The french Leduc 0.22 ramjet-powered supersonic fighter prototype.

That is some scifi looking aircraft there

Paris stands. Alive. [Nov.13.2015.]

scared rabbit

Aristotle, De Generatione et Corruptione, France 14th century

Tours, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 679, fol. 89

don’t jump, bunny, we can work something out

Look let’s talk about penis versus other kinds of meats, it’s not too late!

I am posting this to support the families of those killed in today’s barbaric attack of French magazine Charlie Hebdo. Famous illustrators, Charb, Cabu, Wolinski and Tignous are among the dead.

It is with a heavy heart that I am reading the news. France, my home country, has just witnessed a blatant and violent attack of its Freedom of speech and of the press. Freedom and Democracy shall stay strong in France. You cannot kill us all. We are all Charlie. Je suis Charlie.

About the French Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira:

• February 2, 1952: birth in Cayenne, French Guiana
• 1993-2012: she joins the National Assembly of France for French Guiana
• 1994-1999: she joins the European Parliament
• May 2001: she is the principal author of Loi n° 2001-434, a law that officially recogizes the atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity [english], [french]
• 2002: she becomes the first black candidate and first black woman to run in the French presidential elections
• 2002-now: she publishes multiple books on the status of black people in French history and society
• November 2012: she introduces Projet de Loi n° 344 to the parliament. this bill goes on to become Loi n^o 2013-404, which legalizes same-sex marriage in france in may 2013 [x]. [here’s one of her speeches with english subtitles x]
• May 2013: she calls for the French government to redistribute land in the dom-tom (France’s Overseas Departments and Territories) to favour the descendants of slaves [x]
• October 2013: she (justifiably) calls out the front national for being racist, antisemitic, anti-arab and homophobic. the party retaliates by threatening to sue her [x]
• November 2013: she becomes the first black woman to be picked as Elle France’s Woman of the Year [x]
• June 2014: she encourages the parliament to pass a reform that emphasizes the use of probationary periods and rehabilitation for young offenders (as opposed to harsh jail sentences with no rehabilition), in order to prevent repeat offenses and reduce overcrowding in french prisons [x]
• July 2014: the court in cayenne gives anne-sophie leclère a 50 000 € fine, a 9 month jail sentence, and a 5 year ban from politics for comparing Taubira to a monkey [x] [video]
• November 2014: she takes to twitter to speak up against the grand jury’s decision not to indict darren wilson [x]

Ah, c’est très bien ça! Quelle femme.

Goddess level over 9000 I love her new favorite!

What a cool, brave, kind-hearted, persevering woman. I hope young black women, whether French or otherwise, see her as an encouraging rôle model.
BTW, the cover line on her Elle magazine cover says ‘I fear neither racism, nor sexism, nor stupidity.’ (applause)

The Hall of Mirrors reflects the reign of the Sun King in Versailles, France, July 1989

Roman theatre of Lugdunum (Lyon)

* constructed ca. 15 BCE

* capacity: 10 000

Scimitar of King Henri II of France

• Maker: Daniele da Serravalle of Milan
• Dated: circa 1550-60
• Culture: Italian
• Medium: steel, gold
• Named “Treasure of the Month” of the Wallace Collection in March 2014

The maker’s marks are stamped on the curved blade of this royal sword, the initials “DS” and a stamp comprised of an “M” below a crown, indicate that it was made by Daniele da Serravalle, a great Milanese master, probably between 1550 and 1560. Such exotic arms seem to have been one of Daniele’s specialities; "9 scimitarre" are listed in a 1567 inventor of his workshop.

The hilt has been pierced, chiselled, and inlaid with gold, forming a decorative scheme involving a very complicated arrangement of horsemen, crowns, and pseudo-Classical figures, while the strapwork on the pommel has been carefully arranged to form King Henri’s personal “H” monogram.

The curved blade is decorated over its whole length on each side with false-damascening in gold forming delicate scrolling vines framed within a dashed and dotted border. Such blade decoration was unusual in the extreme, emphasising the exotic nature of the piece.

Although a perfectly practical fighting tool, King Henri probably only wore the sword as a costume accessory, perhaps for some important parade or political event, if indeed it was finished and presented to him before his unexpected death. In 1559 he was accidentally killed in a joust at Paris, held to celebrate the end of his war with the German Empire.

Source: Copyright © 2014 The Wallace Collection

Season 1

A Giant Twisting Serpent Skeleton Emerges from the Loire River in France

it’s a fucking sculpture I almost shat a goddamn cathedral I thought the serpent lords had come to reclaim the fucking earth