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so much NIN official photography is like. we neeeeeeed you to see the wires and cables and knobs and switches and screens because it is as fascinating to us as it is to you.

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Famous sayings #1

À bon chat bon rat (To good cat good rat) : train cats to hunt rats and they’ll become great rat hunters but the rats great cat avoiders as well

À coeur vaillant, rien d’impossible (To a brave heart, nothing’s impossible)

À la guerre comme à la guerre (To the war like to the war) : when you’re In need, use whatever you can find and don’t expect help

Après la pluie le beau temps (After rain comes fine weather)

Après l’effort le réconfort (After effort comes solace) : you deserve a treat after working hard

Au royaume des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois (In the kingdom of the blinds, the one-eyed are kings)

Aux grands maux les grands remèdes (To big problems big solutions)

Ce n’est pas à un vieux singe qu’on apprend à faire la grimace (You don’t teach old monkeys to make funny faces) : elders know better than you

Ce n’est pas tombé dans l’oreille d’un sourd (It didn’t fall in a deaf man’s ear) : I’m happy/intrigued/excited about what you said

C’est dans les vieux pots qu’on fait les meilleures soupes (It’s in the old pots we make the best soups) : the old methods are often the best

C’est en forgeant qu’on devient forgeron (Forging makes you a blacksmith) : you have to practice to become a pro

C’est l’hôpital qui se fout de la charité (That’s hospitals mocking charity) : don’t speak ill of someone about something you do too 

Chassez le naturel, il revient au galop (Chase away nature and it’ll be back at full speed)

Coeur qui soupire n’a pas ce qu’il désire (Sighing heart doesn’t have what it wants)

comme le nez au milieu de la figure (Like the nose in the middle of the face) : about something obvious 

Faute avouée à moitié pardonnée (Confessed mistake half forgiven)

Il faut battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud (Strike while the iron’s hot)

Other sayings posts

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hifromalix

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One of the most important things you can do is learning how to improve. How to be a beginner at something and get better; how to make mistakes and learn from them. It could be a language, an instrument, a skill - anything. As children, we are praised for learning something, even if we make a lot of mistakes while doing it. This kind of compassion stops for adults; and most importantly, we stop having this compassion for ourselves.

A lot of us are focused on results, not on the process itself. School and university put a lot of emphasis on how good you are at something within a certain timeframe - not how you get there. This causes us to think of ourselves as naturally good at some things, but not at others. The truth is that we all got there by practice, not by nature.

We are afraid of making mistakes - even though they are perfectly natural. We feel embarassed when we learn new information - and we feel a strange sense of pride when we know something that others don't.

So here's to trying and failing - and eventually: improving.

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“What he knew, he knew from books, and books lied, they made things prettier.”

― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

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Hi mom I'm going to spend three weeks in France in a few months and I was wondering what things I should know so I don't upset anyone lol thanks for all you do

Hello dear,

Exciting!

We are attached to politeness. Say hello when you start a conversation with anyone (including salespeople), enter any type of professional place (bakery, small store, waiting room) and to the bus driver. Walking up to a stranger and immediately asking a question is extremely rude and we will be rude back (which explains our reputation - tourists were unknowingly crass first).

When talking to strangers/salespeople: the right question is something like Bonjour (pause until they make eye contact and say it back), excusez-moi de vous déranger, je ne trouve pas le sucre/je cherche la rue Victor Hugo/---, est-ce que vous pouvez m'aider? (...). Merci beaucoup, bonne journée, au revoir.

If you don't speak French, learn how to pronounce Bonjour, excusez-moi de vous déranger, est-ce que vous parlez anglais? (and after a possible no: C'est pas grave, merci quand même, au revoir) so you don't look like a donkey.

Blend in. Don't be loud, respect people's space (and escalator laws), avoid intrusive questions, bashing the country and money talk. No PJs at the store. You are trying to befriend cats; "my way or the highway" is not going to work.

Use the right pronouns. Level 1: say Vous to any professional, older strangers (including people's relatives, who will say Tu back), and Tu to friends, their friends, any kid or teen. Level 2: most likely say Tu to people your age, unless their energy calls for something else. Level 3: say Tu in non-formal places (bar, tattoo parlour) regardless of age. Cheat code: avoid making a choice by saying things like Comment ça va? instead of Comment tu vas?

Random tourist advice:

In cafés/restaurants: we don't really tip, cooks aren't used to personalised orders, and waiters will leave you alone (no refills, small talk, pet names) unless you lift your hand, make eye contact and mouth "Excusez-moi". You can pay with cash or a debit card but I wouldn't recommend checks.

Other cities are fine but if you are using public transportation in Paris, take notes or download la RATP's app beforehand: you'll often need to take two or three subways to get somewhere and there is no info inside the station.

Travel light and pick trusty trainers, cobblestone doesn't like heels. Watch your step. Men pee outside a lot and people don't pick up dog poo.

Be aware of pickpockets. Zip your pockets, keep your bag on the side or the front, avoid flaunting luxury items or looking/dressing/acting like a professional tourist, and for the love of God, don't go to the Champs Elysées at night.

Catcalling and street harassment are unfortunately common. Feel free to hook up, condoms shouldn't be a problem but don't expect to find a husband, your typical French Tinder match isn't looking for love.

If you're into skincare, pharmacies are your wet dream.

If you want to travel, take a TGV (very fast train, to book preferably weeks to months before) to get to other cities in 1-5h. London via the Eurostar is 2h30 away and many capitals are a 2h cheap flight away. Going to Disneyland takes about an hour from downtown Paris to Marne-La-Vallée.

If you need medical assistance, call the 112 (European emergency number) or the 18 (fire brigade, good eggs) and the police, the 17 (take forever to answer).

At the moment, there's a weird thing happening in France where young people (mostly girls) get spiked with needles in nightclubs. Keep yourself safe.

Many museums are free/stores offer discounts if you're under 25 and you get a free ride on a bateau-mouche if your birthday is the same week.

Carry an umbrella and sunglasses regardless of the season.

More: restaurant guide, why won't the French let me practice my French, list of Parisian museums + Planétarium + movie theatres.

Hope this helps! x

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Unmute !

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Steve Wozniak's Apple I (1976).

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Christian Wiman // Janet Fitch

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Hi! Good morning!✨ What does “chacun voit midi à sa porte” mean and how can I use it correctly?🥺 Thanks in advance! Hope you are having a great day!🥰

Hello, I am thank you!

It literally means "Everyone sees noon at their door" because many moons ago, before watches were invented, city people had to refer to the local church to know the time, but country people didn't have one and had to install a sundial over their door - but their houses were never in the right orientation or the sundials weren't installed properly, so everybody got a different time and fought.

It's an equivalent to "To each their own" - only looking at things from your own point of view, doing things that serve you, no putting yourself in others' shoes. Very slytheriney.

Hope this helps! x

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"Bookstores remind me that there are still good things in this world."

-Van Gogh

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“When you are worried about the results, the very worry affects the results. Because when you worry, your doing is affected. Work should always be done out of inspiration, never out of worry.”

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Armchair Books, Edinburgh (@alixelay IG)

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My collection of animated geometric theorems. 

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I'm going to get cancelled for this but I don't understand why people say that being a gifted kid is hard because "you can pass tests with no revision until you reach x life stage and now you have to learn how to study".

Everyone has to learn how to study? I think learning to study later might actually be better for you considering that you're more likely to do research on study methods and pick the best ones for you.

I started learning to study in my GCSEs, and it took me ages to get it right and I was totally on my own learning to study and have discipline and work hard. I think learning to study is difficult regardless of the age you learn at, but as an adult I would say I have much more self-discipline than I did aged 16, in all aspects of my life. The things I have learned to do as an adult (take care of my health, build routines, apply for jobs) have all been things I had more drive to learn because I knew there was nothing to fall back on.

I know the transition from "I pass everything with flying colours with no effort" to "I have to study now to get good grades" is rough as fuck, but I think everyone who studies now went through that phase at some point, and I don't see why it is worse to go through that transition in say, high school or university as opposed to "middle school".