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Sirin and Alkonost, the Birds of Joy and Sorrow, Viktor Vasnetsov

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Ideas for Fall

As fall approaches, be sure to drive out to apple orchards--if not to pick any, then to at least see them, be out in nature and grab a bag of fruit. Make sure to get some apple cider when it starts being made locally, and enjoy the quick moments of cold that sneak up on us this early. Start re-reading or exploring [or introduce a young person to] Poe, Hawthorne, M.R. James and Lovecraft's short stories. Reading them with a chill in the air makes them way more compelling. And spooky. Another thing that helps people enjoy the season, and nature itself, is to look at curated collections of photographs on pinterest or tumblr. There are many about eerie autumnal scenes, or cheery fall barn/farm scenes with beautiful orange leaves everywhere. At night or in the morning, when you don't have time to get outside, looking at a focused group of images can really connect you to nature. You find yourself looking forward to being out in the forest. The image is from the film 'Blade'.

#halloween #fall #autumn #blade

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Travel

On the East Coast, there are only a few options for high intensity city vacations: NYC and Montreal. For the outdoors types, there's Maine. While reading the big Paris blog and the Médoc blog are a must, don't forget your required reading before crossing the border" F---NoMontreal. I love the racing flags strung up between buildings in Old Montreal [as in below from here], though it's hard to just slow down and walk slowly through any part of Montreal. Be sure to go to: --Au Kouign Amann for the incredible raspberry fruit mix drink, sold in little cups --Big in Japan bar on St Laurent for the Jamaican mule after going to Patata Patati for poutine or a slider --McGill Music school free concerts --Chai Tea Lounge on Parc for the raspberry scones and poppy flower extract macarons [called coquelicot in French, a rather unique thing to the culture] --Wilensky for their famous sandwich and homemade cherry cola --To see churches like Notre Dame, Mary Queen of the World, St John the Baptist, St Michael's Polish Byzantine church --Go to the museum by the water for changing exhibitions on ancient world artifacts and the see the Paul Peel painting in the Museum of Fine Arts while you look through which exhibits are on currently --Mamie Clafoutis by MetroSherbrooke for its apricotine, Breton canelé, pistachio-choc croissant and clafoutis --Going through the vintage stuff at Eva B --Getting an almond cookie in Chinatown, looking at the Kawaii store and the Chinese clothes/tea set/statue stores, getting a watermelon bubble tea, going to the new fancy Chinese pastry place for coconut-filled 'melon pan' buns, seeing the downstairs fish tanks and great little altar at the fish store --Looking at the many Asian statue/decor stores in Old Montreal --Getting a rosemary bagel at St Viateur Bagels --Get cucumber sandwiches and a scone at Salon Cardinal Tea Room

#mtl #montreal

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Modern Music

One of the really great artists in music right now is Iceland’s Finnbogi Pétursson--check out his piece ‘Conversation’ and be blown away. It’s like the tv show Hannibal’s aesthetic with an even more human edge.

#hannibal #music #modern music #post-modern #postmodern #post-modernist #iceland

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Food

Since famous Paris food blogger/chef David Lebovitz doesn't update daily, an intellectual food lover can yearn for more--and I've found that the blog EatingAsia really fills the gap. It has tons of fascinating descriptions, you learn a lot, and the photos are amazing. The food it covers is unique and really broadens your horizons if you haven't eaten a lot of Asian food. The diversity of Asian food is amazing! In that vein, there is the Malaysia Food & Travel site. It's similarly great. There's also the really broad, big site FoodRepublic if you are in the mood to read the NYT of the food world; I love the diversity of the articles and focii. Of course, the same applies to Mimi Thorisson, who lives in rural France--she's got an incredibly interesting, beautiful, professional blog that appeals to nature/photography lovers and food lovers. Her anecdotes are always interesting, and it makes you want to immediately travel to a rural countryside and just go on a walk. Some of the photos are NationalGeographic level work, highlighting the true beauty and variety of nature.

#food #david lebovitz #asia #eatingasia #malaysia #malaysian food #mimi thorisson #france #french blog

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Carnival

From Venice to New Orleans, Carnival has begun. The holiday is pre-Lent, so it takes place mostly in late January and in February. One great painting of the long festival is by Frenchman François Flameng [1856-1923]. I love to read NolaDefender for all the interesting New Orleans news. There are some really funny pieces as well, and a great King Cake review piece.

#carnival #new orleans #venice #flameng #french art #art #venetian art

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Music

For people who love M.I.A. but are dying for a new album, I would try first Sleigh Bells [like their song Crown on the Ground] and then some of Kanye West's pieces and the remixes/mashups. 

In general, mashups are a great source of songs for M.I.A.-style music lovers. Kanye in particular has many songs that naturally approach a type of mashup level in complexity and artistry. His piece Dark Fantasy is one, as is Blood on the Leaves and Stronger.

A very long, almost half an hour piece mixing Kanye's music is the Mega mix which is really absorbing. It's a great mix of beats and his songs.

Like M.I.A.'s music, these songs have a natural rhythmic progression that is very involving and great to listen to. For fun, try the Kanye Christmas album, a hilarious rerecording of his latest album Yeezus. The word substitutions are really fun and it's so creative. 

There's a neat Yeezus mashup of the whole album into one single piece here, which is really nice.

#m.i.a. #kanye west #kanye #sleigh bells #music #blood on the leaves #music recs #mashups

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Art

If you love Cambodia, Khmer ancient art or Angkor Wat -- or the Tomb Raider films with Angelina Jolie -- be sure to read the excellent art record of Angkor Wat from 1927. A 23 year old French girl in Cambodia recorded in clear drawings many of the female spirits/nymphs [called 'devatas' by the French at the time or more commonly 'apsara' Sanskrit: अप्सरा] carved on the walls. It's an incredible book, with so many drawings and details it could be used by a film costumer to get a project started. The book is called Khmer Costumes and Ornaments of the Devatas of Angkor Wat by Sappho Marchal. Below is a typical photograph of Angkor Wat, the enormous complex of stone temples and buildings in Cambodia [it's even represented on the country's flag]. A fun little film about Khmer ancient myths [in this case of Preah Thong [also named King Kaundinya I] and his eventual wife the minor goddess/naga Neang Neak [also named Soma] is Pras Toung Neang Neak. To try Cambodian traditional dance, revived in the mid-1900s by Princess Bopa Devi, watch the long dance performance of Preah Thong Neang Neak.

#angkor wat #cambodia #khmer #khmer art #cambodian #cambodian art #tomb raider #angelina jolie #tomb raider films #apsara #preah thong neang neak #naga #cambodian mythology #sappho marchal #cambodian film #cambodian temples

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Kali

This Bengali woodcut of Kali, the Hindu goddess, by the 19th century artist Sri Hemchandra is quite incredible [there are tons more pieces of art on Kali here]. Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका) is associated with empowerment, called shakti. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga.

#Bengali art #bengali #Kali #Ma Kali #Hindu #woodcut #India #Indian art

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Snow

This painting 'Winter landscape with a church' by German Romantic painter of landscapes, Caspar David Friedrich [1774-1840] seems apt as we move into December. The brooding romantics often appeal to fans of Poe and the gothic. Try Friedrich's 'Cemetery entrance' as well, it's a great painting. There's often a sense of the 'wild' in nature, of how vast the world is and our insignificant we are, in Romantic artwork. It's something that not all Romantic verse and literature captures, it's unique.

#german artist #caspar david friedrich #snow #winter #christmas #winter art #romantic painting #romantic era art #poe #gothic #eerie #eldritch

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Art

For incredible Hindu artwork/paintings, be sure to look at the amazing image collection at MagicTransistor. The pieces are unique and fascinating. It's a truly awe-inspiring group of images; there's a piece on every figure and deity that draws you in, even if they weren't one you were interested in or felt a connection to. Recently, cranberry-raisin cookies have been all the rage around here, as has Bvlgari's The Rouge perfume [this is their Fragrantica review collection]. As a big perfume blog reader, I find it strange that our senses of smell may truly be different--what an odd thing to contemplate. Oddly I am more open to the idea that many people see colors differently.

#cranberry-raisin cookies #oatmeal cookies #bulgari #bvlgari #red tea #the rouge #hindu #hindu art #india #indian art #indian statuary

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Fun

Great places to look at the art of Hinduism and India in general is ExoticIndiaArt. You could spend forever simply browsing and being exposed to amazing pieces of art. Lana del Rey's song 'Queen of Disaster' seems perfect for this time of year, for some reason. It's such an enjoyable song, especially for people who like her faster-paced songs. FKA Twigs' has a great song in 'Numbers'. Also, the French-Canadian group Ibeyi is a really interesting musically, and enjoyable; their piece 'Oya' is an amazing, moving song. It's the type of stuff I want to read reviews of on Pitchfork. Too often I try songs recommended and find them kitschy and silly-sounding, not moving. World music is something that is an ocean of undiscovered love. The famous writer Paul Bowles recorded intense, incredible music in rural Morocco for the Library of Congress try this piece here or here's some non-Bowles Moroccan drums piece that are great--the music truly is incredible. Try any of the Sublime Frequencies recordings of music from Algeria, Sumatra or Java or my favorite, Morocco. The huge perfume selection at Possets is literally ruining my life. I need to try 'Blue Danube' and 'Black Tea', and a million other scents. I'm obsessed with the 'black spruce' pine solid perfume at LVNEA--it's from Montreal and amazing. I mean they have 'Mourning Ritual' and 'Ghost Pine', 'Desert Night' and 'Black Sea'. It makes you think of Poe and Welcome to Nightvale at the same time, but make no mistake, these are serious scents for people who love perfume.

#music #ibeyi #music recs #paul bowles #morocco #moroccan #french-canadian #drums #javanese music #moroccan drums #perfume #possets perfume #possets #LVNEA #montreal #montreal perfume #fka twigs #lana del rey #india #indian art

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Tv

If you like The Great Gatsby, Nero Wolfe, or Boardwalk Empire, be sure to try Miss Fisher's Mysteries, a '20s period piece with a female detective. It's quite fun and is streaming on Netflix -- and there are books to read if you prefer, all by Kerry Greenwood. If you enjoy jazz or 1920s music, you'll love their scores: there are THREE soundtracks so far! All on itunes. To see stills and gifs from the series look at MissFisher'sMurderMysteries, for photos see too MissFisher'sCaps. Be sure NOT to watch the pilot episode first, which is more 'cute and quirky' than the rest of the 2 seasons of the series. I prefer the other episodes to the first. Miss Fisher is a fun, moving series with a great sensibility and great love stories, as well as a type of modern, Bechdel test passing quality that many people will enjoy. There is a broad spectrum of characters, it's not just flappers only. The quality of 1920s fashion in the show is great and really fun -- the costumes are truly a cut above, quite beautiful.

#nero wolfe #miss fisher's mysteries #miss fisher #1920s #flappers #bechdel test #the great gatsby #boardwalk empire #early jazz #jazz #kerry greenwood

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Interstellar

Nolan did it again, with his great film Interstellar. It's both visually amazing and exciting, with a lot of emotional, moving scenes. The ideas about physics and quantum concepts were amazing, and really spark you to learn more. Read NolanFans if you enjoy his work, there are reviews and forums, and great fan art. The Interstellar film score is great -- and also if you like Zimmer or film soundtracks, be sure to listen to the live, orchestra versions that are often online, like Zimmer's Inception score live concert here and Michael Giacchino's Star Trek reboot track 'Enterprising young men' here.

#chris nolan #interstellar #hans zimmer #christopher nolan #space #nolan #star trek reboot #michael giacchino #enterprising young men

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India

Some great places to see photos of India are IndiaIncredible and Vintage India [for older photos, this is a great one]. Here are some Sept. 2014 Bollywood songs, always fun to listen to and see if any favorites emerge, and the excellent song collection here to try--including the opening 2014 song Devil's 'Yaar Naa Miley' and the famous, fast older 'Munni Badnam' at min. mark 8:41, and at mark 17:36 is the very infamous, lively older song 'Sheila Ki Jawaani'. For older, more traditional music try Anoushka Shankar - Indian Classical Raga. The image below is Vinayaka [another name for Ganesha, with his elephant head is in the center] with his consorts in the temple, from a book by P. V. Jagadisa Ayyar (from 1920), South Indian shrines: illustrated. [On wiki images]

#india #bollywood #munni badnam #ganesha #hinduism

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Music

Some great recent mashups are Ariana Grande x Ciara - Problem Yeah I Know (Mashup) (Feat Iggy Azalea) and Bang Bang vs. Shake It Off (Mashup) - Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj & Taylor Swift. There's also the great Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX vs. Britney Spears - "Fancy One More Time" (Mashup). The Interstellar score by Hans Zimmer is also excellent, but be sure to hear it first with the incredible images of hurtling through space in the film--try 'Day one dark' for a sense of the haunting, atmospheric terror. It's almost like an intellectual, complex, esoteric, humanity/Carl Jung-focused version of Silent Hill. Many people have enjoyed the great song featured in the Exodus film trailer, Sydney Wayser's 'Belfast Child', it's quite moving.

#muisc #remix #mashup #ariana grande #nicki minaj #taylor swift #interstellar #hans zimmer #silent hill #exodus

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Costume

One great painting is "Pierrette" by Raimundo de Madrazo y Garreta, a Spanish realist painter (1841-1920)--the title is the feminine form of 'pierrot', the famous regular character in the Commedia dell'Arte's early theater:

#costume #pierrot #spain #spanish art #spanish painter #painting #commedia dell'arte