THE FAREWELL PARTY (Fin de partie) ***1/2 (vo Hebrew) Here’s an upscale Israeli senior home with a group of old friends, now in the twilight of their lives. They share leisure moments, meals, sports and care for and know each other intimately. So when one of them is suffering from an incurable illness, the group hesitantly agrees to […]
Archives for 2015
Swiss German response to Geneva: “We like you but there’s no need to come.”
This year, 200-years after Geneva joined the Swiss confederation, the Fondation pour Genève decided that Geneva should try to seduce the rest of Switzerland. To do this it created a mission called “Geneva meets Switzerland”. Then it created a bus. A large articulated bus, colourfully decorated by Zep1, the creator of Titeuf, a cheeky cartoon […]
Swiss lakes starting to overflow
According to 24Heures some Swiss lakes are starting to overflow. Lake Bienne and Lake Neuchatel are being watched closely. The water level of Lake Bienne appears to have stabilised, however Lake Neuchatel’s is expected to continue rising. The alert level is at 4 out of 5 and several camping areas have been flooded. According to […]
The surprising way listening to music could make you smarter
To optimize your intelligence your brain needs to be charged. The ear’s role in this essential work is huge. Music can boost your brainpower but it is important to select the right kind. Intelligence is broad. Most would agree that academic, artistic, sporting and interpersonal acumen are all aspects of intelligence. Most would also equate […]
If you walk around texting this shocking video might stop you
Published on 5 May 2015 by the Lausanne Police in Switzerland, this video is designed to shock. In 2013 in Switzerland, 1,100 people were seriously injured or killed because they weren’t paying attention. Distraction was the cause of 25% of serious accidents. Many of those hurt or killed were pedestrians, often distracted by their smartphones, […]
Swiss immigration vote: no impact on top university enrollments
According to Tribune de Geneve, the Swiss vote on 9 February 2014 is not hurting enrollments at top universities in Switzerland as some had predicted. The two prestigious Swiss science universities, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, had record enrollments in 2014. Up by 1.8%, 28,537 students and doctoral […]
CERN gets its own Accident and Emergency
On 4 May 2015, the Geneva University Hospital (HUG) and CERN opened an Accident and Emergency centre at CERN in Meyrin, Geneva. The centre is managed by HUG which is supplying all of the staff. CERN welcomes around 9,000 people every year and this centre will be better placed to help them when urgent medical […]
Have you ever tried unfiltered wine?
TO FILTER OR NOT TO FILTER! THAT IS THE QUESTION Neuchâtel Blanc Château d’Auvernier, Switzerland, Unfiltered 2014 Have you ever tried unfiltered wine? If not, and you’re an Oenophile, I would say you must. I love the idea of not filtering because it keeps more of the original flavours and aromas and makes it seem […]
Kids, holidays, sickness and Internet cures
Things unavoidable: death, taxes … and the children coming down with some horrible illness, just before we go away on holiday. We’ve had so many holidays blighted by Child Plague: The December of the Eyes: New Year’s Eve 2009, Plettenberg Bay. A gorgeous day. We load the children into our little rental car and make […]
A critical look at Orange’s new brand name
Creating a good brand name from scratch is no mean feat. You’ll need to find a name that’s memorable, ownable and unique. It needs to convey what the underlying product or service experience is all about. It must stand the test of time. It has to work across a babel of languages – without, of […]
