Arcadia Discussion Zone

Dear Ms Crow, thank you for the kind words regarding my trendy kiddies. They do that sort of stuff for chuckles + grins. My oldest did a bit of an experiment and actually sold t-shirt designs to a firm based on what she created. Ya see, she focused on the back of a T-shirt not the front.

It dawned on her when she was still in her early teens that ya actually spend a fair amount of time standing behind folk. To her, she thought how boring to see all that blank space go to waste. She is not into graffiti, 'cuz that is not her idea of art. She started out painting stuff on the back of her own t-shirts and her buddies thought it was cool and she hand painted what they came up with. on their shirts. it was not a throw back to tie-dieing.

When she got married her hubby told her to go into biz for herself and make a go out of it. She went to a few rock concerts and saw the trend then was for tour dates of their fav bands to be printed on back. She did a few heavy metal- goth designs and the next year when the out-door concert scene kicked in that market was flooded by cheap imports from India + China.

It takes a lot of financial support to crash that market and survive. I can see why ya'd get miffed if ya saw yer stuff copied, that's why I wondered why ya didn't have pre-designed in copyright logo's with yer firm name.

The wine trompin' bit came as a surprise to me, that is why I posted the Chenet link where they say ' trodden'. I wonder if they have mechanically designed feet substitutes made of plastic, stainless steel, what ever, instead of real people feet. Since Chenet say 'trodden' I take it to mean the real 'thang'. Then again, Chenet don't say this trompin' takes place in France either. There is lots of real cheap labor on the opposite side of the Med.

What I imagine Chenet is gonna do is send me a goodwill chit to take to a French supermarket and get a 250cl sampler bottle. Now, If they throw in a round-trip flight, a week stay at a hotel in Monaco, I'd consider that a reasonable gesture on their part. Since the French ain't known for such largesse, methinks my original thought is what will occur. If that happens Ms Crow I will send that chit to ya so ya can sample Chenet in RLC.

Ms Crow. I wonder if you ever came across anglo blogs that discuss the Aude area. Here are some anglo's who share their thought's...

http://www.languedoc-france.info/061001_americans.htm
http://www.the-languedoc-page.com/phpBB ... php?t=3168
http://www.audeflyer.com/newflyer/33f07 ... apr10.html

As ya read thru these French oriented blogs it seems none of them are aware of the RLC enigma. Maybe gettin' their daily dose of solar vitamin D is their main focus in life.


Swedes are aware of the Aude area now, due to this bike race, mainly 'cuz a Swedish gal is a contender.
http://www.podiumcafe.com/2010/5/14/147 ... contenders

Ye'll detect a rather prudish take to these blogs. In 1 of them they look down at a normaI situation, I refer to sunbathing topless, a beach scene ya also find here in Scandinavia,

Here is sumfin that is positive 'boot goin to RLC, Ms Crow, ya won't experience any of his, unless a charter bus full of chav's, lads. louts, yobs, ladettes, on the dole footie hooligans hit RLC at the same time yer there and bring their Hogarthian habits with them and replay them out in the RLC streets.

let's hope ya don't encounter scenes like these...
http://www.lazypalace.com/lets-party-in-england-style/

http://www.google.se/imgres?imgurl=http ... s%3Disch:1

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... third.html

http://www.google.se/imgres?imgurl=http ... %3Fq%3Dcar diff%2Bladette%2Bdrunk%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bstreet%26hl%3Dsv%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

Such scenes may occur in nearby Toulouse or Marseille, bur RLC is really off the beaten track. In the UK there is very lil' left that is pristine and free from this modern UK lifestyle. By all means enjoy yer stay in RLC.

For francophile wine imbibers i got a reply in regards to all of the sludge in the wine bag I sent to GFC Planet. THis is the reply i got back today...

....Thanks so much for the bag received today so nicely wrapped in. Our oenologists have analysed the particules which are sediments.

The sediment is actually a precipitate of colour and tartrate crystals. Wine sediment forms over time as the pigments and tannins within the wine develop and react with natural wine acids. This leads to the formation of coloured sediment, often with a gritty texture. This is a normal part of wine maturation. This is not an indication of any fault within the wine. We would like to stress that the consumption of the product or the sediment poses no health risk.

Tartaric acid is a normal grape acid and Potassium also exists in grapes and when these two things bind together, often in cold conditions, they form Potassium Bitartrate crystals which settle in the bag or in the glass. They are completely harmless and natural, the problem of course is with appearances.

Again, please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused to you and your wife.

As a goodwill gesture, you will receive soon by Express Carrier DHL a compensation package hoping that despite this event you will still continue to enjoy our wines in the future.

With my kindest regards.

My reply to Corinne Hartmann of quality control at GFC Planet.


Corinne,

I am gonna be rather blunt with you on this matter. How come only French vintners bottle wine with so much detritus in them?  I have yet to drink a Spanish, Chilean, Argentine, South African, Hungarian, American, German, Australian, Portuguese, Italian, Austrian wine with so much as a smidgeon of sediment you barely can see, barely can feel, and are less than a tiny sprinkle of salt.

Keep in mind that wine was all of 4-5 months old, according to the fill date, so how could it have precipitated to such a degree as the amount of sludge found in that bag? Another worrisome problem, how long has that wine been in storage prior to filling in that bag? Was it a last minute decision to bag it instead of shunt it off to a vinegar factory? or to an off-brand brandy maker?

That bag had more sediment/sludge in it than all the wines I ever drank in the past 50 years.  I discussed this sediment situation with Swedish folks I know who go to South France every year. They told me the horror stories they experienced with excess sediment and wonder why French vintners can't learn how to filter wine like the countries I mentioned. 

These folks do the same as I do in France, and choose  Spanish, Portuguese, Italian reds or German whites.  That you excuse this enormous amount of sediment does not make for pleasant reading. In so many words, you just told me to expect that much sediment in every bag + bottle your various French vintners produce and enjoy the not so pleasant sensation of chewing on sand in our food.

Corinne, you really miss the point here. I sent that bag to you to let you know in a litigation happy society like the U.S that bag would be produced as evidence in a court of law as to the inadequacy of your filtration process. The sensation of chewing on sand while consuming your wine during a meal would get far more compensation in a U.S court. i never mentioned litigation, but I did mention warning wine drinkers the world over of what happens with drinking French wine.

Your reply is rather damning, yes?  I had hoped for something more reassuring to the effect you will meet and exceed the quality of filtration of your competitors.  This reply tells me it is going to be business as usual with GFC Planet, the phrase, caveat emptor, really applies here.

jake

As ya can see folks, that reply from 'quality control' of GFC Planet tells it like it is. The notion of 'quality' to a large french conglomerate like GFC Planet is mere lip service, goin' thru the motions. I know Roger is gonna say sumfin along the lines of why did ya buy an off brand. Well, according to GFC Planet'¨s own propaganda, they are the largest purveyors of French wine anywhere on the planet. That particular bag-in-the box we bought is the only french bag-in-the- box sold in Systembolaget here in Sweden. Systembolaget is one of the largest bulk buyers of spirits in the world. They buy entire shipping containers full of just 1 sort of Scottish whiskey, for example, to distribute to all the stores in their sales network,

I wonder what kind of wine GFC Planet is gonna unload on us as 'compensation'. I druther have them send me a dvd showin' them modernizing their filtration processes and display sediment free bags + bottled like their competition consistently do all the time. I can always pray for a miracle to happen there, yes? If they send us a good will chit to be used to buy a J P Chenet wine in a French store I will send it to Ms Crow and let her get the sludge treatment.

Perfect. I'll use it as a face pack.

Ya know Ms Crow, ya may start a new trend with that budget botox, hehehe. I wonder what else ya can use that sludge for? like maybe for removing rust. It has a very definitive abrasive grit feel to it. Maybe polish tarnished silverware, a pre-soak for burnt pots to save hours of scrubbing,

Please let the forum know how ya can put it to good use, ... the sludge that is

The latest from GFC Planet. I sent a reply to this lady Corinne at quality control and mentioned to her we recently finished a bag wine from Chile called Gato Negro. There was not the tiniest piece of sediment to be detected. We have tried several Gato Negro varietals and they were all top notch.

To my surprise Corinne replied and said I am glad you like our Gato Negro products. In the e-mail I sent her, I told her a joke the missus made 'boot all of this sludge in the bag biz. ....I can imagine us gettin' a couple tiny sampler size bottles ya get on the airlines for our troubles. I have tried to find out zakly how many wine brands GFC Planet has biz ties to but all that is mentioned is French vintners.

Corinne replied, we will be sendin' you four 750cl bottles of J P Chenet + Gato Negro to try. That was last week, so we will see if they actually show up, or just send us a good will voucher to take to the Systembolaget here that sells those products. If that is the case, that means Ms Crow will have to make a detour to Sweden on her way to RLC, or come by on the return leg, providin' another Iceland volcano don't blow its top,

Come to think of it. I haven't seen a recent post by Ms Crow, so most likely she is on the look out for flash floods in South France.

Just a few dates to add to the activities in RLC this summer - who knows what might get turfed out of an attic for these jumble sales...

09 Juillet : Marché Nocturne - 16H00 - 24H00
11 Juillet : Vide Grenier
25 Juillet : Fête Locale
13 Août : Marché Nocturne - 16H00 - 24H00
22 Août : Vide Grenier

I hope this won't come as bad news to Ms Crow. DHL came by today and dropped off 4 bottles of wine as promised, 2 reds of different grape sorts + vintners, a rose, and a white. We were given 2 unique wine glasses with a slant stem to match the neck of a Chenet wine bottle.

We haven't imbibed them yet. The missus put the rose' in the fridge to chill it. The Gato Negro wines are in clear glass with no visible sediment. The Chenet's are in green glass, so we have to see what comes out as we go along with them.

I will definitely go down to the local Systembolaget, the Swedish booze monopoly, to buy another Chenet bag in the box and see if GFC Planet improved their filtration process. I suggested to Corinne the quality control person why doesn't Chenet sell their slant stem wine glass with their wine here? Ya can do it 2 ways, make it part of the purchase price of a Chenet wine, or offer it on discount regardless of which GFC Planet product folk buy.

To my surprise Corinne sez she passed my suggestion along to her bosses. Who knows, I may get a coupe extra long stem wine glasses for that suggestion. Time will tell.

Thanks for posting those ndawe. I don't suppose you know if the fete on the 25th July lasts longer than just the day? So looking forward to going, very excited bunny !

Aha Hugo, so they came up trumps then? Brilliant. Hope you're enjoying them in moderation!

Hi Crow,
The fetes normally last up to 3 days, often with a village meal on the first night and then the fairground stuff and bands after. I don't know about this particular one, but others I have visited in the Languedoc usually follow this sort of schedule.
Regards
Nic

And there's also the 14th of July - big party time all over France.

Hi,

The fete is on the 25th only, with music provided this year by an interestingly-named band - "Lithium"...it does go on late into the evening though - but no room for fairground rides at RLC of course, you'll have to find a larger village for that. And if you stay a little too long, you may even get caught up in the post-fete clean-up, and hear the gloomy refrain of the lucky guy who gets to do the work "Apres la fete la defaite, apres la fete la defaite"!

Try Limoux - their fete is in September...fairground rides open from 3pm-1am each day -

Programme en exclusivité des fêtes de Limoux 2009 :

Jeudi 3 septembre : 21 heures, Grand gala de variété sur la Place de la République avec le concert de Lââm, accompagnée par l'orchestre « Trait d'union ».

Vendredi 4 septembre : 22 h 30, Foire annuelle au Tivoli, soirée animée par « Mister John ».

Samedi 5 septembre : 22 h 30, au Tivoli, soirée animée par « Motel ». À 22 heures, place de la République, bal à papa avec « Lebrun ».

Dimanche 6 septembre : 11 heures, place de la République, concert avec la Lyre municipale de Limoux. À 18 h 30 et 22 heures, au Tivoli, soirée animée par l'orchestre de Richard Gardet.

Refête le vendredi 11 septembre : 22 h 30, au Tivoli, soirée animée par « Mission ». À 22 heures, place de la République, bal à papa avec « Génération Musette ».

Samedi 12 septembre : 22 h 30, au Tivoli, soirée animée par « California, 30e anniversaire ». À 22 heures, place de la République, détente avec « Baïlamor ».

Dimanche 13 septembre : 18 h 30 et 22 heures, promenade du Tivoli, grande soirée animée par le groupe toulousain « Columbia ». ça va donner !

Ouverture tous les jours de la fête foraine de 15 heures à 1 heure du matin.

Marlin's "Bibliothecaire" site features a short but revealing interview with Rouelle...

Laughable!

Tivoli, ah it sounds so Danish, via Italy. Do the French have any home grown, home developed, home anything unique to France, to offer the masses?

The Romans gave us the circus, gladiators, before that period jugglers + court jesters were standard fair. Prior to that were strolling minstrels, + lyres.

Conference by Jean-Luc Chaumeil on August 7th -




Le 7 aout 2010 Jean Luc Chaumeil fait une conférence à

Rennes les Bains

Au Bar Restaurant le Cardou

renseignements 06 40 29 48 04

Sarnier: royaliste

Guilhot Franc Maçon

Entrée gratuite

Don't know if this is too late to ask but if you go up to the Fauteuil d'Diable (devil's armchair) check for me if it is magnetic. Please.

They used these kinds of chairs for fertility rites, they are usually magnetic.

Preliminary research reports reductions of pain in women with chronic refractory pelvic pain using magnet therapy.

Hope the weather stays good for you.

I'll do my best for you Roscoe, wasn't planning on going to RLB but will be nearby, so I should be able to check.
Regards
Nic

Look at what asmodeus in holding on the shoulders. Relate it to Roslyn chapel.

kevin

Roscoe, I checked out yer link, would these sorts of patients wanna struggle to get up to that 'devil's chair' to get their maladies zapped?

Here is a sample of topics I found on that link...

Current status of the subspecialty of female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery - Abstract
Friday, 16 July 2010
Division of Gynecology, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, U of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Randomized trial of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation to treat urge urinary incontinence in older women - Abstract
Friday, 16 July 2010
Gynecology Dept, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil. ..

Urodynamics in a community-dwelling population of females 80 years or older. Which motive? Which diagnosis? - Abstract
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.

Colpocleisis without mid-urethral sling: A valid concept in the elderly with vault vaginal prolapse and stress urinary incontinence? - Abstract
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Service de gynécologie obstétrique, CHU de Nîmes, groupe hospitalo-universitaire Caremeau, place du professeur-Robert-Debré, 30029 Nîmes cedex 09, France.

Urge incontinence: Estimating environmental and obstetrical risk factors using an identical twin study - Abstract
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
NorthShore U HealthSystem, Division of Urogynecology, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, U of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, Evanston, IL 60201, USA.

Fourth International Consultation on Incontinence (ICI) - Complete Lecture Series
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
PARIS, FRANCE (UroToday.com) - The 4th International Consultation on Incontinence, held in Paris, brought together an international faculty of over 150 individuals from a wide range of professions and specialities.

Validating the prediction of lower urinary tract infection in primary care: Sensitivity and specificity of urinary dipsticks and clinical scores in women - Abstract
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Community Clinical Sciences Division, U of Southampton, Aldermoor Health Centre, Aldermoor Close, Southampton.

The effect of tension-free vaginal tape placement on distal anterior vaginal wall support at the time of laparoscopic sacral colpoperineopexy - Abstract
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Methodist Hospital/Clarian Health Partners, Indiana U School of Medicine, 1633 North Capitol Ave, Suite #436, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.

One-year surgical outcomes and quality of life after minimally invasive sling procedures for the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence: TVT SECUR(R) vs. CureMesh(R) - Abstract
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Dept of Urology, Cheil General Hospital, Kwandong U College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. .

No increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with urinary tract infections: A nationwide population-based study - Abstract
Monday, 12 July 2010
Dept of Urology, Taipei County Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.

Laparoscopic extraperitoneal uterine suspension to anterior abdominal wall bilaterally using synthetic mesh to treat uterovaginal prolapse - Abstract
Wednesday, 07 July 2010
Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anhui Provincial Hospital and Anhui Medical U, Hefei, China.

Urologic nurses to enhance practice at SUNA Annual Conference
Tuesday, 06 July 2010
PITMAN, NJ USA (Press Release) - July 6, 2010

Incontinence in older women - Abstract
Tuesday, 06 July 2010
Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, Clinical Center, and Dept of Medicine, U of Alabama Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.

Pelvic organ prolapse quantification in women referred with overactive bladder - Abstract
Monday, 05 July 2010
Dept of Urology, West China Hospital, Sichuan U, No. 37 Guoxuexiang Street, Chengdu, 610041, China.

Differences in continence system between community-dwelling black and white women with and without urinary incontinence in the EPI study - Abstract
Friday, 02 July 2010
Pelvic Floor Research Group, U of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Dietary antioxidants improve arteriogenic erectile dysfunction - Abstract
Friday, 16 July 2010
Dept of Urology, VA Boston Healthcare System and Boston U School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.

Pelvimetric dimensions do not impact upon nerve sparing or erectile function recovery in patients undergoing radical retropubic prostatectomy - Abstract
Friday, 16 July 2010
Urology Service, Dept of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.

A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of sildenafil citrate in men with unrecognized erectile dysfunction - Abstract
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, New York.

Prevalence of erectile dysfunction in living donors before and after nephrectomy in China - Abstract
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
West China School of Medicine, Sichuan U, Chengdu, China.

Influence of photoselective vaporization of the prostate on sexual function: Results of a prospective analysis of 149 patients with long-term follow-up - Abstract
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Urology Dept, University Hospital of Tours, Loire Valley, France.

Insight on pathogenesis of lifelong premature ejaculation: Inverse relationship between lifelong premature ejaculation and obesity - Abstract
Monday, 12 July 2010
Dept of Urology, Erciyes U, Kayseri, Turkey.

Comparison of validated instruments measuring sexual function in men - Abstract
Friday, 09 July 2010
James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.

Treatment of diabetic impotence with umbilical cord blood stem cell intracavernosal transplant: Preliminary report of 7 cases - Abstract
Thursday, 08 July 2010
Gyeongsang National U Medical Graduate School, Jinju, Korea.

Overactive bladder: Is there a link to the metabolic syndrome in men? - Abstract
Thursday, 08 July 2010
Faculty of Health & Human Sciences, Centre for Research in Primary & Community Care (CRIPACC), U of Hertfordshire, College Lane, Hatfield, Herts, UK.

Practice patterns of urologists performing penile prosthesis surgery vary based on surgeon volume: Results of a practice pattern survey - Abstract
Wednesday, 07 July 2010
Division of Urology, Dept of Surgery, U of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Urologic nurses to enhance practice at SUNA Annual Conference
Tuesday, 06 July 2010
PITMAN, NJ USA (Press Release) - July 6, 2010

Study finds higher STD rates among users of erectile dysfunction drugs
Tuesday, 06 July 2010
BLOOMINGTON, IN, USA (News Release) - July 5, 2010

A new era in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: Chronic phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibition - Abstract
Tuesday, 06 July 2010
Dept of Urology, Uni Federico II of Naples, Naples, Italy.

The potential impact of metabolic syndrome on erectile dysfunction in aging Taiwanese males - Abstract
Monday, 05 July 2010
Dept of Urology, Kaohsiung Medical U Hospital, Dept of urology, Faculty of medicine, College of medicine, Kaohsiung Medical U, Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical U, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Erectile dysfunction among hemodialysis patients - Abstract
Friday, 02 July 2010
Research Committee, School of Medicine, Jahrom U of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran.

I'll be staying in Rennes les Bains so i'll be going up there myself. When you say 'magnetic' do you mean taking a compass/magnet up there or complex technical wizardry?!

Chris

I've not been to RLC before so you'll have to enlighten me on this one Kevin. It looks like the stoop is an oyster shell or something similar. What is the link between this and Rosslyn do you think?

Chris

I took compass readings from there and didn't notice any fluctuations. Bugarach's meant to be magnetic (should confirm this in September) but I've not heard that about the armchair

This is a query Roger or Sheila should be able to answer. A while back I mentioned seein' a military presence on several hill tops of that area, especially above Perillos.

Roger mentioned small scale uranium mining, so...what other French military posts are found in this area? Do any of them have a signals component to them?

Are there any secondary level military, equivalent to the National Guard in the U.S, in that area? That terrain would be suitable for interdiction operations. I specifically have Arabic countries in mind, who is to say they don't have aspirations there like the Mexican Aztlan movement in the U.S Southwest.

There's a radar station up on the heights above the village of Périllos at Montoliu on the northern limit of the Catalan border and several meteorological monitoring posts in the area ...and i could tell you lots about the crash of the Constellation in Jan '63 but it would all be in French and you would just whinge...so.