Christmas in town.

Merry christmas to all of you.
Julien

Send me an angel!

Je ne m'intéresse pas à la PETA, je suis amoureux de Famke Janssen :p
I don't care about PETA, i'm in love with Famke Janssen :p

Joyeux Noel

J'espère que vous avez été bien sages cette année.
Joyeux Noël à tous.
Passez de très bonnes fêtes de fin d'année.

La course à l'Elysée.

Peut-être l'avez-vous déjà vue ailleurs.
En tous cas, réfléchissez avant de voter. Ne vous fiez pas aux apparences.

Dragons

Flora, a pregnant Komodo dragon living in a zoo, is expecting eight babies in what scientists said on Wednesday could be a Christmas virgin birth. Flora has never mated, or even mixed, with a male dragon, and fertilised all the eggs herself, a process culminating in parthenogenesis, or virgin birth. Other lizards do this, but scientists only recently found that Komodo dragons do too.

I'd really like seing Komodo dragons in their natural environment. The biggest lezard i've ever seen was 1,50m long but was no Komodo dragon. They may exceed 3 meters.
Anyone to join me and go to Indonesia?

Flora, un dragon de Komodo femelle devrait donner naissance à huit bébés. Ce serait ce que les scientifiques appellent une immaculée conception de Noël. Flora n'a jamais rencontré de mâle; elle s'est auto-fécondée. C'est ce qu'on appelle la parthénogénèse. D'autres lézards en sont capables, mais les scientifiques n'ont découvert que récemment que les dragons de Komodo le pouvaient.

J'adorerais voir des dragons de Komodo dans leur milieu naturel. Le plus grand varan que j'ai jamais vu faisait environ 1,50m mais n'était pas un varan de Komodo. Les plus longs peuvent mesurer plus de 3 mètres.
Des volontaires pour m'accompagner en Indonésie?

Places i like in my city.

These are three pics of some places i like in Nantes.
The first two are testimonies of the past. They show us how the city changed and remind us how it was before.
The first pic shows a door that was, two centuries ago, at the same level as the street.
The second seems to be a chimney, though i'm not sure about that. It was inside the building before it was destroyed, anyway.
Not outside :)
The third is a curiosity in town: a very small vineyard, right in town center. Sadly, i've never had a chance to taste the wine.

La solution Sarkozy?

© Delize

"Si je suis élu Président de la République, plus aucun SDF ne dormira dehors!"*

J'ai du mal à comprendre que des gens intelligents puissent prononcer de pareilles promesses. Même si la période pré-électorale peut constituer une excuse, il convient de mesurer son propos.
Ce qui est "amusant" avec Nicolas Sarkozy, c'est qu'il n'agit pas maintenant. Il promet toujours beaucoup d'action pour après l'élection et ne fait surtout rien avant.
Après tout, ça semble fonctionner. Selon un sondage BVA publié mercredi par Orange, 64% des sondés estiment qu'il serait meilleur pour lutter contre l'insécurité que Ségolène Royal.
Je ne dis pas qu'elle serait meilleure; je pense seulement qu'il est ministre de l'intérieur depuis 2002 (exception faite de son bref passage à Bercy) et qu'il avait tout le temps d'agir.

Avant de voter, prenez le temps de la réflexion.

*[Lionel Jospin avait également fait une promesse de ce genre en 2002]

Broken heart.

Could a heart that was once broken love again?
Yes? No?
Yes, of course. It's just a bit more difficult.

Songs and dances of death: a few explanations.

How strange it is to like something about death! I don't think so.
I don't consider death as a taboo, nor something you don't talk about.
In a way, death fascinates me. I don't mean dying, i'm interested in what the poetic meaning of death may involve...as far as you can imagine death could be poetic.
Anyway, i like those songs because they touched me, they made me feel a lot of emotions and because they were poetry, at first.
Moreover, it's part of my ambivalence: loving life, hating death, but being seduced by her.
In those songs, death is ambivalent too. She's revealed in her all cruelty in the first two songs (Lullaby & Serenade), inopportune and bursting unexpectedly.
Nevertheless, she's able to be an angel in disguise in the other songs (Trepak & The field marshal): inviting a drunkard to a dance, or reconciling the dead soldiers brought into conflict by life.
The "songs and dances of death" really are good music to me.

Songs and dances of death 4/4: The field marshal.

The battle thunders, the armour flashes,
The bronze guns roar,
The regiments rush, the steeds gallop,
And red rivers flow.

Midday burns, men are fighting!
The sun sinks in the sky, battle's fiercer still!
Sunset grows pale, but the foes clash
Ever more grimly and viciously!

And night fell on the field of battle.
The armies parted in the gloom...
There was a great calm, and in the haze of night
The groans flew up towards the heavens.

And then, lit up by the moon,
On his war horse,
Flashing the white of his bones,
Death appeared. And in the stillness,

Listening to the wails and prayers,
Full of proud contentment,
Like a field marshal, he rode around
The place of battle.

He rode up on to a hill and then looked back,
Stopped and smiled...
And above the plain of battle
A fateful voice rang out:

"The battle is over! I have defeated everyone!
You have all submitted to me warriors!
Life sowed enmity between you, but i have reconciled you!
Stand up, all friends together, to be inspected by me, my dead!

Walk past me in a triumphant march,
I wish to count my troops!
And, after, lay down your bones in the earth,
It's sweet to have a rest from life in the earth!

The years will fly past unnoticed,
Among men even the memory of you will die.
But i shall not forget! And loudly above you
I shall always hold a feast at the midnight hour!

With a dance, a heavy dance, i shall tread down
The damp earth, so that your bones for all eternity
Will never be able to leave the shelter of the grave,
So that you will never rise from the earth!"


Music by Modest MUSSORGSKY
Lyrics by Arseny GOLENICHTCHEV-KOUTOUSSOV

Why don't i like celebrating my birthday?

Because friends make me look like this!!

P.S: The cigar is a delicious Siglo VI by Cohiba.

And you? What do you do with your iPod?

I just read this today. I found it so funny that i wanted to share with you.

Recently, Apple Computer Inc has sued a japanese firm involved in sex toys. This company created a device called the "gPod" that you can plug in your iPod.
There are three sound-activated motors inside that make the gPod vibrate.
Good music, good vibrations :)

La société Apple Computer Inc poursuit une société japonaise qui fabrique des "jouets" pour adultes.
Le dernier né s'appelle le "gPod": il se branche sur l'iPod et grâce à trois moteurs intégrés il vibre au rythme de la musique :)

And moses said: " contemplate god's omnipotence!"

Si Moïse revenait aujourd'hui...il serait bien surpris.
C'est une pub de la "Surfrider Foundation" qui vise à protéger les océans et les mers de la planète.
Ne laissez pas vos déchets, ni à la plage, ni en mer.

If Moses would come back now he won't split the ocean anymore because of the mess. This is an ad from the "Surfrider Foundation France" involved in the protection of the oceans.
Please don't throw away your garbage on the beach nor in the ocean.

Songs and dances of death 3/4: Trepak*.

Forest, and clearings, not a soul all around;
The blizzard both cries and moans.
It feels as if in the gloom of night
The Grim One is burying somebody.

Behold, that's just how it is! In the darkness
Death is embracing and caressing a peasant;
Death dances a trepak together with the drunk,
And croons a song in his ear:

"Oh, dear little peasant, miserable old man,
You got dead drunk, and plodded off on your way;
But a snowstorm, the witch, blew up and started to rage,
And drove you by chance from the field into the thick forest.

Wearied by misfortunes, melancholy and poverty,
Lie down, curl up for a nap, and go to sleep, my dear one!
And I shall, my friend, warm you up with a little light snow,
Around you i shall set a great game in motion.

You, white swan snowstorm, shake up the bed!
Hey, give us a lead, set the tune, foul weather!
Sing a fairy story, and one wich will drag on all night,
So that the old drunkard will be able to fall sound asleep to it.

Oh, you forests, heavens, and storm clouds,
Darkness, breeze, and snow flurry,
Roll up into a shroud, a snowy eiderdown,
With witch i shall cover, like a baby, the little old man.

Sleep, my good friend, happy little peasant,
Summer is here and in bloom! Above the cornfield
The dear sun is smiling, and the scythes are in full swing,
There's a song in the air, and doves are flying..."


* a "Trepak" is a fast dance.


Music by Modest MUSSORGSKY
Lyrics by Arseny GOLENICHTCHEV-KOUTOUSSOV

Am i that bad?

Two days ago, i had a (long) conversation over the phone with a friend. I can't say she didn't surprise me.

I mock people a lot. I like that. I do it very often. My friends are used to it. They know i don't mean to hurt them. I want us to have fun.
In my case, it's one way to prove others i'm interested in them.
I'm very different with people i don't like: much more colder.
And i'm fair: i laugh at others, i laught at me, as well. I do say i have a sense of humour. Trust me on this. I like when people mock me.

Anyway, she told me that, sometimes, i did hurt her. Though she knows i'm not serious when i say bad things about her, when i put some of her "bad sides" under the light, she did feel hurt.
I was so surprised. You may tell me i should know that...i don't.
I really do it very innocently. It's just fun, not much. I don't intend to hurt anyone.
She told me i must be careful sometimes, especially with new people (who don't really know me yet). I might never see them again.

She's spending this weekend with me. I promised i'd be more careful.

How rich are you?

In their last report, United Nations denounce the disparities of PATRIMONIES, even more striking that disparities of INCOMES.
A figure stands out from this report: 1700€. This separates the world population in two. On one side, there are those whose patrimony exceeds 1700€. It means the value of all the possessions you have.
On the other side, there are those whose patrimony is lower than 1700€: half of the world population.

An internet site helps you to figure out your position in the world. Bill Gates is the world richest man. What about you?
Click on global rich list Seize your incomes and the site calculates your rank in the world.
For example, someone who earns 15 000€ a year reaches the 684 millionth rank in the world, among 6 billion individuals. It means this person is among the 11% richest persons in the world.
I'm not saying he/she's rich. This site just shows us, as the UN report, that more than half of the world population is really poor.
Try to care.

Dans sa dernière étude, l'ONU dénonce les inégalités de patrimoines, encore plus criantes que les inégalités de revenus. Un chiffre ressort de ce rapport, 1.700 euros. Ce chiffre sépare la population mondiale en deux. Il y a d'un côté, ceux dont le patrimoine dépasse les 1.700 euros. C'est à dire la valeur de l'ensemble de vos biens.
Et il y a ceux dont le patrimoine est inférieur à 1.700 euros, c'est l'autre moitié de la population mondiale.

Il existe un site Internet qui vous permet de vous situer sur l'échelle Mondiale. Bill Gates est l'homme le plus riche du monde, et vous, quel est votre rang ? Réponse sur le site global rich list. Saisissez vos revenus et le site calcule votre rang mondial.
Exemple, une personne payée au smic 15 000 euros par an arrive à la 684 millionième place mondiale sur 6 milliards d'individus. C'est à dire qu'elle est dans le TOP 11% des plus nantis.
Bien sûr, on ne va pas dire que c'est facile de vivre avec le SMIC, en France. Non, l'objectif de ce site Internet, comme de ce rapport de l'ONU, c'est simplement de nous sensibiliser à la grande misère qui touche plus de la moitié de la population mondiale.

Contre le racisme dans les stades

site de la licra

Don't let girls stay uneducated

I decided to post this pic for two reasons.
First, because of the message. Education is one main way to help people in fighting poverty. This ad is particularly clear; it's simple with a strong visual.
Second, you know how much i like photography. This one is just beautiful.

Unicef in Turkey
Unicef

La paille dans l'oeil du voisin...la poutre dans le notre...

Lu dans "Marianne" ce weekend:

"...Si Vladimir Poutine demandait aux syndicats de la presse russe de lui sélectionner cinq journalistes auxquels il octroierait une interview dûment relue et corrigée, avec consigne de la faire passer telle quelle dans tous les journaux du pays, on imagine la réaction consternée des médias français, qui y verraient une nouvelle preuve du retour aux moeurs d'antan.
Or c'est à cette opération que s'est livré Nicolas Sarkozy, à quoi 90% de nos confrères de la presse régionale se sont gentiment pliés, malgré les réticences de quelques titres vraiment indépendants, par exemple SUD-OUEST, et la forte réaction critique du Syndicat National des Journalistes (SNJ).
Nouveau pas vers le journal unique. L'ami de Lagardère parle aux employés de Lagardère. A vos ordres, chef!"

En lisant ceci je me suis dit que je dois être "endormi", ou peu vigilant, ou...pour ne l'avoir pas relevé par moi même.
Ce que j'aurais sans doute critiqué de la part de Poutine, ou d'un autre, je ne l'ai même pas vu de la part de Sarkozy.
Est-ce parce que cela se passe en France, terre des Droits de l'Homme. Cela doit-il me donner le sentiment que rien ne peut y porter atteinte.
Pourtant la liberté de la presse fait partie des libertés protégées (article 11 DDHC et loi du 29/07/1881 sur la liberté de la presse).
Bien sûr nous ne sommes pas la Russie ou la corée du nord...néanmoins, cet article me rappelle qu'il nous revient de faire attention à cela. C'est de notre liberté qu'il s'agit.

Songs and dances of death 2/4: Serenade.

An enchanting voluptuousness, a pale blue night,
The trembling twilight of spring...
Her sweet head hanging, an ailing maid listens
To the whisper of the nocturnal stillness.

No sleep closes her lustrous eyes,
Life invites one to taste pleasure;
But under the window, in the silence of midnight,
Death is singing a serenade:

"In the gloom of a captivity harsh and cramped
Your youth grows pale and fades;
But I, a mysterious knight, with my miraculous power
Shall set you free.

Arise and look at yourself: there is beauty
In the gleam of your transparent countenance,
Your cheeks are rosy, and a wavy pigtail
Is wrapped around your body like a storm cloud;

Your intent eyes' light-blue radiance
Is brighter than the heavens or fire;
Your breath holds a midday's sultriness...
You have seduced me.

Your ears were captivated by my serenade,
Your whisper summoned this knight.
The knight has come for the last reward:
The hour of ecstasy has come.

Your body is tender, your trembling thrilling.
Oh, i shall smother you
In my tight embrace; my lover's babbling
Listen to it...be silent...You are mine!"


Music by Modest MUSSORGSKY
Lyrics by Arseny GOLENICHTCHEV-KOUTOUSSOV

This one is my favorite.

Hahaha!!

Thank you Gage :))

Litvinenko empoisonné au polonium 210

from International Herald Tribune
© Chappatte

Funny!

Go to google.com
type: "miserable failure"
and click on "i'm feeling lucky"
see what happens :)

For the french / Pour les français:
allez sur google.fr
tapez "gros balourd" ou "ministre blanchisseur" ou bien "iznogoud"
et cliquez sur "j'ai de la chance"
:)

Merci Régine!