Flowers field... Champ de fleurs...

My little girl just recently finished this second painting. And as I am a proud daddy, And so, here is "Flowers field, acrylics". This one will go to France also. The lucky person is already aware of it. I just have to find a way to ship it now! And this is not as easy as you think! In France, you could go to those books/stationary shops and you would most likely find a tube for the shipping! In Hong Kong, the only place I can eventually find it is at the Post Office! With my working hours, it is not convenient at all for me to go. So, most likely on this coming Saturday.

Ma fillette vient récemment de terminer son second tableau, posté ci-dessus. Et comme je suis un papa très fier, voici donc "Champ de fleurs, acryliques". Ce tableau ira en France. La personne qui a cette chance est déjà au courant. Je dois juste trouver un moyen de l'envoyer par la poste maintenant! Et ce n'est pas aussi facile que vous pourriez le penser! En France, je pourrais trouver un tube pour y rouler la toile très facilement dans une bonne papeterie. Malheureusement, ça n'est pas le cas à Hong Kong! La seule place où je pourrais éventuellement le trouver est le bureau de Poste. et avec mes heures de boulot, ce n'est franchement pas pratique pour moi. Donc, très probablement, ce sera ce Samedi qui arrive.

10 years ago... Il y a 10 ans...

Message to my better half: I love you
Message pour ma meilleure moitié: Je t'aime

The Chili Contest... only in English... Seulement en anglais...

When I am in a really bad mood ( see previous post! ), I have the perfect cure: I just need to read the following joke. It is so funny, it makes me cry... every single time!

And so I present you the CHILI CONTEST:

Recently I was honored to be selected as an Outstanding Famous Celebrity in my Community to be a judge at a chili cook-off because no one else wanted to do it. Also the original personal called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking directions to the beer wagon when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides they told me I could have free beer during the tasting, so I accepted this as being one of those burdens you endure when you're an internet writer and therefore known and adored by all. Here are the scorecards from the event:

Chili # 1: Mike's Maniac Mobster Monster Chili

JUDGE ONE: A little too heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.
JUDGE TWO:. Nice, smooth tomato flavor Very mild.
CAMERON: Holy smokes, what is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway with it. Took me two beers to put the flames out. Hope that's the worst one. These people are crazy.

Chili # 2: Arthur's Afterburner Chili

JUDGE ONE: Smoky (barbecue?) with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.
JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.
CAMERON: Keep this out of reach of children! I'm not sure what I am
supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. Shoved my way to the front of the beer line. The barmaid looks like a professional wrestler after a bad night. She was so irritated over my gagging sounds that the snake tattoo under her eye started to twitch. She has arms like Popeye and a face like Winston Churchill. I will NOT pick a fight with her.

Chili # 3: Fred's Famous Burn Down the Barn Chili

JUDGE ONE: Excellent firehouse chili! Great kick. Needs more beans.
JUDGE TWO: A beanless chili, a bit salty, good use of red peppers.
CAMERON: This has got to be a joke. Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been sneezing Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now and got out of my way so I could make it to the beer wagon. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. She said her friends call her "Sally." Probably behind her back they call her "Forklift."

Chili # 4: Bubba's Black Magic

JUDGE ONE: Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.
JUDGE TWO: A hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.
CAMERON: I felt something scraping across my tongue but was unable to taste it. Sally was standing behind me with fresh refills so I wouldn't have to dash over to see her. When she winked at me her snake sort of coiled and uncoiled--it's kinda cute.

Chili # 5: Linda's Legal Lip Remover

JUDGE ONE: Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground adding considerable kick. Very impressive.
JUDGE TWO: Chili using shredded beef; could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.
CAMERON: My ears are ringing and I can no longer focus my eyes. I belched and four people in front of me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed hurt when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage. Sally saved my tongue by pouring beer directly on it from a pitcher. Sort of irritates me that one of the other judges asked me to stop screaming.

Chili # 6: Vera's Very Vegetarian Variety

JUDGE ONE: Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spice and peppers.
JUDGE TWO: The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.
CAMERON: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous flames. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except Sally. I asked if she wants to go dancing later.

Chili # 7: Susan's Screaming Sensation Chili

JUDGE ONE: A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.
JUDGE TWO: Ho Hum, tastes as if the chef threw in canned chili peppers at the last moment. I should note that I am a bit worried about Judge Number 3, he appears to be in a bit of distress.
CAMERON: You could put a hand grenade in my mouth and pull the pin and I wouldn't feel it. I've lost the sight in one eye and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My clothes are covered with chili which slid unnoticed out of my mouth at some point. Good, at autopsy they'll know what killed me. Go Sally, save yourself before it's too late. Tell our children I'm sorry I was not there to conceive them. I've decided to stop breathing, it's too painful and I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air I'll just let it in through the hole in my stomach. Call the X-Files people and tell them I've found a super nova on my tongue.

Chili # 8: Helen's Mount Saint Chili

JUDGE ONE: This final entry is a good, balanced chili, neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge Number 3 fell and pulled the chili pot on top of himself.
JUDGE TWO: A perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili, safe for all, not too bold but spicy enough to declare its existence.
CAMERON: Momma?

Current mood... Humeur du moment...

Sometimes things doesn't work out the way you want at work... some people are so ...AAAAAAAAAAArgh !... really really not easy to deal with!...Some times I would like to be the Hulk!

Parfois,les choses ne vont pas du tout comme on le voudrait au boulot...certaines personnes sont vraiment... GGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR !... mais alors vraiment trop difficiles à travailler avec !... Des fois j'aimerai être Hulk !

My Deer... Ma biche...

I was not really happy with my caricature of Louis De Funès in a previous post
( http://mylittlecornerofweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-you-do-you-do-you-saint-tropez.html ). The face was too long, the chin was bad, and so on ... So I decided to do another try. He is really difficult to capture, but I think I am getting there! If you still don't know him, just Google his name! I will do a color version later...

Je n'étais pas franchement satisfait de ma caricature de Louis De Funès dans un précédent billet
( http://mylittlecornerofweb.blogspot.com/2008/08/do-you-do-you-do-you-saint-tropez.html ). Je trouvais la tête trop longue, le menton pas OK et j'en passe... Alors je me suis remis à l'ouvrage. Il est vraiment difficile à capturer, mais je pense que je suis sur une piste ! Je ferais une version en couleur plus tard ...

Les attachés...

Several weeks ago, my good friend André and I went to our regular Friday night spot, a pub called " L'Attaché " ( in French, hence the title ! )in Ma on Shan. This is the only one around so there is not too much choice as to where we can go if we want to have a little chat with friends. There, I usually drink a non alcoholic beverage, a Shirley Temple ( no ice, thanks! ). Yeah, I know... going in a pub and not ordering a beer is almost an insult! While he would order a beer. On that night, there was a special promotion, 2 beers and you can have a caricature by an artist. If you have spent sometimes reading my blog, you know that I try to do some caricatures myself. So I was very interested! After 2 beers, we got the chance to have our caricatures done! This gave us the idea to develop a little strip about our views on HK, France, and everything else which goes through our mind... a little bit like those 2 old men in their balcony on the Muppet Show! So expect to see something here when I have time to do something ( the list is getting longer! But I have some priorities! ). Thanks to that drawing we already found the title of the strip " Les attachés "!

Récemment, ( il y a quelques semaines ), je suis allé rejoindre un copain, André, à notre repère habituel du Vendredi soir: un pub à Ma on Shan qui s'appelle " L'Attaché " ( en français ! ). C'est le seul du coin donc pas trop le choix si on veut un endroit pour papoter entre copains. D'habitude, je commande un Shirley Temple ( sans glaçon, merci ! ), une boisson non-alcoolisée. Ouais, je sais, allez dans un pub et pas demander une bière, c'est de l'ordre du sacrilège! André lui, ben lui il commande de la bière! Cette soirée-là, il y avait une promotion: 2 bières = une caricature... Comme ceux qui visitent fréquemment mon blog l'ont déjà lu ( et vu ! ), je m'intéresse aussi à cet art délicat!...Donc 2 bières plus tard, on a eu la notre. Ça nous a donné l'idée de développer un strip sur nos points de vue sur Hong Kong, la France et tout ce qui nous passe par la tête, un peu comme les petits vieux dans leur balcon dans le Muppet Show. Donc, quand j'aurai un peu de temps ( je sais, la liste s'allonge, mais j'ai des obligations d'abord! ) , attendez-vous à voir apparaitre un strip. Grâce au dessin, on a même trouvé le titre: " Les attachés "!...

My little sunshine... mon petit rayon de soleil...

Merci Thibaud...

Recently my wife went to France for a business trip... and yes, in business class in the plane! (Lucky her!... when I go on business trip, it is in economic class... BUT I got to meet really fun people and do interesting things!). She stayed at my good friend Thibaud's place. And this great man was kind enough to give some few things for the kids and myself. So I got a Spirou ( weekly magazine in France ), Thibaud's latest comics, and this book that you can see the cover on the top. Far away from my mind to think the Spirou was cursed by Thibaud as it represented on the cover Raoul Cauvin (very prolific script writer for Spirou) celebrating his 70th birthday but after reading it I started to have some serious lower back pain problems ( the peak was those last 2 days! ). But reading "Notes" from Boulet was a great reading, the kind of book you don't put down on the night table before you have finished it! So, Thank you Thibaud! As for your comics, my dear friend, I need to read again the first two parts and I will find some times to do a review! ( Fear me, Blue blooded redhead artist! Fear me!).
So, for the few people who read this blog, if you can read French, I recommend this book for you! And for more fun, you can also go to the artist's web page: http://www.bouletcorp.com/blog/

Récemment ma femme est allée en voyage d'affaires en France ( et qu'ell se vante d'être en classe affaires dans l'avion! Moi au moins, je vois des gens bien pendant MES voyages d'affaires, et je fais des trucs super-intéressants!... même si je voyage en classe économique! Ah mais! ). Pendant son séjour, elle est resté chez des amis, les TiboDelphineRoméo. Des gens très bien! Si si! Thibaud, un grand homme plein de générosité, lui a donné quels cadeaux pour les enfants et moi-même. J'ai eu le tout récent hebdomadaire Spirou, la dernière BD de Thibaud ( même pas dédicacée, canaille! ) et la BD don't vous pouvez voir la couv' plus haut. Loin de moi l'idée que Thibaud ait exercé ces talents d'apprenti-sorcier breton, mais après la lecture du Spirou (qui avait en couverture Raoul Cauvin, célèbre scénariste prolifique des Editions Dupuis), j'ai commencé à avoir de sérieux problèmes de mal de dos ( le plus haut moment, c'était ces 2 derniers jours ). fort heureusement, la lecture du recueil de Boulet " Notes" ne fut que du bonheur. Le genre de lecture, une fois que tu as commencé le livre, tu peux plus t'arrêter! Donc, un très grand Merci Thibaud. Quand à ton album, il faut que je relise les deux tomes précédents avant d'en faire une critique ici-même ( trembles, Oh toi l'artiste aux cheveux rouges mais au sang bleu! Tremble! ).

Donc pour en revenir à "Notes", je vous le recommendes chaudement, surtout que les températures baissent en France! Et si vous voulez lire plus de choses en ligne, c'est ici: http://www.bouletcorp.com/blog/