Question du Jour #36

Close-up on our huge bowl of leftover cranberry sauce...So today is Black Friday, or, as we anglophones in Paris call it, Friday. Today is Americans' signal to turn their focus to the next big holiday at hand, which is, as far as commercialism is concerned, Christmas. Obviously not everyone in the country celebrates it, but Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice and their other winter friends don't provide much competition from an advertising and consumerist standpoint. What I'm wondering is:

Here in France, where is there is no Thanksgiving, when does it become Christmastime?

Question du Jour #35

I didn't say the scary deer was keeping me away from Orangina--just that she threatened to keep me awake nights. I try to have a big bottle of Orangina Light in our fridge at all times, because it's such a good deal: all that yummy taste for only 12 calories a glass. Particularly on a day like today, when I'm heading to Angelina for crazy hot chocolate with visiting friends later, I need to economize where I can. They've had this for years here, and what I want to know is:

Why hasn't Orangina Light made it to the U.S.?

And am I going to have to go into importing to make this happen?

Question du Jour #34

I find this Orangina ad campaign terrifying. Seriously? A seductive, bikini/undergarment-clad kangaroo smoking a cigarette? I'll have what she's having. So maybe you can help me out:

What made the ad execs think this was a good idea?

Update: An astute reader pointed out to me that this is not, in fact, a kangaroo, but a deer. Well spotted!...as it were.

Question du Jour #33

I just wanted to give Starbucks Paris a shout-out for having a keypad on their bathroom, the code for which is printed on your receipt when you buy something. This would certainly be useful in New York, where, as it's the known go-to spot for free toilet use, you never know what you're going to find in a Starbucks bathroom. Question for today:

Why hasn't New York/the U.S. caught on to this entry code thing (which is all the rage on every Parisian apartment building as well)?

Question du Jour #32

This is the line I waited in yesterday afternoon to buy a movie ticket. Unfortunately, the part of the line that was in front of me looked just like this for a while, because there was nobody in the booth selling tickets. The guy who worked for Studio Galande--seemingly the only person answering to this description--was in the theatre itself, I don't know, cleaning up?, and didn't come out to sell tickets until after the movie's posted start time. In fact, on the ticket booth, there was even this little gem:
...which is a buzzer that reads SONNEZ ET PATIENTEZ S.V.P., or "Please ring and be patient." Ring a bell if you want to buy a movie ticket?? This all leads me to ask a question I've been wondering about for quite some time, but finally have photographic evidence to back it up:

Why are French people so willing to wait in line?

It especially suprises me in a big city like Paris. In New York, people would be carrying on, complaining, storming off, but here, they seem perfectly content to while away precious minutes standing still, in the hope that their turn will eventually come around.

Question du Jour #31

This is a picture of the water that rushes out of the holes in the curb every day or two in order to clean our street. In case you're trying to read what it says on the metal plate, it says not to drink the water. You got it, fellas--promise. While NYC-style car-moving for street cleaning is a total pain for people with cars, I have to wonder:

Isn't this a huge waste of water, or does it somehow get recycled in a useful manner?

Question du Jour #30

30 questions already?! Time do fly. This above is one of the holiday windows at the Galeries Lafayette. Each of them proffers a cute or funny, but often slightly suggestive, buffet of animatronic entertainment. This gingerbread fella was davening (second definition) on the bouffanty mannequin's knee--zoom in for a better look--and a goofy little part of me wondered:

What would the offspring of a gingerbread man and a svelte fashionista mannequin look like?

AYK Bonus!

Vindicated! I couldn't help myself; I had to take this picture, and I did my best to crop it down to minimum size for recognition of the important bits without trying to exploit the individual pictured, who is lovely. This, dear readers, is a real French person--one of my Alto-section choirmates--eating, standing up, before the start of rehearsal! I was so excited! You can kind of make out the end of the pain au chocolat in her right hand. It's just so nice to know that I'm not alone, that there are other snackers--even French ones!--lurking here in Paris.

Question du Jour #29

Most of you will recognize this as Winnie, our littler little dog. She's pictured above chewing on one of the Nylabones my parents brought for the pups. She's been spending a whole lotta time chewing, which is quite unlike her. Graham's always been a heavy hitter, dentally speaking, but we had a hard time convincing Winnie to follow suit. This meant that, despite her sweet face, she had some gnarly breath. But since we've been in Paris, she has been a whole other pup. Sure, she's still generally entropy on four paws, but some things have changed. Where she was once sometimes picky, she now chows down with gusto. She runs alongside Graham to chase bones thrown across the apartment. She's a bouncier, pluckier girl (and also a little more willful, but perhaps this comes with the territory). So the question is:

What is it about Paris or the Parisian lifestyle that has transformed our little one?

Question du Jour #28

This is the dessert section of the lunch menu at l'Ami Louis, a famed old-school rotisserie on our block. Those prices are in euros, sadly, not francs. We did not order dessert. When we (Nick, my parents, and I) got there for lunch this afternoon, I was absolutely blown away by the ridiculously over-inflated prices. Could it possibly cost still more for dinner, or is it the same menu all day? I realized after we left that I had, in fact, known that this was a pricey establishment, but had totally forgotten beforehand, including when I made the reservation. Which, by the way, required calling the restaurant three times--to say nothing of the times the line was busy or they weren't answering. They didn't have a single table for dinner all week, and made me call back to confirm my reservation the day-of. I have a million questions, including: "Will my parents forgive me for thusly lightening their wallets, once they read this and realize I had once been aware of what we were getting into?" But I'm going to go with one that I believe has more universal appeal:

How can somewhere so expensive, where the service is utterly indifferent, be so popular?

Question du Jour #27

This is from a store window in Barcelona. The bride and groom look pretty happy together, sure, but my question is:

Was the bride responsible for the groom's (and perhaps the rest of the wedding party's) headlessness? If so, how does this bode for the rest of their marriage?

Question du Jour #26

Quick, macaron Rorschach test:

What does this shape look like to you?

Question du Jour #25

Anyone who has been a college student or in other low-budget, fairly low-expectation circumstances is familiar with wine in a box. This above is the yummiest bulk beverage I ever did taste: sherry in a box! Goodness me. They were serving it over the weekend in Spain in little plastic shot glasses, but once we realized what it was, I went for the full-sized paper cup experience. Dee-lightful. So what I want to know is:

When are they going to start selling this stuff in the U.S., and why don't they already?

Because I would be all the heck over it.

Question du Jour #24

I noticed when we were in Barcelona a few days ago that the "walk" signals at intersections, like the ones at home in New York, give an indication of when they are going to turn from green to red. In Barcelona, the green walking-guy light flashes a few times to tell pedestrians to hurry across the street, whereas in New York, the red not-walking-guy flashes for a while before solidly insisting that you not walk. In Paris, he turns directly from green to red with no warning. And I'm wondering:

Why do other cities let you know when cars are going to start coming, but not Paris?