AliThinks

Gripe

It annoys me when American journalists insist on perpetuating the stereotype that French people say "ooh la la" all the time.

Guess what? They don't.

Local

During the course of the weekend's events, I had the pleasant experience of being recognized by no less than three people. They either read my blog (Hi, Ashley!) or knew me from Flickr.

I must say, that felt pretty good. I've lived here for two years now, but only recently have I begun to realize how important local connections can be. I mean, I have local friends, but I think I'm starting to build a network.

Yokel*

This past week has proved to me, not that I ever doubted it, that this is one cool town. Besides the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club concert last Saturday, we've been to two other concert events this week, (one at our friend Lolli's shop, Isle Of You) and we'll attend an all-day music festival tomorrow.

The week's events were part of WRFL's 20th anniversary celebration. The student-run station went on the air on March 7, 1988 (I was already DJing at my alma mater! I'm OLD!) and has run continuously since. It was the first station in Lexington to play metal, rap, and hip-hop, and it did not shun the bluegrass music, oh no. Ashley Judd had a show on WRFL, and many of the other DJs/founding members have gone on to various creative careers around the nation.

Anyway, having been a DJ at my college, I'm pretty excited by all the events in Lexington this week. I should have some photos up on Flickr soon.

*I don't think I'm a yokel. I was just trying to rhyme with LOCAL. I'm actually rather erudite cultured. You know, like yogurt, only not quite as tangy.

More Geekery

I am using BlogIt, a new Typepad application for Facebook, to post this blog entry. So essentially, instead of using Typepad, I'm doing this in Facebook.

Not sure yet, but this might change the way I blog. I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook recently, after months of inactivity there. It's helped me get back in touch with a whole bunch of people. I don't much like all the silly applications, but I've added a few (like Scrabulous!).

One other unrelated thing: lately I've been getting e-mails requesting me to mention causes or services on my blog. I haven't responded or done anything, because a) my readership ain't that great anymore and b) I do maintain that I will keep the blog ad-free, unless I'm sure I can make more than 50 cents a month in ad revenues.

Have any of you bloggers received similar requests? And do you have ads on your blog or not? If so, do you make any money? Does it cover the cost of hosting, or more?

How To Beat The Blues When Your Kids Return To France

1) Meet up with friends at a downtown bar.

2) Go next door to The Dame to see Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.

3) Enjoy the music fully.

4) Say hello to Michael Been of The Call, father of Robert Levon Been of BRMC, and sound man for the band.

5) Resist singing "Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya" to him.

6) Sing it anyway, because it's a fucking great song. And then take a crappy cell phone picture with Michael Been. (Because HELLO, STARSTRUCK!) 

7) Go back to the bar next door and have another beer or two.

8) Flirt a little with Peter Hayes of BRMC while he plays darts. (Because HELLO, STARSTRUCK! And also, ADORABLE TINY ASS!)

9) Think about the fact that I gave Michael Been and Peter Hayes my MOO card(s).

10) Hope that they see this blog entry. Hello, fellas! Thanks so much for coming to Lexington!

11) Thank the Internet Gods for helping me find Radio Paradise five+ years ago, because that's where I first heard (of) BRMC.

12) Smile wistfully, because my kids are now safely back in France.

I Almost Forgot

Today's my blogiversary. Four years ago I started a little blog on AOL (shut up). Here's the first entry.

Two things: I moved most of those entries over to Typepad. And I have no idea why that blog is still available. I stopped using AOL as an ISP (and for everything) a few months after my first post there.

It's A Small, Small, Small, Small World

It's A Small Small Small Small World, originally uploaded by Alison.

OK, I know I said I wasn't blogging, but my kids are asleep, and this is something I wanted to post last week while I was in France. However, I didn't have the USB cable for my phone with me, and the e-mail setup didn't work (this photo is floating around in the ether right now), so it had to wait.

Here's what I posted at Flickr:

I couldn't believe what I saw as I sat at a stoplight in my former hometown in France: a University of Kentucky bumper sticker on a car in front of me. First of all, the French don't do bumper stickers. Second, The University of Kentucky, located in Lexington, Kentucky? The place I now live represented in the place I used to live?

If the light hadn't been about to change, I'd have gotten out of my car and knocked on the driver's window. As it was, I was lucky to get this shot.

Click on the photo to see the note I placed on it, and view it large here.

On Hold

No blogging for the foreseeable future. I've got other cats to whip right now*.

*J'ai d'autres chats à fouetter, the French equivalent of "I have other fish to fry."

Wakin' Up With SpongeBob

It was either that or the Wii.

Since Allan is still asleep, SpongeBob it is.

One Reason I Love France

Stinky cheese for breakfast*. Mmmmmm.

St. Félicien, if you're curious. It's actually not that stinky. And the French don't typically eat cheese for breakfast.