Est-il vrai que, ARTE

Con La Misma Moneda, Karina

 

 It's been almost 2 years since I last checked my Instagram feed and somehow I was able to find ways to fill my days. But every now and then I realise that I'm missing out a lot, especially gems like this song that was once lip-synced with abandon by the legendary Phenix Rockefeller @divasshowentertainment4532 aka La Petacona La Mejor (not to be confused with the equally legendary Rosa Rodriguez @lapetaconaofficial) in a random parking lot for a friend.

Wadi Rum, Yeahman

Mais qui était Jane Birkin?

There are some videos you really wish you could send to your younger self. 

Seashells and shards

Faith in magic feels strongest around the winter solstice, especially as we cross into a new year marking the first quarter of the 21st century. This week I woke up in the middle of the night realising we left the Christmas tree lights on. I had completely forgotten about the glass bowl in the middle of the livingroom. That evening our youngest had decided to sort our collection of seashells but fell asleep on the couch during a movie. By the time I understood what happened, I heard the sharp sound of broken glass half way through the room. The floor was a complete mess of shattered glass and scattered seashells. I almost threw everything away to get back to bed as soon as possible. But then I decided this was a chance to remember all the long walks in the sand and a sign of good fortune for the new year. After all, I had just crossed the room barefoot in the dark avoiding both seashells and shards. Surely, that was some kind of magic on its own.

Sólo le pido a Dios, Alma Sufi Ensamble with Nuri Nardelli, León Gieco and Gastón Saied

Flamenco y Electrónica, MËSTIZA & Friends

Charles Ma, A Bharatanatyam dancer challenging racial stereotypes

Portalis Film

 

This movie is really pushing the limits of what science communication is suppose to be. It was made possible by the Portalis European project.

La Paponie, Holidays in Dordogne

Every chance we get we try to escape the concrete jungle of Bordeaux at Paponie. Our days remain busy, filled with walks in the forest for foraging mushroom, harvesting fruits and tomatoes to prepare preserves for winter, and enjoying bike trips in the nearby villages.

Shtisel (2013)

MIA, Bad Bunny and Jimmy Fallon

This is going to be us by April, or Christmas, or Christmas 2022.

La rose et l'armure, Antoine Elie

White Man's World, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Over organisation

After living 26 years in Romania and 8 years in Ireland I was never faced with the idea that there might be such a thing as too much organisation. In the Far East of Europe chaos and entropy still seem to make the rule and on a small green island you can keep things flexible enough because people can rely on common sense and it will be grand in the end. After living almost two years in France I understand a bit better that rigid schedules for lunch and holidays come from a sometimes unreasonable love of order and organisation. Regardless if tourists go hungry after 2pm, if families spend full days queueing on highways trying to reach their destination, or if fridges get broken during August. The common belief is that people require more organisation although some amount of randomisation would solve the problem just as well. 

Strict rules and schedules are seen to have value in and of themself and religiously adhering to them builds character and cultivates patience and persistence if nothing else. But keeping a full country close to boiling point is not without its perils and it is not a rare occurence to see a lady throwing her shopping bag, running and cursing after a driver refused to stop at the street light.

The greatest loss for a European Union without Great Britain might be not having a small dose of British pragmatism in the mix.

Anuca

 În conia de pământ miroase a ciorbă de fasole verde, bunica face rântașul și mai are nevoie doar de frunze de pătrunjel din grădină. Asta e treabă mea, alerg repede să adun un mănunchi de frunze, trec prin târnaț, cobor trepții, și în trecere strivesc cu tălpile goale câteva fragi negre căzute din frăgar. Oricum nu mai sunt la fel de bune de pe jos după ce le-a încălzit soarele. În grădină sunt multe de văzut și adun cu grijă fiecare frunză, așa că bunica o să mă mai aștepte ceva vreme. După ce termină ciorba îmi clătește tigaia de rântaș cu un polonic de ciorbă pe care o să îl mănânc eu prima înainte să vina toată lumea pentru prânz. Primul polonic e cel mai gustos și nimeni nu face o ciorbă mai bună ca bunica.   

 

 După ce toată lumea a terminat de mâncat copiii merg obligatoriu la somn în casa din sus unde nu sunt muște și e întuneric și răcoare ca să nu ne mai aibă în picioare toată ziua. Dacă ajunge bunicul de la spital cu cursa și nu dorm toți copiii o să fie mare prăpăd, știe dacă dormim sau nu din vârful dealului. Mi-e frică să-l supăr dar nu știu ce s-ar putea întâmpla. Până acum cel mai rău lucru a fost să mă trimită după buruieni și frunze de napi pentru rațe. Mă revolt. Acasă nu ne pune nimeni să dormim și nici la bunica de la Vidra, tare aș mai fugi încă un pic prin curte după rațe. Azi o să mă prefac doar că dorm cu cearceaful tras pe cap și nu o să știe nimeni. Poarta de la grădină se trântește cu zgomot metalic pentru că bunica aleargă prin curte după o treabă sau alta. O data, de două ori, de trei ori...

 

 Acum conia e bucătărie de vară cu geamuri termopan, frăgarul a fost tăiat pentru că era mult prea înclinat și cineva a dat cu capul (nu destul), alți copii aleargă prin curte și altcineva pune ciorba în farfurie (niciodată la fel de bună). 

 

 S-a dus Anuca.

HUMAN's Musics, Yann Arthus-Bertrand

A Halloween story from county Galway

I started reading the story of the missing children from Tuam on the bus to my first Saturday out as a mother, with my own little darling safely asleep in our bedroom on his Montessori tatami. I was already feeling nauseated because of a stomach bug that would eventually clear out after a rainy Sunday at home with my boys. With our Halloween decorations still out, it made me think of the furious fight of my Christian friends on Facebook against these celebrations. Why celebrate the witches, the ghosts and the demons they ask. Maybe because they still haunt us for a good reason, and maybe because sometimes we should be just as horrified by nuns.

Later edit

While the missing children from Tuam seem mere relics from a time long gone, this article sheds some light on a more modern debate in its dark conclusion.

Chateaux de la Loire

Vienna, BBC Documentary

Not that long ago another authoritarian ruler sought to make a country great again.