Julia McDermott's Blog, page 10

Pizza and a Movie: Star Wars, Episode VII – the Force Awakens, in FRANCE!

Our Pizza Toppings at La Piazza Papa in Montpellier, France!

Black Olives
Ham
Mushrooms
Red Onions

Movie:

Star Wars: Le Reveil de la Force

Our final “Pizza and a Movie” for 2015 occurred during our vacation in the south of France for the Christmas holidays. Our first (and last) stop in France was in Montpellier, and on a rainy Sunday afternoon (and evening), we decided to go see Star Wars (in English, but with French subtitles, or the “Version Originale ST”). There were long queues for the Version Française (French dubbed version), but not for the Originale, so we were able to get tickets just before showtime.

What a great movie! I absolutely loved it, and if you saw the first and second movies (episodes IV and V) when they came out in theaters like I did in the 1970s, I believe you will, too. If not, I still think you’ll enjoy it. They seemed to take everything that worked really well in those two movies and do them again in this film.

Le résultat? My favorite movie of 2015.

In my French conversation class, we often talk about movies, and also about how an American film title is sometimes completely changed instead of just translated. This time, I like the translation better than the English title. “Le Reveil de la Force” does mean “The Force Awakens,” but, more literally, it means “The Awakening of the Force.”

That may seem like a small thing, but it’s significant to me, as an author who often agonizes over the exact wording of titles.

Another note: one scene in particular reminded me of the famous line in Episode IV: “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” which has become a family saying chez nous. When you see this movie, you’ll know which scene I’m talking about.

The Pizza:

We had a drink first at a café on Place de la Comédie, then walked over to La Piazza Papa and asked to share (partager) this pizza. When the serveur brought it, the pizza had already been divided in two. It seemed fitting for a country that values l’égalité!

Vive la France! et Bonne Année 2016!

 

 

Postcards from Europe, #16

Mademoiselle is the first in our family to visit Ireland. She flew to Dublin via Carcassonne and Paris, connecting there by train, and in Dublin she stayed with Conor, the son of family friends and former (Irish) neighbors.

Sounds like he and the Irish showed her the city!

Greetings from Dublin!

Things to know about Dublin: the pubs are plenty, the food is cheap, there is a Guiness AND whiskey distillery, and the museums are free! We got pancakes for breakfast, saw the book of kells, roamed around the Temple Bar district, saw the Dublin Castle, and had lunch in an old bank building. On Sunday, we got a fantastic brunch, visited the Oscar Wilde statue, the Ha’penny Bridge, and all saw the Whiskey Museum. Sunday night we had dinner with Conor’s grandma and sister and it was so much fun. All in all, Dublin was one of my favorite places to visit, even if we have to take a flight out at 5 am.

Love,

Mademoiselle

29-11-2015

The Twelve Days of Christmas, en français – et au disco!

La chanson, “Les douze jours de Noel,” et sa traduction en anglais 

(The song, “The twelve days of Christmas,” and the English translation):

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE DISCO DANCE!

(And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB8dzktiBm4&app=desktop

for the Youtube version in French!)

 

Cutting right to the chase, with the final verse only: 

Le douzième jour de Noel – On the twelfth day of Christmas

Mon amoureux m’a offert – My true love gave to me,

Douze violoneux* qui giguaient – Twelve Drummers drumming

Onze fifres qui jouaient – Eleven Pipers piping

Dix lords qui sautaient – Ten Lords a-leaping

Neuf dames qui dansaient – Nine Ladies dancing

Huit bonnes qui trayaient – Eight Maids a-milking

Sept cygnes qui nageaient – Seven Swans a-swimming

Six oies qui pondaient – Six Geese a-laying

CINQ ANNEAUX D’OR – FIVE GOLDEN RINGS

Quatre jacasseurs – Four Calling Birds

Trois poulettes – Three French Hens

Deux tourterelles – Two Turtledoves

Et une perdrix dans un poirier! – And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!

 

*ou bien, “musiciens”

My favorite Christmas card, so far, and from my mother! 

“A Partridge in a Pear Tree”

 

 

 

Postcards from Europe, #15

Mademoiselle is studying in the south of France, but she happened to be in Paris on November 13, 2015. She returned safely to the city where she lives that weekend, and the following week, her father and I hoped that she would cancel her final trip back to Paris, scheduled for the following weekend. She had planned to celebrate Thanksgiving with two American friends in Paris. But she didn’t cancel the trip, and she decided to go.

We were worried about her, but also glad – especially because she stayed safe and all went well. She did get to see quite a lot, and without crowds of tourists making things difficult.

I am thankful for the French army and the gendarmes.

 

“Bonjour!

I made it back to Paris one final time! I’m so glad I came back, there was a notable increase in the number of gendarmes and army, but we saw all of the big sites, went to the catacombs, saw the Eiffel Tower lit up in tricouleur, and the Christmas markets of the Champs-Élysées! Also we had a fantastic Thanksgiving of rotiserie chicken, bread and cheese, green beans, stuffing, and mashed potatoes! And an apple tart, and champagne. This was a fantastic weekend and I can’t wait to see you soon!

Love,

Mademoiselle

22-11-2015″

Pizza and a Movie: Brooklyn

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

Arugula
Feta Cheese
Italian Sausage

Movie:

Brooklyn

It happened.

Last week, we (inadvertently) chose a combination of 3 toppings for our pizza (see: Bridge of Spies) that we had already had in the past year. My husband, who is keeping track of our combinations (and wants us to exhaust all possible ones, eventually), was displeased, because now we’ve chosen that combo twice.

Oh, well. Pas grand-chose.

Anyway, this week, he insisted on arugula, saying we’d hardly had it much, so whatever else we chose, it ought to be a new combination. I selected Feta Cheese, and, looking for a meat, we agreed on Italian sausage.

The combination was a bit bizarre, but still good. You feel like you’re eating a (pizza) salad, kind of, when arugula is on top. But what the heck.

The film was very good – I would even say it makes my top 5 for the year, or top 3. Like Bridge of Spies, it was set in the 1950s, and the story was captivating. I liked the scenes crossing the Atlantic, and on Ellis Island, which I’ve never visited, but which one of my sons recently did. I loved the scenes at the beach, and the outfits. And I loved hearing the Irish accents, and just watching the story unfold.

There’s a good amount of conflict in the movie, and some people who aren’t very nice. We discussed some of the film’s aspects on the short drive home, and I had to invoke a bit of “willing suspension of disbelief,” but not a whole lot. For example:

“Why would (or wouldn’t) she have said/done/not said/not done this? Or that?”

(If you go see the movie, you’ll know what I’m talking about.)

All in all, though (to borrow an expression from Mademoiselle‘s post cards), this is a treasure of a movie – no matter what you’re looking for.

 

 

Postcards from Europe, #14

Mademoiselle went to Paris for 3 consecutive weekends in November: the 6th-8th, the 13th-15th, and the 20th-22nd. This carte postale is from her 1st trip, when she stayed with family friends.

Their daughter Petronille stayed with us as a teenage summer exchange student for 3 weeks one year, and Mademoiselle stayed with them on the same program a year later. That was Mademoiselle’s very first trip to Paris (they live in a suburb, Montrouge), and it was before she had taken any French classes! But ever since, we have always credited Mademoiselle’s fabulous French accent to Petronille and her family.

Merci beaucoup!

“Salut!

I visited Petronille and her famille this weekend and it was charmant! We walked around the 6th arrondissement, went shopping, went to the Monet museum, and got sushi for dinner in Montparnasse with her friends! It was so cool to see them all and be able to speak French with them. Plus I forgot how good their cooking was! Both lunches were the most French things I’ve ever done!

Love,

Mademoiselle

In case this arrives very late, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Love you all and miss you! CONGRATS JACK!!! YOU ROCK! *

8-11-2015″

*Mademoiselle’s brother Jack (whose journey with cancer is told in ALL THE ABOVE) had just been offered and had accepted a job in NYC, to start next year!

Postcards from Europe, #13

Berlin is one of the many places Mademoiselle has visited that I’ve never been to. She doesn’t seem to comprehend fully that it was once East Berlin and West Berlin, or what that was like.

I imagine she was very tired here, with it being the last stop of her Fall Break tour, but it sounds as if she gave it the old college try. But, there’s no place like “home,” n’est-ce pas?

“Bonjour!

The last part [or best part, or best stop – I can’t read Mademoiselle’s handwriting] of Fall Break! Needless to say, we were exhausted when we arrived, but immediately got a bottle of wine with dinner to cure our aching feet after checking in. We visited the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust Memorial, Museum Island, and the Brandenburg Gate! (Where Kennedy and Reagan gave their speeches!) The last day we lounged in the park all day, saw the Reichstag (aka Capitol Building) and hung out in a pub to watch the Rugby World Cup until our train left. I’m so happy to have a good shower again!

Love,

Mademoiselle

31-10-2015″

Pizza and a Movie: Bridge of Spies

This weekend’s Pizza Toppings at Corner Pizza:

Artichoke Hearts
Bacon
Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Movie:

Bridge of Spies

This movie is my favorite one of the year, so far. (My second favorite is The Gift.)

I was riveted to this story about the exchange of prisoners (spies), and all the actors – especially Tom Hanks, in the lead role as Jim Donovan – did a fantastic job. I love stories set during World War II and the Cold War. This one was set during the latter, in the late 1950s. It was an amazing, true story, and well told. I predict at least one Academy Award.

Two things in particular about it touched me on a personal level:

My parents went to Milligan College with the reconnaissance pilot who was shot down in the film, Francis Gary Powers. He was a year ahead of my mom in school, but she knew him well and they had a biology class together. She says he was very smart and somewhat shy. Like her, he grew up in a coal mining town in southwest Virginia.
My daughter, who is studying in France this fall, recently visited Berlin.

I’ve never been to Berlin–it was divided into East and West when I spent a year in France as a college student, and getting to West Berlin was just too difficult back then. Until I saw this film, I hadn’t realized when the Berlin Wall was constructed, or what that was like. (I thought it happened not long after the war.) As I watched the scenes in East Berlin, I wondered what the city of Berlin is like today, and what it feels like to live there, with its history.

There were some tense scenes, and some very scary ones, and I felt myself propelled back to that time as the story unfolded. The dialogue was great, too. If you see the movie, you’ll notice that one character repeats this line over and over: “Would it help?” I won’t tell you what he or she means, but trust me, it’s a good line.

Now for the pizza. My husband wanted artichoke hearts, which I always love. I picked bacon (why not), and we agreed on the sun-dried tomatoes. It was yummy, and just right.

After taking last Friday off due to Thanksgiving, it was nice to be back at the Corner Pizza together. The only problem was that we somehow forgot to take home our take-home box of the pizza we couldn’t eat. Oops. We left it on the table by mistake. Next time I’ll put it next to my purse, so when I reach for it, I’ll grab the box, too.

Maybe that would help.

 

Postcards from Europe, #12

I’ve never been to Copenhagen (or Denmark), but I hear that visiting it is in vogue. One thing Mademoiselle and I have in common is that we both love royalty, and jewels – well, me more than her on that last one, possibly.

I was a bit troubled by the commune visit, but I trust that visiting Copenhagen has been educational for Mademoiselle. As I keep telling her, “Have fun, but stay safe, and well!”

 

“Bonjour!

We have so far walked 9 miles and it is only 5 pm. We woke up, got much needed coffee and pastries and ambled around Amalienborg Palace until the “changing of the guard” at 12 pm (apparently they have a queen!) We walked by an old military compound, walked through Rosenborg Slot Gardens, and explored the palace and CROWN JEWELS!

After, we made our way over to Christianshavn and walked through the commune Christiana (so many hippies, so much weed, so little time). Tomorrow we plan on going to the National Museum and Tivoli Gardens! 3/4s of the way done with fall break!

Hope all is well,

Mademoiselle

28-10-2015″

 

List Post: décembre 2015 + HOLIDAY POEM!

It’s a very short list, and I love it!

Write
Seek/plan/look forward to the publication of my next Suspense novel
Go to France (read on…)

 

Here’s my holiday poem, two thousand fifteen.

A year filled with suspense, and yet, sometimes, serene.

Underwater was published in German*, last winter.

After months of translation, it went to the printer.

 

Then in March, I released the book, All the Above,

a true story of hope, and of courage, and love.

It took 2 years to write, lots of blood, sweat, and tears,

and it’s my “open book” of my son, and my fears.

 

Just before, with my husband, to Texas, I flew.

We visited fam’ly, gave them a preview.

Since fall of last year, I’ve been writing “Book 4.”

I am finished, and, of it, I soon will say more.

 

In the fall, to a conference in Raleigh, I went.

Then to Nashville, another, and at both, time well spent.

At the end of the year, it’s to France I’ll vacation,

Besides this one, the French one’s my favorite nation.

 

I send you my holiday wishes for peace

For joy and for laughter, and for troubles to cease.

I hope that you’ll find, as gifts, under the tree,

A book that I’ve penned, or two, or even three!

*Unter Wasser in German