Lost Civilizations/ Les Civilisations Perdues

This week, I have been busy travelling in time with Time Life's Lost Civilizations (1995), and have enjoyed every minute of it!

The series covers 7,000 years of history. Digital effects technology and dramatizations re-create rituals and events. Original location cinematography in 25 countries takes you from Cuzco in Peru to Petra in Jordan, from ancient Mesopotamia to modern Tibet.

Part 1: Mesopotamia: return to Eden.
Part 2: Ancient Egypt: quest for immortality.
Part 3: Aegean: legacy of Atlantis.
Part 4: Greece: a moment of excellence.
Part 5: China: dynasties of power.
Part 6: Rome: the ultimate empire.
Part 7: The Maya: the blood of kings.
Part 8: The Inca: secrets of the ancestors.
Part 9: Africa: a history denied.
Part 10: Tibet: the end of time.

I highly recommend this series for your viewing pleasure.
My advice: just forget about the melodramatic musical score and you'll be fine!

Keep me posted!
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En français , s'il vous plaît!

Cette semaine, j'ai eu l'occasion de voyager dans le temps avec la série de Time Life intitulée, Les Civilisations Perdues (1995), et croyez-moi j'ai apprécié chaque minute de cette grande expédition!

La série recouvre 7 000 ans d'histoire. Les effets spéciaux et les reconstitutions ont permis de recréer les rituels et les événements historiques comme rarement vus auparavant. Les tournages sur les lieux d'origine nous emmènent dans pas moins de 25 pays, de Cuzco au Pérou, en passant par Petra en Jordanie, ou bien encore de l'ancienne Mésopotamie au Tibet.

Je vous recommande vivement cette série qui, j'en suis sûre, saura capter votre attention pendant les 5o minutes de chacun des épisodes.
Mon conseil: n'accordez pas trop d'attention à la musique du générique qui est une peu trop dramatique, à mon goût...

Dites-moi ce que vous en pensez!

Friday's Eye Candies /Histoires sans Paroles

Cédric Roulliat Photography

The Art of Swordsmanship

Calligraphy by Denis Brown, 2004
Click Here to explore more calligraphy by Denis Brown.

"What do you write, my lady?

Words, words, words."

(not to faithfully quote Shakespeare's Hamlet, II,2,193-194...)

I have just been offered a Calligraphy Set for beginners!

Interested both in drawing and writing, I can now fully enjoy my immersion into the art of ink and get dirty... I have but started practicing my pen and nibs on the paper to form the different lettering styles, and I am already amazed at the potential beauty of their morphed imprints.

Does calligraphy appeal to you too? Let me know, I am curious. ;o)

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On vient de m'offrir une trousse de calligraphie pour débutants!

Intéressée par le dessin et l'écriture, voici que je prends un malin plaisir à plonger mon nez dans l'encrier.... Certes, je viens tout juste de commencer et me familiarise encore avec ma plume, mais déjà, la satisfaction est là! Et je m'émerveille face aux multiples empreintes de beauté potentielle laissées par ses volutes encrées dans le papier.

Est-ce que la calligraphie vous intéresse aussi? Laissez-moi vos impressions, je suis curieuse ;o)

Page 40 : Photos - Souvenirs

Samples of the album entitled Christine's 1970's birthday tea party.
 Yes, I have just turned the 40th page of the book of my life.
These pictures, by Shayne Gray, have been fixed with his 1970's sensibilities.

A memorable celebration, shared with my Canadian friends and family.

Photo by Marco Jacob
This outfit used to belong to my mother, who wore it a lot in the late 1970s...
The coffee cake (delicious!) I am holding was typical of the 1970s.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Nutty Chocolaty Swirl

Swirl
½ cup sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup plump, moist raisins (dark or golden) or dried currants
2 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
*************
Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a 9-to10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan, dust the interior with flour and tap out the excess.

To make the Swirl:
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix.

To make the Cake:

Whisk together the flour, baking power and salt.

Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter. With the paddle or whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the sour cream. Still working on low, add the dry ingredients and mix only until they disappear into the batter.

Give the batter a last stir or two with a rubber spatula (just to make sure all the dry ingredients are properly incorporated), then scoop about one-third of the batter into the Bundt pan. Evenly sprinkle on half of the swirl mixture, then spoon in the rest of the batter. Make a shallow indentation in the batter and fill it with the remaining swirl mixture; then cover the mixture lightly with the batter on the sides of the indentation – the batter probably won’t cover the mixture completely, and that’s fine.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the cake rest for 10 minutes before unmoulding.

Just before serving, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

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En français, s'il vous plaît!

Petit échantillon de l'album intitulé Goûter d'anniversaire de Christine, style 1970.
Eh oui, je viens tout juste de tourner la 40ème page du livre de ma vie.
Ces photos, prises par Shayne Gray, ont été retouchées par lui-même avec sa sensibilité années 1970.

Une célébration mémorable, partagée avec mes amis et ma famille canadienne.

Back then, in the 1970s, a girlfriends' tea party... Colourful!

Let's Pop it out! Iggy is coming to town...

IGGY & THE STOOGES

Dear Torontonians,

Just in case you hadn't heard about the big musical buzz of the summer, here it is for you: Iggy & The Stooges are visiting us in Toronto next June for a unique performance!

Date:	Saturday, June 19, 2010
Time:	8:00pm - 11:00pm
Location:	Virgin Mobile Stage (Yonge & Dundas Square)

FREE show @ Yonge & Dundas (part of NXNE 2010)

Hope to see you there... amidst the multitude of spectators, who knows?

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Chers Torontois,

Juste au cas où vous n'auriez pas encore entendu la grande nouvelle, Iggy & The Stooges seront en ville en juin pour un concert unique!

Date:	Saturday, June 19, 2010
Heure:	8:00pm - 11:00pm
Lieu:	Virgin Mobile Stage (Yonge & Dundas Square)

Concert GRATUIT @ Yonge & Dundas (pour plus d'informations : NXNE 2010)

Au plaisir de vous y voir...dans la foultitude de spectateurs, qui sait?

Glenn Gould's Ode to Toronto

(une version française suit la version anglaise)

In case Toronto is still a mystery for you, here is a film directed by Glenn Gould in 1979 that should answer most of your questions. With many a historical reference and a pinch of witty humour, he introduces us to his definition of Toronto.

But enough with my writing about it. I will let you enjoy the visit of the city that I too love with Mr. Gould as your special guide for the day... And what a guide!
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L'Ode de Glenn Gould à Toronto

Au cas où Toronto serait encore un grand point d'interrogation pour vous, voici un film réalisé en 1979 par Glenn Gould qui devrait répondre à bon nombre de vos questions (hum, désolée, la vidéo est en anglais). Avec moult références historiques, mais aussi avec une dose subtile d'humour, Glenn Gould brosse le portrait de sa ville natale. Cette ville qui, selon lui, n'impose pas son urbanité avec force, et qui lui permettait de toujours retrouver une certaine tranquillité d'esprit.

Mais je vous laisse le plaisir de découvrir cette ville que j'aime tant, en compagnie de M.Gould. Vous avouerez que je ne vous laisse pas dans les mains du premier guide touristique venu!!

En français, s'il vous plaît!

Dear reader,

I am happy to let you know that I will now be publishing my posts both in English and French, starting with my latest post, entitled Herb & Dorothy.
Hope you will enjoy the bilingual experience!

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Chers lecteurs,

Je suis heureuse de vous annoncer que je vais désormais publier mes articles en français et en anglais. Comme vous l'aurez sans doute constaté, le processus a en fait déjà commencé avec l'article intitulé: Herb & Dorothy.
J'espère que vous apprécierez l'expérience bilingue.
Bonne lecture!

Herb & Dorothy

(Une version française suit la version anglaise...)

Herb and Dorothy Vogel, two exemplary model citizens, are the subject of a documentary feature directed by Megumi Sasaki in 2008. The Vogels are this kind of everyday heroes you sometimes walk by on the street; simply amazing people that like going unnoticed and don't need to appear in the VIP pages to seize the day! People with a real vision, but who do not necessarily want to impose their views on you. This documentary film, Herb and Dorothy, shows their insatiable hunger for Minimalist and Conceptual art, and how they started buying art pieces back then in the early 1960s when no one wanted them...

(see more trailers)

All in all, the film shows the way a postal clerk and his librarian wife managed to give their life its true meaning through their restless and passionate quest for art. 'The art world was their habitat.'

"After thirty years of meticulous collecting and buying, the Vogels managed to accumulate over 2,000 pieces, filling every corner of their tiny one bedroom apartment.(...) In 1992, the Vogels decided to move their entire collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The vast majority of their collection was given as a gift to the institution. Many of the works they acquired appreciated so significantly over the years that their collection today is worth millions of dollars. Still, the Vogels never sold a single piece. Today Herb and Dorothy still live in the same apartment in New York with 19 turtles, lots of fish, and one cat. They've refilled it with piles of new art they've acquired. " (from Herb and Dorothy, the website)

Marco and I watched it last month and loved it so much that we felt we had to share it with the Jacob family (there are many artists in this family...). So much so that we turned it into a party: we organized a Herb & Dorothy event at our place! And yes, it met with great success.
I recommend you too share the joyful message of that determined couple.

It reminded me that whatever the passion, we should stick with it uncompromisingly, push it forward, and not trade it for the tempting but often quite vain attributes of life.

"Art is mute when money talks"(Patrick Mimran) as read on a big sign in the film.

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Oui, Herb and Dorthy, sont deux personnages hauts en couleurs! Des héros du quotidien. De la trempe de ceux qui, efficaces et discrets, n'ont pas besoin de faire les choux gras des pages VIP dans les magazines pour être heureux et aller de l'avant. Un couple, dont la passion commune pour l'art minimaliste et conceptuel, les a poussés à investir la moitié de leur revenu modeste dans des achats d'oeuvres, et ce depuis le début des années 1960, alors que personne n'était trop intéressé par ce type d'art.
En 30 ans, ils ont accumulé plus de 2,000 oeuvres d'art dans leur petit appartement de New York. En 1992, ils prirent la décision incroyable de sauver leur collection en lui donnant plus d'air et d'espace! Après mûre réflection, ils ont donné l'intégrale à la Galerie Nationale d'Art de Washington. Une collection dont ils n'auront jamais accepté de vendre une pièce pour ne pas la dénaturer. En bref, leur collection a été leur oeuvre d'art. Et quelle oeuvre! Herb & Dorothy Vogel sont des gens bien peu ordinaires. Même lorsque les sirènes ont fait résonner leur chant en faisant miroiter des sommes astronomiques pour une ou plusieurs pièces, ils ont toujours été intègres avec leur collection. Des sirènes qui en auraient tenté plus d'un, car comme vous les avez sûrement...

Lucio Pozzi
Robert Mangold
Sylvia Mangold
Pat Steir
Robert Barry
Chuck Close
Lynda Benglis
James Siena
Will Barnet
Richard Tuttle
Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Lawrence Weiner

...sont désormais tous des artistes reconnus, et leurs oeuvres se vendent pour des sommes considérables.

Herb & Dorothy est un documentaire précieux qui, à travers une série d'entretiens (dont certains se recoupent parfois, mais ce n'est qu'un bien petit défaut) démontre que l'amour de l'art n'est pas réservé à une élite instruite et fortunée. Qu'il suffit simplement de savoir ouvrir son oeil et son coeur à la beauté, aussi inédite soit-elle.

Herb & Dorothy Selected Clip #2 from Herb & Dorothy on Vimeo.

N.B: Marco et moi avons tant aimé regarder ce documentaire le mois dernier que nous avons décidé d'organiser une soirée spéciale H&D avec toute la famille Jacob (une famille riche en artistes, comme vous le savez maintenant...). Ce fut un succès unanyme!

Je vous souhaite donc de partager ce film avec ceux que vous aimez, et puissent les passions dévorantes de tout un chacun être encouragées par leur extraordinaire initiative! ;O)

L'un des messages, écrit en caractères gras, que l'on voit sur une publicité dans le film cite Patrick Mimran: "Art is mute when money talks". (L'art est muet lorque l'argent a la parole)
Oui, vraiment, Herb et Dorothy, des gens peu ordinaires ... J'en suis encore bouche-bée!

Cher and Julie Andrews: not one wrinkle!!

Yesterday was a cold and rainy Saturday...As the raindrops were slashing the window panes in a regular fit of liquid ecstasy, we decided to cuddle up a bit. And so we browsed through our newly acquired VHS standards (found at Goodwill for 1$) that were waiting for us on the shelf. We picked one for the early afternoon (Moonstruck), and a second one for the late night show (Mary Poppins). How delightful! These two films have aged extremely well! Let me prove it to you...

Moonstruck (by Norman Jewison, 1987), with Cher and Nicolas Cage: Crazy romantic - infectious!
A few quotes:
-Ché bella luna!
-I am confused!
-It's that crazy moon!
-Snap out of it!
-Do you love him, Loretta?...Oh, Ma, I love him awful...Oh God, that's too bad!

...and the great Mary Poppins (by Walt Disney, 1964). A treat, take my word for it!
A few of my favourite quotes:
-Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down... in the most delightful way!
-A thing of beauty is a source of joy in life.
-Close your mouth, Michael, you are not a cod fish!
-First of all, let me tell you something...I never explain anything!
-There is a word for it: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (sing along with the video: a good tongue-twisting exercise, guaranteed!)

Now as you perhaps already know it, there is also an edited version for a fictitious film entitled Scary Mary, which has a little something of Poltergeist to it...

Critical Mass

Robin Givhan // Jeanne Beker

Last night, the HOT DOCS speaker series concluded with guest Robin Givhan*, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic and style writer with The Washington Post, where she covers the news, trends and business of the international fashion industry. Her work, distinguished by the way in which it examines fashion through the lens of popular culture, politics and social anthropology, is well-known for being controversial.

Hum, I must admit that I didn't know her before, but now I understand how and why she is controversial! I think I am turning into a big fan of hers, and have decided to start reading her articles in the Washington Post (the most recent is dated April 14, on U.S first Lady, Michelle Obama and the age of youth).

Robin Givhan had conversation with Toronto's legendary Jeanne of CTV Fashion Television.
The discussion between the two ladies was fecund, and thought-provoking, casting new light on the increasingly popular but deceptively accessible subject that has become Fashion nowadays. Among other controversial subjects was the plus size models. As North America's population gets fatter our models get skinnier on the runways; possibly a symptom of our denial, she said...

* Givhan received the Eugenia Sheppard award for journalism from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and, in 2006, won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism for her fashion coverage. In 2009, she began covering Michelle Obama and the cultural and social shifts stirred by the first African American family in the White House.

Eclectic sources of Inspiration on a Thursday night!

Photos by Geneviève Caron, represented by Lisa Bonnici, photographer's agent.

Last night, we went on an art cruise. The trip took us first to the Gladstone Hotel where part of the Contact show is currently exhibited. Strangely enough, my attention got caught by the photographic works of two Genevièves... Geneviève Caron and Geneviève Thauvette.

Photos by Geneviève Thauvette

Then while browsing through the Gladstone floors, we got invited for a drink by a friend, artist Bruno Billio, resident of room 209. This stop-over in his room sure crowned our visit to the Gladstone with a certain sense of Sprezzatura. Bruno's interior offers a subtle dialogue between the ultra-modern and the classic, which might well reflect his own personality.

And last but not least, we ended up at the Enter OCAD 2010 show. Simply breathtaking! If you have the occasion this weekend to spend an hour or two in the university’s Faculty of Design, you will sure enjoy the eclectic mix of their graduating students' works- ranging from drawing and painting, printmaking, photography, criticism and curatorial practice, integrated media and sculpture/installation in the Faculty of Art, to advertising, environmental, industrial and graphic design, illustration and material art and design (jewellery, fibre and ceramics).

What a night!

UGGs and Kisses: From Australia with Love!

Last night, Marco and I were invited to the UGG Australia F/W 2010 preview. The show took place at the Palais Royale, a great venue that had been even more impressively set thanks to Lotus Leaf’s event planning skills. The show also helped raise awareness for The Mary Katz Claman Foundation for Alzheimer's www.mkcfoundation.com. CTV Fashion Television's, Jeanne Beker introduced the evening's presentation featuring UGG Australia footwear and apparel, Jay Malinowski, America's Best Dance Crew 'Blueprint Cru', and MuchMusic VJ Liz Trinnear, who made her catwalk debut. The show had a fantastic buzz to it!

Jeanne Beker introduced the evening's presentation

On a personal note...I find the pastel palette chosen for the classic UGG boots new collection very cute. The hues remind me of scrumptious macaroons - yes, I love macaroons! Although I am not inclined to wear the classic boots, I could totally go for their Abbie clogs this summer as they better match my "style Cricri", to quote my husband ;O)

Yes, UGG really knows how to hug you and throw a memorable party!

For more info go to: UGG Australia www.uggaustralia.com

Of Feathers and Bandage...

Photo by Cédric Roulliat

What is the story behind the scene?
Leave your impressions in the comments' box, and I will forward them to the photographer...