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Feb. 20--Despite some mocking of the French in recent years, it seems Americans have been fascinated with Paris and literary images of the city since the days of Hemingway and Fitzgerald and probably going back to Benjamin Franklin.
"There's a level of civility that exists there, a history in the architecture, a sense of joie de vivre. It's something you can't define intellectually," said Terrance Gelenter, who is bringing a Paris-focused literary salon series to San Jose's Hotel Montgomery this week.
On Tuesday, biographer and Santa Cruz resident Carolyn Burke will discuss her new book, "Lee Miller," an examination of the life of the American photographer who cavorted in New York and Paris during the 1920s and '30s with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Jean Cocteau, Man Ray and Pablo Picasso. She later became a World War II correspondent, capturing images of the Dachau concentration camp, which she entered with Allied troops.
On March 7, San Francisco author Cara Black will be in town with her latest novel, "Murder in Montmartre," her sixth mystery featuring funky Parisian detective Aimee Leduc.
The series, which is also held in San Francisco, is part of Paris Through Expatriate Eyes, an effort started by Gelenter in 2001 that offers excursions to Paris and events in the Bay Area focused on French culture. Gelenter has been in love with Paris since he first visited the city at age 27 in 1974, and most of the authors in the series are friends he has made on his frequent trips.
"I love myself when I'm there much more than when I'm here," said Gelenter, a Brooklyn native who counts Le Deux Magots, the famous Parisian cafe, as one of his favorite haunts.
Each event begins at 6:30 p.m., and seats are $20, including appetizers. You can reserve a spot by e-mailing terrance@paris-expat.com or calling (415) 388-4956.
THE SPORTING NEWS: Bay Area soccer has a future after all. Women's soccer star Brandi Chastain, 37, and her husband, Santa Clara University women's soccer coach Jerry Smith, are expecting a baby in June. . . . Tennis star John McEnroe, who played in the SAP Open last week, celebrated his 47th birthday in downtown San Jose on Thursday night. He apparently was looking for an Irish pub and found one, spending a couple of hours at O'Flaherty's Irish Pub in San Pedro Square. . . . Specialized Bicycles is hosting a Tour of California reception at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Tech Museum of Innovation. Guests can learn about the technology used by racers and win a Gerolsteiner jersey signed by professional cyclist Levi Leipheimer. Tickets are $20 and proceeds benefit the California Bicycle Coalition and the Paul David Clark Bicycling Safety Fund.
GOOD SIGN: Lucky for us, a banner was draped over the embarrassing mechanical sign at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center during last week's RSA computer security conference. No doubt the tech-savvy conventiongoers would have mocked the Lite-Brite technology and illegible display. Dan Fenton of the convention and visitor's bureau says a replacement video screen -- similar to those that distract drivers on Highway 101 -- finally will be installed there sometime next month. If only the building's abstract facade could be similarly updated.
Sal Pizarro writes about Silicon Valley on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. Contact him at spizarro@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5473. Read him online (www.mercextra. com/aei/spizarro).
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