Saturday 27 July 2013
Friday 26 July 2013
Facebook Time Wasters or Interesting People...
OK... For those of you who kindly send me FB messages to chat with me.
IF...
...You are trying to chat up me, you are wasting your time.
... you are bored and wish to have a lengthy meaningless conversation
... if you want to ask me questions which answers you can find on my "about" section
... if you wish to threaten me
You are wasting your time and mine.
IF...
... you have geniune questions
... you wish to pass me useful information
... you want to talk about a specific subject
... you are a real friend
I have all the time in the world for you and I'm ever so grateful you are in my virtual world...
IF...
...You are trying to chat up me, you are wasting your time.
... you are bored and wish to have a lengthy meaningless conversation
... if you want to ask me questions which answers you can find on my "about" section
... if you wish to threaten me
You are wasting your time and mine.
IF...
... you have geniune questions
... you wish to pass me useful information
... you want to talk about a specific subject
... you are a real friend
I have all the time in the world for you and I'm ever so grateful you are in my virtual world...
Monday 15 July 2013
I am what the Angels have made me....
It
took me a long time to come to terms with the difference between God
and Religions. For years, I rejected God because of Religions. Then I
learned about Gandhi. And I realised that what I was angry with were
Men's Laws about God. Not God Himself.
God doesn't need religions. He IS.
In my opinion, Men don't need religions as much as they need God. He is sometimes a voice in your head. A warmth in your heart. The will to help that stranger in the street. But I don't believe in those dogmas imposed on us from ancient times, obsolete and dictatorial.
I don't believe in religions. I believe in God. I believe in Men of Good Will. And I truly truly believe Good will always win against Evil. Because we are People of Good Will.
We are as the Angels have made us.
God doesn't need religions. He IS.
In my opinion, Men don't need religions as much as they need God. He is sometimes a voice in your head. A warmth in your heart. The will to help that stranger in the street. But I don't believe in those dogmas imposed on us from ancient times, obsolete and dictatorial.
I don't believe in religions. I believe in God. I believe in Men of Good Will. And I truly truly believe Good will always win against Evil. Because we are People of Good Will.
We are as the Angels have made us.
Friday 12 July 2013
I'm still here - Sondheim...
Let's speak about Sondheim again. Yesterday, I made you discover (for a lot of you) "Passion" and the best text about unconditional love ever. Today, a completely different side of Sondheim. "Folies".
An old Folies theatre is about to be destroyed. Old performers come and say goodbye to the place, with great stories/songs. One of the most famous ones, "I'm still here", that was sung by Shirley McLaine in "Postcard from the edge" with stlightly different lyrics, is the symbol of many performers like me, as in, not spring chickens, with great ups and a lot of nasty downs...
I am giving you the "best of" those lyrics, some are a bit out of date now. But the core of it is just... so spot on.....
"Good times and bum times, I've seen them all
And, my dear, I'm still here
Plush velvet sometimes
Sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here
I've stuffed the dailies in my shoes
Strummed ukuleles, sung the blues
Seen all my dreams disappear but I'm here.
I've slept in shanties, guest of the W.P.A., but I'm here
Danced in my scanties
Three bucks a night was the pay, but I'm here
I've stood on bread lines with the best
Watched while the headlines did the rest
In the depression was I depressed?
Nowhere near, I met a big financier and I'm here
[.....]
I've gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Gee, that was fun and a half
When you've been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Anything else is a laugh
I've been through Reno, I've been through Beverly Hills, and I'm here.
Reefers and vino, rest cures, religion and pills, and I'm here
Been called a 'Pinko', commie tool, got through it stinko by my pool
I should've gone to an acting school, that seems clear
Still someone said, "She's sincere", so I'm here
Black sable one day, next day it goes into hock, but I'm here
Top billing Monday, Tuesday, you're touring in stock, but I'm here
First you're another sloe-eyed vamp
Then someone's mother, then you're camp
Then you career from career to career
I'm almost through my memoirs, and I'm here
I've gotten through, "Hey, lady, aren't you whoozis?
Wow, what a looker you were"
Or better yet, "Sorry, I thought you were whoozis
Whatever happened to her?"
Good times and bum times, I've seen 'em all
And, my dear, I'm still here
Flush velvet sometimes
Sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here
I've run the gamut, A to Z
Three cheers and dammit, C'est la vie
I got through all of last year, and I'm here
Lord knows, at least I was there,
And I'm here
Look who's here,
I'm still here"
Now, the Master of Sondheim in my opinion, Julie Wilson, that I had the immense chance to meet in London. Her "I'm still here" is the best ever for me... (PS. She was over 75 for that recording...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd3UtltqLgA
An old Folies theatre is about to be destroyed. Old performers come and say goodbye to the place, with great stories/songs. One of the most famous ones, "I'm still here", that was sung by Shirley McLaine in "Postcard from the edge" with stlightly different lyrics, is the symbol of many performers like me, as in, not spring chickens, with great ups and a lot of nasty downs...
I am giving you the "best of" those lyrics, some are a bit out of date now. But the core of it is just... so spot on.....
"Good times and bum times, I've seen them all
And, my dear, I'm still here
Plush velvet sometimes
Sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here
I've stuffed the dailies in my shoes
Strummed ukuleles, sung the blues
Seen all my dreams disappear but I'm here.
I've slept in shanties, guest of the W.P.A., but I'm here
Danced in my scanties
Three bucks a night was the pay, but I'm here
I've stood on bread lines with the best
Watched while the headlines did the rest
In the depression was I depressed?
Nowhere near, I met a big financier and I'm here
[.....]
I've gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Gee, that was fun and a half
When you've been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover
Anything else is a laugh
I've been through Reno, I've been through Beverly Hills, and I'm here.
Reefers and vino, rest cures, religion and pills, and I'm here
Been called a 'Pinko', commie tool, got through it stinko by my pool
I should've gone to an acting school, that seems clear
Still someone said, "She's sincere", so I'm here
Black sable one day, next day it goes into hock, but I'm here
Top billing Monday, Tuesday, you're touring in stock, but I'm here
First you're another sloe-eyed vamp
Then someone's mother, then you're camp
Then you career from career to career
I'm almost through my memoirs, and I'm here
I've gotten through, "Hey, lady, aren't you whoozis?
Wow, what a looker you were"
Or better yet, "Sorry, I thought you were whoozis
Whatever happened to her?"
Good times and bum times, I've seen 'em all
And, my dear, I'm still here
Flush velvet sometimes
Sometimes just pretzels and beer, but I'm here
I've run the gamut, A to Z
Three cheers and dammit, C'est la vie
I got through all of last year, and I'm here
Lord knows, at least I was there,
And I'm here
Look who's here,
I'm still here"
Now, the Master of Sondheim in my opinion, Julie Wilson, that I had the immense chance to meet in London. Her "I'm still here" is the best ever for me... (PS. She was over 75 for that recording...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd3UtltqLgA
Thursday 11 July 2013
"Loving you" - About unconditional love... Sondheim
I have a few passions in life. One of them is the Musicals by Stephen Sonheim. One of the most suprising is called "Passion". Story was initially a strange film with Bernard Giraudeau a few years back, from Ettore Scola, Passione d'Amore. One of the most beautiful unconditional love songs ever wrote in my humble opinion...
"Loving you is not a choice, it's who I am.
Loving you is not a choice and not much reason to rejoice,
But it gives me purpose, gives me voice to say to the world:
This is why I live, you are why I live.
Loving you is why I do the things I do
Loving you is not in my control.
But loving you, I have a goal for what's left of my life...
I would live, and I would die for you."
"Loving you is not a choice, it's who I am.
Loving you is not a choice and not much reason to rejoice,
But it gives me purpose, gives me voice to say to the world:
This is why I live, you are why I live.
Loving you is why I do the things I do
Loving you is not in my control.
But loving you, I have a goal for what's left of my life...
I would live, and I would die for you."
Sunday 7 July 2013
Don't let Monsters make Monsters out of you
Don't let Monsters make Monsters out of you
Like many other countries, we French Christians have lived through Inquisition. For years, Catholic Extremists killed and tortured anybody that was not in their view religious enough. Then for centuries, Catholic Extremists weighted on our society, on our governments. It was a long process, a bloody one too, to get rid of their domination. Took time, determination, strength, and I guess, patience… Not a word I like much to be honest.
The same way, it took years for the French Society to find the ‘right kind of Democracy”. What do you think? That one day, we had a King, were oppressed and starving, and the next, we had an Elected President, a Parliament and free? The hell we did!!!
We started by cutting people’s heads “en veux-tu en voilà” , “as if they were nothing more than grass on a lawn. It was called “The Terror”, that was just after Bastille Day. Then we had Napoleon – who declared himself Emperor and killed half of Europe, back to a King or two, then eventually, slowly, the real Democratic process took its true place. (again, short cut, don’t go historical on me!)
So, to summarise, it took us about 200 years to finally reach religious freedom and true Democracy.
In my view, in humanity, 5% of people are evil. Throughout History. They are the ones that kill old people for 20 euros in their purse, will rape children or throw them from the top of buildings as we’ve seen it yesterday, hate blacks, yellows, white, blues, will kill football supporters because they don’t wear the right jersey, will blackmail, torture, murder, just because they can, every freaking day of our freaking lives. Yes. Those people are Monsters. They should be punished by human laws for now, before Divine Justice takes care of them later…
Still, in Democracy, we’ve got to live and share space, power and institutions with people that don’t agree with us. People we don’t like. Or simply, people that don’t think like us. It doesn’t make them Monsters or Murderers. The Monsters have got to be expelled, yes. But the majority surely, are mothers, and fathers, and they go to work, and they protect their children, and try and live day by day with their set of beliefs. And that, we need to respect.
I know that this afternoon, a lot of you will go down to Tahir Square, once again. Please stay safe. And don’t let a little bunch of Monsters make Monsters out of you. It’s their choice, their destiny, their curse. Not yours.
Welcome to Democracy….
Like many other countries, we French Christians have lived through Inquisition. For years, Catholic Extremists killed and tortured anybody that was not in their view religious enough. Then for centuries, Catholic Extremists weighted on our society, on our governments. It was a long process, a bloody one too, to get rid of their domination. Took time, determination, strength, and I guess, patience… Not a word I like much to be honest.
The same way, it took years for the French Society to find the ‘right kind of Democracy”. What do you think? That one day, we had a King, were oppressed and starving, and the next, we had an Elected President, a Parliament and free? The hell we did!!!
We started by cutting people’s heads “en veux-tu en voilà” , “as if they were nothing more than grass on a lawn. It was called “The Terror”, that was just after Bastille Day. Then we had Napoleon – who declared himself Emperor and killed half of Europe, back to a King or two, then eventually, slowly, the real Democratic process took its true place. (again, short cut, don’t go historical on me!)
So, to summarise, it took us about 200 years to finally reach religious freedom and true Democracy.
In my view, in humanity, 5% of people are evil. Throughout History. They are the ones that kill old people for 20 euros in their purse, will rape children or throw them from the top of buildings as we’ve seen it yesterday, hate blacks, yellows, white, blues, will kill football supporters because they don’t wear the right jersey, will blackmail, torture, murder, just because they can, every freaking day of our freaking lives. Yes. Those people are Monsters. They should be punished by human laws for now, before Divine Justice takes care of them later…
Still, in Democracy, we’ve got to live and share space, power and institutions with people that don’t agree with us. People we don’t like. Or simply, people that don’t think like us. It doesn’t make them Monsters or Murderers. The Monsters have got to be expelled, yes. But the majority surely, are mothers, and fathers, and they go to work, and they protect their children, and try and live day by day with their set of beliefs. And that, we need to respect.
I know that this afternoon, a lot of you will go down to Tahir Square, once again. Please stay safe. And don’t let a little bunch of Monsters make Monsters out of you. It’s their choice, their destiny, their curse. Not yours.
Welcome to Democracy….
Friday 5 July 2013
And the Arabic translation
- Yasmine SALEHBonjour voila la traduction arabe:
الترجمة: "أنا لم أحظ بأن أكون مصرية. لكن إذا سمحتم لى، فإن هذا الشعب \كرنا بالديمقراطية الحقيقية و كيف أنها ولدت فى البداية من الشارع. نحن الفرنسيين يجب أن نتذكر أننا بشكل أو بآخر قد إخترعناها فى يوم من أيام 14 يوليو، ....(تاريخ الثورة الفرنسية)
.......
و فى مصرإختار الشعب بهدوء و بدون عنف و بحركة نبيلة تذكرنا بغاندي أو مانديلا. فقد كان المصريون يعرفون ماذا يريدون فخلقوا حركة شعبية و جمعوا ملايين التوقيعات و نظموا مظاهرات طوال ثلاثة أيام.
فلا تتحدثوا عن انقلاب عسكرى. إن الديمقراطية تستعيد حقها الطبيعى و لا نملك إلا أن نحيى هذا البلد على الدرس الذى أعطاه لنا.
إننى و كنت و سأظل فخورة بأنى فرنسية، لكننى أحب اليوم أن أكون مـــــــــصــــــــريـــــــة"
Thursday 4 July 2013
The True Meaning of Democracy...
posted on FB, 4-July-2013
I’m not Egyptian, I shouldn’t be that lucky. But if I may, People from Egypt just reminded us what is Democracy. The Real one. How it was born. In the streets. We as French should remember. Remember how we “invented” it, on Bastille Day, a few years back, when the Fathers of our Fathers went to Paris to depose the King of France (it’s only a figure of speech, don’t go all Historical on me).
Democracy, it’s the People that make a choice. Calmly. Without violence. And with a movement that a Gandhi or a Mandela I truly believe would endorse. They knew what they wanted. And they created a Popular movement, from the PEOPLE, having MILLIONS of petitions signed, literally MILLIONS, and organising those three days of protest.
Don’t you speak to me about “Coup d’Etat”! We French invented the word, we should recognise one surely. And it’s not a Coup. It’s Democracy in its own rights. Its True rights. Its People Giving Rights. And today, the only thing we can do is salute this country for the lesson they just gave us.
I always was, I am and always will be proud to be French. But today, today, I wish I was Egyptian.
I’m not Egyptian, I shouldn’t be that lucky. But if I may, People from Egypt just reminded us what is Democracy. The Real one. How it was born. In the streets. We as French should remember. Remember how we “invented” it, on Bastille Day, a few years back, when the Fathers of our Fathers went to Paris to depose the King of France (it’s only a figure of speech, don’t go all Historical on me).
Democracy, it’s the People that make a choice. Calmly. Without violence. And with a movement that a Gandhi or a Mandela I truly believe would endorse. They knew what they wanted. And they created a Popular movement, from the PEOPLE, having MILLIONS of petitions signed, literally MILLIONS, and organising those three days of protest.
Don’t you speak to me about “Coup d’Etat”! We French invented the word, we should recognise one surely. And it’s not a Coup. It’s Democracy in its own rights. Its True rights. Its People Giving Rights. And today, the only thing we can do is salute this country for the lesson they just gave us.
I always was, I am and always will be proud to be French. But today, today, I wish I was Egyptian.
Démocratie... Retour aux sources... Merci l'Egypte...
Posted on Facebook on the 4th July 2013
Je ne suis pas Égyptienne. Je n'ai pas cette chance. Mais si je peux me permettre, ce peuple vient de nous rappeler ce qu'est la Démocratie. La Vraie. Comment elle est née. De la rue. Nous français, devrions nous rappeler... C'est nous quelque part qui l'avons inventée un certain 14 juillet, lorsque les pères de nos pères sont "montés à Paris" pour déposer le Roi de France (c'est une image, bien sûr...).
La démocratie, c'est le Peuple, les Citoyens, qui expriment et choisissent comment la majorité veut vivre. Nous y avons mis des règles, des structures. Mais la base, c'est le Peuple qui décide.
Et en Égypte, le Peuple a choisi. Dans le calme. Sans violence. Avec un mouvement digne d'un Gandhi ou d'un Mandela. Ils savaient ce qu'ils voulaient. Et ils ont créé un mouvement POPULAIRE, issu du peuple, en faisant signer des millions de pétitions, des MILLIONS, et en organisant ces trois jours de protestation.
Alors, ne parlez pas de "Coup d'Etat". C'est la Démocratie qui reprend ses droits. Ses vrais droits. Et on ne peut que saluer ce pays aujourd'hui pour la leçon qu'il vient de nous donner.
Je suis, j'ai été, et je serai toujours très fière d'être Française, mais aujourd'hui, j'aimerais être Égyptienne.
Je ne suis pas Égyptienne. Je n'ai pas cette chance. Mais si je peux me permettre, ce peuple vient de nous rappeler ce qu'est la Démocratie. La Vraie. Comment elle est née. De la rue. Nous français, devrions nous rappeler... C'est nous quelque part qui l'avons inventée un certain 14 juillet, lorsque les pères de nos pères sont "montés à Paris" pour déposer le Roi de France (c'est une image, bien sûr...).
La démocratie, c'est le Peuple, les Citoyens, qui expriment et choisissent comment la majorité veut vivre. Nous y avons mis des règles, des structures. Mais la base, c'est le Peuple qui décide.
Et en Égypte, le Peuple a choisi. Dans le calme. Sans violence. Avec un mouvement digne d'un Gandhi ou d'un Mandela. Ils savaient ce qu'ils voulaient. Et ils ont créé un mouvement POPULAIRE, issu du peuple, en faisant signer des millions de pétitions, des MILLIONS, et en organisant ces trois jours de protestation.
Alors, ne parlez pas de "Coup d'Etat". C'est la Démocratie qui reprend ses droits. Ses vrais droits. Et on ne peut que saluer ce pays aujourd'hui pour la leçon qu'il vient de nous donner.
Je suis, j'ai été, et je serai toujours très fière d'être Française, mais aujourd'hui, j'aimerais être Égyptienne.
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