8 secrets of success

Passion : To love your work is essential. The motivation to do your work has to be personal and not financial.

Work : To work hard is also essential. Nothing come down easily. And, if you love your work (passion), you will have much easiness to do it.

Good : If you have any talent, it is better. And if you haven't any talent, try to be good in one way.

Focus : This notion is close to the last one. Focusing one thing, one ability or one idea is important to success.

Push : you have to be hard with yourself, to "push" yourself to do great things : leave your shyness, your doubts, your apprehensions…

Serve : You always have to serve. If you work in a "social" work, you have to serve other peoples. And if you want to become a lonely wolf and earn a lot of money… you have to serve others too, offering something they need.

Ideas : Have ideas is very important. If you have ideas, you have great chances to success.

Persist : Persist is essential. You have to resist to the different difficulties you can meet. It's the key of success.

I hesitate a long time between "Good" and "Ideas". I think all the "secrets" quoted by Richard St. John are good ways to success, but, if I have to choose one that can be mine, I'll choose "good". I don't have a brilliant talent in something, at least, I don't think so. But I'm creative, I have a great imagination. I like write stories since I'm young, I don't remember when I've begun to write exactly. I have written many stories, for different reasons and from many genres.

At school or at university, when teachers asked us to write a short story, I was enthusiastic ! And I was enthusiastic because I always had good marks for theses works. Most of the time, my professors like my handwriting, my style. In English, it's probably not so great and pleasant, but, in French, it seems to be nice.

Teachers are not my only ones readers. I regularly post Role-plays on internet… in a game forum for example. I really like Role-playing and create a history for your character is both fun and important according to me.

At free time, I'm trying to complete and entire novel I started few years ago. And this year, for my cinema option, I had to write a scenario for a short film. It's another kind of writing, but I tried and it was good.

I think I'm rather good at writing because I take the time to think about all that make a story : I think about characters, I think about surrounding, I can spend one hour to work on a sentence because I don't like it…

I focus all the points you have to look for writing a good story and I think that make me good at it.

Drawing upon humor for a change

a.    What according to you is the central idea of the speech ?

b.     Do you agree with it ?

c.     Would you agree with Donnelly when she says that the sense of humor changes according to one's culture ?

a.   For me, the central idea of the speech is that, according to Liza Donnelly, women live in a world
where they are powerless and weak, governed by socials' conventions, and that this conventions can be broken by sense of humor.

b.   I think it depends on the different societies. I mean… there are countries where the "rules" are more oppressive and countries where this "rules" are disappearing with time. I think women are generally governed by some ancestral "way of being good" but, for example, in France, the old archetype of women that our grand-parents (or before) knew is actually over. Even if there are always rules, I think they're reduced by the time.

c.   Of course I agree with her. Sense of humor depends on cultures. For example… the animated serie "South Park" is laughing at everything (or most) and also says "Either we can laugh at everything, or we can laugh at nothing". But some cultures doesn't like it's humor. Moslems, Christians or scientologist, for example, tried to make some episodes censured. I think this is a reality we can use every time. We all have something that don't make us laugh. Sense of humor depends on the environment, the education, the character of people or societies. If humor is going out of this "characters", it becomes shocking. In spite of this, I think we can laugh at everything. Laugh is well, it doesn't have to be agreed !

Love Charm

Love-charm is something very widespread in society and from a long long time, but especially for the last ten/fifteen years I think. Now, you're seeing ad for some "magical method" to find love everywhere… on your cellular, on the web… Really, who hasn't already received an email with some questions and instructions you have to follow to attain your love ? And if you don't send this email to all your friends, your love will hate you of something like that ?

In this video (School Days, 1^st part), the charm in question is linked to cellular. Here, you have to put a picture of the one you love on your cellphone during 3 weeks. If no one sees it during all this time, your "darling" falls in love for you. I found this belief pretty cute… you have to hide your love, like a shy person (okay, when you are using a charm to find love, you're obligatory shy !) as you're keeping it in your secret garden, it's really moving.

I don't believe in love-charms and I never did one, but it remembers me my childhood. When we were child, it was really simpler. I remember that love was something magical. In nursery school or primary school, if you love someone, you say it to the person and it's okay (most of the time). You go hand in hand with her (/him), have some kisses, and promise an eternal love to each other !

In real life, it's less magical than in childhood. As you grow up, you know a kind of disillusion, love is not so simple, not so sweet, not every time mutual… When you're a teenager, love is more like jungle : an world with no-mercy and many dangers !! Lot of people have some difficulties to accept themselves and the others aren't very helpful. At this time, popularity is very important, flirting is a question that must be addressed… I think that, most of the time, at high school, love is secondary.

After this "dark period" love becomes less cruel but is ever complicated… It has to be conciliated with all the rest of our life, studies, job, real life…

I think that beliefs we have in childhood are put by our parents and by adults to "keep" children's innocence, and let them dream about love as a magical thing =)

The Bukana Pub

I don't know Grenoble very well. Most of the time, when I'm going out, I do this with some friends during the weekend, so in my hometown of St Vallier (somewhere at the north of the Drôme). but, few months ago, I was at a little party, at Charlotte's student rooem. She's one of my classmates and friend. We were four people there, and, around 10p.m., we were searching aout somewhere to go... sommething to do...

After a short time, Mylène, another friend who often go out and who weel-known Grenoble, suggested us to go to the Bukana Pub, near the quay. We said "why not ?" and after the girls make them up a second time, we went out and met up Aurélie, Mylène's flatmate. Then we finally arrived at the Bukana Pub.

I really appreciated this place. it's rather little but it has some personality. It's very friendly, and on Thrusday night, it's salsa party, so we can har another kind of music than in nightclubs for example (and if you are affraid about salsa dance, reassure yourself, there are two teachers who can help you). Enter is free, and if I good remember the cocktails are free for women before midnight (And I suggest you the "exotic cocktail"... it's the best of all !!!). the Bukana Pub is a friendly place because there are a lot of strangers students there too. Someties it's fun to have other relations with theses people we just cross in the university's corridors.

So, I think between the few places I know in Grenoble, this one is the most original and the friendliest. I hope this little (true) story has convince you, and who knows... maybe, in a near futur, I'll see some of you there !!! =)

Never Give Up... Some things about Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is probably one of the most perfect examples of people who have a handicap and who are able to do great things… who never give up !

Hawking born in 1942 and he is a searcher in theoretical physics. He is principally studying the Big Bang Theory (the question about the origins of the universe) and the black holes.

Early in his life, Stephen Hawking was affected by an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (I think, this is the good name, I just now it in French : " Sclérose latérale amyotrophique"), a cerebral disease who lead to paralysis and, the most of the time, to death.

It make approximately forty years that Hawking is paralyzed from head to feet. He lives in a wheelchair and use a vocal synthesizer (I don't know what is the technical name) which allow him to move and speak.

In spite of this affliction, Hawking has become one of the most brilliant physicians of the world, one of the most intelligent people and a respected teacher of cosmology and physics at Cambridge University.

His also a lover of science fiction (not really surprising, yeah) : he is a big fan of Star Trek, moreover he plays his own role in an episode of the series Star Trek : The next Generation.

Stephen Hawking is today aged 69 and stays one of the most important scientists from our time.

Introduction

Hi everybody !

If you're reading these words (no, it don't necessary mean that I'm dead !), I guess you are one of the students who take a course of English with Carmenne Kalyaniwala.

So, to indroduce myself, I think the best way to do is to introduce my "student's Id.".

First of all, my name is Alexandre (or Alexander in english) and I'm a student en Stendhal University, probably like you. I'm at second grade of literature studies. For those who aren't in the same english course than me, I take it on tuesday morning, between 8.30 and 10.30 am.

I also have cinemtographic studies for the last year. It's very interesting. For example, last year, we studied "history of cinema" and we also did analyse of several films (technical analyse mainly). These year, we continue to study some famous directors, like Jean-Luc Godard, Andreï Tarkovsky or Jean Rouch, and we have to write a story and then, to direct it ! It will be very exciting !

Well, I think the most important is here... If you want to know something else about me or about my studies, just ask, I'll answer as soon as possible :)

Enjoy on this blog !!

And see you soon, in live, or virtually !

Alex