Happy Bastille Day! Here's some photos of women of French ancestry to help you enjoy the day

Ooo, la la

And that's why we love them so.

Musical discoveries of the week

In my travels across the vast series of tubes we now know as the internet, I've discovered this great new to me musical group from Canada:
They're known as The Good Lovelies. They play really fun and harmonious 'roots' music. I hate that term but they use it themselves so I can as well. In their case 'roots' means they sing and back themselves up with guitars and mandolins.
All three of the are hubba hubba to the nth degree and even more than that what I love about them is how much fun they look like they are having while singing and playing their distinctive music.There's nothing better than being entertained by smart, funny, uber talented women.

Here's a great video of theirs:


While at my local library yesterday I perused the jazz CD's. And it was there that I found this great CD:I'm totally in love with this French jazz vocalist now. She sings predominantly in English on this CD but when she sings in her native tongue, it's va va va voom and hubba hubba all wrapped up in one beautiful package. Her English songs are flawless and they have that cute sound that non native speakers have when they use our language.
I highly recommend both Ms. Knopfler and The Good Lovelies.

A Monkey Movie Review

We watched this last night:
Everyone's favorite French pixie, Audrey Tautou, plays a scheming gold digger who only dates men with money. She mistakes a hotel employee for a rich guy and she sleeps with him twice in two years before she finds out he's a broke ass working stiff. He falls in love with her, pursues her, catches her, and then she cleans him and his bank account out. Then it gets interesting. Her would be paramour gets rescued by a rich older good looking widow who turns him into "kept man." He and Audrey's character then trade notes on how to clean out rich sugar daddies and sugar mommas and they slowly fall in love.

In other words, it's a perfect French romantic comedic farce. And I loved it.

Okay, I'll admit I love most anything Audrey Tautou does. She could read the phone book in French while dressed in sack cloth and ashes and I'd watch. She is the reason I sat through The Da Vinci Code, so there you go. She's very cute and believable in this movie. Her co-star is one of those sad sack looking French guys who the chicks go crazy for and he's more than up for the task of playing opposite Ms. Tautou in this film.

I highly recommend this film. I really enjoyed it. And don't let the fact it's in French with English subtitles throw you off or dissuade from watching it. Go ahead and live a little and watch a movie with subtitles from time to time, it won't kill you, you big baby.

Let's go back in time...

...to hear the predictions about the future from Michelle De Nostradamus.
Bon jour everyone! Welcome back to 1965! We use lots of exclamation points here in the murky almost sepia toned past!! Don't be afraid, but do hang on and check out some predictions I made years ago. Let's see how they turned out, shall we? Of course we shall or I wouldn't be in this blog post!!

In 1965 I predicted: That an unpopular President of the United States would step down during the middle of an unpopular war that was waged so that munitions companies could clear out their inventories. Turns out I went one for two on that one. But maybe I'll get lucky and Bush will resign or get impeached soon.

In 1965 I predicted: Men would one day walk on the Moon, marry one another, and yet still be insensitive bastards. I got two out of three.

In 1965 I predicted: The rich powerful countries of the world would eradicate poverty and hunger in the poorest countries. I had no idea they'd do it through war, neglect, and multi national corporate oppression.

In 1965 I predicted: That Richard Chamberlain would father a child with Barbara Streisand. I'm allowed one miss. Which is one more Miss than Mr. Chamberlain had, zing!

In 1965 I predicted: That United States citizens would have universal health care for all by the year 2006. Turns out I was right, well if you count only members of Congress, the President, and all the members of his cabinet as citizens.

In 1965 I predicted: That aliens would come to the USA. If you count all the damn illegal Belgians and Albanians who slip into the USA over the Mexican border then I was right!

In 1965 I predicted: That affordable housing would be found for all people who want it. If you count cardboard boxes as houses then I got this one right too!

In 1965 I predicted: That monkeys would finally reproduce the works of Shakespeare on those typewriters we gave them. Those darn simian writers did me one better, it turned out they came up with blogs like this one! And this one.

However in 1965 I had no idea what the hell a blog was. Sacre bleu, my head lamp that I use to peer into the future is giving me a head ache. I must retreat back to the past and have wild promiscuous sex with many sexy young men and women while I gobble up fine gourmet food and wine. Adieu!

A second helping of Two for Tuesday

Here's posters for the first two French films I ever saw:

I saw this one in the late 60's in school one day in Detroit. I loved it right off. I saw it again around 1993 when I rented it on video and it was still magical.

I saw this in 1992 or '93 back when I was heavy into Jim Thompson novels, it got me off Jim Thompson novels for awhile and heavy into Isabelle Huppert.

Debate news

Well the Democrats held their 15,000th debate of 2007 last night at Dartmouth, or as it's known to the rest of the Ivy League as the school those who can't get into any other Ivy League institution go to, and I think you know who I'm going to declare the winner. It's Kucinich of course!! Once again he rolled the field up in a strawberry flavored double wide (kids ask your parents to tell you what I'm referring to here) and he smoked the field.

So if Dennis was the winner, then who was the loser besides the rest of the field? Why it was that huge tool Timmy "Can I plug one of my shitty books now?" Russert.

I think most of you know which massive tool I really wanted to put on here but decorum forbade me to. He asked such demeaning questions that it made us all here, Sparky and I, at el Casa de Monkey sick. How great was Gravel when he said he loved sticking it to the credit card companies for his $85,000 credit card debt? How much did you love Kucinich's answer to Tim's attack on Kucinich's decision, which turned out to be the correct one, not sell Cleveland's electrical system into private hands? How much did you retch when Russert asked, "What is your favorite Bible verse?" I threw up in my mouth when I heard that question and Sparky said, "Did he really just ask them what their favorite Bible verse was?" Holy crap, he should have asked which version of the Bible they prefer, which apostle was the dreamiest, which Jews do they want to save from the lake of eternal fire, and what they'd wear on their dream date with grown up Jesus. Those questions would have had just as much bearing on how good a President they'd be as the Bible verse question. Hang on, shouldn't the NRA's favorite gun lover Bill Richardson given Russert a verse from The Sportsman's Bible? Hey Tim, my favorite Bible verse, in case you were wondering, is from the book of Monkey and it says, "Thou shall not ask asinine questions that pander to the small minded pricks who helped put your pal George Bush in power." Everyone knows that most of them wouldn't vote Democrat even if Jesus was the nominee anyway, so why bother?
In other debate news I'm going to join the chorus of male and lesbian bloggers who really really really want this gal from French TV to be the moderator for the next 12,000 debates. Is that so much to ask? If we have to sit through them then why not give us a little eye candy with a sexy accent. As an added bonus she could ask all the questions in French and the candidates would get no translator and have to answer as best they could.
Heck while I'm dreaming of ways to make the debates more French, oops, I mean, more interesting, then how about we get Sandra Lou to sing Banana Split every time one of the candidates refuses to answer a direct question. Why then those stodgy old debates would be two hours of a sexy French babe singing and shimmying around! Vive le France! Vive Sandra Lou! Vive Banana Split!

In other debate news the Republicans, after refusing to debate in front of African Americans, gays and lesbians, and Hispanics, have finally settled on the audiences for their next three debates. October will see them debating in front of their base, the Neo Nazis.
In November they'll court the all important skinhead vote in a debate scheduled to take place at Tom Metzger's house.
And finally in December they'll get a white Christmas when they debate in front of the guys and gals of the KKK.
Unless they get eaten by Rex the Wonder Horse that is.

Actually that horse belongs to Sparky's sister. It's a fine looking animal don't you think? I'm betting it's smarter than the guy all the Democrats are running to replace. Hell, I'm not betting, I know that horse is smarter than our Idiot in Chief.

Update: For a peek at what may be a formidable Republican ticket go see Devilham.

Did someone request an angst ridden French woman?

Really? No one did? Well sorry, she's here and now you'll just have to listen to her.

Ah mon petit lapin Charlotte, when will we be together? Jamais? Mon dieu, now I am as sad and as angst ridden as you. Oh well. Life goes on.