Os filmes de hoje

Well, not today, exactly. As is typical of a new quarter cycle, I am madly submerged in work, and diligently doing my reading. Yes, pat myself on back (my poor ego, fraco e desolado, needs some boosting once in a while).

And in fact today I got to have someone else's hands on my back too. No, nothing exciting, just a free 10-minute chair massage (no, me, not the chair...). Apparently it is professional student appreciation week, so all sorts of alabatory events are being lavished on us. Like free massages and last night, pizza and a movie "The Incredibles" at the Multi-cultural center. Now, what it had of multicultural is a mystery to me, well, besides the multi-colored children all playing harmoniously in the pavillion overlooking the lagoon.

The last few days the light has been so incredible, and although my skin has suffered significant sun-damage (I swear, I was only out for a couple of hours a day, ok, midday, damn hole in the ozone...) I have been basking shamelessly. And it was a joy to ride I. over to the University in the bike trailer. M. gave up and let me do that, and I still ended up going much faster despite the fifty odd extra pounds in tow. I guess I am in better bike shape than I had imagined.

I. ran into a little friend, Regina, also Mexican, that we met at a random gathering for "el día de la candelaria"... February 2... the person who pulls the baby Jesus out of the "rosca de reyes" on January 6 becomes responsible for the supply of tamales for the candelaria celebration, and our neighbors just happened to invite us along to the Mexican family gathering. Anyhow, I. and R. made instant reconnection and what was best was that they were whispering back and forth in Spanish throughout the whole movie, which, I have to say despite being beneath my elevated (ha ha) standars, was a lot of fun. Of course going home and reading Plato lambast the poetry (read: pop-culture) of his day and the commerical manipulative power of rhetoric made me feel a little guilty, but only just a little.

So, on that note, I write with a recommendation for the aged, or anyone feeling a little old... The other day I watched a fabulously funny feel-good flick from, I believe the Czech Republik, called "Autumn Spring". What a beautiful film, absolutley worth the three extra dollars in late fees.

I know, nothing mind-shattering today, just more chronicling of my daily existence. What else was out of the ordinary today? Well despite the fact that I am now taking Portuguese 3, and lacking certain key components (about 150 pages of text missed between class changes) I ended up tutoring my Israeli seatmate. An interesting fellow, a bit enigmatic. He ascertained my name's origin immediately, but I dissappointed him by my decided lack of knowledge of Hebrew. Ok, so at one point I did learn to decipher the letters (not script which uses no vowels) but knowing how to say "mom" and "dad" and "be quiet please" (sheket b'vakasha) hardly constitutes valuable knowledge. Anyway, the uses of the subjunctive are almost exactly the same in Spanish and Portuguese and he looked so bewildered with our teacher's lacksadaisical explanations that I felt it almost my obligation to help the poor chap out. And, of course, he respected my desire to not talk about politics because I was against what was going on there, and didn't want to discuss the finer points of middle eastern politics with a casual stranger, which wins respect points in my book.

Actually as another tangent to the religious/ language thing, this quarter's musical selection is ever so pleasing, including liturgical pieces in Latin (yay, I love Scarlatti), Czech, Hebrew and in some undetermined African language(s). I have to say, while I detest the whole institution of religion thing, the art that was subsidized by the church especially tends to make me feel really at peace, much like sitting in front of the rolling waves and contemplating the vastness of the sea.