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French Sherlocked


Janyss

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Thanks, Herlock.

 

You are still my sempai (senior officer) in all things Ripper & probably Sherlock, too, though I am burning rubber to catch up to you.

 

When we both make Consulting Detective, I will stand you a drink at the Criterion Bar, what say you?

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Janyss,

 

This is off the topic of Sherlock, but since we were speaking about French actors, I have to say that Fabrice Luchini is absolutely charming.

 

I enjoyed him very much in "Gemma Bovery", where his understated comedy skills made a rather slight movie into a favorite of mine.  It is a modern sort-of retelling of "Emma Bovary".  Have you heard of it?

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Thanks, Herlock.

 

You are still my sempai (senior officer) in all things Ripper & probably Sherlock, too, though I am burning rubber to catch up to you.

 

When we both make Consulting Detective, I will stand you a drink at the Criterion Bar, what say you?

Sounds good to me Hikari

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[....]  We see continually that Sherlock Holmes reverts to a mental age of about 12 (or less) when he is in the presence of his elder brother.  That's why I believe that Mycroft was forced to become his legal guardian when Sherlock was a young teen.  Sherlock acts more like Mycroft's child than his (fully-adult) sibling at those times.

 

My head-canon (Janyss, "head canon" means something that has not actually been shown on Sherlock, but which a certain fan likes to believe is true) is similar to yours, except that I've been thinking Mummy was still alive and Daddy was no longer in the picture (probably due to divorce).  Even though the parents they finally showed us don't quite fit that description, I still find them believable -- partly because I like them, and partly because Mummy is clearly the one in charge.  If that was already the case during Sherlock's childhood, Mycroft could very well have been his "father figure," regardless of his legal status.

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I wonder how long it will be before someone writes a biography of ‘Sherlock’ just like the various biographies of Holmes (like Baring-Gould for eg) ?

 

Isn’t it strange how we have to talk about ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Holmes?’

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I wonder how long it will be before someone writes a biography of ‘Sherlock’ just like the various biographies of Holmes (like Baring-Gould for eg) ?

Isn’t it strange how we have to talk about ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Holmes?’

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Hikari, "Gemma Bovery" reminds me of something,  but I couldn't see it.

 

Nice to read from you about Fabrice Luchini, many people love him! Not so much iconic as Gérard Depardieu, but so good! Fabrice would be a good Victorian Sherlock Holmes!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know where to post this, so may be I'm mistaking, but I wish a merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!

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I don't know where to post this, so may be I'm mistaking, but I wish a merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate!

 

I hope your Noel was also Joyeux!

 

Maybe French Christmases aren't so crazy/frantic/materialistic as the ones in America?

 

Americans tend to think that we can create a perfect life and wonderful memories if we just spend enough money, and every year, millions of us try to do just that.  I had a quiet Christmas by myself this year, though I met friends for 11PM candlelight service & went to lunch the next day with another group of friends.

 

With even all the McDonalds' closed yesterday, the only eating establishments that are open on Christmas Day, unless you want a hot dog at the gas (petrol) station are Chinese restaurants.  So we went to a Chinese buffet.

 

Do you know the movie A Christmas Story?  It was made in 1983 (incidentally by the same guy, if I am not mistaken, who directed Murder By Decree, the Sherlock Holmes movie with Christopher Plummer).  It is now a cult favorite because it is played on cable TV all the time.  It follows Ralphie, an 11-year-old boy living in the Midwest of the US in the 1940s, as he prepares for Christmas.  What Ralphie wants most in the world is a Red Ryder BB gun, but all the adults in his life say 'You'll shoot your eye out!'  After the neighbor's pack of unruly dogs breaks into their house and eat their Christmas dinner, Ralphie and his family are forced to go to the Chinese restaurant to eat.  This is a very small town and they are the only ones there.  So the restaurant staff stands around their table singing 'Deck za halls with brows of horry, Fa ra ra ra ra . .!'   This is a spoof on the way Chinese people can't pronounce certain English words.  I am fond of this movie because it's like a snapshot of my father's childhood--he would have been Ralphie's age at the time this is supposed to be happening.  It is narrated by the author, Jean Shepherd, in a very humorous style.  If you want a 'taste of nostalgic Americana' film, this is a good choice!  I recommend eating some Chinese food while watching, lol.

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Thanks for you wishes!

 

Well, Christmas in France is mainly a family celebration. But of course, the way it is celebrate depends a lot on which kind of family you are and where you live.

As a child and a teen-ager, we had two family dinners with small gifts. When I was single and far from family, I was with a few friends. Now I'm married with children, we spend it at my mother-in-law's. She's in overconsuming mood with Christmas...That is not really my sight on things, to say the least, but that's the way it is...So I'd say the different steps of my life reflect the different ways Christmas is seen here in France.

I don't know "a Christmas story", but of course I have my favourite movies for Christmas time: I always love seeing any adaptation of " a Christmas Carol", which has been an important story in my life. I love seeing old French comédies with Louis de Funès, like Fantômas or La folie des grandeurs (if you know one of them), or more récent, Le père Noël est une ordure ("Santa Claus is a bastard"). My despair is that for years and years now, we haven't had any airing of "Légend" by Ridley Scott, which was often on TV for Christmas before.

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Thanks for you wishes!

 

Well, Christmas in France is mainly a family celebration. But of course, the way it is celebrate depends a lot on which kind of family you are and where you live.

As a child and a teen-ager, we had two family dinners with small gifts. When I was single and far from family, I was with a few friends. Now I'm married with children, we spend it at my mother-in-law's. She's in overconsuming mood with Christmas...That is not really my sight on things, to say the least, but that's the way it is...So I'd say the different steps of my life reflect the different ways Christmas is seen here in France.

I don't know "a Christmas story", but of course I have my favourite movies for Christmas time: I always love seeing any adaptation of " a Christmas Carol", which has been an important story in my life. I love seeing old French comédies with Louis de Funès, like Fantômas or La folie des grandeurs (if you know one of them), or more récent, Le père Noël est une ordure ("Santa Claus is a bastard"). My despair is that for years and years now, we haven't had any airing of "Légend" by Ridley Scott, which was often on TV for Christmas before.

 

"Santa Claus is a bast*rd!"

 

I'll have to see if I can find that one!  :xmas2:

 

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It is a movie of the eighties that portrays a group of rather borderline people getting together in a charity in Christmas Eve (including someone disguised as Santa, a rather religious lady, a trans and a very naïve Eastern immigrant). I don't know if it's been translated or subtitled in English, and I'd say the translation, if there's been one, must have been a challenge...

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My brother rented a movie for Christmas. What did he pick? Shin Godzilla. Possibly the worst Godzilla movie I've seen yet, and I've seen a lot of them. We laughed ourselves silly, of course, making smartass remarks about it. 0/10. :p

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Sometimes it's good to watch a "navet" (turnip) as we say in French. I must admit "Santa Claus is a b**tard" isn't a model of intellectual entertainment either, there is much caricature and ugly characters in it. If you want to laugh with something referring to classical French culture, then "La folie des grandeurs" by Gerard Oury is for you: it portrays the characters of a Victor Hugo's tragedy called "Ruy Blas" in a very funny way.

My only regret about it is that it dates back to the 70's and that nowadays in France, no one does this entertainment with high cultural contents. We would need a Mofftiss here to spread the message of our Jean Valjean or Cyrano in our times...

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Sometimes it's good to watch a "navet" (turnip) as we say in French.

 

Sounds like you use "turnip" in much the way we use "lemon" -- though the latter is generally used more for bad cars that for anything else.

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Sometimes it's good to watch a "navet" (turnip) as we say in French. I must admit "Santa Claus is a b**tard" isn't a model of intellectual entertainment either, there is much caricature and ugly characters in it. If you want to laugh with something referring to classical French culture, then "La folie des grandeurs" by Gerard Oury is for you: it portrays the characters of a Victor Hugo's tragedy called "Ruy Blas" in a very funny way.

My only regret about it is that it dates back to the 70's and that nowadays in France, no one does this entertainment with high cultural contents. We would need a Mofftiss here to spread the message of our Jean Valjean or Cyrano in our times...

 

Thanks to you, I have learned a new word in French, 'navet'. 

 

I have recently joined a cooking service (they send a box of food to my house and I have to cook it).  I'm trying to teach myself how to cook better, more interesting meals.  I think I would enjoy cooking more if I had nothing else to do with my time, but preparing a meal from scratch at night when I've been at work for 10 hours and it's -10 degrees out . . not my idea of fun and relaxation.  So I say 'This is merde!' and take a glass of wine to bed with me. 

 

A couple of my recipes included roasted turnips.  When I read it at first, I thought 'ugh'.  Quel surprise!  Roasted turnips are delicious!  I had never had a turnip in my life.  My mother, God bless her, was never an adventurous cook.  Now that I know about turnips, I will be adding them to my kitchen regularly.

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Could you give us a rough idea of how you roast your turnips?

 

I confess, this question made me smile because for some reason it sounds vaguely sexual . . on account of my guttersnipe mind.  I know you meant it seriously, so I will give you a non-sexual answer.   :)

 

Blue Apron is encouraging me to not be afraid of raw meat or what are to me, exotic vegetables.  Kale, collard greens, baby bok choy, turnips . . I have now worked with them all and I will not be afraid to pick them out at the grocery store by myself.  Turnips are easy to work with.  After I wash them and discard the ends, I slice them into fairly thin slices or smallish chunks, drizzle them generously with olive oil, add salt and put them in a hot oven for a few minutes until they are soft.  They don't take long, since they are quite soft to begin with.  Blue Apron likes a really hot oven (400 F), and they take maybe 8-10 minutes to be done.  They are very fond of this roasting method for most of the non-green vegetables.  The greens most often get sautéed with olive oil and garlic and a bit of water in a skillet until they are slightly wilted and warm.  At first the idea of hot kale was off-putting to me, but it's surprising good as well.

 

I'm still working on my knife skills.  I choose safety over speed with the blades.  No matter how proficient I may get, I will never enjoy working with whole garlic cloves or onions.  My hands reek for days afterward and removing the skins, especially on the garlic, is a real chore.  I bought a garlic press some time ago but I haven't used it yet.  I like the taste of roasted garlic in the larger pieces but getting it ready is a supreme pain.  If I am not up to it I take the coward's way out and use minced garlic out of a jar.  The fresh is much better . . but you've gotta work for it.

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Turnips are easy to work with. After I wash them and discard the ends, I slice them into fairly thin slices or smallish chunks, drizzle them generously with olive oil, add salt and put them in a hot oven for a few minutes until they are soft. They don't take long, since they are quite soft to begin with. Blue Apron likes a really hot oven (400 F), and they take maybe 8-10 minutes to be done. They are very fond of this roasting method for most of the non-green vegetables. The greens most often get sautéed with olive oil and garlic and a bit of water in a skillet until they are slightly wilted and warm. At first the idea of hot kale was off-putting to me, but it's surprising good as well.

I’ve never had turnips before, I have to remember to try this.

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Turnips are easy to work with. After I wash them and discard the ends, I slice them into fairly thin slices or smallish chunks, drizzle them generously with olive oil, add salt and put them in a hot oven for a few minutes until they are soft. They don't take long, since they are quite soft to begin with. Blue Apron likes a really hot oven (400 F), and they take maybe 8-10 minutes to be done. They are very fond of this roasting method for most of the non-green vegetables. The greens most often get sautéed with olive oil and garlic and a bit of water in a skillet until they are slightly wilted and warm. At first the idea of hot kale was off-putting to me, but it's surprising good as well.

I’ve never had turnips before, I have to remember to try this.

 

 

I'm glad I wasn't the only one!

 

I think turnips are bitter when they are raw, but when they are roasted, they have a lovely nutty, sweet flavor.  They are hard to tell apart from potatoes in looks if you have them both on the same sheet.  Haven't tried them boiled or mashed; not sure how those would taste but I definitely recommend roasting your turnips!

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The only two ways I've ever cooked turnips are 1) in stew (where they are nearly indispensable), or 2) cooked with carrots and then mashed together with butter and salt, maybe a little pepper.  Please note that the second was not my idea, it's an old family recipe from Alex's side.  I will admit that it's definitely edible.

 

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  • 4 months later...

Belated welcome to the Sherlock Forum!    :wave:

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