THE PARIS LETTER: A sort of long letter about the job hunt, plus some phonetics

Hello everyone -

Matt's parents were in town this week, so I didn't have time to write the post last Sunday, but I'm BACK today with a few more Parisian updates.

After several months of rev-ving the job search engine like an old car on a winter morning, it seems like it's coughed to life a little bit and I'm starting to take more meetings and even work a little bit - At the same time, I feel like I'm trying to start about 6 different businesses at once. My general look-for-work philosophy has been to knock on every door and try every angle, and then see what ultimately works out, but that often results in a middle period -like right now- where you are kind of going down several different paths and not sure what will ultimately happen.

For my own sanity, I will try to outline for all of you all the different things that are happening - this might help me keep them straight, actually. Then we can do an AMERICAN IDOL type voting and you can tell me which things you think sound the best:

THE PARIS LETTER: The Political Intrigue of the Job Interview

Hello everyone, Happy Oscars and Cesars weekend -

As most of you know, the Oscars are TONIGHT, but the Cesars, the French film industy's awards show, was on Friday, so we already know what the best French films of the year are, thank you very much.

As predicted, Xavier Beauvois's DES HOMMES ET DES DIEUX (OF GODS AND MEN in English) won Best Picture, as well as Best Supporting Actor and Best Cinematography - The film is being released by Sony Pictures Classics in the US and I urge you all to go see it - I saw it at Cannes last year kind of accidentally; I didn't know any of Beauvois's earlier films, and just stumbled into this screening because it was a competition film that fit into my schedule. Its a really beautiful film and one of my favorites this year - as you may have heard, it's based on true story of a group of French monks at a monastery in Algeria during thethe civil war of 1990s, and their decision over whether they should stay or leave as things became more and more harrowing for foreigners and French in particular to stay. Its a contemplative film that has a lot to say about humanitarian aid and action, but says it in a quiet and thoughtful voice. Several of thethe actors are leading stars of the film industry here - though may only be known by American audiences for their small roles in international blockbusters - the film's star, Lambert Wilson, played the creepy albino twins in the 2nd Matrix film, though he's a serious and reknowned actor here in France. Ironique, as the French would say.