le chose du jour

I just found out my friend has drawn all these wonderful cards for an e-card website. I think they are majorly cute. Go here to send one to someone you love today!

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le mot du jour

This past week it seems like everything has been roiling. Not rolling, not boiling, but roiling. The word has appeared at least thrice in the Times in the last seven days, usually to refer to the economy or the financial markets.
The Webster defines it thus: ROIL-"make turbid by stirring up the sediment or dregs of" or "to move turbulently : be in a state of turbulence or agitation". So kind of like roll, kind of like boil, but chock full of its own special significance and shades of meaning. Where did this unlikely verb come from? Chances are it was probably coined in the late 1500s, inspired by rouiller, French for "to rust, make muddy."
Don't you love words you know that student of English as a second language will ever learn?

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Europe-21. USA-One. Wait, make that two.

So, Europe is still winning. They have the culture, the food, the urban planning, the languages, the art, the Euro, the history, the Catholicism, the Nutella, the public transportation, the dashing first ladies, the tourism, the budget airlines, the UNESCO world heritage, the social safety net, the inexpensive wine, the playful graphic design, the artisans, the cafes, the olive trees, and the Camino de Santiago.
BUT. And it's a big But. We have Barack Obama--and they're all jealous. It's not Barack insomuch as his race that begets this feeling. Everyone is envious of the position of race in America-- specifically, its approaching irrelevance. The truth behind the 1960s is finally revealing itself. It's not that we were the most bigoted, racist nation--we were just the first to go through these growing pains, and right in the public eye. All the water hoses, bombings, and civil rights struggles did not signify that we were backwards and close-minded, but that we were hurtling toward the future at a pace far outstripping that of our Atlantic neighbors. From Carla Bruni hoping for an "obama effect" in France to the struggles facing these countries as a whole regarding immigration, it is obvious that the United States is still THE place for dreams and, hey, let's be honest here, people of color.
Oh, and we also have peanut butter.

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Change. Big Time.

Across the world exclamation points abounded and hope seems to be sparked anew.


FRANCE::Le Monde
"L'Amerique choisit Barack Obama"/ America chooses Barack Obama
SPAIN::El Mundo
"Cambia el color de historia"/ He changes the color of history
GERMANY: Rheinische Post
"Die Wiederauferstehung des amerikanischen Traums" /the repurchasing of the American Dream
ITALY: Il Messaggero
"Obama è il nuovo presidente degli Stati Uniti:Il cambiamento è arrivato"/ Obama is the new president of the USA: Change has arrived
KENYA: Daily Nation
"In Kenya, A Holiday, Song, And Dance for Obama"

I felt excitement and pride last night. My cynicism was stripped away, at least for the moment, and it felt awesome. Like being a little kid again. God bless America!

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