Latest news with #StillLife
Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Horror images show vile souvenirs created by trophy hunters from holiday kills
Shocking images in a new exhibition to be shown to MPs to highlight import ban include bear paw slippers and bottle openers made from lions' paws by heartless trophy hunters Footstools made from elephant feet and slippers made from bear paws are just some of the macabre products made as a result of sickening trophy hunting holidays. Images of the gruesome and senseless souvenirs will be part of an exhibition shown to MPs later this month to highlight why a UK import ban on hunting trophies - a Labour Government manifesto commitment - is desperately needed. The exhibition, titled 'Still Life', showcases 35 powerful photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Britta Jaschinski of hunting trophies - when hunters slaughter threatened and endangered animals simply for fun and bragging rights. The objects in the photos, which include stuffed lion heads, were seized by authorities in the UK and USA for not having the correct paperwork. But currently it is legal for British hunters to travel abroad to kill animals and bring back trophies just like these—a cruel injustice that the Mirror and Humane World for Animals is campaigning to end - with a licence. Senior wildlife campaigns manager Nicola White, said the 'compelling photographs illustrate the tragic waste of animals' lives in this cruel, outdated and damaging industry. She said: 'How much longer must animals continue to suffer and die at the hands of British trophy hunters, to be turned into mundane objects such as bottle openers, pencil holders and rugs? Wildlife trade data shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023 with dozens of trophies from animals including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah shipped to our shores. With strong public demand for an end to Britain's role in trophy hunting, the UK Government must deliver its manifesto commitment to ban imports of hunting trophies.' The Labour Government committed to banning imports of hunting trophies in its 2024 manifesto, but so far has not made any progress. A Private Members' Bill sponsored by David Reed MP, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, is due its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 13th June. The latest wildlife trade data from CITES shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023, hitting an alarming post-Brexit high. Trophies, such as skins and stuffed body parts, from 39 animals—including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah—were shipped to the UK in 2023. This year marks 10 years since Cecil the lion suffered for over 10 hours following his wounding by crossbow in 2015, before finally being put out of his misery. Yet the diabolical practice of trophy hunting continues, and trips to kill endangered animals are sold by hunting tour companies here in the UK. Last month the Mirror revealed how trips to slaughter majestic creatures including lions, zebras and leopards where being sold from the Stalking Show which took place in Staffordshire. Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: 'British trophy hunters have turned elephant feet into magazine racks, and their skins into rifle cases. "Trophy hunters also collect the trunks, ears and tails of elephants, the penises of bears and seals, bear paws and worse. Trophy hunting is an evil form of fetishism. They are like serial killers who keep the body parts of their victims as trinkets. 'It's a sick and dangerous sport that needs to be shut down. Our government keeps saying it will ban hunting trophies, but then refuses to say when. It even refuses to publish a timetable. It will soon be the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion. The government should impose an immediate moratorium on these sick souvenirs.' A Defra spokesperson said: "The Government was elected on a mandate to ban the import of hunting trophies - that is exactly what we will do.'
San Francisco Chronicle
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Movie Review: The sweep of history courses through Jia Zhangke's 'Caught By the Tides'
Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides' is less than two hours long and yet contains nearly a quarter-century of time's relentless march forward. Few films course with history the way it does in the Chinese master's latest, an epic collage that spans 21 years. Jia undertook the film during the pandemic, assembling a mix of fiction and documentary, including images from his earlier films as well as newly shot scenes. That might sound like a mishmash kind of moviemaking. But for Jia, the preeminent cinematic chronicler of 21st century China, it's a remarkably cohesive, even profound vessel for capturing what has most interested him as a filmmaker: the tidal wave-sized currents of technological progress and social transmutation that wash over a lifetime. The high-speed upheavals of modern China are, of course, a fitting setting for such interests. Jia's films are often most expressed in their surroundings — in vistas of infrastructure that dwarf his protagonists. Fans of Jia will recognize some from his previous films. For me, there's never been a more moving backdrop from him than the rubble and mass displacement of the Three Gorges Dam project (seen here, as in his 2008 film 'Still Life'). 'Caught by the Tides' is ostensibly about Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao, Jia's wife and muse) and her lover Bin (Li Zhubin), whom she searches for years after a row sent them in different directions. But in 'Caught by the Tides,' these characters are more like life rafts bobbing in expansive waters, making their way aimlessly. The poetry of 'Caught by the Tides' comes from a grander arc. In one of the film's opening scenes, shot on grainy digital film, women in a Datong city room laugh together, singing old, half-remembered songs. The film's final scenes, set more than two decades later in the southern city of Zhuhai, are more crisply photographed and depict a more impersonal world of smartphones, robots and QR codes. For a moment, Jia even adopts the perspective of a surveillance camera. Another moment: a shot, from pre-digital times, drifting down a street with men looking back at us, smoking and mildly curious. Cut then to what might be the same street years later, where a woman parades as a model in front of a sprawling shopping mall. In 'Caught by the Tides,' these changes go unexplained and unspoken. But the evolutions they chart are deeply familiar to anyone who has lived through even some of these years, in China or elsewhere. We see how people once moved differently, spoke differently and sang differently. Progress and loss exist together as one. Zhao and Li age through the film, leaving them weathered, too, by time. A song late in the film goes: 'I can't grasp the warmth we once shared.' 'Caught by the Tides,' a Sideshow and Janus Films release, is unrated by the Motion Picture Association. In Mandarin. Running time: 116 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Movie Review: The sweep of history courses through Jia Zhangke's 'Caught By the Tides'
Jia Zhangke's 'Caught by the Tides' is less than two hours long and yet contains nearly a quarter-century of time's relentless march forward. Few films course with history the way it does in the Chinese master's latest, an epic collage that spans 21 years. Jia undertook the film during the pandemic, assembling a mix of fiction and documentary, including images from his earlier films as well as newly shot scenes. That might sound like a mishmash kind of moviemaking. But for Jia, the preeminent cinematic chronicler of 21st century China, it's a remarkably cohesive, even profound vessel for capturing what has most interested him as a filmmaker: the tidal wave-sized currents of technological progress and social transmutation that wash over a lifetime. The high-speed upheavals of modern China are, of course, a fitting setting for such interests. Jia's films are often most expressed in their surroundings — in vistas of infrastructure that dwarf his protagonists. Fans of Jia will recognize some from his previous films. For me, there's never been a more moving backdrop from him than the rubble and mass displacement of the Three Gorges Dam project (seen here, as in his 2008 film 'Still Life'). 'Caught by the Tides' is ostensibly about Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao, Jia's wife and muse) and her lover Bin (Li Zhubin), whom she searches for years after a row sent them in different directions. But in 'Caught by the Tides,' these characters are more like life rafts bobbing in expansive waters, making their way aimlessly. The poetry of 'Caught by the Tides' comes from a grander arc. In one of the film's opening scenes, shot on grainy digital film, women in a Datong city room laugh together, singing old, half-remembered songs. The film's final scenes, set more than two decades later in the southern city of Zhuhai, are more crisply photographed and depict a more impersonal world of smartphones, robots and QR codes. For a moment, Jia even adopts the perspective of a surveillance camera. Another moment: a shot, from pre-digital times, drifting down a street with men looking back at us, smoking and mildly curious. Cut then to what might be the same street years later, where a woman parades as a model in front of a sprawling shopping mall. In 'Caught by the Tides,' these changes go unexplained and unspoken. But the evolutions they chart are deeply familiar to anyone who has lived through even some of these years, in China or elsewhere. We see how people once moved differently, spoke differently and sang differently. Progress and loss exist together as one. Zhao and Li age through the film, leaving them weathered, too, by time. A song late in the film goes: 'I can't grasp the warmth we once shared.' 'Caught by the Tides,' a Sideshow and Janus Films release, is unrated by the Motion Picture Association. In Mandarin. Running time: 116 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
Hamilton Spectator
24-04-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
The new R&R: rest and reading. Why book-club retreats are trending in travel
Many of us travel to soak up incredible views or perhaps savour delicious local dishes, seeking out unique experiences we couldn't have anywhere else. But the latest travel trend? Getaways where you bury your nose into a good book. The travel trend dovetails with the viral rise of BookTok, which has turned a normally solitary hobby into a lively community, and with the general growing enthusiasm for reading. According to a BookNet Canada report on how Canadians spend leisure time, 49 per cent of people surveyed said they read or listened to books weekly in 2023. Canadian readers also attended more book clubs and book events in 2023 than the year prior, the study found. So the popularity of reading retreats — many sell out within minutes — may be no surprise. The United Kingdom in particular seems to be ahead of the curve, with multiple niche travel companies offering bookish vacations. Reading Retreat , for example, launched in 2017 and hosts three-night getaways within driving distance of Cambridge. Guests are welcome to read whatever they wish (although you can get a custom 'reading prescription' based on your preferred genres). 'We like to think of ourselves as the solid, basic reading retreat — we say 'basic,' but it's quite luxurious with the accommodations and gourmet meals,' says co-founder Cressida Downing, a literary consultant who has worked in publishing for more than two decades. 'It's very much about getting back to that lovely feeling you have as a child when you're reading books and nothing matters, and someone else is doing all the adulting for you,' she adds. For Bristol-based Books in Places , there's no better way to transport readers into a novel's atmospheric location than to fly there and experience it first-hand. The company has been hosting retreats in the cities and countries where books are set since 2023. 'It's like a travelling book club,' says Paul Wright, founder of Books in Places, which has hosted retreats at locations such as Portugal's Casa Rosa Villa, shown. 'Still Life,' Sarah Winman's bestselling tale of love and war, inspired founder Paul Wright to host the first retreat in Florence. This year, he has more than a dozen retreats scheduled, including a trip to Crete themed around 'The Island,' the multi-generational historical novel by Victoria Hislop. 'It's like a travelling book club,' Wright says, noting that guests typically read the book before the trip. One of the newer retreat companies, the U.K.-based Ladies Who Lit , was born from founder Megan Christopher's passion for both reading and travel, in combination with her career background in hospitality. Her five-day retreats — this year's locations include Sicily, Seville and the French town of Argelès-sur-Mer — have been selling out since launching in June 2024. Christopher believes her women-only trips resonate as a form of post-pandemic escapism. 'It allows us to indulge in a bit of self-care by taking time out to go read a book.' At the Ladies Who Lit retreats, all guests read the same book in advance (this is common for many reading retreats), then connect with other travellers over various experiences, such as a wine tour, book swap or murder-mystery dinner. The final dinner is 'book club night,' when they discuss the book as a group. Lauren Moore, a self-proclaimed introvert, was inspired to launch her Book Huddle reading retreats by her desire to chat with other avid readers in a more comfortable way — without having the ongoing commitment of your traditional in-person book club. One night in 2023, Moore posted on TikTok about just wanting to get away to a nice place to discuss books and then go to bed. The next morning, the Vancouver local found that her TikTok video had racked up 60,000 views and more than 5,000 likes, with hundreds of people asking to join the getaway. Since then, Moore's company, Book Huddle, has hosted more than 500 people across 13 retreats in the U.S. and England. She has also partnered with major publishing companies for the retreats' books, and works with local bookstores in each destination to host a book fair. 'All of the attendees look forward to it immensely because it's very reminiscent of the Scholastic Book Fair days from when we were children,' she says. Readers at a Book Huddle retreat. Vancouver local Lauren Moore started the company after her TikTok about wanting a bookish getaway went viral. Moore is especially happy with the sense of community that's grown out of the Book Huddle retreats. Lasting friendships have formed. Ten women enjoyed the retreats so much, they've gotten permanent tattoos of the Book Huddle logo. Winnipeg-based retreat-goer Nicole Zajac, who has travelled with Book Huddle twice, especially appreciates not having to plan an itinerary or accommodations. She can just sign up for a trip and be instantly immersed in a circle of fellow book lovers. 'Plus, it's a great way to learn about other books. You end up with an even longer TBR (to be read) list,' she says, having just finished a horror mystery she never would have picked up otherwise. Zajac will soon attend her third reading retreat — Book Huddle's first one in Canada, taking place in Victoria this May. She expects to return home with even more fervour for her favourite pastime. 'The more you talk about reading,' she says, 'the more you want to read.'
New York Times
28-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
Our Ultimate Guide to Making Coq au Vin
From history to technique, Melissa Clark will walk you through everything you need to know about the French classic. Francesco Tonelli for The New York Times Published March 28, 2025 Updated March 28, 2025 [This article was originally published on Feb. 14, 2017.] Where would French cuisine be without wine? It is as important in the pot as it is in the glass, the base of myriad stews and braises. One of the best is coq au vin, in which chicken is slowly simmered with red wine. This guide is part of The New Essentials of French Cooking, the 10 definitive dishes every modern cook should master. Braising chicken in wine is an age-old tradition, and a method used all over France. You brown the meat, add liquid to the pot, be it water, wine or stock, and then set it over low heat for a lengthy simmer. That initial browning creates the foundation of the sauce, lending complex layers of flavor to the final dish. In a traditional coq au vin , which hails from the Burgundy region, wine is used both to tenderize what was traditionally a tough old rooster (a coq in French) and to imbue the meat with its heady flavor. When the bird is slowly simmered, often for hours and hours as the oldest recipes suggest, its sinewy flesh slackens, growing soft and aromatic, and easily yielding to the fork. As the simmering wine seasons the chicken, the chicken seasons the wine, helping transform it into a savory sauce. The wine, which reduces as it cooks, also takes on the other flavors in the pot, in this case brandy, mushrooms, onions, bacon and herbs, along with the savory fond — that is, the caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan that you get from the initial browning of the chicken. The young, tender chickens of today cook more quickly than those earlier birds, but they are imbued with similar lusty flavors. There are variations of coq au vin all over France, each a celebration of local wines both red and white. In Alsace, a dry riesling is used, resulting in a lighter, brighter sauce that is often enriched with a little cream or crème fraîche stirred in at the end. The Jura and the Champagne regions also have their own recipes; cooks in the Jura sometimes substitute morels for the more common white or brown button mushrooms. In Beaujolais, the young dark purple nouveau wine gives that dish the name coq au violet. But Burgundy's version, made with its local wine, is the best known across France and all over the world. No matter what kind of wine you pour into your pot, the method of simmering it with chicken or other meat is applicable across the kitchen. Case in point: Boeuf bourguignon, another French classic, is essentially coq au vin made with chunks of stewing beef instead of fowl. Mastering this one technique leads to many excellent dinners. 'Still Life' by Jacopo da Empoli (1551-1640). Scala/Ministero per i Beni e le Attività culturali/Art Resource, NY Legend has it that Julius Caesar himself introduced a version of coq au vin to France. As the commonly cited (and thoroughly apocryphal) story goes, the Celtic Gauls sent a rooster to Caesar during the Roman occupation. Caesar had his cook stew it in herbs and Roman wine and then returned it to the Gauls. Whether or not this is true, the tradition of simmering poultry in wine does indeed date to ancient Rome, and perhaps even further back. Because the main ingredient of a coq au vin was historically a tough old rooster, it is very likely that the earliest versions were peasant fare. Recipes calling for rooster rarely graced the early tracts on French cooking in the 17th and 18th centuries, which documented food for the wealthy. It wasn't until the more current substitution of tender chicken in the 19th century that the dish and all its variations entered the French canon. That the Burgundian version emerged as the most prominent in the United States is because of Julia Child, who championed the recipe as a symbol of the sophistication and verve of French country cooking. Dutch oven : A 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot with lid (a rondeau pot) is an essential tool for a braise. If the pot is too small, the liquid won't evaporate enough to give you a rich sauce; if it's too large, the wine in the pot won't sufficiently cover the chicken. Skillet : The pearl onions and mushrooms for the topping are cooked separately from the chicken, so they have their own distinct flavor and texture. A 10-inch skillet with a lid is ideal. Tongs: A good pair of kitchen tongs will help you maneuver the chicken as you brown it, allowing you to fully sear the skin all over. Wirecutter, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has a guide to the best Dutch ovens and nonstick pans . Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. You want to build flavor in the pan at every step, which enriches the sauce and gives it body. That begins with the meat, which should be seared deeply to create a brawny base. How to brown chicken when making coq au vin. By Alexandra Eaton Using only bone-in dark meat makes the stew richer and thicker, because of the marrow in the bones. And dark meat isn't as prone to drying out as white meat. However, it is traditional to use a whole chicken, cut into pieces, and you can do that if you'd prefer; just add the breast to the pot 30 minutes after adding the dark meat. Marinating the chicken before browning it will give you a more evenly seasoned bird whose flesh is fully imbued with wine. The ideal marination time is 24 hours, but even four to six hours helps the cause. To get a good sear, the chicken must be fully dry. Otherwise, moisture will steam the skin instead of browning it. Pat it well with paper towels after marinating. Take your time when browning the meat; it's one of the most important steps for getting robust flavor out of the chicken, and creates a brawny base for the sauce. Plan to spend at least 15 to 25 minutes at the stove for this step, searing the pieces in batches. Use tongs to hold the chicken and change its position, pressing it into the pan when necessary, so that all sides make contact with the hot metal to get a deep sear. How to serve coq au vin. By Alexandra Eaton Some coq au vin recipes call for chicken stock to replace a portion of the wine , which accentuates meaty notes in the finished sauce. But this can dilute the wine flavor. The bacon and the searing of the chicken skin provide sufficient meatiness here, so this recipe omits the stock. Sautéing the tomato paste with the vegetables caramelizes the tomato. It also eliminates any metallic flavor, which can be an issue with canned tomato paste. Adding flour to the pot helps thicken the sauce. Here, it is stirred into the vegetables while they're browning, which allows the taste of raw flour to cook off. Brandy brings complexity to the final dish. Igniting the brandy in the pot is a quick way to cook out much of the alcohol, and it's easier than you think. Use a long-handled igniter or match to light the flame. It burns out pretty quickly, so there is not much to fear. However, you can skip this step and simply let the brandy cook down in the pan for 1 minute. Here, the wine is boiled down for about 12 minutes before the chicken is added to the pot. This makes for a more intense sauce without overcooking the chicken. One quick way to peel pearl onions for the topping is to blanch them for 1 minute in a pot of boiling water. Drain, let cool, then slip off their skins. (Frozen peeled onions tend to be very soggy, and therefore much harder to caramelize because of their high moisture content. Use them only as a last resort.) A garnish of crisp toasted bread provides a textural contrast to the soft chicken, but feel free to leave it out. Like all braises, coq au vin is best made a day ahead, so the flavors have a chance to intensify. Let it cool completely, then store it in the refrigerator. To reheat, first spoon off and discard any solidified fat on the surface, then place the pot over a low flame for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Or reheat it in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. It's best to prepare the onions and mushrooms, and the croutons, just before serving. Serve with a green salad, and a good bottle of Burgundy. Christopher Testani for The New York Times
