Oct. 29th, 2011

fajrdrako: (Default)




At Alliance Française today, I took the exam forthe end of level B-11. To pass, one needs at least 70% in all questions - oral and written. I got 70% in two levels, 90% in another, and "Excellent! Félicitations!" for the written work. This is a pass, though I had some stupid spelling mistakes, like writing "ferrai" when it should have been "ferai". Ah, well...

The teacher advised those of us who are continuing to take the class held twice a week, rather than the Saturday morning classes, because we learn faster and learn more when it's twice a week - once a week is plenty of time to forget what you learned the week before. Even with homework. But B-12 isn't held this term except on Saturday mornings, so she advised us to go into B-13. Makes me feel as if I'm skipping a grade.

Now, I'm jobless and close to penniless, but I squandered $400 of my hard-earned credit card on on the B-13 classes coming up in a week. It isn't just that I love the classes and don't want to stop them. It's that I really think my French is improving, and the better my French, the better I'll do in the job market. In the long run. And self-study only takes a person so far, especially when I feel that what I need now is practice in speaking and pronunciation. I still struggle with those French Rs.

The couse cost more than B-11, because we need a whole set of textbooks.

Thius is really exciting. And I swear I'll study or practise French every day. I really will.

fajrdrako: (Default)




I went today to see the movie Anonymous, starring Rhys Ifans as Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who in this movie is the real author of all Shakespeare's plays.



Okay, fair enough. I've been curious enough to read about the Oxfordian case, even though I think it's a bit of historical hogwash. I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of a good movie.

Sadly, this wasn't a good movie. I say "sadly" because I love movies set in any historical era, but the Tudor period is a bit of a favourite (probably thanks to Dorothy Dunnett), and I'm itching for another good story in that setting. La Reine Margot? Elizabeth, the Golden Age? Shakespeare in Love? Love 'em.

I was forewarned that the movie portrayed Shakespeare as a rotter. I didn't realize he was also going to be an illiterate idiot. Even after going to grammar school in Stratford? What kind of teaching standards did they have? Given that Shakespeare (the idiot actor in the movie, I mean) had to be able to read to learn his lines, they say that he could read but couldn't write, and when challenge to write the letter "i", which is described to him, he can't do it. Is that even possible?

To give credit where it is due, Rhys Ifans does a very good job of portraying the feckless Oxford. I loved the musical score by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wanker. Some of the costumes were terrific. ExpandBut, beyond that... )

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