I also finally booked flights and hotels for my next big adventure courtesy of Workplace--10 days in Beijing and Shanghai to attend a conference (and sightsee, what else would you expect?). Which brings me to my current nemesis--Msr. Pimsleur. I don't know if he's actually a Frenchman, but it makes me feel better when I curse Pimmy seven ways to hell for creating the most infuriating language course in the history of linguistics. As fond as I am of jumping right in and learning as I go, there's something to be said about knowing exactly WHICH LETTER TO PRONOUNCE. Each half-hour lesson is full of repetition and helpful tips, but I am incredibly frustrated and infuriated. My first lesson was to learn the Mandarin version of the following exchange:
M: Excuse me, can you speak English?
W: I cannot.
M: Can you speak Mandarin?
W: I can. Are you American?
M: I am American
The method of teaching is a lot of repeating back to the disembodied voices and filling in the blanks/answering the questions when prompted. While it's fun and nice to not need a book and classroom, I would love a pronunciation guide to know whether it's pu or du or some weird yu sound where the first consonant is sort of swallowed and yet important since each word has appx 19 meanings depending on intonation and heaven forbid I get that wrong, or I might be asking a vulgar question instead of the basic 'do you speak English' question found the world over at various decibels. I consider myself rational and intelligent, but if you were near Chez Fremont you would have heard soothing voices speaking in English and Mandarin with increasingly sarcastic retorts punctuating the silences where real answers in Mandarin should go. No, I do not speak Mandarin, and it's looking increasingly like I might kill you right now if you ask again.
(Did I mention that everything is repeated at least twice, if not three times?)
30 minutes of this, voluntarily. While I did my dishes, I let the second lesson play. Covering the entire first lesson, this also introduced the "hello" which would have been much nicer and more useful to begin with in my book. Unfortunately, we didn't learn 'goodbye' so the assumption that oone could finish a conversation is wrong. In fact, I'm stuck in a never-ending loop of inquiring of one's nationality, linguistic abilities, and physical status with no face-saving end in sight. I'd say it's a sneaky way to make one finish the multi-lesson course, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up with a new batch of coasters or pop art before the month is out.
Why am I learning a foreign language when I'm there 10 days? I hate being a tourist, and it's hard not to be one when all you do is speak English and can't read a sign or get basic directions and already stick out like a sore, Irish/Scandinavian thumb. Yeah, the freckles and red hair might give me away this time.

I won't comment on the Harry Potter craze (read it loved it will read it again), but I will say that I saw Kung Fu Hustle last night at Brew & View and laughed hard at its audacity and fun. Since it started at 10p, that's quite the compliment. It's such a loving mockery of the genre and so over-the-top it's hard not to like it, and it was incredibly tame compared to the first movie, Sin City. I have to say I enjoyed it the second time around, but good grief--who cast Brittney Murphy? There are plenty of other dames who needed the work and wouldn't murder/mangle/strangle the cheezy lines that she was given. I don't deny that she had some pretty bad material to work with, but jeez--Rosario Dawson and James King seem to have done alright with the same type of lines. What was it? Oh yeah. They were ACTING. Not acting like they were acting.