wrong color Hillary

Happy belated b-day Obama!

It was on Monday so I am a few days late (even though I knew about it then, just no time to blog). In any case, I found the Republican National Committee's birthday present quite pathetic, and frankly tasteless (tire gauges to mock Obama's assertion that properly inflated tires saves gas, which IT DOES, you idiot pickup truck and HUMMER-driving Republicans). It seems obvious that they are more about practical jokes (ok it was kind of funny), than smart policy wonkiness.





To boot, I like Paris Hilton's campaign video and I hate her... It just shows how idiotic McCain's PR people can be.

Back to French gossip

So you probably know that Carla Bruni made it to the cover of Vanity Fair and most Americans probably reacted in an expected way- who is she? and why is she on the cover? well yes, they did and all critics were up in arms about her comparison to Jackie O - her gracefulness cannot be compared to the 21st century "sleep with money or power" Carla. If I am not mistaken, I think she beat Michelle (Obama) to a cover of VF?



Here are some articles I enjoyed on this subject:
- Radar magazine: Carla is a snore.
- Nothing like a matching outfit (of this is a photo, but related to the story)
- Huffington Post
- The Times (UK)

Apparently if Carla's transformation is possible, maybe so is Cindy McCain's?

Fish manicure

I want one of these - my feet being in Paris means that they suffer most than most women's feet (walking around for hours in nice looking shoes on uneven cobblestone, as an example). Just give me a fish manicure when I am in the water in an island in the Indian Ocean... not in Alexandria, VA!

beat by bebemoche

ok so if she had a good excuse for not blogging, i have none except lack of inspiration. and if you know my blog that means little. but i found a few stories worth sharing so i am back for a bit at least.

In memory of Sparrow

I saw a sparrow die today. Sparrow fell onto the sidewalk and was moving slowly, not getting up. I tried to pick up Sparrow with a few envelopes to get Sparrow out of the way. A woman came to help and she took Sparrow in her hand. Sparrow died in her hand with a few women and a child watching. It was nice that Sparrow did not die alone. I shed a few tears for Sparrow after I put Sparrow in a garden to rest.

losers or procrastinators or nerds

in response to Bebemoche

Who's taller? Klaus or Sarkozy?

Vaclav Klaus is the same height as Carla Bruni Sarkozy. Looks a bit different than the photos of the presidentical couple...

Lisa Simpson and Lessons in Feminism.

Two great postings by Jezebel.
Ode to feminism
Love for her father turns rebelious
Lisa's got it down...
"Well, I’m going to be a famous jazz musician. I’ve got it all figured out. I’ll be unappreciated in my own country, but my gutsy blues stylings will electrify the French. I’ll avoid the horrors of drug abuse, but I do plan to have several torrid love affairs. And I may or may not die young. I haven’t decided yet."

Lisa Simpson

Real friends...

finally this whole facebook/linkin/myspace phenomenon is supposed to make us feel less lonely? or to show off our capacity to hide behind whatever suits us that day (alcohol, nerdiness, etc.)?

The press and McCain

Why was McCain's pathetically sexist joke from 1998 not reported in major newspapers?
Here it is by the way ("Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?
Because her father is Janet Reno.") as reported by Slate.

What else are we missing on this campaign?

McCain all of the sudden seems to love Mrs. Clinton....

Philip Glass plays for Richard Serra and Paris

Fantastic experience. I was in the Grand Palais in Paris this evening with about 800 or so other people, sitting on the concrete floor, between the slabs of Richard Serra's Promenade.

Philip Glass played a piano which was slightly elevetated in the center of the crowd for nearly 2 hours - 4 different pieces - including Mad Rush (1979); Etude pour Piano; and the closing bit of Glassworks (1981). My favorite was Mad Rush - which you can see him performing performed on this 1980s' video. It's dark and passionate, and quite short, which makes it all the much more intense. You can listen to other recorded extracts on Glass' webpage.

Not on the Champs!!??!! Apple Store to open near the Louvre

Finalement, Paris aura son "Apple Store" et au Louvre (galéries du carrousel pour être précis)... comme ça tous les touristes américains pourront dire que c'est moins cher chez eux !

lemon tree / les citronniers by Eran Riklis

One of the best movies of the year. A must-see.
Subtle, simple, beautiful, poignant.

It tells the story of a Palestinian widow whose new neighbor is the Minister of Defense of Israel and his wife. His security forces deem that her backyard - a lemon tree grove she inherited from her father - is a national security threat and must be destroyed. She takes the case all the way up to the Supreme Court, with the help of her attorney (Ali Suliman from Paradise Now.

Here's a review of Les citronniers in French.

It won't come out in the US until the end of the year - but was shown a few days ago in NYC at a festival for "Israel@60".

ciné en plein air version 2008

ça y est - la liste des films pour le ciné en plein air de la villette est sur le site...
quelques changements - notamment le fait que ce n'est plus gratuit. c'est dommage.
mais il y a quelques soirées qui vaudront bien ces deux petits euros... à vous de voir.

American Apparel likes women

female version of ad: http://store.americanapparel.net/rsapdf497w.html#i
male version of ad: http://store.americanapparel.net/rsapdf497.html

(will get photos up soon) once blogger cools it.

ridiculously hot sexy woman compared to unshaven, grungy, not even super hot guy... who said life was so unfair?

march madness in Africa?

The site "Madness against Malaria" has organised the March madness to raise funds for insect repellent bed nets (LLINs -- also known by others as the romantic canopy net). Congrats on the idea and hopefully the implementation has been as successful - more than 25,000 nets have been paid for. See the distribution site for more detail or even better - donate!

Lucky bastard?

Not because he died, but because he got a new heart AND married a woman half his age (wife of the suicidal person whose heart it was) ... and then he goes and shoots himself. Stop eating those Vidalia onions!
What a weird news story.
So this story begs the question - is love really in the heart (i.e. the real muscle)?

A special post for Bebemoche

After months of not catching up with old friends, I have dedicated this post to a special blogger. This article on business class transatlantic travel was written just for you, Bebemoche - enjoy!

Poor English in Spam Email

Spam gets annoying, but it seems that there is nearly no way to avoid it completely.
But what really ticks me off even more is the fact that the titles all use poor English. Here are some recent examples that come to mind:
- I give present for myself so great
- Make you money - take new work
- Husband not make you happy?

I'll keep adding to this as I come up with new ones. Feel free to post your silly spam.

Gordon likes Carla

A little too close? Gordon Brown looks giddy next to Carla Bruni.

The Eiffel Tower with a collar?

See it to believe it. There is currently a plan to put a "collar" around the Eiffel Tower so that it can hold more people on the coveted third floor viewing balcony. No one has heard of this bidding process so it is unlear if Serero has won or is just in the planning phase.
Ridiculous, if you ask me. All this to celebrate 120th anniversay. I wonder what is in store for the 150th?

it's an embarrassing editorial...

it's gotten so bad that the Saturday paper editorial of the New York Times is commenting on the "bling-bling" aspect of our President. M. Sakrozy, can you please stop making the French the butt of all jokes? Merci beaucoup.

recent outings

The Matterhorn - view from Zermatt village

The Matterhorn - view from an apple holder

Finishing the kitchen

Finishing the walls

checking out the floor tiles

A new monthly post

To all my 7 fans out there ... thanks for your support during my period of silence!
I have nothing more to say today.
Thank you!

Yes We Can - Barack Obama Music Video