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Welcome to Frogsmoke, your daily dose of untold stories, unseen images, and unsung heroes from France, brought to you by Romke Soldaat.

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Archive for November, 2008

When Motor Rallies Were Still Adventures

In 1908 the French newspaper "Matin" organized a motor rally from New York to Paris via the Bering Strait. Six teams from America, France, Germany and Italy took part. Here are two photos of that grueling event, one century ago.

Find more photos here.

Postcards from France

Pretty Pictures. Click each for source & bigger.

France Wallpapers

Discover a great source where you can find 25 large-size (1600×1200) wallpaper photos, including these two (click for bigger):

Comic du Jour (24 & Final)

By Stephan Pastis, 2003. Click for source.

Antoine Helbert’s Masterly Paintings

Antoine Helbert is a master painter, sculptor and illustrator from Strasbourg, France. His styles of graphic, fashion, history, and advertising are very different, but equally outstanding.

Click for bigger
Find 48 of his paintings here. (Each one is clickable for maximum size)

Postcards from France

Pretty Pictures. Click each for source & bigger.

The Ennui of Henri

A black-and-white French art film about the existential angst experienced by a house cat. By Will Braden. Run time: 2.5 minutes.

Via Neatorama

Comic du Jour (23)

By Darby Conley, 2006. Click for source.

When Terminologists Have a Board Meeting

French cultural watchdogs keep looking for francophone equivalents of those perfidious English words. Of course, nobody uses their proposals because they are too silly to remember. Here's a choice of official boarding terminology:

An aéroplanchiste on his planche aérienne
aéroplanchiste (skyboarder)
aquaplanchiste (boardsurfer)
nivoplanchiste (snowboarder)
véliplanchiste (windsurfer)
FranceTerme

Around the World in 116 Beers

A thirsty blogger in Montpellier found out that 116 countries in the world make beer. All but three are listed here. This one represents France:

It's a shame they picked Kronenbourg, which is hardly the best beer in France. Beerhunter Michael Jackson found some better French brew.

Help the Chef!

Another vintage puzzle from Agence Eureka (click for bigger):

This forgetful chef has lost a duck, a rabbit and a spoon. Can you find them?

Another Friday in France

Links for 28 November 2008:
Latest: Sarkozy Loses Appeal to Block Sale of Presidential Voodoo Doll
Ulcers and muscular paralysis: French Court Fines Power Grid for Harming Animals
Airbus A320: Seven dead after jet crashes off French coast
"The Pink Wall" France returns Matisse painting stolen by Nazis
Back to May 2007: Number of unemployed tops 2 million
Expensive scrap metal: [...]

Sarkobama

A new magazine is hittting the news stands today with a cover designed to catch the eye:

Nonfiction calls itself the "magazine of books and ideas", and claims "an original approach which leaves room and time for reflection and analysis."
Unfortunately, the cover of their first issue is hardly an "original approach":

What are they selling here?

Click to reveal full ad by a French agency with an extremely lousy website.

100 Stars for Press Freedom

It has become an annual tradition for Reporters sans frontières (Reporters without borders) to publish a book featuring 100 thematic photos. The latest edition is coming out next week, with 100 photos of (mostly movie) stars, created by agency H&K.

Click for more & bigger photos
The cover features the always-stunning Sophie Marceau. The other two [...]