An article I came across in the Observer presents a documentary made by French journalist and producer Benjamin Carle. In his documentary that is to be shown on French TV, he tries to put himself in the shoes of an Englishman to see what he likes about the English and whether he can see himself […]
Culture
Mister Nobody’s Holiday
As I sat “comfortably” in the adobe construction that my Peruvian parents in-law call “home,” I was probably tasting more of what it feels like to be in Peru than any tourist who has visited Machu Picchu can. I have never been to Machu Picchu and do not intend to do so. Part of the […]
Love At First Read – Françoise Sagan: “Bonjour Tristesse” (“Hello Sadness”)
When French author, Françoise Sagan, died in September 2004, she left behind more than one million dollars in debts and a little gem entitled “Bonjour Tristesse” (“Hello Sadness”). In his memorial statement, the then French President Jacques Chirac said of Sagan: “With her death, France loses one of its most brilliant and sensitive writers – […]
Five Minutes In The US And My English Is In Big Trouble
I didn’t spend long in the US, just past customs and a few hours between terminals, but I can tell you straight away that if I came to live there permanently, my English would quickly be in big trouble. For starters, my cute semblance of a cockneyish intonation due to my being born on the […]
Falling Out Of Love With Facebook
It has taken me just over two years to find out the limitations of Facebook for the sharing of personal viewpoints. The social media giant has become submerged with unsubtle memes, links to mainstream media news articles that have not been read before sharing, and certainly not read before being commenting on. Facebook has become […]
Why Can’t I Be A Famous Moronic YouTuber?
I used not to mind YouTubers. Now I do. I suppose that I’m just jealous of a YouTuber who has 6 times more followers than inhabitants in the Netherlands. The bottom line is that I’m probably jealous of every single YouTuber. How I would love to have 98,457,085 subscribers to my blog. I’ve given up […]
Why Ann Widdecombe Got Her French “Leave” Terribly Wrong
A trilogy of posts on Ann Widdecombe! I cannot believe that I’m wasting my time on an old lady who is well past her “sell-by” date. I promise that you will not see another post on her from this particular IP address. Promise that, I do. But it sprang to my attention that no one […]
Film Review: “I Am Mother” – When A.I. Meets Immanuel Kant
Film Title: I Am Mother (2019) (Netflix) Director: Grant Sputore I’m not really a science-fiction fan and you can probably count the number of sci-fi films that I actually enjoyed and/or understood, with the fingers of one hand. My list is finite but does include Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters which is certainly one of […]
CINEMA: “Désobéissance” – Un Film Froid Sur Un Amour Chaud
Désobéissance est un film fascinant et magnifique sur la transgression de deux femmes dans une société plus que conservatrice dirigée par les hommes et la religion. Rien de nouveau me direz-vous, mais c’est ce manque de nouveauté qui rend le film encore meilleur. C’est un mélodrame auquel tout le monde peut et doit s’identifier. Le […]
“Arcade” – Netherlands: Twelve Points / Pays-Bas: Douze Points
Arcade is a story about the search for the love of your life. It is the hope for the – sometimes – unattainable. – Duncan Laurence Love has always been for me the greatest of affairs, or rather, the only one. – Stendhal What can I say when France gives the Netherlands […]