D&Dr: popular again?

This is the cover from the Dragon Magazine number 254, released in November 1998. One of the few later covers I liked, drawn by Jeff Easley. I had wanted to blog about Dungeons & Dragons again, but did not know exactly what angle to take this time. An article in today's Guardian gave me the opportunity for it: apparently, D&Dr is getting popular again. For many reasons, one of them being of course the nostalgic factor. I am glad. I think it is a valuable past time that makes you socialize and allows you to develop your imagination even as an adult. So I am not surprised, in a time dominated by nostalgia, that this old game is getting traction among old players who go back to it and new players who discover it. Anyway, read the article, it is fascinating. As for me, I will eagerly wait for our future games this coming month.

Un dinosaure, mais lequel?

Mon père a pris cette photo à Montréal, dans le Vieux-Montral je crois. Un faux crâne de dinosaure. Je ne sais pas lequel, je soupçonne que c'est un t-rex, ou alors c'est une représentation fantaisiste. Dans tous les cas, c'est impressionnant.

A bookshop window on Black Friday

My readers know that Wallingford is one of my favourite English towns and that one of the reasons why I love it so much is that it has its own independent bookshop, aptly and simply named the Wallingford Bookshop. They published today on social media this picture of their window. It looks like the perfect place for Christmas shopping. They said on their Twitter account that it is the antithesis of Black Friday: "a warm, welcoming(...), with real smiles and real knowledge." I love this way of thinking. I tend to avoid Black Friday like the plague, but I wish I had been there today. I could have bought a book or three without feeling like succumbing to consumerism.

Une grue (?) l'hiver

Mon pèrem'a envoyé cette photo, prise près de chez nous. Nos voisins, enfin les voisins de mes parents (je dis parfois "nos" voisins, "notre" maison, "notre" quartier, parce que pour moi c'est toujours un peu chez moi, autre aspect de ma nostalgie), font des rénovations. Petit loup aime les machines des chantiers de construction, alors grand-papa essaie de l'impressionner. Et moi j'aime cette photo parce que je vois de la neige.

Of mice and cats

I took this picture in the Natural History Museum and I am uploading it here as it suits my topic. It was a display representingsomething like the relation between animals and men in the food chain. A stuffed cat and stuffed rats, in what was meant to be a basement or an attic, full of bags of grain. The rats eat the grain gathered by men, the cat eats the rats, thus serving men, etc. I blogged about it here. This weekend, Domino created quite a commotion by bringing a mouse home. It was not the first time he did such a thing, but this time the mouse was alive. Our cat had decided to have a play with it in the living room. Long story short, I managed to move Domi away and save the mouse. But it really freaked me out, as I hate rodents. So whatever I said then about how great cats are for getting rid of vermin, I don't have this opinion anymore, unless they have the courtesy to kill their prey.

Premier vin chaud

Samedi dernier, nous sommes allés à une fête de Noël pour enfants organisée par la garderie de notre petit loup. C'est encore un peu trop tôt pour ça, je trouve, mais bon, j'imagine que tout le monde trouve le temps gris autrement. En ce qui me concerne, je n'ai pas encore tout à fait l'esprit festif. On y servait de quoi manger et boire, dont du vin chaud. Les Anglais aiment beaucoup le vin chaud durant les Fêtes. Comme c'était à peu près le seul alcool qu'on y servait, j'en ai pris un verre. Il était franchement pas mauvais pour quelquechose de servi dans un verre en carton. Et ça réchauffe l'estomac sinon le coeur quand il fait frais et humide et gris dehors. Enfin bref, ce fut mon premier verre de vin chaud cette année.

The Catherine Wheel

I did not take this picture myself: it is one I found online. This is the ensign of The Catherine Wheel, a Wetherspoon pub in Henley. It's only a Wetherspoon pub, nothing special, but we went there a few times and quite enjoyed it. I always wondered what its name meant. Well, today I discovered it, pretty much at random. You see, today is Saint Catherine's Day, which we used to celebrate when I was a good but ignorant Catholic boy. Out of curiosity, I read about it. The Saint in question is Catherine of Alexandria, who according to legends, had to endure ridiculously gory tortures as a martyr. Among them, she was placed on a breaking wheel, which shattered at her touch. She is often depicted on a wheel and this is why there is this cool ensign at the entrance of the pub. Neat. I wish I had been told this story when I was a young and ignorant Catholic boy.

"Colette ne voulait point coiffer Sainte Catherine..."

Ainsi commence l'un de mes contes québécois préférés, appelé À la Sainte-Catherine ou La Sainte-Catherine de Colette. Je l'avais lu en quatrième année dans le cadre d'un cours de français et depuis Nous sommes donc la Sainte-Catherine et pour l'occasion je repartage ce conte (je l'ai déjà fait à quelques reprises par le passé), que l'on ne retrouve plus très facilement en ligne. En fait, après une recherche rapide, j'ai pu le trouver en deux parties sur un autre site, ici et là. Vous me direz ce que vous en pensez. Avertissement: c'est très, très catholique.

Snowy railway

Just because it looks good, I am sharing again tonight a picture sent by my dad of a train running in the snow. Like I said on my first post a week ago, it's only a cargo train, but it is still a striking image. My father was lucky to take it at that time, as this is a CN train and they are on strike. I did not follow the story. But anyway, a snowy railway and a train passing by, you can't get any better than that when it comes to atmospheric images.

"Les bibittes"

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo de créatures faites par l'artiste de Chicoutimi Ann Jones. Je ne retrouve plus son site web, hélas. Elle fait aussi de magnifiques marionnettes. Mon frère Andrew aime surtout je crois les créatures vaguement insectoïdes que vous voyez ici. On les appelle communément "bibittes". Il en a partout dans sa chambre à Montréal. Je préfère ses marionnettes et ses grigris (faudra que je blogue sur eux un jour), mais juste parce que les bibittes sont assez saisissantes, je partage la photo ici ce soir.

Taking the tramway

I blogged recently about our visit to the Crich Tramway Village in Derbyshire a few months ago. We spent a fairly short time there, but I very much enjoyed it. Like during our visit to old steam train, I really felt like going through another time period for a day. Tramways may not be as exciting as trains (in my opinion no other mean of transport can be), but they are clean, elegant and taking them is just such a pleasant and unique experience, especially in such an atmospheric setting. We intend to revisit Crich Tramway Village again at some point in the future.

Une falaise enneigée

Je partage ce soir encore une photo envoyée par mon père. C'est l'hiver au Québec, déjà. J'ai hâte de pouvoir en profiter moi aussi. Sinon, je sais que ça peut paraître banal pour ceux qui vivent cette réalité de manière quotidienne, mais pour l'expatrié que je suis, je n'arrive pas à m'en blaser.

Pizza Express, troubles and tribulations

I haven't been to Pizza Express since the birthday of my son. This is where we went for his birthday meal. We don't go there, yet we all love it. It's nothing outstanding, but it is a reliable chain and we always eat well. Recently, Pizza Express has been on the news and on my mind for all the wrong reasons. Firstly, it got into financial trouble. When a pizza chain is in trouble, it is never a good sign. Then, I learned that Venice is literally drowning. That looks like it is unrelated, but you see, when I go to Pizza Express, I almost always have a Veneziana. Because it is delicious and has everything I love in a pizza (see the picture) and because it gives 25p of  its price to Venice in Peril. And now I feel guilty that I have not eaten there more often, or visited Venice, for that matter. All these 25p they gave to a worthy cause, maybe for nothing. And then, the worst happened: Prince Andrew said that he was in the Pizza Express in Woking when he allegedly sexually assaulted a teenager. I know this stupid, arrogant, sinister aristocrat has a lot more grievous things to answer for, but tarnishing an honourable restaurant chain by using it as an alibi (and a stupid one at that) was downright crass. So I feel very bad for Pizza Express. I don't think they deserve all this.

Le Père Noël déjà?

Mon père m,a envoyé cette photo d'une décoration achetée récemment sans doute, d'un Père Noël qui va se ramasser dans le sapin familial. Est-ce trop tôt pour les décorations de Noël? Je me le demande, mais ici pour bien du monde, c'est tout réglé: on voit les décorations partout. Je vais donc poser une autre question: est-ce trop tôt pour voir le Père Noël, alors que l'on n'est même pas en décembre? J'en ferai peut-être une question existentielle, toujours est-il qu'on le voit de plus en plus ces temps-ci.

It's clementime!

Sorry for the atrocious pun, but I thought it would make for a remarkable title. I haven't blogged yet about clementines, and I thought I had to before the end of November. It is one thing I always loved about the month, even when I did not like the month much. I have been eating clementines and sharing them with Wolfie (well of course, he loves them as much as I do) since the beginning of November. It's a great source of vitamins C and they taste delicious. For a full post on why I love them, please read this one from 2011. I bought these ones at Morrison's. Not my favourite, but they it's kind of nice to have thhe leaves still on. And you, do you eat clementines this time of year?

Le gel au sol

J'ai pris cette photo tôt le matin hier ou avant-hier. Au début, j'ai cru pour un instant qu'on avait eu de la neige. Mais non, ce n'était que du gel au sol. Maintenant, à bien y penser, je crois que c'est pas mal à ça que ça aurait ressemblé avec de la neige. Vous voyez dans cette photo toute la mesure de l'hiver anglais. Sans rire, c'est surtout ce qu'on aura cet hiver. Pas tout ce qu'on aura, parce qu'on devrait avoir au moins quelques bordées de neige à un moment donné, mais ce sera à la mesure de l'hiver assez modeste. C'est joli malgré tout.

Planning the In-Flight Entertainment

Well, it is now official: we have tickets to go celebrate Christmas with the family (on my side of the family). So I will be home for Christmas. It also means that we will have to keep a three year old boy entertained for seven hours or so, if he does not sleep. All the same, I am very excited. Planning a long journey is always stressful, but it also bring its share of excitement. So I am already checking the In-Flight Entertainment on that day. For him and for me.

Le participe passé

La blonde de mon frère Andrew, qui enseigne au cégep, a partagé sur les réseaux sociaux cette perle d'un étudiant: "Saviez-vous que "le participe passé employé seul ne s'accorde avec personne, car soit l'accord vient après le participe passé ou il n'y en a tout simplement pas" ? Moi non plus." Ça a le mérite d'être clair. Et je me suis senti forcé de commettre en commentaire ce calembour atroce: "Pas d'accord." Avouez que ça vous fait mal rien que de le lire.

A train in the snow

You know my love for trains, a love I think I easily shared with my son, who loves al sorts of vehicles. Well, my father decided to take a few pictures for Wolfie of a train passing. It is "only" a cargo train, nothing fancy, but the images of the train in the snow are striking and I wanted to share a picture here tonight, just for fun.

Deux ans sans tourtière...

Ça m'est venu en tête ce soir, je sais pas trop pourquoi: ça fera deuc ans bientôt que je n'aurai pas mangé de tourtière. Un délai vraiment trop long pour mon plat régional. Ça devrait se corriger pour les Fêtes, mais quand même, je me rends compte que ça me manque beaucoup.

The Tramway Bookmark

Some people collect stamps, some people collect rare coins, I collect bookmarks. It is not as glamorous, I know, but it is not nearly as expensive either. So during our last time in Derbyshire, we visited Crich Tramway Village, which was really fun. I don't love tramways as much as I love trains, nevertheless it is a nice, elegant means of transport, and stepping in that village was like being in a different time period for a day. I decided that I needed to buy a souvenir from the place, and what better souvenir can someone buy than a bookmark. It does not cost much and it always comes in handy, when you are like me and you read books the old fashioned way, the ones with pages and no batteries. So I bought a bookmark, the one you can see on the picture. It is now one of my favourite. Now my favourite is the bookmark featured in this post, as it features trains, but still, a bookmark with tramways on is pretty cool.

La neige qui tombe

Mon père m'a envoyé pleins de photos de la neige qui tombe au Québec. J'en partage une nouvelle ici, rien que parce que j'ai le mal du pays et parce que je me sens dans un état d'esprit, disons-le, hivernal. C'est quand même beau.

The Last Hunt for #Noirvember

Cool news for my #Noirvember read: I received yesterday The Last Hunt, which is the latest Deon Meyer novel! I started reading it almost as early as I got in. Well, as soon as we could put Wolfie to bed at least. It is the latest novel featuring Bennie Griessel, which is great news in itself, but there is something else that makes it an exciting read for me: it also features Rovos Rail, a luxury train company. I did not know anything about it, until I started reading. Trains, crime, violence, a modern setting, it's just so perfect for my #Noirvember read, it's like the book I was hoping to find this year.

La cuvée 2019 de Ciné-cadeau

Petite nouvelle d'intérêt: ils ont déjà fait connaître la programmation 2019 (et début 2020) de Ciné-cadeau à Télé-Québec. Après un rapide coup d'oeil, je sais que je vais y trouver mon compte, grosso modo, et je vais essayer d'en voir un ou deux avec petit loup. Un bon nombre de classiques, mais seulement ceux qui reviennent chaque année. Outre ceux-là (Tintin, Astérix), ils ont joué de prudence avec des films pour enfants plus modernes. Ah si, j'ai cru voir un film d,animation norvégien et un film japonais. Chapeau pour avoir osé, quand même! Mais j'aimerais qu'ils fassent preuve d'un peu plus d'audace. Et vous, que pensez-vous de la cuvée 2019?

Manga Portrait

My wife had her birthday recently and on this occasion,like it is the case every year since we've known them, we had the visit of Blonde Tickler and her mother. Blonde Tickler is now a teenager and has developed an interest and a talent in drawing manga characters. SO she gave my wife the best birthday present this year, or certainly the coolest: a birthday card with her manga portrait, as a manga character. With cat's ears because, well,because I guess mangas can sometimes be human-animal hybrids. I am not a specialist of mangas, but I found this extremely cool in any case and isn't it the sweetest present?

Première photo de la neige

 Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo, à ma demande. C'est la première photo de neige tombée sur le Québec cette année que je partage sur le blogue. C'est plus qu'on aura ici pendant tout un hiver. J'ai hâte d'être au Québec et de pouvoir enfin en profiter.

Knife Attack (very local crime news)

I learned something that was quite scary today. In fact, it was just as scary as it was revolting: the evening before, so yesterday, there was a knife attack on our street. Just at the entrance of it. Thirty minutes before I walked home. Apparently, it was a case of conjugal violence, the ex partner of a woman in her late forties who stalked and assaulted, but so far the details are very sketchy. I did not notice the police or the ambulance as I take a different route and get home through a small pathway, not via the main street. But I was shocked when I heard about it. I know it could happen everywhere, but it takes a different meaning when you know it happens almost literally on our doorstep. I am glad I learned Krav Maga, because this reminds me that it might come in handy one day. I hope that I will never need to use it, yet if I do need I hope that I will remember my training and that my instincts will kick in. This also makes me think that I need to get back to training as soon as possible.

Il neige au Québec

Alors que l'on communicait avec eux sur Facetime, mes parents nous ont montré (surtout à petit loup) qu'il neigeait. Je commence à avoir envie de refaire l'expérience des neiges québécoises. La neige en novembre, elle donne de la couleur au mois et le rend plus agréable. Et puis quand il neige en novembre, surtout quand elle reste, c'est un peu l'hiver qui est déjà là. Enfin bref, j'espère pouvoir partager des photos bientôt.

Mademoiselle from Armentières

Today is Remembrance Day and I wanted to commemorate it here on the blog, not knowing exactly how. I have done so in the past, pretty much every year, and I have said pretty much all I could say. Then it struck me that since I watched the documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, there is a song that is sung in the closing credits and that I now associate a lot with World War 1 and army life (which I know nothing about). It is of course Mademoiselle from Armentières. It is a raunchy song, but it also shows a certain camaraderie in war and a certain fondness about army life that is quite heartwarming. It is, in any case, a very catchy tune.

Le petit loup, le banc, les chouettes

Je partage ce soir une nouvelle photo de Wendover Woods, rien que parce que... Ben elle est jolie, d'abord. Et puis ce fut un autre moment où notre petit loup a été complètement fasciné. C'est pas mal le banc public le plus cool que j'aie vu, je crois. En tout cas, il est dur à battre. On ne s'y est pas attardé longtemps, en fait on ne s'y est même pas assis, petit loup était trop occupé à admirer le design de la chose. Il aime plus les objets techniques, surtout les véhicules et les engins de construction, ça me rend heureux de le voir s'intéresser à ce qui reste un morceau de bois et des animaux. J'espère que ça lui permet de diversifier ses intérêts. Depuis hier, il a en tout cas une curiosité renouvelée pour ses toutous.

Wolfie and the Gruffalo

You probably all have heard of the Gruffalo, this creature and modern children classic story. Wolfie has a ambivalent report with the story and the monster. He loves it, loves when we read the book to him, loves the animated adaptation... yet sometimes he gets scared of the Gruffalo and asks us to stop reading, or stop watching the movie. A few weeks ago, we went to an fayre and there was a Gruffalo cave, with a "real" Gruffalo (a man or woman in a Gruffalo suit). Wolfie got terrified. He had to keep away from him and he begged me to hold him every time the Gruffalo was coming by. Today, we went to Wendover Woods, where there is a huge wooden statue of the Gruffalo and... and surprisingly Wolfie was not scared at all. He was even fascinated with the creature. It is true that he was prepped by his mum, who told him that this Gruffalo was made of wood and just a pretend one. Still, I'm surprised that he enjoyed the Gruffalo so much, given that it looked so real and lifelike.

Les cabanes dans les bois

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes allés à Wendover Woods. Notre première visite. Nous n'y avons pas passé beaucoup de temps, car la journée était assez avancée quand nous sommes arrivés, mais ce fut un moment très plaisant, alors nous y reviendrons sans doute. Petit loup a adoré. Quand je marche dans les bois, j'ai souvent l'impression de passer dans un autre monde et une autre époque. J'ai pris quelques clichés, dont celui-ci. On dirait la cabane d'un lutin, ou d'un kobold, ou d'une créature féérique quelconque. De manière plus sinistre, on pourrait dire que c'est le repaire d'un ermite dément ou d'un homme sauvage peut-être hostile aux civilisés. Bon, je m'égare, mais c'est toujours l'impression que j'ai quand je vois ça.

Wolfie the gift unwrapper

It was recently my wife's birthday and it made discover a new way in which our life changed since we became parents. So when it was time for my wife to unwrap her presents, and by this I mean Wolfie insisted first thing in the morning that her present had to be unwrapped, he decided to "help" his mummy. By helping, I mean that he did the job himself, pretty much. That was nice, but then Wolfie thought the gifts were his. Including and especially a drink holder I bought to keep the coffee mugs stable on the armrest of our sofa. Apparently, that was the coolest thing ever and Wolfie did not want his mummy to use it. He kept saying: "this is mine, mine, mine". Sometimes with a cheeky grin, sometimes with a sad expression, what his mother called his "bottom lip". Either way, he was adorable. In any case, I think it shows again that when you have children, every event is all about them.

Le mois des feux d'artifice

Novembre, en Angleterre, c'est le mois des feux d'artifice. En théorie, ce n'est que le 5 novembre, le soir de la Guy Fawkes, ou Bonfire Night, que l'on célèbre avec des feux, mais ça commence toujours quelques jours avant et ça continue jusqu'à la fin du mois, au moins. Et si on ne les voit pas (ou peu), on les entend et on les sent. J'imagine que ça donne un certain air festif à novembre, mais je ne m'y suis jamais habitué.

A Treasury of British Folklore

I recently mentioned that I read crime fiction in November. It is however not the exclusive genre I read. For some reason November is also the month when I read a lot, or a lot more than usual, about myths and legends and folklore. So this month, on top of the other books I read or intend to read, I have started A Treasury of British Folklore. Subtitled: "Maypole, Mandrakes and Mistletoes." I love all folklore, but the British one in particular, so although I'm only a few pages in, it is a great fun so far. If you know any similar books worth a read, please mention them in the comments section.

Promenade de novembre

Aujourd'hui, comme je suis en congé, nous avons passé la journée en famille et avons fait diverses activités, toutes assez tranquilles. L'une d'elle a consisté à se promener dans le plus important parc local en fin d'après-midi. Ce fut fort plaisant: il faisait juste assez frais et les jeux de lumière étaient vraiment jolis. Je tente de me réconcilier avec le mois et jusqu'ici ça marche assez bien. Je commence à garder en tête que novembre, c'est toujours l'automne. C'est aussi plus facile avec un petit loup qui a pris beaucoup de plaisir à se promener comme un grand, sans être dans la poussette.

Future railway journeys?

I took this picture at the National Railway Museum in York and I am sharing it here as it goes well with this topic. And also because you cannot share enough pictures of trains, especially vintage ones, on a blog. We last traveled by train in September, for a fairly long journey to spend a few days with some friends and their son who is the same age as Wolfie. Since then, Wolfie wants to visit his best friend again, but tonight he said "in just one train". I guess he didn't like the many changes. We are also planning a possible visit to London. For all these journeys, I am at least as much eager to experience the journey than arriving at destination. As you know if you have been following this blog for a while, I love traveling by train and I think it is time for a new railway journey.

Cidre chaud

Il y a quelques semaines de ça, nous sommes allés à une "fête de l'automne" qui était en fait au moins autant une fête de l'Halloween, mais bon. C'était organisé par une garderie catholique. (Parenthèse ici: l'apostat athée et anticlérical que je suis a quand même une femme qui, malgré qu'elle soit elle même impie et issue d'une famille laïque et biculturelle par dessus le marché, a quand même quelques amies catholiques). J'y ai bu notamment un cidre chaud qui était fort honnête. Je bois rarement du cidre, encore moins souvent du cidre chaud, et je crois que je devraisen boire plus souvent, ne serait-ce que parce que c'est très automnal.

Crime writing

It may be too early to think of Christmas, I would think so most of the time anyway. But I have already started, for a simple reason: the next creative writing workshop will be early December and we have decided to make it Christmas themed. So I mist come up with a Christmas story within a month. No worries: I already have an idea. I had three in fact, but willof course focus on one, the shortest and quickest one to write, which I hope will go straight to the point. More on that later, but it is of course a crime story. I had a few characters in mind and I had wanted them to meet. I already had my story, now I will put it in a Christmas setting. I think, or at least I hope, that it will strenghten it, make it impactful.

Plus de photos

Billet qui porte sur ce blogue et sur un problème technique: il sembleriait que je sois incapable de télécharger des photos sur Vraie Fiction. J'ai tout essayé: changer de navigateur, fermer puis rouvrir l'ordinateur, repartir le billet à zéro, fait le ménage sur mon navigateur, rien n'y fait. Quand j'essaie de télécharger, j'obtiens une page blanche. Je ne sais pas si c'est un problème d'ordi ou si blogspot me fait des misères. Une solution quelqu'un? Ça commence drôlement à m'agacer. C'est peut-être temporaire. Je l'espère.

Wolfie the storyteller

My little boy, who is only three, is turning into quite a story teller. I don't know what got into him recently, I think it is spending time listening to his maternal grandfather telling him stories, but he decided to invent loads of stories on the spot. It is very to hear him, And see him too, as he likes to walk around and gesticulate telling them. Some involved the vehicles he likes, there was one of a cement mixer turned cake mixer and a cake that burned in the oven so the firetruck was called. Another was about me being trampled by cows and then eaten (!). I think he has a spooky mind too. Anyway, I will try to tell some of his tales here, but they are difficult to summarize as he speaks very quickly and they are full of plot twists.

"Je 'drais voudrais vous dire que..."

Bon je sais, j'ai partagé ce gag des Bleu Poudre il y a cinq ans. Mais comme nous sommes le s'quatre novembre au soir, il fallait que je le partage encore, rien que pour rire un peu.

Bonfire Spiced Latte

Here is a quick anecdote about English culture. We went a couple of weeks ago to our local Costa, which is quite a nice little place, in spite of being just a Costa Coffee shop. My wife likes to take seasonal drinks, so she ordered a Bonfire Spiced Latte. Apparently it is an old Costa classic. It struck me then that this was what the English found typically "seasonal": for them, the most quintessential autumnal event is Bonfire Night. It is quite ironic, as from what I could see on their website, it is no longer on the Costa now. They have already put up their Christmas menu. So come Bonfire Night, my wife might not be able to watch the fireworks sipping a Bonfire Spiced Latte. Personally, I don't want, I don't drink coffee in any variety. But it's still quite funny.

"En avion avec bébé"

Ma mère m'a envoyé cet article sur La Presse+, qui explique comment voyager en avion avec de jeunes enfants. Petit loup n'est plus un bébé, mais l'article porte sur les enfants de tout âge. J'ai décidé de le partager sur Vraie Fiction ce soir, parce que j'ai peut-être des lecteurs qui ont aussi des enfants et qui vont devoir voyager en avion avec eux. Enfin, j'ai peut-être des lecteurs, point (!). Et la morale de l'histoire, c'est que nous commençons déjà à penser aux vacances.

In the garden in autumn

What to do when you are feeling lazy, you don't want to go out, yet have a young boy and you still want to keep him active? Simple answer: you have him play in the garden. This is what we did this afternoon. It was a bit wet and very muddy, but Wolfie enjoyed himself tremendously. And I far prefer spending an afternoon in the garden on a cold autumn day than on a hot summer one. It is a great cure to cabin fever, it also make you appreciate getting back inside afterwards, when your feet are getting wet and the chill has started getting in your bones. And it reminds me that we are still in autumn.

Chasse au chevreuil

Mon père m'a envoyé cette photo des caméras sur le lot de ses frères. Elle est datée d'avril, mais je crois que c'est parce que leur horloge n'est pas à jour. Tout ça pour dire qu'il est allé chasser le chevreuil à... l'arbalète. Je ne sais pas s'il a eu du succès. il fut un temps où j'étais fasciné par la chasse. Moins maintenant que je suis marié avec une végétarienne. Et puis c'est beau, un chevreuil. Je ne suis pas certain que je pourrais en tuer un.

Lamborghini

My father took this picture a month ago in Old Montreal. It is not a sight we often see in Montreal or indeed anywhere else in Québec: a Lamborghini. It is impressive, although I must confess I have never been that much into Italian luxury cars like some people are. This Lamborghini (like any other car of the same brand?) looks rather futuristic with this shape and these colours. I don't think it can survive our roads in winter, but hey, because it is quite a sight, I decided to share it here tonight.

Bloguer sur quoi?

Une chose qui vient avec le mois de novembre, du côté de Vraie Fiction, c'est une certaine fatigue et un certain manque d'inspiration. Je tente en général de bloguer quotidiennement, ça risque d'être un peu plus rare ces temps-ci, après les mois très intenses créativement que sont pour moi septembre et octobre. Je vais sans doute racler les fonds de tiroirs pour trouver des photos à partager et je vais essayer d'attendre le plus possible pour bloguer sur Noël, qui commence déjà à envahir les espaces ici. Novembre, c'est pour moi le mois de l'angoisse de la page blanche électronique.

Time for #Noirvember

Instead of wallowing into self pity and post-Halloween blues, I have decided to embrace, or try to embrace, the month of November, which I never liked much. Last year, I discovered #Noirvember and I have decided to make it an annual tradition. So for this month of November, I will try to read and watch as much crime fiction as I can. I find the month grey, let's go Noir.

Refaire la Ballade de la mer salée

J'ai déjà blogué sur et cité l'incipit de La Ballade de la mer salée d'Hugo Pratt. La bédé nous fait rencontrer pour la première fois Corto Maltese, l'un de mes personnages de bédé préférés. Je dis ça même si je n'ai pas encore tout lu l'oeuvre. Je partage ici la première page de la Ballade, alors vous pouvez lire la citation vous même dans son contexte, avec les superbes images en noir et blanc de Pratt. Peut-être que c'est parce que c'estla Toussaint, mais je relirais bien la bédé ce soir. Il me semble que ce serait de circonstances et ça me ferait apprécier un peu plus le mois de novembre qui commence.