Reflection: Questionnaire de Marcel Proust

I came upon this postcard the other day - a questionnaire that the French writer Marcel Proust answered in the late nineteenth century (twice - first when he was 13 then again at 20) revealing bits of his character, thoughts and dreams. The questions have been used and published many times in various forms, and I always find the interviewee's answers interesting, but I think what is especially intriguing and useful are our very own answers and how they change and evolve over time, with greater understanding and wisdom and experience. When faced with a challenge or personal dilemma, it helps to know who we are and what we believe in.

Some of the questions are just fun little facts, but others really get you thinking... have you tried answering them?

My principal character trait. 

The quality I desire most in a man. 

The quality I desire most in a woman. 

What I value most in my friends. 

My principal character weakness. 

My preferred activity. 

My idea of happiness. 

What would be my greatest misfortune.

What I would like to be.

The country where I would love to live. 

My favorite color. 

My favorite flower. 

My favorite bird. 

My favorite prose authors. 

My favorite poets. 

My favorite fictional heroes. 

My favorite fictional heroines. 

My favorite composers. 

My favorite painters. 

My real life heroes.

My heroines in history. 

My favorite names. 

What I detest more than anything. 

Character traits that I most despise.

Military act I admire the most.

Reform I admire the most.

A natural talent I would like to have.

How I would like to die. 

Current state of mind. 

Faults of which I am most tolerant.

My motto.

***

Read more »

Food + Wine + Friends

Wine and friends are a great blend - Ernest Hemingway

Having married into the French culture and its strict rules of formal dining, I was thrilled to find that on occasion, they enjoy an informal unfussy dining style called apéritif dînatoire. This is when snacks or finger food traditionally served during pre-dinner drinks (apéritif) become more substantial and turn the event into a light dinner. No rules, no formality, no fuss. Just a gathering of friends around good food and drinks...

Read more »

Intouchables

So I finally got a chance to watch Intouchables, a French film I've been waiting so long to see since I first read about it last summer (from fellow blogger and francophile friend Melinda Larson).

If you haven't already had the enormous pleasure of watching Intouchables and you love films that make you laugh, stimulate your mind and heart, and leave you feeling inspired (and you don't mind reading subtitles and hearing French slang), then you just may love this movie. It is based on a true story about two men from completely different backgrounds who form a touching and often laugh-out-loud friendship that ultimately enriches and invigorates their lives and outlook. It may even get you thinking differently about the real needs of the disabled, the price of art and the true value of blind acceptance. In short, it's a beautiful film about friendship with outstanding performances by the two leading actors.

Read more »

As Always, Julia...

Last week on August 15th, Julia Child would have turned 101 years old... hard to believe really.

In the book, "As Always, Julia," her voice comes through the pages in a way that is very clear, warm and exuberant. The book is a compilation of letters written during the 1950's by Julia and Avis DeVoto, who began writing serendipitously and over the course of their correspondence became beloved confidantes. Over about a decade, DeVoto helped guide and tirelessly advocate for Julia's encyclopedic two-volume masterpiece, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Despite all the obstacles and self-doubt and rejections Julia faced, ultimately the cookbook was a triumph. And you end up wanting to cheer for the two women by the end of the book.

Julia's letters reveal her thoughts and observations on human relationships, politics, cooking and of course her ever "so beautiful, so cozy, so lovable" Paris. Much of Julia's wisdom gets circulated online, so I thought I'd share some lesser known tidbits and quotes:

• On relationships: I am extremely curious about how people adjust to life and each other. Before marriage I was wildly interested in sex, but since joining up with my old goat, it has taken its proper position in life.
• On human evolution: One must continually struggle for understanding and experience and wisdom.
• On wine: An old wine is like an old lady, and traveling can disturb her.
• On smoking: We have decided to give up smoking,... so I am puffing away like mad... I think it is really the adult substitute for thumb-sucking.
• On the creative avenue of hat-making: I even took a few lessons when we first came to Paris, and even wore three that I made. Never was any good at making clothes, though. Always looked as though I had made them. Awful, awful.
• On the cookbook: It must communicate, and must be "the cook's best friend"... present complexity smoothed-out, logical, and cookable form, in a lovable and compelling way.
• On her long distance friendship with Avis: I suppose one reason we can write so easily to each other is that, for one, we have established the rhythm, and for another, that our lives are not much involved with each other, actually. Perhaps if we lived next door, we would have developed curtains and veils and various tender heels. Anyway, it is lovely to be perfectly at ease, and to be able to discuss anything at all; and may it remain ever so!
• On husbands [Paul is Julia's]: Paul doesn't come home for lunch, and I shall have almost the whole day to work in... Thank heaven! (Husbands take a lot of attention.)
• On assumptions: I distrust categories and I am pleased that Paul does too. It is too pat and all-inclusive, and if I know anything at all it is that there are no final answers to anything, and the older I get the less I know and the less final the answers are... You can only approximate -- and if you can do that occasionally you're in luck.
• On Paris: Paris is heavenly... gee whiz, what a city. Why live anywhere else is the eternal question. I just feel myself expanding in all directions, I am so happy to be here... I am half French, and that is all there is to it.

As Always, Julia offers a wealth of recipes and fascinating cooking tips as well, of course. They really were secondary though. And to be fair, the book also shows a side of Julia that is opinionated and overly biased, but that makes her all the more human. More than just a culinary pioneer, Julia really seemed to be a remarkably wise and charming lady.

I picked up As Always Julia by accident really. Headed to the checkout line at my local bookstore, I found it in the bargain bin... serendipity :)

Read more »

Inside Out: The People's Art Project

Medellin, Colombia: Children dreaming big / Taking down imagined boundaries

Port au Prince, Haiti: Celebrating the resilience of the Haitian people

Johannesburg, South Africa: Portraying HIV/AIDS street children as the heroes they are / Removing the stigma  

Karachi, Pakistan: Exposing the persecution of minorities in Pakistan

Israel, Tel Aviv: Yalla

Yerevan, Armenia: Soldiers smiling for Justice

It's been two years since French street artist and photographer JR won the 2011 TED Prize and launched the "Inside Out" project - the largest global collaborative artistic work that displays large format portraits of everyday people onto public walls. By sharing these works of art - our personal identities - we become able to share our message, celebrate and engage with one another, highlight challenges, channel hope, give the invisible a face and the muted a voice. All of this from a simple raw photograph pasted within a community. Through Inside Out, JR's wish is "for everyone to stand up for what you care about by participating in [the] global art project, and together turn the world...INSIDE OUT."

Perhaps you've heard of it? If not (like me, until a few days ago by watching the documentary on HBO), it's certainly worth knowing about...

Over 120,000 people from more than 108 countries have participated since March 2011. Anyone can still participate, and is challenged to use photographic portraits to share the untold stories and images of people in our communities.


All images from insideoutproject.net.

Take a peek at JR's inspiring NYC studio.

Read more »