here's a link to a video of a telephone of the future,
Sumsing T...wmv (2,9 Mo)

Little Red Riding Hood
... and all that Jazz
Le Petit Chaperon Rouge, Jack et le Haricot Magique
et autres comptines célèbres...

According to the BEEBS this is the type of thinker I am....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/thinker_quiz/results_and_answers.shtml  and I'm not unhappy about that. What do you think?

Now I know why people shout "Oh Mike Odd" when something surprising, unprecedented or unusual happens. It's because they start their day like this:
http://www.windgaz.com/mike_cereal.jpg
  Thanks to Kes for sending me this nourishment,
Bon Appetit
Mike Odd

I play games in my head-often bilingual french/english games- finding words that exist in both languages that have totally different meanings
phoque (pronounced like the f*** word in English means a seal (the marine mammal type) in french
Bees (those honey makers) are the same as a kiss in french (bise)
As (the french word for Ace, is pronounced like the rude word in english for the bum ('A**)
Lache means let go/cowardly in french and is pronounced like lash)
whereas cil is an eyelash pronounced seal, which brings me back to the F-word
So I go around in all srtsa lingual circles.
If someone calles you an "A-- "in French it is a compliment, meaning you're an ace in that particular field, whereas at a french zoo you may hear  several upstanding elderly ladies shouting "F---" as they admire the marine mammal section
I amuse myself visualising such scenes- they only happen in my imagination, of course- except when I go wild and tell groups of old french men playing Petanc '(French Boules) -" Monsieur, you are an Ass" and they smile at me and thank me in fluent French

The wedding invitation

Here is one of the many inspired & inspiring talks from Ted Talks- this one is by Mathieu Ricard, scientist & buddhist Monk. what do you think?
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=D-QjuazQZNQ&feature=related
 
if this link doesn't work check out youtube and type in happiness+buddhism in the search box, or if I'm lucky the link will be posted in  comments and the bear facts of how to learn about happiness will be revealed to you, thank you for bearing with my incompetence, but I believe I have some saving graces,

I wish you grace & courage,

Mike

Dr. Mardy's 2006 Aphorisms

Never rely on your friends for money,
or on your money for friends.

The bad news is that we often find ourselves in trouble.
The good news is that in trouble, we often find ourselves.

The first casualty of war may be the truth,
but the first truth of war has always been the casualties.

In a relationship, it's hard to sustain the passion;
in a passionate affair, it's hard to sustain the relationship.

Words have incredible power.
They can make people's hearts soar,
and they can make people's hearts sore.

Many people believe that the best thing
about the legendary battle between the sexes
is the legendary sex between the battles.

Adolescence is a kind of slavery cleverly disguised as freedom.

Throughout history, one of the biggest problems is that
the correct course of action is not always obvious,
and the obvious course of action is not always correct.

It is a topsy-turvy world.
When we ask for advice, what we usually want is approval,
and when we ask for approval, what we usually get is advice.

Instead of talking in the hope that

I try to remember these and apply them to my life
they are available on
drmardygrothe.com

:
you were born an original, never become a copy

The high cost of living is a minor problem
when compared to the cost of high living.

Most of us recognize how important it is
to listen respectfully when our loved ones are talking;
but we often forget that it is equally important
to talk respectfully when they are listening.

The voice of reason is inaudible to irrational people.

In all your relationships,
you're never too small to make a big contribution,
and never too big to make a small one.

Most people view philosophy as thought, and not action.
But rightly regarded, philosophy is action guided by thought.

People sometimes forget when you remember,
but they always remember when you forget.

You don't need the best of everything to be happy,
but you do need to be happy to enjoy the best of everything.

We're closest to finding ourselves just when we feel the most lost.

Music doesn't have to be your livelihood to make your 'hood lively."

I have lost something precious and am still grieving. It may be a neverending process.
I used to be a healthy, fit sporty individual, until it all fell apart on Dec 31st 3 YEARS AGO. I have lesions on my brain which is why I can't be sure of the year, as my memory is banjaxed. I was an actor/singer/dancer with a satisfying career, I lived from this and loved doing it. A typical day for me was to get up at the crack of mid-morning, spend a couple of hours promising myself I would really mend my ways, & recovering slowly but surely from the previous nights excesses/ fun & froliks. I would then run through the lines for a play in my head, as I prepared a healthy breakfast of good things. Then I would canter down the four flights of steps to my letter box to see if I had received any goodies in my postbox. I expected cards from exotic places, sent by close friends, and/or distant farflung foreigners. My friends know my tastes and these cards would be used to decorate my beautiful sunny appartment, which was already decorated with cheap richness & jewels & images to within an inch of its Parisian life. Of course it being the holiday season, I expected glittery cards to continue, to add to my collection. But, I digress, and if I continue to go off on a tangent, you will probably go off in a huff. And mother nature in her wisdom, has her partical physics down to a fine art, and never the twain shall meet.
So back to a typical day:  I would make myself presentable-enough to meet the world, feed & clothe my body, and check electronic & snail mail for stimulation & surprises and head to the metro (subway). I would go by train to a meeting point where I would liase with Nicki, a franco-American actress and Creative/Artistic director of the OZ theatre company- an English language theatre company specialising in  TIE (theatre in Education). Then we would drive to some school in the Greater Paris Region and we would chat, exchange, & recreate the world, and find our way through morning traffic to the designated school. When we eventually found it, and discoverd where we were to perform, we would drive to the nearest door and unload the portable set & costumes. While Nicki had done all the driving, I generally did most of the hauling and carrying-"a man's job". And we set up our beautiful portable set to change a sports hall or a dining room into a theatrical space. While Nicki did her hair & Make-up I did some physical and vocal warm ups. And the Magic began. Nicki & Mike became Little & Big and danced/sang /acted their way through several Fairytales & Nursery rhymes, to the joy and fascination of several incredulous 7-12 yearolds who laughed and clapped at the appropriate moments. They also bood the Wolf or the Ogre, and shivered in excitement as the Ogre growled Ominously "I'm Hungry....."
Each show lasted 45 MINS and we then spent 20 mins or so talking to the kids & encouraging them to sing, ask questions in English. It was fun & exhausting, & rewarding, like my life in general. We did one or two shows per day- So I was exhausted, but fit & fulfilled.
This was how my days were filled. In the evenings I usually performed at the theatre, in some serious play by prestegious playwrites such as Beckett/ Wilde or Pinter or Shakespeare. And on the nights I didn't have a play I worked as a barman in a Jazz cellar in Montmartre.  So in a way, it's not so surprising that my body cried out Halt, and I went into a coma, due to Meningitic Encephalitis, and spent the next year and a half in various hospitals. When I got out of the coma, I could no longer walk, talk or control even my most basic bodily functions.... yes , you got it.... And for a while I couldn't eat nor drink nor breath so I was wired up to all sortsa contraptions to keep me alive.
          Ready for some good news yet? well today, I went to "La Casa del Tango" and danced with some wonderful women. And I ate & drank to my heart's & bellies delight.
I still have to take 17 pills each day, have physiotherapy three times a week and can no longer live in my beautiful glitzy appt. on the fourth floor. Now I live in whats called an ACT ( very apt for an actor) and have a small one-roomed appartment in a block of 12 apparts. run by a team of people ranging from the exceptionally competent & fabulous to the dismally dubious and Awfully abysmal. The other inmates of this outfit also range from the psycopathically pathetic to the amazingly awsome, and I have made new friends and foes.
I now have a photo ID card that says I am 80% handicapped and with each passing day I manage to prove this right and wrong to varying degrees. I am hemiplegic on the left side.
I still grieve my lost health but am aware of my luck  to be stubborn & resilient, If I was given this challenge, Somebodyelse, perhaps less capable was spared.(perhaps a family member or a friend) I admire myself for being creative and being able to see the light side of even the darkest scenario. I am healing myself and getting my life back with help/love and understanding. Thank you ,
Mike, the lover, the writer, the joker, the fighter.