1. Go to the Louvre. Skip the most famous pieces, the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo - or, if you must, run past them just so you can say you were in the same room as them. (Watch this video to see how it should be done in maximum, floor-sliding style.) Instead, go to the Dutch and Flemish paintings to see works of Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Ruysdael, and others. Particularly impressive is the Medici room, a series of 21 paintings by Rubens depicting the life of Marie de Medici, the wife of the French king Henri IV, and mother of Louis XIII. Spend as much time there as you can stand, and then go out into the Tuileries and sit down for an ice cream cone, and then a glass of wine and a sandwich at one of the outdoor cafes.

2. Go to the Shakespeare  & Company bookstore, just over the bridge from Notre Dame Cathedral, on the left bank. Go up to the second floor, grab a book from the shelves, and find a chair or couch in a quiet corner to read it. (This is not only tolerated, but encouraged - in fact, most of the books on the second floor are not even for sale.)

3. Go to a cemetery. Pere Lachaise is the famous one, with Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison, Piaf, Proust and Chopin; but the Montmartre and Montparnasse ones also have loads of famous dead people (including Hector Berlioz, Francois Truffaut, and Louise Weber, aka the can-can dancer "La Goulue" in Montmartre; Sartre, de Beauvoir, de Maupassant and Susan Sontag in Montparnasse). Just make sure you have a good map of the cemetery and the notable graves in it before you go. They are not neatly, geometrically arranged places; there are acres and acres of tombs and gravestones, many of them old, faded and mossy, often hidden behind large sepulchres of long-forgotten aristocratic French families, and few pathways through them.

We've already talked Slapsgiving, so if you are bored tonight and in need something other Thanksgiving-related entertainment (especially since The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural aren't back until January), I recommend that Thanksgiving episode of Buffy (with Angel!) or Home for the Holidays, an underrated Jodie Foster-helmed Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr.-starring movie about a black sheep who comes home just for the day. Not everything in it has aged that well, but it's still a perennial favourite for holiday cheer.

Oh, and add half a cup of grated cheddar to your green bean casserole. Delicious!

Does that whole thing about child actors growing up to be drugged out adults apply to Canadian stages actors?  If you don't think it does, then you may want to have your young star in the making audition for the role of Tiny Tim.  Check it out the press release:

Auditions to be held for the role of Tiny Tim for the NAC English Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol!

The National Arts Centre English Theatre is looking to cast the role of Tiny Tim with a local child actor and auditions will take place on Saturday, September 12 at the NAC!

There have been rumblings about this in Dylan cirlces for a few weeks now, but I guess I didn't really believe it was true!  Well, the awesome folks over at Columbia Records sent (Cult)ure the following press release this morning:

Christmas In The Heart will be the 47th album from Bob Dylan. Songs performed by Dylan on this new album include, "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Winter Wonderland," "Little Drummer Boy" and "Must Be Santa."

All of Bob Dylan's U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year's holiday season. Bob Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity.

Additionally, Bob Dylan is partnering with two international charities to provide meals during the holidays for millions in need in the United Kingdom and the developing world, and will be donating all of his future international royalties from Christmas In The Heart to those organizations in perpetuity. Details regarding the international partnerships will be announced next week.

Bob Dylan commented, "It's a tragedy that more than 35 million people in this country alone -- 12 million of those children -- often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from. I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season."

Christmas In The Heart will be available for pre-order starting today on Amazon.com

If I had known it is today, I wouldn't have eaten Special K for breakfast. Fortunately, there's always lunch. Check out our Tuesday recipes for some ideas to make today diet free.