Photo from The Selby

are viv + i?
“bonjour mon ami…” from southern france!

 using “rick steves’ provence & the french riviera guidebook“ (a.k.a. our “other” bible in southern france), vivien outlined a tour de southern france via our avis rental car: an opel. definitely a different experience for me… cause when i vacation, i tend to stay in one hotel/location for the duration of the stay and take a taxi. the long, windy and scenic roads from town to town were pretty fun to drive.

bonjour from hotel negresco in nice! le'g+v...

not knowing what to expect for the city driving/parking conditions, it was crazy and stressful! the streets were SO narrow and often-times one-way and it was shared by cars, bicyclists, scooters, cats and dogs all at the same time! in most intersections, they had these roundabouts that were a bit confusing as well… and just required you to pretty much close your eye and jump into the circle of death and drive around until you find the right road to get off to! you just had to pay attention to the many arrowed signs and pray you chose the right one!

when in doubt... always head toward "centre ville"...

total distance driven: 1234km = 766.772 miles
total spent on diesel: €106 euros = $158.73 USD
total number of swear words dropped: 11 “mutha F-bombs” :|

thank the Lord that there were so many things to ease my driving stress… paellas, poissons and pâtisseries, oh my! 

the places:

- paris

then a short flight to provence (southeastern region in france on the mediterranean, adjacent to italy):
- marseille
- aix en provence:  a happening place where one can enjoy people watching and modern shopping all while checking out some great museums dedicated to van gogh + cezanne.

fountain de la rotunde in the city center...

night time stroll down aix en provence's city center...

- arles:  van gogh called this place home for some time. here is where we also experienced “le mistral” for the first time. passing through the valleys of the rhone and durance rivers, the wind that blew through the streets and the open courtyards were UNREAL! there were times when i opened our rental car doors and really believed the door would rip off from the sheer strength of the mistral!
- st. remy:  great cafés and even greater chocolates! (and van gogh committed himself to an insane asylum in this city).
- les baux

home of "château des baux"... a fortified castle built in the 10th century. one of the most beautiful historic castle/site in france!

- avignon:  we stayed inside the walls of this once fortified city. it is well known for its “palais des papes” (palace of the popes), where several popes and antipopes lived from the early 14th to early 15th centuries and “pont-saint bénézet” (bridge of st. bénézet).

a historical palace (which became the residence of the popes) in avignon, it's one of the largest and most important medieval gothic buildings in europe.

- orange:  seeing the theatre was seriously humbling. since we went kinda late in the tourist season, it was pretty much empty when we got there. and to enter this incredible structure… and taking the site all in gave me goosebumps + chills. to imagine what it must’ve been like in the past when it was filled to capacity and full of energy! the funniest part, was this lone cat that i had to take a picture of… so patiently sitting/waiting in seat 65 for some show to begin. hey andy, can this pic be submitted to http://icanhascheezburger.com/?

théâtre antique d'orange (“ancient theatre of orange”) an ancient roman theatre...

this cat (assigned seat 65) was patiently awaiting for the start of the show...

- vaison la romaine
- isla sur la sorgue
- rousillion
- pont du gard (one of the many landmarks in the provence region that is on unesco’s world heritage list).  and man… when you see this structure it’s truly awe-inspiring. so beautiful, so rich in historic worth… and still standing after all these years! makes me realize how young any of the structures we might have in the u.s.

pont du gard... if it was warmer we would have jumped from the bridge and swam!

- nîmes

the temple of diane...

the pg-version of the matador in front on the arènes de nîmes (thanks to viv + rick steves' guidebook!)

the maison carrée, currently under renovation...

BONUS PIC:

arènes de nîmes' lone matador under the spotlight...

- uzes
- cassis:  a small, quaint seaside port city… it’s referred to as “the poor man’s st. tropez“. this place was definitely my fav! if i go back, i’d stay here longer for sure. the vibe in this place was so nice and relaxed! and after being in the larger cities of aix en provence, arles and avignon, coming here was a great change of pace. the restaurants and shops near the water and the ocean view were breath-taking. cassis is also known for their  magnificent ”calanques” (see picture below). when we return to southern france in the future, we hope to spend more time here so we can charter a boat to the callanque en vau and spend the day on the beach (pictured below viv) and swim the crystal clear waters! t+t, bring your snorkel, mask + fins and join us… oui oui!

everyone in france rode bikes!

view of the boat moor from a local cassis cafe...

waterfront view of cassis

after an aftenoon coffee + gelato, a stroll to the beachfront does a soul good!

i scream, you scream, we all scream for gelato!

after hiking 1.5 hours we arrived to callanque en vau. your own private beach!

and then off to côte d’azur (a.k.a. “the french riviera“):
- cannes
- monaco:  i have NEVER seen so many maseratis, bentleys, rolls royces, and aston martins in my life. i thought viv + i would get shot for driving our rental opel through here.

the casino monte carlo... where true ballaz go to play! there's an admission fee just to get in and gamble!

- eze village
- nice: definitely a tourist mecca. they had an incredible open market on most mornings which looked like pike place market times 10. and the beachfront here was off the chart. seeing the ocean’s color at sunset almost looked fake. viv + i visited the marc chagall biblical museum (prior to going, i had never heard of this artist and after visiting, i am now a HUGE fan of his work) and saw his 12 paintings depicting various stories from genesis + exodus of the old testament (he also has 5 paintings inspired by song of songs). all i could do was just stand speechless and be mesmerized as i looked at each of the paintings. you could literally spend hours looking at each drawing. so much was conveyed through these paintings (the user of shapes and amazing colors)… a reminder to keep being creative and explore how art and faith intersects in my life.

upon entrance of the marc chagall biblical museum... this is your initial view!

viv mesmerized by the "noah and the rainbow" painting by chagall...

sunset in nice = SO nice!

- villafranche

au revoir (for now)…

for more reading:
- where in the world… (part 2)
- where in the world… (part 1)

I am excited to post some of my work in the actual environment it appears.  I hope to get some more store shots in the next weeks as it is in loads of stores.  There is a whole add campaign behind the photos.  So far I have the 2 store shots, the catalog and the website.

Above you can see my photo behind the mannequins (Click to enlarge).

When I shot the photo, I never considered it would be wrapped around a circular beam!

You can see all the photos and some of the credits, etc. in the previous post.

http://michaelcreagh.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/mademoiselle-hk-campaign-photos/

thanks!

Michael Creagh

http://www.michaelcreagh.com

.

Buy my Book!

http://www.blurb.com/books/455779

http://highartweddingphotography.com

Check back at http://michaelcreagh.wordpress.com as I update it weekly.

Hi

I posted the lead shot from the Mademoiselle HK shoot back on the 5th, but I am finally able to post the entire series.  I will also post some more shots in the upcoming weeks of the campaign itself.  I just got in 2 snapshots of the photos all blown up in the stores.  I will try to post them tomorrow.

Martha Hunt from  Next Model Management…. which besides being a model I love  (you saw her twice before in my Susana Monaco shoots; Black & White and Balloons and Shadows), it was also a really timely choice for the China and Hong Kong market.  She was just on the cover of Chinese Vogue at the end of the summer, right before our campaign hit China.

Makeup by Yuko and hair by Wesley from the Wall group.  The styling was by Marcell Rocha of Workgroup.  We shot it in my Manhattan studio with Hasselblad H3D 39 Megapixels and Profoto lighting.  I changed up the lighting a little bit, sometimes playing with more shadow versus sometimes using spotlight in the back.

thanks!

Michael Creagh

http://www.michaelcreagh.com

.

Buy my Book!

http://www.blurb.com/books/455779

http://highartweddingphotography.com

Check back at http://michaelcreagh.wordpress.com as I update it weekly.

CANDACE JONES…
Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/GoCJones

CANDACE HAS A CALMING JAZZY STYLE, BUT HER VOCAL RANGE IS LIMIT LESS. AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT I GET FROM HER. I HAD THE PLEASURE SEEING HER IN NEW YORK LAST YEAR… DAMN SHE IS INCREDIBLE LIVE…
I’M NOT SURE WHAT SHE IS WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.. I’LL BE COPPING IT WHEN SHE DROPS IT!
CHECK HER OUT http://www.myspace.com/candacejones

TASH AKA MAADEMOISELLE
http://www.twitter.com/MAADEMOISELLE

Tash is a songstress with many styles. As you can see she rocks them well. Her vocal is also crazy to me… She is very lyrical and diverse. She can do soul and then turn and sing on a rappers beat and kill it.
She is very kewl person… Even tho she is slow to check her EMAIL!!!! (Inside JOKE)
I first heard Tash when Drake told me she was doing the remix to one of his first tracks “Replacement Girl” feat my bruh Trey Songz. Since then I’ve been a fan of her musically… She doesn’t know it yet, but she will be singing at my wedding HAHA!!!
You can check her out at
http://www.youtube.com/mademoiselletv

Chatos de época – Rabugentos,  inconsoláveis, sempre a resmungar pelo borogodó que se foi. Não é uma questão de idade, ataca também raparigas em flor, como as gazelas que fazem um tipo “virgens suicidas” e ouvem Renato Russo e Smiths como se fossem mademoiselles do século XIX.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.  o Xico Sá é foda, ok?

a fonte: http://carapuceiro.zip.net/

Mad Girl’s Love Song (1953)

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,
And arbitrary blackness gallops in:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I dreamed that you bewitched me into bed
And sung me moon-struck, kissed me quite insane.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

God topples from the sky, hell’s fires fade:
Exit seraphim and Satan’s men:
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

I fancied you’d return the way you said,
But I grow old and I forget your name.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;
At least when spring comes they roar back again.
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
(I think I made you up inside my head.)

~A villanelle by Sylvia Plath, first published in the June 1953 issue of Mademoiselle magazine

Wie nennt man ein verrücktes französisches Fräulein?

“Mad-Moiselle“

(Na, erinnerste dich noch?)

A while back I posted that I had 3 catalogs that were in the pipeline and hopefully would be posted soon.  Finally, here is another one!!!  This is the Mademoiselle HK campaign.  I really enjoyed this shoot.  You may notice we worked with one of my favorite models, Martha Hunt from Next:  Makeup by Yuko and hair by Wesley from the Wall group.  We shot it in my Manhattan studio with Hasselblad H3D 39 Megapixels and Profoto lighting.

I will post more of the series later in this week.  But here is the teaser shot from their website.

thanks!

Michael Creagh

http://www.michaelcreagh.com

.

Buy my Book!

http://www.blurb.com/books/455779

http://highartweddingphotography.com

Check back at http://michaelcreagh.wordpress.com as I update it weekly.

É bem típico que eu acorde cedo de fim de semana inspirada pra fazer meus projetos do curso de DI. Pensei que fosse mais fácil decorar um loft,já que eu mesma posso construir as paredes, trabalhar com drywall e divisões de vidros, acrílicos e por aí vai. Isso se a professora não tivesse exigido 2 itens que estão acabando com a minha vida : um espaço gourmet integrado com a varanda (de apenas 1,60 de largura) e 4 cadeiras mademoiselle. Quando eu recebi o e-mail do projeto, já tinha desanimado sobre as cadeiras, porque eu nunca tinha visto uma e imaginei algo tipicamente comum e sem graça. Eis o meu objeto obrigatório no trabalho

Gostei muito dela, é totalmente o oposto do que eu imaginava, é básica e linda : feita de acrílico com uma estampa beeeeeeem colorida. Gostei tanto que decidi colocar uns outros modelos no projeto e procurar mais algumas delas pela internet (e google é uma arma em mão de mente ociosa ) e achei um modelo perfeito : By Valentino

Tem uma By Moschino linda linda também :

E tem mais com estampas de famosos,eu particularmente queria uma de cada.

Le 2-55 a été dessiné par Coco elle même en février 1955, d’où son nom qui peut déconcerter : 2-55. Le matelassé est inspiré des vestes des Jockeys de l’époque.
Ses caractéristiques : matelassé, de forme rectangulaire il a un fermoir rectangulaire lui aussi que l’on appelle “fermoir Mademoiselle”, discret il n’a aucun logo apparent. Il n’est plus produit depuis la naissance du Classic Timeless, le 2-55 repensé par Karl Lagerfeld, ce qui en fait une vraie pièce rare.

Mercury / Universal

Berrys Album beginnt mit dem tollen Mademoiselle, auf dem kein geringerer als Eumir Deodato die Streicher dirigiert. Mit so einem Fürsprecher kann doch eigentlich gar nichts mehr schiefgehen, oder? Und siehe da – das tut es auch nicht! Stücke wie Belle Comme Tout oder Love Afair sind extrem entspannt, leider aber auch auf die Dauer etwas ermüdend. Nicht weil die Stücke schlecht wären, sondern weil eine gewisse Verspieltheit fehlt, wie wir sie von Rose, Marianne Dissard oder Charlotte Gainsbourg kennen. Dennoch versprüht die CD einen gewissen Charme, so z.B. bei Plus Loin oder Inutile. Auch Cheri überzeugt mit seiner Gainsbourg-Reminiszenz. Und spätestens bei Les Heures Bleues sind die kleinen Schwächen des Albums längst vergessen. Das Album befindet sich irgendwo zwischen Rose und Carla Bruni. Besser als Carla Bruni, schlechter als Rose, aber dennoch ungemein bezaubernd. Und seien wir mal ehrlich: Rein optisch hat Berry dem frankophilen Rezensenten einiges zu bieten!

Die Chansoniére Berry (aktuelles Album: Mademoiselle) kommt für ein paar Konzerte nach Deutschland. Ihre Stücke wurden von Manou komponiert und ihr Album blieb in Frankreich 42 Wochen in den Charts, es folgten diverse Auszeichnungen und Goldstatus. Für die Streicherarrangements war kein geringerer als Easy Listening Legende Eumir Deodato verantwortlich. Umwerfend!

12.09.2009 – Berlin

21.09.2009 – Köln

22.09.2009 – München

23.09.2009 – Berlin

24.09.2009 – Hamburg

Whenever I feel lost or torn or both, I start reading Coelho’s The Alchemist. The book has some sort of magical effect on me – it’s calming and helps me put things in perspective. I have been in terrible need of perspective lately and my inability to be objective has been harming me more and more with each passing day.

When I was walking to teach today, I realized something – it was actually so blinding and so easy, I was amazed the weekend of soul-searching and last night’s histrionics did not make it apparent.

I do not want to leave him. It is as simple as that. I still don’t know where I am or where I am going, but am no longer fighting it. Perhaps some would agree that the whole point of the “journey” is to keep going, experiencing everything as it comes, instead of anticipating. Perhaps…

- – -

(All of the quotes below are Coelho’s, culled from his various books. Thank you for your words!)

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worse kind of suffering.

When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.

When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.

Mademoiselle, August 31, 2009

I am not sure what brought on this sudden friending frenzy on Facebook. Only instead of me friending well-known members of tango society, apparently the tables have turned. Now it’s yours truly, who is being friended left, right, and center. Some of them have seen me dance, some of them know my dance partner, and then there are some, who are rather interested in getting me to wear some of their designs. As in clothes. As in sexy tango clothes. Hel-lo!

I admit it, most of my performance dresses are courtesy of… *drumroll*… Victoria’s Secret. Seriously! They are super-comfortable, sexy as hell, and really easy to dance in. Other girls either buy regular evening gowns and start adding slits or have dresses custom-made. At some point, my dresses will be custom-made too. Right now, however, I should probably buy some shares in Vicky’s Secret because I single-handedly clear them out.

And yet, I digress. This new friend of mine designs dresses and is pretty well known. I was flipping through her latest designs and was absolutely thrown by one particular piece, which, frankly, had my jaw on the floor. So was my partner’s when he saw it. I am not sure if it was entirely coz of the dress or due to the model’s…err…assets, but that’s neither here nor there.

“What the hell?” he politely inquired, after I showed him the picture. “What is this?”

“It’s a dress!” I helpfully replied. “One I am thinking of getting. Thoughts?”

Yeaaaah, his expression was essentially worth a thousand words, and believe me when I say I will not be able to do it justice.

A few months ago, a well-known couple performed at a fairly new milonga we used to frequent. Her dress was…something else. I’ve never had any doubts of my heterosexual orientation, but that dress made me stare and made me stare some more. If it did that to me, you can imagine what was happening to the men present. Therein lay the catch. While we were all busy drooling over this admittedly pretty girl and her extremely risqué dress, we completely forgot to watch her dance. It became utterly secondary and alas, very much unimportant.

That night, I learned two very important lessons; never let a dress distract the audience and for the love of God, wear tights/fishnets/anything if you insist on dancing in a dress with a slit up to your neck. (Yes, it really was that high!)

My partner was clearly thinking of that same night, that same performance, and that unfortunate dress.

“Remember that girl? Nobody will even look at you dancing. Hell, you won’t even have to dance. You can just stand there! Walk out and stand there!! Everybody will just start bellowing “OTRA OTRA OTRA” without any hesitation.”

I smiled.

We’ve gotten “otra’d” before, and it must be said, there were no dresses involved. But still, to dance in a lingerie dress is so very tempting, no?

Ok, enough teasing, meet the dress… (By the way, these are the photos taken from the designer’s website. I am not the girl in the picture. But thank you for the compliments both on the post and via e-mail )

The dress that launched a thousand…butt exercises? Incidentally, I realize that humor sometimes doesn’t read in written format, especially if one doesn’t know the person and her way of joking. Hell, what am I talking about? My partner has known me for a year and a half, knows me better than most other people, and still couldn’t figure out that the only way I would wear that dress for a performance would be if hell froze over…repeatedly. Now seducing him is a whole other story…

Couldn’t not post a second photo. It’s just so very “Me Jane. Where Tarzan?”

]]> http://oitudoemcima.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/perfume-chanel-censurado/ Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:12:55 +0000 Gabriel http://oitudoemcima.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/perfume-chanel-censurado/

Depois das leis contra o cigarro mudarem o cartaz do filme que conta a biografia da estilista Coco Chanel (reveja aqui), foi a vez de um anúncio de perfume da marca ganhar mudanças via photoshop.

Saca as duas versões da propaganda da fragrância Coco Mademoiselle, com Keira Knightley, e tenta explicar esse excesso de politicamente correto, por favor. As duas versões são lindas, mas precisa disso tudo?

Después de una larga espera por saber quién sería la titular del “reality” titulado “Mexico’s next top model”, se confirmó que será la top model mexicana Elsa Benítez la que conducirá el programa que dará inicio el próximo 1 de octubre.

Elsa Benítez, es una reconocida modelo a nivel internacional que ha trabajado desde los 18 años de edad con diseñadores y marcas de gran peso en el mundo de la moda, tales como Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Victoria’s Secret y Dolce & Gabbana, entre otros.

La joven nacida en Hermosillo, Sonora, destacó desde sus inicios por su belleza y su estatura de 1.80, que le fue abriendo camino hasta ser contratada por la agencia Elite, que catapultó su imagen internacionalmente.

Desde entonces ha aparecido en las portadas en las ediciones internacionales de numerosas revistas, tales como: “Vogue”, “ELLE”, “Glamour”, “Mademoiselle”, “Harper’s Bazaar” y “Marie Claire”, ademád de que ha participado en las campañas “Macy’s”, “Episode”, “J.Crew”, “Nine West” y “Valentino”.

En 2001, logró lo que para el mundo de la moda es la diferencia entre una modelo cualquiera y el nivel de “top model” al ser elegida como portada de la revista “Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition”.

La supermodelo participará en México en agosto próximo en la preparación de la primera temporada del “reality” denominado “Mexico’s next top model”, la cual es una producción original de Sony Entertainment Television, que se estrenará el 1 de octubre de 2009.

Cabe recordar que esta misma producción ya se ha hecho en otros países, la primera en Estados Unidos como “America`s mext top model”, con Tyra Banks como conductora, “Brazil`s next top model” con Fernanda Motta y “Germany`s next top model” con Heidi Klum como titular.

México sería la segunda franquicia en América Latina, después de Brasil y los premios para la ganadora del “reality” consistirán en un contrato por cuatro años con una agencia de modelos, un reportaje gráfico y portada de la revista “Glamour México”.

Fuente: www.elimparcial.com

Referente a: http://obson.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/elsa_benitez/

Confortables. Faciles a chausser et dechausser. Cools. Je me sens dix ans plus jeune. Me permettent de fondre dans la foule d’etudiants du daigaku qui trainent leur pieds dans la rue d’un air desinvolte et branche:

Je suis degoutee.

Cette annee j’avais jure que j’allais monter d’un cran mon jeu de seduction feminine avec des escarpins portes un peu plus souvent.

L’Autre Jen (ma copine), sois maudite d’avoir laisse tes chaussures quand tu es repartie en Australie. Toi, moi et tous ceux qui me connaissent savent tres bien que je vais porter ces chaussures, et uniquement chaussures, jusqu’a ce qu’il faille les bruler.

*poing serre brandi en l’air*

Summer has hit and summer has hit hard.

There’s no desire to write – too drained after endless practices, rehearsals, and teaching. No, not complaining, though perhaps that is what it sounds like. Only I miss writing regularly – a purge of sorts – and when I don’t, all of these things I wanted to write about just gather and stew. Every time I’d open the page to write a new entry, something else would distract me, and so days go by, and everything I want to write about gather and gather into a little ball. Not so little anymore though. They are gathering force, gathering momentum, until suddenly they explode into jumbled, stream of consciousness sentences.

Momentum is something that a dancer needs. When my spine twists until it’s ready to break and another boleo is unleashed. When I am led into a corte and the sudden pause allows me to embellish, to paint on the floor – another momentum, but so much more subtle this time. When I am brought into a lift, or rather just before, and there is this gathering of a force that eventually catapults me.

To me, momentum is life – be it in dance or otherwise. It starts slowly, building, building, building, until something breathtaking is produced. At the moment, however, I am a cynic. There can be something breathtaking, and then there can be something brutal and ugly. When misunderstood words gather force and start snowballing down a steep cliff, the momentum that is created is ugly and so ruinous, one may never recover. Just like there can be a legendary lift that leaves everyone in the audience spellbound, there can be a wretched one – leaving dancers on the floor, broken.

There is an insane lift we do in one piece. No one does it in the tango world and every time we perform it, the jaws drop. (“Huh? What? HOW?!”) In order to do it, the trust between partners must be surreal. I’ve never thought about it. I just trust him when I do it – perhaps it’s a blind trust, but I know that he will never drop me and he is going to be there to catch me, precisely at the right moment. There are times when I wish I had this much trust outside of the dance studio as well…

Things, events, words have been gathering speed lately.

There is this momentum, which, at times, seems to be unstoppable. Before, everything was forced. Now, the ice has broken, but there is still no flow, or rather, a very slow trickle. And so it’s here. Deep down I’m a little scared of it still, but I keep thinking – this is all worth it, he is worth it.

Despite the title being “Eyes Wide Shut”, that was never really true. My eyes have always been wide open, you see, at least where he and I and tango were concerned. It will either be very good or it will be the worst experience of my life to date. I knew what the stakes are from the beginning, I knew what I stood to gain and what I stood to lose. The possibility of losing is always there, only I choose not to think about. I wont… not until I absolutely have to.

Questa è la frase con cui sono arrivati qui, ieri. Per leggere questo. E sì, io credo che il passeggiatore del web si riferisse a una persona, con quella frase, e spero anche che non debba aspettare molto per riabbracciarla (e che sia possibile), però… si adatta anche ai miei sentimenti di quest’anno passato, ripensando alla casinaduepassipertre e alla vita “libera” che facevo là.

Un anno. Incredibile. Me lo sento tutto sul groppone, come no (e mai avrei pensato di doverlo trascorrere tutto qui , altrimenti forse mi sarebbe mancato il coraggio). Però non mi pento della scelta che ho fatto, anche se è stato (ed è) come camminare sui gomiti.

Ma arriverà la resa dei conti! Si scioglieranno le catene! Si ripartirà a briglia sciolta! Si perderà la nozione del tempo! Che ora invece scorre col contagocce. E soprattutto ci sarà un’altra casina, speriamo con una stanza dove il letto non sia un divano da chiudere ogni mattina, operazione che era necessaria per poter circumnavigare la stanza durante il giorno.

Ma ad ogni modo.

Guardate qui, Dance around the world!

L’altra invece è m.lle. Alle prese con studio matto e disperatissimo, come potete notare. Ma non fatevi ingannare,  quell’aria pacioccosa è finta: un’oretta dopo, nel bosco, mi ha fatta impazzire. A volte mi pare drogata, lì in mezzo: annusa qualcosa e diventa incontrollabile, le si accende una luce selvatica negli occhi e tutto il corpo diventa elettrico. E se in tutto questo c’è anche dell’acqua in cui buttarsi… adieu. Mettetevi il cuore in pace perchè dovrete aspettare che la signorina si sia calmata per ritornare alla macchina, oppure avere la fortuna che vi passi di corsa sui piedi per acchiapparla al volo.

Emily Loizeau, Sister

Olivia Ruiz, Elle panique

Coeur de pirate, Comme des enfants

Berry, Meademoiselle

… vi ho lasciati in piena ebbrezza da libertà ritrovata. Don’t worry amici, è durata poco. MOLTO poco.

Proprio mentre stavo raccontando alcuni scherzetti giocati, in passato, dai castellani partiti per finta per le vacanze (e ritornati di sorpresa per cogliere le figliole a fare niente di male se non RESPIRARE)… me la sono tirata addosso.

Non avevo ancora finito di ridacchiare e dire: “Ma ci pensi che matti?”, che i matti (furbacchioni) hanno chiamato per avvertire che nel giro di un’ora sarebbero stati al castello. Che avevano lasciato 28 ore (scarse) prima… e che avrebbero dovuto lasciare libero dalle loro grinfie per almeno altre 48.

Ma si sa, la casa è la casa… e i castellani sono di una specie speciale che vi raccomando.

Quindi la pacchia è finita prima ancora di cominciare. Così abbiamo fatto armi e bagagli, caricato le provviste in macchina e mademoiselle nel bagagliaio (anzi no, le borse nel bagagliaio e la principessa sul sedile dove non dovrebbe stare) e ci siamo rifugiati nella casettadell’orrore.

(…)

Vi risparmio i dettagli. Sappiate solo che era il luogo dove la giovane dancin‘  veniva portata bambina e poi adolescente, dove ha conosciuto la malinconia da pioggia d’autunno che ti penetra nelle ossa e dove ha calpestato, pensando ad altro, i porcini per cui veniva trascinata nei boschi dal padresovrano la mattina all’alba (con la sorellasposa, al contrario, molto più in gamba di lei in veste  bambinascovatartufo); dove ha passato ore in macchina a leggere, stanca di pungersi le dita per aprire ricci e raccogliere castagne (sì, non maleditemi, ma  era un lavoraccio da schiavi! “ettari ed ettari” di castagni  – un po’ esagero – tutti da passare a rastrello, avvolti tre giri nelle sciarpe di lana. Meglio i romanzi di Verne, dietro ai finestrini appannati dell’auto, come no) e poi… vabè. Mille più mille ricordi spesso umidi e freddi, e le chiazze di sole davanti a casa per correrci dentro la mattina e scaldarsi braccia e gambe nude d’estate (ma anche la piscina di gomma con l’acqua tenuta a scaldare al sole, i tricicli, i corsi di cucina e da coiffeur coi fili d’erba del prato e le scorpacciate di lamponi… ecc… ecc…).

Quindi. Vi risparmio il corso di sopravvivenza accelerato, un paio di sere fa, alla casettadegliorrori; c’erano ospiti non avvezzi e la notte e la cena da affrontare (io ho proposto di ubriacarci per far passare più in fretta la notte e dimenticare il freddo e la pioggia che cadeva fuori… ma non abbiamo portato a termine l’opera).

Poi, finalmente, è arrivata la mattina… e il sole.

E così abbiamo deciso di fare un giro su un altro pianeta.

M.lle ha potuto dar fondo al fuorismo canino provocato da quantità estrema di superfici liquide, solide, sabbiose, erbose, escrementose, nevose, quasi fiorite e, soprattutto, molto ripide su cui rotolarsi.

Ogni tanto incontravamo qualche isolato terrestre, intento a rincorrere i suoi pensieri perso nella maestosità del paesaggio e lontano (molto lontano) dalle umane questioni.

M.lle le ha provate tutte per convincerci a rimanere sul pianeta dalle mille superfici strusciabili … ma niente. Abbiamo dovuto fare ritorno.

La vecchiacittà aspettava (e con lei la cena, finalmente… io mica sono abituata a mangiare come gli uccellini!) e i suoi abitanti.

Che se non vengono proprio dai quattro angoli della terra, da Sud e da Est arrivano di sicuro, e nei giorni di festa paiono più mescolati che mai.

C’era la musica e per un po’ abbiamo guardato le rondini volare sui tetti.  Oltre alle scarpe.

* ultima foto: la mano magica

Io e m.lle siamo state lasciate al castello da sole. E non vi dico che indaffaramento… troppe cose tutte insieme nell’ebbrezza della solitudine! Da non credersi.

Ovviamente in questi giorni di non lezione anche il sole è “non”: non comparso, non visibile, non. Fa pure freddo la sera (ma io preferisco). Stanotte per un po’ è piovuto così forte che ho pensato ci portasse via.

Chiusa a chiave nella stanza con m.lle (come sempre quando sono qui sola), ovvio ho iniziato a fare sogni strani: tra cui il puntinoB. Dovevo nascondermi dai castellani, come in certi periodi di allora, per vederlo e parlargli. E gli guardavo le orecchie: piccole. E parlavamo in un modo… come, ovvio, mai è successo nella realtà. E  lui era comprensivo, e  mi diceva che. Ed era una goccia di balsamo sulle mie ferite.

Strano (e bello) come il nostro cervello, a distanza di tempo, cerchi dei modi per guarirci. Magari la notte, magari nei sogni. Parole, gesti, sensazioni che valgono come dieci abbracci della vita reale.

Poi sì, ti svegli e sai che si è trattato (solo)  di un sogno: ma un po’ immagini che così come la tua mente è riuscita a fare questo per te, chissà cosa starà facendo o farà quella del puntinoB con lui… o chissà che le nostre menti (quelle di tutti), a un certo punto decidano di parlarsi. E capirsi.

A nostra insaputa, all’improvviso.

* foto Tim Walker