Nan, mais c’est qui le type qui a traduit “se tenir au drone de secours” comme “stand with the relief drone” en Heave Ho 2 ? Parce que c’est bien différent, ça.

I hate a dumb movie, but I love a movie that is so intentionally dumb that it loops right around to genius. There are excellent jokes of all kinds in here—from riffs on video games to subtle musical jokes—and even if I could have done without an “Indian fur trader” character, I’m hard pressed to find anything (else) that gave me pause in this movie. I wish I hadn’t watched it on my phone while doing chores, because I’m sure I would have gotten even more out of it on a full screen.

J’ai déjà écrit sur combien j’aime le faux français dans Heave Ho 2, mais j’avais oublié mon exemple préféré : quand le chef de cuisine prononce « burger » comme un verbe du premier groupe.

A deserved masterpiece that I enjoyed watching despite much that’s aged—some things were just out of date while others were more problematic.

Serviceable chai that I’d drink again but that I’d never go looking for.

I usually feel guilty about preferring corporate dessert-y teas to fancy blends, but this blend has dispelled some of that. It wasn’t bad at first, and I was glad to give a fancy tea a try, but the taste wound up being so strong that the next thing I steeped in my tea tumbler tasted of this rather than what I’d been hoping for. Meh.

I first encountered TTRPGs through the Wizards of the Coast Star Wars game, which was a heavily reskinned version of 3.5. I would be very tempted to pick up a Star Wars sourcebook for 5e.

Hojicha is good stuff!

I avoided this series for a while because I was afraid that it would provoke some existential angst, but wow is it ever good. Despite what I just said, existential horror is my favorite horror, and this series delivers; it also has analog horror vibes that I find delightful.

I would say that I regret not having watched this earlier except it’s nice not having to wait for the second season in real time.

Uh, tandoori paneer tikka is amazing. I did not know you could prepare cheese like this, and I love it.

Cette dernière saison est un peu bizarre, car on voit bien qu’elle est divisée en deux parties, dont la deuxième n’est pas vraiment nécessaire pour conclure l’histoire de la série. Pourtant, j’aime bien ces personnages, et j’ai donc été content de leur dire au revoir comme ça.

C’est une jolie série à laquelle je m’intéressais depuis plusieurs années. Même si c’est bête de le dire, je suis fier de moi d’avoir enfin tout regardé !

What a petty administration this is.

Would I read more of this? Absolutely. But I’m also glad to have exhausted the volumes available at my library, because as fun and cute as the premise is, there’s only so much I can read in a short time without getting tired of it.

Part of me feels like there’s only so long you can drag along the premise of “retired yakuza becomes stay-at-home spouse,” and a lot of the humor here builds on, rather than outright challenges, traditional gender roles. Yet, it remains a fun read!

This series is clearly formulaic and episodic, but it’s still fun (and since I struggled to follow the ongoing plot of My Hero Academia, maybe it’s an easier entry point for me).

“Cozy Yakuza comedy” was not a genre I was aware of, but it seems I like it!

Last night, I decided to return a bunch of unread volumes of My Hero Academia to the library, and I am feeling uncultured.

Je viens de passer trois jours à un colloque sur Jacques Ellul, un penseur français qui m’intéresse beaucoup en ce moment (et depuis déjà un peu de temps). J’avoue sans honte qu’une des choses qui m’a attiré chez Ellul, c’était sa francophonie, car le français m’est très cher et je suis toujours à la recherche des moyens d’entraîner mes propres capacités francophones.

C’était donc un grand plaisir de rencontre d’autres francophones à ce colloque (même si la plupart des gens qui y assistaient étaient des anglophones qui lisaient Ellul uniquement en traduction—je ne critique pas, je constate). J’ai pu bavarder avec deux Bordelais.e.s sans trop dire des bêtises, je crois que j’ai bien réussi à savoir quand je pouvais tutoyer (alors que la plupart du temps, j’ai du mal à comprendre ces nuances), et j’ai même fait la bise pour la première fois depuis bien des années (en disant au revoir à une nouvelle amie).

Kiddo brought this back from a Ren Faire for me, and it is great. You can taste cherry (a lot of it), and there are clear hints of vanilla and an aftertaste of peppercorn in the chai. It’s better sipped over the course of a morning than finished in a rush, but I’m looking forward to going through this whole bag.

Not bad, but didn’t leave much of an impression.

This tea has brought joy into a conference I’m attending two mornings in a row!

I honestly didn’t know what I would think of this book. I’d heard some complaints and caveats about it, but some folks also highly recommended it, including one of the people who made a caveat (and who is outspoken on problematic social attitudes), so I thought it was worth a try.

My verdict is that this feels like fanfiction, which isn’t supposed to be an insult but also captures some of my own caveats. Why compare it with fanfiction? Some parts feel unwieldy and overly explanatory of the worldbuilding. It does take a certain pleasure in being transgressive, and sometimes that does cross a line. Yet, I meant what I said about comparng to fiction not being an insult, because it is creative and interesting in the way that sometimes only self-published stuff can be.

I don’t mind a genuinely difficult escape room (or at-home escape room game), but one advertised as difficult that just feels arbitrary is just frustrating.

I get why this film is beloved! It also did not crack me up the way I was hoping.

J’ai commencé à écouter Stromae ce matin, sans trop me demander si ça représentait de la trahison après la défaite de mes compatriotes aux mains (aux pieds ?) des Belges hier. Mais bon, j’aime bien Stromae, je m’en fiche un peu du foot, et en tout cas, les USA méritent du châtiment en ce moment.