August Events in France All kinds of fun events take place in France during August. Here’s a small selection:
August 1 - 3
20è Festival International de la Marionnette / 20th Marionnette Festival - Mirepoix - Every year the lovely arcaded medieval village of Mirepoix becomes a stage for puppets and puppeteers! More info
August 2
Fête du lac / Lake Festival - Annecy - Every year Annecy’s lake becomes the beautiful backdrop of this celebrated festival featuring music, dance and memorable fireworks festivities. More info
August 7
Course des Anes / Donkey Derby - Trouville-sur-Mer, 2pm-5pm - free - This is an annual event in the seaside town near Deauville called Trouville-sur-Mer. When fancy schmancy Deauville holds its posh horse racing, Trouville-sur-Mer offers a more laid back alternative. More info
August 9
Fête de la carotte / Carrot Festival - Créances, (Normandy) France - How can you pass up a festival dedicated to my farm fresh favorite juice-able veggie? Don’t miss the lunch or dinner, either. You probably know what’s on the menu. Call ahead to make reservations to attend the meals: Annie Auzou au 02 33 17 09 91.
August 10
La Pourcailhade / La Fête des cochons / Pig Festival - Trie-sur-Baïse - Starts at 9:30am - Time to pig out at this annual event with a pig squealing contest and sausage eating contest. More info
until August 15
L’heure du ciné - Movie Time - Nantes, 10pm Wednesdays - Free films every Wednesday 10pm in the Nante’s most verdant areas. Bring a picnic and enjoy dinner and a movie out in an open, lush space. More info Also: see Paris’ Open Air Cinema (La Villette) and Parc de Choisy
August 17
La Force Basque / Strongman Competition - Saint Palais - It’s all about muscle power in one of the most beautiful regions in France, Basque Country. Watch heavyweights lift a boulder! More info
August 23, 24
Fête de l’oignon rosé / Pink Onion Festival - Roscoff (Bretagne) - The regional AOC specialty of sweet, pink onions take center stage at this celebration of one of the most healthful and yummy veggies around. More info
August 28, 29
Rock en Seine - Domaine National de Saint Cloud - This rockin’ 2 day outdoor event is held in the Saint Cloud park just outside Paris. Showcase acts this year are: REM, Amy Winehouse, Rage Against the Machine, The Roots. More info
tags: france , events in france festivals , travel
Is Exporting Nuclear Power to the U.S. Such a Good Idea? Excerpts from Motherjones:
“….events this month show that life as a nuclear-powered nation is far from la vie en rose. In mid July, the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) announced a leak from a cracked pipe at a nuclear fuel plant in the southeastern Drôme region. It said the leak was small and had not contaminated groundwater. Such was not the case, however, on July 7, when about 75 kilograms (165 pounds) of untreated liquid uranium were spilled at the Tricastin nuclear plant in the Vaucluse, north of Avignon. As the French began to repair to the countryside for their storied six-week summer vacations, those in this corner of Provence were being told not to drink the water—or swim or fish in it. One swimmer at a local lake told the Guardian that people had been ordered out of the water “as if there had been sharks in it.”
The incident was given a low rating in terms of risk, but the French nuclear watchdog group CRIIRAD (Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity) reported that the amount of radioactivity released into the environment was 100 times higher than the site’s limit for an entire year. The Tricastin facility was temporarily shut down, the water ban remains in effect, and the French government has begun testing the water around all 59 of its nuclear plants.
Such dramatic events were bound to make headlines, and even had some media predicting a chill in France’s long love affair with l’énergie nucléaire, which it embraced during the energy crisis of the 1970s and never let go of. But in fact, the idea of France as a model of safe, affordable nuclear energy is largely a myth, and the current situation hardly an aberration. Incidences of radioactive contamination are common in France, which has had no more success than any other country in solving the intractable problem of radioactive waste. At the Tricastin site, for example, about 770 tons of nuclear waste have been buried for the past 30 years, and four smaller incidents took place in 2007 alone, according to CRIIRAD.
Nuclear contamination even threatens the twin sacraments of French life, wine and cheese. In May 2006, Greenpeace reported that low-level radioactive waste from a nuclear dumpsite had been found in the groundwater near the Champagne vineyards of eastern France. A report released earlier the same month on contamination from an older nuclear waste facility in La Hague, Normandy showed radioactivity more than seven times the European safety limit in local underground aquifers, which are used by farmers for their dairy cattle in a region renowned for its Brie and Camembert.
…Several studies have found elevated levels of childhood leukemia around the Normandy site.
…President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made it clear that he wants France to become an ever-bigger exporter of both nuclear-generated electricity and nuclear technology… In a speech given just days before the Provence nuclear spill, Sarkozy said: “More than ever, nuclear is an industry for the future and an indispensable energy source….We can be electricity exporters when we have neither oil nor gas. This is an historic chance for development.”
The head of French Greenpeace’s nuclear campaign recently accused Sarkozy of behaving “like a traveling salesman for Areva.”
Read the full article: 4.5 Billion Years in Provence
Paul Bocuse is Reinventing French Fast Food
Excerpt from the latimes:
“…On the menu - There’s not a burger or Happy Meal in sight. Instead, rigatoni with boletus mushroom sauce, a fresh chèvre sandwich on sun-dried-tomato ciabatta with olive-tomato tapenade, and a nicely balanced strawberry tart. Other sandwich offerings, all about $6.75, included sweet and prosciutto-style cured ham on pain de campagne (country bread), sliced roast chicken, and smoked Norwegian salmon (both on ciabatta). Crudités are served with tapenade and lemon tartar sauce (about $8.65); the daily entrée special on a recent visit was sliced chicken in a French Basque-style sauce of tomatoes, onion and sweet red Espelette pepper, with rice and salad (about $15).
For that same price there are also formules (combo menus) — sandwich, salad, quiche (such as onions, mushrooms and lardons, or bacon) or pasta (such as farfalle with a seafood sauce made with squid and mussels), plus frites, a drink and dessert. Gaufres, anyone? The waffles are served plain, or with powdered sugar, chocolate sauce or Chantilly cream. Wines include a Guyot Côtes du Rhône and Georges Duboeuf Mâcon Villages. Service is fairly friendly and the clientele varied — a recent drizzly weeknight drew a large group of twentysomethings and various twosomes and threesomes ages 16 to 60…” Read the rest
Spectacular Deadly-Looking Spider But Harmless 
Last night’s untimely tempest left the garden marvelously wet and alive this morning so I stepped outside early to take photos before work. Just above my blueberries was this spider, which caught me by surprise and created a blood curdling scream (from me), the kind of scream that shatters anything shatterable. If anyone in the neighborhood was still sleeping beforehand, they certainly weren’t after that.
There are actually two webs side by side with another smaller spider, so after googling “scary striped yellow spider” I was relieved to discover that these are very undeadly garden spiders. Whew.
According to wikipedia, the smaller spidey is the male and the larger (photographed above) of the two is the female. When they do this side-by-side web thing, it means they’re getting ready to mate.
After mating, the female lays her eggs, placing her egg sac into the web. The sac contains between 400 and 1,400 eggs. These eggs hatch in autumn, but the spiderlings overwinter in the sac and emerge during the spring. The egg sac is composed of multiple layers of silk and designed to protect its contents from damage; however, many species of insects have been observed to parasitise the egg sacs.
Aren’t you happy you came to my blog today? Ew. Over a thousand of these creepy crawly things in my garden. Of course, I shouldn’t complain because at least they aren’t deadly.
This ends today’s arachnaphobic Arachnid lesson of the week.
tags: france spiders in france mating rituals
Ways to Save Money on Food in France 
Visitors from other countries who’ve come to France know that it’s expensive here. But guess what? It’s expensive even for the people living in France! Prices have skyrocketed nonstop since 2002 and even the prices for the items that were usually very affordable, like vegetables, have increased exponentially. Over the last six years, it’s been continually increasing, and over the period of this last year alone, the cost vegetables increased by 18%. The media reports that the industry is blaming the bad weather.
People stopped buying because of the these recent high prices, so now the prices are starting to drop. A little.
Still, for many of us, times are precarious financially, so the best course of action would be to be very careful about how we spend our money without resorting to the high caloric, trans-fatty, cheap, processed foods. Here are some ideas to help reduce your monthly grocery bills while trying to stick to healthful alternatives. Feel free to contribute anything I’ve missed.
General Tips
1. Shop locally. If possible, within a distance where you can walk to the store and back. This saves enormously on gas if you don’t have to drive. Bring a rolling cart if necessary. There are so many now that are actually cute.
2. Shop alone. Studies show that when you shop with someone, you spend more.
3. If you have to drive to the market, consolidate your trips and buy more so you don’t have to make as many trips.
4. Before going to the market make a grocery list even if it’s short. Bring it with you and make sure you stick to it. This will focus your shopping task and not allow for whim items. Not on the list? Don’t get it!
5. Don’t go to the market hungry. Eat beforehand. This will curb your impulse buying reducing any items you don’t need.
6. Get a basket. If you don’t have much to get, don’t get a cart because you’ll fill it up unnecessarily.
7. Shop in the periphery of the store. Usually, this is where your healthier options lie. You will find some cheaper items hiding but if not, this area will house the fresh produce.
8. Eat less and eat out less. This may be hard for some people. If that is against your beliefs and just HAVE to go out to eat, go out to lunch instead of dinner. You usually spend less.
9. Meat Eaters - reduce the frequency of meat. From eating meat every day, eat meat just once a week.
10. Pay special attention to price per unit. Some items are cheaper if you buy the smaller amount than a larger amount. This is a dirty trick by our beloved commercants.
11. Forget coupons. Some people swear to them but in France, the coupons are not that great of a deal (i.e., 10 cents off or so). Besides, many couponed items are for expensive and unhealthful processed foods.
12. Be wary about what is on “promotion” (on sale). Oftentimes it is not a deal at all. Other times, something on sale is not edible, meaning near rotten or expired. Remember: cheap doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you. Be particularly vigilant with meat.
13. Eat leftovers. Do not waste any edible food! Get creative with it and if you don’t know what to do with leftovers, try to find online recipes with items you have.
14. Grow your own, raise your own. Plant a garden of veggies, herbs, sprouts and fruit. This is late to start now and this is not a feasible option for some city dwellers. If you have the space, next year plant a potager/veggie garden, you will not regret it. Your veggies will be delish, you can skip toxic pesticides, and you will save so much money. And, if at all possible, have your own chickens for eggs.
15 Reduce and if possible eliminate junk food. Junk food is expensive, very unhealthful and puts on pounds. I know! This is hard.
16. Buy dry goods in bulk. Like dried beans, lentils, peas, rice and other grains. Know your beans, too. These are high in nutrients, usually a better value, and you can store them for quite a while. Plus, you don’t participate in wasteful packaging.
17. Eliminate eating at Fast Food places: MacDo’s, Quick, the American fast food joints, even Flunch. Ok, Flunch and other chain restaurants like it are cheap but….just leave them out, will you?
18. Check your receipts carefully. Sometimes money is wasted on mistakes.
19. If you grow your own fruit and vegetables, think about preserving them (mason jars) or dehydrating them - so they can last all year.
20. Eat produce that is in season. They are always cheaper in season.
Specific Tips
1. Wine - This comes from my dad-in-law, who is a wine connoisseur. Some of his favorite wines are half price at Aldi, so that could be a good resource for wine people. He’s seen the exact wines twice as expensive in Carrefour and Auchan. These aren’t just run-of-the-mill wines. Be flexible because they don’t often carry the same wines.
2. Negotiate for vegetables/fruits at Outdoor Markets - Merchants are really ok with you negotiating a better price. It’s no big deal. Besides, they know they’re overcharging you, so get them down in price as much as possible. Also, if you show up at the outdoor market before closing, you can get a really great deal. Many of them do not want to bother putting what’s left back into their trucks, so you can really bargain. In some cases, they just leave perfectly good veggies and fruit for the taking.
3. Make your own salad dressing - Most people I know do this already but if you buy the premixed version, try making your own at home. It’s less expensive, it’s better for you and you don’t have the same kind every time you eat a salad at home.
4. Frozen veggies vs. canned - If you can’t get fresh veggies, opt for frozen ones as opposed to canned. They tend to have more vitamins and nutrients.
5. Buy less expensive cuts of meat. If you’re used to getting, for example, filet mignon, faux filet or entrecôte, opt to get a bavette or ground beef. The bavette is a bit on the tough side so you might use it for stews and other long and slow cooked meals.
6. Don’t buy already skinned and de-boned pieces of chicken. Get their skinned versions as well as the pieces with the bone included. It’s much cheaper.
france, grocery shopping, Ways to Save Money on Food
You, Your Cell Phone, Dangers and What to Do 
By now, you’ve probably heard about a correlation between cell phone use and cancer. But geez, you can’t listen to those things because you absolutely love your cell phone. Who doesn’t? You were so freakin’ relieved to find out that those popcorn popping celphones were a hoax. Don’t lie. This love you have for your cute electronic companion has conveniently ousted from your head any negative publicity your mobile beloved has received. You really want to ignore them! Here’s you, “cell phones are dangerous??? NAH….. Don’t be silly! Cancer? Pfff. That is ridiculous. I use mine all the time and I’m fine!”
Do you say that because you don’t WANT it to be true? You can want all you like but just because you don’t want it to be true doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
No one WANTED cigarettes to be the leading cause of death, cancer, heart disease and lung disease (among other things), did they? Many cigarettes smokers said, “they smoked all the time and they were fine!”
No one wanted to believe that the building material called asbestos would kill them. No one wanted to think that anything was wrong with their PVC window frames? Check your hospitals, do they have any PVC? Answer: No. “But the PVC pipes and windows were so cheap,” people say…
Hospitals also don’t allow cell phone use, or wifi for that matter. Do people wonder WHY? I wish they did.
The warnings have been around for a long time but it has been in French news more and more this year. I mean, you can’t let your peeps keep doing harmful things to their bodies, can you France?
French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin also went on France 2 TV and rehashed the well-worn theory connecting cell phone use with cancer.
In the U.S. neurosurgeons can’t admit that cell phones are dangerous and cause brain cancer, but they WILL admit that they NEVER put a cell phone up to their heads. Ever! What do BRAIN SURGEONS know, anyway!??!
Hang on. Aside from being rant-errific, I do have some useful information that might prompt you to reduce the amount of risk to which you subject yourself.
Both Europe and the U.S. have defined safety limits for exposure to radio frequency (RF) energy produced by mobile devices. The SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) or DAS (débit d’absorption spécifique) in France is a measure or index of the rate at which RF energy is absorbed by the body when exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic field.
In the United States the FCC requires that phones sold have a SAR level at or below 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg) taken over a volume of 1 gram of tissue.
In the European Union, the SAR limit is 2 W/kg, averaged over ten grams of tissue. For whole body exposure there is a limit of 0.08 Watt/kg averaged over the whole body.
What you can do: Find out the index of your mobile phone then act accordingly. If it’s too high, get a different phone that is safer. Here’s a chart with a list of phones and their SARs.
As an example, the new 3G iPhone’s SAR (or indice DAS in French) is 1.388 W/kg. The first generation iPhone was 0.974 W/Kg. Other examples: Motorola Razr2 v9 is 0.52. The Samsung SLM is 0.48. As low as some of the phone’s indices are, neurosurgeons STILL won’t put them up to their heads!
What you can do: Like neurosurgeons, DON’T put the cellphone up to your head. Use speaker phone mode. Note: Bluetooth devices and unshielded wired-earphones amplify the signal. In other words, they radiate more, NOT less.
What you can do: Remember that the industries will ALWAYS deny the existence of any dangers. Not only that, they are responsible for those “counter” studies that come out after researchers warn about the dangers of a product. Scientific studies have been suppressed by the cell phone industry and the government to protect their profits. Do not buy that game.
What you can do: Reduce your cell phone use to a bare minimum. Keep conversations short.
What you can do: Don’t let kids use the phone at all if possible. If they must, not for more than a minute at a time. Ideally, they should never use them or use them only for emergency situations.
What you can do: Turn your cell phone off when it isn’t needed and especially when you are driving your car. When driving with your cell phone on, the waves ricochet inside the car because cars are metallic, creating a Faraday Cage.
What you can do: When possible, keep the cell phone as far away from your body as much as possible.
Links: SAR, Get Little Kids Away from the iPhone and iPod Touch, Cell Phone Dangers Revealed, Patents Prove Cell Phone Dangers from Wired, Hidden Dangers of Cell Phone Radiation, Chemical and Cell Phones, Harmful Effects of Cell Phones, Hazards of the Wireless Age, Reduce Risks, Mobile Phones more dangerous than smoking
france, How to Reduce Your Cell Phone Risks, cell phones and cancer, SAR, Indice DAS
Friday France Photo: Black Cat in Window Friday July 25th 2008, 7:48 am
Filed under:
cats,
photos
Photo taken in Autun, France.
tags: france travel autun black cat friday ark
The Mona Lisa is in South London 
Tired of climbing over the hoards of neck stretched tourists pushing their way to see the teeny tiny Mona Lisa encased in a glass prison in the Louvre? Then, check out Tania Ledger’s lawn in Croydon. She hired the 3D art expert who reconstructed the famous painting for the The Da Vinci Code film.
See more photos and read about it here
tags: mona lisa louvre lawn art london da vinci code chris naylor
Star Ac’ 8 is Moving to Le Marais 
Depending on your outlook on this reality TV show that mixes Big Brother with a huge chunk of Schoolhouse Karaoke, you may or may not be thrilled that the popular program is moving from Le château de Dammarie-Les-Lys, outside of Paris - to l’hôtel de Brossier, rue Charlot in Le Marais. Oui, en centreville!
The neighborhood is not amused.
tags: france reality tv star academy le marais hôtel de Brossier
[via]
Barack’s in France Today 
Barack…ok, since we’re on a first name basis, BARRY is making his rounds in Europe and will be in Paris this afternoon to meet Nicolas Sarkozy. Everyone I know in France wants him to win this November. Yesterday in Berlin, he was greeted by over 200,000 people. I just find this overwhelming support amazing and very cool. Not ONE European I know supports McCain. Anyway, if you want to try to catch a glimpse of Obama, he’ll be à l’Elysée around 5-ish. Please tell him “Hi!” from me.
Actually, his visit reminds me that I’m glad I’ve filed my “Absentee Voting” application, and my ballot should arrive well before the elections. If you haven’t already done so, I’d like to encourage all U.S. citizens overseas to act now so that your vote is counted in the November 2008 presidential elections.
You can download the application here: FCPA Application (pdf)
Fill it out, then mail (or email) it to the local election officials in the last state where you lived and where you were registered.
For specific information about absentee voting, go here: Absentee Voting for Overseas Citizens
tags: france 2008 elections absentee voting from france barack obama
Wine News: If You Can’t Beat ‘em, Join ‘Em - Cos d’Estournel Acquires Chateau Montelena 
Michel Reybier, owner of legendary Bordeaux winery Cos d’Estournel, recently bought the Napa Valley California winery, Chateau Montelena from Jim and Bo Barret. The purchase price was not disclosed. An executive committee comprised of Bo Barrett, managing director Greg Ralston, and the winemaker at Cos d’Estournel Dominique Arangoits, with Jean-Guillaume Prats, general manager at Cos d’Estournel as president, will oversee the future operations.
Years earlier, the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 1973 won first place in the “Judgment of Paris” wine competition, beating French wines in a blind taste test.
tags: france wine Cos d’Estournel Chateau Montelena bordeaux cabernet sauvignon chardonnay
French Couple Fined for Sex Video at the WWI memorial in Vimy Thursday July 24th 2008, 3:18 am
Filed under:
Nord Pas de Calais,
articles,
cultural differences,
french laws,
funny,
news,
stories,
travel and places,
travel tip,
weird
I think there might be more visitors to Vimy from now on…
From afp:
“A French couple were given a four-month suspended sentence and made to pay one euro in damages to the Canadian state for making a porn video at a World War I memorial, officials said Wednesday.
The verdict came just six months after another couple were fined for taking nude photographs of themselves at the same memorial at Vimy in northern France, which pays tribute to the 60,000 Canadians who died in the Great War.
In the latest ruling Tuesday by a court in the town of Arras, the married couple in their thirties, who put the video on a paying website, were also fined 500 euros each after they were found guilty of exhibitionism.
The symbolic one euro in damages was ordered because the Canadian state was a civil plaintiff in the case.
“The memorial has been known for a long time as a place where exhibitionism and voyeurism is common,” prosecutor Elise Bozzolo told AFP.
The memorial, two huge pylons that can be seen for miles around, was created in memory of the April 1917 battle of Vimy Ridge, a costly victory for Canada.
The site draws around half a million visitors each year.”
tags: france travel vimy wwi memorial sex video one euro fine
An Unsolved Mystery in France: Poisoned Bread 
From the iht:
“As a kid in Brooklyn Steven L. Kaplan ate pale sliced Wonder Bread like everyone else but had an epiphany in Paris as a Princeton student in 1962 when he happened on a small bakery on the Rue du Cherche-Midi called Poilâne and bought a bâtard which he filled with cheese and ate in the Luxembourg gardens. “I can still taste that first bite,” he says.
Kaplan went on to become a professor of history at Cornell University, always fascinated by bread as one of the principal actors in French life: it is bread, he says, that seals the social contract in France, the link between the government and the governed.
When in the United States Kaplan, from what he views as necessity, bakes his own bread. In France he is recognized as the bread authority, compared recently in Le Monde with Robert O. Paxton, the American historian who forced French eyes to open on the subject of Vichy. The occasion of the comparison was Kaplan’s new book, “Le Pain Maudit” (Cursed Bread), a study of an unsolved mystery dating back more than half a century but which lingers even in the memories of those not then born: the affair of the poisoned bread.
What became a national disaster began on Aug. 16, 1951, when the inhabitants of the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in the Gard region of southern France were suddenly stricken by frightful hallucinations of being consumed by fire or giant plants or horrid beasts.
A worker tried to drown himself because his belly was being eaten by snakes. A 60-year-old grandmother threw herself against the wall and broke three ribs. A man saw his heart escaping through his feet and beseeched a doctor to put it back in place. Many were taken to the local asylum in strait jackets. There was no treatment, no cure and only one possible explanation: something in the bread baked the night of Aug. 15-16 had caused the calamity….” Read the rest
tags: france Steven L. Kaplan Pont Saint Esprit Le Pain Maudit poisoned bread
Show Your Ass Wine - More Fun With Wine Labels Tuesday July 22nd 2008, 11:21 am
Filed under:
Bourgogne/Burgundy,
art/culture/design,
cultural differences,
food and drinks,
funny,
products,
shopping,
travel and places,
travel tip,
weird,
wine
For non-French speakers, it can be a challenge, if not completely impossible to correctly pronounce some names of French wines. Here’s another one that is not very easy to pronounce but if you could, you might not want to pronounce it. I found this excellent wall paper covered with wine labels in a brasserie in Beaune (Burgundy). One particular wine label stuck out, called, “Montre Cul,” which means “show your ass.” Burgundy vintners are silly and fun, apparently. The great thing about this wine is that if you’re looking for it in a store and the salesperson comes to help you, you don’t necessarily have to try to pronounce it. Just mimmick exactly what the woman on the label is doing…. THAT should work.
That isn’t too much to ask, is it? I mean, try acting out this label.
tags: france travel montre cul fun wine labels
New iPhones Sold Out and You Didn’t Get One? 
The new iPhone 3Gs were sold out within hours of its availability here in France the other day. Oh well. You waited too long, and didn’t get one? Maybe you can get one of these new, plastic disposable Bic cel phones instead. They’re really ugly, they radiate a lot of un-heathy microwaves and they’re very hazardous to the environment because they end up piling up in the landfills eventually leaching BPAs, dioxins and other carcinogens into the land, air and water. I bet you really want one now.
Bic (yes, the same people who brought you all those hideous plastic florescent lighters and pens that leaked into your backpack and pockets) has teamed up with Orange - to launch the sale of these wonderful mobile phones on August 7. The phone will cost €49 (about $80).
tags: france iphone disposable celphones global warming horrible inventions bic
Glow Takes Inspiration from Paris’ Nuit Blanche 
Tonight, the City of Santa Monica in California will launch an interactive light installation / art festival called, “Glow” and the pier and beach will literally glow all night long. Think of it as an all night psychedelic light party with media art, performances, music and sculpture installations. I couldn’t help writing about my old socal stomping grounds.
This is the first ever event of its kind for the U.S., but the idea isn’t new. They’ve borrowed the idea from the annual Paris Nuit Blanche (White Night), which is the night Paris stays awake till wee hours of the morning, and millions of people attend this artistic block party of sorts. (By the way, this year the Paris Nuit Blanche takes place on October 4 and 5, 2008.)
Glow takes place tonight 7pm until Sunday 7am.
Here’s a description from the site:
“Glow will fill the hours between dusk to dawn with compelling, enchanting and effervescent sights and sounds situated in spaces and times that expand possibilities for where, how and when the public experiences contemporary art.
With the historic Santa Monica Pier and adjacent world-famous Santa Monica Beach as their space, artists were commissioned to create unique and inviting works of art that welcome the public to be both audience and actor for twelve celebratory hours. Inspired by the wildly successful Nuit Blanche in Paris, Glow takes its spirit from the fabled grunion that live in local waters and come ashore several times a year to spawn in the sand creating a momentary sensation of iridescence.”
Glow
July 19, 2008
7pm to 7am
Free to the public
WHERE:
The “GLOW” Zone, Santa Monica, CA (Ocean Avenue between Colorado and Santa Monica Blvd), Carousel and Ferris Wheel at Santa Monica Pier, Ferris Wheel at Pacific Park, Palisades Park (at entrance to Pier on Ocean Avenue), Muscle Beach, in front of Loews Hotel at Appian Way.
Website: Glow (for current up-to-the-minute calendars, parking information, maps and schedules)
tags: santa monica travel glow nuit blanche
Crisis in France: Snail Shortage! 
According to the independent, there’s an escargot shortage that is threatening French life as we know it. OH NON! Most of the snails people eat in France are from Eastern Europe. Gasp! Oui oui. It’s true. But now the snail harvesting profession there is frowned upon. NOT very glamorous. How will they supply this year’s snail chow down?? Hohum.
People should come to the forest near our house. There are GOBS of snails after a rain.
Anyway, here’s the article:
“A slow-motion crisis threatens the French way of life – the great snail shortage of 2008. Shell-shocked French food processors have warned that they can no longer obtain sufficient quantities of snails from eastern Europe, their principal source of supply.
Snail collecting for the French market used to be a popular way of making money in eastern European countries, especially in Poland and Hungary. But since they joined the European Union five years ago, better-paid job opportunities have flourished.
In a glum statement, the French food processing industry announced that snail-collecting was now the object of “growing disaffection” among eastern Europeans. People were no longer keen to leave home before dawn on wet days, armed with a torch, to search the Polish forests or Hungarian scrubland for the “burgundy snail” or Helix pomatia.
As a result, the price of processed snails in France will rise sharply later this year, warned the Fédération des Industries d’Aliments Conservés. The French eat 25,000 tonnes of snails a year – equivalent to 700 million individual snails. Two in every three snails eaten in the world is consumed in France.
The attraction remains a mystery to much of the rest of the planet. The sauce served with the snails – made from garlic, parsley and butter – is delicious, but to the uninitiated, the escargot itself tastes like a tired piece of chewing-gum.
A quarter of the French market is still supplied by French snail-hunters, who mostly search for snails for their own tables. The small French snail-farming industry has suffered badly in recent hot, dry summers.
Two thirds of all the snails eaten in France come from eastern Europe and the Balkans. Of the ready-cooked or processed snails – widely used in the less expensive or less scrupulous restaurants – 99 per cent come from abroad.
A higher bounty will now have to be paid, French food processors concede. Hunters used to get as little as two euro centimes per snail. Transport and processing costs are also booming. As a result, prices are certain to spiral this year, the French food processing industry warned.
At present, consumers in France pay about €3.50 (£2.77) for 12 boiled snails, or €6 if they are supplied ready-cooked in the traditional garlic-based bourguignon sauce.
The H. pomatia, or grey-and-brown, spiralled, edible, burgundy snail, is said to have become rare in France. Although it is a protected species, hunting, for private consumption or sale, is still permitted.
Madeleine Lechartier, 61, from Culey-le-Patry in the hills of lower Normandy, has been a keen snail-hunter, and eater, all her life but the crisis of 2008 will not trouble her. “The problem is not a shortage of snails it is a shortage of people who know where to look and can be bothered to collect their own,” she said. “I always start in summer at about 5am, preferably on a wet day, turning over the big leaves or pulling aside the grass.”
“People say there is a shortage but the wet summers of the last two years have been very kind to snails. I have 500 snails in my larder, already cooked. We will eat them little by little.”
What is the attraction of eating snails? Is the taste not just in the sauce? “If you eat the processed snails, yes,” she said. “Wild snails, they are quite different. Ah, the taste of a wild snail. That is very special and delicate.”" [source]
Related: Escargot Posts
tags: france escargots snails shortage
AGAIN! Nuclear Waste LEAK 
A so-called NEW uranium leak near Avignon was reported just a week ago, and now there’s yet another nuclear power plant that is leaking. This time it’s at a plant that is actually not very far from the other leaking plant - in Romans-sur-Isere, both managed by the unscrupulous, Areva. The suits are saying AS USUAL, that this leak is not dangerous to humans and can not harm the environment. I’d like to ask, will they drink the water?
Does this remind anyone of various past events assessed by other evil corporations? Remember how the tobacco industry said that there is absolutely no link between smoking and cancer? I saw the excellent French documentary (Tabac, le grand conspiration) on the tobacco industry just the other night on TV showing old cigarette commercials: “Cigarettes are good for you!” “Cigarettes make you feel better!” “More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette.” “Cigarettes have absolutely no effect on your health!” Please. How could companies get away with this type of criminal activity? How can they continue to do so even today? Easily.
Also remember, they claimed that ASBESTOS was perfectly SAFE! Tell that to all the millions of people who died from asbesto poisoning or mesothelioma, who are now dying of cancer from it.
There aren’t just two power plants in France that are leaking, and those aren’t new leaks. (France 2 interview with Roland Desbordes explains) Additionally, there are a lot more leaking hazardous materials into the environment and drinking water, and have been doing so for a while now.
With the nuclear power plant companies claiming that “all is well and there’s no need to be concerned about the uranium that has leaked into the environment. This is a MINOR event and humans are totally safe from this! There’s no impact!” - and on the other side with scientists declaring that these leaks are hazardous and certainly NOT safe for humans and the environment. Who would YOU believe?
My point: If you’re traveling in these areas or anything near a nuclear power plant, simply be aware of the risks. Check the CRIIRAD site, which is the Independent Commission For Radioactivity Research and Information. (In French)
Link: nuclear power in france, radiation leak in Normandy, 2nd Nuclear Power Plant Leak in July (in German), ridiculous old smoking ads, 10 bizarre cigarette commericials
tags: france uranium leak nuclear power plants radiation corporate lies areva nuclear waste
Organic Hair Salon in Paris 
Contrary to popular belief, I’m not a guy. I am not sure why people think I am. My name? Do I have a masculine way of writing? Perhaps. No matter. I suppose.
Anyway…As a GIRL, I do girly things like going to the hair salon. I love getting a good coiff every month but I actually haven’t found a solid, consistent, normal salon, a salon I can say is MY preferred place. In the nearly six years I’ve lived in France, I’ve tried many places, way too many, I’m afraid - but I haven’t found a salon I can call my “own.” Maybe I’m a little picky; I didn’t think so but most places feel forced and tense; the people seem like they are trying too hard and insincerity screams through stretched smiles and unnatural niceties; Some offer too much pampering. I don’t need pampering. Most stylists cut my hair precisely in a way that does NOT at all resemble how I asked for it to be cut. I simply need a really good hair cut, a relaxed environment and a salon that uses products that are safe and without any harmful chemicals (like Paraben and Pheoxyethanol). There aren’t any in my part of France so I started going to Paris to try different places. I just went to Coiffure et Nature, which is located near Bastille. It’s a very chill salon with rustic/chic decor. It’s not a fancy schmancy salon, so no one is going to bring you a colorful cocktail on a pillow, but it is cozy and comfortable. Actually, they do offer drinks while you’re waiting but it’s not on a pillow!
Coiffure et Nature also focuses on aromatherapy, natural essential oils, natural methods and organic hair products. Their hair color is ammonia-free and 80% plant extracts. Unlike other salons, you aren’t bombarded with perfumes and chemical smells upon entering the establishment. It’s totally unexpected but a welcomed relief.
I had a great coiff from Virginie, who not only cut it exactly how I asked (yea, that can happen sometimes!), she also really concentrated on the cut instead of trying to “entertain” me, which happens oftentimes at other salons. Phew! We did chit chat part of the time, and that seemed fine and natural.
The prices are very reasonable for Paris. I had a shampooing /shampoo, coupe /cut and brushing / styling, which cost 58 euros. Worth a return trip.
Coiffure et Nature
1, rue de la Bastille
75004 Paris - France
Phone : + 33 1 42 72 90 37
E-mail : contact@coiffureetnature.fr
Website: Coiffure et Nature
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm, Thursday, Noon to 9pm *
M: Bastille : Lines 1 - 5 - 8
Exit rue St-Antoine / boulevard Beaumarchais
* NOTE: ALL hair salons in France are closed on Mondays.
tags: france travel organic hair sal
