Instantanés

German cousin 1

I have a couple of friends from Austria and because they were in Berlin for some days, the question was asked, what distinguishes the Austrian of the German. It is said : the first one laughs, the other one not. Another peculiarity is that the one eats Wienerschnitzel, the other one prefers Currywurst - this last one is unmistakably a part of the German identity, a museum in Berlin is moreover dedicated to it recently. "As said Karl Valentin, a German humorist, "what separates the Germans of the Austrians, it is the common language". "The Austrians are Germans without sense of the Nazi guilt. They are more cheerful and politically more incorrect than the Germans. They annoy the Germans and laugh at them permanently. They are, in general, more creative and have a more pronounced humor. But they do not build cars, what makes that the Germans cannot take this ethnic group really seriously. "Another Austrain friend said that "The Germans are lazy. Their humor is very different from the Austrian one. They have no "schmäh". For your knowledge, "schmäh" is this attitude facing life, this funny disposal of the Viennese that allows him to resolve the conflicts between persons. "The Germans are very bureaucratic, very dogmatic. They submit themselves to the authority with happiness. They look towards the Prussia, us, towards at Italy. " The Austrian inherited this monarchic bureaucracy, which is a bureaucracy of theater with which we can always settle. The severity of the law is eased by a certain negligence. "Regarding the Nazi past, the Austrians arranged themselves to make guilty the Germans.

Instantanés

German cousin 2

The German answers that we surely never tried to make Austrians enjoy themselves at a birthday party. They sit at the table and drink a beer after the other one, at best you obtain some sighs punctuated of " ah jo " when the Germans know how to have the alcohol exuberant, likely dancing. The Austrian - It is only my feeling – is depressed, an effect " east block " doubtless: neither ever very happy, nor ever very unfortunate, still to grumble or to complain. He did not besides clean its collective consciousness of the 2nd World war and feels even today an ambivalent feeling on this subject, contrary on what took place in Germany. Generations of young Germans learnt the mistake and forgot the national pride, that did not take place in Austria, where the extreme right and the racism is showed more openly and "legally" than in Germany. The Austrian has a complex with the German to whom he refers himself all the time (while the German ignores the Austrian - what has to annoy for sure). Doubtless he does not digest that for the rest of the world, Hitler is German and not Austrian, while it was its main export product (while discarding on the so-called German "invader" when that arranges him). And doubtless it is also heavy to be constantly reduced to Sissi and Franz-Jo, who, without Romi Schneider, would have sunk into oblivion since a very long time … The Austrian also suffers from the complex of the former empire became a big village and can’t stand Germany is so crushing. And Vienna, disproportionate capital regarding the country, is certainly creative, but it is not Berlin and the Austrian capital is not moreover representative of the general mentality.

Instantanés

Berlin wall

The renovation of the fresco of the Berlin Wall, presented as the biggest outdoor gallery of the world, is in progress. Berlin offers itself a new dye. The authors of the fresco which recovers a piece of the Wall, in ode in the reunification of both sides of Germany, put themselves at work. They repaint their works, which must be ended with the aim of November 9th, 2009. Decorated in 1990 by 118 artists from about twenty countries, this so-called fresco "East Side Gallery" spreads out on 1,3 km along the river Spree – don’t forget sandwiches and water to visit it. Situated on the east side of the "antifascist protection’s wall", virgin of any inscription before the opening of the borders between east and west Germany, it becomes the support of works carrying a message of peace and hope. During these twenty years, the weather and the absence of maintenance contributed to its degradation, and it is even difficult to distinguish the graffiti which mask the paintings. 86 painters have already answered positively to the invitation of the association, but others still refuse to come to Berlin to restore their work "of former days" if they do not receive 15.000 euro of fees instead of 3.000 planned. Roughly, adios the “free” artistic production for peace in 2009...

music for one apartment and six drummers

Instantanés

Let’s eat a Greek ? you mean a Turkish ?

Our ancestors or non-French would not have understood the metonymy : “eating a Greek” is eating a sandwich. But what disturbs is not the cannibal allusion but the vagueness around the origin of the sandwich. Most of Greek look like Turkish kebabs. And certain Turkish restaurants propose Greek. If you do not understand if "Greek" is Greek or Turkish (and you ask, besides, if the shawarma could not be added to the list of these sandwiches which are alike all), here is an explanation of the big confusion. Why is it said "Greek" even when many distributors of the sandwich in yellow punnet are Turkish (or Arabic) ? The naming was certainly retained in French because the first salesmen in France were mainly Greek. The Turkish immigration, particularly entrepreunariale is more recent. Then the sandwich is called "Greek", even sometimes at the Turkish restaurant owners. Why to say that your sandwich is "Greek" if you know that it is Turkish? A restaurant owner answers: " When we settled down, everybody already called this sandwich "Greek", thus we gave it the name which people here know. But "Greek" and döner are different originally: "Greek", it is some minced meat then trained altogether and burned(blown) out, while the döner, they are fragments of meat stuck together, and then burned out. "Before being a sandwich, the döner kebab is a dish. Now, this dish is originally Turkish ("döner kebab " significant "to turn" and " burned out meat "). Its inventors would be Turkish soldiers of the Middle Ages who, in Anatolia, used their sword to burn out fragments of meat by turning them above a fire. The Ottoman Empire sheltered a large number of nomad communities. During the dates historians debated of the food, the döner gained a Greek equivalent, the "gyros", of Greek "to turn", and an equivalent in the Arabic regions, the shawarma. The date of the passage of the horizontal brooch in the vertical brooch is badly known; however, a Turkish family of Bursa claims the invention, in the XIXth century, of the " vertical barbecue ". Gas grill and automatic brooch then replaced coal and crank. The migrations of the Turks, the Greeks and the Arabs towards the western countries in the XXth century spread the dish up to the papillae of western urbans and with its Turkish community of about 124 000 inhabitants, Berlin became the capitable of the döner. Lover of the döner kebab at the exit of disco, which defies the dietical correct by claiming this moment as the best to appreciate the sandwich, please thank Mehmet Aygun. Turk immigrated in Germany, he worked in the restaurant of his uncle in Berlin and thought, one day of year 1971, of putting the meat burned out in a Mediterranean bread. The key of the success was in the passage of "in the spot" to " to take away". And to add a yoghourt sauce, also called white sauce. The difference of preparation of the meat, the accompaniment and the sauce gives two very different sandwiches, to compare of authentic gyros and kebab. If we said "Turkish" for döner kebab and "Greek" for gyros, we would fight a little against the standardization of these sandwiches, which stop by all being alike.

Instantanés

Dice

A new club opened end of January this year and made a party end of January. It was a real event because it closed just after it. The waterworks broke, the place flooded. Surfing on the net the other day to listen minimal music from Berlin, I jumped to the website of the club and Its radio. Very good indeed and I signed up the newsletter. They kept me updated with the launch of the works in the club, even made some movies on Youtube and announced me proudly that premiere new opening will take place July 31st. Unfortunately this day was not possible for me but I promised to go the week-end after. And I did. Friday. Then Saturday the next week. Can’t get enough of the place. The Dice is made in a previous electricity factory. The resemblance with berghain (where I was very disappointed last time I went the week before) will stop here because when It plays post industrial decadence, Dice plays nice atmosphere with a twist of lounge at the first floor, opened Saturdays. It is located just south of Alexanderplatz, so very easily reachable. I must say It is beautifully made, the door men are not aggressive, the guys are friendly and the bars are nice, and It is decorated with flowers … you are still in Mitte. Of course they need to make their clientele and at the time It is the young population that comes to visit. The straight ones are still on holiday in Mallorca and the gays in Mykonos so we will have to wait October to judge if the club will work or not. Nevertheless I noticed already people coming back the week after and the DJ’s playing are good and famous enough to attract. Friday and Saturday have different mood as the rooms opened in the club are not the same. They know that Fridays less people will come and we prefer something more intimate to start the week-end. We keep the big area for Saturdays. You also can find a garden. Smoking is allowed and for the time being, most of the crowd comes to investigate and estimate. Soon the parties outside in the city will close and we will have to select where to party this winter. I truly believe Dice is a good option.

Instantanés

Sex toys for men

In the paper today was a survey stating that searchers found out that almost 45% of Americans used one day or another sextoys, alone or not. It’s a bit confusing or maybe is it because the Egg just appeared, as well as long historical inflatable dolls, the association between sextoys, dildos and games for women comes very quickly. But even though It is discreet and even a bit taboo, men take more and more often the toys of their girlfriend. A manufacturer explained that they conceive toys for women and in the end, men buy them like the “finger” initially made for lesbians. This is a good example. It is a sextoy with the form of a finger made by and for lesbians, named “One” with Its symbolic of Sapphic pleasure and Its form which does not make you think of a man. It fascinates men because they say this sextoy for women and made by women must have something special under its silicone material and also want to add an option to their hand when they caress their girlfriend. Meaning half of the “One” have been bought by men. The least unexpected ? the Rabbit Happy Duo : normally, It is very feminine because this toy is made to stimulate simultaneously the vagina and the clitoris. Yes, but one day a guy bought one to make a present to a (girl)friend who already had one. So the man keeps the toy at home and one day of loneliness and solitude tries it, the prostastics way. In less time than to say it, he became the best seller of this product … for men. The anal pleasure and the stimulation of the prostate is a less and less tabooed hobby and this toy is very well adapted to this pleasure for men. Men motivations are sometimes « hard » to understand : nobody thought that one day a man could choose this toy in front of his woman, stating that he needs prostatic stimulation. Because men do not assume so easily this fact. They don’t always confirm they steal the vibrating bullet of their wife (the most powerful one, stimulating vagina and clitoris) to stimulate the entrance of their anal zone. So, a man, together with a very good (girl)friend of his, recommended this object explaining that he offered it to his girlfriend. But, in front of witnesses, he started to be confused and talked about extraordinary anal orgasm, his explanation was so alive and his eyes almost crying that everyone understood he talked about him. ow some of manufacturers, mostly known for their TV and DVD, understand the impact and start to create high level toys, targeting couples. The idea is probably to make evaluate the idea that those accessories before made for masturbation alone can be integrated in the couple’s sexuality, maybe more classic. Take the « Gigi » for example. It is made to stimulate the G point of the woman but some more clever or curious used it, putting it on the perineum muscle. In this case, the vibrations are transmitted by the flat head and go directly to the prostata in order to stimulate erection and pleasure. A lot of couples buy this toy as a first one and use it together. But, nevertheless, be careful. If, in your couple, you like to play with sex toys, know how to share them or buy more than one. It would be sad during sex play to fight just because the other one wants to keep the toy.

texas - insane

Honey, honey

In October, our young colleague Antoine Bonfils dashed, the flower in the rifle, in the assault of the Everest. He returned without his flower, but especially without five toes of his right foot. Ice-cold ! Impossible to escape the amputation. Repatriated then hospitalized in Bets, Antoine sees advising a supplementary planning of his foot to reduce enough skin on the wound. Otherwise, the healing would be long and painful. A nightmarish perspective for this sportsman. " The fate then became known to me the exceptional repairs obtained by the professor Bernard Descottes with some honey ", explains Antoine. He calls him to the hospital of Limoges, explains him his case and receives some days later a jar of honey of thyme accompanied with a protocol of application. " On January 1st, I began the treatment. On March 1st, the healing was finished! In two months, and without any pain! It was unhoped-for ", is still delighted the young amputee. He is not the only one to rely on the apitherapy. For some years, the official medicine rediscovers the big virtues antiseptics, healing and anti-inflammatory some honey. It is nevertheless an old story. Already, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Chinese, the Greeks, Romain used it to look after wounds and treat stomach ache. The prophet Mahomet recommends the honey to eliminate the diarrhea in particular. In 50 AD, the Greek Dioscoride recommends it to calm the inflammations of the throat, the cough and to weaken prefleas too much squeezed. Today still, many traditional medicines use it: in Ghana to look after ulcers infected by legs, in Nigeria for the troubles of ear, in Mali for the measles, in India for the eye affections... The only West forgot the honey, especially since the succession of antibiotics, used wildly. These will have had to collide with a resistance of germs so that it is given a boost. For two decades, it is the object of more and more numerous scientific works which confirm its efficiency to bring down plethora of germs, even among the most virulent. In England, in the United States, in Germany, the honey begins to flow in streams into free health centers and hospitals. There is only France which drags feet. The professor Bernard Descottes, the leader of the service of visceral surgery and transplantation of the hospital of Limoges, is there still the only apostle. Nevertheless, its revelation dates 1984. " One day, a girl came to consult me for a wound recovering from an appendicectomie which did not heal. I dashed : I asked to my nurses to apply some honey. They looked at me by thinking that the boss cracked up, but three days later the wound was closed. Since, I handled more than 3 000 patients successfully. " Become the president of the French-speaking association of apitherapy, the professor Descottes tested the efficiency of hundreds of honeys from the whole world. These tries crowned the varieties in the thyme and in the miellat (the sweet substance excreted by the sucking insects of sap, especially that of conifers). They insure a healing twice as fast as a fat bandage. Even pharmaceutical creams, hundred times more expensive to the gram, are incapable to compete! That it is about a wound either about a burn. The antiseptic secret of the honey, it is the hydrogen peroxide which it produces naturally! This manufacturing ensues from the presence of an enzyme (the glucose-oxydase) used by the bee to operate the transformation of the nectar. There remains enough so that in the presence of a little water a new chemical reaction engages: the sugar decomposes into hydrogen peroxide and into glucolique acid. We know the antiseptic power of the first night, whereas the acidity also hinders the development of germs. As for the power healing strictly speaking, it results at once from some sugar which, by osmosis, reclaims the wound and of a ribambelle of organic compounds facilitating the emission of cytokine and interleukine prohealing. The bee pharmacist does not stop amazing. Here is little, Tobias Olofsson, of the laboratory of microbiology of Helsingborg (Sweden), identified in the stomach of lactobacilles and the bifidobactéries which protect it from certain diseases in exchange for the shelter and for the place setting. These friendly bacteria could meet themselves in the honey, the antiseptic powers of which they would strengthen. At least, as long as this one is fresh. Certain bees more malignant than the others gather healing plants, active substances of which they take. Here is thus who explains the supernatural profits of the honey of thyme used by the professor Descottes: it contains of the thymol, a phenol in the powers antiseptics and vermifuges recognized. Also for the famous honey of manuka of New Zealand, the therapeutic exploits of which celebrated all over the world recover from a molecule taken from the tree with tea (Leptospermum scoparium). During years, the professor Peter Molan, of the New Zealand university of Waikato, tried to identify it in vain. Finally, this molecule was discovered last year by the German chemist Thomas Henle, of the university of Dresden. It is about the méthylglyoxal, the concentration of which in the honey manuka is until hundred times superior to that of the other honeys. The numerous tests led by Molan show that the honey doped in the méthylglyoxal comes at the end of the troubles of throat, gastro-enteritis, dental carieses but also mycoses. It destroys even the entérocoques redoubtable and the staphylococcus aureus. The honey does not content with exterminating germs. The doctor researcher Noori al-Waili, native of Dubai, today settled in New York, published not less than 160 scientific papers finding him an effect in quantity of affections. For example, it obtained a decline of the glycemia and the tension at diabetics and hypertense whom it had made inhale "vapors of honey ". It has still reduced the intensity and the duration of crises of genital and labial herpes at patients more effectively than cream to the aciclovir. Finally, it claims to have improved the tests hématologiques and biochemical of an old sick woman of the AIDS having made him do a cure of honey at the rate of 80 grams a day. Other researchers have still noticed the beneficial effects of the "médicamiel" on ulcers, on hepatic, renal and seborrhoeic functions, and even on psoriasis. On January 12th, the professor Miki Fukuda, of the university of Kyoto, published a study confirming the improvement of the immunizing functions and the antitumoral activity to the mouse after a treatment in the honey of jungle collected in Nigeria. Finally, scientific journals published several studies ending in a beneficial effect of the honey in the treatment of certain human cancers. Certain medical studies ask however to be confirmed. But the honey possesses a potential which it would be stupid to leave unexploited. There is a honey, but also all other apicoles specialities: the pollen, propolis, the royal jelly and the poison of bees. In brief, if it becomes urgent to protect the pollinisatrice bee, it is also crucial to save the bee pharmacist. We absolutely have to make everything so that the world becomes again the country of Canaan where the honey flows in streams. It is a question of nutrition and public health. The professor Descottes supplies gracefully his honey of thyme to all the victims of persistent wounds, bedsores or grave burns. It is enough to make the demand for the secretarial department of the service of visceral surgery and transplantation of the hospital of Limoges. 1) Its antibacterial, antiviral and fungicidal powers were confirmed by medical tests. It shows itself anti-inflammatory and antioxidizing. Finally, it stimulates, refresh, protects the heart, slows down the swelling of certain tumors, would reduce the rate of cholesterol and triglycerides and would prevent the osteoporosis. An action is indicated against the arteriosclerosis. A positive action would even have been indicated for certain cancers. 2) Its antibacterial, antiviral and fungicidal powers were confirmed by medical tests. It shows itself anti-inflammatory and antioxidizing. Finally, It stimulates, refresh, protects the heart, slow dances down the swelling of someone tumors, would reduce the fail of cholesterol and triglycerides and would prevent the osteoporosis. The year action is indicated against the arteriosclerosis. In positive action would even have been indicated for certain cancers. 3) It is a broth of molecules benefactions of which we discover. Stefan Bogdanov, of the Swiss Center of the apitherapy, raised in the literature the following beneficial effects: antibacterial, immunoprotecteur, radiodefender, anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic, anticoagulating. It leads the synthesis of haemoglobin, increases the blood circulation, makes lower the tension, activate the central nervous system and stimulates the production of endogenous cortisone. Pollen It is a source of antioxidant polyphenols. A beneficial effect on the tumor of the prostate was observed G. D. S. To make bandages in the honey, still bees would have not to disappear. Golden, no ignore that a world pandemic decimates hives. France does not escape it. The causes are multiple. In a report published in February, Afssa (French Agency of sanitary of food) counts not less forty: parasites, mushrooms, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, loss of the biodiversity... Only a general mobilization could again save the French hives. In the meantime, the foreign honey flows in streams. Between 2003 and 2008, the imports almost doubled, passing from 15,8 to 28,1 thousands of tons a year. They already represent 70 % of the French consumption! This honey arrives by barrels of Argentina, Spain, Hungary... The last year, the Chinese imports even quadrupled! And there, distrust! In 2003, Brussels had had to close temporarily the European borders in the honey of China after several cases of contagion in speechless antibiotics. Certain Chinese beekeepers had not hesitated to dilute their production with sweet liquids, such the syrup. Since, Peking claims to have done the housework in its apiaries and publishes a plan of surveillance being convenient for the European Commission. The controls on the borders of the veterinarian services are globally satisfactory but stay less numerous, and many importers and distributors continue to avoid the Chinese honey. As for the consumer, It is totally impossible for him to meet itself there, because the Chinese honey is always mixed in honeys of the other origins. The air-conditioner restricts then to register on the jar: honey native of the European Community or outside the European Community. The appeal to the import is only a last resort, because the apicole bloodbath is a world phenomenon. In a few years, the honey will become a luxury item, extremely expensive.

Hervé Vilard Capri c'est fini

Capri, c'est fini

A couple of Swedish wishing to spend holidays in the Capri island met himself in … Carpi, a North industrial city of Italy situated in some 660km of their initial destination. The fault to whom ? In a typing error on their GPS.

Ice Age 3 Trailer

Ice Age

I loved the first one, of course. It was so refreshing and unexpected. This story of this mammoth, the tiger and other animals is rather incredible but It is full of emotions, simple to understand and funny. The little extra made with the nut seeker is also a very good idea and keeping it and developing the idea with the followers is a good idea. The second part was logical because the mammoth believes he’s the last on his own until it meets his woman, a new idea of story behind this and It’s made. But the third part … Suddenly there are too many characters and too much action. I was a bit disappointed because this third opus does not have the freshness of the first one. It’s as they have found a recipe that works and uses it as much as they can. But It does not make a success. Though technique is way improved (you even can see the eye lashes moving with the wind) but again without the right entertainment, It goes nowhere. Meaning It is very enjoyable but I would say the key strength is the relations hip between the characters and this is running out of steam. It looks like the effort is inert and uninspired and they use the animals to disguise their lack of ambition. I’m not even sure It is made for kids anymore, the action goes so fast, the eye can’t catch a movement. It is definitely not as fresh or as funny as before. Lucky us, they made out in summer when there is absolutely nothing else to go for.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince - Official Trailer [HD]

Harry Potter and the half blood prince

This is even more boring than I thought. I enjoyed all movies before but this one is just bad. I never read the books but I heard they are good and the movies follow more or less the story. This one, everybody agreed that the love stories of the characters are non-relevant in 2 hours and a half. Because It lasts soooo long that even where I went to see it (in the Cinestar at Potsdamer Platz, Cinestar. It’s the only place they play original version without subtitle) they did a break ! All at the advantage of the theatre of course, because we refill with ice cream, pop corn and water. This is the least involving of the series so far, with an unclear storyline and action set pieces that fail to convey the excitement of the book. And that is the point. The friend I was with asked after the watching where were all the action that is in the book. When we had the pause, she said to us : if they put in the next last hour everything that you read in the book, there will be a lot of things to see. We were for example attracted by the title “… half blood prince”, and me who do not read the books, I expected something to happen. Finally almost in the end, we know who that is so finally, will the movie starts now ? The bad character played by Bonham Carter will do something really bad (actually she should stop now playing endlessly the same since years, It’s boring) ? Well, bad luck, nothing happened. This is a Potter film that will be quickly forgotten, even by Harry’s most ardent fans. Truly. Have another ice cream for the road.

Dragon Hunters Movie Trailer

Dragon Hunters

I wonder why I didn't hear before about Dragon Hunters. I guess because of the maerican other blockbusters. sadly. It’s one of the most fantastic animation film I ever saw … and It’s French ! Here we have the enterprises of Gwizdo e Lian-Chu, two dragon hunters who lives in a fantastic world of floating island. The first is a cowardly but speedy-talked young man whose passion is to have a contract signed for his job of everyday: the dragon hunting. But it's his big comrade Lian-Chu (as big as he's good) to fight against their amazing enemies. That's it, the dragons are almost always defeated, but hardly our heroes manage to be paid for this. It's a little jewel, very original especially for a French production (of animation, for in the comics we can see more better things of this kind). Last thing: pay attention to the catchy opening theme, "The dragon hunters song" by the Cure ! I was captured by this animation film like never before. I had to adapt myself first of all, because the characters evolve in a world that moves and flies (you’ll understand once you watch) and at first It is a bit disturbing. Once you did that, you just can only enjoy. Of course the story is simple, of course there are the bad guys, the good guys and the dragons but all filled with good mood. What thrilled me is really the shape of the animation. I can’t describe how beautiful I found it and so innovative. Please give it a try, you will not be disappointed.

Instantanés

Chez Gino

It’s the second time I go to the restaurant Chez Gino and I still recommend it as exactly for the same reason I did the first time. I discovered it in winter, with this kitschy forest themed wallpaper but this time I booked the terrasse, hoping for a good weather. Lucky us, we had and the whole evening was wonderful outside. Even if the choice on the menu is not wide, you feel like taking everything because all dishes give you urge. So the beautiful waitress suggests to order the drinks and let us happily live. We wanted to have red but the one we chose received no compliment from the girl. Her opinion was definitely confirmed when she made us taste a glass of the bottle. Then we said why not a rosé because of the heat and the choice we made was not the best one neither, so we asked the waitress to bring us what she thought was drinkable at her taste. So finely, we could read calmly the menu. French food may sound exotic sometimes but when I see Boudin noir, I can’t resist because I know the 3 cooks in the kitchen will take care of it with good taste. My friends took the veal meat and were not disappointed. The waiting time was absolutely normal for fresh food. The restaurant was fool again but this time outside. The portion are sufficient and you feel OK when you finish your plate. But you know how weak I am when the food tastes good, and all in this evening was nice, that we couldn’t resist to order dessert. There is, as the main dishes, just a few choices. We took the decision to take one plate for us three and because we are all chocolate fans, we took the chocolate mousse plate, which was absolutely delicious but far way too heavy for my small stomach. Then espresso to have a good taste of coffee in the mouth. The request of the bill brought us no anguish and we think that spending 25,-€ for such a dinner was in order. There was another bar in the area that I wanted to visit and that is why we headed to Goldenfinish, just two blocks away. It was too early in the week to have a real feeling of the bar but at least we noticed that It is well situated and there are some parties on week-ends. We were (not so comfortably I must say) sitting outside because the wood stool is too small but to end the evening, It was ok. I think I’ll come back this fall when we can stay inside because It is well decorated and the barman looks friendly.

Marie Jeanne

Instantanés

Post it

Recently, as I passed at my friend's Pierre's, his desk which is also his dining table was sprinkled with post-its. I had brought a cake so I stored the small papers in order to make for us enough space for it. They said, all in red and capital letters :
Urgent: tax declaration dead line Thursday

Urgent- mail to boss n°1 for payment reminder.

Urgent: father’s day + mother’s day, late, but what ?

Urgent- mail to boss n°2 for delay. To negociate, Wednesday ?

Urgent- call for offer boss n°3order "choc strategy" N.Klein

Urgent- blood test results
Cat litter toothbrush toilet paper Cancel Cathy

Cancel Helena, Call Tom

Send my CV to Andy+++ extremely urgent phone call to bank appointment - overdraft. Today absolutely!!
On the last one I picked up, we could read, in blue italics : «Admit indeed that for happiness, I am not even a fortnight near”.

Things your kids may never know about

There are some things in this world that will never be forgotten, this year’s 40th anniversary of the moon landing for one. But our ever-increasing quest for simpler, smaller, faster and better widgets will always ensure that some of the technology we grew up with will not be passed down the line to the next generation of geeks. That is, of course, unless we tell them all about the good old days of modems and typewriters, slide rules and encyclopedias … The list is non-exhaustive and you can add whatever you lived with which remains today only as a souvenir.
Audio-Visual Entertainment.
Inserting a VHS tape into a VCR to watch a movie or to record something.
Super-8 movies and cine film of all kinds.
Playing music on an audio tape using a personal stereo. See what happens when you give a Walkman to today’s teenager (there is a second side on the tape ???)
The number of TV channels being a single digit… and in Black &White
Standard-definition, CRT TVs filling up half your living room.
Rotary dial televisions with no remote control. You know, the ones where the kids were the remote control.
Vinyl records. Even today’s DJs are going laptop or CD.
Betamax tapes.
MiniDisc.
Laserdisc: the LP of DVD.
Scanning the radio dial and hearing static between stations.
Shortwave radio.
3-D movies meaning red-and-green glasses.
Watching TV when the networks say you should.
That there was a time before ‘reality TV.’
Computers and Videogaming
Wires. OK, so they’re not gone yet, but it won’t be long
The scream of a modem connecting.
The buzz of a dot-matrix printer
5- and 3-inch floppies, Zip Discs and countless other forms of data storage.
Terminals accessing the mainframe.
Screens being just green (or orange) on black.
Tweaking the volume setting on your tape deck to get a computer game to load, and waiting ages for it to actually do it. .
Counting in kilobytes.
Wondering if you can afford to buy a RAM upgrade.
Blowing the dust out of a NES cartridge in the hopes that it’ll load this time.
Turning a PlayStation on its end to try and get a game to load.
Joysticks.
Having to delete something to make room on your hard drive.
Booting your computer off of a floppy disk.
Recording a song in a studio.
The Internet
Finding out information from an encyclopedia.
Using a road atlas to get from A to B.
Doing bank business only when the bank is open.
Shopping only during the day, Monday to Saturday morning.
Phone books and Yellow Pages.
Newspapers and magazines made from dead trees.
Actually being able to get a domain name consisting of real words.
Filling out an order form by hand, putting it in an envelope and posting it.
Not knowing exactly what all of your friends are doing and thinking at every moment.
Carrying on a correspondence with real letters, especially the handwritten kind.
Privacy.
The fact that words generally don’t have num8er5 in them.
Correct spelling of phrases.
Waiting several minutes (or even hours!) to download something.
The time before PC networks.
When Spam was just a meat product — or even a Monty Python sketch.
Gadgets.
Typewriters.
Putting film in your camera: 35mm may have some life still, but what about APS or disk?
Sending that film away to be processed.
Having physical prints of photographs come back to you.
CB radios.
Getting lost.
Answering machines.
Using a stick to point at information on a wallchart
Pay phones.
Phones with actual bells in them.
Fax machines.
Vacuum cleaners with bags in them.
Taking turns picking a radio station, or selecting a tape, for everyone to listen to during a long drive.
Remembering someone’s phone number.
Not knowing who was calling you on the phone.
Actually going down to a Blockbuster store to rent a movie.
Toys actually being suitable for the under-3s.
LEGO just being square blocks of various sizes, with the odd wheel, window or door.
Waiting years for the television-network premiere to watch a movie after its run at the theater.
Relying on the 5-minute sport segment on the nightly news for highlights.
Neat handwriting.
Starbuck being a man.
“Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.” But they’ve already seen episode III, so it’s no big surprise.
“Don’t know what a slide rule is for …”
Finding books in a card catalog at the library.
Swimming pools with diving boards.
Having to manually unlock a car door.
Writing a check.
Looking out the window during a long drive.
Roller skates, as opposed to blades.
Cash.
Libraries as a place to get books rather than a place to use the internet.
A physical dictionary — either for spelling or definitions.