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

poor planning in 2007

no i am not talking about my personal schedule, which indeed does sometimes fit inot the "poor planning" category. rather this post is about silly decisions made by planning authorities around the world, courtesy of Planetizen.
For example:
- Great Britain has an estimated 4 million surveillance cameras monitoring public spaces. Recently, the government in one area announced that it will attach loudspeakers in 20 districts so that officials who monitor the locations can actually scold citizens who are spotted engaging in “antisocial” behavior.

- In February, when housing officials in a German town ran out of small apartments for low-income residents, they decided to put them in quarters that were larger than regulations allowed. However, the officials made the residents close off some rooms to stay within the allotted space, and said inspectors would make regular visits to see that no one cheated.

French Minister of Justice has 2 delinquent brothers

Must be difficult to be Rachida Dati and keep a straight face:
As reported today in the conversative Figaro, both her brothers have been caught as drug dealers. What the article does not addres is whether they get better prison cells than others?

Huit mois ferme pour un frère de Rachida Dati

L.S. (lefigaro.fr) avec AFP
17/12/2007 |
Omar Dati, 36 ans, a été reconnu coupable de trafic de drogue.
Après Jamal, condamné en août à 12 mois de prison pour trafic de stupéfiants, c’est un autre frère de Rachida Dati qui a été envoyé lundi derrière les barreaux pour huit mois pour les mêmes faits.

Omar Dati, 36 ans, a été condamné en son absence à 8 mois de prison ferme pour trafic de stupéfiants en récidive. Déjà condamné en 2001 à 4 mois avec sursis pour trafic d’héroïne, Omar Dati était poursuivi pour «acquisition, détention, transport, usage et offre ou cession» de cannabis, avec quatre autres prévenus également absents à l’énoncé du jugement. Interpellé en juin 2005 puis placé sous contrôle judiciaire, Omar Dati avait reconnu avoir «dealé» pour 5 à 6.000 euros de cannabis pendant deux ans.

Le tribunal est allé au-delà des réquisitions du substitut du procureur, Thierry Bas, qui avait demandé à l’audience, le 19 novembre, 7 mois de prison ferme en dénonçant un «dossier de stupéfiants intolérable». Les tribulations judiciaires des frères Dati défrayent régulièrement la chronique, leur sœur étant placé à un poste particulièrement exposé.

Global US companies take over Manhattan...

Fun graph from the creators of GOOD magazine.

Regularity is the key...

to many things, natural or otherwise, including blog readership.

ugh la segunda invasion...

this is such a disappointment. i am too naive...

so 4 million other people thought this was worth watching...

'US Americans', 'the Iraq' and 'everywhere such as' kills me.

Aidez-nous à remettre la France sur les rails en signalant tout comportement suspect grâce à ce formulaire...

les délations, il y en a plus de 109 000. et sur le site du ministère de la culture* ! ah bon, c'est quoi exactement cette histoire?
tout d'abord, on lit dans le dico de l'académie française:

1)DÉLATION n. f. XVIe siècle. Emprunté du latin delatio, « dénonciation ».
Dénonciation inspirée par l'intérêt, la haine, le désir de nuire ou le sectarisme. Les tyrans ont toujours encouragé la délation. Être victime d'une délation.

ensuite on lit le site on voit que c'est défendre la patrie, la France d'avant et d'après, le franchouillard, la baguette, le vin, le fromton, notre suprématie mondiale, bref, notre train de vie tralalère...
mes délations préférées :

- M. ou Mme X dénonce son/sa : Voisin, M.
Pour le ou les faits suivants :
Prend les transports en commun
Elle sort, elle rigole, elle travaille à mi-temps, elle voyage,elle raconte sa vie, elle discute et elle regarde même pas sa messagerie de son portable, de ce fait elle est inconsciente des delations dont elle fait l'objet.
Mme Serfati n'est pas un bon modèle républicain, que la police fasse son travail, et qu'elle l'expulse immédiatement dans son bâtiment(le D).

- M. ou Mme X dénonce son/sa : Voisin, Ibrahima X.
Pour le ou les faits suivants :
Les femmes le trouve plus sexy que moi.
Et l'ot jour il m'a repris sur ma façon de causer, y prétend qu'on doit dire démocratie et non pas comme je dis des mots crasseux.
C'est qui ké plus français lui ou moi bordel de merde.

- M. ou Mme X dénonce sa : Voisine, souasig .
Pour le ou les faits suivants :
A des gènes de gauchiste
N'écoute pas Johnny Hallyday
Ne croit pas au plein emploi d'ici 5 ans
porte un prenom breton (risque de terrorisme d'ici peu)
mange biologique (rique de contamination du quartier)
a un mari moustachu (preuve d'une adhesion aux idées de Mr Bové)
souris dans la rue et dis bonjour (les personnes agées ainsi que les enfants courent un danger non négligeable lorsqu'ils la croisent)
part en voyage à Cuba (preuve d'adhesion aux idées communistes)
amène sa fille au théâtre (risque pour cette derniere de ce retrouvé dans le clan peu fréquentable des intermittants et aux troubadours qui pullulent dans notre patrie)

*Ok c'est pas le vrai site, mais il y a un bonus - you can buy a tshirt

sign of extreme boredom...

when you need to create another life for yourself (virtually) with Second Life.

sounds pathetic to me. everyone is living a fake life, with fake couples being made on fake premises. why don't these people just get some sleep and do it the old-fashioned way - dream? or better yet, go crazy on a 'real' adventure with your 'real' partner? afraid of reality perhaps?

à lire dans le monde, la cyberbigamie.

vive les femmes (et les hommes anti-femmes)

une journaliste féministe aux US Ellen Goodman attribue des prix aux hommes, dont le

DESPERATE (TO GET) HOUSEWIVES PRIZE: This goes to the British researchers who report that housework reduces the risk of breast cancer. For urging women to scrub their way to better health, we offer them the dustbin of history.

i bought an umbrella today...

nothing interesting about that right? well this might be the second umbrella i my in my lifetime. i don't like umbrellas. well not the object really - aesthetically they are kind of a neat pointy but round shape. my cat likes to play under one drying in the house (and no, i have not had bad luck for the rest of my life). cool patterns and fabrics can accessorize any otherwise drab day. and there even exists the umbrella for lovers.

so back to my story. my new umbrella is small-ish, cost less than 6 euros and is bright red. i was looking for something fun, but all i had at my disposal was monoprix and i am lucky i did not end up with a faux chanel umbrella. but it was raining tonight and i didn't want to use it. it's not because i am afraid of poking someone's brain out accidentally, or to drip on some poor umbrella-less person, all of which happen to meat a seemingly incessant rate. i guess i just don't like the constriction under an umbrella. you have to think about where you want to look and then move the umbrella. you have to think about where you are walking because you are now taking up more room. basically, it's limiting. and no one ever died from a bit of rain.

so why did i buy an umbrella? why didn't i just use my good old securite hat to get through the day? because it has been raining pretty hard nearly nonstop for 24 hours and i have a job at which i have to look semipresentable, which is a difficult enough task. no more bike commuting plus an umbrella... what a crappy day.

but tonight i really enjoyed walking home in the rain - not too heavy no hat and a great light across montmartre... and i need a new phone.

 

ma dernière vadrouille

en bretagne du sud...
 
 
 

learning about the french

et on dit que la racaille française ressemble à la racaille ricaine... mais pas du tout ! on a de l'éducation ici, de la délicatesse. une vidéo à ne pas manquer...

gare aux cons

Sarkozy, bad summer related

Since Nicholas Sarkozy was elected in France, the weather in Paris has been poor. The summer has been highlighted not by the sun, but mostly by storms, rapidly changing weather, low temperatures and heavy rains. According to Meteo France, the month of July was considered "depressing," with cumulative rainfall three times higer than the average. The number of sunny days and the temperature recorded were also below average.
Is this a conspiracy against Delanoë's Paris Plages?

more indonesian smiles

 

Balinese family on Galungan 27 June