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Last days of Summer. We have had a great one. Even better now that it cools down in the evening. I hope that all of you have enjoyed your summer.
I have taken some new photos (once again) and I do hope that you enjoy them.
There are more photos on my site..
"All my life one of my greatest desires has been to travel-to see and touch unknown countries, to swim in unknown seas, to circle the globe, observing new lands, seas, people, and ideas with insatiable appetite, to see everything for the first time and for the last time, casting a slow, prolonged glance, then to close my eyes and feel the riches deposit themselves inside me calmly or stormily according to their pleasure, until time passes them at last through its fine sieve, straining the quintessence out of all the joys and sorrows."
Such an amazingly true statement.
Well, the weekend has come to an end and what a rainy one it has been.
I was looking forward to some outdoor activity - biking, rollerblading - anything outdoors and active. Saturday was not too bad, overcast but mild, so I ventured "out and about" Toronto, exploring some markets both indoor and outdoor, riding through some areas in town that I had not been to for quite some time and relaxing at a sidewalk cafe. It was a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday.
Sunday however, was a different story. Rain, rain and more rain. I cannot complain as we have had one amazingly warm summer but I do not often get an entire weekend to myself.
I recently received a book from a friend so decided on an indoor day, wrapped in a book.
The book - Report to Greco - Nikos Kazantzakis - arrived to me earlier this week with a lovely note attached, "Enjoy the Journey that is Life". So fitting. Life is truly a journey.
To quote the author, "Our lifetime is a brief flash, but sufficient".
From his from childhood in Crete to his travels all over the Mediterranean and Europe, Report to Greco is somewhat of an autobiography of one man's spiritual journey, although it has been said that it is a mixture of fact and fiction . Report to Greco is trip through the author's spiritual odyssey from Christianity to Buddhism, Communism and more, as well as his continuous fight to further develop himself; his lifelong search for his own raison d'etre.
Thusfar, I have found that this book, although written years ago, contains ideas, fears, questions, explorations and thoughts of which continue to apply to today's world. There are so many passages that I have found to be so very fitting within the day to day life. As I continue to read, I continue my own journey and that search and further development of myself.
Thus ends another weekend
Toronto Escort. Worldwide Companion
Arianne St. Claire
I enjoy art in all of its different forms. From drawings and paintings to architecture, photography and beyond, I find myself drawn to the many ways in which art represents itself. Having worked primarily in an industry that presents itself through art, mostly that of photography, I am forever looking through the works of these artists and am amazed at the different ways in which they express themselves.
One such artist I have enjoyed the works of over the years is that of Irving Penn.
"(Born June 16, 1917, Plainfield, N.J., U.S.—died Oct. 7, 2009, New York, N.Y.)
Irving Penn, an American photographer noted for his sophisticated fashion images and incisive portraits.
Penn, the brother of the motion-picture director Arthur Penn, initially intended to become a painter, but at age 26 he took a job designing photographic covers for the fashion magazine Vogue. He began photographing his own ideas for covers and soon established himself as a fashion photographer. In 1950 he married model Lisa Fonssagrives, whom he photographed for much of his best work. His austere fashion images communicated elegance and luxury through compositional refinement and clarity of line rather than through the use of elaborate props and backdrops.
Penn also became an influential portraitist. He photographed a large number of celebrities, engaging each subject to sit for hours and to reveal his or her personality to the camera. In his portraits the subject is usually posed before a bare backdrop and photographed in natural northern light. The resulting images combine simplicity and directness with great formal sophistication. A memorable series of portraits he created in 1950–51, collectively called Small Trades, was of labourers in New York, Paris, and London formally posed in their work clothes and holding the tools of their trade. This project eventually extended to places such as Nepal, New Guinea, Dahomey (now Benin), and Morocco. Penn's later platinum prints of female nudes and of cigarette butts are characterized by the same tonal subtlety, compositional virtuosity, and serenity that mark his fashion photography and portraiture.
Three hundred of Penn's pictures were published in Moments Preserved (1960). His other books include Worlds in a Small Room (1974), a collection of portraits of people he encountered in remote foreign locales, and Passage (1991), a retrospective survey of more than 400 examples of his work in portraiture, fashion, ethnic studies, and still life. In 1996 he donated his archives to the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum organized a traveling retrospective of his work the following year."
The expressions... a moment in time...
So natural.
Raw.
A true sense of realism.
Capturing the Soul.
True portraiture.
Erotic Massage aims at spreading your sexual energy throughout your whole body; it combines Tantric training techniques and Taoist erotic massage strokes.
The idea is to relax and expand your experience of sexuality from the root to your entire body, using sensuous touch, breathing and muscular control. Learning to create and hold on to larger and larger states of erotic energy.....
Arianne St. Claire
"Stéphane Pompougnac…does this name ring any bells? Hotel Costes? Now it must be starting to make more sense as these two are never dissociated, seeing as Mr Pompougnac is the official DJ for the very exclusive and fashionable Parisian hotel.
The maestro behind the now world-famous Hotel Costes compilations didn’t start off too badly either. He mixed for famous venues such as the Café Costes, Queen, Privilège and even Les Bains-Douches until Jean-Louis Costes himself asked him in 1997 to begin a new residency at his new hotel and restaurant. Read More
More than a decade has passed, and his latest compilation, volume 11, is out and offers another round of French Lounge sounds from jazz to bossa, to international electro. Leana Horne, Waldeck, Variety Lab, Shazz and many more are featured adding a few vocals resulting in gorgeous tracks like number 13, Boa Sorte –a brilliant duet featuring Vanessa Da Mata and Ben Harper.
Stéphane’s talent hasn’t gone unnoticed by celebs (perhaps because they stay at the Costes too). Cameron Diaz has booked him to mix at her restaurant and Massive Attack, Nicole Kidman and Harrisson Ford have also rubbed shoulders with him. No wonder has he become one of the most sought-after DJs spreading French style music all around the globe. The restless Pompougnac has launched his own label SPP as he is planning a new 2009 release. Awdio will be on the lookout for that one. For now you can listen to his selection of tasteful tunes live from Costes every day on Awdio.com."
(From Blog.awdio.com )
Stephane Pompougnac's musical talent is something I have enjoyed since having seen him perform at the Buddha Bar in Paris. Nice soothing music on a lazy Sunday or any lazy day for that matter. Musical influences from so many genres.
Arianne St. Claire
Some great weather we have been having. Humid and hot at times, warm and breezy at other times. I do enjoy summer and all of the traditions surrounding it. Outdoor barbeques, patios, lakes and cottages and mini get-a-ways.
It is so hard to believe we are already half way through summer.
I have been doing some traveling to New York, a quick trip overseas to Paris and London and will doing a bit more travel to Ottawa, Halifax, Washington DC and hopefully "Hot-Lanta" as well this summer. Anyone in these areas around this time - August to early September, please feel free to contact me :-) and hopefully we can meet up for some summer fun.
I have added some new photos to my site- yet again (always fun to shoot and add new pictures).
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer as much as I am...
xoxo,
Arianne St. Claire
