The line "I have nothing in common with ordinary society" is spoken by Muraki, the protagonist in the 1964 film Pale Flower, played by Ryo Ikebe. He says this upon his release from prison after serving a sentence for killing a rival gang member, reflecting his alienation from mainstream society and the tumultuous state of post-war Japan. The line is part of a larger monologue where he also states, "I'm the scum of the earth," and then concludes with, "But still - I forgive myself". 

A relatable quote from Japanese #FilmNoir #PaleFlower ~ this weekend on #NoirAlley...

🎬 Pale Flower (1964)
#TCMParty
#DarknessAtNoon

Beautifully ethereal !

Before (2019) / After (2025) Rue de Meaux in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. Here, it went from four parking lanes and two traffic lanes to just one of each : on the right, everything was replaced by greenery, and the parking lane further to the left was replaced by a contraflow bike lane.

I haven't done a post on the weirder side of life in Glasgow for a while, so here's a great, if rather surreal, bit of street art I came across today on Park Drive in the West End of Glasgow.

#glasgow #streetart #kelvingrovepark #banana #glasgowstreetart #keepglasgowweird #glasgowtoday #scotland

Thank you !

Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton.

It truly elevates the street experience as a pedestrian or bicyclist.

The history of school street Rue Charles Baudelaire from 2020, 2021, 2022, to 2025. From car & concrete kid dangerous to a safe, lush greenscape & people friendly.

#paris #schoolstreets #15minutecity #urbanism #schoolsafety #france #school #bikes #pedestrians #children #greenspace #climatechange

This Day in Buster…May 20, 1928
"Steamboat Bill, Jr." has its general U.S. release 8 days after opening in New York -

#oldhollywood #damfino #busterkeaton #silentfilm

Looking up at the sky between the valley of golden stone buildings of Provence. The light illuminates the top storey of the building as it chases away the shadows those of us at the ground thrive in. Thin, whispy clouds break up the field of blue above.

Looking up on #BlueSkyMonday in Aix.
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#aixenprovence #provence #france #urbanphotographer #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #photographersunited

A candle just out of frame illuminates my apartment. Hand to my chin, I gaze at the dancing flame - watching it swirl and twist as the wax of the candle shrinks. I'm wearing my great grandmother's beret, pulled to a point in front of me with her Scottish crest pin resting behind my ear, to match my black suit jacket. Although, it's the weekend, so I'm casually omitting a tie. One can't be too formal when home alone on a Sunday.

For #selfportraitsunday quiet candlelit evening at home.
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#vintagestyle #dapper #bohemian #photography #vintage #portrait #selfportrait #vintagefashion #antique

#OtD 16 May 1871 the workers and soldiers of the Paris commune tore down the Vendôme column: a monument to war which was topped with a statue of Napoleon. Learn more about the commune in this book of writings by participants: shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/...

Foggy morning near République. The streets are empty as clouds devour the tops of buildings in Rennes. Mansards fade away into the white of the sky. Looking down the road in the center of town, the repeating form of tall street lights lining the river rest at the same height while the road undulates below.

For FlashBackFriday #fbf and Friday #scape : foggy morning flânerie à Rennes.
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#Rennes #Bretagne #France #urbanphotographer #streetphotography #cityscape #wanderlust #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #photographersunited

Beautiful stone Parisian construction blends the ground floor and first storey in varying hues of grey as though it has been raining, but only drenched part of the building. Recessed in this double-height doorway is a TARDIS blue double door with shiny brass details. Above this door a Juliette balcony with a less-violet blue and white trim completes the doorway.

For #adoorablethursday this number 2 TARDIS blue door in Pigalle.
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#Paris #France #urbanphotographer #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #photographersunited

A selection of four windows above a "Morello no.146 kebabs, pizzas, burgers" neon sign. The bright greens and oranges of the sign stands out boldly on a black field upon a yellow (well, yellow-grey) sandstone Glasgow tenement. The lower two windows have curtains matching the stone parted to expose the black interior of an unilluminated home. Some poppies peer out the window on the right. Striving for light and remembrance upon the world. The upper two windows have white paper curtains that fold down and reflect a more modern sentiment. One open one closed.

For #WindowsOnWednesday looking above a kebab shop in Glasgow.
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#glasgow #scotland #urbanphotographer #streetphotography #cityscape #wanderlust #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #photographersunited #moody

#OtD 13 May 1968 up to 10 million workers began a general strike in France in the May 68 rebellion, as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Paris following violent student riots. Learn more in our tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@workingclasshistory/video/71...

Dressed in my best antique French tuxedo and bowler, I stand with my teacup and saucer in hand. Looking out, I have somehow found myself in a forest next to a rushing river, far from civilization and cafés and everywhere that I would hope to find myself. At least I have some tea to ground me in my memories of civilization.

For #selfportraitsunday a pause for tea but I appear to have misplaced the café.
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#vintagestyle #dapper #bohemian #photography #vintage #photoshoot #portrait #selfportrait #vintagefashion #tea #antique

Emma Goldman addressing a rally at Union Square, New York, 1916. Read our essay on her unique brand of anarchism: publicdomainreview.org/essay/emma-goldmans-anar... #MayDay

Place Blanche, Paris 1950s
by Kees Scherer

Hey now. Sometimes they stand around with bingo paddles in their hands with words of disappointment.

A façade in Aix. The Provencial stone glows with a golden hue with taches of greys and browns giving texture and beauty to the unrefined and imperfect. An enameled metal 52 is embedded into the wall by the upper-left carved stone of the entrance door framing. That classic French white field with blue numbers. Bundles of wires dance around the exterior of the building to give hint that it may have been constructed before the advent of electricity or our worldly connections via cables. Above the entry doorway there's a 1st storey window framed out in repeated order of its neighbors, but is only a quarter open as a window, as the rest has been filled in. Shutter open, it exposes a solitary potted plant, a piece of living nature in an otherwise stone and metal setting.

For #adoorablethursday this lovely door at number 52 in Aix.
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#aixenprovence #provence #france #urbanphotographer #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #photographersunited

'The Dome, Brompton Oratory' (1936) by Charles Ginner

(Private collection)

A woman dressed in a white outfit rides a bicycle while holding an umbrella. Apollonia van Ravenstein Vogue UK, March 1973 📷Bruce Laurance

Mood?

A sleepy, rainy city beginning to wake up under a grey-blue sky where night holds onto its last vestiges of darkness. The streets are stained in rainwater and the lights stream vertically across the pavement in their hazy reds and yellows. All the apartment lights are still turned off - with a few shutters closing the world off - as the buildings sleep under the white noise of Bretagne rain. There's a beauty in the quiet early morning where few are out or awake. A feeling that the streets are for the taking. That the sound of one's footsteps on the wet pavement has yet to be lost in the din of the day.

Early morning flânerie à Rennes.
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#Rennes #Bretagne #France #urbanphotographer #streetphotography #cityscape #wanderlust #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #nightscape #photographersunited

Black and white Paris. It's night and the streetlight flares as though it were directed by JJ Abrams. The life of the evening fills the lively streets as people dash about, passing by the illuminated restaurants attempting to lure them in.

For the weekly #ClassicMono : Paris flânerie through Pigalle
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#paris #france #urbanphotographer #streetphotography #cityscape #wanderlust #photography #architecture #architecturephotography #blackandwhitephotography #monochromephotography #bnwphotography #monochrome #photographersunited #nightscape

😌❤️

I've definitely been applying to jobs there, but trying to escape these fly-over areas of the US are a bit like fighting against a black hole.

Thank you ! I just wish there were more windows to lick in this one horse town.

Dressed in my best antique French tuxedo, I rest against a back alley brick wall. My bright red parasol up, it keeps the falling snow off of me as I sip my tea. I've perched my vintage Samsonite suitcase on top of a metal girder to act as my table for my teaset.

For #selfportraitsunday a pause for back alley tea under the snow.
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#vintagestyle #dapper #bohemian #photography #vintage #photoshoot #portrait #selfportrait #vintagefashion #tea #antique