Craignez la colère

 

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.

Rêver, c'est le bonheur ; attendre, c'est la vie

 

Rêver, c'est le bonheur; attendre, c'est la vie // Dreaming is happiness; waiting is life.

The cat is waiting for his dream of hanami to become reality.  He, unlike me, already did it at least once, but he wishes to repeat it. While waiting, he assumes the attitude of Zhdun, The Awaiter, closes his eyes and shuts the current humdrum stuff out.

Admittedly, you can do hanami on Gran Canaria. But it doesn't feel the same somehow.

Une belle figure

Une belle figure porte avec soi sa recommandation // A beautiful figure brings its recommendation with it

Today’s prompt is “recommendation”, recommandation.

The quote above belongs to Publilius Syrus and demonstrates that the halo effect was known for more or less always.

As far as I can see the closest English translation is “A fair exterior is a silent recommendation” although I can’t tell you where the “silent” bit came from. Or where it went in the French variant.

The cat, as cats in general, knows of the importance of fair exterior. Look at him there. Admire his toga. Wearing a toga is tricky when you have no shoulders, but he managed it with his usual grace.

In other news, nothing changes, still sitting there, watching the spring run by.

Ceux qui t’entourent

Ceux qui t’entourent, s’ils chantent leur chanson, chante-la avec eux (ou non) //
If those around you sing their song, sing it with them (or not)

Today’s prompt is “song”, chanson.

I think that when the quote was originally written, said or otherwise uttered, the utterer didn’t consider that the song could be an abomination. What if it happened to be Despacito or something?

Poor cat. He doesn’t enjoy it at all.

L’enfance a ses odeurs

L’enfance a ses odeurs // Childhood has its smells

Today’s prompt is childhood, enfance.

The original quote is by Jean Cocteau and he quite likely meant something horrible, but since the quote stops where it does, I prefer to interpret it my way.

The cat also prefers to concentrate on all things nice. Here he is, smelling cornflowers, bleuets, in the field of his childhood. Let him be, he looks happy.

Ceux qui réfléchissent

La vision de ceux qui réfléchissent // The vision of those who think

Today’s prompt is engineering, ingénierie. By now I am having serious doubts in the randomness of the random word list I’ve generated but never mind, let’s move on.

The quote belongs to Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory series. I knew he was bound to have said a lot of funny things about engineering. Here it is in its fullness:

L’ingénierie... Là où les braves tâcherons exécutent la vision de ceux qui réfléchissent et ont un rêve. Bonjour les hoompa-loompas de la science!

Engineering. Where the noble semi-skilled labourers execute the vision of those who think and dream. Hello, oompah-loompahs of science.

The cat is admiring the Betancourt machine, as found in the Elder Museum of Science and Technology in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. I think he is quite impressed and doesn’t share Sheldon’s opinion of engineering at all.

Dans une bouteille de vin

Ily a plus de philosophie dans une bouteille de vin que dans tous les livres //
There is more philosophy in a bottle of wine than in all the books

Today’s prompt is philosophy, philosophie.

The quote above is attributed to Louis Pasteur, and for a good reason (which can’t be said of many famous quotes). He wrote something not quite dissimilar in a private letter, nowhere as sweeping. But it is a nice sentence and the cat seems to be in full agreement with it, so... Here is the cat, enjoying his bottle and making good use of philosophy books too. Nicely balanced, as always.

Aujourd’hui est une journée spéciale

Normalement, le chat n’aime pas l’eau. Mais aujourd’hui est une journée spéciale. //
Normally, the cat doesn’t like water. But today is special.

Today is World Water Day and the cat is making an exception.

Unlike us, he can come out of the house, and he used this opportunity to the full.

Judging by the spruces on the horizon, the water-lily flower and the general serenity of the setting, he is in Finland somewhere. Good on him.

Well, looks like this one-pic-a-day challenge will be at least as long as Inktober, what with the quarantine prolonged and all. I have to generate my own list of prompts.

Fiddle fiddle

La maîtresse laisse les enfants tripatouiller la pâte à modeler de manière à ce qu'ils découvrent les formes et les couleurs. // The teacher lets the kids knead the modeling clay so that they discover shapes and colors.

Funny word - tripatouiller.

Do you remember your surprise at the physics lessons when they told you that all colors combined give white - and even demonstrated it with a rotating wheel of all colors? *

Our teacher didn't go into all that additive/subtractive business, so the lesson left me somewhat puzzled. 


For I knew perfectly well that when you mix all the paints together you get mud.

And if  we are talking modelling clay (or plasticine), the shapes you will probably get will be  sort of partial exoskeletons for everybody involved.

---
* - I know it is not necessarily universal, but I discovered to my delight that Timur got exactly the same demonstration as me - in a different country and one generation later.

Le niveau d'orthographe

Les dictées permettent aux professeurs d'évaluer le niveau d'orthographe de leurs élèves //

Dictations allow the teachers to test the level of their pupils' spelling skills

The cat doesn't seem to be very pleased with the level of his pupil's skill, don't you think?

In case you are wondering what is it the owl is writing, allow me to refer you to the original.

Well, actually, of course, he is saying ‘A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh.’

Tous les fruits

Tous les fruits servis au déjeuner viennent du verger de mon voisin //
All the fruits served for lunch come from my neighbor’s orchard

As all the recent phrases, this one comes from French Word of the Day.

No, I don’t know how the cat gets the fruit from behind the barbed wire (fil de fer barbelé). Cats are ingenious though so I am sure he manages admirably.

One type of fruit from the neighbor’s garden deserves our special attention. Curiously, it seems to be the famous «развесистая клюква», a plant from the same universe where bears roam the streets of Moscow. Wikipedia only has this article in Russian, but you can get the idea from here.

Pictures related to cats, fruit and orchard @ Shutterstock.

Mêle-toi de tes affaires

Combien d’argent as-tu dans ta tirelire? — Mêle-toi de tes affaires //
How much money do you have in your piggybank? — Mind your own business!

French Word of the Day from Transparent Language brought me a question “Combien d’argent as-tu dans ta tirelire?”. To which the only correct reply seems to be “none of your business”.
The cat feels the same way.
Pictures related to cats and money @ Shutterstock.

Alors, vous parlez français?

ça va? -- Alors, vous parlez français? --Non, mais je peux dire "ça va?" // How are you? -- So, you speak French? --N o, but I can say "how are you?" :))

Yesterday on a hike (une randonnée) with Arawak there was a French guy who speaks very little Spanish (He might well speak perfect English, but I didn't ask). At some point, when we were trudging up a slope, I asked him how he was doing (ça va?). He asked if I spoke French, and, lamely, I replied "yes, a little" (oui, un peu). 

Later I thought that Non, mais je peux dire "ça va?" would have been somewhat less  lame, and also more truthful, thus showing L'esprit de l'escalier. 

In Russian, this "staircase wit" will be"задний ум" - sort of "back mind", or even "back brain", like what the dinosaurs (not) used to have.