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| La société de masse ne veut pas la culture mais les loisirs // Mass society does not want culture but entertainment |
Today's quote from Citation célébre, by Hannah Arendt, is somewhat heavier than their usual fare.
I find it difficult to disagree though.
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| Jour de la marmotte// Groundhog day |
Happy Groundhog Day to all of you.
In case you, like me, can never remember what the original reference is all about, here is an extract from wikipedia, to save you googling
"if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den, and winter will go on for six more weeks; if it does not see its shadow because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early"
Or "if 2nd Feb is cloudy, early spring, if sunny - late spring" for short. Of course it kinda removes the groundhog from the equation, but well, I am sure he doesn't mind.
The cat was going to hold a parasol over the emerging groundhog and thus bring in an early spring, but the day is cloudy and no interfering is needed. The groundhog looks mighty suspicious and might retreat into his den anyway though.
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| Bonne journée! ... des pingouins // Have a good day! ... of penguins |
Today is Penguin Day, apparently. Well, according to some. According to others, it's on the 25 or April or something, and the words like "awareness", "consciousness", etc. tend to crop up, but that's just boring. Especially since the cat is already in his tux and his beak.
So, Happy Penguin day to y'all.
And here are some seaglass penguins having fun, just for the heck of it
Penguins of all types on Adobe stock- here
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| Beaucoup d'amis sont comme le cadran solaire ; ils ne marquent que les heures où le soleil vous luit // Many friends are like the sundial; they only mark the hours when the sun shines on you. |
Today I have decided to take my cue from the wordle. I won't publish it till the wordle change, of course.
So "solar" -- solaire or du soleil in French.
Found an appropriate quote from Victor Hugo and everything.
Meanwhile, the cat is trying to solve the "sundial in the dark" problem with some help from a torch. I think it is working for him.
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| Chaque 5 décembre, c'est la journée mondiale du ninja // Every December 5th it's the Day of the Ninja |
...would you believe it.
I think we are due for the annual "Middleofnowhere, NW residents turned out for the annual Ninja Parade, where no ninjas were seen for the 30th year in a row" jokes, don't you agree?
Where the cat lacks the flexibility of Hokusai's ninja, he compensates with enthusiasm.
That's all I have to say on the subject.
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| La lecture, une porte ouverte sur un monde enchanté // Reading, an open door to an enchanted world -- François Mauriac |
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| Toute l'obscurité du monde ne peut pas éteindre la lumière d'une bougie // All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle |
Anyway. Here is the cat, peacefully reading his book by the light of a single candle. Is he aware of all the darkness in the world that surrounds him? Sure he is, he is a very aware person. Does it bother him? Well, that's debatable. He can't combat all the darkness in the world. But he can read a couple of chapters, while the candle lasts. And, being a cat, maybe he can continue reading even when it goes out.
Maybe it doesn't really bother him after all.
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| Les émotions des gens qu'on a cessé d'aimer paraissent toujours un peu ridicules // There is always something ridiculous about the emotions of people whom one has ceased to love |
Today I suddenly realized that the use of "one" as a pronoun in English could originate from "on" in French, used there more or less as "we". Wikipedia confirms.
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| Chaque anniversaire est un cadeau. Chaque jour est un cadeau. // Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift. -- Aretha Franklin 🐱 Et voici le tien ! // And here is yours! -- Sumo Wrestler Cat |
Here is the cat, wishing all birthday people out there a happy birthday. And a happy day to all people out there.
By coincidence, today's Inktober prompt is "knot" - "nœud" in French. So here you have it, too.
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| On ne peut montrer le chemin à celui qui ne sait où aller // You cannot show the way to someone who does not know where to go. |
The quote in the caption, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry - btw, did you know he was a French aristocrat? I either didn't, or maybe I did and forgot all about it till right now - reminded me of a small episode from our two-year stay on Fuerteventura.
We were standing close to a bus stop in Corralejo, waiting for somebody or something, maybe even for a bus. A middle-aged couple appeared, the guy visibly agitated, the woman resignedly trailing behind him. The guy asked us "Can you go anywhere from here?". And when we, reason personified, asked him where he wanted to go, he nearly shouted "Anywhere! I don't care!".
Mind you, I sort of understand him. Fuerteventura in general, and Corralejo in particular, is one of the best beach destinations I know. You can swim, sunbathe, surf or fish. You can take a ride on a boat, or on a dune buggy. You can drink cheap beer and eat in various restaurants, many of them excellent. You can catch live music shows, many of them free, and offered by the restaurants, the previous item on the list. But the list of things you can do is still quite limited. If you didn't realize that before you come, you might be quite disappointed, as the guy obviously was.
The little story had a happy ending, we hope. We convinced him to go and check what the local travel agency, specialized in one-day trips and experiences, had to offer, and he departed, the woman in tow.
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| Craignez la colère de l'chat patient // Fear the wrath of the patient cat |
Although today's quote comes from Citation Célèbre website, it doesn't really. Partially because the citation doesn't deal with cats, but with men, in a typical anthropocentric manner. Partially because they say it is an Irish proverb, while it is a quote from John Dryden, quoting Publilius Syrus.
The cat, as we all know, is very patient. Look at him there, patiently filing his claw, as all patient cats do, at least according to some memes out there.
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| Rendez-vous demain à 7h30!
Non, mieux à 7h!
-- Ce n'est pas mieux
-- C'est juste plus tôt // Let's meet tomorrow at 7.30! No, better at 7! -- It's not better -- It's just earlier |
There is a facade repair going outside our window right now. Several guys turn up in the morning on a platform suspended from the roof and then go up and down the whole day, doing what needs to be done, talking and playing music.
I must say the work they are doing is very necessary, but I do have an issue with their working hours. They seem to be turning up earlier and earlier every day.
Which reminded me of a small conversation from the very beginning of my working life, which you can read in the pic. I have to add that we were a tiny, recently formed private company, all working very hard and that our boss was a lark, that is to say an early bird, and proud of it.
The eternal struggle between larks and owls goes on (and on, and on).
