Oh look, historically low levels of natural gas in storage sites for this time of year could leave the EU with a gas shortfall in the winter and could force the bloc to cut demand by 7%, the U.S.-based IEEFA said in a report on Friday. #collapse
@belleslettres.bsky.social
Skeptical iconoclast freelancer, ex-Wall St lawyer,ex-Dubliner, outraged pol/econ observer, lover of Irish lit/theater/mother wit, now living in the Mayenne, searching for a home.
The Blue Valley https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-serusier/the-blue-valley-1906
Jürgen Vollmer's fabulous shot of John Lennon taken in 1961 at Jäger-Passage, Wohlwillstraße 22, Hamburg. The blurry figures in the foreground are Paul, George & Stu Sutcliffe. A crop of this photo was used on the cover of Rock 'n' Roll, 1975. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...
"Instead of returning the dogs to the SPA, he advertised in his usual newspaper, Le Figaro, asking for home for dogs that were soon to be film stars. Of course he got a massive response, & was able to provide all his hounds with a comfortable life thereafter." - David Bellos on Jacques Tati
The wonderful dogs of Tati's Mon Oncle, 1958 www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qqm... "Tati, who always had a dog at home - & called each one of them Azor - needed a motley & scruffy pack because of the role that dogs play in the film." - David Bellos The dogs were obtained from SPA, the French SPCA.
Mon Oncle (1958)
YouTube video by samuca1983
youtube.com
Jacques Tati by Bob Willoughby, 1957 In this shot Tati reenacts the lamp-post gag from Mon Oncle, 1958. "When you watch his films, you realise how much he know about – & loved – human nature, & it can only be an inspiration to do the same." - David Lynch
Remembering Jacques Tati on his birthday 🎂 📷 Sam Lévin "He sees problems where there are none, and finds them." - Jean-Luc Godard
Remembering Yusef Lateef on his birthday 📷 Anthony Barboza, 1978 "He played world music before world music had a name." - Peter Keepnews www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhqQ...
Farm in Brittany https://botfrens.com/collections/44/contents/13034
"I think our society is run by insane people for insane objectives... I think we're being run by maniacs for maniacal ends, you know... I'd be very pleased to know what they think they're doing. I think they're all insane..." John Lennon - #BOTD - speaking in 1968.
The Representatives of Foreign Powers Coming to Salute the Republic as a Sign of Peace https://www.wikiart.org/en/henri-rousseau/the-representatives-of-foreign-powers-coming-to-salute-the-republic-as-a-sign-of-peace-1907
And today is John Lennon's birthday (that's the Dakota in the background)
House on the Outskirts of Paris https://www.wikiart.org/en/henri-rousseau/house-on-the-outskirts-of-paris-1902
Royan https://www.wikiart.org/en/samuel-peploe/royan-1910
Edward Hopper’s Bridle Path (1939) shows horseback riders in Central Park near West 72nd Street. The bridle path preserves remnants of an older New York, while the rising skyline behind them signals modernity overtaking 19th-century tradition.
The Brothel - 1887 https://botfrens.com/collections/46/contents/14180
Jean-Jacques Beineix (with scenes from his film "Diva") - BOTD
NYT article today about sale of Gertrude Abercrombie work brings to mind Abercrombie's 1950 painting "Message to Mercy," title referring to one of Abercrombie's cats. The letter slid under the door is addressed to Mercy, who remains otherwise uninterested in it www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/a...
Louise (The Breton servant) https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-serusier/louise-the-breton-servant-1890
Nocturne in Blue and Green https://www.wikiart.org/en/james-mcneill-whistler/nocturne-in-blue-and-green
Grim, but necessary viewing on salmon farming in Scotland. 'you only get what lice don't eat'
Sustainable Water Network (SWAN)@swanireland.ie · yesterdayWatch this excellent short video on salmon farming in the UK. ▶️ A lot of the issues apply to Ireland too. 😢 We must ban open-net fish farms here. 🛑 Sign our petition calling for this: https://swanireland.ie/take-action/ban-open-net-fish-farms/
Broken Water: Twenty Nordic Seas (1862–1970) 15. J. F. Willumsen – Beach. The Sea at Brittany (1909, Danish)
