Category Archives: Culture

Culture, Magazines, Previews, Reviews, Society, Tourism, Travel

CULTURE: FRANCE-AMÉRIQUE MAGAZINE – September 2023

September 1, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

France-Amérique Magazine – September 2023 – The issue features ‘The Little Prince in America’ – Did you know the Little Prince was born in New York? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry had found refuge in the United States during World War II when he published his best-selling novella, 80 years ago. Also, an interview with fashion queen Diane von Fürstenberg, whose iconic take on the wrap dress is turning 50; and meet Jean-Christophe Bouvet, the French actor who plays the extravagant designer Pierre Cadault in Emily in Paris!

NEW YORK CITY – The Little Prince’s Other Planet

By Clément Thiery

The Little Prince is from Asteroid B 612, but it was in New York City that he sprang from the imagination of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the French author and aviator who lived in the U.S. during World War II. To celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the tiny hero’s creation, a statue will be unveiled opposite Central Park in mid-September.

SWAINE – Hollywood’s Temple of Luxury Accessories

By Clément Thiery

What do Harrison Ford’s hat in the latest Indiana Jones and Gene Kelly’s umbrella in Singin’ in the Rain have in common? Swaine London! This brand has specialized in luxury goods for more than 270 years and was recently acquired by the French group Chargeurs.

FROM THE NEWSDESK

Anger at Plans to Relocate les Bouquinistes During the 2024 Paris Olympics. By Anthony Bulger

EDITORIAL

Tocqueville and Illiberalism. By Guy Sorman

INTERVIEW

Olivier Coste: Why There Is No French Google. By Guy Sorman

ICON

Jean-Christophe Bouvet: “There Is Something of Myself in Pierre Cadault.” By Jérôme Kagan

CAMPUS

Sciences Po, the Parisian School Teaching Future American Leaders. By Jean-Gabriel Fredet

ANNIVERSARY

New York City, the Little Prince’s Other Planet. By Clément Thiery

THE BRIEF

Diane von Fürstenberg: “The Wrap Dress Made Me an Independent Woman.” By Kyra Alessandrini

EDUCATION

Gladys Francis: Connecting the Caribbean and America. By Hélène Vissière

HISTORY

New York Fashion Week’s Transatlantic Heritage. By Diane de Vignemont

Culture, Travel, Videos, Views

Travel & Culture: The Daily Life Of Nomads In Tibet

September 1, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Tibet Travel / Tibet Vista (August 31, 2023) – A view into the daily life of living at the altitude of 4,800 meters for a Tibetan nomad family.

It is believed that Tibetans are derived from the ancient Qiang People, the nomads of ancient China. It is the intermarriage between the Qiang People and local tribes on the edges of the plateau that led to the beginning of the modern Tibetan people. Due to the severe environment, the extreme altitude and the lack of convenient transportation, Tibetans have long relied on pastoralism for survival.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Homes, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 30, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – August 30, 2023: This week’s issue features looks at horse racing, Arundel Castle and how to make your own nature reserve.

A princely seat

In the first of two articles, John Goodall examines the early life of Arundel Castle, the Duke of Norfolk’s seat in West Sussex

Take cover

Simon Lester sows the seeds of Nature recovery by ditching chemical fertiliser and planting green manure and cover crops

Conditions of carriage

The history of horse-drawn transport is not all romance and gentility, reveals Charles Harris

Culture, Magazines, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – September 1, 2023

August 30, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Guardian Weekly (September 1, 2023) – The issue features Prigozhin’s downfall – What next for Putin, Russia and Wagner?; Zadie Smith returns to the streets of London; Protecting the Arctic Sea, and more…

Andrew Roth explores what the legacy of the Wagner warlord might be for Russia – which may well hinge on Putin himself and how the war in Ukraine turns out.

Pjotr Sauer looks at the array of methods used to dispose of Putin’s political enemies in the past, while Dino Mahtani asks what will happen to Wagner group’s clandestine operations in Africa now its enigmatic boss is no longer in the picture.

In Spotlight, a beautiful photo-essay by Ossie Michelin and Eldred Allen transports us to the Canadian Arctic where, amid alarming signs of warmer winters and receding ice, Inuit people are planning to turn 15,000 sq km of the Labrador Sea into a unique conservation zone.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Sept 4, 2023

August 28, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

A man hides behind a tree while a woman and dog run past.

The New Yorker – September 4, 2023 issue: The issue’s cover features James Thurber’s “New Tricks”, discussed by the artist’s granddaughter and his legacy and his love for his canine companions.

How a Man in Prison Stole Millions from Billionaires

With smuggled cell phones and a handful of accomplices, Arthur Lee Cofield, Jr., took money from large bank accounts and bought houses, cars, clothes, and gold.

Illustration of an IPhone showing modern home on the screen surrounding the phone shows a prison.

By Charles Bethea

Early in 2020, the architect Scott West got a call at his office, in Atlanta, from a prospective client who said that his name was Archie Lee. West designs luxurious houses in a spare, angular style one might call millionaire modern. Lee wanted one. That June, West found an appealing property in Buckhead—an upscale part of North Atlanta that attracts both old money and new—and told Lee it might be a good spot for them to build. Lee arranged for his wife to meet West there.

Coco Gauff’s Glorious Progress

Tennis player Coco Gauff smiles on a tennis court

Gauff has the charisma and talent to be not just a champion but a star, and this summer she has played better than ever before.

By Gerald Marzorati

Last weekend, at a tournament in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Coco Gauff beat Iga Świątek for the first time. It was one of those moments in tennis when the ground seemed to shift: Gauff had never taken a set from Świątek, the current world No. 1, in the seven previous times they’d met. It was the biggest win of Gauff’s young career—but it was in keeping with a high-summer revving of her already formidable game. In the hard-court tournaments held across North America which are essentially warmups for the U.S. Open, Gauff has been the imposing presence that the tennis world has been waiting for her to become—waiting avidly, for sure, but a little anxiously, too. As recently as early July, when she lost in the first round at Wimbledon, there was fretting that she wasn’t making quick enough progress.

Cities, Culture, Food & Drink, Reviews, Tours, Travel, Videos, Views

Culinary Views: A 24-Hour Foodie Tour Of Barcelona

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TOPJAW Films (August 27, 2023) – A tour of the best, non-touristy spots in BARCELONA including 7 new restaurants & bars, a locally-loved bakery, an intimate dining experience and a one-of-a-kind cocktail bar.

Video timeline: 00:00 Origo 01:52 Bar La Camila 03:04 La Sagrada Familia 03:32 Suculent 05:02 Gothic Quarter 05:20 La Campana 05:53 P&O Cruises (Ariva) 08:09 El Born 08:27 Bar El Born 09:27 Mariposa Negra 10:37 Suru Bar

Culture, Magazines, Photography, Previews, Reviews, Travel

National Geographic Traveller – October 2023

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National Geographic Traveller Magazine (October 2023): This issue features Thailand – Idyllic Tropical Islands, a Bangkok Food Tour, and a visit with Northern Hill Tribes; A road trip along the Dalmatian Coast; Morocco – Hiking in the High Atlas Mountains and more…

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

Views: The New York Times Magazine – August 27, 2023

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (August 27, 2023) – In this week’s cover story, Jen Percy reports on what people misunderstand about rape. Plus, the case that could unravel an art dynasty and a Harvard professor who is also an alien hunter.

What People Misunderstand About Rape

A photo illustration of a woman in a black-and-white collage.

Sexual assault often goes unpunished when victims fail to fight back. But investigators, psychologists and biologists all describe freezing as an involuntary response to trauma.

By Jen Percy

There’s a lingua franca that women use, a repeated vocabulary to describe what they experience and think during a sexual assault. Variations of “freezing” are often part of that vocabulary. But the word has so many referents in its colloquial usage that it’s hard to know precisely what it means to each person saying it.

“I just absolutely froze,” Brooke Shields said in the documentary “Pretty Baby,” describing how she felt when being raped. “And I just thought, Stay alive and get out.”

The Inheritance Case That Could Unravel an Art Dynasty

How a widow’s legal fight against the Wildenstein family of France has threatened their storied collection — and revealed the underbelly of the global art market.

By Rachel Corbett

Twenty years ago, a glamorous platinum-blond widow arrived at the Paris law office of Claude Dumont Beghi in tears. Someone was trying to take her horses — her “babies” — away, and she needed a lawyer to stop them.

Culture, History, Landmarks, Tours, Travel, Videos

French Views: Wondrous Waters Of The River Seine

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FRANCE 24 English Films (August 24, 2023) – The Seine is literally the center of life in Paris, flowing right through the heart of the capital. Considered one of the most romantic rivers in the world, the Seine is overflowing with history and is a great way to discover the city of light.

More recently, officials have given the Seine a facelift, making the banks more accessible and improving the quality of the water. Join Florence Villeminot and Genie Godula for this aquatic episode of French Connections Plus where they dive into the wondrous waters of the river Seine.

Arts & Literature, Culture, History, Magazines, Science, Society

Culture: The American Scholar – Autumn 2023

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THE AMERICAN SCHOLAR – AUTUMN 2023:

Will the Real Vergil Please Stand Up?

Making sense of the life of a poet about whom we know so little

by Sarah Ruden

Great works of literature are sly and powerful beasts that pounce on their readers, grabbing them by the neck and shaking them back and forth. The young Augustine looks like a typical victim of Vergil’s Aeneid. The schoolboy being brought up as a Christian in fourth-century CE North Africa found the first-century BCE epic poem of pagan Rome the most impressive thing in his cultural life to date. Tellingly, his reaction shows no interest in the poem’s theme of individual sacrifice in the name of imperial destiny; rather, into middle age, the great theologian and founder of institutional Catholic monasticism remembered weeping for Dido, who commits suicide after her lover, Aeneas, abandons her at the end of Book IV.