David Jaggard
C’est Ironique: A note to readers
Signing back in – sort of
As some readers know, I am also a composer. Since I started writing C’est Ironique in 2010, I have been saying, mostly to myself, that I was developing the “humor lobe” of my brain so that someday I could combine … Read More
Weird English Shop Signs: One More Time!
Signs, Signs and Signing Out
My dear readers! After seven years, four months and nearly 300 articles, I have decided to stop writing C’est Ironique on a regular basis. An irregular basis is not out of the question, but it’s time for me to … Read More
Are Parisians Happy All the Time?
The Rules of English Are Different in French
Here’s a simple three-step experiment that anyone can do in the comfort of their own home: Step 1: Go to Paris. Step 2: Throw a rock. Step 3: See what you hit. And here’s the answer: you will hit a … Read More
The Death of French, Three Words at a Time
Has George Takei Opened a Marketing Firm in Paris?
A week ago I posted a photo of a French (I repeat: French) magazine entitled “Oh My Mag.” For those who prize and appreciate the French language, that by itself is offensive enough, but in fact it’s only the tip … Read More
The Death of French, 100 Words at a Time
The Slightly Thicker Edge of the Wedge
As I seem never to tire of pointing out, English business names, most of them terrible, are becoming more and more common in France every day. I’ve written some two dozen articles lamenting this trend and still, for some reason, … Read More
Thanksgiving in France: A Crosscultural History, Unsullied by Facts
Over the Seine and Through the Bois
Editor’s note: This piece was first published in Paris Update in November 2016, but Thanksgiving is forever, and so is David’s origin story, so here it is again. Every year on Thanksgiving, I make a big fire in the living … Read More
Restaurants in Paris: I’ve Got a Sure-fire Concept
There’s a Niche (or Something) Just Waiting to Be Grabbed!
A new restaurant just opened in Paris. I realize that I could make that same seven-word statement every 15 minutes 24/7 without fear of being wrong, but this one has something that the city’s other restaurants don’t. Or rather it … Read More
International Cuisine in France: The Quest for Authenticity Goes On
At Last, a Real Mexican Restaurant!
A couple of weeks ago I posted a photo of a Paris restaurant that says it makes tacos but fails to back up that claim in the images on its facade. This week, for the benefit of anyone who might … Read More
Love Locks in Paris: The Fake Tradition From Hell
Will This Inanity Ever End? (Scientific Conclusion: No)
It’s being hailed as a major breakthrough. A team of French researchers, now considered shoo-ins for next year’s Nobel Prize in Physics, have discovered the only force in the universe more powerful than the inescapable gravity of a black hole: … Read More
Life in France: Explaining the Inexplicable
It's Not as Simple as A, B, C
The photo here shows the Hall 1 boarding area of Gare de Lyon, Paris’s main station for trains heading south. Notice anything? Actually, I’m sure you don’t, because the photo’s too small. Have a look at these closeups of the … Read More