Monthly Archives: June 2009

A Cuppa For Thor

Posted on by

What is it about hot drinks like tea, coffee, hot chocolate, and gluvine that settles the mind and body at the start or end of the day? Is it simply that it takes time to cool before we can drink; time were we can reflect on the tasks ahead or past; time to just sit and be.

I love thunderstorms. Though when I was a child staying at our chalet in Quebec in summer, we would often experience long violent storms without any power for several hours. It used to scare me when I was very young, but over time I found the sound and display of nature’s fireworks impressive. @ShawnaCoronado tweet though evoked a double entendre of Thor as a plumber complete with butt crack.

Eos’ Glow

Posted on by
3604418461_42e815eac5
photo by @thechannelc and used under the terms of the Creative Commons

As always I never have a camera to capture the scene of my thoughts here in Cannes, but @thechannelc has a beautiful moment she captured during her trip to New Zealand that fits just as well.

A Sunday evening twilight alone and tweeting by candle light and laptop glare; supper, wine, haiku games, and random snippets of on the spot philosophy (in French no less), more wine.

I was a little maudlin by the end of that evening and thinking way back to when our family used to have an holiday apartment in the mountain village of Leysin, Switzerland (tourist office). How at night there are no lights to wash out the vast view of the stars, how air is so clear and fresh, and the water like crystal and sensuous across the tongue.

Of course come next morning, I felt a little naughty, and who better to share a naughty thought with than an online friend I’ve never meet like @amykate. Not sure she caught the double entendre though of the haiku.

Green Spaces

Posted on by

A warm blustery west wind, Le Ponent, was blowing back and forth through my apartment, tapping and slamming doors and windows that refused to remain wedged open. The rustle of the trees below my balcony at times was the only sound to be heard.

20090619-003-480x640
Shawna Coronado is an avid gardener and green fiend. She’s probably one of the few who is not tweeting a marketing agenda on Twitter and actually says something about her life, hobbies, the environemnt, and her cute dog, Harry The Pug. Though Baka The Bichon is cuter IMHO 😉

Now I’m no gardener. I have neither patience or temperament for it, plus allergies tends to put me off the idea. However, I still appreciate both tended and natural green spaces; the calm that can be found in a garden, park, or forest, away from the hustle and diesel of busy streets. I try to appreciate them when ever I can, particularly while out walking Baka.

The neighbourhood I live in Cannes (just below SuperCannes) has many green spaces, typically on the grounds of private homes and estates. In between them are many natural spaces in areas where it is very difficult to build like step ravines and gullies. I like these particular spaces, as they’re woody, shady, almost magical, as though they are home to Kami.

Crush the Infamy

Posted on by

Anjelika Jinx, who writes the Naive London Girl sex blog and podcast, and is a lovely amusing person in real life, rose early yesterday morning somewhat grouchy so she said; so I tried to cheer her up.

@inotherwords_c never seems to sleep and is a haiku night owl. When I’m just rising for the day, she’s in the throws of haiku ecstasy before bed. I find that I like to play off her haiku, transforming them while maintaining a theme, like a game of telephone.

The image @blugnu painted by this comment I found stimulating. I’m thinking Anjelika might get some ideas from this as well (me waves).

@blugnu’s remark and my early morning mood to write some thing different, took me along a new tangent from volts to Voltaire. Having found some choice quotes of Voltaire, I felt as though I had been jolted to life like Frankenstein’s monster (Kenneth Branagh’s 1994 version was excellent). So with the day’s power before me I began an experiment along new currents to blend the philosophy of Voltaire with a Japanese literary art form.

Quoi que vous fassiez, écrasez l’infâme, et aimez qui vous aime. – Voltaire
Whatever you do, crush the infamous thing, and love those who love you.