Fearlessly curious and loves new adventures, I am a 25 years old French transplant in San Francisco since April 2013. I enjoy writing and try to make journalism cool again. This is a little part of my world and I hope you will enjoy it :)
Daft Punk are the Kings of the Grammy's! My french origins drove me to write this article about the french electronic duo Daft Punk who won last night 5 trophies at the 56th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Their new album "Random Access Memories" which was released in 2013 and lead by the energetic "Get Lucky" featuring Pharell Williams has beaten records and brought them to this incredible night! Anonymous, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo had no idea of what their success would be when they started in 1993. Hidden behind their helmet and astronaut costume, the band democratized the electro sound by adding rock, groove and disco sonorities. Yes! The "French touch" was born and also the beginning of their notoriety when their first record called "Homework" was released in 1997. Nowadays, Daft Punk in one of the most famous french band in the world! Here's the video of Daft Punk performing "Get Lucky" featuring Pharell Williams and the legendary Stevie Wonder.
Here's some pictures of the city where I have lived for 8 months now. I am going back to France, my native country, in two weeks. I wish I could come back someday because I am convinced that this is the place where I am supposed to be...
JIMMY EAT WORLD - WARFIELD THEATER - SAN FRANCISCO - SEPTEMBER 22
Jimmy Eat World, one of the most discrete but famous bands performed at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco last Sunday. They are currently in tour to promote their new album "Damage" released in June 2013.
And what a surprise! Honestly I was expecting something sweeter but finally when I came out of the theater I didn't realize what I had just seen. They have been performing for years, obviously have a lot of experiences in music and everybody noticed it when the band appeared on stage.
Jim Adkins, the singer and leader of the band is not very talkative on stage; he rather expresses himself with what he does the best: writing and singing. He is capable of sharing his feelings and emotions with the audience when he is singing, and empathy is probably the main quality of an artist. Although their music is energetic, almost nervous, the lyrics are melancholic and talk about lost dreams. The performance of the alternative songs “Work” and “Kill” proved the band is not ready to drop out of the scene. Each member is passionate, and so energetic in what he is doing. The more the concert moved on, the more the audience was in a good mood and receptive to the music.
The highlight of the show was the interpretation of the ballads “Here you me” and “23” though, which revealed a band, and especially a singer, more vulnerable emotionally. The acoustic guitar replaced the electric one and suddenly the lights of cellphones illuminated all the theater.
Do you think your children will know the same world as us? Will they see the same animals? Imagine… In 30 years you may talk to them about the beauty of a snow leopard, the gentleness of a panda and the agility of sea turtles because all these animals will have disappeared. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) established in 2012, the red list of threatened species. 25% of mammals, 41% of amphibian, 13% of birds and 31% of sharks would be endangered in the whole world.
But the main question is, can we change this? Right now, the maintenance of species in captivity is more than ever seen as a solution (or a part of it) to ensure the survival of threatened species. For sure, wild animals are better in a free space, but nowadays the world outside is not safe anymore for them. Globalization became essential for the survival of human being but it is truly a disaster for animals. Moreover, lots of animals are victims of deforestation and poaching. In just over a century, we have lost 97% of the tiger population. There are only 1600 giant pandas and 6000 snow leopards and their population is decreasing constantly.
That’s why, in 1981, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) developed a program called the “American species survival plan” (ASSP) to help most of which are endangered in the wild world. There are currently more than 300 ASSP program and many of these protect species that urgently need to be conserved. For example, with the “snow leopard species survival plan”, approximately 600 snow leopards are living in accredited worldwide zoos including 250 in North America. Thanks to that kind of program, zoos attend births and it is considered as a success each time. At the beginning of June 2013, two snow leopard cubs were born at Boise Zoo (Idaho) and one snow leopard cub was born at the Tulsa Zoo (Oklahoma).
« This 7-week-old cub’s birth is a success for not only the Tulsa Zoo, but also for snow leopard populations around the world. With only 4,000-6,500 snow leopards left in the wild, Niko is an ambassador for his species » reported the Tulsa zoo community relations coordinator Sarah Floyd.
The case of the snow leopard is only one example of what it is going on in the world. Around 400 zoos in 54 countries have incorporated breeding programs and are very active. The main goal is to increase birth and ensure the future of each species. At least 25 baby tigers were born in the reserve of Hengdaohezi (China) since the beginning of the year. Some people can believe that it is only a drop in the ocean (only 3% of species would be concerned by the program of survival) but at least this drop exists.
The role of zoos is to go further because they are trying to reintegrate some species in their wild life. It is still difficult but not impossible because for some of them it has been a huge success. To give only the most known ones, we have in America the California condor and the American bison. In Europe the Eagle Owl and the wild cat have been reintegrated in Germany such as the black vulture in the Balearic Islands. Even though these attempts are sensitive, expensive and have random success, we hope that they will increase in the next decades. In the meantime, 600 million people visit zoos every year worldwide and it is a good way to see the animals that we have never seen and are not likely to see in the wild.
Picture: Copyright Elsa. (Loro Parque Zoo, Tenerife, Canary Island, 2010)
The Veronicas (an australian duo ) just released a recorded live session for their fans. The waiting for the upcoming album is longer than planned so they want to thank their fans with that video.
I would like to talk to you about a well-known movie that I saw a couple of months ago and I really appreciated it. Actually I watched it in class and I had to do a review. Now I want to share this article with you :)
Directed by Andrew Davis "The Fugitive" is a American thriller based on a television series of the 1960's. Starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, the story takes place in Chicago. The movie came out in 1993 and it was very successful.
Andrew Davis is not a well-known director, but he signed with "The Fugitive" his biggest movie. Usually I don't really like movies adapted from a television series, but this one is perfectly appropriate for a movie format. It could have been a tedious and boring movie but finally it was very witty. For two hours, the spectator is watching a veritable manhunt and trying to work out a complicated puzzle. As the movie is occurring, we get to know Richard Kimble and we begin to get into the role of the character. At the same time as him, we are discovering new clues and we get closer about the truth despite the complexity. It is very thrilling!
I think this the speciality of Andrew Davis. When we watch "The Fugitive", we have no time to breathe because the scenes get hectic very fast.
With that movie, Harrison Ford gave a boost to his career and became one of the most famous actors in Hollywood. But the interpretation of Tommy Lee Jones about the awful Samuel Gerard is also very brilliant and convincing. Thanks to that, I finally appreciated his character. That's why he won the oscar for the best supporting actor.
Andrew Davis offered us a painting and rhythmic thriller not only because of the characters but also because of the music, which has been composed by James Newton Howard. It is omnipresent and holds the suspense.
Here's some pictures of my first trip in New York City ! I had left for 5 days with my friends to visit the myth of the Big Apple and to be honest I loved It! This city is mad, incredible, beautiful, sparkling... I was so impressed. You feel so small all around these huge buildings. I tried to reflect the atmosphere of the city with my pictures so I let you discover right now :)
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