I recently discovered one thing about Polish actor Tomasz Kot. I know very little about the man, in fact I have never seen (as far as I know) any movie or TV series with him in the cast. I learned of his existence when he was rumoured to be considered for the villain in the last Bond movie, which of course did not happen. But hey, him and me have one thing in common: we were born on the exact same date. Same day, same year. So we have the exact same age. And I just find this kind of a funny coincidence, if completely trivial.
Tuesday 28 February 2023
Tomasz Kot and me
Trains écolos en Allemagne
Voici une petite nouvelle dans la grosse Presse qui m'a bien fait plaisir: afin d'atteindre la carboneutralité, une compagnie ferroviaire allemande utilise de la vaisselle réutilisable dans ses trains. Je me réjouis de ça pas tant pour des raisons environnementales (quoique c'est bien), mais pour une raison de propreté. La quantité de déchets qu'on peut trouver dans un train me décourage toujours beaucoup. C'est mon moyen de transport préféré, alors qu'on améliore certains de ses aspects me réjouis beaucoup. Et j'espère ouvoir revisiter l'Allemagne et y voyager en train.
Monday 27 February 2023
15 years of blogging
I forgot to mention something two days ago:the 25th of February was the date of my first post on this blog. I have been blogging for 15 years. To say that I enjoy it is an understatement: I love blogging. Not sure why. There are more modern channels/mediums on social media, but this is the one I love the most. It's like having a personal journal, but for anybody to read, if they are so inclined. When I started Vraie Fiction, I was unemployed, bored and thought I could use my free time like this. It was also a dreary, depressing February, like February often is, so I thought this could cheer me up. I guess it did. In any case, I have been blogging ever since and I try to write two posts daily, one in English and one in French, even if it is for trivial matters. So yeah, I hope you enjoy Vraie Fiction, in any case.
Le trappeur (santon)
Sunday 26 February 2023
Guerilla Sunday Roast
Glacial...
Saturday 25 February 2023
Duck Down Village
GOLDORAK: Le Festin des Loups
Petite nouvelle qui m'a donné un coup de nostalgie, il y a un jeu vidéo de Goldorak qui va sortir cette année. Bon, Goldorak n'était pas mon héros d'animé japonais préféré, cela dit j'adorais Goldorak quand même. Mes parents n'aimaient guère, trouvant cela bête et violent, voire glauque, sauf que moi je m'en balançais. J'avoue que j'ai eu des frissons en regardant le trailer.
Friday 24 February 2023
Shanklin Train Station
Hermine
Thursday 23 February 2023
Mysterious Lost Glove
Un chat dans la neige
Wednesday 22 February 2023
Fauda (Chaos)
I know Netflix has been heavily criticised recently for various reasons, that said I must admit that I find a lot of quality films and programs in there. I recently got hooked on Fauda, an Israeli spy and crime thriller. Fauda is also a Hebrew and Arabic term meaning chaos and that pretty much sums up the atmosphere of the show. The series started in 2015, so I am arriving quite late at the party, but I guess algorithms are what they are. I came to the series not expecting much, basically I started watching it hoping to see some cool action scenes featuring Krav Maga. And yes I got some of that too, but what I discovered was a realistic war drama pretty much devoided of manicheism. The antagonists may be ruthless terrorists, nevertheless they have families and loved ones. So you know where they are coming from and you can empathise with them. The action scenes are violent, suspenseful, frantic, but never glamourised. So yes, I have only watched the first episode so far (therefore I might change my mind about its content after seeing more), but I think I might just binge this one. Shamelessly.
Le mercredi des Cendres au Diable
Tuesday 21 February 2023
Monopoly Tokens
Satan au Mardi gras
Monday 20 February 2023
Acting in the library
Here's a little bit of news that caught my attention and my interest recently: there is a playreaders group in the local library and they are looking for new members. The group meets once a month and they don't require you to have any acting experience or skills. I happen to have experience and I do hope some skills. I haven't done acting in more than a decade, but I miss it a lot, so I might actually try to join, if I can fit it in my family schedule. My wife told me to go for it. If I do, I will of course blog about it and thus keep you posted. I love the idea of acting in a library, among all the books. It is just a great setting, where two arts meet.
La "base" de nos jeux
Sunday 19 February 2023
Gyros (and a great unknown line)
Sometimes, we feel too lazy to cook. And sometimes we buy our meals from a food van. Which is what we did yesterday for dinner.We bought a gyros with halloumi in it. My wife had been curious about the stand so we decided that we'd try it. Also, we have a thing for all things Greek, see this post if you are wondering why. The gyros was okay, nothing great, but the staff was friendly and, from what I could tell, authentically Greek. It is because of our interaction with them that I wanted to blog about the whole experience. When I asked if I could pay the old fashioned way in cash, the cook replied: "Certainly, you can pay by cash, card or even bitcoins if you'd like." I thought it was funny and it deserves to be a great unknown line. Gotta love Mediterranean humour.
Saturday 18 February 2023
Lego Mansion
Friday 17 February 2023
Jewellery Thefts
Sometimes, I read crime news just for kick. Also, I love crime fiction, I try to write some and I think reading crime news is good for inspiration. So two bits of crime news came to my knowledge recently. The first story about a bungled burglary of a jewellery where the thief still managed to steal £23,400 worth of gold. The content of one tray. That's what caught my attention: the large amount of money that represented a fairly small quantity of items. The second story was about two brothers robbing a jewellery in Essex. They used masks of old men, which I thought was an interesting MO. I am reminded of two principles reading about these two stories. One, that jewels always make for great MacGuffins. They have been from the beginning of crime fiction and it is for a reason. And two, that jewelleries are great settings for crime drama.
Casse-tête cosmique
Thursday 16 February 2023
Scenic train journeys
Thanks to internet algorithms, I stumbled a few days ago on this article, about "Nine of the Most Beautiful and Affordable Journeys Around the World". It reminded me (although I did not really need to be reminded) that a journey can be a holiday in itself. Especially if one travels by train, still my favourite means of transport. I have been dreaming of a holiday that would consist of a train journey and I would love to try all of the ones listed in this article. The nearest one is probably the one between Glasgow and Mallaig, but I'm particularly curious about the Zermatt to St. Moritz one. There's just something about Swiss mountains that catches my attention. But before planning anything, I would need to convince the rest of the family. Wolfie would be easy. My wife, not so much.
Galettes
Wednesday 15 February 2023
Giant tractor model
Saint Valentin, le martyr
Helicopter flying...
Santons danseurs
Tuesday 14 February 2023
Be original: say it with trolls
Le Docte Rat
Monday 13 February 2023
The paratroopers' beret
Because I used to train in Krav Maga, something I want to go back to, I follow things directly or indirectly related to it online, such as the YouTube channel of the Israel Defense Forces. They have a few cool videos about the self-defence technique and it is always useful. They also have a few polls sometimes, which are always fun. One recently asked which of the berets of their forces was the best. I had no idea what to answer, so I asked Wolfie, who said he preferred the beret of the paratroopers, which is Burgundy red. Red is not really his favourite colour, so I wonder why he chose that one, but all the same, paratroopers are cool in a badass way, so I guess it reflects in their berets somehow. My son has good instincts.
Motivation du lundi
Sunday 12 February 2023
Say it with a book
Muscadet
Saturday 11 February 2023
Pub Sandwich
La gratte...
Je suis tombé sur une vieille photo (enfin, vieille, elle date de février 2022) d'une gratte, envoyée par mon père à son petit fils. Parce que Wolfie est obsédé par bien des véhicules et aussi par tout ce qui est gratte, souffleuse, etc. On n'en voit pas ici, bien sûr, comme on ne voit pas de neige bien souvent. Je crois que cette fascination est un signe de sa nordicité et de ses racines québécoises.
Friday 10 February 2023
New autumn mug
Le retour du brouillard
Thursday 9 February 2023
Cacti at school
In this week's science lessons in Wolfie's school, they will learn about cacti. I am curious about his reaction to it and he will think about them. When I was his age, I found cacti exotic and a tad mysterious, what with their capacity to survive a long time without water and to get hydrated thanks to them. My parents bought a few for me and my brothers, I cannot remember if they survived for long, we were lousy botanists. Or I was anyway. But I remember them to this day. I also remember that I asked for a cactus. I wonder if Wolfie will do like I did back then and ask us to go to a garden centre this weekend so we can purchase his own cactus.
Cochon qui vole
Wednesday 8 February 2023
Mysterious Nerf Gun
Trouver Total Khéops
Tuesday 7 February 2023
A spies' coat of arms
L'éléphant de Robin Hill
Monday 6 February 2023
Breakfast at the office
Solea
Sunday 5 February 2023
Wimpy lunch
Question existentielle (379)
Une question existentielle inspirée de la température au Québec:
-Devrait-on parler de températures québécoises au lieu de dire températures sibériennes, étant donné que nos hivers sont sans doute aussi froids?
Plastic toy soldiers
Pommetier sous la neige
Saturday 4 February 2023
The end of Autumnwatch
I learned some sad news from my wife. You know how I love Autumnwatch, the show about British wildlife and how the season affects it. Well, it turns out that the BBC has cancelled the show after 17 years. Because of money issues. Well of course. Now I must confess: I had not been watching it all that much in recent years (my last entry about it dates back to 2015). I guess I was more trying to experience than waching it on a screen. All the same, this is borderline heartbreaking, as the show really helped raise awareness on a number of environmental issues and made many people like myself discover and love British wildlife.
Cabane à pêche de luxe
Souvent, Le Quotidien couvre les chiens écrasés. En tout cas, ses articles sont assez triviaux. Mais bon, quand même, pour l'expatrié que je suis, le lire peut être assez plaisant. Donc, j'ai lu un de ses articles sur une cabane pour la pêche blanche construite de manière artisanale. Une cabane de luxe que son créateur va utiliser à La Baie. Je n'ai jamais fait de pêche blanche et je n'ai pas vraiment de patience pour la pêche, mais j'irais bien dans celle-là, rien que parce que ça a l'air vraiment confortable et plein de cachet.
Friday 3 February 2023
Of Books and Censorship
Cymbidium en fleurs
Thursday 2 February 2023
Things to do in February
Well it's the beginning of the month and English Heritage wrote a post about five things to do in February. They had done the same in January, I am sure we'll have the same in the upcoming months. Anyway, we are always looking for things to keep Wolfie entertained, so I will be reading these suggestions eagerly. It will also be inspiring for some February walks. We are not very close for any site of the English Heritage, but I am sure we can find something at a decent distance we can go to.
La marmorte
Triste nouvelle: Fred, la marmotte de Val d'Espoir, est morte. Le Jour de la Marmotte y a donc été annulé, parce que c'est ledit Fred qui prophétisait. Ce qui veut aussi dire que l'hiver va être long. Je ne m'en plaindrai pas. Et ça veut aussi dire que je n'ai pas pu m'empêcher de commettre un autre calembour atroce dans le titre de ce billet: la marmorte. 'Scusez-la.
New Crime Coming from South Africa
Un message de la marmotte
Wednesday 1 February 2023
Gathering sticks
I mentioned this particular hobby of Wolfie last year. We went to a walk this weekend and Wolfie took the opportunity to renew his old activity/game: collecting sticks on the way. Now he has special criteria for them: they must be no longer than his arm's lenght. I have no idea why, but he's adamant about this. And what does he do with the sticks? Nothing.Sometimes he does not even bring them home. But for a while in our walks, he carries one stick or two, sometimes a bunch of them, for whatever reason. Somehow, it gives a sort of purpose to our walks.
Février
Je vais commencer mon billet par mon lieu commun: nous sommes le premier février. Un mois que je n'aime pas particulièrement, mais au moins il est court. J'aimerais que le soit autant. Je n'ai pas de vacances, selon mon expérience ce sera sans doute un peu lent au travail de toutes façons, il y a quelques célébrations et anniversaires à souligner (j'y reviendrai), mais en général, c'est plutôt tranquille. Et vous, comment prévoyez-vous votre moisde février? Que pensez-vous du mois en général?