I like French, comics, books, podcasts, (board and roleplaying) games, biking, and trains. I try to stay organized and in good (physical and mental) shape.

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đź”— linkblog: just finished 'Belgium's new passport features comic faves | Boing Boing'



Anyone know an easy way to get Belgian citizenship?


đź”— linkblog: just finished 'Netflix Reveals New Wallace & Gromit Movie, Chicken Run 2 Cast'



More Wallace and Gromit is always welcome.




Going through old files and throwing out notes from a French phonetics class from over a decade ago. I recognize that I don’t need them anymore, but there’s still something hard about it!




Paid a visit to Cincinnati’s Union Terminal today. The building makes for a gorgeous museum, but how cool would it be if it were still the busy train station it was designed to be?




I have been joking since March 2020 how desperately we need a new Stromae album now, but I could have never anticipated how perfect Multitudes is going to be for this moment.




Is it too late to exchange this 2022 for a new one? We’re within 30 days, and this one clearly came broken.




Angry at myself tonight for not noticing spousal abuse perpetrated by someone I worked with regularly while it was happening. Angrier still at those I know who were aware of it and did nothing.




I wish Nintendo would translate the French release of Mario Kart as « chariot de Mario » because it’s very fun to say.


🔗 linkblog: just finished 'People spent 15 hours roleplaying a McDonald’s drive-thru on Twitter Spaces - The Verge'



The internet is dumb but sometimes in an amazing way.


🔗 linkblog: just finished 'Amazon is retiring Alexa — no, not that one - The Verge'



Why shut down Alexa rankings???




Grâce à YouTube, j’ai appris au sujet des « speakerines » aujourd’hui. J’étudie le français depuis vingt ans, et il reste des tas de choses à apprendre.




Initial Dungeons and Dragons pizza plans have fallen through. I have pointed out that there’s a LaRosa’s nearby and am now swelling with an unexpected amount of Northern Kentucky pride.




I traditionally get a mild cold every beginning and end of semester, which has always been a pain but has become anxiety-inducing these past two years.




It has been a long week, and tomorrow is looking just as long, but it’s been a beautiful Sunday that I plan to cap off with the new videos from the French train nerd YouTube channels I subscribe to and maybe even some Stardew Valley.




The more Grammarly ads I see, the more my skepticism of them grows.




Just finished two phone calls that I’ve been dreading and putting off for weeks, and both were fine. I’m relieved, but it’s also a stark reminder of how high my anxiety has been this semester.


đź”— linkblog: just read 'Taika Waititi to adapt The Incal for the screen | Boing Boing'



Taika Waititi is doing a movie based on a Franco-Belgian comic, and I am very excited. I haven’t read this series, but it’s time to fix that.




It is flannel shirt, heavy gloves, and balaclava season for this bike commuter, and I couldn’t be happier.




Thanks largely to traveling, I powered through my first Franco-Ontarian novel over the past few days, and it was delightful. Some of the best Francophone books I’ve read have been purchased used for about $5, so hooray for used bookstores.


đź”— linkblog: just read 'Bugs Bunny's Official D&D Character Sheet Is A 15th-level Illusionist | Boing Boing'



A fun article that reminds me of my plans to create a Cleric of Trickery based on George Smiley for an upcoming 5e campaign.




Why did no one tell me there’s a new Stromae single???


đź”— linkblog: just read '42 years later, how 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' has endured : NPR'



Posting this for hoopy froods to read.


đź”— linkblog: just read 'A squeaky glove compartment accidentally sounds like light jazz | Boing Boing'



This delights me to no end.


đź”— linkblog: just read 'Shang Chi Director: American Born Chinese Series for Disney+'



Tentatively excited! Such a great comic—they’d better do it justice.




Two years ago today, I visited a mental health therapist for the first time and immediately wished I’d done it a decade earlier. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself, and I can’t recommend the experience enough.




Here I am, refreshing local news to get sports updates—not because I care about the game, but because I want to know when my neighbors will stop yelling at their TV.




On one hand, I am worried about the platformed internet. On the other, I realize that the phenomenon of “in cab” train videos probably wouldn’t exist without a centralized, problematic behemoth like YouTube, and that would make me sad.




It amazes me how many people there are who think it’s acceptable to ride a scooter or a skateboard the wrong way down a bike lane.


đź”— linkblog: just read 'The Melting Face Emoji Has Already Won Us Over - The New York Times'



I immediately connected with this emoji the first time I saw it. Also, I remember writing a paper in high school arguing that emoticons were legitimate “language.” The paper was horrible, but I still believe in that central thesis, and I think emojis are vindicating it.


🔗 linkblog: just read 'The train that shrunk France… and Europe | Ars Technica'



TGV forever


đź”— linkblog: just read 'Y: The Last Man's Collapsing Infrastructure Scariest Part'



So far, I’ve only watched the pilot and am not sure how far I’ll make it in the series, but this article reinforces my belief that 2021 can do more with the premise of the series than 2002 did.




Currently reading Hervé Le Tellier’s « L’Anomalie », and it is so dang good. An English translation (The Anomaly) is coming later this year, so I’m going to go ahead and recommend this book to everyone.




This weekend, after over a decade of off-and-on attempts, I finally read the entire run of Y: The Last Man. Turns out the upcoming Hulu adaptation was a good motivator.




I was made aware of an unexpected generational divide today when one of my first-year students announced that as far as he was concerned, there were only six Star Wars movies.


đź”— linkblog: just read 'This chainless drive system could revolutionize e-bike designs  - The Verge'



Keeping an eye on this! E-bikes are exciting.


🔗 linkblog: just read 'Anne Hidalgo demande aux cyclistes de ne pas dépasser les automobilistes pour éviter de les humilier'



Passing a car through an intersection or keeping up with it in a roundabout is one of the greatest pleasures of commuting by e-bike.