we could all go to the Scots bar near rue St. Antoine. . .

On the subject of Neal: isn't that the Vatican-sanctioned position for when you jenyooflecked?

(And I know you aren't, mg)

mgmargate Jul 14th, 2004 05:01 PM

Elle:Hello

Beatchick Jul 14th, 2004 05:13 PM

Elle, is that the one of rue Caron? The Pure Malt? I passed it every day on my way into and out of the Place St-Catherine! Is it a good place?

Neil_Oz Jul 14th, 2004 05:26 PM

Like Steve I don't see the point of travelling just to hang out with other Australians. Beatgirl and Elle, I'll add the Irish and Scots bars to the banned list, thanks. That pub crawl sounds like a nightmare.

Beatgirl, for the sake of my immortal soul could you elaborate on Vatican-sanctioned positions? I've never heard of the one you mentioned. Reminds me of the story about a bunch of guys in a pub, all boasting about how many positions they know. One trumps everybody by claiming 100. &quot;So,&quot; says another, &quot;ignoring the missionary position, how about giving us a rundown?&quot; The first guy looks puzzled: &quot;Missionary?&quot; &quot;Yes, you know,&quot; says the second, launching into a description. The first pauses. &quot;OK,&quot; he announces, &quot;101&quot;.

elle Jul 14th, 2004 05:42 PM


I love this:

<i>'Mai pipple in Orse-trellyah'. But she had the benefit of elocution lessons as a young <b>gel</b></i>.

Beatchick, I'm not sure what the name of the side street is. Other side of rue St. Antoine than the Place Marche St. Catharine. I never checked the Scots bar out, although the guys in there looked cute. Probably Jacobites, though.

There's a tapas bar across the street. We could add that to the list.

mg: Yo.


Beatchick Jul 14th, 2004 05:57 PM

Neil - LOL!!

&quot;Beatgirl, for the sake of my immortal soul could you elaborate on Vatican-sanctioned positions?&quot;
Sweetie, I think you mean Elle?

cigalechanta Jul 14th, 2004 06:10 PM

I think I'll take a weird position on this topic....:)

Beatchick Jul 14th, 2004 06:53 PM

CigaleChanta, as long as it's not Vatican-sanctioned!! :)

cigalechanta Jul 14th, 2004 06:57 PM

LOL!!!

elle Jul 14th, 2004 07:29 PM


I suspect the Vatican sanctions the position known as &quot;Fixing of a Nail,&quot; if only for the metaphor.

Neil_Oz Jul 14th, 2004 08:46 PM

Sorry elle, should have given you the credit. And I meant to write &quot;Beatchick&quot; anyway. Something must be distracting my few remaining wits. Maybe I should just go back to the highly travel-related Australia board, where they're talking about the high rate of teenage pregnancies in New Mexico, and hanging chads in Florida. Or try to channel the Pope before I get into serious trouble.

cigalechanta Jul 14th, 2004 08:54 PM

Owwwww, no, if itis't beatchick or elle,is no matter, we want you here and not on the lonely planet.

Neil_Oz Jul 14th, 2004 09:19 PM

Aw, shucks! No, I wouldn't think of deserting this stimulating company (although at this rate the editors might relieve me of the decision any old tick of the clock). I meant Fodors Australia/Pacific board, not hanging out with a bunch of sweaty, semi-literate backpackers.

toni Jul 14th, 2004 10:50 PM

Hey Beatchick, put me on the list for the pub crawl with capo and I'll pretend not to be an Aussie so NealOz will talk to me

SiobhanP Jul 15th, 2004 12:11 AM

We sadly I admit usualy go to the irish bar first if we see one and then grill the barperson for where to go and where not to bother and any nightlife etc. always worked for us. Then we promise ourselves not to stepin for the rest of the trip. Who wants to be the token paddy in an Irish paris pub! I do recall a place called OZ near the Pantheon. We ended up having a drink in the Bombadier (English place with an Irish Barman). Ordered a glass of wine...lovely...and when I asked what it was...Chilean! Then a french girl said behind me that my tag was showing on my jumper(Sweater)..died of embarassment and laughed as I ripped off the Gap tag from my top. Other half was laughing saying I am a classy bird in Paris! If you don't mind me drinking the wrong drinks and overall making a show of myself count me in...it's been a few months since I had a good pub crawl!

Neil_Oz Jul 15th, 2004 01:22 AM

What's this 'NeAl', anyway, you guys? Never mind. Toni (mate), I'm more worried about the Scots, if you want to know. A few bad nights with Glaswegians can do that.

But young Aussies in foreign bars can be a worry. I did think of impersonating a New Zealander, but the Kiwis are no better, and nobody can tell the difference between our two flags anyway. As there aren't enough of our little Hobbit cousins from across the Tasman Sea to justify a NZ bar anywhere - outside the eastern suburbs of Sydney, perhaps - they tend to turn up at the Aussie bars anyway and cause fights. Just look at Russell Crowe. When he's a bad boy we let the Kiwis to claim him. It's only when he looks like winning an Oscar that we're prepared to overlook his NZ genes.

I'd try to pass as a Frenchman, but (a) I'm the wrong shape, (b) I don't speak much French, (c) I have no dress sense and (d) I'm trying to give up smoking again. Isn't it a bugger?

SydneySteve Jul 15th, 2004 01:29 AM

Owh no mate, you can pick em, they're the ones with the chip on both shoulders to keep them well balanced - as they say !

Beatchick Jul 15th, 2004 04:53 AM

&quot;sweaty, semi-literate backpackers&quot;
(snark!) ;)

Neil, Beatgirl/Beatchick, it's all good!

Toni, DONE!

elle Jul 15th, 2004 05:19 AM


<i>What's this 'NeAl', anyway, you guys?</i>

MEI Culpa.

Peteralan Jul 15th, 2004 03:23 PM

When coming home from a restaurant in Paris recently I came across the OZ bar and passed by hurriedly. Did I do wrong?

SydneySteve Jul 16th, 2004 12:31 AM

Dommage dommage from Sydney.

Peteralan Jul 16th, 2004 05:50 PM

Crikey!


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