1. This Video of Annie Lennox Playing Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ – proving that even celebrities have to practice and worry about getting things “perfect.”
2. This (Supposed) Real Life Weather Report for Southerners – honestly, if all weather reporters did this I think we’d have a lot less accidents in the winter.
3. This Takeover of TikTok by Sea Shanties – I’ve been a fan of sea shanties for a few years, even before I saw the movie ‘Fisherman’s Friends‘ (and if you haven’t seen it yet, you must watch it!) Now they are popping up everywhere – marvelous!
(Stephen Colbert predicted the sea shanty craze.)
Of course Seth Meyers was way ahead of the times with his Sea Captain….
4. This Cocktail Created for Genevieve Lantelme – I can’t remember the circuitous path I took to get to Genevieve Lantelme but the internet has a way of doing that. You start in one place and end up someplace completely unrelated and it happens fairly quickly.
Miss Lantelme was a French stage actress back in the early 20th century. Born Mathilde Hortense Claire Fossey, she had a tough childhood and a short life. Mathilde’s parents divorced when she was a kid and although custody went to her father, there is a memoir written by Simone le Bargy, another French actress, who said that Lantelme ended up in a brothel run by her own mother by the age of fourteen.
The one positive about working in a brothel is that Mathilde met a lot of rich and powerful men and one of them, Henry Poidatz, a banker and owner of Le Matin newspaper, was able to back her stage career. That was when she became Genevieve Lantelme (Lantelme was her mother’s maiden name.) Her nickname was ‘Ginette’.
It took about 7 years but she eventually made it big, getting a leading role in 1908 which resulted in her being pictured on postcards and magazines covers, fashion designers creating gowns for her, and newspapers and magazines in both the U.S. and Europe doing stories on her. She was a star.
She also became the mistress of a playwright (Alfred Edwards) who was on his fourth wife. He divorced the fourth and married Genevieve in 1909. In early July 1911, Lantelme, her husband Edwards, and a few of their friends boarded Edwards’ yacht, L’Aimée. On the night of July 24/25, Lantelme disappeared, and a few days later her body was discovered in the waters of the Rhine River. She was twenty-eight years old.
The death was determined to be an accident but many people suspected that she had been dispatched by her husband. In fact a few newspapers even ran stories with the accusation and Alfred Edwards sued them and won. (FYI, not surprisingly, Alfred Edwards was 27 years older than Ginette. He died less than three years after she did from influenza though he was only 57. He had also married his sixth wife, another actress named Gabrielle Colonna-Romano. Gabrielle was five years younger than Ginette.)
- 1 oz Cognac
- ¾ oz Dubonnet Rouge
- ¼ oz Lemon Juice
- ¼ oz Maraschino Liqueur
Shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Express the oils from a lemon peel into the glass, rub the rim with the peel, give it a twist and toss it in.
Of course if I were going to invent a new cocktail for a French woman whose nickname was Ginette it would have most definitely have included gin. It also would have included champagne and/or St. Germaine. Probably like this St. Germaine Champagne Cocktail.
5. This History of the Tiny Doors of the U.S. Capitol – everyone loves miniature things and these have (had) a purpose.
6. This Artist Known as the “Glitter Queen” – Sara Shakeel uses actual Swarovski crystals, glitter, and constellations to create physical and digital imagery which she uses to share her passions, chronicle current events, and convey her opinions on social issues. Plus it’s sparkly!
Be sure to watch the video…
7. This New Stanley Tucci Series on CNN – VERY excited about this one! (thanks Ann.) Debuts on Sunday, February 14th.
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Quote of the Day
Have a Fantastic Week!