Category: Fourre-tout

On January 5, I recorded the Golden Globes awards ceremony to watch at a more convenient time.

When looking at such an event, I usually don’t pay too much attention to the self-serving speeches spouted out by the laureates. I focus on what they are wearing and il y a toujours quelque chose qui me chiffonne, there is always something that ruffles my feathers.

An actress does not necessarily have a sense of style or fashion. A thespian is generally good at inhabiting characters, but is not a fashion expert. And they are bound to make mistakes.

A prime example of this kind of faux-pas was Jennifer Lopez; she was wearing a fairly decent dress but… with an enormous bow tied in front of it. Garish and ridiculous. And most probably very uncomfortable.

A lot of her associates showed the same lack of judgment. Kerry Washington (whom I usually like) wore an absolutely tasteless outfit. Why did she have this insane desire to baring her meager breasts? This was not a bit attractive.

Salma Hayek, on the other hand, looked stunning. She sported a very simple outfit showcasing her own Golden Globes. She did not feel the need to expose unnecessary skin. When it comes to fashion, simplicity and restraint are the keys to elegance.

‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’ – Leonardo da Vinci

Jody Comer covered up by a green potato sack looked pathetic. Da’Vine Joy Randolph wearing an overworked purple dress looked monstrously ugly… Ellen DeGeneres looked weird… Scarlett Johanssonwearing a red, unflattering deep V-neck dress would have been better inspired to lose her voluminous sweep train. Carol Burnett was wearing an ugly suit and Ellen DeGeneres looked peculiar.

If you have no sense of fashion, you should have the perspicacity to rely on a professional. And there are plenty of those around.
I just happen to know somebody who is doing an excellent job advising women on how to dress and I recommend her. She is called Abi and runs a lively website named “Update Your Style”. Look at it.

 A sense of fashion is not an innate gift. You have or you don’t. If you don’t have it, there is definitely no shame in seeking somebody who could help you to look your best.

To be stylish, above all, keep it simple!

Alain

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Due to technical difficulties, my site was down for a few days. It is now back up and running. Sorry for the inconvenience.

So, how cold was it last Sunday, are you going to ask? Well, my friends, it was so cold that squirrels wore fur hats and Alpine insulated jackets.

But this did not prevent pétanque enthusiasts to answer the call of the cochonnet. They trickled in one by one, and around 9:15 a.m. I counted 16 hearty souls ready to rumble; 8 plucky women and 8 macho men, to be precise.

Two games were played in the morning and two more games in the afternoon. The winners of this tournament would be decided by the number of games won and by the lowest amount of points accumulated.

The morning games proved a little challenging due to the biting cold. I caught myself saying “My balls are cold and difficult to hold”. (sic) I haste to say that it sounded extremely funny to the people around me.

It was difficult to play due to the multiple layers of clothing we had to wear. We had to choose between keeping warm and hampered, or being free to move and exposed to hypothermia. I chose to keep warm.

In this tournament, I had the good luck to be paired with Francois Moser, my old partner in crime. He pointed so amazingly well, that I immediately dubbed him “Bras d’Or” (Golden Arm). Due to his prowess, we managed to win four games out of four, and be in a good position to snag First Place, and a heavy pot of gold.

But it was not to be. Our setback was due to our last game where we faced 2 determined ladies. A certain Tamara and a ringer called Liza Moran gave us a hard time and we barely managed to win the game 13/12.

Mark Shirkey and Noel Marcovecchio also won four games and beat us to the finish line by a few points.

Regardless… In spite of the uncharitable weather, it was a great day and I am pretty sure that some chilly fun was had by all.

Final results

1^st place: Mark Shirkey & Noel Marcovecchio
2^nd place: Alain Efron & François Moser
3^rd place: Tamara Efron & Liza Moran

Alain

PS: I also had a problem with one of my cameras and I had to delete all the defective shots. What you will see on SmugMug was taken exclusively with my iPhone 11.

Privacy? What privacy?

We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government.
William Orville Douglas 

Google is by far the most popular search engine in the world, and chances are that you are one of its users. But by doing so, you allow Google to collect an amazing (and disturbing) amount of information about yourself.

If you are a regular Google user, you have no privacy. Big Brother knows your name, your gender, your birth date, your cellphone number, where you live, where you work, where you go, what you like, what you watch, what sites that you have searched, etc.
It probably knows more about you than your own mother.

To its defense, Google allows you to control what you want to divulge about yourself, but navigating through its privacy labyrinth is an extremely laborious process… and few people bother to venture there.

Google, by the way, is not the only company collecting personal data. They all do it. Your personal information is now floating in cyberspace for anybody to grab. And crooks of all creeds and colors are on the lookout for it.

The real danger though is when politics are involved. It would now be very easy for a totalitarian regime to trace and detain anybody disagreeing with its policies.

Few people might think about it, but we are scarily close to Nineteen Eighty-Four. In 1949, George Orwell already imagined what such a society would be.

With cameras popping up everywhere and with face recognition software already widely used, there is no privacy anymore. We are already under the scrutiny of Big Brother. With its society now extremely polarized, it would not take very much for an American hardliner to take over and adopt spying technologies to frighten and control the masses.

“Religion is the opium of the masses” said Karl Marx. True, but not anymore. Smartphones are now much more addictive and dangerous than religion.

Kids today could not exist for three minutes without their smartphones. They would feel like fish out of water. If you would take it away, they would get in a withdrawal slump almost instantly and methadone might be needed.

Regardless or maybe ignorant of the danger, there is little chance that people will stop and desist. They will continue to use (and abuse) their smartphones. It is too devilishly appealing and convenient to give it up.

Just like any addiction, people won’t stop until something drastic happens. And it might be too late.

Alain

PS: Do yourself a favor: go to your Google Account and scrutinize your Privacy Checkup.