Signature Weapons

After a fairly long hiatus (mainly the Halloween, then Christmas season, then other books), I have started reading Fight Write, by Carla Hoch again. You can read my first blog post about the book here. It's a guide on ow to write fight scenes written by a professional martial artist. As I wannabe crime writer, it's really useful. Anyway, I got now into the chapter on weapons and it really got me to see the use of weapons in another light. All the practical things one needs to think about: the weight, the size, how easy or difficult to conceal them, all sorts of things you tend to forget as a reader, but that you need to keep in mind as a writer. And what impact does the mere presence or display of a wepon has on the characters. And I am also obsessed about signature weapons, for both my heroes and villains. Even though almost any weapon is potential lethal, they are not entirely interchangeable: they say something about the person wielding it, about his or her background, environment, culture. That's why I find this chapter particularly interesting. I blogged before about some potential signature weapons: the assegai, the navaja and the swordstick for instance. Expect to find more posts on the subject of weaponry and signature weapons in upcoming weeks.

Pâques aux Bouquinistes

Nouvelle apprise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes: ils font une chasse aux oeufs de Pâques. Une chasse aux oeufs dans une librairie? Quelle excellente idée! Je sais que j'ai quelques lecteurs vivant au Saguenay, dont certains ont des enfants, alors je plogue.

The God Pan

Because today is the Spring equinox and because Easter is coming (both being related), I thought I would share a picture that I associate with either. I took it from a book we have at my parents' home, a book on Greek mythology. I always associate Greek myths with Easter and spring. Might be my Pagan side. Anyway, you can see here the god Pan, surrounded by nymphs. He is not my favourite Greek god, but Pan is associated with fertility and spring, so he is just perfect for today.

Un cadran solaire pour l'équinoxe

 Nous sommes aujourd'hui le jour de l'équinoxe, officiellement le premier jour du printemps. Bon, pour moi il commence avec le mois de mars, mais bon. Enfin bref, c'est l'équinoxe du printemps et j'ai pensé que le soulignerais la date ici en partageant une photo prrise récemment. C'est un cadran solaire, pris dans un jardin pas si loin d'ici, et quoi de plus représentatif pour souligner les jours qui rallongent ainsi que le changement d'heure qui s'en vient (ayoye!).

Geneva, city of espionage

 Carrying on from my promise made in my post from the 25th of February, I am blogging again about a city associated with espionage, in fiction and in history. So today, I wanted to blog about Geneva. I have been to Switzerland once in ym life, more than 25 years ago, a very short stay, but I never set foot in its capital. However, I have seen it featured in many spy thrillers, as well as a few documentaries about espionage. Being a center of finance, diplomacy and international politics, it makes sense that Geneva has been a key setting for secret business, before and after the Cold War. I want to go to Switzerland and have a long stay there for a number of reasons (okay, mainly its trains). If we ever go to Geneva on holiday, I will keep this in mind, and maybe bring with me a spy thriller novel set there to read in my spare time.

Pâté chinois et betteraves

 Cette photo date de décembre 2025, chez mes parents. Comme nous ne trouvions pas de maïs en crème à ce moment-là de ce côté de l'Atlantique, ils ont eu l'idée de nous cuisiner un authentique pâté chinois. Une bonne nouvelle depuis: on a trouvé où s'acheter du maïs en crème, enfin. Mais bref, il y a quand même des choses que l'on ne retrouve pas ici: les betteraves faites maison. J'en achète ici, des "pickled beetroots", mais elles ne goûtent pas la même chose. Il faudra que j'apprenne à les mettre en conserve moi même, je crois.

Thriller Writing Workshop

 Okay so, there is something I have been wanting to blog about, but haven't had the occasion yet: I have been going to a thriller writing workshop in the library, done by a published author. Not a bestselling author, but still. It's £25 for the whole course, two hours per session, three sessions all in all, so six hours in total. Momney well spent, I'd say, and I might even add, or hope, money well invested. It is really helping me focus and stay disciplined in my writing, it provided a lot of useful tips already, as well as giving me a lot of inspiration. Furthermore, the quick story draft I wrote and then presented to the teacher/author was really well received. So I will be taking more writing workshops when I can.

Question existentielle (403)

 Question existentielle plus profonde et plus complexe qu'il n'y paraît:

-Devrait-on aimer ou détester le printemps?

Soyez honnête...

Paddy for Saint Paddy's

 I went to a local pub today for a drink and more to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. There was only one pub somewhat decorated for the day, so I went in that one. I asked if they had any Irish whiskey to go with my pint of Guinness. They had one: Paddy. The barman was enthusiastic about giving me some, I mean he was surprisingly really happy about it, as if I was the one keeping tradition alive or something. So I had some. End of the story. But I have another anecdote about today: I did really well at work today. Like, really well. So my wife said: "Today you truly had the luck of the Irish." Which deserves to be a great unknown line.

Corto Maltese en Irlande

Comme c'est la Saint-Patrick pour encore quelques heures, une suggestion de lecture, une aventure de Corto Maltese d'Hugo Pratt. Je parle bien entendu de Concert en O mineur pour harpe et nitroglycérine.Vous la trouverez dans Les Celtiques.Je la plogue à chaque année.

Bushmills for Saint Paddy's?

 "McNulty: Can I get a Jameson?
Bartender: Bushmills OK?
McNulty: That’s Protestant whiskey.
Bartender: Price is right, ain’t it?
McNulty: Make it neat."

Well, first thing first: happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all. I will make time to drink today and, at some point, I might even accompany my usual pint with a shot of some Irish spirit. It might be Bushmills, even though it would be ironic to drink a Protestant whiskey on the day of a Catholic saint. But when we went to Belfast, we visited their distillery briefly. Could be a nice way to remember the trip. Oh and for those who don't know where the exchange above is from, it's from The Wire. You can watch the scene here. I've been wanting to say the reply next time they offer me some in a pub. Haven't had the chance since the local Irish pub shut down, but maybe today is my lucky day. Luck of the Irish, as they say.

La Saint-Pat au Cambio (rappel)

Tout d'abord, joyeuse Saint-Patrick à tous. Ensuite, veuillez noter pour ceux qui vivent au Saguenay que le Café Cambio la célèbre.Détails sur leur page Facebook, j'imagine.

Guinness (the crisps)

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick's Day, so I am preparing myself to it. I bought a few pints of Guinness and... and, well, that's it so far. No food for the special day. The Irish make the best crisps (see my post here). And you may be aware, if not please keep it in mind for tomorrow, that Guinness is also a flavour of crisps by Keogh's. I discovered them when we went to Belfast. There's Guinness and Flame Grill Steak, which I tried, and Guinness and Oyster, which I did not, because I didn't know it existed. Anyway, these crisps go well with, well, a pint of Guinness. I hope I can find some tomorrow (you never know).

Bière à l'érable (une critique)

 J'ai blogué le 6 mars sur la bière à l'érable de McAuslan, leur bière du printemps. Mon père en a fait une critique, que je partage ici: "Saveur de vanille et caramel. Mousse persistante et dense. Belle couleur ambrée. Accompagnerait peut-être un dessert. Se marie difficilement avec les chips." Ne me remerciez pas.

"Beware the Ides of March"

 Today is the 15th of March, therefore, this is the Ides of March. Which means that it is the anniversary of the assassination of Julius Caesar.A rather gruesome anniversary, but it shapes the world like not many others did, for centuries to come. I blog about it every year, it's a sort of tradition, because I love history and I get in an Ancient Rome mood round this time of year. That and an Irish mood, too, but I digress. So yeah, as you probably, we owe to Shakespeare the line "Beware the Ides of March," you can hear it in Julius Caesar. I have yet to see the whole play, shame on me. For me, it reminds me of this scene from the HBO series Rome. I am going to watch it. If you do, fair warning: it is very bloody.

Pâques chez les Pères trappistes

 Photo prise sur la page Facebook des Pères trappistes.Juste pour vous rappeler que Pâques c'est dans trois semaines. Je l'ai déjà dit je crois, il n'y a pas de meilleur endroit pour célébrer Pâques qu'au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. En tout cas, on y trouve sans doute le meilleur chocolat de Pâques.

An Irish Harp for Saint Paddy's?

Well, Saint Paddy's Day is coming and I thought it was about time that I blogged about it this year and prepare for it. Because as I am typing this, I haven't purchased a single Irish beer and I haven't really prepared anything for the 17th. Shame on me. Anyway, I will head on the nearest off license asap and sort things out. It struck me that there are more than one brand of Irish beer available. I drank this beer in Belfast, but I know I can buy Harp here too. Although I have strong opinion against drinking lager on St Patrick's Day and I still can't get my head around the very existence of Irish lagers, they exist and I could maybe add them to the drink menu. Just maybe. Like at the end of the evening. I will see what I can find.

Rhinoccino?

 Des fois, en revenant de l'école, mon fils et moi nous nous arrêtons dans un café pour manger un morceau et boire quelque chose. Je prends du thé ou du rooibos, il prend souvent un piccoloccino ou babyccino. J'aime bien le premier terme, le second beaucoup moins. Du lait chaud moussé avec un peu de cacao dessus pour faire joli. Servi dans une tasse toujours spéciale. La dernière fois, elle avait un  rhinocéros (rose) dessus. Ce qui fait du breuvage un rhinoccino? Je trouve que ça sonne bien.

Second Friday the 13th

For those among you who are superstitious, I am offering my commiseration as I have to remind you that we are Friday the 13th of March. And, to make matters worse, we are the second Friday of the year already. And, to make it even worse, 2026 has three Friday the 13th. For those among you suffering from triskaidekaphobia or paraskevidekatriaphobia, or both (I guess it's always both when you have such phobia), well, this is not your year. But on the plus side, after today, there will be only one Friday the 13th to go. For me, any Friday the 13th is just like any other Friday. I love when evening comes, and it is pretty much the weekend, however, it's a day out at the madhouse, whatever the date Friday falls on.

La Saint-Patrick au Café Cambio

Pour les Saguenéens qui se demandent où célébrer la Saint-Patrick, j'ai une bonne nouvelle: : j'apprends sur la page Facebook du Café Cambio qu'ils vont fêter ça en grand. Cool. Je savais qu'ils l'ont soulignée en 2024 et, j'imagine, l'année suivante. Mais il semblent vraiment créer une tradition. Bon, ce ne sera pas celles du défunt pub irlandais ici ou celles de Liverpool, mais quand même.