Interview: Christine and the Queens – from Paris to pop star

Not only am I totally infatuated with the music of Christine and the Queens, every interview I’ve read with Héloïse Letissier leaves me more impressed with Héloïse’s honesty, feminist sensibility, and generous spirit. I especially appreciate the joy she expresses in her dance routines – marvelous!
This Channel 4 interview is an excellent introduction to an important young French artist.
– [ Mike Stevenson / Pas de Merde ]

Are the French rude? Wherever you go, there you are

This ridiculous article from the New York Daily News really ticked me off,  for several reasons. Firstly, if there are any people who should be sensitive to an underserved reputation for rudeness, it should be New Yorkers. I’ve dined in Paris and New York, chatted with waiters, and asked for help from strangers in both cities. My own experience is that Parisians and New Yorkers are for the most part friendly and accommodating to visitors, mainly because they are so proud of their city, I think. Secondly, if this NY Daily News reporter had a bad experience in a Paris restaurant, how unfair is it to label “the French” as rude?  I once received a smart-ass remark from a waitress at the Carnegie Deli, but I didn’t blame every New Yorker from Times Square to the Catskills.  Worse, what if I blamed “the Americans” because Sophie the waitress was having a bad hair day? I’ve always liked the saying, “Wherever you go, there you are!” 
Read this story below from the New York Daily News, and please comment. I’d like to know what you think!
[ Mike Stevenson / Pas De Merde]

The French were so rude to me in Paris that I had to seek out American eateries | NY Daily News

I went to Paris, but ate like a New Yorker.

Blame the French. My first experience in the City of Light was met with a wave of rudeness — particularly in restaurants — despite how reluctant I was to believe the stereotype that the French are cold.

It’s tough being an American in Paris. Especially when the only French words you know are “Bonjour,” “Merci” and “Au Revoir.”

My sister and I made an effort to greet everyone we met with the proper pleasantry in French, but despite our attempts at speaking the language, we weren’t exactly treated hospitably. [ . . .  ]

Read more of this nonsense at:http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/french-rude-paris-opted-american-food-article-1.2928043

Dubuffet Drawings at the Morgan Library

If you live in or near New York’s Madison Avenue, there’s only a few days remaining to see this exhibit at the Morgan Library (closes January 2) I love the drawing below – Jean Dubuffet’s L’Arnaque (The Swindle), 1962.
[ Mike Stevenson / Pas De Merde]

A leading French artist of the twentieth century, Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985) eschewed traditional notions of beauty in art in favor of what he perceived as more authentic forms of expression, inspired by graffiti, children’s drawings, and the creations of psychiatric patients. Drawing played a major role in his development as he explored on paper new subjects and techniques and experimented with non-traditional tools and modes of application.

Source: Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962 at the Morgan Library | French Culture

Historians Imagine What Paris Sounded Like in the 18th Century

Imagine the sounds coming out of a busy blacksmith shop in an alleyway in Paris sometime back in the 18th century: the hammering of wrought iron, the rhythmic whoosh of air as the blacksmith uses a bellows to stoke a fire.

We have no recordings of the actual sounds of Paris in those early days, so to try and make those 18th-century streets and alleys of Paris come to life takes a bit of careful historical research and a little imagination. Continue reading “Historians Imagine What Paris Sounded Like in the 18th Century” →