Paris bans cars for third day to help curb crippling air pollution 

Paris prohibited cars from going the roads on Tuesday and Wednesday depending on whether their license plates ended in even or odd numbers, and will continue to do so on Thursday.

The City of Light can’t catch a (clean) breath. The capital city experienced the worst air pollution in a decade, according to Reuters, prompting officials to enforce a driving restriction for the third day in a row. Earlier this fall, the city council approved Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo’s controversial ban of cars along a two-mile stretch of the Seine, but change can’t come fast enough, it seems.

Continue reading “Paris bans cars for third day to help curb crippling air pollution “ →

The Dardenne brothers: ‘Attacks on Obama to democratise healthcare are pathetic’ 

The Belgian siblings speak about their new film, why they are drawn to stories of female empowerment and how they think The Unknown Girl might be received in the US

Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the Belgian siblings who have twice won the Palme d’Or, speak in Cannes about their new film. The Unknown Girl is the story of a young female doctor trying to discover the identity – and the killer – of a woman found dead outside her medical practice. They discuss why they are drawn to stories of female empowerment and gender equality and how they think the film might be received in countries such as the US, where the fight for universal healthcare continues.

Watch the Interview: The Dardenne brothers: ‘Attacks on Obama to democratise healthcare are pathetic’ – video interview | Film | The Guardian

Yael Naim Coming to New York City’s Highline Ballroom 12/8

Eight years ago, Steve Jobs handpicked one of the most unlikely songs to soundtrack an Apple spot. Whimsical and modest, Yael Naïm’s folk-pop “New Soul” was more willfully analog than tech-savvy. But mostly, it was catchy-catapulting around the globe, from the northern and southern to eastern and western hemispheres. In the U.S. alone, it sat on three Billboard charts: the Hot 100, Adult Alternative, and Adult Top 40. “It was,” Naïm says sweetly, “a miracle.” [ . . .  ]

More at: Yael Naim Coming to New York City’s Highline Ballroom 12/8

I felt raped by Brando

As the star of Last Tango In Paris, Maria Schneider took part in the most infamous sex scene ever. In this rare interview she reveals the devastating consequences

[July 2007] Last Tango In Paris was undoubtedly one of the most influential – and controversial – films of the last century. Starring Marlon Brando, then aged 48 and exuding aggressive masculinity, and Maria Schneider, a 19-year-old French unknown, it featured one of the most infamous movie sex scenes ever filmed. Denounced as obscene, the film – a tale of lust between an older man and younger woman who meet for anonymous and increasingly racy sexual encounters -was banned in many countries, including Continue reading “I felt raped by Brando” →