According to Le Figaro, United States President Barack Obama has chosen two French composers from Bordeaux (yes, France!) to write his campaign theme song. The ditty, entitled “What’s More,” was written by Tony Jazz and Mathieu Billon. Raised in the infamous 9-3 (the Seine Saint Denis region just outside Paris), Jazz at 26 had already racked up credits [...]
George Whitman, the founder of the famous Shakespeare & Company Bookshop, passed away at the age of 98 on December 14th. Originally from America, he opened Le Mistral Bookshop in the Latin Quarter in 1951, changing the name to Shakespeare & Company to honor of Sylvia Beach’s original shop near Odéon, which closed during WWII. [...]
Given the number of French people nominated for Golden Globe awards for 2012—and nods for movies set in Paris—it would be no surprise if the orchestra at the Beverly Hills awards ceremony broke out in “The Marseilleise.” Despite a widely held notion that French films have never recaptured their importance since the new wave era [...]
Charles Nungesser and François Coli left Paris’s Le Bourget Airport on May 8, 1927 to fly across the Atlantic non-stop. The two aviators had met when both were soldiers in the First World War. Nungesser, a fighter pilot, had the third highest rating for air combat victories amongst French pilots. Coli was an ace pilot who [...]
I’m a bit obsessed by Pinterest, a social media tool for creating and sharing mood boards or any kind of collection of images. Here’s “Des Mecs,” my compendium of beautiful French men.
I have written previously of the works of architect Auguste Perret (particularly his Mobilier National building), but not as yet of his two creations that also became his offices and homes. As these buildings are separated by 30 years (and around 500 metres!), it is also interesting to note how tastes and techniques changed in [...]
The ads on the side of the Conciergerie are becoming just plain cruel. Look at the nonsense that’s up there now. Really, Conciergerie? Isn’t that kinda mean, featuring a painting of Marie Antoinette without a face, and a title of “Ghost Save the Queen” on the side of the building where she was held prisoner [...]
Yes, that’s Sharon Stone naked. Once you get over the surprise of seeing a never-published photograph of the Basic Instinct actress in the buff–and you stop looking for public hair that appears non-existent–your eyes are drawn to the face. It’s not exactly a come-hither stare. And that is where you start to understand the artistry [...]
Arnaud Lagardère, heir to one of France’s largest and most powerful industrial empires, likes a pretty girl. No would would care except that, according to The Economist, the 49-year-old has been playing hooky from board meetings. Now this wouldn’t matter either, if Lagardère were a little family-owned business. But, sadly, it is not. It is a [...]
