Hemingways

I just saw Midnight in Paris, and it's a beautiful little film. Here's a quote from Woody Allen's version of Ernest Hemingway, who was all about courage.

All men fear death. It's a natural fear that consumes us all. We fear death because we feel that we haven't loved well enough or loved at all, which ultimately are one and the same. However, when you make love with a truly great woman, one that deserves the utmost respect in this world and one that makes you feel truly powerful, that fear of death completely disappears. Because when you are sharing your body and heart with a great woman the world fades away. You two are the only ones in the entire universe. You conquer what most lesser men have never conquered before, you have conquered a great woman's heart, the most vulnerable thing she can offer to another. Death no longer lingers in the mind. Fear no longer clouds your heart. Only passion for living, and for loving, become your sole reality. This is no easy task for it takes insurmountable courage. But remember this, for that moment when you are making love with a woman of true greatness you will feel immortal.

Today's French word is poupée

Which I'd always thought was pronounced poo-pee because I heard one of my students pronounce it that way. But maybe she was saying it in the cute way?

It means "doll," by the way.

Learner: My wife wants a baby girl, because she says girls can be like puppets.
Me: Puppets?
Learner: Yes, you know, like you can play with it, with dresses.
Me: Are you translating from French? As in the word... um ... poo-pee?
Learner: No, not puppy!
Me: I don't mean puppy, I mean poo-pee, like the French word for "doll."
Learner: I don't know "doll."
Me: Girls play with dolls. They dress it up.
Learner: Oh, yes! My wife wants a baby girl, because girls can be like dolls.
Me: Is doll poo-pee in French?
Learner: No, it's poo-pe.
Me: Oh... That's why you thought I meant "puppy." And now I see why you said "puppet." "Puppet" can be correct too, but I wanted to be sure what you meant.
Learner: I don't know "puppet."
Me: You know those dolls you can control? You can make them move and speak.
Learner: Oh, yes! But now we're talking about men, not girls.