Greetings everyone,
Josh
[Just a quick plug for some new photos, check out the Paris People and Paris Artsy pix at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7531775@N04/sets/ for photos from the end of Sara’s brother’s visit, our friends Anne and Corey’s visit, and Sara’s and my trip to Alsace.]
Now onto the blog…
I know, I know, everyone likes Sara’s blog entries more than mine. Hers are natural, mine are didactic (and use words like “didactic”). Hers put people at ease, mine make people feel “creepy.” Hers provide a disarming peek into daily French life, mine provide an alarming peek into my disturbing thought process.
OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating the dichotomy (there I go again…) for fun. But just in case Sara’s got ahold of a winning formula that maybe I can imitate, I figured I’d take a stab at a blog entry, Sara-style. Sara supports this, she knows I’m just teasing, and that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It’s more of a tribute than a spoof. Okay, maybe 50/50.
From my careful analysis, a Sara-style blog entry requires three things:
1.) a compound title for the blog entry, X and Y, or to put it in Mad Libs format, [noun] and [noun]
2.) a pithy but satisfying moral in the conclusion, beginning (in spirit, if not literally) with the clause “Well, I guess that just goes to show that…”
3.) gratuitous fruit and vegetable references
Well, without any further ado, here’s my shot a Sara-style blog:
FRANCE AND FANTASY ISLAND
I don’t know if you’re like me, but I grew up on re-runs of 1970s and 1980s TV shows. Some of my favorites were “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “The A-Team.” These shows were great, because they had some characters that returned each week, there were also new faces each with their own new plotlines each week. These new characters generally were in just one episode, stating their life problem at the beginning of the show, and usually having it resolved by the end of the show.
In “The Love Boat” and “Fantasy Island,” the folks with the problems were a bit more proactive, actually going to the trouble of showing up on the Boat/Island. On “The Incredible Hulk” and on “The A-Team,” our wandering heroes would show up in town and discover the locals’ life problems that way. (I’ve never seen the show, and it’s more recent than the others, but I think “Touched by an Angel” is in this camp too.)
Well, the other day, as I was putting away some zucchini and plums, it occurred to me that we definitely have the makings for the same kind of “problem solver” TV show right here in Paris. Our show would be “Love Boat” / “Fantasy Island” style, though, since our help-seekers come to us, in the form of visitors. Is stress affecting your health? Did you just suffer through a tough break-up? Do you need to get out of your small town pronto? Do you want to finally see if all those insults about the French are really true? Need a romantic getaway? Want to get engaged? Want to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary? Just need to eat, drink, sleep, read, shop, and/or walk an enormous amount? These are all reasons for which people plan to visit us, have visited us, or conceivably could visit us.
You can almost imagine Sara and myself on the gangplank of the Boat or the dock of the Island, greeting our guests Stubing/Roarke-style, shaking hands with our new arrivals as they show up, and hearing their tales of woe. Then, at the end of the episode, we’d be back in our same places, receiving thanks
for making everything better. Sara and I would have to film the scenes in the dark and dreary “arrivals” area of Charles De Gaulle Airport, which is unfortunate, but I think it could work. (Of course, we would have to eat lots of mushrooms and other things rich in Vitamin D to make up for the lack of sun.)
[Silly blast from the past, a bad joke from elementary school: What kind of M&Ms does Tattoo like? “The plain, the plain!” Did you know, by the way, that Herve Villechaize was French? And close but no cigar, but “The Love Boat” theme just came up on my iPod?]
When we see how much joy our visitors get from their visits here, and how it goes such a long way towards helping them put their priorities in order, it reminds us just how lucky we are to be here. Being here is not just a gift for us, it is also a gift for our visitors—how many would not have come to Paris if we hadn’t provided them with a convenient excuse/deadline?
For our visitors, the week or two they spend with us are the highlight of their year. We get 52 of those weeks, and even though we realize how spoiled we are, it’s still a very humbling prospect. (Don’t worry, we don’t really have the God complex, we just figure any help or fun folks get out of their visits here is pure gravy!)
Well, I guess that just goes to show that life is like a box of chocolates, or in our case, the two euro grab-bag produce bins at the market—you never know what you’re going to get.
Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t really pull off a fully Sara-style blog entry. David Letterman says, “There’s no off position on the genius switch.” I suppose there’s also no off position on the Josh wordy/lecturing/sarcastic/vignette switch either. But I guess that just goes to show up…oh, never mind.
Now onto the blog…
I know, I know, everyone likes Sara’s blog entries more than mine. Hers are natural, mine are didactic (and use words like “didactic”). Hers put people at ease, mine make people feel “creepy.” Hers provide a disarming peek into daily French life, mine provide an alarming peek into my disturbing thought process.OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating the dichotomy (there I go again…) for fun. But just in case Sara’s got ahold of a winning formula that maybe I can imitate, I figured I’d take a stab at a blog entry, Sara-style. Sara supports this, she knows I’m just teasing, and that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It’s more of a tribute than a spoof. Okay, maybe 50/50.
From my careful analysis, a Sara-style blog entry requires three things:
1.) a compound title for the blog entry, X and Y, or to put it in Mad Libs format, [noun] and [noun]
2.) a pithy but satisfying moral in the conclusion, beginning (in spirit, if not literally) with the clause “Well, I guess that just goes to show that…”
3.) gratuitous fruit and vegetable references
Well, without any further ado, here’s my shot a Sara-style blog:FRANCE AND FANTASY ISLAND
I don’t know if you’re like me, but I grew up on re-runs of 1970s and 1980s TV shows. Some of my favorites were “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “The A-Team.” These shows were great, because they had some characters that returned each week, there were also new faces each with their own new plotlines each week. These new characters generally were in just one episode, stating their life problem at the beginning of the show, and usually having it resolved by the end of the show.
In “The Love Boat” and “Fantasy Island,” the folks with the problems were a bit more proactive, actually going to the trouble of showing up on the Boat/Island. On “The Incredible Hulk” and on “The A-Team,” our wandering heroes would show up in town and discover the locals’ life problems that way. (I’ve never seen the show, and it’s more recent than the others, but I think “Touched by an Angel” is in this camp too.)
Well, the other day, as I was putting away some zucchini and plums, it occurred to me that we definitely have the makings for the same kind of “problem solver” TV show right here in Paris. Our show would be “Love Boat” / “Fantasy Island” style, though, since our help-seekers come to us, in the form of visitors. Is stress affecting your health? Did you just suffer through a tough break-up? Do you need to get out of your small town pronto? Do you want to finally see if all those insults about the French are really true? Need a romantic getaway? Want to get engaged? Want to celebrate a birthday or an anniversary? Just need to eat, drink, sleep, read, shop, and/or walk an enormous amount? These are all reasons for which people plan to visit us, have visited us, or conceivably could visit us.You can almost imagine Sara and myself on the gangplank of the Boat or the dock of the Island, greeting our guests Stubing/Roarke-style, shaking hands with our new arrivals as they show up, and hearing their tales of woe. Then, at the end of the episode, we’d be back in our same places, receiving thanks
for making everything better. Sara and I would have to film the scenes in the dark and dreary “arrivals” area of Charles De Gaulle Airport, which is unfortunate, but I think it could work. (Of course, we would have to eat lots of mushrooms and other things rich in Vitamin D to make up for the lack of sun.)[Silly blast from the past, a bad joke from elementary school: What kind of M&Ms does Tattoo like? “The plain, the plain!” Did you know, by the way, that Herve Villechaize was French? And close but no cigar, but “The Love Boat” theme just came up on my iPod?]
When we see how much joy our visitors get from their visits here, and how it goes such a long way towards helping them put their priorities in order, it reminds us just how lucky we are to be here. Being here is not just a gift for us, it is also a gift for our visitors—how many would not have come to Paris if we hadn’t provided them with a convenient excuse/deadline?For our visitors, the week or two they spend with us are the highlight of their year. We get 52 of those weeks, and even though we realize how spoiled we are, it’s still a very humbling prospect. (Don’t worry, we don’t really have the God complex, we just figure any help or fun folks get out of their visits here is pure gravy!)
Well, I guess that just goes to show that life is like a box of chocolates, or in our case, the two euro grab-bag produce bins at the market—you never know what you’re going to get.
Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t really pull off a fully Sara-style blog entry. David Letterman says, “There’s no off position on the genius switch.” I suppose there’s also no off position on the Josh wordy/lecturing/sarcastic/vignette switch either. But I guess that just goes to show up…oh, never mind.Josh
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2 comments:
I like your blogs Josh. They make me laugh. =) Both of yours are intriguing. :)
Good words.
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