Happy New Year!

I would like to wish a very happy New Year to all of you! May it be filled with good times, good meals, discoveries and pleasant encounters! See you in 2011!

x

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Je voudrais souhaiter une bonne et heureuse année à vous tous! Qu'elle soit emplie de bon temps, de bons repas, de découvertes et d'agréables rencontres! On se revoit en 2011!

x

In the past ten days...

I'm very glad to see you all seem to have had fantastic holidays! For my part, it was not as expected as my family received bad news a few days before Christmas and consequently spent our time planning visits and visiting my aunt at the hospital. I am currently taking my last days off to relax.

On a more cheerful note, guess who received a digital camera (and a stock of film rolls)? This means that you will have to bear with me as I adjust to my new gadget and present you with a few slightly self-centered posts! I am very happy to have written down a list in November and would recommend it to any of you who are toying with the idea of making New Year resolutions possible to keep. I have been very good at fulfilling my creative aspirations regarding collages and jewellery; I have started a small book of collages (I'm supposed to add one a week) and I have finally sent a new collection of necklaces to Victoire (pictures coming!). So here's my first "show-off" post, I really wanted to share my new collages with you! xo

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Je suis bien contente de voir que vous semblez tous avoir eu des fêtes fantastiques! Pour ma part, ce n'était pas comme je l'avais prévu comme ma famille a reçu de mauvaises nouvelles tout juste avant Noël et que nous avons conséquemment passé notre temps à planifier nos visites et à visiter ma tante à l'hôpital. Je prends donc mes derniers jours de congé pour relaxer.

Sur une note plus joyeuse, devinez qui a reçu une caméra digitale (et des rouleaux de film)? Ceci signifie que vous allez devoir me supporter pendant que je m'ajuste à mon nouveau gadget et que je vous présente quelques billets légèrement égoïstes! Je suis heureuse d'avoir fait une liste en novembre et le recommende à quiconque désirant faire des résolutions du Nouvel An possibles à garder. J'ai bien réussi à combler mes aspirations concernant collages et fabrication de bijoux; j'ai commencé un petit livre de collages (je suis supposée d'en ajouter un à chaque semaine) et j'ai finalement envoyé une nouvelle collection de colliers chez Victoire (photos à venir!).
Donc voici mon premier billet "démonstrateur", je voulais vraiment partager mes nouveaux collages avec vous! xo

Photos: my collages/mes collages.

Camille's Christmas message

I would like to wish a very merry Christmas to all of you who are reading this.
I will be leaving tomorrow for my parents' place, and then to visit my mum's very large family. We celebrate what I have been told a few years ago is a "very French-Canadian" Christmas, meaning that it lasts a very long time: réveillon (an over-night party starting late on the 24th and finishing in the early hours of the 25th), then Christmas day with a family dinner at night. We usually all see each other in a more casual way on the 26th and eat all the leftovers! But the thing I have been told is the most unusual of my holiday festivities is the lack of Christmas stockings: we all have New Year stockings filled with clementines and sweets. When I was still living with my parents, we would also extend the holiday season until January the 6th, the Epiphany (they still do it, but I have been unable to celebrate it in the last two years; hopefully, this year it will be possible). Although none of us is particularly religious, the celebration of the Three Wise Kings is still deep-rooted in our habits, but has become more of an excuse to eat good food and a "galette des rois", crispy pastry filled with cream and a bean to determine who will be the king of the night.
And what about presents? Well, the family is so large that we do a gift exchange, and only give personal presents to the closer family (in my case, only my parents as I am an only child!).

How about you, how will you spend your Holidays?

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J'aimerais souhaiter un très joyeux Noël à tous ceux qui lisent ceci.
Je pars demain pour la maison de mes parents, et ensuite je vais visiter la très grande famille de ma mère. Nous célébrons à ce qu'on m'a dit, il y a quelques années, un Noël "très Canadien-français", signifiant que les célébrations durent très longtemps: réveillon (une fête nocturne qui commence tard le 24 et finit dans les petites heures du 25), ensuite le jour de Noël avec un souper de famille. On se voit habituellement le 26 d'une façon un peu plus décontractée, et nous mangeons les restants! Mais la chose qu'on m'a dit qui est la plus inhabituelle de mes fêtes est l'absence de bas de Noël: nous avons des bas du jour de l'an remplis de clémentines et de sucreries. Quand je vivais toujours avec mes parents, nous allongions la saison des fêtes jusqu'au 6 janvier pour la Fête des rois (ils le font toujours, mais j'ai été incapable de la fêter ces deux dernières années; avec un peu de chance, ce sera possible cette année!). Bien qu'aucun de nous ne soit particulièrement religieux, la Fête des rois est tout de même implantée dans nos moeurs mais est plutôt devenue une occasion de bien manger et de déguster une galette des rois (une pâtisserie feuilletée remplie de crème et d'une fève pour désigner le roi de la soirée).
Et les cadeaux, eux? Eh bien, la famille est tellement grande que nous faisons un échange de cadeaux, et ne donnons des cadeaux personnels qu'à notre famille plus rapprochée (dans mon cas, seulement mes parents comme je suis fille unique!).

Et vous, comment allez-vous passer votre temps des fêtes?

Photo: 1.

My type

The Index-Israeli Blue.

Cannot stop listening to them.

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Je ne peux cesser de les écouter.

A Christmas message from Reverend Tendril

Rev. Tendril has spent most of his life in colonial India, preaching to British expatriates. Upon his return to England, he keeps on reading the same, now inappropriate, sermons. The Christmas one is the paroxysm of this phenomena:

"'How difficult it is for us,' he began, blandly surveying his congregation, who coughed into their mufflers and chafed their chilblains under their woollen gloves, 'to realize that this is indeed Christmas. Instead of the glowing log fire and windows tight shuttered against the drifting snow, we have only the harsh glare of an alien sun; instead of the happy circle of loved faces, of home and family, we have the uncompreheding stares of the subjugated, though no doubt grateful, heathen. Instead of the placid ox and ass of Bethlehem,' said the vicar, slightly losing the thread of his comparisons, 'we have for companions the ravening tiger and the exotic camel, the furtive jackal and the ponderous elephant...'"

Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust, p.61

Photo: 1.

A philocalist's thank you note/ Une lettre de remerciement de la part d'une philocaliste

Remember when I was drooling over the A.P.C. Madras fall/winter collection? Well, I would very much like to thank the girls of my city, Montréal, who share my shape and size but not my taste. You see, as a job-less student, buying new clothing is a luxury. I only indulge in my vice through second-hand shops (and sometimes wait for their monthly 50% off day) or through exchanging what I already have for credit. But, once in a blue moon arrives a day when chance is on my side, and that day was yesterday. I stumbled upon the two blouses above at more than 50% off. In my size. And they fit like a charm.
All this to finally tell you that if you had been eying them for the whole fall like me, they are on big sale at UO.

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Vous vous souvenez quand je bavais d'envie devant la collection automne/hiver d'A.P.C. Madras? Eh bien, je voudrais remercier les filles de ma ville, Montréal, qui partagent ma taille et ma forme mais pas mes goûts. Vous voyez, comme étudiante sans emploi, acheter des vêtements neufs est un luxe. J'entretiens mon vice seulement à travers les magasins d'occasion (et j'attends parfois leur événement mensuel où tout est à 50% de rabais) ou en échangeant ce que je possède déjà contre du crédit. Mais, très rarement, arrive un jour où la chance est de mon côté, et ce jour était hier. Je suis tombée sur les deux blouses ci-haut à plus de 50% de rabais. Dans ma taille. Et elles me font comme un gant.
Tout ceci pour finalement vous dire que si, comme moi, vous les avez regardées tout l'automne, elles sont en grand rabais chez UO.

British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling

According to the description, this demonstrates "British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling", 1963. The soundtrack is fantastic, simply fantastic.

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Selon la légende, ceci démontre "Le dévouement du British Rail à combattre le blizzard", 1963. La bande sonore est fantastique, simplement fantastique.

Bright Young Things

After reading only one of his books, A Handful of Dust, I think I can declare Evelyn Waugh is currently one of my favourite authors. Of course, it does help that I have a soft spot for 1920's-1930's everything, but Mr Waugh writes in a manner that appeals to me very much: it is impossible, or very difficult, to feel any sympathy towards his characters. The air of shallowness most of his characters present is what makes his style, in a way: the story is narrated in a very serious manner, but the ridiculous of the characters' futile personalities and egoist actions overcome anything the narration could counter.

Last night, when I came upon the movie Bright Young Things, based on his book Vile Bodies, I was sold: it was beautiful, well-acted, witty and... ridiculous. Oh, and now I really want to watch it again!

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Après avoir lu un seul de ses romans, A Handful of Dust, je crois pouvoir déclarer qu'Evelyn Waugh est l'un de mes auteurs préférés en ce moment. Bien sûr, ça aide que j'aie un faible pour tout ce qui est années 1920-1930, mais Mr Waugh écrit d'un façon qui me plaît beaucoup; il est très difficile, sinon impossible, d'éprouver de la sympathie pour ses personnages. L'air de frivolité que la plupart de ses personnages présentent est ce qui fait son style, d'une certaine façon: l'histoire est narrée très sérieusement, mais le ridicule de la personnalité futile des personnages et de leurs actions égoïstes défait tout ce qui pourrait être contré par la narration.

Hier soir, quand je me suis par hasard retrouvée devant le film Bright Young Things, inspiré de son roman Vile Bodies, j'ai été vendue tout de suite: c'était magnifique, bien joué, intelligent et... ridicule. On n'appelle pas cette époque "les années folles" pour rien! Oh, et maintenant je veux vraiment le regarder à nouveau!

In the mood

Ready to get in the mood for the holidays?

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Prêts à entrer dans l'esprit des fêtes?

Photos: 1?, 2 (Jocelyn Catterson), 3?, 4?, 5?, 6?, 7?.
(Please let me know if you have any idea where those photos come from, even TinEye cannot identify them!)

Let's go to the museum!

Not too long ago, I went to see the Otto Dix exhibition, entitled "Rouge Cabaret", at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal. I had read about the artist but had seen very little of his paintings; nevertheless, what I had read was enough to get me going. A first element that surprised me is how affected and inspired by the two world wars Otto Dix has been, being German. He participated to the first in order to see what it was like, for the experience, but came be horrified by what he had seen. This is reflected in the first series of paintings and sketches at the exhibition: pacifist pieces depicting the dead, the deformed and damaged civilisation. Before, I was used to see glorious war depictions, with soldiers presented as heroes; it is not the case here.

The section I spent the most time in was the 'prostitute room' (that contains others things too!), which was the most fascinating to me. Dix made a series of nude and semi-nude portraits of prostitutes, and chose as models only the ones that had something artificial or strange about them. Many are naked women in their state, but are so covered with makeup and hair dye and trying to hide their real self and their age that they are still fully dressed in their pride. What also interested me in this section was the 1920's jazz music and the movie extracts from the era that were presented, such as Metropolis, The Blue Angel and Pandora's Box (that I would really like to see!).

The following section was full of portraits of intellectuals and personalities. They were all unconventional in the way that the subject's personality was also depicted through the colours and proportions employed.

The final section showed landscapes. Otto Dix was highly affected by the Nazi regime: his art was deemed 'degenerate', he lost his position as an art professor, some of his pieces were destroyed, and he was forced to move away from the city. He was then banned to paint in his characteristic style and found refuge in innocent landscapes. The historical and technical value of Otto Dix's landscape paintings is undeniable, but I daresay I found it a little bland as I had been really impressed by what I had seen before. Also, if you go, you don't really have to watch the final film: it is great to see his son and his house-museum, but the production is quite poor and I found that the music used was overly dramatic. In other words, I found that the movie clashed with the rest of the exhibition, but you can see it if you want.

My final word? If you are in town, please go, it's really worth it!!