tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47579079757447059912024-03-13T11:13:24.942+01:00Billy's Lines Of Gibberish... Pardon my FrenchUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-8194166481750070362009-12-31T10:36:00.004+01:002017-01-13T20:00:04.880+01:00That's all Folks<table align="left"><tbody>
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Although I am a Frenchman, born and raised in Paris, and I don't appreciate the English language that much, I have been blogging in English for more that four years.<br />
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There were many reasons for it, that I explained several times. Yet, the reasons have progressively vanished. I don't feel like writing in English any more.<br />
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If I keep on blogging, which is likely, I'll do it in French from now. I guess that most readers of B.L.O.G. don't understand French. I apologize but… "C'est la vie" *smile*.<br />
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Have a good wind, everyone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-50160810135766569702009-11-16T06:18:00.000+01:002017-01-13T19:58:00.151+01:00Seeing the Music<table align="left"><tbody>
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<span style="color: rgb(102 , 102 , 102); font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Fences of the <i>Jardin Public</i> — Bordeaux, Oct. 2007 </span></div>
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As reported in the previous blog, I saw again in San Diego those monumental sculptures by Bernar Venet I had seen in Bergen and Bordeaux.<br />
It reminded me of that short trip in Bordeaux two years ago for yet another medical conference. I don't remember much of the conference itself, but I do remember it was a good opportunity to try a couple of good wines. <br /> <br />Yet the city was not pleasant at the time. A big part of it was spoiled by constructions for a new tramway. Visiting was a pain. On my last day there though, as I walked among the road works to kill time until the next train to Paris, I reached by chance the <b><i>Jardin Public</i></b> — <i>The Public Garden</i> — a heaven of peace and greenery downtown. About twenty large photographs by <a href="http://www.fdesmesure.com/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Fréderic Desmesure">Frédéric Desmesure</a> were displayed on the fences of the park. <br /> <br />
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Taken during rehearsals, concerts, or in the wings, they caught various facets of life inside <b><i>L'Orchestre d'Aquitaine</i></b>, the <i>Bordeaux Orchestra</i><b></b>, freezing expressions, gazes, and gestures of the musicians, hereby emphasizing their work, stress, precision and concentration. <br />
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Watching such a series of photos was a little like chasing rainbows: you try to see the music when you cannot hear it. Thanks to them, my mood was lighter when I reached the station. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-65638391294316524142009-11-12T09:02:00.007+01:002009-12-04T23:36:03.561+01:00Art in San Diego<table align="left" style="width: 265px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td><div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/ASN2006.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Building in Gaslamp" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/ASN2006.jpg" title="Building in Gaslamp" width="250" /></a> <br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">The twin-towered <i>Louis Bank of Commerce</i></span><br />
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</tbody></table>The annual conference of the ASN, <a href="http://www.asn-online.org/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="ASN">the American Society of Nephrology</a>, was held in San Diego two weeks ago.<br />
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There was a lot of interesting stuff for a nephrologist there. No topic for this blog though. Rather than blogging about work, I will rather show photos taken while I strolled around in the city's streets and museums, either on the day before the Convention began this year, either during a previous stay in 2006, when another ASN Renal Week was held there.<br />
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<b>Architecture</b>. There are beautiful buildings in San Diego. In Gaslamp quarter especially, many houses are remarkable. The twin-towered building above is located at 837 Fifth Avenue. Its top floor used to be a house of prostitution and the first floor an Oyster Bar where <a href="http://www.gaslampquarter.org/history/earp.php" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Wyatt Earp">Wyatt Earp</a> operated for a time.<br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">From inside the <i>Convention Centre</i></span><br />
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</tbody></table>The Convention Centre itself is beautiful work, and many skyscrapers are beautiful as well. In Balboa Park on the contrary, buildings are essentially 20th century pitiful attempts to reproduce Spanish mostly, Tuscan sometimes, buildings of the baroque style... with stucco. The California Tower of the Museum of Man is nice though.<br />
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<tr> <td width="210"><div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/marriott.jpg" target="blank"><img align="left" alt="Marriott Hotel, San Diego" border="0" height="182" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/marriott.jpg" title="Marriott Hotel, San Diego" width="274" /></a> <br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"> Marriott Hotel</span><br />
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</tbody></table><b>Sculpture</b>. French sculptor <a href="http://www.nikidesaintphalle.com/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Niki de Saint-Phalle">Niki de Saint-Phalle</a> lived in San Diego from 1994 to 2002. She had solvent-related emphysema, and enjoyed the paradise weather of the area. Yet it did not prevent her from dying of pulmonary failure.<br />
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Two sculptures by her are exhibited in Balboa Park, in front of the <a href="http://www.mingei.org/visit/san-diego.php" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Mingei Museum">Mingei International Museum</a>: <i>Poet/Muse</i> and <i>Nikigator.</i> Children love the latter especially, some kind of dragon they are often brave enough to sit astride.<br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Poet and Muse </span><br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"> Nikigator </span><br />
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<tr> <td width="234"><div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/venetinbergen.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Bernar Venet's Arcs in Bergen (2006)" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/venetinbergen.jpg" title="Bernar Venet's Arcs in Bergen (2006)" width="222" /></a> <br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Bergen (2006) </span><br />
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<tr> <td width="234"><div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/venetsandiego.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Bernar Venet's Arcs in San Diego (2009)" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/venetsandiego.jpg" title="Bernar Venet's Arcs in San Diego (2009)" width="222" /></a> <br />
</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">San Diego (2009) </span><br />
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</tbody></table>Another French Sculptor, <a href="http://www.bernarvenet.com/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Bernar Venet">Bernar Venet</a>, was much in evidence in several places in the city, although temporarily only. You know what? I believe this guy is following me: everywhere I go, I see his iron arcs.<br />
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When I had vacation in Norway in 2006, they were exhibited in <i>Bergen</i>. When I attended the annual conference of the French Society of Nephrology in <i>Bordeaux</i> two years ago, they were exhibited there. And at present they are exhibited in <i>San Diego</i> too!<br />
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Sorry Bernar, but you'll have to resign yourself: I will never buy any, my kitchen is too small.<br />
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<b>Painting</b>. Close to the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park, the <a href="http://www.sdmart.org/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="San Diego Museum of Art">San Diego Museum of Art</a> displayed artworks by Picasso and Miró especially, in a temporary exhibition. I liked a couple, essentially a drawing by Picasso of a Minotaur stroking a sleeping woman. There was an exhibition of Calder Jewelry too. I don't like Calder's mobiles that much. I didn't like his massive earrings, tiaras and necklace either.<br />
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Anyway, the main reason why I went to Balboa park was the Museum of Art permanent exhibition, with several Renaissance paintings I had been longing for three years to see again. There are paintings by <i>Rogier Van Der Weyden</i>, <i>Giotto, Titian,</i> and others, Flemish and Italian. Here come a few words about my three favourite.<br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Giorgione — Portrait of a Man <br />
Oil on panel, 1506 </span><br />
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This painting is one of the greatest Renaissance portraits in my opinion. The composition is closely cropped around the head of the sitter. The setting or props often used at the time to animate portraits are absent, yet the man's turning gaze and ambiguous expression make the portrait wholly engaging and alive.<br />
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<i>Giorgione</i> was friend of <i>Titian </i>(who finished his <i>Sleeping Venus</i> after his early death, a painting that foreshadowed my beloved Venus of Urbino — see a <span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/05/venus-of-urbino.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Venus of Urbino">previous blog</a></span>). He was unprecedented in his ability to describe warm flesh and soft hair. Quoting <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_the_Most_Excellent_Painters,_Sculptors,_and_Architects" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori">Georgio Vasari</a>, Giorgione's <i>'modern manner'</i> sought to paint <i>'living and natural things'</i>, several years before <a href="http://mini-site.louvre.fr/venise/index_en.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese">Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese</a> arrived on the Italian scene.<br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Hieronymus Bosch — Arrest of Christ <br />
Oil on panel, ca. 1516 </span><br />
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</tbody></table><b>The Arrest of Christ, by H. Bosch.</b> <br />
The painting depicts Jesus's arrest outside of <i>Gethsemane.</i> To the right, Peter raises a sword in defence of Jesus. He has just cut the ear from the High Priest's servant, who bites his arm and thrusts a lantern in his face. The grotesque figures of his tormenters contrast with the serene image of Jesus himself.<br />
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I love the way Bosch, in this painting, distorts the characters into something like caricature. Can you believe this was painted 500 years ago?<br />
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</div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">B. Luini — The Conversion of the Magdalene <br />
Oil on panel, ca. 1520 </span><br />
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by Bernardino Luini. </b>This is the moment when Mary Magdalene, the attractive and fashionable woman on the right, decides to put aside her finery (like the necklace on the table) and old life, and follow Jesus, like her sister Martha (on the left) previously. She holds an unguent jar, a symbol of her act of anointing Jesus's feet.<br />
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Bernardino Luini was among Leonardo da Vinci's closest followers in Milan. One can find a lot of Leonardo typical features in this painting: the characteristic figure types especially, with the mysterious, seductive smile of Magdalene, and the distinctive gesturing hands that animate the narrative.<br />
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So... after one day in the streets and museums of the city, I had my eyes and camera full of pictures. It was just time to go to the Convention Centre and attend the Conference.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-78337424319777894492009-10-24T18:41:00.000+02:002009-10-24T18:56:08.915+02:00Ethnicity<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="245"> <div align="left"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Dying Gaul" style="margin: 0px" alt="Dying Gaul" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/vincivitruvian_small.jpg" width="230" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 90%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong>Leonardo da Vinci</strong> – Vitruvian Man (ca. 1492) <br />Ink on paper. 34,4 × 25,5 cm <br />Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice.</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> I don't usually blog about my occupation and readings as a nephrologist. Yet I'll make an exception with the present blog, that deals with a topic I have discussed for years with colleagues from the USA: the concept of '<em>human races'.</em></p> <p>I read an article today in the medical review <em>Kidney International</em> that expresses a feeling shared by many European doctors: discomfort at seeing the word <em>'race' </em>used with such a light heart in the international medical literature in English.</p> <p>The average people will not use the term <em>'race'</em> in Europe as they commonly do in the USA. In the mind of everyone, for obvious historical reasons, the notion of <em>'human races' </em>is closely linked to racism, slavery, and the Shoah.</p> <p>In medical literature though, particularly in articles from the United States, the word is still of current use.</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="120"> <div align="right"><img title="Kidney International" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 15px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Kidney International" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/ki.jpg" width="108" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>I was very pleased then to read an editorial by <em>Eberhard Ritz</em> from Heidelberg and <em>Sarala Naicker</em> from Johannesburg, entitled <em>"Race: A call to change nomenclature"</em><font size="2">, in which the authors provide strong argumentation for making a systematic change in all scientific communications from <em>'race'</em> to <em>'ethnicity'.</em></font>  <br /><font size="1"><strong>             [Kidney Int 2009; 76: 807-808. doi:10.1038/ki.2009.356]</strong></font> <br /></p> <p><font size="2">Here are some lines of their article:</font></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"><em>In scientific meetings and literature, the term</em> <font size="2">‘race’</font><em> is still widely used to characterize the genetic background of specific cohorts. This term has become completely anachronistic with modern genetic insights and should therefore be abandoned. <br />[...] <br />It makes no sense to categorize individuals according to skin colour — the density of the skin melanocortin receptor, likely selected to provide protection against skin damage induced by ultraviolet light, bears little relation to the diversity of the genetic codes of respective individuals. Dark skin is seen in populations as diverse as African populations and Australian Aboriginals, the latter of whom have a quite different genetic background.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 40px"><em>The use of terms that refer to distinguishing traits such as skin colour, body shape, and hair texture leads the scientific community to magnify differences and ignore similarities between groups of people. Also, these traits are no more accurate in making distinctions between human groups than any other genetically inherited characteristics. We are an extremely homogenous species genetically; all humans today are 99.9% genetically identical.  <br />[...] <br />The concept of ethnicity is related to the Greek concept of ethnos, which refers to the people of a nation or tribe, and ethnikos, which stands for national. Hence, ethnicity refers to the ethnic quality or affiliation of a group, which is normally characterized in terms of culture. <br />[...] <br />The International Society of Nephrology is a global professional society of nephrologists and renal research scientists with a multicultural and multiethnic constituency. Its goals include the development of nephrology and prevention of chronic kidney disease through education, training, research, and public awareness in both the developing and the developed world. In view of the above facts, the executive council of our society finds it is appropriate to use the term</em> <font size="2">‘ethnicity’</font><em> rather than</em> <font size="2">‘race’</font> <em>in our scientific communications.</em></p> <p>Some will think this is nothing but political correctness. I disagree. Words matter. Besides, it certainly is not merely coincidental that the article was written by citizens of Germany and South Africa, two countries where History has shown that <em>'race'</em> is not an innocent word.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-55096222208346439042009-10-21T21:25:00.000+02:002009-10-21T21:39:35.337+02:00Thirteen at the Table<table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="300"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/lastsupper.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Leonardo's Last Supper" alt="Leonardo's Last Supper" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/lastsupper.jpg" width="288" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><em><strong>Il Cenacolo (The Last Supper)</strong></em> <br />by Leonardo Da Vinci (1495-1498)</span></div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan). </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Last may, I went to Italy twice. I spent five days of vacation in Florence, then attended a Conference in Milan. Due to lack of time, I wrote <a title="Florence" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/05/venus-of-urbino.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">one blog in Florence</a> only, and <a title="in Milan" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/05/morning-newspaper.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">one in Milan</a>.</p> <p>I do love Italy, and Italians. There is a lightness, a <em>Joie de Vivre</em> in the air of most Italian towns, you will hardly find anywhere else. Also, Art is everywhere.</p> <p>In Florence first, then in Milan, I was stunned by frescoes. There's always a difference between looking at a reproduction and seeing an artwork for real. <a title="Walter Benjamin" href="http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm" target="_blank" rel="tag">Walter Benjamin</a> named <a title="aura" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/05/venus-of-urbino.html" target="_blank" rel="tag"><em>aura</em></a> this specificity of artwork, which is unique, linked to a special place, and part of history.</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="270"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-ghirlandaio.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Il Cenacolo by Ghirlandaio" alt="Il Cenacolo by Ghirlandaio" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-ghirlandaio.jpg" width="258" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>Il Cenacolo</em></strong> by Ghirlandaio (1448)</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Frescoes certainly have an aura, because they are part of the place on which they were painted. Also, frescoes are impressive because they are very large. Characters painted are taller than you sometimes. You may feel as if you were a witness of the scene. </p> <p>It was the case in particular in <a title="70 museums" href="http://www.museumsinflorence.com/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="tag">Florence</a> — the city with 70 museums — with frescoes by <em>Filipino Lippi </em>and <em>Domenico</em> <em>Ghirlandaio, </em>in <a title="Santa Maria Novella" href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_Novella" target="_blank" rel="tag">Santa Maria Novella Church</a> and the <a title="Ognissanti" href="http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/musei/ognissanti/" target="_blank" rel="tag">Church of Ognissanti</a>, famous for the great <strong><em>Last Supper</em></strong> fresco, <em>Ghirlandaio</em> painted in 1488.</p> <p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="180"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/santamariadellegraziemilan.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Santa Maria Delle Grazie (Milan)" alt="Santa Maria Delle Grazie (Milan)" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/santamariadellegraziemilan.jpg" width="168" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Santa Maria Delle Grazie (Milan) </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>It was the case also in <a title="http://www.cenacolovinciano.it/html/eng/smgrazie.htm" href="http://www.cenacolovinciano.it/html/eng/smgrazie.htm" target="_blank" rel="tag">Santa Maria delle Grazie</a> in Milan, a red brick church and monastery built in the 15th century where <em>Leonardo da Vinci</em> painted his <em><strong>Last Supper</strong></em>, <em>Il Cenacolo</em>, in the refectory of the monastery from 1495 to 1498.</p> <p>Because it was a long-term work, Leonardo did not paint on wet plaster but on a dry wall. Strictly speaking, the painting is not a fresco then. It is a mural painting. Unfortunately, because of the method used, the work deteriorated quickly and its restoration has been a never-ending task.</p> <p>If you want to see the painting, you must book in advance, and arrive on time. You will then be admitted among a small group of visitors (around 25 people), one group at a time, every 15 minutes. You must go through a double entrance door first, for sake of constant temperature and humidity. You wait there a few minutes, then you enter the refectory at last.</p> <p> <table align="top"><tbody> <tr> <td width="500"> <div><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/%C3%9Altima_Cena_-_Da_Vinci_5.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Il Cenacolo" alt="Il Cenacolo" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo_small.jpg" width="498" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>The Last Supper</em></strong> by Leonardo da Vinci (click on the picture for a larger scale) </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Here it is, painted on the wall on the right side of the refectory. Awesome, huge — about nine meters wide — painted with a perspective that continues the walls of the refectory</p> <p>The characters are approximately life-sized, a little taller. Although the work is damaged,you feel as if you were there, standing at about eight meters from the table. All 13 character are in front of you, on the same side of the table. Unlike <em>Ghirlandaio</em> and others, Leonardo did not paint Judas apart from his colleagues.</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="300"> <div align="right"><img title="Perspective" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 15px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Perspective" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo2.jpg" width="288" align="right" border="0" /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Jesus has just announced that one of those sitting at the table will betray him. The twelve apostles react with various degrees of shock, denial, and anger.</p> <p>Jesus is in the middle of the painting. Precisely in the middle. In fact, a small hole in his right temple was used by Leonardo to help define the vanishing point of the whole perspective of the painting. Around him, on his right and left sides, the apostles are grouped in four groups of three, and each of the three figures in each group reacts its own way.</p> <p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="235"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles1.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Bartholomew, James the Younger and Andrew" alt="Bartholomew, James the Younger and Andrew" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles1-small.jpg" width="223" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> On the left side,  <em>Bartholomew</em>, <em>James the Younger</em> and <em>Andrew</em> appear stunned by Jesus’ declaration. They look at him with stupefaction. Andrew raises his hands before him in a gesture of horror and incredulity — yet an apostle can hardly be incredulous, can he ?</p> <p> </p> <p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="296"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles2.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Peter, Judas and John" style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px" alt="Peter, Judas and John" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles2-small.jpg" width="191" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>In the second group, a knife in hand, <em>Peter</em> is ready to punish the traitor. He leans towards <em>John</em>, the boyish, almost feminine apostle seated beside Jesus: "Ask the Master, John! Who is it?" He pushes <em>Judas</em> forward, who holds a purse with thirty pieces of silver inside.</p> <p> <table align="top"><tbody> <tr> <td width="500"> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-jesus.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Jesus" style="margin: 0px" alt="Jesus" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-jesus-small.jpg" width="170" border="0" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="300"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles3.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Thomas, James the Elder and Philip" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px" alt="Thomas, James the Elder and Philip" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles3-small.jpg" width="185" border="0" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>On Jesus left-hand side, <em>Thomas, James the Elder</em> and <em>Philip</em> are assuring Jesus of their obedience. James the Elder expresses his indignation, and we can almost hear Philip protesting his loyalty: "You know me, Master, you know I did not do that".</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="258"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles4.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Matthew, Jude Thaddeus and Simon" style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px" alt="Matthew, Jude Thaddeus and Simon" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/cenacolo-apostles4-small.jpg" width="243" border="0" /></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>The last group on the right is made up of <em>Matthew, Jude Thaddeus</em> and <em>Simon. </em>They are involved in an animated discussion, and don't look at Jesus. "One of us? How is it possible?" Matthews asks Simon, while Jude Thaddeus seems to be about to clap his hands in a "didn't I tell you?"</p> <p align="center"><strong>-:-:-:-:-:-</strong></p> <p> <table width="110" align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="108"> <div align="center"><img title="13" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="93" alt="13" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn13.jpg" width="84" /></div> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: arial,serif" align="center"><i><b>    [BbN #13] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p><strong>Note:</strong> You cannot fully appreciate such a masterpiece in less than 15 minutes. There's so little time, you must hurry, you can hardly have a look at every character. It is frustrating. If you ever go to <em>Santa Maria delle Grazie</em> and see <em>The Last Supper</em> by Leonardo, here is my advice then: book for it twice, half an hour apart. I will do that, the next time I go to Milan.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-75923818400695340322009-10-16T22:53:00.000+02:002009-10-16T23:11:35.610+02:00The Twelve Labours of Hercules<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="270"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-herakles-olympus.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Herakles enters Olympus" alt="Herakles enters Olympus" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-herakles-olympus.jpg" width="255" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong>Amasis</strong> – Heracles entering Olympus <br />Attic black-figure olpe — ca. 550-530 BC </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>I have been an affiliate of <em><a title="Les Amis du Louvre" href="http://www.amis-du-louvre.org/" target="_blank" rel="tag">Les Amis du Louvre</a></em> (<em>Friends of Le Louvre</em>) for years. It is a patron of the arts foundations, which aims at increasing art collections in the <a title="Musée du Louvre, Paris" href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp" target="_blank" rel="tag">Musée du Louvre</a> in Paris. Also, it gives free access to the Museum, permanent collection and temporary exhibitions as well.</p> <p>I probably visited the Museum more than a hundred times, I have not yet explored the whole of it though. In particular, I visited the department of <em>Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities</em> on rare occasions only.</p> <p>Because I read an article about Attic pottery lately, I decided to follow two <a title="Le Louvre Thematic Trails" href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/activite/liste_parcours.jsp?bmLocale=en" target="_blank" rel="tag">Thematic Trails</a> in that department of Le Louvre: <em>Hercules trail</em> and <em>Greek pottery trail</em>. More than 2500 years after they were made, <a title="Greek pottery" href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/dossiers/page_theme.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=10134198673226589&CURRENT_LLV_THEME%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226592&CURRENT_LLV_PAGE_THEME%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673226589&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=10134198673226589&bmLocale=en " target="_blank" rel="tag">Greek pottery pieces</a>  are still fascinating. I especially valued so-called <em>black-figure paintings</em> on Attic vases.</p> <p>A couple of vases displayed <em>Hercules</em> (<em>Herakles</em> in Greek), one of which is displayed above. After I followed both trails, I enjoyed myself seeking on the Internet twelve Greek ceramic that illustrate the twelve labours of Hercules.</p> <p>Here they are (click on the pictures for bigger view and more details).</p> <table cellspacing="2" cellpadding="1" width="480" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-1-nemean-lion.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Nemean Lion" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Nemean Lion" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-1-nemean-lion-detail.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Nemean Lion </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-2-lernean-hydra.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Lernean Hydra" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Lernean Hydra" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-2-lernean-hydra.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Lernean Hydra</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-3-ceryneian-hind.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Cerynean Hind" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Cerynean Hind" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-3-ceryneian-hind.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Cerynean Hind</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-4-erymanthian-boar.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Erymanthian Boar" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Erymanthian Boar" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-4-erymanthian-boar-detail.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Erymanthian Boar</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-5-augean-stables.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Augean Stables" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Augean Stables" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-5-augean-stables.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Augean Stables</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-6-stymphalian-birds.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Stymphalian Birds" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Stymphalian Birds" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-6-stymphalian-birds.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Stymphalian Birds</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-7-cretan-bull.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The The Cretan Bull" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Cretan Bull" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-7-cretan-bull_detail.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Cretan Bull</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-8-diomedes.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Mares of Diomedes" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Mares of Diomedes" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-8-diomedes.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Mares of Diomedes</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-9-amazon-queen.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Belt of Hippolyte" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Belt of Hippolyte" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-9-amazon-queen-detail.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Belt of Hippolyte</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-10-geryon.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Cattle of Geryon" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Cattle of Geryon" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-10-geryon.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">The Cattle of Geryon</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-11-hesperides.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Apples of the Hesperides" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="The Apples of the Hesperides" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-11-hesperides.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Apples of the Hesperides</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="160"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="156"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-12-cerberus.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Cerberus" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Cerberus" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12-12-cerberus.jpg" width="152" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Cerberus</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="102"> <div align="center"><img title="Blogging by Numbers #12" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Blogging by Numbers #12" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn12_n12.jpg" width="100" /></div> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: arial,serif" align="center"><i><b>    [BbN #12] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-67363725529789585322009-09-27T15:52:00.000+02:002009-09-27T16:37:31.444+02:00Panem et Circenses<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="284"> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/maradona.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Maradona cheats" border="0" alt="Maradona cheats" align="middle" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/maradona.jpg" width="268" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal"><strong>Diego Maradona illegally sticks the ball with his left hand in the </strong><a title="Argentina vs England 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter final" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina_v_England_%281986_FIFA_World_Cup_quarter-final%29" rel="tag" target="_blank"><strong>Argentina vs. England 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter final</strong></a><strong>.</strong> <br />Maradona was not penalised for the cheat, called <em>The Hand of God Goal</em>. He was later awarded the golden ball for best player in the tournament. </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> I'd certainly rather write about what I love than about what I dislike, but it will not be possible today because, according to the <a title="Blogging by Numbers constraint" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/06/blogging-by-numbers.html" rel="tag" target="_blank"><em>Blogging by Numbers </em>constraint</a>, this blog has to deal with number eleven…. From Brazil to England, from France to Korea, this number immediately conjures up one thing only: football, because eleven is the number of players in a team.</p> <p>When I was a child, I would play football in the playground during the breaks, as every boy does. It is just normal that children play. Later, I played handball (as a goalkeeper, my thumbs remember it well), then rugby that I loved. Sport as a recreational activity is great thing. Playing in teams is an experience besides the sport itself: it has you learn to socialize, and respect people. Theoretically.</p> <p>Professional football appears to be just the opposite of this theory. Granted, beautiful play may happen. Dribbles by Zinedine Zidane were pure art sometimes. Yet Zidane was also the man who head butted an Italian player, Marco Materazzi, in the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup (<a title="Zidane" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2006/07/taxonomy.html" rel="tag" target="_blank">one of my first blogs</a> dealt with it), probably as an over-reaction to racist callings.</p> <p>In my eyes, this event summed up professional football: it includes manoeuvre and pretension, racism, insults, and violence. The hidden part of the iceberg is of the same kind: doping, cheats, refereeing 'errors' and corruption, and that's not all.</p> <p>Such flaws are inherent to many professional sports nowadays, not only football. The reason is always the same: money. It's especially obvious in football though, because it is by far the most popular sport in the world. <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="82"> <div align="center"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="eleven" alt="eleven" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_11.jpg" width="80" /></div> <div style="font-family: arial,serif; font-size: 0.9em" align="center"><i><b>    [BbN #11] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Famous football players are millionaires who usually grew up in poverty. Their success makes young poor people dream of a better future. Also, people don't think of economical issues when they look at a match.</p> <p>Nothing new here. '<em>Panem et Circenses'</em>, the Roman emperors would already say, 2000 years ago, about what a leader should provide to the masses to have them remain quiet: bread and games.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-44067153137131816732009-09-22T18:14:00.001+02:002009-09-27T12:52:11.387+02:00Primidi, 1 Vendémiaire CCXVIII, day of Grapes<p> <table align="top"><tbody> <tr> <td width="502"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/french_republican_calendar.gif" target="blank"><img title="French Republican Calendar" border="0" alt="French Republican Calendar" align="middle" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/french_republican_calendar.gif" width="500" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal"><strong>The French Republican Calendar – Year III </strong></span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Today, September 22, is the day of the September <a title="Equinox" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter.html" rel="tag" target="_blank">Equinox</a>, when Autumn begins in the Northern (and Spring in the Southern) hemisphere. It was also the first day of the French Republican Calendar. On September 22, 1792 in France, the First Republic was born, and the new calendar (although it was fully conceived some months later only) started on this very same Equinox day.</p> <p>The new calendar was part of a plan of rationalizing, standardizing, and secularizing systems of measurements named the Metric System, then the <a title="Système International" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units" rel="tag" target="_blank">Système International</a> (S.I.). At the time in Europe, you would not have a same value for a French, British, Spanish or Italian league, mile, pound, ounce, gallon, whatever. Values would even change between counties or cities in a same country sometimes. A few years earlier then, French King Louis XVI had commissioned a group of scientists headed by <a title="Antoine Lavoisier" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_Lavoisier" rel="tag" target="_blank">Antoine Lavoisier</a> to create a unified and rational system of measures. The Revolutionary Government intensified it.</p> <p>French scientists decided modern values should be based as much as possible on <strong>number 10</strong>. Their work led to the present unification and rationalization of measurements, with the development of meter, kilogram, then the second, kelvin, ampere, candela, mole, etc. The metric system/S.I. is of widespread use in science, and it has been progressively adopted  in ordinary life by every country in the world but three: Liberia, Myanmar and the USA.</p> <p>One attempt was a failure though: the <a title="Revolutionary Calendar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Republican_Calendar" rel="tag" target="_blank">Revolutionary Calendar</a>, that lasted for about 13 years only (plus 18 days in 1871 during the Paris Commune) and never spread outside France. Every year was written in Roman letters (year CCXVIII begins today). It had twelve months of 30 days each, that were given new names based on seasons and nature, principally having to do with the prevailing weather in and around Paris. For instance, Vendémiaire that begins today, means "the month of Winds". It obviously made the calendar pretty inaccurate in most countries, and especially in the Southern hemisphere.</p> <p>Every months was divided into three decades, 'weeks' of 10 days called Primidi (first day), Duodi (second day), Tridi (third day) and so on. One Decadi every ten days instead of one Sunday every seven days was certainly another good reason for the new calendar to fail. Instead of Saints as in the Christian calendar, every day in the year was associated to a plant or a tool (Grape today for example). </p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="92"> <div align="center"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_10.gif" width="90" /></div> <div style="font-family: arial,serif; font-size: 0.9em" align="center"><i><b>    [BbN #10] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>At the end of the year, 5 or 6 Complementary Days (or Sansculotides) were respectively called Celebration Day of Virtue, Talent, Labour, Convictions, Honours, and on lap years, Celebration of the Revolution.</p> <p>Today is Primidi, 1er Vendémiaire CCXVIII, day of Grapes. Happy New Republican Year, everyone.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-8432890638536471652009-09-09T09:09:00.000+02:002009-09-09T22:41:13.126+02:00Nine by nine<table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="280n="left"><img title="Nine By Nine by the John Dummer Famous Music Band (1970)" alt="Nine By Nine by the John Dummer Famous MusicBand (1970)" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/ninebynine.jpg" width="270" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Cover of the <em><strong>Nine by Nine</strong></em> 45 rpm record (1970) </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>I confess that I deliberately waited for nine days since my previous blog, because I wanted to post this entry today <strong>9/9/9,</strong> at <strong>9:9</strong> am.</p> <p> <table align="top"><tbody> <tr> <td align="center" width="200"><embed src="http://www.billythekidney.org/dewplayer.swf?son=http://www.billythekidney.org/sounds/ninebynine.mp3&%autostart=0&autoreplay=0&bgcolor=FFFFFF" width="200" height="20" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="none" /> <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong>Nine by nine</strong> by <em>The <br />John Dummer Famous Music Band</em></span></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p><table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="100"> <div align="center"><img title="nine" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="nine" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_9.gif" width="98" /></div> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: arial,serif" align="center"><i><b>    [BbN #9] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> This piece was a huge hit in France in the 1970s. I still find it great now. </p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-2121972756356943952009-08-30T22:55:00.000+02:002009-09-09T22:32:34.713+02:00Otto e Mezzo<table align="center" style="width: 520px;"><tbody>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-style: italic;"><img alt="" height="13" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/templates/start_quote.gif" style="border-width: 0px; margin: 0px;" width="24" /><span style="color: #263e15;">I thought I had something so simple to say. Something useful to everybody. A film that could help bury forever all those dead things we carry within ourselves. Instead, I'm the one without the courage to bury anything at all. When did I go wrong? <br />I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it all the same.</span><img align="right" alt="" height="13" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/templates/end_quote.gif" style="border-width: 0px; margin: 0px;" width="23" /></span></div>
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Guido, in <b><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">8½</span></b> by F<span style="color: #acb613;">. </span>Fellini)</div>
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The present blog certainly comes as a joke, located as it is between <b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">8</span></b> and<span style="font-family: Verdana;"> <b>9</b></span> in the <i>Blogging by Numbers</i> series of blogs I have been unwinding for several weeks. Yet <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><b>8½</b> by <a href="http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/fellini.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Federico Fellini">Federico Fellini</a></span> was a movie that remains worth seeing, almost half a century later, far from the usual hyped-up blockbusters now released every week. Also, the music by Nino Rota is justly famous.</div>
The movie depicts the crisis of a creative mind, the despondency of an artist who doesn't succeed in creating any more. <br />
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<i><b> [BbN #8.5] </b></i></div>
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Guido, played by Marcello Mastroianni — and a transparent alter ego of Fellini himself — has lost inspiration. He is overwhelmed by an uncontrolled flood of dreams, fantasies, and hallucinations. <br />
From this movie on, Federico Fellini took up a style of <i>Realistic Fantasy</i>, where extravagance is more real than reality, filled up with humanity, fantasizing and imagination.<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-91586630539098487762009-08-17T18:29:00.000+02:002009-08-17T18:40:31.702+02:00Paris in August<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="300"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_8-paris-august.jpg" target="blank"><img title="August in Paris" alt="August in Paris" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_8-paris-august.jpg" width="288" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Taking a Sunbath in Paris</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>I love Paris in August. Because many people have the month of August off in France, several hundred thousand Parisians then leave the city for weeks. Fewer Parisians, many tourists, warm and sunny weather usually, there is a special atmosphere. The air is filled with tranquillity, like a Sunday that would last for one month.</p> <p>You must go and work every day as usual; you feel as if you were in vacation though. For lunch, you will improvise a picnic with colleagues, in the <a title="Les Jardins du Luxembourg" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/07/statues-of-liberty.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">Jardins du Luxembourg</a> or the <a title="The Buttes-Chaumont in Paris" href="http://www.v1.paris.fr/EN/Visiting/gardens/parc_buttes_chaumont.asp" target="_blank" rel="tag">Buttes-Chaumont</a>. On the evening, you will stroll around, have a beer at the terrace of a café. You will sit on the grass in a garden perhaps, to take a nap or read a book.</p> <p>It's August. The eighth month in the year, and a blessed month in Paris, when the <em>City of Lights</em> gets rid of its usual frenzy. Traffic jams, subway's crowd, all that makes it a hard place to live in sometimes, has disappeared for a while. The city reveals itself, warm and cheerful. It has put on its leisure clothes, for the sake of tourists, most of whom don't realize how special the atmosphere is. </p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="240"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_8-parisplage.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Paris Plage" alt="Paris Plage" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_8-parisplage.jpg" width="228" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Paris-Plages, on the banks <br />of the Seine River</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Paris is weightless in August. It's culture without stress, moving around without hurry. No more queues in front of movie theatres. No more traffic jams on the <a title="Boulevard Périphérique" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulevard_P%C3%A9riph%C3%A9rique" target="_blank" rel="tag">Boulevard Périphérique</a>. You will find a parking space anywhere at once, and it's free! You can sit in the bus. Metro cars are empty.</p> <p>You can take a <a title="Vélib'" href="http://www.en.velib.paris.fr/comment_ca_marche" target="_blank" rel="tag">Vélib'</a> (Paris' self-service bike-hire system) safely and bike everywhere, even on the <a title="Champs-Élysées" href="http://www.champs-elysees-paris.org/" target="_blank" rel="tag">Champs-Élysées</a>. <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="58"> <div align="center"><img title="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_8-n8glasses.jpg" width="56" /></div> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; font-family: arial,serif" align="center"><i><b>    [BbN #8] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> You may decide to go to <a title="Paris-Plage" href="http://www.paris.fr/portail/english/Portal.lut?page_id=8208&document_type_id=5&document_id=34146&portlet_id=18969" target="_blank" rel="tag">Paris-Plages</a> (<em>'Paris-Beaches'</em>, eighth occurrence this year) and have a sunbath on the banks of the <em>Seine River</em> or <em>Bassin de la Villette</em>, why not? You feel as if you were a tourist yourself.</p> <p>In August, Parisians rediscover space in a city that misses it so much during the rest of the year. <em>La Joie de Vivre</em> is back, it is almost Italy. Oh yes. I do love Paris in August.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-89545115744651063172009-08-01T21:51:00.000+02:002009-08-01T21:53:01.528+02:00N°5<p> <table width="222" align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="220"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_5-marilyn.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Marilyn Monroe" border="0" alt="Marilyn Monroe" align="middle" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_5-marilyn.jpg" width="225" height="329" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal"><em>"What do I wear to bed? Why, Chanel N°5, of course"</em>  (Marilyn Monroe)</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Since my entry entitled <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2009/06/blogging-by-numbers.html">Blogging by Numbers</a>, I have written blogs under the constraint stated as <em>'Write blogs on topics one can associate with successive ascending numbers' — </em>and still am I now. It was not the first time I assigned myself a constraint as a challenge, and a help to my inspiration as well: I did the same two years ago with a constraint of writing about the 5 senses and Paris. It ended up in blogs about <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-sight.html">Sight</a>, <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/05/five-senses-in-paris-hearing.html">Hearing</a>, <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-touch.html">Touch</a>, <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-taste.html">Taste</a>, and <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-smell.html">Smell</a>.</p> <p>When you talk about the five senses, it is but logical to name sight and hearing first, because they are the most important senses in humans. Taste, and essentially smell, on the contrary, will be named last, because they are of much lesser use in humans than many animals.</p> <p>It is the same when it comes to arts. Arts are usually based on one sense only, and arts based on a sense that acts from a distance — sight or hearing — are seen as noble arts. Painters, sculptors, composers, musicians, are undisputed artists. On the opposite, few people will spontaneously consider that chefs, wine experts and perfumers are artists as well. There is a hierarchy among senses: senses that need closeness are trivial. Touch, taste, and smell, especially.</p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_5-pepe.gif" width="105" height="105" /> Every art needs education and practice. It is the case especially with arts that rely upon underused senses. It is probably not only coincidental then that France, a country where even body smell has traditionally been considered a normal feature of men and women, is especially famous for its cuisine, cheeses, wines, and perfumes.</p> <p>Everybody knows Leonardo, Picasso, Rodin, Mozart, and so many other artists relying on sight or hearing. Few people, on the opposite, have heard of <a title="Giovanni Marina Farina" href="http://www.answers.com/topic/farina-gegen-ber#Literature" rel="tag" target="_blank">Giovanni Marina Farina</a>, who invented the <em>Eau de Cologne</em> and served as a model for the character of <em>César Birotteau</em> in the novel by <a title="Honoré de Balzac" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac" rel="tag" target="_blank">Honoré de Balzac</a>, or <a title="Ernest Beaux" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Beaux" rel="tag" target="_blank">Ernest Beaux,</a> who created <strong><em>Chanel n°5</em></strong>, probably the most famous perfume ever.</p> <p> <table border="0" width="270" align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="268"> <table border="0" cellspacing="7" cellpadding="7" width="255" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="line-height: 1.3; font-size: 90%"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" alt="quote" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/templates/start_quote.gif" width="24" height="13" /><b> I want to give women an artificial perfume. Yes, I really do mean <em>artificial</em>, like a dress, something that has been made. I am a fashion craft worker. I don’t want any rose or lily of the valley, I want a perfume that is a composition. </b><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" alt="" align="right" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/templates/end_quote.gif" width="23" height="13" /> <br clear="all" /></div> <div style="line-height: 1.1; font-size: 88%">Coco Chanel </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>When <em>Mademoiselle</em> <a title="Coco Chanel" href="http://www.famous-women-and-beauty.com/coco-chanel-biography.html" rel="tag" target="_blank">Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel</a> commissioned Ernest Beaux to make several perfumes for her choosing, she was already a famous fashion designer who had imposed her conception of elegance, with modern women feeling free because they wore simple and comfortable clothing.</p> <p>At the time though, fashion and perfumes were distinct areas, and the idea of creating a perfume that would be an image of the brand was new. Beaux produced two series of samples numbered <em>1</em> to <em>5</em> and <em>20</em> to <em>24</em>. Chanel chose the bottle labelled as <strong><em>N°5</em></strong> and decided to keep the name, probably for superstitious reasons.</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="92"> <div align="center"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 5px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_5-n5.jpg" width="90" height="76" /></div> <div style="font-family: arial,serif; font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10px" align="center"><i><b>      [BbN #5] </b></i></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> The new perfume was introduced on May 5, 1921, on the 5th day of the 5th month of the year. In the light of what its destiny has been for more than 80 years, Coco Chanel was undoubtedly right in thinking that 5 was her lucky number.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-66102218417455731282009-07-25T19:23:00.000+02:002009-07-25T19:37:43.851+02:00Scrambled Eggs<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="300"> <div align="left"><img title="Let it Be" border="0" alt="Let it Be" align="middle" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_4-letitbe.jpg" width="288" /> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal"><strong>John, Paul, Ringo and George</strong></span></div> <div align="center"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal">(Cover of <strong><em>Let it Be</em></strong> – 1970)</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p><em><strong>Paul McCartney</strong></em> had only just woke up in his room in London, one morning in 1964, when he hurried to the piano and turned on a tape recorder. During the night, he had dreamed of a melody he did not want to let slip into the recesses of his mind.</p> <p>In order not to lose it then, he played it with temporary lyrics inspired by the breakfast he was just about to take with his girlfriend: <em>'Scrambled Eggs… Oh, baby, you've got so lovely legs'.</em></p> <p>The music was here, the whole of its melody so precisely composed that McCartney was not sure at first it was truly a creation of his own. He feared it might be involuntary plagiarism, that he subconsciously remembered a music composed by someone else. <em>'For about a month'</em>, he told later, <em>'I went round to people in the music business and asked them whether they had ever heard it before. Eventually it became like handing something in to the police. I thought if no-one claimed it after a few weeks then I could have it.'</em></p> <p><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_4-apple.jpg" width="157" height="150" /> <a title="Beatlemania" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatlemania_in_the_UK" rel="tag" target="_blank">Beatlemania</a> was as its peaks at the time. The group of four boys from Liverpool — whose name was a pun made of <em>The Beetles </em>(one among their many first names, and a tribute to Buddy Holly's group <em>The Crickets)</em> and 'to beat' — had turned into the world's most famous band in the history of popular music in the 20th century. Even, first dissensions had appeared, that would make the band break in 1970.</p> <p>In 1964 though, <a title="The Beatles" href="http://www.beatles.com/core/home/" rel="tag" target="_blank">John, Paul, George and Ringo</a> would always sing together. John Lennon and Paul McCartney composed most of the songs, they would always sign together — <em>Lennon/McCartney</em>. It was the case also with <em>Scrambled Eggs</em> when McCartney succeeded at last to add real lyrics to the music composed during his sleep. Yet, for the first time, the song was not sung by the whole Beatles but Paul alone, accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar, with a string quartet on the background.</p> <p align="center"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ONXp-vpE9eU&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ONXp-vpE9eU&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></p> <table border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" width="500"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="429"> <p align="left"><em><strong>Yesterday</strong></em> has become one of the world's most popular songs ever, with more than 3,000 recorded versions. In a poll of  British music experts and listeners in 1999, it was even voted the best song of the 20th century. I do love the song, but I somewhat regret it has not remained an <em>Ode to</em> <em>Scrambled Eggs</em>, just for the sake of fun and originality.</p> </td> <td width="88"> <div align="center"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_4-fab4.jpg" width="82" height="90" heigh="90" /></div> <div style="font-family: arial, serif; font-size: 0.9em" align="center"><em><strong>[BbN #4]</strong></em></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-714497998364333272009-07-20T09:17:00.001+02:002009-11-07T19:37:32.862+01:00A Story of Three Friends<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="220"> <div align="left"><img title="Forensics for Dummies" alt="Forensics for Dummies" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_3-forensics-for-dummies.jpg" width="208" align="middle" border="0" /></div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>Forensics for Dummies</em></strong> <br />by B.T. Kidney and G. Grissom </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>I used to have an old friend, who was a reputable doctor. Nobody would have asked him about their symptoms or small complaints though, because with him, you would never know where such questions could lead you.</p> <p>You should not think he was a dangerous doctor or a charlatan though. He was not at risk to be struck off the medical register, although his career was punctuated with a lot of death: my friend was an expert in forensics. He was even a leading expert in his field, among the best in the world.</p> <p>A specialist in difficult diagnoses, death in suspicious circumstances, questionable suicides and unequivocal murders, he would find the diagnosis that explained the inexplicable. He was able to turn the irrational into the rational, and bring mysterious death back to normality.</p> <p> <table width="111" align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="109"> <div align="right"><img title="Microscope" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Microscope" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_3-microscope.jpg" width="100" align="middle" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> You will not be surprised then that he was often asked for a diagnosis about victims from all over the globe. He was always between two planes, always in a hurry. A globe-trotting doctor, although he did not have the look. Several years older than me, he was a very unobtrusive person, with a quiet elegance and temperate language. He looked like a man of law, a solicitor, a judge, rather than a doctor.</p> <p>For that matter, his area of specialisation required frequent contacts with men of law because his offices would often come to settlement of complex inheritance issues, sometimes in a way quite unexpected by the heirs of the dear departed, when coveted legacies turned into sentences of life imprisonment. </p> <p> <table width="223" align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="221"> <div align="left"><img title="Shoes" height="153" alt="Shoes" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_3-shoes.jpg" width="204" align="middle" border="0" /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>I had another very dear friend, who was quite different. About ten years younger than me, she was a very beautiful woman and a talented nude dancer at a famous Parisian cabaret.</p> <p>I had followed her career and supported her for long. We were very hopeful she would become the first dancer soon.</p> <p>My two friends met for the first time at a reception I gave on the occasion of my birthday. Between them, it was love at first sight. A few months later, my old friend divorced his wife, and mother of three grown-up children, and married her.</p> <p>Yet aging persons are possessive sometimes. He made her interrupt her career. The young bride suffered a great deal, I can tell you. Her husband thanked her with long travels abroad rather than tokens of his affection. Soon, she only thought of keeping boredom at bay, and succeeded in this purpose in the most pleasant and Parisian way... I can surely tell you too. </p> <p> <table width="240" align="right" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td> <table cellspacing="7" cellpadding="7" width="230" align="right" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td> <div style="font-size: 90%; line-height: 1.3"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="13" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/templates/start_quote.gif" width="24" /><b> Murder is always a mistake — one should never do anything one cannot talk about after dinner. </b><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="13" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/templates/end_quote.gif" width="23" align="right" /> <br clear="all" /></div> <div style="font-size: 88%; line-height: 1.1">Oscar Wilde </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>My friend died shortly after their third anniversary. Nobody found the cause of his death, despite two autopsies: the first one performed at the request of his children, the other one by letters rogatory demanded by his insurance company, obviously reluctant to pay his young widow a premium that amounted to three million euros. </p> <p><em>"No one will ever know why my poor husband died"</em>, she used to moan. "<em>He was the only one who could find it out, but he cannot do it any more. He was the only one who knew how to kill your fellow man so that nobody can prove it." </em>She would burst into tears then, and I comforted her in her grief the best I could.</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="132"> <div align="right"><img title="Commelina" alt="Commelina" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_3-commelina.jpg" width="120" align="middle" border="0" /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> She wanted to publish his fascinating last book, that was almost finished when he passed on. When he was away from home, we both used to read the manuscript during our long evenings alone together. She deemed it her duty towards the deceased to publish the book — a last way to show him how grateful she was. </p> <p>The book was truly of utmost scientific importance: in particular, it revealed the formula of a new toxic substance, unknown to the most eminent of specialists, that anyone could easily extract from the stamens of a common wild flower, thanks to a clever and innovative process.</p> <p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="260"> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="250" bgcolor="#000000"> <div align="left"><img title="Fireplace" style="border-left-color: #000000; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-top-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000" alt="Fireplace" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_3-fireplace.gif" width="240" align="middle" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> If the book was to be published, no doubt that the plant poison would be called by my friend's name, giving him post-mortem fame, and immortality,  sort of. </p> <p>Anyway, at the end, my old friend's widow bowed to my reasons. Hardly silencing her scruples, with a lot of tears in her eyes, she burned the manuscript in the bonfire we lit in our home's hearth, the very day we received the check from the insurance company. </p> <p align="center"> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="92"> <div align="center"><img title="" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_3-number3.jpg" heigh="90" /></div> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-right: 10px; font-family: arial, serif" align="center"><em><strong>[BbN #3]</strong></em></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> -:-:-:-:-:-  </p> <p style="font-size: 90%"><em>I first published this short story a couple of years ago in a previous blog, now deleted. My friend Vanessa was kind enough at the time to read it and point out several English errors. Thank you again, Vanessa.</em></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-29751900313067591702009-07-16T08:41:00.000+02:002009-07-16T08:41:00.116+02:002 Lovers —> 1 Couple<p><font face="Georgia"><font color="#265e15"><strong>— 2A —</strong> <font size="2"><strong>At the beginning</strong></font></font></font></p> <p> <table width="374" align="center"><tbody> <tr> <td width="372"> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_2-munch-thekiss.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Kiss by Edvard Munch" alt="The Kiss by Edvard Munch" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_2-munch-thekiss.jpg" width="250" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><em><strong>Kyss </strong></em><em>[The Kiss]</em> by Edvard Munch (ca. 1895) <br />Oil on wood, 38.7 x 32.5 cm — Munch-museet, Oslo.</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p align="left"><em><strong>Önceleyin</strong></em> <strong>[At First]</strong> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cemal_S%C3%BCreya"><strong>Cemal Süreya</strong></a></p> <table cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" width="512" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="253">Önce bir ellerin vardı <br />Yalnızlığımla benim aramda <br />Sonra birden kapılar açılıverdi <br />Ardına kadar, <br />Sonra yüzün onun ardından <br />Gözlerın <br />Dudakların <br />Sonra her şey çıkıp geldi.</td> <td valign="top" width="251">At first there were your hands <br />Between me and my loneliness <br />Then the doors opened <br />Suddenly all through, <br />Then your face, <br />Your eyes, <br />Your lips <br />Then everything came up.</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="253">Bir korkusuzluk aldı yürüdü çevremizde <br />Sen çıkardın utancını <br />Duvara astın <br />Ben masanın üstüne kodum kuralları <br />Her şey işte böyle oldu önce.</td> <td valign="top" width="251">A fearlessness surrounded us <br />You took off your embarrassment <br />And hang it on the wall <br />I left the rules on the table <br />Everything happened this way at first.</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p align="center"><strong>-:-:-:-:-:-</strong></p> <p><font face="Georgia"><font color="#265e15"><strong>— 2B —</strong> <font size="2"><strong>I Don't Want to Be a Couple</strong></font></font></font></p> <p> <table width="492" align="center"><tbody> <tr> <td width="490"> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_2-uzzle-woodstock.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Woodstock by Burk Uzzle" alt="Woodstock by Burk Uzzle" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_2-uzzle-woodstock.jpg" width="370" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial" align="center"><em><strong>Woodstock</strong></em>  by <a title="Burk Uzzle" href="http://www.burkuzzle.com/" rel="tag">Burk Uzzle</a> (1969) <br />[This photo has become famous as the cover of the first <em>Woodstock</em> album]</div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p style="margin-left: 43px">I don't want to be a couple. <br />Couples are stupid. <br />Couple kiss all the time. <br />Couple moan. <br />Couple fight.</p> <p style="margin-left: 100px">I want to kiss you when I want. <br />I want to leave you when I want. <br />I want to come back when I want. <br />I want to be free.</p> <p style="margin-left: 150px">I don't want to spoil everything. <br />I don't want to be a couple. </p> <p align="center"><strong>-:-:-:-:-:-</strong></p> <p><font face="Georgia"><font color="#265e15"><strong>— 2C —</strong> <font size="2"><strong>Looking Together in the Same Direction</strong></font></font></font></p> <p> <table width="348" align="center"><tbody> <tr> <td width="346"> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/klimt-derkuss.jpg" target="blank"><img title="The Kiss by Gustav Klimt" alt="The Kuss by Gustav Klimt" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/klimt-derkuss.jpg" width="288" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><em><strong>Der Kuss</strong> [The Kiss]</em> by Gustav Klimt (1907) <br />Oil and Gold Leaf on canva</span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">s, 180 x 180 cm</span></div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Osterreichische Galerie, Vienna</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Years pass.</p> <blockquote> <table cellspacing="5" cellpadding="2" width="491" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="447">S'aimer, ce n'est pas se regarder l'un l'autre, c'est regarder ensemble dans la même direction. <div style="margin-left: 50px">[Loving is not looking at each other, it's looking together in the same direction.]</div> </td> <td valign="top" width="28"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </blockquote> <div align="right"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><a title="Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint_Exup%C3%A9ry" rel="tag">Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</a> in <strong><em>Terre des Hommes</em></strong> [Wind, Sand and Stars]</span></div> <p align="center"><strong>-:-:-:-:-:-</strong></p> <p><font face="Georgia"><font color="#265e15"><strong>— 2D —</strong> <font size="2"><strong>Old Lovers</strong></font></font></font></p> <div align="center"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LOcDwYQPp0Y" width="370" height="260" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="none" wmode="transparent" /> </embed> <br /><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><em><strong>La chanson des vieux amants</strong> [Song of Old Lovers]</em> by <a title="Jacques Brel" href="http://www.jacquesbrel.com.fr/" rel="tag">Jacques Brel</a></span></div> <table cellspacing="5" cellpadding="2" width="495" border="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="418"> <p style="margin-left: 65px">[...] But finally, finally, <br />It took us a lot of talent <br />To be old without being adult.</p> <p style="margin-left: 110px">Oh my love <br />My sweet, my tender, my marvellous love <br />From bright dawn until the end of day, <br />I still love you, you know, <br />I love you. </p> <p style="margin-left: 150px">And more the time marches on <br />The more time torments us. <br />But isn't it the worst trap <br />For lovers to live in peace? </p> </td> <td valign="bottom" width="61"> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 0.1; margin-right: 10px; font-family: arial, serif" align="right"><em><strong><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="70" alt="Two of Hearts" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_2-twoofhearts.jpg" width="28" align="right" /> </strong></em></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 0.1; margin-right: 25px; font-family: arial, serif" align="right"><em><strong>[BbN: #2]</strong></em></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-18170504734195107952009-07-12T07:59:00.010+02:002009-07-12T22:10:32.065+02:00Being the First, at any Price<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="250"> <div align="left"><img title="Le Maillot Jaune [The Yellow Jersey]" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Le Maillot Jaune [The Yellow Jersey]" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_1-maillot-jaune.jpg" width="238" align="middle" /></div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>Le Maillot Jaune</em></strong> </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>It is in the very nature of sport that competitors do as much as they can to win. For an athlete though, searching for the first place should not apply to the results of the competition only, but dignity, human excellence, and fair-play as well.</p> <p>In other words, <em><em>'being </em>the first at any price'</em> is not defensible. There's a gap between being the first, thanks to your efforts, perseverance and biological aptitudes, and winning because you cheated.</p> <p>Many people think that <em>'the end justifies the means'</em> though. According to this logic, being the first is not the main goal in itself. It is a way to get honours, please a government, make money, and have many other people around make money also. </p> <p>When I was a child, the <a title="Tour de France" href="http://www.letour.com/us/homepage_courseTDF.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">Tour de France</a> punctuated July. I would spent hours watching it on TV. I undoubtedly learned a lot of French geography by writing down every stage, with distances, intermediate towns, passes to get over, etc. I would read every day in the local newspaper about the day's winner and the jersey holders: the white, spotted, green, and of course, <a title="yellow jersey" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jersey" target="_blank" rel="tag">yellow jersey</a> — <em><strong>Le Maillot Jaune</strong></em>. </p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="180"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_1-maillot-jaune.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Tom Simpson dies — Mont Ventoux, July 13, 1967" alt="Tom Simpson dies — Mont Ventoux, July 13, 1967" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_1-simpson.jpg" width="168" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>Tom Simpson</em></strong> <br />Mont Ventoux, July 13, 1967 </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> And then... on July 13, 1967, <a title="Tom Simpson" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northeast/series6/cycling.shtml" target="_blank" rel="tag">British cyclist Tom Simpson</a> died climbing Mont Ventoux. Millions people saw it <a title="Tom Simpston dies" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtAyGvZqiwk" target="_blank" rel="tag">live on TV</a>. I did. <em>"Heat exhaustion"</em> they say. That's right, blame the heat... Even the child I was at the time understood it could not be related to heat only. We heard later that Simpson's autopsy found amphetamines and alcohol in his blood. Police also discovered amphetamine tablets in the pocket of his jersey and in a team support car. </p> <p>As year passed, we heard of <em>steroids</em>, <em>androgens</em>, <em>the <em>'pot</em> <em>belge'</em>, erythropoietin,</em> and so on. We learned that, besides training, willpower, capacity for overcoming pain, that are still necessary in a crazy competition that aims at putting back the limits of human resistance to pain and effort, doping substances were and are still essential. </p> <p><em>Richard Virenque</em>, <em>Marco Pantani</em>, <em>Jan Ullrich</em>, <em>Bjarne Riis</em>, <em>Floyd Landis…</em> and <a title="List of doping cases in cycling" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_doping_cases_in_cycling" target="_blank" rel="tag">dozens other 'champions'</a>. Dozens of cheats and liars who had sworn for years they were 'clean', until they were convicted of doping, and then cried and apologized. Many cyclists have not been caught yet, or have miraculously been put in the clear, <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/24/content_471898.htm" target="_blank">scientifically guilty</a> but not guilty on <a href="http://www.cyclisme-dopage.com/actualite/2006-05-31-Rapport%20HR%20zonder.pdf" target="_blank">juridical grounds</a>… What a farce.</p> <p>Anyway. A lot of people still love the <em>Tour de France…</em> people outside France especially. Among the people who watch <em>Le Tour</em> on the French roads every year in July, there are a lot of fans from all over the world, bikers or not, who come to France especially to see it. Good for them.</p> <p><img style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; border-right-width: 0px" height="80" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/bbn_1-number1" width="80" align="right" border="0" />Yet, as for me and millions of French people, I don't follow the <em>Tour de France</em> any more. I watch the <em>News of the Tour</em> sometimes though. Not because I want to hear about who won the stage or who leads the race. Only, I am a little interested in hearing which cheats will be unmasked this time. <div style="font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 0.1; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial, serif" align="right"><em><strong>[BbN: #1]</strong></em></div> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-15588513137785506532009-07-08T12:28:00.004+02:002009-07-12T22:09:49.913+02:00A Void<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="280"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/perec-puzzle-piece.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Georges Perec Jigsaw" alt="Georges Perec Jigsaw" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/perec-puzzle-piece.jpg" width="268" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><em><strong>Georges Perec's portrait as a jigsaw</strong> <strong>puzzle <br /></strong></em>Puzzle pour un portrait de Georges Perec <br />La Poésie dans un jardin — Festival d'Avignon 1988</span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Born in Paris in 1936, <a title="Georges Perec" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Perec" target="_blank" rel="tag">Georges Perec</a><font color="#666666"> </font>was the only son of two recent Jewish immigrants from Poland, <em>Icek</em> and <em>Cyrla Peretz</em>. His father volunteered for French Army during World War II, and was killed in 1940. His mother was deported by the Nazis and died in Auschwitz in 1943.</p> <p>Georges survived because his mother had previously sent him by train to a little town in the Alps mountains, where relatives took charge of him. They had him baptized Catholic and his name frenchified to Perec. They adopted him formally after the war.</p> <p>Disappearance of his parents when he was a child, disappearance of his Jewish roots, there is nothing so surprising that Perec was haunted by absence, loss, erasing, disappearance. “<em>I have no memory of childhood</em>” are the first words of his novel <a title="W or the Memory of Childhood" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W,_or_the_Memory_of_Childhood" target="_blank" rel="tag"><em>W or the Memory of Childhood</em></a>, an admission that he remembers almost nothing of his early life as a Jew in Nazi-occupied France.</p> <p>In 1969, Georges Perec published a novel named <em><strong>La disparition</strong>,</em> a phrase that means ‘the disappearance’ in English. A word for word translation of the title into English had to be replaced by <em>A Void</em> (Gilbert Adair) or <em>A Vanishing</em> (Ian Monk) though, because the letter E appears three times in ‘the disappearance’, and the whole novel  is a 300 pages <a title="Lipogram" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipogram" target="_blank" rel="tag">lipogram</a> written without ever using a E.</p> <p><em>La disparition</em> tells the story of the disappearance of a man, whose name is <em>Anton Voyl</em> (in French) or <em>Vowl</em> (in English), in a strange world from which an enigmatic part five of 26 has disappeared as well. </p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="120"> <div align="right"><img title="La disparition" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="La disparition" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/perec-disparition.jpg" width="104" align="middle" /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> It implicitly talks of its own lipogrammatic limitation, starting with the name of the missing person — <em>Voyelle</em> in French, V<em>owel</em> in English, after the E's have been lost. Characters in the novel work out what is missing, but they risk fatal injury if their though gets too close to that taboo “<em>circular symbol with a horizontal bar across it</em>”.</p> <p>The constraint that underlies the story induces endless tricks and distortions of language, and describes how a world can be built that fills that void. Besides the amazing lexicographic feats of writing a whole novel with zero occurrence of the most frequent letter in French and English though, the silent disappearance of the letter is a metaphor of loss, and suffering it causes.</p> <p>In French, E is the only vowel in <em>père </em>[father] and <em>mère</em> [mother], and <em>sans E</em> [without E] sounds very much like <em>sans eux</em> [without them]. Furthermore, since the name <em>Georges Perec</em> is full of E's, the disappearance of the letter also ensures the author's own disappearance.</p> <blockquote> <p>The absence of a sign is always the sign of an absence, and the absence of the E in A Void announces a broader, cannily coded discourse on loss, catastrophe, and mourning […] Each "void" in the novel is abundantly furnished with meaning, and each points toward the existential void that Perec grappled with throughout his youth and early adulthood. A strange and compelling parable of survival becomes apparent in the novel, too, if one is willing to reflect on the struggles of a Holocaust orphan trying to make sense out of absence, and those of a young writer who has chosen to do without the letter that is the beginning and end of 'écriture' [writing].     — <a title="Warren Motte" href="http://www.dalkeyarchive.com/article/show/262" target="_blank" rel="tag">Warren Motte</a></p> </blockquote> <div style="line-height: 0.1" align="center" ;=";">-:-:-:-:-</div> <p><u>Postscript:</u><em> When I challenged myself with the</em> Blogging by numbers<em> constraint, I decided the first entry in the series would be related to <strong>Number 0</strong> — not 1 — and dedicated to</em> <strong>A Void</strong>.<em> It seemed fair enough because the very idea of the constraint was inspired in particular by the works of</em> Georges Perec <em>and </em>Oulipo<em>.</p><p><img style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; border-right-width: 0px" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/toto.jpg" width="80" align="right" border="0" />I did not know though that another void was just about to occur, when my I had my laptop fell from a table three weeks ago and its hard drive broke. Another aching void and a lot of work to do again, because I had not performed any save for a month or so. Anyway, I am back now.</em> <div style="font-size: 0.9em; line-height: 0.1; margin-right: 15px; font-family: arial, serif" align="right"><em><strong>[BbN: #0]</strong></em></div> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-7378472825252440162009-06-13T18:48:00.003+02:002009-08-01T16:11:22.656+02:00Blogging by Numbers<table align="left"><tbody>
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<a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/drowning-by-numbers.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Drowning by Numbers Poster" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/drowning-by-numbers.jpg" title="Drowning by Numbers Poster" width="228" /></a> </div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">1988 Poster of <b><i>Drowning by Numbers</i></b> <br />by Peter Greenaway <br />(With number 44 in the background)</span></div>
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In his 1988 movie <i>'Drowning by Numbers'</i>, British Director <a href="http://www.petergreenaway.info/mos/Frontpage/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Peter Greenaway">Peter Greenaway</a> tells the strange story of three women belonging to three generations in a same family, who bear the same name and cause their husbands to drown, one in a bath, one in the sea, one in a swimming-pool.<br />
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The result is a fascinating, intriguing, weird black comedy. The local coroner is drawn into a plot to disguise the murders. As the plot progresses, his son explains the rules of various games played by the characters as if they were ancient traditions, while the numbers <b>1</b> to <b>100</b> successively appear in ascending order, either seen in the background or spoken by the characters.<br />
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<img align="right" alt="Fear of Drowning by Numbers" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/fearofdrowningbynumbers.jpg" title="Fear of Drowning by Numbers" width="90" /></div>
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Most of the games played in the film were invented for its purpose, using rules that are so complex that Greenaway later published a whole book dedicated to explaining them, entitled <i>'Fear of Drowning by Numbers'</i>. That a whole book was needed to explain rules of a movie built all around constraints reminded me of the works by <a href="http://www.oulipo.net/" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="OuLiPo">OuLiPo</a> members, especially <i>'La Vie Mode d'Emploi'</i> (<i>Life: A User Manual</i>) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Perec" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Georges Perec">Georges Perec</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://drunkenboat.com/db8/oulipo/feature-oulipo/index.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="OuLiPo">OuLiPo</a>, the <i>Ouvroir de Littérature Potentielle</i> (<i>Workshop of Potential Literature</i>), is a group of writers and mathematicians who seek to create literary works using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constrained_writing">constrained writing</a> techniques. They use constraints as a means of triggering their ideas and inspiration.<br />
<blockquote>
Quand tout est permis, rien n'est possible. <br />
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If everything is allowed, nothing is possible. (<a href="http://www.questiaschool.com/read/27854144?title=7%3A%20Jean%20Ricardou" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Jean Ricardou">Jean Ricardou</a>)</div>
</blockquote>
Georges Perec especially, certainly the most famous OuLiPo member with <a href="http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/quene.htm" target="_blank" title="Raymond Queneau">Raymond Queneau</a> and <a href="http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/calvino.htm" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Italo Calvino">Italo Calvino</a>, wrote the best part of his work using lipograms, palindromes and various kinds of constrained writing. His masterly book, <i>'La Vie Mode d'Emploi'</i> (<i>Life: A User Manual</i>) is a complex (patch)work built according to a complex plan of constraints.<br />
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<a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/books/Perec_cahier-des-charges.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Cahier des charges de La Vie Mode d'Emploi" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/books/Perec_cahier-des-charges.jpg" title="Cahier des charges de La Vie Mode d'Emploi" width="100" /></a> </div>
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This fascinating book tells the lives and thoughts of the inhabitants of a fictitious building in Paris. Although it is a book that can be read and enjoyed without being concerned with the constraints, one quickly discovers that there are complicated games going on all over the place, and try to find the constraints like a detective. You will only find a small part of them anyway: here also, a whole dedicated book had to been published, that contains their inventory.<br />
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Unlike <i>'Fear of Drowning by numbers'</i> though, the <i>'Cahier des charges de La Vie Mode d'Emploi'</i> — the title means <i>'Specifications of Life: a User Manual',</i> yet the book has not been translated into English — has not been published by its author, but exegetes after he died.<br />
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I have blogged using constraints myself in a couple of occasions, for fun and as a help at times of lack of inspiration. I assigned myself the thematic constraint <i>'Write about the 5 senses and Paris' </i>once. It ended up in five blogs about <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-sight.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Sight">Sight</a>, <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/05/five-senses-in-paris-hearing.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Hearing">Hearing</a>, <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-smell.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Smell">Smell</a>, <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-taste.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Taste">Taste</a>, and <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/03/five-senses-in-paris-touch.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Touch">Touch</a>. Another time, it was <i>'Use the names of at least 10 movies by Alfred Hitchcock'. </i>I am not sure anyone noticed the titles hidden <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/09/riddle-hint-of-hitch.html" rel="tag" target="_blank" title="Hitchcock">in this story</a> despite several clues, but I enjoyed writing it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/numbers.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Numbers" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/numbers.jpg" title="Numbers" width="128" /></a> </div>
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From now on, I will obey the constraint <i>'Write blogs on topics one can associate with successive ascending numbers'. </i>Hopefully, this constraint will stimulate my imagination. We'll see until what number I succeed in following the rule, be it agreed that I will probably interpolate 'normal' blogs between the 'blogs by numbers' sometimes, in particular in response to a special event or for an anniversary.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-62192559283610221442009-06-05T13:55:00.000+02:002009-06-05T13:57:08.430+02:00Historic Pictures<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="240"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/aldrin-moon.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Buzz Aldrin on the Moon" alt="Buzz Aldrin on the Moon" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/aldrin-moon.jpg" width="228" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>Several years ago, I was given a book entitled <em><strong>Chronique du vingtième siècle</strong></em> (<em>The 20th Century Saga</em>), edited by <a title="Le Monde" href="http://www.lemonde.fr/" target="_blank" rel="tag">Le Monde</a> newspaper.</p> <p>It is a huge book (1350 pages, A4 size) that contains excerpts of most relevant articles published in French newspapers in the 20th century. <em>'Sarajevo: Archduke shot dead' </em>(June, 1914); <em>'Lindbergh flies over the Atlantic'</em> (May, 1927); <em>'Paris is now free'</em> (August, 1944); <em>'Explorers on the Moon'</em> (July, 1969), and so on.</p> <p>You have a strange feeling when you read articles written many decades ago, on the very day historic events happened. They fill in a gap between personal experience and what you have been told. Obviously, the journalists who wrote the articles could not know about a future that is part of a well-known past for present readers. Yet, paradoxically, such a lack of knowledge adds a lot. When an event happened long time ago, before you were born, or able to understand it, you see it as a piece of History; almost an abstraction. On the opposite, when you can remember a event, how you heard of it, what you thought about it at the time, it is part of *your* history. Quite not the same.</p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="220"> <div align="right"><img title="Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in Yalta" alt="Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in Yalta" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/yalta.jpg" width="208" align="middle" border="0" /> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>When you read articles in such a book, you feel as if this gap has been filled in. Past events become more real, because you hear about them happening 'live'. Furthermore, beside words, you see pictures, some of which are known throughout the world: <em>Churchill, Roosevelt</em> and <em>Stalin</em> in Yalta. <em>Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin</em> on the moon, photographed by <em>Neil Armstrong</em> who appears also as a reflection on the visor of Aldrin's helmet. Vietnamese girl <a title="Kim Phúc" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Th%E1%BB%8B_Kim_Ph%C3%BAc" target="_blank" rel="tag"><em>Kim Phúc</em></a>, badly burnt, running down a road after a Napalm attack...</p> <p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="220"> <div align="left"><img title="'Napalm Girl' by Nick Ut" style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="'Napalm Girl' by Nick Ut" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/napalm-vietnam.jpg" width="208" align="middle" /></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>It works with articles, it works with photos. It works also with films. I remember the year 1989 very well: resistance and demonstrations in communist countries, protesters in Tiananmen Square, the <a title="The fall of the Berlin wall" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2007/04/rostropovitch.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">fall of the Berlin wall</a>. The youngest cannot remember how hopeful we Westerners felt at the time, and how sad and angry after the massacre  in Beijing. Yet, thanks to the movie below — that I have displayed <a title="The Unknown Rebel" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/06/unknown-rebel.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">several time on my successive blogs</a> — they can feel the same as we did, 20 years ago exactly, when the desperate action of the <a title="The Unknown Rebel" href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/06/unknown-rebel.html" target="_blank" rel="tag">Unknown Rebel</a> testified about what the courage of a unique human being can be.</p> <div align="center"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CdKgtIenuWI" width="340" height="280" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="none" wmode="transparent" /> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; font-family: tahoma,arial">The Unknown Rebel </span></div> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-936373973723807642009-05-17T13:40:00.006+02:002010-05-04T21:23:56.688+02:00Venus of Urbino<table align="top"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="500"><div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/titian-venus-urbino.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Venus of Urbino by Titian" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/titian-venus-urbino.jpg" title="Venus of Urbino by Titian" width="480" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%;"><b><i>Venus of Urbino</i></b> by Titian (1538) <br />
Oil on canvas, 119 x 165 cm — Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence </span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>I had known her for years, we had never meet though. About two years ago, I had hoped we would, at an exhibition dedicated to <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tita/hd_tita.htm" target="_blank" title="Titian"><b><i>Tiziano Vecellio</i></b></a><b><i>,</i></b> aka <i><b>Titian</b></i>, held in the <i>Palais du Luxembourg</i>, the Museum of French Senate in Paris.<br />
<br />
<table align="right"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="162"><div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/titian-woman-hat.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Titian — Portrait of a young woman" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/titian-woman-hat.jpg" title="Titian — Portrait of a young woman" width="150" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><b><i>Portrait of a young woman</i></b> (1536) <br />
Oil on canvas, 96 x 75 cm <br />
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>Yet, she stood me up. Well, as a matter of fact, she came, but she came on disguise, dressed as the young lady with an elegant feathered hat on the right side. <a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/09/titian.html" target="_blank"><i><b>I once wrote a blog</b></i></a> about our quasi-meeting.<br />
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Because she was not allowed to travel to Paris, I had to go to Florence, the city where she has lived for about four centuries. I am just back from a five-day vacation trip there. As you can imagine, my eyes are still full of a lot of wonderful images: paintings, frescoes, statues, by <i><b>Botticelli, Giotto, Lippi, Fra Angelico, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello,</b></i> and so forth, displayed in many places in the city. I am going to blog about them soon, yet on my first day in Florence the main thing was: I went to the <a href="http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/english/musei/uffizi/" target="_blank"><i><b>Uffizi Gallery</b></i></a> and I have met her at last!<br />
<blockquote>Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be." (Walter Benjamin)</blockquote>In <i>'Little History of Photography'</i> first, then in his famous essay <a href="http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm" target="_blank"><i><b>The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction</b></i></a>, Marxist philosopher <a href="http://www.wbenjamin.org/walterbenjamin.html" target="_blank"><i><b>Walter Benjamin</b></i></a> used the word <i><b>aura</b></i> to describe the specificity of the work of art, which is unique, linked to a special place, and is part of history. According to him, and without going into details, mechanical reproduction of artworks by means of modern techniques such as photo and cinema frees them from place and ritual, and results in a loss of their aura. Although I don't agree with many developments of Benjamin's theories in terms of <i>mass culture</i>, I did feel Venus' aura in the Uffizi Gallery in a much deeper way than when I looked at her reproductions.<br />
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Thousands of pages have been written about this great painting. There have been endless commentaries and discussions about the meaning of Venus' open eyes that look directly at us, her left hand location, the bouquet in her right hand, the dog asleep at her feet, the two handmaidens in the background rummaging in what seems to be a wedding chest, the plant pot near a column on the window ledge, and many other details in the painting.<br />
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<table align="right"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="305"><div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/giorgione-venus.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Sleeping Venus by Giorgione" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/giorgione-venus.jpg" title="Sleeping Venus by Giorgione" width="293" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>Sleeping Venus </b></i>by Giorgione & Titian (1510)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Oil on canvas, 108 x 175 cm — Gemäldegalerie, Dresden</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>I won't add to so many erudite works. To me, the <i><b>Venus of Urbino</b></i> is simply one among the most beautiful pieces of arts ever, as well as a big step towards modernity in painting. There is little doubt that Titian took the topic of the <i>Venus of Urbino</i> from a painting by <i><b>Giorgione</b></i>, the <i>Sleeping Venus</i> (also known as the <i>Venus of Dresden</i>), he himself finished after his friend and master died.<br />
<table align="right"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="305"><div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/palma-vecchio-venus.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Venus by Palma Vecchio" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/palma-vecchio-venus" title="Venus by Palma Vecchio" width="293" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>Venus</b></i> by Palma Vecchio (ca 1520)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Oil on canvas, 113 x 186 cm — Gemäldegalerie, Dresden</span></div></td> </tr>
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Perhaps he knew also of the <i>Venus</i> by <i><b>Palma Vecchio</b></i>, where the nude woman, who lies in the country like in the canvas by Giorgione, gets the Venus of Urbino's wide open eyes.<br />
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Titian's Venus of Urbino in turn inspired countless painters over the centuries in one of major topics of Western Art: the <b><i>reclining female nude.</i></b> It includes such huge painters as <i><b>Francisco de</b></i> <i><b>Goya</b></i> and, especially, <i><b>Édouard</b> <b>Manet</b></i> when he painted <a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/manet-olympia.jpg">Olympia</a>, more than three hundred years later.<br />
<br />
<table align="top" style="width: 324px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="322"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/sustris-venus.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Venus by Lambert Sustris" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/sustris-venus.jpg" title="Venus by Lambert Sustris" width="293" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>Venus</b></i> by Lambert Sustris (1558)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Oil on canvas, 116 x 186 cm — Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div align="center"></div><table align="top" style="width: 324px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="322"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/rottenhammer-venus.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Venus and Cupid by Johann Rottenhammer" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/rottenhammer-venus.jpg" title="Venus and Cupid by Johann Rottenhammer" width="260" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>Venus and Cupid</b></i> by Johann Rottenhammer (ca 1610)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Oil on canvas — Gemäldegalerie, Dresden</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div align="right"></div><table align="top" style="width: 344px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="322"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/goya-majadesnuda.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="La maja desnuda by Goya" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/goya-majadesnuda.jpg" title="La maja desnuda by Goya" width="340" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>La maja desnuda</b></i> by Francisco Goya (1805)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Oil on canvas, 87 x 190 cm — Museo del Prado, Madrid</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><div align="center"></div><table align="top" style="width: 400px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="398"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/manet-olympia.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="Olympia by Manet" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/manet-olympia.jpg" title="Olympia by Manet" width="390" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;"><i><b>Olympia</b></i> by Edgard Manet (1863)</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Oil on canvas, 130 x 190 cm — Musée d'Orsay, Paris</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-11919358001693641482009-05-08T13:09:00.003+02:002009-06-28T13:17:59.368+02:00Persepolis<table align="left"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="300"><div align="left"><img align="middle" alt="Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/persepolis.jpg" title="Persepolis by Marianne Satrapi" width="288" /> </div></td> </tr>
</tbody> </table><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjane_Satrapi" style="font-weight: bold;">Marjane Satrapi</a> is an Iranian/French graphic novelist. She was born in 1969 in <i>Rasht</i>, in the North of Iran, and now lives and works in Paris. She became famous because of her critically acclaimed autobiographical graphic novels <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis_%28graphic_novel%29" style="font-weight: bold;">Persepolis</a>, which describe her childhood and adolescence in Iran and Europe.<br />
<br />
Persepolis graphic novels were adapted by herself and <i>Vincent Parronaud</i> into an essentially black-and-white animated film bearing the same name. The movie was called <i>'islamophobe' </i>and <i>'anti-iranian'</i> by the Iranian President <i>Mahmoud Ahmadinejad</i>, thus it is not allowed for broadcast in Iran. Yet it is not a political movie. It deals with life in the real world. It is a work of poetry for all of us to delight in.<br />
<br />
<div align="right"><img align="right" alt="Image" border="0" height="150" hspace="10" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/persepolismovie.jpg" vspace="10" width="100" /> </div>When the movie starts, Marjane is a child. She lives in Tehran, in a progressive family involved with the socialist movements. She attends the <seem>Lycée Français in Tehran, and witnesses the growing oppression of civil liberties and the everyday-life consequences of Iranian politics. Then comes the Iranian revolution, the fall of the Shah, and the regime of <i>Ayatollah Khomeini</i>. After days of elation, disillusion follows quickly. Political opponents are put in jail again, many are executed, and islamist rules are imposed. Then the Iran-Iraq war starts. At the age of 14, her parents send Marjane to Vienna, Austria, to flee the Iranian regime. She discovers Europe, boys, and loneliness. She comes back to Iran.<br />
<br />
The movie relates with realism and humour Marjane's years of hardship, she shared with million young Iranians of the time: overnight obligation to wear a veil, search for forbidden pirated audio cassettes, secret parties with friends where you dance and drink alcohol despite police raids.<br />
<br />
Persepolis was awarded the <i>Special Jury Prize</i> in <a href="http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en"><b>Cannes Film Festival</b></a> in May 2007. Last Year, it was given the <i>Better First Movie Award </i>in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Award" style="font-weight: bold;">Cesar Award</a>, the National film award for France. It also competed in Hollywood for the <a href="http://www.oscar.com/nominees/index?pn=index#03_BestAnimatedFeatureFilmNominationCategory" style="font-weight: bold;">Oscar</a>, as a nominee <a href="http://www.oscar.com/nominees/index?pn=index#03_BestAnimatedFeatureFilmNominationCategory" style="font-weight: bold;"></a> for best animated film, but had no chance against Disney's blockbuster <i>Ratatouille</i>.<br />
<br />
</seem><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><embed allowscriptaccess="none" height="355" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3PXHeKuBzPY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" wmode="transparent" /> </embed> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><b> Persepolis Trailer<br />
<br />
</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><i>Persepolis</i> is a simple story told by simple means. It consists essentially of a series of monochrome drawings, their bold black lines washed with nuances of gray. Its flat, stylized depiction of the world — the streets and buildings of Tehran and Vienna in particular — turns geography into poetry. Yet it is good to be reminded that animation is rooted not in any particular technique, but in the impulse to bring static images to life.</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-59430309992619209742009-05-01T12:58:00.016+02:002009-05-01T15:32:00.933+02:00Lily of the Valley<img alt="Lily of the valley" lily="" of="" src="http://billythekidney.org/pics/muguet.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 0px 0pt;" the="" valley="" />Although it was pretty early when I left home this morning, there were people on the sidewalks already, at every street corner. You may find it strange to hear that Frenchmen were awake early on the morning of a national holiday, especially on <i>May Day</i>: it is also Labour Day in France and many countries, a day where most people don't work then. There was good reason for it though: these people were vendors of lilies of the valley.<br />
<br />
Lily of the valley, <i>“le muguet”</i>, is not any flower for the French. Although it is native to Japan, it became acclimated to Western Europe many centuries ago. In medieval France, it was considered the symbol of spring and nature's revival, and the emblem of a joyous, more-or-less pagan holiday, celebrating the return of nice weather and promises of spring's planting, and seeking Heaven's favour for harvests to come.<br />
<br />
On May first, 1561, after he was given a sprig of Lily of the valley as a lucky charm, French King <i>Charles IX</i> decided he would give a sprig to every lady in his court on May 1st, every year from then on. A tradition was born. In France, is not permitted to sell things in the streets without a licence, but this is an exception: thanks to the nice tradition, everyone, not only florists, is allowed to sell lily of the valley in French streets on <i>May Day</i>.<br />
<br />
Everywhere today, you will see people clutching their lily of the valley, to be offered to their wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, parents, dinner host, boss, secretary, and so forth. As for me, I bought a couple of flowers this morning, and picked the sprig above on the internet for you. Happy May Day, and Good Luck!<br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[repost] </span></span></i></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-5648168542038707962009-04-26T21:00:00.000+02:002009-04-26T21:00:00.844+02:00Guernica<table align="center"><tbody> <tr> <td width="500"> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/guernica.jpg" target="blank"><img title="Guernica by Pablo Picasso" alt="Guernica by Pablo Picasso" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/guernica.jpg" width="500" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>Guernica</em></strong> by </span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Pablo Picasso (1937) </span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">— </span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">Oil on canvas, 349 cm x 776 cm  <br />Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <blockquote>In the form of its execution and the scale of the destruction it wrought, no less than in the selection of its objective, the raid on Guernica is unparalleled in military history. Guernica was not a military objective [...] The object of the bombardment was seemingly the demoralization of the civil population. <a href="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JsteerG.htm">George Steer, The Times (27th April, 1937)</a> </blockquote> <p>Seventy-two years ago, on April 26, 1937, a little Basque town called <em>Guernica </em>was bombed by planes from the <a href="http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/SPcondor.htm" target="_blank">Condor Legion</a>, a unit composed of soldiers from the German air force (<em>Luftwaffe</em>), which was allied to the Nationalists headed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Franco">Francisco Franco</a> during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War">Spanish Civil War</a>. It was the first time in modern history — but not the last one — that an urban population was slaughtered on purpose by the means of a military attack. </p> <p> <table align="right"><tbody> <tr> <td width="240"> <div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/picasso-paints-guernica" target="blank"><img title="Picasso paints Guernica by Dora Maar" alt="Picasso paints Guernica by Dora Maar" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/picasso-paints-guernica" width="228" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial"><strong><em>Picasso paints Guernica</em></strong> <br />by <a href="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Maar" target="_blank">Dora Maar</a> (Paris, 1937) </span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <a href="http://www.picasso.fr/"><em>Pablo Picasso</em></a> had lived in Paris for several decades when Guernica was bombed, yet he began painting sketches for the canvas four days later only, as soon as he heard of it in the newspapers. The painting was finished in a few weeks, to be exhibited in June, 1937 in the Spanish pavilion at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. According to the tale, a German general then asked Picasso: <em>"So, you are the one who made '</em>this<em>'?"</em> and Picasso answered: <em>"No, you are"</em>.</p> <p>Picasso put <em>Guernica</em> at the disposal of the struggle for the Spanish Republic. After it was defeated and Franco established his fascist power on the country, he insisted that it should return in Spain as soon as its government was restored (which happened in 1981 only). There is no allusion in the painting to a precise war action though. Picasso himself always insisted on the generality of <em>Guernica's</em> meaning, and described it as <em>"the picture of all bombed cities"</em>.</p> <p>Indeed, <em>Guernica</em> represents much more than an illustration of the destruction of the Basque town. It has become a symbol of the suffering of helpless civilians, in any war terror inflicted by a powerful army. As such, the painting could be called <em>Coventry</em>, <em>Dresden</em> or <em><a href="http://billy-the-kidney.blogspot.com/2008/08/sadako.html" target="_blank">Hiroshima</a></em> as well.</p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-48529330205651813392009-04-24T15:11:00.000+02:002009-05-01T15:43:43.076+02:00Memory Lapse<p> <table align="left"><tbody> <tr> <td width="230"> <div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/magritte-memoire.jpg" target="blank"><img title="René Magritte — La Mémoire" alt="René Magritte — La Mémoire" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/magritte-memoire.jpg" width="218" align="middle" border="0" /></a> </div> <div align="center"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 100%; color: rgb(102,102,102); font-family: tahoma,arial">La mémoire (Memory) <br />René Magritte, 1948 <br />Oil on canvas, 59 x 49 cm</span></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </p> <p>As I was taking an old lady to the exit door, the next patient in the waiting room rose from his chair and sneaked behind my back into the consultation room. No secretary in sight. I went back in, closed the door, and started wondering... <em>I know I have seen this man before, but when? why? and what is his name? <br /></em>— <em>'Please have a seat. How can I help you?'</em> He put his coat on a chair, sat down on the other one, folded his arms, and said with determined voice: <br />— <em>'Doc, we have a problem: I am not doing better at all!'</em></p> <p><em>I have a problem indeed</em>, I thought:<em> I don't have a clue about what on earth is his problem. I can't even put a name on his face!</em></p> <p>— <em>'Oh, really?'</em> I said, hopeful he would give some piece of information. <br />— <em>'Yes, Doc</em>. <em>I took the drug as you prescribed, yet it's still about the same!'</em> <br />—<em> 'Don't you feel any better?'</em> <br />— <em>'No, not at all! It goes on just the same! I have waited for a couple of weeks as you told me, but it didn't stop. Then, here I am again!'</em> </p> <p>He was talking with such an assured tone that I could not tell him I didn't remember a thing of his story. <em>If only I could remember his name, I'd have a quick look at his record...</em> <br />— <em>'Did you bring your previous prescription?' </em> <br />— (Rummaging through his pockets) <em>'Aw, I forgot it at home I am afraid. It's easy though: these are white pills,</em><em> in a blue box. Well, it doesn't mind anyway, you wrote it down in my record'.</em> <br /><em>— </em>(This guy is going to kill me) <em>'Of course, you're right. Tell me, when did you come and see me the last time?'</em> <br />— <em>'Hmm, wait, well, it was a Friday, or maybe a Tuesday. Or was it a Wednesday? Well, in any case, it was four weeks ago! Five perhaps. Well, not more than six weeks ago, definitely".</em></p> <p>As he was thinking about it, I tried to find his name in my agenda. Fortunately, I have only one consultation a week in this hospital, on Mondays. Not that week... Not that week either...<em>YAY! Here it is, lost among more familiar names. He came three months ago, the day I had such a dreadful headache! Phew.</em> Relieved at last, I took out his record and read it quickly. With a smile of contentment on my lips (that surprised him obviously), I said: <br />— <em>'So, you are not doing better? Well I never!'</em></em></p> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4757907975744705991.post-86002574882228098602009-04-18T21:17:00.001+02:002020-10-03T16:33:07.546+02:00Willem Kolff, The Dutch Tinkerer<table align="left"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="260"><div align="left"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/kolffmachine.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="The 1944 version of the Kolff's rotating drum artificial kidney" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/kolffmachine.jpg" title="The 1944 version of the Kolff's rotating drum artificial kidney" width="248" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">The 1944 version of the Kolff' <br />
rotating drum artificial kidney</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Johan_Kolff" target="_blank">Willem (Pim) Kolff</a> died a few weeks ago. You probably did not hear about it: he was not a pop singer, a famous actor or a professional football player, he was only a scientist whose work has been credited for saving millions of lives.<br />
Granted, he was almost 98 year-old — it comes with no surprise when such an elderly person dies — and he was not unrecognised: Dr Kolff received many international awards, including the <a href="http://www.laskerfoundation.org/awards/index.htm" target="_blank">Lasker Award</a> for Clinical Medical research, when he was... 91, probably because he was never given the Nobel Prize, which is a shame. Yet his death went almost unknown, especially by most of the people with end-stage renal failure who live thanks to his great first invention: <b>the dialysis machine</b>.<br />
<table align="right"><tbody>
<tr> <td width="132"><div align="right"><a href="http://www.billythekidney.org/books/Cameron_history-of-dialysis.jpg" target="blank"><img align="middle" alt="J. Stewart Cameron - History of the treatment of renal failure by dialysis" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/books/Cameron_history-of-dialysis.jpg" title="J. Stewart Cameron - History of the treatment of renal failure by dialysis" width="120" /></a> </div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>As a young doctor in Groningen in the Netherlands in the end-1930s, Willem Kolff witnessed the miserable, painful death of a 22-year-old man from kidney failure. He had to tell his mother that his only son was going to die, and there was nothing he could do. <i>"If I only could find a way to remove toxic waste products from the poor guy's blood, I would save him"</i>, he thought. He then devoted himself to research on creating such a machine.<br />
When Pim Kolff was a child, he was tinkering about all the time, so much so that his father arranged for him to have lessons with a carpenter on Saturdays afternoons. As an adult, he remained a handyman. He conducted his first experiments with sausage skins filled with blood and urea, that he put into a bath of salt water. Urea passed through the membrane from the blood to the salt water: the concept of using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialysis_%28biochemistry%29" target="_blank">dialysis</a> for building an artificial kidney was born.<br />
It was only in 1941 though, when the Netherlands were under German occupation, that he succeeded in developing a prototype machine. Kolff had left Groningen in 1940, on the day a Dutch Nazi replaced his former Jewish professor as head of his department, and worked in a small hospital in Kampen, on the Zuiderzee (now called the Ijsselmeer).<br />
<table align="left" style="width: 150px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td><div align="left"><img align="middle" alt="Willem J. Kolff" border="0" src="http://www.billythekidney.org/pics/kolff.jpg" title="Willem J. Kolff" width="138" /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">Willem Kolff</span></div></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>Materials were in short supply at the time, and almost everything was requisitioned by the Germans. Kolff build his prototype with metal pieces from a downed fighter plane, a wooden drum, the cooling system from an old Ford, and 40 meters of sausage casings (later, he would also use orange juice cans and a washing machine).<br />
The cellophane casings were wrapped around the drum and set into a salt solution. The patient's blood was drawn from a wrist artery and fed into the casings. The drum was rotated, removing impurities, and the Ford motor pumped back the blood into the patient.<br />
In 1945, after 15 deaths and many modifications and improvements, the dialysis machine saved a patient for the first time. Ironically, it was a woman in a coma due to renal failure who had been imprisoned as a Nazi collaborator. After eleven hours of treatment, she awoke from coma, and lived seven more years. Hundreds of thousands of people now undergo dialysis several times a week.<br />
Before he invented the kidney dialysis machine, Willem Kolff created <b>the first</b> <b>blood blank</b> in Europe, during the German bombings on The Hague in May 1940. <br />
<table align="right" style="width: 250px;"><tbody>
<tr> <td><br />
<blockquote><div align="left"><span style="font-family: tahoma,arial; font-size: 100%; font-weight: normal;">"If a man can grow a heart, <br />
he can build it" <br />
Willem J. Kolff (1911-2009)</span></div></blockquote></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>After he emigrated to the USA in the 1950s, he improved his dialysis machine, that was used worldwide for almost twenty years. He developed <b>heart-lung machines</b> used to oxygenate blood during cardiac surgery. In the 1970s, he was the leader of a team that developed the <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart" target="_blank">artificial heart</a></b>. He was also involved in the development of <b>artificial eyes, ears and limbs</b>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6