A mountain dweller in the Thames Valley

A mountain dweller on the Copacabana Beach

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 01:00:00 PST

Let me see the (sun)light. Despite what I can write every so often, my life is not a pure dichotomy between mountains and valleys. Every now and then I like to explore shores too... Having been drenched in Ireland during what was supposedly a summer break, I was really longing for a proper holiday somewhere exotic enough to finally have a...

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The Saturday Shot #20

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 07:02:00 PST

For this week contribution, it was hard to avoid the fact that London is nowadays covered in leaves... Orange, red, brown tones which are reminding me this brilliant trip we made in Japan a few years back. This same scenery is also a nostalgic glance back at my home country. France's contemporary culture has two important contributors in...

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Family moment of truth

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:21:00 PDT

In French we say that the “truth pours out of children’s mouth”… Well, this morning, it was indeed pouring over London and when my 2-year old son saw the water dripping down the window, he proudly said, pointing outside: “Rainin’…” with a perfect Londoner accent. “It is raining indeed. In French we say: ‘Il pleut’.” I replied to encourage him...

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Learn to hear English

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 02:51:00 PDT

You hear me, but do you listen? School teachers focus on making us learn to speak English... But it is only with a bit more experience and immersion in the local culture that you actually manage to hear English. Bear with me here, as I am not talking about what is verbally articulated, I in fact mean of what is actually said. There is a...

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Quote of the day

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:39:00 PDT

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars" Les Brown (1945-)

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A, B, C, Ki , Wi

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 08:47:00 PDT

Busy B I have rarely the time to post on my blog those days with a pretty busy work agenda, and a growing little one... The latter is growing fast and is now on the verge to hammer us with extensive questions about everything in life. He is about to speak. Fortunately for us, his parents, we still have a few more years to go before he becomes...

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The Saturday Shot #19

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 01:55:00 PDT

For this weekend contribution, it was hard to avoid making any reference to this week's events in the street of London. I felt thus this picture was perfect: a bunch of hooded gnomes on gravels... A few times in the past I mentioned that the UK was more and more looking like France, with its too numerous French residents (London is the 7th...

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A mountain dweller in the valley of Kerry

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:11:00 PDT

Just back from a week of holiday in the beautiful Ireland, and thought that I would jot down my thoughts from my encounter with the backcountry. I have indeed been a few times in Dublin, but that was the first time I was really going into the deeper countryside, namely the Ring of Kerry. But I am very conscious that this part of Ireland is not...

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Splitscreen: A Love Story

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:37:00 PDT

One ocean, two countries... At a time when French politicians trust the front page of tabloids with their kinky habits, it is good to remind that French lovers are not (only) about S&M, role plays and threesomes... Call me a sentimental, but there is also that weird thing called "romance". ...One love story. Shot entirely on the Nokia N8...

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The Saturday Shot #18

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 12:01:00 PDT

This Saturday shot comes a good week late... Just the time for a French national newspaper to reach me after my beloved mother did some press clipping for me. Last weekend, French street artist Space Invader was the guest editor of Liberation, France's left wing, BoHo national. The anonymous artist who usually invades public spaces with his tiles...

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The Saturday Shot #17

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 21 May 2011 12:35:00 PDT

This weekend I felt a bit rock and roll... After months avoiding Notting Hill, my Belle and I decided to pay a visit to Portobello road. And there it was like a Fly on a Wall. No, not the expected power plug delivering AC/DC, but a tape sealed in the Wall. I initially found that an interesting type of street art, quite a novelty to me. And yet,...

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The Franco-British paradox

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sun, 15 May 2011 04:32:00 PDT

Edit: a few more additions on 15/05/11 Edit: a few more additions on 05/03/10 Original post dated The lists. You have certainly come across some lists that define whether you are or not a Londoner, a Parisian, a Russian... I have even published one here a year ago. And yet, although these lists rely on facts and clichés I totally buy into, I...

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The Saturday Shot #16

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 07 May 2011 13:34:00 PDT

After a well-deserved break during which I realised that a growing number of Brits are slowly but surely adopting French best practices like "bridging", I was back in London this week-end. And I loved the sight of this sign. I already wrote about UK's unique relationship to time in an article called "Lost time is never found again", but Jacob Von...

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The Saturday Shot #15

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:04:00 PDT

After a week in the US during which I had the confirmation that I was no longer jinxed with air travel (got upgraded twice for my inbound flight and landed 10 minutes early), I was back in London with a strong determination to get the jet lag rapidly behind me. What a surprise to walk around the British capital and to bump into this reminiscent...

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The Saturday Shot #14

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:20:00 PDT

It's definitely spring time in London and as I was attempting to get my annual first flip-flop blisters, we bumped into this traditional steam fair with its lot of old-fashion rides and attractions... Their motto: "relive Grandma's yesterday", hence the picture treatment for this week contribution to the Saturday Shot series. "Clogged with...

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This is your Captain speaking

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:24:00 PDT

On the road again. I am about to go back to Seattle for work, and I am quite adamant that I won't let myself get stranded this time again. It seems that 2010 was jinxed, but that 2011 is having greater, more positive omens. So far I have traveled to Iceland, France, Sweden, Germany... and have not been delayed or stuck once. Nevertheless my...

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Excuse my F...

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 01:20:00 PDT

Fries, letters, beans, toasts, doors, doctors, kiss but also manucures, knickers, horn, dressing, Riviera, chalk, polish, mustard, connection or paradox... Get over it, the French seem to be good at quite a few things!

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The Saturday Shot #13

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:00:00 PDT

When you are like me, a Frog in London who has been raised on a Beatles soundtrack and with a piece of chocolate as the desert treat to conclude a festive dinner filled with Foie Gras and Escargots, you can only appreciate that shelf of treats... Seen this Saturday in West London in a traditional sweet shop, a childhood dream come true. "Happy is...

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Watch your moves (bis)

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:30:00 PDT

What's up doc? It had been a while since I faced such a humorous situation due to a linguistic misunderstanding. The previous iteration was when someone used "tongue in cheek" as an expression and I thought it had to do with oral sex... This time however no kinky analogy, but a medical misunderstanding when I poorly translated a French idiom in...

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The Saturday Shot #12

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 12:10:00 PDT

La Dolce Vita in London. This Saturday Spring has really taken over Winter. The sky was blue, the air warm, the sun bright, and life all the sudden was more enjoyable than ever. "It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your...

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The Russian (business) dolls

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 08:53:00 PDT

Unveiling the truth. For business, Russia is still today an interesting case of opportunity, threat, unknown and known... A Russian distributor, Tochka Opory, has nicely capitalised on this situation to promote its understanding of its domestic market and complex culture. A very nice execution to enjoy, a glass of vodka and a spoonful of...

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A mountain dweller in the Þingvellir valley

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:19:00 PDT

Visit Iceland. No, this article does not have a typo in its title: it is the actual spelling. Last week I was kindly invited to present at an internet marketing conference in Reykjavik, and had the subsequent pleasure to discover a tiny, little part of that obscure country over the week-end. I say "obscure" because if many people have heard about...

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Shadow casting

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 13:53:00 PDT

Let me walk in your shadow Larry Kagan, a NY-based artist, plays with steel and light to shade a different perspective on things... Well, in this case and to be more precise, he shades a different perspective on a wall. This video is a great induction to his work. It is surprising how a metallic mayhem can suddenly make sense when illuminated in...

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UK, GB, EN and other acronyms for dummies

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:09:00 PST

Geography class. This animation is really well-done to explain the differences between the concepts of United Kingdom, Great Britain, England and all the other subtlities that make leaving in this part of the world a political nightmare if you want to be accurate... It should help shade some light on doubts shared by many of my French...

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Art can change the world. Or can't it?

noreply@blogger.com (Cedric) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 10:24:00 PST

Smile. I have already mentioned the work done by JR, this French photographer, who is using his camera as a political device. Working anonymously, pasting his giant images on buildings, trains, bridges, the often-guerrilla artist JR forces us to see each other. Traveling to distant, often dangerous places - the slums of Kenya, the favelas of...

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