I am still doing so-so. The AI bot of this blog seems to have crapped out, seeing as none of the sports teams I usually put in my openings ring a bell. Well, fuck it! I'll just briefly congratulate the Tampa Bay Rays for their victory yesterday over the Oakland A's, and give props to the Bronx Bombers for their victory over the Houston Astros, yesterday in Major League Baseball. As for the National Hockey League Stanley Cup finals, cheers to the Washington Capitals for defeating the Las Vegas Golden Knights last night, proving Doctor Daniel J. Levitin's point from his book A Field Guide To Lies/Weaponised Lies that "streaks" are simply gambler's logic, which is to say no logic at all, but rather something rubes, like "Ricky Jerret" in the second episode of the third season of Ballers, fall for, with current, real-life "sports journalists" who maintain ties to the gambling industry egging them on, like the unscrupulous "Cale" in The Rebel: Johnny Yuma episode "Night On A Rainbow", and like Ballers' suitcase pimp characters "Reggie" and "Andre Allen."
Did I mention that, everything you need to know in life, you can learn from watching Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia's superb TV show on HBO, Ballers? Wazzat? That sounds like an exaggeration? Yeah...maybe. Ballers is most definitely NOTfamily friendly or safe for work. Once you make it past these hang-ups, you can learn a LOTfrom Ballers about living safely and wisely in 2018.
So, to the main point of this entry, the difference between Gaspesians on the one hand, and REAL Frenchmen on the other, as microcosmed by the example of their respective police. What brought this entry on is that Philippe Pichet, former head of Montréal municipal police, booted on suspicion of unkosherness, is now suing to get back his job as the white shirt house mouse in chief.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so several pictures most be worth...a lot of words.
Pichet
UPAC (Québec anti-corruption squad) head white shirt house mouse in chief Robert Lafrenière
Okay, now contrast these two Gaspesians peelers with their REALFrench counterparts.
Former RAIDOC Jean-Michel Fauvergue
Current RAID OC Jean-Baptiste Dulion
GIGNOC Laurent Phélip
Pichet just has one little ribbon above his badge. Lafrenière does not even have a ribbon, just a lapel pin bearing his unit's name. By contrast Jean-Michel Fauvergue, Jean-Baptiste Dulion and Laurent Phélip all have impressive fruit salad. On the right breast of their tunics, the first and the third REALFrenchmen also have the Brevet Parachutiste/Airborne Wings, something you see nowhere on Pichet and Lafrenière.
These contrasts, in and off themselves, would tell even the casual observers that Gaspesian law enforcement is a joke, a real-life parody of Deppity Dawg or Roscoe P. Coltrane from the Dukes of Hazzard, while REAL French lawmen are serious business. But there is something beyond the uniforms. Look at the faces of all five men, in situations where all five KNEWthey were being photographed.
The latter three gentlemen obviously regard themselves as professionals, obviously take pride in their professionalism, and obviously take care to demonstrate their professionalism when in the public eye. Pichet, by contrast, looks like he just heard a Benny Hill or Andrew Dice Clayjoke for the first time, while Lafrenière looks like he is auditioning for the part of "Poster Boy for BOTHEx-Lax and Preparation H."
That is why comparing Gaspesians to REALFrenchmen is exactly identical to comparing what a Tribeca street vendor tries to hawk onto you to a REALRolex, Louis Vuitton or Prada.
And, now, I want to end with a couple of plugs.
I first heard of this group on TSN 690. They are called Hockey Helps The Homeless, and they raise money for homeless people by hosting hockey tournaments featuring National Hockey League players and ordinary civilians.
McLaren alumni Sergio "Checo" Perez is collecting money for the victims of the recent earthquakes in Mexico through his foundation.
Puerto Rico has been devastated by Hurricane Maria. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has set up The Empire State Relief And Recovery Effort For Puerto Rico.
On the subject of Puerto Rico, Los Angeles Chef José Andrés has set up an organisation, called World Central Kitchen, to help feed the hungry, not only in Puerto Rico, but in other bad-off places in the world. Please donate or help if you can.
I also want to plug the Patreons of a couple of superb folks. First, there is Jordan Owen, superb musician and content creator. Then, there is Sunny Megatron, Sex Educator and Podcaster. And there is also director extraordinaire and podcaster Holly Randall. They are, all three, highly entertaining to watch. They have the charm and magnetic charisma of The Kylie Ireland Show podcast of a decade ago, starring the legendary, one and only Kylie Ireland and Eli Cross.