Word: frenchness
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Vietnam has a history of expelling foreigners: the Chinese in 1428, the French in 1954 and the Americans in 1975. Fortunately for tourists, those who come in peace are welcomed with open arms. Hanoi, Vietnam's well-preserved capital, is a cosmopolitan mélange of Chinese temples, French colonial architecture and American consumerism. Remnants of French rule stand out the most (think baguettes, berets and wide, tree-lined boulevards), but that can't mask Hanoi's distinct Vietnamese flavor: nightlife as fiery as the local chilies, and street life as memorable as the fish sauce...
...least 727 new novels, up from 683 for last autumn's literary rentrée. Hundreds of new music albums and dozens of new films. Blockbuster art exhibitions at all the big museums. Fresh programs of concerts, operas and plays in the elegant halls and salles that grace French cities. Autumn means many things in many countries, but in France it signals the dawn of a new cultural year...
...nobody takes culture more seriously than the French. They subsidize it generously; they cosset it with quotas and tax breaks. French media give it vast amounts of airtime and column inches. Even fashion magazines carry serious book reviews, and the Nov. 5 announcement of the Prix Goncourt - one of more than 900 French literary prizes - was front-page news across the country. (It went to Gilles Leroy's novel Alabama Song.) Every French town of any size has its annual opera or theater festival, nearly every church its weekend organ or chamber-music recital...
...barely a sound in the wider world. Once admired for the dominating excellence of its writers, artists and musicians, France today is a wilting power in the global cultural marketplace. That is an especially sensitive issue right now, as a forceful new President, Nicolas Sarkozy, sets out to restore French standing in the world. When it comes to culture, he will have his work...
...quality criteria, including at least 50 man-hours per suit, and be located on the street or within 100 yards of it. Though interlopers could be sued, the mark is mostly a strong marketing tool, to give Savile Row Bespoke the same kind of legal brand exclusivity as, say, French Champagne...