Welcome! Joie de Vivre Magazine (JDV) is a freestyle blog and presents content covering varied topics, e.g. art, psychology, culture, science, education, history, entertainment, and opinion pieces; along with curated content from around the web. Interesting, informative, entertaining, fascinating and fun! Experience my joie de vivre. Please visit often!
Part 1 of this post was published on my partner blog, My Blog Stop!
It was such a fun post; I felt like I should mention it here on this blog too!
July practically begs you to unleash your inner Francophile. From history to food to pure joie de vivre, there’s no better time to celebrate all things French.
✨ Bastille Day Energy:
Channel the revolutionary spirit — liberté, égalité, fraternité — and enjoy the festive vibes of France’s national holiday.
Learn about Bastille Day
🥐 Peak Pastry Season:
Croissants, éclairs, macarons… July is the perfect excuse to indulge in French treats without guilt.
Explore French pastries
🎨 Art Appreciation Mode:
Celebrate the country that gave us Monet, Degas, and Renoir. Visit a museum or enjoy French-inspired creativity.
French art inspiration
🍷 Wine Wisdom:
Sip a chilled rosé or a bold Bordeaux and pretend you’re relaxing in Provence.
French wine basics
🎶 Summer Soundtrack:
Add a little Edith Piaf, Daft Punk, or Stromae to your playlist for instant mood elevation.
French music ideas
📚 Literary Escapes:
Pick up a French novel or translation and let your imagination wander through Parisian streets.
French literature suggestions
🗼 Travel Dreams:
Even if you’re staying home, July is perfect for daydreaming about strolling along the Seine or exploring the Riviera.
Plan a pretend Paris trip
***
Related
Posts at JDV and Via My Other Partner Blogs:
A humorous look back at my childhood growing up in Miami, Florida. I almost went to Paris, France.
Growing up in Miami, Florida is a wonderfully multicultural experience. Hanging out in Downtown Miami is the best fun ever for kids who have no money. The bus ride only cost ten cents (back in the day). If you had an extra twenty-five cents, you could stop by Woolworth or McCrory’s and buy a quarter-pound bag of cashew nuts and share it. That’s what my late sister and I used to do. We thought we knew all about downtown and that there was nothing we had not seen that we did not want to see again and again. But one day we decided to be adventurous and travel a little bit further than we usually did. We turned down a street, and we were immediately transported to Paris, France. Of course, we were still in Miami, but it sure felt like we were on the streets of Paris.
People were sitting and eating at a sidewalk cafe. There was an artist painting a picture. He was a light-skinned man, but his complexion had been kissed by the sun, so there was a hint of bronze color. Not very tall, with a trim, slender build. He was wearing a black beret as if he were a soldier; a black T-shirt, and black pants. He had a dazzling smile and the most amazing blue eyes. Blue like the sky!
When he noticed that I was admiring his artwork, he looked directly at me. He was about to say something when my overprotective sister grabbed my arm and started dragging me away. “Let’s go! We have to catch the bus and get back home!” I could have protested, but she was right. It was getting late. Downtown was fun during the day but not a safe place for two young girls at night. No matter.
That day, a memory was created that I would always cherish, and it has a little mystery.
Wonder what the man was going to say to me?
Was he going to ask me if I liked his painting? Was he going to ask if he could paint my picture? Was he going to try to pick me up? He looked French, and I imagined that was something French men did when they saw young girls. Give me a break! I was about 12 years old and watched a lot of television. Anyway, I’ll never know what he was going to say to me. From that day, whenever we would go on our outings, my big sister would insist we stay on the safe streets.
Realistically though, it looks as if that may never happen. Oh well! There’s always virtual travel via the Internet. When I dream of Paris, I see a city for artists, poets, and lovers, oozing with diversity and great food! Because of that one day when my sister and I decided to turn down that one street we had never been on before, I like to think that Paris is like Miami, only French. So that means — technically — I’ve already visited this fabulous city and could scratch it off my list. But I won’t!
* * * POST NOTE: No sooner than the 2015 new year had begun, we were all saddened by an horrific event, the massacre at Charlie Hebdo. Can no longer think of Paris through the eyes of an innocent child. It is now interrupted by the memory of this tragic event. #CharlieHebdo
Do you watch The Big
Bang Theory? It's that comedy TV show about a bunch of nerdy
scientists who live together and attend the same educational
institution. I am not a regular viewer, but if I am up at
night and flipping channels and land on the channel at the right
time, I'll watch it. I like the guy named Sheldon. He's from Texas.
That means he's not only smart about science, but he knows all about
football. Because in Texas, football is a religion. LOL.
Anyway!
Connecting the dots, I read an interesting article by a fellow writer
about the Big Bang . Sharing the link below. In addition, I left comments on the
article, which I am re-sharing in this blog post.
The Big Bang is
the most accepted scientific “theory” because there are so many
people in the world who choose not to believe the scientific “facts”
clearly outlined in the Genesis account of the Creation, the origin of
the universe.
The other fact
is that there would be many unemployed scientists if they did not say
they were working on trying to substantiate the theory. The Big Bang
Theory was introduced in 1927. Ironically, it was supposed to
provide proof that the biblical account was correct, i.e. religion
and science need not contradict each other. Only people started
asking more questions and debating it. NASA has people employed
whose “job” is to study The Big Bang. Of course, NASA is not the
organization in the world with scientists and researchers working on
this. Big Bang news and updates are published regularly in
publications like Science Daily.
You either
believe one or the other. Either the universe was the result of an
explosion that created order out of chaos, OR it was the result of the
orderly thinking of a Supreme Intelligent Being. Supreme, meaning
that Being is wasy smarter than all of us! You can't believe both!
As “a theist”, I believe the latter.
Also, I disagree
that it is more important to identify the “bad science”. Anybody
can come up with pseudoscience. You don't even have to be a
scientist to come up with a bad scientific theory about anything!
The search for truth is far more important and a much more worthwhile
endeavor. Besides, how can you possibly identify the bad science WHEN
you don't know what the good science is in the first place?
"... keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called ..." (1 Tim 6: 20)
Aliens and UFOs, now called UAPs, are a very hot topic among "We the People". It's so serious, the US military and key officials in the government are still concocting bogus stories about them.
UFOs: Are They That Serious?. By Helen McCaw and David Broadwell | Medium
Sharing a link above to an interesting and information article above, with my humorous opinionated comments shared below.
UPDATE: Author decided to unpublish the article. My remarks are stand alone though. Please continue reading. Thank you.
LOL. People need to realize that “governments” of almost all of the countries LIKE TO PLAY GAMES! They work on Top Secret projects that they can't openly talk about it. WHY? Usually it's because they don't want The Enemy to know. Sometimes, it's because they don't want the citizens to know. It might cause OUTRAGE!! Because sometimes citizens are like parents. They just don't understand.
However, seeing that we all live on the same planet, there is always a possibility someone might accidentally, unintentionally, stumble upon a TSP (Top Secret project). If and when they do, there has to be a “story” that must be FED by the Government to the GP (general public).
UFO … UAP … mentions or sightings equal BOGUS STORIES that sound kind of believable. Those stories serve a purpose. The purpose being to take your mind off of the real top secret project and get you talking and speculating about something that does not exist. Why do you think nobody has ever presented concrete evidence or proof of aliens? Because there is none!
Here's the reality. The people who work on those projects sign a Confidentiality Agreement. That means they're sworn to secrecy. If they try to break the agreement and tell somebody? The Government has “ways of dealing with people like that”. What? Will they kill you? Oh no! They'll just make you look like a blithering idiot and an individual who lacks credibility. We know NOW that Galileo was not crazy! I'm sure they knew it back then during his time. But they still put him away!
Am I saying the UFOs or UAPs are not real? Not at all. I'm saying they are real. And … if they don't belong to US, then they belong to The Enemy. If they belong to US, we have our reasons for not wanting the public to know. If they belong to The Enemy, we obviously don't want them to know that we know!!
Admit it. My logic is flawless. LOL. ☺
** For the record, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (the original with Michael Rennie (1951); not the remake with Keanu Reeves (2008)), will always be my favorite movie about aliens and UFOs.
When I was a kid I remember seeing a Coca-Cola commercial on television. The young girl is sitting at her desk in a work suit – white blouse, black skirt, black jacket – wearing eyeglasses, sitting at her desk in front of a typewriter typing away, hair fastened into a neat tight bun – looking ever so proficient. Somebody indicates to her that the work day is over and she goes: "Yeah! And it's Friday!"
* * After the exclamation, the young lady pushes back the chair on wheels from her desk, takes off her eyeglasses, yanks at the back of her head to let her hair loose and shake it! Next scene is her strolling along in some area (looked like a beach ~ can't remember), dressed casually in her blue jeans, still wearing a white blouse, but drinking a bottle of Coca-Cola.
My late sister was watching that commercial with me and says, in her most boring monotone voice: “So that's what Friday means?”
My late sister. Always one for being super enthusiastic and excited! (Not.)
* First of all, does anybody even remember that commercial?
* Secondly, what does Friday mean to you?
Do you get to take yet another selfie and post it on Instagram?
Do you leave work to rush home and order a pizza and watch movies all night?
Do you go out partying and clubbing with your friends?
For me? I get to go to the grocery store in the afternoon. In the evening, might watch a Bollywood movie or a Korean historical drama series. Will probably keep working on my laptop, while being entertained, trying to earn a few more pennies. Then go to sleep.
I believe you never stop learning. In fact, learning is one of my favorite things. If I can combine my continuing education with enjoyable entertainment? Even better! I like to dabble in Asian studies, and watching Korean historical period dramas has become anotherone of my favorite things. K-dramas are not only a form of entertainment and relaxation but a way to learn about the history of Korea AND pick up a few words and phrases to learn how to speak a little Korean.
Did not have either of those learning goals in mind when I signed into my Flickr account. I was just searching for some free images for my websites and blogs. But one can often find “treasure” in unexpected places.
Upon logging in to Flickr one day, I was greeted with this message.
Bangawoyo, treathylfox! Now you know how to greet people in Korean!
I yawned ( ) and thought to myself: “Oh that's just not gonna work!”
So I looked up how to translate: “coffee with milk”.
In the end, i.e. after reading, I took a turn at Humor Street.
This article is very interesting. I learned a new word: “rhotic”.
QUOTE: “The General American accent is rhotic and speakers pronounce the r in words such as hard. The BBC-type British accent is non-rhotic, and speakers don't pronounce the r, leaving hard sounding more like hahd.”
I do appreciate the article writer's intent, but I am not so much interested in when English became American English versus British English because even if we can't pinpoint a precise moment in time, it was bound to happen! American English is loaded with words from the British, the Native Americans, the French, the Spanish, and everybody else who came to live here. The obvious consequence of trying to communicate with each other was probably mixing up all those words together. You were bound to come up a new way to talk!
What I want to know is: Who came up with the idea of a red coat??
“The red coats are coming! The red coats are coming!”
Really?? I mean ... Did Paul Revere even need to say that?
Surely you can see those red coats coming a mile away!!
Who in their right mind would design an a military coat for a soldier to wear that's RED?!!
They use RED to make bulls charge at you! What were they thinking? Why not paint a target sign on their backs with words written above the sign that say: SHOOT ME!!!
"Psychologists say that people subconsciously become their favorite fictional characters when reading a book. Research indicates that you might identify with the character so much that you begin to change your behavior. ..." Continue reading
“There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” ~Orrin Hatch ( Quote Source )
When did you suddenly realize that you were an adult?
Do you remember the day you graduated from high school?
High school graduation is a particularly special time for a teenager. They are getting ready to make life decisions for themselves, on their own. No more asking permission to go out. You're about to be fully in charge of your social schedule, your academic responsibilities, and …??? … you might even have to work!!
How did I know I had graduated and had officially entered the adult world?
One day, at my part-time college work-study job, one of the office workers announced it was break time and asked me if I wanted some coffee.
That was it! My transition into adulthood. At that moment, it dawned on me that the decision was mine to make for myself! My mom's permission was not needed to drink coffee. Growing up, in our house, children drinking coffee had been forbidden. Obeyed that house rule from about 5 years old until my teen years. Never even thought to disobey my mom. :)
When did you suddenly realize that you were an adult?
I graduated from high school in 1972 and had made a decision to pursue a degree at a university in my hometown. Every time I see a class of high school seniors the memory of my own graduation ceremony comes back to me.
● For the record, although sports is not my thing, I do know who Shaquille O'Neal is and FYI … Shaquille O'Neal Earned His Doctorate from Barry University. The very same Barry University where my high school graduation ceremony was held. Just thought to mention it!
People who do wrong and know they did wrong and refuse to repent.
Don't wrestle with them. Just turn the other cheek walk away.
No, you're not moving because you're afraid God might destroy the righteous with the wicked.
You're just getting out of the way because you don't want to get run over by a bunch of stampeding non-repenting hard heads who looking for a hiding place, trying to dodge lightning bolts.
That's my advice. It worked for me. If you don't want to follow it, you on your own!
#graceunderfire #courageunderfire
#Humor and #Truth ❤ Fished this out of my Facebook memories , posted August 21, 2013 at 2:27pm ·
English: Lightning over Las Cruces, New Mexico Deutsch: Blitz eines Gewitters Español: Tormenta eléctrica. Português: A eletricidade em sua manifestação natural mais imponente: o relâmpago (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
) and thought to myself: “Oh that's just not gonna work!”
