Welcome to February! It's shocking to find myself this far into 2009, though January was a wonderful month. I began this new month with a fever and a cold, bringing my demigod complex to a sad end. I'm not quite better yet, but I can see the light on the horizon.
At the end of January we had our first official day of RATP strikes, or, la grève, as the French call it. There were several metro lines that just stopped running, though I noticed no difference in the lines I use. As I understand it, this was fairly mild compared to previous strikes extending for weeks at a time. The grève hasn't got me worried. I'm superbly located in the city, and in respect to my classes, I have very little trouble riding my bike to the various sites and universities.
What has stirred up some concern is the threatening university strike, where professors at certain Paris universities are not attending their own classes due to 'unfair' compensation and other disputes. My Parisian friends assure me that the Paris IV History University is one of the most conservative branches of the Sorbonne, and that they are the least likely to strike, but I've heard many other conflicting opinions. My history classes resume next week, so I'll report back then.
In other news, some friends and I have launched a cinema club, appropriately named, Ciné-club. The club operates under the same principles as a book club, only with movies. Last night we saw a film called Hunger about IRA hungerstriker Bobby Sands. It was solemn, but very powerful. If you've got a strong stomach and are interested in the history of the IRA, I recommend the film. Here's a trailer.
And now, a few mp3s to fatten your iPods. Follow the link to download.
The Bug - Skeng (feat. Killa P - Flowdan)
Dick Haymes & Helen Forrest - Button Up Your Overcoat
Anna Järvinen - Götgatan
Asobi Seksu - Familiar Light
And please - comment or email me if you have any trouble downloading these!
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