Let's complain
Today I found out that one of my students wants to quit because she isn't enjoying our classes. They're private classes, so, if she doesn't like me, it would definitely impact her enjoyment of the class. Still, I generally enjoyed my classes with her and thought they were going okay. Granted, they're on Saturday morning, so I may have looked a bit tired during them. That might have been part of the problem. Anyway, it was sucky news and I still feel bad thinking about it.
So instead of dwelling on that, I'm going to complain about something petty.
In the lobby of my school is a television with built-in VCR. Yes, VCR. As in, the thing you use to play VHS's. Now, I'm a fan of VHS's. They're great. But if I were to walk into a building and see a VHS, "successful business" is not the first thing that would leap to mind. Anyway, my manager likes to have movies (in English with Japanese subtitles) running all the time to help create an casual atmosphere in the lobby. It also gives people something to talk about in order to combat those awkward silences. But this means I get to watch bits and pieces of the same movies over and over again. The movies we have in our collection are quite random. There's American Beauty, Adam's Family 2, Jurassic Park, Leon, Run Lola Run, and lots more I'm forgetting. They also some Simpsons, but those don't have Japanese subtitles so they're unlikely to be shown (unfortunately). Anyway, the two I've seen the most of are "All About the Benjamins" and "Ocean's Twleve."
All About the Benjamins is an action movie starring Ice Cube and it's so terrible it's rather entertaining. I must have seen the bad guy get shot at the film's conclusion a dozen times. Seeing a movie in a sequence of disordered bits and pieces is really a weird experience. You start, unconsciously, forming theories about what the plot could be and then adjust it as you go along. Anyway, Ocean's Twelve is just annoying. It's probably a better movie, but every single scene I see seems to be of someone looking smug, or someeone dodging their way through a corridor of lasers. And the music is extremely obnoxious and loud. I can hear the music anywhere in my school. Also, the beginning of the tape includes a stunningly annoying advertisement for DVD. I know, I should be charmed by how retro the ad is, but I can't be. I've seen it too many times, and it's just stupid. "It's a movie that fits on a disk the size of a CD!!!" the announcer screams in complete sincerity. "The sound is so clear you can hear a pin drop!!!" he exclaims. This comment is accompanied by a scene of several pins falling, each making a very loud noise. This ad nicely demonstrates the absurdity of trying to demonstrate the superiority of a new technology via an older technology. Obviously, you can already hear pins drop on your VHS. All I'm saying is it's a stupid advertisement for a stupid movie.
So instead of dwelling on that, I'm going to complain about something petty.
In the lobby of my school is a television with built-in VCR. Yes, VCR. As in, the thing you use to play VHS's. Now, I'm a fan of VHS's. They're great. But if I were to walk into a building and see a VHS, "successful business" is not the first thing that would leap to mind. Anyway, my manager likes to have movies (in English with Japanese subtitles) running all the time to help create an casual atmosphere in the lobby. It also gives people something to talk about in order to combat those awkward silences. But this means I get to watch bits and pieces of the same movies over and over again. The movies we have in our collection are quite random. There's American Beauty, Adam's Family 2, Jurassic Park, Leon, Run Lola Run, and lots more I'm forgetting. They also some Simpsons, but those don't have Japanese subtitles so they're unlikely to be shown (unfortunately). Anyway, the two I've seen the most of are "All About the Benjamins" and "Ocean's Twleve."
All About the Benjamins is an action movie starring Ice Cube and it's so terrible it's rather entertaining. I must have seen the bad guy get shot at the film's conclusion a dozen times. Seeing a movie in a sequence of disordered bits and pieces is really a weird experience. You start, unconsciously, forming theories about what the plot could be and then adjust it as you go along. Anyway, Ocean's Twelve is just annoying. It's probably a better movie, but every single scene I see seems to be of someone looking smug, or someeone dodging their way through a corridor of lasers. And the music is extremely obnoxious and loud. I can hear the music anywhere in my school. Also, the beginning of the tape includes a stunningly annoying advertisement for DVD. I know, I should be charmed by how retro the ad is, but I can't be. I've seen it too many times, and it's just stupid. "It's a movie that fits on a disk the size of a CD!!!" the announcer screams in complete sincerity. "The sound is so clear you can hear a pin drop!!!" he exclaims. This comment is accompanied by a scene of several pins falling, each making a very loud noise. This ad nicely demonstrates the absurdity of trying to demonstrate the superiority of a new technology via an older technology. Obviously, you can already hear pins drop on your VHS. All I'm saying is it's a stupid advertisement for a stupid movie.