As of June 2007, I have redesigned and relaunched the site at www.thedissidentfrogman.com/blog
This page won’t be updated anymore, and remains here for archiving purposes. After all, that’s a piece of my history.

I’m just next door, really. I have consolidated all the content of the site since 2002, and I’m running on a much improved software.

Please update bookmarks and blogrolls:
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com (preferred)
or
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/blog

See you there.

A compter de juin 2007, j'ai redesigné et relancé le site en www.thedissidentfrogman.com/blog
Cette page ne sera plus mise à jour, et demeure à titre d'archive. Après tout, c'est un morceau de mon histoire.

Je ne suis pas loin, vraiment. J'ai consolidé tout le contenu depuis 2002, et je tourne sur un logiciel bien plus amélioré.

Merci de mettre à jour bookmarks et blogrolls:
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com (de préférence)
ou
http://www.thedissidentfrogman.com/blog

Rendez-vous là-bas.

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October 16, 2003

Neighboring a Bit • Voisinons un Brin

Fired from France by the dissident frogman

But first, a statement: look at the French title of this post and particularly my use of the verb "voisiner". Unless I want to make fun of something or someone, this is just about the only time you will see me using one of those locutions so archaizing that the only place where they can still be seriously written or pronounced is Quebec.
As a fact, what really p* me off with *some* people in that French speaking hole enclave is their consistent efforts to be more French than the French (Which has to be pathological by the way. I mean nobody else in the world would do that willingly. Probably even not the French themselves.) in all possible negative aspects: "involved" lecturing brawlers singer, spineless politicians, nanny state, Socialism and last but not least "culture" and the rear guard struggle for "identity", principally via the "defense" of the French language and the censorship of anglicisms.

Can't stand those Talibans of "Frenchitude".

Now if it's so excruciating to "grow under the rose" guys, I suggest you pack your bags, come back under the... Well, "Je me souviens" that the lys has been beheaded by another rose since the last time you were here, so what about colonizing Corsica, integrate with the Corsicans (Bingo. That means playing the Beast with Two Backs with their women and vice versa. Lucky you.) so we can see who's going to assimilate the other first? At least that'll reduce the hotbeds of nuisances, thank you very much.

End of the informative digression. And so much for the Real World neighboring.
Back to virtual neighboring and the blogosphere: I've been way behind just about everything lately (mainly because of my plot to take over the blogosphere) and although I quietly yet fiercely tried to catch up with the rolling thunder of excellent new blogs popping everywhere and update my blogroll accordingly (I know I missed a lot anyway) I wanted to grab your attention on the following:

Brant has a pair of splendidguns, a sure taste as far as Hispanic is concerned, that would be mine as well (and I praise myself on the fact that unlike Brant, I have little to care about not telling anybody. Sorry Brant.) and, as it should be obvious by now if you were curious enough to follow the previous link (Now try to put so many "vious" in so little space and then we'll talk) Brant also has a blog and its name is Strange Women Lying in Ponds yet I don't believe either that this is how one should be granted supreme executive power but I do believe this is the end of the sentence, so you can relax now.

I had the pleasure to exchange a few emails with Brant in the early days of the dissident frogman and got a foretaste of his writing talents by reading some of his columns in the Prague Post (that you can find linked from his shiny new blog as well). It seems that he's maintaining the quality, or possibly improving it, since one of his recent posts made it as an op-ed article in the Jewish Press. We ought to be jealous but we'll keep a straight face.

I congenially suggest you go and read Strange Women Lying in Ponds.

If suggestion is not enough, I can still borrow one of Brant's gun.
This one is for my French reading audience. I know there's probably not many of you, but that guy put up such a lot of precious documents, references, audio bits and abstract from one of the man I revere the most, Jean-François Revel, that I have to bring it up nonetheless.

There's much work and efforts that were invested here and if I can, even modestly, cast a bit of light on it, I'm more than happy to do so.

Please welcome - and bookmark - Jean Baptiste's "Tout sur Jean François Revel pages.
Mais d'abord, une déclaration : jetez un oeil au titre français de ce post et notez particulièrement mon utilisation du verbe "voisiner". Sauf quand il m'arrive de vouloir m'amuser de quelque chose ou de quelqu'un, c'est à peu près la seule occasion où vous me verrez utiliser l'une de ces tournures tellement archaïsantes qu’elles ne peuvent plus guère être sérieusement écrites ou prononcées qu'au Québec.

De fait, ce qui me les brises avec *certains* dans ce trou cette enclave francophone, ce sont leurs efforts soutenus pour être plus français que les français (Ce qui doit être pathologique par le fait. J'entends par là que personne d'autre au monde ne le ferait volontairement. Probablement pas même les français.) en tous les aspects négatifs possibles : braillards chanteurs "engagés" et donneurs de leçons, veules politiciens, état providence, socialisme et, dernier mais non des moindres, "culture" et lutte d'arrière garde pour "l'identité", principalement par la "défense" de la langue française et la censure des anglicismes.

Je ne supporte pas ces talibans de la francitude.

D'ailleurs, s'il est tellement insupportable de "croître sous la rose" les mecs, je vous suggère de plier les gaules et revenir sous le... Bon, "Je me souviens" que le lys a été décapité par une autre rose depuis votre dernier séjour par ici, alors pourquoi ne pas coloniser la Corse, vous intégrer aux corses (Bingo. Ca signifie jouer à la Bête à Deux Dos avec leurs femmes et vice versa. Petits veinards.) afin que nous puissions voir qui va assimiler l'autre le premier ? Au moins, cela réduira les foyers de nuisances, merci beaucoup.

Fin de la digression informative. Et autant pour le voisinage dans le Monde Réel.
Retour au voisinage virtuel et à la blogosphère : je me suis trouvé pas mal en retrait sur pas mal de choses dernièrement (en grande partie à cause de mon complot pour dominer la blogosphère) et malgré mes efforts discrets mais néanmoins furieux pour me tenir au fait des vagues d'excellents nouveaux blogs apparaissants un peu partout et mettre à jour mon blogroll en conséquence (Je suis conscient d'en avoir manqué beaucoup malgré tout) je voulais attirer votre attention sur ce qui suit :

Brant a une paire de splendidesrevolvers, un goût très sur en ce qui concerne l'hispanisme, que je partage sans réserves (et je me félicite de ce que, contrairement à Brant, je n'ai que peu à me soucier de le dissimuler à quiconque. Désolé Brant.) et, ainsi que cela doit être évident dès à présent si vous avez été suffisamment curieux pour suivre le lien précédent (Maintenant essayez de placer autant de "ent" dans aussi peu d'espace et on pourra causer) Brant a un blog également et son nom est Strange Women Lying in Ponds pourtant je ne crois pas non plus que c'est ainsi que doit être accordé le pouvoir exécutif suprême mais je crois que c'est la fin de la phrase alors vous pouvez vous détendre maintenant.

J'ai eu le plaisir d'échanger quelques emails avec Brant durant le prime jeunesse du dissident frogman et avais eu un avant goût de ses talents littéraires en lisant ses éditoriaux dans le Prague Post (que vous pourrez trouver également lié depuis son beau blog tout neuf). Il semble qu'il maintienne la qualité, et probablement même qu'il l'ait améliorée, considérant que l'un de ses posts récents est devenu un article dans the Jewish Press. Nous nous devons d'être jaloux mais resterons impassibles.

Je suggère amicalement que vous alliez lire Strange Women Lying in Ponds.

Si la suggestion ne suffit pas, je peux toujours emprunter l'un des flingues de Brant.
Celui là est destiné à ceux parmi vous qui peuvent lire le français. Je sais que vous n'êtes probablement pas bien nombreux, mais ce mec a mis en ligne tellement de précieux documents textuels et sonores, références, et extraits de l'un des hommes que je révère le plus, Jean-François Revel, qu'il me fallait le mentionner.

Beaucoup d'efforts et de travail ont été investis et si je peux, même modestement, braquer quelques projecteurs dessus, je le fais avec plaisir.

Veuillez accueillir - et bookmarker - la page "Tout sur Jean François Revel par Jean Baptiste.

Comments

Come on Froggie , Give us unilinguists a break. I'm sure Revel is a gold mine of information. From the looks of the site it is extensive. But inspite of having the French sounding last name (Mayeau) i can't read it. I would be deemed a complete illiterate in Quebec.

By the way does Mayeau have some meaning in French? I'm hoping it translates to "warmonger" or "spearfisher" or something cool like that.

Posted by: Papertiger | October 17, 2003 11:52 AM

Papertiger,
Amaxon has given folks like us a break. Amazon now has Revel's book, Anti-Americanism, in english. (It may be Valerie, but I grew up speaking Enlgish and German.)

Posted by: Valerie, the other | October 17, 2003 12:11 PM

http://users.wolfcrews.com/toys/vikings/ found this VIkingkittens video .
It's Led Zep's Immigrant song.

Posted by: Papertiger | October 17, 2003 02:28 PM

Yeah, ok, you're right that the Quebecois are insecure in their "French-ness" and ovedo it in weird pre-Napoleonic ways sometimes... but if you had to live next to ever-bitter Tory ex-Americans on one side (Canadian Ontario) and Yankee puritans on the other (New England) you'd appreciate the time capsule of old-world isolationism Quebec has wraped itself in to survive over the centuries. They actually came within a couple thousand votes in the 90's of splitting Quebec (New France?) off as an independent Country.... but did Paris help or care? nope. And to add insult to injury, Quebecois pilots flying into CDG airport are asked by the Parisian air traffic controllers to speak english because their French is called incomprehensible!

I suspect French-Canadians receive the same general treatment from French as Americans do from English... (probably the English squirm more). Freakish cousins from the 18th century they might be, but you gotta admit that North America would be a much more interesting continent if come the next referrendum an independent Nation of Quebec (New France) suddenly popped up between the US and Canada.

Posted by: Alexander Crawford | October 20, 2003 12:01 AM

Alexander:

Well, nope. Sorry. I don't think I "have to admit" anything like that.

As a fact, I wrote the exact opposite.

I believe that's a hint.

Posted by: the dissident frogman | October 20, 2003 07:33 AM

Fair enough. A single statist Canada where all power radiates outward from Ottawa is obviously more interesting. I stand corrected.

Woe for North America that the British lost Wolfe! Had he survived the seven years war the continent might even now be enjoying the homogenous and enlighted rule of England! Woe.

Posted by: Alexander Crawford | October 23, 2003 09:59 AM

Oh. I see. From exception to generalization right? From atypical to global?

Interesting way to think.

Anyway, this is history and there's little we can do to fix it.

However, I've heard that some Karzai guy is trying to swallow up the "independent" tribes of Afghanistan, aided and abetted in that by those "Yankee puritans".

Surely there's something you can do to stop that infamy?

Posted by: the dissident frogman | October 23, 2003 10:12 AM