Modern Times

J.-P. Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir (in 1940)

We've just learned from the Guardian (where else), that Les Temps Modernes shut down after 74 years today, the magazine founded by Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in 1945.

Just one black-comedy thing from the article: "On another Tuesday afternoon [Sartre and Beauvoir kept regular hours at the small offices of the magazine at 5 rue Sébastien Bottin in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés] the receptionist rushed to de Beauvoir: a reader whose text had been turned down by the editorial committee had just cut open his wrists."

One more thing: we had always be wondering, although we never read the magazine, where the title (les temps modernes) had come from (Picasso designed the logo). It came from Charlie Chaplin's movie, "Modern Times").

(We read parts of Sartre's Critique de la raison dialectique, though, with very mixed feelings; we also read part of a de Beauvoir biography) (We also read "Huit clos", Sartre's signature play, several times even, and are quoting from it abundantly, always the same line, "L'enfer, c'est les autres") (We also think that the French is not correct there...it should be "...ce sont les autres", but who knows).(Comments welcome) (...)

The most expensive real-estate in the world -- teaser -- Electromagnetic Dolly

We haven't been posting teasers for our play in a little while, but now we are back...back with local news, because Pierre Cardin's Palais Bulles, a pile of terracotta iglus a few minutes from our house, is for sale @ a cool 350 000 000 EUR (three-hundred-fifty-million Euros).

And the play? Yes, we've had a change of title. It was "Frankenstein V", and now it is "Electromagnetic Dolly, Absolutely Electromagnetic", although we're not really happy with the new choice either and are now contemplating "The Anniversary of Ill-advised Wrapping-room Efforts -- A Comedy about Robots"...you say.

Anyhow, Dolly, the prototype of a new generation of robots (the fifth generation) is about to do capitalism in --- yes, the world economic system --- and our Palais Bulles plays a role in this.

A brief reminder: Dolly was hoisted upon Eliza, the aging psycho...psycho-analyst by Steve, her ex-boyfriend and now the CEO of FrankenStein Global, world's leading robot maker (the play is set 25 years in the future). And then Dolly was carried off by bailiff Terentia Striker and her assistant Triple-X to the Shark-Blue Bank as the collateral for an un-serviced mortgage. At the bank, Dolly is put to work, and here's what happens next (Dolly and Triple-X reporting) (One more thing: Dolly doesn't like its name, and pretends its name is 'Fernando')

ACT III, Scene 2, Fragment:

TRIPLE-X
So, Dolly told them, it would be willing to cooperate. Help them bankers with their bonuses. And it worked. They let Dolly out of its box.

DOLLY
Now, to wit, I'm the only Fifth Generation machine in the world. All the trading, all the ruthless money-making is done...or was done...by lesser folks, by fourth-generation machines at best.

TRIPLE-X
And it's a zero-sum game out there...

DOLLY
...on the choppy seas of mega-making deals...

TRIPLE-X
...my loss is your gain, my gain is your loss.

DOLLY
So, all Shark-Blue bankers line up, curious about me, all wanting to know, how does this prototype do it?

Yesterday

A cruise ship on the way to Cannes, seen from the house. In the background the Isle St. Honorat with its fortified monastery, which shielded the monks from Sarrasin attacks during the Middle Ages.

Mahmood -- Soldi

Italy at the European Song Festival 2019 in Israel:

In periferia fa molto caldo
(It's really hot in the suburbs)

Mamma stai tranquilla sto arrivando
(Mama don't worry I'm on my way home)

Te la prenderai per un bugiardo
(You will be upset by a liar)

Ti sembrava amore ma era altro
(It looked like love to you, it was something else)

Beve champagne sotto Ramadan
(He's drinking champagne during Ramadan)

Alla TV danno Jackie Chan
(On tv they are airing Jackie Chan)

Fuma narghilè mi chiede come va
(He's smoking Shisha and asks me how I'm doing)

Mi chiede come va, come va, come va
(He asks me how I'm doing doing doing)

Sai già come va, come va, come va
(You already know how things are going going going)

Penso più veloce per capire se domani tu mi fregherai
(I think faster trying to figure out if you're going to fool me tomorrow)

Non ho tempo per chiarire perché solo ora so cosa sei
(I have no time to clear things up 'cause I finally found out what you are)

È difficile stare al mondo quando perdi l’orgoglio
(It hurts to be alive when you lose your pride)

Lasci casa in un giorno
(You leave home out of the blue)

Tu dimmi se
(You, tell me if)

Pensavi solo ai soldi, soldi
(You only cared for the money money)

Come se avessi avuto soldi, soldi
(As if you had any money)

Dimmi se ti manco o te ne fotti, fotti
(Tell me whether you miss me or you don't give a fuck)

Mi chiedevi come va, come va, come va
(You used to ask me how I was doing doing doing)

Adesso come va, come va, come va
(Now how are things going going going)

Ciò che devi dire non l’hai detto
(What you're supposed to say you haven't said yet)

Tradire è una pallottola nel petto
(Betrayal is a bullet in your chest)

Prendi tutta la tua carità
(Keep all the compassion to yourself) 

Menti a casa ma lo sai che lo sa
(You keep lyin' at home but you know she knows)

Su una sedia lei mi chiederà
(Sittin' there she'll be asking me)

Mi chiede come va, come va, come va
(Asking me how I'm doing doing doing)

Sai già come va, come va, come va
(She already knows how things are going going going)

Penso più veloce per capire se domani tu mi fregherai
(I think faster to try to figure out if you're going to fool me tomorrow)

Non ho tempo per chiarire perché solo ora so cosa sei
(I have no time to clear things up 'cause I finally found out what you are)

È difficile stare al mondo
(It hurts to be alive)

Quando perdi l’orgoglio
(when you lose your pride)

Ho capito in un secondo che tu da me
I figured it out in one second, by myself)

Volevi solo soldi
(You only wanted the money)

Come se avessi avuto soldi, soldi
(As if I had any money)

Prima mi parlavi fino a tardi, tardi
(Back then you would talk to me till late)

Mi chiedevi come va, come va, come va
(You used to ask me how I'm doing doing doing)

Adesso come va, come va, come va
(Now how are things going going going)

Waladi waladi habibi ta3ala hina
(My son, my son, darling, come over here [Arabic])

Mi dicevi giocando giocando con aria fiera
(You used to tell me while playing your games with pride)

Waladi waladi habibi sembrava vera
(My son, my son, darling, [Arabic] It felt so real to me)

La voglia, la voglia di tornare come prima
(Wanting to bring things back to what they were)

Io da te non ho voluto soldi
(I didn't ask you for your money...)

È difficile stare al mondo
(It hurts to be alive)

Quando perdi l’orgoglio
(When you lose your pride)

Lasci casa in un giorno
(You leave home out of the blue)

Tu dimmi se
(You, tell me if)

Volevi solo soldi, soldi
(You just wanted money, money)

Come se avessi avuto soldi, soldi
(As if I had any money, money)

Lasci la città ma nessuno lo sa
(You leave the city without anybody knowing)

Ieri eri qua ora dove sei, papà
 (Yesterday you were here, where are you now, papa?)

Mi chiedi come va, come va, come va
(You ask me how I'm doing doing doing)

Sai già come va, come va, come va
(You already know how things are going going going)

Trump trash