Don't be a Fool - Back up Your Blog

Along with the French April Fish cards in honor of April 1, I have a word of caution for people who have blogs on Blogger. I was caught off guard yesterday when all traces of my blog vanished. It was as if it never existed. Over two-and-a-half years of work and 800+ posts disappeared from the internet. I have heard of this happening to other people, but I thought it was an 'old' issue. Often the deleted blog comes back in a day or two, but not always. I am happy my blog is back, but I was kicking myself for not staying up to date on back-ups. This only takes a minute, so be sure to do it. It's very easy to do, just not so easy to find the directions:

Click on Design in the upper right-hand corner of your blog window.
The new window that comes up will have a list on the left. Click on the last one: settings
Then click on other at the bottom of the list
Towards the top of the page, you will see Blog Tools, click on Export Blog
Don't worry, this will not make your blog go away, but it will create a file that includes all of your posts and the comments too!

It's probably a good idea to do this at least once a month. You can just delete the older files.  Then if your blog disappears, you have two options:

1. You can create a new blog in Blogger, and go through the same steps above, but instead of clicking on Export Blog, click on Import Blog. It will then allow you to browse for files. Hopefully you can remember where you saved the export file. Click on it and it will quickly load all of the posts.

2. You can export the blog to another blog service like Wordpress.

I have not tried exporting to Wordpress, but I did try creating a new test blog on Blogger and importing the posts. It worked beautifully. Please note that it does not save the blog template; you have to do that separately. The export works very quickly and without taking up much disk space (my exported blog was 15.4 MB.) With any luck your blog will not disappear, but in case it does you'll feel a lot better if you saved a copy of it and so will your readers.

De qui ce joli poisson?

Who sent you this lovely fish? That's often the question when it comes to the first day of April and the French tradition of April fish. People in France don't do it much anymore, but they used to send each other cards with fish on them accompanied by messages of affection. Often the card included only a simple message, such as 'guess who.' I have posted many of these Poisson d'Avril cards over the past few years. If you go back to the first post, you can read about the history and traditions of the holiday.

I love these cards because the combination of fish and romance seems so unlikely, but then again, it's fish, romance, and humor - the best combination.

Here are the backs of the first card and the last card.

Beware the Escolar, My Son

This is a special warning post to protect my dear readers from harm by fish. I write this because we have increasingly encountered this particular fish on restaurant menus, a fish that should not be there. Eat it at your peril. We did, and now we know better.

The fish is called Escolar or Snake Mackerel, but more often is listed on menus as Super-White Tuna, Walu, Butterfish, and even as Sea Bass and Black Cod and a number of other fish that it isn't.  This is a misrepresentation. It's hard to say if this is the fault of the fish wholesaler or the restaurant, but it's dishonest. The best thing to do is to ask the waiter if it's the same thing as Escolar and hope that you get the correct answer...or order something else. If you order the fish, it will be very rich and delicious, and you would be unlikely to attribute the alarming after effects to this tasty fish. That said, there have been lawsuits against restaurants. It is currently illegal to sell the fish in Japan and Italy. Some countries allow it to be sold, but only with a warning. It was also prohibited in the United States until the 1990s, but now it's legal to sell and becoming more common.

Now, you're probably wondering what this fish does. I will not describe it here, but will guide you to a few informative links including Wikipedia and the Medellitin Food Blog . I would also mention that it is probably (?) safe to eat the fish in a tiny portion such as on a sushi roll. Many sources claim that if you keep the serving under six ounces you should be fine. I can tell you from experience, (we split an 8-oz portion) that that's not true. There are also claims that only 1 in 3 people have problems with it. I don't buy that either.

  Here is the back of the last card, associating good health with the fish. Believe it if you will.

The Children Have Gone Fishing

Here are some more French Poisson d'Avril  or April Fish cards. Yesterday's cards all featured lovely women; today's all feature children. As the first card explains, these children are continuing a long tradition of offering fish and flowers for the first of April.

A typical card might have a message on the back that says, "Guess who sent you this." The cards are often joking and romantic at the same time.

Here's the back of the first card, sent on April 1, 1904.

To see more Possin d'Avril cards from previous posts, click here.

April Fish

April first wouldn't be the same without some French Poisson d'Avril cards.

There are lots more Poisson d'Avril cards on this blog, but I'll repeat some of the background in case you didn't see the earlier posts.

Back in the old days in France (up until 1564), the new year was celebrated on April first, based on the Julian calendar. That was before King Charles IX came along and decided that everybody should be following the Gregorian calendar, which starts the new year on the first day of January. Not everyone welcomed this change, or so the story goes, and some people continued to celebrate April 1 as the first day of the year. Allegedly, those people were mocked and referred to as April fools. Whatever the case, it became a tradition to do things such as pasting a fish on unsuspecting people's backs on April 1, and calling them a Poisson d'Avril or an April Fish. The symbol of the fish may also have been connected with Jesus Christ.

There is another theory that the traditions were inspired by the abundance of newly-hatched fish in French rivers in the Spring. These fish, who had not yet acquired their stream smarts, were easy to catch, and referred to as Poisson d'Avril. Because of the fish, it became customary to fool people on April first. It's still a tradition to give chocolate fish as a present and at one time it was also very popular to send, often anonymously, postcards featuring fish. Somewhere along the line, these cards also became romantic, with the fish symbolizing remembrance and secret feelings.

 

Be sure to stop by Sepia Saturday for interesting photos and stories.

Friday Fish Special

So many fish!  Don't forget to read this previous post if you want to know more about the French tradition of April Fish. This young fellow in his adorable outfit appears to have an abundance of fish. The message at the bottom of the card says: I address you with pleasure.

More Fish for Friday

More lovely fish.  Don't forget to read this previous post if you want to know more about the French tradition of April Fish.

The message on the front of this one this one says: With my thoughts to those I cherish. The message on the back is mysterious. Often these cards were sent anonymously and signed "guess who" or something along those lines.  On the left-hand side of the card, the message includes the phrase: Seek and you shall find. 

What's really amusing about the card is the right-hand side which is just the address written out as a comical narrative: Miss Marthe Jamisson who lives with her parents on ___ street in _____ town etc.  The narrative ends with Department unknown, Province - seek and you shall find. (Europe)    I thought at first that it had been hand-delivered, because no postman would put up with that kind of nonsense, but there is a canceled stamp on the front of the card. It seems this postman had a sense of humor.

French Fish Friday

I just realized that it's been ages since I posted a French Poisson d'Avril card, so it's high time I posted some more. Be sure to click here to see an earlier post that explains all about the origins of the April 1 fish. And, if you are as captivated as I am by these fish, there are 9 other posts here on the subject.

The card's message reads:

You would know the reasons we are sending you these fish.

And don't you love that the woman is labeled as Louisa and the man's fish is labeled Urbain. Very cute.

Here's another gem:

Fish and Flowers

Am I the only one who loves these French fish postcards? I hope not.  For an explanation of the tradition of the April Fish or Poisson d'Avril, click here.
The message on the front of the card reads: At the bottom of the sea I found a pleasant surprise.

Easter...and Some Leftover Fish

I've inundated you with April Fish cards over the last several days, so I knew you would be relieved to have a fish-free day today. Since Easter is just a few days away, I picked out a nice Easter postcard.

But then I looked at the card again and had a moment of recognition. Didn't I see approximately the same card a few days ago when I was going through the fish cards? Is it possible?

Well, look at that! Perhaps she did a Christmas one right after this. If they were doing them in order of the holidays, the fish one would have been first, so let's hope she washed her hands after that one.

O.K., I promise, tomorrow - no fish! No fish postcards and no fish for dinner. The fish postcards have  inspired me to cook a lot of fish, and Mr. Anonymous is sort of fished out. Maybe I'll make some deviled eggs.

Poisson d'Avril

Some people Don't like fish.

 

 But I hope you are a fan of fish, because we have a few more.

You thought we were all done with the fish? No, no, no. This is the big fish day, April 1.  Here's an explanation of April fish from an earlier post.

Back in the old days in France (up until 1564), the new year was celebrated on April first, based on the Julian calendar. That was before King Charles IX came along and decided that everybody should be following the Gregorian calendar, which starts the new year on the first day of January. Not everyone welcomed this change, or so the story goes, and some people continued to celebrate April 1 as the first day of the year. Allegedly, those people were mocked and referred to as April fools. Whatever the case, it became a tradition to do things such as pasting a fish on unsuspecting people's backs on April 1, and calling them a Poisson d'Avril or an April Fish. The symbol of the fish may also have been connected with Jesus Christ.

There is another theory that the traditions were inspired by the abundance of newly-hatched fish in French rivers in the Spring. These fish, who had not yet acquired their stream smarts, were easy to catch, and referred to as Poisson d'Avril. Because of the fish, it became customary to fool people on April first. It's still a tradition to give chocolate fish as a present and at one time it was also very popular to send, often anonymously, postcards featuring fish. Somewhere along the line, these cards also became romantic, with the fish symbolizing remembrance and secret feelings. Unfortunately, the tradition of April fish cards in France has slowly faded away. What a shame.

And here's what happens when postcard photographers have too much wine with lunch.  I imagine them posing this poor fish on his Vespa, laughing uproariously, and then cooking him with the parsley and whatever wine remained.

More Fish!

(continued from yesterday)
Jean-Paul grew up with a love of fish, and took his pet fish everywhere with him.

Jean-Luc Loves Fish

Jean-Luc came from a family of fisherman, so it was natural that he should have a love of fish. It's just that his love of fish was, well, a little different. Fish were all he thought or dreamed about. Friends would try to talk to him about football or drinking, but he always found an opportunity to bring up the subject of fish.  When he was twenty, Jean-Luc proposed to his girlfriend, Marie-Claire, by presenting her with a basket of fish, the ultimate romantic gesture.

She said, "This is my engagement ring-a fish? I don't think so."

Finally, Jean-Luc found a girl who loved him despite his fish fetish. Margaux had never had enough to eat as a child and reasoned that at least you could eat a fish, whereas a ring was not really useful in any way.

They enjoyed a courtship of fishing and other romantic pursuits.

Finally, it was time to raise a family, and Jean-Paul was born.

(continued tomorrow)

Another Fish!

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It's been almost a week since I posted the last April Fish postcard. You have been deprived too long. This cannot continue.

So here's your fish; the message says "eat heartily." For more information on the origin of the April Fish, take a look at the earlier post.

Je Pense à Vous

The front of this card says, "I'm thinking of you. Think of me." This is another example of a Poisson d'Avril card traditionally sent in France for April first. These cards always feature fish. To find out why, click here for an explanation.

The message on the back of the card reads:
I'm thinking of you. (illegible) It's Sunday that you're thinking of coming. I see that we will be free for some days now.  Decide and write pretty soon. Sorry that I do not write more. I don't have room and it's better to save our stories for when we see each other. See you soon. Waiting for your news.