Cheers ! / Santé !

The picture says it all... But for those who'd be curious : the pic is a sprite of a Daredevil MUGEN character. I've been having a lot of fun with this game, lately... Kudos to the original spriter from Team Spoiler.

Tout est dit dans l'image... Mais pour les curieux : l'image est tirée d'un sprite d'un perso MUGEN. Je m'amuse beaucoup avec ce jeu, dernièrement...

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails
Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

Daredevil's drinks - Episode 5

So far, Brubaker and Lark's run on Daredevil has been rather short in drink-related scenes but the dedicated comixologist could catch a few panels here and there.
Jusqu'à présent le run de Brubaker-Lark comporte fort peu de scènes autour d'un verre mais le comixologiste a exploré les numéros pour vous.

Issue 89 : Matt is in Monaco, at a party held by local mobster Tybold Lucca. Note the small tumber glass, what kind of drink is having Matt ? A Sweet Vermouth ? Something stronger ? There are some questions that will remain unanswered...

Dans le numéro 89, Matt est à Monaco, à une réception organisée par Tybold Lucca, un parrain local. On notera qu'il tient un petit tumbler... Que boit-il ? Un vermouth ? Quelque chose de plus fort ? Certaines questions resteront toujours sans réponse...

Issue 90 : Daredevil goes to a bar in Paris but orders no drink.

Numéro 90 : Daredevil se rend dans un bar mais pas pour un verre...

Issue 93 : Foggy is back from the dead and Becky is asked to join Nelson & Murdock. They're having red wine at a restaurant (and seemingly not a cheap one). Sidenote : I've tested american wines on my Honeymoon and they're so much better than I thought, especially Merlot Reds.
Numéro 93 : Foggy est de retour et Becky est invitée à se joindre au cabinet Nelson & Murdock. Ils sont au restau et prennent du vin rouge.
Note : lors de mon voyage aux States, j'ai pu constater que le vin US est bien meilleur que ce que je croyais. Et en particulier le merlot.

Well in more than thirty issues, I could only catch two scenes... But there's still hope of more coming with the introduction of this guy :
Je n'ai pu trouver que deux scènes en une trentaine de numéros mais l'espoir demeure avec l'arrivée de Master Izo.

Well, for now he only asked for beer, sake and drank grain alcohol but it would be a shame having lived for so long without knowing better spirits!
Pour l'instant, il a juste demandé de la bière, du saké et sifflé une bouteille d'alcool à 90 mais ce serait dommage pour un si vieux briscard de ne pas avoir goûté à de meilleurs spiritueux !

Maybe he'll be able to show the way to Matt ?
Peut-être pourra-t-il montrer la voie à Matt ?

And maybe not...

Ou peut-être pas...

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

Daredevil's drinks - Episode 4

After a search through the back issues , we can see Daredevil's visits to the bars are filled with battles, brawls but... booze? not that much! It could be explained by the fact most of the imbibers Matt has known were illustrations of the bad consequences of drinking.

From V1 # 227
Well, as you see him in this scene, he's sober...
D'un autre côté, si il est comme ça quand il est sobre...

Après une recherche dans les archives de DD, on peut constater qu'il se rend dans les bars plus pour les bagarres que les beuveries. La défiance de Matt Murdock envers l'alcool pourrait s'expliquer par quelques exemples très négatifs que lui ont donné certains de ses proches...

First, his father Jonathan "Battling Jack" Murdock was an occasional drinker. But not a happy drinker, as it seems, as one day he raised the hand against his son after a few drinks...

Art from Battling Jack Murdock #2

Le père de Matt n'avait semble-t-il pas l'alcool joyeux et c'est avec quelques coups dans le nez qu'il leva un jour la main sur Matt.

Then, Matt also has an ex-girlfriend, Heather Glenn, who fell in the bottle after they broke up and finally committed suicide.


Heather Glenn, une de ses ex, sombra dans l'alcoolisme après leur rupture et finit par se suicider.

So, it's perfectly understandable for DD to stay away from booze but I think as a "super-taster" he might miss a lot of good things. When will a DD writer explore this ?
On peut donc comprendre que DD soit peu porté sur l'alcool mais je pense que c'est dommage pour un personnage au goût et à l'odorat surdéveloppés, il passe à côté de chouettes trucs. A quand un numéro de Daredevil : oenologue ?

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

Daredevil's drinks - Episode 3

In Elektra Lives Again, by Frank Miller, Matt has a drink with a client, that leads them to a one-night stand.
Dans "Elektra, le retour" (ou "Elektra ressuscitée", selon les éditions) par Frank Miller, Matt partage un verre avec une cliente qui les conduit à une aventure sans lendemain.

To introduce the scene, Miller uses a seemingly unrelated flashback of Matt's youth : when he was seven, he saw a man named Guido Contavespi pushed through the window of a bakery shop. He ended with a splinter of glass shoved in his chest. When he pulled it out, his lung was sucking blood and air and the bakery's owner came with waxed paper to try to slow down the sucking...

Miller introduit la scène par un souvenir d'enfance de Matt : il avait vu un homme nommé Guido Contavespi traverser la vitrine d'une boulangerie. En retirant un éclat de verre de sa poitrine, le sang et l'air étaient aspirés par le poumon perforé (c'est du pur Miller, pas gore du tout...). Le boulanger avait accouru avec du papier sulfurisé pour freiner l'aspiration.

"Hey, are they having cocktails ?"

We don't get to see Matt at his most heroic, but the scene, though a bit too cliché, makes him a very human character (some would say a stone cold player and a jerk but that's just a p.o.v.), more relatable than many heroes.

Peter Parker would probably have refused the drink because he had to go back home to see his Aunt May.
Clark Kent would have had an already busy agenda shared between Lois Lane and Wonder Woman.
Bruce Wayne would not have had the drink either... because he would have known what was coming next.
That's the thing about the Batman, he thinks of everything.
Ce n'est pas une facette très héroïque du personnage mais ce genre de scène contribue à le rendre plus humain (certains diront "salaud") que beaucoup d'autres héros.
Peter Parker aurait sans doute du refuser pour aller s'occuper de Tante May.
Clark Kent aurait décliné, son agenda étant déjà réservé pour Lois Lane et Wonder Woman. Bruce Wayne aurait dit non car il savait comment les choses s'enchaîneraient (oui, Batman sait tout et prévoit tout).

"Ce n'était pas de l'amour. Rien que du papier sulfurisé."

Une écriture typique de Frank Miller, arrivant à faire le parallèle entre un souvenir sanglant et une romance désabusée. Le moment le plus "Daredevilien" arrive quand Matt se réveille et réalise que son aventure d'un soir n'a en rien effacé son chagrin et sa douleur d'avoir perdu Elektra...
"Not like love at all. More like waxed paper." Very Millerian indeed, mixing bloody facts and bittersweet love. And the more "Daredevilian" thing about this part of the story is that Matt gets the girl and you still feel sorry for him cause that one-night stand didn't heal his sadness and pain due to Elektra's Death.

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

Daredevil's drinks - Episode 2

This one is taken from the last page of Vol. 2 #25, the last issue of the "Playing to the Camera" story-arc.
Voici des extraits de la dernière page du numéro 25 (Volume 2), conclusion de "Playing to the Camera", traduit en français par "La grande parade".


At this time, Matt was back as a lawyer and had to deal with a complicated plot related to his secret identity. He had accepted a case where his client sued Daredevil, hence, as DD, he had to hired a lawyer, Kate Vinokur, to defend himself versus... himself!
At the end of the day, Matt and Foggy won the case but Matt didn't get the girl and they went to a bar.

"Foggy : And you met Kate (...) You like her, don't you ?
Matt : Yeah..."

Contexte : Matt est à nouveau avocat et a du démêler un imbroglio lié à sa double identité. Ayant accepté une affaire où son client portait plainte contre Daredevil, il a, en tant que DD, engagé une avocate (Kate Vinokur) pour se défendre... contre lui même !
Finalement, Matt (ou plutôt DD) a gagné l'affaire mais pas le coeur de Kate et nos deux compères se retrouvent dans un bar à refaire le monde.

"Foggy : Don't worry, she'll call you.
Matt : How can you be so sure ?
Foggy : Because she'll rationalize and get over it. Lawyers always do.
Besides... she's gotta give you her bill."

We don't get to know what they drink precisely ( they're holding old fashioned glasses with ice cubes so we can suppose it's some kind of whisky). The drink description is vague but the scenery and the mood are spot-on. This arc as a whole is generally not a fan-favourite and it has its goofs but I kinda like this final scene. Matt and Foggy are enjoying a drink in a bar, talking about women, making jokes and just having fun. A "human" moment that doesn't seem forced or fake.
On ne saura pas trop ce que boivent Matt et Foggy (ils tiennent des verres à whisky, avec des glaçons). Mais si le description des boissons est négligée, l'ambiance de bar est assez bien rendue. Cette histoire dans son ensemble est assez peu appréciée par les fans de DD mais j'aime plutôt bien cette scène finale. Matt et Foggy partagent un verre, parlent des femmes, plaisantent et passent un bon moment. Une scène où ressort le côté humain de Daredevil, sans que cela paraisse forcé ou artificiel.

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

Daredevil's drinks - Episode 1

From now on, posts will be both in English and French ! Daredevil has super-senses, including super-taste, so his choices of drinks should be refined, yes ? Nope. First, most of the time, authors prefer to use the Bretzel to illustrate how sharp DD's tasting is (like the Bretzel was the universal measuring scale for taste). Then, there's not a lot of pictures of Matt drinking (well, he's not Tony Stark, after all).
Daredevil a des sens surdéveloppés, dont celui du goût, en matière d'alcool, cela en ferait-il un homme de goût ? Pas vraiment...
La plupart du temps, les auteurs choisissent d'illustrer son sens du goût par sa faculté à compter le nombre de grains de sel sur un Bretzel (comme si c'était une échelle de mesure universelle... et valable).
De plus, on ne voit pas si souvent Matt avec un verre à la main (après tout, ce n'est pas Tony Stark).

My first go-to issue was v1 #266 "A beer with Devil". It takes place after the Inferno crossover, DD has lost his girlfriend Karen (once more), is unemployed and has been beaten to near-death a few issues ago. Business as usual for DD...

Premier exemple, le numéro 266 intitulé "Une bière avec le diable".
Ca se passe après le crossover Inferno, DD a rompu avec Karen (encore), est sans emploi et a été battu presque à mort quelques temps auparavant.
La routine, quoi...

We don't get to know what brand of beer Daredevil's drinking. A bottled one. No Belgian I guess. A Bud, a Heineken ? Poor choice, DD !

On ne saura pas quelle bière se prend DD mais c'est une bière bouteille. Pas de la belge apparemment. Une Bud, une Heineken ? Pas terrible, DD !

But the choice of beer is understandable given that :
- Matt, at the time, is unemployed and might not afford several rounds of cocktails
- it seems to be a working-class bar in Hell's kitchen
Anyway, the cocktail-geek inside me would have preferred "A Manhattan with the Devil". So much more style...

Mais le choix de la bière peut se comprendre :
- à ce moment-là, Matt est au chomedu et ne peut sans doute pas payer une cuite à coup de cocktails
- ça se passe dans un bar populaire de Hell's Kitchen
En tant que cocktail-geek j'aurais quand même préféré "Un Manhattan avec le Diable". Ca aurait eu plus de style...

So, he's in a bar and he's having a beer. Well, more than one, it seems...
Donc, il est dans un bar et se prend une bière. Enfin, plusieurs, en fait...


Then, a girl is hitting on him, she ends up being Mephisto, they confront briefly and Mephisto leaves (Matt and Karen already broke up and were unmarried, so, no fun to have for Mephisto).
Il se fait brancher par une nana qui est en fait Mephisto, ils se confrontent brièvement et Mephisto se barre (Matt et Karen ont déjà cassé et ne sont même pas mariés, pas de couple à défaire pour Mephisto).


This issue illustrates the bad consequences of over-drinking for superheroes : they don't get to see just pink elephants !
Ce numéro illustre les conséquences néfastes de l'abus d'alcool pour les super-héros : ça ne se limite pas à des éléphants roses !

Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 10 : San Francisco

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 9 : Yosemite

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 8 : Death Valley

... and they call it a desert.

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 7 : Las Vegas

So fake, but sometimes beautiful.

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 6 : Bryce Canyon, Utah

How many chimneys ?

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 5 : Arches Park, Utah

Arches Park,with two... arches.

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 4 : Canyonlands, Utah

And you thought the Grand Canyon was big ?

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 3 : Monument Valley, Arizona

Lit-off rock.

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 2 : Grand Canyon, Arizona

Well, they call it Grand Canyon for a reason...

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My trip in the West in ten pics - Photo 1 : Arizona

Saguaro Cactus. They're tall, believe me.

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

My Manhattans around the world - Episode 5 : Lyon

Well, it's not the first place you'd think about for Manhattans but it's the city where I live.

I know a couple of bars that do serve Manhattans :
- at the Jonkafe, they used to make it with JD and serve it on the rocks (haven't been there for a while) : an OK drink but forgetable.
- at Le Ciel de Lyon, it's served in a cocktail glass, well done but not exceptional
- the best I ever had must have been at La Cour des Loges (though the barman used Canadian Club)

But my favorite bar for cocktails is at home. There, I can mix all kinds of Manhattans :
- the classic Sweet Manhattan (Rittenhouse Rye or Maker's Mark, sweet vermouth, The bitter truth aromatic bitters, syrup from the jar of maraschino cherries)
- or a stronger version (Wild Turkey Rare Breed or Van Winkle Rye, sweet vermouth, Orange bitters)
- and even a Daredevil Version aka The Hell's Kitchen (Bourbon or rye + Irish whiskey, sweet vermouth, aromatic bitters + Peychaud's bitter + syrup from the jar of maraschino cherries)

And that's it for the Manhattan, for now, at least.

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

My Manhattans around the world - Episode 4 : San Francisco

Until very recently, I had never had a Manhattan in the USA. During my first trip in 2003, I got to be on the East Coast (NYC, Boston) and drank all kind of stuff (mainly beers, coffee and chemical fruit juice) but no Manhattan. Yes, even while I was in Manhattan.

So, as I went back to the USA to visit the parks of the West for our honeymoon, I had this line on my to-do-list : have a Manhattan in a cocktail lounge.

I had to wait til the very last days of the trip (not many cocktail lounges in National Parks), when I was in San Francisco. There I got to meet a cousin (Hi David!) and we went to the Clock Bar, located in the lobby of the Westin St Francis, on Union Square.
My cousin took a Chartreuse Swizzle (green chartreuse, velvet falernum, pineapple,
fresh lime) and my wife had a Hemingway Daiquiri (la favorite rhum, maraschino,
fresh grapefruit, fresh lime, grapefruit bitters).
And I treated myself with an Uptown Manhattan : maker’s mark bourbon, amaro nonino,
orange bitters, cherry brandy, served up with brandied cherries and burnt orange.
The choice of amaro instead of classic vermouth was unusual. Orange bitters were a welcome change to the classic angostura.
This Manhattan was good. My first concern was the glass didn't seem to have been pre-chilled, so my drink was warming up rather quickly. Also, Maker's Mark is not my number one choice for a Manhattan. Anyway, it must have been the most sophisticated Manhattan I ever had on my trips.


Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

My Manhattans around the world - Episode 3 : Prague

It was in July 2005.
A friend (the one who had the Pina Colada in HK) and I went to "La Perle de Prague", a restaurant run by a french chef.
Before the dinner, he ordered a Brandy Alexander. And I ordered... you should know what by now.

The bar was slow, I think we were the only patrons for a while and I got to go behind the bar, just for a pic.
The Manhattan was ok but the barmaid used Famous grouse scotch while she had Wild turkey on the shelf. So, technically, I didn't have a Manhattan in Prague, but a Rob Roy.

Anyway, it was a nice bar, in a very nice city
(Yes, the weird look is one of my trademarks on photos)


Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

My Manhattans around the world - Episode 2 : Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Airport claims to be "the world's best airport".
Well, I'm not fond of airports but the place surely looked clean and secured.
In 2004, back from a trip in Vietnam, I had time to kill, waiting for my connecting flight to Paris.

I went to a bar with a friend, I don't recollect much of the details : I think my friend had a Pina Colada... and the pretty barmaid was named Jenny. And I had a Manhattan, of course.

Surely, it wasn't "world's best Manhattan" but it wasn't bad either.
A pleasant way to kill some time.
Sometimes, cocktail-drinking is just the classier version of beer-football.

(Yeah, the shirt was bought in Vietnam and I only wore it once, since it shrinked ridiculously after the first wash)

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

My Manhattans around the world - Episode 1 : Paris

I've had more than one Manhattan in Paris. But most of them were disappointing.
In France, bourbon or rye are not the usual choice of the barman. Far too often, they make the Manhattan with scotch (as any cocktail-geek will tell you, then it's no more a Manhattan but a Rob Roy).
If you don't know much about whiskies, you might take this as pure snobbery or nitpicking. But the tastes of bourbon, rye and scotch are very different, indeed.
So, for a Manhattan, the closest thing to the genuine whisky you'd be served in France is... Jack Daniels. Well, it's a bourbon, right ? No, Sir, it's a Tennessee whisky ! There's that extra step of charcoal filtering that changes the taste of the final product.
JD is not my preferred american whisky (it used to be, back when I didn't know much about much) but the brand is very strong in France, so barmen always have a bottle on their shelves.

So, knowing that chances to get a well made Manhattan are slim in Paris, where should you go ?
Try the Harry's Bar.


I've only been there once. In the summer of 2005, I think. The main room is rather small. And there's no cocktail card. You can ask for whatever you like. Yeah, they're supposed to be that good.
I went there with an old friend, he took an Americano and I, of course, ordered a Manhattan.
I can't remember if this one was served on the rocks or not. I don't know what kind of whisky the barman used. What I can remember is that we enjoyed our drinks and even had another round. This leads me to point the secret ingredient of good cocktails : a cool place to drink and friends to share the moment.
Quite ironically, I had my digital camera but forgot to shoot my Manhattan, so I only have the pic of my friend's Americano.


Another friend has told me that the staff have been changing through the last years and this bar might not be as great as it used to be.
I'll have to go there once more, just to make my own opinion...

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

My Manhattans around the world - Episode 0 : Andalusia

If I had to date the beginning of my passion for cocktails, it would be on year 2000, during the last trip I made as a student, before graduating.
We spent a week in an hotel in Andalusia.
At the bar of the hotel, the cocktails were incredibly cheap (it was in pesatas, but it had to amount around 2 or 3 euros...)
More surprising, they tasted good.
As the local beer (San Miguel) didn't appeal that much to me, I decided to order cocktails.
And the first one I ever ordered was... a Manhattan. My friends went with Pina Colada or Tequila Sunrise but for me, it had to be the Manhattan. The name just sounded so cool! After all, it's the place where most Marvel Superheroes live!

I can't tell if it was made with bourbon, rye or scotch. I think the barman did use Angostura.
What I can remember is it was served on the rocks and... it was strong. Sweet. But strong. And I kinda fell in love with that cocktail. (I also tried their Bloody Mary but it was atrocious.)

Well, back from this trip, I did not immediately buy all the bar-stuff to make cocktails. I even wait years before having my own shaker, then bitters, then uncommon bottles and more weird bottles.
But I think it all started with this Manhattan in Andalusia.

When I'm going to a new cocktail bar, I'm very likely to order a Manhattan. It helps me to determine if the barman knows his stuff or not.
In the few cocktail-bars of the world I have visited, I tried to have a Manhattan.
So that will be the topic of some of my next posts.

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

Whisky tasting

Dernièrement, on m'a offert deux bouteilles de whisky canadien et j'ai également acheté dans un duty-free à San Francisco un scotch relativement difficile à trouver.

Je me suis essayé à une dégustation comparée de ces trois eaux de vie : Wiser's Deluxe, Glen Breton Rare et Grand Old Parr.
Tout d'abord, quelques précisions sur les conditions de dégustation : j'ai versé environ 3 cl de whisky dans des verres sniffers, sans glaçons, sans ajouter d'eau. Etant donné que ces trois whiskys sont plutôt différents, je ne voyais pas de cocktail idoine pour les comparer.
Après les avoir goûtés, j'ai également fait des recherches sur le Net pour me documenter.


Commençons par le Wiser : un canadian Whisky. Cela n'aide pas vraiment à le caractériser car la réglementation du whisky canadien est l'une des plus souples (pas d'obligation sur le grain utilisé, âge de vieillissement minimum 3 ans, il faut quand même qu'il soit distillé et vieilli au Canada). Il semble que, "dans le temps", au Canada, les agriculteurs rémunéraient les meuniers en sac de grains. Ceux-ci, se retrouvant avec diverses céréales sur les bras, avaient, entre autres, utilisé la distillation pour valoriser (et conserver) une partie de leur stock. A une époque, la céréale principalement utilisée était le seigle, ce qui a conduit à considérer le Canadian Whisky comme un équivalent du Rye Whisky (et carrément un substitut pendant la prohibition) mais ce n'est plus forcément le cas aujourd'hui.
Mes références connues en whisky canadien sont le Crown Royal et le Canadian Club : tous les deux plus sucrés qu'épicés (ce qui me fait penser que leur proportion de seigle par rapport au maïs est moindre par rapport à des Rye comme le Wild Turkey 101, le Rittenhouse ou le Van Winkle...).
Et le Wiser ?
Ben c'est encore autre chose...
Couleur : ambré, le plus foncé des trois
Nez : un parfum plutôt puissant mais avec une seule note dominante (alcool un peu médicamenteux)
Bouche : assez intense, épicée mais différente des ryes typiques
Finale : je n'ai rien noté de particulier
Verdict : un whisky à expérimenter sur des Manhattans et autres cocktails similaires utilisant du bourbon ou du rye (sans que le whisky soit trop dominant). Seul, il manque un peu de personnalité.



Ensuite, le Glen Breton. Un single malt canadien. Distillé et vieilli à Cap Breton (une île). Drôle d'animal. Je vous ai parlé du seigle comme la céréale associée au whisky canadien, plus haut, et là c'est du single malt (donc de l'orge) plutôt typique des scotchs. Il y a d'ailleurs eu une bisbille judiciaire entre canadiens et écossais sur l'usage du mot "Glen" dans le nom de ce whisky.
Couleur : or plutôt clair
Nez : un parfum pouvant faire penser à un Islay
Bouche : plutôt moelleux
Finale : la grosse surprise, un goût de noisettes/cacahuètes que je n'avais jamais rencontré auparavant
Verdict : un whisky pour scotcher les incollables en dégustation à l'aveugle. En cocktail, il faudrait peut-être l'utiliser sur des recettes où le whisky est dominant (Old Fashioned, Sazerac...), le problème, c'est qu'il y a davantage de recettes avec du bourbon ou du rye que de recettes avec du scotch...

J'ai essayé de noter le Grand Old Parr mais même sans finir les deux précédents verres, mes papilles et mon nez ont déclaré game-over. Voici donc une photo, la notation viendra dans un autre post (et oui, je l'ai acheté en partie à cause de sa bouteille cubique rigolote).


Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

Mon discours de mariage

Retranscription approximative, version director's cut :

Bonsoir à tous, nous (oui, maintenant il faut s'habituer à dire nous) sommes très heureux que vous soyez venus ce soir. Moi-même, je suis à la fois heureux et un peu surpris d'être là car si on m'avait dit il y a quelques années que je marierais en 2008, je n'y aurais sans doute pas cru.
NDLR : Ici, j'ai oublié de dire : "Parfois l'amour est comme un ninja, il frappe par surprise !"
Mais je ne dois pas être la seule personne à avoir été surprise. Lors de l'annonce de notre mariage, plusieurs fois les questions sont revenues.
"Est-ce que tu es sûr ?" comme si c'était une nouvelle grave...
"As-tu bien réfléchi ?" : moi qui ne me posait pas trop de questions, ça m'a fait gamberger.
Vous savez, moi je pense que la vie... c'est comme le football.
NDLR : réaction outrée de mon épouse "Tu as osé la comparaison !"
Et le mariage, dans la vie, c'est comme dans le football : c'est une question d'engagement.
D'engagement et de timing : lorsque deux joueurs vont vers le même but, s'ils s'attendent trop, le gardien sort ou bien il y a hors-jeu et l'occasion est perdue...
Une autre métaphore, non footbalistique celle-là, serait de dire que pour faire un bon mariage, c'est comme pour les cocktails : les deux ingrédients ne doivent pas être identique. Jus d'orange + jus d'orange, ce n'est pas un cocktail terrible. Dans un couple comme dans un cocktail, les ingrédients doivent se mélanger harmonieusement tout en exprimant leur caractère.

Mais je théorise sur le mariage et vous tous, dans cette assemblée, vous connaissez cela bien mieux que moi : le mariage est une formidable institution qui permet à deux personnes d'affronter ensemble des problèmes qu'elles n'auraient pas eus séparément.
Mais il permet aussi, sans aucun doute, de partager des bonheurs que l'on aurait pas connu autrement.

Pour conclure : je vous remercie encore d'être venus ce soir partager notre bonheur. Et je remercie particulièrement Viviane, qui est venue dans ma vie et qui a accepté de rester !

Bonus : english translation !

Good evening everybody, we (will have to get used with the "we") are very happy to have you all gathered tonight. Myself, I'm happy but also a bit surprised to be here because couple of years ago, had someone told me I'd marry on 2008, I wouldn't have believed him .
Here is a proverb I forgot to mention : "Sometimes, love is like a ninja : it strikes by surprise !"
But I mustn't be the one who's been surprised. When we announced our wedding, questions were raised.
"Are you suuuurrre ?" like checking bad news...
"Did you give it enough thought ?" : that started the inner questioning process.
You know, I think life is like football (soccer).
My wife wasn't so happy with this comparison.
And considering marriage in life, it's like in football : you've got to engage.
Engagement and timing : like when two players are running towards the goal, if they wait for too long, the goalkeeper blocks the ball or there's an offside and the opportunity is lost.
Another metaphor, not footbal-related : marriage is like a cocktail. Ingredients don't have to be identical. Orange juice + orange juice makes poor cocktail. In a marriage or in a cocktail, ingredients have to mix well while keeping their own character.

But I'm trying to redefine marriage while most of you know this better than me : marriage is a wonderful institution that enables two persons to face together problems they would never have encountered on their own.
But also, without a doubt, it enables to share moments of happiness that would have remained unknown otherwise.

To conclude : again, thank you all for coming tonight to share moments of happiness.
And special thanks to Viviane, who came into my life and decided to stay!

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

Daredevil for a day

Last saturday was my bachelor party.


I got to be dressed as Daredevil (sorta), run an investigation, do some wine tasting, chase a villain and save the day.


Cheers !


As it's a part-time drink-blog, I have to precise that here I'm drinking beaujolais, no fancy cocktail...

Catégorie : Blogging_Misc

Dakota North

My last attempt to create a comic-book-related-cocktail was the Elektra.

Weeks ago, I tried to do something about Dakota North, a supporting character of the Daredevil series.

Yeah, she's having a coffee on the pic, not a cocktail, but with a mental effort, you could imagine she's holding a boston shaker tin.
Why the smoke, then ?
You're no true believer.


I decided the "key" ingredient would be Maple Syrup.
Because it evokes Canada.
And what's North of Dakota ?
You get it.
Yeah, very tiny link, I know, but comixology is not that easy...

So, what else did I use to mix with Maple Syrup ? See below :


3 cl of gin
1,5 cl of Benedictine
1,5 cl of Maraschino
1,5 cl of Maple Syrup
a dash of aromatic bitter
Shake well and serve in a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

This drink is sweet and strong, like the character it was inspired of...

Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails
Catégorie : Blogging_Comics

Le Vieux Carré

Lately, this blog's been lacking cocktails recipes...

The Vieux Carré has been everywhere on cocktail blogs this summer, because of Tales of the Cocktail, the event taking place in New Orleans...

I tried it a few weeks ago... I had to gather a bunch of ingredients (I used Darcy O'Neil's recipe).

Well, it's a kind of Sazerac with a twist. Not bad, but not a favorite.

In fact, the good Old Fashioned remains simple but suits me better.


Catégorie : Blogging_Cocktails

Goodbye Mister Ennis!

I've just finished a picture of Frank Castle (inspired from a pic I found on Flickr).

Tomorrow, Punisher MAX #60 will be out and the run of Ennis will come to an end.
I really enjoyed the MAX series, much more mature and rewarding for the long-time reader than the previous Marvel Knights series, which was more comedic.

I've read a special (Little Black Book) by another writer who's gonna be part of the rotating team of writers replacing Ennis and I was not really convinced.

So cheers to Ennis and all the artists who've been part of this great, great run : you did a hell of a fucking job !


Catégorie : Blogging_Comics