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Yellow Smiley Face

Anglosphere

Walmart is trying to patent their yellow smiley face, but according to one of the posters on Slashdot, it seems like there is prior art in France:

"A Frenchman who claims to have invented the yellow smiley face back in 1968"

After all, this is a very well known fact that only Frechman is capable of being yellow AND have a smiley face. Fact proven during WWII, case closed.

Anti-French jokes are still funny, although some people take them too seriously.

Why I hate the French

European Union

Someone asked me at the pub.

1. They refuse to speak English.
2. They smell.
3. They're as communist as Europe will ever get.
4. I failed French in high school.
5. Paris is the most run down city in Europe.
6. Vichy.
7. They're arrogant.
8. They supported Arafat.
9. Alizee won't shag me.
10. Chirac's a wanker.

But they did turn down the constitution, so no hard feelings!

Au revoir!

European Union

Apparently some people still can't get used to France's marginalised role in European and world affairs:

French President Jacques Chirac showed his temper at the EU summit when a French business leader addressed delegates in English.

He stormed out of a session when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere said he chose English "because that is the accepted business language of Europe today".

Mr Chirac told reporters on Friday he was "deeply shocked" that a Frenchman chose to address the summit in English.

Funny bloke. But it is indeed quite shocking that people speak English at all in France, one of the least intelligent nations in Europe.

Tobacco addiction

Anglosphere

Some people have a craving for fags beyond belief:

A French woman has admitted attempting to open an aeroplane door mid-flight so that she could smoke a cigarette.

Insert obligatory French joke here. Kudos to Chris for the link.

Rioting works!

European Union

The EC comes to the rescue in France:

France has been offered 50m euros ($59m; £34m) by the European Union to help recover from more than two weeks of rioting in poor city suburbs.

European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said up to 1bn euros could be made available eventually for job creation and to help social cohesion.

It's no surprise that the EU can easily be influenced by violence, fraud and threats, but one billion in return for the destruction of schools, buses and private property? That's certainly not bad!

Maybe we should have some riots here in Holland as well. I could use some money to throw some parties and improve the "social cohesion" with my own neighbours.

"About normal"

European Union

National Police Chief Michel Gaudin in The Guardian on the current state of affairs in France:

The number of vehicles burned overnight across the country climbed slightly to 502 from 463 the previous night, police said Saturday. The recent figures are down sharply from the peak of the violence.

"We returned to an almost normal situation in Ile de France," said Gaudin, referring to the Paris region. He said that 86 vehicles were burned, which he said was about normal.

Depends on what you want to call normal. Seriously. Normal?! Are the French completely out of their mind? (Don't answer that.)

Book review - Our oldest enemy

Anglosphere

Old people still call them new media, but modern people like me (read: teens and twenties) simply refer to DVD, MSN, SMS, MP3, iPod and other wonders of the technological revolution as media. There is really nothing new about them and for the past decade I have enjoyed my fair share of these wonders while my parents continue to tell me to pick up a book every now and then. What is new, is that I seem to be listening: to my surprise I am reading more and more books these days.

Recently I finished reading Our oldest enemy by National Review contributor John J. Miller and Mark Molesky. The book covers the "history of America's disastrous relationship with France".

Although the historical facts in the book cannot easily be disputed, it must be noted that there is a substantial amount of bias and predictability in the writing. Fortunately the book never pretends to be an objective viewer of history, but because of the predictable nature almost every reader will almost certainly find spans in history covered by the book where the writers fail to capture the reader's excitement and interest to the full extent. Furthermore, a more subtle approach would be necessary to be able to call this book an insightful eye-opener.

But that doesn't make it a bad book, it merely limits its value to a few hours of fun for those who like to nag about the French. If that's what you're looking for, this one is definitely recommended reading.

© Copyright 1995-2008 Robert John Kaper. All rights reserved.

Tom has more friends but mine are prettier! (#1/1)