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.

Grandfathers

Natalie Dessay - Lakmé - Bell song

Lakmé

One of my best and emotional experience at the opera, I truly believe, will ever stay the Leo Delibes’ Lakmé which took place at the Opéra Comique in paris in 1995. The interpretation of Natalie Dessay this evening was so pure, her voice could make you fly anywhere and brings you so many emotions only with the ton of her voice you can’t believe, The Bell song is probably one of the difficult aria ever, I imagine, but she shows no difficulties at all compared to other singers. The public was so moved that we all cried and in the end of the interpretation of the song, the orchestra could not restart to play because we could not stop applauding screaming “Bravo”. I guess this happens only in a lifetime and I will remember this one.

Instantanés

Café Jacques

Maybe happiness is something easy and simple. I was last evening at a restaurant I wanted to go for a very long time and because the weather was nice, we decided to give it a try. We booked the table outside at the café Jacques, Maybachufer 8. There is no website. On this street, you are very close to the river. The street is also famous because twice a week, you can find there the big Turkish market where everything is so fresh and tasty. We started by the welcoming of the waitress who asked what we wanted to drink. We knew we would have meat so we chose a red wine but not to heavy because of the heat. The waitress came with a bottle of Portuguese and made us taste and It was a good choice. After half the bottle as aperitif, we went outside, the menu stays on the wall, handwritten on a blackboard: It’s kind of funny because while you ‘re looking what you would like to order, you’re not alone doing the same so there is a kind of communication, exchanging information. Once you made your choice, tell the waitress nearby and go back to your place and start drinking again. I had the sun in my face so the evening started very well. The small number of tables were quickly taken but if you come too late and none are free, we can find some available from the inside that we bring on the street, so don’t be afraid. I ordered the duck because It is a meat I don’t easily neither find nor cook. I enjoy it “à l’orange” of course and I was not disappointed at all. Prices are very attractive too and that is why, having finished the bottle of wine, we decided to join our expresso with a fabulous chocolate mousse that we shared. The night was out but still warm and the traffic was low. Because we waited a bit too long for the dessert, the waitress offered us as we asked for the bill, some digestive that we accepted and took Mirabelle which was not too strong. Then we had the idea to reach a place we wanted to try but we decided to keep it for another time as It started to be late and don#t forget we had to work the day after. We went just to finish the evening in a good way to reach the nearby “Raumfahrer” where I like to go anytime I am in the area. Then drive back on the bike along the canal. A very nice evening indeed.

Michael Jackson "Maria"

Wine

After having found at the beginning of the year the bar near my place where I like to go not everyday but almost, I maybe have found as well the wine shop I was expected to. It looks like I am definitely putting my feet in the city and the area I’m living in. It is called very simply Weinladen. It is not a big place but you don’t need to have a big one to have taste and put in it good quality. The owner has a mix of most of the countries and sometimes surprises that can put your mouth in ecstasy. I remember having brought to a grill party this bottle form south-west of France that I didn’t even had time to taste because the guests found it so good that the liquid disappeared in few minutes. I remember as well that I was not convinced by the choice of the owner who asked me to try its German red wine "Spät Burgerder" and It was again a success, though very light but a good start. Since then I bought other bottles and was never disappointed. So definitely a place to remember to go if you feel thirsty.

Flight of the Conchords - Foux Da Fa Fa with context

Instantanés

French behaviour

As I did last year, I looked in the paper to see if the French are better tourists this year than last one. The answer is No. For the third consecutive year, the French people keep their title. Not necessary to put out flags for that, because they were once again appointed " the worse tourists in the world ". Main causes ? The French people are grousing, niggardly and impolite. And as if it was not enough, always according to the study, they make no effort to speak foreign languages. The professionals questioned explained the difficulties for the French tourists to express themselves in English and their custom to insert here and there words in French to be understood. The French people would not either be in the habit of leaving tips but would not hesitate to complain for whatever reason. And to bring a last touch to the portrait of this terrible tourist, the questioned hotelkeepers assert that "the French-style courtesy lived, and that the French people have no more savoir-vivre " … Only consolation, the French tourists are classified at the head list as regarding their discretion. The Japanese, the English people and the Canadians are on the other hand the most pleasant tourists. The travelers of the land of the rising sun stay, for the third consecutive year, on the first place. But they arrive last for the language ability of the host country. The English people are very appreciated for their generosity : they pass of the 30th on the 2nd place between 2008 and 2009. As for the Canadians, congratulated on their politeness, their hygiene and their peace, they take the place of the Germans in the classification. Besides, the study reveals that the south-European tourists are most badly seen by the professionals, after the French arrive the Spanish and the Greek. I would like nevertheless to add my comment for this survey. Critic is easy and non relevant. If the French gives no tip, It’s because It is unknown in his country because service is included on the invoice. So if no one tells him that It is another way outside his country, he will not know. Maybe he will be keen on understanding. If the English are appreciated for their generosity, It’s because they leave such a mess everywhere they go that It is their only way to apologize. Regarding the south European people, I completely disagree because, as from my experience, they are the only people to travel to find cold and rain when they live in beautiful countries, they adapt themselves staying in hostels and not in tourists chains and they speak at least a few words when Japanese only stay in groups and will never move from it. So you see, in the end, It’s easy to reverse tendency with your own experience.

Zazie - Un point c'est toi

East port festival

Be prepared. The next week-end in Berlin will be very hot and wet. Meaning, this is the super time to go out. The Arena place, together with the Badeschiff, hopotosse, glashaus, club des visionnaires, make together an event during 22 hours, starting Saturday afternoon with a cruise on the river Spree. Make your choice of the boat following the DJ’s you like and you will spend the next 6 hours on the water listening music, maybe dancing, surely drinking. Following the organisator, starts from the harbour in the park in Treptow or in the north of the city. When you will be back around 8:00 p.m., you will have of course the choice to go home (highly NOT recommended) or carry on partying on one of the 9 places you will choose. Looking at the list of the DJ’s, I am impressed. The festival is called Stadtstrandfluss.

Instantanés

Pâté

The pâté of apples, potatoes and pork meat in the oregano ". It is necessary: two green apples, four potatoes cooked in dress of fields, four slices of spinal column of pork chopped considered, eight shallots, a glass of white wine, a glass of crème fraiche, a small bouquet of oregano (can be replaced by some dried oregano), some butter, some salt and pepper. Peel and slice thinly shallots. Make them sweat in the butter, add the meat and make it brown by crumbling it. Remove the skin of potatoes, peel apples and cut them in small dices. Add to the meat and slowly cook. Add the white wine, the cream and the oregano and let cook slowly until obtain a compact mass. Pour the set into a terrine or a mould lined by a clingfilm. Close strongly and let cool. Serve in thick slices with a green salad or wild grass.

Instantanés