Les Nuits Blanches

Every year in France, they do this thing called "Les Nuits Blanches".
If I remember correctly, it is when the museums stay open until something like midnight, and it is either reduced admission or free to get in. As I remember it, it mostly consisted of standing in incredibly looooong lines at a time when you could totally be having a drink instead in a bar that probably wasn't too crowded since everyone was trying to get into a museum.

Anyway, this year, I did not go out for Les Nuits Blanches, but the H and I did hear on the news that four people broke into the Musée d'Orsay, smoked a cigarette, peed on the floor, and then vandalized a Monet painting by putting like a 4 inch slash mark in it.

The H was very upset, being French and all, but was mostly upset at how stupid it made France look. He said: "I hope this does not make it into the international press! It's like, these people broke into the museum to smoke, pee and rip up a Monet. And it was all caught on the security camera! Where was the security guard during all this?" To which I replied, "Well, you know, some people really just are not big fans of Monet paintings. Maybe the people who did it have some sort of beef with him. Like, maybe they think Monet is totally overrated? And the security guy was probably sleeping - I mean, it was pretty late. And this will most likely make it into the international press - the painting is pretty old and worth lots of money."

And indeed, I found the article in the New York Times this morning.

In sharp contrast to this embarrassing incident, the French miraculously beat the All Blacks from New Zealand in what I think are the quarter finals of the rugby world cup. I was pretty annoyed about it, mostly because before the game started, French TV spent an awful lot of time on it - what with following the French fans on their trips to Cardiff, and pointing out how the New Zealand team would for once not really be the "All Blacks" because they had to wear gray. This was followed by a lot of subtle gloating on the part of the French, where they mostly bragged about how they retained their right to wear blue (all French national teams seem to always be called "Les Bleues" because their uniforms are blue, but weirdly enough, the French soccer team always wears white, even though they are also called "Les Bleues"). There was also a lot of speculation by the French that the All Blacks would lose because they would be in gray, which would be a major distraction to them - possibly distracting enough that they would lose their concentration and the French would win. The H was feeling all torn up inside: "I am a huge fan of the All Blacks, but I feel like I am supposed to support the French team because I am French." I pointed out that he should support whomever it is he wants, but that we both knew that should the French win, no one in this country would EVER hear the end of it. I also pointed out that there was no reason for New Zealand to lose, and that was all a bunch of hooey about the uniform colors, since that is never really a factor when it comes to athletic ability.

Hmmmmph! Well, France won, even though it was only by a few points, if I recall correctly. And of course, we still have not heard an end to the gloating being done on TV, especially in the news, which has been dedicating the first 20 minutes to nothing but rugby. Oh, and of course, the omni-present Sarkozy was there too, and was all shouting and pumping his fist when France won, and hugging random people. (His face was also flushed a deep shade of red, which again confirms my suspicion that he is an avid drug-user).

I wonder if maybe the gray really did distract the All Blacks?