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liminalweb.site.web.brid.gy
The picture was taken two days ago at dusk. This is the Seto Inland Sea of Japan where I live. But this is not why I’m writing to you today. 🙂 I have a small announcement to make. It’s nothing too special, and something you may find useful. As you may or […]

[Original post on liminalweb.site]
<img alt="Dusk 20240707" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Dusk-20240707-300x300.jpg" title="Dusk... and a small announcement 6" width="300" /><p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Dusk-20240707.jpg"><img alt="Dusk 20240707" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14534" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Dusk-20240707-800x450.jpg" title="Dusk... and a small announcement 4" width="800" /></a></p> <p>The picture was taken two days ago at dusk. This is the <strong>Seto Inland Sea of Japan</strong> where I live.</p> <p>But this is not why I&#8217;m writing to you today. <img alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" style="height: 1em;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I have a small announcement to make. It&#8217;s nothing too special, and something you may find useful.</p> <p>As you may or may not know, I&#8217;ve recently shut down my Substack newsletter and a few older blogs for various reasons, and I&#8217;m trying to concentrate my writing on just a couple of blogs, especially this one (and also write more, but that&#8217;s another story).</p> <p>The idea is to have all my subscribers (some of you) subscribe to this blog, and it would work both as a blog and as a newsletter you can receive in your inbox.</p> <p>When I say &#8220;subscribe&#8221; I mean the possibility of receiving notifications of new posts directly in your inbox, it&#8217;s free and different from a paying subscription. <img alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" style="height: 1em;" /></p> <p>There is a small problem, though. This site is bilingual and not all of you are. And I fully understand that no one likes getting emails in languages they don&#8217;t understand.</p> <p>Until now, there was no way to separate my subscribers according to their language of use. Well, I still can&#8217;t, but you can now do it yourself.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>So, I&#8217;m inviting you to do a few minor things:</p> <ul> <li>First, if you&#8217;re not subscribed yet, now is the perfect time to do it. There should be a place to do it right after the post, otherwise, <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">you can simply click this link</a>.</li> <li>If you&#8217;re already subscribed (thank you) and don&#8217;t mind getting notifications of new posts both in French and English, you have nothing to do.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Now, if you already are a subscriber but don&#8217;t speak French and would like to stop getting notifications about posts in French, it&#8217;s not complicated, but there is a small technicality to consider.<br /> There are actually two mailing lists associated with this blog (I won&#8217;t explain why, it&#8217;d be too long and not that interesting, but basically an older one and a newer one, and it was easier to keep both alive.) One mailing list is managed by <strong>Mailchimp</strong> and the other one by <strong>Jetpack</strong>.</p> <p>How do you know which one you&#8217;re in? It&#8217;s pretty simple. I assume you&#8217;re reading this coming from a link you got in your mailbox. Look at this email, and it should say Mailchimp or Jetpack/Wordpress.com somewhere (probably the sender, or else a logo at the bottom or something).</p> <ul> <li>If you&#8217;re with Mailchimp, sorry, there is no way to split the notifications by language, but if you only want to get the English notifications, you can always unsubscribe from Mailchimp and subscribe to Jetpack. There should be a place to subscribe after this post, or <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">you can simply click this link</a>. <img alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" style="height: 1em;" /></li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>If you&#8217;re with Jetpack, there is now a possibility to only subscribe to parts of the blog. So, what I invite you to do is to go check the bottom of the email you received notifying you of this current post. There is a link that invites you to manage your subscription. Click on it. It should bring you to your &#8220;WordPress reader.&#8221; There, you can check and uncheck the various ways to subscribe to this blog.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Note that I will (later today or tomorrow) write a similar post in French for my French-speaking readers and subscribers. Whether you receive it or not will help you see if your subscription is properly set up.</p> <p>I hope it makes sense and that you will find this useful. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. <img alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f642.png" style="height: 1em;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Also, I may or may not implement the possibility of subscribing to only some categories of posts. However, before doing this I need to clean up the categories on this blog. There are too many at the moment for a selective subscription to be usable. But stay on the lookout, it may happen sooner or later. I&#8217;ll probably make a similar announcement.</p> <p>Stay tuned, and thanks for being a reader and hopefully a subscriber.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="75" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="Dusk... and a small announcement 5" width="254" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/dusk-and-a-small-announcement/" rel="nofollow">Dusk&#8230; and a small announcement</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
July 9, 2024 at 2:44 AM
liminalweb.site.web.brid.gy
You may or may not know that last Spring I went to Kyoto. It was my fifth trip there, and as I was with my parents, we mostly did touristy stuff. It was a very different experience from my previous visit to the city. Japan’s borders have reopened, the […]

[Original post on liminalweb.site]
<img alt="Byodo in Phoenix Hall 2" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-2-300x300.jpg" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 20" width="300" /><p>You may or may not know that last Spring I went to <strong>Kyoto</strong>. It was my fifth trip there, and as I was with my parents, we mostly did touristy stuff.</p> <p>It was a very different experience from <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/kyoto-without-tourists/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">my previous visit to the city</a>. Japan&#8217;s borders have reopened, the tourists are back, and they&#8217;re back with a vengeance.</p> <p>However, foreign tourists tend to all flock to the same spots, and some places here and there are still enjoyable for the most part.</p> <p>Among them, <strong>Byōdō-in</strong>.</p> <p>Located in <strong>Uji</strong>, on the outskirts of Kyoto (on the way to <a href="https://www.setouchiexplorer.com/tag/nara/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Nara</a>), this temple dates from the Heian period (roughly one thousand years ago, when Kyoto became the capital of Japan and traditional Japanese culture rose to prominence) and is one of the many temples in Kyoto that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Japanese people are always very proud of that.)</p> <p>I won&#8217;t describe the place in length, I advise you to get <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/By%C5%8Dd%C5%8D-in" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the Wikipedia page</a> or <a href="https://www.byodoin.or.jp/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">the official site</a> instead. Just know that while it&#8217;s not that famous abroad, it&#8217;s a big deal in Japan, to the point that it is depicted on the 10 yen coin. Not many landmarks are represented on Japanese coins &#8211; it&#8217;s the only one.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-1.jpg"><img alt="Byodo in Phoenix Hall 1" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14524" height="514" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-1-800x514.jpg" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 14" width="800" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-3.jpg"><img alt="Byodo in Phoenix Hall 3" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14526" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-3-800x450.jpg" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 15" width="800" /></a></p> <p>It&#8217;s more difficult than I thought to focus on both the coin and the temple (at least with my phone&#8217;s camera, I was traveling light) also, my nail was a bit dirty, whoops (and I shamelessly put it online anyway, oh well)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-4.jpg"><img alt="Byodo in Phoenix Hall 4" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14527" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-4-800x450.jpg" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 16" width="800" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Apart from the main hall and a few other buildings, the temple also has an interesting museum full of historical artifacts. (no pictures are allowed inside)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-2.jpg"><img alt="Byodo in Phoenix Hall 2" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14525" height="468" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Byodo-in-Phoenix-Hall-2-800x468.jpg" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 17" width="800" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Also, near Byōdō-in, there is this bridge. While rebuilt, probably many times, it&#8217;s considered very ancient, as it is mentioned in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_Genji" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tale of Genji</a>, one of the oldest known fiction of Japan, and one of the oldest known novels in the world.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Uji.jpg"><img alt="Uji" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14528" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Uji-800x450.jpg" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 18" width="800" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In other words, a very interesting place, and while it&#8217;s by no means empty, it&#8217;s also a nice break from the overtourism that is unfortunately prevalent in Kyoto nowadays.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="75" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto 19" width="254" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/byodo-in-in-uji-near-kyoto/" rel="nofollow">Byōdō-in in Uji, near Kyoto</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
June 26, 2024 at 12:50 PM
liminalweb.site.web.brid.gy
No, this is not a quiz. I just don’t know who she is, and as opposed to the last time, I think this time it is a real picture (I mean, not a picture of an actress or something similar). That woman may or may not be the Amélie with whom my grandfather… Read […]

[Original post on liminalweb.site]
<img alt="Souvenir de Rene Gense 26 Juillet 1919" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Souvenir-de-Rene-Gense-26-Juillet-1919-300x300.jpg" title="Who is she? 50" width="300" /><p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Souvenir-de-Rene-Gense-26-Juillet-1919.jpg"><img alt="Souvenir de Rene Gense 26 Juillet 1919" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14467" height="800" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Souvenir-de-Rene-Gense-26-Juillet-1919-508x800.jpg" title="Who is she? 48" width="508" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">No, this is not a quiz. I just don&#8217;t know who she is, and as opposed to the last time, I think this time it is a real picture (I mean, not <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/fabienne/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">a picture of an actress or something similar</a>).</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">That woman may or may not be the <strong>Amélie</strong> with whom my grandfather had a correspondence after WW1 (he met her during the war when her family moved South. I suspect they had more than just a friendship).</p> <p>However, I somehow doubt it&#8217;s her. The card was sent on July 26th, 1919. The back only says &#8220;Souvenir de René Gense.&#8221; And it&#8217;s addressed to my grandpa, but also his parents. I&#8217;m pretty sure René is Amélie&#8217;s dad.</p> <p>I have another picture of the same woman with a younger one (I&#8217;ll post it sooner or later). I&#8217;m pretty sure the younger woman is Amélie, which means, that this woman here is very probably either Amélie&#8217;s mom or her older sister.</p> <p>That&#8217;s all for now.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="75" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="Who is she? 49" width="254" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/who-is-she/" rel="nofollow">Who is she?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
June 8, 2024 at 1:10 PM
liminalweb.site.web.brid.gy
Alright, warning and all that: if you have a phobia of ants or crawling things, maybe you shouldn’t stay here… . . . . Is everybody still here fine with what is about to show up on your screen? Alright. This was last year in France, while on a walk in a […]

[Original post on liminalweb.site]
<img alt="Lots of ants 1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-1-300x300.jpg" title="Ants... Lots of ants... 60" width="300" /><p>Alright, warning and all that: if you have a phobia of ants or crawling things, maybe you shouldn&#8217;t stay here&#8230;</p> <p>.</p> <p>.</p> <p>.</p> <p>.</p> <p>Is everybody still here fine with what is about to show up on your screen?</p> <p>Alright.</p> <p>This was last year in France, while on a walk in a nature park in my hometown.</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-1.jpg"><img alt="Lots of ants 1" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14449" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-1-800x450.jpg" title="Ants... Lots of ants... 56" width="800" /></a></p> <p>I had never seen so many ants gathered like this before and to this day I&#8217;m not sure what was happening.</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-2.jpg"><img alt="Lots of ants 2" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14450" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-2-800x450.jpg" title="Ants... Lots of ants... 57" width="800" /></a></p> <p>As it was in March and one of the first somewhat warm days of the year, did the whole colony wake up from hibernating at once and want some fresh air?</p> <p>That&#8217;s the only explanation I could come up with.</p> <p>Well, I could have googled it before typing this.</p> <p>Let&#8217;s see:</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-3.jpg"><img alt="Lots of ants 3" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14451" height="450" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Lots-of-ants-3-800x450.jpg" title="Ants... Lots of ants... 58" width="800" /></a></p> <p>The only thing I found that could work would be colony expansion. It&#8217;s not the whole colony, but just a part of it, and it&#8217;s moving to another location nearby. Except that they were stationary. Or did they find the new location and were waiting to be able to enter the new tunnels or something like that?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="nv-iframe-embed"></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>If anyone has a good idea of what was happening, I&#8217;m all ears.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="50" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="Ants... Lots of ants... 59" width="170" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/ants-lots-of-ants/" rel="nofollow">Ants&#8230; Lots of ants&#8230;</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
May 9, 2024 at 1:04 PM
liminalweb.site.web.brid.gy
Alright, here is part two of my silly project (make a cartoon with some Playmobils with no idea where I’m going, just throwing ideas out there and see what sticks). If you missed the prologue, here it is. (click on the pictures to see them full size) (to be […]

[Original post on liminalweb.site]
<img alt="Night Watch 3" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-3-300x300.jpg" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 74" width="300" /><p>Alright, here is part two of my silly project (make a cartoon with some Playmobils with no idea where I&#8217;m going, just throwing ideas out there and see what sticks).</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/the-astronomer-playmostories-part-one/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">If you missed the prologue, here it is</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;">(click on the pictures to see them full size)</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-1.jpg"><img alt="Night Watch 1" class="aligncenter wp-image-14430" height="884" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-1.jpg" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 68" width="800" /></a> <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-2.jpg"><img alt="Night Watch 2" class="aligncenter wp-image-14431" height="1132" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-2.jpg" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 69" width="800" /></a> <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-3.jpg"><img alt="Night Watch 3" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14432" height="573" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-3-800x573.jpg" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 70" width="800" /></a> <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-4.jpg"><img alt="Night Watch 4" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14433" height="578" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-4-800x578.jpg" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 71" width="800" /></a> <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-5.jpg"><img alt="Night Watch 5" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14434" height="581" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Night-Watch-5-800x581.jpg" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 72" width="800" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;">(to be continued&#8230;)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="50" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="The Night Watch (PlaymoStories - part two) 73" width="170" /></a></p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/the-night-watch-playmobil/" rel="nofollow">The Night Watch (PlaymoStories &#8211; part two)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
May 6, 2024 at 10:51 AM
liminalweb.site.web.brid.gy
Hello, today, an old post from my Ask a Frenchman series that has some educational value for native English speakers, especially the North American kind. Enjoy: Marie, from somewhere (I suspect the US considering the question) asked the following thing: Do […]

[Original post on liminalweb.site]
<img alt="ooh la la" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ooh-la-la-300x300.jpg" title="Do French people really use the expression &quot;Ooh La La&quot;? 81" width="300" /><p>Hello, today, an old post from my <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/ask-a-frenchman/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ask a Frenchman</a> series that has some educational value for native English speakers, especially the North American kind.</p> <p>Enjoy:</p> <p>Marie, from somewhere (I suspect the US considering the question) asked the following thing:</p> <blockquote><p>Do French people really use the expression “Ooh La La”? If so, what does it mean? Is it used more by women or does everyone say it? How do the French pronounce it? Do you use it?</p></blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>This question reminds me of an interesting anecdote that happened during my first months in the US, a long long time ago.<br /> One day, I announced something to a friend. I can’t remember what, some good news of some sort, and her response was “<strong>Ooh la la!</strong>” with a big smile on her face. Then, she looked at me, expecting some sort of reaction to her “<em>ooh la la</em>”.</p> <p>At that very moment, my thoughts were split between:</p> <ul> <li>“Why did she just say <em>ooh la la</em>?”</li> <li>“Why that big grin on her face? Is she thinking this is cool or something?”</li> <li>“Why is she expecting a reaction from me right now? I mean, she’s a friend, and that exchange was very weird, I&#8217;m not sure how I&#8217;m supposed to react.”</li> </ul> <p>So, I didn&#8217;t react. I just pretended that I didn&#8217;t hear it and moved on with the conversation (we remained friends for a while despite that unfortunate non-conversation).</p> <p>A little while after this episode, I finally understood what happened. She thought that <strong>French people said &#8220;<em>Ooh la la</em>&#8221; quite often</strong>, so she said it to impress me or something along the lines of &#8220;See, I know the expression, ain&#8217;t you proud of me?&#8221; My lack of reaction must have seriously disappointed her.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" id="attachment_14425" style="width: 500px;"><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ooh-la-la.jpg"><img alt="ooh la la" class="wp-image-14425 size-medium" height="353" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ooh-la-la-500x353.jpg" title="Do French people really use the expression &quot;Ooh La La&quot;? 78" width="500" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-14425">Quiz: Can you guess why I chose this picture to illustrate this article?</figcaption></figure> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>After this not-so-brief introduction, let&#8217;s try to answer Mary&#8217;s question(s):</p> <p>No, French people don’t say “<em><strong>ooh la la</strong></em>.” I don&#8217;t think I have ever heard a French person say it.</p> <p>What you may hear coming from a French person is “<em><strong>Oh la la !</strong></em>” (with an “Oh” and not an “Ooh”.) However, this expression implies very different things from what you may think, both in terms of meaning, context, and impressions it gives to the audience.</p> <p>“<em>Oh la la !</em>” is used as an expression of surprise or shock but it usually tends to be a negative surprise or shock.</p> <p>You may hear it with a positive connotation on rare occasions, but this is far from the norm.</p> <p>Another important point to keep in mind is that they’re nothing fashionable, trendy, cool, chic, or anything similar associated with the expression. Oh, and there is nothing remotely sexy or risqué to it. Not a single thing.</p> <p>&#8220;Oh la la !&#8221; is more or less the French equivalent of &#8220;<em>Oh my God !</em>&#8221; or &#8220;<em>Oh shit !</em>&#8221; in a situation when you don&#8217;t want to curse. &#8220;<em><strong>Oh, putain !</strong></em>&#8221; is more appropriate otherwise.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Now you know.</p> <p>So if you want to use &#8220;Ooh la la!&#8221; in an English-speaking context with other English speakers, be my guest, who am I to judge? Just no that if you use it with a French person, especially if you&#8217;re using it in a positive way, you&#8217;re running the risk of eliciting some major eye-rolling or confusion.</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/ask-a-frenchman/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Ask a Frenchman Logo" class="aligncenter wp-image-12618" height="100" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ask-a-Frenchman-Logo.png" title="Do French people really use the expression &quot;Ooh La La&quot;? 79" width="100" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="75" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="Do French people really use the expression &quot;Ooh La La&quot;? 80" width="254" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/french-ooh-la-la/" rel="nofollow">Do French people really use the expression &#8220;Ooh La La&#8221;?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
May 5, 2024 at 2:30 PM
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Today, in our latest addition to my “Memories from a New Century” series, a short postcard from Amélie with a mysterious woman called Fabienne as a picture. (details after the pictures) The text says: Dear Mr. Adrien, See how I think of you and how pretty […]

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<img alt="fabienne" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" height="300" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/fabienne-300x300.jpg" title="Fabienne 89" width="300" /><p>Today, in our latest addition to my &#8220;<a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/memories-from-a-new-century/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em><strong>Memories from a New Century</strong></em></a>&#8221; series, a short postcard from Amélie with a mysterious woman called Fabienne as a picture. (details after the pictures)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/fabienne.jpg"><img alt="fabienne" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14413" height="800" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/fabienne-551x800.jpg" title="Fabienne 86" width="551" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/fabienne_verso.jpg"><img alt="fabienne verso" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-14414" height="523" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/fabienne_verso-800x523.jpg" title="Fabienne 87" width="800" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The text says:</p> <blockquote><p><span style="color: #0000ff;"><em>Dear Mr. Adrien,</em></span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff;"><em>See how I think of you and how pretty my card is. I will answer you this evening because we&#8217;re working all day today, Saturday, so I don&#8217;t have much time.</em></span><br /> <span style="color: #0000ff;"><em>See you tomorrow Sunday. Goodbye and good kisses from your friend who doesn&#8217;t forget you.<br /> Amélie</em></span></p></blockquote> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A very brief but interesting text as Amélie is basically writing to Adrien to tell him she&#8217;ll be writing a longer text later, even though it&#8217;s very likely she&#8217;ll be sending both cards together at a later date. I guess it feels strange nowadays when we just text people instantly, but it makes sense. I remember in my late teens or early 20s before this internet thing came to be, and I used to write letters to my friends who lived far away, I&#8217;d write whenever I felt like writing or whenever I had the time to write, regardless of when I&#8217;d actually send the letter, sometimes including two separate letters in the same envelope. It&#8217;s probably the same thing here.</p> <p>(fun fact: I didn&#8217;t like writing before I started writing these letters to my friends&#8230; Thank you, friends)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Now, about this <strong>Fabienne</strong>. Well, I have no idea who she is.<br /> From the picture&#8217;s quality, could she be some sort of celebrity? I don&#8217;t know. I tried to find information about a famous Fabienne in France in the 1920s, but I couldn&#8217;t find anything. There was a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabienne_Fabr%C3%A8ges" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Fabienne Fabrèges</a>, but they looked nothing alike.</p> <p>Another wild guess is that it&#8217;s Amélie herself (the mouth and nose look similar, her eyes much less, but she&#8217;s wearing a lot of make-up.) I think I remember some cards where she kinda was &#8220;roleplaying&#8221; being someone else and she found it funny. I hope we&#8217;ll get to these cards eventually.</p> <p>Stay tuned and&#8230;</p> <p><a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/subscribe/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="Subscribe button" class="aligncenter wp-image-14195" height="50" src="https://www.liminalweb.site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Subscribe-button.png" title="Fabienne 88" width="170" /></a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site/fabienne/" rel="nofollow">Fabienne</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.liminalweb.site" rel="nofollow">liminal web</a>.</p>
April 30, 2024 at 3:49 AM