Archive by Author
Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal” (The Flowers of Evil) Posted by Hichem on Jun 23, 2011
Unbeknownst to many French people, Charles Baudelaire has for long cultivated “un jardin secret” (“a secret garden.”) But make no mistake about it, ladies and gentlemen: That was by no means an ordinary garden… The “flowers” he grew in there were in fact so evil that they did not require the services of un jardinier (a…
Champs-Élysées Posted by Hichem on Jun 22, 2011
Here’s a classic hit by Joe Dassin called “Les Champs-Élysées.“ Et maintenat avec les paroles traduites en anglais (and now with the lyrics translated in English): “AUX CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES“, par JOE DASSIN: Je me baladais sur l’Avenue, le cœur ouvert à l’inconnuJ’avais envie de dire bonjour à n’importe quiN’importe qui et ce fut toi, je t’ai dit…
Celebrating 30 Years of La Fête de la musique Posted by Hichem on Jun 21, 2011
Bon solstice d’été à tous ! (Happy summer solstice to all!) “Even as I write this, on fait la fête à Paris (they’re partying in Paris). Aujourd’hui, le 21 juin, c’est la Fête de la musique! (It’s the Festival of Music!)” Thus spoke Jennie, exactly a year ago, evoking her own experience of la la Fête de la musique…
Why The French Must Dump Bastille Day Posted by Hichem on Jun 20, 2011
If you are the sort of person who does not blindly celebrate dates just because others do, here’s for you a résumé of Bastille Day’s “inside story”: Contrary to the prevailing popular belief, “Bastille Day” marked a disastrous hijacking of the French Revolution, operated at the behest of an often unsuspected hostile foreign power: Great Britain, whom the…
Fun with Funès Posted by Hichem on Jun 18, 2011
Yes, it’s true, dame nature (mother nature) may not have graced him with the charm of the famous French actors of his time, say, Alain Delon, or the looks of a Jean-Paul Belmondo, but what he did have, however, is un don unique (a unique gift) for la comédie ! The beginnings of Louis de Funès, as a young man…
L’Homme Providentiel (The Providential Man) Posted by Hichem on Jun 18, 2011
“L’Homme Providentiel“, the “Providential Man”, the “Savior of the Masses”, is one of those “dynamite figures”, so to speak, that have for long jalonné (punctuated) the History of France: From Louis XIV, “le Roi Soleil” (The Sun King), to his Supreme Highness, le Grand Empreur Napoléon Bonaparte—To, finally, the much less sophisticated “parodical figureheads” of later pedigree… Much…
Have you ever tasted Ratatouille? Posted by Hichem on Jun 16, 2011
Whether or not they enjoyed watching the eponymous Pixar computer-animated movie, many people find the taste of the French dish “Ratatouille” to be “very niiice“—A fact that turns out to make perfect sense, considering that the birthplace of the Ratatouille happens to be in the Côte d’Azur (French Riviera) city of NICE ! Sans transition (without…