Frenchman "speaks" English

This is definitely the strongest French accent I've ever heard when a Frenchman speaks English…



It makes my ears hurt!

Tu l'as pas volée

Silly Belgian humour, featuring Patrick Alen, aka Francis Joskin, lead singer of Liège rock band Les Gauff' au suc'.

Christmas Week: "Muppet Christmas Carol" (2)

I know I've already told you about my liking of The Muppet Christmas Carol; today I'd like to show you two of the songs but this time in French.

Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine)'s introduction:

Jacob and Robert Marley (Statler and Waldorf)'s song:

Note that Michael Caine is dubbed by Bernard Dhéran.


"Ça sent bon Noël" / "It feels like Christmas" (sung by Richard Darbois)

Death Notice (5): Horst Tappert

A week ago Horst Tappert passed away. He was made famous by playing inspector Stephan Derrick in the eponymous series, which was, as you know, criticised for being very slow and a good alternative to sleeping pills. The elderly (including my own grandparents, I admit) particularily enjoy watching an episode because it was broadcast round 1 or 2 pm, i.e. the perfect time for taking a nap. Since nothing happened in the episode anyway they didn't miss anything at all. Although it seems very unlikely a Derrick episode actually featured a stunt! Check this out:



And here's a very nice parody made by singer and songwriter Jean-Luc Fonck (mimicking Tappert's gaze perfectly) and Aurélia Dejond for La Télé infernale:





Unfortunately I didn't find an Uncyclopedia entry on Derrick, but I found these funny banners:

Fort Boyaux

This sketch by Les Inconnus is a brilliant spoof on the French TV programme Fort Boyard where a team of six people has to complete tasks on an old sea fort in order to earn money.



"La salle inondée… 'y a plein d'eau !"

"Il est pas là le p'tit nain ?"

"Daniel : il aime le foot, la natation, le tennis, le vélo, l'athlétisme et surtout le sport."

"Richard : il aime le karaté, le kung-fu, le tai kwendo, le full contact et les fleurs."

"Jean-Yves : il aime la philosophie, l'archéologie, les sciences, la théologie et le journal 'L'Equipe'."

"Florence : elle aime Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Richard Gere et Gérard Holtz."

Death Notice (4): Michel Modo

Today let's devote some time to commemorate an actor whose name is probably unknown to most of you, although I'm sure you did see him in a movie. Michel Modo passed away on 25 September 2008 in a great indifference from the media — I even heard about his death just a couple of days ago, as I was on my way to Belgium, my mum telling me about news I could perhaps not heard of. Michel Modo was a comedian who formed a duo with (the late) Guy Grosso to become "Grosso & Modo"… Louis de Funès noticed them and gave them roles in the Le Gendarme… series from 1964 to 1982; they played Tricard and Berlicot. Michel Modo notably starred in On a retrouvé la Septième Compagnie as a German soldier ordering Tassin (Henri Guibet) and Pitivier (the late Jean Lefebvre) to "rester groupir":



He played another German soldier in La Grande Vadrouille (definitely one of my personal favourites as it comes to French films), this time having a squint:



(Michel Modo appears at 7:30 in this video.)

For a more exhaustive filmography, I refer you to the Wikipedia entry.

But for me his death leaves a big mark on French dubbing, for he lent his voice for the French version of films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (voice of R.K. Maroon, played by Alan Tilvern), Bean (dubbing George Grierson, played by Harris Yulin) as well as The Simpsons. Indeed, he was in charge of giving life to many a character, among whom: Seymour Skinner, Charles Montgomery Burns, Krusty, Clancy Wiggum, Dr. Hibbert, Marvin Monroe, Kent Brockman, Joe Quimby, Slideshow Mel and Slideshow Bob.

As Halloween was just a couple of days ago I found it appropriate to show you a "Treehouse of Horror": Treehouse of Horror XVIII:


As Michel Modo died, season 19 was in the process of being dubbed, so he was replaced in the five last episodes by Gérald Rinaldi, another renown voice actor — he notably lent his voice to the dino guard that gets eaten by raptors in Jurassic Park, Tim Curry in Home Alone 2, Jeroen Krabbé in The Fugitive and Mercredi in Robinson Sucroë… (And he was part of Les Charlots, famous for the song "Merci patron !" among others.) Michel Modo gave a very unique voice to the aforementioned characters, something that makes me love the French version — although I'm fond of the original version as well.

In order for you to make an opinion about Krusty and other's new voices, please watch Apocalypse Cow (or 'Tragédie bovine', (unproper) French title), from Series 19, episode 15.

Eat my shorts—circuit

Some useless Lego creations, but definitely great inventions and engineering achievements:







A genius also recreated a fully operational Johnny 5 like in Short Circuit!



Amazing!

Bonus: a scene from Short Circuit in French (just to show you a piano-playing robot):

Chuck Norris in French

I just wanted to show you some of the best (witty?) quotes by Chuck Norris and introduce you to the great work of Bernard Tiphaine to dub him in the French version:



Epic. Note that Little John is dubbed by Pierre Hatet, (un)known for dubbing Christopher Lloyd among others.





No line in the following excerpt, but this is just to show you how to open the door safely:

"Tuer !!!"

Just listen to the guy…



(This guy has got a combover!)

This interview was part of the documentary magazine Strip-tease originally aired on the RTBF. If I remember correctly the guy was telling how he escaped from conscription by pretenting he was nuts. But I doubt it, somehow…

"L'émission tire son nom du terme « strip-tease », également appelé « effeuillage », qui consiste à se déshabiller progressivement face à un public, en musique, évoquant ainsi l'attitude de sujets filmés, qui finissent par se dévoiler devant la caméra, laissant les spectateurs découvrir leur intimité. Des spectateurs scrupuleux se sont parfois plaints que certains épisodes tournaient les sujets en dérision à leur insu."

Niet meer dakloos in Utrecht

A couple of days ago I was telling you about my housing problem in Utrecht, because I didn't have one and I was really sick and tired of the Dutch housing system. However, I did find a room! I can't believe it myself! (Well I do, but it's just a way of speaking… or "writing", rather.) Let me tell you how I found it.

On Thurday I went to the Educatorium on the Leuvenlaan, in De Uithof (where most of the Utrecht University lectures are given except for the Law and Humanities Faculties) because all the Erasmus and other exchange students could obtain information about activities related to culture, sports, etc. but also the so-called "inschrijving bij de gemeente" and many other things. We also listened to a girl from Canada who told us about her stay in Utrecht and we were introduced to the ESN (for Erasmus Student Network) of Utrecht. On a notice board I spotted a short message on a sheet of paper: "Kamer te huur in Bilthoven. Graag bellen op (…)" or something like that. I called the guy and made an appointment on Sunday at two o'clock.

So I went to Bilthoven and met with Mustafa, who's about 25 years old and decided to let two rooms of his appartment to share the rent. He showed me the room (2 meters by 4,5, roughly), the kitchen, the loo, the bathroom, the living room with television and a dining room with a big brand-new fridge — so I won't nuke it. Most important of all: everything was clean — just as if Mr. Clean was a friend of Mustafa. We chatted for half an hour and we got on very well with each other. I told him about my housing problems and told him I was really interested. He then replied that I could have the room directly! Surprised, I asked if there were other candidates and he retorted that he preferred the "first come, first served" system. So later in the day I told him I'd take the room.

On Monday afternoon Mustafa came to Zeist, at Magali's to help me with my luggage and my camp bed, and we drove to Bilthoven, and then he showed me where the train station, the shops etc. were located, and after that I unpacked my luggage.

Here are some pictures that I took in the apartment:

– My bed and the radiator


Same thing, but from the opposite side:


– The corridor:


– The entrance, with the kitchen on the left and the toilet on the right:


– The kitchen:


– The shower, curiously without glass walls to contain water (as is the case everywhere in the Netherlands):


– The living room:


– The dining room, with fridge:


– What I can see from the front window:


Mustafa told me he didn't have an internet connexion yet, but there are several WiFi networks in the building, so I decided to "take advantage of them" because as you know I can't live without the Web.

See you soon from more news from Utrecht!


PS. I don't know why but I just thought it was appropriate to feature this "C'est la fête" song, from the French-dubbed version of "Be our guest" in The Beauty and the Beast. It's Daniel Beretta (known for being the usual French voice of Arnold Scharzenegger) who sings:

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: a case study for translation studies

Take this interrogation scene from Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, opposing Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) to Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut) and David Laughlin (Bob Balaban).



Now, how does the French dubbed version get away with this scene? I mean, how is the translator going to conceal a translation? Watch this excerpt from the French DVD version of the movie, with the original script as subtitles:

CLOSENC7
Uploaded by sergele1

Yep, they simply cut off some lines, paraphrased or added script material… This scene could be a case study in translation studies, especially since the DVD-version adaptators had to deal with the fact that Truffaut was dead and obviously not available to dub himself, but still, they kept what he recorded back then.

Philosophy lesson

Think about this… it makes sense, doesn't it?

Avec

A song by Les Snuls to describe Belgium:

Prelude to the 2008 Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing have already begun, so I thought it was high time I showed you this video: Philippe Geluck attempting to break the long jump record…

Robinson Sucroë

For cartoon nostalgics amongst you (if any), I've found the first episode of Robinson Sucroë, a spoof on Daniel Dafoe's Robinson Crusoe:









If you know this series, please post a comment!

If you feel like singing the song, here are the lyrics (which, I admit, I could still recall):

Robinson Sucroé avait promis de raconter sa vie
Sur une p'tite île déserte il avait trouvé l'endroit rêvé
Le ciel bleu, plage dorée, les tapis de bandes vertes
Mais il sut la vérité! Son île était surpeuplée, c'était dur!
Il y avait des Touléjours, des pirates tout autour.
Robinson t'as des ennuis, heureusement y'a Mercredi.
Robinson Sucroé, c'était fatal, devenait paresseux
Mercredi, à sa place, dans le journal, parlait de monstres affreux.
Pour Floyd c'était ainsi le succès chaque semaine
Uglyston était jaloux, préparait des mauvais coups pour prouver
Qu'il y avait des Touléjours, des pirates tout autour.
Robinson t'as des ennuis, heureusement... Y'a Mercredi!

Disclaimer: It was purely accidental that I post a video in French on the Fourteenth of July (aka Bastille Day).

Good riddance!

Have I already told you I hate PCs? Kurt Russell loathes them as well. Check this out:



This scene comes from John Carpenter's The Thing, a film that I have to see someday.

"Il va enfin pouvoir s'acheter une nouvelle écharpe"

A video which was quite popular on YouTube is the following one:



In fact this had been shot in 2006 — Standard didn't win that year — and turned into a joke. However, Standard did a much better season this year, and they eventually got the most awaited (i.e. for 25 years) Belgian Ligue title (or whatever I should call it). Now the guy in question, Luc Sacré, has gained into popularity and has even been invited to comment on several matches. And we can guess he finally bought a new scarf…



I don't know if I should call that a pathetic behaviour… After all, we have the right to have a hobby, be it completely silly — and I am a fine example of such a concept. Nevertheless, I think you will find the following video quite pathetic:



Un vieux frânc-maçauuu et éévêêêêk ! C'est terriiiip !

Belgian cuisine

I wonder why I haven't shown you this brilliant sketch by Philippe Geluck for a show called Un peu de tout (1991).

On casse les œufs pour lier la SAUUUUCE ! ET ON MET… UN PIED DE POOOORC… DANS LA SAUCE ! NOM DE DIEU !!

Laissez vingt minutes au four. Pendant ce temps, vous donnez un coup de torchon dans la cuisine."

Please also watch this other video from the same show:

A bit of Dutch, for a change

Here's a video from the VRT showing a Seaking helicopter bringing a mast at the top of the Atomium.



And here's a report on the reception of Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (by Dany Boon) in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais:

Happy Easter (eggs)!

Let me show you a silly picture that my mother sent me a couple of days ago:



I'm sure I mentioned the so-called "Easter eggs" a few times in the past. Let's see what we can find about them on YouTube, then! A first video:



http://www.eeggs.com/

So, Easter eggs are not only hidden in movies and DVDs, but also in computer games and even on the Internet:



These were amazing tips; I particularily liked the Atinlay Igpay ability. And if you want to play a small game, click here.