Hawks (the police)

 As I mentioned a month ago, I am starting a series of posts about army, police and intelligence services around the globe, just because I find the topic kind of cool. Today I would like to tell you about the South African Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, DPCI for short, nicknamed the Hawks. Made famous through the crime novels of Deon Meyer. This is how I learned about the Hawks anyway. They fight organised crime, economic crime, corruption and other serious matters. Also, they have a really cool logo and an even cooler name. So yeah, albeit I only know them from crime fiction, I find them cool and badass.

Concours de Pâques des Pères trappistes

Voici un message d'intérêt public, glâné sur la page Facebook des Pères trappistes. Il y a un concours de Pâques pour gagner beaucoup, beaucoup de chocolat. Sept figurines de Pâques, ou une des sept, je ne suis pas certain, livrées directement chez vous. Et c'est du bon chocolat, je peux en témoigner. Pour participer, veuillez remplir ce formulaire avant le 23 mars. Bonne chance.

Mysterious "Panther"

I will start this post by a disclaimer: I love a bit of cryptozoology, however I know it is a pseudoscience. I will therefore relay this piece of news with caution: I remain very skeptical regarding the conclusions people have drawn from it. But anyway, a "panther" was caught on camera in a field in Gloucestershire. Or at least what looks like a black panther, or a rather large cat. The animal, maybe a feline, appears to be as large as a Labrador dog, but twice as long, or so says the article. Now I have seen the video, it is quite short and the image does not show all that much, so I don't think it is quite clear at all. I suspect an optical illusion and a mundane explanation. All the same, large cats sighting has been a staple of this country's folklore, so the news set my imagination on fire.

La cafétéria de l'UQAC(!)

 L'avantage des réseaux sociaux et de l'internet, pour un expatrié, c'est qu'on peut en apprendre sur les enjeux de ta région même à distance. Ainsi donc, voici une petite nouvelle régionale: l'UQAC a un nouveau service de cafétéria. Il n'y en avait plus depuis... septembre 2020. Un ami qui enseigne à l'UQAC m'a mis au parfum. Franchement, un service de restauration dans une université, c'est pas mal le minimum syndical. je le dis sans méchanceté, mais des fois, le Saguenay a de la difficulté à demeurer civilisé.

ATV(?)

We live in a small town here. We love it, that is why we remained where we are for nearly 16 years now. We saw a few strange signs in the years we have been here. Especially on the road. Old, vintage vehicles,mainly, and some other kinds of vehicles that simply have no place in town, however small. Last week, we saw an all-terrain vehicle on one of the main roads. It's not the first time. At least there was only one: last year I saw (and heard) three of them. And my question every time I see one is: what they is it doing here? I mean we are not a big city, but we're not exactly a remote little hamlet in the middle of nowhere. These things are from what I understand quite polluting. They are certainly noisy as hell, in any case (and noise is another form of pollution). I always found them kind of chavy too, in any circumstances, but especially in town. And I don't think they are very safe or driven by very safe people, for a town with lots of families and young children. So who is the genius who  thinks it is a good, sensible idea to drive them here as if they were in the middle of the tundra? I really want to know.

Le bogue de l'an 2000 (Bruno Blanchet)

Pour vous mettre de bonne humeur ce lundi, voici un petit numéro d'humour, un classique, tiré de La fin du monde est à sept heures. Avec bien entendu le génial et inimitable Bruno Blanchet, qui fait le fameux bogue. Vous vous rappelez du bogue de l'an 2000? J'imagine que je fais mon âge en disant cela.

Brunch wisdom

I love brunch, I always have. When I was younger, from childhood well into my twenties, we used to go for brunches on special occasions, in my family. Especially on Sunday. It is the day for brunching. There is just something so very satisfying about a brunch on a Sunday, both at a physical and emotional level. So yes, anyway, a somewhat famous person I am following on social media shared not so long ago a picture of her brunch a few days ago. Cannot remember what it was exactly, but it looked very filling and very decadent. I commented that "If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, brunch is the most important meal of the weekend."I think this describes brunch in a nutshell and it deserves to be a great unknown line. I can be such a wise man when it comes to trivial matters.

Les goélands, les mouettes

 Photo prise par mon père à La Baie, en automne, en octobre 2022 pour être plus précis. Ce sont des goélands et/ou des mouettes, je ne sais pas faire la différence. Je sais que ce n'est pas mon genre de publier des photos hors saison, mais parfois je fais un exception pour l'automne, ma saison préférée.

Nerf Guns on sale

I went downtown yesterday, stopping at WHSmith for a few minutes. I did not buy anything, but I noticed that Nerf Guns were on sale. Well, the sale got quite successful, as you can see on this picture. I don't think I would have bought one, but if they re-stock, I might put it on my list of birthday presents. Wolfie and I played played with Nerf Guns at one of his friends' birthday party and we had a blast (no pun intended). I think it lacks to our weaponry here. And by "weaponry", I mean the cheap plastic toy guns and swords I bought him over the years.

Pâtisseries

 Je suis tombé sur une photo envoyée par mon père. Des pâtisseries achetées je ne sais plus où, dans un commerce de Montréal je crois. Je reconnais le macaron, une sorte d'éclair, ensuite je ne sais pas trop. Je partage la photo rien que pour le plaisir. Je n'ai pas mangé de pâtisserie artisanale depuis un bon bout de temps, notamment parce que le café local qui en faisait a fermé ses portes, à mon grand chagrin.

The Flying Scotsman's Centenary

Oh the things you learn thanks to the National Railway Museum in York.I found out, checking their social media pages, that the Flying Scotsman is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It might be my favourite steam train. More importantly, the online shop of the museum is full of cool articles to celebrate: socks, caps, shirts, watches, mugs, tea towels, many sporting the trademark green colour of the train. Everything looks so nice. It is going to be my birthday next month, just in time for the celebrations. It is unlikely that we will be able to go to York, but I will put some of the things in the shop on my wish list. Maybe I will receive some as presents.

Albator

Mon billet d'il y a une semaine ainsi que la mort récente de Leiji Matsumoto m'ont fait penser à une chose: ça fait un bail que je ne me suis pas retapé la série Albator. Je parle du dessin animé de 1978, mais il y aussi la série manga originale, que je n'ai jamais lu au complet. J'ai le premier volume en français, que j'ai lu il y a plus de dix ans. Il faudrait que je m'y remette. Le capitaine Albator a été l'un des plus importants héros de mon enfance, certainement mon préfér de tous les héros de mangas. Il y avait beaucoup du héros romantique chez lui et puis l'idée d'un corsaire de l'espace résolument anarchiste affrontant tant un establishment corrompu que des envahisseurs d'une autre planète quasi-démoniaques me plaisait beaucoup. Enfin bref, je crois que je vais me retaper ce bouquin aussi, essayer de trouver le reste de la série et essayer de trouver la série originale en ligne.

Rediscovering Dead at Daybreak

I have been reading very slowly since the beginning of the year. I have also been reading very little crime fiction. I intend to change this soon. A few months ago, I bought Dead at Daybreak, by South African crime writer Deon Meyer. The very first novel I read of him, read this post for details about it. It will be almost 20 years since I first (and last) read it, so it will be a rediscovery. I remember the plot and characters pretty well, or at least I think I do. It will nevertheless be a pleasure to binge into some unapologetic violence. Until he publishes his new novel next year, I was thinking of finding other South African crime authors. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Guille siempre!

Je partage un gag de Mafalda, rien que parce que. De tous les personnages entourant Mafalda, c'est Guille mon préféré. Un peu parce qu'il me fait penser à mon fils, un peu parce qu'il me fait penser à moi (il a d'ailleurs le même nom).

World Book Day

 It was World Book Day today, which of course promotes reading. So here children went to school disguised as book characters. Wolfie went to school disguised as a Dalmatian. As per, well, you might have an idea. We might go to the local bokshop this weekend and buy a book or two. And English Heritage shared an article about historical places with literary links, which I thoroughly enjoyed and I am sharing it now. If you're wondering what to read where, this is the article for you. Anyway, I try to commemorate it every year, as I love all things books and literature.

Les parfums insidieux du vapotage

 Excellente nouvelle: le gouvernement du Québec va finalement sévir contre les vapoteurs et interdire les parfums dans leurs produits. Vous savez, ce qui rendait ça plus attrayantpour les jeunes. Il était temps. J'exècre le tabagisme depuis toujours et pour moi les vapoteuses c'était une stratégie cynique pour rendre accro une nouvelle génération à la nicotine. On va se le dire: les producteurs de tabac, ce sont des barons de la drogue. Et puis on va se dire autre chose: les vapoteuses ont l'air de gros dildos. Fa que...

Redundancy again

Oh darnit, it happened again: I am going to be redundant at the end of this month. Through no fault of my own, thankfully: my (soon to be ex) employer subcontracts work and the client I am working for has suddenly and unexpectedly ended his contract. So the account is shutting down and I cannot be moved on a different project. Henceforth, I am being made redundant. I am of two minds about it. I was not really expecting it and my personal performance was great, so on the one end, I am not too happy. Especially since I liked that job. And my wife is also looking for a job, so that makes me a bit nervous. But on the other end, my still employers are being very nice and helpful. They even told me they would definitely rehire me should new accounts open. Furthermore, I already rose the interest of some recruiters. So I don't feel as bitter as I felt when I lost the job I hated, in fact while I am nervous I remain positive that I should get something fairly quickly (touch wood). It's just frustrating that it happened so suddenly.

Saguenay Dry

J'ai trouvé cette photo en ligne. Les Saguenéens comme moi, s'ils sont de mon âge ou plus vieux, vont sans doute identifier le Saguenay Dry, surtout sur les deux dernières bouteilles de droite. Pas besoin de lire l'étiquette: le "S" rouge ballonné est un signe iconique. On n'en fait plus et c'est vraiment dommage.

Of Saint David's Day and Welsh Cakes

Today is the first of March, the the Feast of Saint David, patron saint of Wales. There is not a single Welsh in this household, howeverI do like to celebrate it a bit. You can find the reason why in this post from 2011 and in the meantime find out what my Welsh connections are. Wolfie loves one thing about Wales: since a fairly early age he got very fond of Welsh cakes. So we might eat some today. We made some for a school project one day, but they were really ugly and I cannot find a picture of it, so instead I'm sharing a picture I shared a few months ago of Welsh cakes made perfectly by my mother-in-law. So happy Saint David's Day everyone, Welsh or not, and I hope you enjoy some Welsh cakes today.

Raton laveur empaillé

Voici une autre photo prise à à Amazon World lors de nos vacances à l'Isle of Wight. J,ai été je l'avoue assez surpris de voir un raton laveur parmi les espèces natives empaillées. Les ratons laveurs, c'est bien entendu un animal nord américain. Que j'ai plus vu empaillé ou en captivité  en Europe que vivant et libre au Québec, ironiquement. En passant, y a-t-il une autre sorte de raton que le raton laveur? Cela dit, c'est une bien jolie tête, elle a même l'air vivante. J'en ai vu des plus maganés, des animaux empaillés.