Mr Bingsley and Mr Wickham

Two cuties

Simon Woods

I prefer him with long hair:


Rupert Friend:


Categories: AV

Paperboy

Recently, I was complaining about the inconvenient delivery schedule of Le Monde with a friend who is currently interning there. Somedays it comes with the mail, somedays it comes the night before (like it should: for example on Wednesday evening I will get Thursday's paper), sometimes it comes the day after, sometimes it doesn't come at all. Exasperated, I asked, "Why can't y'all just have paperboys?"

And it was like a blur went over his eyes as he grasped for the word...paperboy...paperboy...paperboy

Until finally he responded, "Ah! Like the game!"

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I present a screenshot of one of my favorite games ever:


This game rocks. I should get an old Genesis just to play it (along with Mortal Kombat). My favorite character was the Grim Reaper.

Anyways. We got into a funny discussion of the game, how much we loved it, and how yes, there really are paperboys in the US. Although now at home it's a paper...person? In a car, not on a bike. But nevertheless, the paper comes in the morning! Rain, snow, or shine! And even on (gasp) Sundays! (side rant: Sunday papers are my favorite. I hate the Weekend/Saturday-Sunday editions with no comics or sales ads. Boo.)

And since we're on the topic of all-time favorite old school video games, how could I forget about Wolfenstein?!

Now I must go peruse CL for Genesis systems in the Paris region...
Categories: Ah, France, reads

Guess who's on the cover of Elle this month

Categories: French characters, reads

Angélina's

Sooner or later I knew I was going to have to do a post about Angelina's. Angelina's is, quite simply, where you can have the best hot chocolate in the whole wide world. The african hot chocolate is incredible. Thick, insanely rich (enough to be breakfast AND lunch), it is accompanied with a little bowl of authentic crème chantilly, a glass of water, and if you're lucky enough (I was), an incredible view of Rue de Rivoli and the Jardin des Tuileries.
Feast your eyes:

My friend got some sort of coffee:

It was late afternoon on a clear, sunny day; the kind of day that brings out all of the glory of Paris. I passed through Place de la Concorde on my way to Angelina's, and the view at that time of day was breathtaking. Looking at the Obelisk from the viewpoint of the Hotel Crillon, for example. In front of you is the obelisk; right after that you have the Seine and the Assemblée Nationale; further back on the right you have the sun reflecting off the golden roof of Les Invalides. Wow. We walked along Rue de Rivoli for a bit afterwards, passing by the Louvre (on the right), the Conseil d'état (on the left), and finally turning towards Les Halles where we got to see Ste-Eustache in all her splendor:

Days like help me forget all the stuff I hate about Paris.

Angélina
226 Rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris

The hot chocolate is 6€20, which is quite reasonable for what you get. Normal price runs at about 3€50; here you get a pitcher with about that gives you about 2+ cups, real crème chantilly, and the amazing location. An indulgence, but well worth it!
Categories: Grub, sights

Mme Chirac, les Guignols d'info, et les pièces jaunes

Last night I happened to catch the Guignols d'info on Canal+. Canal+ is like HBO over here, except non-subscribers can watch it during certain periods of the day as well, around lunch time and in the evening until about 9 pm. I don't usually watch the Guignols: it's a 5 minute puppet show poking fun at various politicians and current events, and you have to be very up-to-date on the news and have a good understanding of politics in general (which I don't) to get most of the jokes. Sometimes, however, I "get" something and actually laugh out loud. The parodies of George Bush are always amusing, as are the sketches featuring the "typical" American as personified by Sylvester Stallone (ie, there is a group of the president's advisors, all of them clones of Slyvester Stallone; he is the typical businessman, director of "World Company, Inc", and all the American soldiers are always Sylverster Stallone twins).

So, last night I caught a parody of "Who wants to be a millionaire?" ("Qui veut gagner des millions?"), with Bernadette Chirac answering questions about her husband's dodgy finances as Mayor of Paris. (The link to watch it yourself is here ). I thought it was pretty funny, but I didn't get half of the joke until I realized that on the same night there would be a special edition of "Qui veut gagner des millions?" WITH Bernadette,with all proceeds going to her charity Pièces Jaunes. This I couldn't miss. There were some people on there who I like, such as Corneille and
Pierre Palmade, a few I had never heard of, and of course dear Bernadette, watching over the festivities like a queen. She was so funny, she was wearing these ginormous glasses the entire time. I did a Getty Images search and she's been wearing the same pair for DECADES people. I can totally see her sporting those while driving the old 500SL that I imagine her to have. (More likely, a brand spankin' new black limo with a driver, but in my mind I see her with those glasses and the top down). I was so disappointed to find out that she didn't actually play the game! Especially after having missed the Sound of Music (dubbed in French!) to watch it!


Here is a picture of her with the host of the show:

Enjoy the old clips of the Guignols on the official site, they're pretty funny.

Always check the cap!

Today I bought a liter of milk from Franprix. No big deal. Til a couple hours later when I went to open it...and it was already opened! Again, no big deal, if I was back in the US I would just return to my friendly neighborhood Publix, the best grocery store chain ever, and exchange it out, no questions asked. I knew what I was getting into on my walk back to the store, and I even debated whether it was worth the 1.11€, but then I just decided to go with it.

I now feel like I shouldn't go back to Franprix in the next, oh, month or two. The ladies who work there didn't believe me. They thought that I had opened it myself and was exchanging it out for some reason unbeknownst to them. They did it, but all the while reminding me that it was not the policy, only this one time, that the bottle of milk was ruined, etc. When I tried to explain that I bought it opened, and that I did not realize until I got home, emphasizing that I did not open it myself, they told me that it was my responsibility to verify the bottles and that they didn't want to know about anything else. I am certainly going to do that from now on; I already scrutinize the expiration dates because I have found products that are already out of date on their shelves, now it's just a matter of verifying every seal of every container.

The presumption of guilt is what annoys me the most. Ugh. And the mystery: why would I open a bottle of milk, not drink any of it, and exchange it for the exact same type of milk on the same day?

And why do I go to the ridiculously expensive, badly stocked, corner Franprix anyways? Because the nearest "real" grocery store requires a full morning for the metro ride and "experience" of shopping there, plus the always uncomfortable lugging of bags through the metro. But I think I have discovered a solution to the unpleasant and time consuming business of grocery shopping: getting your groceries delivered! Auchan online has a promo code "relax" that gives you free delivery with any purchase over 120€ (normally it's 10€, or free with 150€+). So I placed my order over the weekend, chose a delivery time tomorrow evening, and we'll see how it turns out. The prices aren't that bad - a bit more expensive than at Auchan itself but still cheaper than any of the grocers in the 'hood - and their selection is pretty darn good, with the exception of fruits and veggies. My roomie and I had to push it to make the limit, but it will feel great to have a full fridge again. And at reasonable prices with no stress! Hooray for free grocery delivery.

Random Links

Some funny things I've come across:

This guy has a funny blog: http://blog.ucciani-dessins.com/ I especially like the entry about boudin noir ::shivers::

This is a great page with translations and explanations of idiomatic sayings...published by the State Department?!

A spoof of the FriendsReunited sites.

This guy has a HILARIOUS blog; my favorite entry is this one