Frogsmoke

At least that's how they did it a century and a half ago: Le coucher de la Parisienne This photo was shot in 1853 by Félix Jacques-Antoine Moulin. In 1849, Moulin had opened a photographer's shop at 31 bis rue du Faubourg Montmartre and started producing daguerreotypes of young girls aged 14 to 16. In [...]

Disturbing pictures from Life Magazine: Nazis Meet the Firing Squad On August 25, 1944, Allied forces and French Resistance fighters liberated Paris after four desperate years of German control and a week of intense street battles. French citizens celebrated like never before … but they also doggedly hunted down those who had collaborated with the [...]

Your Thursday clicks: French debate: First it was burqas, now burgers (BostonHerald.com) Halal burgers huge success in France (RFI) French burger chain causes outrage by banning pork (Telegraph) Friendly fire in Afghanistan injured French soldiers, says inquiry (France24) French railway faces criticism in US for WWII role (Yahoo! News) In France, a Comic Who Specializes [...]

Huge fires have been raging not far from where I live — a bit scary if your house is in the middle of a forest, like mine! More pics

The travel agency of French national railway operator SNCF spent a lot of money on a new campaign, but the result is superb: an arrival or departure from the Paris Gare de l'Est which five customers won't forget soon. More of the same here. [Thanks Max]

Your Wednesday clicks: Cycling: Tour de France hero Fignon dies (The Independent) French Champagne Makers Try for a Greener Bottle (NYTimes.com) French teacher 'suspended for too much Holocaust' (Expatica France) Iranian newspaper says French first lady deserves to die (CNN.com) Lending works of art to France is a risky business, warns curator (Telegraph) Experimental French [...]

A rare aluminium-silver print by Verdeau in Paris, ca. 1860: L'Homme-chien The people in this picture are probably Adrian Jefficheff and his son. They came from the Caucasus, and performed in circus shows, together with other freaks, known as hair-people, wolf-people, lion-people and poodle-people. In the 20th century they came back as Wookiees in the [...]

I had never heard of this French band but they're magic: Caravan Palace Read more about them here

Your Tuesday clicks: Ortolans: to eat or not to eat? Activists ready to sabotage French bird-hunters (The Independent) Alain Corneau, Eclectic French Film Director, Dies at 67 (Obituary, NYTimes.com) France to tackle student housing crisis with… shipping containers (France24) Parenting study: Italians strict, French moderate, Canadians lenient (Eurekalert) Romagate: Minister cites crime statistics to justify [...]

Watergate, Romagate… Time will tell who the greatest crook was. (Photoshop montage found on Choppix)

Your Monday clicks: Jean Reno in Léon Actor Jean Reno speaks out on his compatriots’ attitude towards American cinema (Independent) Sarkozy's Security Policy Brings `Shame' on France, Socialist Aubry Says (Bloomberg) Socialist leader makes early pitch to replace Sarkozy (The Independent) Does the French Government Really Believe its own Economic Forecasts? (WSJ.com) Sarkozy’s security crackdown [...]

The French may suck at soccer but they're undisputed champions in another field: Air Guitar. Last Friday, Frenchman Sylvain "Gunther Love" Quimene was crowned World Air Guitar Champion for the second time (see yesterday's post) and his compatriot Eva Gina Runner became second best. Eva Gina is not only a very attractive hair stylist (really!) [...]

You'll be surprised… Click pic for the answer

Life reads like a novel — here are your Sunday clicks: Photographer cut out of L'Oreal heiress's will (Yahoo! News) Grandfather at the centre of Roma debate dividing France (Telegraph) Hard-Line Iran Daily Calls French First Lady A Prostitute (Radio Free Europe) French cities rally in support of Iranian sentenced to stoning (France24) Has French [...]

In the sixties there were dozens of groups in France who tried to emulate the British pop scene. At the same time there were a few singers who all wanted to be the French Elvis Presley, such as Johnny Hallyday (who later became God), Eddy Mitchell (now an actor), and Dick Rivers. Of that trio, [...]