Shannon, Jared, Tomo, won't you listen to the voice of the people ?

I am not done with you guys.


Not yet.


I know. I am sometimes annoying. But there is an arab proverb which says "The annoying one always wins over the tough one". I very much like this proverb.


So, as I do want the serbian Echelons to win the particular fight which consists in having the 30stm in Serbia this SUMMER, I think I have no other choice than that of being annoying.


I was about to say that I was sorry for that. But I am not. I am not sorry for being annoying. This is a war and we are fighting. Fighting to fulfill a dream. The dream of your fans.


Jared ? Didn't you say "fulfill your fucking dreams, no matter what" ? So, there we are. Trying to fulfill a fucking dream...


...no matter what.


You must have read at least 1 tweet concerning #SerbiaWantsMars. The contrary seems impossible to me as the serbian Echelons have sent you hundreds of  prayers.


But no one's answering.


I've thought a lot about this deadly silence and I have come to the conclusion that :


1- you have not seen any of the desperate calls from #SerbiaWantsMars.


2- you do not intend to come to Serbia or you simply cannot for several different reasons, but you don't know how to announce it to the Echelons.
You know what ? They love you so much that they would understand if you could not organize a concert in their country. They just NEED to know.


3- you are maybe trying to organize a concert in Serbia this summer but it takes time and you are waiting for things to be completed before you announce it to your fans.


Shall I have to precise that the 3rd point is my favorite option ?


Serbia, I've already told you : I hope you'll win and I know that you'll carry on fighting to fulfill your dream...


...no matter what.









Féfé.

Open letter to Shannon, Jared & Tomo. Did you notice that Serbia'd launched an attack on Mars ?

I am a newcomer in the world of Mars. You already know that. But during these 4 or 5 months since I have joined the "movement",  I have carefully watched how the 30stm "fans" behave (I know now that "Echelon" and "fan" are two different things).


I do not intend to make a social study on this subject but it is very interesting to observe how passionate, how lovely, how respectful, how loyal, how faithful the Echelon are towards the band. And how they want them badly in their country.


I had never seen that before.


I use TweetDeck and each time someone I follow or someone who mentions me (or retweets me) tweets, a little window opens in the right corner of my laptop screen. Yesterday, while I was working, a special window opened.


"Special" not because someone was mentioning me. "Special" because someone was asking for help.


"Huh ?!?" I thought, "What's this ?"


The message was sent by @AngelEchelon209 and was saying : "@DameFefe Can you pls help us+RT #SerbiaWantsMars :)"


Help ? For what ? How ?


So, as curious as always (I've been taught since infancy that curiosity IS a quality. So, I use it to my heart's content), I decided to open a new "search column" in my TweetDeck board-thing. Then, I wrote the following (still hazy) words "#SerbiaWantsMars" and I clicked on "save".


And...


Oh-My-God !! Under my amazed eyes, an "avalanche" of tweets was scrolling. I soon understood that the Serbian armada had launched a massive attack on Mars. Incredible !! I had the vision of an air-fleet cruising around Mars, sending tweets like a machine-gun.

What an air power !

Actually SERBIA WANTS MARS. Serbian Echelon do badly want Mars. In their country. This summer...


...and they are fighting tooth and nail for it.


We all know that organizing a concert abroad is not an easy task but you guys are back in Europe this summer so...


Meanwhile Serbian Echelons, keep fighting. Do not give up. Who knows ? Shannon or Jared or Tomo could read my post and decide to give a closer look at #SerbiaWantsMars (in case they have not yet noticed your attack on Twitter...the guys must receive hundreds of tweets everyday. Must not be easy to read them all).


Good luck Serbia. Keep fighting :)

Slavija hôtel. Beograd. Stayed 1 week there.
Good hotel for the 30stm ;)

EDIT : Incredible and brave serbian Echelons ! They've even started a petition. Want to sign it ? It's HERE Thanks for them :)


EDIT 2 : 02/24 Found that video yesterday. I've no comment on it. It's says it all.

Féfé-who's-happy-to-help

Mars, Harry Potter, the Cullens and I (not necessarily in that order)

Like Harry Potter (and Severus Snape...and many others but listing them all is not my point here), I am a "half-blood".


Ok, I do not have both the magical and muggle heritage that the two wizards received as soon as they were conceived and I am thus not familiar with the handling of magic wands. Still, Harry, Severus and I have one thing in common : we come from and belong to two different worlds.


I was born with two citizenships, with two completely different cultures (european and north african), with two completely different languages (french and arabic) and in a family which had (and still has) two different religions (Christianism and Islam...not completely different though as all the religions are based if not on the same book, at least on the same story...)


And, to ease the comprehension of the whole thing (why do simple when one can do complicated !), I was born in a country different from those to which my two halves belong to. Thanks Dad ! Thanks Mom !


You can thus figure out the huuuuge obstacles I have to overcome quite often. Obstacles which sometimes lead to third-type dialogues such as :


"So, you are from this country M'am ?"
"No. I was just born there."
"Okay. Could you show me your passeport M'am ?"
"sure...eeer...which one ?"
"Are you kidding me M'am ?"
"I'm not"


I won't talk about all the "combinations" that have led to my two main halves (many different "blood" from many different countries). I would be sorry to learn that you have ran away before you reached the end of my message.

Huh ?!?!

Like the Cullens, I have to juggle with two different worlds. The Cullens feel at ease in the world of vampires and in that of the humans. Ok, It is a bit more difficult for Jasper Cullen to resist the call for human blood (ask Bella, she'll tell you). But, he sort of manages to handle this "minor" problem in the end.


In the same way as the Cullens, I feel at ease in my two different worlds. However, like Jasper, in one or two particular cases, I have sometimes felt a strong urge for the blood of certain humans whom I'd mix with : in Europe when faced to something which looked strongly like racism because of my arabic-sounding family name and in north Africa when faced to something which looked strongly like racism (no, no, I'm not stammering) because of my european-looking face (many would say eurasian-looking face but the problem remains the same anyway).

Me. At 9.
See what I mean by eurasian-looking face ?

Unlike Jasper though, I find it difficult to handle those kind of situations. Fortunately, they are not that common.


On Mars...


Ah. Mars. 


There are lots of places on Earth where I feel good. I blend in with the decor whatever the country is. Actually, I think that if I belong to all the countries of the world it's because I am not deeply rooted in one and only one place. To me, that's the positive aspect of the "melting" thing.


So, when I found out Mars, I realized that I had found a new place where I could blend in. A virtual place where to feel good. On this planet, like in the many places of the Earth that I love so much, no matter what the color of your skin is, no matter what the color of your name is, no matter what the color of your language is. It's a virtual place but a place where people from all around the world are brought together.


My most preferred virtual place actually.

Feet on the ground and head in the clouds

There we are. You've reached the end of my message (thank you. You don't give up too easily, do you ?) but you know what ? I would have loved to end it with something spiritual to say but my brain refuses to obey.


Must have sprained it ;)

Need to rest

By the way, after last week's "CTTE week", this week is the "hurricane Week" on Mars. So, please, do not forget to promote, to promote and...er...to promote :)


Enjoy this.

Féfé-who-belongs-to-nowhere-and-to-everywhere-at-the-same-time (and who's thus free as a bird)

Yep, I've chosen my "Valentines" on a planet called Mars !

I am sorry to say that the axiom which stipulates that all women looooooooove Valentine's Day is wrong. I am a woman and I don't like VD. So, ALL women are NOT fond of those little pink sickening hearts that you find everywhere as soon as the date of Feb.14 gets nearer.

everywhere...ad nauseam

There you are. I said it !


...and I think that I've just shattered a myth.


When you love a man, you love him all the time, don't you ? Each day of the year, you want to love him, to seduce him, to please him and this is supposed to be reciprocal. Should be reciprocal anyway otherwise, I'm sorry to tell but you're sort of up the creek.


My 2 cents....


In short, I think that the so-called Valentine's Day is actually a Business Day.

Make love, don't shop

However, me myself and I had a meeting yesterday and we have decided unanimously that this year, we would change our habits and would choose a Valentine...er...3 Valentines actually (let's not be mean).


We decided to get these 3 Valentines from Mars. Actually, we thought that while we were at it (joining something which usually left us completely cold), we might as well think big.


So, the 3 of us (me, myself and I, are you still following ?) looked toward the sky (not anymore the limit) and more particularly toward Mars.


We remembered (at this point, a wave of emotion came over us) that while we were agonizing last week thanks to that bloody bad flu, the music of Mars had kept us alive.


The body was motionless but the mind, the spirit or whatever one wants to call it...God ! It was flying, jumping, laughing, singing. It exulted, it was jubilant, it was...it was...


...It was alive.


This is why, quite understandably, me, myself and I have decided to choose as our Valentines 3 buddies called Shannon, Jared and Tomo.

Thanks guys !

Oh ! one more thing : people seem to think that Valentine's Day is only dedicated to lovers.


They're wrong.


This day is also dedicated to friendship.

Yeah...fuck Valentine's Day ;)

PS : By the way, while you're around, do not  forget to vote here and there





Féfé-who-has-now-fully-recovered

Maths lesson : Jared Leto + Haïti + book = HELP

Are you good at Maths ? I am. I have always been. In high school, I was in a maths class. So I know  how to add 1 to 1 and I know what the result of this extremely difficult calculation will be.


I am soooo intelligent.

With the glasses on, I'm even more intelligent

And because I am intelligent (or thanks to it), I know that if we add Jared Leto (jl) + Haïti (h) + book (b), it'll give HELP (H). Simple equation :

jl + h + b = H

Easy to solve. Jared Leto went to Haïti, he shot photographs in order to release a book which will be sold to raise funds for Haïti (click on the title above to read Jared Leto's "Haïti lives").

Easy ? You said easy ?

In fact, if we took a moment to look at it more closely, we'd realize that it is not really that easy. Actually, this simple equation (jl+h+b) involves one major unknown factor, which is to say one huuuuge "x". "X", the so famous "unknown quantity" which has made us drool on our exam papers for so many years at school. I'm sure you know what I am talking about.

Good way to solve a maths problem

So, because of that "x", our equation becomes a quadratic one :

jl + h + (X)b = H

If you're good (or not bad...see the difference ?) at Maths, you should have noticed that my equation is not a quadratic one as it involves only 1 x. And you'd be right. BUT, in this case, the 1 "x" is YOU. Yes, you who are reading me. You, the so complex human being.


You, who are so many and who could help so much and so many with very few. 

So my "X" is composed of at least 2 "x" :


- your will to be part of the adventure
- the number of you who will really buy the book.


Two different things as you might be ok to feel for the cause but might not be ok to buy the book which will help the said cause (because of many possible reasons : lack of money being the major one). The equation would thus now be :

jl + h + 2x(b) = H

...


Dang ! I cannot go further in the process of the creation of my equation. Seems that I have reached its limits. Can you guess why ? Easy-peasy : one cannot calculate a feeling. The compassion for the cause IS a feeling. So, one of my "x" is one "x" too many.


Anyway. 1 x is enough provided we multiply it, multiply it, multiply it...


Oh God ! You know what ? My equation can go to hell. I won't bother.


What does matter actually is this beautiful smiling little girl...








Féfé-who-will-soon-be-the-owner-of-a-new-book

Haïti is on Mars these days, thanks to Jared leto.

There are countries on this planet which desperately need help. Haïti is one of them.


The Republic of Haïti is the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest on Earth. It has not only a long history of oppression by dictators but it is also a land of countless natural disasters. The country is riddled with corruption, the unemployment rate is disastrous, and a great part of the population lives in appalling conditions of precariousness.


Of course (and unfortunately), Haïti is not alone in this case but the earthkaque that devastated the country a year ago had turned all the spotlights on the island...


...temporarily I'd say.


Temporarily because, as often happens in such cases, after the shock and the mobilization of the international community, the "affected" country sinks into oblivion...


...except for a small amount of people who are still helping.


Jared Leto of Thirty Seconds To Mars is in Haïti these days. On his website, he has posted a few pics of what he has seen there (click on the title of the message. You'll be directed to jaredleto.com). Two photos caught my attention. Here they are (hope it's allowed. If not, please do tell me, I'll remove them) :

Jared Leto has entitled these pics : "Cité Soleil 1" and "Cité Soleil 2".


Have you an idea of what the "Cité Soleil" is ? It is a slum. The largest in the capital of Port-au-Prince. It has been called by the United Nations "the most dangerous place on Earth".


Now that you know, look at the smile of the second child...


If you were not aware of the situation that prevails in Haïti, would you have guessed what is hidden behind that smile ? Illness, poverty, hunger, fear, violence, illiteracy quite often...


That's what makes it the most beautiful smile of the world, of Mars and of the whole universe.


Jared Leto has announced on his website that he was "shooting photographs for an upcoming book that (he is) releasing to raise much needed money for Haïti". Thank God, there are quite a few Jared Letos or Sean Penns on Earth who are still helping. I wish there were more.


I do not intend to give a moral lesson (I am very bad at that) but if the richest people of the Earth shared a small portion of their income, Haïti and a lot of other countries in trouble would be saved.


Anyway, I simply wanted to thank not only Jared Leto but all the people who contribute in any way to the "rescue" of the worst-off. All these people, known or unknown, who give their time, their money, their compassion (might also help).


In short, thanks to all the people who act.





Edit 01/17
I have just found this video. Florent Malouda (french soccer player) is among those who help.










Féfé-who-is-thankful-and-who-still-believes-in-the-kindness-of-the-human-nature.

Aging is not an option on Mars

On his way to Thebes, Oedipus encountered a Sphinx which asked him a riddle : "What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at night ?" Oedipus answered : "Man. As an infant, he crawls on all four, as an adult, he walks on two legs and, in old age, he relies on a walking stick".


This is how we, human beings, are supposed to evolve. This is the natural course of life. You start to age from day 1 and from day 1, you are being thrown into little boxes which will categorize you for the rest of your life : baby, kid, teenager, young, young adult, adult, mature, middle-aged, old and finally decrepit...when you're lucky enough to reach this stage (or unlucky, depending on each one's point of view).


But, according to me, the truth is that "age is just a number".


I don't remember where or when I have heard this statement and even who has said it. What I remember is that when I heard it, I thought that nothing could me more true (truer ? Crap ! How d'you say that in english ? That bloody french native speaker thing again)... 


...and it seems particularly true if you are from Mars.


Yesterday, I have learnt that it was Jared Leto's birthday. It was an inspired performance to arrive on Earth one day after Jesus (there would be other inspired performances later, but no one knew...yet). Still in his Mother's womb but already fighting : "I'm not going out ! I don't want my birthday to be the same day as that of Jesus. No way ! Don't want it ! don't want it ! don't want it ! I want Christmas presents and birthday presents ! Moooooom, stand firm another 1 day. Only one single day...I won't come out anyway !".


Well, it appears that Mom and son did it in the end.

Hooray !!

So, when I heard that Jared was growing older, I wondered how old he could be. Thanks to Wikipedia, I learnt that he was having 39. GOSH !!! 39 is nearly 40. Was the guy as old as that ?!? But then, if Jared was 39, what about Shannon ? The eldest brother.


Nearly 41.


GOSH !!

Just kiddin'

But...what the hell ?...give me one minute...let me count...1, 5, 2...they're...oh God ! They're of the same generation as me !! 


Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihaaaaaaaaaa.

Happy

If I am sooooo happy, it's because this revelation (if not divine, at least reassuring) was quite a relief to me as something which strongly looked like a guilt complex was insidiously worming its way into my mind because of the young age of the band's fans.


That's how (thanks to the revelation) I started to think that if the guys themselves were around the same age as me, there was no need to rack my brains anymore with stupid social considerations (the small boxes, you remember ?).


No. There was definitely no need to.


The 2 brothers do not look their age. That's a fact. They look like young trendy teenagers...er...no...not teenagers. Let's say young adults...or old teenagers ? Huh !! I'm lost (bloody boxes !).

See what I mean ?
Photo found HERE If there's any problem of copyright, feel free to tell me. Thanks.

What does it mean "looking one's age" anyway ? A man is as old as he feels himself to. So, if that man feels young, he IS young. If he feels old...er...poor he. There's nothing we can do for him (should try to find some elixir or other. Might help).
(masculine gender is used here to ease the writing but of course the principle applies to all genders : male, female and others).

Anyway, what matters is that life on Mars seems to be the key to preserve one's arteries and body cells from an early necrosis. One seems not to age over there.

Shannon (with his sticks) and Jared having their breath of Mars air
Keeps 'em young. That's the secret

As I do not intend to travel to Mars in the near future, and as I want to stay young as long as possible, I'll continue to listen to the 30stm music.


My own lapis philosophorum.


It'll be my secret.


Good palliative, isn't it ?

"Foreeeever young, I wanna be foreeever young"

Féfé-who-has-decided-to-listen-to-loaaaaads-of-music-until-she-finds-the-philosopher's-stone.

The faces of Mars...God ! Where do they get these ideas from ?

Since I have discovered a passion for the Thirty Seconds To Mars' music, I am gripped by a wild frenzy for writing.


Before the...er...breakthrough, I had really struggled to keep this blog updated ("oh God, what am I going to talk about ?"). I did not want to talk about myself nor about the town I am living in. Even if I had made one or two timid attempts, these topics did not really inspire me (I am a topic, uuh ?). I did not want to talk about books or movies (others do it better than I ever will) and I did not want to talk about what's happening around the world (we already have the news on TV, newspapers and internet).


So, I was left "empty-minded"...until my third-type encounter with Mars.


Today, thanks to the 30stm music, tons of topics cross my mind quite frequently at unexpected times : when I am driving (thank you CD player), when I am doing this or that in my every day life (thank you Ipod) and even when "showering" (thank you podgear)...


One thing though. When you shower, you'd better not listen to Closer to the Edge. I have devastated the bathroom. It was not my fault anyway. It was Shannon's. I couldn't resist the crazy-wacko-mental-cuckoo-doolally-screwy rythm of the drums.


The showerhead could not either. There was water everywhere...oops.


My advise : listen to Alibi instead. It's safer.

Why are you smiling ? You also sing when you shower, don't you ?

My mind (not empty anymore) is now boiling. Steam shaped like words escapes from every single cell of my brain. Everything that I learn is grist for the mill. And as far as the 30stm are concerned, there is enough material to fill a huge sack. Like the ant in Jean de la Fontaine's fable, I intend to stock (one never knows, winter might come). 


So, yesterday night, I have accidentally found one of those many topics : "The faces of Mars".


Uuuh ?? I had just finished to absorb the principle of the 12 steps to Mars thing when, bang !! something new was striking my head with the strength of a cannonball.

Ouch !

The faces of Mars. The mosaïc. "What the Hell is this ?" I thought (I told you that sometimes I was able to think, didn't I ?)


Naturally, I immediately decided to give a closer look at this new "concept" and started to glean information from the web.


Actually, in 2009, and in order to help the launch of their new album, the band had asked their fans to submit photos. The 2000 fastest would have the chance to have their face on one of the 2000 individual covers of the album "This Is War". I read somewhere that Jared had said that this "Face of Mars" campaign was not a publicity stunt but a huge "thanks" to the fans.

One of the 2000

Then, in 2010, the band released a mosaic featuring all the people who had contributed to the "Faces of Mars" campaign.

You must take a look at THIS (an interactive mosaic, crazily funny...and surprisingly moving. Click and watch...and listen - this goes without saying). 


The band had already made their fans participate in the recording of the album. They then continued with that !!


By Merlin's baggy pants, this is genius !! Could we imagine something more intelligent in terms of communication ?


I am perhaps not very objective but I think that this band is really head and shoulders above any other band. At least in the field of communication. One cannot deny it even if they don't like the 30stm and their music (Fuc.....*¤§#^°** stupid morons).






Féfé-who-is-not-a-face-of-Mars-but-who's-happy-anyway.


EDIT : 2011/07/11 Now, I AM a face of Mars (yeehaaaw) ;) http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/full/341954546.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJF3XCCKACR3QDMOA&Expires=1310378844&Signature=N6KD1Ubwg85lNtZ7UR77tg92pI0%3D

Shannon Leto from Mars...see who I'm talking about ?

I'm gonna tell you a secret.


If there were, apart from me, only two people left on Earth, say after a huge tsunami or a gigantic earthquake or any joyful event of the same sort and if these two men (men of course. My "sexological" sign is heterosexual, ascendant heterosexual - we are who we are, right ?)...so, if these two men were Shannon and Jared Leto (I have cautiously used the "IF" twice, you've noticed that, haven't you ?), I'd definitely choose Shannon.


But allow me first to clarify things. I do not languish over the Leto brothers nor do I heave desperate sighs when I come across a photo of one of these two fellows. I do not shout in a hysterical manner when I hear them talk and, believe it or not, I even manage not to faint at the sight of Jared's abs.

See that girl ? It's not me.

Now that things are clear, let me explain why I'd choose the eldest brother (If...).


1 - Jared has 355 363 twitfollowers (the number might have increased by the time you reach my post). Shannon has "only" 89 095 followers (same remark about the increasing number).


What do you think ? Won't it be easier to bump 89 095 people off instead of nearly 400 000 (in case the natural disaster has spared other people than me and the 2 Letos) ?


2 - Shannon is not very talkative. So, there's a big part of mystery surrounding him. I am naturally attracted by mysteries. Ok, in my real life, "mistery" men have done no good to me in the end but as it is not here a question of starting anything real between the two of us ("this is not reality..."), I can confess that I definitely prefer this behaviour to that more extrovert of his brother.


3 - I know nothing about drums. It would be impossible to me to name all the elements of the whole drums thing. I would be totally unable to root a single sound out of the drums if you gave me two sticks (I mean a harmonious sound 'cause I could surely make a lot of noise). But there is one thing that I know for sure : it is the first time ever that when I listen to a song, I concentrate on the drums. It is the first time ever that the sound of drums makes me feel alive. In my long love story with music, there is definitely a before-Shannon Leto and an after-Shannon Leto.


This might sound crazy but I am crazy anyway. So...

Thanks man.

How I'd love to listen to the "Bohemian Rhapsody", with Shannon playing the drums.


4 - Twitter again. While Jared tweets 1 billion times a day (a bit of exaggeration won't kill), Shannon tweets 1 time (see point 2 about the non-talkativeness...er...is this word english ?) BUT, I am 99% sure (always allow 1% to doubt) that it is him who tweets whereas his mischievous brother does not always tweet himself. I have noticed a couple of time (concerts in Switzerland and Madrid for example) that "he" (?) was tweeting and he was on stage at the same time (mischievous, I told you...and omnipresent). So, to me, Shannon is a bit more...tactful towards his fans.
EDIT 01/04/2011 : I don't know how to put this...er...I've just learnt that one could schedule updates (I've just done it myself). So, Jared might have scheduled his Tweeter updates. This could explain what I thought was "omnipresence". Hem...mea culpa. Doesn't change the fact that I'd choose shannon anyway ;-)


5 - Shannon has written ("created" would be a better word) L490. I have already said it in a previous post : one must be very sensitive to be able to create such a melody. So, the image of the bad guy must be just an image. If I'm wrong, I'm ready to take the veil.

Oops, not this veil

This one

So, let's sum up : Less fans (which is a huuuuuge quality), an aura of mystery, tactfulness, sensitiveness, not very talkative, EXCELLENT drummer (the best ever to me as far as I can judge)...


These are the reasons why I'd choose Shannon.


...and we would happily get rid of Jared...ok, ok, I won't kill the whole 400 000 followers. I'll spare one for Jared...one fond of S&M and bondage...just in case...





Oh, I had forgotten to add "funny" in my "sum up". Funny and secretive, you've noticed that either, haven't you ? ;-)

Féfé-who-enjoyed-writing-this-post