Barry Lyndon

We started watching Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon on Sunday night and finished the second half tonight. Big, sumptuous period piece, full of gorgeous cinematography and tragic characters.

It was a really nice movie - very well acted & enjoyable. The pace was slow-ish but not troubling - it just made you adjust to the speed of the film for a few hours. Which created a great escape.

Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have been working on Tender is the Night for over a month, and it's finally been completed. As is often the case when I can't get through a book - I didn't find it very good. I stopped reading for several weeks, but the book I read a few days back made me decide to push forward w Tender is the Night and it worked - once I got a bit further I was able to finish it.

I researched several reviews to see what other people thought since I really thought it was lousy, and found out that I am not alone. A lof of people besides me found the characters flat and lifeless. I didn't really care what happened to these people, so obviously I didn't want to read the rest of their stories. And in the end nothing ends well it all kind of ends sadly and in a slow mess- which might be the most realistic thing about the book.

Be Kind Rewind

E & I had a "date" last night. We went for a quick dinner (Japanese, Aki, where he introduced me to okonomiya) and then went to the movies last night. It was supposed to be the theatre but E was talking to a client on the phone as we drove in circles looking for a parking space and wouldn't be distracted by me during the process, even though I kept trying to ask him if he was SURE we were in the right neighborhood... bottom line - we weren't. And the theatre was starting at that minute and we still had a good distance to go and parking to find... in short, it wasn't going to happen. (I confess, we've had this scenario play out a few other times...). I smiled sweetly and said it wasn't a big deal, we can just go to the movies.

We showed up at MK2Bibilotheque where there are tons of choices, good parking, and shops to pass the time. We chose to see Be Kind Rewind which I was happy about because it was a comedy and in English - so easy fun for me! It was quite funny, and we laughed a lot (even though we didn't know a lot of the movies they "sweded"). Enjoyable fun film, reminded me a bit of High Fidelity in terms of emotional tone, etc.

A very nice date night, we both enjoyed the restaurant and the unexpected film. One of those outings we don't do often enough... but it worked because it was spontaneous and not forced.

Aki

E and I went here for a quick dinner before the theatre (which became the movies). It's not too far from his office, in the Rue Saint Anne which is the small Japanese district. I've tried several of the restaurants in the area, having lived in the neighborhood for 2 years when I first arrived in Paris, but this one was recommended to us by a friend of ours, and for one particular reason - they are specialized in Okonomiyaki, a type of Japanese crepe-pancake. I had the menu with the okonomiyaki with porc, my DH had it with porc and kimchee, and clearly the kimchee was the winner. Aki : 11 bis, rue Sainte Anne - 75001 Paris. Tel. + 33.1.42.97.54.27. Delicious !!!!

Cellar Door - Loris Gréaud

I also stopped by the Palais de Tokyo (on the left side) the contemporary art museum. I've had some bad memories of previous exhibits here (although one or two that I liked a long while back). But for the first time they are running a one-man show by a 'young genius' Loris Greaud. I don't think I'd call it genius (although most of it was clearly above my head) but it was interesting and new, and gave me back some confidence in contemporary art. I doubt I'll be rushing out to every new contemporary show, but at least I've ended the Nivea-inspired boycott in place for over 2 years now... I looked for an image of these really cool black trees w a red sun/moon to no success - no images easily findable so I put a photo of the artist...

Here's a video on youtube that shows the forest

A. R. Penck - expo

Today I went to the Palais de Tokyo to visit both sides. On the left is the Musee de l'art moderne de la ville de Paris, which has an incredible exhibition space. I've loved just about everything I've seen there, largely because the space is so amazing. I can't wait for Bridget Riley later this summer, but decided to check out the current offering, as a way for me to explore an artist I didn't know at all.

AR Penck was interesting - I suspect his work shows better grouped like this instead of mixed w other artists. I can't say I love it, but I did enjoy the expo.

Pico de gallo

I've been making pico de gallo pretty regularly. Every week I buy cilantro and "piments" and we almost always have tomato and onion on hand. I've learned to add lots of lime juice, to cut into itsy-bitsy pieces and it's become an appreciated staple. It seems to hold up about 5 days in the fridge and we throw it on a bunch of stuff. Yum.