Zazie in the Metro — or simply Zazie, depending on the translation (original French title: Zazie dans le métro) — a French novel written in 1959, was the first major success of author Raymond Queneau. Zazie explores colloquial language as opposed to 'standard' written French, a distinction that is particularly marked in French, where correct language usage is governed by an official academy. The first word of the book, the neologism Doukipudonktan is a phonetic transcription of D'où qu'il pue donc tant ? ("Where does he stink so much?"). In the English version of the novel, this is rendered as "Holifart watastink". In the movie version the English subtitle reads "Whozit who stinks?"

Provincial pre-teenager Zazie stays in Paris with her Uncle Gabriel (a female impersonator) for two days, while her mother spends some time with her lover. Zazie manages to evade her uncle's custody, and métro strike notwithstanding, sets out to explore the city on her own.

In 1960 the book was adapted by Louis Malle into a film of the same name, starring Catherine Demongeot as Zazie and Philippe Noiret as Gabriel. In the film, Zazie is younger than in the book (where her mother is worried about Zazie's virginity). The book was also adapted for theatre and published as a comic book as well.

Zazie (born Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes on 18 April 1964 in Boulogne-Billancourt) is a French singer and songwriter. Zazie co-produces all her albums. She is noted for her playful use of language, which has led to the coining of the French word zazisme, or "Zazie-ism".

Isabelle de Truchis de Varennes was nicknamed "Zazie" in reference to the title character of the Raymond Queneau novel, Zazie dans le metro. Her mother was a music teacher and her father, Hervé de Truchis de Varennes, was an architect. At home, they listened to Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel and Barbara, as well as classical music. Inspired, Zazie began learning to play the violin at the age of ten, later teaching herself to play the piano and guitar. After high school, Zazie began studies to become a physiotherapist; however, her classic beauty and nearly six foot stature caught the attention of modelling agents, and she abandoned her schooling to become a fashion model.

In 1990, Zazie tried to start a musical career. She signed a contract with Phonogram in 1991. In 1992 she released Je, tu, ils, her first album recorded in the studios of Peter Gabriel. She collaborated for the first time with Pascal Obispo on the song "Un, deux, trois, soleil". She wrote almost all the tracks of the album and participated in the composition. The album had minor success, and the single "Sucré salé" was ranked #46 on the Top 50 (French SNEP Singles Chart). The following year, Zazie was awarded 'Best New Female Pop Artist of the Year' (révélation variétés féminine de l’année) at the Victoires de la musique. The other two singles from the albums were much less successful, but the singer's career was launched. Her record label agreed to sign for a second album.

Coordinates: 40°46′46″N 73°57′47″W / 40.779447°N 73.96311°W / 40.779447; -73.96311

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (colloquially The Met) is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided among nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is by area one of the world's largest art galleries. There is also a much smaller second location at "The Cloisters" in Upper Manhattan that features medieval art.

Represented in the permanent collection are works of art from classical antiquity and Ancient Egypt, paintings and sculptures from nearly all the European masters, and an extensive collection of American and modern art. The Met also maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanic, Byzantine, and Islamic art. The museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. Several notable interiors, ranging from 1st-century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Met's galleries.

Louis Malle (30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was an award-winning French film director, screenwriter, and producer. His film, Le Monde du silence, won the Palme d'Or and Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1956. He was also nominated multiple times for Academy Awards later in his career.

Malle worked in both French cinema and Hollywood, and he produced both French and English language films. His most famous films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958), Atlantic City (1981), and Au revoir, les enfants (1987).

Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries, Nord, France. He initially studied political science at the Sciences-Po before turning to film studies at IDHEC instead.

He worked as the co-director and cameraman to Jacques Cousteau on the Oscar and Palme d'Or-winning (at the 1956 Academy Awards and Cannes Film Festival respectively) documentary The Silent World (1956) and assisted Robert Bresson on A Man Escaped (French title: Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut, 1956) before making his first feature, Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (released in the U.K. as Lift to the Scaffold and in the U.S. originally as Frantic, later as Elevator to the Gallows) in 1957. A taut thriller featuring an original score by Miles Davis, the film made an international film star of Jeanne Moreau, at the time a leading stage actress of the state Comédie-Française. Malle was 24 years old.