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Nadine had never seen Beetlejuice (or is it Beetelgeuse?) "What- darhling, how have you NEVER seen Beetlejuice- it IS Tim Burton!" -so we watched it last night. Apparently she'd always thought it was a ZOMBIE movie, which isn't entirely untrue...
Beetlejuice was one of my favorite films growing up (we watched it constantly in 2nd grade af friends' houses) and remarkably enough my dad actually bought it when we first got a dvd player (and he almost never buys movies)
It is a clever film, 'more-or-less fun for the whole family' with good characters, great Danny Elfman soundtrack and impressive special effects (considering when it was made) and a darkly comical premise: the afterlife clashing with real-life. It wasn't until watching it now however that I noticed how schizo Beetlejuice really is, and how he isn't actually IN the film as much as I remember. When you're a kid watching it he just seems funny and weird, but now- watching it 18 years later, his character is much more disturbing. Furthermore the movie really is about Adam and Barbara (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis)'s struggle to come and learn how to live their afterlives'. Beetljuice is more a big pothole or shady detour on that road.
Although I've seen the film several times since I was 7 I haven't paid close enough attention to what is actually being said. First off, the part about 'if you commit suicide then you spend eternity in the afterlife as a civil servant' was something I'd never caught-onto before. Therefore if Beetlejuice was an assistant to Juno (the main underworld social worker) then he must've killed himself in life (even though there is a loophole in the logic since he now works freelance as a 'bio-exorcist'). It seems like he's been dead for so long that it is almost impossible to imagine him as a living person, but one could imagine how pathetic, sad and perverted he must've been- OR is it the afterlife that ha driven him mad. Judging by the amount of personality that Adam and Barbara have retained in the afterlife then it stands to reason that Beetljuice might've been a raving lunatic in life as well- however, Adam and Barbara are only recently deceased, so perhaps they have all eternity to become eccentric or jaded by their situation.
Anyhow, after visiting the Standesamt the other day we realized that Nadine's birth certificate had expired (how that is possible, I don't know) and I need an Affadavit statement from the embassy saying that I've never been married before in any of the 50 states... so, yea, then the processing of the paperwork takes 6 weeks, soooo,... I've got some time on my hands before I can actually legally work. (7 weeks minimum.) I'm going to look into attending the 'Deutsch als Fremdsprache' School (a very happening place since our neighborhood has a large immigrant population.
Until then a day-in-the-life will consist of waking up, going to the Öko-bakery for brötchen, croissants or bread, having breakfast with Nadine before she goes to work and then reading, writing, biking (assuming it isn't freezing cold and rainy/windy), fixing the bike that is constantly breaking, running errands, and checking craigslist/writing emails for employment opportunities until Nadine comes home and we have a lovely dinner, then fiddle with our computers or watch a movie (with subtitles in whatever available language). It's a very pleasant existence but could definitely use a bit of structure.
P.S.Oh and HOLY COW !! I FOUND NPR here on the actual radio! It shares the same channel with a weird German pop station (which describes most of the stations) so I have to get the antenna in the right place in the room but it does come in clearly and I've never been so happy to hear Diane Reams' (Reims'?) little-old voice in my life. I'll have to try to find the programming schedule online. 'll try not to listen to it too much... not like before. Germany doesn't really have anything like NPR, or rahter, not on such a concentrated form. They have KulrurRadio with classical music and news, but nothing so in-depth and extensive as much of the staple NPR programming is. Why, I don't know.
Today was freezing but partly sunny, I read about the upcoming USA congressional elections in Die Zeit, seems hectic. I haven't been this out of touch with news in years, but at the same time- that distance is good. As is only spending 10 minutes on the internet per day as opposed to 10 hours.
A friend of a friend works at St. George's Bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg where there's a movie-night tonight which we might go to. Nadine flys to Frankfurt a.M. tomorrow to perform norway today again for a fest, so I'll be alone here int he city for three days, which will be interesting... but Vera invited me to a party over the weekend, so that's good. OOh, cold.
Beetlejuice was one of my favorite films growing up (we watched it constantly in 2nd grade af friends' houses) and remarkably enough my dad actually bought it when we first got a dvd player (and he almost never buys movies)
It is a clever film, 'more-or-less fun for the whole family' with good characters, great Danny Elfman soundtrack and impressive special effects (considering when it was made) and a darkly comical premise: the afterlife clashing with real-life. It wasn't until watching it now however that I noticed how schizo Beetlejuice really is, and how he isn't actually IN the film as much as I remember. When you're a kid watching it he just seems funny and weird, but now- watching it 18 years later, his character is much more disturbing. Furthermore the movie really is about Adam and Barbara (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis)'s struggle to come and learn how to live their afterlives'. Beetljuice is more a big pothole or shady detour on that road.
Although I've seen the film several times since I was 7 I haven't paid close enough attention to what is actually being said. First off, the part about 'if you commit suicide then you spend eternity in the afterlife as a civil servant' was something I'd never caught-onto before. Therefore if Beetlejuice was an assistant to Juno (the main underworld social worker) then he must've killed himself in life (even though there is a loophole in the logic since he now works freelance as a 'bio-exorcist'). It seems like he's been dead for so long that it is almost impossible to imagine him as a living person, but one could imagine how pathetic, sad and perverted he must've been- OR is it the afterlife that ha driven him mad. Judging by the amount of personality that Adam and Barbara have retained in the afterlife then it stands to reason that Beetljuice might've been a raving lunatic in life as well- however, Adam and Barbara are only recently deceased, so perhaps they have all eternity to become eccentric or jaded by their situation.
Anyhow, after visiting the Standesamt the other day we realized that Nadine's birth certificate had expired (how that is possible, I don't know) and I need an Affadavit statement from the embassy saying that I've never been married before in any of the 50 states... so, yea, then the processing of the paperwork takes 6 weeks, soooo,... I've got some time on my hands before I can actually legally work. (7 weeks minimum.) I'm going to look into attending the 'Deutsch als Fremdsprache' School (a very happening place since our neighborhood has a large immigrant population.
Until then a day-in-the-life will consist of waking up, going to the Öko-bakery for brötchen, croissants or bread, having breakfast with Nadine before she goes to work and then reading, writing, biking (assuming it isn't freezing cold and rainy/windy), fixing the bike that is constantly breaking, running errands, and checking craigslist/writing emails for employment opportunities until Nadine comes home and we have a lovely dinner, then fiddle with our computers or watch a movie (with subtitles in whatever available language). It's a very pleasant existence but could definitely use a bit of structure.
P.S.Oh and HOLY COW !! I FOUND NPR here on the actual radio! It shares the same channel with a weird German pop station (which describes most of the stations) so I have to get the antenna in the right place in the room but it does come in clearly and I've never been so happy to hear Diane Reams' (Reims'?) little-old voice in my life. I'll have to try to find the programming schedule online. 'll try not to listen to it too much... not like before. Germany doesn't really have anything like NPR, or rahter, not on such a concentrated form. They have KulrurRadio with classical music and news, but nothing so in-depth and extensive as much of the staple NPR programming is. Why, I don't know.
Today was freezing but partly sunny, I read about the upcoming USA congressional elections in Die Zeit, seems hectic. I haven't been this out of touch with news in years, but at the same time- that distance is good. As is only spending 10 minutes on the internet per day as opposed to 10 hours.
A friend of a friend works at St. George's Bookshop in Prenzlauer Berg where there's a movie-night tonight which we might go to. Nadine flys to Frankfurt a.M. tomorrow to perform norway today again for a fest, so I'll be alone here int he city for three days, which will be interesting... but Vera invited me to a party over the weekend, so that's good. OOh, cold.
posted by "Post-Google" by TAR ART RAT at 6:12 pm
1 Comments:
you should hit up the 'Deutsch als Fremdsprache' School and see if anyone needs an English tutor perhaps?
*Lauren
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