The Snarkly Three: Special 6:52 P.M. Edition

1. French Dilbert is hilarious.

Seriously, how did I ever live without this? :

Known stateside as Build A Better Life By Stealing Office Supplies, this is just one example of the unpredictable spoils offered up each day at bookstravaganza Boulinier, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. Those readers who are my sister and have memorized every word of our original, God-knows-what-stained copy will be pleased to know I now face the world armed with the definitive definition of "YOU IDIOT! I'LL FIRE YOU AND EVERYBODY WHO LOOKS LIKE YOU!"*

I don't know, maybe it's just the novelty, but I have to say this thing (which was already hilarious) just got about 16 times hilarious-er for me. Plus it provides some insight into the the concept of tutoyer-ing (addressing people familiarly as opposed to politely), too. For example, the pointy-haired boss "tutoies" everybody. Seems fitting enough.

2. Access by metro, bus or Moon-Rocket

The other day, I finally fulfilled one of my Life Goals (the others being walk into a university restroom without having to walk right back out, and, oh yeah, end world hunger), and went to the Centre de la bande dessinée in Brussels, Belgium, which beat out all the other cities to be the capital of Europe evidently because no one had a stupider waffle fetish.

But back to the Centre, where, as some of you may know, the Moon-Rocket greets you in the lobby:

Here's the Centre from the outside:

I'll spare you my delirious protracted geek-out over the many Tintin exhibits** and skip straight to this other thing I liked, a Stonehenge-style array of giant comic books mounted on an upstairs floor. This was my personal favorite. I think it says a lot*** about European culture:

3. If this were at MoMA, it would be NAKED Playmobil people

Meanwhile, right here in town, the Musée des arts décoratifs is hosting a Playmobil exhibit, clearly part of a national initiative to promulgate**** the intellectual principle: "Hey! Come look at some REALLY BIG Playmobil people." I give you, as evidence, their Middle Ages exhibit, from which I learned that the Middle Ages featured Playmobil people.

I hope you'll forgive me my youthful exuberance, but there really is nothing quite like coming face-to-face with history.

Actually, I had gone to the exhibit in the first place because I needed to satisfy a burning intellectual question that had weighed upon my soul since possibly the previous hour, namely: does Playmobil make a supermarket? Well, there wasn't one at the Musée, so I thought all was lost, but the Internet proves dreams do come true after all. Regardez:*****

I'd say this is right on, aside from the fact that they left out the steaming clouds of hate billowing from the employees' heads. Whatever, it's a nitpick. Life is beautiful.

* "ESPÈCE D'IDIOT! JE VAIS TE RENVOYER ET TOUS CEUX QUI TE RESSEMBLENT!"

** Unless you actually WANT to hear about this, in which case, another day.

*** Namely, "Ha ha! De Gaulle at the beach is funny!"

**** Snotty-ass English, literally, "promulgate."

***** French, literally, "Holy weekly store circular, Batman!"