Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 112

The mystery of Vivian Maier, the nanny who was a secret photographer

The story of Vivian Maier, whose genius as a photographer was discovered accidentally after her death, is a cross between a Patricia Highsmith novel and an episode of Storage Wars. Her work would never have come to light if someone hadn’t bought the contents of her locker. She is supposed to have taken come to […]

“Just use a viler cheeriness.”

Medieval rocket cat via io9. The title of this post is not just an anagram of “Jessica Rules the Universe”, it also sums up our world-view. Anagrams, we love them, they point out hidden meanings. We thought of doing an anagram LitWit Challenge, then we remembered how many free anagram generators there are on the […]

When the problem is that you have no problem.

Thanks to Tina for the alert.

The second best bakery in Paris

Every bakery claims to make the best baguette in Paris. This bakery in Montmartre does not care to be in that overcrowded group. It proudly proclaims itself the second best in the region. The cat at the grocery doesn’t care because cats don’t eat carbs (except in Italy, where cats eat pasta), but he’s very […]

Win tickets to see Urbandub, Bamboo, Pedicab and other top bands at CinemaJam on Nov 29

Catch Urbandub and other great acts at CinemaJam 2014. Bamboo, Franco, Pedicab, Itchyworms, Urbandub and other top bands will perform at CinemaJam on Saturday, November 29 at the Greenfields District Central Park in Mandaluyong. The concert will cap a full day of activities, art installations, and open-air screenings of Now You See Me and Letters […]

Hoarding for the Holidays: New books

We didn’t do much shopping in Paris, not so much as a T-shirt, but we did stock up on reading matter. The novels of James Salter are widely available in French translation, and are bestsellers in Paris. Of course: beautiful elegiac prose, lots of sex, several chapters and stories set in Paris. The Search Warrant, […]

Every movie we see #118: Jake Gyllenhaal is an absolutely compelling Nightcrawler

*Not to be confused with one of the mutants in The X-Men. No one was free to watch Nightcrawler with us, and we didn’t think it would run for a second week, so we watched it alone. Excellent decision. Dan Gilroy’s film, shot by the great Robert Elswit, follows a freelance videographer who prowls Los […]

Win 2 tickets to CinemaJam 2014 in our raffle

Pedicab will perform at CinemaJam 2014. You and a friend can watch the movies Now You See Me and Letters to Juliet in the afternoon, and performances by Pedicab, Itchyworms, Urbandub, Bamboo and other bands at night. Mark the date: Sunday, 30 November, from 10am to the wee hours at the Greenfield District in Mandaluyong. […]

Paris, beyond macarons and Birkins

Paris is beautiful and filthy, like a supermodel with a PhD who doesn’t change her underwear. Or a very hot guy genius with skid marks, except that Paris is obviously feminine. Male or female, it goes without saying that they will cheat on you with everything that moves. And you still would, because it’s Paris. […]

A flea market in the country

If we lived in Paris we would hardly ever buy anything new. We would furnish our house with things we found in flea markets and vintage stores. There are some huge flea markets in the city, frequented by professional buyers who snap up the good stuff and sell them to collectors on e-Bay. We went […]