If this is not just a PR stunt, then you have to hand it to him keeping it a secret for so long… Sarkozy a philatelist! The wonders have not left this world! A born again stamp collector unearthed in the heart of the boyishly hyper-active president? Although he seems to be winning some hearts with his latest craze, this is beyond belief! To make the whole thing credible, he even set up an Elysee Philatelist Club, whose spokesperson quickly threw in that President Sarkozy’s collection is already spectacular, in part thanks to gifts from the British queen and California Governor Arnaud Schwarzenegger.
But really, stamps? We are talking about the man who broke-up with his wife in a public quarrel, and in whirlwind romance seduced and married the ex-top model Carla Bruni? The man who made that new relationship public at a trip to Disneyland, of all places. A man who wears Ray Bans and Rolex like he’s a Mafia top dog. This is the man who collects stamps? A man who seems to have more meetings a day than time to drink coffees, spends a quiet evening at home, next to the stunning Carla Bruni, sorting out his stamps?
Do not get me wrong, I do not think hobbies have to be an adrenaline rush, and of course Sarkozy can take on any hobby he wants to, but the calm dignity required for stamp collecting just does not seem to be a characteristic of our President. In the Carla-fueled makeover he seems to be enjoying, this is presumably another step in rendering him more aristocratic, or more sophisticated. It might help up his popularity a bit (37% according to IFOP’s latest poll), to seem less interested in splashing about in money as a baby in a bathtub.
If anything, maybe it just hurt the Elysée to find out that all of Paris has been talking about Yves Saint Laurent’s spectacular art collection at the Grand Palais (see: Christies), and with this latest stunt they can finally bring back the topic we’re supposed to be talking about: El Presidente. Just like in the good old days when he was Minister of Internal Affairs.
Posted by Jt 
Last week Jeff Bezos, of Amazon, unveiled the Kindle 2 electronic reader. The new model mildly increases battery life, has a little more storage and is a little faster compared to the 2007 edition. Hardly a revolution. And at a price tag of $359 (€278) in the USA, the new owner has to be very motivated indeed, as he is only really purchasing a support for books and magazines he still has to buy form Amazon. Summed up like that, the Kindle has the makings of a disaster. Or is there something else going on?
Do you realize, that that little weekly compendium has been guiding us through Paris from our back pockets for 44 years now! It is not only as if it seems that it was always there, but for most of us, it pretty much was. From lying on your parents coffee table, to half squashed in your backpack, the Pariscope has been around town as much as you have. But when was the last time you bought one, or worse still, actually read it? 
Grolsch has been around a while. Arguably the best Dutch beer, if not the best in the world, it was originally founded in 1615 by Williem Neerfeldt. You would think that after almost 400 years, it would be a breeze to pick one up in Paris… well, think again. The world is unevenly divided. London and New York have both become blasé about it, with Grolsch virtually becoming a broker’s trademark, but in Paris the exclusivity is still on. Although… there is a charm in being special, isn’t there? 
The president hopes the French public television will rival the British BBC. But why, really? It is perhaps not overly controversial to accept the superiority of the BBC over the French public channels, but what has it contributed to the UK? Or, what can it do for France? Does more quality television increase the general intellectual level of a country, the happiness or the political stability? Let us not forget that these channels are state owned, so there must be some kind of common interest in keeping them afloat. But what? Is the president chasing an ideal of the active citizen, who, when more enlightened will not let himself be manipulated by his elected leaders and can serve as the cornerstone of democracy? It sounds philosophically sound, so should this action be seen as an ideological reform. If this is so, does television actually contribute to the promotion of the enlightened citizen?
Of course there is not a person in the world who will be doubting between those two options. Recently embarrassed by an online competition, I realized that I knew nothing about car prices. But it did spark a curious thought wave for car buyers. Presumably because you never compare the prices of cars of different categories, you already have a benchmark car in mind, for instance a Smart, and will compare the other options to that one – one of which you will eventually buy. 
