Forest lane with walkers near Versailles  -   Gijs Bosch Reitz

Dutch, 1860-1938

Oilon panel, 46 x 33 cm.

San Peire neighbourhood of Les Issambres, Côte d'Azur region of southern France

French vintage postcard, mailed in 1963 to Versailles

5 Minutes, 5 Words - #90

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Mead /miːd/ (n.) - an alcoholic drink of fermented honey and water.

I was served a very fancily presented cup of mead.

Baroque /bəˈrɒk/ (adj.) - relating to or denoting a style of European architecture, music, and art of the 17th and 18th centuries that followed Mannerism and is characterized by ornate detail. In architecture the period is exemplified by the palace of Versailles and by the work of Wren in England. Major composers include Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel; Caravaggio and Rubens are important baroque artists.

Paige drew a beautiful painting that was interestingly Baroque, both in terms of narration and style.

Renaissance /rəˈneɪsəns/ (n.) - a revival of or renewed interest in something.

I was very happy to see the renaissance of 2000s fashion earlier this January.

Rumpus /ˈreɪkɪʃ/(n.) - a noisy disturbance; a row.

The angry men caused a rumpus that woke up my entire neighbourhood.

Rakish /ˈrʌmpəs/ (adj.) - having or displaying a dashing, jaunty, or slightly disreputable quality or appearance.

Mark made many girls swoon with his rakish and confident ways.

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Definitions from: Oxford Languages.

IPA Phonetic Transcription (UK English) from: tophonetics.com

Sentences are fictitious, though they may be based on real issues that occur across the world.

Photographs from "Baroque Architecture" on Wikipedia.

Follow @studyhaus for more vocabulary content!

Re: your longest historical obsession, the court in Versailles

OK so I say the longest because when I was a kid I got into historical novels and, at least in my social circles/neighbourhood library/older siblings shelves etc, 50% of french kids historical novels are about Louis XIV and Louis XVI. When I was like 7 i borrowed from my sister (then got the whole collection offered to me the next years one here one there etc) her only tome of Les Colombes du Roi-Soleil (lit: the Doves of the Sun-King) which was about the noble but poor girls who got educated basically for free (as long as the pauperty of their family was because of their service to the king/country) in this big, stern boarding school near Versailles. Each of the girls lived big adventures that started in the boarding school or went they left it. The first one, Louise, discovered she was Louis XIV's illegitime daughter and her mother was in jail (she thought she was an orphan as she didn't know her parents). Charlotte was a stowaway to Siam because a guy was trying to marry her against her will because she was protestant and the law that authorized protestantism in france had just been repelled and the guy she wouldn't have many friends who would stand up for her, Hortense was in love with CHarlotte's brother and they eloped to go live in Switzerland (protestant country + she's not supposed to elope, the girls at this Boarding School were generally married off by the director, Madam de Maintenon, or at least with her blessing), Isabeau became a governess but the father of the kids tried to make a move on her and she ran away and I don't remember what she did then. Victoire became a lady in waiting for an italian princess, Adelaide got fired, then was sent to the new world in a basically "mail bride" thing because the population of the new world was 90% men at the time so France sometimes sent girls from jail to start a new life there (evening the population ratio and allowing prostitutes and other thieves to start anew) then fell in love with an indian and married him after her husband died (in... most suspicious circumstances), Jeanne became a cosmetologist/parfumer, Eleonore's book was about alchemy and porcelain... so basically all that. You would learn everything about everything and most of the time there was also a cute love story.

There was also the Complot à Versailles series (lit: Plot in Versailles!) which was all about the darker secrets of the court, mainly the Affair of the Poisons (which you can look up or I can make a post about) in which an amnesiac little girl was saved from the Seine (the river) flooding and adopted by destitute nobles, the Saint-Beryl family. SHe got friends with their daughter was was her age, and when the daughter, ten years later, is sent to the court because someone owed them a favor and paid it by giving her a job, the amnesiac girl goes there as her maid. Amnesiac girl is also a skilled healer because she was raised by the Saint-Beryl's only left servants who are a butler and his wife the healer. Anyway they were somehow put into a whole plot which was the follow-up of the one that had made the Amnesiac Girl taken from her family and made amnesiac and she found out who her family was and they arrested the bad guys.

There's also Orange Trees of Versailles and (putting them together because I had them in the same edition and thought it was the same book for a while at 7-8) The Sun-King's Spy (l'espionne du roi-soleil). Basically also about the Affair of the Poisons, everytime a young girl arrives at the court and has to enfurl plots.

When I was 9, i won a reading contest and got offered the first book of a (at the time 3, but apparently there were more than came out) romance biography of Marie-Antoinette (which, as a matter of fact, was nicknamed Antoinette or Antonia, not Marie, so sorry Time Princesses but it really breaks my immersion - because almost every girl was named Marie-Something at the time). It was from the pov of a priest who had been sent to Austria to teach her french and then accompagnied her back to France, Idk if he really existed. Anyway it taught me a lot about the time but also now I can't see the name of the austrian embassador in France at the time without thinking "omg like in Marie-Antoinette: Le Jardin Secret d'une Princesse!!" so it kinda allows me to baffle history majors when they're like "oh yeah this guy no one knows about" and i'm like "well actually..." and then gives them info without precising it's from a book i read when i was 8.

After that I found the historical novels shelves on my local boookshop and also discovered the Soeurs Espérance books which I cannot recommand enough to anyone interested in "recent" (1789-1900) french history which is basically about this atheist girl, Emilie, who's father died and because of the lack of money her mother and her move into a smaller house around the 1890's, and she finds a secret part of the wall in which there's a bunch of letters from Charlotte, a noble girl from the french revolution era, writing to her sister Elisabeth who had left France for England during the revolution. Then because she wants to know more about the girls, Emilie looks up who the previous owner of the house was and it was a family with a daughter her age, catholic, named Constance. Basically the whole book is half the thriller that is Charlotte's life and half an ongoing theological debate between Atheist!Emilie and Catholic!Constance, but there's also this serial killer and their neighbour who won't leave them alone about that one fence that is supposedly over his part of the garden. Anyway. Four books of that, at some point Constance wonders if she should become a nun, Emilie converts to christianism and marries Constance's brother far later, there's a whole thing about how Elisabeth never answered the letters of Charlotte and CHarlotte received a letter from the english cousins who were supposed to take care of Elisabeth saying she never arrived at their house, so the two "modern" girls try to find out more about what happened to them both, there's a "cursed" reliquary plot which is not cursed it's just that everyone who owned it dies but it's because someone is killing them to try and get their hand on the reliquary, there's a whole "russian girl who got abandonned by her parents to protect her because they were suspected of being in on the assassination of this one tsar" etc it's great read it i beg you read it.

Anyway so yeah the french court of Versailles is basically all I could find to read about so this obsession started when I was 7 or so and is still ongoing so that's why i call it my longest one.

So basically what's Versailles?

It's a castle that was supposed to be a hunting lodge for Louis XIII, but his son Louis XIV, as soon as his tamed the revolt against him (la Fronde) which was led by his own uncles, when he was a child, moved into Versailles and made it into the biggest, most beautiful castle in Europe (if you like the golden colour only though. if you prefer white and blue, some german/austrian castles are way more beautiful, and for cream and beige you'll have plenty of magnificent english ones but that's not my point). Because of the Fronde, Louis XIV put in place a very, very strict social/courtly etiquette which only purpose was to make everything turn around him. Basically, the goal was that while the noble houses would fight each other for the privilege of serving him, they wouldn't have time to fight him.

So in Versailles, there was this whole food chain of basically, dukes and duchesses are serving the royal family, but their own servants are generally lower-ranking nobles, and the nobles' servants and lady-in-waiting/attendants are generally even-lower-ranking nobles, who then are served by commoners.

As far as recurring characters that did exist went from a historical novel to the other, you had like the basic ones, Jean de la Fontaine, Racine, Corneille, André Lenôtre, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and other big cultural characters (Fontaine, Racine and Corneille are authors, Lenôtre and Hardouin Mansart were architects working on Versailles, one in the gardens, one in the buildings), it became both a cultural epicenter and a... well, at the beginning it was a place of debauchery, the king had many mistresses and libertinage was running rampant, but then the king became wiser in his old age and it went the other way and became a very pious place, except obviously it was the inverse excess so it became very roman catholic and nothing else. Back to the reucrring character you have less famous like ministers and "famous" priests and such, La Reynie was the minister of police, Jacques Benigne Bossuet was the bishop of Meaux and a famous writer (would write moral and religious discourse) etc. So really it taught me a lot about that period.

Back to the king's mistresses, there are only three kings who lived in Versailles, all called Louis: Louis XIV, his great-grandson Louis XV and the latter's grandson, Louis XVI. There was no king between them, they just all outlived their other descendants.

Louis XIV was... intense. Everything I said before obviously, plus his, let's say, love for women and for parties. He spent millions in parties but he also put France in first position in Europe, culturally and militarily. Actually, iirc (don't quote be on this one) at the battle of Blenheim in 1704, France was defeated for the first time since Louis XIV had ascended to the throne. And he had ascended like fifty years earlier (depends on how you count).

He also cheated on his wife throughout most of their marriage. His most famous mistresses (who stayed famous because they were openly recognized as royal mistresses despite the church condemning it but hey how can the local priest or even the pope knock some sense into the most powerful guy of europe) are Louise de la Vallière, from whom he got two children who were the heroes of a ton of historical novels I didn't talk about because they're all blurring with each other honestly, Athenais de Montespan (Athenais was a "precious" name, her real name was Françoise, we'll talk about preciousism later), with whom he had like seven or more children who he legitimized, and who... er... was kinda... totally guilty of trying black magic and human sacrifices in order to try and keep the king under her tumb when she got older and her beauty started fading? But anyway she got exiled from court but not punished otherwise because it would mean actually admitting that the king's mistress was a human sacrificer satanist and it didn't look good ya know? The third "principal" mistress (by which I mean they were known for being the king's mistress and held as much power as the queen, but he also had tons of extra-marrital relationships with maids and noble ladies that were not made public) was Angelique de FOntanges who was much younger than him and also died in childbirth but was for a while suspected of having been murdered by Montespan because she was jealous of the king sleeping with someone else (so you know... Montespan was intense too for everyone to believe that) and then finally, Madame de Maintenon (née Françoise d'Aubigné) was the last one except she was not the king's mistress. She was his confident, and for all the time they were friends, she tried to persuade him to chase off his mistresses and get back with the queen (she was a very pious woman who apparently succeeded where everyone else had failed in scaring the king with promises of Hellfire if he kept cheating on his wife). Anyway after the queen died he married her in secret and afaik they didn't sleep together before they were married and maybe not even after because they were both old already so she's not exactly a mistress, but she's generally counted as such.

Madame de Maintenon is also the one who created the boarding school from the Colombes du Roi-Soleil series, so she was featured prominently in those books.

Speaking about Montespan's ritual sacrifices, dark masses, satanism and all, I can't say more because it would take a whole post on its own but just google affair of the poisons (or... you know, click the link i put) and it's a whole can of worms.

Preciousism (not sure it's called like that in english) is a cultural movement mainly started by women but which had men in it too, all nobles or at least high-middle-class. The principle was basically to make things more "precious" so basically you wouldn't call yourself Jane but Athenais or Clarimonde (weird names inspired from pastoral poems or greek mythology), you would discourse about the arts and politness, and mostly it was considered as ridiculous except by the "Precious" themselves. There's a play by Moliere mocking them. Mostly instead of saying "i'm going to the toilets" you would use loads of metaphors and periphrases and end up saying something like "Hermes is leading my feet against my will to the house of Cloaqua" and such.

On the "intense" and "party" side of Louis XIV, he was also a theater kid, kinda, and acted and danced in a lot of ballets and plays that he had sponsored.

Anyway from there we go to Louis XV. Becomes king at like three or so and obviously regency by his uncle, Philippe of Orleans. Then he becomes an adult and honestly i know that time period less well but he got two prominent mistresses too, Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry. He got loads of kids and four of his daughters never married: Marie-Adélaïde (who you know by time princess) among others. One of them became a nun but the other three became one of the most powerful social group at court by the time Louis XVI was born.

Anyway Louis XVI was not destined to become king, he was a second son, but his older brother died of illness when they were children, and his parents apparently would have rather that Louis died than his brother and were awful with him.

Anyway Marie-Therese of Austria (not the one who married Louis XIV, the one who reigned over Austria in Louis XV's time) had loads of children too and one of the youngest was Marie-Antoinette. WHO WAS NICKNAMED ANTOINETTE NOT MARIE! Why would Timeprincess butcher that one point? Everybody was named Marie-Something at the time, every single one of her sisters, her mother, all the french princesses... they were called by their second name not their first!

^me right now and everytime I play QUeen Marie on TP

Anyway. (am i using this word too much? probably. but i'm only proofreading when I'm going back up to add something and see words here and there while doing so)

One notable thing is that Louis XVI is the first king in a long time to have not had a msitress. Actually, although they were a bit shy around each other when they got married at 14, Louis and Marie-Antoinette loved each other dearly. Louis was an expert clockmaker, a great hunter, etc. Very good with his hands for everything.

Versailles (the castle) was invaded by the people of Paris and Versailles (the village) during the revolution and the king and queen were emprisonned and that's the endo f Versailles. Still a museum but that's not the same.

Timeless Beauty of Paris:A City of Dreams

Paris, the City of Light, the City of Love, and one of the world's most iconic destinations, has captured the hearts and imaginations of travelers for centuries. With its rich history, breathtaking architecture, world-class cuisine, and unparalleled cultural offerings, Paris is a city that truly lives up to its reputation. In this blog, we will delve into the timeless beauty of Paris, exploring its enchanting neighborhoods, historic landmarks, and the unique experiences that make it a must-visit destination.

A City Steeped in History

Paris boasts a history that spans over 2,000 years, and it's evident in every corner of the city. The Gothic masterpiece, Notre-Dame Cathedral, stands as a testament to the city's medieval past, while the majestic Palace of Versailles showcases its opulent royal history. Walking through the cobblestone streets of Le Marais or Montmartre, you can't help but feel transported to another era.

2. Iconic Landmarks

No trip to Paris is complete without visiting its iconic landmarks. The Eiffel Tower, a symbol of France and an engineering marvel, offers panoramic views of the city from its observation decks. The Louvre Museum, home to thousands of priceless works of art, including the Mona Lisa, is a cultural treasure trove. The Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, and Sacré-Cœur Basilica are just a few more of the city's renowned attractions.

3. Art & Culture

Paris has long been a hub of artistic and intellectual activity. The city was the birthplace of Impressionism, and it continues to inspire artists from around the world. The Musée d'Orsay, with its impressive collection of Impressionist masterpieces, is a must-visit for art enthusiasts. Additionally, the vibrant Montmartre neighborhood was home to renowned artists like Picasso and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Theater and music thrive in Paris, with venues like the Opéra Garnier and the Moulin Rouge offering world-class performances. The city's literary legacy is equally impressive, with the likes of Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, and James Baldwin finding inspiration in its streets.

4. Culinary Delights

French cuisine is legendary, and Paris is its epicenter. From croissants and café au lait at a corner bistro to Michelin-starred dining experiences, the city offers a wide range of culinary delights. Don't miss the opportunity to savor classic dishes like coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, and crème brûlée. And of course, a trip to Paris wouldn't be complete without indulging in a fresh baguette and artisanal cheeses from a local market.

5. Charming Neighbourhoods

Paris is a city of diverse neighborhoods, each with its own unique charm. Stroll through the Latin Quarter's narrow streets and discover cozy bookshops and quaint cafés. Explore the fashion-forward boutiques of Le Marais, or wander the artistic haven of Montmartre. The historic Le Marais district, with its elegant mansions and trendy shops, is a favorite among locals and visitors alike.

6. Romance In The Air

Paris is often hailed as the City of Love, and for good reason. Its romantic ambiance is palpable everywhere you go. A leisurely Seine River cruise at sunset, a picnic in the gardens of Luxembourg Palace, or a kiss under the Eiffel Tower's twinkling lights—all these experiences exude an undeniable sense of romance that has drawn lovers from around the world.

Paris, with its timeless beauty, rich history, and boundless cultural offerings, remains a dream destination for travelers of all ages. Whether you're a history buff, an art aficionado, a food lover, or simply seeking a romantic escape, Paris has something for everyone. So, pack your bags, embrace the enchantment of the City of Light, and create unforgettable memories in this iconic metropolis. Paris, with its enduring allure, will never cease to amaze and inspire those who are fortunate enough to visit.

#TECHWANDERER

Le Joyau le plus precieux

A Lucky Luke Modern!AU fanfiction

Chapter IV - The encounter

Joe needed to sit down: -You...- -Sorry it took me so long, but finding your phone number took longer than expected. How are you?- -Are you kidding me?- Dalton hissed, under his breath. -What do you mean?- - "How are you" is a question you ask a friend. We are not friends.- -It's called politeness, and I don't think it's dead yet.- He didn't sound annoyed, but amused. -Let's forget how you got my number. Why are you calling me at this hour?- -Because I'm in your neighbourhood and I need to talk to you.- The detective's heart stopped. He went back to the window, and indeed there was someone in the street, a lanky figure wrapped in a dark coat. -You are really unbelievable! That's called stalking!- He couldn't see his face. -If you put it like that, I'll make you a proposition: I know when you're not on duty at the department. Let's meet tomorrow at Parc Monceau, just you and me, and you'll get your answers.- -Answers?- He stuck his face to the glass. -Come on, Joe. You're curious, I've known it for a long time. It is precisely this curiosity that convinced me to choose you. Look at you: you want to discover my identity even now.- -Choose me? To do what?- -To make me stop stealing for good.- -...You want me to arrest you? Because there's no need to wait until tomorrow. I'll come down and we'll call it a day.- Lucky chuckled: -If I wanted you to put me in handcuffs, we wouldn't be talking now. Before you get the wrong idea, I want to tell you one last thing: there is more behind this whole thing, and I can guarantee you that if you decide to follow me it will be risky for both of us. I'll know you want to go through with it if you show up, otherwise it will mean I'm wrong and everything will go back to the way it was, with the two of us playing cops and robbers.- Joe did not reply. He weighed the other man's words, and boy was he right, he was curious. Not knowing irritate him terribly. Joe bit his lip: -Shall we say eleven o'clock in the morning?- Lucky Luke threw down. Evidently that was all he needed. The figure in the street moved away, and Dalton let himself slide back in his chair, feeling like he was making a mistake the size of a house. He heard his younger brother snoring, and the temptation to wake everyone up, tell them what had happened starting from Versailles and make a plan was very strong. Instead, remembering the phrase “it might be risky”, he simply exhaled and went to sleep. Which he didn't immediately succeed in doing, as tomorrow he would meet again and at close quarters the man he would very willingly handcuff. "I wonder what he meant by that “wrong thinking”..." A not-so-decent image surfaced in the detective's mind linking the words "Lucky Luke + handcuffed", he didn't even know how it came to him, and turning tomato-coloured he shoved his face into the pillow punching the mattress, "Now I hate him!!!"

Seeing his older brother all dressed up, Jack, disgorging a piece of toast with jam, asked: -Hey, Joe, how come you're so fancy?- -Uh... I have a date. Sort of.- -Ooh, who's the lucky lady?- William stepped in. -It's not a woman.- Averell held his breath, his cheeks full of croissant: -Joe has a new friend!- -You're out of the way, it's a business matter.- A disappointed exclamation came in chorus from the brothers. Jack continued: 

-Come on, Joe, sooner or later you'll have to find someone; we always thought you'd be the first to meet the right person!- -It was Averell instead- the twin pronounced, -you should think less about work.- -Yes, of course.- The elder threw down the rest of his coffee and said goodbye. The three, however, continued to discuss it among themselves: -I don't buy the work-date story.- -Yeah. Besides, we've seen him, he's been distracted lately and Lucky Luke doesn't interest him as much as he used to.- Downing his mouthful of milk, Averell smiled dreamily: -Who knows, maybe he's fallen in love and doesn't want to tell us yet! Joe is sensitive after all! - The twins looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

Parc Monceau is the ideal place to spend time in the open air, perhaps for a romantic stroll. Inside you will find not only marble statues of famous writers and musicians, such as Chopin and Guy de Maupassant, but also works of great value: a Venetian-style bridge, the colonnade of the Naumachia, even a pyramid to scale! All presented to the public in an elegant, harmonious and truly unique way. Right in front of the colonnade, half an hour before the scheduled meeting time, stood Joe Dalton. He beguiled the wait by occasionally throwing pebbles into the pool of water enclosed between the columns, making its surface ripple. A few couples walked past him, joined hand in hand or arm in arm.

Joe looked for a bench to sit on, but soon gave up because they were all occupied by students with their noses in their books and old people. So he headed towards the bridge, and leaning his back against the parapet he began to wonder if it was a good idea to show up alone: even though it was a public park, there were plenty of places to ambush or lurk. He turned to look at the canal flowing below. And who knows by what strange connection of ideas he remembered that evening in Versailles, when Lucky Luke said he had to escape like the White Rabbit. If that was the thief's role, was he Alice running after him? He snickered: the blue dress would not suit him! Suddenly he felt himself being grabbed from behind, and someone plugged his mouth with a handkerchief. Dalton struggled, but the piece of cloth was soaked in chloroform, and he was stunned in no time. 

Everything turned black.

-You went heavy on that stuff. And why did you tie him up?- -Believe me, it's just for our safety. I don't know how he'll react when he wakes up.- A female and a male voice was the first thing Joe heard as he recovered. Slowly he opened his eyes, and focused on the figure of a woman in a blue dressing gown with long black hair. -Where... am I...?- he mumbled, regaining contact with the rest of his senses. He thus discovered that he was tied to a chair. The woman turned around: she couldn't have been more than twenty-five years old; her facial features were reminiscent of an American Indian, but she had mulatto skin and large eyes, black as night; moreover, she was very beautiful and voluptuous indeed: -Good morning Detective!- she exclaimed with a smile. -Who... what...- -Calm down, this is not kidnapping; it's just that my cousin has his own methods!- -Cousin? Methods?- -Wow, he really went hard...- -Forget it, Cheyenne, you're just confusing him.-

The male voice from just before belonged to a man whom Joe spotted tinkering at the table in the room, standing with his back to him, but that slim figure dressed in black was unmistakable. It was enough for the detective to recover from the sedative slumber: -Lucky Luke!- He turned around, and finally Dalton saw his face: younger than he had expected, he had a thin and somewhat elongated face, a fairly prominent nose and dark eyes. His black hair was carried forward in a combed topknot with a downward kink, and which seemed not to respect the laws of physics, since it stood up on its own.

-So, Joe?- the thief asked. -So what?- -Am I like you imagined, or completely different?- Dalton looked closer, only to tease him with an ironic: -I thought you had a beard.- Cheyenne chuckled: -I like this guy already, Lucky!- -Good to know.- -I gotta run, they're waiting for me in the dressing room; bye-bye!- She left the room, fluttering his dressing gown. -Dressing room?- Joe was growing confused about his place of imprisonment. -I'll explain that too. So...- Luke leaned on the table with his hands, still looking at the other: -You decided to came. And early, too.- -The metro was on time. Anyway, I didn't expect to be kidnapped. That's a fall from grace, Lucky Luke.- -I wanted to talk to you unmasked, but I needed a safe place to do it. And as for the rest, don't worry, I'll set you free. But first you're gonna have to listen to me. Because at this point I'm sure I was right to turn to you.- -You said you wanted to reveal everything to me.- -I do. I am sure you will understand and help me.- -To do what? Stop stealing? You already hinted that.- -... To save my brother.-

La cour florissante #versailles #france🇫🇷 #flowers #neighbourhood #voisinage #huaweimate9 #urban #urbanphotography #city #cityphotography #streetphotography (at Versailles, France)

Really, I don’t speak Polish, leave me alone!

So, I am a German with a Polish surname. Female German, male Polish surname (ending on -ski rather than grammatically correct on -ska).

I keep getting letters from the neighbourhood Polish speaking Jehovah's Witnesses circle - in Polish, save for an opening paragraph in German informing me that if I don’t speak Polish, I can disregard this letter. Which I always do.

BECAUSE I DON’T SPEAK POLISH!!!

I am also an atheist.

Look, it’s perfectly normal, perfectly complicated European migration patterns. My paternal ancestors hailed from a part of then Poland, which is now Ukraine (Stalin be like: Let’s move Poland further to the West, so that Soviet Russia can grow bigger at the expense of Nazi Germany - I’m sure the Polish won’t mind). Back in the days when the king of Saxony was also the king of Poland, he sent his recruiters out into the vast Polish hinterland to persuade ninth or so sons (who weren’t gonna inherit anything at home anyway) to come to Saxony and work as miners - promising to make them full and free citizens/burgers of Saxony in return for them breaking their backs in the silver mines that generated the wealth which had good Augustus II the Strong imagine Dresden as second Versailles. Fast forward a couple generations and my ancestors sauntered down the Bohemian slope of the Ore Mountains, because that's, presumably, where the girls were prettier. They ended up in the Sudetenland – and my dad was, as a toddler, expelled from the newly minted Czechoslovakia and relocated to then East Germany. Other relatives ended up in West Germany –  which we used to meet up with back in Czechoslovakia for family gatherings. Because one sister out of an absurd number of siblings had married a Czech and was therefore allowed to remain in the country after WWII. So, despite my Polish name, I actually know about two dozen words in Czech. Against none in Polish.

Also, I'm an atheist.

Also also, I'm kriski on DW and FR and very recently sammeltassensammelsurium on Tumblr. In case you were wondering who this new follower is you got out of the blue...  

I’m tired of ‘leftist’ anti-intellectualism and America-centric xenophobia posing as liberalism.

Protip: If you are anti-academia on subjects of culture not being taught by someone genetically from that culture, even if they know nothing about the culture they are talking about and have never participated in it and were never raised with it... over someone who actually does have a background in knowledge from people of that culture who lived in it and were raised in it... you might actually be the imperialist you are talking about fighting against. You might actually be silencing the people you think you are elevating through deplatforming actual sources from the cultural background talked about, artificially holding up someone with the right genes but no heritage or ties. You might want appearance over substance to be a “good person.” Rethink your views on academia. Think critically. What sources is a person using? Does a person talk about Africa like it's a country and not a continent (ew), or does the person have a list of resources about specific cultures as spoken about by the people from those cultures? Do they make effort in finding anyone from that culture to present or speak in class, if possible? Do they show videos of those people, which are not denigrating to them? Did the person work hard to find resources for you in a language you understand, or did they work to translate for you? Or are their resources some old white dude from 200 years ago, like using the Budge translations for (ancient) Egyptian? Did they quote Fiona Graham or Liza Dalby on geisha? Because of those people is a damn liar who took a fucktonne of money and prestige from an ailing geisha house and ran, and one actually trained as an anthropologist who spent time in Pontocho, where they knew exactly what she was there for and they suggested she debuted as a geisha to better understand them. Does the person gloss over issues like war or genocide? Or do they say, "Yeah, we should probably talk about that. In fact, you can use some example from recent history to understand the attitudes a bit better. Here they are, and here are some differences. Here are some further reading (and if available, video) sources, including from the groups that got really fucked over." If you SAY you are into historybounding (taking historical elements in your wardrobe and making it ‘new’ fashion) and you want to make the frilly French dresses and the London fog coats, but don't ever want to talk about how people eventually used the Versailles floors as a latrine because of the decadence and wanton wealth they collapsed into... and how the common people suffered because of it... Or how England discriminated against it's own people heavily, relegating Jewish English people to certain neighbourhoods or refused jobs to them, or treated the Moorish-descent like shit, or actively would beat the Irish in public and stole their land... you might not be into history or culture. You might just like looking at the pretty things and copying them. You know. Probably culturally appropriating (if not borderline doing so). Not just "history bounding." People in a marginalised group often have to learn things about our own groups’ history, or else we might see "Stonewall" and believe that a white guy threw the first brick, or that "queer" is a slur. Our own people, gasp, might have to learn from... academia. And strangely, I know, it's so weird, but some of the people who teach... use primary sources (that’s sources from the time/place/people the source talks about, like Gay Manifesto written by gay man Carl Wittman)... or are closeted about being experts on the subjects... because they are talking about their own groups and STILL face discrimination and might lose those precious jobs if they are out... and they're just not identifiable by your *outsider* standards. And sorry, but if you don't know your own history, yes, you are an outsider in that sense. Yeah, I can trace some of my family lineage to Turtle Tribe Seneca. But I am an outsider because the only reservation I've ever been on is the one to Olive Garden. I might have to *gasp* turn to actual knowledgeable people to learn something about that. I can't just dress up in whatever or do whatever and say, "No, it's okay! My great-grandmother is Seneca!" and then claim not knowing better because my heritage was stolen by federal American laws. That's not how that works. There is some tentative evidence that some of my family was Jewish before hiding it and coming to America in the late 1930s. But I still have to go through an official conversion process. I still have to learn Jewish history and Jewish culture, and about Jewish diaspora issues. That’s how it works. If you are Japanese in Japan, same thing applies to certain things. Like if you are performing tea ceremony with your school, you can’t just wander in to most of them with whatever pretty kimono you want. There are rules for that. It is a language, not just a dress. You will be sent home. If you don’t want to adhere to those rules, you will not be accepted. That’s how it works. It sucks, totally. But welcome to real life. You might have to actually work at things... Including managing your feelings and not making other people responsible for them. You might have to take responsibility AND bury your ego long enough to learn from educated people. One tip is... Question sources! That was my biggest gripe ten years ago! Plenty of books about Japanese culture, and all of them with lots of white people (white according to American-centric ideas about whiteness) writing the narrative! I had to work to find books about Japanese social ideas written by Japanese authors. You might have to work, too, and not blame other people for not just *handing you shit.* But in the end, accept that other people might know more than you and that is isn't about being Uppity by nature. It's also about "I have all this, you want some?"

If you don't want to learn, then you have to leave the classroom. You can't be a child, throwing a temper tantrum. You're a grown-up. But don't just assume by someone's face that you magically already know how things will be. Ask for a list, a syllabus, a source, a curriculum vitae. That should give you some insight on what to expect. Ask for clarification. Oh, this class is teaching Arthur Conan Doyle? WHAT are they teaching about him, specifically? Erasure isn’t the answer, here. That legacy still exists.

Stick to a scope: you can't fit six books of info in one hour. You need to stay focused. That's part of learning. No "whaddabouts?" Yes, write them down and message them in! But they might not be for this specific post, lecture, or class. The class might need a thing right then, like when my Humanities prof decided that Britain just "had a skirmish" with Benin. No, they committed genocide because Benin refused to become a colony of England, and you need to know that RIGHT NOW while the class is happening, before the moment is gone or internalized. But if you have a side comment about what happened to diaspora in WW2 once they moved to Hawaii and Brazil, the focus of the class might be on experiences *in Japan* and not on diaspora. Email it. It might become another class. There isn't time for that right now. That doesn't mean the prof hates diaspora Japanese. It doesn't mean diaspora don't matter. It just means that the class is limited in focus and time, and right now, the focus isn't on diaspora. Don't make a big dramatic deal about it. Instead, idk, maybe write a well-sourced paper on diaspora experiences while fleeing hostile Showa-era takeover and release it publicly. You can just... do that. I've done that with transcripts for movies that don't have them, for essays on various topics. You can even get paid for that content! No one had to "approve" me. I put it on fucking Tumblr so everyone could have it. Open-source means something. jfc people. Stop whining. Start having open conversations instead of shutting anything new or different down. Stop the anti-intellectualism disguised as liberalism. Stop the xenophobia and nativism disguised as cultural protection. It's great when a culture decides for itself that most people (from that culture) don't want foreign interaction or interference! Leave them the fuck alone! It isn’t hard! Some cultures are closed. Some are semi-closed, like there’s certain things you can learn about or participate in but others are only for people from that background. But don't get mad when a totally different culture doesn't care or uses it for leverage. You don’t get to dismiss a different culture or denigrate them under the guise of “protecting” other POC by erasing them. And if your excuse is (Culture/group) is imperialistic/all people of ____ descent/race are _____ DUDE FIRST OF ALL WTF and second of all, let me tell you something about American history. French history. English history. There are some nuanced conversations we COULD have here, like adults. Or you could just be honest and say, “This isn’t a conversation I’d like to have right now.” That’s totally fine. Sometimes you just don’t have the spoons or time. I often don’t, being disabled. Or you could shut down like a child and say that this is fine but then mute all posts until you get your way, and anyone who posts an actual source is wrong or bad because intellectuals and experts are suspicious. Your choice. Real life is complicated. Figure it out instead of trying to reduce hard things to a box to fit in easily. Expand your world past your little tiny experiences in your own country and background. Stop assuming every fucking thing in the world works like it does in America. Stop approving/disapproving of any information that doesn’t match up with your American morality or experiences- there are *other people* that deal with things other ways than we do. Stop wholesale condemning anyone better informed than you just because of your ego. Start using some of those critical thinking skills you are supposed to have. If you don’t know how, type “critical thinking development” into youtube for tutorials. -------- Edit: hahaha I KNEW that Tumblr deleted something when it highlighted it. I just couldn’t figure out what at the time. The difference between Graham and Dalby: one worked in Pontocho as a geisha for research, and they knew that ahead of time; Graham lied her ass off to geisha and then tried to open her own house after taking only a few lessons to get famous and make a lot of money. She’s a fucking embarrassment and worse. --------------- Update 11/3 Turns out that dig I made about French costuming (a perennial fave in historybounding and historical sewing groups) and imperialism wasn’t all that far off... here’s a whole ass thread about how many fucking African presidents and leaders France has specifically killed, and how much France has done to just Africa relatively recently. That’s JUST to Africa. I bet some of my Mi’kMaq and Algonquin-descent friends would have some things to say about heritage erasure regarding the French.  https://thurisazsalail.tumblr.com/post/633807847387512832

today in the neighbourhood (at Versailles, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPd4oOugNXx/?utm_medium=tumblr

A COLLECTION OF AWARDS ... A COLLECTION OF CARS !

His 1982 Thriller album is estimated to have sold over 60 million units across the globe. He won 13 Grammy Awards, 26 American Music Awards, more than any other artist, had 13 number one singles in his solo career, after saying goodbye to the Jackson 5 brother-band and had an estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide.

The King of Pop died of a overdose of the hospital sedative Propofol, on the 25th of June 2009, in his rented mansion, in a secluded neighbourhood in Los Angeles. Recently, the French chateau in Carolwood Drive has also been sold for $18.1 million”...

( PS. Sorry for the lack of accurate info, in this article,as was written by a tabloid. You know, they never research about anything. The accurate amount of Thriller Albums, as on 2007, it’s 25th year, was 104 millions of units, before MJ’s death).

In 2000, his ex-wife Debbie Rowe confirmed, in the divorce papers, that Michael had a thing for cars. And he would lavishly spend for them. Therefore, he left behind an impressive car armada made up of a total of 75 vehicles :

CADILLAC ESCALADE :He said the SUVs felt safe and it was even better as his Escalade had tinted windows to keep him sheltered from the flashes of the paparazzi...

A 1999 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER SERAPH, with a Palais of Versailles-like interior, all crystal and 24-carat gold, was exclusively designed by Michael Jackson himself. The Seraph is powered by a 5.4-liter V12 that produces 321 HP and boasts a 3.9 second-time from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h).

A 1990 ROLLS ROYCE SILVER SPURR II LIMOUSINE. The limo was trimmed in contrasting black and white leather and also provided with a full-service bar and dark tinted windows.

A 1988 LINCOLN TOWN CAR LIMOUSINE, with a much more tamed interior for which gray leather and fabric trims were used, together with walnut paneling.

A 1993 FORD ECONOLINE E150 VAN . The pop star’s tastes extended from limousines to vans. His Ford came with a video game player, a TV screen located at the front of the passenger seats and high-end leather upholstery.

A 1954 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD . This car starred in the “Driving Miss Daisy” motion picture.

A 1988 GCM V JIMMY HIGH SIERRA CLASSIC . As strange and unfit it may seem for a king, this is a fire truck Michael Jackson purchased just for fun !

A NEOPLAN TOURING COACH 1997, used to transport the most famous person in the world, in a 5-star hotel environment. It featured an in-suite bedroom and completely equipped bathroom in porcelain, gold and granite.

A 1909 DETAMBLE MODEL B ROADSTAR, retro replica, an electrified horse-drawn carriage and even a police Harley Davidson motorbike were purchased by the late star, only because he wanted to have them. Of course, he never used them.”

But, here, they didn’t post all the cars he had...

Can someone help?

I've got a few bootlegs from Shows Patti was in but there are a few I don't have and would love to see! Maybe someone can help?

Here's a list which I need/want/love to see:

Evita

The Old Neighbourhood

Annie Get Your Gun (Ravina)

Can Can

Sunday In The Park With George

Regina

The Seven Deadly Sins

The Anarchist

Ghosts Of Versailles

But most important "Patti LuPone On Broadway" and Shows For Days"

just heard a neighbourhood kid shout at two brothers: “Oscar and André!”

and I’m just saying, those are somewhat odd names to give your kid in the year 2019

did I just accidentally encounter offspring of Rose of Versailles fans?

Jardim Pamplona Shopping Mall Revitalization

Jardim Pamplona Shopping Mall Revitalization, SP building design, ACIA Arquitetos São Paulo Architecture Photos

Jardim Pamplona Shopping Mall São Paulo

16 December 2021

Brazilian mall proposes new concept for commercial centers

Design: ACIA Arquitetos

Address: R. Pamplona, 1704 – Jardim Paulista, São Paulo – SP, 01405-002, Brazil

Photos by Daniel Ducci

Jardim Pamplona Shopping Mall Building, SP

Design by ACIA Arquitetos revitalized building from the 1970s and connected the commercial area to its surroundings, as old neighbourhood galeries used to do.

São Paulo, December 2021 – The Pamplona Mall, a project signed by ACIA Architects, challenges the common sense regarding shopping centers and relives the inclusive purpose of these buildings with its surroundings, with the city and people’s needs. The site transformed itself into a model building offering integrated solutions for everyday life in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the concept behind the revitalization won the Versailles Prix, a partnered initiative with UNESCO that awards projects that rethink urban commercial grounds.

With leisure and commercial spaces disposed in an aesthetically fluid ambience, with neutral colors and the touch of greens in harmony with the elements, the Pamplona Mall breaks the patterns of regular retail buildings, commonly associated to concrete boxes that impose the consumers to buy, and promotes comfort and welcomeness through open and natural illuminated spaces thanks to its facade, corridors and terrace.

Located in a privileged region in São Paulo, Pamplona Mall carries ACIA’s interest to break shopping centers antagonism in urban planning. “Our intention is to demystify that concrete-box myth and nenew the gallery like times, when street commerce entered malls”, says Fabio Arruchio, ACIAs director and the project’s leading architect.

With more than 15m in height, the showcase contributes with the lightness and depth of the two floored retail area, its slabs have various skylights that light up all of the malls inside. At the highest point, the terrace contains coffee shops and restaurants, and also resting spots with a privileged view of Sao Paulo. The project’s retrofit embraces the idea that private spaces should be integrated with its surroundings. Promoting dialogue between spaces, people and the city.

ACIA Architects

ACIA Architects have a 10 year trajectory in Brazil. It specializes in projects of high complexity for the most demanding areas in the market. With a broad business knowledge and high technical standards, ACIA was born through a partnership with L35, an spanish architectural firm that has a global presence, and was developed in Brazil in a trajectory of achievements based in rethinking models, articulating solutions and aiming for the future.

In 2021, nearly 10 years in the market, ACIA Architects began a more independent and competitive cycle. Keeping L35 as a strategic partner and providing all the prestige in its European references and innovative ideas. ACIA combines a European knowledge of walking-friendly cities, mixed spaces and active facades and sidewalks to the experience of bringing these new perspectives to Brazilian districts.

ACIA’s differentials are human-based design, placemaking and purposeful architecture. It has been improved in the art of making places that are not only useful, but also charming and surprising.

It has also been involved in the rising discussion about placemaking and the transformation of impersonal spaces, where people walk by, into places with personality. It’s a way of making everyday experiences unique and more pleasant, with positive interactions between people, and also living, through every detail, the unity between human beings, buildings and the future of cities, integrated and alive.

Photos: Daniel Ducci

Jardim Pamplona Shopping Mall Revitalization, São Paulo building images / information from ACIA Arquitetos

Phone: +55 11 3882-0130

Location: Jardim Pamplona, São Paulo – SP, Brasil

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Esme Oslin-Rasmussen

age: 26

pronouns: she / her

birthplace: Versailles, France

sexuality: pansexual

occupation: Princess of Sweden

faceclaim: Ella Purnell

BACKGROUND. 

Esme’s life started in Versailles, France, the eldest of a set of twins born after their father cast their mother out of Sweden. The three of them grew up in what she still believes to this day to be the chicest neighbourhood in the world.

While Julien tried throughout their childhood to build some kind of relationship with their father Esme quickly gave up. All she needed to be happy in life was her mother, brother, and friends, and felt little for the man that had abandoned them even before birth.

When their father requested them back in Sweden it didn’t feel quite the betrayal to Esme as it did to Julien, but she still resented her life being upheaved. Nor did she understand why their mother would so willingly let them return to a man who had spent their whole life pretending they didn’t exist.

Being a bubbly person she made new friends in Sweden, but she missed her old ones and her old life. From the moment they arrived in Stockholm she was already making plans to attend fashion school back in Paris when she graduated from school. Like her brother’s love for art though, her dreams for a career in fashion were also quickly squashed by their father.

While she had always kept a cool distance from her father despite living together, Esme was sickened when he overthrew the Swedish royal family after the death of Birdie, truly realising what lows he would sink to. With the tabloids running wild and pointing fingers at the twins Julien only lost himself further to partying, while Esme instead turned herself to steel, readily meeting the gaze of anyone who challenged her. After all, neither of them had ever asked for this. 

Now that she’s in Thailand with her twin and away from their father she has plans. Plans that involve a fashion label taking shape, and when not out socialising around the palace and town she can usually be found creating designs and sampling fabric. 

BASICS

full name: Esme Eléonore Oslin-Rasmussen

nickname(s): Essie

date of birth: 4th April

zodiac sign: Aries

ethnicity: white

nationality: French/Swedish

gender: cis female

religion: nil

language(s) spoken: French, Swedish, English

accent: A light French accent

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

hair color: brown

eye color: hazel

height: 5′3

build: petite

tattoos: rib tattoo

piercings: ears

distinguishing characteristics: her eyes

FAMILY

father: TBC Oslin

mother: TBC Rasmussen

sibling(s): Julien Oslin-Rasmussen (twin), Jesse Oslin (step-brother)

Technically not FR but I was tagged by @sunglasslibrary​ to do this so HERE WE GO

Rules: answer 20 questions so your followers can get to know you better, and tag 20 other people you’d like to know better.

name: Gem (NO it is not my actual name but everybody knows me by this on the great interwebs and develops their own rendition of it which is actually more entertaining than people trying to guess where my real name comes from) 

nickname: My nicknames are developed from people’s interactions with me and I usually have different pet names from specific people~ Examples: Gemmie (Bon), Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmmmm (Saren), Shiny (my best friends in the entire existence of the world), You Horrible Troll (legit everyone), and my preferred one - Potato Golum  

zodiac sign: Capricorn! 

height: 5′1″

languages spoken: English. I studied some French and Chinese but uh...Ihaven’tpracticedin2-3yearsoops

nationality: American

favourite fruit: NECTARINES OH MY GOD I LOVE NECTARINES (literally give me a nectarine and I shall give you my soul and my youth) and plums. 

favourite season: Spring when Texas decides to have it 

favourite scent: Vanilla anything 

favourite colour: Seafoam 

favourite animal: Okapis, Lions, Flying Foxes, Pandas, Fennec Foxes, Foxes in general, Popcorn Bear, Kinkajous, Axolotls, the list goes on...

favourite fictional character: OH BOY. I have so many I actually don’t know what to say...Most recently though probably Steve Harrington from Stranger Things and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Beyond this it would be like 50,000 anime characters and we do NOT want to go down that lane or we’ll be here for 100 years) 

coffee, tea, or hot chocolate: Frappes and Hot Chocolate.  

number of blankets you sleep with: Three before throwing them off in the middle of the night and then scrambling to find them again at 4 AM. 

when was your blog created: I created my first blog here back in 2016 I want to say? And then abandoned it cause I was getting crap for my art and wanted to improve before making a brand new one (this one) after I discovered my love of MS Paint memes and finding out they make other living beings laugh! 

favourite subject: Tissue Engineering >w> (I’m a Biomedical Engineering major, this is an actual subject for me); More generally it would be Biology and the Maths. 

currently watching: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harlots, and Versailles 

stopped watching by accident and need to finish soon what are you doing: Cells at Work! and Sirius the Jaegar (I don’t even know why I dropped the ball on Sirius, it has my FAVORITE Japanese voice actor ever in it wtf is wrong with me) 

favourite band: Thenewno2, The Kooks, The Neighbourhood, and In This Moment 

instruments played: Piano, Violin and Guitar (and I sing) 

favourite book: OH MAN I’ve read a lot of books but probably my favorite is not a book perse but a riveting 10 chapter story INSIDE a book I had as a child and still have! I need to find it but it was basically about a child in the middle east (I forgot exactly where) who learned of Djinns as a fairy tale, but then discovered that his soon to be stepmother was an evil Djinn herself and the impala she brought was her son. It really opened my eyes to creature creation and my budding interests in monsters and lore. 

TAGGING PEOPLE  @dragonofplague @killedabear @octi-dotty @hatandclogsart @txtiger-fr @coloradobluesart @pocketss @ivoryandsalt @rutile-fr @fr-blackiebelle

(I’m sorry I don’t know many people ;A;)