Did you know that when a parent dies you get a free churro?
A breathtaking piece of writing from a cartoon, no less. If you have Netflix, look up: Bojack Horseman series 05 episode 06, it’s delivered by Will Arnett. The first part … Continue reading
An Evening with Patrick Melrose or why the worse thing that ever happened to me was that I wasn’t an orphan.
Saturday evening in Mazamet. June 9th. The weather is mild. There’s a street party in the centre of town. From the garden we can hear music in the distance. For … Continue reading
A Boy (or more) to be Sacrificed
I watched the men talking on the beach with some degree of suspicion. I simply did not understand what was going on, what they were doing, or why. I’d never … Continue reading
Illuminated by Gas
About a year after I came out the dust had settled. All financial support from my family had ceased. Many harsh things were said- mostly by me. And at that … Continue reading
Tentative Uncertainty
When my mother-in-law was first ill, it was a strange time. Sometimes she’d say unusual things. Things that didn’t quite fit in the conversation. Then she’d have the occasional fall. … Continue reading
New & Old
Isn’t that wonderful? I just love de la Simone. This is my 2nd week of microdosing. For a crazy person it’s more art than science. The overall effect is good. … Continue reading
Notes on The Time Before
I want to continue talking about that period because it’s oddly relevant to what’s going on in the world today… As a child with grandparents from three different countries and … Continue reading
A Series of Even More Unfortunate Events: The Appalling Airport
No sooner had the Baudelaire orphans handed their passports to the immigration officer than they looked up and realized it was actually Count Olaf in disguise! In a very, very bad disguise. … Continue reading
What would 18 year old you think?
I read this the other day and it stuck in my mind. It’s from a speech by the author of The Black Swan, N.N. Taleb. Interesting notion. To go back to … Continue reading
Attempts at mind control
Because I obviously need(ed) to *wear* a reminder in very large letters.
Stufen
I remember being 10 and sitting in the back seat of the car (a town car), my parents were up front, and I asked them why they thought they should … Continue reading
Stupid and sometimes not
I’ve been jumping rope for two weeks now to lose weight. It’s ridiculous- but somehow less ridiculous than jogging or doing any other sort of public exercise. My waist is … Continue reading
Twas the night before Christmas (eve- all’s about eve)
Alagna was at Versailles last week. Magnificent. I don’t go to things like that anymore because- because I don’t like leaving the house unnecessarily, or travelling, or pretending I’m interested … Continue reading
The Evil Agendist
You know those Christmas cards they make you buy every year from the people who paint with the paintbrush in their mouth or feet or wherever because they’re missing limbs? … Continue reading
Autumnal in G Minor
Time insists on passing. I looked at the calendar today and realized that this time two years ago, we were packing up Villa l’Africaine. Yesterday I received a lovely card … Continue reading
Another year (and a half)
This is our eighteenth month at number 42. It’s very little time, but the town seems to be changing already. Businesses are opening left and right. There’s a whole new commercial centre with … Continue reading
Nostalgia
The glads have come up. I planted them when we arrived last year in Spring but they didn’t flower last summer. The colour is lovely. It harmonises the pink of … Continue reading
Trump Delegate Looks Forward To Finding A ‘Real Man’ At GOP Convention | The Cretonia Times-Picayune
“BATON ROUGE – (CT&P) – Tanya “Hep C” McGhee, a Trump delegate from Syphilis Springs, Louisiana told CNN last week that she hopes to “land a real man” when she … Continue reading
Veni, Vidi, Perivi
One of the people we first met when we arrived in Mazamet is ill. It was all very quick. In December we went to their Christmas party. He was working … Continue reading
Coddling Idiots: Safe Spaces, Trigger Warnings & Microagressions
That, my friends, was an actual discussion chez Roughseas. I’ve been hearing murmurs of this new phenomena for a while now, but I’d never seen it in action (courtesy of … Continue reading
Umberto Eco on Political Correctness (Translated and Revisited)
Eco died a few days ago. He’s best known as the author of The Name of the Rose, but he was also an exceptional social commentator and philosopher. Among his … Continue reading
February: Skip a single little luxury month
The Max Mello association for animal’s plea got me thinking. Exchange rates, life, well being, Brazil’s £130 per month minimum wage. How a pretty boxed bottle of Cristal champagne is … Continue reading
Signs of Spring
It’s 17° and the sun is shining today. The forecast says that in a couple of weeks it’ll be around 20°. Then it’s practically March and if last year is anything to … Continue reading
Twiddlings
Have you ever considered you’re just twiddling? I went to a gallery opening earlier. Some beautiful things there (more on that tomorrow.) I saw a painting I intend to buy … Continue reading
Of camellias and futures
The white camellias are now in full bloom and what a show it is (for a sense of scale, compare to the chair at the bottom right of the first … Continue reading
I’m half fixed + random thoughts
This morning I can twist to the right. Progress!!! Random terrible fact: Every day 4 women in Colombia are murdered as the result of domestic violence. That’s not an estimate, … Continue reading
AMAZING message for everyone #noelsansprejuges
This just came up on television. I’m thoroughly impressed. I could hardly believe it. Vive la France! Even if you don’t understand French, watch it anyway. The message is clear.
Please do detest me; and don’t hesitate to offend me.
Just because I think I wouldn’t be half the person I am had I not been as truculent as I was born to be. The other day someone from … Continue reading
Atheism’s primordial problem
Atheism’s primordial problem: time. Especially when we arrive at atheism at an early age. I did pretend I wasn’t an atheist until I was 15 or 16, but in my … Continue reading
Intimate dinner
We had a couple of friends over for a terribly informal dinner last night. As the dining room is still not done we put a table in the grey salon. It … Continue reading
An interesting point in life: donotgiveadamnism
Fabulous, really. I’m only just now realizing how much of life is reflective (in the reactive rather than thoughtful sense.) I can’t quantify it precisely, but it seems to me … Continue reading
In all, a good week.
The backsplashes in the kitchen are finally fitted. So is the mirror in the master bathroom. And we’ve finally moved into the master bedroom even though it’s not quite done … Continue reading
Existentialist Nights. Do you ever ask yourself why?
Some nights I wonder. Everything has always had to be so bombastic. I don’t think I’ll ever be cured of that. It’s become a part of me- that rush. A … Continue reading
The Body Swap Films- and I.
That’s how the past nine months have felt, like I woke up in a different body. It wasn’t just moving to another house, every aspect of life is so very … Continue reading
Robert Oscar Lopez, the man who presides Katy Faust’s ICRI
Robert Oscar Lopez is one of them, and the newest name that should go on that list is Katy Faust. For the full HRC report click here.
And we agreed on a property. Life in Mazamet.
After much deliberation, and while we still had guests, we made an offer on the property above. It was accepted, we signed the private contract and we’ll be at the … Continue reading
Enhco
If I were 22 again and single, I could probably fall in love with someone like the boy at the piano. It’s so strange for so much of life to … Continue reading
What’s your partner’s favourite story- about you?
In case your partner is British (or French) you can count on it being something awful and profoundly sarcastic that makes you look utterly ridiculous. I know the story Mike … Continue reading
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Our first friends to come and stay arrive in three weeks! Actors, surprise, surprise. One of them I nicknamed Chimney-Sweep many years ago. He’s from a place called Wakefield- and … Continue reading
Upstairs/downstairs; Examining staff quarters
For comparison’s sake I have to start with the grand staircase. That’s because I think it’s the most shocking example of inequality/aristocratic thinking. As incredible as it may seem to … Continue reading
And suddenly
…the silk curtains are up, and there’s music playing. The lighting is my lighting. Moody. The wind, the one that seems to have been following me from continent to continent … Continue reading
An Exceptionally Beautiful Sound
And superb lyrics. Here’s Canadian artist Pierre Lapointe:
Spring cleaning, figmares and the basket case
Okay, not actually scrubbing, I’m powerwashing. Starting with the steps and then moving on to the walls. In case you’re ever tempted to try the same thing, be advised that … Continue reading
Promising
We went to see this building today. It faces two streets, which is good because that means a reasonable amount of light in every room. It’s got a business on … Continue reading
Countdown Mode
Finished packing books and cd’s. Mike actually did the bulk of it before he left. We still have to do the more fragile crystal and porcelain table lamps. There’s also … Continue reading
My Mazamet 
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