This week I’ve been looking for something to celebrate and a particular milestone related to this blog stands out. Last Friday’s post was my 200th, a bicentenary of sorts. You may have wondered (as I have) why I maintain this random assortment of loosely coupled brain dumps. The answer isn’t…
To lighten the stressful atmosphere around election 2024, this week’s post features several minutes of fun French humor with a handful of French brain teasers at the end. Enjoy! Learn to recognize the tracks of different animals. A week ago, I bought a book titled, “Learn to Know Yourself.”That makes…
Last week I wrote about a financial scandal that bilked the French people out of massive sums of money and slowed France’s economic recovery after World War II. Through a series of government-approved transactions, moving money from Saigon to mainland France, the French people inadvertently funded the weaponization of the…
In the novel, Le Grande Monde, by Pierre Lemaître, part of the story anchors on a true financial scandal that bilked the French people out of massive sums of money and slowed France’s economic recovery after World War II. Through a series of government-approved transactions, moving money from Saigon to…
After more than 30 years of searching, by tens of thousands of passionate treasure seekers, France’s elusive Golden Owl was recovered sometime during the night of October 2/3. I wrote about this trouble-plagued contest back in 2021. If you’d like a more detailed version of its dramatic backstory, you’ll find…
So much of today’s media focuses on issues that divide us. I thought this week I’d take a break from conflict and breeze through a topic that most of us, regardless of political leanings, can embrace: the fables of the French poet, Jean de La Fontaine. Between 1668 and 1694,…
Urgent While writing this post, I learned that Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed on September 24, 2024. His case is highly unusual because even the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, Wesley Bell, has been filing appeals to vacate Williams’ conviction and subsequent death sentence. Last week, Judge…
Night had fallen last December when I left the Musée Carnavalet after attending an exhibit on La Régence, a period in French history that marks the dawn of the Enlightenment. Despite the darkness, the streets of the Marais were still bustling with activity and I felt the same pull to…
