The Flâneur

I had noticed George, over at the travel webzine e-marginalia, using the word 'flaneur' more than once. Today's post finally drove me to my dictionary where I found a definition: Flâneur: a saunterer.

The paragraph that sent me in search of a meaning was this: If you're thinking, "Ahem, George, I'm not sure the NYTimes online redesign is exactly Meandering Margaux territory..." you might be on to something. Or you might not. When was the last time you spent an afternoon flaneur-ing without a copy of the Times under your arm? Or at least the Trib so you could "eavesdrop" on the Times?

It's tempts you to go read him, doesn't it ... you should, it's about the redesign of the New York Times and the role played by bloggers in this redesign.

I commented, as one does ... claiming distraction from serious comment due to usage of a word I didn't know.
He offered a link by way of reply.

I loved the first quote, by Baudelaire: 'For the perfect flâneur, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow. To be away from home,yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the center of the world, yet to remain hidden from the world - such are a few of the slightest pleasures of those independent, passionate, impartial natures which the tongue can but clumsily define.'

I would like to be a flâneur...