Everly 28-ish-less-ly

2 years ago, I had to come up with a handle for this blog and I thought of 28-ish almost as a way to freeze time and be forever 28. But as time passed the 28-ish notion became 28-ish-less in that monotonic sense of more than 28-ish rather than less than 28-ish. Albeit my 30th survival of the 3rd day of every 3rd month, today, I feel 10 times younger and healthier than I remember being 10 years ago. Is it the big city distraction, the Parisian charm, the post light-at-the-end-of-the-(super-long)-tunnel checkpoint, the post doctoral stability promising and convincing effect, the fear to admit that one is growing old by wishful thinking and youthful entourage ...?

Abréviations Post-Electroniques

L’abréviation totalitaire se trouve paradoxalement avec les expressions (surtout celles de salutation) les plus longues dans la langue française et par conséquence dans tous les mails impliqués. Or je me demande pourquoi ne pas abrévier ces derniers aussi, par exemple:

Amicalement, Amitiés =>  Am
Cordialement => Co
Bien Cordialement => BCo
Bien à toi => BaT
Bien à vous => BaVs
Sincèrement => Si

Bonne soirée => Bs
Bonne journée => Bj
Bon Weekend => Bw

A plus tard, A bientôt => A+
A tout a l'heure => Att

Merci de bien vouloir accepter mes salutations plus distinguées, bien cordialement => BCo

Optimism

Today, I am having lunch with optimism and for the occasion I decided to jot a few words about it.

I dress up to the nines imagining I'm on cloud number nine. Indeed, I try to fly by being fly often on the fly though I risk flying with an unzipped fly that can be entered by any fly such as a fruit fly...

Albeit the cold gray skies that tint my fellow passengers, I radiate with less suitable colorful clothes hoping in a Voltarian panglossianism to eventually harvest my fruitful fashion and passion. This is the very optimism that I live every day.

Stendhal's promise of happiness is a subjective beauty, that in my eyes is more of a potential one. I am rather investing in the seeds than in the fruits, mostly because the latter is already harvested.

This boils down to a genotype/phenotype question that scientists have never ceased to investigate.

La tercera dimension de un mundo que no existe

Je suis cette chanson

Je suis un juif espagnol, je suis un grec armenien, je suis un juif arabe, je suis un creole francais, je suis un noir italien...je suis cette chanson. Je suis un etranger a Paris.

je suis cette chanson. Imaginez si on me la chante au metro de Paris en plus.

too thin to exist

Sometimes I spread myself too thin to a vanishing point. I divide into these particles that constitute air. I become transparent to many even to myself. That is my exit strategy when overwhelmed by endless tasks.

I would rather put up with suffering transparency when commitment knocks my door.

I would rather (drink) wine by my familiar self than succumb to thine.   

Venerdi il 13

Ieri, venedi' il 13 di gennaio, per quanto era pessimo per gli superstiziosi in america era contrariamente festeggiato per scaramanzia dagli superstiziosi in Francia per la sorte che gleli prometteva, possibilemente quella rubata dall'america.

Per me e' tutta una cagata pero' il mio ragionamento non scoraggeva l'idea di trovarmi in una festa praticamente dedicata a un dei 365.25 giorni e per l'occasione mi sono fermato ad un negozio per comprare una camicia.

E' passata la notte e anche la voglia di uscire e cosi' son rimasto a casa. Tuttavia, stamattina per caso ho notato che la marca della mia camicia era TREDICI.

La coincidenza e' probabilisticamente aumentata della mia presenza in francia a quel giorno e della mia conoscenza della lingua italiana a parte la necessita' di compare una camicia... 

   

Impersonal Times

Sadly, we now live in such lonely and impersonal times that it has become too invasive of our time and privacy to dedicate a message to only one person. Instead we choose to ironically broadcast our most sincere thoughts and wishes to a network of "friends" or even a blog of anonymous readers who have no intentions of ever expressing any empathy, even the most empathetic, in times like this.

This year, I snail mailed my wishes to the very residencies of a selection of family and friends.

I wish 2012 and the years to follow, connect us better!

PS. A Parisian street wall reads: "Time is an invention by people incapable of loving".  

When does a Tree stop being a Tree?

a
cedar,

is it a tree?
and is any tree a tree?

is the reflection of a tree also a tree?

how about the image of a reflection of a tree?

how about your reflection on an image of a reflection of a tree?

is it a tree?
is "it" a tree?
is this a tree?

This has been a GREAT year

This has been a GREAT year.

Indeed, so great I am not looking forward to bid it farewell tonight.

This has been a GREAT year on so many levels.

On a professional level, I "survived" a long PhD roller-coaster and accepted a postdoctoral position in Paris, where life is promising and the morrows are bright.
On an artistic level, I had two successful exhibitions, one in the States and another in Paris. Needless to mention the crazy photoshoots and the 1001 faces project that will be completed and announced next year.
On a soul-searching level, I traveled for more than 4 months in 4 continents to finally find a couple of places to accommodate my restless soul, arts and science -- a place that welcomes both sides of the brain and all races, backgrounds and beliefs. The US and its folks will always be remembered and missed.
On a soul-union level, I was reunited with family and good friends and it feels so great to spend time with them.

This has been a GREAT year.

It will be hard to beat it by the years to come. However, if there is something I learned from the previous years it is that life can be lived by the imposed social norms and traditions but much more so when these limits are pushed and redefined. So I invite you all to have a dream if you do not already and dare pursue it till the very end. Otherwise, do what you are best at until your vision becomes clear. Do not let others tell you what is impossible. Associate with positive people and dissociate with the rest.

This has been a GREAT year.

Thank you all for contributing to its success. I hope to be seeing more of you this year.

This has been a GREAT year.

I hope the same for you and wish you GREATER forthcoming years of joy and success.

PS. I made a calendar  based on my photography exhibit in Paris, "Couleurs de mes Voyages" if interested in marking it with splendid days and traveling each month to memorable places.