OK, girls, I'm feeling bad that Diavona*'s English Corner got so quiet after I came on. Did a native speaker scare everyone away? Please, if you have interest, don't by shy -- I don't care what your English is like, and just imagine me struggling every day with Russian!?

It seemed like there was some interest in movies and books and things. I know there is a regular forum section for cultural activities (also with Diavona* as moderator, if I'm not mistaken), but if there is interest, maybe there is room for a slightly different discussion in English.

Do you try to watch movies in English often? I have several movies with original, undubbed English on DVD. (Now that we have a baby, we are so lazy! We watch movies much more often in our native language, because we're too tired to watch in Russian at the end of the day!) If anyone is interested, I can list some titles and you can borrow a few.

I think my husband and I like comedies best. I wonder if it sounds strange to you (because humor can be so difficult to translate), but I think my favorite recent comedy was "Dodgeball" ("Вышибалы" in Russian). Very silly, but hilarious to me. Also "40-Year-Old Virgin" -- it's the same silly humor that may not translate well or appeal to you, but this kind of thing makes me laugh and helps me relax.

Maybe the biggest surprise I had recently was with "Down With Love," starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. I expected it to be dumb, but it made me laugh out loud. It was a funny light parody of 1960s American culture and feminism. Unfortunately we don't own that one on DVD, though.

But we do have the British TV series "The Office." That show has been remade for American audiences, and I find both versions of the show very funny. I know that some programs are remade for Russian TV, but it seems to me that this one hasn't been -- has anyone heard of it? It is wickedly funny and a very unique comedy. No Russian subtitles, but it does have English subtitles to make it easier to follow. It may not be for everyone, but I love it. There are two years (or "seasons") in all, on 2 disks, something like 25 episodes total, so it isn't terribly long to watch.

What kinds of films or TV or books are you interested in right now?? I'd love to hear...

Наверное , нарушаю правила, но.. С удовольствием бы пообщалась на английском, но несмотря на два с половиной высших образования, этот язык так и не выучила. Увы, способностей нет.

I like cartoons.

At least they seem to be the only genre I regulary watch in English. I have to admit I miss too much in movies when I watch them without captioning data. Cartoons are easier to understand.

Sure it doesn't mean that I watch only animated movies. Comedies and dramas are on the top of my list too. Though in Russian.

And may i ask you, do you watch Russian movies? And if you do, which of them do you like more?

Well, as I said, please don't be shy to make any attempt -- I'd be happy to hear anyone's thoughts, no matter your level of English!

Tanka, I understand what you mean about cartoons being easier to follow. Which ones have you enjoyed? I like cartoons, too, but, it's funny, I think that in Russia this genre is more popular among both kids and adults than in the US. It seems to me that in the US, until recently, cartoons were really considered mainly for children. In the last 8-10 years, though, this has changed. American movie producers got better at creating cartoon movies that interest both adults and children (I suppose starting from "Toy Story"/"История игушек" and probably continuing up to today with the Shrek movies). But for some reason I haven't really seen many of those recent American cartoon-movies. I am secretly hoping to start watching more of them with our daughter. I just bought "Ice Age"/"Ледниковый период" for Anya, because I found it for a low price -- I don't even know if this one was supposed to be very good.

Anya's babysitter recently gave us a collection of Russian mul'tiki -- I am planning to watch some of it today with Anya, so I will tell you how I like it! Of course I know Cheburashka and Gena, and the rabbit and the wolf from "Nu, pogodi!," and of course Leonov as Winnie the Pooh (I guess that is why I chose the counter I did for my signature here). But, sadly, that is about the extent of my knowledge of Russian cartoons.

And about Russian movies in general -- again, I'm ashamed to say that I am so lazy these days! Earlier, when learning Russian was more my first priority, I watched lots of Soviet comedies (well, lots to me, but maybe not to you! ). Probably most of all I enjoyed the Shurik films, and other Gaidai movies, and Riazanov's comedies, too.

It's a shame -- I must not pay enough attention to them, but I really have watched very few recent Russian movies. I'm curious, what is your favorite recent (I mean in the last, say, two-three years) Russian movie?

My problem is that I don't like long movies. Every time I decide it's time to watch a film I think of an hours and a half (or even two hours) of sitting in one place and staring at the screen... and this idea bores me to death.

Anyway, we bought a new TV set a couple of days ago. The former one was much less than the screen of my computer, but every time we (my husband and I) thought of changing it we couldn't decide what for. Well, this one stays switches off all day long too, so I can't explain why we finally bought it.

I have to admit I have not seen any new Russian movies recently.

Once I saw Cheburaska in English. That was strange but funny.

And I'm playing my accordion
I'm playing loud and clear.
It's so sad thta Happy Birthday
Is but once a year...

I can understand that, about not having the stamina for long movies. Now that many TV shows are sold on DVD, sometimes we watch those instead. Less commitment to watch a 30 minute episode than a movie, and on disc you can choose when to watch.

I remembered a very good Russian movie that I watched maybe 1-2 years ago: ِВозвращение/The Return. At least I thought it was good, but of course it was an award winner at Cannes maybe? and therefore of course serious, artful, and it required the viewer's undivided attention. For comedies and lighter movies, I still only enjoy the older ones, like Gaidai and others. I still haven't found any recent ones I like.

OK, what about books? Here again, I don't have as much time as I used to, to read in Russian, but a few years ago I enjoyed very much the books about the nun Pelagia, by B. Akunin. Have there been any new ones in that series, aside from the three I remember (black bulldog, red rooster, and white something?)? Are there some recent books in Russian that anyone particularly recommends I read? (Of course, I should look at the cultural forum topics in Russian if I really want to know. )

I just started a novel by a Russian emigre in France, Irene Nemirovsky, written during the evacuation from Paris in 1940: "Suite Francaise." It is sad but very well written. (I'm reading it in English translation; it was written in French originally.)

Hello!

I don't like cinema very musch. My favourite movies are "Overboard", "Gone with the wind", "Matrix 1/2/3" and old soviet films "Республика ШКИД" ("Dostoevsky school republic" - it's movie about children in the period of Revolutions 1905-1917), "А зори здесь тихие" (it's about Great Patriotic War), "Добро пожаловать или посторонним вход воспрещен" (about pioneer camp, kids movie).

Last russian interesting films - "Турецкий гамбит", "Ночной дозор", "Дневной дозор". But if you read books "Ночной дозор" & "Дневной дозор" by Sergey Lukjanenko, you'll see, that they are quite different.

What about russian books. I recommend to read Lukjanenko (sci-fi). His books are very interesting and I guess they would be easy for understanding.

May be, you don't like sci-fi? What genre do you prefer?

Hi, Лёвушка! So do you like books more than movies? Or what would you say is your favorite kind of entertainment?

I guess I would say that sci fi is not my favorite genre, but it isn't as though I hate it, either -- it's just not the first thing I choose to watch or read. I wouldn't have guessed it without thinking about it, but I suppose it looks like I'm fond of historical fiction -- it's true, when I think about the books I've enjoyed in recent years, many of them are historical, the kind that have a very good reconstruction of the historical period in which they are set. (And, surprise, I'm a historian by training...)

Your comment reminded me that one of the first popular books I read in Russian was by the Strugatskii brothers. I must have the book somewhere, since I was given it by my host family, who suggested I read it. (They were physicists -- somehow it seemed to me at the time that Strugatskiis' writings were especially popular among scientists of the 1960s generation. But maybe I'm mistaken.) It was all about NIIChAGO or an institute with a similar funny name. Thinking about it makes me want to pull it off the shelf and look at it again.

I'm really curious about the 3 Soviet era movies you mentioned. I'll look them up somewhere online.

So, is "Turetskii Gambit" by any chance based on the other series by B. Akunin, with Fandorin? I just remembered that, now that I am super-lazy, I had read 2-3 of the Fandorin books, since they have begun to translate them into English. Didn't one of them have that same title?

Hmmm, OK, now I am getting curious about more recent Russian movies, and books, too. Is there any particular website that anyone recommends for learning about movies, maybe a database of commentaries or reviews? The one I use all the time to learn about American/English-language movies is "Rotten Tomatoes": http://www.rottentomatoes.com.

I guess I like reading more. I think, it makes my brain work harder. Movie is just like wasting of time for me. But I watch movies sometimes.
I'm fond if history too. But I prefer to watch historical documentary films.
I can't say, that reading is an antertainment for me. It's my way of life. I always read, when I have free time and nothing to do.
My favourite entertainment is fitness. I love it. I also like hiking.

I adore Strugatskie and I've read all their books. You are talking about "Понедельник начинается в субботу". I have this book. I can give it to you, if you don't have one. I also like philosophy books - Nietsche, Lao-tsi (I'm not sure in spelling), Конфуций, Альбер Камю and others.

I don't know about special movies sites. But my boyfriend downloads movies from www.tor*r**ent*.ru. It must be forum there.

A couple years ago there was a TV program named "English accent". There were movies in English there. I watched several movies. I don't remember the titles, but in one of them J. Aniston was starring. She was working at the supermarket and cheating her husband with collegue. I don't remember the end. But I like it. I watched it in Russian too.
When I was learning at school, we watched movies in English ("Forrest Gump" and others).
When I was a pupil, I knew English much better, then now. I forgot almost everything . I'm trying to maintain my knowledge of English reading books. I love E.A. Poe, especially his poetry. I even translated it into Russian. I also would like to read Tolkien "Lord of the rings" again, but I don't have this book in English. I've read it in English once and in Russian 10 times or more. It's one of my favourite chilhood books. I also adored "The Cronicles of Narnia" (I'm not sure in translation) by K.Lewis.

You are wright. Turkish Gambit is based on the books by B. Akunin. But I don't read such books. You must know such word as "попса". This is about Akunin, Pelevin and other bestseller wrighters. I don't like "popsa" neither in music nor in books. I don't like to seem like snob, but I don't read what everyone reads on principle.

What are YOUR favourite entertainments, Lisa? How do you spend your freetime (when you have one ).

Yes, Левушка! "Monday Begins on Saturday" -- that's the one! I forgot to look on the shelf to see whether I brought it here. Actually I think I left it in the US.

I wish I had either Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia here with me -- I know my husband had at least Tolkien, but again, it seems to me that we left this book in a storage space instead of bringing it to Russia.

I understand what you mean about the popularity of the Akunin/Pelevin books, but it's funny to hear you call them попса! It just goes to show the difference between Russian culture and American: if your low-brow pop literature is on a par with these books, I think you're still doing pretty well. (Does that make sense? I mean to say that, in American culture, if something is so popular that you look down your nose at it, it is of so much lower quality than these things. I have never actually read Pelevin, but it's my understanding that both those books and Akunin are actually written in a more clever style, with more intelligence, than anything that would ever earn that kind of negative pop label in the US.)

My own free time? The trouble is, I feel like I am a completely different person this year, with my daughter, than I was before -- not that my interests are different, but that the time or ability to pursue them is just completely changed. I guess I read a little, I watch a little TV and movies... I like to explore Vladivostok (hey, living here is like a fulltime hobby -- 24/7!). I like to do yoga. I rode my bike for the first time in many months the other day. That's about it.

to Bayleaf. Данный пост попросила оставить Лёвушка: "Республика ШКИД" будет идти в воскресенье в 10:30 по ТВ3 aka 11 канал =)

I mean, that Pelevin, Akunin, Robsky and other popular wrighters' books are just a chewing gum for your brain. There is no meaning in them. Sometimes I'd like to chew , but I choose magazines (Shape, Cosmo) or movies.

I have no idea, how you "survive" in Vladivostok. I suppose, you can wright your own book about that! Fun&horror!

Can you tell me some funny stories from this book? It's interesting to see your country with foreigner's eyes.

Hm, it's funny that you mention a book about my experience in Vladivostok. I have actually toyed with the idea of doing just that! For some reason, my particular idea revolves around food and eating. I guess those are pretty important to everyone, and in particular what I eat (what I can eat, can't eat, can only eat here in this particular place, choose to eat for comfort, find terrible to eat, miss eating, miss cooking, can't wait to eat again, etc.) always seems to influence my experiences.

The idea originally came from my aunt, my mother's sister, who lives in England and loves to cook. I think she has read other books in English where authors use the sensations of eating and cooking and all sorts of concepts related to food to help them tell a story or recount an experience. I guess you would call this genre a "food memoir."

We'll see whether I am really able to do it, since almost everything I am trying to accomplish now (hopefully with the exception of raising my daughter) I seem to be doing only halfway.

Oh, you asked for a funny story... The trouble is, honestly, until recently I didn't feel like anything I wanted to record for memory about life here was funny, only wistful. I think the first several months here in a new place with a small baby were just difficult, unfortunately not especially funny! Well, if you want stories, you can look at the online journal we keep about our life here for our friends and family back home -- it's linked on my profile.

Bayleaf Book! Great idea! Have you ever been to China? I think this could add a lot of material about (no only Far-) East food and eating I remember my first journey to Harbin.. that spicy breakfast everyday!...

Sorry for little off-topic

Let me tell about my favourite books, movies and TV-programmes.

TV My husband and I like to watch MTV. Besides of music there're a lot of very interesting programmes. We like one wich was shown a year before... unfortunately I do not remember how it sounds in English... but in Russian it was Ходоки. Lesha also watches his favourite "Soldiers" on RenTV. Our antenna is very bad so we have very few canals to watch

Books I like to read very much. It one of my favourite things from the childhood. When I was a child I liked fairy-tales. "King Matiush the First" and "Narnia Chronicles" were my handbooks. When I became older I began to read more serious books. "Peter the First" by Tolstoy impressed me very much. The last books I read by this time are "Flowers in the attic" by Victoria Andrews and "Petals in the wind" (the second book of this series). The first impressed me so... Can't impress it in words... I know there's a movie by the book. I want to watch it!

Movies One of my hobbies is to watching the movies especially in English. I saw "Sleepless in Seattle", "You've got mail", "A room with a view", "Mary Poppins", "The sounds of music", "Forrest Gump", "Little women" (I know that thre's a book by Louisa May Alcott but have never read it). Also love Robin Williams and his "Patch Adams", Mrs. Doubtfire", "Good morning, Vietnam!"... I can go on and on...

Diavona, you're right, it would be a really interesting to write about China, too, especially as a foil (a contrasting point) for (Far Eastern) Russia, and especially related to food. I think part of the reason my husband and I found it so fascinating when we were able to take a very short trip to China in the spring was because we were coming from Vladivostok -- meaning, if we had visited from the US, we probably would have experienced China and the contrasts to what was familiar to us in one particular way. But living even temporarily in Russia and visiting directly from here, we experienced it in I think a very different way.

Anyway -- the breakfast at the hotel where we stayed in Yanji was amazing! So many different foods, but so unusual to eat first thing in the morning!

I really hope we can visit China again. I would especially like to go to Harbin -- probably in part because my primary focus as a historian has been late Imperial Russia (as the period from about 1864-1917 is called in English), the time when Harbin was founded and developed. I also conducted a very in-depth oral history interview with a very interesting old scientist who grew up there, and hearing his life story made me curious, too.