lundi 20 février 2012

Saint Valentine's day

Professeur J.M Gottman. Authentique savant américain qui lit l'avenir des couples dans la sueur de leur mains, dans le plissement de leur lèvres, dans le roulement de leur yeux. Il prédit la date du divorce, il le prédit même à des couples heureux. Avec un taux de réussite à 95 %. Et en moins de trois minutes. Et résultats garantis je vous dis. Moins cher qu'un divorce raté mon fils !

Quarante ans d'études continues et acharnés. Panthéonisé par ses pairs parmi les quatre meilleurs psychothérapeutes américains du siècle. Le 1er à etre consacré avant de manger les pissenlits par la racine.

Son postulat: le couple est un équation mathématique et lui, John a posé les bases de la théorie générale du Chaos amoureux.

Selon John, toute émotion provoque une contraction des muscles faciaux. Elle est identique chez un chasseur de rennes lapon, un physicien nucléaire indien, ou moi quand je me réveille. L'affichage des émotions sur le visage n'aurait rien de culturel. Il s'agirait d'un mouvement inné totalement incontrôlable qui exprime la réalité pure des émotions et des intentions d'un individu. Ce moment de sincérité absolue est très fugitif. Il ne s'écoule qu'une fraction de seconde avant que le mécanisme d'expression des émotions ne soit de nouveau contrôlé par celui qui les ressent.

Selon Ekman, il n'y aurait cependant sur terre qu'une cinquantaine d'individus disposant naturellement du don de saisir ces "micro-expressions", de lire les ames, de percevoir les coeurs. Peanuts pour les autres relegués dans le Royaume éternel du doute, à tenter de distinguer le leurre des espérances avec la Réalité.

Pendant vingt ans, John a regardé des centaines de bandes vidéo, a multiplié les expériences avec pour cobayes, des couples assis face-à-face, truffés de senseurs et de détecteurs de mouvements, sur la poitrine, le lobe des oreilles, les doigts, les visages en cadres très serrés dans l'objectif de caméras. Gottman les observent parler de leur couple, de leur chien, du temps qu'il fait.. et Gottman tracke les micro-expressions que les cobayes affichent involontairement sur leurs visages.

Une fois le décryptage achevé, Gottman est en mesure de fournir une image très précise de l'état de la relation conjugale et de son avenir. John est la Madame Irma du couple. Sur la base de ses calculs, il prédira la date de la rupture et ce bien avant que ne se forment les premières turbulences.

Le taux de réussite de ses prévisions, faites sur les 3 000 couples qui sont passés dans son Love Lab ces vingt dernières années, varie de 90 à 95 %. Pour bientot les Love Lab a toutes les coins de rue ? Un petit bilan annuel assortie d'une petite prise de sentiments ? En une heure, un couple mesurer son indice d'estime mutuelle ou de frustration aussi sûrement qu'un taux de cholestérol. Plus besoin de se sonder soi meme. Plus besoin de chercher à comprendre l'autre. Le Love Lab identifie nos emotions, nos frustrations avant meme qu'elles n'émergent dans notre conscience.

Joahn revendique une attitude eugéniste. Pour lui, tous les mariages ne méritent pas d'etre sauvés. Pour savoir si un mariage qui suffoque soufre d'une simple petite crise d'asthme ou s'il est atteint d'une insuffisance respiratoire chronique, John mesure son taux d'empoisonnement au 1. mépris, 2. au déni, 3. à la critique et 4. au repli défensif systématiques. Parmi les vingt attitudes et émotions que Johnidentifie , seuls ces quatre toxiques sont mortels pour une relation conjugale.

John accorde une place particulière au mépris. Il affirme qu'aussitôt qu'il repère une certaine façon de lever les yeux au ciel par lequel un conjoint exprime instinctivement un grave défaut d'estime pour celui ou celle qui partage sa vie, il sait qu'un mariage est condamné. Le mépris est un mal incurable, même traité dès l'apparition des premiers symptômes. C'est un sentiment particulièrement destructeur car il annihile le désir des couples à défendre des intérêts communs quand surgissent des problèmes sérieux.

Mais John est très très positif : il n'y a pas d'union sans problème et 69 % - pour etre tres precis - de ces problèmes ne seront jamais résolues aussi longtemps que le couple durera. Ce qui fait la différence entre les couples qui restent unis et ceux qui se séparent, c'est la solidité du front qu'ils opposent aux difficultés récurrentes de la vie.

Le secret - parce qu'on espère bien un secret de réussite en ce jour de Saint Valentin ! - est l'Amitié dans le couple, l'amitié étant défini comme un mélange de respect, d'estime et d'humour cimentés d'intimité . L'amour n'est qu'une condition nécessaire, mais certainement pas suffisante pour vivre heureux, longtemps. Et ensemble. CQFD.

N'est ce pas un bon sujet à discuter avec votre Cher et Tendre ce soir ?


Adapted from: http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2012/02/14/docteur-love-le-mathematicien-qui-soigne-le-couple_1640130_3224.html

mardi 31 janvier 2012

Finding an apartment in Zurich

On January 1st, I got a bright idea. I will move from the trouduculdumonde to the Big City, e.g Zurich.  Well ok, this is the biggest city in my area of living and if you compare with the village I am living in, Zurich is like the New York of Switzerland. I was so confident. I have a good job (not the best job but still), I am a nice person (not the nicest but still), earn money (not a millionaire but still!). Ok, I did not speak German but French is an official language in Switzerland so that would not be a problem. At the worst, I would speak English with my most sexy French accent and I should be able to convince I am the fittest to rent the apartment. I have done my plan, listed the apartments of interest, visited between 1 and 4 apartments per night, involving a 2h30 commute round trip from the trouduculdumonde. I was all laughing : “ok this is a pain is the ass, but come on, it won’t take long”.  After 25 visits, 3 weeks later, 10 applications with cover letter in english (and then in german, I harassed my colleagues to get them translated my letter).. I am to the same point I was on January 1st, less the illusions. It is much easier to get a job interview than to get a apartment in Zurich ! So this is an appeal, a bottle in the sea full of sharks .. if you have any information about an apartment available in Zurich, please send me a message ! I will be very grateful and will treat you to Pizzeria to properly thank you ! There is no Pizzeria in Trouduculdumonde so I definitely need to move to Zurich..

vendredi 11 novembre 2011

Don't cry for me Coffeinnnnaaaaa

I decided to officially stop drinking coffee. Coffee is bad, Coffee is Evil. Yes. while I was sipping my coffee a minute ago, I took my decision : it must stop. Addicted since I am 14 (e.g not so long ago actually, since I am very young. I am xxxxx years old, still ok I believe J ). Green tea is definitely more healthy, more trendy, more .. well, more B-o-r-i-n-g as well..  I already stopped smoking a few years ago while I was  xxxx (still a kid, as you can see). I am not drinking as much as I used to. Cafeine is one of my last part of coolitude.. Adi,  like the swiss german would say.. (translation: adieu, adios, good bye, sayonara!). I will drink my cold green tea instead:
Me, while drinking cold green tea
Fortunately, I have still my junk food. I am still a rebel. Hamburger on the left, Kebak on the right, Chocolate in the middle. Yéééééé !  Will come a day where I would have to eat.. I cannot say the word... Hea... Heal.... Heatlhy.. brrrrr, it give me goosepumps.






vendredi 19 août 2011

Tunisia

A week in Tunisia between Hammamet and Carthage. No tourists in the street because of the Revolution. No Tunisians either because of the Ramadan. Tunisia was mine for one week. Just enough to remind me of my roots, to eat mechouia salad, makrouds and bumbaloni, to daydream on the beach, play beach ball at sunset and drink green tea at night when the temperature was still over 30 degrees celsius.



vendredi 5 août 2011

DAS FESTIVAL In Schaffhausen

 Nada Surf, Skunk Anansie, in the middle of Schaffhausen old city..  surrounded by bratwust and beers .. great, great ! Did I already say that Switzerland is great ?

vendredi 1 juillet 2011

Paleo 2011

Rain was expected. Rain came. Amy Winehouse was expected but never came. Robert Plant is old but still very good and Micah was surprisingly refreshing. Overall, a very Paleo 2011.



mercredi 29 juin 2011

If you can't take the heat, don't tickle the dragon

I want to testify at the instant that German Switzerland is currently bearing the brunt of the global warming. 36°C that's 97°F. I am not sweating, I am melting. I am melting while being assaulted by what look like starving mosquitoes. Well mosquitoes or bed fleas.. not sure. Someone from NY came recently at the office. He may have brought this scourge from the US. Anyway, there is a blood sucker in my bed every night and I look at my arms I had the very unpleasant souvenir of myself, 4 years old suffering from chicken pox.. surrounded by my sadists sisters pretending scratching themselves so I could not resist the urge to do so. This is how you find yourself, 28 years later with a scare in the middle of your forehead. 




Anyway, we are melting and burning. The white skin of German Swiss are not used to that degree and intensity of lights. They are all turning red as a beetroot and are throwing themselves into the Rhin to cool down. Bridges are flooded with people waiting for their turn to jump into the river. The Rhine is like Time Square during the day, like The Halles on a Saturday, or the Promenade des Anglais during Summers. This is the fight for life and  the ducks have no choice than to go out of the river and to walk on the edge. And.. ok, ok, maybe I exaggerate a little bit the situation.. but this might be because of some  "some minor electrolyte disturbances from profound sweat loss during".  This is what a guy is saying on his blog, complaining about the terrible heat in Kirkuk (but this guy first need to taste the heat in Schaffhausen !), a city is the Iraki desert (http://gregkirkuk2009.blogspot.com/2009/08/heat-delirium.html).  Well whatever.. a thing I am sure I did not dream is the terrific firework launched from the Munot last Saturday Night. Direct view from home. 15 magic minutes. It is warm, it's hot, but i am in love with my little swiss city.

vendredi 24 juin 2011

mardi 19 avril 2011

La gestion de la colère Leçon 1



Je les connais tous ces proverbes sur la colere : le mot que tu retiens entre tes levres est ton esclave tandis que celui que tu prononces est ton maitre, ou bien, ne prononce jamais un mot en colere : prendrais tu les voiles durant la tempete ou si tu veux que quelqu'un cesse d'exister, cesse de le regarder.. etc. oui mais Grrrrr, ya aussi : La colere ca fait vivre, quand t es plus en colere t'es foutu ! par le celebre Richard Borhinger ou parmi les classiques (Seneque) : L'homme en colere peut n'etre pas irascible.L'homme irascible peut n'etre quelquefois pas en colere, que je traduirais par c'est pas si mal d etre en colere, y'a pire : etre irascible !


N'empeche que la gestion de la colere, specialement sur le lieu de travail, ca me connais pas, mais alors pas du tout.. alors je cherche des solutions sur internet et je tombe sur des sites qui mettent en scene des petites histoires du genre :

Journée 1 :
Vous sortez du travail. Manque de bol, votre boss s’est pointé deux minutes avant votre départ et vous a déclaré, par le biais d’un discours postillonnant, que vous faites mal votre travail. A peine sorti, vous recevez un texto de votre rencard de ce soir qui annonce qu’elle ne pourra « malheureusement » pas venir au rendez-vous.
Avant de rentrer, vous achetez quelques provisions chez l’épicier. L’épicier se montre amer avec vous.

Journee 2 :
Deux mois que vous travaillez dur sur le dossier Duschmoll et Cie. L’heure de la présentation devant le client approche... Oui mais voilà : la veille, votre boss vous annonce que c’est Nathalie, votre collègue, qui présentera les résultats de votre travail car elle est plus à l’aise à l’oral. Intérieurement, vous bouillez : elle va encore recueillir tous les lauriers. Vous êtes sur le point d’exploser.

Ok, deux horribles journees et que nous propose les specialistes du net pour se pas se mettre a hurler contre les malotrus ? (dans mon cas, je ne met pas a hurler, je fulmine. Rouge comme une tomate, regard tueur, levres qui tremblent, coeur qui bat a 100 a l heure. Je ne parle pas, je crache mes mots entre deux respirations pour juguler mon hyperventilation. Je ne respire pas l'agressivite, je suis l'agressivite incarnee ! Mon seul moyen de gerer c'est d'envoyer un email au lieu de discuter, ce qui frise le ridicule quand la personne a laquelle j'ecris travaille dans le box a cote du mien.. C'est un truc horrible qui se passe qu'au boulot. Je ne suis pas encore assez maso pour frequenter hors du boulot les personnes qui generent chez moi ce type de reaction.)



Alors, les psy du net nous disent : il faut analyser les causes de la personnalite reactive. Pourquoi on se met en colere donc. Par exemple, je peux supporter sans ciller n'importe quel type de comportement .. sauf le manque de respect. Je suis une psycho rigide du respect et ma palette de ce que je concois comme etant un manque de respect est tres tres large. A l'instar d'un detecteur de fumee (mince la simple evocation de fumee me rappelle des mauvais souvenirs, cf supra), je detecte, renifle et decouvre a travers un ton de voix, un battement de cils, ou un comportement, la volonte de rabaisser, de dominer ou de mepriser. Et dans le cadre du boulot, croyez moi c est facile de trouver des collegues en mal de domination, habitues a commander a tout va. Le hic : on ne me commande pas et on ne commandera jamais. Je ne suis pas responsable, c’est dans mes genes, ca vient de Papa, un allergique de l’autorite. Je suis programmee automatiquement pour bugger au moindre signe d’autoritarisme. Et je dois dire, chapeau Papa, le systeme marche du tonnerre, sans jamais faillir !  Attention, je n’ai aucun probleme avec la hierarchie. J ai un probleme avec l’incompetence double d’autoritarisme.. de la TNT  pour moi..

Donc, selon les psy du net, que faire quand monter en nous ce delicieux sentiment :
1.     Ne rien faire : Catastrophique!  Vous ramenez le bebe pas content a la maison et inondez votre conjoint de tous ces mots que vous n’avez pas dit.. Il faut bien que quelqu’un prenne ! (j’en profite pour m’excuser platement a ce propos..)
2.     Etre agressif : Tres mauvais ! bien que je n ai jamais teste puisque je suis du genre a imploser, prostree sur place, mais j’imagine sans mal la lettre prealable a l’entretien de licenciement qui ne manquera pas de se profiler.
3.     Etre Assertif : agir en controlant son agressivite.. mais c’est quoi exactement, ca, l’article ne le precise pas. Est ce que rentre dans cette categorie la reponse par email pleine de sous entendue, alliant point d exclamations de smileys pour infiltrer dans le coeur de l’autre son plus profond mepris. Pas de clash et plus question de ma colere alors. Le but : faire fulminer de colere celui qui le lira.. gniac, gniac, gniac..
4.     Faire du sport : ce que je vais faire sur le champ !

jeudi 14 avril 2011

To Medidate

Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got.

Janis Jopline

dimanche 10 avril 2011

mercredi 30 mars 2011

quote of the day

If nobody pays attention to you, it might mean that you are not paying attention to the right persons. 

dimanche 13 février 2011

Valentin is a good guy


Happy Saint Valentine's day everybody ! Well at least for 1) those of you that are in couple 2) those of you lucky enough for living with somebody that does not despise this celebration allegedly only marketing-based and will offer you a wonderful and huge bouquet of red roses. If I cannot do a thing for you if you belong to the first group, I can tell you this thing in case you live with a boor that absolutely refuses to show any specific sign of affection during this day : this celebration is 2000 years old and has nothing to do with the marketing policies of some gigantic companies. Once upon a time ...

The History of Saint Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honour Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.


The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.


Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.


The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feaSt. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.




St. Valentine's Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.

Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!

Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favourite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.

One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.

I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.

One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."

I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

Valentine Traditions
Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:

Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine ---
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.

In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.

Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!

Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.

Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.

If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

mardi 1 février 2011

Bike Trip

Just discovered a really good website that tells the story of two guys during their one-year bike trip over Asia and Eastern Europe.

As we wish to do the same, hopefully sooner rather than later, we try to gather information on the topic. Here is a good start :

http://routedescimes.jimdo.com/films-1/

mercredi 12 janvier 2011

Interesting quotes

If fifty million people say a foolish thing it is still a foolish thing. -Anatole France

A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. -John Burroughs


People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost. -H. Jackson Browne

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever. -Chinese Proverb

dimanche 3 octobre 2010



Just bought a Nikon D300S. Here a view from the plane Seattle - Paris . Amazing, isn't it ?

vendredi 24 septembre 2010

Switzerland I am coming !

After having been living in the US for three years, time to go back to Europe, temporarily for now, at least for 6 months. The port of call is Switzerland. I have been there only once for 24 hours. I am really looking forward to start this adventure ! Leaving on October 1st ..

lundi 26 avril 2010

Passed the NY Bar :-)

BOLE ID: B100000000000

CANDIDATE: MYRIAM B

The New York State Board of Law Examiners congratulates you on passing the New York State bar examination held on February 23-24, 2010. An official notice is attached and will contain your Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) scaled score. (Please note that a score will not be reported if you transferred an MBE score to New York from another jurisdiction).In addition to taking and passing the New York State bar, you must also take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). The passing score in New York for the MPRE is a scaled score of 85. The MPRE is administered three times each year, in March, August and November....

mercredi 17 février 2010

France wine producers guilty of US scandal

French grapes, generic
The conviction brought suspended sentences and fines

A dozen French winemakers and traders have been found guilty of a massive scam to sell 18 million bottles of fake Pinot Noir to a leading US buyer.

The judge in Carcassonne, south-west France, said the producers and traders had severely damaged the reputation of the Langedoc region.

The 12 more than doubled profits passing off the wine to E and J Gallo under its Red Bicyclette brand.

E and J Gallo was not involved in the court case.

In a statement on its website it said it was "deeply disappointed" to learn its supplier, Sieur d'Arques, had been found guilty of selling falsely labelled French Pinot Noir.

'No complaints'

The court ruled the 12 had deliberately and repeatedly mislabelled the wine as one of the more expensive varieties of grape in order to get a better price from E and J Gallo.

The Red Bicyclette Pinot Noir single grape wine is hugely popular in the United States.

French Customs officers spotted the swindle and called in investigators.

They found the amount of Pinot Noir being sold to Gallo was far more than the region produced.

Some of those in the scandal were not even Pinot Noir producers.

The judge handed out suspended jail sentences ranging from one month to six months for the most prominent wine trader and ordered all the defendants to pay fines.

The fines ranged from 1,500 euros ($2,050; £1,300) to the top figure of 180,000 euros ($247,050; £156,500) for Sieur d'Arques. The judge said that the accused together made seven million euros in profits from the scam.

The judge said: "The scale of the fraud caused severe damage for the wines of the Languedoc for which the United States is an important outlet."

A lawyer for Sieur d'Arques, Jean-Marie Bourland, told Agence France-Presse: "There is no prejudice. Not a single American consumer complained."

A lawyer for three other defendants argued his clients had delivered a wine that had Pinot Noir characteristics.

E and J Gallo said it was no longer selling any of the wine to its customers.


From BCC Website