leçons de karaté

Si quelqu'un te frappe la joue gauche, prends des leçons de karaté // If someone hits you on the left cheek, take karate lessons -- Quino

Here is the cat, practicing his karate moves in front of a mirror. Looking good, no?
 

Un pessimiste

Un pessimiste est un chat qui dit la vérité prématurément // A pessimist is a cat who tells the truth prematurely  -- Edmond Rostand

 

Nuff said, really.

Comprendre les questions

 

Je ne cherche pas à connaître les réponses, je cherche à comprendre les questions // I don't seek to know the answers, I seek to understand the questions -- Confucius

I don't know about you, but to me the phrase above is about university exams. You know, you get your selection of questions, and then a fog descends on your brain and you can't, for the life of you, understand what are they all about.

I am reasonably sure Confucius meant something else, something less practical, as he was wont to do. But I am no Confucius.

Unless I am badly mistaken, the diagram on the wall is showing the dreaded Krebs cycle. If so, the cat and his classmates must be doing a biochemistry exam.  No wonder he is just sitting there, staring at the questions.

Celui qui trompe

Celui qui trompe trouvera toujours ceux qui se laissent tromper // Those who deceive will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived — Machiavelli

Machiavelli was a clever guy.

Here is kitsune seducing the cat, for the reasons better known to herself. Maybe she just likes him, or maybe not. The mind of kitsune (狐) is unknowable.

The cat looks quite love-stricken already, I think.

la sagesse

Le doute est le commencement de la sagesse // Doubt is the beginning of wisdom

On citation-celebre.leparisien.fr website they ascribe the quote to Aristotle, but once you start looking for the confirmation, you find that it was also said by Pierre Abélard, René Descartes and probably few other wise people. So, a bit of a question mark there. Personally, I have no doubts about the idea expressed by the quote, which, in turn, must be an oxymoron.

The cat, being a simple creature, occasionally has his doubts, too. On this occasion he doubts if he should take red velvet or cherry mousse cake first.

Il n'est pas prudent

Il n'est pas prudent d'écarter de ses calculs un dragon vivant, quand on est près de lui // It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations if you live near him

 

The quote comes from The Hobbit.

You might think the cat is being impertinent, sitting on the top of a sleeping dragon to admire sunset. But he is not. Firstly, they are friends with the dragon. Secondly, nobody, not even dragons, can resist his feline charm. We all suspect that cats rule the world. Cats themselves just know it.

Pics related to dragons, sunsets and cats on shutterstock.

les loisirs

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.

Le jour de la marmotte

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.

Le jour des Pingouins

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

solar

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.

Happy Ninja Day!

 

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.

Une porte ouverte

La lecture, une porte ouverte sur un monde enchanté // Reading, an open door to an enchanted world -- François Mauriac

The cat is very fond of reading per se, but here, judging from the illustration, he is reading something about central Gran Canaria. In which case I would strongly advise him to forget the book, go and check it out with his own eyes. He won't be disappointed, of that I am sure.

people whom one has ceased to love

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

 Oscar Wilde said many interesting things. 

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.

Celui qui ne sait où aller

 

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.

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.

La lutte éternelle entre les alouettes et les hiboux

 

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).

Une maman c'est une montagne

 

Une maman c'est une montagne de compréhension // A mother is a mountain of understanding. Jean Gastaldi

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.

Ses erreur

 

L'expérience est le nom que chacun donne à ses erreurs // Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes. Oscar Wilde

We already knew that the cat likes cooking. It seems that he is taking it to the next level, with book signing and everything. 

Not everyone can extract so much value out of their experiences in the kitchen.

Why God invented cats

Dieu a inventé le chat pour que l'homme ait un tigre à caresser chez lui // God invented the cat so that man could have a tiger to stroke at home.

 

 

 

When Victor Hugo wrote this, he probably had in mind fluffy cuties who indulgently allow themselves to be stroked in exchange for food, cushy bed and other necessities. 

I wonder what breeds of cats were around in his times. Perhaps unstrokable cats, the hissing balls of fury, all claws, teeth and glowing eyes came into fashion later and he simply wasn't aware of their existence.