Today I’d like to talk about the word 縁 (en) which is tied to concepts dear to Japanese sensitivity and philosophy. We find it used in everyday conversations, however its original meaning is the “edge, hem of a cloth” and it designates the Japanese veranda-style porch you see in old houses, usually called 縁側 (engawa). In addition […]
« Dimidium facti qui coepit habet. Incipe! » – Horatius 🇺🇸He who has begun is half done. Begin! Horatius’ advice: start today what you need to do, similar to the English proverb “Procrastination is the thief of time.” 🇫🇷Celui qui a commencé a la moitié de fait. Commence! Conseil d’Horace: le plus important est de commencer, donc […]
« S’occuper de ses oignons »🧅 🇺🇸 It means “to mind one’s business.” Literally, it means “to take care of one’s onions.” It originally comes from the familiar expression “occupe-toi de tes fesses” (= lit. “take care of your buttocks” = mind your business), in which “fesses (buttock)” has been replaced by “onions (onion).” « – Alors, […]
Twelve artists around the world were chosen to interpret the iconic fragrance Miss Dior and show their work in the Miss Dior Exhibition at the Le Château de La Colle Noire near Grasse on the French Riviera. One of them is Japanese artist Haruka Kojin (荒神 明香). Her installation is truly beautiful and so delicate, […]
Today, a quote by André Gide, about Dostoïevsky: « On s’attend à trouver un dieu; on touche un homme — malade, pauvre, peinant sans cesse et singulièrement dépourvu de cette pseudo-qualité qu’il reprochait tant au français : l’éloquence. » André Gide Dostoïevski (1908)📚 🇫🇷Fin portrait de Dostoïevsky, de la part d’un grand écrivain, André Gide📚 De Baudelaire […]
You may have heard about the recent marriage of now former Princess Mako (眞子) with commoner Komuro Kei (小室圭). Mako decided to give up her imperial status, to become a “normal” citizen, and live a new life away from the media, in New York. She declined a 140 million yen payment which the imperial family members normally receive […]
🏛 Et quod temptabam scribere versus erat – Ovidius 🇺🇸 “Everything I tried to write was poetry.”Ovidius tells us his immense love for poetry📜 🇫🇷 « Tout ce que j’essayais d’écrire prenait la forme des vers. » Phrase d’Ovide, illustrant à quel point il était féru de poésie📚 🇯🇵 「自分が書こうとするものは全て詩だった。」どれだけ詩に熱中していたかを語るオウィディウス📚 « Jibun ga kakou to suru mono wa […]
To describe a rude or pushy behavior, there’s a great idiomatic expression which comes directly from Japanese customs: 土足で（家に）入る Dosoku de (ie ni) hairu It literally means “to enter (someone’s house) with shoes on.” Since people take out their shoes when entering a house in Japan, leaving one’s shoes on is incredibly rude and inconsiderate. […]
« Poser un lapin (à quelqu’un)»🐰 🇺🇸 It means “to stand (somebody up)” (lit. “to put a rabbit”)🐰 « Elle n’a pas le moral aujourd’hui parce qu’il lui a posé un lapin. Mais quel goujat! »🐰🐰🐰 🇯🇵 直訳は「うさぎを置く」で、「すっぽかす」という意味の可愛らしい表現です🐇 Chokuyaku wa “usagi wo oku” de, “suppokasu” toiuu imi no kawairashii hyougen desu.
In February, I posted that one of my favorite French music bands, Therapie Taxi, is splitting up this fall. They are currently touring for the last time and have just released their last album, “C’était Therapie TAXI pour vous servir” (= It was Therapie TAXI to serve you), a recording of their live show at […]