Month: September 2011
Leslie Caron
Leslie Claire Margaret Caron (French pronunciation: [lɛzli kaʁɔ̃]; born 1 July 1931) is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for best actress. Her autobiography Thank Heaven, was published in 2010 in the UK and USA, and in 2011 in a French version.
Caron is best known for the musical films An American in Paris (1951), Lili (1953), Daddy Long Legs (1955), Gigi (1958), and for the non-musical films Fanny (1961), The L-Shaped Room(1962), and Father Goose (1964). She received two Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. She speaks French, English, and Italian. She is one of the few dancers or actresses who has danced with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Rudolf Nureyev.
Related Images:
Scientist at Work – The blog
Scientist at Work
This blog is the modern version of a field journal, a place for reports on the daily progress of scientific expeditions — adventures, misadventures, discoveries. As with the expeditions themselves, you never know what you will find.
Right now, By JACK DUMBACHER.
Related Images:
In Burgundy, It’s All About Terroir, by Eric Pfanner and Stefana Russell
By ERIC PFANNER for the New York Times, Published: September 16, 2011
ALOXE-CORTON, FRANCE — In an 18th-century cellar under his family home in this village in Burgundy, Franck Follin-Arbelet pulls the corks on two of his 2009 red wines. Each comes from a vineyard in Aloxe-Corton. Each has the same quality imprimatur, premier cru. Each was made from the same grape variety, pinot noir.
Stefania Rousselle
Franck Follin-Arbelet, left, at work in Aloxe-Corton.
Stefania Russell
Related Images:
Is that a Fish in your Ear?
How Translation Shapes Our Lives
A book by by David Bellos, translator, biographer and lecturer in Comparative Literature at Princeton University, Is that a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything, published by Penguin Press this month.
as well as podcasts … and so much more!
Order it now!
Related Images:
Savannah – St. Tropez Connection
Docked in St. Tropez this morning …
Related Images:
Children’s Education in France
Here’s a very nice look at the French Education System!
Related Images:
gesundheit
A friend was on an Aeroflot flight crossing Russia when the woman next to him sneezed. He said ‘Gesundheit!’ She said: ‘Thank goodness, someone who speaks English.'”Peter Spencer; Column 8; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jul 23, 2011.
etymology:
Related Images:
Newsletter Sept. 6, 2011
Where in the world did I leave my keys?? I can’t find my glasses anywhere … Do you remember the title of that movie with Fred Astaire … you know the one with the buried pot of gold?
There are so many things to remember! How do you say “Je me souviens” in English? Oh, right, I remember! And what’s the word for ‘gloves’ in French?
In fact, if you really want to get good in a foreign language, one of the things you need …. is a memory. Fortunately, most of us are born with one that’s pretty incredible. Having a brain is a starting point. Using some of it for storage – quite like the HD of a computer or even the vaporous cloud, is the second step. A little focus, devote some energy to concentration … and then … the key is:
repeat.
Once, twice, three times … 4 … 5 … 6 …. 7. That’s the magic number. Repeat something a few times, up to 7 even and you’ll likely remember it.
Of course it does take a little effort. But then, what doesn’t? You get what you pay for! That’s the price of the investment!
The curious thing about repeating is that we won’t necessarily learn anything if we just repeat things in the same way. Only smart parrots do that. We need to link them to something. They need to stick. Like glue. Try learning a word, a line like an actor or actress memorizing a text…in a context, with feeling, with emotion. Say it out loud, say it soft, whisper it, shout it! Say it with anger. Make it sincere … or make it sarcastic. Make it ironic …. make it happy. Say it with love. Mobilize your …. emotional memory. You’ll remember better. And longer.
You can learn – that’s to say – acquire, and that’s to say, remember just about anything you want for the price of … taking the time to … think it, feel it and repeat it. Do it over and over again. In time. Once or twice today, once or twice tomorrow, once or twice in a few days … and the miracle is … that later on, in a week or two or in a month, a year from you’ll recall it… and quickly.
True for words, true for images if you look; true for sounds if you listen; True for facts … and true for fiction. Propaganda works that way.
Repetition. A two-edged sword. Because our memories are not only voluntary: learning as we want through repetition. We have extraordinary capacities and … we can unconsiously and involuntarily remember even what we don’t intend to …
Just for fun … let your memory work for you today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.