Hey, to celebrate the end of Project 2 in ‘System Analysis’, here’s a piece of climate action music: The Global Cooling Song by Raffi (maybe you were jumping to his Baby Beluga tune, when you were kids), featuring David Suzuki (a bow to my Canadian friends and to Yo personally :-))
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culture. Show all posts
Friday, February 16, 2007
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Swedish girl
I think I know Sweden an Swedes enough now to write this little post. After one year and a half spent here (yeah, Jönköping + Lund...), I met a lot of different people, trying to understand them and their culture and their habits etc... I guess I am sometimes disappointed. Especially by Swedish girls... Explanations.
It is not a secret for anyone, I like women. When I first got here, Sweden was like Heaven, I have to admit. I was in a class of 26 students, only 4 boys, and only one french frog. I got in touch with most of them, getting into close relationship sometimes. And through my different experiences here and there, I met some others, building a friends network quite important. Okay, I've been heartbroken, I broke some hearts, but this is life, it is everywhere the same I guess, so no blaming to swedish girls for that.
But why am I disappointed?
Okay, here is the average swedish girl I know:
- they tell you they'll call back. Never trust that, coz they never do.
- If they make a promise, tell them to write it on a paper and sign it, because they never keep it.
- don't worry if you receive the answer from a SMS only 15 days after you sent it, it doesn't mean they don't care about you, it's just their way to say they love you and they care.
- Don't plan vacation with them, they usually cancell a week or two before.
- If you start talking and flirting with a swedish girl in a bar, you have to stay focus on your work a 100%. Don't go to the bathroom, don't talk to someone else, just keep her eyes on you, because in ten seconds, she is able to be kissing another guy(s). (well, being french sometimes help to avoid that)
- Be careful when you start talking to a swedish girl. The first question you should ask is: 'do you have a boyfriend', because what a kick in the ass when after one hour talking, almost kissing, the boyfriend shows up.
- If they tell you yes for a coffee or a dinner, call them back the day after, because they'll never accept afterwards, or they will forget about it.
- If you don't have a father who is rich, your chances to just talk to a swedish girl living in Stockholm are... Well, unless you're fu..ing lucky ;)
Well, all of the above are based on real experiences, and it doesn't mean that every swedish girls are like this, and I'd like to say also that my dear Vivianne has not been taken in consideration to the creation of this 'average swedish girl' ;)
Of course, they have also very good points, but you all figured it out already. I guess this post is more made for guys... Sorry girls.
Finally, I just wanna say that even if they are rude sometimes, I like them. Certainly a melancolic ex-heartbroken who is writting now. Cheers.
It is not a secret for anyone, I like women. When I first got here, Sweden was like Heaven, I have to admit. I was in a class of 26 students, only 4 boys, and only one french frog. I got in touch with most of them, getting into close relationship sometimes. And through my different experiences here and there, I met some others, building a friends network quite important. Okay, I've been heartbroken, I broke some hearts, but this is life, it is everywhere the same I guess, so no blaming to swedish girls for that.
But why am I disappointed?
Okay, here is the average swedish girl I know:
- they tell you they'll call back. Never trust that, coz they never do.
- If they make a promise, tell them to write it on a paper and sign it, because they never keep it.
- don't worry if you receive the answer from a SMS only 15 days after you sent it, it doesn't mean they don't care about you, it's just their way to say they love you and they care.
- Don't plan vacation with them, they usually cancell a week or two before.
- If you start talking and flirting with a swedish girl in a bar, you have to stay focus on your work a 100%. Don't go to the bathroom, don't talk to someone else, just keep her eyes on you, because in ten seconds, she is able to be kissing another guy(s). (well, being french sometimes help to avoid that)
- Be careful when you start talking to a swedish girl. The first question you should ask is: 'do you have a boyfriend', because what a kick in the ass when after one hour talking, almost kissing, the boyfriend shows up.
- If they tell you yes for a coffee or a dinner, call them back the day after, because they'll never accept afterwards, or they will forget about it.
- If you don't have a father who is rich, your chances to just talk to a swedish girl living in Stockholm are... Well, unless you're fu..ing lucky ;)
Well, all of the above are based on real experiences, and it doesn't mean that every swedish girls are like this, and I'd like to say also that my dear Vivianne has not been taken in consideration to the creation of this 'average swedish girl' ;)
Of course, they have also very good points, but you all figured it out already. I guess this post is more made for guys... Sorry girls.
Finally, I just wanna say that even if they are rude sometimes, I like them. Certainly a melancolic ex-heartbroken who is writting now. Cheers.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Contemporary Culture and Environmentalism
So, inspired partially by Mike’s Making Change Happen project, Laurent’s culture post, Yo’s IQ post and Turaj’s Van Morrison song (I still think it was more about emotional enlightenment rather than Smith and Rousseau), I decided to delve into the murky world of politically-charged songs and message music... In general, popular music has struggled to combine political issues with universal themes that can appeal directly to the human heart. Furthermore, in a liberal democracy, it is generally assumed that there are two sides to every story, and it can be easy to alienate half your audience if you “pick a side”...
However, “The Pioneers” by Bloc Party seems to be an exception that proves the rule. This song works because it picks a theme – human hubris and the rational detachment from society and evironment inherent to enlightenment scientific attitudes – that doesn’t attack any one person, nationality or social class in particular. And as we all know, the concern it expresses for the implications of these attitudes is very contemporary.
Here are the lyrics - I think they are pretty self-explanatory after Turaj’s course:
If it can be broke then it can be fixed,
if it can be fused then it can be split
It's all under control
If it can be lost then it can be won,
if it can be touched then it can be turned
All you need is time
We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?
A sense of purpose and a sense of skill, a sense of function but a disregard
We will not be the first, we won't
You said you were going to conquer new frontiers,
Go stick your bloody head in the jaws of the beast
We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?
Breathe in, breathe out
So here we are reinventing the wheel
I'm shaking hands with a hurricane
It's a colour that I can't describe,
It's a language I can't understand
Ambition, tearing out the heart of you
Carving lines into you
Dripping down the sides of you
We will not be the last.
The lyrical structure is a subtle progression from absolute certainty in scientific methodology in the first verse, to increasing self-reflection on the dynamics of a competitive system of knowledge in the second, and ultimately despair and confusion once the limits of human capacity have been acknowledged in the third.
Beyond the message, what makes this song particularly striking is the use of the singer’s voice to convey urgency through the short, sharp, staccato phrasing of every sentence. This urgency is also conveyed in the gradual build up of instruments. The first verse commences with sparse, angular riffs from two electric guitars before a martial drum-beat kicks in on “all you need is time”. Eventually, the bass-line appears as the first verse is repeated. In addition, the repetition of the scientific mantras “it’s under control”, “all you need is time”, and “we will not be the last” reinforces the irony of the statements themselves as the urgency of the vocal delivery undermines the listener’s faith in the “pioneers’” certitude. It sounds like the singer is reassuring himself, and not doing a good job of it. Indeed, the song can be read as an endorsement of “strong ecological modernization” or fundamental structural reform as it implicitly asserts the futility in trying to “solve problems with the thinking that created them”.
Anyway, if you are crazy enough to have read this far, you might want to listen to the song on youtube. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8N_n5npm7I
But be warned, music that tries to convey tension and confusion is not necessarily easy on the ear the first time you listen to it. But it rewards multiple listens. And I am sure you will agree that the video explores several interesting interrelated themes in the space of three minutes...
Aah, only 139 days to the concert… just around the corner... the anticipation!!!
However, “The Pioneers” by Bloc Party seems to be an exception that proves the rule. This song works because it picks a theme – human hubris and the rational detachment from society and evironment inherent to enlightenment scientific attitudes – that doesn’t attack any one person, nationality or social class in particular. And as we all know, the concern it expresses for the implications of these attitudes is very contemporary.
Here are the lyrics - I think they are pretty self-explanatory after Turaj’s course:
If it can be broke then it can be fixed,
if it can be fused then it can be split
It's all under control
If it can be lost then it can be won,
if it can be touched then it can be turned
All you need is time
We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?
A sense of purpose and a sense of skill, a sense of function but a disregard
We will not be the first, we won't
You said you were going to conquer new frontiers,
Go stick your bloody head in the jaws of the beast
We promised the world we'd tame it, what were we hoping for?
Breathe in, breathe out
So here we are reinventing the wheel
I'm shaking hands with a hurricane
It's a colour that I can't describe,
It's a language I can't understand
Ambition, tearing out the heart of you
Carving lines into you
Dripping down the sides of you
We will not be the last.
The lyrical structure is a subtle progression from absolute certainty in scientific methodology in the first verse, to increasing self-reflection on the dynamics of a competitive system of knowledge in the second, and ultimately despair and confusion once the limits of human capacity have been acknowledged in the third.
Beyond the message, what makes this song particularly striking is the use of the singer’s voice to convey urgency through the short, sharp, staccato phrasing of every sentence. This urgency is also conveyed in the gradual build up of instruments. The first verse commences with sparse, angular riffs from two electric guitars before a martial drum-beat kicks in on “all you need is time”. Eventually, the bass-line appears as the first verse is repeated. In addition, the repetition of the scientific mantras “it’s under control”, “all you need is time”, and “we will not be the last” reinforces the irony of the statements themselves as the urgency of the vocal delivery undermines the listener’s faith in the “pioneers’” certitude. It sounds like the singer is reassuring himself, and not doing a good job of it. Indeed, the song can be read as an endorsement of “strong ecological modernization” or fundamental structural reform as it implicitly asserts the futility in trying to “solve problems with the thinking that created them”.
Anyway, if you are crazy enough to have read this far, you might want to listen to the song on youtube. Here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8N_n5npm7I
But be warned, music that tries to convey tension and confusion is not necessarily easy on the ear the first time you listen to it. But it rewards multiple listens. And I am sure you will agree that the video explores several interesting interrelated themes in the space of three minutes...
Aah, only 139 days to the concert… just around the corner... the anticipation!!!
Monday, December 11, 2006
XMas!
My dear friends,
I won't give you any special quotations tonight, i'm just curious to know how you celebrate Christmas in your own culture/country/family (if you do celebrate Xmas of course), what it means to you, and what your plans are for the coming one!!!
I propose tou to use the comments to answer, otherwise it will turn messy if everyone writes a complete post on that!
Lots of Xmas Love to everyone!
Marie
oh yes, nevermind, some favourite Xmas quotations!
"last Christmas i gave you my heart..."
"i'm dreaming of a white Christmas...."
"let it snow let it snow let it snooooooooooooooooooooow"
héhéhé
I won't give you any special quotations tonight, i'm just curious to know how you celebrate Christmas in your own culture/country/family (if you do celebrate Xmas of course), what it means to you, and what your plans are for the coming one!!!
I propose tou to use the comments to answer, otherwise it will turn messy if everyone writes a complete post on that!
Lots of Xmas Love to everyone!
Marie
oh yes, nevermind, some favourite Xmas quotations!
"last Christmas i gave you my heart..."
"i'm dreaming of a white Christmas...."
"let it snow let it snow let it snooooooooooooooooooooow"
héhéhé
Thursday, December 7, 2006
Scoop
Yesterday night, in the cold night, I decided to go to a movie theater. It was long time I hadn't done so, and I knew they were showing a movie from one of my favourite director ever: Woody Allen, with his movie Scoop.
It is pointless to talk about the reputation of this little genius from Manhatan, who knows perfectly how to capture in an hour and a half all the spirit of a place, of a character, of a story. Quite often criticized in the US, he is particularly appreciated in my dear country France for his sense of humor, sometimes very black and satirical.
After having working many years in NYC, he decided to move on to London, other interessting city, culturally diversified. Match point, where he worked with the beautiful Scarlett Johansson, revealed one more time his talent. Understanding the real spirit of the british capital, he simply translated it in one of the best box-office of the year 2005.
Describing Scarlett as his new muse, the two characters came back this year with Scoop, an original movie, between science-fiction, comedy and tragedy.
A very famous journalist, known as the one who gets the scoops first, suddenly died, and on his way to wherever on the Death' boat, he meets a woman that has been poisoned by her boss. The reason she's dead is that she discovered tht her boss was maybe a serial-killer. Upset to not get the scoop, the journalist decides to appear to the wonderful Scarlett, who is a student in journalism. Woody will help her finding the truth, trew hilarious adventures, where the londonian 'bourgeoisie' is well-described. Allen transports us into Kesington, the small shops of London and the countryside so easily, that it could disgust every single future director.
Highly recommanded!
It is pointless to talk about the reputation of this little genius from Manhatan, who knows perfectly how to capture in an hour and a half all the spirit of a place, of a character, of a story. Quite often criticized in the US, he is particularly appreciated in my dear country France for his sense of humor, sometimes very black and satirical.
After having working many years in NYC, he decided to move on to London, other interessting city, culturally diversified. Match point, where he worked with the beautiful Scarlett Johansson, revealed one more time his talent. Understanding the real spirit of the british capital, he simply translated it in one of the best box-office of the year 2005.
Describing Scarlett as his new muse, the two characters came back this year with Scoop, an original movie, between science-fiction, comedy and tragedy.
A very famous journalist, known as the one who gets the scoops first, suddenly died, and on his way to wherever on the Death' boat, he meets a woman that has been poisoned by her boss. The reason she's dead is that she discovered tht her boss was maybe a serial-killer. Upset to not get the scoop, the journalist decides to appear to the wonderful Scarlett, who is a student in journalism. Woody will help her finding the truth, trew hilarious adventures, where the londonian 'bourgeoisie' is well-described. Allen transports us into Kesington, the small shops of London and the countryside so easily, that it could disgust every single future director.
Highly recommanded!
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