LIFE IS BIUTIFUL...

Before I bombard you with about a week's worth of Paris related posts, here are some bits and bobs of interest from before I went:

Book: Keith Richards: Life. I would never have picked this book up if I hadn't happened to read an excerpt from it in the Times and been surprised at how engaging it was. It's so riveting that I can't put the bloody thing down now - I even took it to Paris, though its size and weight took up about half of my luggage. Although it has been written "with" a writer (James Fox), the unmistakable voice of Keef slurs wittily through the pages: taking us from his childhood in Dartford, his love for the blues, through to the bust at Redlands, time spent in the South of France and Morocco - and all the details in between, which yes, it's surprising he remembers really! In the part I'm reading at the moment, it's all about Anita Pallenberg; his respect for her as a person really comes through. That's about where I've got to so far. The other thing is that he devotes pages and pages to describing the way he plays music and how other people play, in great detail. It's interesting enough for me who never got past grade one clarinet and playing Chopsticks on the piano, but I imagine for a musician it would be fascinating to be told how Keef gets certain sounds out of his guitar, or how the Stones construct songs. It's also very amusing in places - I would recommend it to anyone. Previously if I ever saw Keith Richards out and about I might do a vague double take and go on about my business, but after reading this I might have to shake the man's hand. Here are a few pics of Anita, back in the day. Funny how responsible she was for the Stones look in the '60s and '70s (and hi Kate Moss, you're so original), but the word stylist was never bandied around then.

Film: Biutiful.

 I went to a preview screening of this film, starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel). Bardem plays Uxbal, father of two children, a hustler of sorts, operating among the underclass of a totally unrecognisable (to me or probably most visitors) Barcelona. His deals are with Chinese factory bosses, whose workers make the counterfeit bags sold by Senegalese immigrants on the street. Uxbal's wife is a prostitute with bipolar disorder who is also sleeping with his brother. Everything in this film is covered in a film of grime and it's relentlessly depressing, with minuscule moments of the titular "beauty" managing to filter through the squalor.
Biutiful is released on 28 January 2011 in the UK.

Drink: Caol Ila Single Malt: I don't like any other whisky, but I like this. It tastes like the smell of damp autumn leaves on a bonfire and a tot of it is an instant toe de-icer after you've been out in the cold. 

Stuff on the internet: For the past month or so, Fuck Yeah Menswear has been driving me to distraction with its pure genius, taunting me with not knowing who is behind it, as well as giving me fits of side splitting giggles.

{photos: It's almost impossible to find credits for these kinds of photos. They're mostly from The Fashion Spot. Let me know if you know. The last one is probably by Dominique Tarle.}