The Big Thing
LONDON: When something becomes a big thing in the capital, chances are a magazine will be launched in its honour, and so it is with garlic. The smelly, flavoursome bulb has reached the height of popularity, and to prove it the specialist monthly Mostly Garlic is now available, covering a range of issues including health ('Garlic and circulation') and cooking ('Crunchy apple garlic cake').
sue quinn PARIS: There was a stampede of Manolo Blahniks during Paris fashion week as hordes of supermodels made their way to the Marais district to sample the hipper-than-hip ambience of La Chaise Au Plafond. The new bar was opened by Xavier Denamur, an entrepreneur who is fast becoming the Richard Branson of Paris.
He has opened a string of new nightspots that look like old-fashioned bistros from the outside, but like something out of Blade Runner inside. His latest watering hole features stainless-steel loos with Philippe Starck fixtures and video cameras above the sinks which relay live footage of customer's antics to the main restaurant. He has also just opened La Belle Hortense, the city's first wine bar-cum-bookstore. Although the likes of Helena Christensen are regulars, the fastest-selling item on the menu is peculiarly unglamorous: cold meat with gherkins.
anita chaudhuri NEW YORK: Exercise classes with 'physio balls' look set to become the latest fitness craze in New York. It looks like a cross between yoga, floor exercises and bouncing around on a space hopper, but rolling, balancing and resting on the so-called 'physio ball' is surprisingly effective exercise for both body and mind. Therapists are even using it to treat children with Attention Deficit Disorder.
'It's a moving meditation,' says Nathaniel Murray, who holds ball classes in New York. 'Strength, conditioning, stretching, stabilization, it's all happening simultaneously,' he says. Nik Munson is a recent convert. It may look silly, he says Munson, but 'I am feeling and focusing on muscles in a way I've never experienced before'. And best of all, it feels great. 'If it feels good, you're in the right neighbourhood,' rhymes Nathaniel. ' 'No pain, no gain' has been a stupid idea since the very beginning as far as I'm concerned!' tessa souter VANCOUVER: Lions Gate Films, a local film distributor, has been dubbed the 'Cinderella candidate' of this year's Oscar race by The New York Times. The two-year-old company is making its mark by scooping up movies passed over by major studios. It is the first Canadian distributor recognised by the Academy, garnering an impressive five nominations for two little-seen films.
Gods And Monsters, the story of horror-film director James Whale, has been nominated in the categories of Best Actor (Ian McKellen), Best Supporting Actress (Lynn Redgrave) and Best Screenplay Adaptation (Bill Condon). Affliction, directed by Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of Taxi Driver, is up for Oscars in the categories of Best Actor (Nick Nolte) and Best Supporting Actor (James Coburn).