Monthly Archives: June 2011


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Bridesmaids in Russian. Movie Fail. What you are missing out on, watching dubbed movies!


I have been anticipating this movie for the longest time ever. I remember Sam showing me the trailer back in Feb or even earlier. Anyways the movie disappointed me. I am not going to explain why and going to ruin it for you (well, I will, maybe a little). This post is more languages, translation and interpretation related anyways. To put it in a nutshell – I watched the movie in Russian first. I don’t like watching movies in Russian, unless it’s a Russian movie, and even then… Last night I was finally able to watch that movie in English, and boy oh boy what a difference! It’s not that I liked the movie, I still think it’s pretty dumb, just not as dumb as they made it sound in Russian.

The whole “watching the same movie in 2 different languages experience” gave me an idea to write a post about “What you are missing on watching a dubbed movie”. This is also applicable to other movies. I am simply using Bridesmaids as an example.

1 First of all – THE TITLE. I know that “the naming of cats movies is a difficult matter, it isn’t just one of your holiday games…”, and it’s even more difficult to translate the titles. So what the russians did, they simply called the movie – Bridal shower in Vegas. Even threw in a subtitle – something that can be translated to – Partying till the end, making the boys jealous. See now in Russian the movie Hangover simply translates to the Bachelor Party. So I guess they decided to draw a parallel there. Alas, to no success. Because THEY DON’T EVEN MAKE IT TO LAS VEGAS in the movie! Hello! That Annie girl (Kristen Wiig character) flips out on the plane. They land in Wyoming, and take a bus back to Milwaukee. Follow the story line for goodness’ sake!

2. The accent! Jeez, I had no idea that the State Patrol guy aka officer Nathan Rhodes had such an amazing Irish accent until I watched Bridesmaids in English. And we all know that in the US we are all suckers for some accent!

3. Voices. Movies are dubbed into Russian by a small group of people. That’s why often women sound all the same. You know what killed me? The fact that in Russian Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) and Carrie Bradshaw (SJ Parker) sound the same! I absolutely hate it! And then I hear Annie speak in the same voice! I honestly wish they used more people when dubbing foreign films!

4. The language perks. In Russian Helen just seems like a spoilt housewife, who has too much time on her hand. But in reality, her lines are much much more well written than that. “There is way more sense of community in coach” (on the plane) – Now that’s a line I can see myself using in real life :)

5. Names of stores, companies, etc. The way they translated Cake Baby – UGH! And then later on in the movie when it got graffited over as Cock Baby – and they translated it as Poopy Baby, well that’s just some bad translation right there!

I won’t even start on the whole Megan character ( Melissa McCarthy), it was absolutely ruined.

This is the end of sad ramblings of a disappointed viewer. I just hope some day, the whole dubbing business, will stop being a business, and turn into art!

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Love is in the air…


I know it’s too early to post this, Valentine’s Day is months away, but I am getting married in less than 2 months, so love it is!

I came across this blog today

http://belladia.typepad.com/bella_dia/2008/02/sweet-heart-cro.html

Which teaches you how to crochet a heart. It’s a basic heart, with very simple instructions. So for those of you advanced crocheters I wanted to share a more complicated heart pattern, that I absolutely love!

And here is the pattern, make sure to scroll down for some explanations

You are going to start with a chain of 9 stitches, connect the 9th and the 1st into a circle, then continue with a chain of 55, and connect the last 9 stitches into a circle as well. Then you are going to Crochet 19 double stitches into the loop and follow the pattern. You don’t have to crochet the final row if you don’t want to, it will look just as cool! I have done both :)

Enjoy!

 

 

 


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Nivea vs Camay


Deodorants are important, we all know that. I hope you know that! Well, if you didn’t, there, I told you!

Monday I realized I ran out of my Rexona, and needed to buy a new deodorant before I left for the States. I do have a deodorant dilemma though. It’s really hard for me to find the one that works well. While living in NYC I have even tried some natural/herbal brands, like Tom’s, some other kind that smelled like baby powder, and another one that had aloe extract. Needless to say the last one was pretty useless, but at least the money went to breast cancer research, so I can feel good about donating.

A few days ago I saw an ad about Nivea’s new deodorant Invisible for black and white. It says that it doesn’t leave white marks on black clothes and prevent yellow stains on white. It’s also alcohol free and is supposed to last for 48 hours.

The other deodorant that I’ve been dying to use is Camay. Now that one has more scent to it. I chose the Pink grapefruit. This one promises to stay for 24 hours, and well that’s the only promise it makes. I do like the design, all the twirls and bubbles.

Size wise Camay has a little more to offer, 5 grams more, to be exact. So that doesn’t really make a difference. Price wise, they are about the same, Nivea is a little more expensive, I also had a discount at the store, so that evened the price out. Scent wise Camay kicks Nivea’s ass big time. I guess when it comes to deodorants I prefer scented ones. But if you like neutral scents or prefer non-scented deodorants over everything else, then Nivea is for you.

So what I did, was wear both deodorants at the same time. You know how in the commercials they use one under one armpit, and the other under a different one? Yes, that’s exactly what I did. I also wore them through a workout. And I could definitely smell Camay, which I liked. Again, this is my personal opinion.

The verdict: Camay definitely won me over, but because of Nivea’s no marks on black and white, I will continue to use it as well. Both deodorants have their advantages and drawbacks, I hope you pick the one that’s right for you!


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Fall 2011 Shows I am excited for


It doesn’t take much to make my day! Usually one episode of Chelsea Lately is enough. Since I have run out of books to read written by her, and I haven’t had a chance to get my hands on “The Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me” I am simply enjoying watching Chelsea Lately, every time it’s on TV. If there are no new episodes, I watch re-runs of That 70′s Show. Now last week the impossible happened, I learned that Laura Prepon will be starring in a new show based on one of Chelsea’s books – Are you there vodka? it’s me Chelsea. Which will air this fall. Don’t you just love this?

I don’t know why they picked Laura to play Chelsea, I like to think that it’s the Russianness that they both poses. And, well, they are both blond :)

I am also extremely excited for Chelsea herself to be on the show, playing a part of her sister. And of course Jo Koy!

So, thank you, NBC for this amazing show! I am officially excited!

The next show I am also excited for has my fav Zooey Deschanel. And it will air on Fox this fall. I am sure you’ve already figured out that I am talking about the New Girl!

Zooey’s face in this picture says it all! I am as excited for this as she is :)

I am also excited for the return of the Big Bang Theory, and the Office, and the other shows that I watch, except for I don’t think I’ll have this much time to watch them, because I’ll be married :)

YAY!


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Knitted Cuff Bracelet


Oh I can’t describe how proud I am for figuring out this knitted pattern :) You don’t have to be as proud, but I made this bracelet today, which is perfect for the summer!

I began by knitting a strip, long enough to go around my wrist

This is what it looks like on the other side

Then I stitched it into a tube using my crocheting hook and my awesome skills :)

Turned it inside out, and inserted fabric covered piece of linoleum (you can use plastic from the water bottle too)

And viola – here is what I ended up with!

Enjoy!

 


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Domestic Violence


As funny as it looks in the cartoon above, this is an every day thing in many countries. Why did I decide to bring it up? Well I had a lunch date with a friend from high school today, and she was telling me about one of her ex-boyfriends who once beat her up like there was no tomorrow. All because she wanted to leave. This is how the story went. They lived in different cities, and she came to visit and celebrate his Birthday. There were a lot of people at the dinner in one of the restaurants, and then they all went to a night club. That’s where he told her to go home, because he wanted to spend time with another girl. Well, you get the idea, and I am sure you got the same firs assumption as me.

Of course my friend didn’t leave, threw him a fit and everyone went home. At home he got mad at her, so as he was yelling, she started packing. The realization came too late, she has almost left the building when he chased her, started grabbing her and forcing back into the apartment. By that time she didn’t care if she left her stuff behind, a little while later she was ready to leave her purse, just to get away from him. And trust me she was yelling, no one came to help. The neighbor guy didn’t want to get involved, because he was afraid he’d get punched too.

He dragged her back into the apartment, and started hitting her, and throwing her down. One time she even hit her temple on the edge of a bed side table. And that’s when everything went into slow motion and she thought to herself – “I can die”.  Good thing she didn’t. But she was all bruised, and hurt her elbow so bad, it took 6 months to heal. Now my friend took karate when she was back in high school, but according to her, she couldn’t hurt him, or punch him. She tried, but there was no strength in her punch.

The morning came, she barely slept that night. And in the AM she was getting ready to leave, but they started talking, he explained himself, and said that it will never happen again.

I don’t think it did, but she was bruised all over, and I am sure it left some sort of an emotional scar.

The thing that scares me in that story the most is the fact that they got back together after the fight. She forgave him. But they did break up several months later. And he was the one who broke it off.

A couple weeks ago I interpreted a seminar on self-defence at an orphanage in Russia. I can’t explain how useful those are! I have been to a few of them while living in NJ, and I want to highly recommend those! No matter how old you are, or how safe your town or neighborhood is, it’s important to know how to protect yourself, sometimes from the ones we live with.


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Tennis Addiction


Last year was when I really got into this whole Tennis Craze! Especially with the US Open. But it all started with Wimbledon 2010 and the fact that it was always on in the NYC apartment where I lived with my Jewish host family. Then Vera Zvonareva made it into the finals. See now, here is the benefit of being from a different country – You can still cheer and support your country’s player, and do the same thing about the players from the country where you live now. And when they play each other, well it’s a win-win situation!

Of course I wanted Sharapova to win something during the US Open, but alas. Maybe this year! At least she is one of the most fashionable players out there. And this matters just as much as how well you play!

Just look at how cute her dresses are!

I believe she wore this one last year during the US Open

This last skirt is a dream! I would seriously wear it in the summer, and I have nothing to do with tennis. I just watch it!

I think out of all tennis players out there Sharapova is my fave! I like Kurnikova too, and I am super excited to see her as one of the trainers on the next season of the Biggest Loser. Of course I am sad to see Jillian go, but Anna will rock that ranch I am sure!

A few years ago I was on the plane sitting next to Yaroslava Shvedova, who plays for Kazakhstan. She wasn’t as famous as she is now, but it was still amazing to talk to a famous person! She was super easy going, and fun! Of course an over night flight from NYC to Moscow is not a good time to get to know someone, but I still remember that conversation. It’s not often that you meet nice people on the planes these days!

Anyways, I am super excited for US Open 2011! I hope Sam is too! Last year he kept making fun of all the grunts and other noises the players were making!

Sweet Friday and a Sweet Caroline to you all!


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Knitted Nook Cover


Making this cover has been on my list for a while. And even though the first one didn’t turn out exactly the way I wanted, and it’s not completely finished, I am still pretty proud of myself for getting this far.

Those of you who know me, probably remember that I am way better at crocheting than I am at knitting. And the pattern I chose today was difficult for me. Of course now I can say that it was all nice ‘n’ easy, but it wasn’t like that this AM! I gave up, once, and then picked it all up again.

I’ve had my nook for about a year now, and I got it during the Nook/Kindle price war, when the numbers kept going down. I do have to admit, I paid the original price back then, returned the nook I got, and received a new one, as well as my money back! Ah, gotta love the return policy for that! Sadly, they closed the B&N at Lincoln Centre, but I hope the manager who sold it to me, got transferred or even promoted! That man knew what he was talking about!

I got a cover for my nook the same day. And I guess the quote by Marie de Sevigne really spoke to me back then: “When I step into this library, I cannot understand why I ever step out of it”

And this is what it looks like

But it’s summer time, and I wanted to bring more color into the life of my nook, and of course some “hand-made style”

So this is what I ended up with

I still need to add the padding and the fleece for the inside, but you get the idea!

Here is what I knitted as a practice round this morning:

Hope you all are having a great Thursday! I sure am :)


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40 Kilos of Life


Yup, that’s how much I am allowed to bring. Technically, only half of those kilograms are going to be free. For those of you thinking in pounds, it’s 88lb alright! Well, plus the carry on, and everything that I can bring on myself. Still confused?

I am talking about my luggage! The thing is, I am moving, moving soon, moving fast, and I know that it’s going to be here before I know it. Some of my friends keep asking me when the flight is. I don’t know, I haven’t booked it yet. Now you are probably all wondering what do the 40 kg include? Clothes, my friends, mostly clothes.

I had to pack one of my suitcases today, because my uncle is going to take it to Moscow in his car, so that I don’t have to drag it there myself! Which is nice. So I pulled out most of my fall/spring and winter clothes. And now I also want to take some books, and some of my bridal magazines need to go back. I honestly have no idea how I’m going to do it all. But when I do, I will definitely let you know!

I wish the 2nd bag was free, alas, it’s not! But as you may have guessed, it’s going to be all summer clothes, and my make up, and accessories and all the other fun stuff.

I will keep you posted on what else I bring, and maybe will even make a video on YouTube!

How do you pack? Light? Not so light? Do you try and bring everything you need or just the basics? Let me know what you think!

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