Thursday, February 12, 2015

More fun in France...

We're having fun now! I can tell you that much. This time the fun is with the French press.

Scenes from the Louvre

First, there is a case of a French couple who own 271 art works of Picasso.

They lived on Picasso's property in the years just prior to the artist's death.  For whatever reason the great artist gave the couple the works they have since possessed.  How the art was acquired is what's fallen under the media microscope.

"Did a former electrician and his wife, who kept 271 works of art by Picasso in their garage for close to 40 years, steal the whole hoard?"

Well, gosh, who wouldn't store important pieces of art in their garage?  What are garages for if not this?

Claude, Picasso's son, has filed a complaint and hauled the couple into court.  He says the art work was never signed and is, therefore, stolen.  Apparently, Pablo signed every single piece he either sold or gave away.  Everything that remained in his possession remained un-signed.  Or so his son claims.

As I write this no verdict has been reached.

Scenes from the Louvre

In a second story, there is another big trial taking place in Lille.  It involves the former "next French President" Dominique Strauss-Kahn (aka: DSK) and a host of interesting and entertaining characters.  It's a pretty big circus with lots of amusing bits for everyone to digest.

DSK is quoted as saying that "Sex workers were equipment."

I'm curious about something.  What kind of "equipment" could DSK be talking about?  "Equipment" as in car repair?  Hmmm... no... those might be properly called "tools".  Maybe "equipment" refers to things found in a gym?  That must be it.


"Disgraced former political heavyweight Dominique Strauss-Kahn took the stand for the third day in a row in his pimping trial, where he was probed about his Paris bachelor pad..."

It must be asked: Probed, eh?  Were the gloves latex free?

One of the more colorful characters around DSK is a man named "Dodo the Pimp."  As the man's name might suggest, Dodo the Pimp appears to have provided DSK with a steady stream of ladies for him to enjoy.  Dodo even named one of his clubs Dodo's Sex Klub.  The letters spell DSK, which can't be a coincidence, can it?  So one might think this man, Dodo, must have had quite an interesting business relationship with DSK.


The Local ran a headline on their news feed that said "Dodo the Pimp claims to not be a pimp."

The comment has long since moved off the Local's front page, but the memory of it lingers in my mind.  It's easy to see the absurdity of the whole thing.

In fact, the circus has become so entertaining that the media is very happy, giddy dare I say, to report on the protests taking place in front of the courthouse.  News reports of topless women protesting DSK's sexual behaviour are accompanied by photos of the protests.

I doubt I'll ever fully understand the nuances of these kinds of events.  Still, to this simple American things can be pretty entertaining around here.  Never in a million years could I have thought this stuff up.

Enchained