Champagne

Champagne is sparkling wine. Many people use the term Champagne as a generic term for sparkling wine but in many countries, it is illegal to label any product Champagne unless it both comes from the Champagne region and is produced under the rules of the appellation. 

Where EU protectionism laws apply, this alcoholic drink is produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France following rules that demand, among other things, secondary fermentation of the wine in the bottle to create carbonation, specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from specific parcels in the Champagne appellation and specific pressing regimes unique to the region.

Primarily, the grapes Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay are used in the production of almost all Champagne, but a tiny amount of pinot blanc, pinot gris, arbane, and petit meslier are vinified as well. Champagne appellation law allows only grapes grown according to appellation rules in specifically designated plots within the appellation to be used in the production of Champagne.

Throne

Throne:

noun

1. 1.

   
   

   a ceremonial chair for a sovereign, bishop, or similar figure.

   "King Solomon's great ivory throne"

   
   

   synonyms:

   seat of state, royal seat "a golden throne"

Buildings with Beret

Stockholm, Sweden ©Frans Baert

Will Alsop’s award-winning Peckham Library

Cason Hotel, Spain

Raymond Garcia (2)

Five years back, I first published a post on stone mason and inventor (2007 Inventor of the Year) Raymond Garcia (with his trademark red beret).

If one had any doubt about Mr Garcia's dedication to the beret, just have a look at the roof he designed for his workshop Garcimétal. The roof will be put in place on a large supporting structure by a crane at the Technology Park of Bram (France). Both the support structure and the "beret" will be coated in his trademark colour red. 

Berets back to front

Berets back to front-tnorf ot kcab stereB

Bottle Stopper

This jolly Frenchman bottle stopper is a product of the 1960s and should be a much coveted item among boineros this time of year.

Who wouldn't want a French beret-wearer to look after his/her cognac?

Merry Christmas, Boineros & Boineras!

Clowns

A clown is a comic performer who employs slapstick or similar types of physical comedy.

Clowns have a varied tradition with significant variations in costume and performance. The most recognisable modern clown character is the Auguste or "red clown" type, with outlandish costumes featuring distinctive makeup, colourful wigs, exaggerated footwear, and colourful clothing. Their entertainment style is generally designed to entertain large audiences.

Modern clowns are strongly associated with the tradition of the circus clown, which developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or Varieté shows during the 19th to mid-20th centuries.

Many circus clowns have become well known and are a key circus act. The first mainstream clown role was portrayed by Joseph Grimaldi (who also created the traditional whiteface make-up design). In the early 1800s, he expanded the role of Clown in the harlequinade that formed part of British pantomimes

The "clown" character developed out of the zanni "rustic fool" characters of the early modern commedia dell'arte, which were themselves directly based on the "rustic fool" characters of ancient Greek and Roman theatre. Rustic buffoon characters in Classical Greek theater were known as sklêro-paiktês (from paizein "to play (like a child)") or deikeliktas, besides other generic terms for "rustic" or "peasant". 

In Roman theater, a term for clown was fossor, literally "digger; labourer".

The English word clown was first recorded c. 1560 (as clowne, cloyne) in the generic meaning "rustic, boor, peasant". The origin of the word is uncertain, perhaps from a Scandinavian word cognate with clumsy. It is in this sense that "Clown" is used as the name of fool characters in Shakespeare's Othello and The Winter's Tale. The sense of clown as referring to a professional or habitual fool or jester developed soon after 1600, based on Elizabethan "rustic fool" characters such as Shakespeare's.

Relish

A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment, in particular to enhance a staple.

Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with hot dogs or hamburgers. In North America, the word "relish" is frequently used to describe a single variety of finely-chopped pickled cucumber relish, such as pickle, dill and sweet relishes. 

Such relishes are commonly used as a condiment, and pickle relish is an important ingredient in many varieties of the U.S. version of tartar sauce.

Panhard

Panhard was originally called Panhard et Levassor and was established as an automobile manufacturing concern by René Panhard and Émile Levassor in 1887.

1897 Panhard et Levassor Dogcart (2-cyl, 6hp)

Panhard et Levassor sold their first automobile in 1890, based on a Daimler engine license.

After World War II the company was renamed Panhard (without "Levassor"), and produced light cars such as the Dyna X, Dyna Z, PL 17, 24 CT and 24 BT. The company had long noted the weight advantages of aluminum, and this as well as postwar government steel rationing (designed to limit new car models to ensure an orderly return to production at the major firms), encouraged the firm to proceed with the expensive alternative of making the bodies and several other components out of aluminum.

For a period after the war, the Panhard-based Monopole racing cars received unofficial support from Panhard (as did DB and other clients such as Robert Chancel), using it to good effect in winning the "Index of Performance" class at Le Mans in 1950, 1951, and 1952.

The last Panhard passenger car was built in 1967. After assembling 2CV panel trucks for Citroën to utilize capacity during falling sales, and raising operating cash by selling ownership progressively to Citroën, respectively to its then-mother company Michelin (full control as of 1965), in fall of 1967 the civilian branch was absorbed by Citroën, and the marque was retired. From 1968 Panhard only made armored vehicles. 

Meeting at the Le Mans circuit with Antoine Laureau and Antoine Moreau driving a 1960 DB, as part of the Tour Auto 2019.

BERET, RAINCOAT AND SUNGLASSES

"This winter I have not moved from the raincoat and the beret. The one in the photos is one of my favorites, I bought it in one of the second-hand stores in Malasaña, but you can find berets in almost every online store right now. The raincoat is also second-hand, Burberry, I prefer to invest in a classic since the raincoat is a piece that always comes back." 

"Sunglasses on sunny winter days are essential, I have many, and contact lenses are necessary as I do not want to die run over or fall in the streets."

"Tipo con Boina"

"Tipo con Boina" by Juan Carlos Cerrón de la Cruz. 

A work inspired by African art and Greek archaic art. It is characterized by its simplification of  shapes and is made with polychrome wood.

Ricardo Cortez

Ricardo Cortez (born Jacob Kranzeor Jacob Krantz; 1900 – 1977) was an American actor. He was also known as Jack Crane early in his acting career.

The son of Morris and Sarah Lefkovitz Krantz, Cortez was born to a Jewish family in New York City (Vienna has been incorrectly cited as his birthplace).

He was an amateur boxer and worked on Wall Street as a runner prior to entering the film business.

Hollywood executives changed his name from Krantz to Cortez to capitalize on the popularity of the era's "Latin lovers" (namely Rudolph Valentino, Ramon Novarro and Antonio Moreno). When rumor began to circulate that Cortez was not actually Latin, the studios attempted to pass him off as French before finally "admitting" to his supposedly Viennese origin. Cortez appeared in over 100 films. He began his career playing romantic leads, and when sound cinema arrived, his strong delivery and New York accent made him an ideal heavy.

When he retired from the film business, Cortez returned to New York, working as a stockbroker for Salomon Brothers on Wall Street.

Asso (Ace)

On his wedding night, of all times, a husband appropriately named "Ace" (Adriano Celentano) gambles away the night at a local bar and wins a handy amount of money. 

As Ace heads home to his waiting bride Silvia (Edwige Fenech), he is killed by a hired gun. When he reappears to see his wife, he has a hard time convincing her that only she can see him; he is definitely invisible to everyone else, and definitely quite dead. 

Aghast at his wife's determination to go to work as a dancer on the stage, he undermines her rehearsal and then connives to get her married off to an appropriately aged and wealthy banker. So, the next question arises: Is there divorce after death?

Patriarch of the Botanical Garden

A really nice picture of this Lithuanian bearded beret wearer, but apart from the text "Patriarch of the Botanical Garden", I could not find other information about this good looking man. 

An Extremely Goofy Movie

An Extremely Goofy Movie is a 2000 American direct-to-video animated comedy film distributed by Walt Disney Home Video and a sequel to the 1995 film A Goofy Movie, which was based on the animated television series Goof Troop and also serves as the television series finale.

The story follows Max's freshman year at college, which is compounded by his father's presence when Goofy arrives at the same college to get a degree because of his failure to complete college.

A scene in the film's climax was entirely removed following the September 11 attacks. In the scene, Max and Tank were trapped inside the paper-maché X-Games logo and Goofy helping to save them. As they make their escape, an image was shown of parallel towers of the model burning. Even though the film came out well over a year before the terrorist attack, the scene was considered inappropriate in retrospect. All subsequent television broadcasts edited out all scenes inside the logo, though it was kept on all home video releases, Netflix streaming and international broadcasts.

An Extremely Goofy Movie won the award for "Best Animated Home Video Production" and Bill Farmer was nominated for "Best Voice Acting by a Male Performer" at the 28th Annie Awards in 2000.

The Princess Switch

The Princess Switch is a 2018 American Christmas romantic comedy film directed by Mike Rohl from a screenplay by Robin Bernheim and Megan Metzger. The film stars Vanessa Hudgens, Sam Palladio and Nick Sagar.

One week before Christmas, Margaret, the gorgeous Duchess of Montenaro, switches places with Stacy, a "commoner" from Chicago, who looks exactly like her. With the assistance of a magical Santa's helper, Margaret falls in love with Stacy's handsome co-worker, while Stacy falls in love with Margaret's fiance, the dashing Prince.

The Princess Switch is sure to check all the boxes for anyone looking for a simple and sweet Christmas romance flick.

The Wrong Move

The Wrong Move (Falsche Bewegung) is a 1975 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. This was the second part of Wenders' "Road Movie trilogy" which included Alice in the Cities (1974) and Kings of the Road (1976).

Aiming to be a writer, Wilhelm leaves his mother and girlfriend in his hometown of Glückstadt in the flat far north of Germany and sets out for Bonn. Changing trains at Hamburg, he notices a beautiful actress, Therese, and obtains her phone number. In his compartment are an older man, Laertes, who mostly communicates by blowing a mouth organ, and a young female acrobat called Mignon, who is mute. 

The pair have no money, so Wilhelm pays their fare and puts them up in his cheap hotel, where Therese joins them. Bernhard, an awkward Austrian who wants to be a poet, befriends the four. He says he has a rich uncle with a castle on a peak overlooking the Rhine, but when the five turn up it is the wrong place. Despite their error the owner welcomes them, because their arrival prevented him shooting himself; he says they can stay as long as they like.

However, tensions grow, for Wilhelm is not giving Therese the affection she wants, while Mignon signals her availability to him. Laertes, feeling guilt but not repentant, disgusts Wilhelm by revealing some of his role in the Holocaust. The owner of the castle then hangs himself, upon which the five leave hastily. 

Bernhard goes off alone, while Therese takes the other three to her small flat in Frankfurt, where the tensions grow worse. Leaving on his own, Wilhelm completes his symbolic journey by reaching one of the most southerly, highest and emptiest points in Germany, the summit of the Zugspitze.