Of course we can !

Certains pubards devraient probablement boire plus de café pendant qu'ils brainstorment sur la nouvelle campagne de leur client. Chevrolt a récemment lancé sa dernière créa en France, pour promouvoir leur offre spéciale "la TVA disparaît". Surfer sur une tendance positive et cool est un moyen comme un autre de booster les ventes, mais dans le cas présent cela ressemble fort à un manque d'inspiration évident.

Some publicists should probably drink more coffee while they brainstorm on their customer's new campaign. Chevrolet recently launched their new creative (which ironically is not !) in France to promote the "no VAT" special offer. Surfing on a positive and cool trend is a great way to increase sales but in that case, that seems pretty much like a lack of inspiration.

Bust your windows

"I bust the windows of your car, and no it didn't mend my broken heart, I probably always had this ugly scars, but right now I don't care about that part" says the first lines of the new Jazmine Sullivan song. I like that fresh, direct, girly song that has to be definitely taken second degre. Though I love and take on hearing the american rappers screaming "bitches" because these kind of women does exist (for those who would doubt it, take a look at Snoop Dogg's Up in Smoke Tour video) I also worship the girls' song written by and for girls, who walk on men's heart or ego (our best ennemy). Not because I'm a castrator, an amazon or man-hating, but because I value assertiveness a lot !

Please let me introduce you to Jazmine Sullivan.

"J'ai explosé les fenêtres de ta voiture, et non cela n'a pas guéri mon coeur brisé, car j'avais surement déjà ces vilaines cicatrices avant, mais là tout de suite, je m'en fiche complètement", voilà comment débute cette chanson insolente, directe et girly de Jazmine Sullivan qui doit être prise au second degré. Bien que j'adore et j'assume entendre les rappeurs américains parler des "bitchs" parce que ces femmes là existent vraiment et assument aussi. (pour ceux qui ne me croient pas, jetez un coup d'oeil à la vidéo du Up in Smoke Tour de Snoop Dogg) Mais j'adore aussi les chansons chantées par des femmes, pour des femmes, qui piétinent gentimment le coeur ou l'égo des hommes (notre meilleur ennemi). Non pas parce que je suis castratrice, amazone ou misandre mais parce que l'affirmation de soi, sous toutes ces formes me plaît énormément !

Je vous laisse en compagnie de Jazmine Sullivan.

 

The Great Schlep

La comique américaine Sarah Silverman est très engagée dans la campagne présidentielle américaine. Elle a tourné ce sketch, massivement diffusé sur internet et à la télé, pour convaincre la nouvelle génération de juifs d'aller voir leurs grands parents en Floride, en majorité républicains, afin de les rassurer sur Obama et de les pousser à voter pour lui. "Schlep" en yiddish, veut dire "le message". Depuis, des milliers de "Schleppers" font campagne en Floride auprès des communautés juives, notamment celles de Boca Raton.

Ce sketch est à voir absolument, pour le talent comique de Sarah et pour l'impact qu'il a eu sur sa cible.

 

Yes we can !

Surprisingly going back to work two weeks ago wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Thanks to the fact that I finally realized that being happy isn't only a gift from above but can also be a state of mind. You've got to work hard to keep it going on your whole life but you can do it. Then as I know it's up to me to make my life happier or more exciting I now no longer feel so stuck in my life like I used to.

Zygaena seems to be dreaming of a better life, leave her job and find a getaway that could last longer than than. Marie-Net is back from her 6 months "meet the world' shift that seems to have given her serenity and joy. Some of us have recently jumped in the great adventure of being your own boss. Some of us then, don't even think of changing life...

Still, we all have dreams, and it's up to us to fulfill them. But few of us do cross the line, mostly because we're scared. Scared of the unknown land we might come accross. Scared of being deceived when it comes to face to dream itself. Scared of losing the security feeling of someone living a dumb life and day dreaming of being happy. Because yes, I'm sure acting like doomed people gives us a reason to complain and in the end gives us an identity. Meanwhile being happy in this depressed society might turn you into a dangerous and suspicous predator in other people's eyes.

I remember that book I had bought to my mum which is called "feel the fear and do it anyway". It soon became her bedside book. It was about coping with your fears by accepting them and still do the things that you are scared of.

I've been dreaming for ages, of taking a year off  to travel around africa, south america or asia, but sometimes the choices you've made earlier got you stuck in a way that there's nothing you can't do to escape really. And as far as I'm concerned, I've got many material commitments that will prevent me from this sabbatical dream for a while.

But my dream is not dead though, because I've been also wishing to move to the US to work, one year, two years or more..., before settling in for my "adult" life. I don't want to find out when I'm 40 that it's too late to do so.

This week, I decided to take a step forward and after the disapointment of failing at getting the Green Card, I began to activate my network and cast my net as wide as I can by sending my CV to american contacts. The wheel has began to turn,...I am elligible for living my life.

On dit que les américains sont puritains...

...mais voici le genre de vidéo de campagne présidentielle que l'on ne verrait jamais en France...

J-20 - Je parle un petit peu français...

Some people asked me why I often use english words in my daily life, in mails or on the phone...It might sound weird but sometimes the words come to me in english rather than in french. I assume it's because the english vocabulary is more efficient and figurative than french, it gets more logic then.

I watch the tube in english as much as I can (french dubbing is rarely good !), I read in english, I have english speaking friends, I just love it !!

I grew up in an international family. My grand father was raised in Vietnam in the time when it was still called Indochina,  my mum was an interpreter, I had aunts in the US, in Germany and in a very natural way I felt the need to learn english myself very soon as well as a second language, I chose german. I learned english with an animated method, much more funny that the german one ! (who said Germans are rigid and strict ?) This was about green monsters and a princess. I totally loved it !

So, I finally managed to have conversations in english and german, then I learned a bit of spanish and even breton (I'm kidding you not) ! I also tried a bit of hindi, turkish and japanese but without great success. I guess the older you get the lazier you get to learn new things...

J-25 - J'ai commencé à apprendre l'anglais grâce à...

...Pass the Dutchie, que j'ai écoutée en boucle en me dandinant ! Je devais avoir 5 ou 6 ans.

Une araignée qui se balancait sur une toile toile toile, toile d'éléphant !!

Dans les années 60, un chercheur a donné toutes sortes de drogues à des araignées pour en étudier l'effet sur leur toile. Vous avez tous sûrement déjà vu ce reportage qui montre l'aspect des différentes toiles en fonction de la drogue qui a été absorbée...

Et bien, en voici une version alternative, en anglais, qui devrait en surprendre plus d'un !

L'amour à l'anglaise

Thursday night, everything's fine
Except you've got that look in your eye
When I'm telling a story, and you find it boring
You're thinking of something to say

You'll go along with it, then drop it
And humiliate me in front of our friends
Then I'll use that voice that you find annoying
And say something like,
"Yeah, intelligent input, darling.
Why don't you just have another beer then?"

Then you'll call me a bitch
And everyone we're with will be embarrassed
And I won't give a shit

Do you speak english ?

As I went to Cambridge to visit one of my high school friend, I took to Eurostar for the first time of my life last week-end. Though I wouldn't ever be afraid of the plane, I must admit I was a bit anxious regarding the fact that I would be sitting in a train crossing the channel...in an underground tunnel ! Fortunately, I had forgotten that the worse part of taking the train in France would be the freezing air conditioning, which made me spend my whole trip trying to warm me up instead of thinking of the sea beneath my head.

Cambridge is a small place yet very lively because of all the students. I discovered the nice feeling of being surrounded by a bunch of the cleverest PHD of the planet. This could be quite imposing but as kindness is a way of life in Great Britain I had an amazing time.

After a few misunderstandings because of my obvious american way of speaking (thanks to all the MTV shows I'm watching) I had to switch my "d" prononciation ot the "t" by a "t" one. It seems to me that this could be where the difference between british and american english stands.

On saturday, we went to that Fez place, the only night club in the city that would close at 3 am. As "thirty-years" we tried to get integrated in this place full of teenagers and very young students.

This was a "I love Ibiza" night and we danced two hours looking like fancy clubbers, without drinks (we had used the left pounds we had to pay the entry fee) or cigarettes (it's no longer allowed to smoke inside places in the UK). Still we had a lot of fun and made the most of the night like real british mates.

The week-end was also a bit cultural. I'll upload some more pics tomorrow and finish my story in french.