Art Scholarship honoring Alizée

[wasabi622]

I'm having second thoughts as well..

At first, it seemed like a great idea, but after reading other perspectives.. I'm not too sure anymore. I mean, is it right to have a scholarship in someone's name who hasn't really even been told about it? They could just be like wtf?

[FanDeAliFee]

I think it is a fine thing that people remember that even in the Internet age, there is not a universal global culture. Certainly this is something the average American could appreciate better. Based on my brief time on this website, I'd say some of us here do better than the typical American.

As it turns out, I am not a typical American, even considering the United States is a New World county with a long history of substantial immigration. Among my late parents and myself, each of we three grew up in a different nation, speaking a different language. In fact, my parents were naturalized only a short spell before I was born, and then raised, in New York City, surely the most cosmopolitan metropolis in America. I not only saw close up the very worst of the city, but also mansions of high corporate executives, domestic - and foreign, too - because New York is a port city. Until recent years, Japanese friends from decades ago would annually send us some exotic seaweed crackers. But surely I met the very most Japanese when I served as membership secretary of a small (3,000-member) international engineering society.

As it happens, I spent a number of seasons growing up in central Europe as well, while we lived with my Mom's family. Her late sister always took summer vacation on islands in the Med (including the Adriatic, Aegean, Balearic and Ionian) where she made several close long-time friends. But I must admit she never made it to Corsica. I still have humble souvenirs from her trips I would just as soon enjoyed a better home than I give them.

I have never seen Corsica either. The closest I came was just after Alizée was born, when I spent a number of weeks on the opposite shore of the Ligurian Sea showing business people from all over Europe an advanced engineering prototype. They later threw us out of the tiny principality to make room for highly profitable Grand Prix tourists. Rather than return afterward to literally show my gear to the crown prince, I trained a proxy and visited with my family in Europe for a few weeks before returning home. I guess I missed my only chance to meet royalty.

Along with cartography and Beethoven, my late aunt most loved wine, which may help explain her vacation preferences. I have no musical talent, but her son does and toured Europe as an entertainer giving shows for many years. Of late he and the wife like to spend lots of time in Namibia.

Curiously, I worked on projects in America with French engineers and scientists during my teens, twenties and thirties. One of them was kind enough to offer me a visiting faculty position in France, which I declined. I think a big problem with the famous Hofstede metric of national cultures is the assumption that uniform national cultures exist, and thus that comparing the employees of a single large multinational corporation can measures them. So I won't tell you I know "the French" simply because of close acquaintance with a few people from some uncommon occupational categories, and long ago at that.

I'm in late middle age, and during the last decade, I'm not certain I know "the" Americans anymore either! Remember, "the past is a foreign country." So your "timeless cultural imperatives" be damned, don't look for armfuls of crying <i>bambini</i> in Italy, where the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_fertility_rat e">fertility rate</a> is now among the lowest in Europe. How closely does Corsica follow this trend, with its Italian-like Corsu language and Italian-style island culture?

Go back far enough in time and we all share ever more ancestors in common. I have no Italian bloodline of which I know. Still, the second largest, very substantial, ethnic group in my childhood neighborhood was Italian-American. And would you believe that two millenia ago LEGIO II ITALICA stood guard in the place my Mom's family would call home? You can still examine a few of their roadside milestones. The impractical pastel coloring of the buildings in the town squares probably reflects this long-ago Mediterranean spectre. No wonder the locals called their emperor "Caesar" - even in the 20th century.

Speaking of ancient Romans, I recently referenced the story of a father who was disappointed to find the son he had raised under his own roof apparently "belonged to a different culture." This compelled the father to shove a gold coin under the son's nose with the observation that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecunia_non_olet">PECUNIA NON OLET</a>.Maybe there could be cultural echoes across vast distances of space and time.

Am I ungrateful to those here sharing their decades of international experience with me, who has so little idea of the world beyond his doorstep? I am always open to new informed testimony, because the world changes.

But I have yet to encounter a school that feels it has too much money and would reject a non-obliging gift which lets it educate more students who can't raise tuition charges, especially a gift whose donation honors an alumna of which the school likes to openly boast. But perhaps there will be an exception during the worst international economic crisis since the Great Depression?

Buildings, schools, charities and many other things are named after illustrious people to honor both the person and the enterprise all the time. Sometimes it is the result of a large donation by the named and not-overly-modest person himself. But other times it is by the friends of that person, who, if living, rarely fails to be flattered by such affection and admiration.

In the latter case, the donors are not wont to tell the honored party in advance, lest they put him in the immodest position of someone in the former case! You will not find me forcing Alizée to actively assert she is "worthy" of some honor her friends want to bestow!

As I said before, if people keep their solemn word, we will complete this project. We've already received private encouragement from donors who would just as soon not talk to critics. I remind you this thread was established to organize the people who DO believe in the scholarship: no one was permitted to cast a zero-dollar pledge in the poll originally taken here, UNLIKE the previous poll, where half declined to participate. Why bother opponents now that one knows the project can work? As I wrote the second day <a href="http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/showpost.php?p=163527&postcount=19">here</a><blockquote><i>In general, I think it is important to keep everything simple and execute quickly... That said, please do feel free to discuss things which might not please me or someone else. But bear in mind this thread is really just for people who like the principle of a scholarship and pledge to it, for the purpose of settling details only. Others are most welcome to start a thousand new threads arguing why it is stupid, evil, or whatever.</i></blockquote>I resisted a call to move the Scholarship off-site after the treasurer-issue mishap, because I didn't want to foster a permanent fissure in AAm. I hope this doesn't prove an error which may inform leaders of future efforts which are not unanimous.

Not everyone pledging money for the Scholarship thinks every carelessly-researched eleventh-hour opinion recorded here by someone new to the world has been helpful and suggested that I post a YouTube video reproducing a number from the playlist on Alizée's new Internet virtual radio station. Here it is.

<center><object width="660" height="525"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jwQU9-stxZA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1&showinfo=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jwQU9-stxZA&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&border=1&showinfo=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="660" height="525"></embed></object></center>

[Scruffydog777]

I can't say that this scholarship is a great idea, but then again I can't say it's a bad idea either.
We wanted to thank Alizée for what she did for us back on March 29th. She did something that brought a lot of joy into our lives by giving so many fans here a level of closeness to her that they probably would never have experienced otherwise.

I thought in the begining that maybe making a donation to her favorite charity might be a good idea, but we decided that this would require some interaction on her part, something she probably has little time for with all the work she's doing on promoting her new album, not to mention her family responsibilities. So we decided we should do something that required no interaction, no time on her behalf. So along these lines, the scholarship was probably the best idea that was proposed. Now it's in serious trouble. People are starting to speak out against it. Where do we go from here?

Soon it will be close to 2 months after the fact and it would probably be kind of late for doing something to show our appreciation. A great gesture on her part will go unrewarded.

So "we" need to make a decision. Do we go through with this?

As far as it not making sense to give to a school, well this school is on Corsica and we all know she is fiercely proud of her heritage there, so I think it would please her if what ever we did, benefitted someone there.

One thing I don't think we had quite decided on is to who this scholarship should go to. Should it be someone with the best grades, someone with the most financial need or maybe someone who tries the best?
Well we all know how much Alizée has done for charity over the years, so I think it would please her if the primary consideration for the scholarship should be need. Maybe the second one should be how hard a student tries.

We wanted to do this with as little fan fare as possible. Trying not to draw any attention to ourselves, almost to the point where Alizée would never find out about it. But the truth of the matter is, if we do this, she will find out, and she will probably have a small piece of her heart set aside for a group of people she found out about earlier this year.

So I think time is running out. We can't afford to bicker any more. The balls in our court. What do we do with it?

[Tiwaz]

Originally Posted by lefty12357

As much as I appreciate the good intentions and generosity of such an effort, I am really concerned as well. I can't help but feeling that this will be a huge cultural faux pas. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I think you need to look at this more thoroughly, and not from the point of view of Americans.

Like Rev, I just wanted to share my thoughts...

I would appreciate if all of you raising concern for this project cared to explain why this give you bad feelings, instead of leaving it at insinuations we have to guess the meaning of.

As scruff said, we want to thank Alizée for the time she gave us in Paris. And at least on my behalf celebrate Her 10th anniversary as an artist. Showing our support to her old school and art/culture/dance in general.
I fail to see, even without an american point of view, what Alizée would have against this? She might think it's a bit strange perhaps, but she should flattered.

To those who still pledge to this, small or large amounts, I encourage you to stay on the ship and not jump off when clouds around us darkens, for then we will never reach our destination.

Those Who Dare, Win.

[lefty12357]

Originally Posted by Tiwaz

I would appreciate if all of you raising concern for this project cared to explain why this give you bad feelings, instead of leaving it at insinuations we have to guess the meaning of.

As scruff said, we want to thank Alizée for the time she gave us in Paris. And at least on my behalf celebrate Her 10th anniversary as an artist. Showing our support to her old school and art/culture/dance in general.
I fail to see, even without an american point of view, what Alizée would have against this? She might think it's a bit strange perhaps, but she should flattered.

To those who still pledge to this, small or large amounts, I encourage you to stay on the ship and not jump off when clouds around us darkens, for then we will never reach our destination.

Those Who Dare, Win.

@Tiwaz, I apologize for being somewhat vague. I just wanted to voice my concern that all the ramifications of this action should be considered. I intentionally didn't go into detail because I didn't want to derail this thread into possibly a long winded debate.

[ALS]

I said this to Dave (Scruffydog) in an Email. I thought I would tell the rest of you my thoughts on this jesture.

All I can add to this mess is WE ARE AMERICANS and we do it our way.

Alizée will understand and appreciate our gesture.

I don't think we should put strings on grant but suggest to the school that they put it to the best use they see fit to benefit their students.

We just let them know that their past student Alizée Jacotey has brought her American fans a lot of joy and has been very good to us.

You may want to point out the private CD signing that she went out of her way in kindness to provide for Alizée America members.

This donation is a little something we wanted to do for her dance school on Corsica due to the kindness she has shown us with this private CD signing.

[Scruffydog777]

To those of you who are still supportive, this story reminds me of a song that another story was written about, that i think applies very appropriately about how we or at least I feel about Alizée.




Edit:

Originally Posted by ALS

I said this to Dave (Scruffydog) in an Email. I thought I would tell the rest of you my thoughts on this jesture.

All I can add to this mess is WE ARE AMERICANS and we do it our way.

Alizée will understand and appreciate our gesture.

I don't think we should put strings on grant but suggest to the school that they put it to the best use they see fit to benefit their students.

We just let them know that their past student Alizée Jacotey has brought her American fans a lot of joy and has been very good to us.

You may want to point out the private CD signing that she went out of her way in kindness to provide for Alizée America members.

This donation is a little something we wanted to do for her dance school on Corsica due to the kindness she has shown us with this private CD signing.

Very well said ALS.

[Piblokto]

Originally Posted by ALS

I said this to Dave (Scruffydog) in an Email. I thought I would tell the rest of you my thoughts on this jesture.

All I can add to this mess is WE ARE AMERICANS and we do it our way.

Alizée will understand and appreciate our gesture.

I don't think we should put strings on grant but suggest to the school that they put it to the best use they see fit to benefit their students.

We just let them know that their past student Alizée Jacotey has brought her American fans a lot of joy and has been very good to us.

You may want to point out the private CD signing that she went out of her way in kindness to provide for Alizée America members.

This donation is a little something we wanted to do for her dance school on Corsica due to the kindness she has shown us with this private CD signing.

As a frenchman, I would have done it in a different way. BUT it's AlizéeAmerica here. So I think you've got the right attitude. And even though she might find it a little bit strange, I'm sure she will appreciate the gesture. It's all about love and gratitude after all, and she'll understand that.
And sending her a beautiful "bouquet de fleurs" as well would be a plus...

[Ben]

Sorry for the late suggestion, but why not make a donation in Alizée's name to a place that actively seeks it, like Les Restos du Cœur which we know she supports from Les Enfoirés? The problem with sending it somewhere unsolicited is that it could be construed as somewhat condescending patronage, especially for a culture as fiercely independent as Corsica (i.e., "we don't need your help, thank you very much"). I'd gladly put my name behind a charitable donation (though still can't act as "treasurer", sorry).

[lefty12357]

Originally Posted by Ben

Sorry for the late suggestion, but why not make a donation in Alizée's name to a place that actively seeks it, like Les Restos du Cœur which we know she supports from Les Enfoirés? The problem with sending it somewhere unsolicited is that it could be construed as somewhat condescending patronage, especially for a culture as fiercely independent as Corsica (i.e., "we don't need your help, thank you very much"). I'd gladly put my name behind a charitable donation (though still can't act as "treasurer", sorry).

Personally, I think this is a good suggestion and I would be glad to contribute as well.