The Color of Paradise

"The Color of Paradise" is a beautiful film from Iran that centers around Mohammad, a blind 8-year-old who has used his other senses to become attuned to nature and to win over the staff and other students at an institute for the sight-impaired.

Unfortunately, those abilities don't really impress the boy's father, Hashem, a widowed laborer who believes his son is an unfair burden. Rather than take the boy back with him after the school year is out, he pleads with administrators to keep him through the summer vacation. Eventually, he does agree to take Mohammad home, and there the boy quickly thrives under the guidance of his two happy-go-lucky sisters and his grandmother, who runs the family farm.

There, the real reason for Hashem's fatherly reluctance is revealed — he is planning to marry a woman from a strict Islamic family and fears his son will embarrass him. So he schemes to give Mohammad away to a sight-impaired carpenter, hoping the boy will at least learn a trade.

Hashem has been working very hard to raise the dowry and gifts that are necessary to get her hand in marriage. Consent is given by the woman's family after he presents the gifts.

My parents, sisters, nephews and nieces are all living in Europe and buying gifts for everybody is the most time consuming part of a trip when I fly back to see them. Considering that my gf's parents are from Iran, I never thought my 'gift' buying skills' would come in handy for marriage proposals as well :)

Bean

One of the most memorable scenes in "Bean", exemplifies how one little mis-step, innocent by itself, can lead to another and snowball into a really bad situation.

In the scene I'm referring to, Mr Bean steps back to admire Whistler's Mother, America's most valuable painting. He tuts disapprovingly as he spots dust on the frame and blows it away. Some of the dust ends up on his nose, causing him to sneeze all over the painting. He takes out his handkerchief to wipe the spittle off in panic and then looks back at the painting. There now is a big blue mark right across Mrs Whistler's face. He checks his handkerchief and finds wet ink all over it caused by a leaking pen in his pocket. He takes out his shirt, spits on it and tries to wipe the painting, causing the ink to spread right over Whistler's Mother's pure white collar, completely destroying the painting.

Soooo, last weekend my girl-friend found herself in a similar situation when she tried to get an additional Costco membership card for me they allow for 2 cards per household. While taking the required information, the sales associate asked how long she'd known me. M answered "6 months" (almost true) and to justify the case, she added "He moved in 1 week ago" (not true). The associate replied "Nice that you're getting him a card; he'd better do something special for you on Valentine's day" M aswered "Yes, he's going to cook me a suprise dinner", fogetting that since I supposedly moved in, I'd do the cooking at her place. So the associate continued "How are you getting changed for dinner as he is preparing the suprise dinner at your house?"

Sometimes a simple "Yes" is the best answer...