Chez Nous

I don't know why I haven't posted any pictures that show our current abode, so in lieu of not having anything else to say, here is our living room. I will post others later, but blogger is having some technical difficulties today:

Young, Single, and Fabulous!

This celebrity sighting comes via a friend who is living the life in Paris as an art restoration intern for a museum in the area. As if that weren't enough she informed me yesterday that she is attending a Diddy party tonight! I mean, a Diddy party, are you kidding me? I have often wondered who those lucky people were that Diddy invited to his infamous White Party's etc...and now I know one! I am hoping for pictures tomorrow!

I still can't get over it...a Diddy party!

Rene' Clair

For those of you who enjoy the highest degree of cinematic prowess, you have likely heard of Rene’ Clair, a French director who made his debut in the years following the Great War (or as we are taught in American Schools World War I). As was common in the years following the Great War, art reflected society’s dissatisfaction with industrialization. Dadaism and Surrealism (artistic “movements” that blamed reason and rational thought for the massacres of WWI) rejected the traditionally rigid intellectualism supported by the art world and believed the only way to insure the continuation of mankind was by an outright rejection of the values that had propogated the problems. In order to liberate the human mind, individuals had to embrace the use of the unconscious mind, to attain a dreamlike state, truer than reality.

From this train of thought came Monsieur Clair’s 20 minute film Entr’acte, which premiered in 1924. Entr’acte’s are breaks during performances that allow scene changes or simply a break from the subject matter. This film premiered at the Theatre Champs-Elysees in Paris for the Baallets Suedois production Relache. The music for both the film and the ballet were composed by Erik Sartie.

The beauty of YouTube.com is in the fact that this film, a treasure of the early cinematography, can now be viewed by all. If you have 20 minutes, take the time to let your computer load the film (featured below), turn on your volume, and prepare to watch film as art. Don’t forget what I told you already about Dadaism while watching. For those uninterested, or lacking the time to view Entr’acte, I have also located a 5 minute documentary of the creation of the Eiffel Tower (originally produced without sound), also directed by Rene Clair. Both are true artistic treasures. Enjoy!

Entr'acte (20 minutes)


La Tour (5 minutes and set to music composed in 2003, watch without sound to view as the director intended)

Here Comes the Sun

The ever present gray skies of winter have quickly been replaced by temperatures reaching 60 degrees and sunshine (a sight rare to behold throughout the winter months). Paris isn't far from London after all, so rain is common. If there is sun, everyone in the city is out taking advantage of it, and we have eagerly joined the masses. Walks along the Left Bank of the Seine (from Notre Dame up the Champs Elysees), picnics at Fontainbleau and Jardin de Tuileries, a renewed commitment to walk everywhere we go, (hopefully finding one of Paris' little-known treasures along the way), and daily visits to open-air markets for fresh produce, seafood, meat and cheeses.

Open-air markets are a delightful benefit of Parisian living, especially for someone who loathes the grocery store. Thanks to Rick Steve's most tourists are familiar with Paris' oldest market still operational today, rue de Cler. Tourists will go out of their way to visist this market while they are in the city, insistent this must be the best available. Thankfully, Steve's didn't make them aware of two others which are much more well known and frequented by locals: rue de Poncelet, and rue de Levi. If you enjoy food, enjoy making food, and enjoy shopping for your food at a farmers market, a visit to these areas would be your own personal mecca. Hopefully more of our guests will look forward to sharing at least one meal with us purchased and prepared from items we find at the local market. (Perhaps following a cooking class at the Cordon Bleu cooking school) It is truly the height of Parisian living.

Housemum 101

I have received a lot of questions lately as to what I have been up to, how I keep myself busy, what I occupy myself with about the home and with Ruby, etc...The best answer can only be given by one of my favorite characters of the modern cinema, Will from About a Boy:

"I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than thirty minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: one unit, watching countdown: one unit, web-based research: two units, exercising: three units, having my hair carefully disheveled: four units. It's amazing how the day fills up, and I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I'd ever have time for a job; how do people cram them in?"

My life and that of an unemployed bachelor living off his father's royalties are shockingly similar. Today:
Shower: one unit of time
Breakfast with Ruby: two units of time
Cleaning: (my form of aerobic activity) one unit of time
Web-based research: two units of time
Finding a new tv addiction thanks to iTunes: two units of time
Doctors office (scheduled visit): FOUR units of time