Year: 2010

The forecast here in the Paris area was for a weekend of rain. And we didn’t get any at all! It was actually quite nice.

But let’s not be disappointed. Maybe we’ll get some later this week! There are lots of good things about Spring rain, not the least of which is that when it’s over, we’re so grateful to bask in the sun again.

Forecasting the weather has always been tricky business. And pretty safe business too because we all know that … it’s only a forecast and that whoever REALLY claims to tell the immediate future is quite like the fortune teller or the astrologist…though I do remember an old man who could predict the weather quite accurately by observing a frog. His margin of error could be measured in minutes, especially when the dark clouds were visible. A Frenchman by the name of Charles who lived in a tiny hamlet in the hills of the Massif Central in the Limousin region of France.

This being said, I’ve planned a few new posts to entertain you with this week. Today’s top post is sincere: It’s a first few words about saying “Thank you.”

But also … over the weekend, I added a new category: Favoritz. If you have a favorite place and would like to share it with the others who read The Paris Savannah Connection, just send me a few words. Everyone will be grateful. And some may even thank you. As long as it’s postable, we’ll post it!

Have a good week,

And thanks … a million for sharing in The Paris Savannah Connection !

Mark

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We all know that Paris has a pretty good reputation for these. Deservedly! This obviously isn’t the ONLY address, but … it is a suggestion.

Here’s a tip & a photo.

des Gateaux & du Pain

63 Boulevard Pasteur 75015 Paris  (a few minutes’ walk from the Gare Montparnasse)

Quality. Taste. Class.

and then there’s the excellent, cozy Bread and Roses at 62 rue Madame, just outside the Luco. 

If you’ve got a Favoritz to share  …  it’s about time you subscribed to the Paris Savannah Connection!

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It’s a bright and sunny Saturday morning here in Paris. I was going out to the bakery to get a fresh baguette for my daughter’s breakfast when I saw my neighbor A. on his bicycle.

“Good morning, A.”

“Good morning, Mark”

and after a few words, A. let me in on a secret …

I’m on my way for some cheese … My favorite place in Paris for cheese … is Dubois, A. said.

You know that the word for cheese in French is “fromage” and that a cheese shop is a “fromagerie” … I won’t say anymore …

But to save you a search … Here’s the FIRST Favoritz.

and …

If you’ve got a Favoritz to share  … let me know!

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Paris 14th Arrondissement

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(an imaginary dialogue)

I think this is what Nicolas Sarkozy was saying to Angela Merkel about Greece …

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/EX17078A.mp3|titles=Everything’s going to be all right]

and she replied …

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18078a1.mp3|titles=I beg your pardon…]

If you like to smile … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection!

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Remember TGIF? Today’s the day. Every day, somehow, is a special day. Every day is unique. Today’s May 7th. Your birthday?  An Anniversary? A happy day or a day of remembrance …

There’s a time for everything. A time for work. A time for play. So today … how about a time for some poetry?

Like this silly rhyme written for kids by Shel Silverstein in a book he published called Where the Sidewalk Ends :

Ridiculous Rose

Her mama said “Don’t eat with your fingers.”

“OK,” said Ridiculous Rose

So she ate with her toes.

Why don’t you try writing – or drawing – something today. Anything. You’ve got a heart – and that does rhyme – with … art. “And there ain’t a man alive ain’t got a heart!” ((Oh dear, I can see all those serious English teachers just closing their eyes at this …))

That “ain’t” made me think of something … A song … A fun and beautiful and powerful song from George and Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. You probably know one song from that folk opera: Summertime. One of the other masterpieces is … It ain’t necessarily so. And while the only credit I can take is finding this for you, it’s a real find. Enjoy.

And thanks for opening …

The Paris Savannah Connection.

Hoping you have a special weekend,

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Remember TGIF? Today’s the day. Every day, somehow, is a special day. Every day is unique. Today’s May 7th. Your birthday?  An Anniversary? A happy day or a day of remembrance …

There’s a time for everything. A time for work. A time for play. So today … how about a time for some poetry?

Like this silly rhyme written for kids by Shel Silverstein in a book he published called Where the Sidewalk Ends :

Ridiculous Rose

Her mama said “Don’t eat with your fingers.”

“OK,” said Ridiculous Rose

So she ate with her toes.

Why don’t you try writing – or drawing – something today. Anything. You’ve got a heart – and that does rhyme – with … art. “And there ain’t a man alive ain’t got a heart!” ((Oh dear, I can see all those serious English teachers just closing their eyes at this …))

That “ain’t” made me think of something … A song … A fun and beautiful and powerful song from George and Ira Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. You probably know one song from that folk opera: Summertime. One of the other masterpieces is … It ain’t necessarily so. And while the only credit I can take is finding this for you, it’s a real find. Enjoy.

And thanks for opening …

The Paris Savannah Connection.

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Just a few sound clips … to show you how easy it is to pronounce and spell these homonyms!

We all know “one way street …” ((sens unique dans tous ses sens)) [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18171d1.mp3|titles=one way street] and we know that there’s more than “one way” : Which way? Oh dear … No way! ((impossible!))[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18064a1.mp3|titles=no way]

Talking pounds and kilos … How much does it weigh?

weigh <pronunciation> way [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/mf18171.mp3|titles=way]

Oh dear I just realized … the noun form of weigh is … weight. Which is pronounced just like wait.  “Heaven can wait” wasn’t that the name of a movie?

weight <pronunciation> wait [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/mf18165.mp3|titles=wait/weight]

surely there are others … any suggestions?

If you need to practice your pronunciation and spelling … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection!

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Take just about any word or group of words and test them: What does “you” mean? In fact, it all depends on the intonation, doesn’t it? Intonation is in the voice;  punctuation is in writing. We “hear” punctuation when we read…don’t we?

I do.

You do?

You!

There are full stops. Also know in the USA as periods.

There are question marks, too, aren’t there?

Exclamation marks, too!

And of course, commas, so that we can breathe easier.

and “quotation marks,” traditonal and modern.

Until words are punctuated, they can’t really mean anything … For instance … what sense can you give these words in this order?

Woman without her man is nothing

?? !! “.” , : ;  (and there are more on your keyboard … I wonder where they came from!)

and as for intonation …

Enjoy! More to come …

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