February 12, 2003 — Mudeif Productions

A lazy day, working on a piece for First Presbyterian Church of Marietta's Lenten Devotional (due on Monday - oops) and picking up some supplies from the Ramallah Melkite Convent's bookshop - it's right across the street from Stones Restaurant.

In the evening, we decided to try the other movie theater in town at the Popular Arts Center. We arrived earlier than the announced 6:00 starting time, and a few minutes before the guy with the keys showed up. We paid for our tickets, the first people there. Others, mostly older high school kids, began to show up around 6, 6:15, 6:20. We entered the theater at 6:20. A few minutes later, a group of girls entered, asking if people cared if we watched something else they would choose. Since we had come to watch the advertised Insomnia with Al Pacino and Robin Williams, we kind of cared, so they relented. At 6:30, the lights dimmed, the screen lit up, and the DVD menu appeared. Not exactly film...As soon as the dialogue started in at a rapid pace and without translation or subtitles (as is par for the course at these theaters) the kids began standing up and leaving. The hearty few stayed on, those with excellent English, and those who simply wanted to sit in the back and talk. For $3, we amped up our noise tolerance. Perhaps we'll restrict ourselves to Al-Kasaba in the future.

We made our way to Sangria's, another Buckhead-ish Ramallah hang-out which serves an American-menu full of pub grub and met up with the same friends we joined at Stones a few nights ago. Ah, the comforts of home...