One more exam and I'm ready to go...

Dear Old Europe,
Be ready...I'm on my way, just a few hours before I board the plane. I can't wait. I talked to David today, we have tons of things to do. Mostly skiing and partying. I'll probabnly go to Paris for a couple of days to visit Steph as well, we have some Middle-East politics conversation to catch-up with. I'll spend the rest of the time with the family and Fred relaxing and shopping. I like Christmas in the Alps, it's a lot of fun and a friendly atmosphere... and last but not least I'll probably go to the UMP meeting in Lyon to support Nicolas ! - Sarkozy for President ! - And Fabrizio no worries, I swear I'll call as soon as I land. I'll post as much asd I can while I'm in Europe promised !

Praat jy Afrikaans?

Jy kan nou enige plek In die wêreld regstreeks na RSG luister.
Voor luister click hier -> http://www.rsg.co.za/

Back on popular demand

What a week that was ! Getting ready to leave on Dec. 10th is quite a challenge. I spent most of the week trying to get things done at work. Year end is always super busy for Finance people, but this year just seems crazy. Hopefully I will have all the reporting and filings done on time. School is going well, actually it will be going well after we're done with the Corporate Governance exam this week-end. I haven't done much reading yet and it's about time to start. On another subject I am pretty disappointed by the BCS ranking and Florida ended-up 2nd. This is totally ridiculous and not based on a fair evaluation. After UCLA did its job and killed USC, Michigan should have moved back to number 2 and gone to the National Championship. Instead we're 3rd. We'll still play the Rose Bowl, which is cool but still...and guess who we'll play ? USC. We'll still what Californian are really made of :)
Friday night Team Chiasma went to Canada for our monthly gathering (except Brian who had major stuff to take care of). It was an absolut blast. A lot of friendly people there hey. Jim lost his phone for the 2nd time in 2 weeks....unbelievable. I'll have to post the pictures when I have time. I also called Sophie and it was great to talk to her. I hope her new job interview goes well. Well I guess I'd better go and do some studying !

A great day !!!!

His answer is yes.
Sarko President !

Lebanon. How much longer...

I wanted to wait a little before writing this and get a chance to read the comments here and there in the international press. Pierre Gemayel was shot in his car last week and is the 6th Christian personnality to be assassinated. Instead of constantly blaming Israel for all the troubles of the middle-east it is high time that Europe took some actions against the true criminals of the region. When Israel defends itself against terrorists attacks the European newspapers are covered with articles denouncing once again the Isreali agressions. When Christian get slaughtered in Lebanon what does Europe do ? Nothing. What is going on with the international investigation of the assassination of Rafic Hariri ? Nothing. What is going on with the disarming of Hezbollah ? Nothing. What has been done to stop Syria and Iran from supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, and fueling the civil war in Irak ? Nothing. Well. leaders of the EU, it's about time you stop wasting everybody's time and let the only true democracy in the middle east do what it has to do. So, I ask again, for how long is this situation going to be tolerated ? Fouhad Siniora is unable to do anything other than whining on TV when Israel takes measures to stop the rain of katoushias falling on Galilea. Emile Lahoud will do everything he can to protect his Syrian friends and their criminal actions...in the meantime Hezbollah sits back and relax, enjoying the show....and Iran continues to expand its influence beyond Persia. The chiite revolution was never successful to take root beyond the Iranian borders, thanks to the western cacophony it now has its dream served on a silver tray.

Yeah right.... the best ever !

Fred, thanks for your comment.... I didn't even watch the last quarter, Notre-Dame was pathetic and they dserved to get trashed by USC. Brady Quinn should go and play marbles... So now USC will probably move to the second place and Michigan will have to say good-bye to the national championship.... I am not happy :( Also it is not fair, as well pointed by one commentator on ESPN, Michigan is tied 11-1 with USC and had a much more impressive season, with a 3-point only loss to OSU. So now what ? Support OSU ? Never.
The good news is I won't have to sing and it won't rain. (I had already picked up my song though: "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from U2... well they are Irish so it qualifies

Listen carefully...

...Because I'm not likely to say that again in the next century : "Go Notre-Dame". OK that's it. If the fighting Irish win I promise I will sing an Irish song. Won't happen twice.

La llama que llama for Melissa

Jim...

...can you send me the pictures from Friday night ?
thanks

I'm back

After a few days of traveling (I went to Boston) and a few days in class I am back !Things have been piling up on my desk at work but I hope it won't take too long to catch-up. At least it was good to take a few days off, relax and reflect. While in Boston I drove by my old house and it brought back a lot of memories. I also went to "La Bouchée", the best restaurant in Boston, in my opinion. It's on Newbury Street. I highly recommend it ! It was a lot of fun. I also met with my friend Carter. I hadn't seen her for a couple of years but we reconnected instantly...who said time and distance erase everything ?
Anyways the Finance exam is over and we have only 2 classes left for the year (with finals of course otherwise it wouldn't be fun!!!!). Only 19 days before I leave for France. I hope everybody is well and wish y'all a Happy Thansgiving.

One more Victory for the Wolverines

BCS Standings
1. Ohio State
2. Michigan
3. USC
4. Florida
5. Notre Dame
6. Rutgers
7. Arkansas
8. West Virginia
9. Wisconsin
10. Louisville
11. LSU
12. Boise State
13. Texas
14. Auburn
15. California
16. Wake Forest
17. Oklahoma
18. Georgia Tech
19. Maryland
20. Boston College
21. Virginia Tech
22. Tennessee
23. Nebraska
24. Oregon
25. Brigham Young

To remember Benjamin - I miss you my friend

Jean Jacques Goldman - puisque tu pars
Uploaded by cladstrife

Stewball

tvm-HuguesAufray-Stewball
Uploaded by damdamboy

The University of Michigan

here are a few pictures of my U.

Great Week-end

The week-end was a lot of fun. Friday night Aaron, Brian, Jim and I went to see the premiere of Borat, which exceeded all our expectations...How does he get away with all that stuff? The best was undoubtedly the scene with Azamat Bagatov. We all gathered at the Movie Theater in AA, sat in the last row and bought 3 liters of coke and 2 buckets of popcorns...your average American movies night out! The theater was 100% full, with 4 theaters premiering the movie, in other words half of U of M students were probably there. It was a good laugh and a good time. In the car Jim mentioned how funny it was to be here now. We had planned to go and see Borat during the project and it seemed like ages ago. It's funny because I had thought exactly the same thing on my way to AA. On Saturday I tested a new Sushi restaurant with Hope: "Take Sushi" which was really good. Very nice people and a real Japanese chef, synonym of excellent sushi.
Next week-end is the Finance Exam so I'd better get started and read the case...I can't wait for Christmas vacation. I am seriously saturated. I have a lot of things to do in Europe. Visit friends, take a walk in the mountains and go skiing, go to Italy (probably Genoa) for 2 or 3 days and Nice (the picture). I love the Mediterranean coast in winter, it's not crowded, the weather is usually pretty nice and the atmosphere is amazing. I like stopping is small towns of Provence or Liguria on the way for a good dinner or a little espresso...40 more days!

For Fred et Steph.

http://www.paroles.net/chansons/14847.htm

Ciao Youri et merci !

Youri Djorkaeff has retired from football after a glittering career that saw him play in the French international teams that won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. The 38-year-old Djorkaeff had been due to play for the New York Red Bulls against Washington in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference semi-finals on Sunday but was unable to do so due to an ankle injury. The Bulls lost and Djorkaeff confirmed his earlier decision to retire at the end of the US season. "I feel great even though I was unable to play in this last game." he said. "I have no regrets and achieved all I wanted to achieve in my career playing in all the top leagues of Europe. "But I felt that the time had come to call it a day. Physically I am still on top of my game but mentally it's more difficult."Djorkaeff, whose father was also a noted French international, began his career at Grenoble in 1984 going on to play for Strasbourg, Monaco and Paris St Germain. He moved to Inter Milan in 1996 for a successful three-year stint during which he played a key role in the France side that won the World Cup in Paris in 1998. He moved to Kaiserslautern in Germany from 1999 until 2002 before joining Sam Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers in the English Premiership for two years. After a brief spell with Blackburn, Djorkaeff joined the New York Red Bulls in April, 2005. He played 82 times for France between October 1993 and June 2003 and scored 28 goals. Asked what the highlight of his career had been Djorkaeff replied: "Winning the World Cup with France. "Each and every footballer dreams of doing that one day. The European title in 2000 was the icing on the cake. There was something magical about the French team in those days." Djorkaeff's retirement comes hard on the heels of that of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez and leaves just four of France's World Cup winning squad - Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet and Liliam Thuram - still being considered by coach Raymond Domenech.

A Favela da Santa Rocinha

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite paintings! I bought it in 1998 in Rio de Janeiro from an artist called Teobaldo. The combination of colors on the original is just amazing. It represents the Favela of Santa Rocinha which is the largest favela in Latin America. More than 100,000 people live there hanging on the hillside of a Moro. In addition to being a nest for all sorts of traffic it has also become a city of its own where poor people mostly immigrants from the Nordeste live. Teobaldo grew up in this favela but managed to get out of it thanks to his amazing artistic talents. A portion of all the paintings he sells is used for schools in the favela. He wants to give education to children of the favela so that they don't become drug dealers, some of them as young as 10 years old (!). If you are interested in the subject, which involves many interesting sociological and political issues I recommend a movie called "City of God" ("Cidade de Deus" in Portuguese) and a book from Caco Barcelos. Barcelos is a journalist from O Globo, the Brazilian giant media conglomerate. He spent one year with one of the godfathers of the favela, Juliano V.P. and wrote a book about this experience. I started reading this book during my summer vacation in Rio a couple of years ago. The book is fascinating. One morning, during my stay there, the friend I was staying with brought me the newspaper saying that a leader of the Sta. Rocinha favela who had been incarcerated a few months earlier was found dead in his cell with a note saying "you talked too much". This guy was no other than Juliano V.P. That was kind of a shock. I guess I got so much into the book that I sort of suddenly got caught up by reality. In the article they mentioned the fact that Juliano V.P. had told the story of his life to Barcelos and some of the secrets of the favela... since then I can't help thinking about this strange story every time I look at my painting...

Fred

The "assignements sky" is clearing up a little, the finance exam is approaching though...Other than that, I called my grand-parents today, they sounded happy and healthy which is always good news. I'm looking forward to seeing them for Christmas. My grand'ma will probably have prepared one of these amazing dinners that only she has the secret of. She is an artist. She is to Cooking what Einstein is to Nuclear Science (and yes cooking is an art). I'm also looking forward to hanging out with my good buddy Fred. We went to high school together, it just seems like it was yesterday. Fred is a great guy. I'm always amazed by how he gets informed of the latest technological trends on about everything. You wonder about this or that electronic stuff... ask Fred he will definitely know something about it. I like visiting him and his family too, they are great people and you always feel welcome at their house. Fred is coming to MI for my graduation so we'll have a biiiig party. Fred je suis bien fier que tu sois mon ami. A+

This is amazing

http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/top100/

Don't cry for me Argentina

Here are some pictures of Buenos Aires, Argentina. I love this city. I lived there for two years and would go back anytime. In spite of being a really big city it is very pleasant and offers a great quality of life. It is bordered by the Rio de la Plata and faces Uruguay. Buenos Aires has many parks but the greatest thing Bs. As. is the culture. Argentina has a very unique culture due to its immigration history. Most of its European descent originates from Italy, not Spain even though Spanish (or rather "castellano") is the language spoken by its population...

My Road in Michigan

The Big House

Jim and I wondering why we didn't stay at home to watch the game.

My new t-shirt

The Big House's scoreboard

...

more at : http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=19t26htz.97p3bwyr&Uy=-qs8ym3&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=1&UV=810240352813_469377302403

Friday Night Pictures

Brian just got a friendly sms

Commander Aaron after his geopolitical clarification

Team C - e pluribus unum, friends forever

Jim and his endless exploration of modern art. I should Have known back then that we'd never find the WhiteCaslte...

(!)

Jim and his new undergrad friend

Monsieur Stéphane

My friend Stéphane In the subway in Paris...

Soccer

The sun is back. It's a good thing since I have a soccer game this afternoon. We're playing in Boulan Park against Romanian guys. We'll see what they have and if the refereee shows up on time ! Last time he was 20 minutes late, to which we had to add up another 20 minutes of arguments between him and the coach. Anyway I'm ready to kick the ball...I'd rather be in Mexico though, much nicer weather to play outside...

Babel

New movie by A. G. Inarritu. I like this director a lot, he has a very unique approach. In Amores Perros and 21 grams he walks you through the complexity of the story by giving you only of a few pieces of a puzzle. The pieces can be originally unrelated characters, events or simply images. It's only at the end that you really seize the meaning of the story and put all the pieces back together. In a way it's very much like life. You have to find for yourself the meaning of many hints you are given on a daily basis. Things may not make sense immediately but will eventually. If somebody sees Babel first let me know how it is... JB or Rodrigo ?

Lauvitel Lake, France

My favorite hike in the Alps. An hour drive from my mom's house + a 2-hour walk. Nothing beats a day outside discovering natural treasures.

Great Saturday !

It actually all started on the day before :) Jim called on Friday afternoon, he had taken the whole day off. He actually thought we were going to go to the movies, but that's next week. So instead he ended up shopping in Ann Arbor and bought $100 worth of blue and maize selected items... all made in China. I called Aaron to make sure he would join us since he was flying back from New York that day. The gathering point was at Brian's house. Unfortunately I had the first week debriefing meeting with the Auditors scheduled at 6:00 pm and with the CEO on his way back from Europe I had to attend. Everything went really well and after a quick meeting I was on my way to AA. Of course everybody was already there when I showed up watching the Tigers' game. OK we don't want to talk about that. So we headed out to O’Neil’s downtown and had a great typical Team C time. These guys are really great. I have to say because I am always amazed by how great I feel when we are all get together. It goes well beyond average friendship or mutual understanding. We all just perfectly connect, feel the same way about a lot of subjects, have the same enthusiasm for life, similar cultural interests, and the same sense of humor. Witnessing how these guys can give the best of them and solve incredibly challenging problems is really impressive and the ExecMAP project was a great illustration of that. This energy is always here, among us, floating around every time we meet. And every time we meet I get re-energized. Ready to face whatever is coming and knowing the future will bring great things.
So after a bunch of memorable discussions and comments including a girl next to us stating that "France and England was the same thing to her" and Aaron giving a detailed geopolitical analysis of the Middle East to somebody from North Carolina, we headed back home. Actually it was a little more complicated than that. After Brian disappeared (we still don't know where to btw)... Aaron went home, and Jim and I decided we were hungry. We opted for White-Castle since Jim assured me he knew one pretty close... "Oh yes I used to go there all the time" he said... well guess what? When we got “there” the White-Castle was gone. Several options came to mind: 1. Jim needs a serious vacation. 2. Aliens came and moved the White-Castle to their planet. 3. Jim got struck by the Harold & Kumar syndrome, or spent too much time with Freakshow... Anyhow, no cravers... but we found Brian though, he was eating cold pizza in his garage (go figure...). After the pizza we thought it was time for bed.
On Saturday morning I felt sort of rested. Jim was still concerned by the destiny of White-Castles in the world and looked a little tired :) Outside the weather was getting pretty…bad, but nothing can stop U of M students and we were going to go to the Big House no matter what. On the way I got a call from my friend Rodrigo from Mexico. We chatted for a while because he sounded like he needed to be cheered up. He is having a lot of relationship problems lately (who doesn't) and as everyone knows it’s never easy. I think he is doing better though and starts to understand that it's time to turn the page and enjoy life! But the Big House was around the corner and we needed to find a spot to park. After turning around and around we parked in the front yard of an older lady who was very nice and charged us 15 bucks! All of a sudden Jim and I got hungry...again...and opted for an Italian sausage, not the most healthy but we'll run tomorrow!!!

The Big House was almost full in spite of the weather. The game was a little slow but fun and when I starting to feel cold I just looked at the guy next to me wearing shorts and a tee-shirt and immediately felt better. During the game I got a call from Frederic who was watching Notre-Dame - Navy in France (lol). The wolverines won and remain undefeated which is excellent... Wow, 10:50 already I'd better finish the Strategy assignment. I'll write more tomorrow and I'll post the pictures I promise! I also need to mention I was glad to get an email from somebody on the West Coast today ;)

En garde !

I'm still debating whether I sign up for the NCAA fencing tournament or not. Yes would mean that I'll have to train a minimum of 6 hours per week. Right now it just seems crazy... In 2004 I did great but I eventually got slaughtered (by losing 15-0, I know! And it still hurts) in the 6th round. Here's a picture. Jean-Baptiste once told me about this picture that there was some magic in it, and that it almost looked like a modern painting depicting "butterfly hunting". I thought that was really funny! What's for sure is that it was a touch...

Viktor Emil Frankl

In September of 1942, a young doctor, his new bride, his mother, father, and brother, were arrested in Vienna and taken to a concentration camp in Bohemia. It was events that occurred there and at three other camps that led the young doctor -- prisoner 119,104 -- to realize the significance of meaningfulness in life.
One of the earliest events to drive home the point was the loss of a manuscript -- his life's work -- during his transfer to Auschwitz. He had sewn it into the lining of his coat, but was forced to discard it at the last minute. He spent many later nights trying to reconstruct it, first in his mind, then on slips of stolen paper.
Another significant moment came while on a predawn march to work on laying railroad tracks: Another prisoner wondered outloud about the fate of their wives. The young doctor began to think about his own wife, and realized that she was present within him:
The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved. (1963, p. 59)And throughout his ordeal, he could not help but see that, among those given a chance for survival, it was those who held on to a vision of the future -- whether it be a significant task before them, or a return to their loved ones -- that were most likely to survive their suffering.
It would be, in fact, the meaningfulness that could be found in suffering itself that would most impress him:
(T)here is also purpose in that life which is almost barren of both creation and enjoyment and which admits of but one possibility of high moral behavior: namely, in man's attitude to his existence, and existence restricted by external forces.... Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete. (1963, p. 106)That young doctor was, of course, Viktor Emil Frankl.

Tonight...

Audit status : one week down, 2 to go ! Geees. that was a stressful week, in addition to the regular workload I have a dual audit going on and I'm glad it's Friday. It went very well in Mexico and we're done with that part.

Tonight I'll stay with Brian in Ann Arbor. Jim is joining us for a little Team C. gathering. I hope Aaron can join too. Jim is actually already on his way...I'll miss the warm-up. Tomorrow we're going to the game. Hopefully the Wolverines stay undefeated. Well I'll post some pictures and I'll tell you about tonight. Watch out !!!! :)

Changing macroeconomics

Yesterday I attended a very interesting conference about the world economy. Of course a lot of emphasis was put on China. A lot has been said about China, which includes a lot of non-sense and misinterpretation. One of the reasons being the lack of transparency and reliable statistics. The speed of the boom in China is leaving a lot of casualties behind. Authorities often have hard time collecting relevant information about their industrial activity. The consequences are that it makes the whole macroeconomic analysis very difficult. The key question when dealing with China and trying to forecast what's waiting is the reversal of China's export oriented economy into a self sustained market. All depends obviously on the speed at which domestic demand will become strong enough to not only absorb 100% of the Chinese output but start relying on imports. This is essential because it will not only create stimulus for the US and European economy, but also reverse the balance deficit. The trade deficit in the US will become harder and harder to sustain and it's time to do something. I am always amazed when I hear that the reason for the imbalance primarily comes from the fact that Asian economy save too much. I guess it's always easier to find explanation's somewhere else. This argumentation is an economic non-sense in my opinion. Moreover it projects a wrong assessment of the situation and maintains the belief that $981 billions (yes billions!!!) of foreign reserves being accumulated in the Chinese Central Bank is not really an issue. Guess what??? It is!!!! That is why the reversal is crucial, so I was very happy to finally be able to read an in-depth analysis of the issue in the Economist from October 21st. The Economist is an amazing magazine with high value high quality content and I strongly recommend it if you want to better understand what's going on in the world right now....

A friendly face !

J.-B. I'm glad we talked yesterday (for any reason I like you better with your glasses). I think I'm going to go and visit you sometimes in January. We could go to Puerto Vallarta with Rodrigo. have fun, go scuba-diving etc...I think we all need a good break for different reasons. I feel burned out lately. Between, work, the MBA, painful decisions, etc...Sometimes it feels like most of my energy is gone. But I know it was the right thing to do. Life is ahead, there is so much to do and discover, new places to go, new people to meet...Stressing over problems or painful events is not resolving anything. Things happen for a reason. Trying to force what's not meant to be will just delay the outcome.

Good luck...

I know it's not easy.

Message from Aaron

מדינת ישראל שייכת לאנשים של ישראל. אתה חייב להבין את זה. ישראל היא מגינת העולם החופשי

Thanks Melissa...

..."Praise you in this storm" is a wonderful song

Jean-Baptiste

Jean-Baptiste and I went to college together and I can say that he is probably the person with whom I feel the strongest intellectual connection in the world. Jean-Baptiste is a brilliant guy, a free thinker, a scholar. A person who has gone deeply in the knowledge of himself and a true believer, a Zarathoustra of the modern age. Life took us on different path after graduation and we ended up on different continents. Jean-Baptiste in Central America and me in Eastern Europe. One thing we once shared in college was this belief in a greater mission. We had this strength in us, one of unspoken words and somehow our paths needed to cross again.

...It was a cold and snowy day in Michigan, I was attending a meeting of the French-American Chamber of Commerce. And I heard this voice behind me...5 years had gone by but I immediately recognized the voice...I turned my head and there was Jean-Baptiste, standing in front of me. That was so great to see him again. Strangly enough we met had a time where we both needed to change things in our lives and we really helped each other a lot in that respect.

Alors merci Jean-Baptiste d'être l'ami que tu es, le frère qui occupera toujours une place unique est irremplaçable dans mon existence.

Hélène Ségara & Andrea Bocelli

Sometimes I think about when I used to live in Argentina and I remember listening to this song when I felt lonely... Home was 14 hours of flight away and some days it was tough. This song would remind me of the long walks Benjamin and I use to take in the city. We would talk about our dreams and goals, and felt ready to conquer the world. I miss my friend and will forever. Words of French and Italian would float in the air and I would be right there in the Alps again. Hélène Ségara has such a beautiful voice !

Crazy weather

This picture was taken on Oct. 24, 2006 in Saint Malo, in the North-West of France. Météo France said winds reached over 100 km/h.

Saint-Malo during the Middle Ages was a fortified island, controlling not only the estuary of the Rance river but the open sea beyond. Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the VI th century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of Brendan, Saint Malo. In the later centuries it became notorious as the home of a fierce breed of pirate-mariners, who were never quite under anyone's control but their own; for 4 years from 1590, Saint-Malo even declared itself to be an independent republic, taking up the motto "not French, not Breton, but Malois". The Corsairs of Saint-Malo not only forced English ships passing up the Channel to pay tribute, but also brought wealth from further afield. Jacques Cartier, who sailed the Saint Laurent (St. Lawrence) river and visited the sites of Québec and Montréal - and is thus credited as the discoverer of Canada, lived in and sailed from Saint-Malo, as did the first colonists to settle the Falklands – hence the islands' Argentinian name, Islas Malvinas, from the French Îles Malouines...

Imagine, you're in 1653 leaving on a sails boat to reach Québec, with waves and winds like those on the picture....

Paradise and The Big Blue

The underwater world is so fascinating. I will always remember the first day I went underneath. I was 17 and had my first dive in the Calanques of Marseilles. It was fantastic, I felt like I had discovered a new galaxy, everything was so new, so pure, so different. The colors, the sounds, my existence was redefined. But I immediately felt at ease, in my element, and fell in love with the Big Blue. Everytime I dive I feel alive and free. It's just amazing. If you have never experienced the symphony of the ocean you should really give it a thought !!!!

6 months...

Well, we all survived another class. Marketing is over ! I actually loved this class, it was the very first opportunity after ExecMap to put all the components in perspective and finally approach the essence of business. The stramsim simulation was really good. Decide and assume the consequences of your decisions ! Running a business is not only about the bottom line. Or better said, looking at the bottom line as a fatality on which you perform financial analysis. Managing a business is not about reacting, implementing action plans or improving a threatened competitive position. It is about vision, innovation, taking risk and imagining the future. In a way it would even sound mystic ! It's seizing the potential of a new environment that no one can yet conceive. Who said if it's not controversial, then it's not strategic ?

On another subject I am happy of what I did today. Nino would call that optimism. I like to see it as realism. Realism is also understanding what is good and necessary. What makes you a better person. So you want to know what I did ? Well I send an email to somebody. Just like that, and I told that person what I felt. Many positive things. And it was good, spontaneous, honest and authentic. One of these moments when you reconnect with the true essence of life. Realism ? I don't know. And I don't want to know. It's my way of finding mysticism. I hope I get an answer...maybe i will. Uncertainty is a component of our existence that we often have a hard time to deal with, but at the end it is what makes it so beautiful because you never know what tomorrow will bring you...

Meet the # 1 Michigan Fan

The legendary Jim ! Well he had a rough time last night...Can't blame him...

GO BLUE !

We went out with some classmates last night, downtown Ann Arbor, and had a Greeeaaattt time... pictures and details to come. In the meantime there's a lot of classes in the way.....
But the most important : the Wolverines are playing Iowa today... GO BLUE !

I love this picture, it pretty much summarizes the whole situation (and how i feel today...actually more like the dude on the ground)

Grenoble, France

This is a view of the old city part of Grenoble, the city where I was born in France. Grenoble is surrounded by mountains: to the north the Chartreuse (from which the liquor made by the Chartreux Monks took its name), to the west the Vercors (the heartland of the Résistance during WWII), and to the east Belledone. Grenoble is known as the "Capital of the Alps". It's a great and modern city with a lot of nano-science research and related activities and a huge University. If you want to go to France that's the place to visit !

Back to School ! And some explanations about Common Law v. Civil Law

I'll have a lot of classes for the next few days...Finance, Strategy, Corporate Governance... There is also a cession scheduled at the Tozzi Trading Center, which sounds really interesting... (it will remind me of my trading years for sure). I like the Corporate Governance class a lot. I've always been interested in Law, mainly Constitutional La, so that's a great opportunity to learn about the U.S. legal system. The U.S. system is inherited from the English Common Law system where court cases and decisions actually constitute the Law. This is very different from the French system I am more familiar with which is a Civil Law system.

Civil law is primarily contrasted against Common Law, which is the legal system developed among Anglo-Saxon people, especially in England. The original difference is that, historically, common law was law developed by custom, beginning before there were any written laws and continuing to be applied by courts after there were written laws, too, whereas civil law develops out of the Roman law of Justinian's Corpus Iuris Civilis. In later times, civil law became codified as "droit coutumier", which is French for customary law that were local compilations of legal principles recognized as normative. Sparked by the age of enlightment, attempts to codify private law began during the second half of the 18th century, but civil codes with a lasting influence were promulgated only after the French Revolution, in jurisdictions such as France (with the Code Napoléonien), Austria, Québec ( with the Code Civil du Québec), Spain (Código Civil), the Netherlands , Germany etc... Mainly all the countries that once were part of the French 1st. Empire. However, codification is by no means a defining characteristic of a civil law system, as e.g. the civil law systems of Scandinavian countries remain largely uncodified, whereas common law jurisdictions have frequently codified parts of their laws, e.g. in the U.S. Uniform Commerical Code. There are also mixed systems, such as the laws of Sctoland or South Africa.

Thus, the difference between civil law and common law lies less in the mere fact of codification, but in the methodological approach to codes and statutes. In civil law countries, legislation is seen as the primary source of law. By default, courts thus base their judgments on the provisions of codes and statutes, from which solutions in particular cases are to be derived. Courts thus have to reason extensively on the basis of general rules and principles of the code, often drawing analogies from statutory provisions to fill lacunae and to achieve coherence. By contrast, in the common law system, cases are the primary source of law, while statutes are only seen as incursions into the common law and thus interpreted narrowly.

The underlying principle of separation of powers is seen somewhat differently in civil law and common law countries. In some common law countries, especially the United States, judges are seen as balancing the power of the other branches of government. By contrast, the original idea of separation of powers in France was to assign different roles to legislation and to judges, with the latter only applying the law (the judge as "la bouche de la loi" which means "the mouth of the law").

There are notable differences between the legal methodologies of various civil law countries. For example, it is often said that common law opinions are much longer and contain elaborate reasoning, whereas legal opinions in civil law countries are usually very short and formal in nature. This is in principle true in France, where judges cite only legislation, but not prior case law. (However, this does not mean that judges do not consider it when drafting opinions.) By contrast, court opinions in German-speaking countries can be as long as English ones, and normally discuss prior cases and academic writing extensively.

There are, however, certain sociological differences. Civil law judges are usually trained and promoted separately from advocates, whereas common law judges are usually selected from accomplished and reputable advocates.

Rio de Janeiro: One of My Favorite Places in the World

This is a picture of Gustavo and his family in Rio. Gustavo is one of my closest friends, he is from Brazil. We actually met in the elevator in Buenos Aires, Argentina while we lived their. I was going back to my apartment one day, heading to the elevator, proudly wearing my French soccer team jersey and its brand new shiny star on the torso...(yes ! it was in August 1998 !). Gustavo was with his brother visiting from Rio. Trying to start one of these elevators atmosphere conversation ( you know, when people feel obliged to say something ! The elevator was pretty small too !), Gustavo, thinking I was one of these Argentinians doing a little bit of provocation said : "Oh that's an ugly Jersey !" Of course he didn't know I was French :) , after that we became friends ! funny life....
Alessandra and Gustavo in front of their house. They are coming to France for Christmas so we'll have plenty of time to spend together. They are a lot of fun to be with

The beach of Barra da Tijuca....I can't wait to go back !