Au Cochonnet Marin

Father Time is a grouchy old man, seldom kind to anybody or anything. He works a little bit like termites, silently and insidiously, and you rarely notice any change in your environment… until you stop running and assess your balance sheet. You are usually shocked. Nothing or nobody looks the way you remember it.

Yesterday, I enticed my consort to have lunch in San Francisco’s  Marina district where I previously resided for 25 years. It turned out to be a major disappointment.

Chestnut street which looked pleasant 30 years ago, now looks shabby. Due to Covid, all the eating places have hurriedly built ugly street additions, which makes the whole area look like a refugee encampment.

With cars double-parked everywhere, and cheap fast-food places encroaching the whole area, the place looked as appealing as Murder Alley. And some guy lying motionless on the sidewalk did not help to correct this first impression.

The only saving grace in my eyes was a spotless, newly opened business named La Fromagerie. As the name indicates, it is a cheese shop that features French cheeses, salads, and sandwiches. You can also buy some “saucissons, rillettes and croissants”.

I struck up a small conversation with one of the young French ladies behind the counter and she proved friendly and helpful. I would have been happy to have lunch there, but unfortunately, the place is rather small and cannot accommodate any sitting customers. It is still worth a visit. I bought a “Rosette de Lyon” saucisson and left.

We also drove through Union Street which looked a little more appealing than Chestnut Street, but ultimately, we decided to leave the city and have lunch in Sausalito instead. A wise decision. Probably due to Covid, and the afflux of homeless people, large cities are becoming less and less welcoming every day.

We finally stopped at Fred’s in Sausalito and sat down for some good old-fashion eggs Benedict. Impersonal, hurried junk food, or “malbouffe” as the French call it, is definitely not my cup of tea. Life is too short to waste a single second on bad food or bad company.

“You cannot go back in time, even if you wish it with every fiber of your being, your heart and soul, even if you think about it every day. Trust me. I know.”

Alain

Ah, a brand-new, shiny year… pregnant with good resolutions… But it seems alas that these admirable decisions (probably made under the influence) are always taken too soon. Never hurry to implement important changes.

“Once my decision is made, I hesitate for a long time.” Jules Renard

So, do I. It is wiser and more mature.

When deciding on New Year resolutions, you should not be too ambitious. Your goals should be modest and reachable, otherwise, they will quickly fall apart and leave you disheartened.

A few days ago, I was having lunch with some friends, and we discussed our goals for the new year. We are not kids anymore and we usually weigh our thoughts carefully.

My first guest quickly revealed his decision. I will continue to smoke he said. We all nodded in agreement. A reachable goal indeed. Not too ambitious, doable to be sure.

The second guest said: I will continue to eat.  Another mature, sensible resolution. To endure, you need to nurture the body.

When my turn came, I said: I will continue to breathe. A resolution that was also warmly approved by my friends.

Another friend decided to lose weight. A good, but difficult objective. When we told her so, she simply said “I will just avoid anything that makes me look fat… mirrors, weighing scales, photos…”

We thought this was very clever, and we congratulated her for a smart, feasible decision.

Friends are important. They advise you and encourage you when you need help. But there are friends, and there are friends… They all rate differently. They are kind of like boobs… some are little, some are big, some are genuine, and some are fake.
So, when you decide to befriend somebody, please choose carefully, and go along with what you feel comfy.

“To like and dislike the same things is what makes a solid friendship.”

To sum it up, let’s resolve this year to make better bad decisions! May the Farce be with you!

Alain

Writing is not for sissies. It is a complex, time-consuming process that requires hard work and perseverance. Due to its complexity, few people choose to make a career of it.

But spurred by Artificial Intelligence, new applications are emerging every day to make writing easier. Last weekend, I was told about a program that caught my interest. It is called ChatGPT and it is able to create any kind of document providing that you first feed it specific instructions or pertinent vocabulary.

The following document was entirely created with this program after it was supplied with about a dozen words.

Women standup comedians have made important contributions to the field of sex education. They use their platforms to discuss and address issues related to sexuality and relationships in a humorous and relatable way. They helped to destigmatize these topics and make them more approachable to audiences. In doing so, they can help to educate and inform people about important issues related to sexual health and relationships.

Women comedians often bring a unique perspective to these issues, as they may have personal experiences and insights that are different from those of their male counterparts. This can help to add diversity and depth to the conversation around sex education.

It’s also worth noting that sex education is not just about imparting information, but also about creating a safe and supportive environment for people to learn and ask questions. Women comedians played a vital role in creating this kind of atmosphere by making it okay to talk about these issues openly and without embarrassment.

Artificial Intelligence can be very helpful for writing and can save time by automating certain tasks or suggesting edits. However, it is important to carefully review and edit any text generated by ChatGPT or any other AI tool, as it may contain errors or inconsistencies.

Alexandre Dumas père (The Three Musketeers) who was a prolific writer (and even a greater spender), was known to use various collaborators to expedite the completion of his novels. He would have loved this application which would have kept his pesky creditors off his back.

Alain