Grammar books often give the funniest sentences as examples. Yesterday I came across the translation for this in one of the books I am using: “As soon as he had left, she would open the windows.” Spring Has Arrived at…
I’m now getting better with idioms and subjunctive, but my overall pace of learning has slowed. I Just Noticed Our Hand Soap Is Bilingual At the beginning, French from college was pouring back into my brain, but now that…
In Chelsea today, I saw this poster at a bus stop. The guy shown in the photos is an actor from Paris who deploys innovative job-search techniques. An Actor From Paris, Seeking Work, Not Timidly I find myself leaving accents…
Yesterday I sampled something called Rocket French, from the company Rocket Languages. With offices in Santa Monica, Calif., and Christchurch, New Zealand, Rocket offers products for 11 languages, from French and Spanish to Arabic and American Sign Language. MegaVerbs! …
Last night Brandt and I stayed home and watched the movie French Gigolo (2008) with Nathalie Baye. It was available through Time Warner, on the Free Movies on Demand channel, which is channel 1006 here on the Upper West Side. For Movies…
After my transcendent run about 10 days ago, things went to hell with my back, and it became quite painful to type, and indeed to do most things. Heading to French Class Monday Night Although I have kept up religiously with…
I am a graduate-school dropout. When I was 24, I left my Ph.D. program in comparative literature, taking what is known as a terminal M.A. Although it sounds deadly, it means simply that instead of continuing my studies as…
I love bookstores and have spent a lot of time in them, but until a Google search earlier today, I had never heard of Idlewild Books, despite its foreign-literature specialty. I need to get out more. Chelsea: No Shortage of…
Don’t want to actually buy books? (Yep, intentional split infinitive; I believe in them.) Then go to the John & Francine Haskell Library, at the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF). Members can check out music,…
I am still on a quest to locate French books in New York. It is not easy. Yes, you can check them out of Haskell Library at the French Institute Alliance Française—but what if you want to buy…
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