“In 1898, Parisian art gallery owner Maurice Joyant photographed his childhood friend Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec defecating on the beach at Le Crotoy, Picardie.
A year later Toulouse-Lautrec was committed to an asylum, and in 1901 he died from complications caused by alcoholism and syphilis.”
I dare you not to poop on the beach if you’re suffering from dimentia and drinking absinthe on the regular.
Coco Chanel is arguably one of history’s most intriguing women, regardless of whether you are interested in her progressive, feminist thinking or her revolutionary design work. She had a strong sense of identity which translated into a carefully tailored aesthetic, and the drama that infused the artist’s fashions seems to overflow from her exciting, yet turbulent, personal life.
Most are aware that Mademoiselle Chanel carried on an affair with a German officer during the Second World War, although it’s generally been argued that their relationship was the victim of bad timing – to say the least. However, a new biography argues that her involvement with the gentleman symbolized much more than a simple torrid romance – it was, in fact, a sinister glimpse into her true sentiments during this tumultuous time. Indeed, journalist Hal Vaughn believes that Chanel was in fact a Nazi sympathizer, collaborator, and spy. He claims that the famous designer, aka “Westminster,” was even actively involved in SS recruitment and the collection of information for Abwehr, the German Military Intelligence Agency.
You can learn more about this fascinating (and hopefully untrue) story here.
Salut mes amis!
Ahh, summertime. I had so many projects planned with the intention of experiencing a period of total productivity, but alas – summer is ultimately about gluttony with loved ones; and perhaps most importantly, feeling remorseful on the beach the following day. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I have about 5 half-written articles that I’m excited to share with you here and at Untapped, but you see, yesterday was Julia Child’s birthday. And that meant I had to watch clips of Julia cooking. Have you ever really watched “The French Chef”? She is an absolute delight. My obsession with Julia began when I first saw “Julie & Julia”, and it’s taken until about now to realize that I wasn’t necessarily hooked on Julia Child, but rather I was into the idea of Meryl Streep as Julia Child. But that is neither here nor there.
Julia Child is an energetic woman with an ebullient charm, and I love her most for discovering her calling so late in life and being so damn successful. She easily could have led a life of leisure, but she was too passionate and feisty. Her ardent zeal for food changed the way Americans cooked. She’s why we don’t eat marshmallow fluff and spam every day.
Her cookbook makes some of the world’s finest cuisine accessible, and her programing makes me feel like I could butcher the entire animal my damn self. Julia is fearless in the kitchen and inspires me to approach the culinary world similarly. I’m still not into aspics, though.
I just loved this footage of Julia Child cooking a lobster…this is something I’ve been meaning to try, but I’ve felt intimidated. However, Julia makes it seem incredibly easy to deal with these particular dinner guests.
Click on the picture, take note of :12…..baapbaapbaap! Kichi kichi!
And here is the wonderful footage of how we cook a lobster, from tickling to ‘checking on the green matter’ (ew). I think I keep watching it just to admire the seaweed that little dude is wrapped in – seriously, what quality. I kind of hate the producers, knowing that they got to sample Julia Child’s masterpiece after the cameras stopped rolling…
Click the image for more Julia awesomeness…yaaaargh!
Pals in Paris and Strasbourg, this one’s for you!
The great folks over at Untapped Paris have partnered with Singapore Eats and the Singapore International Culinary Exchange to host a 5-course dinner in Paris by Chef Andre Chiang IN PARIS on July 2nd. Chiang’s restaurant ANDRE was named by the New York Times as one of the “Top Ten Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride”…sigh. For those of us Stateside, if we could make this happen, it would be the most enviable evening ever.
The Untapped/Singapore Eats dinner will be on Saturday, July 2nd from 7pm to 8:30pm, and Untapped will be selecting 20 of those that enter the sweepstakes to attend this unique event free of charge.
For two days only, “Singapore Takeout” will transform into a pop-up restaurant at the Hippodrome d’Auteuil. The chic and sleek pop-up restaurant has been shipped from Singapore and is traveling to nine cities around the world to promote Singapore’s exciting and dynamic food culture, with Paris as its second stop. Chef Sven Chartier from Saturne will also be preparing a meal during the 2-day event.
To enter, mosey on over to the Untapped Paris site. Cliquez ici.
A little while back, I was approached by the awesome Michelle at “Untapped,” a terrific blog that takes a distinctive approach to discovering Paris and New York. Since I love both of these places and enjoy assigning little adventures to myself (plus, she’s super cool), it seemed almost fated that we try to work together.
It was really exciting to have the opportunity to write an article about Bimbo Towers, an awesome record store very much off the beaten track in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. It was particularly special to have someone ultimately ‘dispatched’ to take pictures, the very talented Mary Jane Lee (who also happens to run a really rad blog). Her piece chronicling the experience led me to believe that it was a rewarding discovery for her, as well, and it gives me the warm and fuzzies to know that a place like this still exists.
Please mosey on over and take a peek! Cliquez ici.
Image copyright Mary Jane Lee:
The weather in New York has been abysmal, and the atmosphere doesn’t seem to give a fuck that it’s going to be June in about two weeks. Let’s all sob together!
I thought that it might be fun to put together an assortment of rainy day, lazy Sunday jams, and it just so happens that the French do them very well.
I hope you enjoy it.
Estella Blain, “Il ne Faut Pas”
Annie Philippe “Tout finit a Saint Tropez”
Francoise Hardy, “La Maison ou J’ai Grandi”
Jacques Brel, “Dans le port D’Amsterdam” (I apologize that this cuts off a moment early, but it’s the most gripping performance ever, I had to)
Brigitte Bardot, “Un Jour Comme un Autre”
Yves Montand, “Les Feuilles Mortes”
Charles Trenet, “La Mer”
Edith Piaf, “Johnny Tu N’es Pas Un Ange”
France Gal, “Toi Que Je Veux”
Erik Satie, “Gnossiennes No. 1″
Bon appetit!
