For all you Francophiles, here is a fascinating article about France's revisionist history and Nicolas Sarkozy's attempts to correct it and rejoin NATO.
If you visit any of the villages in Normandy or other parts of Northern France, chances are you'll find monuments in the town square dedicated to the Americans. Most of these tributes are maintained by the local mayor and town council, with funds from their own coffers.
French sculptor Anilore Banon produced a gorgeous sculpture, Les Braves, which rises from the waters off Omaha Beach (2006 photo at left). Banon created it as a tribute to the American soldiers who died defending France's freedom. Read more here.
Kudos for Jon Stewart
America cheers as satirist delivers knockout blow to TV finance gurus.
Chavez turns up the heat on multi-nationals
Coca-Cola is the latest multi-national company under pressure amidst Hugo Chavez's "reforms."
And I've stopped drinking "Coca-Light" as the French call Diet Coke and Coke Zero, after reading this scary warning about aspartame's side effects.
Isabel Allende's tales of passion
Isabel Allende is one of my favourite writers; I have all her books, including a couple in Spanish. Watch her tell tales of passion here.
From Allende's book Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses, a simple and delicious recipe for Gazpacho, the cold tomato soup typical of Spain:
Ingredients:
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
1 small can tomato juice
1 pickle
1 tablespoon grated onion
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 rounded tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon vinegar
Salt, paprika and garlic powder to taste
2 tablespoons mincled cilantro
1 hard-boiled egg, diced
Preparation:
Place all the ingredients - except the cilantro and egg - in a food processor and blend. Cool in the refrigerator until it is time to serve. Garnish with the cilantro and egg.
Les beaux bébés
I couldn't resist posting another photo of the engaging Princesses Emily and Sophie:
Yes Tara! I too love Jon Stewart. I just finished watching him in fact. He knows how to get to the meat of the matter. AND I adore Isabel Allende too!
Nice Princesses above too!
xox
Constance
Posted by: Rochambeau | 19 March 2009 at 04:46
P.S. All babies are cute!
Posted by: Colette | 19 March 2009 at 00:36
I now get my news exclusively from Jon Stewart.
I love Isabel Allende.
I love gazpacho.
I love cute babies.
Thank you, Tara.
(A little telegraphic because I'm still feeling "displaced" from red-eye and mild jet lag, with the daylight savings time thingy thrown in for good measure)
xxoo
Posted by: Colette | 19 March 2009 at 00:35
What adorable twin princesses!
Isabel Allende is one my favorite authors - I admire how her passion shines through her words -- both written and spoken. I had the privilege of hearing her speak at a local university, many years ago - her storytelling powers are passionately captivating. I just realized though, when reading the recipe (thank you for sharing it!) - I haven't read that particular book! I must correct that oversight ASAP, lol. And share the aspartame link with my family. Thank you~Bisous~xOx
Posted by: tinker | 18 March 2009 at 20:32
Jon Stewart's show with Kramer - just... wow. Now if we can just stop AIG from passing out all that free candy. GRRRR.
I remember the first time I ever had gazpacho. I was a very young adult and I remember thinking "How come I didn't know about this amazing dish before this!?" and then "What else is out there in the world that I don't know about yet?" It was a small awakening.
I've made sure that my kids have dined far and wide, from the exotic or ethnic to the midwestern comfort food, from spicy and unexpected to organic and homegrown. Just last night the teen and I were having artichokes when one of his friends came over and commented "I've never eaten one of those."
Posted by: Laume | 16 March 2009 at 21:52
Andy and I sat in amazement while we watched the Jon Stewart interview with Jim Cramer. As one writer said, "they both did the public a great service with that interview" and so I'm sort of grateful to Jim Cramer for going on the Daily Show to publicly get his butt handed back to him in pieces.
Also, we stopped drinking or eating anything with aspartame in it last year. Very bad stuff.
Posted by: kim | 16 March 2009 at 18:42
Tara, a big merci for this wonderful energizing talk of Isabel Allende...I enjoyed it so much and will share it with my friends here. Oh no..feminism is not dead and we truly need to "nurture the feminine energy in men"!
Do you read her in Spanish ? wow...i'm slow reading in Spanish, haven't finished her "La casa de los espiritus" yet...
gorgeous babies too ! have a great sunny week !!
ps : and thank you so much for your comment re Madagascar. I've called up my parents yesterday and they're fine. well...as you know, the president proposed a referendum and the army obviously backs up the opponent. A bit scary in fact as he has very few political experience, is quite close to former president Ratsiraka (a total wanker, pardon my french, who is now a French resident)...well...let's wait and see
Posted by: my castle in spain | 16 March 2009 at 13:07
I simply heart Isabelle. Love her books too! And I'm going to try that recipe ~ perfect for spring ;) Thank you, lovely!
Posted by: GypsyGirl | 16 March 2009 at 10:55
I get so sick of hearing the Brits slagging off the French and how they just knuckled under during the war and aren't grateful. As you say there are numerous monuments thanking different countries for liberating them. One of those crazy things I will never understand.
Posted by: Di Overton | 16 March 2009 at 09:33
I have been protesting coke for some time now! Really, they are one of my favorite drinks but, my heart won't allow me to give them support. I love gazpacho, especially in the summer. I just had a great gazpacho- salsa the other day. This recipe sounds yum!
Triple arm pump for J.S.
How cute are these babies. So good to see them again.
xo
Posted by: Christina | 16 March 2009 at 01:06
I have to click through once dinner is done, we are late tonight.
I did know of Jon Stewart however, good for him. Too funny!!!
Love the girls! :)
And the recipe!!!!
I owe you a letter. Soon.
xoxo! Love you!
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | 16 March 2009 at 01:03
Hmmm limited connectivity and travel means that I can't sit down and listen to and read what you have here. :( Home tomorrow, will catch up this week xo
Posted by: Di | 15 March 2009 at 23:40
The Omaha Beach sculpture is striking! Wow. I look forward to visiting there sometime. And I too love Isabel Allende, though I don't have all her books. Aphrodite is wonderful. What I like about her work is the magic she so effortlessly and naturally weaves throughout her books. Magical realism--as if it couldn't be any other way. And Jon Stewart--it's always the court jester who manages to speak truth to power. What would we do without him? The twins are too adorable.
Posted by: RD | 15 March 2009 at 20:33
What a great post full of all kinds of goodies ! Those bebes are so dang cute! I have never seen a pic of the Sculptures..how beautiful. THanks for the recipe ..love gazpacho. Love that Jon Stewart too! woo! Well..I have had a great time in Portland and even tho I have to leave ..it was worth every minute of the stay. I did realize that winter weather is not my forte...Oh OH me and the weather have a go 'round don't we. Maybe I need to go to Hawaii..just kidding. Peace and Love,sistah!
Posted by: pam aries | 15 March 2009 at 20:27
Jon Stewart's interview is all abuzz here in the states. I love it. It's time people stop being so gullible to TV "news" and "entertainment." I have never drink diet drinks, all of that sweetener is so bad for you. You wonder why there is so much cancer in the world. Parents put their KIDS on this stuff! My doctor once told me "I'd rather have a real Coke every once in a while than to put that poison in my system every day." But folks think it keeps them thin. Thin vs. death? Hmmmmm. I'll stay fat, thank you very much. The hub and kid visited Normandy this past summer and brought back some touching photos. I didn't want to go. Too sad for me. Kinda like never being able to visit the Holocaust Museum in DC. It was hard enough to go through Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam. Anyway, beautiful photos.
Posted by: Rosa | 15 March 2009 at 20:05
Your links are such great touch points to what is happening in other parts of the world I would otherwise not know. Thank you! Les bebes are indeed si beaux, beaux, beaux. I was with my own granbebe (is that the word?) last night and my heart is still all jelly-like today. Those petit people can touch you in ways nothing else can! The aspertame scare circulated a few years ago, but subsided without commercial change except for a slight nod with introduction of a few aspertame-free drinks that have largely disappeared from the shelves. One of the side effects that was exposed then was joint pain. I don't know if my gradual, mindless return to aspertame consumption has created this situation, but I am having more joint pain, particularly in my hands. Thank you for the reminder. It must be done; I must go off the poison! And, finally, this is a very different recipe for gazpacho, which I love to make in the summer. I will definitely try it. Thanks again!
Posted by: Rebekah | 15 March 2009 at 19:50
I agree, the interview was priceless with Jon Stewart. Thanks for posting the link. The twins are beautiful. And I also love Isabel Allende. I just finished her new autobiography and passed it on to my massage therapist from Chili.
Posted by: marilyn | 15 March 2009 at 19:39
Jon Stewart is my total hero now. I watched that interview this morning and was so relieved that FINALLY, finally finally someone held someone to account for NOT reporting the news. It has come to this, that the Daily Show, takes to task a major network and all of the implications by the media of not being accountable to the people it is supposed to be informing. Granted, Stewart will never get the head honchos who truly are responsible because they would never deign to go on the DS, but even picking off bottom feeders like Cramer is a slap and I hope that someone at NBC actually paid attention.
Cramer's ineptitude in even a 15 minute interview was cringeworthy.
Sorry to run on about that, but I truly appreciated the cojones of Jon Stewart and everyone who helped him skewer Cramer and his network.
And those babies are incredibly beautiful!
Posted by: tangobaby | 15 March 2009 at 18:54
The video of Isabel Allende could not have come at a better time for me, for today I found out Peace Corps Volunteer, Kate Puzey, was murdered in Benin just outside of her home. As you know, my own daughter spent two years in Togo, the neighboring country. Child trafficking and prostitution in Africa, as well as many other countries, has become a way to survive. Kate lived all over the world and died in Africa doing what she believed in and was passionate about; the world can become a better place. Thank you for sharing this message of female empowerment. My heart aches for Kate's family and my prayers go out to them.
Posted by: MiddleAgedWomanBlogging | 15 March 2009 at 18:47
Oh, the Jon Stewart interview with Jim Cramer was absolutely priceless! Mr. Stewart brilliantly articulated my feelings about this entire scandalous debacle, and hopefully the feelings of many others. What those people in business, finance and the media did is unconscionable. Thank you, also, for the bbc link; I'd been wondering why Sarcozy was leaning toward Angela Merkel with respect to addressing the economy and this gives me some insight. As for the sheer numbers of Americans who participated in D-Day, I heard as a child that, basically, we helped them because they helped us in the Revolution. I love that the little princesses are literally 'in touch' with one another, calf-to-knee, hand-to-knee. Very sweet!
Posted by: Barbara | 15 March 2009 at 14:57