Friday means music 2

Today, it's a video of Thom Yorke and Johny Greenwood doing Arpeggi/Weird Fishes at the Ether Festival three years ago.
I challenge you to find the beat he sings from. Does he come in at random or is one of the instruments giving him cues? Either way, Thom's a genius. Odd, but a genius.

Rosecrans Baldwin

An excellent American writer based in Paris. Check out his latest post for The Morning News here.

One afternoon a roving band of 30 teenagers stopped traffic on the Champs-Elysées, marching toward the Arc de Triomphe, followed by a battalion of 60 police officers in riot gear, marching in rows of two. I asked a French co-worker what the kids were celebrating. He squinted, looking into the sun. “That it’s May,” he said. “That they’re French, that they’re young. You will not understand.”

Huh?

Gotta be quick - I'm supposed to be getting to class but I wanted to write about something that happened recently. It was a random meeting on the street:

Woman: Excusez-moi?
Me: Oui?
Woman: (In French) Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah?
Me: Er...Hmmm?
Woman: (Repeating the same thing - in French) Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah?
Me: Um, sorry, I mean, pardon. Je ne parle pas francais tres bien. Excusez-moi. Repetez, s'il vous plait?
Woman: (By this time clearly getting a little agitated) Blah ou blah cinema blah blah blah?
Me: Oh! Le cinema! C'est la.
Woman: Le cinema? Non, blah blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah?
Me: (Red-faced with embarrassment and wishing frantically for the first case of alien abduction in broad daylight on the streets of Paris) Excusez-moi. Um... Ah... Hmmm. Pardon.

And so ended the type of random meeting I seem to have on a weekly basis. Clearly, my goal of speaking conversational French in three months is running a little behind schedule. Which reminds me, it's time to get to class. Merde!

Bad for business

We're back from Normandy, dry AS. I'm in two minds about this one - it was great to go somewhere and enjoy some sunshine but at the same time I'm mourning the set-back to our fool-proof business plan...Damned changeable French weather! Anyway, we came back with an enormous tomato so I'm leaning to the positive for the trip.


Tonight I'm doing pan-fried trout for some of B's friends. Does anyone have any decent recipes? I've found a good honey & mustard one that I'll use this time but new ideas for next time are very welcome.

Friday means music

Music is a huge part of my life. I used to sing in choirs, have played a couple of instruments, and now listen to as much new music as I can get my grabby little hands on.
When B and I were still on opposite sides of the world I used to send her an mp3 every Friday - a song I loved that I thought she might too - and, if I can maintain any kind of regularity, I'd like to do sort of the same thing here.
So, for the inaugural 'Friday means music', this is a link to a site where various dance music luminaries collaborated with uovo magazine to present ten songs that "saved their lives". Now that I think about it, there are so many songs here that I'm covered for the rest of the year even if I never do this segment again...but of course that'd be cheating.
Enjoy!

Gelato

I made it. It was good. AND it's a great way to get rid of 'trop mûr' rockmelon. Let me know if you want the recipe.

And as a total non sequitur we're off to Normandy again this weekend, togs and umbrella in hand. No, wait, just the umbrella - the forecast is for rain! I know - like, no way!!

I love living in France

Reason 1: Julien Dore's 'Les Limites'
A dancing man, a chicken, a mule and slapstick humour. What more could we ask for?

The Rainmakers

Sorry for the absence. B and I have been working on a business plan that we had to test again in the field. Basically, we hire ourselves out to people (from individual gardeners to national governments) who need or want rain. We plan a holiday there, arrive, and collect our paycheck...because, almost without exception, everywhere we go together it rains, often completely out of season. I tell you, I'm starting to believe in weather-oriented kharma and am wondering what I did in a past life to warrant such pay-back...
You might think I'm exaggerating but our research suggests otherwise: 2 weeks in Sydney, mid-Summer - rain for all but 3 days; 4 days in Madrid, the start of Summer and traditionally a dry time - 3 wet days; A weekend in Fontainebleau with sun predicted - rain the first day and threatening (although admittedly unrealised) storms on the second.

We could make a mint!

Anyway, Fontainebleau was a lovely town and we'll definitely return when the weather is drought-dry. I highly recommend a dinner at 'L'Ecurie des Cepages' - a wine bar with a great selection of light meals. Don't expect the best service (it's run by the sommelier and one other staff member) but do expect great wine and delicious, fresh food. The wines we had were:

• A 2006 Languedoc from the SE of France ('Donnaire Mas de Matin')

• A Cab Franc called 'Coup France' from the SW (Chateau par Stephanie Roussel)

• A Champagne called 'Drappier'

• And a 2005 dessert wine which I wrote down as 'Corvu Pierre Corvee' from 'Chateau de Rutille'...which could be completely wrong because, let's face it, I'd been drinking all night.

It's been a week of discovery - of France, of my goals for my time in Paris, and of myself - not all of which has been pleasant but probably all necessary and certainly all beneficial. I won't bore you with the details; suffice to say I know more about myself now and feel more confident in becoming a better person. And, after all, isn't that one of the main drivers for travelling - discovering a wider world and growing for the positive as a person?
I only wish the discovery had extended to a permanent job. Alas, it's an elusive quarry and the hunt continues. The PT I mentioned in the last post worked out well and will hopefully become a source of casual spending money but it's not what I want for a full-time job.

Ah well, la vie est bonne, Paris est beau et le temps a tourné pour le meilleur. C'est chouette!