USA – The Paris Savannah Connection

Calder at the MoMa

Man on Chariot

Calder

Don’t even think of parking here…

The Smithsonian Folkways Collection

Real voices of real people with real emotion. Much of the collection is freely available and downloadable on iTunesU. As Pete Seeger said … “If you’re ever feeling a little down … listen to what these people have to say!” Music from the heart and soul. And what music! Enjoy.

The Smithsonian Folkways Collection

The secrets of a garlic grower

The secrets of a garlic grower. Very nice Sunday reading … just in case you haven’t found anything else!

The ties that bind America and France

For the ties that bind America and France are more important and infinitely more interesting than most of us know.

Read all about it.

Savannah Book Festival Every February

What exactly is the Savannah Book Festival?

The Savannah Book Festival is a fun, informative and entertaining three-day event in February that celebrates books and the written word. We bring in authors from around the country to Savannah, who then present their work to audiences of booklovers eager to hear what they have to say.

Here is a link to the site!

New York City – A visit to Grand Central Station

New York City

Grand Central Station

“Singin’ in the Rain”

If you need to get out of a rainy mood, or if you just happen to like movies, take a 4 minute refresher by watching this!

A. 0. Scott takes a look at the 1952 musical:

Singin’ in the rain !

Newsletter: 16 September 2010

Mid-September is invigorating. Fresh. new. The hot, humid lazy summer’s behind us. It’s an encouraging month. It’s a forward-looking month.

Here in Paris, after a hint of the weather to come, the air is a little cooler, the clouds a bit higher, the days not quite so long. September is the background to the beginning of the year.

September is a school month.

Who doesn’t remember having to wake up, getting washed and dressed, gathering books and notebooks, pencil, paper and ruler, just in time for a quick breakfast and … out: September waiting for you outside on the doorstep.

It was the same whether you were student … or teacher … or a mother or father getting ready for your day.

September is optimistic.

It’s organizational. It’s putting things into order. And planning on how to get everything done on time. By Thursday. Schools mean … tests, too! But that’s not yet. This is September. We’ve got time … We’ve JUST started!

There are hundreds of schools in Paris and thousands, probably hundreds of thousands of students. Paris is a student’s paradise. And the center of the paradise is the Luxembourg Gardens, haven of peace in the whirlwind of the city, where students young and not so young anymore, do what we need to do most: learn to live in the outside world. September is the background.

September is an autumn color month. Yellows and gold and shades of browns and reds and crimson. Dark greens.

September is, perhaps, the most hospitable month of the year over here. There’s the shade of the chestnut trees and the sun streaming through, just right, so you can sit outdoors and if it does get too cool … you throw on a sweater, a pullover, a jacket … or go into a nearby (yes, smokeless!) café where you can appreciate the aroma of coffee.

September welcomes the world.

Paris and Savannah are extraordinary places to be in September. We have so much to learn! From our pasts, from each other.

September is here. October’s not so far off. What’s on your schedule? Good luck! Study, work hard, you won’t regret it! There’s so much more to be said about September … but it’s already 8:30 …and I’ve gotta go!