Sarkozy exposed by dramatist

It's rare that I can use that cliché about Paris being abuzz over a long-awaited book. That's the case today with the appearance of Yasmina Reza's inside account of Nicolas Sarkozy's triumphant election campaign.

Sarko let Reza, a playwright who enjoys taking a scalpel to human frailty, watch him close up for nine months, ending with his installation at the Elysée Palace in May. He knew that he was taking a risk inviting her onto the inside of his campaign. She has not been kind, but he does not emerge badly from L'Aube le Soir ou la Nuit.

Ego-mad, ruthless and rather cruel to those around him, Sarkozy in private is everything that we suspected. Yet her portrait, full of theatrical dialogue, also shows a fragile and even touching side to a little-boy president who, it seems, is short of affection.  Click here for my report for the newspaper.

Below are a few more Sarko quotes, but first it's worth noting that Reza's book is a very French exercise.

   

Her task was to report the final conquest of power by her generation's most ambitious politician. She has done that, but her account of "a modern king in his ancient castle" is couched in a literary style that reads like modern fiction.

As such, her book is being tipped as a contender for this autumn's Prix Goncourt. France's most prestigious  award goes to "the year's best work of the imagination in prose" -- in other words a novel. Surely a documentary narrative, however elegant and fanciful, cannot qualify as fiction ? Well yes, French writers have done good business for years with plots that are simply accounts of their lives and times.

Reza tells le Nouvel Observateur today that she was not burdened by the journalistic obligation "to track the truth". "I don't hunt the truth, which  in my work does not exist outside the point of view," she says. She never takes sides or expresses an opinion, she maintains. "I neither denigrate nor admire Sarkozy in the book. Between the two there is space for observation... I saw, I felt things and I sketched them."

She also says that, despite their time together, Sarkozy never tried to come on to her. "No. He wanted to seduce France. When you think about it, it's almost annoying to spend a whole year with a man without him trying to seduce you."

Here are a few of Reza's quotes from Sarkozy:

Rehearsing his television debate against Ségolène Royal, his Socialist opponent, on her plans for higher health spending: "You're never happy, pauvre conne (poor stupid cow)! Tell me where you'll find the money. A member of my family called Jacques (Chirac) has gone deaf. He has to have money for his hearing aid."

Why he likes Tony Blair, Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister, and Jose-Luis Zapatero of Spain, all leftwing leaders. "It's because they are not on the left. It's only in France that people are on the left!'.

Sarkozy joking about his plans: "If I'm elected I will abolish the National Front, the Rotary Club and the Lions' Club".

On plan for final campaign appearance in a radar centre in Brittany. "Who had this retarded idea? I don't give a s..t. about Bretons. I'm going to be surrounded by ten c...ts looking at a map."

To New York Jewish leaders: "Part of the French elite hates me more than they hate Israel or the Americans."

Sarkozy complaining about being surrounded by spin doctors and publicity staff: "I don't want to be followed by these c..ts who I never see. What kind of a picture is that, a guy arriving surrounded by an army of bloody stupid publicists?"

Sarkozy to Reza after taking office as president: "I am happy but not joyful...I can't say that I'm unhappy. At last I have got rid of that burden.... Winning means pleasing people. My job is taking decisions. I was a lot more worried about my ability to please people."

Comments

[alan morgan]

Despite all his shortcomings, Sarkozy has succeeded in becoming President. Perhaps this achievement speaks more about his extraordinary political ability. He has inspired a nation to shake off the past and look anew to the future. I wish him well.

[Robert Marchenoir]

Very interesting quotations by Sarkozy. Many are spot on. This one carries much insight: "It's only in France that people are on the left". How very true.

No doubt we'll get some howls from the left side of the stage about his calling Ségolène Royal "pauvre conne". But you should read the abuse hurled on her by many socialist voters all over the French blogosphere...

By the way, Charles, writing two pieces on the same subject, one for the blog, the other for the paper, cross-referencing them and still sustaining interest through both is something of an achievement.

[azloon]

aha!! i think finally we have a hint, fiction or not, about possible probs in sarko's marriage (assuming it takes two to tango, and that even with ceci's peevish behavior, NS may figure into the equation).

Some guys are stupid enough to think they get away with having an affair WITH work. i can tell you, jewelry will only stave off the inevitable. evenutally, you're totally busted ("you like your job more than you like me"), and you're wife lives on another continent.

incidentally, that question is a little like another one which requires a bit of duplicity: "is my butt fat?"

[magali1]

Reza seems to put her finger on what makes Sarko tick. Congratulations, Charles, you're on to it fast. Ahead of everyone as far as I can see.

[Jorg A]

So what, Sarkozy's tough. No nice guys get to the top. France is very innocent if it wants to criticise Sarkozy as "un méchant". Good luck to him and I appreciate your speed and precision, Charles.

[Helen]

"I don't give a s..t. about Bretons." How nice! Loving the Chirac hearing aid quote though, ha ha. The book definitely sounds like it's worth reading.

[Marguerite]

C'est quoi, finalement, ce bouquin ? Pourquoi il s'appelle "L'aube, le soir ou la nuit" ? Pourquoi Sarko voulait-il tant etre president? Parce qu'il voulait prouver qu'il etait celui qui plaisait le plus ?
A part que Sarko parle comme un chartier, on ne voit pas bien quel est le propos de Yasmina Reza.
Je vais lire ce livre. Vous etes arrive a m'en donner envie par le flou de votre critique.

[Terry]

"Sarkozy joking about his plans: "If I'm elected I will abolish the National Front, the Rotary Club and the Lions' Club".

Rotarians are first against the wall? I hope this is not an international consiperancy. My fellow rotarians will fight on the beaches...

[Terry]

Will there be a movie version?

Who will play Sarkozy? Danny De Vito perhaps? Any thoughts?

[Frank Schnittger]

Sarkozy reminds me very much of a former boss of mine: remarkably immature in some ways, but possessed of an amazing appetite for work and gift for dealing with people and getting them to agree to almost anything. He went on to become a business leader of national importance almost entirely on the strength of his ability to form good working relationships with a wide range of people.

It just goes to show that a leader can have all the human frailties we associate with ordinary people. It is their ability to work hard and create positive working relationships which mark them out.

My boss would remember a vast amount of detail about every one he met - their mother's latest ailment and their son's latest escapade at school. I have difficulty remembering large numbers of names and faces - he seemed to know thousands of people quite intimately.

The danger with someone like Sarkozy is that the self-belief which enabled him to become President will also lead him to ignore advice and make major errors of judgement. If he is like my former boss, he will never be able to admit to making a mistake and is thus likely to compound any errors he does make with cover-ups and bluster.

I hope I am wrong, but I fear Srkozy may not be very good at admitting to and learning from his mistakes...

[Sandrine]

"You're never happy, pauvre conne (poor stupid cow)! "

Rien de nouveau sous le soleil, we know how people from the right see women (see Devedjian for example...).

And for once, Robert is true, people on the left are also very hard on Ségo.

"I was a lot more worried about by ability to please people.""

Charles, did you mean to type "my" instead of "by" ?

[Yes, it was a typo. Thanks Sandrine, I've corrected it. CB]

[Charles]

"A very French exercise"... ;-)))

"She also says that, despite their time together, Sarkozy never tried to come on to her."
Why having choose such a photo for the top?

Charles.
http://charles.hautetfort.com

[Edward Johns]

"She also says that, despite their time together, Sarkozy never tried to come on to her."
So the book was about the author, not Sarkozy ?
I wonder if his failure to attempt copulation with a woman within range will result in allegations of homosexuality in the Cresson tradition ?
Or will he be considered as not a proper leader as he has not displayed the correct degree of sexual incontinence ?

[Anticommunist]

Charles Bremner has now made a series of new but undeserved insults against Nicolas Sarkozy by repeating false insults/allegations made by someone else.

Mr Bremner, as the Paris correspondent of The Times, you had a fabulous opportunity to blame Russian subversives...and make them aware that they need to strengthen the French military if they want to be protected by it.

There are 5 communist parties in France, which plan to abolish France as an independent state and replace it with the Russian police state. They are the PS, PCF, the Greens, the LO and the LCR. Never before have there been so many extremists in France. But you let them be unchallenged.

Your latest allegations are that Mr Sarkozy is an impatient, arrogant person, i.e. you are libelling Mr Sarkozy.

Either because you want to work for the Russians, or because you belong to the second group. You clearly assist the Russians, meaning you work against the French people, who pay taxes to maintain the school your children attend.

[Robert Marchenoir]

Frank: funny you should mention your Sarkozy-like boss. I was on the other side of the fence. Sarkozy reminds me very much of a manager who once reported to me. As such, I can sympathize with Chirac's plight; I've been there.

Still, Sarkozy is what France needs.

Another good quote from Reza's book: « Ce n'est pas sûr que le fait d'être nul soit un handicap en France. » Being dumb is not necessarily a liability in France.

Talking of Ségolène Royal, of course.

So, Sandrine, you thought that being a woman protected you from unpleasant judgements? Not since feminism has won. You can't have it both ways. Get over it.

[christopher muir]

After two years, France will know much more about the man they have elected to be their President. From my experience with control freaks, I suggest that by then there will be a myriad of squabbles within his cabinet. He will be quick to blame others for failures and quick to claim all successes for himself. His main shortcoming may well be an addiction to speedy mono-solutions - Libya may possibly have increased his appetite for such a style. I recently read that the newest members of the EU aren't too keen on a "hurry, hurry" approach and it may well be that Sarko will eventually come a cropper. As Mahatma Gandhi once advised - there's more to life than just speeding it up.

[Sandrine]

Anticommunist... Is it some kind of a joke ??

Robert,
"you thought that being a woman protected you from unpleasant judgements?"

No, I don't mind if women receive "unpleasant" judgements of course, but "avilissants" (degrading ?), no way ! I don't think they represent a nice progress for men.

[John Gregory Flinn]

Will the real M.Sarkozy stand up please?

According to Reza (any relation to those of Iran?) he is a 'Dr Nicolas', a demagogue, cynical and manipulative.
The crack about Tony Blair and conquering Europe (the EU?) together sets the dramatic and imaginative tone. Surely such manipulation of masculine macho power is something only a female writer dare express.
The cynical epithets remind me of those attributed to Nixon and his aides during Watergate. But I'm sure they are typical of many others, we've even heard of the British Royals using derogatory remarks - without the profanity I hasten to add.

M. Sarkozy's reported perceptive comment of how certain of his fellow leaders - although ostensibly in a left-wing party - are not of the left is interesting.
The pressures and realities of office may be the reason, or the 'left' is/was perceived as the best way for these to get to the top in their domain.
In France I would suggest the reverse applies – the right-wing is a surer route to power. For example, Jaques Chirac always seemed to be a closet 'leftie', especially towards the end of his 'reign'.

M. Sarkozy does exhibit some authoritarian tendencies already, which may go to excess in some instances. In this context I feel RM's comment is more relevant than Reza's theatre - "Still, Sarkozy is what France needs."

[Zbigniew Mazurak]

Whoah, is this anticommmunist guy a fanatic?

Mr Sarkozy is a good president but he is not, I repeat, he is not infallible! That means he sometimes makes mistakes too!

The only infallible human on Earth is the Pope.

[John Hornsby]

Just a small point, but Sarkozy's language is not as strong as it is made to seem in translation. "Con" in French does not have the connotations of the English "c**t", it is closer in meaning to "twerp". "Conne", speaking of a woman, is a little stronger but does not fall into the taboo category. The same goes for "merde", which is not as strong as "s***t" (excuse the asterisks). It is about as harmless as "blast" or "damn".

[Absolutely, John. I'm not sure which translations you're referring to, but I didn't translate con as you suggest. Sarkozy's favourite word for people who annoy him is connard, which can be conveyed by c**t in English. Yes merde is mild. I don't think I translated it into English, but as you say, it's like blast or is damn. CB]

[Dominique]

Zbigniew, give us a break...

[Robert Marchenoir]

"The only infallible human on Earth is the Pope."

Er... all right, Zbig. Now we understand better some of your earlier comments.

[Ros]

I find it rather terrifying that such people as ANTICOMMUNIST exist in France (or anywhere else in Europe for that matter) but I suppose, Charles, you are right in ignoring his remarks as you seem to be doing.

[azloon]

gotta forgive Ziggy. he lives where some actual communists exist.

[Dominique]

Zbigniew Mazurak = ANTICOMMUNIST

same style, same rhetoric

[Frank Schnittger]

Merde - I thought I was having a sh*t when I was really only having a blast. A damn presumably refers to the constipated variety...

[David]

I think this guy will come a cropper before long.

[Zbigniew Mazurak]

'Zbigniew Mazurak = ANTICOMMUNIST'

That's a serious (and false accusations), will you also claim that UFO exists?

Robert Marchenoir - yup, you finally got something right. Benedict XVI, the current Pope, does indeed influence me, and it should be no surprise that my posts reflect this.

[Valentin]

I almost finished Yasmina Reza's book today on the TGV from Poitiers to Paris.
I have to say, the buzz is right about it, it is brilliantly written, a savant mélange of journalistic report, character analysis and novel-like paintings.
My two cents: this will end up a booming seller and will increase Sarkozy's popularity. In the end, it is yet another Sarkozy-sympathetical book, albeit much more intelligently written than those before it.

[Mark Arneson]

"She also says that, despite their time together, Sarkozy never tried to come on to her."

He'd need to take up drinking to take on that task!

[Pierre]

I am very thankful that Mr Hornsby and Charles opened up that particular can of worms. I'd been itching about it since reading those first fantastic quotes from Reza's book (part Iranian, part Hungarian, btw, to answer John). Yes, literally, 'con' means cu*t. So 'conne' means cu*tte. And 'connard' means the same as 'con', but more forcefully. Not to be confused with 'connasse', feminine. A song from my student days includes the lines "Trois jeunes filles se tapaient sur le... qu'on m'apporte, qu'on m'apporte, etc.)". But the French seem less squeamish than the English, which might be an interesting subject for Mr Bremner. For ex, an 18 film in the UK is liable to be 12 of 15 over here. I remember 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Woman in Red' being a 15 in London, for having a few swearwords. 'F***' is translatable as 'bordel', meaning 'brothel'. A good explosive 'b' sound, of course, is always desirable in an expletive. 'Bloody' is untranslatable: 'foutu' comes closest, but used in the expression 'c'est foutu', means 'blast'. 'dam*ed' bears the same relation to 'darned' as 'foutu' to 'fichu'. Though 'foutre', very common in French vernacular ('je m'en fous', for instance, from a very early age), means semen. Not quite the same connotations as 'I couldn't care less'.

[Zbigniew Mazurak]

Sarkozy does drink alcohol. Although he claims he was not drunk 8 June, he was. His excuse that 'I was tired because I was running up the stairs of the building to the 4th floor' is a lie, even me, me who does not jog, could run to the 4th floor of that building and breathe easily, never mind a jogger like Sarkozy (he jogs everyday, and remember, practice makes master).

He is a liar, his wife is a liar, and his stepdaughter is a liar. I feel pity for the French people.

[Daniel Strohl]

Valentin,

Since I usually like very much what you post here, I will trust your judgment and read the book.

May be I will be again snubbed at by Sandrine - never mind, I like her nevertheless ...

[Sandrine]

Now Daniel, don't worry, I like you too. But, you may have a problem here : suppose Robert reads the book and says that she has an AWFUL style. What the heck will you do ? Trust Valentin or Robert ? My my... what a tough choice ! ;o)

[Daniel Strohl]

Sandrine,

To read or not to read ? This is "un choix cornélien" indeed! I am sure I will have difficulties to sleep this night, while pondering "le pour et le contre" ...

Zbigniew,

It happened to me to have had a drink in excess - I am possibly not alone on this blog to have been in this situation! But I can't remember my breathing having been impaired thereby even in the slightest manner ... We have got good quality alcohol in France !

[Dominique]

D.Strohl,

to read or not to read, that is indeed the question. I am reading it...and being angry at myself for reading it.

When she says that Sarko did not come to her, i believe her. But what would our "anlosaxon" friends think about this picture of Sarko & Reza dancing?

http://birenbaum.blog.20minutes.fr/archive/2007/08/27/rab.html

Should we accuse him of trying? sexual arrasment? As Pivot pointed, this picture raises questions i can't even raise as i lack the words even in french.

Pivot : « J'aurais aimé que mon éditeur me demande d'écrire un livre sur Reza écrivant un livre sur Sarkozy. Quand je les vois danser ensemble, je m'interroge ».

The fact is that the book is describing Sarko as Ionesco describes the king. She calles him "HE" all the time. When you don't remember who she is talking about, she's talking about "HIM".

For her, it is not a question of choice : "HE" is the one because "HE" is stronger. "HE" is present even when she does not mention him ("HIM")

To bad she does not have the talent of Monica Lewinski....

[azloon]

"what would our "anlosaxon" friends think about this picture of Sarko & Reza dancing?"

he's not as short as described elsewhere

[Daniel Strohl]

Dominique,

From now on, you too will be a distinguished member of the club "des affreux Jojo". And Azloon will get "avancement" in this "club fermé".

[Pierre]

One more point Charles: you indicate in your on-line reply to John Hornsby (24/8) that "connard can be translated as c**t". "C***" is such a terrible swear-word in english that two ** need to be applied, or even 3 in case my mother is reading. No similar editorial qualms exist in French. Perché? And for our american friends, why does "ar*e" sound worse (better) than "ass"? And how do they refer to donkeys, by the way?

[Pierre -- The Americans are very careful to call donkeys donkeys and not asses. The same is happening in the UK with American slang entering the native dialect, as it always does. That's why the British now use the American rooster instead of calling the bird a cock. CB]

[Sandrine]

"you indicate in your on-line reply to John Hornsby that "connard can be translated as c**t". "C***" is such a terrible swear-word in english that two ** need to be applied, ..."

Ok, c'est du charabia pour moi ! :o)

[azloon]

the dreaded "C" word:

Pierre is 'on the money.' if you want remain sexually active with your american girlfriend, don't use it. it is the big no-no for most american women. b*t*h is a step or two up on the acceptaibility ladder, nonetheless not good to throw around. both are considered, ipso facto, misogynistic, as applied to humans.

arse doesn't sound worse than ass. i have used it in the expression 'arsewipe' to tone down the effect of 'asswipe' which is slightly more crude, imo. so it is an ameliorating variation as far as i'm concerned.

saying someone is an 'ass,' as in 'you're an ass," is pretty much ok, a bit insulting but not shockingly so.

if you are a women and tell someone that the cock woke you up in the morning, you'll probably get a few raised eyebrows.

[Juliette]

He don't give a shit about Bretons? Great! He can give us our independence

[azloon]

[Pierre -- The Americans are very careful to call donkeys donkeys and not asses. CB]

CB, americans don't need to be 'careful' to call a donkey a donkey because that's the only real word we have for that animal.

an 'ass' for most of us is someone who makes an 'ass' of himself.

if you asked young americans where the expression came from, you'd probably hear most often that ass was shorthand for asshole, and not relating back to the behavior of the animal (donkey aka ass). even so, it is a most common term here, even approaching endearment is some situations.

the only time i ever heard "ass" in the animal context was in church at christmas since the biblical gospel refers to asses in/near the manger. we were amused at this because we weren't used to hearing ass used in this way.

[Dominique]

Juliette,

Stop waiting everything from him : if you was independance of Bretagne, just take it! no one will "give" it.

PS : i don't give a shit about bretons either! neither about corses, basques, alsacians, auvergnats, poitevins nor bearnais!

sounds so balkanic to me...

[Sandrine]

"if you are a women and tell someone that the cock woke you up in the morning, you'll probably get a few raised eyebrows."

Haha, Oh my gosh, I'll really need to be careful about this one. I'm soooo glad there are not cocks here in Washington !! ;o)

[azloon]

"if you are a women and tell someone that the cock woke you up in the morning, you'll probably get a few raised eyebrows." azloon

thx, Sandrine for letting me revisit my post. i meant to write "that A cock woke you up." it's funnier that way, i think.

"I'm soooo glad there are not cocks here in Washington !! ;o)" sandrine

i think you're 'fishing for' something but i am not going to speculate or comment. :)

i thought later of adding to my post, "a few raised eyebrows, AND MANY ENVIOUS FRIENDS."

i am aware, though, that being awakened in this fashion is a matter of particular, and often, acquired taste.

[azloon]

CB --

i forgot to say the obvious about the term "ass:"

'ass,' first and foremost in american english, and probably british as well, is the human posterior. 'ass' as a perjorative for a jerk is the second most common usage.

telling someone they have a 'nice ass' is a high compliment, particularly if it is your lover, or someone you want to become that person. doesn't usually work so well for a stranger on a subway.

[Daniel Strohl]

Azloon,

The translation of ass in high level French is "derrière, postérieur, fondement, séant, fessier, arrière-train, croupe".

In colloquial French, it is "cul" (pronounced "cu"). There are many variations around this word; however, they would go beyond the scope of this august blog.

Nevertheless, one may mention at least two of them :
- "tomber cul par-dessus tête" means fall heavily and in disorder
- there is the (colloquial) adjective "cucu" - means thick, not very intelligent, a bit strange - so, if you say to a young lady in the subway "Mademoiselle, vous êtes un peu cucu", she usually will not understand this as a compliment ...

Furthermore, as an ancient mariner, you will no doubt be interested by a few nautical expressions using the word "cul"
- when a ship is made fast not on her side on a wharf or pier, i.e in the most usual way, but by her stern side (I don't remember the proper English expression), she is "amarrée cul à quai".
- when a ship (during manoeuvers) moves backwards, one says : le bateau "cule" (and not "recule" as any marin d'eau douce/soft water sailor would say).
- the word "cock" has been used several times by various persons here above - among many possible translations, the most common is "bitte" - in the navy, a bollard is called "une bitte d'amarrage"

[Pierre]

The one word I really wouldn't like is 'cocu' - a concern which seems far more widespread in France than elsewhere (as the song goes, "j'suis content j'suis content j'suis content j'suis content j'suis cocu mais - content"). In prépa we used to chant "les cocus au balcon" as we marched past buildings in Versailles for our bizuthage.

In english, ass definitely means donkey. The posterior is "ar*e". Call someone ass, and you're just calling them a bit stupid - as in, "the law is an ass".

[azloon]

"In english, ass definitely means donkey" -- Pierre

even tho the american heritage dictionary lists the animal definition first (a vain, self-important person, and buttocks, are listed second and third), i have seldom if ever heard an american use the word "ass" in reference to anything other than human posteriors and silly, agressively stupid people.

Daniel -- thanks for tying this coversation to nautical life. would the ancient mariner today be titled "the pre-senile mariner?"

[Daniel Strohl]

Azloon,

"the pre-senile mariner"

Please refer to Sandrine's age table in another post to ascertain in what category both of us fit best. But since she is a nice and gentle girl, she has not really made an explicit provision for "pre-seniles". Nevertheless, ...

[Pierre Bernardi]

Ah yes, the Heritage. But I was talking about English. I use the Collins. In french, one can hardly do better than the Petit Robert - particularly for proper nouns.

[azloon]

"what category both of us fit best." Daniel

Daniel, i know in which category i fit best: those with CRS syndrome ("can't remember shit.")

the term "pre-senile" is most often used here to describe the mild dementia (pre-senile dementia) that proceeds true senility .

i take the point of view that the pre-senile life stage can last a long time, and doesn't have to mean imminent dotage. thanks to google, we are able to access all sort of things not easily recalled which is reason enough to have an iphone, or a blackberry (crackberry) in one's possession at all times. those algorythms are wonderful, aren't they?

i am waiting for the smartphone that will tell me where i left my car keys.

[Daniel Strohl]

Azloon,

CRS syndrome : very funny ! I too fit very well in this category...

However, in French, CRS is also the acronym of "Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité" i.e a kind of very tough and rather numerous riot police depending of the "Ministère de l'Intérieur" - Sarko was Ministre de l'Intérieur; his successor is a lady, Mrs. Alliot-Marie, also rather tough (as a former Defense Minister, she jumped parachute and was also a passenger of a Rafale jet fighter) and very bright as well - she was professeur d'université.

Regarding pre-senile dementia : I have a very effective remedy, i.e my wife - she always knows where I have left the car keys (just in case, she has also a spare set), since she has an outstanding memory - this is not always a good thing, except of course for the car keys ...

I like Google and similar. Search engines are the big positive point of Internet - they replace huge libraries for free and are astonishingly fast and often very pertinent. Their inventors and developers are geniuses.

However, I still have a number of various paper dictionaries which are still quite useful and interesting. I like books. They help to maintain brains in a somewhat acceptable working order ...

[terry]

I was awoken to several cocks in Hawaii a couple of years ago. Apparently, roosters are wild in Hawaii. They don't wait until dawn to roost as is the popular legend. With the precision we can only expect from germans, at 4:30 a.m. I went out to kill all of them after my third morning at this house only to find out that these roosters were protected by law. (legal cockblocking if you will). It is illegal in Hawaii to harm them in any way.

So Mr. Bumble is truly correct.

[Valentin]

"They don't wait until dawn to roost as is the popular legend. With the precision we can only expect from germans, at 4:30 a.m."

lol they actually roost in the morning, not at dawn. Or it so happens that both us and roosters have the same notion of "morning": it starts at 1 am !
(no kidding, MY roosters were getting quite noisy at 2 or 3 am !)

[Daniel Strohl]

Valentin, Terry

Our neighbour has also a rooster (although we live very close to the historic center of the city). However, the beast is probably of Corsican origin, since it does not roost very early in the morning - most of the time, it starts around 9 a.m and it lasts not very long either ...

Terry, for your information : Corsicans have not the reputation to be very keen on hard work - of course, this is pure calumny.

[azloon]

Daniel --

re: paper books v. internet

agree. i will buy a french dictionary (comedien = actor not comedian), rather than use one on the web, because i like their 'feel.' the internet is, as you say, great for things you can't easily find out other ways, such as a fact you can't recall, or a word you can't remember how to spell exactly. i love to see the google response when i type in a misspelled word: "did you mean xxxx?" and i think, oh yes, that's what i meant, thank you so much!!