38thparallel

Spiders and Knights

Sun, 06 May 2012 16:03:13 GMT

On Friday, I discovered a new neighbor residing beneath the (very modest) overhang above our front porch. I should probably amend that to new neighbors since there appears to be ( children. )

I feel like I get off task so easily here, mostly because nearly a week goes by before I have the time to update. For the record, I did uncover additional juicy details related to the elusive French knight, Thomas de Marle (Marly)! He was allegedly nasty (as already reported), but on an even more interesting point, he was also a crusader (which is a thought-provoking juxtaposition)! I am having to retrace my search, but will try very hard to compile an entertaining update on the Lord of Coucy and other fascinating brigands.

Meanwhile, just trying to keep cool in the sweltering heat and away from our combative horseflies!

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Runner's High

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:20:59 GMT

The Evolution of the Runner's High (NY Times)

One of the best things about this story (aside from the tale of reluctant ferrets) is the discussion of endocannabinoid -- like marijuana, but naturally occurring (in the body)! For humans and for dogs! Whaaaat?

When I run, it usually takes about 2 miles for me to no longer want to surgically remove my knee via Civil War era medical science. After about mile 4, I can achieve a pretty heady high that lasts into the first part of my workday (fortunately for my coworkers :D). Sometimes, however, I just feel like my legs are blocks of concrete and my head is a balloon about to dislodge from my shoulders. And then there are the mornings when I'm so stoked to be chasing the sunrise, my face hurts from smiling (embarrassing running moments -- grateful to be running in the dark).

Your thoughts and experiences concerning the mysterious exercise high?

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Chivalry and Highwaymen

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 01:30:23 GMT

If you are even somewhat interested in the history of knights, knighthood, chivalry or feudalism, Sidney Painter's French Chivalry: Chivalric Ideas and Practices in Medieval France is the place to be. Painter was a Johns Hopkins medievalist from 1931 until his death in 1960. He studied the political and social histories of medieval England and taught English and medieval history at Hopkins. His work is about what you'd expect from the Ivory Tower, but without all of the posturing and mind-numbing detail.

In French Chivalry, Painter briefly mentions the "notorious noble brigand Thomas de Marly" whom the church declared unworthy of knighthood (due to undisclosed dastardly deeds). I've been trying to track de Marly, but can only find additional vague commentary (from Painter) on de Marly's character. According to Painter, de Marly was a "fierce lord, who was the terror of the countryside and a lecherous, sadistic enemy of all mankind . . ." One other source (Warfare in Feudal Europe, 730-1200 by John Beeler) claims de Marly was mortally wounded outside his "castle of Coucy" after giving King Louis VI the slip for 15 years. A notorious, fierce, lecherous, sadistic brigand with zero Internet presence! Immense disappointment! In French Chivalry, Painter footnotes sparingly, which makes the usual route to ancillary sources a virtual dead end (especially with my very rudimentary French). Ar! History is frustrating!

Fortunately, (I am not completely dispirited!) the search for de Marly has uncovered a few interesting characters in the way of highwaymen and river pirates specific to early America. I'll try to compile a list/ narrative of the more interesting bandits and their adventures, but fair warning: some of these tales register on the level with Wieland.

Is there anything more spooky than the American frontier?

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Vacation Day: One (productivity, maybe?)

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:33:14 GMT

I am tremendously stoked! Today marks the birth of a four-day weekend and I've willed myself out of bed and to the computer to finally log some time on an orig fic!

I've been trying to stick with one genre (that is, the genre I'm trying to write) as far as my recent reading habits go. I've found many interesting, thoughtful novels and nonfic on the subject, but for every good book in existence, I find another of pretty lackluster quality. I just finished a historical mystery that was equivalent to a 318 page inquest with a few cardboard boxes for characters. 4 1/2 stars on Shelfari, say what? Are there many books in your genre that make you look askance at the publisher and go: whaaat?

Today is also a rest day, because: ow, shin splints GTFO! The wear on my running shoes is pretty apparent, but I'm such a halfwit when it comes to my soles, unless there's a visible hole, I just keep going. Once the shin splints and ankle soreness set in, however, I know it's only a matter of weeks before my legs go on strike. So! Last night, I went a'shoppin' and bought a new pair of Kinvaras. Ah ha! No one can say: I didn't see her coming!

:D!

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Headfirst into Another Week

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:20:22 GMT

If there's one thing I've learned (about life) from following a training schedule, it's to allow for the unexpected, however irritating. Week 2 flew by successfully, aside from that minor episode of wanting to vomit all over the inside of my truck (the day was insanely hot and I'd run particularly hard [because my brain and legs sometimes fail to communicate]). Last week (week 3) required a bit more creativity, especially with jury duty thrown in. I made 16 miles, but just barely (and by squeezing in a 3 miler this morning, which probably should have happened yesterday, but by the time I woke up it was already 87 degrees and I sidled off for iced tea and a good book instead). All of that with several unplanned rain days thrown in and my true training schedule looks nothing like anything I've actually planned, other than the mileage totals. I will say, however, that building endurance pays off! I no longer want to collapse into a bush at mile 3!

In the meantime, I've been well-insulated with a historical fic book series and the usual writing projects. I wonder if there's a way to coordinate my training schedule with a heretofore nonexistent writing schedule? I'm becoming dependent upon timetables. :/

And finally, STC and I got our spring/summer garden off the ground (heh) last week. We're going in for tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, beans, and peas this year (with an emphasis on tomatoes, per the 10 plants currently poking out of our side yard). STC built a box for herbs and another for flowers, both of which have been invaded by ants. I covered the burgeoning hills with instant grits this AM. Either I've just provided the ants with an endless supply of food or an irresistible mode of death (by grits)! Old southern folklore? We shall see!

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There's a brain cell in here somewhere, right?

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 21:22:44 GMT

How to Blow Up Two Heads at Once (Ladies), sculpture by Yinka Shonibare.

Wow. Credit to the Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide for introducing me to Shonibare's work. The African-style textiles colliding with European sculptures (with all of their colonial/postcolonial undertones) are magnetic! Wow (again).

I survived week 1! ( Training Report (and notes on running past fraternity houses). )

Meanwhile, thanks to the semi-underground book swap at my office, I've given my brain over (every last cell) to the Fever series by Karen Moning. First off, I do not read urban fantasy! I've never read urban fantasy! My coworker chucked the first book on my desk last Monday, told me one of our other colleagues couldn't "get into" it, and that it was my turn to try. Hm? Seemed harmless and I could use a break from the historical fiction/mystery series I'd recently started (which was beginning to feel like reading the same book over and over again). So, I read the first book in the Fever series, and then read the next two books in two days (running to my truck at lunch, frantically stuffing my face and turning pages for an hour). Now, I've got 150 pages left in the 4th book before I launch myself headfirst into the 5th and final book. Has anyone else read this series? Am I going to need an intervention?

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10k Training: Week 1

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:58:25 GMT

This weekend, I was poking around our local sporting goods store, searching for a pair of running shorts that wouldn't give the impression of two parachutes billowing around my thighs, when I discovered the Crescent City Classic 10k training program! I've missed the deadline to register, but I intend to train (and train and train) into oblivion. To keep me honest and on schedule, I thought I'd keep a few notes here as I go. Behold, this week's schedule!

Sun	4 Miles	Mon	3 Miles	Tues	Rest	Wed	4 Miles
Thurs	3 Miles	Fri	Rest	Sat	6 Miles	Sun	3 Miles

This is probably one of the better training programs, (at last that I've seen). By week 5, I'll be tackling a 10 mile run every Saturday, and once I plateau on distance, the program starts incorporating speed training.

Anywho, as far as notes go, I ran 4 miles on a somewhat hilly route this morning. There was a good bit of wind resistance and a rather persistent cramp telling me that I needed to hydrate, but an otherwise good run! My right calf was sore at first, but after a 10 minute warm-up (and mental dialog upon the theme: I'm not stopping calf, so start working), the soreness went away. Now, I'm just tired and consuming food to make up for my on-the-go 200 calorie breakfast. One thing is already very apparent: if I'm to complete a 10 mile run in 5 weeks, I definitely need to eat more! Anyone know of any delicious high protein, meatless/low meat meals?

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Stuart Britain and Book Bazaar

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:37:00 GMT

Gentlemen in periwigs, I am conflicted!

I spent last week in Stuart Britain, passively stalking Duke Hamilton and Baron Mohun from a 300 year vantage point. I am a visual person and hunt tirelessly for sketches, paintings, photographs--anything that might give me a better idea of what I should be imagining. My knowledge of Stuart Britain is sparse and my image searches, therefore, many. Hamilton and Mohun were rakes . . . no, RAKES, but look, do you find them very rakish? Baron Mohun and Duke Hamilton. Is it the wigs? Very pretty wigs! But how I would love to see portraits of these men without their hairpieces, boasting their shaven heads!

Yesterday's used book sale was a success! It took some maneuvering and quite a few intimate moments with other people's armpits and groins, but all sacrifices paid off! Honestly, I was probably the most offensive shopper, arriving after a long run, clad in my running clothes and stinking up the fiction section. After the sale, we returned home, dumped our books onto the coffee table and gave in to the contentment that is dusty, discolored pages. One of the most exciting aspects of the book sale, aside from the plethora of cheap reading material, are the things one finds INSIDE his newly purchased, old book! STC and I have a nice collection of ancient boarding passes, interesting inscriptions, and the ominous (startlingly frequent) coded message from readers of yore: the forgotten bookmark. My new biography of Cromwell still has an old bookmark stuffed inside the introduction. Yikes! Sorry Oliver!

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Donating Blood

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:30:50 GMT

I accompanied STC (who is a veteran blood donor) to our local blood donation center yesterday. I've never given blood and part of the reason I agreed to join STC was to witness the process firsthand before agreeing to bleed into a bag. My rational self acknowledges that donating blood isn't any worse (and is probably a lot more comfortable) than donating marrow, but my irrational self insists on conjuring horrific images and sensations that by definition are totally absurd. As expected, STC's donation was completely uneventful and lasted all of 10 minutes. I swore that I would pitch in a pint next time and then distracted my selfless companion with lunch. Honestly, I'm still intimidated by the thought of a hollow needle poking, however innocuously, inside my vein for 10 minutes. I think donating blood is an important (dare I say?) duty and one that can result in lifesaving consequences with very little inconvenience to the donor. I have GOT to overcome the unreasonable squick!

Have you donated blood? And did you survive?

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Book Bazaar!

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 03:04:54 GMT

Tonight, I harass you with an Anglo-Saxon riddle:

I am a strange creature, for I satisfy women . . .
I grow very tall, erect in a bed,
I'm hairy underneath, from time to time
a beautiful girl, the brave daughter
Of some fellow dares to hold me
Grips my reddish skin, robs me of my head
And puts me in the pantry. At once that girl
With plaited hair who has confined me
Remembers our meeting. Her eye moistens.

What am I?

In less than one week, the "Friends of the LSU Libraries" will host their annual Book Bazaar, the best and most anticipated three days of the year. The "friends" fill the 4-H Mini-Farm and Nelson Memorial Buildings with a seemingly endless collection of used books, DVDs, CDs, and records. The dedicated shopper is thrust into the cutthroat world of book-shopping, which oftentimes involves finding your face level with someone's ass or crotch, or squeezed in beside someone rather sweaty, stinky, or just plain greedy and probably treading on your foot or knocking you backward to reach some priceless paperback. Each day, the friends restock the shelves with more books from their endless stores. Oh, the element of suspense! This year, I'll try a new method (and practice moderation), that is, snatch up anything relevant to Richard III, quality history and historical fiction, the classics, and anything even remotely sexy (right?). Just say no to those old crochet guides and gardening magazines.

From the LSU website:

Some of the books at the 2012 Book Bazaar will include an ample collection of Southern fiction; more than 5,000 history books including Southern, Civil War and military history; 6,000 children's books; 2,400 cookbooks; many beautiful large-format art books; 2,000 science fiction books; and more than 1,000 vinyl record albums. For mystery and suspense lovers, there will be more than 4,000 titles to chose from.

Additional highlights for the 2012 Book Bazaar include a number of rare Louisiana books and pamphlets about New Orleans, 19th and 20th century leather-bound books and sets, Civil War books, and a large collection of metallurgy, blacksmithing and ironwork books. There will also be a rare collection of children’s books in braille.

I'll give a full account next week to assess my self-restraint and to report on the state of my fellow shoppers' backsides.

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Roundup

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:51:01 GMT

Just enough time to come up for air during this long Mardi Gras weekend:

+ Tinariwen won a Grammy for Best World Music. Good news for Tinariwen, but not enough to overshadow the crisis in Mali.

+ Actor Richard Armitage wants to spearhead a project to resurrect the character of Richard III! Say whaaat?

+ Anyone watching Downton Abbey, Season 2?

+ I did finally discover the identity of my imagined Cesare Borgia, actor Christo Jivkov. The photo is from an Italian film, Il mestiere delle armi, wherein Jivkov plays Giovanni de' Medici. Only about a 20 year disparity, good try!

+ And who knew there existed such a plethora of Anne Boleyn crossovers? Cesare Borgia and Anne? Arthur and Anne? Guy of Gisborne and Anne? Hey look, Richard Armitage.

And now we're full circle.

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My Life Guided By Humor

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:32:38 GMT

So, feared my knee would collapse today while I pushed into mile four, but luckily (as I was trailing a hot, x-country man while I pounded downhill, my knee buckling into full crunch mode) the only apparent result of the added mileage is a little soreness in my calves. Once I got back around to my starting point, I immediately fell into stretches and silently willed away any lurking injury. There is no possible way I will ever consider entertaining an injury. If I have to drag my leg behind me, so be it.

An otherwise cold, book-laden day, here. I've got 236 left of The Sunne in Splendour before I gush forth with praise and fanfare (and unexpected sympathy for Richard). I know Penman has been winning over readers since the 80s, but holy hell I'm easily swayed, aren't I?

What would Mark Twain say about that?

I am not encouraged!

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Ramona Falls and College Radio

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:27:17 GMT

I am extremely grateful to peculiaritea for introducing me to Ramona Falls. I phoned in a request to KLSU this PM and was told: "Ramona Falls? I don't think she's in the system." Say what!? Good lord, KLSU, time to broaden your spectrum beyond Sleigh Bells and Joanna Newsom?

In all honesty (and fairness), KLSU is one of the best things to come out of Baton Rouge. The station has kept me ignorant of popular culture for almost 5 years and nothing yet has matched that achievement in efficacy or benefit.

What I'm listening to.

What are you listening to?

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The Sunne in Splendour and Chick Lit (?)

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:42:24 GMT

Had to postpone this AM's run due to thunderstorms, and while I don't mind running in the rain, I do mind running away from lightning. So, I reluctantly pushed my run to Sunday AM and then immediately lost myself inside The Sunne in Splendour, a novel about England's Richard III. I knew, based on reviews, to expect impressive writing and character development, but The Sunne in Splendour has so overwhelmed me with its awesome, I'm almost completely consumed. True, it doesn't hurt that Sharon Penman is sympathetic to Richard, and while I'm not an avowed Yorkist, (nor am I a Richard III apologist) it is nice to see Richard in a kinder light. Conversely, however, Margaret of Anjou, Somerset, John Clifford, et al. appear exceptionally evil.

Anyway, prior to The Sunne in Splendour, I forced myself through two "chick lit" novels loaned to me by a friend. I have nothing against any genre, but these books, (by Cathy Lamb), seemed to follow an established formula wherein hurt, abused, angry women come together to overcome personal challenges and to possibly meet nice, loving men (and to [sometimes] discuss procreation). I don't know what to say other than: really? Lamb's writing is funny and light, and I hate to pronounce my dislike so thoroughly, but I like to believe there's more to an inspiring story and to an inspirational heroine than a woman sharing pain with other women, finding a nice man, and having children.

Is it too much to ask for a woman to go to battle in full armor astride a stallion (I'm talking about a warhorse here, people)?

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A Week of Kindness

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:38:58 GMT

Max Ernst's Une semaine de bonté is my go-to passport for vacations from the mundane. Check it:

This is probably one of the most widely used/uploaded images from the book, which is over 200 pages. The novel covers the days of the week and seven deadly elements: mud, water, fire, blood, blackness, sight, and unknown. Une semaine de bonté is a beautiful surrealistic novel, staggering in its (awesome) entirety. ( Two of my favorite images from the novel. )

Tonight, I discovered the French film, Judex, which seems to draw inspiration from some of Ernst's collages. Regardless of whether Ernst's work had any influence on Judex, check that clip!

( For comparison: )

Ah, this stuff is groovy! My brain feels like a pretzel.

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Online Plagiarism

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 23:28:45 GMT

A warning to writers who upload their work in entirety to free hosting sites:

On Amazon, An Uneasy Mix Of Plagiarism And Erotica

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Running Etiquette

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 01:45:23 GMT

I originally made this post concerning running etiquette at the runners community, but would like to get your thoughts on the subject, too.

Lately, I've been running in the morning before work, which I guess coincides with my neighbor's dogs' outdoor schedule. Problem is, my neighbor releases his dogs (pit bull and golden retriever) into the early morning darkness without a leash or human supervision. The dogs just run. Anyway, the dogs usually run alongside, jump, and get underfoot, but are otherwise pretty harmless. There's a major highway near my house, and while I do worry that they might run out into traffic, they never seem to wander quite that far. My question is, how should I approach my neighbor? He's barely an acquaintance and lives several houses away, so we're not on speaking terms of any sort. Plus, when he lets the dogs out, he goes back inside the house and shuts the door. Is it weird for me to knock and inquire about the dogs' ownership? Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I despise conflict especially between neighbors, but spending my AM runs tripping over canines is really not ideal.

While on the topic of running/outdoor etiquette, I'd also like your opinion on running, walking, and biking on the correct side of the street. Were you taught to move with traffic (as if you were driving) or against traffic? I was taught to run with traffic, but am constantly encountering people running or walking toward me on the same side of the street. Most cyclists bike on what I consider the correct side of the street (and are very polite and observant when it comes to safety, which makes me think they know what they're doing). It's primarily walkers and other runners that I find myself having to swerve into the street or onto the grass to avoid. It's certainly not a huge deal (as there are people running on both sides of the street in various directions), but I often wonder if anyone else learned the "right" and "wrong" sides of the street?

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Fox Hunt in Delhi, 1940s

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:36:43 GMT

I just discovered this photo and the photographer, Homai Vyarawalla, at NPR's website. There is actually a much more impressive version of the photograph with intense, (sort of) distorted sunlight in the upper left corner. I think everything about this photograph is beautiful, especially the impression that the hunt is just afoot.

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Tinariwen on NPR

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:28:48 GMT

Tinariwen: Tiny Desk Concert! Awesome as usual.

Click the link below the video to download the audio!

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Your humble opinion?

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 23:09:09 GMT

Oho, it's time for a public confession! One of the few things I miss about LJ (second to the friends I left behind) are the interesting, active communities. Specifically (ok, and maybe these aren't exactly interesting in a mature, intelligent way, I admit that), I miss communities like Historical Love and Literary_Crush (an impatient Google search did not yield a link -- I'm not making this up, am I? Wait, here it is!), where people shared photos, writing (fic/nonfic), thoughtful discussion, etc. about exceptional people in history and fiction. Are there communities like these at DW? If not, do they sound like communities worth initiating? Personally, I'd like to stoke up a community modeled after Historical Love. There are too many excellent personages buried deep in antiquity to let them all go by without an "ay-oh!" But seriously, destined to clog the DW bandwidth and I should discuss the merits of long-dead folks in my own journal, or worth a shot?

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Bombino @ Jazz Fest 2012!

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 03:13:53 GMT

Bombino is scheduled to perform at Jazz Fest 2012! The best news for an otherwise spectacularly grouchy day, during which your obt. servant chewed the heads of three colleagues.

Tomorrow AM: one enormously long run, just me and the backwoods newspaper delivery guy (who tries to run me over). Beautiful, immaculate solitude.

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Nabil Otmani, Mariachi El Bronx, and RFI

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:28:20 GMT

Sedryk at Reaktion (salut, Sedryk!) has a knack for capturing amazing live footage of stellar musicians playing songs that sound phenomenal live (and strikingly different than their studio versions). J'adore Nabil Otmani's Djanet, especially the live/acoustic version below.

Man, I'm out of touch with popular culture. Have you heard of Mariachi El Bronx? Where West Coast punk rock meets mariachi?

And lastly, RFI is a fantastic resource for English speakers trying to learn French. The website offers simplified news stories, podcasts, and interactive lessons and quizzes at their Learn French page. I've been listening to L'affaire du coffret, a podcast mystery about a British man (Lucas), who wakes up in Paris with 20,000 € and no memory. The podcast is designed to familiarize listeners with French vocabulary and common French phrases. The episodes are approximately 5-7 minutes in length. In the fourth episode, Lucas receives a call from Commissaire Magne (police), who has a remarkably sexy voice. The name of the episode is Allô? C'est la police! No les squelettes (as of yet)!

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Language, Terakaft, and Faris

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:31:19 GMT

Recently, I've noticed the people around me misusing words. For example, I have a coworker who uses the word "welp" to refer to a "welt" and a friend who says "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes." Most of the mistakes, it seems, are auditory, (as in my friends haven't seen the words or phrases in written form [or seen them often enough] to use the correct words when speaking). What's most interesting however, is not that my friends misuse the words, but that other people respond as if nothing is amiss. I'm guilty of this, as well, mostly because the mistakes seem very minor and I don't make a habit of correcting my friends (especially not in the presence of other people). But anyway, how fascinating is that? It's like watching language and meaning evolve in real-time!

So, I have discovered that Terakaft is on tour and that all of their tour dates are in France (and Algeria). Bummer. On September 12, 2011, they released a single in collaboration with another Tuareg musician, Faris. The single is called Derhan Alkher (which translates to We want only the best for her). The lyrics (in Tamasheq and English) are ( behind the cut. )

You can listen to the song here. Annnd, I've found an awesome series of videos of Terakaft and Faris playing a show in what appears to be a tent? The two versions of Derhan Alkher (studio and live) sound very different. At approx. 3:10, you can see members of the audience getting their grooves on! The band themselves groove pretty hard at 3:59.

I'm stoked about Faris. He is biracial (Italian and Tuareg) and was raised in Europe. I found a great interview with him at Tamasheq.net. The interview is in French, but you can see a photograph of Faris without his cheche. He talks about the combined influence of Western music (Hendrix) and Tinariwen, and his longing to return to the desert. When asked about musicians who have influenced him, Faris responded:

Ce sont Keddou et Abraybone, mais je ressens aussi l'influence très forte de Inteyeden. Les autres Touaregs me disent souvent que j'ai repris sa façon de jouer et de composer.

Keddou (Terakaft/Tinariwen), Abraybone (Ibrahim of Tinariwen), and Inteyeden. He goes on to say that other Tuaregs often tell him he writes and plays like Inteyeden!!!

Faris is insightful and well-spoken on the political situation in North and West Africa. He laments poverty, religious fanaticism, corruption, and the loss of culture. At the end of the interview, he elaborates on singing and writing in Tamasheq. Educated in France and Italy, Faris says he felt alone and hopeless in his struggle to learn Tamasheq. Yet, when he realized he wasn't the only Tuareg unfamiliar with the language, he took heart and pressed on.

Encore maintenant, je mets 10 fois plus de temps qu'un Touareg qui connait la langue pour écrire une poésie ! Mais j'exprime mieux mes sentiments, ce n'est pas la même chose pour moi que de chanter en français ou en anglais.

Even now, he says, it takes him 10 times longer than someone who knows the language to compose a song/poem. Yet, composing and singing in Tamasheq allows him to communicate his feelings better and in a way much different than when he sings in French or English.

He closes the interview by entreating people to respect and preserve culture:

Il y a aussi le message de la culture. Je parle de notre culture tamasheq, mais aussi de la capacité à lire des livres en français ou en anglais par exemple, les deux choses peuvent aller ensemble!

He talks of showing appreciation for culture, (the message of culture). He refers to Tuareg culture, but also to cultural exchange in general (e.g. the ability to read books in French and English). Two things, he says, can go together.

Anyone up for a trip to le désert?

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French Television

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:59:32 GMT

If I asked you to guess how I spent my Saturday night and you answered: Watching children's television in French, you would be correct! I've been trying to dedicate one hour to French every day, 30 mins of repetition and 30 mins for a new lesson. Most of my work is in (written) grammar. Now, my accent is even more warped as I try to remember pronunciation from class and accidentally over-pronounce. So, last night, I searched for online episodes of 5, Rue Sésame (French Sesame Street). I found two short clips:

1
2 (in which Cookie Monster speaks French about as well as he speaks English :/)

Unfortunately, I was unable to find full episodes or clips specifically dealing with letters, numbers, and vocabulary.

I also tried watching videos at France 5's website, but had some difficulty getting the children's programs to play (La vidéo sélectionnée n'est plus disponible). I don't know if the same problem exists with the other programs on France 5 (I hope not, because I spotted a link to a documentary on l'Afrique!)

I found several cartoons using upper-level beginner vocab at TiJi. And hit the jackpot of educational programming in French with Téléfrancais (which is similar to Sesame Street/Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood in English).

I'll continue posting programming links as I find them, (I've made this post public). If you have any recommendations for French programming, please let me know!

Annnnd, I would be remiss if I didn't link you directly to Les Squelettes (of Téléfrancais). Chantez avec nous!

Edit (12-07-11): Yannick Sayer's lessons in French. I found this link much later than the original post date and discussed it in a locked entry. Pretty useful lessons in French that utilize both visual and auditory teaching methods.

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A lot of <3

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:36:17 GMT

Our friend and one of STC's colleagues in the history department is suffering through general exams this week. His oral exam is tomorrow. So, I made cookies. My mother emailed the recipe without a title or a description other than "excellent cookies" (ok, Mom). Unbeknown to me, I was making ( ginger snaps! )

I was surfing the NPR website this PM and found an interview (and book) about translation. The book is titled Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything by David Bellos. Excerpts from the interview that made me <3:

"We translate all the time. If we refuse to translate, refuse to listen to what other people have to say to us, whichever language it is in, we're not living as fully as human beings as we could be ...

"For translation to exist, you have to accept the fact that languages are all different and they don't describe the world in quite the same way. You also have to accept that languages are all the same in that anything you can say in one language can be said in any other. And it seems to me [that the] tension between the incommunicability of difference and ... the sharing of a common set of messages and meanings is ... human. I mean, we all live in that state, that I am not like you. My experience is not directly commensurable with yours, and yet, for us to get on and to be human and to be in a society, we have to also make the assumption that in another dimension, we're all the same. We have the same needs, the same fears, the same desires."

... no two utterances — even of the same sentence — are actually the same. You know, time has passed and the mere fact of saying it a second time makes it not like saying it the first time.

Trying to learn a foreign language, I feel like I'm standing at the edge of enigmatic awesome.

Do you know about Playing For Change? Click here for a brief explanation of the movement (scroll down) and then watch this! And this one, too!

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