Victor Nicolas

Victor Edmond Nicolas (1906 –1979) was a French sculptor.

Nicolas was married to sculptor Josette Behar (1911–2011) with whom he had a son, Nicolas Vincent (1934–2009).

He set up his studio in Montmeyan, in the former chapel of the Holy Spirit, in 1934. Nicolas created many monuments in the departments of Var and Alpes-Maritimes and also created various busts.

He started painting in 1953; which were exhibited on several occasions in Artignosc-sur-Verdon and Draguignan between 1955 and 1957.

Appointed professor of drawing at the École des beaux-arts of Toulon in 1956 and taught there until the age of retirement in 1976. He died in a road accident in Montmeyan.

Felix Beristain Amallobieta

Felix Beristain Amallobieta (1937) is a Basque painter. He studied painting at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando and was a friend of Valentin Zubiaurre. He had his first exhibition in 1954 and many followed in Bilbao, Pau, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Tarbe, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Eibar and Madrid.

Beristain works are scattered all over the world in various museums and private collections. His latest works are murals and tributes to the female sailor.

Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti (1935 – 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time.

He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for the brilliance and beauty of his tone—especially into the upper register—and eventually established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century.

Pavarotti became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. From the beginning of his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy to his final performance of "Nessun dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Pavarotti was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-Aida Verdi roles, and Puccini works such as La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others. 

He died from pancreatic cancer on 6 September 2007.

Ernest Quost

Ernest Quost (1842 - 1931) was a French painter.

Quost was probably a pupil of Horace Aumont (1839-1864) during his stay in Paris. He began at the Paris Salon in 1866, continued to exhibit at the Salon of French Artists, became a medalist in 1880 and again in 1889 for the Universal Exhibition of Paris. Quost was knighted in the Legion of Honour in 1883 and Officer in 1903.

Ernest Quost was typically a painter of Paris; the bustling boulevards and dances. His flowers were appreciated by Monet and Van Gogh. In a letter to Theo he refers to Quost as “father of roses".

Manuel Labordeta Subías

Manuel Labordeta Subías (1923-1983) was a pharmacist, but he committed himself to teaching and was director of the College of St. Thomas Aquinas, owned by the family.

His dedication to amateur film was very important, not only as an actor and filmmaker but as a driver of other projects and as an active member of cinematographic gatherings.

His films are characterized by their fresh, carefree and adventurous images. As an actor, he possessed a wide range of resources that masqueraded comic easily via the most pathetic of dramatics. His most ambitious film, an adaptation of The Pink Paper by Valle Inclan, was left unfinished as he died during the making of the film.

Manuel was the brother of Jose Antonio (yesterday's post). 

José Antonio Labordeta

José Antonio Labordeta Subías (1935 –2010) began singing to give more relevance to his poetry. His songs are anthems, not only in Aragón, but all around Spain. Poetic songs like “Aragón”, “Canto a la Libertad” (Song for Freedom) or “Me dicen que no quieres” (They tell me you don’t want to) are known all around the Iberian Peninsula.

He was also the founder of the Andalán newspaper, which was very influential during the 1970s. From 2000 until retiring in 2008, he represented Zaragoza in the Spanish Congress for Chunta Aragonesista (Aragonese Union), an Aragonese political party.

Esperouquère

Esperouquère (Gascon), or the reaping of corn. Two vintage postcards of winter evening activities in Bearn. 

René Arripe

René Arripe (1948) is a French writer from Aas near Laruns (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), in the valley of Ossau.

A Spanish teacher by trade, he dedicated all his work to the history, traditions and human activities in the Ossau and neighboring valleys.

Descended from a family of whistlers of Aas, he devoted a book to this whistled language that allowed real communication at very large distance. His books paint a detailed picture of the evolution of life in the XIX th and XX th centuries in this part of the Pyrenees.

Many of his books show berets on covers and pictures. However, I failed to find any of Mr Arripe himself with a beret. 

Beret Jewelry

Last week I received a beautiful piece of jewelry, a handmade representation of the Beret Wizard (who, I have to admit it, resembles myself in certain ways).

The brooch is made in solid bronze, a heavy weight badge that does very well on my Aotearoa berets. 

The original design is by my friend Jean-Claude Pertuzé, graphic novelist and artist in many disciplines.

The brooch itself was made by Sophie Divett. Sophie is a young Wellington jeweller whose work I very much admire and I feel privileged that she was happy to take this project on. 

Sophie photographed the whole process, from the original wax cast to the polished end product.

If ever you are looking for a very special piece of (NZ) jewelry at an affordable price, please have a look at her web site - I can't recommend her enough!

For those interested; yes, this beret wizard brooch can be duplicated. Drop me a line if interested.

The Gallic Rooster

The Gallic Rooster is a beret label made for UK company The Gallic Rooster. The company's aim is to help British men and women achieve the French "je ne sais quoi"  by reviving a design classic:  the 100% wool beret.

Great thinking which I can only support.

Nothing wrong with their berets (made by Laulhère), but the information on the Gallic Rooster web site could do with some serious corrections. Laulhère of course is not the last beret manufacturer in France and apart from the name, the beret is not Basque (let alone showing Basque craftsmanship).

The Boss

Academy Award-nominated star Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, The Heat, Tammy, Spy) headlines The Boss as a titan of industry who is sent to prison after she’s caught for insider trading.  She’s released six months later and forced to move in with an underpaid former employee (Kristen Bell) she used to torture. 

After spending some time with Bell’s character’s Girl Scout daughter, Darnell decides to build a brownie empire, including maroon berets,  from scratch. But her rebranding exercise as America’s latest sweetheart isn’t that easy; not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis

The Chicago Teachers Union has decided to walk off the job for one day on April 1, an effort meant to draw attention to ongoing contract negotiations and city schools’ dire financial outlook. 

The one-day strike means that the city’s 400,000 students will miss class on two consecutive Fridays: They were already scheduled to be out of class on March 25, when city schools close for the first of three furlough days meant to save the cash-strapped district approximately $30 million. 

The nation’s third-largest school district faces a $1.1 billion structural deficit, largely due to growing pension payments, and its financial troubles have given Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) an opening to push for state takeover. Chicago Public Schools officials called the union’s walkout illegal, a breach of labor rules that they say prohibit teachers from striking any earlier than mid-May.

Thanks Wayne

Che Guevara

In a further step signifying warming relations, Cuba has asked assistance of the United States in an emerging controversy over commercial rights to the likeness of famed Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara.

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade accused entrepreneurs in the United States of illegally profiting from Guevara’s popularity, particularly among college students, nearly 50 years after the Communist guerilla fighter helped Fidel Castro seize control of Cuba. 

Millions of tee-shirts bearing Che’s portrait are openly sold each year in mainstream U.S. department stores and by online vendors. Replicas of Che’s signature black beret affixed with a star are also gaining widespread popularity in U.S. stores.

 “I want to emphasize, we are not opposed to commercial use of Che’s image or his ideas. Those days are past. But the law of our country is explicit. All goods sold in his name or reflecting his image must be properly licensed by the government of Cuba,” said the country’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz.

The ministry sought the assistance of the U.S. State Department and the independent U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council in explaining Cuba’s trademark and copyright laws.
Thousands of U.S. businesses are lining up to open trade links with Cuba. But Malmierca Dias said that none will be approved for entry into the country until the U.S. acknowledges – and enforces – Cuba’s licensing requirements related to Guevara.

“We cannot waver on this. Che remains one of the most recognizable and important revolutionaries in history. He is a venerated figure in Cuba, and this must be affirmed by other nations who wish to conduct business in Cuba or with Cuban companies,” he said.
While Cuba’s focus is on the U.S., other nations big and small, will be held to the same trade standards, Malmierca Diaz said. He specifically mentioned China, France and Guevara’s native Argentina. 

Cuba said it had commissioned a marketing survey and found that Guevara’s signature beret is the most widely recognized head covering in the world, surpassing the Pope’s distinctive white Mitre. And the Ministry cited the following entry from Wikipedia about Cuban photographer Alberto Korda’s famed portrait of the Marxist revolutionary: “…the Maryland Institute College of Art called the picture a symbol of the 20th century and the world's most famous photo. Versions of it have been painted, printed, digitized, embroidered, tattooed, silk-screened, sculpted or sketched on nearly every surface imaginable, leading the Victoria and Albert Museum to say that the photo has been reproduced more than any other image in photography.^”

Malmierca Diaz said the cost of licenses to sell Guevara berets or photographic reproductions were still under consideration. But he urged businesses to proceed so that applications can be processed in timely fashion once the fee schedule is announced.
Proceeds from the license fees will be used to maintain the Che Guevara mausoleum in Santa Clara, Cuba, and expand museum exhibits elsewhere to tell the story of this national hero. Guevara’s mausoleum is topped by a statute of the revolutionary wearing, of course, his timeless beret.

Eknath Easwaran

Eknath Easwaran (December 17, 1910 – October 26, 1999) was a spiritual teacher, an author of books on meditation and ways to lead a fulfilling life, a translator and interpreter of Indian literature, as well as a dedicated beret wearer.

In 1961 Easwaran founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation and Nilgiri Press, based in northern California. Nilgiri Press publishes over two dozen books he authored.

Easwaran was influenced by Mohandas K. Gandhi, whom he met when he was a young man. Easwaran developed a method of meditation – silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions – which later came to be known as Passage Meditation.

Louie Bluie

Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (March 4, 1909 – July 30, 2003) was an African American string band and country blues musician, who played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and also sang. He was also a notable visual artist and raconteur.

As a young teenager he taught himself to play the fiddle, and joined a band led by Blind Roland Martin and his brother Carl. They toured the United States performing a wide range of music, from work songs and spirituals through popular Tin Pan Alley tunes and foreign language songs.

After serving in World War II, Armstrong moved to Detroit and worked in the auto industry until 1971. Around this time, Armstrong was contacted by Terry Zwigoff, a fan of his "State Street Rag" recording. Zwigoff's interest in Armstrong eventually blossomed into a one-hour documentary, Louie Bluie, released in 1985.

Armstrong was later the subject of another documentary, Sweet Old Song. He continued to perform with a younger generation of musicians, and released his first solo album Louie Bluie on Blue Suit Records in 1995, earning him a W.C. Handy Award nomination. He died in Boston, Massachusetts, aged 94, following a heart attack.

Dean Mullaney

Dean Mullaney (1954) is an American editor, publisher, and designer whose Eclipse Enterprises, founded in 1977, was one of the earliest independent comic book companies. Eclipse would publish some of the first graphic novels and was one of the first comics publishers to champion creators' rights. In the 2000s, he established the imprint The Library of American Comics at IDW Publishing, to publish hardcover collections of comic strips. Mullaney and his work have received six Eisner Awards.

David Ouellette

From the third floor of his house in northern St. Augustine, David Ouellette has a treetop view.

But his attention is more likely to be centered on a canvas lying flat on a table as he paints with liquid enamel, a medium that tends to run.

Propped against one wall is a proper studio easel that he pulls out when he uses oils. A workman-like bench runs against the other wall, loaded with paints, rags and brushes, with other tools of his trade hanging neatly above.

Over the polished and paint spattered floor hangs the odor of linseed oil. “I just love the smell of linseed oil,” Ouellette said.

He’s an artist, one who has been painting for decades. For more than 20 of those years, he worked as an instructor and gallery director for Florida School of the Arts.