Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Politics, Cuban dancing and China research
Fahrenheit 9/11
We took advantage of the discount we receive from our local cinema on Mondays to see Michael Moore's latest film. We go every now again to the cinema on a Monday and there are generally only a few others there as well. This night was jam-packed which is an indication of the huge interest in the film.
In our case it was preaching to the converted. Moore hypes up the issues with an emotive style, that can seem OTT to some, but when faced with the facts not many could deny that events and decisions made regarding Bush's election and the War on Terror/Iraq don't add up. Hopefully, come the next election, Bush will be out of the White House. Who knows if Kerry will be much better. I gather he sees the importance of co-operating with and listening to the rest of the world a little more than Bush and his posse.
Toccororo
Cuban Ballet Star Carlos Acosta has been dancing with the Royal Ballet for a few years now. Last year he branched out to produce his own show starring himself and dancers from a major Cuban dance company. The story is based on his life growing up in his hometown and studying ballet and getting used to living in Havana.
Carlos mixes traditional ballet sequences with the more loose and lively Cuban jazzy dancing, shown at its best when the whole troupe are jiggling and jiving to the live music (bongos etc) together. At the end the troupe moved into the auditorium and boogied with all of us. Rae and I were shaking our bootys!
British Museum
We went to the British Museum again on Saturday. It is the kind of place you need to go to a few times. I was particularly interested in the section on China due to my upcoming trip. The miniature scenes carved into jade, lacquered wood or ivory were exquisite and the collection of the porcelain and ceramic ware, for domestic and ceremonial purposes, impressive. I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of these things in the museums in China.
I'm looking forward to my trip to China and Hong Kong. I've been reading my Lonely Planet on the tube and have managed to acquire a bluffers knowledge of the culture and history. It was good to hear from Rae that the locals don't get too annoyed with Chinese-looking people not able to speak Chinese. In fact, she said they are quite amused by it. I guess they come across it more often these days.
My next post will be from Beijing!
We took advantage of the discount we receive from our local cinema on Mondays to see Michael Moore's latest film. We go every now again to the cinema on a Monday and there are generally only a few others there as well. This night was jam-packed which is an indication of the huge interest in the film.
In our case it was preaching to the converted. Moore hypes up the issues with an emotive style, that can seem OTT to some, but when faced with the facts not many could deny that events and decisions made regarding Bush's election and the War on Terror/Iraq don't add up. Hopefully, come the next election, Bush will be out of the White House. Who knows if Kerry will be much better. I gather he sees the importance of co-operating with and listening to the rest of the world a little more than Bush and his posse.
Toccororo
Cuban Ballet Star Carlos Acosta has been dancing with the Royal Ballet for a few years now. Last year he branched out to produce his own show starring himself and dancers from a major Cuban dance company. The story is based on his life growing up in his hometown and studying ballet and getting used to living in Havana.
Carlos mixes traditional ballet sequences with the more loose and lively Cuban jazzy dancing, shown at its best when the whole troupe are jiggling and jiving to the live music (bongos etc) together. At the end the troupe moved into the auditorium and boogied with all of us. Rae and I were shaking our bootys!
British Museum
We went to the British Museum again on Saturday. It is the kind of place you need to go to a few times. I was particularly interested in the section on China due to my upcoming trip. The miniature scenes carved into jade, lacquered wood or ivory were exquisite and the collection of the porcelain and ceramic ware, for domestic and ceremonial purposes, impressive. I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of these things in the museums in China.
I'm looking forward to my trip to China and Hong Kong. I've been reading my Lonely Planet on the tube and have managed to acquire a bluffers knowledge of the culture and history. It was good to hear from Rae that the locals don't get too annoyed with Chinese-looking people not able to speak Chinese. In fact, she said they are quite amused by it. I guess they come across it more often these days.
My next post will be from Beijing!
