Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The Neanderthal Archbishop of Lyon has a Reasoned Message pour vous

Today I tried to get a headstart on the little demon who tries to dissuade me from going to the gym by going for my workout during my lunch break. This worked quite well, and left me with lots of energy during our exciting afternoon session on the French penal code and criminal law procedures; however, one side-effect appears to be that by now (23:00) I have completely run out of steam.

So, while I had hoped to regale you with the latest developments in the ongoing fig newton investigation, my empirical experience with the Benjamin Franklin effect, not to mention my exciting recent acquisition of the finest in Bruno Magli's product line, all of these topics will have to wait until a later posting.

Instead, I leave you with this cartoon, which unfortunately sums up the level of "debate" attained by the catholic hierarchy here in France (specifically, the archbishop of Lyon, the appropriately named Philippe Cardinal Barbarin) on the topic of gay marriage:


Rabid episcopal figure: First gay marriage, then polygamy, incest, cannibalism, necrophilia, bestiality...
Parishioner: Maybe we'll come back for the baptism some other day...

Somewhere a neanderthal village is missing its idiot.

Le sigh.

Monday, September 17, 2012

My inadvertent brush with cannibalism

As I mentioned yesterday, today was the start of the week-long "Français et Droit" (French and the Law) seminar series at ACCORD. And a fine series it promises to be, if today's sessions are anything to go by. Anyway, because we had a 3.5 hour initial session with the excellent Natalie, and were slated for a 3-hour session with Olivier in the afternoon, at around 1pm I went in search of sustenance.

For whatever reason, I was moved to try the "Indiana", a (not particularly good) pseudo-American chain with a wannabe Tex-Mex ambiance. And, to be fair, their chicken chimichanga, accompanied by a Desperados beer (dangerously 'flavored' with a soupçon of tequila), did hit the spot. Though I did wonder at the blood-colored streak of something mysterious mixed through the guacamole atop my chimichanga.

A mystery that was cleared up first thing in the afternoon session. Wherein the gruesome reality was revealed that THE FRENCH WORD FOR AVOCADO AND LAWYER ARE ONE AND THE SAME!

How horrifying is that?



I had hoped that the image search for "lawyer in a blender" would turn up something more lurid. But this was about the best I could come up with.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

French and the Law

Beginning tomorrow, I have signed up for ACCORD's special course on "French and the Law". Though it is geared primarily towards lawyers from other countries who want to learn about the French judicial system in some depth, it is not exclusively meant for members of the legal profession. I figure it will provide me with some helpful vocabulary, and the opportunity to visit assorted sites of legal importance here in Paris. It's a total of 27 hours instruction all told; in the mornings we will have class in school, then each of four afternoons we visit a different site of legal interest, such as the Court of Appeals, the Palace of Justice, and so on.

Having made it to the gym seven days in a row for the past week, I decided to take a day off today, because the last thing I need is some kind of injury. I did, however, walk over to Nancy and Gabriella's and back, which is a brisk 30-minute walk each way. Here are some photos I took on the way back:

 
 
 
 
 



Poor Mr Bennet. I hope he has found his way home by now.