Category: Fourre-tout

A little bit of everything

Enunciation

Enunciation is the act of pronouncing words clearly. You might be surprised how very few can do this properly.

Last night I watched a BBC production called “The Favourite” and while I found it entertaining, I struggled mightily to understand the actors’ lines.

Queen Anne

The main characters were Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah and Emma Stone as Abigail Masham. Coleman and Weisz are British born while Stone is American, but they all managed to be almost totally incomprehensible to American ears… at least my Franco-American ears.

I always had a good ear for foreign languages and I thought that I had a decent command of the Bard’s language, but after last night I am starting to wonder.

“HOSTESS. Oh, nonsense! She speaks English perfectly.
NEPOMMUCK. Too perfectly. Can you shew me any English woman who speaks English as it should be spoken? Only foreigners who have been taught to speak it speak it well.” ― George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion

I tend to agree with you George. A lot of English people tend to stutter or mumble. Even the Royals… In a perfect world, all English nationals should speak like Masterpiece characters… but unfortunately, they don’t. They talk more like comic relief foreigners.

Today, being able to read and write is not enough. Every school kid, and particularly every asylum seeker, should be compelled to take speech lessons to learn how to enunciate properly. If they didn’t, they should become Untouchables.

Granted, English spoken by British and American people is different, but everybody should speak clearly. Regardless if you hail from Australia, England or America, every syllable should be pronounced.

I find this lack of clarity particularly galling, especially when having a phone conversation. Incidentally, I think that somebody could make a fortune by creating a “speech correction app”. Regardless of your origins, each time you would use a phone your voice would sound like Demosthenes. Wouldn’t be great?

My beef with deficient speakers might have a bit to do with a diminishing auditory capability but I stand by my claim. Use enunciation properly and get a 10% discount on everything you buy from me.

I have an unmitigated love for foreign movies. Be it from Sweden, Argentina, Italy, Israel, Poland, etc. all exotic films are consumed with equal relish. Even though I don’t speak Swedish, Spanish or Hebrew, I am plenty satisfied with closed captions. It beats mumbling anytime.

Closed Captions

are at the forefront of modern visual art, and when I become President, subtitles will be used everywhere… especially in these darn British productions.

Back me up, Make Enunciation Great Again!

Alain

Annual Business Meeting

I suspect that the Villa Inn in San Rafael will be remembered someday as a historical site. It is the venue that, through Mireille Di Maio, has frequently been the site of our club’s reunions.

On Saturday, December 15, 2018 the club met again at this site for its Annual Business Meeting. About 30 of our staunchest club members turned up to show their interest and support.

Mark Shirkey

In the absence of our president, Mark Shirkey, the club’s vice-president, chaired the meeting. He started by recognizing and praising the leadership of Christine Cragg, our actual President. Then Monique Bricca read a message from Christine, who due to medical complications and impending surgery, could not attend that meeting.

Monique Bricca

Mark took over again to mention what has been accomplished, what remains to be done and the need to revitalize our aging membership. Every effort should be made to attract a younger crowd, and in my opinion, monetarily rewarded for signing in anybody under the age of 30.

Mark mentioned the state of our finances and the very helpful newfound cooperation with the county. He then recognized the movers and shakers of our club and gave them a verbal accolade.

He mentioned by name Sandra Shirkey, Mike O’Leary, Charlie Davantes, Jacques Gautier, Brigitte Moran, Noel Marcovecchio, Akira Okawa, Mireille Di Maio and little old me for my photographic contribution.  In addition, Henry and Calvert were also alluded for their hard work and devotion to the club.

Pressed by the audience, Mark reiterated that he did not wish to be president and was happy with his current status.

Finally, for 2019, the Board will remain as is with the following people:

Christine Cragg – President
Mark Shirkey     – Vice President
Noel Marcovecchio – Secretary
Mike O’Leary – Facilities Director
Evan Falcone – Public Relations Officer
Bart Zachofsky

Mark did an excellent presentation and deserves to be praised for his efforts and valuable leadership.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all!

Alain

Complaining is easy

“The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The realist adjusts the sail.” William A. Ward

A complainer is often somebody who carps about various things but never proposes a solution. To some, complaining is just a second nature, particularly among the direct descendants of the Fronde.

Charles de Gaulle noticed it a long time ago.

How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese? Charles de Gaulle

To complain is easy and that’s probably why we have so many adherents of that practice. It does not require any talent or training, and that lofty occupation (often regally compensated) can be practiced anywhere.

As proven many times by history, many successors often prove worse than the person they opposed and replaced.
Are we better off today than when we were under Obama’s watch?

Complaints often turn into unpredictable mobs. For some, joining a demonstration is like crashing a party. They were not invited and probably not welcome, but by George, they will enjoy themselves. And why not seize the occasion to appropriate a few necessities like iPhones or Rolex watches?

Mobs don’t think, otherwise, there would never be riots and destruction. Any individual would think twice before shattering a storefront window and stealing its contents. When in the anonymity of a group, he relinquishes his thinking to listen to the hooligans’ drumbeat.

Any decision has many unexpected consequences. President Emmanuel Macron thought that he would balance the budget when he decided to implement a “carbon tax”. He didn’t expect the bloody confrontations that resulted. But he showed more resolve than many world leaders (including our “very intelligent” president) to combat global warming.

In a perfect world, balancing the budget should be easy.

Everybody would contribute his fair share, with the wealthy contributing substantially more than the less fortunate.
In France particularly, many elite’s privileges should be abolished, but at the same time, so should many ridiculous subsidies.

“In 2016, France spent €714.5 billion on social welfare which represents 32.1 percent of the country’s GDP compared to an average of 27.5 percent for the rest of the European Union.”

A coin always has 2 sides. It would be wise to look at both.

Alain