I love Saturday mornings. What a luxury to sleep in an extra hour, stay in your pajamas all morning and leisurely make coffee while listening to the radio. I listen to the radio a lot, to only three stations: France Culture, France Inter and TSF Jazz. I really appreciate the quality of the debates and discussions in France. Erudite and enlightening, they cover all topics ranging from politics, movies, books and current events. On the subject of “wokism” in the USA and why the French resist it, here’s something I heard this morning on France Culture (translated by me):

The extraordinary originality of wokism is that it promises nothing; it is not a program.
It’s a kind of gigantic incrimination of the past, with no prospect for the future.
It’s based solely on incrimination – “You are guilty!”
Where is the possible ground for discussion when you are already, from the start, marked by a kind of historical guilt that you cannot shed?

 

Tonight I’m going to a restaurant for dinner that actually suggests a dress code: elegant. Wow, when was the last time you heard that? And when was the last time I dressed elegantly? I’ll have to rummage through the back of my closet to see what I can find. Tomorrow I’ll do a restaurant review.

For those of you living in France, there’s a three-part program tonight (on ARTE) on the destruction and reconstruction of Notre-Dame cathedral.

Notre-Dame de Paris, the site of the century (1/3)
The quest for height

On the night of April 15 to 16, 2019, fire ravaged Notre-Dame de Paris. After the terror and consolidation phase of the building, scientists, engineers and craftsmen began a spectacular work, recounted in this documentary series, for the restoration of the cathedral.

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/103501-001-A/notre-dame-de-paris-le-chantier-du-siecle-1-3/