The French Party’s Over

The party’s over way down yonder in New Orleans…the Mardi Gras floats went back into their sheds, the lean-up crew swept up all the discarded plastic bags, broken beads and beverage cups, the drunken, crowds on Bourbon Street went home for a good night’s sleep and the police department reported this morning that it was an unusually well-behaved bunch (arrests down 11% from last year) due to an early carnival and fewer spring break college students.

It will teach me good never to sit on the patio of Pat O’Brien’s in the “Vieux Carré” sipping what seems to be a “harmless” drink well-known as a “Hurricane.” That’s what an old friend and I did after watching several Mardi Gras parades stroll casually down St. Charles Avenue, to rest our feet and quench our thirst, and what led to an accidental deletion all of my Mardi Gras photos from my little Pentax Optio digital camera. I cried all the way home.

In memory, my favorite images were of the really big uniformed men everywhere (mostly cops and state troopers), Schuyler Hoffman skillfully catching beads from pretty “krewe” members, hand-painted scenes on bare-breasted women, King of Carnival “Rex” waving his magic wand from his gilded thrown and the drag queens on Bourbon Street vying to win the annual costume prize.

“Fat Tuesday” is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday as a last fling prior to the 40 days of Lent which precede Easter. There are carnival celebrations in Europe and Latin America, including Nice, Cologne and Rio de Janeiro. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is the most well-known and visited thanks to the French-Catholic communities of the Gulf Coast who brought it to the New World in 1699, when French explorer Iberville arrived at the Mississippi River, about 60 miles south of New Orleans. He named the spot “Point du Mardi Gras” because he the holiday was being celebrated in France that day.

Eventually the French in New Orleans celebrated Mardi Gras with masked balls and parties, until the Spanish government took over in the mid-1700’s and banned the celebrations! The ban continued even after the U.S. government acquired the land but the celebrations resumed in 1827 and the official colors of Mardi Gras, with their roots in Catholicism, were chosen 10 years later: purple, a symbol of justice; green, representing faith; and gold, to signify power.

Thanks to the French, I can say that I and the hundreds of thousands of folks out on the streets of New Orleans yesterday and the weeks leading up to the festivities, had one big blast of a time they will never forget. I know I won’t, in spite of my lost photos. I’ll still have the incredible memories.

By Friday afternoon, we should have all recuperated and ready to begin the Living and Investing in France Conference! We will be welcoming a host of attendees who are coming from far and wide for the event. For now, I’d like to welcome Tara Kearney to the Parler Paris team. Tara comes to us via the Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group, an economist/financial analyst who moved to Paris this past year and is planning to marry a Frenchman this spring!

Write Tara for all your customer service issues, such as any assistance you may need in subscribing, unsubscribing or changing your email address (scroll to the bottom of this newsletter for complete instructions on how to do any of these things on your own) or publications you may have ordered and have trouble downloading. Tara is here to help manage incoming email and assist me in every way. She can be reached at [email protected]

A la prochaine…(from New Orleans!)

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
[email protected]

P.S. Yolanda Robins hosted yesterday’s Parler Paris Après Midi — which we will report on next week, so stay tuned…and sad news is that we’re losing Tracy James, Calendar Gal Extraordinaire, so Parler Paris is seeking the next Calendar Gal or Guy Extraordinaire: unpaid internship, about 3 hours of work per week to coordinate and edit the calendar listings. If you’re interested, please email me at [email protected]?subject=Calendar_Editor

====================
Further resources:
====================

* Getting a mortgage in France is easier than you think. Let us help.

* Get to know the Parler Paris Professionals who can help you make your dream to live in France come true. Visit /parlerparis/services/index.html

* Great meals in Paris don’t have to be expensive. Parisians do it every day and Adrian Leeds tells how to pay less, eat better, enjoy Paris more. Learn how.

====================
Calendar #43
Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Paris, France
====================

If you wish your community announcement to be listed i

n the Parler Paris Previews, continue to please provide the text in ENGLISH just as you’d like it to appear and send it to [email protected]?subject=Calendar_Listing

We reserve the right to edit as necessary.

Thank you, Adrian

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Where to Find Romantic Paris
====================

Paris: City for lovers, lovers of fine food
By SUZY PATTERSON
Associated Press Writer
South Bend Tribune

Taillevent, Temple of Elegant Dining: This renowned monument to gastronomy near the Etoile-Arc de Triomphe is a perennial winner with guidebook gourmets and well-heeled honeymooners. Service is elegant, never condescending. Menu is a la carte. With a glass of good wine, plan to spend $65 to $100 a person; several courses and better bottles will run $130 a person. Location: 8 rue d’Anjou, Paris.

Les Arts, A Garden Haven: This elegant restaurant housed in a former club for engineers, near the Guimet Oriental Museum and the Trocadero, boasts a peaceful terrace for balmy summer days.The classic indoor rooms are spacious and chic. Service is discreet, friendly and efficient. With wine, prices range from $50 to $100 a person. Location: 9 bis, Ave. d’Iena, Paris.

L’Espadon Bleu, Latin Quarter Charm: L’Espadon Bleu (which means blue swordfish) offers delicious food in a small yet spacious restaurant between the Seine and the Odeon. It belongs to Jacques Cagna, famous for his Michelin-guide starred establishment a few doors away. Prices are $50 to $90 a person. Location: 25 rue des Grands Augustins, Paris.

Le Clos Des Gourmets: Gourmet Thrills: This small and cheery restaurant near the Eiffel Tower offers friendly atmosphere and excellent food with some new twists, such as juicy Colvert duck topped with spiced honey, warm quince with cinnamon and celery. A three-course menu at lunch is $43 a person, wine extra. Totals can range from about $50 to $100 a person, depending on wine. Location: 16 Ave. Rapp, Paris.

Romance On The Scenic Seine: Hold hands, sip and taste, as you cruise by the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Several tour barges cruising the Seine offer sound-and-light candlelit dinners, a good way to sample Paris by night, though food quality may vary. The well-known Bateaux Mouches has a special evening menu with music, wine and service included, for $160 a person. Special lunches (weekends, holidays only) cost $65, wine and service included.

The Capitaine Fracasse line offers “gourmet” dinners for $50 a person weeknights or $76 Saturdays, wine not included.

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Tying the knot in France
Expatica France

As everyone knows, France is a romantic place. But not all are aware it offers two different ways of tying the knot; one is a traditional marriage contract while the other allows a legally-recognized union, including for same-sex couples.

A church ceremony can only take place after a civil marriage.
Foreigners can marry in France, either with a French spouse or between each other, or they can engage in a legally recognized union open to couples of the same or different sex.

All marriages in France must first be performed by a French civil authority before any religious ceremony can take place. The civil ceremony is held in a village, town or city hall, called la mairie, in front of the mayor. The completion of the civil ceremony establishes the couple as husband and wife before the law.

The choice of mairie must be one where one or both of the couple to be married has resided for at least 40 days. Under French law, marriage banns must be posted at the mairie no less than ten days before the date of the marriage ceremony. For a marriage involving one or more non-French nationals, they can only be posted after one of the aspiring spouses has resided at least 30 days in France.

It is the civil marriage ceremony which establishes a couple before the law. The mayor can be substituted to perform the ceremony by the deputy-mayor, or a city councilor.

If they so choose, they may then go on to celebrate a religious ceremony, and this is quite common in France. The clergyman performing the ceremony will require a certificate of civil marriage before it can take place.

Couples married in France receive a livret de famille. This is a legal booklet which records the marriage and subsequent events in the family such as births, deaths, divorce or name changes. It is often required for official purposes, not least during a child’s progress through school. A marriage certificate can be obtained from the mairie where the marriage was performed.

What you need before you marry

* A valid passport or a French residence permit
* Proof of a French home address (such as a phone bill)
* A birth certificate (less than three months old)
* A certificate of celibacy (less than three months old) which can be established in France at your country’s consular office.
* A statement by a lawyer or equivalent certifying that the non-French national concerned is free to marry in France.
* A medical certificate (less than three months old)
* A certificate by a French solicitor, called a Certificat du notaire, if the marriage is to include a a prenuptial legal contract.

The Pacs

The Pacs is an alternative legal union for heterosexuals and homosexuals.

There is an alternative legal union in France for both heterosexual and homosexual couples, which is called Le Pacte civil de solidarité, commonly known as Le Pacs. While it falls well short of conferring the legal rights which marriage spouses enjoy, it has a legal status which offers both official recognition of the union and a number of rights for both individuals. It does not have any legal bearing over questions such as the adoption of children.

The Pacs is established before a local magistrates’ court for civil cases, called a tribunal d’instance. The parties can draw up a document specific to themselves which defines their engagement concerning financial matters, such as the equal share of household finances. The Pacs can be signed between two unmarried people, regardless of nationality or sex, who are aged 18 or over.

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SUNday, FEBRUARY 13TH VALENTINE’S EVE

Thirza Vallois will be talking at Shakespeare & Company in Paris
at 4:00 p.m.
37, rue de la Bûcherie, 75005

And once more in the evening, at Patricia Laplante’s Happy Hour and Dinner Salon (starts at 6:30 p.m.).
Slides and French songs will accompany the talk.
14 rue St Louis en LíIle,75004

Call or e-mail Patricia to reserve your place
Tel: 01.43.26.12.88
[email protected]

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Strictly Entertainment:
Comedy, Plays, Movies, Dance
====================

ONE WORLD ACTORS PRODUCTIONS-2004 English Theatre presents
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM by William Shakespeare in English
directed by Kim-Michelle BRODERICK
Mondays at 8 p.m.
Studio-Theatre de la Comédie Française
Carrousel du Louvre, entrance 99 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
Métro: Palais Royal-Musee du Louvre

Tickets still available for:
February 16 (complete) & 23
April 12, 19 , 26
May 3, 24, 31
and June 14, 21

Mondays & Thursdays at 8 p.m.
at UNESCO,7 place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris
Métro: Cambronne
March 15, 18, 22, 25, 29
April 1 & 5

Entry Fees: 40 Euros, 30 Euros, 20 Euros (Reduced/groups 10 or more: 15 Euros)
By reservation only: phone 01.48.28.09.26
or by email at [email protected]

——————–

MOVING PARTS
Play Readings

Carr’s Pub and Restaurant
1 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001 Paris
Métro: Tuileries

Always on Sundays, always at 7:30 p.m.

Plays in English:

20th February Rachel Ollagnon “Coupling”
6th March Kenneth Hickey “The Train Set”
13th March Paul Delmont “The Interrogation of Miriam of Nazareth”
20th March Mary Bruton-Sandifer “Hunting Season” (2nd reading)
17th April NC Heikin “Femail”
1st May Robert Watson Barr “Sixty”
22nd May Kenneth Hickey “The Train Set”
29th May Thomas Dooley “Discretion”

Plays in French:
3rd April Romain Bisseret “Mariage d’Amis”
1st May Pascal Loison “Intimités”

Contact Stephanie Campion at 06.14.67.18.58 to book a reading of YOUR play. June 2005 onwards dates available.

Latest version always available on the website: http://www.scamparis.com
or send an email to Stephanie [email protected]

——————

Dan Antopolski
Hôtel du Nord
Mon 21 & Tues 22 February
20 & 17 euros
reduced rates if you get their in time at http://www.anythingmatters.com

Tom Rhodes
Hôtel du Nord
Tuesday 1 March
20 & 17 euros
reduced rates if you get their in time at http://www.anythingmatters.com

j2999h Rouse & band
Sunday 6 March 8 p.m.
Le Trabendo Parc de la Villette, Paris
tickets in advance 22 euros (go to website to book)

booking all shows 01.53.19.98.88

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Musical Interludes
====================

SUNday, 20 FEVRIER 2005, 6 p.m.
MUSEE DU PETIT PALAIS, AVIGNON

JAY GOTTLIEB, piano
ALEXIS GALPERINE, violon
FREDERIC BALDASSARE, violoncelle

SONATE POUR VIOLON ET PIANO–FREDERICK MARTIN
(création mondiale)

INTERCOMMUNICAZIONE POUR VIOLONCELLE ET
PIANO–BERND ALOIS ZIMMERMANN

SOUVENIR DES JUSTES POUR TRIO–FREDERICK MARTIN
(création mondiale)

Renseignements: 04 90 86 44 58
[email protected]

——————

Bennye Matthews Sings Mon Pays et Paris
La Nuit Americaine
Music of Salvador Po, Billie Holiday, A. Hammer and John Simms
Théatre de la Bastille
5, rue Nicholas Appert, 11th
01 48 07 52 07
March 14, 2005 8 p.m.
20 Euros

——————

February 17, 2005 at 8:30 p.m.
Concert exceptionnel au palais de l’UNESCO.
Salle no. 1 des conférences. 7 place de Fontenoy Paris 7ème arr. Métro: Ségur, Cambronne.

Le Choeur Européen de Paris and its orchestra under the direction of Hugues Reiner will perform: Mahler’s 10th Symphony and the Mozart Requiem.

(Over 150 artists and a cast of soloists around the famous soprano Sandrine Piau)

Tickets are 30 euros. This benefit concert will be given for the humanitarian action of Espoir sans frontières in Sri Lanka (which works with the association Green Hope, active there for over 30 years). Out of each ticket sold, 15 euros will go directly to this association.

Tickets can be purchased at:
FNAC-Carrefour 08.92.68.36.22
Virgin Mégastore, Auchan, Leclerc, Galeries Lafayette, Cultura, La Samaritaine, Le Progrès de Lyon,
Le Choeur Européen de Paris 01.43.87.49.80
On site à UNESCO the evening of the concert after 7:30 p.m..

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Literary Events
====================

AMERICAN POLITICAL COMIC at SHAKESPEARE & CO-PARIS

Easter Monday, 28 March, 2005, 8 p.m. Shakespeare & Company, 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Paris, 75005

Reading of “Whinings of a Malcontent,” a play in one act written and performed by American stand-up comic, Rick Ashton (A&E Network, Comedy Central). “Whinings” is full of sex, death, politics, religion- (you know, a comedy!) set deep within Bush-occupied America. It was censored in Sacramento, California, do to it’s political content. Scheduled to open August 6, 2004, just blocks from Governor Schwarzenegger’s mansion, the theatre owner backed-out during production, citing his “right-wing republican audiences wouldn’t get it for fear of accepting the truth”.

Ashton hosted an award-winning radio show in Boulder, Colorado. He has
appeared several times on National TV and Radio, as well as many local
shows across the US. He is a frequent visitor to Paris, and even
marched in the Anti-War demonstrations in the streets of Paris in
Spring 2003.

——————

ALESIAN LITERARY SALON By Toby Brothers

Bleak House- Charles Dickens- Monday Evenings 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. The Sound and the Fury — Tuesday afternoons 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
The Sound and the Fury — Tuesday Evenings 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Website: http://literarysalon.free.fr
Call 06.85.13.81.27 or email [email protected] for more
information.

====================
Bonnes Soirées and Great Gatherings
====================

PARLER PARIS APRES-MIDI /parlerparis/apresmidi.html

Next Meeting: March 8th, 2005 and Every Second Tuesday of the Month 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This is your opportunity to meet every month, often with local professionals who can answer your Working and Living in France questions. You are invited to come for drinks and share your questions and comments about what it takes to create a life here, own property and enjoy what France has to offer. It is also an opportunity to network with other Parler Paris readers.

Upstairs at La Pierre du Marais
96, rue des Archives at the corner of rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
Mét
ro

Lines 9, 3 et 11, stations Temple, République or Arts et Métiers

———————

PARIS NETWORKING COCKTAIL

Guest speaker every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Cocktail Buffet. Make contacts for business, career opportunities, self-development Bring lots of Business Cards to exchange with others. You must bring a card.

Our guest speaker will be:

Troy Javaher Serial Entrepreneur, Cross-Cultural Negotiation Advisor, Real Estate Developer

Troy Javaher is a ‘serial’ entrepreneur who has successfully identified and executed international business opportunities from concept to multi-million dollar sale.

After graduating from UCLA, Troy moved to Europe to be closer to his Iranian-born American father living in Paris, and his Swedish-born American mother living in Norway/Germany. For 5 years he imported products from both sides of the Atlantic: various ‘Americana’ products into France, Italy, and Holland, as well as candy-flavored vodka from Sweden into the US and Canada.

In 1998, he recognized that a rather unknown former Soviet State, the Republic of Moldova, had been assigned the top-level domain (Internet initials) .MD. After 6 months of negotiations with the ‘pro-Western’ government, Javaher’s group had licensed the rights to market this moniker to medical doctors in the US and nine other countries. (This enabled doctors to have personalized email and web addresses ending in .MD which corresponded exactly to their professional designation MD. For example, a website: http://www.janesmith.md or an email: [email protected]) In February 2000, the exclusive rights were sold to an Atlanta-based venture capital firm.

In 2001, however, the ‘Communist’ Party came back into power in Moldova and unilaterally can celled the contract. On the behalf of the Atlanta-group, Troy spent the next two years renegotiating a new contract with the Deputy Ministers and other government officials in Moldova and Romania.

Currently, Troy. Javaher provides negotiation advisory services for companies with transnational operations, as well as actively searching for international real estate acquisition and development opportunities. He is finishing his Master’s of Science in Real Estate Development at Columbia University in New York.

ADDRESS: At Patricia’s apartment on the Ile St. Louis: 14 rue St Louis en L’Ile,75004 Paris. The Métros are Sully-Morland (closest) and Pont-Marie. Farther away is St. Paul.

CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS ARE NECESSARY.

Thanks for reserving via return email! If you don’t receive an email
confirmation by Sunday, please call Patricia’s Tel: 01.43.26.12.88, email: [email protected]

———————–

PARIS SOIREE DINNERS
Every Sunday

Patricia Laplante-Collins has international dinner parties on the Ile St-Louis. There is always a Guest speaker, perhaps a Writer, Actor, Historian — you name it, Patricia hosts them all. Patricia is proud to have a 21st Century Parisian Salon. Our mission is to simply enlarge our circle of acquaintances in a safe and stimulating atmosphere while promoting Cultural Achievement, The New Age and Paris Personalities. And we have fun! We are THE gathering place for the International Community of Paris. Enjoy! Discuss! Meet new and interesting people.

Sunday 13 February at 18h30 (New Time! Happy Hour is at 18h30)

Our guest of honor will be Thirza Vallois, Author

Thirza is the author of the internationally-acclaimed series “Around and About Paris” and “Romantic Paris.”

Thirza Vallois is an expert on all things Parisian and contributes her expertise regularly to television, radio and magazines in the UK, the US, France and elsewhere. On the occasion of Valentine’s day, she will provide us with moving, entertaining, at times outrageous, insights into the world’s most romantic city! She will also be signing her books, which will be available for purchase during the evening.

Please visit: http://www.thirzavallois.com

BUFFET: GOOD WINE. INTERNATIONAL CUISINE.

CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS ARE NECESSARY.
Thanks for reserving via return email! If you don’t receive an email
confirmation by Sunday, please call Patricia’s Tel: 01.43.26.12.88,
email: [email protected]

——————-

27 Years Of Dinner Chez Jim Haynes

Jim’s atelier becomes a salon every Sunday night where about 70 people from all over the world meet, dine, drink and enjoy themselves. Telephone on Saturday or Sunday for your invitation, directions and the door code.

Jim Haynes
Atelier A2
83, rue de la Tombe Issoire
75014 Paris
01.43.27.17.67, email [email protected]

——————-

The newest arts salon in Paris takes place in a Bastille gallery. Artists and experimental/electro DJ Wet.
Call 06.17.40.82.04 for information or email [email protected]
Every Thursday from 7p.m. to 11p.m.
25 rue Keller, 75011 PARIS
Métro: Bastille

====================
Services
====================

Have your portrait painted by American Portrait Artist, Kathy Burke
For samples of her great work, visit http://www.parlerparis.com/art/index.html

——————

Make your health and fitness dreams a reality

Keep fit and toned with cardiovascular, resistance and
core training. Qualified English personal trainer,
aerobics teacher and life coach available for one to
one motivation and group work. Telephone coaching for
general life coaching/specific nutrition and fitness
goals.

Contact Wendy 06.31.17.46.45
[email protected]

====================
Art and Culture
====================

Roy Camblin
La France en Images
March 4 – 18, 2005
Le Bar – Pub Playboy
12, rue Frochot, 9th
01 42 81 29 54, 06 17 01 27 88

Vernissage March 4th 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

——————-

I V Y Paris
Every Thursday is our weekly salon from 7-11 p.m.

Friday, 11 February – Acoustic concert SKAZKA, with Katia Lioubinskaia and Stefka Mlteva (10E, drinks included.)

Tuesday, 22 February – The launch of Canadian ex-pat author, Lisa Pasold’s book WEAVE

Thursday, 3 March – Vernissage for exposition of small scale work from new I V Y artists

Thursday, 10 March – Vernissage for solo exposition of EBEN/Benoit Boucherot’s new paintings

Artists :
John Agee Jewellery design
Karen Ahrens Photography
Matt Anzak Painting
EBEN/Benoit Boucherot Painting
Tom Byrne Painting/Drawing
Whitey Flagg Sculpture/Drawing
Suzanne Hollands Conceptual
Sabine Kolmel Painting
Andre Niemeyer Painting
Francis Powell Painting
Michael Radin Photography
Florian Raffenne Video
Jun-Pierre Shiozawa Painting
Adam Steiner Drawing/Light
Camille Wielanek Photography
DJ Wet Sound
DJ Wise Sound

Ivy Paris
25 rue Keller
75011 PARIS
httt://www.ivyparis.com
Métro Bastille/Ledru Rollin
[email protected]
[email protected]
06 26 08 87 16

——————-

PARIS MUSE

Art Styles of the Rich and Famous
Paris Muse Has Privileged Access to the Salomon de Rothschild Mansion

Before there were museums, there were cabinets de curiosités. Also known as wunderkammen, or cabinets of wonder, noble collectors arranged their most precious objects in these cabinets for delectation and display. Every home of standing would feature one, a kind of VIP room for high culture. The 19th-century Salomon de Rothschild mansion in Paris was no exception.

Our new 1.5- hour tour “The Rothschild Private Collection” will focus primarily on this cabinet de curiosités, a room brimming with the findings of Salomon and Adele Rothschild, members of the formidable finance dynasty’s Paris branch. You’ll see how collecting treasures and constructing mansions like this one were part of an elaborate effort to create le goût Rothschild, the family’s “brand” of taste and sophistication.

Rates. 75 euros per person

To reserve, visit
http://www.parismuse.com

Mona Lisa Moves

If you’ve been to the Louvre’s Grande Galerie in the last four years, you may have noticed large grey construction walls marring its otherwise spectacular space. Behind those walls, workers were busy renovating the Salle des États. Salle 6 on the first floor of the Louvre’s Denon wing –o otherwise known as “the place where Mona Lisa is supposed to be”– will finally open its doors this April.

Leonardo’s Mona Lisa will no longer be exiled from the rest of her creator’s paintings: La Belle Ferronière, Virgin of the Rocks, and John the Baptist. In her newly restored setting, she’ll be smiling at familiar Venetian company too. Veronese’s epic Wedding of Cana, once awkwardly wedged between French history paintings, will also make its triumphal return to the Salle des États.

In preparation for the big move, Mona Lisa will be hidden from her admiring public on one historic day: Monday, April 4, 2005. But everything should be back to normal in time for American director Ron Howard to begin shooting his film adaptation of “The Da Vinci Code” in May. Howard has just received permission from the Ministry of Culture to shoot inside the Louvre. And, conveniently enough, the Salle des États is a featured site in Dan Brown’s mystery thriller.

Read more about our “Cracking ‘The Da Vinci Code’ at the Louvre” tour
http://www.parismuse.com/

Les Expos en Cours

Dijkstra at the Jeu de Paume, Bartholdi at Arts et Métiers, and Pharoahs at the Institut du Monde Arabe

Read more about those current exhibitions and others
http://www.parismuse.com/

====================
Knowledge is Power — Conferences, Workshops and Seminars
====================

Poetry Workshop at WICE

The Pleasure of Process: A Weekend of Poetry

This intensive workshop is open to anyone with a serious interest in writing poetry, from beginners to those more experienced writers who wish to grow.
The workshop will take place in two stages: Stage One is a generative “lab” focusing on process and literary techniques, and Stage Two will allow constructive criticism of student work-in-progress by the instructor and class.

Cecilia Woloch, author of three collections of poetry, most recently Late, teaches at Emory College.

February 12 and 13–Saturday & Sunday
10:00 a.m. ­12:00 noon; 1:30-4:00 p.m.
The fee is 99 euros, payable in advance.
At WICE, 20, boulevard du Montparnasse, 75015
Métro: Duroc or Falguière.
Please contact WICE for questions at 01.45.66.75.50
http://www.ceciliawoloch.com

——————-

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DEMOCRATS

Congressman Ben Chandler
US House of Representatives, 6th District, Kentucky will be in Paris.

Democrats Abroad France is proud to honor Rep. Chandler with a fundraising dinner to be held on Saturday, February 19, 2005 at the home of
Susannah Hunnewell Weiss
22 Place du Général Catroux
75017 Paris
at 8 p.m.

Suggested contribution: $200 or more

====================
Learning la Langue Française
====================

Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group
http://www.parlerparlor.com

Celebrating our 7th Year in Paris March 17th, 2005

NEXT EVENT

SOUP AND SALAD ANNIVERSARY PARTY
MARCH 19TH AT EUROCENTRES
Lunch 10 Euros
Save 10 Euros When You Buy a 10-Session Card That Day!
Or
Save 20 Euros When You Buy a 20-Session Card That Day!

Join us at the Parler Parlor conversation group in Paris France for free-form conversation with native French and English speakers. Practice speaking 45 minutes in French, 45 minutes in English. Make friends, discuss interesting topics, learn about other cultures, progress in understanding and speaking, naturally and easily, in groups of six to eight, each in its own acoustically sound private room.

Parlor Times — 3 Times A Week In Two Locations

Berlitz Opera – Tuesdays 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
38 Avenue de l’Opéra
2nd arrondissement, Paris
Opéra, RER A Auber

At Eurocentres – Wednesdays 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to
12:30 p.m.
13 passage Dauphine (entrance at 30 rue Dauphine, between rue Dauphine and rue Mazarine), 6th arrondissement
Métro Odéon, Saint-Michel

Membership and General Information
http://www.parlerparlor.com
Email: mailto:[email protected]
Elisabeth Crochard, Tel: 01.44.19.76.61
Adrian Leeds, Tel: 01.40.27.97.59

====================
Astro-Paris by Eric Francis
====================

Smiling and glad-handling her way around the world, Condoleezza Rice and her fortified, Kevlar-wrapped entourage blew through Paris yesterday, significantly, the day of the Aquarius New Moon. For a woman with nearly half her chart in Scorpio, this must have been, well, let’s call it a personal growth experience. Everything in Aquarius, including a New Moon, was making square aspects to her natal chart. Let’s say she was pried out of her shell a
few millimeters. She has found there is a world beyond 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

And what did she eat when she was here? Freedom Fries? Freedom Toast? Or is a McDonald Land jet flying with the road show, providing a continuous buffet? Did she know that Ben Franklin came through town more than two centuries ago, successfully raising money for the American Revolution? I will send her an email and tell her she’s in good company.

It works out, however, that the astrology points to a measure of sincerity in the gesture, or at least necessity. We don’t need actual trust in this situation, we need mainly understand the motives. The White House may think that the French are jerks, but this seems to be a pretty important country. I have noticed that it’s a major industrialized society that seems to be a focal point of diplomacy, education, science, art and industry. Am I dreaming? Okay, it’s difficult getting a cab. But that seems minor in comparison to the rest.

Despite the 35 hour work week (which is now in the process of being repealed, National Assembly made official move this week as well) it’s somehow a highly productive nation. I have often noticed that the people here have less money and a higher standard of living than their counterparts in the United States. Petrol is expensive and Bordeaux is cheap. Even the cops seem to have red blood running in their veins, and most of them smile.

So welcome back to France, America. Come, let us show you what freedom is. Happy Aquarius New Moon…and…

Happy Birthday, Aquarius!

In this life we often must exceed what we think of as our potential. Yet few people even get to the point where they allow themselves to sense their most basic potential. In the 1970s there was a (seemingly) minor psychological and social revolution called the Human Potential Movement. The main idea of that cultural wave is that people can reach into themselves and, with a little help, heal their doubts and fears, and bring into the world more of who they truly are — often much more, and often coming with a sweeping transformation of their world view, their role and their state of being. This, and more, is available to you.

For the annual 2005 horoscope from Eric Francis, please visit this link: http://planetwaves.net/2005horoscope.html

Eric Francis is a Paris-based astrological consultant with 10 years experience. You can reach him via his United States office at (206) 567-4455 during Eastern business hours (speak to Ms. Bottinelli), or in Paris at 01 4329-0834. You can visit his web page at http://planetwaves.net/ where you can subscribe to the long-awaited 2005 annual horoscope. Next week, he will be standing in for the Jonathan Cainer Daily Horoscope, the best daily horoscope in the business — and an excellent web page besides. Check in beginning Sunday night at http://cainer.com/

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Community Announcements
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UW-MADISON ALUMNI GATHER FOR A CLASSIC MIDWESTERN EVENING IN PARIS Funny shoes, popcorn and beer: a night on the lanes in the city of light

PARIS – – A night of bowling is planned for University of Wisconsin-Madison Alumni on February 10th, 2005 at the Bowling Mouffetard, 5th arrondissement at 7:30 P.M.

For the first time, UW Alums, known throughout the world for their academic excellence, their progressive world-view and continual cheerfulness, will bring part of Midwestern culture to Paris, the city they inhabit and love. For some, the event will be a blast from the past; reminiscent of university nights spent talking politics, life, and love over cheap beers. And for those who are lucky enough to attend as guests it will be a unique peek into a different kind of Americana.

Most students study at the university more than four years, not a reflection of their academic abilities, rather their willingness to understand the world that surrounds them. The phrase often heard around the Madison Campus: “Work hard, play hard” says it all. Madison is a place where people are genuinely engaged in learning, while enjoying life in a distinctive city in America’s varied landscape. Europeans have scarcely encountered that way of life and this is what the University’s French Alumni Club seeks to advance.

The recent history of tenuous relations between France and the United States has amplified negative stereotypes across the Atlantic. The club hopes, through its many events, to demystify existing misunderstandings of Middle America, while having some good, old-fashioned fun.

CONTACT: Kyle SCHNEIDER, Coordinator For Immediate Release +33 (0)1 43 57 77 15 [email protected]

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AMERICAN WOMEN’S GROUP

A few of the February opportunities:

9th Le Cordon Bleu — Valentine’s Day
10th Italian Renaissance at the Louvre
15th Musée Jacquemart Andre
16th Estelle’s Flowers
16-17th Beyond Paris – London
22nd Pharoh Exhibit
23rd Lunch Around the World

A few of the March opportunities:

2nd Louvre & Egypt: Art in the Land of the Pharaohs
3rd Le Cordon Bleu Wine Tasting
7th Story of the Louvre Part III
9th Estelle’s Flowers – Tour of the Flower Markets
12th BIG EVENT: WINE & SPIRITS AUCTION!!! CALL NOW TO
RESERVE!!
14th AWG Coffee
15th Musée Cognacq-Jay
16th Lunch Around the World Series
17-18th Beyond Paris – Quimper
17th Masterpieces of the d’Orsay (Evening)
19th Versailles
21st Ile de la Cité Walking Tour
22nd Van Gogh
23rd Early Days of Ancient Greece – Louvre

The Wine & Spirits Auction!
Join us for our biggest event of the year on Saturday, March 12, 2005! Our annual auction of wine, champagne and spirits will be run by the prestigious auction house, Christie’s France. The finest purveyors of luxury goods in France have donated items for our Silent Auction. There will be great prizes in our Tombola and lots of fun for everyone! 55 euros per person. Reserve early, tickets sell out!

American Women’s Group
32, rue du General Bertrand
75007 Paris France
Tel: 01.42.73.36.74
[email protected]
http://www.awgparis.org

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The AMERICAN LIBRARY IN PARIS Presents Evenings With An Expert…

Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m.

Evenings With An Expert are free and open to the public. No reservations necessary. Just show up.

MARCH 15. “Corporate Social Responsibility: How Europeans And Americans Understand This Term Differently.” The expert is Kate Fish, the Paris representative of the San Francisco-based consultancy Business for Social Responsibility.

APRIL 19. “Killer of the Modern World: The Mortality Effect of Climate Change (A Case Study of the 2003 Canicule).” The expert is Magali Barbieri, a Paris-based researcher at the Institut nati

onal d’études démographiques.

MAY 24. “The European Union.” How is it governed now, what would the proposed constitution change, and how is the ratification process going to unfold? The expert is Peter Linton, the Brussels-based Europe Chairman of BKSH (the worldwide government relations division of Burson-Marsteller).

JUNE 14. “EU Competition Law.” What are the rules, what are the grey areas, what are the battles, and how does all of that affect us? The expert is Pierre Kirch, Paris- and Brussels-based head of the EU law/competition law practice group of Paul Hastings Janofsky and Walker.

American Library in Paris 10 rue du Général Camou 75007 Paris 01.53.59.12.60 Fax: 01.45.50.25.83 Hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. http://americanlibraryinparis.org