A few posts ago, I recommended several podcasts to help the French learner immerse him or herself in some genuine content. Shortly thereafter, a blog that I follow and have previously recommended, Mode personnel(le), launched a delightful podcast of the same name.
Each episode is short, maybe only seven minutes, and tells the story of the special relationship someone has with a piece of clothing – like the woman who bought a second-hand dress that seemed to be cursed or the man who bought a new shirt every day while he lived in Hong Kong so that he would always look fresh. The host, Isabelle Thomas, a stylist who writes her blog for the French paper L’Express, simply introduces the story and then all the rest is told by the guest. This is great because you get to hear all sorts of different accents and rates of speech. The concept is fun and I look forward to each new bite-sized weekly episode.
What would your clothing story be if Isabelle Thomas interviewed you? I think mine would be about a favorite pair of red shoes I had when I was a little girl and the strange way I came to own them.
I just finished a book that I procrastinated in so long that it moved with us twice, 
The approved protocol was for the cuckolded husband to remain quiet and accept honors from the king – better titles, plum sources of revenue, nicer châteaus – as a sort of spouse rental fee. Montespan wouldn’t play along, and this is the story of how that worked out for him.
I recently watched 
This film brought so many pieces of my life to mind. I used to work for a judge who heard cases of abuse and neglect of children. I also served on a juvenile justice committee and was briefly a foster parent to a troubled teenager. Certainly, the sense of people being locked in a cycle of violence and neglect was present. My judge had been seeing some of the people who appeared before her for years before my clerkship and no doubt still saw them long after I had moved into private practice. It was interesting to see the informal way cases involving children were presented in chambers in France rather than with robes and a high bench. Some parts of the film were highly realistic portrayals of juvenile justice cases but others not so much. For instance, social workers who assault their clients don’t just get a reprachful look from the judge!
The movie did well at the César awards in 2016, winning two of the top prizes for the male leads and being nominated for an additional six categories. In English, the title is given as “Standing Tall,” but a more literal translation would be something like “Head Held High.” I didn’t love the film, but it sure made me appreciate my own parents and reminded me of why I left law!
The exhibit had stunning jewels, to be sure, but I learned a lot as well. For example, the Maharajas adored emeralds – the larger the better. In the West, we worry about perfection and avoiding inclusions, so the emeralds get cut down to chips, losing all their glorious impact. Then, I learned that it was men who wore the fabulous ropes of pearls and diamonds, not women. They were symbols of power, not pretty baubles.
East Meets West: Royal Jewels from the Al Thani Collection
My latest francophile read is 
The novel I’ve been reading is 
I recently watched 
There’s a naturalness to Huppert’s acting – you feel as though you are truly watching her life. L’avenir (lav-en-eer) literally means “the future,” and the viewer is left with the belief that the future is quietly optimistic for Huppert’s character. There are English subtitles, but the dialogue is generally slow and clear enough for a high intermediate student of French to understand. The final scene is a family Christmas dinner, so it’s even seasonally appropriate.
L’Avenir
