Life Imitates Art
I took the plunge and became a member of the Vancouver Art Gallery today.
I saw the Massive Change exhibit back in Novemeber or so, and I've often walked by and wanted to go back, when I could pay more attention to the permanent Emily Carr exhibit, along with the other temporary exhibits that have come and gone since then. Each time I walk by, however, it's usually on a Sunday afternoon, when I'd only have an hour or so in the gallery before it closed, and $15 for an hour's entertainment is a little steep.
Now I can drop in anytime I feel like it and not have to worry about it.
I think I'm becoming a fixed-price junkie.
* * *
While at the museum, I encountered yet another relationship-drama-in-public. This time it was a fight, except that, as I mentioned, it was in an art museum, so it was sort of a silent movie version of a fight, occurring in short whispered volleys in between photographs in the Real Pictures exhibit.
He: [whispering] "So everything I think is crap, then?"
[Both look at a photograph together.]
She: [whispered back] "No. It's just that you choose to think crappy things."
[They look at another photograph together.]
He: "I'm so glad you value my opinions."
[Another photograph.]
She: "You're the one who holds them. Not me."
* * *
Today (at Staples, of all places), I ran across yet another of a long line of truly odd products: Kids' Trivial Pursuit Pringles potato chips. I thought, "Surely they can't just print the trivia questions right on the chips like that?" Indeed, they can.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that the actual questions are primarily about kids' television shows and movies, and aren't nearly as token-Canadian as the container would lead a person to believe (the two questions on the chips on the container label read, "What's usually kept frozen before an ice hockey match?" and "Quelle est la capitale du Canada?"), but they are indeed in alternative English and French, so it kept up that part of the bargain*.
The multilingual Pringles (wow, that's sort of catchy) prompted an instant messenger trivia contest:
Matt: Comment s'appellent les soeurs de Bart Simpson?
Kelley: Lisa Marie Simpson
Kelley: and Maggie
Kelley: et maggie?
Matt: Quels heros forment Megazord pour combattre la vile Rita Repulsa?
Matt: lol, I was about to say
Kelley: Je ne sais pas
Matt: Les Power Rangers
Kelley: Ah, merci
Matt: Combien de fois Lydia doit-elle dire "Bettlegeuse" pour qu'il apparaisse?
Kelley: Trois
Matt: tres bon
Kelley: what is this quiz you're taking?
Matt: it's the pringles
Kelley: lol
Kelley: hit me with more questions, that was fun
Matt: crap, I just ate a good one
Kelley: MATT!
Kelley: type, then eat!
Matt: lol
Matt: Quels mots magiques prononce Ali Baba pour ouvrir la caverne?
Kelley: Ouvrir, Sesame
Kelley: (spelling doesn't count, does it?)
Matt: they phrased it "Sesame, ouvre-toi!"
Kelley: ah
Matt: I guess anything that idiomatic could be all kinds of ways
Matt: Sesame, open ye!
Kelley: yeah
Kelley: lol
Matt: Comment appelle-t-on une oeuvre dramatique chantee?
Kelley: I don't know enough french for that one
Matt: an opera
Matt: I guess it's a sung dramatic work?
Matt: lol
Kelley: yeah
Matt: Quel gros dinosaure mauve a sa propre emission de tele?
Kelley: something about dinosaurs
Kelley: something about big bad dinosaurs
Kelley: Barney?
Matt: big purple dinosaur
Matt: yeah
Kelley: purple, not bad
Kelley: ok
Kelley: got any more questions?
Matt: no, was time to put the pringles away
Matt: I need some real food now
Kelley: damn
Kelley: that was fun
Matt: okay one more
Matt: Dans quelle ville habite Superman?
Kelley: il habite a Metropolis
*I've noticed that the bilingual packaging on products around here is a little inconsistent sometimes. Firstly, products not produced in Canada aren't always required to have labels in both English and French, but some others don't either. Not to mention, occasionally you'll run across something for which the French label is sort of irrelevant, like a book written in English.
I saw the Massive Change exhibit back in Novemeber or so, and I've often walked by and wanted to go back, when I could pay more attention to the permanent Emily Carr exhibit, along with the other temporary exhibits that have come and gone since then. Each time I walk by, however, it's usually on a Sunday afternoon, when I'd only have an hour or so in the gallery before it closed, and $15 for an hour's entertainment is a little steep.
Now I can drop in anytime I feel like it and not have to worry about it.
I think I'm becoming a fixed-price junkie.
* * *
While at the museum, I encountered yet another relationship-drama-in-public. This time it was a fight, except that, as I mentioned, it was in an art museum, so it was sort of a silent movie version of a fight, occurring in short whispered volleys in between photographs in the Real Pictures exhibit.
He: [whispering] "So everything I think is crap, then?"
[Both look at a photograph together.]
She: [whispered back] "No. It's just that you choose to think crappy things."
[They look at another photograph together.]
He: "I'm so glad you value my opinions."
[Another photograph.]
She: "You're the one who holds them. Not me."
* * *
Today (at Staples, of all places), I ran across yet another of a long line of truly odd products: Kids' Trivial Pursuit Pringles potato chips. I thought, "Surely they can't just print the trivia questions right on the chips like that?" Indeed, they can.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that the actual questions are primarily about kids' television shows and movies, and aren't nearly as token-Canadian as the container would lead a person to believe (the two questions on the chips on the container label read, "What's usually kept frozen before an ice hockey match?" and "Quelle est la capitale du Canada?"), but they are indeed in alternative English and French, so it kept up that part of the bargain*.
The multilingual Pringles (wow, that's sort of catchy) prompted an instant messenger trivia contest:
Matt: Comment s'appellent les soeurs de Bart Simpson?
Kelley: Lisa Marie Simpson
Kelley: and Maggie
Kelley: et maggie?
Matt: Quels heros forment Megazord pour combattre la vile Rita Repulsa?
Matt: lol, I was about to say
Kelley: Je ne sais pas
Matt: Les Power Rangers
Kelley: Ah, merci
Matt: Combien de fois Lydia doit-elle dire "Bettlegeuse" pour qu'il apparaisse?
Kelley: Trois
Matt: tres bon
Kelley: what is this quiz you're taking?
Matt: it's the pringles
Kelley: lol
Kelley: hit me with more questions, that was fun
Matt: crap, I just ate a good one
Kelley: MATT!
Kelley: type, then eat!
Matt: lol
Matt: Quels mots magiques prononce Ali Baba pour ouvrir la caverne?
Kelley: Ouvrir, Sesame
Kelley: (spelling doesn't count, does it?)
Matt: they phrased it "Sesame, ouvre-toi!"
Kelley: ah
Matt: I guess anything that idiomatic could be all kinds of ways
Matt: Sesame, open ye!
Kelley: yeah
Kelley: lol
Matt: Comment appelle-t-on une oeuvre dramatique chantee?
Kelley: I don't know enough french for that one
Matt: an opera
Matt: I guess it's a sung dramatic work?
Matt: lol
Kelley: yeah
Matt: Quel gros dinosaure mauve a sa propre emission de tele?
Kelley: something about dinosaurs
Kelley: something about big bad dinosaurs
Kelley: Barney?
Matt: big purple dinosaur
Matt: yeah
Kelley: purple, not bad
Kelley: ok
Kelley: got any more questions?
Matt: no, was time to put the pringles away
Matt: I need some real food now
Kelley: damn
Kelley: that was fun
Matt: okay one more
Matt: Dans quelle ville habite Superman?
Kelley: il habite a Metropolis
*I've noticed that the bilingual packaging on products around here is a little inconsistent sometimes. Firstly, products not produced in Canada aren't always required to have labels in both English and French, but some others don't either. Not to mention, occasionally you'll run across something for which the French label is sort of irrelevant, like a book written in English.