Frogsmoke

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.

Pretty Pictures. Click each for source & bigger.

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

By Stephan Pastis, 2003. Click for source.

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)

Pretty Pictures. Click each for source & bigger.

A black-and-white French art film about the existential angst experienced by a house cat. By Will Braden. Run time: 2.5 minutes. [youtube]0M7ibPk37_U[/youtube] Via Neatorama

By Darby Conley, 2006. Click for source.

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

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.

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?

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 [...]

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":

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

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 [...]