Lifestyle
Dreaming about vacation? Consider a beautiful pair of sunglasses
What is a dream if not a vacation for the mind? To get lost in a reverie is a momentary respite from the prison of the possible — a chance to experience the impossible for a second. If you can’t change your surroundings, you can at least change your perception of them. Vacations are dreams where you actually can change your surroundings. They’re fantasies of how you might live if you were a different person, with a different life and different priorities. A whirlwind romance, a chance meeting that could change your career prospects, a series of awful wardrobe choices that fortunately none of your friends or colleagues will ever see. It’s all possible on vacation. The greatest luxury of a vacation is the right to reinvent yourself, to see the world differently. And there’s no better way to see the world differently than through a beautiful pair of sunglasses.
Nikola wears Cartier Signature Cs; Kenzo rose fitted shirt in faded pink mesh polyamide; rose turtleneck top in faded pink mesh polyamide; kitten heel in leather covered by faded pink Kenzo rose printed textile.
Swap wears wears Cartier Signature Cs; Amiri men’s floral beaded sweater vest; men’s covered sequin layered shorts; Saint Laurent shoes from Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills.
I own at least a dozen pairs, of varying cost and quality — Gucci, l.a. Eyeworks, Persol, Garrett Leight and maybe one or two from the bin at CVS. But if I were to imagine the ideal vacation, I’d wish for these Cartier Signature C sunglasses to fall out of the sky and into my lap. A striking pair of sunglasses recontextualizes your entire face, hiding your eyes and wrapping you in a sense of mystery that otherwise wouldn’t be there on your same old lumpy visage. They also shroud the environment around you in a smoky haze, making everything you see more dramatic.
The Cartier Signature Cs are rimless and come in a variety of colors, with my personal pick being the green lenses. So your vacation is going to be kind of green most of the time. But that revision of the natural is what dreams are all about. Real dreams don’t usually take place in normal colors. They’re black and white or red or blue tinted. The gold finish on the temples is what justifies the exorbitant price tag and commands attention. There’s a gentle curve to the bridge at the front of the frames and what almost looks like horseshoes on the hinges that connect the temples to the lenses. In all dreams, there’s a bit of whimsy.
Trying on the Signature Cs is an experience unto itself. Cartier’s store is one big fantasy world, filled with objects most people can’t afford but lust after. It’s a favorite of the famous and the would-be famous. Seeing Timothée Chalamet in a Cartier Crash watch recently made me want to sell all my plasma just to afford a knockoff. Tom Cruise wore a pair of Cartier aviators in the latest “Mission: Impossible” film, and Michael Douglas wore a showstopping pair as the loathsome Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street.” Larger-than-life shades for larger-than-life characters. The Cartier store is as lofty as the celebrities that wear their goods, intimidating to a normal human being like me. I tried on the Signature Cs and immediately wanted to take them off. Not only did I not want to break them and be on the hook for more than a grand in product but I also just didn’t feel like I should be wearing them. More so than even the fancier frames I own, this felt like fighting above my weight class. I shuffled out as soon as possible.
For most, sunglasses are a disposable item — something to lose on a long flight or sit on by accident. My girlfriend has gone through more than a few pairs in the two years we’ve been together. It’s what keeps most people from investing in a pair of luxury sunglasses. They can’t be investment pieces, because they are sure to vanish eventually. This is why I dream about the Signature Cs. I can’t think of anything more luxurious than taking something disposable and elevating it; to be so rich and fancy that something people accidentally drop in a sewer drain or leave in a hotel bathroom while on vacation can cost $1,200.
Nikola wears wears Cartier Signature Cs; Courrèges textured vinyl crop jacket; vinyl re-edition mini-skirt; Ferragamo Shoes from Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills.
Swap wears Cartier Signature Cs; Amiri men’s floral beaded sweater vest; men’s covered sequin layered shortsfrom Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills.
In the grand vacation of my dreams, I’m by the pool most of the day. Everyone I meet flashes a smile at me because I’m so interesting. My incredible, rare sunglasses are making people stop and do a double-take, wondering if I’m some kind of celebrity or visiting dignitary. I’m just a regular guy on holiday, but they don’t have to know that. Martinis magically appear in my hand every few minutes, but I’m never sick. For some reason, the rice balls at Capri Club are the only food on offer, but I’m not even in Eagle Rock. Everything I want is there, and everyone wants me there.
But why is it that we dream in broad daylight? What makes us yearn for something more than what is there in front of us, especially here, in L.A., of all places? For decades, people have been coming to Los Angeles to chase their dreams. As a great woman once said, “We come to this place for magic.” You hope that in L.A. you will be discovered, respected, elevated and understood. For most, that doesn’t happen, or it does on a much smaller scale than what they imagined. And not everyone’s dreams are the same, of course, though I suppose you could say most of them involve being rich. Even if you don’t explicitly want to be rich, the natural byproduct of success in the entertainment industry.
Swap wears Cartier Signature Cs and Simone Rocha RTW Spring 2024 shirt, pants from Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills.
Nikola wears Cartier Signature Cs; Givenchy RTW Spring ‘24; Rabanne jupe fringe trim mini-skirt; tweed fringe trim cropped tank top; Bottega Veneta shoes from Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills.
The reality of life here, the necessity of survival, and the limits of one’s ambition chip away at the dream day by day. Paying your ever-increasing rent, bowing to the whims of trillion-dollar conglomerates that see your work as merely a line on a spreadsheet, and boy, how about that traffic? Eventually, you roll your eyes when people talk about how hard it is to live in L.A., because you’re doing it. It’s not a dream, it’s reality. So, what does one do when they live in the Dream Factory (or, Dream Factory-Adjacent, if you are trying to save money)? They leave.
Vacations are a thing not everyone can afford. Just the act of picking up and escaping the city is itself a luxury. A pair of sunglasses, even modest ones, can connect the wearer to the feeling of being in paradise. That paradise might be Van Nuys, but that’s all connected to perception. How you look at a strip mall or a gas station defines what it is and what it means. Maybe you can’t stand eating the same food or looking at the same faces every day, but have you considered that here, in L.A., you are living a version of the dream that brought you here? Maybe you can’t afford sunglasses that cost $1,200 (you probably can’t), but you can always find a new way to see the world. And that’s actually free.
Producer: Mere Studios
Models: Nikola Bogdanovich, Swap
MUA: Carla Perez
Hair: Adrian Arredondo
Photo assistant: Sadie Spezzano
Lighting design: Ethan Benavidez
Styling assistant: Izzy Huynh
Lifestyle
Gérard Depardieu will be tried for alleged sexual assaults on a film set
Axel Schmidt/AP
PARIS — French actor Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults in 2021 of two women on the set of a film, prosecutors announced Monday.
The 75-year-old actor, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, was detained for questioning by police in Paris for several hours earlier Monday. His lawyer, Christian Saint-Palais, later declined to comment to reporters other than to say that the actor was no longer in custody.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the actor has been “summoned to appear before the criminal court” after the questioning.
Michel Euler/AP
A trial will start in October “for sexual assaults likely to have been committed in September 2021” against “two victims, on the set of the film ‘The Green Shutters,’ ” the statement said. It did not name the alleged victims.
French newspaper Le Parisien has reported that a 53-year-old movie decorator has alleged that Depardieu grabbed her and kneaded her waist, stomach and breasts during filming for “Les Volets verts,” or “The Green Shutters,” according to the woman’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu Diebolt, when she filed the complaint to the Paris prosecutor’s office in February.
In an open letter last October, Depardieu said: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”
Depardieu has also been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them. He was handed preliminary rape and sexual assault charges in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.
In that case, the investigating judge completed his probe on April 17 and transferred the file to the Paris public prosecutor’s office “to review and determine next steps in the proceeding,” the prosecutor’s office said Monday.
Depardieu was long seen as a national icon in France. He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
The latest episode involving Depardieu came as French cinema is roiled by a #metoo awakening following actor Judith Godrèche’s call for France’s film industry to “face the truth” on sexual violence and physical abuse. She made that appeal during a live broadcast in February of the Cesar Awards ceremony, France’s version of the Oscars.
Lifestyle
Brian Cox Says the Bible Is the Worst Book Ever, Slams Organized Religion
Brian Cox is crapping on organized religion, and especially Christianity … calling the Bible the worst book to ever grace human history, ’cause it’s duped so many suckers and fools.
The “Succession” star sat for an interview with ‘The Starting Line Podcast‘ … and they talked about a lot of stuff — including introspective thoughts on religion, God, spirituality, and all the rest. From Brian’s POV … it’s all a bunch of hogwash, not buying any of it.
The Starting Line Podcast
You can check out the full video to see his whole thought process — but this clip here gets the job done … with Brian explaining why society needs to move more toward a matriarchy.
He says the reason humans are so damn resistant to that, though, is because of the Bible — and all the stories that go all the way back to Adam and Eve … which he thinks subjugate women to a lesser-than role in society, and which are burned into our subconscious today.
On that front, BC calls the Bible the greatest propaganda instrument of all time — and slams it as the worst book ever. He also says God doesn’t exist … and that religion is simply a means of control.
Safe to say … the homeboy’s an atheist, and he ain’t down with all the praying and proselytizing. Sounds like Brian also thinks humans are being held back by old scribblings.
Get ready for the backlash … the holy ones ain’t gonna be happy about this.
Lifestyle
How much should I spend on a wedding present? Life Kit's tips of the month
LA Johnson/NPR; Halisia Hubbard/NPR; Malaka Gharib/NPR; Collage by NPR
The great thing about working on Life Kit is that the editors and producers get to pick up all sorts of nifty life hacks that save money, enhance our relationships and make our everyday lives more joyful.
Here are nine expert tips from our April episodes we were most excited to share — and put into practice in our own daily lives.
1. Planning a big trip? Consider traveling during “shoulder season,” the period of time between a city’s peak season and offseason. It’s often less expensive and it can help your “destination deal with over-tourism and overcrowding,” says Lale Arikoglu, articles director at Condé Nast Traveler magazine.
2. The rule that your wedding gift should cost as much as your plate is outdated, says etiquette coach Myka Meier. “That is kind of an old wives’ tale that you have to spend what the couple spent on you, because that’s often not possible for many people. At the end of the day, you need to stay within your budget.”
3. To prevent digital eye strain, follow the 20-20-20 rule. For every 20 minutes of computer work, take a 20-second break and look 20 feet away, say eye experts.
4. To truly connect with a poem, don’t worry about figuring out what the poet is trying to say. Instead, says poet Harryette Mullen, focus on how you feel. What impression do you get? What ideas float around in your mind as you read it?
5. Don’t depend on an anti-choking device if your baby is choking, say pediatricians. The evidence-backed and proven method is to do back blows followed by chest blows on your child — and then, if they’re unresponsive, proceed to call 911 and do CPR.
6. Start talking to your kids about vaping when they’re in elementary school, says Dr. Deepa Camenga, a pediatrician and addiction medicine specialist with the Yale School of Medicine. You want to be the first person to have that conversation with them so they know what your expectations are.
7. Think of your birthday as your own personal holiday. A lot of people dislike their birthday — they don’t like the attention or they’ve been disappointed by previous birthdays. Make your day special again by doing what you want to do, whether it’s throwing yourself a giant bash or treating yourself to a spa day.
8. In negotiation, avoid simple yes or no answers by trying a tactic called “a menu of options,” says career coach Joan Moon. For example: instead of asking for more flexibility at a new job and getting a flat-out no, you might propose a couple of options: working three days remote or a four-day workweek. It can help expand the possibility of a favorable outcome.
9. Tired of having roommates? Consider “communal living.” Communal living takes many forms, whether that’s sharing a home with like-minded people or raising your kids on the same street as your friends. And it goes by many names: intentional communities, co-housing, co-ops or communes. But they all have one thing in common: people who co-live don’t just simply live together as roommates. They make the long-term commitment to intertwine their lives with one another, says Gillian Morris, who co-runs a blog on communal living.
The digital story was written by Malaka Gharib and edited by Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.
Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter.
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