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.
YANN TIERSEN has launched the video for ‘Tempelhof’, filmed in and around The Eskal, a new studio, venue and community centre that Tiersen has built in an abandoned discotheque in Ushant, a small island positioned in the Celtic sea between Brittany and Cornwall.
Dan Berger writes about the wines of the Rhône region of southern France, which have long flown under the radar.
Of all the French wine regions that are widely considered iconic, perhaps the least acclaimed is the southern French district known as the Rhône Valley.
The name Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the south (literally “new home of the pope”) comes from the roughly 70-year period when political and ecclesiastical conflicts caused the papacy to be based not in Rome but in Avignon, France. The reds can be utterly sublime.
Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Alsace and the Loire Valley all have supporters, with the first three attaining near mythic status and lots attention on the world wine stage. Most of the wines from this trio of regions today command high prices. Continue reading “Berger on wine: There’s much to love about Rhône Valley wines”→
It’s not easy to find love in the City of Love if you don’t speak the language.
Believe it or not, The Little Mermaid method of attracting someone by not speaking is not efficient or sustainable in the longterm. The easiest way to find that dream French boyfriend / girlfriend is to speak the language. Here are 17 great French words and expressions about dating, relationships, breakups, and everything in between to help you find love in the City of Love.
1. Avoir un crush
This is the Americanized, modern version of “avoir le béguin” meaning, to have a crush on someone or like someone. For example, your friend Stéphane might say, “j’ai un crush sur ma collègue Alix.”
2. On peut se tutoyer?
A very foreign idea to Americans, this is the question you ask if you want to transition from calling someone by the formal “vous” to the informal “tu.” So if Stéphane finally talks to Alix at an after-work happy hour, he may ask her “on peut se tutoyer?” (can we call each other by “tu”) to indicate that he’d like to get to know her and be closer. Continue reading “17 French Expressions About Dating and Relationships You Should Know “→
On Saturday evening, the Berlin Film Festival awarded the Jury Grand Prize to French director François Ozon’s film “Grace to God” on pedophile scandals in the Catholic Church. The Grand Prix is the second major award of the Berlinale after the Golden Bear. This prize was awarded before a court decision Monday on a possible postponement of the release of the film in France.François Ozon shares the prize with his heroes
“This film tries to break the silence of powerful institutions” on these cases of sexual abuse of children, said François Ozon receiving his reward. “I want to share this award with the free men who inspired me” who “were victims of a pedophile priest,” he added, moved. “Alexandre, François and Pierre-Emmanuel, you are my heroes,” greeted the 51-year-old French director.
“Thanks to God” tells the birth of the association of victims The liberated Word, founded in Lyon in 2015 by former scouts abused by a pedophile priest, Bernard Preynat. In total, the association lists nearly 85 victims of this priest. The film follows three victims, incarnated on the screen by the actors Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet and Swann Arlaud.
The subject is in full relevance in France, while held in early January in Lyon the trial of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, and five other people for not denouncing pedophile sexual assault in this case, so-called Barbarin case . The judgment is expected on March 7th. Charged with sexual assault since January 2016, Father Preynat could be tried this year.