A bunch of us went to go see "Together" last week. It's a Chinese movie directed by Chen Kaige, about a 13-year old violin prodigy and his father. I enjoyed the non-Hollywood-ness of it, even the ending was a bit obvious. Plus, I really love watching movies with great soundtracks, and this one featured lots of "classical" music that I liked, some of which I recognized. I do have to mention the subtitling, which as usual, failed to impress me. I shudder to think of how much I miss when I see other foreign films, when the original language is not Chinese.
Interestingly, I find I understand a fair amount when I watch French movies...and last weekend I went to a wedding where the groom was French, and I was able to understand about 80% of his father's toast. Maybe all those years of high school French weren't a complete waste after all. It's a pity I never learned to speak French properly, or I might actually be able to survive in Paris for awhile, without being derided to death by ticket booth clerks who smirk at my poor attempts to communicate. Yes, that's another story.
I went to Wal-Mart yesterday to pick up a folding table for my party. Two nice things happened:
- I was struggling to put the table on my shopping cart, when a middle-aged woman offered to help me. I'll admit my first thought was, "Yes I need help, but probably not from you" but the two of us managed to get the box on top of the cart. Random acts of kindness, and all that.
- After I spent about 5 minutes coaxing the box to fit in my trunk, I pushed the shopping cart back up to the front door. Another woman was sitting on a bench there, and told me it was very nice of me to bring back the cart. I do like it when other people appreciate my random acts. Yes, I'm silly that way.
I conclude that sometimes people suck, but there definitely times when they don't.
Vancouver Richmond Nightmarket
6 years ago