French-language leader's debates - Some technical observations

I'm only tuning in for short bits and bites of the French-language leader's debates. But allow me a few (mostly superficial) comments.

Initially, my reaction to the round-table set up was that it created an overly low-key atmosphere - designed to minimize a sense of excitement and any interesting body language. After watching for a while longer, though, I wonder if the set-up actually favours Stephane Dion. He's probably the most comfortable of the group when speaking around a seminar table. It reminds me of the set-up for my upper year courses.

I'm incredibly grateful to be in a region where I can listen to both debates in their original languages. I always watch the debates without subtitles to get a better sense of how the candidates communicate in the language in question. Although I wouldn't say that all the candidates have equal capacities in French, they are a much more bilingual cohort than we've seen in previous debates.

I stand by my argument that May should be included in these debates. That said, I wish that there was more opportunity for one-on-one interactions, and actual "debate", as opposed to sequential responses to questions. I would like to see the candidates challenge each other directly, rather than repeating their platform statements.

I also find it highly amusing that Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Stephen Harper are all dressed practically the same way. If I were writing for a fashion magazine, I'd say that baby blue shirts with blue striped ties are the new "hot" look for 2008. Where's the orange, Jack? Elizabeth May is also bringing a fresh new take on the cardigan with her vibrant green.

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Moose and Grapefruit: A linguistic public service announcement

Through occasional checking of SiteMeter, I've discovered that my blog gets some rather odd hits based on Google searches.

Consider this a public service announcement for those hunters:

The French word for moose is "orignal", which is a masculine noun - so one would refer to "un orignal".

Also, if you want to say in French that you are sorry, but you don't speak French, you would say "Je suis désolé, mais je ne parle pas français."

Finally, the French word for grapefruit is "un pamplemousse".

That's all. Go about your business. I'm not finding tons to post about during the summer silly season.

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