Who to root for in Rugby World Cup Final b/w All Blacks and France: Unless you're married to Binoche, Doutey, Delpy or Frégé, root for New Zealand

Elodie Frégé -Et maintenant (circa 2004)

http://youtu.be/sAsbjfHK0b4

Who to root for in Rugby World Cup Final b/w All Blacks and France: Unless you're lucky enough to be married to Juliette Binoche, Mélanie Doutey, Julie Delpy or Elodie Frégé, root for New Zealand

Match starts Sunday at 3:45 a.m. Eastern Time

You can watch LIVE in U.S./U.S. Territories for $29.99 via

https://secure.universalsports.com/login.html?pid=10512&newsid=302445

Same-day tape-delay on Sunday on NBC-TV from 3-6 p.m,

Repeats Sunday on NBC Universal Sports/DirecTV Channel 625 from 8-11 p.m.;

Monday 12:30 a.m.-3:30 a.m.

http://www.universalsports.com/news-blogs/blogs/blog=thescrum/postid=562642.html#it+comes+down+this

I watched most of the France-Wales semi-final match, as well as the third-place match between Australia and Wales.

The question of the day at BFM TV's website, http://www.bfmtv.com/

Mondial de rugby : le XV de France a-t-il une chance de battre les All Blacks?

This was BFM TV's last rugby-related video of Saturday, taken at l’Hotel de Ville de Paris.

http://www.bfmtv.com/video-infos-actualite/detail/le-rugby-fete-l-hotel-de-ville-paris-1817508/

Oui, since I mentioned her among other Gallic super-talents j'adore, I went 'old school' up at the top of the blog by posting an older clip of Elodie singing "Et maintenant" on Star Academy seven years ago, the year she won by virtue of her deep emotional connection to TV viewers. They love her!

D'accord!

"Et maintenant" was a song I once knew backwards-and-forwards when I was the top French student at NMB Senior High in the late '70's, and we'd often hear that song on certain Fridays as sung by the immortal Gilbert Bécaud.

That happened when my great teacher, Pearl Chiari, decided that we all needed a change of pace, and needed some genuine French culture and musical immersion while we took turns reading Pearl's collection of Paris Match and Le Point instead of simply using our ALM text books.

It was positively shocking to me once I got to Bloomington and came to realize how very little of consequence the other smart students in my French classes at IU -from all over the country- actually knew regarding French life, culture, politics or traditions -good and bad- much less, how little they knew about how and why the French think and act the sometimes peculiar way they seem to -again, good and bad- at least from an American or British p.o.v.

My insight came from the best French teacher there was -Pearl.

If DVD technology and the Internet had existed then, Pearl's easy manner and charm would've helped her make a fortune selling DVDs and teaching people how to speak French.

Gilbert Bécaud - Et maintenant (1962)

http://youtu.be/hmSBAJdie7E

France has all this, let New Zealand have something to celebrate!

-----

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliette_Binoche

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9lanie_Doutey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Delpy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lodie_Fr%C3%A9g%C3%A9

http://www.melaniedoutey.org/

Elodie's YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/elodieonlineCOM

Thoughts on the modern tradition in France of succumbing to sycophancy and high self-regard. Oui, "Un certain regard."; DeGaulle

French culture discussed by an informed and erudite Englishman!

http://youtu.be/Dmh880HAOZU

Thoughts on the modern tradition in France of succumbing to sycophancy and high self-regard. Oui, "Un certain regard."; DeGaulle

This very interesting audio track about contemporary French cultural and political life -which I came across completely by accident this past weekend while looking for something else dealing with BBC Radio- is the polar opposite of the chestnut I grew-up knowing so well that ends -at least, the version of the old 1940's maxim I often heard- "that France is not great because DeGaulle is in France, France is great because France is in DeGaulle."

C'est vrai!

DE GAULLE TRIUMPHANT

Newsreel video: British Pathe Gazette: The Voice of Britain: DE GAULLE TRIUMPHANT, April 11, 1960

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=41380

1945 - YOU WERE THERE WHEN HISTORY WAS MADE

Newsreel video: British Pathe Gazette: The Voice of Britain: 1945 - YOU WERE THERE WHEN HISTORY WAS MADE, December 27, 1945.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=43988

FRANCE 24

France 24 broadcasts from Paris 24/7 in English to bring you the French perspective on the world.

http://www.france24.com/en/aef_player_popup/france24_player#

France 24 News homepage: http://www.france24.com/en/

2011 Valentine's Day video #1: Élodie Frégé & Michał Kwiatkowski - "Viens jusqu'à moi"

Élodie Frégé & Michał Kwiatkowski - "Viens jusqu'à moi"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU-ldqcvjow

I've seen many versions of this catchy 2004 song by Élodie Frégé & Michał Kwiatkowski floating around on YouTube over the years, but this is by far the best quality audio AND video, so I'm using it today on Valentine's Day for reasons that should be obvious.
I can't even begin to tell you how many hundreds of times I have listened to this sweet and simple song, since Élodie's voice is SO... entrancing and hypnotic. 

In my head, wearing my director's hat, the other thing I like is that this is precisely how I'd have shot a music video of two angst-filled people singing about one another, too. 
With simple song lyrics appearing around them on everyday objects as they walk thru the city, thinking about the other. 
Sublime AND Magnifique!

Plus, as it happens, Élodie and I share a birthday - demain. (Tomorrow, February 15th.)

I know exactly what you're thinking... 
IF two of my favorite actresses, Julie Christie or Faye Dunaway had a French daughter who could sing like an angel...
IF George Clooney ever directed a serious film drama about the French Resistance, he must cast Élodie as the French cabaret singer-slash-resistance fighter with moxie who gives the Nazis all kids of fits...
Just saying...

Élodie's official website is http://www.elodiefrege.com/
You can follow Élodie Frégé on Twitter via @elodiefrege https://twitter.com/elodiefrege

SVT video of Saab's nEUROn fuselage for new UCAV; Will Brazilian President Rousseff ditch French and buy Saab's Gripen or Boeing F-18 instead for $4B?

SVT Rapport - Här är Saabs nya stridsflygplan
Here's Saab's new fighter plane.
http://svtplay.se/v/2307433/har_ar_saabs_nya_stridsflygplan

This video ran on Wednesday night's Swedish TV (SVT) thirty-minute national newscast and has some English but is mostly in Swedish.

This particular video is available on the SVT Play website until January 25, 2012, and if you are curious enough to want to watch the entire newscast, which features an interesting report on security in Moscow -at 10:56- following the Chechen suicide bombing last week at the airport, you can see it at: http://svtplay.se/v/2307476/rapport/25_1_19_30_-_textat?cb,a1366518,1,f,-1/pb,a1366516,1,f,-1/pl,v,,2308531/sb,p103263,1,f,-1

I've selected the version of the newscast that has closed-captioning so that you can see what some of the words you are hearing actually look like, as it's more logical than it sounds. You can watch the newscast vid until Tuesday February 1st, and as always, I recommend that you hit the Full screen button on the bottom right marked "Fullskärm."
The story on the fighter plane comes on at 19:39.

Saab delivers nEUROn fuselage to Dassault Aviation

http://www.shephard.co.uk/news/uvonline/saab-delivers-neuron-fuselage-to-dassault-aviation/8187/

Also read this story on the $4 billion sale of 36 fighter jets to Brazil from France that may be on the verge of collapsing under new Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and the possibility that Saab or Boeing will swoop-in and take it from Dassault, lock, stock and lavalier.

"Rousseff has indicated she wants to review the political agreement between the two heads of state and "start over" the evaluation process that pitted the Rafale against Boeing Co.'s (BA) F-18 and the Gripen made by Sweden's Saab AB (SAAB-B.SK)"

Dassault Workers' Bonuses Hinge On Rafale Export Deal
January 25, 2011, 10:29 A.M. ET
By David Pearson of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110125-710700.html


Gripen's current website -in English- at http://www.gripen.com/en/index.htm is moving to http://www.saabgroup.com/gripen

Photos of Gripen is at:
http://www.saabgroup.com/Air/Gripen-Fighter-System/gripen-downloads/Image-bank/

There's a video in Portuguese on Saab's website about their efforts and capabilities there:
http://www.saabgroup.com/gripen-for-brazil

Here's the Saab JAS 39 Gripen in Flight [HD]


Saab JAS 39 Gripen (Griffin) Fighter in Flight [HD]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSJ4i8IExjY