Category: Culture

Reeperbahn rendezvous: the glorious dive bar photos of Anders Petersen 

“Lehmitz was the first thing I did seriously. It filled me up,” says Anders Petersen. “I really identified with these people and their situation, this group who were outside society. I respected them. I felt very strongly about them.”

 

Petersen’s photographs of Cafe Lehmitz and its customers – regulars in a Hamburg red-light-district dive at the fag end of the 60s – have long been among the most revered of photobooks. First published in 1978, Cafe Lehmitz became part of pop culture when Tom Waits used one as the cover of his 1985 Rain Dogs album.Almost five decades after the photos were shot, the Swedish photographer, now 72, has revised his Lehmitz archive for an exhibition in Paris of previously unseen images

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Grand Corps Malade

A friend in Paris recently turned me on to this amazing talent known as Grand Corps Malade.  Also known as  Fabien Marsaud, the poet performs both a capella, and occasionally accompanied by a small jazz ensemble.

I love this video “Pocahontas,” which features family members and friends recreating photographs from their past.

In 1997, a diving accident left Marsaud unable to walk for a period of two years. Marsaud claimed the name “Grand Corps Malade” (meaning “Tall Sick Body” in French) in reference to his condition as well as his height (nearly 6’4″). The former basketball star regained the ability to walk in 1999, and started his career as “slam poet” in 2003.

2013’s Funambule is the fourth studio album, with the musical direction of musician and trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf. The album Continue reading “Grand Corps Malade” →

Performer of the Year: Isabelle Huppert

With two powerhouse performances and some serious Oscar buzz brewing, 2016 is officially the Year of Huppert.

Isabelle Huppert is without a doubt one of the finest actresses of all time, an immense talent we’ve been fortunate enough to witness for decades. She is the most nominated actress for France’s César Award, with thirteen nominations; she has had more films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival than any other actress; she is a BAFTA winner, Silver Berlin Bear Winner and she unanimously won Best Actress at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival for her role as Erika Kohut in Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher. In short, Huppert is who Meryl Streep likely wakes up wanting to be [ . . .  ]

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Rat attack: Paris declares war on city’s exploding rodent population

Already faced with continued fears of terror attacks and record-high pollution levels, Paris is in the midst of yet another battle to reassure tourists of its attractiveness ahead of the holidays: the city’s new war on rats.

Since the end of November, the City of Light has suffered a rat invasion so immense it has had to temporarily shut down at least nine central parks and gardens to tackle the problem. According to French daily Le Parisien, the French capital now houses nearly 4 million rodents, or 1.75 rats per Parisian.

Many of the parks and gardens are currently riddled with holes due to the rodent infestation, and rats are frequently seen raiding the city’s open-ribbed rubbish bins.
Already faced with continued fears of terror attacks and record-high pollution levels, Paris is in the midst of yet another battle to reassure tourists of its attractiveness ahead of the holidays: the city’s new war on rats.

Read Full Story at France 24: Rat attack: Paris declares war on city’s exploding rodent population – France 24