calvisson-leblon

  With British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor as a headliner, the Lofoten Chamber Music Festival in Norway sounded both appealing and exotic.   On May 20, an unusually early heat wave stroke Provence, in the south of France, —early even by the region’s own standards.   Since then, daytime temperatures have hovered around 40 degrees C (104 F) and have never dropped below 35º C.   To escape the debilitating July heat, I signed up for the weeklong Lofoten festival.   Located above the Arctic Circle, the archipelago is known for its stunning landscapes and unpredictable weather and the concerts promised to make up for bad-humored weather.   Europe is renowned for its large number of prestigious summer music festivals.   I have attended Bayreuth, Salzburg, Munich, Glyndebourne, Verbier, Pesaro and Aix en Provence, etc.   Over time, I realized that my ears were not refined enough to distinguish a genius performer from a merely good one.   I also fo...

  I had not fully appreciated how essential my liver is, but it has made clear that I cannot live without it functioning properly.   Liver is the busiest organ in our body, it performs almost 500 functions; primarily, it filters our blood and protects us from poisonous substances like alcohol and drugs.   Because my liver is currently unwell, it is testing my patience.   Since early March, I became a statistic, one in ten thousand.   I was diagnosed with drug-induced hepatitis, or DILI (drug induced acute liver injury).   This not widely known form of hepatitis was triggered by a commonly prescribed antibiotic, Amoxicillin Clavulanate, taken together with Acetaminophen better known as Tylenol (paracetamol), a popular pain reliever.   It was my bad luck!   DILI predominantly affects older people, mostly men.   Researching for this blog, I was made aware that DILI is becoming more common in the United States, with 20% to 40% of cases linked t...

Gotham City was once considered the most corrupt city in the world, but it has been outmatched by Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.   While Gotham City exists only in the world of comic books, Rio de Janeiro is not a fictitious city.   Recently, during an audience at the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF), a lawyer indicated that in the State of Rio, it was easier to elect the supervillain Joker than Batman!   In the blasé and cocooned world of Brazilian magistrates, the remark drew a tense laugh.   Rio is the seat of the state government and therefore the center of never-ending shenanigans of a politico-corruption nature.     Even by Brazil’s mammoth political corruption standards, Rio beats every other state. Over the last twenty years, seven state governors, nearly all of them, have been either arrested or convicted of corruption.   In April 2026, the seating governor resigned before being found ineligible for office by a high court.   He was accused of hav...

  Prior to October 2025, when the scandal burst on the news, I was unaware of Banco Master, a small Brazilian investment bank.   In contrast, financial insiders knew the bank for its breakneck expansion, its above-market premiums and the extravagant parties hosted by its ostentatious boss Daniel Vorcaro (42).   However, still under the radar was Daniel’s extensive Rolodex which included many influential politicians, judges, bankers and religious leaders.   The scandal’s intrigue lies in this web of connections that may have enabled Vorcaro’s complex financial market manipulation schemes. “For Dummies” is a popular American series of instruction booklets designed to help beginners understand complex topics.   In a simple language and humorous style (I hope) I shall endeavor to explain this time bomb.   At the outset, I assure you I am not naïve; given Brazil’s history of fraud acceptance, or fatigue, the Master Bank scandal can well end up like the famou...

Move over grandma, I must make room for Buster!   In pet-mad Brazil, grandma’s coffin will have to be moved slightly to accommodate that of the family dog or cat in the family vault.   In February 2026, the conservative governor of the State of São Paulo granted pets a slot in the family grave.   The state law acknowledges “the emotional bond” between the household pet and his or her humans.   This law was inspired by a dog who spent 10 years living in the cemetery where his owner was buried.   Buster is an old-fashioned name which does not reflect dogs’ newfound role as a full family member.   Now, pet names have been “humanized” to Chico, Max or Lua to reflect this emotional bond.   The practice of burying pets alongside their owners is a time-honored tradition.   Notably, the oldest known wildcat pet was found buried intact next to the body of a young man, some 9.500 years ago in Cyprus.   Numerous Ancient Egypt tombs contain mummified p...

In November 2025, the world largest museum opened with a big media splash, in Cairo, Egypt’s capital. Solely dedicated to a single civilization that of ancient Egypt, the Grand Egyptian Museum, GEM is larger than the sprawling Louvre in Paris.  The museum’s inauguration has created a worldwide buzz beyond the world of culture.  A museum of superlatives: funded partly with Japanese loans, the US $ 1 billion project is architecturally grand, opulent, spectacular, user friendly, but also incongruous, marketing gimmick, out of place, and a waste of precious money.  Built over a twenty-year period, the museum building was purposely erected to highlight King Tut’s tomb treasures and Pharaoh Khufu’s afterlife barges.  Notably, the GEM’s goal is to boost Egypt tourism, a key source of revenue.                                                     ...