Ai-je brûlé la photo du mois?

Je me demande si je n'ai pas fait une gaffe monumentale hier en publiant cette photo du Musée de l'histoire naturelle. Parce que la photo du mois a pour thème "le flou et la vie" et que cette image collait bien au thème: les corps sont flous et, bien que morts, embaumés par la lave du Vésuve, comme immortalisés. Donc: me suis-je fourré? J'avais comme un soupçon quand je tapais le billet, mais là je me rappelles que la date approche et j'ai vraiment pas grand-chose comme photos, rien en tout cas d'aussi bon.

Dreaming of a volcanic holiday

This picture was taken in the Natural History Museum of London. "A Londra, è vero". But it is of Italy I am thinking about. My wife and her friend (the mother of the girl who has Buffy) are planning to go on holidays and they are seriously considering Italy, maybe Naples. This is where of course Mount Vesuvius is and thus where the ruins of Pompeii are, where these remains have been taken (I think). My wife and I are planning to go on another holiday in a different place, but I have been wanting to go back to Italy in ages and I'd love to try Naples, for many reasons. Because I want to exercise my Italian and improve it, and Naples would be fitting, as I have been told at least once that I have a Neapolitan accent. But it is because of the ruins especially. Because it would be nice to go there before the Vesuvius bursts again (hey, it will happen one day). Because once in my life I want to be near a volcano. There is something beautiful about them that the aura of menace only enhances. And I think it enhances as well, or makes us more conscious of, the beauty of the place itself, of Naples and Italy itself. Even in the above picture, which my wife didn't like one bit and thought it was both scary and sad, there is something like a sinister aesthetic to it. Anyway, I'd love to spend some time near Mount Vesuvius, while it is still sleeping. So I hope they pick up another place.

Mozart raconté aux enfants

J'ai pu retrouver en ligne sur YouTube Mozart racontée aux enfants, le livre-disque du Petit Ménestrel raconté par Gérard Philippe. Enfin, pas le livre, mais la partie musique et narration de Gérard Philippe. Je ne crois pas avoir vu/entendu l'acteur dans autre chose que dans ce livre-disque. Mais pour l'avoir écouté, je l'ai écouté. Et tourné les pages, regardé les images toutes élégantes, appris à aimer Mozart alors que j'étais à l'époque vendu à Beethoven. L'histoire, grande ou petite, est placée en apparté dans la narration et c'est très souvent moralisateur et prêchiprêcha. Tout de même, je pardonne à Gérard de donner un peu trop souvent la leçon plutôt que de raconter.

Krav Maga developments

I mentioned a bit more than a month ago that I was planning to take up Krav Maga classes. It is now fairly official that I will start this week. I needed to find some gym clothes and proper sneakers (or trainers as they call it in the UK) and well, find the determination to reply to the coach "okay I'll be there next week". I am still nervous, but the reply to my email calmed a lot of my reservations: they train all sorts of people, from teenagers to 50 something men and women, and even people with disabilities. So I will not stand out too much as a beginner. We are supposed to learn at our own pace and the first lesson is free, so what do I have to lose? And I get a free t shirt with the starter pack if I sign in. So all in all, I am quite excited.

Les cornichons

Je les avais presque oubliés, mais j'y au pensé aujourd'hui: j'ai acheté au marché français des cornichons à l'aneth avec oignons dans le vinaigre. Il en restait peu, j'ai vraiment chanceux. À l'apéro accompagné de bière, c'est pas mal le paradis. J'ai pris cette photo après que j'aie fait une razia dans le contenant. Il en restera peut-être demain.

Reading through Havoc

Some of you may remember that I bought last year Creature of a Havoc, allegedly one of the most difficult Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks. Well, I haven't finished the adventure yet. In fact, after reading the long but fascinating introduction (worth the price of the book itself), I went through a few numbers, but got stuck at every turn and I stopped reading. When I got back to it, I had forgotten what had happened earlier, so I stopped for good. But now I have decided that I would give it a proper go... by sort of cheating. The same way that I did when I got stuck in a maze in another gamebook: I will find the read/walk through on the internet. Lazy and shameful, I know. But I don't have the patience anymore.

La page blanche et l'écran noir

Bob ben c'est reparti: je crois que j'ai un début de panne d'inspiration pour bloguer. Ou alors je manque d'énergie. Je ne sais pas trop pourquoi exactement, mais j'ai le syndrome de la page blanche. Ou, dans le cas de Vraie Fiction, le syndrome de l'écran noir. Est-ce que le terme, aussi appelé blocage de l'écrivain, s'applique également au blogueur? Je soupçonne le mois de mai d'y être en partie responsable. Je me sens souvent moins inspiré en mai, allez savoir pourquoi. Peut-être que c'est parce que je sors plus souvent.

An aria for a lazy Sunday

On a lazy Sunday, I often listen to opera. I am doing this right now and I thought I would share it with my readership. This is from Handel's Giulio Cesare. A rather modern take by Danielle de Niese, who plays/sings Cleopatra. I am always a bit skeptical about Danielle de Niese's often pop star-like  mannerism when she sings. I mentioned it the very first time I blogged about her. I know she has also been very much criticized for it. On the other hand, opera will not survive if it remains stiff and formal. And I grew rather found of Danielle de Niese. She may not be the greatest soprano ever, but she has plenty of charm and confidence. And for some reason, her rather carefree attitude reminds me of a pleasant Sunday or a pleasant weekend of far niente. I know, I trivialize the great Handel. But this performance is a delight, all the same.

Le temps des olives

J'ai acheté des olives au marché français hier. Parce que pour moi, le marché français se résume beaucoup à faire des stocks d'olives que je mange en une semaine. Il y en avait une grande variété: sans piments, avec noyau, sans noyau, grecques, à la provençale, avec anchois, avec feta, etc. Je n'ai pas acheté de celles avec feta que vous voyez sur la photo de gauche, cela dit j'ai pris une grande variété. Celles avec aïl sont incontournables, j'ai aussi un faible pour celles aux anchois, j'en prends quelques grecques ainsi que des olives à la provençale, parce que c'est difficile de faire plus français que des olives aux herbes de Provence. Vous ai-je dit que j'aimais les olives? Oh et la dame vendait de la moutarde de Dijon aussi, mais j'hésite à en acheter car j'en ai déjà ici. Et c'est pas aussi spécial que les olives.

Bond in Rome

I thought I would blog a bit more about the upcoming James Bond movie Spectre. Because there are some tidbits of news regarding the movie I am quite excited about. They have filmed a car chase in Rome between James Bond and villain Mr Hinx, played by Dave Bautista. There is a vlog about it, which I have uploaded below.

Some observation:

-Rome is beautifully atmospheric and so perfect for such a movie. Because of the rich history of the city, full of ghosts itself.
-Orange for the Jaguar is a very menacing colour.
-Mr Hinx looks like such a great villain: elegant yet brutish looking, and with something anachronistic about him, his pointy beard giving him the look of a Renaissance assassin. There is something also devilish about his beard.
-That said, Bautista seems like such a nice guy.

Le marché français de retour

Le marché français est de retour en ville. Yay! Ca veut dire: 1)que je vais pouvoir parler français dans d'autres circonstances que pour le travail, 2)que je vais pouvoir m'acheter des victuailles et 3)bien les deux premiers sont suffisants. C'est un des évènements de ce temps-ci de l'année que j'aime le plus. Bien entendu, je partagerai sur le blogue mes trouvailles.

May Day!

No, this is not a cry for help, I am not using the distress signal, which is written mayday anyway. I am only stating the obvious: we are the first of May. May Day is, however, the name given to a public holiday in Europe, on the first of this month. Not in the UK, however. Here it is is the first Monday of May. Which means that we are going to have a three days weekend. So May starts on a good note, on this aspect anyway. It has the same origins: a Pagan, primitive celebration of springtime. May is meant to be the month of blossom and when spring is in full force, or meant to be. Not so much today: it is downright gloomy. One may be tempted to cry mayday. Yes I know, I am using atrocious word plays.

En mai, fais ce qu'il te pluie...

Je publie ici pour "célébrer" le début de mai ce dessin de Jack Koch. Un calembour ironique qui détourne le fameux proverbe que j'aime détester. À regarder la température ce soir, il semblerait qu'on est pas mal parti pour ça...

Walpurgis Night

Tonight is Walpurgis Night. It is April's Halloween. And today would feel like it is Halloween if only because of the cold temperature outside. If it was not for the blossoming trees and the evening falling relatively late, well, it would certainly be a perfect Halloween night. But Walpurgis Night is its sister. The name means "witches night" and thus I have decided to upload a picture of the ensign of a nearby village hall. If it looks familiar, it is because I uploaded a picture of the same place last year. I haven't discovered why they have a witch as an emblem yet. Shame on me. But I intend to find out before Halloween this year and keep you posted.

Anyway, maybe it is because there are many witches dwelling in secret in the village. In which case, it would be the right place to go to celebrate: there would be a witch's coven tonight, where they dance in circle and meet devils and maybe Satan in person. You can see that my imagination is running wild. I might read a scary story tonight to celebrate. Since I don't think there is a witch's coven to crash in.And in any case, tonight also reminds us that it is only six months until Halloween. In a way, it is the first night of its countdown.

Question existentielle (259)

Je me pose cette question existentielle en pensant aux Cinq saisons d'Harmonium. Et pui, ça a tout à voir avec le mois d'avril qui finit complètement schizo, comme d'habitude:

-De quoi aurait l'air une cinquième saison, s'il y en avait une?

A dolmen in the woods

We visited this dolmen during our last time in Brittany. I had wanted to see one for ages and, as a visit to Brocéliande was not possible for this stay (unfortunately), it was a great way to get in contact to one of the most important artifact of Breton folklore. Dolmens are associated with the supernatural in old myths and legends, they are allegedly the dwelling of Korrigans (for those who have not been reading this blog since its beginning, you might be interested to know that we have a Korrigan at home) and other magical creatures. We didn't see any of them, but it was not for lack of trying. It is true also that we were in the middle of the afternoon. At nighttime, it might have been different. Nevertheless, the place was very atmospheric and I could easily see why it could fire up the imagination of people.

Passer à travers sa vie à coups de journées

C'est la première fois que je télécharge une chanson de Vilain Pingouin sur Vraie Fiction. Un groupe québécois que j'écoutais assez souvent dans les années 90, surtout son deuxième album. Après ça, je les ai un peu oubliés. Ils sont devenus célèbres à cause de cette chanson, de leur premier album. Je l'aimais bien, mais je pense qu'on ne l'apprécie jamais autant que lorsqu'on est devenu un travailleur (la vie était plus simple durant mon adolescence des années 90). Les fins de mois plutôt épuisantes comme celle que je suis en train de vivre au travail, ou simplement les journées occupées, elle me vient souvent en tête. Surtout que je voyage en train tous les jours. Passer à travers sa vie à coups de journées, je trouve parfois que je le fais trop souvent. Une de mes ex trouvait que Vilain Pingouin avait toujours le même beat. C'est peut-être un peu vrai, mais ça ne les empêchait pas d'avoir de la profondeur. Surtout dans cette chanson.

Scotland or Yorkshire?

This is our dilemma these days: my wife and I want to plan our summer holidays and we don't know where to go. We are very tempted to visit either Scotland, more particularly but not certainly Edinburgh, or Yorkshire, probably in York. Not the new one, the old one. She has been to York, but never to Scotland. I have been to Scotland, once, when I was a child. I have been longing for it since then. This is where my ancestors come from. A journey to Scotland has been long overdue. But then, there is Yorkshire, one of the most picturesque region of England and a that I have been curious about for quite a long while. And I know of a couple of places in York I already want to visit. So we are having this terrible dilemma.

Se promener dans les bois

Cette photo a été prise en Bretagne lors de notre denrier séjour là bas. Ce n'était pas la Brocéliande, mais quand même, c'était un boisé très plaisant. J'essaie de faire des promenades digestives dans la nature en fête aussi souvent que possible, mais je veux surtout me promener proprement, dans un endroit un peu plus reculé de la civilisation. Et, depuis mon séjour en Bretagne, je veux me promener dans les bois. Il y en a dans les environs, à une distance relativement courte. On en a visité un, en 2009. J'ai même blogué à ce sujet. Ca fait tout de même un bail. Bien sûr, on a visités d'autres bois, mais on ne profite pas assez des coins proches de chez nous. Selon une amie de ma femme, la ville où nous vivons est un îlot de civilisation humaine au milieu d'une dense forêt... Enfin, quelque chose du genre: il y a pleins de coins quasi-sauvages où se promener. Je compte les explorer.

April in all its treachery

This evening as I was walking home from the station, I bumped into my Italian friend (I really, really need to find pseudonyms for the blog) and her boyfriend. Something struck me right away: she was wearing a red winter coat. Well, I say winter, more like a winter coat for here, not much of a winter coat were I come from. I was wearing my autumn/spring Kanuk coat. And it struck me: I had started wearing it back since yesterday. After about two weeks of warm weather, of a Spring that felt like Spring, when I could have short sleeves, April as it is about to end decided to be cold and nasty. And what surprised me was that I was not even surprised. April was very much like I expected it to be eventually.