Old But Not Out
December 3rd, 2010
Husband has just stumbled across some outrageous photos of an OAP dressed as a daring, death-defying superhero. The story behind the snaps is ace: a few years ago, French photographer Sacha Goldberger found his 91-year-old grandmother Frederika feeling lonely and depressed. To cheer her up, he suggested they shoot a series of punchy photographs in unusual costumes, poses and locations. Frederika (AKA Mamika) agreed albeit reluctantly, but once they got rolling and the camera got clicking, there was no stopping the dynamic duo.
Bite of the Apple
December 2nd, 2010
One week ago I was tasked with the baking of an apple pie. Simple, you might assume. But there was a hungry Thanksgiving horde with high expectations and nothing’s quite as disappointing as poor pastry. Flaccid or too-floury crust, too-tart or tangy apples, sugar on the high or low side… people, these are the perennial fears of the pie-maker. Especially in this country, where in one year I’ve unearthed endless apple pie idioms that tell how deeply embedded this delightful dessert is in the national psyche. As American as apple pie = quintessentially American. In apple pie order = in very good order, or very well organized.
Full Circle
December 1st, 2010
It’s December Day One, which means we’re officially entering the one-month run to Christmas. So, now’s when we really start stomaching shedloads of chintzy shop decor. Now’s when our ears will properly be pummeled by carols and Christmas songs shouted loud from shop speakers. And we’d better be ready for all advertisers and avaricious vendors filling us in on exactly how many hours and minutes we’ve left to buy the perfect gift.
The X Factor
November 30th, 2010
I’m attached to the saint we’re talking about today: St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and gave his name to that fantastic place in Fife (legend says that relics were conveyed there from Constantinople in the 10th century). Andrew was a brother of Saint Peter, and like him a disciple of Christ. Andrew’s attribute is an X-shaped cross, following the method of his martyrdom: he requested not to die on a Latin cross, deeming himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus. St Andrew’s Cross is still on the national flag of Scotland. Read the rest of this entry »
A La Art
November 29th, 2010
Having just returned from a week of wonderful wandering on the West Coast where we ate out a lot, I’m in the mood to write about art and food. You see, when dining out, what appears on the walls around you is just as important as what appears on the plate in front of you. Don’t you think? There’s a cheap and cheerful Greek joint in DC where for a few dollars you’ve got yourself a hero sandwich and a vat of Diet Coke. What I enjoy just as much as the food there is the almost-authentic atmosphere conjured by a clatter of picture frames filled with images of Greece across every inch of wall. Yes, there are plastic plants and yes, the music is a little insistent, but I swear: squint just a little and all that white stucco architecture and deep blue sea sits deliciously with a pita and lifts you out of even the longest, most tiring DC day.
In Our Sights
November 28th, 2010
Since we’re with the theme of human behavior this weekend, I’m taking you from the active insistence of our Apollo archetype yesterday to a more subtle and significant pattern of people-relations today. When next you’re out and about, see if you can’t clock the sight-lines that are exchanged in couple contexts, or in parent-child relationships. Apparently, the kind of side-on, split-second look you often catch between people is something that happens in close relationships all the time. A quick glance thrown from one person to another is a way of checking that the thing we’re doing or saying or so on is getting the approval signals we need.
One, Two, Tree
November 27th, 2010
It’s another myth-meets-modern-celebrity-couple situation today and we’re taking inspiration from the decidedly ungodly Russell Brand. For those who’ve seen the 2008 flick Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you’ll know Brand offers up in it his usual brand of awkward, not-sure-if-it’s-funny stuff. And from what his co-star Kristen Bell has since said of the shoot, he spent his off-camera hours doing what Brand did best in his pre-Katy Perry days. Brand had sent his female companion home when he spotted Bell, ready to put the moves on his co-star. But Bell was having none of it: “I made it really clear from the beginning that I would sock him in the b***s if he tried anything,” she says. “So he was intimidated, truth be told.”
