Set your TV recorder: Les Cowboys Fringants

Les Cowboys Fringants en concert avec l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

In 2020, les Cowboys Fringant recorded a performance with l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. I was lucky enough to record it on my old PVR, and watched it many times.

The concert is one of the most moving, goose-bump raising performances I've ever seen even though my ability to understand spoken or sung French is very limited.

It will air on CIVM (Channel 69 on Rogers-Ottawa) this week at the following times: 

• Tuesday, November 28 - 8pm
• Friday, December 1 - 9pm
• Saturday, December 2 - 9pm

You should set your recorder. 

The concert will likely also play on the Télé-Québec app.

In Memory of Karl Tremblay

The tragic reason that this concert is being re-aired this week is that Karl Tremblay, the band's lead singer, died from cancer on November 15.

CTV reported:

Tremblay's death has triggered what Quebec Premier Francois Legault described Thursday as an "immense wave of love and sadness" across the province.

The CBC reported that Legault also said that Tremblay is entitled to a national funeral.

Although many Anglo-Canadians weren't familiar with Karl Tremblay and Les Cowboys Fringant, their music is well known and well loved in Québec and all of French Canada.

A teaser for the concert:

The hit that anchored their concert movie L'Amérique pleure:

Photo Album on the TV screen

This week, I surprised two women in my life by putting family photos on their TV screens. This is something you can do if you have an Android phone, a Google Account and Chromecast.

If you use something other than Chromecast to put shows on your TV, I bet there is another method that you can put your own photos on your TV. It might be as simple as putting photos on a USB stick and plugging the stick into a USB port on your TV.

And there's probably a way you iPhone people can do this too.

Make a Google photo album

1. Optional step that can make things easier for you: On your computer or on a thumb drive, make a folder that is full of photos that you would enjoy having appear on your TV screen. 
2. Sign in to your Google account. (Odds are you have one already. You definitely have one if you have a Gmail address. Otherwise, you can create one with your non-Gmail email address.)
3. Go to Google Photos - Albums and create an album with a name that won't embarrass you when it is on your TV screen. (I went with "Display". I'm kicking myself now for not coming up with something more clever.)
4. Open that album and click the "add photos" icon near the top right of the screen.
5. Add photos to the album:
1. Option A: If you've already got photos in your Google photos, you'll see the option to choose them for your TV album. There are little circles in the top left of each photo that you can click to select them.   
2. Option B: Click "Select from computer" near the top right of the screen to select the photos you want added from whatever folder or folders you have with photos you want on your TV. This is where doing the optional step 1 comes in handy because you can navigate to that folder and select all of the files in it and upload them all at once. Otherwise, you'll be selecting them in dribs and drabs.
6. If you are willing to allow someone else to add and remove photos, you can "share" the album with them by clicking the little 3-dots share icon and inviting them to the album. 

Set up Chromecast

Chromecast is not perfect, but it works pretty well for me even though it sometimes needs to be unplugged and restarted.

If you're already streaming with Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV or something else, maybe those services give you a way to show your own photos. If so, perhaps there's someone out there who has made a guide to tell you how to do this.

These days, a basic Chromecast unit costs around $40 (CDN). 

I recommend getting one even if you don't plan on paying for Netflix, HBO or any of the other big streamers because there are terrific free streamers out there like CBC Gem and Hoopla.

1. On an Android device, install the Google Home app if it is not already on your phone.
2. Follow the Chromecast instructions to physically connect it to an HDMI port on your TV and to the electric supply.
3. Open the Home app and follow the instructions to connect the Chromecast to your wifi. There's a great set of instructions on how to do this at WikiHow.
4. Pro Tip: During the setup, it will ask you to choose a name for the Chromecast. It offers a bunch of default names like "Bedroom" and "Living Room". It is okay to choose one of these names if you are the only person who uses your wifi. But, if you might ever be in a facility where lots of people share wifi, create a name that only you would use. Otherwise, you may find yourself trying to cast to your TV and having to choose from six choices all labelled "Living Room".  This will make it a pain for you to cast to your TV, and while you're trying to do it, you'll interrupt your neighbour's viewing.
5. In Google Home on your Android device, with your TV on and the Chromecast HDMI port selected as the source, select your Chromecast device. (Mine is called "First Floor".)

6. You'll see the default image that is showing on your TV. At the bottom of the screen, tap "Personalize Ambient"
   
7. 
   Before choosing the album, you might want to scroll the page and fill out the "More Settings", I like to show the Celsius temperature, the time, the device information, the personal photo data, and allow for pairs of portrait orientation photos. I also like a 10-second speed, but some people don't have the patience to wait that long for a new photo and ask for 5 seconds.
8. 
   Under "Personal photo curation", be sure to choose "Live albums only". For completely obscure reasons, Google will only show a limited selection of your photos if you leave it at the default "All albums".
   
9. 
   Then choose "Google Photos" - This will bring you to all of your Google Photo albums. Select the one you created for the TV ("Display" in my case). You can also choose other albums. (Let me know if you want access to my Hydrants with sunglasses album.)
10. This should do it. I encourage you to use this power for good and not for evil.

French TV recommendation - Sans rendez-vous

If Sans rendez-vous was in English, it would be the most talked about show on the air.*

In this half-hour comedy, nurse Sarah Lenoir (Magalie Lépine Blondeau) and her coworkers counsel people about sexual health at la Clinique de santé sexuelle Lafontaine and deal with their own life complications. 

The show is full of humour, love and acceptance.

Season 2 starts on Wednesday, January 11 at  9pm, broadcast free on Radio-Canada (Channel 5 in Ottawa on Rogers Cable) and on ICI TOU.TV.

Season 1 can be streamed on ICI TOU.TV, but you have to pay for "Extra" to see it (or do the one-month free trial).

You can also stream all of the Season 2 episodes right now by getting "Extra". 

If you're cheap like me, wait for each episode to air on broadcast TV. It will then be free for streaming on ICI TOU and will remain free until some time after the season has all aired.

Preview

Useful links

• ICI télé (Radio-Canada)
• ICI TOU.TV
• Sans rendez-vous on Facebook

French TV recommendation - Discussions avec mes parents

Another show I like for absorbing French even when I don't understand everything is the delightful Discussions avec mes parents. The standup comedian François Morency plays a version of himself with fictionalized versions of his parents and siblings.

The show is absolutely delightful. The characters irritate and have fun with each other, but it's never mean or cruel.

All the family members have their quirks, but they're all very likable. As are the recurring friends, like the laundry owner who says "chesseuze" instead of "sécheuse" and the friend who works for "Postes Canada - Canada Post" and enthusiastically says it that way numerous times every time he is interacted with.

The frequent cameos by Québec celebrities playing themselves is a good cultural window.

Manon and I love the running gags. 

One of my favourites is the love the mother, Rollande, has for the works of novelist Danielle Cuivre whose titles raise everyone's eyebrows but Rollande's. Titles like "Samedi soir dans un champs de concombres" and "Coquinne canicule dans les culottes de Corinne". [Clip: LE CLUB DE LECTURE DE ROLLANDE]

One warning for Anglo viewers: there is more explicit bathroom and sex humour than we're used to with American television. This can even be an issue for French viewers. Apparently one of Manon's cousin's families was watching an episode all together and the five-year-old daughter learned some of the mechanics of how baby's come to be and was so horrified that she cried for several days.

I would embed a clip of a preview, but embedding is disabled. If you want a place to start with previews, I like this season's: Le détecteur de vitesse. 

You can stream Season 5 for free on ICI TOU.TV. ICI TOU also has seasons 1 through 4, but you have to pay for the "Extra".

The show airs on Radio-Canada (Channel 5 on Rogers Cable in Ottawa). The final two episodes of season 5 are scheduled for tonight, Monday, December 12 and next week, December 19 at at 7:30 pm.

It's worth setting the PVR to record all episodes at any time and day because they often air reruns of old episodes.

Useful links

• Radio-Canada site
• ICI TOU.TV
• François Morency on Youtube

French TV recommendation - Audrey est revenue

A few years back, I decided to work on my French and improve my understanding of French-Canadian culture by watching French-Canadian tv shows with the French close captioning on.

I discovered that the shows that work best for me are comedies because even though I don't understand everything that is being said, they still entertain me and make me laugh.

My current favourite is Audrey est revenue on Télé-Québec.

Although Audrey est revenue has a gentle sense of humour with frequent laughs, it is not really a comedy. It shows Audrey's progress after she comes out of a 15-year coma following a traffic injury on the night of her high school graduation.

The show is not one of those stories where the person out of the coma is just fine but has to comically learn about smart phones, social media and online shopping. 

Audrey is brain injured. She has to relearn how to talk, how to walk, and how to interact with her now divorced parents, her new stepfather and a half-sister born after she was injured.

I've seen all the episodes except the finale that airs tonight. Every episode, I've been blown away by the actor's performances. Without their explicitly saying so, they show how it is such a big deal for their characters that this loved one they thought would never come back to them, has come back. Even the actors with small parts, like the Paratransit driver, manage to subtly convey that their characters are aware of what a big deal it is that they're with Audrey.

Although the finale is being broadcast tonight, you can still stream all the episodes for free on the Télé-Québec website, or by putting the Télé-Québec App on your phone or tablet.

Random notes

One of the two writers of the show is Florence Longpré who plays Audrey and previously played Ada in M’entends-tu? Another awesome show available on Télé-Québec (all 3 seasons) and on Netflix (only the first two seasons but with English subtitles). 

The other writer of the show is Guillaume Lambert who grew up in Sorel-Tracy where the show is set. There are many scenic shots of the town that make me want to spend some time there the next time I'm on my way to Quebec City.

The show has been sold to France and Italy and won major awards, so I'm optimistic that we'll get a second season.

Trailer

Cooking with Manon Episode 3 - Grilled Cheese Night!

 Grilled Cheese Night is my favourite. I should only eat one, but I always ask for two.

Cooking with Manon Episode 2 - Falafel Night!

Let me tell you, I was very happy when Kathy asked Manon how she made falafels! 

Wouldn't one of you like to know how she makes genuine Lac St. Jean tarte au sucre?

New Video Series! Episode 1 - Manon's Veggie Burgers

 

It was a happy day for me when I learned that if people ask Manon how to cook something, she finds it easier to make a video of the food while actually cooking it instead of laboriously writing out a recipe.

The only problem is that nobody has asked her how to make sugar pie.

2022-01-23 Update - Here's the recipe in Manon's handwriting:

More fun with googly eyes - Fruit Friends

Today I was inspired by the gifted Miranda Hart to use the googly eyes to make fruit friends.

Here is a taste of her show that features Fruit Friends:

And it is possible to watch all the episodes on Dailymotion in your browser without paying any extra money. It seems to good to be true, and it may not last long, but it looks like all 20 episodes are currently available at https://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x6t6c7

An attempt to increase comfort with houseplants

Yesterday, Clo Willaerts at Bnox delivered this clip from a Saturday Night Live episode:

In the evening at TV watching time, where I share a carefully curated selection of programs and clips with the lovely Manon, I played the clip. Manon appeared to enjoy it very much.

This morning, I heard a scream from the living room and then Manon came upstairs and slapped my shoulder. Yes. She literally slapped me.

I had almost forgotten that I had been inspired by Christopher Walken to humanize one of the peace lillies. It never occurred to me that it would frighten someone.

p.s. The fact that I had googly eyes on hand illustrates why it can be good to be a hoarder.

p.p.s. Long time readers may recall that peace lillies are my favourite house plant.

Chimney Repair

It has been a while since I have mentioned evidence that I live a charmed life.

This is partly because I've been reading about how social media has a tendency to make people depressed because they see all their "friends" having amazing lives while their own lives are humdrum. 

But this week's adventure is too remarkable not to share.

On Thursday, we had heavy rain. While I was working at my desk, I heard a steady drip, drip noise behind me. I moved around and determined that there was dripping behind the wall that covers the chimney from our fireplace.

We had some water damage repaired there last winter, and I'd meant to get the chimney looked at, but with the whole Covid business and my own laziness, I never did.

Manon noticed that where we'd had the water damage repaired, there was starting to be new staining.

So, Friday, I woke up knowing I would have to deal with it. Go on social media, ask for roofer recommendations, do online searches, read Google reviews, check the Better Business Bureau. But I just didn't get around to starting.

Friday afternoon, I stepped outside to drive to the library and pickup a DVD (Season 8 of Vera - we're really enjoying her.)

A guy on the sidewalk greeted me. "Hi, we're doing some work on your neighbour's roof and our ladder might be going onto your property. Is that okay?" I noticed a roofing company truck parked on the street in front of the neigbour's house.

"Of course," I said. "We're not doing anything there and the neigbour owns most of that driveway, we only have about a two-foot strip."

He thanked me and turned to go back to work.

"Say," I said, "I've got this issue maybe you could have a look at." I pointed out the fireplace chimney and described the drip. He figured it probably just needed some caulking. We discussed which kind to go with, and I went with the longer-lasting choice over the high heat choice because we've stopped using the fireplace anyway.

"No problem," he said. "I've got some of that in the truck. We can go up and do it today or tomorrow."

It turned out they didn't have time on Friday. And I thought that they'd run out of time on Saturday because it had gotten dark, but then as we were having supper we heard a ladder going up in the driveway.

Shortly after there was a knock on the door and the guy showed me pictures on his phone of new caulking. "Should be all set."

It was the easiest home repair project I've had since I bought this place in 1993.  

While I hope you are feeling happy for me, I hope this story has not depressed you about your own life. It is true that something very lucky happened to me. I had to do no work to find the roofer, and I'm pretty sure the price I paid was a lot less than if I'd had him especially drive over here. But I did have water dripping inside the walls of my house. Hopefully, you do not have water dripping inside your house.

If my post is still leading you to feel like your life could be better, may I suggest you try watching Vera. If you have an Ottawa Public Library card, you can watch seasons 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 on Hoopla. Don't despair that Hoopla does not have seasons 3, 8, 9 and 10. You can borrow seasons 3, 8 and 9 on DVD from the library. As for season 10, it recently aired on VisionTV or PBS, perhaps it will again. Or the library will get the DVDs. Don't waste your money on Britbox or Acorn. They haven't got season 10 yet.

Magi update

A while ago, Magi was not doing well. Or she was doing some serious method acting for her video career. But on her new regime, she is perky. More interested in looking around than in sprawling on the floor. She seems to like the view of the outside from the Ocean Table.

Is Magi Dead? Episode 7

This episode is dedicated to Manon who cannot be here to watch Magi today.

and now, the rest of the story...

Is Magi Dead? Episode 6

Magi doesn't hang out on the floor so much any more. Maybe it's the thyroid drugs she's on. Maybe it's the loaded hamper in the bedroom.

Is Magi Dead? Episode 5

Magi shows her versatility as an actor.

Is Magi Dead? Episode 4

She continues to keep us in suspense.

Is Magi dead? Episode 3

The series continues.

Is Magi Dead? Episode 2

In case you were wondering, the producer of this series is not dead. And here is episode 2.

Is Magi Dead? Episode 1

I am finally launching a video series that I've been meaning to get going for a long time. It features our feline friend Magi (pronounced like Maggie).