down down down into a ring of fire

as anyone who has ventured outside the ceinture knows, it takes a lot of work to keep paris charmante. paris is my absolute favorite city on earth. i grew up and grew up and grew up there. i suspect if i go next month, i will grow up some more. however, it really is time for french intellectuals and radicals alike to take an agressive public stand with respect to france's racially charged economic and class issues. the french, however endearing i find them and however infuriating many plebian americans find them, love to cluck and tsk about america and our racial problems, often underscoring how france has always embraced blacks. so now, it is morning in france -- hangover morning.