February 04, 2003
Snatch
Sunday night we watched Snatch. I thought this got bad reviews, so I was prepared with low expectations, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the plot twists and the quirky way some of it was filmed. I had a suspicion about what was going to happen with the dog which was basically right, but besides that the plot kept me guessing.
An interesting side note: In the movie Brad Pitt plays a "gypsy" or Irish Traveller, and they make references to how no one can understand the gypsies which is why they are so good at negotiating. I had just read about the Travellers in a Zooba article and on the web. They have their own language, called Shelta which is a mix of Gaelic and English, but neither can understand it. Zooba says: Shelta is still taught to Traveller children by parents, however, mainly as a method of reinforcing community ties and as a source of ethnic pride. A few scholars have attempted to record the language over the years, but most are still hesitant to share this "secret" language with the outside world. I think I am going to check out this book about them (after I get through the stack of 50 books I already have).
Posted by David at February 4, 2003 12:02 PM | EditAch, inuit brecht fallabas gallan brae!
Not quite Zelba. Try this: "Stall your Whids. Gloke the way the gammy sham is torrigan us."
Where did you get that quotation in Shelta? I read those exact same sentences once in an excellent book on travellers and want to find that book again.