Category Archives: arts

losses in translation

Whenever I watch a recent French movie, I miss just enough wordplay to wish it had French subtitles.

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Sukyandaru

Kurosawa’s Scandal has his two favorite actors, Mifune and Shimura. When the latter appeared, I thought “ah, it’s Shimura — or is it?” His speech and mannerisms were curiously unlike those of his other characters.

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practical shooting for the apocalypse

I’m watching the pilot episode of Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles. In this iteration the machines have a sense of humor! Seems to me the most useful thing Sarah can do with her shotgun is aim for the eyes. Does … Continue reading

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the tantalizing tune

I used to have a ringtone that, pardon the pun, rang a bell: I was sure it was from some modern string quartet, but couldn’t find it in my collection. Years go by. Today I get in the car, turn … Continue reading

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the DVD player and me

I watched 27 minutes of The Plainsman (1936) and found it unpromising. Then I looked up Cecil DeMille and was a little surprised that I had never seen any of his work, other than his cameo in Sunset Blvd. The … Continue reading

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kitchen adventure

Saturday I made chili, varying Grandmother’s recipe by replacing part of the chili powder with curry powder. It was not a disaster.

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how do people talk?

When (American) TV actors utter the phrase “What are you doing here?”, as I must have heard dozens of times lately, they nearly always emphasize doing — and I nearly always think it would make more sense to emphasize either … Continue reading

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