TresSugar

Say What? First Lady Carla Bruni to Star in Woody Allen Film

TresSugar — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:07 -0800

"He asked me to be in his next film. I don’t know for what role, but I said yes. . . . I'm not an actress at all. Maybe I'll be totally horrible but I can't in my life miss an opportunity like this."

- Carla Bruni told France's Canal Plus television in an interview Monday that she agreed to star in Woody Allen's next film, which will probably be set in France. Looks like he finally found a new, above-40 muse!

Friday Feel Good! Open Your Wine Bottle With Your Shoe!

TresSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

It's no wonder the French make the top-10 list of countries that consume the most alcohol per capita - they appear to have a special talent for opening wine bottles, without a corkscrew, even when they're totally plastered! Well at least one Frenchman can do such a thing. To get in the happy hour spirit, let the French teach you how to open a wine bottle with your shoe. Happy Friday!

Top Official: Burqa Not Part of France's "National Identity"

TresSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0700

Cheese. Wine. Baguettes. These are all seemingly welcomed signifiers of French identity. Burqas? Not so welcome.

France has been debating a ban on the head-to-toe garment for some time now. Most recently, the country's immigration minister Eric Besson said yesterday that burqas should not be worn on French streets because they are not part of the country's "national identity."

Besson wants the government to reaffirm national pride by having a "great debate" about what it means to be French. With more than five million Muslims living in France (the largest Muslim population in Western Europe), doesn't French identity include Muslim traditions? It sounds like Besson, who was born in Morocco, disagrees. Based on his previous statements, being French means speaking better French if you're an immigrant and having more opportunities to sing the national anthem if you're a kid in school.

Do you think the French government has a right to dictate dress codes under the guise of "maintaining tradition," or should it be more accepting of minority and immigrant group influences? Would you worry if US officials organized a meeting to decide what it means to be American?

Say What? The Brits Know the Truth About Beauty

TresSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0700

“The English at heart know that beauty is a cheat; it is an unfair advantage, a distraction from the real qualities that you want in a girl: the ability to fry a breakfast with a hangover, have sex in the rain without complaining, flatten an intruder with a left hook, sink a pint, tell a joke, take a joke, be a brick, be a mate, be a mum."

- Reporting from the south of France, British columnist AA Gill explains that while French women might have the chic, unattainable beauty thing down, English women know that a free spirit is a beautiful thing, too. Perhaps the male writer's extensive musings on the differences between women is just another way to say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Oh Snap! Up, Up, and Awaaaay

TresSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Balloons take off at the international air balloon meeting in Eastern France. This year, a record-breaking total of 326 balloons lined up yesterday to take off at dusk.

View 5 Photos ›

Front Page: France Says Au Revoir to Topless Sunbathing

TresSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:00:58 -0700

The French media is mourning the end of topless sunbathing, as younger women have become more modest about their bathing suit choices. - The Times
North Korea's foreign minister has called Hillary Clinton vulgar and unintelligent. - Washington Post
President Obama gave a prime time press conference on health care reform last night. He made his case for reform but also left some questions about the details unanswered. - Huffington Post
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has admitted that she once was addicted to painkillers. - People
The officer who arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. says he is not a racist and that he will not apologize. - Boston Globe

Do, Dump, or Marry? Nicolas Sarkozy

TresSugar — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0700

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is quite the ladies' man. He's been married to two different women since becoming president in 2007 and got caught checking out a young woman at the last G8 conference in Italy. (Was he or wasn't he?!).

When he's not in Paris with his supermodel wife Carla Bruni, Nicolas can be found jogging around NYC's Central Park. The pair was stateside this weekend so Carla Bruni could sing happy birthday to Nelson Mandela at his 91st birthday party.

Would you like to trade places with Carla and bring the powerful Nicolas back to your house, or are you saying: "non, merci."

Happy Bastille Day!

TresSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:24:27 -0700

Seeing as our moniker is part-French, we think it's only appropriate that we wish you a très, très wonderful Bastille Day! Let's all raise our imaginary glasses of Cotes du Rhone to the folks who brought you baguettes, stinky cheese, and the awesome term jolie laide!

Front Page: France Celebrates Bastille Day

TresSugar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:00:27 -0700

France held its annual military parade to mark Bastille Day, the country's national holiday. This year the parade honored India, as prime minister Manmohan Singh was in town meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. - AFP
Microsoft has plans for a free, online version of Office. - LA Times
Goldman Sachs has reported record profits. The company's net income rose to $3.4 billion last year. - Bloomberg
Sarah Palin penned an op-ed today blasting President Obama's cap-and-trade program. - Washington Post
The Episcopal Church is moving forward with a plan to end its ban on gay bishops. - NY Times

Some Churches Have Stopped Marrying People

TresSugar — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:00:00 -0700

Some religious clergy in America are refusing to oversee the legal union of couples until same-sex couples have the same right. The national movement has the goal of making clear a distinction between the obligation of the state to grant people equal rights and a church's role in the sacrament of marriage.

Clergy are allowed to act as agents of the state by performing marriages. To some, this tradition seems like a violation of the separation of church and state.

In France for example, every couple must be married by a civil authority, and only afterward, those who choose can also be married according to their faith.

One American reverend has a suggestion: "I would love it if we reserved the word 'marriage' for what the church does, and 'civil unions' for what the state does." Perhaps separating the religious ceremony from the civil act of marriage would give everyone equal rights. Would you support this?