Paris The Joy of Life

Paris Rules

One thing every American who has ever been to Paris picks up on is that Parisians tend to do things a little different over there. For example: French people use a fork when they make eggs and they make eggs on a low heat with butter. Most French people probably have forgotten why they have this tradition. It is just the way they do things.

My theory is that this tradition exists to remind them of Catherine Medici and the Bourbon dynasty that followed her marriage to Kin Henry V. She brought with her the Fork from Italy, and with it civilization and manners.

This tradition continued under the guidance of Cardinal Richelieu who invented the "Butter Knife". He was somewhat paranoid of being assassinated and did not like how the Frenchmen at the time were using their daggers and knives to just grab meat off the table. So he ordered the palace staff to file down the steak knives and voila the invention of the "Butter Knife" occurred.

Manners are important in every culture. And Paris has a way of teaching manners a certain way that makes things stick in our psychologies better than Americans. I love to cook and have been cooking my entire life. I realized after my vacation to Paris that I knew absolutely nothing about cooking or pretty much anything else and I barely could read, write, or speak English. I realized this my last night in Paris and made a personal vow to myself to improve my command of the English language and my kitchen.

Over the last 8 years I have published multiple books, have a much better command of words, and have become a much better cook, photographer, and artist.

Paris changes people. But there are still rules I learned in Paris about Paris.

Balzac Rules

So after I got to my hotel near Sacré-Coeur I decided I needed some food. So I walked outside and found a bistro and had a steak.

Then I decided to go on a walk down the street since I was cooped up in an airplane for the last 16 hours I had to stretch my legs. It was my first night in Paris and you only get One First Night in Paris in a Lifetime.

I realized that my hotel was down the street from the Moulin Rouge in the Pigalle neighborhood, the infamous red light district of Paris. So I decided to walk into one of these establishments.

I quickly realized that Paris has different rules when it comes to strip clubs than we do in America. It is a custom in Paris and I guess elsewhere in Europe to tip and pay after an experience happens. It is considered impolite and rude to discuss prices and payments before a transaction.

When I got the bill for what I thought was about a 40 euro lap dance and it read 350 euros I sorta lost my cool on the two guys who ran the place. I did not get into a physical fight, but we had a heated exchange. Any way I ended up paying about 35 euros and left. But I did learn something about Paris from arguing with those guys who were trying to exploit a dumb American tourist.

1. Americans tend to view Paris with rose colored glasses, as a city of Love and Enchantment. When most people say "That's Paris" they are remembering good times and happy memories the city brings to people. It is a Love thing. But then there is "This is PARIS!" which is a little different, its the Paris that decides to burn the city down because the retirement age is raised by 2 years. Or to guillotine the King and Queen. Nobody outside of the people on the streets of Paris can ever figure out what this attitude is.
2. Political Correctness and history is important to a point, but people who live in a city surrounded by History sort of don't care about History they are like most Americans. To Americans we get a little gooey inside when we look at the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre or anything else in Paris. To Parisians it's just their city. Which is kind of like people who live near or in San Francisco feel when they look at the Golden Gate Bridge which is just as spectacular as the Eiffel Tower, but you see it enough times it's just.... like whatever.... another landmark. It's how I view Napa or Sonoma CA because I lived in Sonoma CA as a child, its just a town with history and a bunch of places that like to overcharge tourists from New York or LA. I'm sure New Yorkers have this same attitude towards the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, or any of the other hundred or so highly recognizable landmarks.
3. Gender/Sex is a having sex thing and not really a societal thing. Feminism is just Paris and it is everywhere and it is never wrong. I learned by arguing with those guys that there is probably 0 French Men in Paris who would choose to go to a museum or the Eiffel Tower for the umpteenth time over being with a naked woman. That is Balzac's rule to live by.

Origin of the World

Art Enthusiasts, we step into the world of thought-provoking and controversial art with Gustave Courbet's "The Origin of the World". Painted in 1866, this daring artwork continues to push the boundaries of societal norms, sparking debates about art, censorship, and the portrayal of sexuality. Today, we delve into the profound impact and artistic significance behind this intimate and highly debated masterpiece.

"The Origin of the World" presents a close-up and explicit depiction of female genitalia, rendered with Courbet's signature realism. The painting portrays the female form unapologetically and without idealization, challenging the traditional depictions of women as passive objects of desire in art. Its audacity lies in its directness and refusal to shy away from the raw and unfiltered portrayal of the female body.

The controversy surrounding this artwork is deeply rooted in societal perceptions of nudity and sexuality. Courbet's audacious decision to depict the female body in such an intimate and unfiltered manner challenged Victorian-era sensibilities and traditional artistic conventions. Even today, the painting continues to ignite debates about the boundaries of art, censorship, and the representation of the human form.

"The Origin of the World" prompts viewers to confront their own feelings and attitudes towards nudity and the portrayal of female sexuality in art. By presenting the female genitalia as a subject of artistic focus, Courbet challenges the viewer to move beyond objectification and to recognize the beauty and complexity of the human body.

As a realist artist, Courbet sought to capture the truth of human experience through his art. In "The Origin of the World," he embraces the human body as a subject worthy of exploration and celebration. The painting serves as a powerful reminder of the power of art to challenge societal norms and provoke conversations about human sexuality and identity.

Despite the controversy, "The Origin of the World" remains a significant work in art history. It stands as a testament to the power of art to confront taboos and challenge the status quo. Its raw and unapologetic portrayal of the female body continues to inspire artists and viewers alike to question conventional notions of beauty and embrace the diverse complexities of human existence.

The Joy of a French Cassoulet

This is a little "French Fun with Words" recipe. Beef Burgundy is a classic provincial recipe, but it highlights some things I wrote about earlier. There are certain rules to cooking French.

1. Follow the beginning steps with a strong attention to detail. Toast the flour first before adding it to your mix, that gets the flour taste out first and brings a nice nutty flavor to your sauce.
2. Add hot liquid because you do not want to bring down the temperature rapidly.
3. Take your time and let it cook in the oven for several hours, perfection can not be rushed and this gives you time to enjoy more wine and socialize.
4. It's a Paris rule of mine to NEVER use an expensive bottle of wine when making Beef Burgundy. I prefer the second cheapest wine I can find. Gallo Wine from Napa which is just one small step away from Carlo Rossi makes a fantastic Beef Burgundy. If you use a Southern Oregon Pinot Noir you are just wasting good wine for no reason. Drink that wine, cook with cheap but not the cheapest but still way cheap other wine and when making Beef Burgundy always use Pinot Noir.

Mother Sauces of French Cooking

French cooking like many things in life is about doing things as proper and correct as you possibly can right from the beginning. For example as you can see there are many different sauces that can be made by combining ingredients from a French "Mother Sauce." But what comes first is usually stock, if the stock is bad then the mother sauce made from it won't be that great which makes the subsequent sauces made from the mother sauces become poorer quality then they should.

So sometimes French Cooking takes extra special attention to the carrots, onions, leaks, celery, water, and bones that are made to create the stock. For example: if you were to just add beef bones to a pot with water and vegetables it won't be as good as other beef stocks out there. Good Beef Stock is created by first rubbing the bones in tomato paste, salt, pepper, and oil, then roasting them until they get a little charred, then adding it to a pot of water and veggies and letting it simmer for a while. The roasting of the bones first produces a far richer stock with more depth of flavor. Which makes the espagnole better, along with the demi-glace and so on down the line.

Chatte Effrayant Women's Briefs

Arts by Dylan

This design is a little naughty piece of art from France during the 1920's a time of Jazz, Fun, Excitmenet, Joy, Love, Sense of Humor, and a far superior sence of Fashion then what we have going on in the 20th Century.

It was also a time for woman liberation and suffrege along with prohibition in America.

Chat in English means to talk online. But in French it is the masculine version of the word for Cat.

I took the Feminine version of the word and named this Chatte Effrayant which translates roughly to "Scaredy Cat" in English.

Also I would bet the English idiom "Chatty Cathy's" is supposed to be a remider or French lesson to learn what cat means in French. If it is not then it probably should be.

Art at Versailles and Washington D.C.

The man who remodeled Federal Hall before George Washington's inauguration and helped lay out the first designs of our countries Capital City was not born in the United States of America or one of Britain's colony. He was a Parisian from a middle class family.

He grew up on the left bank of Paris not far from Notre Dame Cathedral. His father was an artist of some note who worked in the town of Versailles. Hi father was an artist who painted for the War Department of France under the monarchy. Like much of French society at the time one's path of advancement in life and occupation was tied to what their parents did for a living.

Pierre Charles L'Enfant studied art at the Louvre before the French Revolution but after the Louvre stopped being the home of the Royal court. During this time it was among other things an Art school. He was a talented artist but not that talented, he was not the worst, but certainly not the best. He graduated pretty much middle of the road as an average artist.

Soon after his graduation the American Revolutionary War broke up in Boston and NYC. The colonial army under the leadership of George Washington was taking on volunteers from other parts of Europe including France. Being a young man with not that much prospects of the future Pierre Charles L'Enfant signed up as a volunteer to help fight the British.

His life under the French society at the time was basically destined to be an un glamours life of painting portraits for the middle class of French Nobility. If he was lucky he may have gotten to paint the portrait of a daughter or niece of a connected person in the French Royal Court. He could have carved out an average life in Paris as an artist but the prospect of adventure and liberty in the USA was a much better option for him.

When he arrived in the USA and met with George Washington he was told that the colonial army had no need for artists. But George Washington commissioned him to draw the maps of the garrison and defenses. In time the two become quite good friends.

When Pierre Charles L'Enfant began planning out the city design of our Nation's Capital, Washington District of Columbia. He remembered what it was like to wonder around the gardens of the Palace in Versailles and Paris. An organized design with many different features.

It is clear to anyone who has walked around Paris and Washington D.C. that the two cities mirror each other in many ways. You can imagine the image of the garden shown here as being an inspiration for "Dupont Circle" with main roads converge towards and then leave from.

The Capital Mall in Washington D.C mirrors the Tuileries Garden to some degree. The Louvre is an anchor on one end and then on the other end and across the river is the French house of Parliament, with museums (Smithsonians) all over the place. It's a little different because the US Capital Mall is not exactly parallel to the Potomac but it is close enough that you can see how Paris and Versailles influenced the design of the city.

After Washington D.C. became a city Paris underwent some changes as well. The Arc de Triumph opened in 1836 and it functions as a large roundabout. Major avenues and streets in Paris were widened because of the design of Washington D.C. Diagonal roads to the city center is a European design that was brought to the USA and Washington D.C. In the early 1800's Egypt gifted France an obelisk which now is in the center of the Place de Concord at the other end of the Tuileries Garden. Not long after this gift arrived in Paris the United States of America accepted a design to honor George Washington, an obelisk known as the Washington Monument.

Because every suburban town in the United States of America was designed using Washington D.C. and NYC as a model it means that no matter where you live in the USA there is a high likelihood that somewhere in your town is something you drive by everyday that was influenced by something from Versailles and Paris.

Story Time at the Orsay

After browsing the galleries of the Orsay Museum I stumbled into an exhibit of Female photographers of Paris between 1900 and 1919. I found the exhibit to be quite good and featured early street photography by some very courageous women in the early days of photography.

I found a book "Ambassadors of Progress" which highlighted the works of American female photographers and their work to create an exhibit at the 1901 Paris World's Fair. As I was purchasing the book I had a "That's Paris" conversation with the Parisian woman who was processing the transaction.

I commented how I enjoy buying books and learning history and she said "That's Paris."

With a blank look on my face I asked "People keep saying that to me and I'm not 100% sure what it means."

She responded "That's Paris, nobody knows what it means, that's what makes it Paris."

I then said "Yea but, look I'm from a small town in California called Suisun in Solano County my Dad is a teacher in Vallejo and I've been to San Francisco many times and never heard anyone say "That's San Francisco."

She said "Vallejo? is it named after Alfonso?"

I then had a whoa? look on my face and said "Who is Alfonso Vallejo? No, it's named after the founder of Sonoma Ca, Mariano Vallejo, but how do you know about the Vallejos?"

She then said "Oh because in school we learn about Christopher Columbus being arrested by the Spanish admiral Alfonso Vallejo, it's a question on our history tests." Was he related to your Vallejo?

Me: "I have no idea, maybe, possibly, but you mean to tell me that every French Person would just know who Alfonso Vallejo is?"

Her: "Yea, that's a Paris government thing, they make sure we know who that is"

Me: "I'm blown away here I am half way around the world and I'm beginning to think I don't know anything about my hometown because I don't know who Alfonso is. But I guess that's Paris."

She then gave me a tip about walking down the Seine River to Notre Dame because there were some cool bookshops on the left bank. I took a nice walk, wondered in and out of some allies, and found a British/American burger spot and had a very good burger.

Years later I stumbled upon a book "Solano County at a Crossroads" where I learned that yes, Mariano Vallejo's ancestor was indeed Alfonso Vallejo.

I also learned about Francis B. Johnston as one of America's first female photographers from Hampton Virginia. She was given a Kodak camera by George Eastman and helped W.E.B Dubois document early education of African Americans in the south. She also was a businesswoman who would take the photographs of prominent American politicians and government officials. She is considered by some to the first White House Photographer even though the job did not become official until a few decades later.

To circle back around to the previous photograph of Versailles, the lady at the Orsay also mentioned this nugget of information that I believe is a Parisian thing they say to tourists as a way of correcting misbeliefs about Paris History. Americans may know what a Bechamel sauce is. However, its name origin may be a mystery to many people it's simply a Bechamel sauce. However, it is named after someone.

Louis Bechameil was part of the French Royal Court as an art dealer. He was a patron of the arts and worked his way up to head Steward for King Louis XIV. He founded an art academy and was also an art dealer who would go find works of art to hang at the Palace of Versailles.

One day a cook who had perfected a sauce that was being served for several decades before hand decided to name the cream sauce in his honor. Thereby making the Bechamel name live on forever.

The Duke of Escars commented:

That fellow Béchameil has all the luck! I was serving breast of chicken à la crème more than 20 years before he was born, but I have never had the chance of giving my name to even the most modest sauce.

All of this encompasses what "That's Paris" means to me.

But that phrase is different for everyone who has ever been to Paris.

x life lessons to live by

by Dylan Carpowich

An excerpt from Chapter 1

Paris has countless historical figures to use as examples to make points about life lessons and the importance of good manners in social occasions. Louis Vuitton arrived in Paris as a teenager and began working to make luggage, facing struggles and failures many times before achieving great success. He faced competition from people who stole his creative process and sold cheap knockoffs. But through his sole dedication to producing the highest quality goods he possibly could, he eventually gained great success. He began his Parisian story as just one individual trying to learn a skill at 14 years old.

Marie Antoine Carême is a legendary French chef who pioneered certain techniques still taught as foundational skills to be learned in culinary schools all across the world. But his story is one of failure and struggle that turned into great success. He was born into a very poor Parisian family during the time of the French Revolution. His mother and father were having another child, and he was only about 12 years old when his father took him to the gates of Paris and had one last meal with his son at a tavern. His father couldn't make enough money to feed him anymore, and he had to make it on his own in Paris at 12 years old. Marie Antoine Careme began working in taverns cleaning and helping out. Eventually, he found his way into the kitchen and by his early 20s showed great talent for pastries. He went on to become one of the most famous chefs in history and cooked for Talleyrand during the conference in Vienna, where Europe was figuring out what to do with Napoleon. He then cooked for the Rothschilds, Tsar Alexander, and King George IV of England. He became known as the "King of chefs and the Chef of kings," and he passed away at the age of 48.

Vincent Van Gogh is perhaps the biggest failure in life in all of history. During his lifetime, he only sold one painting, which is not a lot considering his brother was an art dealer in Paris. He was born in the Netherlands, and by the age of 20, he began to lose interest in art and life even though he was in art school. At 21, he lived in complete isolation and fanatically studied religion. He had several jobs that didn’t last long at 22 and 23, and by 24, he was ready to become a minister and went to school. He gave up the pursuit of life as a minister a few years later. At 27, he decided to dedicate his life to art. For the next ten years, he struggled as an artist with only his brother Theo, who supported him. He painted and made some friends among the impressionist community. At 36 years old, he got into an argument with the painter Gauguin and in a fit of rage, cut off his own ear. This event led him to seek help, and he lived for a year or so in a mental asylum where he created some fantastic paintings. A few months after being released, he decided to take his own life. He shot himself but did not die instantly, which is also a failure of sorts. Vincent Van Gogh died at 37 years old on July 29, 1890. Six months after his death, his brother Theo, who supported him during his life, also died.

Success after life came for Vincent and Theo through the work and dedication of Theo’s wife, Jo. She suddenly found herself widowed at 28 years old with an infant to take care of. Jo also had hundreds of paintings by Vincent Van Gogh lying around. Over the following years, she expertly displayed Van Gogh’s works and published the letters between Theo and Vincent. Jo also made sure the family kept hold of the ones they liked best, the ones everyone knows as Van Gogh’s - the Harvest series, the Sunflowers in the Vase, and a few others. Within 40 years after his death, Jo was able to fulfill her late husband's wish of elevating his brother’s life's work. By the time she passed away in 1925, Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings were all over the world in some of the most famous museums on the planet. And even though in life Vincent Van Gogh didn't amount to much more than just a mentally ill artist who was known as talented by a few people for a short period of time, he has become internationally known by millions of people as one of the most talented painters in all of history.

Vino Gogh Tote Bag

Vino is Italian; Van Gogh was Dutch. The Pun is both multicultural and relative to the item sold. I also did not think of this pun at first until I made the typo. It's an accidental art pun that I am deciding to keep. Your welcome.