I think I mentioned this before (and I may say this every month) but we celebrate the 23rd of every month as GK Holiday, reminding us of our engagement March 23, 2004. Yesterday was the 23rd, and we decided to go see a movie. I'm not much of a theater goer- I am very selective about the movies I watch on DVD, and even more selective about going to the theater. Basically, it had better be really good for me to want to see it in the theater. Besides that, I come from a family of people who half watch a movie and half chat about the movie or whatever else while we watch it- it's more about hanging out than the movie. We mostly watch movies we've already seen, of which most of them are classics. Not quite silent era, but many black and white Silver Screen era movies, which I just love.
I do like some modern movies, just not many. I particularly like a lot of Pixar movies- I loved Cars, and if you have the Cars DVD you've probably seen the preview for Ratatooie. Which I think came out in the US about 3 months ago. Or 4.:) We're slow getting stuff here. Anyway it just hit the theaters here October 12th or something like that. So we decided for GK Holiday this month we'd go see it. It was barely $8 to see a movie here, which is way better than the theaters in the US which are up past $12 mostly.
It is easy to forget how much our culture forms our perceptions, and also how our culture as Americans in exported everywhere else. The very first thing I noticed was during the previews. The previews were probably at least 30 minutes. But, there were only 3 or 4 movie previews. The rest were TV show previews for cartoons, and ads for various cars, various products, etc. Even an ad for Cartoon Network.
The rating system is different here- I don't know what all the rankings are, but Ratatooie is ranked U for Universal, meaning anyone over 4 can see it. And yes, they do say over 4, and to exercise caution with under 4s. Does anyone take a 2 or 3 year old to a theater? I don't know. :) Apparently here they have U, PG (meaning all ages but parents should be sensible about it), 12, 15, 18, R18. No one under the required age can go into a movie that isn't their rating, but they also can't rent one or buy one. The R18 movies are designated for sale in porn shops basically- that's what Wikipedia says.
Ratatooie is a funny movie- the animation is absolutely incredible, and the story is funny. There's no shadyness, although there is a weird scene where 2 animated characters kiss. Not a fan of that. We'll probably buy the movie when it comes out on DVD. We had a good time in the theater here, and since it's so comparatively cheap we might actually go again. :)
G's mom has been in Germany these past 2 days visiting her sister there, and she's coming back late tomorrow night, and flying back to Detroit early Saturday morning. We've enjoyed having her here, and it will be weird to be back to just ourselves.
Oh, and I want to clarify something about the hiding cat treats around the house for Nelly. :) I think I gave everyone the wrong impression- I don't spend any huge amount of my day wandering around shoving treats into small crevices. :) Once a day, or every other day, I just grab a handful of treats when I'm going upstairs, and as I walk by I toss them in random places behind stuff, etc. It takes less than 2 minutes overall and doesn't require much thought. So no, I have not lost my mind, and no, I don't need more things to do to occupy my day. :)
In fact, I am swamped with the number of things I need to do as it is. I've always had a huge number of interests, and besides doing the laundry, cleaning, washing dishes, straightening things up, vacuuming, buying food, and wiping off counters and stuff, which I do just about everyday, I also currently have the front garden which needs to be entirely re-done, I have a cross stitch project I'm in the middle of, I need to cut mats for several prints to hang up (then find frames and hang them), as well as making our home more comfortable by scouring thrift stores for big pillows to use on the couch which has a sinking in back. Whew. That is all in addition to our home group, my women's group, the Arena course at the chch which I'm helping with, the TEAM course on Wednesdays, and starting a new international women's group.
For any of you who are interested in visiting, there are some fare sales on for $450 RT to Heathrow including taxes (they would say inclusive of tax here) for late fall and early winter. There will likely be some sales closer to the $350 range coming up in January as well.
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