#curiosities

#curiosities

The Versailles flower gardens were once a symbol of the French king's expeditionary might and helped water-deprived courtiers perfume their skin.Now, they have been reimagined to give today's public a glimpse and a sniff into the gilded palace's olfactory past.Holding secrets to the original concept of flower power, scents of Bulgarian rose, mint and citrus from hundreds of vividly colored historic blooms unveiled this week waft into the nostrils of paying visitors at the Chateauneuf Orangery of the Grand Trianon, transporting them back in time.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of wine tourism in the United States?In June, a new journey to investigate the American hospitality model begins.Over the past three years, Wine Meridian has traveled tens of thousands of kilometers to learn more about wine tourism initiatives in South Africa, Europe, and Italy.

This copywriting app takes AI to the next level for businesses, now only $39. Photo: Cult of Mac Deals Even if you somehow haven't heard of ChatGPT, you've probably read the AI chatbot's "work."OpenAI's resourceful text generator and others like it have been used to write everything from chicken recipes to term papers.

Frankie Corio as Sophie and Paul Mescal as Calum in Aftersun.Gregory Oke/A24 This week, we tracked a rare bird hybrid, watched the autumn leaves fall and learned how to host a successful theme party.Here's what the NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour crew was paying attention to  and what you should check out this weekend.

The lights were still on in the auditorium and audience members were still milling about in the aisles when the orchestra struck up the overture to Mozart's Die Zauberflote at the Metropolitan Opera House on Friday evening.The director Simon McBurney wasn't trying to chastise anyone for being inattentive.

I'm about to embark on what will probably be my longest travel away from home.While I'm pretty excited for it of course, I'm also nervous about the luggage situation as I always bring a lot of things with me and pack light is a foreign concept to me.I feel like I want to bring all of my creature comforts as well as make the place I'll be staying in for three weeks as home-y as possible.

Designer Luca Nichetto has made his first foray into fashion accessories with the Malala handbag, which was partially produced from apples for vegan leathergoods brand Angela Roi.Malala is Angela Roi's first accessory made from apple leather, a fabric that is created using scraps such as peels and cores from apple processing that would otherwise go to waste.

Cirque du Soleil is set to return to Toronto, at its new location in Etobicoke, on Friday, April 7.The iconic Big Top tent was raised March 26 at 2150 Lake Shore Blvd., site of the former Mr. Christie factory.It's the first time Cirque du Soleil has hoisted its tent at that location, which is under redevelopment after the cookie factory closed its doors nearly a decade ago.

By Dr. Bill Lipsky-
Charles Warren Stoddard, San Francisco's lavender "boy poet," made his first journey to Hawaii in 1864 when he was 21.One afternoon, "lounging at Whitney's bookstore" in Honolulu, "fumbling the shop-worn books," he saw "a slender but well-proportioned gentleman [enter], clad in white linen raiment, spotless and well starched."

TV/Streaming


Emerging from the shadows at the beginning of each episode and co-starring with a towering wooden structure of endless secret compartments, "Cabinet of Curiosities" also has del Toro introducing each director as a figurine, naming them every time.Del Toro reportedly hand-picked everyone, and it is in turn a filmmaker-forward enterprise.

The Art Directors Guild (ADG, IATSE Local 800) awarded winners in 14 categories at the 27th Annual Excellence in Production Design Awards February 18 at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown Hotel.The awards honored theatrical motion pictures, television, commercials, music videos and animation features.

Not long ago the venerable actor F. Murray Abraham wanted to get lunch at a favorite restaurant in Greenwich Village.Unfortunately the place was overrun by New York University students shooting a film.As the Oscar-winning star of Amadeus, Angels in America and dozens of other movies, plays and TV series stood on the outside looking in, one of the students turned to another and expressed his outrage: Don't you know who this is?

Conservation work has revealed new secrets about a 16th century painting that has gone on display for the first time since undergoing restoration.The Italian Renaissance painting of the Madonna and Child, painted in Florence in the 1520s, has been unveiled at Kirkcaldy Galleries in Fife, where it has never been exhibited before.

By David Landis, The Gay Gourmet-
It's hard to believe that the holidays are upon us once again.This year has flown by and now it's time for those holiday dinners, gatherings, present exchanges, and more.But what to give the foodie in your life?Luckily, the Gay Gourmet has some answers!Here are some of my top picks:
DecantSF: This is one of San Francisco's few wine bars and bottle shops helmed by two lesbian owners, Cara Patricia and Simi Grewal.

Flamingo Estate honey, from hives hosted by Ai and the actress Julianne Moore.Credit...John von Pamer Since the spring of 2020, Richard Christiansen's Flamingo Estate has grown from selling produce boxes to offering a wide array of made-in-California products, including garden-scented candles, wine and regeneratively farmed olive oil.