It’s the first day of Advent and I have traditionally filled for several years a calendar which allows me to settle down (and also to rest?) in a recreational and funny way. Let’s go for this Advent calendar 2023 version!
01. A quote that carries me▲
In honor of my daughter who took up theater this year and my son whose theme is on the program for this month’s French class, I am choosing a quote about the theater by William Shakespeare. It is present in my quotes page on my personal website.
02. An image that makes me dream▲
I choose a photo with Mae Jemison, the first black female astronaut to go into space. She is also the first astronaut to appear in the show Star Trek: The Next Generation, which is my favorite fictional universe:) I watched this series from the Star Trek franchise in its entirety. When he was in fifth grade, my eldest son’s class was named 5JEMI in her honor. It makes dream the engineer I am.
03. The last musical crush▲
I choose the main theme of the Civilization VI video game, composed by Christopher Tin, with a Youtube video which breathtakes and questions: what makes us human?
04. A super cute image▲
I choose an image with a young astronaut, a girl who is right to dream big: when you aim for the moon, you have every chance of coming across a star, according to a quote by Oscar Wilde 😉
05. A song that gets you going▲
I choose a song from my playlist: Felicita by Al Bano with Romina Power.
06. Something that comforts when things are bad▲
Think or better write on a sheet of paper a list of positive things that we have done or experienced: happy memories, successful projects or missions, actions of which we are proud, what we like to do in life…
07. A little free happiness▲
Gardening, weeding, watering, concocting a bouquet of garden flowers, smelling their scents… The garden offers a delicious free happiness 🌺😇
08. A beautiful love song▲
This year, I select a song whose lyrics I learned by heart as a child and which I performed on stage during a summer holiday camp: Les moulins de mon coeur in French, a song composed by Michel Legrand and written by Eddy Marnay.
Note: there is an American (and original) version: The Windmills of Your Mind whose lyrics were written by American lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman. The song (with the English lyrics) was introduced in the film The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
09. The last cinematic crush▲
This cinematic crush dates back now but I want to choose it: Divergent, American film released in 2014 and directed by Neil Burger. This film invites us to think about difference and the social structures that form the basis of a society. Here is the VO trailer:
10. A must-see video▲
I choose without hesitation: A species apart, a documentary series broadcast by ARTE produced by Franck Courchamp and Clément Morin.
Hook
From the infinitely large to the infinitely small, this animated series examines humanity through a magnifying glass and places the human in a universe of which he/she has never been the center. From the universe to genes, from ecosystems to the human body, each episode allows us to understand quantities and concepts that are difficult to imagine by our brain. Take a few minutes to contemplate the universe from outside our navel!
I transcribe the end of the documentary (chapter 10: legacy):
Humans are not the center of the world. Lost in the depths of the cosmos, it shares an innocuous planet with millions of other species, all unique and fascinating, on which it depends entirely for its well-being and survival. Dust in this immensity, the human being does not seem so exceptional. And yet…
By following their own path, humans have mastered the elements, repelled their predators, fought hunger and disease, to survive, then flourish, and finally conquer. They invented philosophy, art, science. They developed altruism, changed the scale of the scope and volume of their communication, their exchanges and their reflection. They imposed values, morals, ethics on themselves. Gradually, they also invented religion, commerce, politics… but also discrimination, hatred and torture… They developed consumerism, the destruction of lands and seas, the exploitation of other species, at the same time than their own.
Human has achieved the feat of polluting the highest peaks in the world, and the deepest oceans, the interior of spaces, and the exterior of his planet. Every minute, the human species gives birth to 250 babies and produces 4,000 tonnes of waste. Everyday, it produces 240,000 cars and annihilates 400 living species. Every year, it causes the death of nearly 9 million children under the age of 5 and destroys 13 million hectares of forest. Human seems to favor belief over knowledge, having over being, and the image of happiness over happiness itself.
Human thinks being master of everything but does not control oneself. It is the only species to have evolved the ability to destroy its own environment, without having developed the wisdom not to do so. Humans, so precocious, are still immature, capable of the best and the worst. Will human reach the age of reason before burning down his own house?
This question is anything but… insignificant.
A species apart, a documentary series broadcast by ARTE produced by Franck Courchamp and Clément Morin.
11. A recipe to try urgently▲
I share a recipe about which I wrote an article in the blog: express slippers with apples.
12. A personality to discover▲
I choose the name of a great lady of mathematics, Emmy Noether.
Amalie Emmy Noether (23 March 1882 – 14 April 1935) was a German mathematician who made many important contributions to abstract algebra.
As one of the leading mathematicians of her time, she developed theories of rings, fields, and algebras. In physics, Noether’s theorem explains the connection between symmetry and conservation laws.
(Read the article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmy_Noether)
13. A place to discover▲
Galea Park in Corsica, visited personally during a summer vacation in August 2022.
I share two web links about the park:
- The speakers who came to Galea
- The Youtube channel: Galea park, the knowledge channel
14. A TV series in the spotlight▲
I’m watching a new series from the Star Trek fictional universe: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Here is a trailer found on the web:
15. The last literary crush▲
I decide to cite The place, La place in French by Annie Ernaux.
16. A memorable memory▲
The visit of Krakòw with the Wawel Castle in 1991.
17. An initiative to discover▲
Create emergency shelters for homeless people. Here is a web link about a French article about this initiative.
18. Something that restores faith in humanity▲
Mutual aid, a driving force of evolution, which is nevertheless a huge forgotten continent.
[Here is a web link about a book which deals with the Mutual aid, the other law of the jungle : http://www.editionslesliensquiliberent.fr/livre-L_Entraide-566-1-1-0-1.html]
19. An idea to brighten the daily lives of others▲
Take the time to read user manuals. To do this sheds light on the functioning of the objects around us 💡
20. Common sense advice that does good▲
Make a break to recharge your batteries.
21. An exploding expression or play on words▲
It is the period of wishes, of resolutions and there is a quote that I crossed during my adolescence which marked me and which regularly invites itself into my thoughts because it is a question of planets, of stars:
You should always aim for the moon, because even if you fail, you land among the stars.
Oscar Wilde, Irish writer
22. A blog to discover▲
I would like to share an online tool that I regularly use to translate words and texts, particularly into English and Polish: Reverso. Here is the web link : https://www.reverso.net/text-translation
23. A fun and easy to set up game▲
Make a drawing without lifting the pencil and make people guess it for fun.
24. A funny, moving and/or meaningful anecdote▲
I choose a funny anecdote from mathematics 🙂 Fractals, objects developed by Benoit B. Mandelbrot in the 70s, are self-similar objects, that is to say that the whole is similar to one of its parts. This led to the following joke:
What does the B. mean in Benoit B. Mandelbrot? Benoit B. Mandelbrot
Blague sur les fractales.
25. A wish for all other humans▲
Which wish for this Christmas 2023? A power over oneself which allows one to grow, to shed light on one’s personality: to question oneself, to look at what is wrong within oneself, to criticize oneself in order to move forward. An internal opinion that allows you to be at peace and thus to be more in harmony with other people around you.
That is the end of this calendar. See you next year! 🙂
Post updated on 12/26/2023.