Work has been going pretty well. I have been doing a movie corner every Wednesday where I show about 60 students a movie in English and explain the plot, vocabulary, and phrases. Here is a sample of some of the movies I have shown recently:
Jerry Maguire
She's The Man (students' choice)
The Usual Suspects
Gattaca
A Fish Called Wanda
The Shawshank Redemption
Edward Scissorhands
28 Days Later
There's Something About Mary
Of all of these I'd say that Edward Scissorhands, The Shawshank Redemption, and She's The Man have been the most popular. They seem to enjoy movies that are sweet and positive. I tend to hate movies like those. I have been struggling to find movies that I would enjoy showing them. Edward Scissorhands and Shawshank are great movies, but She's The Man? They loved it! I am always looking for more movies so if you have any suggestions please send them my way.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxPqstSa_0fWl5-WSjH4OYq8JLGlx6K3Fwvyj-ZhvjlMxHL0WILhvmn14xeY-OA1-Vh0W3iQJj977ekF4r0SgOaiYyya-h6PHMGMTlA6c3bABJ-kEjoF0aRV7cnHEpBhPmYAF1Q/s320/Champagnepose.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUN04W-T3STuUbiI5qR-ftAsf0BxKdPWOJR1eRdiCpQoOsmH3DktQvGiliok7cN6g09p_weDgeVLs53kI9s5xftVebywn18N9MPSUNOzqtZ2XAMJ_PoktXNZ1CHRgsB2QZPKxbsA/s400/BrunchPosse.jpg)
THE NBA FINALS!!!!
I had my sleep drastically reduced considering that all the NBA Finals games started at 9 am and the last Euro 2008 match ended at 4 am. For a week and a half I endured five hours of sleep every other day. But it has been worth it. The Finals were great. I am a Kobe hater and a KG lover. I love to see good guys win. It is fun to see the Celtics on top again after 22 years of futility. I remember watching that series 22 years ago at Joey Holland's house back in McAllen, Texas. I was happy to endure a few droopy eyelids to witness such great sporting events.
What didn't help my situation was terrible weather. The weather in Beijing has gone from very pleasant to stifling in the course of a week. Summer in Beijing is known for two things, both detrimental to the Olympics: pollution and rain. The pollution traps the heat and gives you an awesome first hand experience with the greenhouse effect. Stifling. The occasional rain seems strange in Beijing. Not far south enough to be part of the monsoon region of China and not far west or north enough to be in the desert, Beijing lies at a weather crossroads in China. The winter is extremely dry and the summer quite wet. Four of the last seven days have had rain lasting only about an hour or so. Last Monday was exceptional. I play in a soccer league that meets on Monday nights in Chaoyang park. Our games start late, around 9pm. Last week I was not sure we would have a game. Torrential rain was predicted during the day but never manifested itself. As we prepared for the match lightning raced across the night sky. In the first minute of the match a light drizzle came down that was actually quite a pleasant contrast to the hot, muggy, air. This persisted for about two minutes before the skies opened up. Sheets of rain poured down. It was that big fat rain. We continued to play thinking that such rain could not sustain itself for too long. There were a few good opportunities for goals. We continued to fight for possession and challenge balls in the air. The rain was suffocating. I actually felt as if I was drowning while running up the field spewing water to stay afloat. The setting was great were we two national teams battling for the European Championship but we were The Carpal Tunnel Chopsticks battling The Dulwich Chinese Lions. The referee blew his whistle and I immediately shouted (because that was the only way he would have heard me over the rain), "It's only a little rain!" There are about 7 five-a-side fields in the sports complex and simultaneously everyone had their games canceled and we all sought shelter in a small room in the center of the complex. In about seven minutes of rain I was entirely soaked along with my wallet and all the money in it. Bryne and I ran to catch a taxi ahead of the rush of people who would eventually settle in the same idea. Taxi's never stop in the rain so we had to wait a bit. I could feel a sniffle coming on. Now, one week later, I am speaking like James Earl Jones.
I just spent the last five minutes trying to find a good Darth Vader quote to end this post. An appropriate one does not exist but this one is cool:
"The Rebels are alerted to our presence. Admiral Ozzel came out of lightspeed too close to the system. He is as clumsy as he is stupid. General, prepare your troops for a surface attack"