May 2020 Favorites

From now on, I will publish from time to time the list of my “favorites of the moment” to share my favorites with you.

Films & Series : With the confinement, the “entertainment” side has been a little more present in my life. As we are in the middle of a pandemic, I was naturally led to watch a little more distopic content, not to scare me but this content is more thought-provoking.

So I recommend the film Contagion which is a worsened version of what’s going on right now. There is a caricatured version of Dr. Raoult, lies by governments, how to deal with the crisis, how people are robbing supermarkets etc. Then, the Korean version The Flu (2013) is less realistic but logical, speaking of the management of an avian flu-type epidemic in a large city. Another violent and horrible film is The Platform(available on Netflix), a film that summarizes social injustice through a hypothetical prison with hundreds of floors and everyone struggling to satisfy their primary need: to feed themselves. This film is reminiscent of Snowpiercer (2014), a film directed by Bong Joon-ho (who just won an Oscar with Parasite). The story takes place entirely in a huge train that travels around the world. This film deals with both the themes of wealth distribution and the survival of the species in a context of the end of the world.

Other “joyful” series: The Purge(on Amazon Prime), season 2 is excellent (and independent of the 1st season). You surely know the movies “American Nightmare”, a night where all crimes are allowed in a distopic America. The series deals with background subjects and brings more context and light on the origin of this nightmare night. I’m following the Snowpiercer series (available on Netflix) with a new episode every week. It’s the same context: a train with the last humans on earth going around the planet. But the story and the characters aren’t the same. The actors are excellent, the story is exciting. I recommend even if the theme is quite dark.

Otherwise, to make up for the darkness of all this content, my sister gave me access to her Disney+ account. I recommend all the short films from Pixar Bao touched me the most. And the excellent documentary Free Solo also (on Disney+).

I also watch excerpts from the Belgian show Le Grand Cactus on Facebook, which is to die for

I continue to follow celebrity training (in video) on MasterClass.
JB, on the other hand, has bought online courses at Udemy, which currently offers very significant discounts.

Books : Around me, the financial crisis is being felt more and more. For this, I recommend this excellent book written by Lise Bourdeau, an author I like very much Money and abundance. It’s volume 5 of her collection Ecoute ton corps, but you don’t need to read the other books. She considers money as a means of exchange, an energy and not a good or a possession. It’s like corn or tomato seeds. Kept in a drawer, they don’t produce anything, so you have to make this energy move instead of accumulating, accumulating in a drawer without knowing what to do with it. In the same way, money is like the sky: if the sky is covered one day by clouds, we can’t consider the sky lost. As soon as the clouds have dispersed, the sky will be found again. This capacity to produce abundance, we all have it in us.

Apart from that, I mainly read books about hihihi paper flowers. Another book I find interesting is The Accidental Botanist. The author is a landscaper and travels the world. He occasionally takes pictures of flowers that he dissects with very simple tools. There are many anecdotes and personal stories about flowers, including some rare flowers.

Clothing : I also take advantage of my passage in France (and the possibility of receiving packages) to place some orders. Before, I wasn’t very sensitive to the composition of the clothes etc. but with the trip around the world, my skin has become super demanding and I absolutely need fabrics of excellent quality otherwise it doesn’t fit at all. Moreover, as I only have a few clothes, they have to withstand the many washes and brands like H&M and Zara don’t last longer after 3 months.

In India, I really liked the clothes from FabIndia, made of organic cotton and painted with natural pigments and by hand (with giant stamps), they are now shipping internationally by DHL, the prices are x5 compared to Indian prices, but nowhere else can you find cotton so fine, so breathable while being opaque. Be careful, it is necessary to plan 30€ minimum for customs fees.

My friend Geoffrey just did a fundraiser for his excellent website BonneGueulewhich I highly recommend. There is a lot of information about fabrics, about clothing brands (who does green washing, who offers poor quality fabrics, who is really eco and ethical…). You can discover a lot of niche brands, as well as brands that are only found abroad (it’s a kind of clothing world tour). BonneGueule, which was a blog of passionate people at the beginning, has grown over the years and they now have an e-shop where you can find men’s clothing of excellent quality, made with good textile and produced 100% in Europe.

Well-being: I regularly follow the live from Holissence, they talk about facial massage, Marie Kondo style storage and yoga classes. It’s very interesting and free of charge. You can watch the old live on their Facebook page.

There you go, I hope this list has more or less inspired you. See you soon!