The Lizard, The Catacombs, and the Clock

July 14, 2010 2:57 PM

The Lizard, The Catacombs, and the Clock Metafilter's own™ Marquis did some investigating of a Parisian secret society, known variously as UX, Untergunther or la Mexicaine de la Perforation (previously 1,2) The resulting article has been picked up by the Literary Journal BRICK and is available in full on their website. [via mefi projects]
posted by Ufez Jones (17 comments total)

A long read, but well worth it.
posted by djgh at 3:41 PM on July 14, 2010

Wow, I read this in brick a few weeks back but had no idea there was a MeFi connection, it was fascinating, thanks Marquis!
posted by nfg at 4:02 PM on July 14, 2010

Allons enfants des catacombes, le jour des os est arrivé.
posted by mwhybark at 4:17 PM on July 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ugh this is like reading my dream journal. Want to go down there so badly :/

Fantastic work, Marquis!
posted by NolanRyanHatesMatches at 5:22 PM on July 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

So if you ever visit Paris, go visit the Catacombs.

Seriously, do it.

I kept hearing rumors about the UX but nothing concrete, not that you would need it .the tunnels alone are worth it, and the man at the end, checking bags to make sure you didn't teake a skull away with you ...with a tidy pile of bones behind him.

so who else loved the scene in World War Z were they have to fight zombies UNDERGROUND in the half-flooded Catacombs? I did.
posted by The Whelk at 5:23 PM on July 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

very nice... thanks
posted by HuronBob at 5:26 PM on July 14, 2010

Absolutely brilliant article. 80% of the reason I joined MeFi today was to say that.
posted by JimBennett at 6:17 PM on July 14, 2010 [4 favorites]

I voted for this on Projects. I hadn't voted for anything on Projects since 2006. Nicely done, Marquis! And thanks for posting it on the blue, Ufez Jones.
posted by .kobayashi. at 7:28 PM on July 14, 2010

Absolutely brilliant article. 80% of the reason I joined MeFi today was to say that.

So, $4 of brilliant.
posted by LogicalDash at 9:06 PM on July 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

I went through here with an uncle. He concealed a skull down the front of his quite baggy trousers and then removed it from said trousers in the street, to the considerable consternation of a neighbour watching from an upstairs window who no doubt was expecting him to expose himself.

He tried to give it to me as a memento, but there was no way I wanted to explain that thing in my bag at Customs.
posted by Wolof at 11:47 PM on July 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

Assuming UX is as real as the author hopes it is, this is anarchy at its finest. If not, it's still pretty damn awesome. Twenty people or two hundred, this stuff needs to happen more often — like, all the time.
posted by cthuljew at 1:35 AM on July 15, 2010

and the man at the end, checking bags to make sure you didn't take a skull away with you ...with a tidy pile of bones behind him

I remember this, and remember thinking, People actually DO that?
posted by Brittanie at 10:51 AM on July 15, 2010

apparently!
posted by The Whelk at 10:55 AM on July 15, 2010

It's an easy way to spruce up a codpiece.

Thank you, Hints From Heloise!
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:47 PM on July 15, 2010 [1 favorite]

This is so good. Well worth returning between tasks to finish. Man.
posted by limeonaire at 4:33 PM on July 15, 2010

Anything Marquis writes is awesome.
posted by furtive at 8:39 AM on July 20, 2010

I received my copy of the "Culture en Clandestins" book yesterday from Amazon.co.uk. Looks interesting, if possibly a few words above my rusty, distinctly non-writerly or academic vocabulaire. Perhaps a nice glass of Lillet will help.
posted by mwhybark at 12:18 AM on July 23, 2010