39Vaugirard

April Fool’s day is said to have French origins. In 1564, France reformed the calendar, changing the beginning of the year from the end of March to January 1st. For those who resisted the new calendar and adhered to the old traditions, paper fish were playfully attached to their backs and they were fondly dubbed ‘poisson d’avril.’ or April fish. To this day, poisson d’avril is the French name for April Fool’s Day, and the tradition of hoaxes and tricks is alive and well.

I never knew this but I’m glad I found out here, rather than at poolside. In French public pools, to avoid swimming suit-like attire (cut-offs, shorts or worse), men must wear Speedos.

So Alton Towers has banned embarrassingly titchy swimming trunks at its water park. But spare a thought for France, where the opposite is true: local authorities regularly force men to ditch their Bermudas and parade in skin-tight budgie-smugglers for the greater public good.

In French public pools, from the racing lanes of Paris to the open-air lidos and water parks of the south, anything bigger than Speedos is banned and you must hoist yourself into a posing pouch as a civic requirement. French changing rooms are littered with the broken dreams of prudish males abroad who thought they could sneak in a few lengths without showing their contours.

[From Why Speedos are still huge in France]

This sounds like another attempt to shore up French industry, but it does have a certain logic in a country trying to welcome differences, but at the heart, trying to make everyone into a Frenchman.

This writer from the LA Times had a few unfortunate experiences with Parisians and therefore is writing off Paris, despite it being “one of the most spectacular cities in Europe.” He thinks Parisians are lacking in social skills. I hope he’s never been to New York.

And Paris is an architectural masterpiece. Tourists from all corners of the globe come to the city to experience its museums, cathedrals and the famed Eiffel Tower.

But, for me, the genius of Paris does not extend to its residents’ social skills. For some reason, the cultured and sophisticated Parisians seem unable to transcend the vaunted history and beauty of their beloved city. These locals are a proud bunch who suffer no lack of self-esteem.

Most of all, they seem to have an absolute disdain for those who speak English. French waiters seem never to want to speak with me in English, even when it’s clear they speak English as well as I. I know that trying to speak the language is part of the experience, and I do try. But apparently, listening to my French makes a meal far more entertaining.

Not everyone was quite as churlish. On a trip in May, I met a student named Pierre whose generosity and kindness transcended the stereotypes that Parisians have fought so hard to earn. He put me up in his uncle’s house and traveled with me down south to Toulouse. But Pierre, I’m sorry to say, seemed the exception.

[From Athens overrated? Yes, and there's more such travel spots - Travel - LATimes.com ]

Other cities I happen to love that he thinks are “overrated” are Prague, Moscow, Athens, and Dubai (the only one I don’t have data points on). He disses Athens due to a run-in with a cab driver. Prague is wet and rainy and he meets a woman who dislikes President Bush. Moscow is too expensive and traffic is horrible. Dubai “lacks a soul.”

This guy should be writing obits or the gardening column.

Those Google guys – always a sense of humor…

That’s what makes them hot right now. I remember when Yahoo! was like that – every day a new trick or utility that seemed to either amaze or help out. Google also may fall prey to its own success, playing it safe, killing off new product acquisitions after paying way too much for them, trying to “rationalize” its product offerings and business units, or just plain having their shareholders demand more in quarterly earnings, but for now they still have some fun.

I tried to run this map from San Francisco, but had no luck. Does anyone know if this is a hoax? This comes from dadblog.drscottfranklin.net.