rue-madame's Diaryland Diary

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guide du Fucktard

Yes, Michelle, it IS that woman!! It is one of the most annoying newsletters I have ever subscribed to, and seriously, I have subscribed to too many in my lifetime. The writing is pretentious and irritating, and it makes ChicBeat look like poetry.

Honestly? I bet I could write a better Parisian newsletter from sleepy old NewHavenWhichIsNeither. And manage to be up-to-the-minute in spite of my not being in Paris. And I guarantee that it�d be typo-free. It just makes me crazy the misspellings in French�these authors claim to have their fingers on Paris� pulse yet none of them can ever manage to properly write a single French word without making a mistake. I know I have an advantage there, but still. A little respect for the language would be nice.

I mean, the �rue Louis Weiss�? C�mon, open your Plan de Paris and LOOK AT THE STREET! It�s Louise with an E, not Louis! �Rue de Four�? It�s DU, not DE! The other thing? Stale, reheated news. �Paris Plage�? Didn�t the New York Times cover that, like, 4 years ago?

When I want information about a city, I don�t want to know what fascinates the tourists and the expats�I want to experience the place as a native does. And I expect people who live in the culture and write about it, well, I expect them to work from the point of view of an acculturated person, not an outsider.

The reason I am always disappointed, I think, is because when I am somewhere unfamiliar or different, I make a point to avoid the English-speaking community. How are you going to learn anything new if you do not immerse yourself in your surroundings? What�s the point of travel or living abroad if you aren�t going to open yourself up to unusual experiences?

Maybe I should write a book about that. Feh.

5:08 p.m. - 2005-07-21

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

previous - next