Congratulations Beatrice !

Today, our friend Beatrice became a US citizen !

In the morning, she had her oath ceremony and pledge allegiance to the American flag.
We gather to celebrate at a bar in Mountain View.

Usually, after 5 years of legal permanent residency in the United States (Green Card), you can ask the US Citizenship through the N-400 form. You must pass a test on United States history and government. Applicants for citizenship are asked ten questions, and must answer at least six correctly. This process, where a person not born is the US acquire the US Citizenship is called "naturalization".
The main change is that you have the right to vote. Also, you have more freedom to enter and leave the country for long periods of time. Voila !

Special Day...

Ce vendredi 16 novembre 2007 n'est pas un jour comme les autres....
J'ai une pensée toute particulière pour quelqu'un qui m'est très proche : après 40 ans de bons et loyaux services dans l'administration française, mon père prend sa retraite... aujourd'hui !!!
Il quitte le conseil general des Côtes-d'armor où il était chef de service.
Bonne retraite, profites-en bien et la première chose à inscrire sur ta liste de retraité actif : venir nous visiter en Californie !
Et surtout n'oublie pas : plus besoin de te lever tôt lundi matin pour aller travailler...

MARTINE revit grâce au web !

Vous souvenez-vous de ces bandes dessinées que vous lisiez (ou pas...) dans votre tendre jeunesse?
Ces histoires de "Martine à la mer", "Martine fait de la bicyclette", "Martine est malade".... déclinées sur diverses activités/thèmes et illustrées de dessins un peu naïf ?

Et bien, cette série des Martine connait depuis peu un renouveau grâce à ce site web: Martine Cover Generator.
C'est un succès fulgurant alors que le site vient seulement d'etre lancé le 18 octobre 2007... Et oui, cela fait moins d'un mois. C'est ça la magie de l'internet !

Parti d'une blague entre copains, ce site vous donne la possibilité de proposer un nouveau titre aux couvertures de Martine. Bien souvent inspirées de l'actualité, décalées voire un peu 'trash', ces nouvelles couvertures de Martine sont bien plus marrantes que les originales...

Pour la petite histoire, Martine est une série de livres illustrés lancée en 1954 par Gilbert Delahaye et Marcel Marlier. Le premier titre est celui de "Martine à la ferme" et sera suivit de 50 autres. Depuis sa création, la série a connu un tirage total d'environ 85 millions d'exemplaires dans un grand nombre de pays. Les livres sont traduits dans toutes les langues et le prénom de Martine est changé en fonction des pays (Anita, Tiny, Debbie, Maja, Marika, Mary, Steffi...).

Reste à savoir si tout cela est bien légal et si la maison d'édition ne mettra pas un terme à ce 'buzz' internet...

La Fondue du samedi soir

Saturday night, we hosted a 'Fondue Dinner Party' at home.

For those who don't know what is a fondue , it is a winter dish made of Swiss cheese melted in a pot. It is usually flavored with dry white wine, garlic, paprika, pepper... Then, guests use their fondue fork or wooden skewers to dip in it crisp bread or vegetables (carrots, potatoes, celery...). Many versions exists: among others there is the "Fondue Bourguignonne" with beef to dip in oil or "Chocolate Fondue" with fruits to dip in chocolate .
It is a very convivial dish when you follow the traditional way: everybody share the same cheese pot and drink dry white wine !
From left to right: Kareem, Servane, Virgile, Jean, Lior, Clement, Marthe and Monique. We were joined for the dessert by Sunil and Yann. Thank you all for your presence tonight ! Next time, let's try a Raclette !

Friday night, let's go to the Wine Bar!

On Marlene's idea, we were a group of 7 people (FF, Marlene, JF, Marie-Luce, Olivier, Jean and myself) to go to the Wine Bar. We ended to the Savvy Cellar Wines in Redwood City.

We ordered some charcuterie and cheese assortments along with 6 red wines to taste. Then, we picked up 2 bottles of white wine, among which a bottle of Jurancon, my favorite wine, that we kept for the dessert...
Even though it is more expensive than a regular restaurant, it allows you to try different wines and discuss each other preferences. Plus, the discussion usually becomes more fun after a few glasses...

Saw IV

SYNOPSIS

Jigsaw and his apprentice Amanda are dead.
Now, upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder, two seasoned FBI profilers, Agent Strahm and Agent Perez, arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle.
However, when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game, the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences.

Pass your way on this one: you will loose your time and your money.
Jean and myself have seen Saw I, II and III and we found those pretty good. But that one is boring, not captivating and it even makes me feel nauseous the way it is done. This installment continues the story of the Jigsaw Killer, and his obsession with teaching people the value of their own lives. Even though Jigsaw died in the last installment (Saw III), this film focuses on his ability to manipulate people into continuing his work. But it a succession of traps, with multiple characters which makes you lost the interest in the story.
Wait for the DVD release if you really want to see it.

Halloween Party!

Tonight, we went to a huge Halloween Party (around 450 guests!) which was a fund raising at the same time.
Those guys really know how to make a sensational party!
There were live music bands performing all night long, inside the living room and along the swimming pool. We even had a children dancing performance and firedancers.

The decorations were fantastics and everybody played the game by wearing a costume. Pirates, nurses for a night, witches, vampires, firefighters, Obi-Wan, Popeye, Pharaon, bunnies, angels, demons, cow, policemen etc took assault of the place. We even saw a siren but the poor was having difficulties to walk and everybody was stepping on her tail...
For Americans, Halloween is an important event. They either rent or buy a costume in one of the many stores that propose everything from the wig to the entire costume and even panties and socks... For the occasion, I was in Princess of Thieves ("Robin of the Woods") and Jean was the pirate "Jack Sparrow". We had lot of fun. This is the kind of party you don't want to miss. Hopefully, they will do it again next year! See you there with your best outfit!

Pictures of the Halloween Party here! Photos de la soirée Halloween ici !