not always just skin deep -hedy lamarr

austrian hedy lamarr who found fame in the casablanca prototype algiers, was huge hollywood star in 40's .her look so influential that more than one contemporary star imitated her . her beauty tended to over shadow her acting, nor was she over concerned with her career turning down Casablanca gaslight,laura, duel in the sun and saratoga trunk ,largely because being Jewish she devoted herself to the war effort, tirelessly raising money.she also invented a frequency hopping sytemn designed to jam enemy radio signals. this technology led on to gyroscopic elements of rocketry and space exploration and the invention of the mobile phone; she also invented sequential traffic light systems in use in new york .everyone looked at lamarr when they might well have listened. the patent on her invention ran out and she received small recompense even from the U.S government .before she died she was honoured by the electronic frontiers institute in California for her pioneering work . a great movie star, theshe was epitome of hollywood glamour ,but more importantly a world class physicist, to whom we are all indebted

opposites on court

monfils behaves badly on court, is like a circus act with strokes of genius,yet is a credit to metropolitan frenchness with his humour, his flair , gracious in defeat, no disappointment shows ,he seems to realise its only a game - so a big bravo .murray sullen , charisma gland missing ,nationalistic, sour, stomps off when he's beaten ,has voice like robot wears unsuitable kit, whats there to love tell me

murray/monfils why is one loveable the other not

the land of polar

or this

this

albert camus to be or not to be

a political stunt?or reverence

sarkozy is attempting to transfer the remains of Nobel prize winner from lourmarin to a new resting place inside the pantheon in Paris.there to take his place amongst the greats of french culture and literature .raised in Algeria of a pied noir family, he was always anti establishment, whether it was the accepted view of the existential movement or absurdism. he was also adrift of the french intellectual elite when it came to the cause of french settlers in in Algeria by daring to suggest rapprochement was a desirable out come. he was a pacifist but joined the Resistance ,he opposed capital punishment, a one time communist he opposed Russian actions in Hungary and the stance of the french socialism in its subservience to the Russian point of view. albert camus was not a cypher but a real man ,who stood by a mixture of personal views some of them contradictory whether they were acceptably main stream or not . his best known work the plague is memorable for more reasons than i can explain here, its central theme the role of the outsider .for my generation it was his death that was so shocking - greatness snuffed out casually as the result of a last minute decision to travel by car instead of train .now that sarkozy is trailing in the polls a populist gesture is perhaps the reason he wishes to re inter him . though it is strange notion as Camus was so anti authority. he rests where he rests,his family are resisting the move, why indeed would a man who existed within the fortress of his own intellect need establishment aprobation to enhance his greatness .if he is looking down, he is either amused or irritated by this proposal and would probably wish to remain in the south as close as possible to his beloved algerie

the curse of brown

the queens speech contains a long over due statement on flood defences and what happens next day the biggest deluge ever to hit cumbria in a thousand years 5 bridges swept away 100.000 ,000 of damage. so caring granny brown goes on walkabout /photo opportunity, pledges a million goes back to london ,thats 50 years of infra structure neglect sorted then --ps some of the people in carlisle floods arn't back in their homes after two years and havent seen the colour of money yet

football and france a bad week

you begin to wonder if sport is worth the hassel .this week france has suffered doubly because of the beautiful game. algeria wins in the world cup which leads to celebration then chaos, old divisions are opened up rioting ensues in marseille and paris .is any game worth this. then thiery henri does a handball to win over the irish be sure they'll never let it rest, worse still it brought franco phobia out like an plague of of boils. sport is supposed to unite in the uk it also divides the nations ,so whats point the other than exercise, maybe we should all take up thai chi or ballroom dancing

van rumpuy angela's choice perhaps they deserve each other

european union

everything that makes the British sceptics on Europe have been on parade this week. for any one in France wonders why we remain anti then- here's a personal view,the UK firstly is the only country with 1000 years of not being overrun we also have more importantly a history of democracy stretching back 300 years its first seeds sown in the 12th century .Germany's and Italy's democracy began 1945,Spain in the 50's like wise Portugal apart from the Benelux and Scandinavia which were occupied In the war the rest cannot look back beyond 1989 France only goes back to 1870 therefore it is in the British spirit to resent unelected presidents commissioners making decisions, the president of the European commission should have been chosen by the European parliament , as it it appears the European engineis driven German attitude tidyness and beaurocratic order and that disturbs us. debate and questioning is our life blood compromise our national characteristic. the british people currently emasculated by an unelected pm would have had referendum on the lisbon treaty and it would never have been ratified. as long as a German agenda is supported by France for reasons that entirely escape me, the UK will never join whole hearted in Europe .this doesn't mean we are wedded to the u.s far from it ,but we do have world experience and a view the rest of Europe hasnt avialable.i am a europhile i love France almost as much as the uk but i love the accountability of politicians even more .its time for democratisation,inspiration, we as peoples are not here at the convenience of merkel etc .i would love to see a Europe united in common aims but these aims must be decided on democratically, not set up by nations whose veneer of real democracy is thinner than they would have us believe .the trait amongst beaurocrats in Brussels to pursue the answer they want until thy get it,this promises a bleak future ,unless you never understood or cared about the democratic principle in the first place

michele morgan elegance different

Michele Morgan little known outside France was nevertheless revered in British art houses for her transcendental coolness ,the star of 53 films she presented a glacial reserve and air of sophistication seldom associated with blonds out side the work of Hitchcock, apart from being second choice for Casablanca after Hedy Lamarr , Hedy wouldn't and Bergman was cheaper ,her stay in Hollywood during the war showed collective lack of imagination, she is best remembered in England for her appearance in the fallen idol. among french actresses she is a collectors piece this side of the channel but no less illustrious for that still beautiful at 89 she is a lesson in elegance and class that are increasingly rare attributes these days

robert pattinson/edward cullen

robert pattinson a male greta garbo, a cinematic face that the audience can write its own aspirations onto. a cross between,gerard phillipe and louis garrel he has brought the intensity of british style to hollywood and has the intelligence to make the most ordinary garrments look elegant,or the most ordinary line of dialogue meaningful- his latest inncarnation new moon is released this week

L'élégance éternelle et incarnée

Comme un symbole, Peter Ibbetson qui s'extrait du monde réel vers le monde du rêve. Le résistant, c'est lui. Rares sont les Peter d'aujourd'hui. Plus nombreuses désormais les masses humaines, dans les centres commerciaux, hypnotisées et creuses de l'intérieur.

Elegant au soleil

Puisque tel est notre propos, contre la vulagrité révélée, voici quelques éléments d'élégance intemporelle. Tout d'abord Mistral

carla the ultimate distraction

madame de gualle quiet asset

mrsbrown distraction more than quiet asset

this is what it used to be like mrs churchill on the right

vulgarity on this side of the channel too

the prime ministers wife sums up everything that is debatable in British society .she pretends to be free woman but abases herself for her husband, she has time to twitter endlessly, then pretend to be fashion icon. a waste of her time and money, she is reticent but makes political speeches and then dresses like starlet after cheap publicity ,what happened to decorum dignity reserve things we were once renowned for a country gets the government it deserves well we never asked for a so called first lady ,we have the queen for that. and as for our pm its about time he tried to get himself elected. all of this makes you long for the good old days of mrs churchill and yvonne de gaulle who when they made an appearance you felt it was for a good cause other than their own

stadium at bercy paris

masters at bercy

why is tennis such a great game-its because of the one to one psychology ,the personal responsiblity,its about temprement ,will and strength. the final at bercy in paris was exemplary djokovic versus monfils ,the game going to a tie break with a narrow win for the serb at the last moment despite the charismatic mon fils and a partisan crowd. tennis at its best .a word about the venue inside a pyramid covered in grass how on earth do they cut it simple really ,a machine that cuts slopes and attached to the frame of the pyramid only the parisians would go to such trouble

Vulgaire est mon époque

Quelques pensées peu enthousiasmantes (au sens littéral, c'est à dire des pensées loin d'une idée de Dieu ou de transcendance), ces idées viennent d'elles mêmes lorsque mon regard se pose sur le coeur du triste monde médiatique, politique ou social. Oui je le pense: mon époque est vulgaire. Cela tant au niveau du comportement lui-même, du langage, de la manière d'être mais aussi et surtout vulgaire "mentalement". Un monde, une société soumise à l'emprise de l'instantanéité, du superficiel, du mercantile. Le bon peuple de France n'est plus révolutionnaire, ce n'est pas ce que je lui demande, mais au moins devrait-il être révolté. Même les peurs ont perdu leur subvertion, le fléau médiatico-politique du virus H1N1 ridiculise toute la nation, le gouvernement complice des médias a crée un monstre lexical bien plus que réel, un tour de passe-passe substituant les inquiétudes compréhensibles des difficultés quotidiennes à un "fantasme", un "fantôme" médical. Cela est vulgaire et d'une grande laideur dans la manipulation des peurs. Comment se hisser vers le "Haut", vers l'espoir ? Alors même que chaque jour le citoyen français se réveille baigné dans les turpitudes de son quotidien auxquelles on ajoute des angoisses crées de toutes pièces. Quelle hideuse proposition de vie...Alors ne reste-t-il pas comme vraie résistance celle de l'élégance des idées ou au pire celle de l'ironie.
Cela me rappelle le texte suivant, à méditer:



Celui qui a dit
Que « le dandysme est un état
De guerre »
Il a ainsi lâché aux visages
Uns et innombrables
Les logorrhées d’incandescence
Du désir sans vous autres
Logorrhées salvatrices n’est-ce pas ?
Oscar
Marcel
Beau
Jules
Des Esseintes
Barbey
Où en sont vos ailes d’explosifs ?

delicious

when in france when and you visit a restaurant look out for the following brandade a fish dish to be found in nimes the restaurant on top of the carre d'art does an excellent local salad and has great views thrown in gratis . beouf en daube all you need is camargue bull for an authentic taste and then an experienced a taster. it takes two days to make ,the marinade 24 hours it tastes better on the second day after the first serving . come think of its impossible to know what your getting in a restaurant ,the home version is always best ,so make a french friend. soup de poisson you can buy it in jars ,restaurants interpretation varies ,its served with croutons, rouille ,garlic and parmisan cheese on top. the best any where was le'encas in la coitat. the chef notorious for a hilarious hair piece is alas retired .the search to replace him continues .avoid the rick stein version anglicised and horrible .iles flottant are a a sort of meringue floating in creme anglaise, no one seems to get this one wrong .they serve it at the daurade in marseille the home of superalive fish dishes and at the restaurant of the corsican bothers on sea front at st jean la la ciotat, though the general standard in france has declined there are pockets where sublime tastes lurk like endangered species experience them soon before american juggernaut conquers all no not- enjoy - rather bon apetit

autumn

in england many bright colours in the landscape problems with europe could it be we have a 1000 years of independence and almost 300years of modern democracy when most countries other than the sandinavions and france a junior joining the democratic club in 1870 dont quite know what its about. gordon meanwhile is trying to train up a drug ridden police force and raddled army who will serve a corrupt regime in afghanistan the hope it will protect the streets of britain when will politicians learn to say got it wrong ,while they grapple with heir lack of maturity and self confidence politicians poeple are dying

up dates

jean sarkozy will not be the head of la defense he has backed down and will have a seat on the board instead the ambitious boy is poised for a take over sooner or later .de villpaine awaits his verdict No tumbrel but a 18 month suspended sentence .carla bruni is branded the new marie antionette by a reporter things never change .the french queen was vilified by the journal le pere duchesne. she was the first media victim. the concerened journalist followed her to the guillotine and died badly unlike the queen who was courageous to the end. carlas crimes she is out of touch ,extravagant ,and foreign .we've heard this some where before and so much for European integration .lets hope the reporter has more luck with keeping his head on his shoulders than he has with restraining his prejudices

not the first

it was stated last week that chirac is the first french ex head of state to face a trial not true, his predecessor louis 16th faced the same process and we know how that turned out in stead of cake chirac spent 700,000 euros on lettuce.

crazy politics

in the uk we have an unelected prime minister who signed the lisbon treaty without having a refrendum, who will now vote for an unelected president of the european union- sign me up for the revolution i'm ready