Category: Culture

Rosemary Standley – the magnetic Mademoiselle Moriarty

Devoted to cultivating creativity & imagination. Dedicated to philosophers, pilgrims & punks.

ROSEMARY STANDLEY is the lushly imaginative Franco-American lead singer of the enormously creative band Moriarty. The instruments they play reads like a recipe list for the best possible musical feast: xylophone, thumb piano, spoons, tambourine, scotch-tape trumpet, double-bass, music box, suitcase drum, chromatic and diatonic harmonicas, kazoo, drilling machines, Jew’s harp.

 The band’s maverick spirit leads them to play incongruous venues such ‘a mental institution, a prison, a transatlantic ship, a ruined castle in Tuscany, the streets of Paris, and a night train’.  Being the bohemian vagabonds that they are, they tour extensively.

PLEASE SHARE A CHILDHOOD MEMORY THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON THE ARTIST YOU ARE TODAY:

When I was eight, my father taught me the Hank Williams’s song Jambalaya, and brought me with him to a square dance at the American Church of Paris. He had a gig there with his band and he asked me to sing the song in the middle of the set. The people were so pleased with the song that they asked for it 3 times. What a funny feeling! You just get addicted to it.

Continue reading “Rosemary Standley – the magnetic Mademoiselle Moriarty” →

The Coolest French Creatives to Follow on Instagram

Because it seems there is never a shortage of creative talent among the French.

Whether on the runway, in the kitchen or in the artist’s studio, it appears as though there is never a shortage of creative talent among the French. Monet, Jean-Luc Goddard, Coco Chanel; just to name a few who have pioneered some of the greatest artistic movements of our time. Decades later, they continue to inspire the rest of the world with their innovation. As social distancing is confining us to our homes, it’s becoming increasingly hard to monitor screen time while staying entertained. For that reason, L’Officiel USA created a streamlined list of the coolest French creatives to follow on Instagram that will make your feed-scrolling all the more fun and inspiring.

@ramenpolanski

The pun on her Instagram handle is only the tip of the iceberg (Roman Polanski anyone?). Get ready for some vibrant, coloful, aesthetically-pleasing and funny content. She’s a photographer, video maker, and graphic designer, but mostly, she describes herself as a visual artist. This Paris-native creative director is full of personality and her account is anything but dull.

@charlottecardin

Although she is from Montreal (probably the North American city where the French feel the closest to home) this French-Canadian singer began her career as a model but turned to music after realizing modeling wasn’t her calling. Don’t let her doll-like features and big blue eyes fool you. Charlotte Cardin’s voice has a fragility, depth and soulfulness to it that makes her a singer of her own kind.

@violette_fr

She’s the global beauty director of Estée Lauder and a world-renown makeup artist famous for her “bushy-brow” and “natural makeup” looks. If you like makeup but cut-creases, bold lip looks and a hint of home decor inspiration, Violette has the perfect account to give a follow.

 

@betinadutoit_

Picture endless fields of daisies and poppies, Icelandic hot spings, sand deserts, and young girls dressed in white linens idling beneath trees. These are the kinds of visuals to expect from Betina du Toit, the Paris-based photographer whose work will lull you into a faraway universe. Born near Cape Town, South Africa, du Toit captures the quintessential in “an endless attempt to re-capture the fleeting moment when all elements come together.”

@itsnotsonia

Paris-born, LA-bred Sonia is more than just a pretty face. The French fashion model, actress and singer is a true multihyphenate whose talents can be hard to keep up with. Her most recent work includes a newly-released single with Black Atlas that we currently have on repeat.

@celestinecooney

Former Dazed and Confused fashion editor, now, a freelance stylist and brand consultant Celestine Cooney has worked for the likes of Acne and Simone de Rocha. Her Salvador-Dali-meets-high fashion aesthetic is what sets Cooney apart from other stylists.

@jaimetoutcheztoi

This well-known French couple share travel tips, fashion picks (which often include matching outfits) and let us into their Parisian daily life. Their shared Instagram account started 5 years ago, while the couple were living in Los Angeles with the desire to share their every day life after moving far from home, friends and family. They write on their website “Given the enthusiasm of our readers, we decided to pursue this adventure back home in Paris.”

@malikafavre

Malika Favre is French but lives between London and Barcelona and her work has graced covers of The New Yorker and has been featured in Vogue. Her bold, minimal, style is often compared to pop art and she has become one of UK’s most sought-after graphic designers.

@lolozouai

Born to a French mother and an Algerian father, Lolo Zouai, a 25-year-old singer released her debut album High Highs to Lows Lows , last year and has toured alongside side Dua Lipa during her Future Nostalgia tour. Her Instagram features not only her behind-the-scenes music recording process, but also her infectious love of dalmatians and the famed Pokémon, Jigglypuff.

@pommeofficial

Pomme, a French singer, with serious style refers to herself as “half pixie, half human”. Her Instagram gives you a taste of her music which is the perfect blend between pop and folk and is definitiely worth checking out for both your next playlist, and outfit inspiration.

Source: The Coolest French Creatives to Follow on Instagram – L’Officiel

Merci, Michael Moore! Watch a FREE showing of new film “Planet of the Humans”

Michael Moore presents Planet of the Humans, a documentary that dares to say what no one else will this Earth Day — that we are losing the battle to stop climate change on planet earth because we are following leaders who have taken us down the wrong road — selling out the green movement to wealthy interests and corporate America.

This film is the wake-up call to the reality we are afraid to face: that in the midst of a human-caused extinction event, the environmental movement’s answer is to push for techno-fixes and band-aids. It’s too little, too late. Removed from the debate is the only thing that MIGHT save us: getting a grip on our out-of-control human presence and consumption. Why is this not THE issue? Because that would be bad for profits, bad for business. Have we environmentalists fallen for illusions, “green” illusions, that are anything but green, because we’re scared that this is the end—and we’ve pinned all our hopes on biomass, wind turbines, and electric cars? No amount of batteries are going to save us, warns director Jeff Gibbs (lifelong environmentalist and co-producer of “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine”).

This urgent, must-see movie, a full-frontal assault on our sacred cows, is guaranteed to generate anger, debate, and, hopefully, a willingness to see our survival in a new way—before it’s too late.

Featuring: Al Gore, Bill McKibben, Richard Branson, Robert F Kennedy Jr., Michael Bloomberg, Van Jones, Vinod Khosla, Koch Brothers, Vandana Shiva, General Motors, 350.org, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sierra Club, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Nature Conservancy, Elon Musk, Tesla. Music by: Radiohead, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Blank & Jones, If These Trees Could Talk, Valentina Lisitsa, Culprit 1, Patrick O’hearn, The Torquays, Nigel Stanford, and many more.

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Mastering the Art of Making a French Omelette

An American omelette can be ordered with just about everything inside. The French omelette is quite simple by comparison.

By Bill Buford

A few years ago, when I was a student at l’Institut Paul Bocuse, one of the premier cooking colleges in France, I watched an omelette-making class through a glass partition. I was in a hallway, in the school’s zone culinaire, which is reserved for lessons in making food; theory courses are held on another floor, in small rooms with desks. This particular class was on French kitchen basics. I’d been exempted, on the grounds that I’d worked in restaurants. (The confidence the exemption implied in my skills would, alas, turn out to be spectacularly misplaced.)

A student presented his omelette. The instructor poked it and shook his head. He didn’t bother to taste it; he just tipped it into the trash. An omelette must be soft in the middle, pillowy to the touch. It should have bounce. This one was hard.

The next student’s omelette was too voluminous. The instructor admonished him. It was like watching a movie without sound. His gestures said, “Why did you use a whisk?” Un fouet. “I told you a fork.” Une fourchette. A whisk aerates the protein. It is what you use to make a soufflé or a meringue. An omelette gets its tenderness by being mixed, not whipped. You want the egg whites quiet and small. The omelette went into the trash.

Hervé Raphanel, a member of the faculty, joined me by the partition. “How old do you think those students are?” he asked. Continue reading “Mastering the Art of Making a French Omelette” →