A Taste of Estonia Sweet Red Onion Jam Story & Photos by Marija Sponza The first time I had onion jam I didn’t like it. Truth, there is a lot of different kinds and this one, that I didn’t like, was runny with totally inappropriate spice mixture, not too sweet. My next accounter with this jam was completely different. In a medieval Olde Hansa restaurant in Tallinn (I know, uber touristic, but I just couldn’t live here and not visit it) along with the appetizer came sweet red onion jam. Not sure anymore, but I think I could taste a hint of thyme, or some other herb. The main thing was that the jam was sticky, leaving the taste of molasses on my tongue. Later we had it with the main prepared with deer meat, and some bear sausages, and both times it was a winner. As we went home, we were thinking that the food at the restaurant was not so special, but we could always come back for a bucket of that jam. Funny thing is, you can buy this jam in a souvenir shop adjacent to the restaurant, a small clay kindofajar for the price of 15 €. And seems like a best seller!!! Some might think that it’s too much for a small jar of onion jam, which actually may be truth, especially when you see how fast, cheap and easy you can make this at home. But, this version I’m giving you today is only a good enough copy, still not as good as the original. This jam goes best with roasted meats, especially game, as a burger condiment, and with cheeses, which is my favorite way to...
Afropunk Takes Over The Black Cultural Shift Interview by Lauri Lyons If you haven’t noticed, there is a cultural shift taking place in America, and across the globe. The shift is loud, colorful, disruptive, and at times entertaining. Afropunk, the international music festival and community, is part of the alternative cultural shift taking over New York, Paris, and Atlanta. Afropunk’s Jocelyn Cooper takes a moment to share its masterplan. How did you first learn about Afropunk? Jocelyn Cooper: I first learned about Afropunk with a conversation I was having with artist Danny Simmons, and he was talking about the Afropunk film, and an Afropunk event. I was working at the time for L.A. Reid’s publishing company. One of the writers signed to the publishing company was Beyonce. Afropunk certainly was not, in my mind from the name, sort of my world. Then I met Matthew Morgan and he started talking about Afropunk and all of the bands that were on the Afropunk.com platform. He told me there were 350 bands that were fronted by people of color and I was like, “There is no way there are 350 Black bands in America!” and he said, Yes there are and they’re on my site!”. Jocelyn Cooper & Matthew Morgan Then we met again and we were talking about the cultural shift and that conversation changed my life, because in my history I’ve been involved in major cultural shifts in Black music. I signed D’angelo many years ago, when I started my publishing company and that was the shift into neo-soul. When I was at Universal, I signed Cash Money Records...
The Feast of a Lifetime Chef Lidia Bastianich Interview by Lauri Lyons Lidia Bastianich is renowned as one of television’s most popular chefs, a restaurateur, and cookbook author. Today, she reflects on her journey, passion for food, and the expansion of her empire. At this time, some of the world’s most pressing issues surround war, displacement, immigration, and identity. Were you a World War II border child? Lidia Bastianich: I was born in Allied controlled Pola. At the end of World War II the victorious wartime Allied powers, negotiated the details of peace treaties and borders with Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Finland. The Paris Treaty was signed on February 10, 1947. I was born a few days later. The area was under Allied supervision until June of 1947, when the treaty was ratified. Editor’s Note: The Paris Treaty required Italy to cede most of Istria, including the province of Pola (where Lidia was born) to Yugoslavia. The area later became governed by the communists. Now more than ever borders are such a discussion and problem because people are kind of left in nowhere land, like the Jerusalem incident. If you were born in Jerusalem you are not Israeli or Palestinian, so what are you? Border people go through a lot. They are unidentified, and feel unsure for the rest of their lives, and ask “Where was I born? Who am I?” I know I’m Italian, but it’s such a predicament after wars, and it’s still going on today. I feel for all of these people around the world with the border situations and what they’re going through with their...
Slim Aarons: A Curated Life The Story Behind the Glamour Interview by Lauri Lyons Iconic photographer Slim Aarons was famous for documenting the quintessential good life all around the world. Now his daughter and former photo assistant, Mary Aarons, is revealing her father’s techniques for creating the perfect shot, as well as a good life of her own. A Sophisticated Snooze: Slim Aarons in Greece. Where was your father, Slim Aarons, originally from? Mary Aarons: He was born in New York City. Did he serve in the military before becoming a professional photographer? Yes, he was in the Army during World War II. He was a part of the press corps. He started out in the darkroom and then worked his way up to being a photographer. Was the war his first opportunity to travel outside of the U.S.? I’m sure it was. I don’t think anyone really traveled outside of the U.S. at that point. Where was he stationed? North Africa (what would be considered Tunisia and Algeria now) and Rome. Rome was really his favorite spot. At one point he also went to London and Paris, and then all throughout Europe. His letters remind me very much of that film The English Patient.The soldiers were in some beautiful places, but some pretty horrid things were going on around them. Did he ever talk to you about what it was like being a photographer during war time, and how did he develop his skills? He was working for Yank Magazine (the Army weekly). It was his first magazine and he was working with a group of guys and some...
A Peace Treaty Fashion Without Borders Fashion designer Dana Arbib, shares her global perspectives on life and style. Interview by Lauri Lyons What inspired you to start A Peace Treaty? Dana Arbib: I studied graphic design at Parson’s. I was working in a lot of different fields of design. I was consulting at Sotheby’s, and freelancing at DKNY. I always liked sketching, and I realized that I love drawing patterns, it’s so much fun, it’s so easy, it’s so creative. What is your cultural background? I’m middle-eastern. My dad’s from Tripoli, Libya. He grew up in Tripoli, but he went to school in Italy because Libya was an Italian colony at that time. So he’s kind of a blend of Italian, and Arab, but Jewish. His generation is pretty much the last of the Libyan Jews. Once his generation passes away, it’s kind of gone. I’m from Israel. So we’re kind of like Arab Jews in a way, which is complicated. How has your culture influenced your design aesthetic? I grew up with a lot of scarves, a lot of caftans, that kind of style. I had seen that when the company started, there was a trend in the market for kofia scarves. I realized there was a gap in the market for mid-level price scarves. That’s when I said “Let’s do a scarf company”. I’m constantly researching textiles from all over the world. It’s kind of an obsession of mine. I have a huge database in my head of references from Africa, Asia, Scandinavia, Japan, from everywhere. I’m traveling constantly. My dad, for a living, has a humanitarian background. He does a lot of...
Never Cannes Say Goodbye The Fashion Jet Set Story & Photography by John-Paul Pietrus The French Riviera has always retained a sweet spot in the lore of glamour and sophistication, and the City of Cannes has always been the epitome of global chic. Since 1946, the city has hosted the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, and the Cannes Yachting Festival. No matter what time of year it is, people never can say goodbye to the French Riviera. Set sail with fashion photographer John-Paul Pietrus, as he recalls the mise en scene of his luxurious photo shoot on the iconic Promenade de la Croisette. It was my first time in Cannes, which is amazing, glamorous and beautiful. It’s everything you think the French Riviera should be. The French Riviera reminds me of a James Bond movie. It has that sort of super 70’s chic feel, with beautiful weather and beautiful light. Our team stayed very close to the waterfront, at the InterContinental Carlton hotel, where they have all the big social parties for the Cannes Film Festival. We had a model confirmed for the shoot, but she had a problem with her visa. As a replacement, we contacted a Paris based modeling agency, and chose the gorgeous Alimata Fofana, who I love. I knew it would be more expected to see a white, blonde or brunette, woman in a French Riviera shoot. For the story, our fashion stylist, Loic Masi, wanted to dress the model in all red, white and blue. Since we were by the...
Hold Still Memories of the American South by Sally Mann Sally Mann is best known for her evocative landscape work in the American South and her intimate portraits of her young children. In her groundbreaking memoir Hold Still (Little Brown), Mann’s vivid, salty, and illuminating prose matches the artistry of her photographs. Her concerns about family, race, mortality, and the storied landscape of the American South are revealed as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by a colorful cast of characters who came before her. Sorting through boxes of family papers and yellowed photographs, Sally found a payload of Southern Gothic: deceit, scandal, alcohol, car crashes, bogeymen, clandestine affairs, disputed land, vast sums of money made and lost, and even bloody murder. “In 1998, right after bluffing Virginia Farm Credit out of the loan for the farm, I set out on the first of my several trips down into Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.” “The Suburban was packed to the headliner with coolers of film, smaller coolers with food and booze, nearly identical cylinders of sleeping, film-changing, and tent bags, the lunchbox-sized, primitive cell phone that Larry insisted I take, folders with heavily annotated maps, and in the far back, the darkroom with stacks of frame-quality glass, silver-blackened trays, and explosive, burping bottles of ether-based chemicals. “Similar in ways to working with ortho film, I found the wet-plate collodion process could give both freedom of expression and the satisfaction of ceremonial process, as if someone had sewn Jackson Pollock’s paint slinging arm onto a body controlled by the brain of Seurat. It was the perfect technique, I now realize, for the granddaughter of that sentimental but methodical Welshman, to use on...
Across the Universe Spiritual Medium James Van Praagh Interview by Lauri Lyons The veteran spiritual medium and clairvoyant, James Van Praagh, gives us the low down on the afterlife. What is your interpretation of the soul and how does it relate to our bodies? James Van Praagh: A soul is separate from the human traits that we take on. The soul is the life, the part of us that will be around until the end of time. It’s our makeup, the essence of ourselves. The human part of us, this human shell, really is just that. It takes on the types of traits such as criticism and judgment, abandonment, commitment issues, things like that. Its experiences move it forward to grow. The spirit is the soul’s animation, like the breath of life. What inspired you to start traveling to do spiritual work? I used to bring groups of people to spiritual places. The very first trip I went on was to Brazil. I wanted to bring a group of thirty people down there. Then I went to Sedona in Arizona. That’s how I first started. Then my book started selling internationally and the publishers sent me to do workshops in different countries. I went to Brazil, Japan, Australia, and Germany. I really get out there to do my work and teach people. I’m first and foremost a teacher. People know me from all over the world, so it gives them a chance to see me. Do you think nations and borders are real? No. In the reality of everything, we are all one. We...
