Recently, there was a small controversy in France as the result of a statement president Emmanuel Macron made in an interview: « Les non-vaccinés, j’ai très envie de les emmerder. Et donc on va continuer de le faire, jusqu’au bout. C’est ça, la stratégie. Quand ma liberté vient menacer celle des autres, je deviens un irresponsable. Un […]
« Modus omnibus rebus » – Plautus 🇺🇸 Moderation in all things 🇫🇷 De la mesure en toute chose Plaute nous enseigne la modération, ce qui n’est pas sans nous rappeler bien sûr le « aurea mediocritas » de Horace📚 🇯🇵 何事にも中庸 “何事もほどほどが良い”と教えてくれるプラウトゥス📚 ホラティウス の “aurea mediocritas” (黄金の中庸) に似ていますね🏆 Nanigoto nimo chuuyou “Nanigoto mo hodohodo ga ii” to oshietekureru […]
« Ou le monde est fou, ou nous le sommes. Lequel est supportable ? » Albert Camus à René Char Correspondance 1946-1959📚 🇺🇸 Nobel prize writer Albert Camus wrote this to his friend and poet René Char: “ Either the world is mad, either it is us. Which is more bearable?” 🇯🇵 友人で詩人のルネ・シャールに、「世の中が狂っているか、私たちが狂っているか。どっちがマシなのだろうか」と、問いかけるカミュ📚 Yuujin de shijin no […]
🇫🇷 Bonne année à toutes et à tous ! Je vous souhaite une merveilleuse année, pleine de bonheur🎉 🏛 Annum novum faustum prosperumque vobis precor ! 🇯🇵 明けましておめでとうございます。昨年は、Patreonを読んでいただき、どうもありがとうございました。本年も、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします！ Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. Sakunen wa Patreon wo yondeitadaki, doumo arigatougozaimashita. Honnen mo douzo yoroshiku onegai itashimasu!
🇫🇷 « C’est une grande misère que de n’avoir pas assez d’esprit pour bien parler, ni assez de jugement pour se taire. Voilà le principe de toute impertinence. » La Bruyère Les caractères (1688)📚 🇺🇸 La Bruyère’s definition of insolence: he who lacks wit doesn’t talk well, but also lacks judgement and doesn’t stay silent”. 🇫🇷 La […]
🇺🇸 Japanese brand Sacai’s latest collaboration with French maison Dior looks very kakkoii! Check out the behind the scene video here (in English): https://youtu.be/dXoTU5nhhlI You can also see Japanese actor Yokohama Ryuusei giving a tour of the pop-up store in this video, in Japanese with Japanese subtitles: https://youtu.be/2Liz2yq8Bqs
« Ars longa, vita brevis » -Hippocrates 🇺🇸 Life is short, art is long. This is a Latin translation from the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates’ quote. “Ars” here means “art” in the sense of “skill” which we acquire by practicing. So it means “it takes time to acquire a skill and life is short.” As lifelong students, […]
🇺🇸 For the first time, « iel », a non-binary pronoun equivalent to the neutral « they » in English has been added on the renown French dictionary “Le Petit Robert” (online version only at the moment). And many French people are upset! The minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer is outraged and even French first lady Brigitte Macron, who […]
« 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 […]
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 […]