I'm secretly working. If someone gets too close I'll quickly pull up the Facebook and pretend to be browsing for a Friends of Claude Francois page. Today is a mandated strike day in France. It sounds like a weak joke, but today the French are organized, and taking to the streets. It seems Sarkozy has raised the ire of the left. No big surprise. I'm a little amused at how planned and mundane the whole thing is. 15-year-olds have told us they won't be doing any work today. And it's not like Sarkozy is desperately unpopular. Not like the Bush 25% approval rating type of unpopular. Just the run of the mill 45-55% of the population are dissatisfied, very much politics as usual anywhere in the world. Except here, the 45-55% are going to demonstrate their dissatisfaction. I think this is a healthy (if also a touch silly) thing. Why keep it all in? Bottled up frustration can't be good. Then again, I don't need to go anywhere or do anything today. By happy coincidence I have time to sit here, drink coffee, and be on strike.

 

Speaking of, 3CUPS coffee is really good. I'm sure you're surprised to hear this from me, but seriously, ya'll: I have access to no coffee even close to the standard of freshness and craft that has become a routine feature of my workaday life. It's Badi's job to hype the coffee, I'm just stating something that from an ocean's distance away is crystal-clear. Most French coffee I've tasted (and sampling has been frequent) is drinkably mundane in comparison.

 

I may attempt to patch up our relations with the village of Roquefort later today. Obama, can you hear me? Surely a diplomatic post on the Riviera would be deserved if I finesse the fromage crisis left to our new President by the outgoing administration. I cannot lose access to one of my top 5 fave blue cheeses because some short-sighted, short-timer decided to lash out against EU bureaucrats who were understandably reluctant to allow hormone-basted American beef to enter their food chain. That sounds almost like doing their job, right? Protecting the populace from a commercially fantastic but ethically iffy food? I'd be proud of politicians if they made these hard choices more often. I'm looking at you, new president. I expect some backbone in upcoming months. For a more complete/accurate analysis of l'affair Roquefort, check out the Washington Post.

 

I'm running out of battery power, so we'll stop here. So is the computer... It may be time to hike out of town and take pictures of pretty vines. Or it may be cold outside, and coffee research might be a sound choice. Badi and Matt would be disappointed if I left the continent without copious coffee tasting notes... Crud, I forgot, I have to be at the Place de la Comedie at 3PM, to demonstrate. It's a vast stone pedestrian square with palm trees, ornate merry-go-rounds, dozens of cafes for people-watching and an impressive, classic Opera house. Perfect for a rally. "This place obviously sucks! Down with that mean guy!" or something. I'll work on my French political slogans before noon. I'll see a few of you this weekend, and hopefully all of you next week. If you come by I'll show pictures, or if you'd rather we can sip a French wine and talk shop. Until then, thanks for reading.