Author: THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Michael Stevenson, aka Dai Bando, Johnny Foreigner, Monsieur Pas De Merde, is a blogger of French and British culture. His blogs "Pas De Merde" and "The Hobbledehoy" have been called "marvelous" by some, and "meh" by others.

Chanson du Jour: “Mon Homme”

American audiences will remember this tune as “My Man” – memorably featured in the film Funny Girl and performed by Barbara Streisand. Jazz legend Billie Holiday also a recorded a classic version. The original was sung by chanteuse Mistinguett, who at one time was at one time the highest-paid female entertainer in the world. A performer at the legendary Moulin Rouge, Mistinguett’s legs were insured for 500,000 francs in 1919. Though her well-insured gams were easy on the eyes, Jean Cocteau said her voice was “slightly off-key, (like) that of the Parisian street hawkers—the husky, trailing voice of the Paris people.”

Monsieur Pas de Merde is partial to this 1951 recording by Henriette Ragon, aka “Patachou,” whose legs were not insured but whose name derived from “pâte-à-choux” meaning cream puff dough. So, voila.

Sometimes when performing, Patachou would collect half-ties (she would snip the neckties of customers reluctant to join in sing-alongs). Thomas Dewey and Errol Flynn were among her victims.

Paris Match cover photo illustrates the insanity we are experiencing

View this post on Instagram

Manifestation des soignants : Farida, le visage de la colère. Un rassemblement s'est tenu mardi soir devant le commissariat du VIIème arrondissement, à Paris. Il réclamait la libération d'une infirmière, arrêtée quelques heures plus tôt en marge d'une manifestation des soignants qui a donné lieu à quelques échauffourées dans la capitale. Des images de l'arrestation de cette femme quinquagénaire, infirmière dans le Val-de-Marne, ont suscité la polémique sur les réseaux sociaux. Sur certaines d'entre elles on la voit être tirée au sol par un agent de police ou encore réclamer sa ventoline, un médicament utilisé par les personnes souffrant d'asthme, alors qu'elle est entourée de plusieurs policiers. Pourquoi cette manifestante en blouse blanche a-t-elle été arrêtée par les forces de l'ordre? Une source policière a fait savoir qu'elle avait été «interpellée pour outrage et jet de projectiles sur les forces de l'ordre». Sur des images de BFMTV, tournée quelques minutes avant son interpellation, on voit cette femme jeter des projectiles et faire des doigts d'honneur en direction des policiers. Soucieux de «rétablir la vérité» après cette arrestation, le syndicat indépendant des commissaires de police a diffusé cette vidéo de la chaîne d'info en continu sur Twitter. «La gentille infirmière, qui avait besoin de sa ventoline, et qui est présentée comme une victime de la police. Elle jetait des projectiles, juste avant son interpellation», a réagi le syndicat. «Un policier atteint par un de ces projectiles déposera plainte» mercredi, a fait savoir une source policière. A la fin de la manifestation, qui a réuni 18 000 personnes à Paris selon les chiffres de la préfecture de police, 32 interpellations liées aux échauffourées ont été réalisées par le police.⁣ Photos : @raphael_lafargue @abaca_press⁣ —⁣ #personnelsoignant #paris #parismatch

A post shared by Paris Match (@parismatch_magazine) on

LA VOILOU, LA VOILÀ !!

Thanks to two recent developments – the recognition of a miraculous recovery in Lourdes and the new film by Xavier Giannoli -, the Marian apparitions are coming back to the fore. Analysis of a phenomenon as old as Christianity in the chronicle of Alain Cabantous

Almost suddenly, two close facts have been part of our news. On the one hand, the recognition by the Beauvais ordinary of the miraculous healing of Sister Bernadette Moriau, delivered from an incurable illness in July 2008 following a pilgrimage to Lourdes a few months before. On the other, the remarkable release of Xavier Giannoli’s film, The Apparition, where Vincent Lindon plays a talented journalist commissioned by the Vatican to investigate the apparitions of the Virgin in the south-east of France. As if the month of Marie had taken some advance sliding from May to February!

In fact, these two phenomena are apparently fairly commonplace. Since the tenth century, when Mary would have appeared more than 21,000 times, the Roman Church has recognized only fifteen! And, in this area, it was not the 19th century that beat the record despite La Salette (1846), Lourdes (1858) or Pontmain (1871), but the 20th century. From Fatima (1917) to the Medjugorje years (since 1981), there would have been four times more appearances than in the previous century. Between 1945 and 1959, the “Lady of all peoples” appeared fifty-six times to a woman from Amsterdam. Same inflation and same ecclesiastical prudence for miraculous healings. In Lourdes alone, between 1858 and 2018, there were more than 7,300 of which 70 (for two thirds of them before 1914) endorsed by the hierarchy.  Continue reading “LA VOILOU, LA VOILÀ !!” →

What Questions Do You Ask At A Wine Tasting?

“Can I have a straw,” “That costs how much,” “Does it come in green” and other important questions along with a few serious ones.

Here are a few questions I would suggest asking if you want to learn more about the wines you’re tasting. But again, please feel free to ask any question that pops into your head. Wine and wine tastings should be fun, not a chore.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF WINE TASTINGS

But before we get to a few suggested questions, I thought it might be important to distinguish between different types of wine tastings. Because where you are – and who you’re with – could make a dramatic difference in the questions you might ask about the wine.

In my experience, there are five types of wine tastings.

1) Wine tasting often hosted by a wine store featuring a wide variety of wines – This is a very common wine tasting, often hosted by many wine stores, sometimes once a week. Hopefully, the person serving the wines knows something about them. But that might not always be the case. If so, trust your own instincts and your taste buds.

2) Wine tasting often hosted by a wine store featuring on particular type of wine – A slightly less common wine tasting, but one that can be fascinating to discover the subtle differences between different wines from the same wine region. Here, the people serving these wines often know a fair bit about them. Ask them questions. I’m sure they’ll love to talk about wines they’re clearly passionate about.

3) Wine tasting at a winery – This is a great way to learn about wine, especially if the wine maker is there to talk about their wines. You’ll also get to see where the grapes are grown, which can greatly enhance your understanding of the wine. Definitely ask the people questions, especially the winemaker. Most winemakers love talking about their wines.

4) Wine tasting hosted by a friend – Feel free to ask your friend questions. But please, also remember to have fun. You’re there to enjoy the wines hopefully, not quiz your friend about their wine knowledge.

5) Professional wine tasting hosted by a wine association – Imagine hundreds of different wines and only a two or three hours to taste all of them. Be prepared to taste fast, move quickly and often ask questions later. Do the math. If you only have 30 seconds to taste each wine, trust yourself and focus on how the wine tastes.

You can also find more tips on how to tackle a wine tasting in a wine column I wrote last year about this exact subject.

But that’s another topic for another day. Let’s get to the questions.

QUESTIONS TO ASK AT A WINE TASTING

“Where is this wine from?”

This question might not be necessary depending on the type of wine tasting. If you’re at the winery, you obviously know the origin of the wine. But even if you know that the wine is from California or France – or even somewhere more specific like Napa Valley or Burgundy – feel free to dig a little deeper. Ask what part of Napa or Burgundy or even what vineyard the wine’s from there. If the person answering your questions knows a lot about wine, feel free to ask them a few more questions. Continue reading “What Questions Do You Ask At A Wine Tasting?” →