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.

‘It’s about the woman’: Meet rising French band, Her

The future stars talk about Her Tape No.1, their influences + being mistaken for an English band

“We are focussing on Her Tape No.1. It begins by talking about the dreaming, the lust for a woman, and that’s our track ‘Quite Like’. Then you have the love encounter with ‘Five Minutes’,” reveals Her’s Victor Solf, as co-founder and fellow band leader Simon Carpentier nods in agreement. “Then you have the experience of missing someone in ‘Her’, and finally you have the wedding in ‘Union’.”

This love story EP has won a lot of hearts in France since the Rennes-based band released it on vinyl through a French indie last month. However, their first ever digital release was ‘Quite Like’ in April. Although the full EP isn’t out digitally yet, Soundcloud streams have hit over a quarter of a million across their two releases, and plays have largely come from the UK and the US. [ . . . ]

Source: ‘It’s about the woman’: Meet rising French band, Her | Gigwise

The Last Rose (Wines) of Summer

Rose Wines for summer’s end

 

Recommended rose wines from France and Spain to enjoy during final days of summer.

After Labor Day, summer can seem like it’s a quickly fading memory. But the reality is there’s still technically a week or so left of summer (which ends on Sept. 21) depending on when you’re reading this article.

And when it comes to wine, nothing symbolizes summer better than rose wines.

Fortunately, there’s more than just one rose of summer still in full bloom. In fact, according to several wine store owners I’ve talked to over the years, if they could stock rose wines year-round, they probably would since they seem to sell like wildfire anytime they’re on the shelves. [ . . . ]

More at: Wine Press: The Last Rose (Wines) of Summer | masslive.com

Indochine, le nouvel album d’un groupe inusable

Indochine released his new album on September 8th. It is the 13th since 1981, it is simply called “13”. The group led by Nicola Sirkis can boast exceptional longevity. The lyrics, the music, the fans, the personality of the singer: explanations are not lacking. Back on a musical phenomenon.

Full Story: Indochine, le nouvel album d’un groupe inusable

The Peculiar Poetry of Paris’s Lost and Found

On the southern edge of Paris, a five-thousand-square-foot basement houses the city’s lost possessions. The Bureau of Found Objects, as it is officially called, is more than two hundred years old, and one of the largest centralized lost and founds in Europe. Any item left behind on the Métro, in a museum, in an airport, or found on the street and dropped, unaddressed, into a mailbox makes its way here, around six or seven hundred items each day. Umbrellas, wallets, purses, and mittens line the shelves, along with less quotidian possessions: a wedding dress with matching shoes, a prosthetic leg, an urn filled with human remains. The bureau is an administrative department, run by the Police Prefecture and staffed by very French functionaries—and yet it’s also an improbable, poetic space where the entrenched French bureaucracy and the societal ideals of the country collide [ . . . ]

Read Full Story: The Peculiar Poetry of Paris’s Lost and Found | The New Yorker

Groundhog Day, Facebook, and Healthcare in USA

by Michael Stevenson

GROUNDHOG DAY EXPERIMENT
Yesterday I rewatched a favorite film, Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day (1993). I’ve seen this Buddhist-themed movie dozens of times. After last night’s viewing, I decided to attempt an experiment whereby I would try to experience each day as if I was revisiting each moment and encounter.

Superficially, Groundhog Day is a about a cynical, egocentric weatherman Phil (Bill Murray) who repeats the same day over and over again (February 2nd, aka Groundhog Day) until he convinces Rita (Andie MacDowell) to fall in love with him. On a deeper level, it is a profound work of contemporary metaphysics, albeit, with occasionally hilarious sight gags (“Am I right or am I right? – Needle-nose Ned Ryersen)

Like Bill Murray’s main character Phil Connors, I will reincarnate each moment of each Continue reading “Groundhog Day, Facebook, and Healthcare in USA” →