Like any two developed countries active in the international arena, France and the United States maintain a balance of commercial trade. France gives the United States haute couture, cognac and Daft Punk, and the United States gives France iPads, pink-slime … Read More
France is a land of many mysteries. Some, like the identity of the Man in the Iron Mask, have been a source of fascination to historians for centuries. Others have been a source of fascination only to me for about … Read More
When a solar eclipse swept across Europe last month, the cosmic event inspired me, and I’m sure many others, to ponder some of life’s unknowable mysteries. Specifically, the unknowable mystery that preoccupied me most was: the Flintstones. Or rather Stone … Read More
When the Euro Zone authorities put the new currency into circulation on January 1, 2002, I, and the Euro Zone authorities, expected it to generate a plague of problems, ranging from conversion errors to price gouging to tantrums. It didn’t. … Read More
Ah, For a Breath of Fresh Outdoor Air! This is an actual photo from the Tour de France in the 1920s. It’s surprising how few riders smoke during the race today — wouldn’t top-level bicycle racers want the benefits of … Read More
My wife Nancy used to be close friends with an American woman who had lived in Paris in the late 1940s and early ’50s. One day they were talking about what the city was like back then, and the older … Read More
I once ate a frozen hamburger. Oh wait — that sentence is not entirely accurate. Let’s take it word by word: “I” is true — this really happened to me. “Once” is also correct, in the sense of both “at … Read More
One of the great things about learning a foreign language is that it gets you into all kinds of messes. Specifically, I’m thinking about the muddles, mix-ups and snafus that arise when two bilingual people aren’t sure which of the … Read More
I have no desire to contribute to any bias-tinged, futile but impassioned online debate. So I’m going to start by explaining what this article is not about. It’s not about terrorism, anybody’s religion, the comparative atrociousness of different atrocities or … Read More
The first time I went to Seville, I missed out entirely on one of the most important aspects of the local culture. In my report from two years ago, I discussed the city’s lovely and ubiquitous orange trees, its beautiful … Read More
