Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.
I was standing in front of my apartment bookshelf, eyes darting between the shelves, trying to decide which two novels to pack in my carry-on. My eyes landed on James Baldwin’s Nobody Knows My Name. I had to smile.
I was heading to Paris on the eve of Valentine’s Day, in the early days of Black History Month. Alongside a handful of outfits, a conversational repertoire of French, and fading European history lessons, I’d packed a deep curiosity about my African-American ancestry in Paris.
It was Paris where, for decades, countless African-American intellectuals and creatives crossed the Atlantic, hopeful and drawn by the possibility of freedom, an escape from American “Blackness.” For many, it is still sought for its history and culture. Continue reading “The history of Paris as a haven for African-Americans”→
In a wide-ranging speech at a campaign rally Saturday 9/20, President Donald Trump ramped up attacks against his opponent, Joe Biden, calling Biden the “dumbest of all candidates,” and went so far as to declare, “maybe I’ll sign an executive order that you cannot have him as your president.”
Birds on a Wire is the project of singer Rosemary Standley (voice of Moriarty) and cellist Dom La Nena. The two artists weave an entire universe built around song and emotion. A symbiosis that allows them to take back, in their own way, musical monuments ranging from Pink Floyd to Gabriel Fauré. David Walters’
heart swings between Paris and the West Indies, just like his music. Thus, the artist draws his inspiration as much from the side of Creole and African cultures as from that of electronic music. By drawing the thread of his origins, David Walters invites us to discover sunny compositions full of groove. The Bab L’Bluz group
launches bridges between Morocco and France, blues and music from North Africa. Infused with Gnawa culture, the band uses traditional instruments to make their swaying and electric songs thunder. The whole is psychedelic at will and makes you want to undulate.
In this time of being grounded at home in the United States due to the novel Coronavirus, American lovers of Paris can still enjoy the City of Light. Here’s how.
In this wing-clipped year of being grounded at home in the United States due to the novel Coronavirus, American lovers of Paris can still gaze eager eyes and open their hearts to the City of Light via Paris Chic, an elegantly hefty book published this month by stylish Assouline. With more than 200 photographs by Oliver Pilcher and text by Alexandra Senes, this heady tome abundantly delivers images and words artfully woven with sophistication and seduction: unfolding broad cityscapes and intimate corners, well-known hot spots and mysterious hideaways, lively action and lovely stillness, intriguing perspectives and personalities.
With Paris Chic, you can rejoice in the role of armchair traveler, taking flight while staying in place for now. Appreciate the thick feel-good paper as your fingertips turn 280 pages. Go slowly, as though you are strolling next to the River Seine, noticing every detail. Throughout Paris Chic, understand the appeal of the city’s tantalizing temptations as well as its poetic comfort, its centuries-old splendor and its of-the-moment energy. Revel in enchanting voyeurism, looking at behind-the-scenes gatherings in homes, offices and restaurants.
Imagine yourself (oui, fantasize!) slipping inside the images of Paris Chic as well: Peering over the edge of a hotel balcony; striding Avenue des Champs-Élysées; meandering public gardens; exploring galleries and workshops and bookstores; nosing around boutiques (a perfumerie!); indulging in treats (macarons!); relishing bistro meals that leisurely linger; meeting fab fresh amis. This is not a guidebook, although it certainly points in inviting directions. Like the best of travel-themed coffee table books, Paris Chic offers a sumptuous portal that woos and nurtures wanderlust.
Donald Trump is setting up a “Patriotic Education Commission” to promote a “pro-American curriculum” in US schools… Or a propagandist “Hitler Youth” programme, as many commentators see it. Elsewhere women protesters in Belarus and an anonymous website targeting Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, are both employing a doxing-style strategy.
