....?

Raconte-moi une histoire, hein!

Il y avait une fois un garçon plutôt méchant. En fait, il se comportait d'une manière si mauvaise que sa maman a dû l'envoyer au lit. Quelle catastrophe!

Se plaignant, il ne voulait rien faire. En effet, sans être fatigué, le sommeil ne servirait à rien en plus. Il vaudrait pas la peine. Se réfléchant à sa situation, il a décidé d'agir. Au moins, suivant ses exploits, il pourrait mieux s'endormir, n'est-ce pas?

Voici alors ce qu'il a fait: il allait ouvrir la fenêtre, et il a commencé à monter l'abre ce qui se trouvait juste à côté de chez lui. Il y visiterait souvent, chaque fois qu'il se sentait entouré par les histoires de sa famille cassé. Son papa violent; sa maman ivre.

Là-dedans, Monsieur Lapin s'asseyoit presque immobile, fumant. La fumée, doucement, chatouillait le visage du bonhomme.

<< T'as pas l'air bien. Qu'est-ce qui t'es arrivé? >> Le sourire du Lapin était tout à fait faux.

How to watch Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire

So I've been watching a lot of Mad Men lately with my sister. In fact, after countless hours spent enthralled by the exploits of Don, we concluded that the show served as an essay on the failings of 1950s America, so often shrouded in the veneer that only expensive suits, smoking indoors, drinks before 9am, implicit racism, explicit sexism, misogyny, hostile takeovers and wiggle dresses creates.

I'm historically poor at participating in any sort of visual media. In fact, as far as comprehension goes, a twenty minute episode of The Simpsons is more-or-less exhausting my capacity. My friends assume I have seen Inception dozens of times because I find the shaky premise engaging and compelling. No. I just want to understand the premise, and above all, learn the names of the cast. Does there really have to be so many? Classic James Bond films? Forget about it- more than one villain and we might as well flag it. It's a wonder I don't fail my classes.

So you might assume that shows as multifaceted as these two would prove something of an impossibility, and yes: they are. Sure, I've managed to learn the names of Knucky, James and Margaret, Don, Betty and Peggy, but beyond this, the suits tend to blend into one, homogeneous grey blur. I become distressed at the sight of an apparently familiar character, despite their not registering with me in the slightest. I cry as new storylines play out, clutching as I battle to recall previous ones.

Thus, I've been forced to engineer ways to better understand the oncscreen antics in these shows. These are by no means foolproof; rather, my paltry comprehension can be focused onto a single plot thread, and hell, I might end up being able to précis events on monday at school. Now, if only I didn't have that crippling speech impediment... God I miss Pokémon.

1) Don't worry which characters are sleeping with each other. People in the 60s had the magical ability of being able to sideline their passions without letting meaningless copulation impinge on their psyches and inducing a depressing questioning of their existences. And you thought we had it great.

2) Montages of people being shot: these tend to be a common occurrence, especially in Boardwalk Empire. Much to my dismay, these generally leave me confused as to which vendetta is being exacted, and which waring factions are getting revenge for past wrongdoings. My advice: don't think too hard, just revel in the panning shots of blood on walls, conveniently at the same time as a gun goes off-... oh...

3) Why is prohibition so poorly enforced? A better question- why was prohibition proposed in the first instance? An even more frightening notion- could it happen again? Oh, the terror!