10/3/09

First Day of Rain

Yesterday was the first day of rain. It has been mostly sunny and warm with highs in the 70’s and into the 80’s. I hope it continues as Michele arrives next Friday and I want to share the beautiful weather with her. When I awoke to the rain I watched people going to work and was wondering how many pass through this intersection during a several hour period?

Since returning from Groznjan I have had plenty of time to get organized, relax and generally just do some office work and explore the city. I decided to go to a movie theater that is located just across from my apartment. It was quite an experience figuring out how to do it. As I speak almost no Croatian and read even less it was quite a challenge to figure out the times (I got a pamphlet that described the times, which are different on different days and different from when they were actually shown) and found that most of them are ‘action’ movies (no surprise). They are just about all made in the US and have subtitles in Croatian, which makes it easy for us English speaking people to understand and enjoy.

I’m not really a fan of all those action blow-up kind of things but I wanted to be entertained so, I got the list and went on line (I have a great fast-speed connection which links me to the world) and watched the trailers. I decided on Surogati (Surrogate), which is a Bruce Willis movie (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=57630556) that is basically about creating ‘human’ avatar machines that go out and do your job because it is too dangerous for you to go out in the flesh. (They call real humans ‘meat bags’.) Of course in the end Willis saves the world and he and his wife come out of their rooms (where they sit in chairs and remotely control their avatar-selves) and become ‘human’ again.

I got the ticket and this is what I received:

If you look at it, it makes no sense. I felt like an old partly senile man trying to figure it out. What does all of this mean? As most people under 40 speak some English (mandatory at age 6 in public schools) a young usher described it to me. The cost was about $6 and the theater was quite beautiful with excellent sound to hear clearly the explosions and to clearly see the details of the disasters.

Gallery of What I Saw

Early Morning View from My Window Looking Southeast on a Rainy Day

Early Morning View from My Window Looking Southeast on a Sunny Day

Sculpture Getting a Make Over

Taxi Drivers Waiting & Socializing in Front of the Train Station

Hip Shot (including my leg)

I was walking to the Academy of the Dramatic Arts (which is where I teach) one morning and came across an elder-fair. There were hundreds of elderly people in the park with booths set up to check out aging bodies (no avatars here) along with info on health and well being for senior citizens. There were also performances in the gazebo of groups doing everything from exercises to dancing to singing.

For me the best was this beautiful 92-year-old woman who slowly climbed up on the stage to sing a traditional song.

Other Images from the Elder Fair