Sunday, Brilliant Sunday

THE MOUNTAINS AROUND the France/Italy border have received a huge amount of snow so far this winter. A local ski resort (Isola 2000) has received nearly 8 meters. For those of us who live a bit nearer the sea this has meant a lot of rain this winter...a lot. But we've finally put together a couple of nice days in a row with today being one of the nicest -- brilliant sunshine and a deep, deep blue sea. After a couple of months of what can only be described as damp and cold, the nice days are really nice.

This photo is taken from about the same area as the masthead on this blog -- but you can really see how much snow there is this year. We're getting ready to head up to the snow right now (Henry has had his snow suit on for a good two hours).

CJS

Friday Funny Clip

I'VE DECIDED I'M often too tired to do much on Friday evenings. That's why I'm going to begin just posting funny clips on Fridays. I'm going to let other members of the family pick the clip of the week (hey, if you have some, send them along). The first Friday Funny Clip has been chosen by Julia -- here it is:


Now rate it! On a scale of 1 to 10.
CJS

Now I'm an Arms Dealer from Eastern Europe

I REPEATED THE lesson I wrote about last week on the values and limitations of sources with another class this week. But this time, since it with a younger group of students, I wanted to focus on the limitations of historical sources. We talked about questions like: can we trust photographs in the age of Photoshop? Can we trust Wikipedia in the age of...well...wikipedia? etc).

To make my point I asked (again) the students to interview me in order to find out information about me. The twist I added this time was that when they asked me their questions I wrote out the question and answer on the board -- except that from time to time I lied about the answer. I just made things up. [Note: do you see where I'm going with the lesson? I know 'the value and limitations of historical sources' doesn't exactly sound interesting, but it such a critical part of the French Bac that we go over it a lot -- and try to make it interesting and relevant. The point is to get students to think critically about where they are getting their information and not to just trust that information is always correct]. Anyway, we were plowing along -- 'where were you born?'; 'how old are you?'; 'are you married'? -- and sometimes I was giving a truthful answer and sometimes I was making it up. Then one young boy asked 'have you ever been in prison?'

Now I know an opportunity when I see one, and this one was staring me right in the face. Time to have a little fun. 'Actually, yes,' I said. 'When I was in my early 20s I was held in a Turkish prison for two months.' The look on the faces of these 13 year-olds was priceless (remember, they don't yet know that I'm making some of the information up). And as if I had planned it, the bell rang at that moment signaling a 5 minute break in the lesson.

It was a lively break as the corridors began to fill with rumors of my time spent in prison. I couldn't hear the details, but the chatter (mostly in French) centered on what I could have possibly done to warrent 2 months in a Turkish prison. When the students returned they had all sorts of theories -- my favorite being that I was an Eastern European arms dealer in the mid-1990s. I have to admit I didn't tell them about my sqeaky-clean police record until the end of the lesson. I kind of enjoyed this Lord of War moment.

I guess, if nothing else, I showed that even a history teacher can be a very unrealiable sources.
CJS

Teaching European History in Europe

JUST A QUICK thought.

I've taught the rise of Hitler many times, but never at a school where so many students have grandparents who were actually part of the Hitler Youth.

I've taught about the Vichy government in France during WWII, but never in a class where some students had relatives who were part of that government.

I've taught about the French-Algerian conflict in the 1960s, but never with the children of Pied Noir sitting right in front of me.

I've taught courses on Russian history dozens of times, but rarely with so many Russian students in the class.

And I've taught about the emergence of the United States and a 'hyper-power', but rarely with so few Americans in the class.

I get some new and interesting perspectives on this side of the Atlantic.
CJS

Happy Birthday Cecile

LAST YEAR ON Cecile's birthday she was visiting us from Paris and we spent the day in Monaco. Today we (especially Patrick, Julia, and Henry) want to say a big Bonne Anniversaire! Come visit us again soon.


If you don't know Cecile or don't know how we got to know her, you can read about it here.

Funny = Money

THE LOCAL ENGLISH radio station (Riviera Radio) has a contest each week where they ask listeners to call in jokes and the morning hosts pick the one they like best and reward the joke-teller with a prize. For weeks Patrick and Julia have been begging me to call in a joke so this week I decided to give it a shot. Last Sunday evening I left a message on the 'joke line' at Riviera Radio.

Well, I won!

My joke was played on the air this morning as I was taking the kids to school. The fun part of this little story is that the prize this week a pretty good one: a €150 gift certificate to Le Relais des Coches in Tourrettes-sur-Loup -- one of the best known restaurants on the Cote d'Azur. You can click here to take a look at their menu.

Our friend Michel stayed in Tourrettes-sur-Loup when he was here several months ago and bragged about a very good meal he had at one of the restaurants -- I wonder if this was the place?

So sometime in the next couple of weeks we'll enjoy a nice weekend lunch at a nice little retaurant in a nice little village that has a nice little view Nice, Antibes, Cannes and the Mediterranean Sea. All because I told a nice little joke about an Englishman, and Irishman, and a Scott who walk into a bar...
CJS

Clever Question

IN MY 2nde history class this afternoon we were in the middle of a discussion about the value and limitations of historical sources when I got an interesting question from one of my students. I had just asked the class to imagine they had an assignment where they were to write a historical profile of me (yes, me!) As an exercise, I asked each student to write 5 questions they would ask me in order to find out relevant information that might help with this kind of assigment. My goal was to help the students understand the importance of not only asking questions when doing research, but asking the right questions. Simple enough.

In general the questions the students asked followed the pattern I expected -- fairly straight forward with the goal of learning basic information about me. I had questions like: where were you born? what is your birthday? are you married? how many children do you have? where did you attend university? All good, foundational kinds of questions. But about 10 questions in I called on a student in the front row and his question was a bit different. His question was:

What are your wife's major shortcommings?

Now that's thinking outside the box. This kid's going to make a good historian!
CJS

Answers to above questions, in order: Takoma Park, MD; June 14; yes; 3; Andrews University (B.A.), Johns Hopkins University (M.A.), no chance I'm answering the last one.

Frontrunner for Quote of the Year

I KNOW IT'S only February, but remember the name Harry Markopolis when you're picking the best quote of 2009. Markopolis is the guy who helped blow the whistle on the
Bernard Madoff financial scandal that has hit most corners of the globe (including some very big French banks). Markopolis testified before the U.S. Congress today and was asked why the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) didn't do more to figure out the Madoff scandal. He answered by saying this about the SEC investigative team (these are the guys who are supposed to make sure financial institutions are legit):

If you flew the entire SEC staff to Boston and sat them in Fenway Park they wouldn't be able to find first base.

Zinger!

It's a very American reference, I know, but I can't help but get a fuzzy feeling anytime baseball and politics mix. What could be better? Fenway Park, for those of you who don't know, is where the Boston Red Sox baseball team plays. First base is, well, first base. I don't know how else to explain that one.
CJS

Dead Fish and Phone Booth Fish Tanks

WHAT DO YOU do with thousands of phone booths that now seem archaic? A French artist has an idea: turn them into works of art. For example, this phone booth that has been turned into an aquarium and is currently on display in Paris:

Not a bad idea. What other things could you use old phone booths for?

This photo made Julia sad because her fish (who's name was Pam) died on Monday morning, just over a week after we bought her. I tried to cheer her up the best way I know how -- by making a joke -- and it didn't go over ver well. I told her at least all she murdered was a little fish.

Apparently that wasn't even close to funny.

CJS

Great Sports Day

I DON'T GET many great sports days in France. A great sports day is when there are multiple 'big time' sporting events to watch and each lives up to -- or exceeds -- expectations. Just this weekend I was saying to Kerri that I don't have many opportunities to get excited about watching sports in this country. Not because there aren't great sporting events on television but because...well...actually, yeah, it is because there aren't a lot of great sporting events on television. Oh, there are some -- the Champion's League is fantastic; Six Nations is kind of fun -- but they are few and far between and it is rare that I say to myself, 'I can't wait to see this game.' People who know me know that great sports days are something I miss.

But yesterday we decided to spend the day at home (with a brief detour to an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet for lunch -- yummy!) and that meant that I got to spend some time watching a bit of television. I watched three sporting events and each was great:

• Australian Open Final: can I just go on the record right now as saying I will never tire of Federer vs. Nadal. Yesterday's final was Wimbledon, but it was great.
• Handball World Championship Final: don't laugh, but I actually watched a bit of this (only because France was playing) and it was actually a great game and France ended up defeating Croatia to become World Champions.
• The Super Bowl: I watched the first half at a friends house (thanks, Justus) and the second half from my bed. It was a terrifically entertaining game -- even if the team I was rooting for lost.

It wasn't quite like watching an NFL game in the afternoon and a World Series game at night (we can do that in October) or Opening Day in the afternoon and the NCAA Finals at night (we can do that in April), but yesterday I watched a lot of sports...and it was a lot of fun.

CJS

Haven't Done This in a While

THIS IS WHAT happens when you combine a lazy Saturday evening with new video-editing software.



Now we just need a better quality camera. You can see the real The Office opening here (in case you're not familiar with American television.
CJS

Spring is Coming

IT WASN'T THE temps in the mid 60s that make me think Spring is close. It was the official unveiling of the Paris-Nice route. It was announced yesterday. They don't call it the 'race to the sun' for nothing.

It's still January and we're happy to have the snow nearby -- but I'm always ready for the Paris-Nice!

CJS

Snow Photos

FAMILY MEMBERS LIKE to see photos.

Are We Going to Have to Start Calling it 'Freedom Cheese'?

IF YOU THINK the French didn't approve of the war in Iraq, you should see how they feel about the War on Roquefort.

It was quite a parting shot from the Bush Administration. One that they are talking about a lot in the small village of Roquefort-Sur-Soulzon in Southern France. On Jan 13th the Bush Administration -- as it was heading out the door -- revealed that it was slapping a 300% tax on authentic Roquefort cheese – the delightfully fragrant (it smells like wet sheep), creamy, tangy cheese that has made the Société des Caves de Roquefort famous. In effect, this tariff makes it virtually impossible for Americans to get authentic Roquefort cheese.

The United States' decision to tax Roquefort comes as a reaction to a European Union ban on US beef containing hormones. (What, you didn't think countries could be petty?) Now the French are all upset and vowing to increase their own consumption of Roquefort in order to make up for what they will lose in American consumption. (I can just imagine plats de jour all over France in the comming weeks: Roquefort salad, Pasta with Roquefort, Roquefort mousse for dessert, and after dinner coffee with a slab or Roquefort -- 35 Euros).

To be fair, the US government didn't only target Roquefort cheese, they also placed heavy tariffs on French truffles, Irish oatmeal, and Italian sparkling water, to name a few.

But it's the 600 residents of the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon that are most concerned. Most of them come from families that have made cheese for literally centuries -- it's a way of life. Luckily, only a relatively small percentage of their cheese goes to the US (Spain is, by far, the biggest importer). And, of course, Americans will still be able to buy Roquefort cheese in the supermarkets -- although it will be a domestically produced imitation and it may be sold under the label 'Freedom Cheese.'

CJS

This is Just Cool

SOMETIMES I FEEL like writing about things that have happened during our stay here in France, and sometimes I just feel like putting up links to cool stuff. Today's a cool stuff day. Take a lot at the photo that can be found at this link. It's not so much the photo that's incredible, but what you can do with the photo -- you can zoom in to any part of it and get close enough to see amazing detail. The navigation is sort of like what you find on Google Earth.

The photo is of President Obama (first time I've written that) giving his speech. See who got the good seats and who didn't. (Hint for family and friends: Van Hollen got a good seat). You also get a bonus if you can tell me what Justice Clarence Thomas is doing.

I've now rated this photo the coolest I've ever seen on the internet. Navigate away!
CJS

The Tempest

IF YOU LIVE outside France or Spain you may not be aware of the massive wind storms that have hit the western part of these countries this weekend. To get an idea of how strong the winds were, take a look at this video. It's only 20 seconds:



Yikes. So far 15 deaths have been blamed on the storms. By the way, I'll just assume that the radio we here in the background in this video is battery operated -- can't imagine winds that take down massive trees but do nothing to electrical wires.
CJS

Watch Your Wallets

A NEW PUBLIC tram has been up and running in Nice for about 14 months or so (photo of the new trains at left). And that's about how long it took local authorities to announce warnings on the trains about pickpockets. With 80,000 people using the train every day, it's not really surprising that criminals have begun to target the locals using public transportation.

But for police the issue is becoming more and more serious. Last week the electric boards which annnounce the train's next stop began communicating messages to passengers regarding pick-pockets. The measure was copied almost verbatum from the Paris metro.

There's something about public transportation and petty crime that just sort of goes hand-in-had. I assume this is also a problem in other French and European cities. There's probably some statistic out there ranking Europe's most unsafe metros.

CJS

We Should Be In Good Shape

A NEW STUDY by Swedish and Danish researchers caught my eye the other day in the IHT. The study shows that coffee may be linked to lower dimentia risk. These are the kinds of news stories I like to read -- especially while enjoying a nice cup of coffee. Kerri and I should be vibrant and alert well into our 90s.
CJS

4 Years Old Today

TODAY IS OUR little Henry's birthday (that's on-ree, in French). Today will be his third birtday celebration for his 4th birthday because he's already had two back in the States. Oh well, spoil them while they're young. Happy Birthday Henner.

Birthday party photos to come.

CJS/KRS

A Little Basketball

I HAVEN'T PLAYED organized basketball in a long, long time. But last night I ventured up to the brand new collège gymnasium in our town where they have started playing basketball on Thursday nights. I played for about 2 hours with with some local French guys -- which means, of course, that they contributed about 14 meaningless minutes, scored 2 points and had 4 rebounds. (Editor's Note: that was a cheap shot joke that references French players in the NBA. I apologize. And, yes, I know that only two or three of you even get it).

It was a lot of fun, despite the aches and pains I am experiencing today. Since there was only six of us we played half-court and had some fun games, mainly because there was a nice mix of players and ability levels. The one frustrating aspect of the evening was that I'm not up to speed on my French basketball lingo -- I didn't even know how to properly say 'I fouled you.' I'm going to continue going each week, but before the next session I'm going to figure out how to say (in French) some of the phrases you need in basketball --- like 'it's off me', 'nice pass', and 'in your face, b**ch.'

CJS