January 2011
21 posts
4 tags
4 tags
“Death doesn’t scare me. What I don’t like, is the fact that...”
– Italian Shoes, Henning Mankell
2 tags
“I’ve got some friends, some that I hardly know
But we’ve had some...”
– Rise Against
6 tags
"NON AUX JO!"
You’ll see this graffiti a little everywhere in the Haute-Savoie, but especially near Annecy. At first it came as a shock, because it seemed someone didn’t like me, but JO stands for jeux olympiques.
Annecy, following in the footsteps of its many neighbours who have already hosted the Winter Olympics, has put in its bid for the 2018 games. Chamonix-Mont-Blanc hosted the original, the...
5 tags
Val d'Misere
Val d’Isère & Tignes are attached stations. They form Espace Killy, since the great skier Jean-Claude Killy was manufactured there. Not surprising that a cliff of black ice was the training ground for the winner of all three ski events of the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble & the first to win the World Cup of skiing twice. The man was a force of winter.
Tignes is also well known for...
4 tags
“Paradise on earth is on the horse’s back, in the reading of books, and...”
– The Book of Arabic Wisdom
11 tags
Drink to the End of Every Great
Ryszard Kapuscinski is widely acclaimed as the greatest foreign correspondent of our time. Most great men are underappreciated during their activity except the choice few who refuse to give into the norm. Like a few of my other favourites (Hunter Thompson, Dr. Johnson, Bruce Chatwin) Kapuscinski was in high demand at the end of his life. For good reason. The reporter was hardpressed to say no to...
6 tags
Free Ski Ain't What it Used to Be
There was a time when the beginning of winter was quite simple. And some things still are, don’t misapprehend: wearing your gear around the house, checking snow reports maniacally, waxing bases & sharpening edges in the yard. This is still annual behaviour. However, things were even easier back when all you did was make friends with an instructor, con the uniform out of him, and wear it...
3 tags
“…I have read a French author, who, in the elation of his heart, says, that...”
– Dr. Johnson
8 tags
Non-Pasteurized Hallucinations
There is no shortage of different cheeses in any region of France. And thus, there is no shortage of evidence of non-pasteurized products going through your system. Some are vicious, some are sneaky, all are just plain silly.
Camembert is the same here than in North America, except it stinks a touch stronger. After several days, even in the fridge, it’s plenty more than a touch. If you...
5 tags
That Fucking English Class
I received a conflicting present this Christmas.
Animal Farm by George Orwell, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. Ring a bell? If you don’t know Orwell, you should stop reading this and go read 1984. If you don’t know Steadman, you haven’t read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Sure you’ve seen the movie! The bats reflected in Duke’s sunglasses are Steadman’s. I...
1 tag
6 tags
Welcome! But Mind the Pink!
May have found a third free house… Ah I think so. We are all welcome.
La Maison Rose. Pink on the inside & out. Three official tenants (only male) and estimates reach the double digits every weekend (ranging male, female, animal, sometimes mineral).
Yes, this place has a library of mattresses that are flung out whenever there is some type of get-together in Marthod, Ugine...
2 tags
“J’aime l’idee que je me reproduis a travers mes images… Si je...”
– Le combat ordinaire, Manu Larcenet
7 tags
Tew pt. Two
My Guns are safe again with me. Tew pulled through. Not only did he get my skis on his bus, he delivered them right to a bar where they were held hostage until I showed to buy a pitcher. I am excited to ride my beauties again. Skiing other skis is not cheating, but it’s borderline… Salomon Guns, not weapons by the way, twin-tips. My boots do have shotgun shell slots on the straps...
2 tags
11 tags
Drive By Signing
Sign language is relatively easy to understand if you know what to look for. It’s impressive to watch two people hard of hearing converse with their hands, especially when they burst out laughing. How do you deliver a punchline with your hands?
The punchlines from the signer driving by you at speed are impossible to understand but still hilarious.
We decide to try our hand at international...
4 tags
Argentina (Not a Region of France)
Reading On Writing by Jorge Luis Borges is a treat. It’s taking a stroll in the head of a true Man of Letters, and consequently, getting totally lost & disoriented. His essays are as much like labyrinths as his fiction. His writing creates more than an atmosphere or ambiance, it’s a whole new dimension. How do these writers come to be? Reading (too much, without a doubt) and their...
6 tags
Parisien, Tete de Chien (pt. 2)
When it snows in Canadian cities, people get mad. It’s not unlike other metropolitan areas: commuting slows to a crawl, excuses to stay inside, cigarettes & candy wrappers are thrown more willingly on the ground (because it’ll disappear soon anyways, right?), and ski enhtusiasts get pumped. But airports still function. Don’t they? In Paris, not so.
They are less equipped to...
2 tags
“I write to discover what I know.”
– Flannery O’Connor
9 tags
Parigot, Tete de Veau (pt. 1)
In France, some call Paris: Paname. Don’t ask why, you won’t get an answer.
Paris folk are picked on abroad, and in no place harder than in the rest of France. They are not very welcoming, so they say. Ah, but prejudice is rampant in this country. Distrust is everywhere.
Under the Eiffel Tower, a man ran in vain from cops on horses. He was carrying a handful of chains or ingots of...