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.

Hanging on (like a junky)

That is how I have been feeling for two weeks: hanging on by a thread. Because I have a darn cold and when I have a cold I am in a pitiful state: I cough like crazy, I sneeze, I have difficulties to sleep and I am cranky. My colds are always too long and nasty. And I use lots of rubbish medication, because I cannot find proper remedies to alleviate the effects of the cold. I thus feel like Wynyard, the junky frog (although he looks like a lizard) from Meet the Feebles. I have seen the movie only once, ten years ago or so, but the drug rant of Wynyard got stuck on my mind since then, especially the last shout about Vicks VapoRub (which is maybe my favorite placebo). And I always think about it when my cold gets worse. It is also very funny. So here it is.

Hobbits airlines safety

This is the first English post of November. A quick one because I feel deflated. I was feeling very bluesy today, with Halloween being over and all. At work I have a Kiwi colleague and she showed us an advert/airplane safety instructions from Air New Zealand. I don't want to spoil any punch, but it features a certain mythical place featured in a classic book, which came to life in a certain trilogy of movies made by a certain Kiwi director in New Zealand. What else? Oh yes, there is a small nod at Dungeons & Dragons. In any case, it is irresistible and by far the coolest, most entertaining safety instructions I ever watched.