i now know what heaven feels like, or “he who seeks beauty will find it”

my friends and fellow citizens,

surely you know by now about my passion for a certain older gentleman. that’s right. you guessed it. i’m talking about the delightful shutter bug bill cunningham, of course!

i will admit, i came to his column digitally (a rarity for this luddite!) and what a treat its been to not only see his selections flash by as a slide show on the nytimes website, but also to hear his mahhhvelous narration. for me, listening to his thoughts and ruminations in that dear boston accent is half the joy.

and speaking of joy, what an utter delight it was to experience–both aurally and visually–a whole 88 minutes of this monastic man tonight (the documentary plays at film forum.) he’s so frugal he made even my father seem princely–and my dear old pops is the frugalest on planet earth! (we are of new england stock, i’ll have you know.) anyhoodle, in this particular moment of the film, mr. cunningham is dealing with a black poncho. “they’re so cheap. you wear it twice and it starts to tear around the neck.” (he breaks out some black duct tape) “well, why buy a new one if you know it’s going to tear?!” he jokes, smiling broadly. “it seems to embarass everyone but me,” he says with a satisfactory pat of tap to poncho. and off he goes on his bicycle.

the movie is not all laughs. there are some very moving moments. especially when mr cunningham receives a fashion photography award in paris and enthusiastically gives his acceptance in a mixture of english and french (pronounced with old timey boston flare, naturally) near the end of his speech he cries out, “he who seeks beauty will find it!” overcome with emotion, tears seem to well up in his eyes. as i wiped away my own salty lacrime i notice those around me did the same and it was punctuated by quiet sniffles of respect, love and admiration.

if bill cunningham is not in heaven, then i won’t want to go,
kippy

omg! top g.l.o.c. post and the power of shay-gur

mes amis–

news flash! my post about mens wear is the TOP post on g.l.o.c. i am so thrilled. i would like to take a moment to thank all the clickers and city slickers! merci beyond measure.

quoi d’autre? i have discovered some fascinating information. coca-cola classic is quite sugary. this is common knowledge, to be sure. but take a look at this!

there were a string of other sugar induced images a certain wise, older gentleman (mon pere) sent to me in an email. i am known to have a hollow leg (just like mon pere!) and sweet tooth (again, mon pere) but i just might start watching what i crunch and munch(itate) on! let me reiterate…kippy is watching her weight!

at least one of my favorite condiments, ketchup, isn’t so bad.

(then again i see a rude little “organic” name attached to the bottle here)

i wonder how tarter sauce fares?? i am a slave to my tartar.

ciao for now!
kippy

ps for those of you who don’t know, shay-gur is the affectionate name my father and i gave to sugar when i was a child learning how to read and marveling at the labels on my sugar cereal boxes. no, sugar isn’t good for you…but shay-gur is great for the soul. tastes good too!

my idol: bill cunningham

mes amis–

they’ve made a film about my idol!

i highly recommend watching the trailer here. that voice of his … just mahvelous!

also loved david dunlap’s full disclosure admission: (Full disclosure as a Times employee: I adore Bill Cunningham, not only because of his work but because he calls me “young fellow.” I’m 57.)

just terrific!

ciao for now,
kippy

ps i too have dipped my toes into the world of fashion. some kippy thoughts about mens wear here

looking for lionel

mes amis,

sometimes an image is worth a thousand empty words

bon weekend!

kippy

PS and for your ear pleasure

un’anima sensibile

amici miei,

oggi e una giornata griggia e fredda qui a new york. non so che dire. ieri avevo spiriti molto alti ma adesso sono giu. chissa perche.

did you know that maine and pennsylvania are having a whoopie war? i prefer the northern state, but who wouldn’t? whoopie pies are a fine treat.

btw–what happened to the age old tradition of throwing pies into the faces of politicians? someone get on that!

qaddafi, ghadaffi … oooh you are meanie deenie. and what’s with all these celebrities performing at the parties of your son? tsk tsk. yesterday on npr, they described the meals that the rebels were eating (macaroni and orange soda) and it made me so sad i shed a few tears. kippy’s heart is not, in fact, made of coal! i hope those rebels do ok.

et ca c’est tour pour au jour d’hui.

kippy

inshallah the skype will work

mes amis,

time is of the essence! if you do not know about the iranian theatre festival happening tomorrow evening, march 3, at the brick theatre in w’burg at 8pm then let-it-be-learned!

i am most keen on pen pals meet: a conversation between eliza and salar. though the title is long winded, and they are using the age-old gimmick of skype, it sounds like a salacious stunt worthy of witnessing. i might even make a rare public appearance!

these are the pen pals, btw. don’t they look cute as toots!

(inshallah the skype will work.)

in other news, did you know that if you are easily distracted it means you are a creative thinker? well–i could have told you that. but apparently jonah lehrer proves it in his article here. hmph! does someone smell cinnamon? why is that fan so noisy? i should listen to some music now. oh wait, i gotta pee.

kip kip over + out!
kippy

ps. remember, tomorrow is advice day on g.l.o.c. send your ?s to justaskkippy@gmail.com