Word: french
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...optical illusion. At the start of “Oratorio,” the stage is dominated by its red velvet curtain and a large chest of drawers, offering little hint of the spectacle to come. Shortly after the house lights dim, though, a voicemail message plays in French and the top-left drawer opens. A pale, lithe arm extends into the darkness, a lit cigarette in its hand. The next few minutes are simultaneously hilarious, disturbing, and beautiful, and they aptly set the tone for the rest of the show. An impossible series of limbs reach out from within...
First Lady Michelle Obama picked fashion insider Isabel Toledo, 47, to design her Inaugural ensemble. The glamorous, creamy yellow dress and matching overcoat were made of satin-backed wool guipure, a kind of lace used most often in French haute couture. Obama accessorized the look with a sparkling crystal necklace and green leather gloves and shoes. Although the First Lady's office repeatedly said that Obama would not decide on her outfit until this morning, the choice - including the color, fabric and accessories - shows a lot of confidence and planning on the wearer's part. (See pictures of Michelle Obama...
...push to create a museum, opponents say that Sarkozy will pillage other collections to create the illusion of a unified and coherent vision of French history, a past that is actually very diverse, complex and chaotic. "A single venue dedicated to the history of France makes no sense, and is even dangerous in seeking to create a single, global, and unique (national) history," curator, scholar, and former Picasso Museum director Jean Clair told the Journal du Dimanche. "It's totally a incomprehensible project, because all museums are historical...
...Sarkozy says that's nonsense. A museum would actually assemble far-flung works, artifacts, and resources in one place to allow scholars to further examine and challenge interpretations of French history, he argues, and not tie it to a single perspective. "The idea is not to create an official history or to keep up arguments over how things are remembered," Sarkozy said in Nîmes, "but rather to develop a scientific, comparative and pluralist approach...
...Given the breadth and depth of French history it's inevitable that assembling even a snapshot of it under a single Parisian roof would require gigantic effort. Whatever building is chosen is sure to be massively transformed as well. Perhaps la Maison de l'Histoire de France may end up serving as the monument to Sarkozy's presidency after...