Billy Name, the Warhol star who actually lived in Andy’s Factory, was in a choice spot to snap pictures of the daily routine of the “superstars” who lounged about taking drugs, making silkscreens, and witnessing Valerie Solanas shoot the silver-haired Pop Tart. Name actually created the silver look of the Factory, unrolling miles of aluminum […]

Me: Sweetie, let’s get some French Horror films for Halloween tonight!
Him: Which? I don’t think there ARE any.
Me: What??! We need to watch horror movies on Halloween in between passing out candy.
Him: There’s only going to be a few kids that will come, though.
(Note: We’re in the north of France near Boulogne-sur-mer, where the American […]

There are more and more of these dead leaves in Paris as… there are more and more trees in the streets of Paris (apparently - even if it’s not easy to check - 6 400 new trees were planted over the last 7 years by the City town hall). I took this photo in Montmartre, […]

Here are anagrams of a few other of my favorite publications I wasted an afternoon finding….
Le Figaro
Log Afire
Frail Ego
A Frog Lie
Le Monde
Led Me On
Libération
Alien Orbit
Alibi Toner
Latrine Bio
Able in Riot
Le Canard Enchainé
Adrenaline Chance
Cancan Header Line
Adrenal Acne Niche
Enhanced Clean Air
International Herald Tribune
Threadbare Nutritional Linen
Rehabilitation Errand Tunnel
Rattlebrain Unlined Antihero
Trainable Indentation Hurler
Le Parisien
Praise Line
Alien Spire
A Lie Ripens
I Repeal Sin
and, […]

French Expression: Ah buh oui, uh?
Meaning: That’s just the way things are. That’s life. Some things will never change. Yesssirrybob. I told you so. Welcome to France. Tough shit.
Anyone who’s ever taken a linguistics class or traveled abroad knows that the flavor of a language – the essence of its soul – is not in […]

The other day, I was browsing through Gibert Jeune and found this on their employment-prep shelf:
It’s a book on how to outsmart personality tests, presumably administered by your prospective employer. I was immediately struck — personality tests? Handwriting analysis? Wasn’t that sort of thing discredited years ago? Exactly how widespread is this practice?
Of course, flipping […]

I took this photo in the Bagatelle Gardens, located in the Bois de Boulogne (big woods on the west side of Paris) which is technically in the 16th arrondissement. These gardens were created in 1777 and now shelter several interesting points including a huge rose garden, and noisy peacocks.

Inspired by an afternoon MSN chat on Django Reinhardt, banjos, and country music, I jokingly recommended Deliverance, that twisted-but-classic American outdoor movie, to a colleague. Within minutes, he located the film file online and the following day, I was the proud recipient of a copy of his illegal download.
Sunday evening, saucisson, clémentines, and a […]

Starting January 1, three Parisian museums will be free to visitors. This experiment, which will be tested over a 6-month period, comes after a campaign led by President Sarkozy, and much contemplation by cultural officials who wonder: will free museums attract the growing number of cultureless bums that are at home watching “Baywatch” reruns?
The three […]

When my daughter was two years old, we were sitting one feverish afternoon in the pediatrician’s waiting room. Waiting. The doctor’s office was kind enough to furnish some pastimes to distract the younger patients until they could be escorted into the examining rooms.
My blond cherub picked up the stub of a purple Crayola and started […]