Paris under snow, what a magical sight…

It’s been snowing in Paris and amazingly the snow is staying so the whole city is white white white!

paris snow eiffel tower michele roohani

I had to meet a friend for lunch in Montparnasse; no bus was running in Paris yesterday so I had to take the metro which was deserted:

paris metro deserted michele roohani

it was me and the live statue of a king…

living statue michele roohani

The famous cafés of Montparnasse, like Le Select (once the haunt of Hemingway, Picasso and Henry Miller) were kind of empty,

cafe select in snow michele roohani

La Coupole was not much better,

coupole sous la neige michele harper

so we settled on some mean steak and frites and Entrecôte:

entrecote michele roohani

Who can say no to that?

2009-06-16-Le-Relais-De-Venise-L'Entrecote-steak

I said goodbye to my friend and decided to go and take some pictures of the city under snow.

saint michel sous neige michele roohani

It snowed on bikes,

bikes snow paris michele roohani

and on flowers,

primrose snow paris michele roohani

and the café tables:

café tables paris snow michele roohani

The bouquinistes (booksellers of used and antiquarian books) had stayed home but the Notre Dame cathedral was open to me and others.

bouquiniste neige snow michele roohani

Still majestic after 800 winters!

notre dame under snow paris michele roohani

It was glorious inside; I particularly love its three large rosettes. These examples of technical and artistic genius were constructed in the 13th century. The largest two measure 13 metres in diameter:

notre dame de paris michele roohani

I was giddy by the time I left – snow makes most people like that. It reminds me of my childhood in Tehran and cancelled school days! I took a picture of myself with the Saint Michel bridge behind me.

michele roohani pont saint michele snow

I would have been happier if it wasn’t for the stupid love padlocks! They have invaded the Pont des Arts (Art Bridge)  and now it’s all the other bridges’ turn…

padlocks cadenas pont paris michele harper

The Conciergerie (where the notorious Marie Antoinette was held before being decapitated in 1793) looked beautiful in spite of the recent Disneyesque cleaning of its façade. I liked it better when it had some of its original grime…

conciergerie snow paris michele roohani

I took the metro again to go to Trocadero:

metro paris snow michele roohani

You see many things when taking the Parisian metro – some are very nice like this poster advertising an exhibition about Shahrzad and her ” Thousand and One Nights” at the World Arabe Institute:

shahrzad institut arabe paris michele roohani

and some more realistic ones like these homeless men sleeping…

homeless paris metro michele roohani

By the time I got out it had stopped snowing,

metro sign paris michele roohani

and the beautiful Eiffel tower was on time for her rendez-vous with me:

palais chaillot eiffel michele roohani

These gilded statues each had a live bird on them:

guilded statues chaillot paris eiffel michele harper

but the only one close enough for me to take a picture of was this little sparrow:

sparrow moineau snow paris michele roohani

And of course everybody could take their own tower home:

eiffel souvenirs michele roohani

I didn’t buy any but I started writing this blog to share it with you looking out from time to time to the melting snow.

home michele roohani snow

I met some beautiful women at Paris Photo

My friend Anahita Ghabaian, the owner of  Silk Road Galleryinvited  me to go and see her great photo collection at the Grand Palais. I went and discovered the most beautiful women of the world! I didn’t know many of the newcomers to the scene like Paolo Roversi:

The above photo reminds me of my friend, Maureen.

I liked his other-worldly portraits where even the nudes were not in your face!

A jewel of a photo for me was Brancusi’s Eileen on the bench of his studio; I have appreciated his sculptures for ever and his “sleeping muse” kept me company for years.

The highlight for me was the Silk Gallery’s Persian Women; I met the super talented Shadi Ghadirian with her new collection of Miss Butterfly (Shahparak khanom):

A graceful and delicate butterfly/woman gets trapped in the web of a spider…


I knew her for her “Ghajar” and “Like Everyday” collections:

The late Bahman Jalali’s “image of imagination” was watching me quietly from the wall:

Iranian photographers’ works are regularly presented to museums and other institutions everywhere thanks to the Silk Road Gallery ; I like Rana Javadi’s Termeh clad woman:

There was a gorgeous sun setting on Grand Palais that made everything glow in the golden hour; perfect for taking pictures!

After Iran I went to Africa starting from Egypt and Youssef Nabil’s taunting girls:

then to Morocco and Lalla Essaydi’s “I want to be Shirin Neshat when I grow up” image; there is something about the written text that fascinates me:

The great surprise were the other Africans like this beautiful portrait, by Soungalo Malé, of this girl in her sunday suit in 1960; she looks at you with modesty but elegance:

I fell in love with this vintage photo of Ian Berry’s African Collection; a small print that made me smile:

The energy of the place made me forget my aching feet so I plowed on…

I was happy to see Sissi Farassat’s  Andrea, swimming in a sea of sequins:

I love fashion photography and I wasn’t disappointed! Cathleen Naundorf’s Dior 2007 collection made me want to color it pink:

Kate Moss was omnipresent but I liked Annie Leibovitz’s protrait of hers (bellow); she is best friends with the camera and many of her portraits were shouting from multiple galleries!

I saw Leibovitz’s pilgrimage photos too and I loved them all; here is the one I like to include here with all its majesty:

On the other end of the spectrum was Chris Bucklow‘s a thousand points of light that reminded me of Castaneda’s Don Genaro!

I like big cities and skyscrapers so I easily connected with Gail Albert Halaban’s  “Dance studio” from her Out my window NY city collection. Put that on your wall and the whole world changes…

The sun was shining when I went in the Grand Palais,

and I came out when it was growing dark; the site of the Petit Palais in the Parisian “blue hour” was indeed majestic:

Visit the  Silk Road Gallery  here

What Graphic Designers do for fun

I like playing with colors and each photo I take has a unique palette; I was in Vitra some time ago and I liked the Japanese architect, Tadao Ando‘s, conference pavillion:

It’s a visual play for me to make the range of colors that create the image. The photo bellow is from my shoe trees that spell (erroneously): “Qui va piano” or “Chi va piano, va sano; chi va sano, va lonta” which means: He who goes softly, goes safely; he who goes safely, goes far.

I love different shades of gray like these teapots:

and different whites of snow:

but I go nuts for flowers and their bursting energy like these gorgeous crimson peonies:

or their softer versions here:

I like freesias’ scent and this particular palette has always been one of my favorites; I even used it in my senior year thesis, using a CAD machine to do a chemical plant’s process flow diagram! That was a first for my dear Professor Lockhart

I like these shawls of mine even if I seldom wear them:

Indian miniatures are usually an orgy of colors!

So is the Parisian dusk,

or the window of a fast moving train,

which mimics the palette of these summer vegetables.

This was a hodgepodge of my favorite palettes.

If I work enough,

I may earn enough to deserve my coffee later!

My favorite “Reds” go here

Don’t forget my favorite “Whites” here

Scarlet, crimson, red

Red—no matter what other name you call it by— is the color of  passion, anger, courage, sacrifice, warning, fire, sin, revolution, love, power, etc…

red cards michele roohani joker playing cards

red is my favorite color and these are some samples of my reds; let’s start with a red heart or a scarlet letter:

red heart giacometti michele roohani

red tomatoes,

red cherry tomatoes basque ham michele roohani

red fish,

red caper fish swan michele roohani

red Persian rug,

red persian rug micheleroohani

red literature,

red fernando pessoa michele roohani book of disquiet

a red fountain pen,

red fountain pen michele roohani

and a red pencil,

coloring pencils argentina mcihele roohani

red lips,

red lips marylin monroe michele roohani

a hot red car,

red hot car michele roohani

another hot red car,

red smart car merecedes michele roohani

an aspiring red rose,

red white rose michele roohani

and a real red rose,

red rose in a black cup micheleroohani

lovelorn poppies,

red poppies michele roohani loire france

red peppers,

red peppers michele roohani

high calorie red,

red ribbon bran muffin michele roohani

a small red door,

red door amsterdam michele roohani

and a slightly bigger one!

strasbourg cathedral red door michele roohani

the fabulous Miss Wendy:

red miss pink michele roohani guitar musician

Los Angeles’ red light district,

red traffic lights los angeles michele roohani

red beads,

red beads michele roohani

wine is one of my favorite reds,

 red wine michele roohani bottles painting

red steps in Prague,

red steps stairs michele roohani prague

and red steps in Buenos Aires,

red tango dancers michele roohani buenos aires

a disobedient red strawberry shortcake,

red strawberry shortcake michele roohani argentina

and a red blog…

red blog michele roohani

and this is the end of my Red post.

Alone in Paris

Just came back from a brief stay in Paris and these are some of my pictures:

glorious morning paris michele roohani louvre

The Louvre is glorious in early morning,

morning at the louvre michele roohani

some jet-lagged tourists were the only people around,

from Rio to Paris michele roohani

early birds can witness the majesty of an empty Louvre Court.

lonely louvre michele roohani

When you wake up that early in the morning, everything is beautifully calm even in the nauseatingly crowded Paris,

paris penishe seine michele roohani

Another lonely hyper-connected dude:

computer dude in paris michele roohani

I met Jon Stewart at Deux Magots for breakfast that day—he made me laugh…

jon stuart at deux magots michele roohani

Angelina still has the best Mont Blanc of the city and it’s my duty to check the quality every time I am in town:

mont blanc angelina paris michele roohani

Of course my favorite is always “un petit noir au comptoir” (a quick small espresso at the cafés’ counter):

petit noir au comptoir michele roohani

Paris is a movable feast…

heart paris michlee roohani

Couldn’t resist adding this image of Maryam from a couple of years ago…

maryam louvre paris michele roohani

Norouz 1388, the blooming of a new year

The Persian new year, called Norouz (or Nowrouz)—New Day—is just around the corner and Southern California nights have the sweetly fragrant scent of jasmine and citrus flowers. Last year’s  Norouz blog  remains my  most read post so please visit it for a detailed account of Haft-seen and some great pictures.

camelia bud michele roohani

Tulips don’t know much about the financial crisis and narcissi couldn’t care less about job layoffs; they come out with their effortless beauty, reminding us that nature renews its vows with life every spring.

pink tulips spring norouz michele roohani

Before 1564, most of Europe celebrated the New Year with the first day of Spring.

pink tulip spring 2009 michele roohani

The Gregorian calendar changed that to January first. To me, it is only natural to start the year with the first day of spring and not in the dead of winter…

red striped tulip michele roohani

“Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling,
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturb’d,
Give me to warble spontaneous songs recluse by myself, for my own ears only,
Give me solitude—give me Nature—give me again, O Nature, your primal sanities!
Walt Witman

pansies banafsheh spring michele roohani

The Norouz celebration lasts 13 days and is rooted in the 3,000-year-old tradition of Zorastrianism. March 21st will be the first day of spring, the first day of the new year. The fragrance of these lemon tree blossoms reminds me of a Norouz I spent in Shiraz years ago…

lemon tree blossom spring michele roohani

 This poem of Fereydoon Moshiri always makes me smile…

بوی باران، بوی سبزه، بوی خاک
شاخه های شسته، باران خورده، پاک
آسمان آبی و ابر سپید
برگ های سبز بید
عطر نرگس، رقص باد
نغمه شوق پرستوهای شاد
خلوت گرم کبوترهای مست …
نرم نرمک می رسد اینک بهار
خوش به حال روزگار

خوش به حال چشمه ها و دشت ها
خوش به حال دانه ها و سبزه ها
خوش به حال غنچه های نیمه باز
خوش به حال دختر میخک – که می خندد به ناز –
خوش به حال جام لبریز از شراب
خوش به حال آفتاب

sabzeh wheat germs michele roohani

Would it be the dawn of 1388 or 2547 like some purist Persians suggest? It’s surreal to see this anachronistic image of the late shah’s crown in the middle of Santa Monica boulevard wishing you a happy new year in Persian!

pahlavi crown amir michele roohani west los angels santa monica boulevard

I just can not resist sharing these beautiful flowers with you:

violet ranunculus spring 2009 norouz michele roohani

This is a celebration of Life.

pink ranunculus yellow poppy spring 2009 norouz michele roohani

It is time to recalibrate our priorities and do some spring cleaning. Just look at the beautiful baby green of this Hydrangea:

hydrengea baby green michele roohani

The hyacinths (sonbol) or the quintessential Norouz flower:

hyacinths spring 2009 1388 norouz michele roohani

 I wouldn’t dare translating this beautiful Rumi poem about Norouz:

اندر دل من مها دل افروز توئي
ياران هستند ليك دلسوز توئي
شادند جهانيان به نوروز و به عيد
عيد من و نوروز من امروز توئي

anemone ranunculus michele roohani

Don’t forget to visit my last year’s Norouz post.

fish carps michele roohani

Norouz Pirouz!

Santa Baby…

Guess what we all got from Santa Claus this year?

santa claus obama michele roohani

It’s been a horrendous holiday season and my images below illustrate the Christmas mood of Rodeo Drive:

via rodeo sign christmas 2009 michele roohani

The real estate market is so bad, they are giving away whole buildings!

via rodeo christmas 2008/2009 michele roohani palm trees

The haute couture has a small “sale” sign but no buyers…

via rodeo christmas 2008/2009 michele roohani ferre red

The Christmas decorations are as gorgeous as ever but with no money to spend, people are just not in the mood,

via rodeo christmas ornament 2008/2009 michele roohani reflection

and the  Cinderella slipper has to wait for a better (non-bankrupt) prince.

rene caovilla gold shoe michele roohani beverly hills cinderella

The doormen at Prada are waiting in vain too— the headless/moneyless client is entrapped in Koolhaas’ quirky cell:

michele roohani prada christmas 2008-2009 headless man

Last year’s night version of this was way more cheerful…

michele roohani reflection christmas 2008-2009 vuitton

Africa’s still bleeding in spite of De Beers pretty windows:

michele roohani reflection christmas 2008-2009 de beers

An exercise in futility if you ask me but Harry Winston is still showing off its ridiculous necklaces.

michele roohani reflection christmas 2008-2009 harry winston

The poinsettias are effortlessly beautiful and everywhere—they keep bringing a smile to my face without costing an arm and a leg.

michele roohani christmas 2008-2009 poinsettias

poinsettia michele roohani christmas

An espresso and the man of the year to wrap up the day.

michele roohani patisserie nahid christmas 2008-2009 obama man of the year

It looks like we’re going to have to take Einstein’s advice, whether we like it or not: “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

Pretty girl in Paris

Pretty girls who wish to model for you are not rare in Paris and I found a great one, Lisa Tahmassi, to walk with me in La Butte aux Cailles neighborhood . You are never sure whether it will rain or not—an umbrella is usually a must in almost any season.

lisa tahmassi paris rain umbrella michele roohani butte aux cailles

These two old gentlemen were so out of place in this very chic neighborhood (ok, the café was pretty beat-up)—they couldn’t take their eyes off of her!

lisa tahmassi paris men beret michele roohani butte aux cailles

Ah…the never-retiring beret…

lisa tahmassi paris men beret michele roohani butte aux cailles beer

It was too early to start drinking anything but an espresso at the counter:

lisa tahmassi paris waiting café michele roohani butte aux cailles france

I love these no-fuss cafés of Paris where you can have the best “petit noir” for 1.5 euros.

lisa tahmassi paris cafe coffee france michele roohani butte aux cailles

A world in turmoil screams for our attention,

lisa tahmassi paris presse tabac france michele roohani butte aux cailles

the financial meltdown was starting to hit the front pages.

lisa tahmassi paris figaro france michele roohani butte aux cailles

I have more pictures of Lisa but they have to wait for another post, another day.

lisa tahmassi paris cell phone france michele roohani butte aux cailles

Putting these images together, I am reminded of this terrific, light-hearted song about being young and in love in Paris by Jacques Brel,”Les Prenoms De Paris” (Names For Paris); listen to it here.

eiffel tower with rain drops michele roohani

“Le soleil qui se lève
Et caresse les toits
Et c’est Paris le jour
La Seine qui se promène
Et me guide du doigt
Et c’est Paris toujours
Et mon cœur qui s’arrête
Sur ton cœur qui sourit
Et c’est Paris bonjour
Et ta main dans ma main
Qui me dit déjà oui
Et c’est Paris l’amour
Le premier rendez-vous
A l’île Saint-Louis
C’est Paris qui commence
Et le premier baiser
Volé aux Tuileries
Et c’est Paris la chance
Et le premier baiser
Reçu sous un portail
Et c’est Paris romance
Et deux têtes qui tournent
En regardant Versailles
Et c’est Paris la France

Des jours que l’on oublie
Qui oublient de nous voir
Et c’est Paris l’espoir
Des heures où nos regards
Ne sont qu’un seul regard
Et c’est Paris miroir
Rien que des nuits encore
Qui séparent nos chansons
Et c’est Paris bonsoir
Et ce jour-là enfin
Où tu ne dis plus non
Et c’est Paris ce soir
Une chambre un peu triste
Où s’arrête la ronde
Et c’est Paris nous deux
Un regard qui reçoit
La tendresse du monde
Et c’est Paris tes yeux
Ce serment que je pleure
Plutôt que ne le dis
C’est Paris si tu veux
Et savoir que demain
Sera comme aujourd’hui
C’est Paris merveilleux

Mais la fin du voyage
La fin de la chanson
Et c’est Paris tout gris
Dernier jour, dernière heure
Première larme aussi
Et c’est Paris la pluie
Ces jardins remontés
Qui n’ont plus leur parure
Et c’est Paris l’ennui
La gare où s’accomplit
La dernière déchirure
Et c’est Paris fini
Loin des yeux loin du cœur
Chassé du paradis
Et c’est Paris chagrin
Mais une lettre de toi
Une lettre qui dit oui
Et c’est Paris demain
Des villes et des villages
Les roues tremblent de chance
C’est Paris en chemin
Et toi qui m’attends là
Et tout qui recommence
Et c’est Paris je reviens.” Jacques Brel

Dog eat Dog

It seems we can’t get away from the lipstick, the pit bull and the dog eat dog atmosphere of the circus of American presidential elections! To ease the general anxiety here are some pictures of real dogs and cats.

red leash dog michele roohani

Dogs are hot these days—many people prefer them to having children. They say when you get a dog you are buying yourself a tragedy…

hound dog michele roohani

Man’s best friend,

dog in a phone booth michele roohani

this image will give nightmares to mullahs: a dog on a persian rug!

amber dog persina rug michele roohani

I am not a cat person – I had to look hard in my archives to find these two pictures.

cat on man’s back reading michele roohani

Funny background:

cat with doggy curtain michele roohani

If I had a choice I would have loved to have a beagle like this one who will always be my favorite dog or a border collie. Maybe in another life…

chuck brown snoopy michele roohani peanuts

“Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” Mary Bly

The best cartoons I’ve seen lately

A great cartoon can make you want to laugh, cry, and think all at once. These are the best cartoons I’ve seen lately:

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani law and order

Massoud Ziaei’s works are little gems:

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani moon

 

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani red carpet airplane

and for the bibliophile:

massoud ziaei cartoon michele roohani books

The following are from this young cartoonist:

majid amini cartoon michele roohani signs

his humor is getting darker:

majid amini cartoon michele roohani soldiers

and darker:

majid amini cartoon michele roohani fish

I laughed a lot seeing this one from Hamid Bahrami right after the batman movie:

hamid bahrami cartoon batman loverboy

hamid bahrami cartoon batmanand family

I love his light/bright sense of humor:

hamid bahrami cartoon fig leaf michele roohani

There are some very sad cartoons:

razor heads

 the quiet gnawing pain of children of divorce.

divorce javad alizadeh michele roohani

After the great masters, Ardeshir Mohassess,

ardeshir mohassess michele roohani

and Kambiz Derambakhsh,

kambiz derambakhsh michele roohani cartoon

these young artists— mentioned earlier—bring in a sense of freshness. This is a very funny one called frustration from Randall Munroe:

randall munroe frustration

and one from the late Roger Blachon:

roger blachon sports michele roohani

and this from Roger Tetsu (passed away in 2008 like Blachon—bad year for cartoonists named Roger):

roger testsu michele roohani museum

and  last but not least, one from the great Sempé

sempé petites ballerines michele roohani

I found this fabulous Russian site that archives many cartoonists’ work; once you’re in, there is no coming out soon…