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On February 22, the AFSD welcomes three authors: Vanina Joulin-Batejat, Claude Koehl, and Kitty Morse, whose diverse backgrounds and literary styles promise a rich and engaging experience for attendees. The event will be animated by Daria Samokhina, our book club coordinator. Program: 2 p.m.: Q&A session animated by Daria Samokhina 3 p.m.: book signing and meet the authors Light refreshments will be served. RSVP to attend. Free for members, $5 donation for non members to support our association. The event can be attended with minors. They remain under the responsibility of the parents at all times. Address: 6390 Greenwich Dr, #185, San Diego, CA 92122 More about the authors - Vanina Joulin-Batejat brings her expertise as an international consultant and Executive Coach to her first novel “A la Recherche du Sens Perdu”, blending personal experiences and her experiences in intercultural business development with her passion for storytelling. Vanina explores universal themes with great sensitivity, while offering a hard-hitting reflection on the human condition and contemporary challenges. Through these interwoven narratives, the novel offers a veritable autopsy of our societies, questioning notions of resilience, identity and the quest for meaning. Her work reflects her deep understanding of human connections and cultural dynamics. - Claude Koehl, a trailblazer in intercultural communication, will discuss her book The American Way of Life: The Foreigners’ Perspective. Drawing on over 20 years of experience, Claude founded Intercultural Services in 1994 to enhance cross-cultural leadership and communication skills, aiding global employees in navigating cultural differences and adapting to new environments. Her book reflects her personal journey and professional insights, offering a unique perspective on life in a new country. With a Master’s in Social Psychology and degrees in Teaching, Health Promotion, and Organizational Development, Claude is fluent in English, French, German, and Italian, and continues to perfect her Spanish. - Kitty Morse, an award-winning author born in Casablanca, Morocco, intertwines personal history and culinary heritage in Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France. Inspired by family documents discovered after her mother’s passing in 2017, the memoir delves into her great-grandfather’s journal detailing the German advance in Le Grand Est (Alsace/Lorraine) in 1940, and her great-grandmother’s notebooks containing 65 heirloom recipes. The story unfolds in Nancy and "Châlons-en-Champagne," blending the cuisine bourgeoise of her Ashkenazi ancestors with poignant family history. Kitty’s maternal great-grandmother, Blanche Lévy-Neymarck, perished in Auschwitz, leaving a legacy of resilience, memory, and culinary artistry. More about Daria Samokhina Daria graduated in French literature at Notre Dame (MA) and Stanford (Ph.D.). In 2008, she moved to San Diego, where she currently lives, sharing her love for French language, culture, and literature with her students, family, and friends. Visit: https://www.afsandiego.org/events-1/rencontre-dauteurs-et-dedicaces-2 Alliance Francais San Diego on Instagram and Facebook

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" report cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not exist.

For many of us, when we see something we want, we pull out our cards and swipe for it. Instead, try this resourceful approach.

Earthaven Ecovillage fared remarkably well after Hurricane Helene. The community had backup power and water systems, as well as food supplies, but members also knew how to work together in a crisis.

In a rare rebuke, more than a dozen former workers of the powerful data-mining and surveillance company say the firm's work with the Trump administration violates the company's founding principles.

The ruling opens a potential pathway for AI companies to train large language models on copyrighted works without authors' consent — but only if copies of the works were obtained legally.

Experience the thrilling big band sounds of the Palomar College Day and Night Jazz Ensembles with vibrant rhythms and melodies—both old and new—brought to life here at Palomar College’s campus. Mark your calendar and plan to be a part of a concert series everyone will love! Buy Tickets Now!

Interior Department employees say they have been scrambling to keep the lights on and do their jobs as budget cuts driven by the Department of Government efficiency team start to bite.

Previous winners say the spelling bee has become much more competitive and credit television with making it a cultural phenomenon each year.

Grief and resilience in their many shades are the subject of an exhibit at The Photographer’s Eye that will feature collections by two artists, "when stars fell from the sky" by Diana Nicholette Jeon, and "Grieving in Japan" by Sandra Klein. The exhibit will open March 8 and run through Women's History Month, closing on April 5. Jeon’s work, which has been exhibited internationally in more than 200 separate shows, explores universal themes of loss, dreams, memory, and female identity using metaphor and personal narrative. "When stars fell from the sky" stems from a period when Jeon and her husband separated, and evokes the emotions she went through. “It was like a roller coaster I never got in line for,” Jeon said. “There were periods of very high highs and very low lows, and days of just nothing, but it started at devastation.” While Jeon’s art is deeply personal, it speaks to universal emotions, and viewers can see their own emotional journey in when the stars fell from the sky. “Because my work is a reaction to my life and how I feel about things, ... it always stems from me and what I know and I feel and what I’ve experienced,” Jeon said. But it is not merely introspective. “Almost everybody has experienced some kind of debilitating grief.” Jeon worked in Silicon Valley and then earned a BA in Studio Art from the University of Hawaii and a MFA in Imaging and Digital Art from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County. Upon returning to Hawaii, Jeon taught digital imaging and motion graphics at the college level before producing her own art on a full-time basis. She is a regular contributor to FRAMES Magazine and the Female Gaze. Los Angeles-based artist Sandra Klein takes her viewer on a similar journey through her exhibit, "Grieving in Japan." Klein has been a frequent visitor to Japan, accompanying her husband on business trips, almost always in winter. She developed a spiritual connection to the country’s landscape and culture. When her son died Klein discovered a solace in Japan that eluded her in her home country. “The time I visited after my son died, I just felt at home and I felt I could grieve there in a way I couldn’t in Los Angeles, where my life is so mundane and filled with errands and noise,” Klein said. “In going to a quiet place that I find really spiritual I felt I could really find peace and quiet and just grieve there.” Klein’s work often incorporates collage and composites, and some of the pieces in "Grieving in Japan" use masks, urns, or fabric sewn into a photograph. The masks are those seen in kabuki theater and conceal rather than reflect emotion. Klein found the masks to be appropriate metaphors for her own emotional state as she endured her grief. The hushed starkness of winter similarly conveys her emotional state. Klein was born in Elizabeth, N.J., and received a BFA from Tyler School of Fine Art in Philadelphia, and an MA in Printmaking from San Diego State University. Her images have been shown throughout the United States and abroad, including one person shows at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Massachusetts, the Lishiu and Yixian Festivals in China, the Photographic Gallery SMA in San Miguel Allende, Mexico, and Atlanta Photography Group. The gallery will host an artists reception on March 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Photographer’s Eye Collective on Facebook / Instagram