Exclusive Gee Unite Us release: Music Gets Me High

Global rating of the product: 4 stars
I am very pleased to review a brand new, yet unreleased song by Detroit underground hip hop group Gee Unite Us, Music Gets Me High.
You are about to discover an ingenious track, produced by Gerald Bouey, CEO of Gee Unite us in collaboration with
Katari Feat. Dylan Dilijah, Jacka, and A.G. Tha Ryda. Katari is Afeni Shakur’s nephew he will be the first artist signed to Amaru Records.
The musical background is a mixture of soft instrumentals mixed up with some slight, hammering piano notes. The trio astutely inserts some soft yet contrasting vocals into the instrumentals. The spirit is nostalgic but uplifting in its general message. The song took some inspiration from Tupac’s Betta Days.
It reminds us that an artist’s life is not only projectors, acclaim and glitter. It is made of sacrifice. However, a dedicated artist manages to sublimate this harsh aspect of the music industry by being one with the music, uniting soul and spirit to create some harmonic magic- a magic that he shares with the public.
In high school, our music teacher once asked us: ” What is music?”
Somebody answered: ” a succession of sounds”. He looked then a little bit disappointed. I then waved my hand and said: ” Music is a succession of harmonious sounds that pleases the ear.” He then looked satisfied and congratulated me.
Music is a wonderful way to find harmony in our lives. When you are the creator of the music, you are even more conscious of that specific element that makes us feel and live out to the music we love. Music manages to makes us feel happy, it erases our pain.
As the song is advancing, the melody becomes more rhythmic. All artists have a beautiful, dynamic flow.
Check out the song as soon as it comes out!
More info about Gee Unite Us can be found here.
Copyright by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Dear readers from London…

Do you like French and Italian delicatessen? Do you know a place called Stoke Newington in the borough of Hackney?
If you answered “yes” to both questions, I would like to recommend a particular place ( I am not doing this very often) located at Church Street, Stoke Newington. It is called Le Parc. From there, you have a beautiful view of Crissold Park.
The expresso is one of the finest I ever tasted here in London, all the products are the finest. You can also buy a wide range of French, Italian and English wines there.
The boss and the personal are very friendly. This is a nice place to enjoy a little afternoon break. Go check it!
Isabelle

Thoughts on happiness

When I grew up as a little child, I thought that most of my happiness depended on external objects such as teddybears or other kind of possessions. As an adult, and although I explored and tried to focus on spirituality a lot, I thought that person and external events were responsible of my happiness. When I felt unhappy for whatever reason, I used to blame it on different persons or on my personal circumstances…Little did I know about happiness by then…I actually had to go a long way and take a trip to my inner self to eventually realize that whoever is trying to chase happiness won’t find it at all.
But let me share a great secret with all of you: if there is no way to happiness, it is simply because happiness is the one and only way!
My point is, you have to make the decision to be happy first, as you are in charge of your own happiness. If you must make this decision to see some good changes in your life, it clearly means that you must be willing to change the way you think and get rid of the ” garbage thoughts” that don’t serve you (like complaints), you will find happiness everywhere. You will see it in your neighbor’s eye, it will be reflected in the waterm in a bird’s song, it will become a genuine part of yourself,
Goethe, one of Germany’s greatest poets and thinkers used to say: ” Weisst du worin der Spass des Lebens liegt? Sei lustig! Geht das nicht, so sei vergnuegt”
( Do you know where the fun of life lies? Be happy! If this doesn’t work, then be delighted).
If we take Goethe’s advice seriouslyand start being happy, regardless of any external circumstances, then we will get some real insight about the true beauty of life.
Every morning, when you wake up, make a committment to yourself: ” I choose to be happy” and stick to it during the day.
Some people would object that genetically we are not equal regarding happiness, that some people have happy genes while some others don’t. Personally, I’d strongly disagree. I consider that anybody can be happy. While I admit that some people might have it easier with their happy go lucky mindset that goes back to childhood conditioning, it is up to any of us to make the right choice.
You choose your attitude towards life freely. If you think that life is easy and that you are indeed happy, life will bring good things to you. Begin with appreciation. Appreciate each thing, list all good things you have, you will be amazed to discover how much you have been granted.
Life is all about chosing the right path. If you allow youself to focus on the good instead of the bad, you will see many blessing appear into your life.
Have fun, don’t worry, seize the day and begin to be happy once for all!
Copyright by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

La Tete En Friche ( movie review)

Global rating of the product: 5 stars
Gerard Depardieu is probably one of the best French actors alive. If you appreciated him in other movies, you will probably totally love this one. In his most recent movie, ” La Tete En Friche”, he is starring along with Gisele Casadesus.
The term ” en friche” in French is an idiomatic expression that usually refers to uncultivated fields. The field here is Germain ( Gerard Depardieu)’s head. German, a man who is in his 50’s, is quite illiterate. He shares his sparetime between his friends at a local cafe ( some of them are making fun of his ignorance), his girlfriend, his abusive mom and his garden. The paradox is that German is a great cultivator, a gardener of exception, who knows how to grow ( and sell) his vegetables.
Some people, who seem unsignificant at first sight, sometimes appear in our lives when we expect them the least. Some of them have the power to change our lives, though. Germain’s destiny will completely change after he encounters a 95 year old lady, Margueritte ( Gisele Casadesus). The old lady happens to be very ciultivated and she is a great litterature teacher to Germain. She introduces him to the world of French writers Albert Camus and Jules Supervielle. Germain realizes that reading is also playing with your imagination, visualizing and bringing things to life.
Dealing with his mom suffers from an early stage of dementia, Germain regularly meets, Margueritte at the same place, in a park, in an avid quest of knowledge.
French writers and a recently acquired syllabus allow Germain to express in a different way to the greatest surprise of his friends, who barely recognize him.
Dramatic circumstamces affect Germain: he learns from Margueritte’s mouth that she will be condemned to progressive blindness. The old lady’s universe is made of books…what is going to happen to her? Germain, encouraged by his girlfriend is ready to make the effort to be her friend’s reader.
He will improve his reading skills.
Germain’s mom dies suddenly. At the same time his girlfriend gets pregnant. Germain is over the moon!
His mom, who didn’t seem to like him when she was alive left a fortune to her son. Good news for Germain, who is now ready to visit Margueritte at her luxury elderly home. To his greatest surprise, he is informed the old lady has been taken by her family. She now lives somewhere in Belgium.
When Germain knocks at the door, he lerans from Margueritte’s son, that she has been put in another elderly home, because the family couldn’t take care of her.
When Germain eventually find Margueritte, she seems abandoned in a kind of elderly home where old people are treated like useless things.
Germain makes his decision rapidly: he kidnaps her old friend and takes her home.
The movie is full of tenderness and a true love story. It is accessible to all kind of people. Fluent French is required, though.
A must see…I loved it and I recoomend it to anybody:)
Copyright by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

The Parrot's Theorem-Ein feiner Herr und ein armer Hund: two good Summer reads

Global rating of the products – The Parrot’s Theorem by Denis Gedj: 5 stars
Ein feiner Herr und ein armer Hund :4.5 stars
( A fine master and a poor dog)
Did you notice? Books never apear in your life by accident. They are here to teach you a lesson, or simply because you need them at this precise time of your life.
Funnily I came across two differents books, both articulated on a central theme around the French Capital, a town ( as most of you will probably know) I appreciate very much.
At first sight, ” The Parrot’s Theorem”, by Denis Gedj and ” Ein feiner Herr und ein armer Hund” by Aadrian von Dis don’t seem to have many common points. The main hero is nevertheless an animal- a parrot from South America and a dog.
Denis Gedj, an eminent Parisian University Professor, specialist of mathematical history, will lead you into the mysteries of mathematics, make you wander through the Abbesses quarter and the whole 18th arrondissement to the Louvre and other parts of Paris. You will also discover Manaus, in the tropical forest.
You will see how Pierre, an old bookshop keeper, a literary spirit, will sloly but surely open up his mind to the mysteries of maths in order to solve his friend Elgar’s murder in Manaus. You will understand the stories, the life and the background of most theorem creators.
With his fine, analytic spirit, Denis Gedj will manage to raise readers’ interests, allow them to understand the subtle difference between arythmetics, geometry, algebra, probabilities…The whole story is built on a suspense. Ready to travel through the streets of Paris? Go for a ride with Denis Gedj and you will never feel the same again….I recommend this book to any intellectually curious spirit. A great read!
Ein feiner Herr und ein armer Hund is written in a different tone. If you are fond of realistic stories, this book is really for you.
Mulder, a Dutch citizen is a rich man who inherited a fortune, so he could buy his own appartment in Paris. He is rich enough not to work. The man spends most of his free time wandering through the quarters of the French Capital. He loves walking and sitting and numerous cafes’ terraces.
An arson and a dog-two unexpected elements will change his life.
The dog that comes into Mulders’ life is used to help illegal immigrants. They even took it from Africa on a ship to Paris. Mostly thanks to the “poor dog” Mulder will discover the underworld of Paris and also his higher self-Nicolas MArtin ( aname he gives himself after a Resitance martyr who died on his date of birth, in 1943)
Nicolas Martin will start helping people in need, giving time and money.
He will be taught love by giving and even renounce love- for the good of two people who will be ready to start a happy life as a couple.
This book is untertaining, full of humor. Have a look, you will certainly enjoy it!
Copyright by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved

Coming soon…

Review of two books: The Parrot’s Theorem by Denis Gedj and Ein feiner Herr und ein armer Hund by Aadrian Van Dis (translated into German by Marlene Mueller-Haas).
What do both books have in common?
Nothing much besides the fact that they offer two very different, nevertheless interesting insights about the French Capital…stay tuned:)

An invaluable life lesson

Dear readers,
I would like to share a story with you about something that happened to me a year ago. It taught me to look at things in a different way.
We don’t always like what life is throwing at us, but sometimes, what we don’t like is as essential as life’s pleasures. On a very hot Summer day, after a long walk, I was sitting on a bank between place Pigalle and Boulevard de Rochechouart in Paris. All I wanted was to get a little rest and maybe a little cup of coffee afterwards. There was an elderly lady sitting beneath me, who was enjoying her place in the shadow as well as me.
Very close to us, a little misbehaving boy, around 4 or 5, whose mom didn’t seem to have any control of, attracted my attention. He was shouting loudly and running all over the place. But I was tired and suddenly, my mind was shifting away. I felt like I was going to fall asleep when, all of a sudden, a stone hit me.
” Ouch”, I said, trying to find the culprit. I looked a round and it seemed that the little boy was trying to hide from me a few meters aside. I was really angry at this moment.
” Did you see what that boy just did to me?”, I asked the elderly lady sitting beneath me.
-“no”, she replied, “Sorry, I didn’t pay attention. What happened?”
I explained her that this little unbehaved boy hit me with a stone…after a while we started a little conversation. She explained me that she was born in Montmartre. This Parisian area that she knew as a child seemed to be very different to our contemporary knowledge of the place. She described it to me as a “little village” into town, where everybody knew everybody. While listening to her, I also learnt a lot more about the French capital in general.
The time we shared was pleasant and I realy enjoyed it. I was now ready to leave. I thanked the nice lady for the conversation. When I was about to say goodbye, she told me :” Always keep in mind we met thanks to this rude little boy”.
” I will”, I said. I realized that every little detail in life has its importance. Don’t prompt to picture something as negative: there might be a hidden blessing in it.
Copyright by Isabelle Esling
All Rights Reserved