November
29, 2003: The
phone rang about 4 pm last Tuesday afternoon, or as we say on this side
of the Atlantic, about 16h00. It was Igor and Grichka Bogdanov, our
friends in Paris.
"Can
you come to Paris tomorrow? We have been able to schedule a shoot at
the production studio, and afterward, you have been invited to a private
party at the Ministry - including an evening of Flamenco dancing. There
are quite a few people wanting to meet you!"
Ark
and Laura had gotten to know Igor and Grichka the year before when the
two brothers had been the victims of a US COINTELPRO-style slander campaign
(which we recognized because Ark and Laura had been subjected to a similar
"treatment") that spread through the Internet and media like
US troops hitting the Iraqi desert. Ark had become personally interested
in the drama when he learned that friends of his had served as thesis
advisors to the Bs. (For more on this, check out our dossier on the
Bogdanov affair.)
Since
our arrival in France, we had spent a number of evenings with them,
discussing everything from physics to the state of the world. Unfortunately,
as they are in Paris and Laura and Ark are in the south of France, their
visits are far too infrequent.
The
Brothers explained that the French network, M6, was preparing a documentary
program about Igor and Grichka, and the two of them wanted Ark to participate,
to explain his theories on the origin of the universe to the French
public.
Twenty-four
hours later, after an early morning TGV ride through the beautiful French
countryside, we were in the suburbs of Paris, drinking a coffee in a
neighborhood café, waiting for the Bogdanovs and the camera crew
to arrive. It was raining, traffic was heavy, and Igor and Grichka were
late. But, then, they are always late. With a consistency you can bank
on. Ark is working out the mathematics of it as we write, but as it
involves Imaginary Time, there are few mathematicians capable of its
complete elaboration.
With
a flourish, the two of them entered the café. Hugs all around,
and we followed them into the basement of a nearby building, to the
studios of the production company that does the computer graphics for
their TV series Rayons X.
In
the studios, surrounded by dozens of computers, we were welcomed, introduced
to the team working on Rayons-X, served another café,
and began a discussion with another of their colleagues, M. Mizzi, the
developer of a new form of PDA using a graphical touchscreen interface
that doesn't need a pen.
The
TV production team shot a few scenes with the programmers working on
the computer graphics.
| |
| Here the team
from M6 are shooting a demonstration of the software used to produce
the virtual Bogdanovs used in Rayons-X. |
| |
| In another
studio, two of the team demonstrate the software that makes the
virtual figures "speak." |
| |
| By
speaking into the microphone, the software translates the phonemes
and generates the correct facial expressions for the words spoken.
Here we see Laura singing into the mike and producing the Karaoke
Igor. With a glove, finger movements can produce facial expressions
while the virtual Igor sings or speaks. |
| |
| Ark
becomes a TV star. Here he is, slightly hidden by Grichka, explaining
how he has worked out the math to demonstrate that the universe
can not only oscillate, but also evolve. |
| |
| Continuing
on with the interview... |
| |
|
Ark,
having taught for many years, is in his element explaining the
fundamentals of quantum physics. The TV producer said it was the
first time he had ever understood clearly what a scientist was
saying to him.
But
life with the Brothers B is not only work. The interview successfully
completed, after a short trip to the hotel to freshen up, we were
off to the Ministry for an evening of Flamenco.
|
| |
| Situated
in a beautiful building in the 7th Arrondissement, not far from
Les Invalides, this is one of the conference rooms at the
Ministry. Laura enters in the gold scarf. I am leading the parade
at far right. Since this was a private party with many important
individuals attending, we have protected their privacy by graphic
modifications. |
| |
| After
a short tour of the gardens, we were served champagne in the Minister's
office. You can see Laura in the center of a discussion identifiable
by the gold scarf. |
| |
| The
back terrace overlooking the gardens. Here I am discussing the psychoanalysis
of Islam with another guest. |
| |
| Laura
engaged in conversation prior to the Flamenco show. Henry serves
the champagne. |
| |
| Laura
has a good laugh with a friend while I listen. |
| |
| Ark
and Laura look fondly on their new President whose country and people
have so warmly welcomed them. Whatever one thinks of Chirac, he
is definitely not Bush league. |
| |
| Man
about town, Professor Jadczyk looks right at home in the Minister's
office. The physicist's Fred Astaire... |
| |
| The
Flamenco group, Va et Viens, at the start of their performance. |
| |
| The first part
of the performance consisted of singing, with the singers trying
to outdo one another with their stories. Here, we see one of them
making a particularly moving point about a woman he once knew. |
| |
| So
moved was he by this encounter, he stands, better to express the
emotional drama and pain he lived. |
| |
| The
hand-clapping and stamping feet set the beat and induce a special
"state" in the dancer. Laura says it is almost like a
religious ceremony - the adoration of the goddess in all women... |
| |
| And
when the spirit of the goddess descends finally into the dancer,
she leaps to her feet and it is pure magic! |
| |
| Expressing
every nuance of the spirit of Woman in her movements, the dancer
clicks her heels like a machine gun punctuated by stomps like cannon
fire... The goddess is not pleased with a fickle man who does not
know how to treat her royally! |
| |
| Love
is a pas de deux between equals. Alejandro and Isabella
show us how it is done... |
| |
| Whirling
and clacking and stomping like an earthquake, love is cosmic passion... |
| |
| Love
is grace and restraint... Few men can survive the love of the goddess. |
| |
| Finally,
alone, needing no man to make her all things to ALL men, Isabella
kicks off her shoes and brings the dance to a wild and dramatic
conclusion. |
 |
| Back
at the hotel, Ark watches and learns how to park a car in Paris...
especially how to park a three metre long car in a space that is
only 2.8 metres long. Hint: You hit the car behind you hard enough
to push it several centimetres back. Repeat as needed.... |
| |
| The street
in Paris from the hotel the next morning. |
| |
| Looking the
other direction. |
| |
| Not
far from the hotel, the Trocadero, with view on the Eiffel Tower,
that day, disappearing mysteriously into the clouds as we drove
to our luncheon appointment. |
After
a luncheon prepared and served by a Princess of the Bourbon family,
it was back to the train station and the TGV home.
Twenty-four
hours to cement friendships and future working relationships.
Ah,
just another day in Paris... That Grand Dame of lights - City of the
Goddess... millions of them!
