Lost in Translation

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE foreign films. But even I am left scratching my head sometimes at a gap between languages...lol. I watched a Japanese film tonight called "Nobody Knows". The acting was great and the attention to little details beautiful, although the story was sad and finally disturbing. But what got my attention was the subtitles at the end. As two characters sat and walked quietly, contemplating a pivotal incident in the story, a soloist sang what I'm sure was, in the original language, a moving, evocative song. But after being translated into English, it came out like this:

"When I ask the midnight sky
the stars just shine into
the black lake of my molten heart

I can only flow

Will the angel ever give me a backward glance?

Want to splash around in my heart?

The winds of the coming winter lap
at the waves
calling me into the dark
with eyes as wilted as ice

I'm growing up
a jewel with a pungent stench
that brooks no one's approach"

The Chorus

Saw a great movie this weekend, "Les Choristes", a French film. A musician and an old school mate get together for the first time in 50 years and take a look at the journal of the teacher who changed their lives when they were children. Set just after the end of WWII, a man who has been a failure at everything he has attempted takes the only job he can find, that of a teacher at a Dickensian school for young boys with behavioral problems. Appalled by the conditions his students are dealing with and at a loss as to how to deal with their sullen attitudes, he decides in desperation to try to form the boys into a choir. The music is gorgeous, too.

Something that really struck me

A few weeks ago Cyndy and I were fascinated by a documentary we watched about a woman in England, born with no arms or legs, and getting ready to give birth to her first child. It was interesting on a lot of different levels and we were really impressed by her personality and outlook. She made the news this week as a statue of her was unveiled in Trafalgar Square as part of a program where different works of art will be featured for 18 months each on the one empty pedestal in the square. Her name is Alison Lapper and she's an artist. Here's a few articles about her and the statue, including an excerpt from her autobiography published just last week. Gives alot to think about and makes you realize how many meaningless things we complain about in our everyday lives.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4247000.stm
http://books.guardian.co.uk/extracts/story/0,6761,1561045,00.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/closeup/lapper.shtml
http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/misc/alisonlapper.html

Yeah, it scares me too

Welcome to my world, or at least my workday world. I try to tell myself that a cluttered desk is a sign of a creative mind, but somehow that doesn't help. Every once in awhile I can't stand my clutter anymore and then I go into cleaning mode and tidy everything up. Of course then I can't find anything and within a few days it's back to "normal", lol. By the way, the goat sings the goatherd song from "The Sound of Music" in a quasi-Julie Andrews voice.

What's wrong with this picture?

I love learning about other cultures, but often it's the weird little things that amuse me the most. I thought British cuisine was strange as I learned about tuna and canned corn on pizza, spaghetti sandwiches and chip butties. But they aren't alone. I thought an Aussie friend was joking when he asked if we liked beets on our hamburgers. But, no, I did a little research online and discovered that in Australia it's not considered a proper hamburger without beetroot on it! Not to mention a few other things like pineapple, fried eggs...... (take a close look at the photo, you can see the beet peeking out). Anyway, here's some info from an Aussie website in case you're looking for something different for dinner...

"Aussies love hamburgers whether it's from the ever present take away shop or from Burger King (Hungry Jacks) or Mackers. But to the dinky-di Aussie, it must have beetroot on it to be a proper burger.

The funniest sight is to see an Aussie order a burger in America with beetroot. Americans can not conceive of "wanting" to eat beetroot on anything, let alone a hamburger. The Yanks don't know what they're missing!

The following is a Hamburger with the Works the way Aussies like it.

Ingredients
120 grams minced meat patty (4 ounces ground hamburger)
1 slice cheese
2 bacon rashers
1 large slice onion
1 large slice tomato
1 egg
1 large slice beetroot (beets)
1 pineapple ring
1 hamburger roll
lettuce
margarine
tomato sauce (ketchup)

Method

1. Cut the hamburger roll in half and butter both halves.
2. Toast both bun halves on the grill.
3. Fry the meat patty, the bacon rashers and the onion.
4. Flip the meat patty over and add cheese on top.
5. Fry the egg.
6. Butter the bun and add tomato sauce to taste. Assemble the hamburger: lettuce, tomato, beetroot, pineapple and the meat patty. Top with onion, bacon, egg and the bun top."

Still knitting

Usually I lose interest in a craft after a few weeks and start on something else, but still enjoying the knitting for awhile longer. I like having something to do while I'm watching tv in the evenings. This is going to be a lace shrug once I knit another 30 inches or so and then edge it with a ruffle. I have more motivation to finish it than usual because I misread the price on the balls of yarn and was chatting to the clerk instead of paying attention to the bill when I signed it, so didn't realize until later that it was quite a bit more expensive than I'd thought. But that's ok, I love the color, kind of an orangey pumpkin. I think I might go into craft overload this weekend, I'm taking a cardmaking class with a friend later today, Cyndy and I are going to sell some of our beading projects at a craft fair sunday, and I'm going to try to finish this shrug.

Even though I hate winter

and winter clothes, I do like to knit scarves for some reason. I'd just rather look at them then have to wear them. I always find it depressing when I walk into the stores and find they've put out all the fall clothes... so sad.. a sure sign that summer is coming to a close. But here's my token acknowledgement of the coming cold weather. It's not quite a bright a blue as it looks in the picture and the picture can't show how soft the yarn is... I'm already having to fight my cat for ownership of it, he likes to nest on it. And I don't think I'd ever make one again, by the last row it was taking me all evening just to get across one row.... boring! But, having said that, I'd love to make one in thin, smooth, shiny yarn in variegated red, orange, yellow and purples...