Cédric Villain, animation movies creator, had the incredible idea of making a video about the prejudice and clichés people have concerning France and French people...
People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.
A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave.
A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life…
Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, passed away today at the age of 56, following a pancreatic cancer.
He was at the origin of the most increidible creations of the Apple foundation, which declared today that "Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being".
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Who doesn't like to listen to the sound of the rain when we're warm at home? Who doesn't like to go to sleep with the sound of the water falling over the roof?
If you like this feeling as much as I do, then Rainy Mood is made for you.
This simple website permits you to listen to the sound of the rain at any moment of the day, even if outside the sun is shining!
ClickHEREto get to the website, and let the rain take you away...
The person we're going to talk about today isn't here anymore to do an interview; that's why I decided to use the 3 Questions of the week to tell you about the masterpiece of an incredible man: Pablo Neruda.
Q :Who is Pablo Neruda?
C :Pablo Neruda is a Chilian poet, diplomat and international political figure, considered as one of the best poets of his generation.
Pablo Neruda's real name is Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto, and he was born on the 12 of July 1904. He loved litterature, and started writing at a very young age; in 1917, he published his first article in a local journal, which was then followed by numerous poems.
He studied French and French Litterature in Santiago, in order to become a French teacher; in the meantime, he started to get recognition for his work in the poetry. At 19, he published his first book "Crépusculario”. The next year, he published the very well-known "20 poems of love and a desperate song’’.
Great political figure in many republican movements, he won the Staline Price for Peace, the International Price for Peace, and the Nobel Price of Litterature.
He died on the 25 of Septembre 1973 after a cancer.
Q :What is his most famous work?
C : It's hard to say. Maybe the Canto General, or the "20 poemas de amor y una cansion desesperada." But everybody agree that all of his poems, in all their depth and beauty, are a treasure that we absolutely have to keep and protect.
Here is a translated extract of the Poem 5, the first Neruda's poem I ever read:
So that you will hear me
my words sometimes grow thin
as the tracks of the gulls on the beaches.
(...)
And I watch my words from a long way off.
They are more yours than mine.
They climb on my old suffering like ivy.
It climbs the same way on damp walls.
You are to blame for this cruel sport.
They are fleeing from my dark lair.
You fill everything, you fill everything.
Before you they peopled the solitude that you occupy,
and they are more used to my sadness than you are.
Now I want them to say what I want to say to you
to make you hear as I want you to hear me.
Pablo Neruda, Poema 5,
"20 poemas de amor y una cansion desesperada"
Q : What else do we have from him appart from his poems today?
C : His houses! If Pablo Neruda was an extremely talented poet, he also was a fantastic architect. His three houses, La Chascona (in Santiago), La Sebastiana (in Valparaiso) and Isla Negra are amazing creations full of inventivity, which the author loved to fill with any object he liked, transforming them in real museums.
I had the chance to visit the 3 houses last year, and if you have the opportunity to go, I can tell you it's worth it. You won't be disappointed!
In order to know more about this great poet, you can go on the website f the Pablo Neruda Fundation.
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?
First time I heard an Adele song was (and I’m really ashamed to say it) something like 8 months ago. Well, I know Chasing Pavements was quite well-known in France at a certain period, but I didn’t know who the singer was and didn’t really care back then… (Shame on me.)
Six months ago, I was bored and checking various Tumblrs, when I found a video of Adele performing Someone Like You at the Britts Awards. Usually I don’t really pay attention to music posts, but I desperatly needed some music so I thought “Why not?” and watched it.
It was a revelation.
Since Alexz Johnson, I’ve had a hard time finding a singer that would amaze me by his voice, a song that would make my hackles rise and my stomach ache in good pain; Someone Like You did just that.
I listened to that song on repeat while packing my bags for Chile. I put the entire 21 album on my MP3, thinking that maybe I would have time to listen to it in the plane… But things never go as expected. I kind of forgot about it for a few days, too busy putting my new life into place and discovering a new country. About one week later, I left the capital to go on a Road Trip with one of my friends, and found time to listen to my newly found album during the 24-hour bus trip that was leading me to the driest desert in the world.
A word to describe the album ? Awesome. Amazing. Outstanding. Pure Genius. (That’s actually 5 words, but I don’t care.)
Rolling In The Deep was the first song to catch my attention (I didn’t even know it was a single), because it actually fitted perfectly to my situation ; the rythm of the song was in perfect synch with the endless road I was rolling on, in the middle of the desert. I listened to it like 1000 times during the trip… Rumour Has It had the same effect on me, with the catchy rythm and chorus that make you want to clap your hands and start singing along.
I also fell in love with Turning Tables and Set Fire To The Rain, which are the same kind of songs as Someone Like You: hearbreaking, beautiful, with a powerful voice, incredible lyrics and some piano notes that catch you from the very beginning.
The rest of the album has the same level of greatness and left me breathless…
Nevermind I’ll find someone like you,
I wish nothing but the best for you, too,
Don’t forget me, I beg,
I remember you said,
“Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead
After several weeks of intense listening, I finally was ready to check the first album, 19, in order to see the evolution between the two. That’s where I discovered Chasing Pavement was actually an Adele’s songs, and got to like it more than when it was initially released…
The first song to catch my attention was Hometown Glory (yes, I have the thing for sad piano songs); I think I cried a couple of times the firsts times I listened to it; and it still brings some tears in my eyes when it comes up in my Playlists…
I also found some great songs, such as Tired, which rythm caught me from the very beginning; but apart from these two songs, the other songs didn’t catch a string in my soul like the songs from 21 did.
The thing that amazes me so much is that she’s still so young… She’s as old as some girls of my class, and already has that amazing voice and a clear vision of the world that she exposes in her lyrics.
The last thing I can say is that I’m grateful to Adele for giving me that feeling again.
The feeling that famous music can still be good, and that pure talent still exists.
I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it
I had hoped you’d see my face
And that you’d be reminded that for me it isn’t over…
3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... All to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films = atrip of a lifetime.
Eat, Learn, Move
Eat, Learn, Move is a series of three videos created by 3 men, Rick Mereki, Tim White & Andrew Lees for the Agency STA Travel Australia.
Going from the principle of the Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love, each vide explains one particular concept, without any talks but with a piano music.
These videos will make you want to travel the world...
After being forced to change the dates of several shows because of a serious chest infection, Adele was back on stage last week, in order to finish the tour that she had been forced to put on hold in Great-Britain.
And that's during the 20th of September's show at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo that the kindness of the singer was once again proved.
During her performance of Rolling In The Deep, a person faints in the crowd. Adele immediatly interrupts the show in order to ask for help, and doesn't start the concert again before being sure that the girl is ok and is taken care of.
It's not because you're an international star that you don't care about the others...
One Day On Earth is a unique project gathering thousands of participants around a same project: the gathering of videos, filmed the same day over all the planet during a 24 hours period.
The experience, which had been prepared since September 2008, happened for the first time on 10.10.10, and permitted to gather more than 3000 hours of videos; the success was so important that a new edition will happen on 11.11.11, in less than 50 days!
If you want to participate, visit the website: HERE.
What Should I Read Next is a websites which uses your favorite books in order to suggest you a list of books that you could like.
This website is more for passionate readers, but it's extremely useful when you have nothing left in your library!
This is how it works:
To start with, write the name of your favourite book, author, or the last book you read in the box. For example, I decided to write"Eat, Pray, Love" by d'Elizabeth Gilbert.
A list appears, and I chose the first title corresponding to my research.
The website then proposes me a list of books I could like; in order to know more about one title, you just have to click on the book-shaped icon!
Since I don't have anybody to interview for this week's 3 Questions to, I decided to answer 3 Questions about a topic we talk about a lot these days, mostly because of the last days' news: death penalty.
C : The death penalty, also called capital penalty, is a penalty programmed by the law that consists in executing a person condamned for a capital crime. The list of crumes considered as capital changes between the states; murderer, spying, rape, drugs traffic in big quantities, and even plane's detornment.
Q :In which countries is it still efficient?
C : As the map shows, death penalty is still efficient in a lot of countries, such as the USA, India, Asian countries and some African countries. However, in the USA, it is only practiced in 34 States out of 50.
Q :Does death penalty could stop soon?
C : It's hard to say. Many countries aren't ready to give up this practice, even if their citizens disagree with it. But in the USA, the number of executions has dropped of one third in 20 years. In some States, such as California or Maryland, death penalty hasn't been aplicated in more than 5 years; the experts think than in a few years, 5 new States could have given up death penalty. However, they say that the question could be discussed any moment in the Supreme Court of the USA, and death penalty could then be abolished by law in the USA.
The Hunger Games is a young adult books trilogy written by Suzanne Collins.
Here is the summary:
"In a dark future, on the ruins of the United States, a TV game is created in order to control the people thanks to the terror.
Twelve boys and twelve girls designated by fate participate to this terrible reality show, that everybody is forced to watch live. Only one rule exists in the arena: to survive, at any price. When her little sister is designated to participate to the Hunger Games, Katniss doesn't hesitate. She takes her place, conscient of the danger. At 16, Katniss has already been confronted to death several times. To her, survival is all her life..."
During the Hunger Games, the twelve tributes from 11 to 18 years old only have one rule to follow: kill each other until their's only one winner left. If they refuse to follow the rule, the arena is here to remind them that their lives don't mean anything.
The first book is being adapted to cinema, and the release is scheduled for March 2012.
Seiing its actual success and the upcoming movie, the trilogy could become the new litterary phenomenon, following the path of J.K. Rowling's and Stephanie Meyer's books.
Everynone is an anonymous person that created videos about everyone.
He tries to recreate the moments of a life, its laughs, cries, tears, oppositions, and words.
The videos are about simple topics: What's a moment? Which symmetry can we see between two opposites? What are the similarities of two different words?
It's a very beautiful study about the daily moments of our lives, and they are accessible to everybody.
Last January, I had spent the night watching the Golden Globes live, whereas I was supposed to be writing a cool article on a random topic for the magazine I wrote for at that time.
So tonight, local time midnight, I'm connected on the Emmys' read carpet Livestream, the ceremony's one, the backstage's one, as well as on Twitter and Tumblr, in order to follow people's reaction as the night goes by.
21st century girl much?
The main problem of the Emmys, it's that contrary to the Golden Globes who also give awards to the best movies, the Emmys only give awards to the best series. But I don't watch many of them; I used to watch Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill for a very long time (but none of the actors is nominated or even present), and I've watched a little bit of Pretty Little Liars (absents too); so in fact, I only watch Glee.
Lucky me, the series is nominated in 3 categories, and almost all the cast - that I love - is present. I decide to watch the Emmys only for them, and in order to find new series to watch.
The red carpet is interesting.
An awesome kid is interviewed, and to the question "What are you wearing tonight?", he answers "I'm only 12, so I don't know much about fashion!" He jokes a lot with the journalists, has an awesome smile, he's amazing.I discover his name is Nolan Gould, and he plays in Modern Family. Maybe I will start watching just for him!
At 0:50am, two wonderful male specimens are seen on the red carpet. I would almost give up my Nutella. It's a shame I don't know their names...
A girl I've never heard about is interviewed during a veeeery long time; hearing the way she speaks, she's either on drugs, drunk, or had a really bad cold. She's unbearable.
Harry Schum, Kewin McHale, Chris Colfer... I don't know where to look at. I can't breathe.
Until the girls arrive.
Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera are stunning, as usual. Pure beauty, classy and simple. Wonderful.
I hear that Mike Chang will sing and get more drama during Glee's season 3, whereas the site AfterElton tweets "Lea Michele's dress is the same red as the carpet, so she's just a disembodied head" ; in the menatime, an online poll reveals that the Award of the Best Dress Of The Evening is attributed to... Darren Chris. Who wears a tuxedo.
But the ceremony finallt begins, and I have to say that the introduction video is kind of awesome. Pure genius even. Partly because of the incredible talent of Jany Lynch, host of the 2011 Emmys.
The evening starts really well, and contrary to the Golden Globes, the presentation is a lot less official and classy, more about the humor and creativity.
I like that!
But shamely, the tiredness wins over me, and I go to bed.
Waking up the next morning, I learn that Glee lost its 3 nominations against Modern Family. If Nolan's Gould apparition on the red carpet hadn't already been enough, this finishes to convince me.
I guess Modern Family will be the next TV series I will watch.
For this new amazing experience, I will ask you to go in a dark room with the light on; yourwebcam must be turned on, and it's even better if the sound is on too.
Don't worry, I promise you it will be worth it!
But let me explain you the concept.
Once the website is ready, you find yourself in a little girl's bedroom, Ana Somnia, who asks you to turn off the light so that she can sleep.
That's what you do.
Once the light is turned off in your bedroom, the light also turns off in hers, and she starts sleeping.
The forms become alive, under the bed, behind the drawers, above the little girl's head... And you find yourself thrown in herdreams, higher and higher, deeper and deeper, following these amazing forms that develop and become alive under your eyes.
You can interrupt the experience whenever you want by turning on your light, which turns on the light in the little girl's bedroom, interrupting her dreams by the way!
You can take part of the experience Ana Somnia: HERE.
Did you know that most of the mammals – that the humans are part of – are genetically scheduled to take naps?
Yes, this tiredness that you generally feel between noon and 3pm is a result of our hormonal comportment. And taking a nap is the best way to overcome the feeling of being drained at the beginning of the afternoon!
Scientists recommend this practice, as it would be the origin of a diminution of a third of the mortality due to cardio-vascular diseases.
Besides, naps are good for your brain: they boost your memory and your creativity.
20 minutes only are enough!
Finally, we can distinguish3types of naps:
- the micro-nap: elle dure généralement moins de 5 minutes, et permet de ne pas trop ressentir la fatigue durant le reste de la journée.
- the power nap: she lasts between 10 et 30 minutes. It’s by far the most efficient, because it allows a sufficient rest while permitting an easy and fast awakening.
- the royal nap: it lasts more than an hour, but the awakening is difficult!
This week, we chose to interview Matthis, high school student and Volley-ball player in Saint Jean d'Illac's team.
C :What do you prefer in this sport?
Matthis : I don't know. It's how the game works, the fact that you can't make any mistake, because when the ball touches the ground, it's the end. You depend of yourteammates to win, if for example your passer gives you a bad ball to play, you have to do what needs to be done to make the ball go on the other side, and try to give the other team some difficulties, even if the ball you got wasn't an easy one to play. You also have to pay attention to your reception so that they would go straight on your passer, so that he doesn't have to move to much to send a ball that might not be good. So yeah, I like every aspect of thegame.
C :Tell me about your last game.
Matthis : It was an important game: it was the "little final" of the French Championship against Montpellier, and there was a big stake because our place on the podium depended of this game.
When we arrived at the training, we saw our opponents, who were a lot taller than us. It was a big advantage for them, because it made it easier for them to attack and block our own attacks.
The matck didn't start very well: we didn't play well, and they did. We lost the first set 25-14, and the second was starting just as bad, with 22-18 for them. They were only 3 points away from winning the game. But the passer of the opponent team did a smatched service, way more difficult than what he usually did. The ball went under the net, and we won an easy point. Then we succeeded in playing better, and won the set 25-23.
However, the third set started bad too; all the more is that it was only in15 points. The other team was scoring 12-8, again 3 points away from winning the match. That's when the passer completely messed his ball, so that his teammate couldn't send the ball back to our side. Paris' team, (which supported us), got up in the benches to shout "You're panicking! You're panicking!" In the end, we finnaly won the game 15-12, as well as the bronze medal.
C :A person who changed your sportive's life?
Matthis : My sport's teacher from 6th grade. Before, I had been playing tennis for a wile, for about 8 years; she directed me towards VolleyBall, and made me reach the level necessary to play as a team permanent member in Saint Jean d'Illac's team, as well as in the sportive section of my school.
Today, we're not going to talk about the release of some new album, but go back in time on the tracks of a band that has changed our perception of music: Fleetwood Mac.
And more precisely on their eleventh album, and maybe their biggest succes: Rumours.
After the success of their album eponymous released in 1976, the band had to face some serious internal problems : a divorce, an affair, or a complicated relationship between Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham gave birth to a set of rumors in the press and medias, most of them totally false.
The members of the band, unable to comunicate in any other way than by the music, had to go back to the studio before being able to sort their problems. And that's where everything is going to change.
Released in 1977, Rumours is the result of these problems and rumors, and can be considered as a therapy for the group Fleetwood Mac. The title Rumours was suggested by one of the group members who felt that they were all writing "journals and diaries" about each other through music.
The album's spirit changes from one song to another; indeed The Chain is the only song all the group members worked on together; the other songs, often written individually, talk about personal and often tensed relationships.
But let's see together the other songs that make this album an incredible musical revolution.
First of all, the famous Dreams, talking about a breakup. The ryhtm is lively, as the lyrics that easily stay stuck in your mind, allowing the song to rank n°1 in the Amercian charts: "Thunder only happens when it's raining, players only love you when they're playing..."
Never Going Back Again also is about a breakup, but in a more pessimistic way. On a personnal point of vue, it reminds me of the songs my parents used to listen when I was no more than 7 or 8, when Cat Stevens' Wild World used to play loudly in the house every Saturday morning. I think it might be the reason why I particularly like that song.
Ah Songbird. What can I say? The piano, the lyrics... Everything is here. The perfect recipy for the creation of an epic song. I'm ashamed to say that I'm not really a fan ofChristine McVie's voice in this song, but Naya Rivera's version had such an impact on me that I barely can untie myself of it.
I Don't Want To Know : A lively rythm, catchy lyrics, a song that stays stuck in your head... I like it. "Oh you say you love me but you don't know..."
Oh Daddy, a song that is described in its firsts lyrics. "Oh Daddy, you know you make me cry..." Yes, I want to cry each time I ear the first notes. The song was written in reference to
Oui, j'ai envie de pleurer à chaque fois que j'entends les premières notes. La chanson a été Fletwood, nicknamed "Big Daddy" by the rest of the group members.
Go Your Own Way has an optimisic and happy rythm that contrast with the lyrics (which, there again, talk about a breakup).
The songs You Make Loving Fun, Don't Stop, or Gold Dust Woman didn't strike a cord in me like the others did.
Stevie Nicks, vocalist of the group, used to consider that Fleetwood Mac composed their best music during crisis. She was right, as more than40 millions of albums were sold in the world, ranking Rumours n°1 of the Australian, Canadian, Néo Zealander, Dutch, South-African and English charts, as well as n°1 of the Bilboard Top.
To conclude, this album is almost 15 years older than me, but it's still incredibly topical. I was even surprised by its release date; the songs look recent, and could have been written at the beginning of the years 2000.
(Even if the quality of our era's music is getting worst and worst... But I'm going to stop ranting here, before going too far.)
