Marion Cotillard (born September 30, 1975, wiki) is an Academy Award, BAFTA, two-time Cesar Award and Golden Globe winning French actress. She is notable for becoming the first person to win an acting Academy Award for a French-language performance, as Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose. She was also the first person to win [...]

Alexandra Cousteau. Environmental Advocate, Actress, Naturalist, and World Traveler
"We live on a Water Planet. It is a unique place in that it is the only planet we know of that supports life. And in our case, that life is nurtured and sustained by water."
Blue Legacy is an initiative started by Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of legendary [...]

Not quite sure what these guys were doing — but they did it in style:

The photo (click for bigger) was shot by Jean Cocteau in 1916. According to the caption it features Picasso, Kisling, Paquerette, and M Vassilieff, but I can count only three men. The one on the right is probably Picasso.

Links for Tuesday 30 September 2008:
Surprised anyone? Nicolas Sarkozy's son Jean cleared of traffic offence
"Heavenly Venus" Art sales: £800 bronze that buffed up to £3.8 million
Emergency meetings: France's Sarkozy battles fallout from financial crisis
Diplomatically correct? France's next Vatican envoy not gay, not divorced
No safe haven: Sniper kills witness in Varces prison yard as gangs' drug [...]

French prisons are overcrowded, dirty and dangerous places, so it's cheering to see that there are exceptions: women's prison organizes fashion sow.

The girls in the Fresnes prison in the north of France had a great month. Helped by fashion professionals they learned to design and sew wonderful clothes, and were allowed to have their own [...]

From today's Ripley's Believe It or Not:

And it's true!

Always-surprising French singer Anaïs Croze with L.A. rock band The Blood Arm in a bilingual version of Do I have Your Attention:

Oh, and did I mention that Anaïs is a qualified Frogsmoker?

Different hair, different smoke, same girl

In the space of eight months, three French attempts to write history went up into thin air.
Total Pole Airship Expedition: failed on 21 January 2008

French explorer Jean-Louis Etienne planned to fly over the Arctic in an airship to measure the ice cap amid concern at the pace it is melting. Etienne’s expedition was to [...]

I won't have much time to blog today, so I'm sending you some pretty pictures instead. Click each to see the original source. Back later!

Some people don't age gracefully:

Bardot when she was still smoking hot
Brigitte Bardot (born 28 September 1934, wiki) was once a stunning beauty, and symbol of French femininity. Today, she's a homophobic and islamophobic nutcase, with multiple convictions for inciting racial hatred. No happy birthday wishes for her!

Gaming is becoming a hit in French retirement homes:

Forget crosswords and knitting: senior French citizens are discovering computer and video games. Many retirement homes are investing in consoles and brain-stimulating games. One of the toppers is Eye Gym for Nintendo DS (135,000 sold in France), but the absolute bestseller is Dr Kawashima's Brain Trainer (1.85 [...]

Links for Sunday 28 September 2008 (not a lot today…):
Explicit sexual memoir: Catherine Millet: Madame Sex comes clean
EDF Boss: "Trust us" Britain's family uranium is safe in French hands
Kristin Scott Thomas: The English Actress (Except in France)
Book review: Nicolas Sarkozy: handle with care
Music, art, cooking… The 10 best learning holidays

Forget about the high-tech human jet crossing the Channel. This man plans to do it with a pedal-powered balloon:

Frenchman Stéphane Rousson hopes to make it to the record books today as the first man to cross the Channel hanging under a homemade zeppelin. The little propellers are powered by his own legs. All he needs [...]

More Famous People in Lego

Louis Bertignac [wiki] is a French guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, and was a founding member in 1976 of the rock band Téléphone. When the band split in 1986 he formed Bertignac et les Visiteurs. In 2004, he produced, arranged and played guitar on the debut album by Carla Bruni, Quelqu'un m'a dit. Bruni in turn [...]