Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Vincent Van Gogh
As an artist, one of my favorite painters was Van Gogh. I consider my self very lucky in that some of my artwork has actually sold. It is ironic that Van Gogh, now considered one of the greatest artists ever, and who works sell for millions of dollars today, only sold one painting in his lifetime at what would be considered $80 dollars today. Although not a French artist, his works created from 1886-1809 when he lived in France make him a necessary person to include in this blog.Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist. His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces.
Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief spell as a teacher, he became a missionary worker in a very poor mining region. He did not embark upon a career as an artist until 1880. Initially, Van Gogh worked only with sombre colours, until he encountered Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris. He incorporated their brighter colours and style of painting into a uniquely recognizable style, which was fully developed during the time he spent at Arles, France. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide. (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Van Gogh spent his early adult life working for a firm of art dealers. After a brief spell as a teacher, he became a missionary worker in a very poor mining region. He did not embark upon a career as an artist until 1880. Initially, Van Gogh worked only with sombre colours, until he encountered Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism in Paris. He incorporated their brighter colours and style of painting into a uniquely recognizable style, which was fully developed during the time he spent at Arles, France. He produced more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide. (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
French News
(Credit: ISAE)It may look like something your kids brought home from shop class, but this rugged, French-designed micro air vehicle (MAV) could be a missing link between smooth, steady hover and fast, forward flight.
The inventor, Dr. Jean-Marc Moschetta, professor of aerodynamics at the Institut Superieur de l'Aeronautique et de l'espace in Toulouse, France, created what he calls theMAVion with both commercial and military markets in mind.
A mere 30 centimeters long, the MAVion combines fixed wings with two counter rotating propellers, allowing it to operate with high aerodynamic efficiency--even in adverse conditions, according to the professor.
"The ultimate goal of the MAVion concept is to demonstrate a twofold capability using the same vehicle: fast forward flight and hover flight," Moschetta explained. "The two counter-rotating tandem propellers provide a simple means to enhance yaw control, which is particularly important in vertical flight."
"The global vision for developing the bimotor MAVion is to provide a fixed-wing aircraft that can be easily upgraded for hover, but also for rolling on the ground or along walls by adding wheels on either side," he said.
The project, funded by the European Office of Aerospace Research and Development in London and the French military, took top honors at the International Micro Air Vehicle Flight Competition held in Pensacola, Fla., this year.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Johnny Hallyday -Still my Favorite french Singer
Johnny Hallyday is a French singer and actor. An icon in the French-speaking world since the beginning of his career, some consider him the French equivalent of Elvis Presley.He has had a 48-year career in music and is one of France's biggest stars. He has completed 400 tours, had 18 platinum albums, performed in front of 15 million people, and sold 100 million records. Today Hallyday is still seen as a top stage performer, giving first class shows in crowded stadiums.
Influenced by Elvis Presley and the 1950s rock revolution, Johnny, as he is popularly known, became famous in the 1960s for singing rock and roll in French. His first album, Hello Johnny, was released in 1960. He appeared on the American Ed Sullivan Show on July 1, 1962 with American singing star Connie Francis in a show that was taped at the Moulin Rouge nightclub in Paris. Many consider Hallyday to have developed well and become a greater performer in his later years, one of his best loved concerts being 100% Johnny: Live à La Tour Eiffel in 2000, which attracted an audience of 500,000 and 9.5 million television viewers (the show was broadcasted live on french TV). In December 2005, Hallyday had his third number-one single in France, "Mon Plus Beau Noël", dedicated to his adoptive girl Jade. Hallyday's last album is released on 12 November 2007. 'Le Coeur d'un homme' is a blues album and contains a song written for Hallyday by Bono from the band U2, and a duo with bluesman Taj Mahal. 'Always' is the first track to be released from the new album. He remains quite unknown outside of France and that's why he gained the nickname "The biggest Rockstar you've never heard of" in English-speaking countries.
Still my favorite song of his.
"Un Jour Viendra" lyrics
un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime, du bout du coeur mais le dire quand meme, un simple mot et l'aveu d'une larme aux bords tes yeux feront de moi un homme heureux, un jour viendra tu saura toutes ces choses, qui ont fait ma vie bien plus noire que rose tu comprendra mes pudeurs et tous ces mots qui me font peurs, que j'ai caché come un voleur, toi, c'est le ciel qui t'a envoyévers moi pour me réapprendre à aimeret attends, et laisse faire les jours, laisse le temps au temps et a l'amour, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime et j'aimerai, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime, du bout des yeux mais le dire quand meme, dans le ciel de ton regard lire ton regard est ma victoire, un jour viendra tu m'aimera, toi, c'est la vie qui t'as envoyévers moi qui n'ai jamais fait que passer, a coté des choses essentiels. par defit pour bruler mes ailes, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime et j'aimerai, attend, laisse faire les jours, laisse le temps au temps et à l'amour, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime et je t'aimerai, je t'aimerai, je t'aimerai
"Un Jour Viendra" lyrics
un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime, du bout du coeur mais le dire quand meme, un simple mot et l'aveu d'une larme aux bords tes yeux feront de moi un homme heureux, un jour viendra tu saura toutes ces choses, qui ont fait ma vie bien plus noire que rose tu comprendra mes pudeurs et tous ces mots qui me font peurs, que j'ai caché come un voleur, toi, c'est le ciel qui t'a envoyévers moi pour me réapprendre à aimeret attends, et laisse faire les jours, laisse le temps au temps et a l'amour, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime et j'aimerai, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime, du bout des yeux mais le dire quand meme, dans le ciel de ton regard lire ton regard est ma victoire, un jour viendra tu m'aimera, toi, c'est la vie qui t'as envoyévers moi qui n'ai jamais fait que passer, a coté des choses essentiels. par defit pour bruler mes ailes, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime et j'aimerai, attend, laisse faire les jours, laisse le temps au temps et à l'amour, un jour viendra tu me dira je t'aime et je t'aimerai, je t'aimerai, je t'aimerai
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Pronunciation of "Le"
Our friend Ken brought up a good point. He suggested that the pronunciation of the article "le" be written as (luh) and not (leh) as i have been posting. This is tough either way. I may go with both. But remember. My posts are taken with a grain of salt as far as pronunciation goes. I am trying to learn myself how to speak French properly, but I realize I will always speak as an Amercain speaking the language and I have no pretensions of thinking that I would speak as well as any French native. All I'm trying to do is learn the language enough so I can communicate reasonably well if I ever get the chance to go to France. So, if you are learning with me, use this as a fun way of learning, but also use this as an addition to listening to French tapes, French movies, etc. to get the sense of how the language really sounds.
"le" itself is tough to put into words. It sort of sounds like "luh" but not drawn out. It's as if you are saying it real fast & cutting it off before you finish the word. Whether you say it as "luh" or "leh" try to always say it fast and it will sound allright. I will be posting an actual sound of the word soon as an example. Hope that helps.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
"Help" extra lesson
Last night I posted the phrase "Au secours!" This means "HELP!" as if you are in an emergency situation such as a robbery, or a fire etc.
If you want to ask someone to help you in a normal way, you would say:
Aidez-moi, s'il vous plaît (ay day mwah seel voo play) -help me, please (when speaking to a stranger)
aides-moi, s'il te plaît (ayd mwah seel teh play) -help me, please (when speaking to friend or family member)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
French Law Proposed
A new law that would require airbrushed images to contain a disclaimer is gaining popularity in the French
Parliamet, according to the Telegraph.
An advertisement Photoshop Disasters claims is overly manipulated.
Politicians who support the law claim digitally enhanced images
portraying unrealistic beauty are to blame for body and self esteem issues in adolescents.
Campaigning MP Valerie Boyer released a statement with the bill saying:
These photos can lead people to believe in a reality that does not actually exist, and have a detrim
ental effect on adolescents. Many young people, particularly girls, do not know the difference between the virtual and reality, and can develop complexes from
a very young age.
Boyer is joined by 50 other French politicians who support the required text, which would read “Photograph re
touched to modify the physical appearance of a person.”
Violations could carry costly penalties. Boyer is asking for a fine of over $50,000
or up to half of the cost of the publicity campaign, whichever is greater, for advertisers that break the law.
The law has only been proposed in France, but magazines around the world are filled with ‘Photoshopped’ images of slim and sexy models.
Ars Technica asks:
Clearly, there’s a line somewhere between reality and fantasy when it comes to images in the me
dia, and the widespread practice of Photoshoppery has only helped to blur that line. Still, do airbrushed images really require an Surgeon-General-like warning?
Would a similar requirement on images in the U.S. help adolescents maintain a realistic body image? Or would the disclaimer serve only to irritate publishers and advertisers?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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