It was a stressful day and I needed respite. As is my wont, I chose a dark movie theater even though it was a beautiful sunny summer afternoon. I wish I could be the sort of person who can relax on a nature walk but I can’t. It would certainly be better for me than pounding popcorn and soda in a dark room. My partner wondered why I couldn’t go for a relaxing walk instead of a movie I didn’t particularly even want to see. A question I hadn’t really considered before. Why is a

The items my performer parents accumulated in their long careers sometimes travel down to me in the form of mysterious poster tubes. I have a vague sense of the contents but I’m afraid to unroll them because they are from as far back as 1947 and fragile as a butterfly wing. These were not designed to be long-lasting posters. These are thin paper that got plastered across walls with cheap glue and the expectation of impermanence. I had looked into mounting and framing for post

Many nations have rules around how much broadcast television must be in the native language. This was of particular concern in France during the popularizing of television as their airwaves were inundated with English-speaking programs. The way around the problem of expensive production is to do a doublage, that is, a voice over work in the native language that loosely matches the lip movements of the original show. My father, known as Daniel Crouet, started out as an actor a

There are studies that show military brats are a unique subculture. Compared to the average person they exhibit greater resilience, ability to adapt to new situations, and a knack for making new friends. They have extensive exposure to foreign cultures and languages, as well as exposure to regional differences in their own nation. The children of military families are often expected to reflect the military training and culture of their parents: they follow a code of service f