FEAST OR FAMINE

  French artist Albert Dupont is exhibiting his works "Signs of Hope" in the Town Hall of the 6th arrondissement in Paris from to 4-24 April 2024. Dupont is a multi-disciplinary visual artist who lives and works in Paris. Born in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 1951, he arrived in France at the age of four with his parents.    In 1973, he began exploring Lettrism. His work is part of the movement of “Lettrism and Hypergraphy” based on writing: the letter, the sign, the word, the concept, the meaning, and language in all its aspects.   Albert DuPont develops a practice in the form of “Decodings” that address all artistic disciplines: painting, sculpture, photography, engraving, artist books, novels, cinema, and so on. MARTINA NICOLLS MartinaNicollsWebsite    I    Rainy Day Healing    I    Martinasblogs    I    Publications    I    Facebook    I    Paris Website    I  ...

  French Short Stories for Beginners , Volume 2 (2019) is exactly that. The book contains 20 easy-to-read short stories in French with the aim of expanding the reader’s vocabulary and grammar. There is an accompanying audio version too. And the offer of a free book,  Lingo Hacks: Secrets for Learning Any Language in No Time!   by Lingo Mastery.   Each story has the basic elements of language: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, tense, and so on, in day-to-day situations (more or less) with natural dialogue – i.e., in functional and descriptive language. After reading the stories, the aim is that readers can make appointments, pay for a taxi, get a haircut, etc. At the end of each story is a synopsis in French and English of what the story was about, and a list of vocabulary. Each story concludes with a set of questions to test the reader’s comprehension and deeper understanding.    The contents page is not useful because it doesn’t provide the title of...

The Guardian published an article on 2 January 2023 with the headline: Almost 50 UK shops closed for good every day in 2022, says report.  What does ‘closed for good’ mean? What type of ‘good’? Who benefits – i.e., whose ‘good’ is the closure for?    If something is closed, then it is not open. The Cambridge Dictionary states that if something is ‘closed for good’ it is closed for ever – for ever and ever – that means permanently. The Collins Dictionary defines ‘closed for good’ as for always; finally; permanently.    Therefore, the headline of the article indicates that 50 shops in the United Kingdom closed permanently in 2022. What does the article tell the reader?   The sub-title, the line underneath the headline, states: ‘Centre for Retail Research says 17,145 stores shut in total, up almost 50% on 2021, during pandemic.’ It doesn’t state that the shops closed permanently though, so let’s read further.   The first paragraph of the article says that...

  The Museum of Luxembourg in Paris is holding an exhibition called Gertrude Stein & Pablo Picasso: The Invention of Language from 13 September 2023 to 8 January 2024.    American Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) arrived in Paris in 1904, two years after Spanish Cubist artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). She was the first person to collect Picasso’s artwork. Picasso began painting portraits of Stein from 1906.    In 1910, Stein and Picasso collaborated on innovative artistic ideas, based on ‘still life.’ They also experimented with the relationship that unites words and images. This led to them developing an experimental hermetic language. She was nicknamed ‘the literary Cubist.’   The exhibition is organised in collaboration with the National Picasso-Paris Museum as part of the Picasso Celebration 1973-2023, which marks the 50th anniversary of the painter’s death.   MARTINA NICOLLS MartinaNicollsWebsite    I     Rainy Day Healing ...