My Personality Type

My friend took this test & suggested I take it too…so here it is, Lichen!

Your personality type: “Analytical Thinker”
Logical, original, creative thinkers. Can become very excited about theories and ideas. Exceptionally capable  and    driven to turn theories into clear understandings. Highly value knowledge, competence and logic. Quiet and   reserved, hard to get to know well. Individualistic, having no interest in leading or following others. Highly analytical, they can discover connections between two seemingly unrelated things and work best when allowed to use their imagination and critical thinking.

Careers that could fit you include:

Physicists, chemists, biologists, photographers, strategic planners, mathematicians, university professors, computer programmers, computer animators, technical writers, engineers, lawyers, forensic researchers, writers, artists, psychologists, social scientists, systems analysts, researchers, surveyors.

This quiz can be found here

The logical part is largerly due to all-engineering & science majors at my college -.- there are many mad scientists there, but not me (I think)

The Revised Chandelier Article, Thanks to Jennie!

This is the revised version of the chandelier article previously posted in ‘The Chandelier Accident in Palais Garnier’. A moderator in http://www.phantomoftheopera.com helped me edited it (I should consider learning French from now on ). Thanks to Jennie for her French skill! You’re awesome!

A terrible accident occurred yesterday evening, at the Opera, during the performance of Helle. It was exactly three minutes to nine in the evening. The first act was ending. Mme Caron had just sung an encore, when a tremendous noise was heard. At the same time, a bright light appeared, like a flash of lightning and a cloud of dust rose spread from the top of the room to the flies.

First, the explosion was believed to be some anarchist attack. Spectators rushed to the exit doors. But with admirable coolness, Delmas, Mme. Caron and chorus members who were on the stage remained in place, hoping by their calm to reassure the public. They succeeded to calm the spectators in the pit (orchestra) and on the first two tiers. But, above, at the fourth level amphitheatere which was nearest to the supposed explosion, the panic was considerable. The spectators were jostling each other even trying to climb over the balustrade to jump into the pit. Police officer Guida, no 158 of the ninth arrondissement, Brigadier Grimaldi of the municipal guards, the two guards Levesque and Durand, and the caretaker of the auditorium, M. Vallerand, prevented them and guided them to the exit door. Thanks to them no new accident occurred.

Meanwhile, M. Lapissida, stage manager of the Opera had very calmly withdrawn the personnel from the stage. After that he said to the public that they had nothing to fear, and then brought down the curtain.

The evacuation of the amphitheatre (Jennie’s comment: the fourth level of balconies facing the stage) took no more than two or three minutes, and once this was completed, the wounded were taken care of, for there people who had been injured. First it was found that five or six people complained only of bruises and severe concussion. They could leave the room to receive medical treatment. Hopes were rising that the consequences of the accident had not been too severe, when cries attracted the attention of one of municipal guards. He retraced his steps and found a woman under a beam/girder. It was Mme. Senot, grocer, who lived at Rue de l’Arcade no 12. She had been injured in the leg and the right eye from the breaking of the beam/girder, under which she was trapped.

At the same time, a young girl, her face all covered with blood, began crying for her mother, who she said was under the rubble. The search revealed the horribly mutilated corpse of an elderly woman lying in a hole in the floor of the gallery, covered by blocks of cast iron.
It was the woman that the young girl was crying out for, Mme. Chomette, aged fifty-six, a concierge at 12 Impasse Briare, 7 Rue Rochechouart.

While officers were searching to see if there were any other bodies, a fire was seen to have started in the roof. The firemen on duty, promptly assisted by the firemen from Rue Blanche soon overcome the fire.

Until now, no one knew what had happened and the cause of the accident. By removing the body of Mme Chomette *TEXT MISSING* (probably “on s’en”) this was discovered. It had been caused *TEXT MISSING* (prob: “par la chute”) by the fall of one of the counterweights of *TEXT MISSING* (probably ‘chandelier’).

*TEXT MISSING* in the central hall is supported by eight iron wires, each one the thickness of a wrist, and each attached to a counterweight weighing about 700 kilos. Each counterweight weighs this much so that if one or several of the wires break, the chandelier will stay suspended.

Now apparently, along one of these wires, running in a flue or shaft, was a cable for the electric light. Probably through wear and tear, a contact between the wire and the electric cable started a fire, and this fierce spark melted the wire holding the counterweight.

The huge mass, tumbled through the shaft, first smashing through the ceiling, then the floor of the fifth gallery, fortunately in a place where no one was sitting, and finally crushed seats 11 and 13 of fourth gallery occupied by Mme. Chomette and her daughter. It even demolished the parquet floor underneath them before it stopped.

It was also the fall of the counterweight that pulled the circuit breaker, and caused the outbreak of fire.

Mme. Chomette’s skull was completely crushed, her right hand and leg torn apart. Her body was carried on a stretcher by municipal guards preceded by the doorkeeper with his lantern to the Opera stop/station (for carriages), where a town ambulance waited, to drive her home.

He daughter, who works in a restaurant (“bouillon” in the article also means broth, but in this context it’s a simple restaurant catering for the masses) was injured in the face, but her condition is not serious.

Sitting beside these two ladies, in seats number 7 and 9, were M. Guillaume Murvoy and one of his friends. M. Murvoy received a severe electric shock and fainted. He complained of severe pain in his right leg. When he regained consciousness, his friend had disappeared.

The other injured people, as we have said, had only contusions.

The news of this accident and the arrival of the undertakers (“pompes”) , called upon from all sides, had caused great emotion. The public were exaggerating the seriousness of what was already being called a catastrophe. A large crowd besieged the outskirts of the Opera and M. Nadeaud, peace officer of the district, had to organize a special group to deal with it. The crowd did not disperse until an hour later, when was learned that the accident was less severe and certainly less comprehensive/general than previously thought.

M. Lepine, Head of the Police, accompanied by M. Gaillot, director of the municipal police, arrived at half past nine. M. Lepine learned the facts from Mr. Martin, Commissioner of the “police de service” (Jennie’s comment: am not perfectly sure about the meaning of this term, it may mean “police on duty” or possibly “police particularly attached to the Opera”. All input welcome). He himself examined the place where the accident occurred to verify the causes.

By order, M. Martin went at eleven o’clock in the evening to M. Atthalin, the public prosecutor, to inform him of the event that had occurred.

While awaiting the legal orders that must come, M. Girard, the head of the municipal Laboratories carried out a technical examination. The investigation was not yet finished at midnight, when we left the Opera.

New details tomorrow, if there are any.

Georges Grison

Alias Matter in Journalism

In journalism, a writer usually comes with alias(es). No exception for me. We don’t use real life because the work of journalism can be read by the whole world. Whether you write an article, poetry, story, book, etc there’ll be reactions from public over things we’ve written. These reactions can range from motivating to threatening.  If we’re not the risk-taking type, we won’t want our identity to be known by the entire universe.  That’s why we use aliases. But an alias can be the one which sparks the controversy. I found a mini-article on Le Figaro again (this newspaper is getting me obsessed lately). The author of this article used a very interesting alias:
Le Figaro, 22nd May 1896

French language can become cruel sometimes. Some articles concern the terrible accident on Wednesday, were printed without flinching: the person killed in the accident was Mme. Chaumet who came to see the Opera with a free ticket!

The Iron Mask
Was it normal at that time for journalist to write under alias like this? I see another articles in Le Figaro, and none comes with such a strange alias…or do I make mistake in translation? The Iron Mask, people, oh God, who was this writer?

Random Post

In waiting for one of my best friends to return from Bali. Gah, I envy him so much to be able to go that far on holiday, while I’m stuck at home. But he’ll bring some souvenirs from me (I insisted so)

Made a crappy pic instead of going on vacation somewhere faraway      like the rest of my friends, this is a Snipe, an alien who likes to eat    almost everything but never gets fat (a little chubby, though). Snipes    are friendly and can transform into human when necessary.

The Chandelier Accident at Palais Garnier

I made a translation today, of the most complete article about the event happened back in 1896 at Paris Opera House, which is from Le Figaro, a Parisian newspaper. I merely translated it and the whole article is copyrighted to Le Figaro, I guess. Also credits goes to M. Georges Grison, the journalist of the article, and the website where I found it: http://www.gallica.bnf.fr

this image is from www.operadeparis.fr

Paris, 21st May 1896
A terrible accident occurred yesterday evening, at the Opera, in the representation of Helle. It was exactly 8.30 pm when the first act came to end. Mme. Caron was singing an encore when a tremendous noise was heard. At the same time, a bright light appeared, then, as quick as a flash, a cloud of dust rising from the top of the room until the bottom. Initially, the explosion was believed to be some anarchist attack. Spectators rushed to the exit door. But with admirable calmness, Delmas, Mme. Caron and the choirs who were on the scene, remained in their positions, calmed and reassured the public. They succeeded to calm the spectators on the ground floor and first two floors. But, above, at fourth amphitheater which was nearest to the explosion, the panic was more considerable. The spectators were even rushing, trying to climb over the railing to jump into the auditorium. Police officers of the 9th Arrondissement no 158, municipal guards Brigadier Grimaldi, two guards, Levesque and Durand, and the caretaker of the auditorium, M. Vallerand, prevented them and guide them to the exit door. Thanks to them no new accident happened. Meanwhile, M. Lapissida, stage manager of the Opera, had withdrawn the personnel from the stage. And after that, he said to public that they had nothing to fear, then he brought down the curtain. The evacuation took no more than two or three minutes, after that the wounded were taken care of – because there were some people who were injured. First we found out that five or six people complained for bruises and severe concussion only. They could leave the hall by themselves to receive medical treatment. We began to hope that the accident didn’t have too serious consequences, when a cry attracted the attention of one of municipal guards. He retraced his steps and found a woman under a box girder. It was Mme. Senot, grocer, who lived at Rue de l’Arcade no 12. She had been injured in the leg and the right eye from the breaking of the girder, in which she was trapped under. At the same time, a young girl, her face all covered with blood, began crying for his mother, she said her mother was under the rubbles. In searching, we saw a pit on the floor of the gallery made by blocks of cast iron, and under it, a horribly mutilated corpse of a woman of a certain age. It was the mother of the girl, Mme. Chomette, aged fifty-six, a concierge, who lived at Rue Rochechouart no 7, at the corner of Briare no 12. While officers were searching around to see if there were any other bodies, it was discovered that fire was beginning to occur in the roof. The firemen from Rue Blanche soon overcome the fire that went on. Until now, no one knew what had happened and from where came the accident. By removing the body of Mrs. Chomette … realized that the accident involved *MISSING* one of the counterweights of *MISSING (probably ‘chandelier’)* in the central hall which was supported by eight strings of wires, each attached to counterweights’ end. A counterweight is weighing about 700 pounds. Each counterweight has enormous weight, so that in case of failure of one or more counterweights, the connection remains strong. Now it seems that a wire slipped into a kind of hose, which they called “fireplace” in theater idiom, it’s a cable used to electric lighting. A short circuit probably occurred, and fire came from the electrical cable caught fire which melted the wire that held the counterweight. The huge mass, tumbled into the “chimney” first, then the ceiling, then to the fifth floor of the gallery at one point, and at last unfortunately crushed seats 11 and 13 of fourth gallery occupied by Mme. Chomette and her daughter. It even demolished the parquet before it stopped. It is also the fall of the counterweight that pulled the circuit breaker, and caused the outbreak of fire. Mme. Chomette had her whole skull broken, both hands and right leg were torn. Her body was carried on a stretcher by municipal guards precedes the janitor with his lantern to the back of the Opera, where an ambulance waited, the city has come to take the driver’s domicile. Her daughter, who is employed in a broth, was wounded in the face, but her condition is not serious. Sitting beside these two ladies, on the chairs numbers 7 and 9, were M. William Murvoy and one of his friends. Mr. Murvoy has received a severe electric shock and was evanour. He complained of severe pain in his right leg to his friend but he had disappeared. The news of this accident and the arrival of firemen, had produced a great addition to public emotion. The public were exaggerating the seriousness and numerous people besieged the outskirts of the Opera. We had to keep M. Nadeaud, peace officer of the district, to settle with it. The crowd was dissipated after an hour, when it was learned that the accident was less severe and certainly more “common” than previously thought. M. Lepine, Head of the Police, accompanied by Mr Gaillot, director of the municipal police, arrived at half past nine. M. Lepine had received the facts from Mr. Martin, Commissioner of Police Service. He himself examined the place where the accident occurred to verify the causes. In his order, M. Martin visited the location at eleven o’clock in the evening with M. Atthalin, the country attorney, to acquaint the event that had taken place. In regards of the legal procedure, which should be made, M. Girard, head of the Municipal Laboratory, has come to have a technical examination. The investigation was not yet finished at midnight, when we left the Opera. A new details tomorrow, if necessary.

This very accident was the one which inspired M. Gaston Leroux to write his novel, Le Fantome de l’Opera. My favourite This translation is still rough (Google Translate isn’t very good at translating whole article like this). Even though I’ve edited it, my French is very limited, unfortunately.

Lichen

Today, one of my high school best friend visited me. Let’s just say her name is Lichen. She is an unfortunate soul because she thinks her friends are all weirdos. To name a few, me. I wonder deeply about this, since I always think I’m 100% normal and sane. What could possibly drive her to say I’m not? Guess it depends on your point of view. Personally, I think she is the one who’s quite weird. She’s saner now, but long ago, in high school, she was all this psychiatrist-wannabe little girl. She planned to go to med school to become a psychiatrist initially, but fate put her in IT faculty (still one of the best universities in my country though I always pictured her as a psychiatrist). She used to love (don’t know if she still care about this kind of stuff) all kinds of mental disorders & people suffering from one. We even had a trip to a local lunatic asylum once, just to look at all the insane patients inside. I remember she talked A B C normally to a patient there. A rather normal patient, the kind of borderline intelligent-insane type. But the patient was still insane & kinda scary! He talked about foresighting, satan, hell, God, angel, I remember he said that satan was not evil. And that’s what made me scared. But Lichen insisted me to take photograph of that patient (I was the only one with camera phone). I rejected, of course. Literally I was running away from the scene before it got worse. That’s my first & only journey to a lunatic asylum.
Lichen & I used to have favourite mental disorders. Mine was schizophrenia (still is), while she liked multiple personalities. We often did research on our favourite topic (not a mental disorder though) which was about Indigo children. Basically we were known throughout the school with the word ‘psycho’, ‘Indigo’, ‘mental disorders.’ We popularized those words, too. After we graduate, news about ‘Indigo children’ growing around the country. Kind of irony, and funny, because now we don’t really pay attention to that matter anymore. From my side, I think Indigo treats are somewhat exaggerated. But that needs further explanations, maybe in later post(s).