Category: Newsletters
Newsletters
Newsletter July 1, 2010
On my way back from visiting Michel in the hospital yesterday, I was headed for the Marais from the Porte d’Orléans and realized that I was driving up … (or down?) Bd. St. Michel.
Now this is a very well-known name, both in its masculine and the feminine forms, made especially famous in a song by the Beatles way back when!
The French name for a man is pronounced something like “ME” + “SHELL.” This is unlike the Anglo-Saxon “Michael” which, as in Michaelangelo, is pronounced “MY” “KELL”
Oddly enough, the Anglo-saxon pronunciation of Michelle … sounds almost the same in the two languages. Maybe the accent is different.
While waiting for the light to change from red to green … at a stoplight at the corner of Bd. St. Germain and Bd. St. Michel, I took a couple of photos through the windshield.
They’re posted on today’s Paris Savannah Connection.
Happy July First. Happy Summer.
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Newsletter : June 30, 2010
My father used to say “A word to the wise is sufficient.”
And the French word “prévenant” came to mind. It’s a caring word which means thinking about others. I don’t know to what extent it applies to the animal world but it certainly does apply to humans.
It is one of those universal concepts which requires heart and mind and action selflessly. Maybe in that order. It’s neither altogether altruistic nor idealist. It can be practical as it can be simply an expression of tenderness or care.
It can be individual and it can be social. In some cases, it has to do with protection from potential harm. In others, it can be understanding and acting as an act of consideration, certainly of respect for others.
It is welcoming. More than good manners, it is … unexpected.
It is thoughtful. It’s imagining ourselves in the place of someone else. Without anyone’s asking for anything. Being thoughtful, it requires time, maybe maturity, maybe soul.
it is hospitality.
A beautiful idea: être prévenant(e).
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Newsletter: 28 June 2010
I’ve recorded today’s newsletter … so if you’d care to listen to it … here it is:
If you’d care to read it …
| If you happen to take advantage of the fact that the Museé des Beaux Arts in Rouen is showing a rare collection of Impressionist paintings, you will undoubtedly also be pleasantly surprised by the staff at the Museum.
They are refreshingly kind, relaxed, welcoming and knowledgeable. An example of how things ought to be. I’d be surprised if we hear of a strike up there. The subject matter of the exhibit itself centers around the place it is held in: the thriving city of Rouen as it was in the 1890s. Monet, Pissaro, Gauguin (as well as other less well-known) show the boats, long or wide … or both… the big sails, the quays, the workers, the sailors … all against a newly industrialized background where morning fog and smoke from the smokestacks color the sky. Impressions. Outdoor painting. St. Catherine’s Hill. Looking down onto Rouen, there where Saint Joan was burned at the stake on the 30th of May, 1431. The bridges. The two main bridges crossing the Seine are shown in morning light, morning fog, under the rain, under the snow. In one, small painting, we we the sun behind the clouds, through the clouds, its light then reflected from the Seine under the bridge of Boieldieu. The Cathedral. Under the different lights of day as Monet observed it. There’s something else to be said for all of this: Both the painters and today’s staff were artists. The staff and the Museum offering us … their hospitality, the artists … their visions, their works. As you walk through Rouen … you might pass the vast City Hall. Bullet and shell pockmarks of all sizes show on the stone walls. Those happened after these paintings were painted, after these painters had ceased to see but before the staff at the Museum of Fine Arts were born. Just a reminder. Thanks for reading The Paris Savannah Connection. Mark PS. Another sort of Reminder: At the end of the month, I’ll have updated the mailing list of the Paris Savannah Connection to only include those who let me know they want to continue receiving it. So … if you haven’t already sent me a message to let me know … well, let me know: mark@paris-savannah.com Thanks. |
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Newsletter May 28, 2010
| Last week we had some pretty hot weather here. There’s an optimistic saying in French which says “Après la pluie, le beau temps.” Since Tuesday, someone re-wrote it this way: Après le beau temps, la pluie!”
Both rain and sunshine are essential for beautiful landscapes. Both are essential for balance. We’d never appreciate the one without the other. No matter how mysterious life may seem to be, few of us doubt the scientific principle of cause and effect. My taste for discovering unusually beautiful places in the country is certainly due to a specific cause. As a child, I had the extraordinary luck to have an Uncle Harold who had a passion for four things: (i) nice comfortable cars (ii) discovering off the beaten path places to visit (iii) good restaurants … and (iv) artistic nudes. Sounds like Uncle Harold could have been French, doesn’t it? There’s a post today on a place to discover. Chaumont s/Loire. You’ll find four photos and a couple dozen words as well as a link to the Domaine. Take a minute to glance at it. I don’t think you’ll regret it. In Uncle Harold’s tradition. May he rest in peace. Uncle Harold was a man of modest means. In order to finance such excursions, he worked every day in his small business of selling wines and liquors. In order for me to live up to his reputation, The Paris Savannah Company is now innovating by setting up online language coaching and training. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re interested in a distance learning or coaching solution. The Paris Savannah Connection is an eclectic collection of “quips” aimed at fostering cross cultural understanding and communication, the English language and related topics. Thanks for spending a few minutes with The Paris Savannah Connection! Mark |
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Newsletter May 25, 2010
Summer came. Summer came to Paris these past couple of days where temperatures must have reached 30° (C) which translates as 86° (F). In the city if feels hotter. It felt like Savannah heat! Though the sultry humidity wasn’t there.
News from Savannah is that the temperature of the water at the beach is about 27°C and that outdoors it could hit 32°. How much is that in Fahrenheit? I wonder what the weather’s like in Toulouse today. And what’s it like on the sandy French Atlantic coast … The Ile de Ré, for instance? Or in Brittany?
There are those of us who love warm weather … and those who appreciate the cool.
Are you like lizards that enjoy basking, baking in the sun?
Or are you among those who prefer the shade, the gardens. Sitting under a leafy tree?
Well, either way, enjoy it! But use your sunscreen and hats when you’re out.
On today’s Paris Savannah Connection, learn how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit … and Fahrenheit to Celsius.
There’s an old mental trick to “warm up” or “cool down.” Sitting down, close your eyes and meditate on YOUR ideal temperature. Put yourself in YOUR ideal environment. Then come back to reality and enjoy it!
Have a wonderful Tuesday, May 25th!
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Newsletter May 21, 2010
Have you ever heard the expression: It’s a no-brainer? It means that something is so clear, so obvious, so self-evident that it needs no further thought. You don’t really need much brainpower to know what to do or what NOT to do … to understand the simplicity of the situation, of the solution.
Edward de Bono wrote a book entitled “Simplicity” which I recommend to all. His book is … complex in its simplicity? Simple in its complexity?
In it he says things like:
“Almost everyone sees a value in simplicity. Why?
“It may be better to simplify a process rather than train people to cope with the complexity.”
But we like our own complexity, too, don’t we? What we have a hard time with is everyone else’s complexity … and complexes!
In any case, maybe another day, we’ll talk more about these complicated things. Today’s Friday and we would just like things to be easy … Simple?
In today’s The Paris Savannah Connection, you’ll find a word or 2 about the terms no-brainer, sense .. and nonsense … and if you make it to the end of the post … sensitivity, too … and all that’s just common sense!
By the way, there was another Edward .. whose last name was Lear and he wrote an entire Book of … Nonsense!
Enjoy your weekend … and we’ll re-connect on Tuesday.
Mark
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Newsletter May 19, 2010
One of the remarkable things in our highly possessive society is that no one “owns” words … we just adopt them. Because they’re alive, they never belong to anyone … but are always ready to be … yours.
There are those words that are our friends: we like to see them from time to time, they smile at us, we smile at them. They talk to us, we talk back, small talk, a little lunch chat … maybe more.
There are those words we read, those we think we understand, those too abstruse for our time, too.
And … there are those words and those expressions that we take a fancy to, that we really like. In the same way, we like to wear these jeans or that sweater or those funny socks or that old scarf … When you come across a word or a phrase you really like … why not adopt it? You’ll be giving a whole new life to those few letters who’ll make life for others more colorful!
Adopt a new word today! They’re everywhere … just waiting for a voice and a little TLC.
TLC ? TLC = tender loving care … (something like love)
If you like words and voices … The Paris Savannah Connection was prepared with you in mind.
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Newsletter May 15, 2010
How many museums are there in Paris?
We all know the Louvre, and like the city of Paris, we can never know all of its treasures … We know the Musée d’Orsay and the Impressionists there and probably at the Marmottan Monet, too.
You may know the Arts Décoratifs housed in the Louvre, too and Guimet for Asian Art with its vast collection of Buddhas at Iena. Close to there is The Musuem of Modern Art and the Palais de Tokyo.
On the Rive Gauche, rue de Grenelle, you’ll find the Musée Maillot. Its permanent exhibits of Maillol’s paintings and sculptures are always complemented by exceptional temporary exhibits.
Cross over the Seine and you’ve got Branly for ethnic art. Cross back to Trocadéro for the Musée de la Marine and its exhibit of boats of all ages … Don’t forget Galliera for clothes and fashion nor the Museum of Natural History and the Musée de l’Homme (et de la Femme) …
We can’t forget Picasso or the Centre Pomipou or La Villette for Science. And what about Rodin and Les Invalides nearby?
Tonight’s the night! Museums are open … they’re free … and the link is on
the Paris Savannah Connection. Written with you in mind.
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Newsletter May 14, 2010
A newsletter is both letter and news. This comes in part from a taste for writing letters which I inherited from my father’s elder sister, Dorothy who was the very best letter writer I’ve ever known. I was exceedingly lucky to have her as an aunt. This was long before email. Her letters were handwritten and were usually one page long.
She was the letter writer in the family. Her husband, my Uncle Harold never wrote. Instead, he communicated with the world by telling stories, many of which he invented and all of which made us laugh, smile … or blush.
Dorothy’s handwriting was extraordinarily beautiful to see – as was my father’s, by the way. Aunt Dorothy filled evety inch on the blue “aerogram” with news of family, friends, events. She would always end a letter with a question which was, of course, an invitation for a reply.
And most of the time, I did answer. But there was a time when I must have been “too busy” to answer. I received one letter, then another and a third. At the end of the third letter, there was no question. But there was one word written in someone else’s handwriting. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was Uncle Harold’s. You know what that one word was?
Reciprocity.
The news is on today’s Paris Savannah Connection !
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Newsletter: May 11, 2010
There’s a proverb that says: “Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it!”
So it’s raining. That’s nourishing the earth.
Burt as the French say: “Après la pluie, le beau temps.”
So be it! The sun and fair weather will make our gardens grow!
Another proverb that came up today was one of my mother’s favorites. Sorry … From now on, I’m going to write it this way: Favoritz. Well it was this one:
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
Mothers like to talk about their children. In the same way that when a woman sits in the passenger seat of a car, she checks the quality of the mirror when the visor is pulled down. Just checking…on the children in the back seat?
Necessity gives birth to invention. When you need something … you find a way to get it, to do it, to solve the problem. We burst with creative power. Inventiveness.
After reading today’s news, good news! We have a very creative and inventive future just ahead of us.
And for a major boost of inventiveness … will anybody join me for a trip to Athens? Madrid? Lisbon? or … Brussels ?
Hope you enjoy today’s The Paris Savannah Connection !
Mark
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