Hating Children

Happy fete de la musique! There's this big thing in Europe for the next few days where there are tons of free concerts. And we're rapidly approaching the fete du cinema, which means three days of movie tickets for two-sixty USD. Why is there not one of these things in the US? I went to the Children's Choir last night; they sucked. It was supposed to be cute, but it was actually just annoying. The conductor had this whole thing set up where he came in acting very somber and then they march out banging on a freaking drum and singing out of tune. Hilarious. I was probably the only person there over the age of six but under the age of sixty.

Yesterday I went to H&M. I went there about two years ago and decided it sucked and hadn't gone back since. That was a huge mistake. I realized that it's actually really pretty sweet, and then when I was walking around later it became clear that everyone shops there. I found a lot of stuff that I swear I've seen at Urban for five times the price. Anyway, they have my endorsement and some money that was formerly mine.

I saw the new Tarantino movie, which apparently is called Death Proof in the US but here it's Boulevard de la Mort (Blvd. of the dead). When I was watching it I thought it really sucked, but I've been thinking about it more and now I'm not sure. Okay, so the dialogue is bad, the editing sucks, the acting is atrocious save for Kurt Russell, and the storyline is off. But it's obvious that it's intentional, and referential to the genre. Like Snakes on a Plane, the intent is to imitate a style and thus to comment on it. How post-modern! But on the other hand, there are elements of Tarantino. The music choices, the camera angles on the dance scenes as well as the nacho scene, the dialogue with Stuntman Mike and Butterfly, the black and white, and the Kill Bill references (the Acuna Boys cup and the cell phone ring) all mark it as a Tarantino film. And the fade from color to black and white is suggestive of the sudden change in color of an old television, which along with the film quality and the costumes and props further suggest the genre. So it's a mix. I didn't really think it was a good movie, but I guess I appreciate what he did.

I kind of like Cybelle. I mean, she's super racist and pretty crazy and she gossips a lot, but whatever. Her food is really good and she's really consistent about getting stuff done. Yesterday I tried to make a joke in French. It was real stupid. She was talking about her dog's teeth, and I said "you're a dentist for dogs!" and then she said "no, the word is 'veterinarian'". I let that one go.

And now I'm going to the beach. Jealous?