Carmen Sandiego

 Oh the thing I rediscover since I am the father of a young boy. I am kind of late in the news, but Netflix made a TV series called Carmen Sandiego, based on the character at the core of the old educational video game series. I played the game in the 90s, when I was a teenager, mostly at a friend's place, on his computer, but also at school, when it was used so we would learn English. It hadn't really made a big impression on me. Maybe because I was not keen on games with blatant educational purposes? I remember the gameshow as well, which I thought was kind of nice, but a bit young for me. It was more something my little brothers watched. But anyway, out of curiosity, I checked the animated series on Netflix last Saturday, with Wolfie, and we got hooked right away. Now Carmen Sandiego switched from antagonist to protagonist and even hero, but she still operates outside the law and it's a neat little caper with a nice old fashioned aesthetic and a few surprisingly dark moments. The villains are true villains, not mere pantomimes. The educational aspect is still there, but it's been integrated to the plot and characters seamlessly. So Wolfie and I are enjoying it a lot. I'm also glad I can make him discover crime fiction.

Don Giovanni (plogue)

 J'ai fait l'annonce il y a environ un mois. Je la refais en rappel, parce que je reçois des notifications  à ce propos sur les réseaux sociaux: : Opéra du Royaume va présenter Don Giovanni de Mozart en avril. Mon opéra préféré, de mon compositeur préféré. Un retour dans ma région en avril n'est pas dans mes boîtes, hélas, mais allez le voir si vous pouvez. Opéra du Royaume fait de l'excellent travail d'habitude et ce sera une grande première régionale. Alors osez.

AB's B'day

 Today is the birthday of Anthony Burgess, my favourite writer. I try to commemorate every year. The big anniversary was in 2017, when he would have turned a hundred. be that as it may, I will try to do something special about him, like read passages of some of his best novels. One day, I hope to do another pilgrimage in Manchester, where he was born, and visit the Anthony Burgess Foundation there. It's been long overdue. Otherwise, it's also Vraie Fiction's blogging anniversary, which is entireyl accidental, yet very fitting.

"Un deux, test": un anniversaire

C'est un anniversaire d'une certaine importance aujourd'hui: le tapais "Un deux, test" le 25 février 2008, commençant ainsi Vraie Fiction. Il était 21:41 quand mon tout premier billet a été publié. Je sais que bloguer est un art assez oublié de nos jours, c'est un peu perdu dans tous les réseaux sociaux, mais je ne m'en lasse pas, même quand je manque un peu d'inspiration.

A Gothic Castle Library

 I found this meme a year ago or so, in one of the many Halloween pages I have been following on social media. I thought I shared it tonight. That is my idea of heaven. And is it too early to think of Halloween? Because reading this meme, I have Halloween vibes about reading horror stories.

Le long-di

Bon, calembour atroce qui m'est venu en tête récemment. Le lundi, c'est vraiment un long-di. Il faudrait l'écrire comme ça. C'est long au travail, c'est long partout j'imagine, mais c'est vraiment long au travail. En tout cas, c'était long aujourd'hui.

New weapon for the artillery drawer?

 You may remember that Wolfie and I have a special "War Game". We play kind of spies or special operativesor cops fighting villains. Wolfie comes up with most of the characters, plots and storyline. We even have an artillery drawer for our toy guns, things I bought for Wolfie over the years. We don't play the War Game much these days, but I am on the lookout for new toys for it. I found this one recently in the local toy shop. I didn't buy it, but I think could be a nice one to add to the weaponry.

Les orchidées

Bon, je partage encore une fois des photos des orchidées de mon père. Ces temps-ci, je suis peu inspiré, alors je partage des photos d'orchidées et d'autres choses. Mais vous toruverez des photos des orchidées de mon père sur Vraie Fiction dans les archives aux alentours de ces temps-ci de l'année.

Camel Trophy Jeep

 I took this picture last year, during a fayre in the local park (a sort of autumn festival, but I digress). There were lots of army vehicles on display. I know nothing about Camel Trophy, but I find jeeps and army vehicles kind of cool. I mean jeeps look cool, but from the few trips I had in them, they are utterly uncomfortable. So it's kind of fitting to label one a camel: they both go in difficult terrains, they both are tough, they both are uncomfy. Well, I can only assume camels are not comfortable, I must confess I have never traveled on one. Tell me if you experienced either this particular Land Rover or a camel.

Les sucres s'en viennent

J'apprends sur la page Facebook de Première Moisson (où j'ai piqué cette photo) qu'ils ont toute une gamme de produits à l'érable déjà. Le temps des Sucres s'en vient déjà. Une des bonnes choses de ce temps-ci de l'année, en tout cas quand tu es au Québec.

CATAN: anyone knows it?

 Anyone ever played CATAN? If you did, how is it? Any good? I stumbled upon this board game in a toy shop a few months ago. I did not buy, mostly because I have a few board games here already and I barely play at any of them. I love board games, I love finding new ones, however I lack time, and, well, the social circle to play it. But I got curious about CATAN. From what I read, it looks like a sort of Monopoly for the Bronze Age, or something like that, where you must build cities and trade. It just sounds quite cool at atmospheric, with an emphasis on strategy (not always my forte). And the box looks really beautiful. So I am considering putting it on my birthday list. But first I want to know your opinion on it, if you know this board game at all.

Le chemin de fer

Mon père a monté les rails du train LGB au sous-sol il y a quelques jours. Malheureusement, il ne m'a pas envoyé des photos des rails avec le train, enfin pas encore. Qu'importe: c'est un travail impressionnant. et encore, ce n'est rien: quand nous étions enfants, les rails passaient partout dans le sous-sol: le couloir, les chambres, partout. J'aimerais bien pouvoir y rejouer un jour.

Dr Strangelove on stage

 You may know that I'm a fan of Stanley Kubrick. He is my favourite director. I recently found out, to my delight, that the National Theatre has made a stage adaptation of the Cold War dark comedy Dr. Strangelove. Maybe my favourite film comedy. generally, I am not keen on these kinds of remakes and re-adaptations and re-imagining, or whatever the name they give them. But I have seen the trailers and some videos and it looks promising. I also think that Kubrick's direction was often very theatric and stagy, in all his movies and this one in particular, so it makes sense to have the story adapted for the stage. So yeah, I will try to go and watch it.

Bordée de neige (d'antan)

Okay, promis, c'est la dernière fois que je partage une photo que mon père m'a envoyé des neiges qui sont tombées. Les neiges d'antan, pour ainsi dire. On n'a pas eu ça depuis des années, alors c'est vraiment la bonne expression.

The Student ("How it works")

 Sometimes I stop at the local bookshop and I don't buy much, but I do buy something to stimulate local economy. And also because I find it wrong not to buy a book when you stop in a bookshop. So I went there a few weeks ago and bought a Ladybird Book, The Student. Which tells you everything you need to know about, well, uni students. As one who spent a decade in universities, I can relate and found it surprisingly accurate. Reading this, reminiscing about my time there, I cringed and laughed at the same time.

Tempête de neige (2)

 Autre photo de la tempête de neige...

Oat Milk in Tea?

For a few months now, my wife has switched from milk to, well, oat milk and various vegan alternatives. But it is mostly oat milk. Not so much for ethical reasons as because it's meant to be healthier. Now, she does not drink milk by itself anyway, but she pours oat milk in her coffee and in her cereals. You know how I feel about milk substitutes. Read this post for more details. Well anyway, I noticed something on one of the oat milk bottles sh bought. The brand is Oatly, if you are curious. Something that shocked me and left me speechless. On one of its sides, it says: "It works in tea". And no. Just no. Hell no. This is a lie. Oat milk does NOT work in tea. Real, proper milk does not work in tea. Tea and milk don't work together. Tea stands on its own. Milk, or any milk substitute, poured in tea, is barbaric.

Tempête de neige

Il a neigé sur le Québec récemment et mon père m'a envoyé des photos... Ici, il tombe un centimètre de neige et tout ferme. Mais ça, c'est un blizzard en bonne et dûe forme.

The Sad Ghost Club

Sometimes, I find useful books in the local library, books I wouldn't buy otherwise, but they come in handy at a certian point. So yeah, during our last visit, I stumbled upon The Sad Ghost Club (subtitled: A Hopeful Guide to Getting Through Bad Days) and I had to borrow it. Don' worry about me: I'm not depressed or anything like that. It's just that my job has been rough as of recently, I have been going through a lot of bad days, I know there will be more, and I thought I needed something to help me keep my head above water and focus on the good things that I have. I have been in worse situations, job wise, but I don't want to have the feeling of dread I used to have a few years ago, so I am using this guide. It's quite cute, full of of good, simple advices to follow. And sad ghosts. I'm good with melancholy, I even thrive through it. However, I don't like gloom and doom.

Gâteau

Samedi dernier, ma femme était allée voir une amie dans la journée, alors petit loup et moi on a décidé de faire un gâteau avec les restants de sucre, de farine et d'oeufs qui étaient sur le bord de passer date. Des fois, rien que pour le plaisir et rien que pour manger un dessert maison, je fais du gâteau, que j'improvise tout le temps un peu. Avec petit loup, l'impondérable c'est souvent le sucre: il y met tout ce qui reste. Il n'y a que le glaçage qui est préfait (Betty Crocker, je crois). Sinon le gâteau lui même est à la vanille. Enfin bref, je suis assez fier du résultat.