_jems_

TeeVee

jems00@gmail.com — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 20:29:21 GMT

The fall television season is upon us and I'm trying to figure out what to watch.

SHOWS I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO

The Mindy Project [Sept 25]

I feel like this might be the type of cringe humor that I find really difficult to swallow (I had to desensitize myself to The Office (UK) before I actually started to enjoy it), but I can't help it, I enjoy Mindy Kaling so much. And while I was never the biggest Kelly fan, it looks like her character here will be much more my speed.

Elementary [Sept 27]

Lucy Liu. Enough said! ~~And the fact that the people who fetishize Sherlock and its stars hate on this is just a bonus.~~

SHOWS WHOSE PREMISE/PREVIEW INTRIGUE ME

Revolution [Sept 17]

I really like written versions of dystopic stories, and in theory I should enjoy filmed versions as well, right? Except I rarely do, because they focus so much on the misery and drudgery of daily existence. What I want is for the absence of modern trappings to instead let everything else fall away until all we're left with are human beings and their relationships with one another as the very core of the story. I'm not sure this is the vehicle that will do that (I doubt it), but I live in hope.

Last Resort [Sept 27]

For a show with such a ridiculous premise (Lost ain't got nothing on this one!), I'm actually really intrigued. Add a bunch of actors I'd love to see in something again and I'm there! For at least a few episodes...

SHOWS I WILL AT LEAST TRY ONCE

Made in Jersey [Sept 28]

Looks cheesy, but could be a different take on a procedural. If the pilot doesn't turn me off completely, I'll at least give it a few episodes.

Go On

This one already premiered! And I will try any show starring Matthew Perry, no matter how bad it looks. Okay, so maybe this doesn't look terrible, but it doesn't look like my type of show. However, it seems to be the only new comedy except for Mindy's that I'll be trying this season. What a sorry bunch of comedy freshman shows. At least there are a bunch of returning ones to look forward to, I guess?

SHOWS I MIGHT WATCH/WILL DEFINITELY WATCH IF OTHERS RAVE ABOUT IT

The Mob Doctor [Sept 17]

There was nothing about the preview that stood out to me, but if I see rave reviews I will give it a shot. Hell, I may give it a shot anyway if I exhaust all other viewing options.

Nashville [Oct 10]

Don't like country, not overly fond of the premise (women being catty with each other, ugh!), but Connie Britton is a big draw.

The one returning show I'm looking forward to above all others is Homeland. But I'll be watching tons of other stuff, as per usual.

Vacation!

jems00@gmail.com — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 18:37:56 GMT

So, I got back from Tenerife about three weeks ago, but I've been putting off posting because I wanted to post some images and my Photoshop is completely shot (and my computer isn't far behind). Of course, since I just bought a new couch, I can't afford a new computer and the accompanying Photoshop until next month at the earliest. So screw it! Unedited photos it is!

Caveat: with a lot (ALL) of these, I was experimenting with light and shutter speeds and stuff, so they're images that will probably look tons better after they've been tinkered with a bit. But I think some of these, especially the sunset shots (all of which were taken after the actual sun had set! Go figure!), look pretty cool in their raw state (NB: these photos are not actually raw, but the jpg versions of the raw images).

Our terrace was HUGE.

I played around with my new wide-angle lens quite a lot...

These are basically all the same shot, but I pretty much loved all of them.

Oh yeah...AND OUR TERRACE HAD A FREAKIN' OCEAN VIEW. It was pretty awesome. Less awesome was not having a tripod, because setting the camera down on the terrace wall and just hoping for a good sunset shot meant a lot (A LOT) of duds.

(That island you see between the palm trees in that last image is La Gomera, which is currently burning to the ground. Eeek!)

Also, that camera bag I bought turned out to be even more awesome than I thought, because the short straps are juuuuust long enough to make it possible to carry the bag like a backpack. MOST AWESOME CAMERA BAG IN EXISTENCE.

On vacation, I read nine books (I think. Most of them were my reread of Harry Potter), watched seven seasons of television (Lost Girl season 2, which I loved, Teen Wolf season 1 and some of season 2, which I'm extremely meh about and which I haven't even bothered to catch up on since I came back, The Walking Dead season 1, which actually started to get interesting towards the end and which I will catch up on...some day, 10 Things I Hate About You, which I enjoyed okay, but I wish they had focused less on Bianca, who bored me, as well as three seasons of Design Star), and managed to burn myself on the very last day. How I managed to burn myself on the last day when I didn't burn myself at all in the three previous weeks I'll never know, but burn myself I did.

When I got back I spent the rest of my vacation catching up on TV:

Bunheads
I really like Michelle and some of the bunheads, but I have nowhere near the affection for her that I did Lorelai even this early in the Gilmore Girl run. My main complaint about this show is that there is nothing to 'ship.

It is my favorite show of the summer season though, and I wish there were more than 10 episodes.

The Newsroom
I'm totally enjoying this, all the while bracing for something heinous to happen. You know, Sorkin!heinous, where he does something that completely ruins the show, not plot!heinous, where things go bad for the characters. That I can actually handle. Sorkin's personal brand of heinous? Not so much.

Suits
I don't know what it is about Suits that appeals to me so when I'm nowhere even close to a Harvey/Mike 'shipper, but I find it completely delightful. Especially the women! Which I'm pretty sure means I'm watching this show wrong. Heh!

Rookie Blue
Could Andy and Sam get any cuter? I kinda love them a whole lot this season.

You know what I didn't love? HAVING TO WAIT TWO WEEKS TO FIND OUT IF GAIL WAS OKAY. Like seriously, that was mean. Especially because I could have caught up with some other show first and not have had to wait that long if I'd only known what rat bastards they were.

And killing Jerry kind of broke my heart. Not because of any great affection for him, but because Traci had finally opened up and I could actually see why they worked together. And then SPLAT. 'Ship roadkill.

I also watched Leverage season 4 (seriously, the only reasons to watch this show are Hardison-Parker-Eliot. The others could go in the wood chipper for all I care) and The Closer season 7 (which ended well, I think. I tried the first episode of Major Crimes, but it could barely hold my attention.)

Actually, I've watched a ton of other stuff, but I'm already bored typing out my vague thoughts about things. What I need is a freakin' 'ship to obsess about! Does anything this fall look promising?

Oh hey, did you hear? ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT STARTED SHOOTING. Eeeeee, so excited!

The non-fandom side of life

jems00@gmail.com — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:46:18 GMT

Thanks for your concern in my last post. I'm fine, nothing much more has happened, and I'm basically just waiting and seeing what will happen next.

Photography
I've been getting increasingly interested in photography and using my DSLR more. That's why I was asking about advice on camera bags a few months ago. BTW, this is the one I went with:

I LOVE it. I'm buying a new wideangle lens, which will mean I'll have three lenses, camera body, battery charger and assorted knick-knacks and doodads in there and they all fit with ease. And the best part? My eReader fits right on top!

Anyway, aside from my new wideangle lens, I've also been looking into HDR photography and yesterday I set up my camera for bracketing (when you hold down the shutter button, it'll take three images - one regular, one underexposed and one overexposed), which is how you get HDR images (though apparently you can do it with just one image).

I can't wait to try it all out! Especially on my vacation next month (I'll be going to Teneriffe for THREE WEEKS. Words cannot even begin to describe the joy I feel at the prospect of doing nothing for three weeks straight)!

Kickstarter
I've seen Kickstarter mentioned before, but I never really bothered to go searching for projects I'd like to sponsor. And, really, I still don't, but I saw this idea that I really liked, so I'm getting four of these:

I mean, they're not even that mindblowing an idea, it's just the perfect dock for me to be able to use on my nightstand, in my car, maybe at work... Also, good for when you just need a stand so you can watch a show or something on your phone. Well, as soon as I saw that they'd added Android functionality, I was on board.

Pinterest
I got myself a Pinterest (this is me) and I find myself using it a lot more than I've ever used Tumblr. I think it's because for me, fannish activities are so much about the discussion of it, not just the ogling of pretty pictures, that Tumblr doesn't work other than for the occasional OOOOH PRETTY!/OOOOOH FUN! moments. But Pinterest is all about creating mood boards and getting inspiration, which works so well for me in the real world.

Anyway, if any of you are on there, let me know!

Evernote
I've had Evernote for...a year? two years? In that time, I've mostly been using it for the occasional recipe, a place to store wish lists (for myself and others) and writing down my books read/TV seasons watched and movies watched for each year.

But the other week I was reading a blog post on something or other and Evernote was mentioned and suddenly I'm using it for all kinds of stuff.

For instance, I've started using the Link Note function to fill in my books/TV/movies list. So every time I start a new book, I create a new note in the Books notebook, add an image of the cover and the date I started. Then, when I finish, I write down any thoughts I might have about it and link it to my Books Read 2012 note. Okay, so I've only done this for Blackout and Ship Breaker since I only started last week, but still! This is what I intend to do from now on.

And if I start/finish any TV shows (my summer kdrama obsession should kick in any day now, since I'm hardly reading anymore) or watch any movies, I'll do the same. Maybe I'll have absolutely nothing to say about them, but a note hardly takes up any space at all so who cares, right?

Another thing I'm doing is trying to organize my saving goals. Like, I want to buy a new couch, a new computer and the newest version of Photoshop in the next six months. I have saved absolutely nothing towards any of this (all my current savings have gone/will go towards my trip to Teneriffe), but I've set up a savings plan to (hopefully) help me achieve all this.

I find that if I don't write down and set in stone (or in ones and zeros) how much I need to save each month, I tend to use that money for lots of frivilous stuff instead.

I've also set up automatic feeds from my online haunts that feed right into a Diary notebook. I just want someplace where I can go to find a timeline of what I've been up to online. And since I don't actually have to worry about it, it just appears automatically (thanks to ifttt), I don't have to worry about forgetting to add something to the notebook. I just let the interwebs do the job for me.

A friend and I have been discussing how hard it is to figure out what to eat when you're single - and how to have the energy to make elaborate dishes for just one person. I was thinking maybe we could share a recipe notebook and then get together once a week or once every other week to cook so that we have some ready meals in the freezer/fridge. I mean, if she wants to go to the trouble of installing and using Evernote. She's not really the type to do stuff like that. But I also don't want to be the only one to find recipes.

Anyway, those are just a few of the things I've started doing with Evernote in the last week, so I figure there have to be TONS of uses for it that I haven't considered so far. Does anyone have any tips? Links to tips? Enquiring minds want to know!

Next item on the To Buy list

jems00@gmail.com — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:16:13 GMT

So, I bought the dark blue Guide Vogs and I kinda love them a lot. A bit on the small side, but a few hours wear around the house helped a lot (can't wear them out of the house yet. The ice may have melted, but I'd freeze my toes off).

Next on the agenda: a camera bag! I have one of the usual nylon thingies, but I kinda hate it a lot. It's bulky, cheap-looking and not versatile at all. I want something that doesn't look like a camera bag, but will still protect it and be comfortable to wear for hours on end. I know, should be easy, right؟

Here are the ones I'm considering so far:

Jill-e

PROS	CONS
+ Smallish + Room for other stuff like wallet, phone, sunglasses, eReader(?) + Medium priced ($169) + Leather + short and long straps + wide opening, good overview of contents when open	- Might be smaller than I think - Definitely no room for laptop - Don't love the interior polkadots nor the mesh on the lid + Might look too boxy...?

PROS	CONS
+ Model looks nothing like a camera bag, despite the nylon material + Room for other stuff like wallet, phone, sunglasses, eReader + Cheap ($89) + LOVE the color	- Made of nylon. Kinda what I'm trying to stay away from - Definitely no room for laptop - Looks like a tight squeeze getting stuff in and out of it - No chance I'd have room for all my camera stuff, even though I only have a couple of extra lenses

ONA

PROS	CONS
+ Looks like an actual purse! + Leather + Small + Could probably carry this around all day without a problem	- Too small? - Probably couldn't fit anything more than a wallet and phone in there - Definitely no eReader - Or laptop - Expensive ($309)

Kelly Moore

PROS

CONS

+ Big enough for lots of equipment and other stuff
+ Might even fit my 13" laptop!
+ Lots of pockets and storage options
+ Looks nothing like a camera bag

- "Made from the best man-made material" = PLASTIC = could be really cheap looking
- Too big? (It's so big I'd probably stuff too much stuff in there and make it too heavy, just because it fits)
- It's the only Kelly Moore bag that's small enough for my liking without being ugly, but I still don't like the design overmuch
- None of the colors really appeal to me, this raspberry one was the least objectionable one
- I might be better off buying one of the other bags for daily carrying around and buying a bigger Kelly Moore bag for storage

View Poll: New camera bag

In other news, I've been watching way too much TV. Thoughts on a few things:

The Good Wife
I love this show whole-heartedly. It was such a pleasure to vote on this in Fandom March Madness, because even though I voted for Diane, I was happy with any of the main females to represent the show.

And this Will arc is making me so much more fond of him. I've always thought he was an interesting character, but I didn't exactly like him.

I'm still a bit iffy on Alicia this season, I still feel like we are cut off from her inner life. I really need this coming Alicia/Kalinda arc to go well so that we can gain some insight into her again.

Also, I will be PISSED if Alicia and Peter reunite. Ugh. Do. Not. Want.

Jane by Design
This show has sooo appealed to the teenage girl inside of me. Up until the last episode, that is. I don't think I'd object to a Jane/Billy pairing later on, but this is too soon and I can't help but think it's going to devolve into a version of the Nice Guy scenario.

Lost Girl
I've only watched season 1, but so far so good. It really picked up steam towards the end of the season.

Kenzi is my faaavorite. Every time she's on-screen I just want to screencap the hell out of her. But then I remember that my Photoshop is all shot to hell ~~and I lose the will to live~~.

I'm currently making my way through the first two seasons of Rizzoli and Isles, but after that I'm definitely finding downloads for season 2.

Top Chef
NO! I wanted Beverly to beat them all! God, Sarah was just the most spiteful asshole and the best part about the finale was that she didn't win. I'm still annoyed that she made it there, though.

One Upon a Time
I'm enjoying the show more and more, but at the same time, I'm growing more and more baffled about what they're doing. Like, why the hell are they making Prince Charming into a cheating dickhead? And having Snow White be ostrasized by the entire town? Seriously my least favorite thing in the world is people blaming the other woman for everything. Or anything, really. The guy is the one who's cheating and she gets all the blame?! HELL NO! That shit pisses me off. Not too mention how far up on my shit list he's moved after not saying a single word to defend her.

Basically, the show does my head in just about every single week.

Hart of Dixie
This show makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, up until the moment they start cramming George/Zoe down my throat, at which point I start thinking seriously about dropping it. Last time I wrote about the show, there had just been another stab at shoving G/Z down my throat, so I was mostly negative, but then there was a long streak of episodes where that whole thing was just ignored (those episodes were my faaaavorite), but here they are, dragging it up again. And here I go, thinking about dropping the show again.

Awake
I didn't find the pilot very engrossing, I'm not sure if I'm going to keep on watching. Feels like I'm in the minority on this one, though.

Touch
I watched the pilot over a month ago and actually enjoyed it quite a lot, but then nothing happened? I guess I'll keep watching if it ever shows up again.

Comedies
I know everyone loves Happy Endings, but I kinda...don't? I have grown to really love Alex, though. And the show is fun enough to watch that I haven't dropped it yet, so I guess that's something.

Cougar Town, on the other hand, continues to delight! I wish I could make icons.

Parks and Rec has been in the duldrums lately. Not bad, just not as delightful as it usually is. This latest episode was pretty great, though.

Suburgatory isn't going exactly where I wanted it to, but it's entertaining enough for me to keep watching.

New Girl is getting better, and they've toned down Jess enough for her to stop being annoying, which is great. I really don't get the Schmidt love though. I mean, the douchey white guy representing the show in Fandom March Madness, who ever heard of... Oh, right. That's what happens on every show.

This is getting to be a problem

jems00@gmail.com — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 00:20:16 GMT

I feel like it's been so long since I made a TV update post that if I started to write up my thoughts on various shows I'd never be able to stop. So instead I'm going to sneak in this post on a Saturday evening when it's pretty dead around here and maybe that way I can work my way up to talking about the important stuff (television, that is).

So, shoes.

I'm not a shoe person. When it comes to accessories, purses are my weakness (I've bought two this month alone - one just a few hours ago). But that was before I found Fleuvogs. I don't think I've ever gotten all weak with WANT over shoes before, but with these shoes I practically drool while looking at the web site.

When (not if!) I buy a pair, this will probably be my first:

I love the 50s look and the HEEL. Oh my, so quirky and fun and it comes in a brown and lime that I'm also dying for.

The only drawback with these so far is that customer reviews say that you definitely feel the heel and I'm not a big fan of high heels (though for these I could make an exception, I think). Which is why I'm considering making these my first purchase instead:

Because apparently the platform up front makes them less heely. And I flove these too. Except when i checked the site just now I found they have a new color:

And now I'm all HOW DO I CHOOSE? I want them both! ~~And maybe the brown too.~~

And these:

How can I not buy these straight away? I'm totally going to need these for summer. Look at that color, and that HEEL. I love how they design their heels, it's the best part about this brand.

These are a bit further down on my shopping list, but I love them too:

And finally, a pair that will probably never be on my shopping list, but god, I with I was the kind of person who could wear shoes like these:

*sigh*

And while I'm posting, but not about TV, an update on the podcast thing.

FANDOM
I'm still listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour, but I prefer Slate's Culture Gabfest. I don't know, it feels like they talk more about the things I like to hear about.
I tried Fandomania and will still listen to it occasionally, but their accents drive me absolutely BATTY. Everything comes out sounding like a question.
I tried the first couple of podcasts of How was your week with Julie Klausner, but I kinda hated it because it felt like she was being mean just to give the show edge. Meanness is all well and good if if means something, but meanness for meanness's sake is just off-putting. But the guy who talked it up (on PCHH, actually), said that it got a lot better - and it did! Still some meanness, but not pointless, and a lot more affectionate. I won't go back and listen to the early ones, but I'm on board for the future.
Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler is pretty good, but the episodes are often so long that I have to listen to them piecemeal. So when the guest is someone boring, I tend to never keep listening after that first session, so I fall horribly behind because I feel like I should listen to them all. I think I'll just have to let go of that idea and delete them after a while.
The Nerdist seems like it should be right up my alley, but I mostly just find it gross and humorless. I'll listen to the occasional one when I like a guest, but in general very much not for me.
evergleam83 recommended Doug Loves Movies, which I really love a lot. It's my favorite podcast to fall asleep to (because it doesn't just make me doze off immediately. Which may sound weird, because why would you not want something that makes you fall asleep when you're going to sleep? But I'm contrary like that, when I put on something to listen to as I fall asleep, I don't want to miss it entirely).

OTHER STUFF
They do a podcast of the Rachel Maddow Show, but I stopped listening to it and started watching it regularly online instead.
A Way with Words is another favorite to listen to when I go to sleep. I love hearing about the origins of words and listening to people who love words even more than I do.
However Grammar Girl is more manageable at only five minutes a pop (usually). If I just want something quick to get me into podcast-listening mode, I usually start with one of these.
Stuff You Should Know and Stuff You Missed in History Class are both incredibly fascinating, but there are just so many I want to listen to that I feel like I'm making no dent whatsoever in the backlog.
I've also listened to the occasional Thinking Allowed and This American Life, but I feel like I have to be in a particularly mellow mood for both, which doesn't happen very often.

Podcasts

jems00@gmail.com — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:11:35 GMT

This weekend I started listening to podcasts. I'm not sure why I've never tried it before, but I just haven't felt the urge to. And now I'm intrigued, but I feel completely lost in the sea of STUFF that's out there.

So, any recs?

What I'd like to find are podcasts featuring geeks/fans/just people loving something in nerdy ways. Also, short techy/newsy stuff. (Unfortunately, these subjects tend to bore me after a while, so the pithier the better.)

I tried NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, and while I enjoy the subject matter I'm put off by two things:
1) Not enough women. Men are hardly the only nerds out there and yet it seems that even when they have to find stand-ins for their regular guests, it's men replacing men.
2) The TWoP thing. I'm sorry, I'm still not over it, and I wasn't even active on the site. I can only imagine how those who were feel about the whole thing.

Today I listened to Aisha Tyler's Girl on Guy (the latest one with Adam Savage) and I got so caught up in it that I had to put away the book I was reading on the subway because I wasn't retaining anything even though I "read" several pages. The love for nerdy things on that show was a pure delight! Haven't tried any other episodes yet, but you can bet I will.

Also, I'll gladly take recs for clients and/or apps. I'm currently using the Podkicker app and so far it seems to do a credible job, but if anyone's got something better, tell me about it! I beg you!

Watched Once Upon a Time and Grimm this weekend. I'll be sticking with both for a while, but if I was forced to pick one, it'd be Once Upon a Time, no question.

Not necessarily because it was soooo much better (there were some cheesy moments that I wished had been improved on), but because it's not your average network fare. Actually, in some ways it reminds me of Haven (probably the Maine setting now that I think about it), and even though I haven't even been tempted to see season 2 yet, that's a good thing in my book.

Grimm felt too much like other cop shows. Plus the whole thing about "you have to push her away so she doesn't get hurt" gave me severe Supernatural-induced flashbacks, leaving the heebie-jeebies in their wake. Not another show without female characters, I REFUSE.

This weekend I went to order the desk I finally settled on :

and the clerk told me that they were having a sale on it this week. HALF OFF. You'd better believe I waited. I'm ordering it tomorrow.

My Three Dramas

jems00@gmail.com — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:31:48 GMT

I spent the afternoon watching in rapt fascination as the whole Myung Wol the Spy thing unfolded. Or should I say imploded? Holy crap, it's like a drama! It's like a drama about a drama THAT'S ABOUT A DRAMA. This is getting so meta it's like universes folding in upon themselves.

Let me just say that until Han Ye Seul jetted off to America this afternoon, I was firmly in her corner, because I think the way they shoot dramas is CRAZY. Like, that story making the rounds while City Hunter was airing about Lee Min Ho performing a stunt and then not getting up off the ground because he fell asleep in the aftermath is funny until you actually start to think about how exhausted someone has to be in order for that to happen. No wonder dramas are plagued with so many car accidents. All the drivers are sleep-deprived!

Anyway, even with the end scene of episode 10, this drama still hadn't won me back (because any time Kang Woo had any sort of back-slide in his development my brain started screaming "AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT YOU HIT HER!" It's hard to have a character grow on you when you can't forget that they did something heinous (had I already loved him I would have found it that much easier to forgive and forget).

And now who knows? I'm still hoping she returns to the set before the deadline tomorrow, but I think the chances of that are slim. And a recast? Nah... I mean, I'll probably watch it, but more for the trainwreck factor than anything else.

Scent of a Woman, on the other hand, is pure LOVE.

I am so obsessed with this drama it's not even funny. Last weekend I watched the episodes RAW (because I knew DarkSmurf wasn't going to get to the episodes until after the weekend due to their hiatus), helped along by recaps. This weekend's episodes I watched when subs were less than 50% (once again helped by recaps). To be honest? I think I'm better off watching the episodes even with such poor quality subs, because I've found I am completely incapable of staying away from spoilers for this drama for any length of time. And since so much of it is emotional instead of intellectual, it's easier to get away with it (I could have never done it with City Hunter, for instance, I would have lost the plot in seconds).

When I wasn't reading about the Myung Wol shenanigans, I was constantly rewatching the tango scene from episode 8, because GUUUUUUH. Words fail me, have a video:

How is this scene even real? And then they DON'T kiss and it's the best thing ever! Because knowing kdramas, that was just as likely to have ruined it as not.

I've also been cracking up at the Tumblr tag for the drama having just about every other post going: "unpopular opinion - I 'ship Yeon Jae with Eun Suk". Like, seriously, you might want to check if your unpopular opinion is actually unpopular before you hit the post button.

For the record, I'm so on board for Yeon Jae/Ji Wook it's not even funny. ~~I MEAN, DID YOU SEE THAT VIDEO?!~~ And I'm pretty much always going to be a lead guy/lead girl girl. First of all because I'm pretty good at 'shipping what the writers want me to 'ship (which is why Coffee House freaked me out so much), and secondly because I find most second male leads much too earnest and dreadfully dull to boot. Like, grow a sense of humor - it won't kill you.

Of course, that may all change with...

Protect the Boss
I'm not sure about this drama. It seems too slapstick for my taste. Taiwanese dramas have made so that screwball leaves a bad taste in my mouth (I wish they would just...NOT). However, this mostly just means that I doubt I'll get very invested, I'm still enjoying watching it.

Of course, the 'shipping is all topsy-turvy with this one. I mean, she thinks of herself as his mother, for crying out loud. I'm not sure there's a way to recover from that. And I'm enjoying the second lead, deep dark hidden agenda and all. We'll see how it unfolds, I guess.

And yet once again I'm posting about stuff no one cares about. Heh!

Sorry, I'm sure I'll get back to cap games and regular TV in due time.

Too. Many. Words.

jems00@gmail.com — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 18:48:03 GMT

Sungkyungkwan Scandal
Last weekend I had some family obligations that involved two car trips that were on average 8 hours each. So I converted six episodes of this drama and put on my phone. About 20 minutes into the first episode I realized just how monumental a mistake I had made. Only six episodes?! What was I thinking?!

Loved the story, the setting, the characters. The only thing that fell kind of flat for me was the 'ship. Which is why I grew less and less invested in the show the more they focused on them. Still, a good, solid drama that I'd definitely recommend.

Coffee House
I watched this yesterday, and when I got to the end of episode 11 I just couldn't bring myself to continue. I'm so totally on Team Jin Soo/Eun Young that I'm dreading what will happen next.

I can't figure out what the writers are doing with this drama. Are they really setting up a male lead/female second lead 'ship, with female lead-male lead having a brother-sister relationship? Because if so, I'll keep watching. Gladly. But having the leads end up together feels very squicky to me right now. Sure, she might be crushing on him a bit, but the power dynamics of that relationship are so off-the-charts inappropriate for romantic development it's not even funny.

I think I'll put this (haha, I just accidentally typed "shit". Um, it contains the same letters...? Oh, subconscious, you always know what I'm thinking.) on hold for a few days while I maybe (possibly) spoil myself. Or steel myself. Whichever.

Heartstrings
So, I was not really enjoying this drama for the first six episodes, but then episode 7 came along and said: "Hey, you know all those things you're hating about the show? Let me start fixing that for you." I'm actually enjoying it now! And I've got 'ship investment! This is awesome! Why couldn't I have had this all along? That's what I'd like to know.

Bring on ~~Wednesday~~ Thursday!

Myung Wol the Spy
My interest was piqued by the first two episodes, but with episodes three and four it felt like they were going off on a tangent and getting lost about what they were doing. Which led me to thinking okay... I guess I can keep going, it's not like I don't need something to fill the City Hunter-shaped hole in my heart (even if it takes five or six dramas to fill that hole)...

Then episodes five and six were all about getting things back on track. Of course the best way of making him fall is to let Myung Wol be herself. He couldn't help but be intrigued and impressed with the real her, this should have been the plan from the very start. I was a very happy fangirl. And then! The final scene! What. The. Hell, you guys? Did he really just do that? Why did he really just do that?! If this doesn't turn out to be something he staged for the fans or if there isn't something really good coming up, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive this drama for having him strike her like that. Ugh, make it better, writers!

Scent of a Woman
Lordy, how pretty! I was totally going to ask if this was filmed with the Dr. Champ camera, but then typicrobots mentioned it on Tumblr, so I guess it was? This is how all dramas should be filmed. I don't care how much that camera costs, IT'S WORTH IT. It makes everything better. It even makes the cancer plot bearable.

The cancer is really what I'm dreading here. I don't want to watch a drama about death and depressing stuff, dramas are my happy place! I'm willing to put up with it this time because literally EVERYTHING else about this drama makes it look like it'll be awesome.

I'm pretty sure I'd even forgive them for a miracle cure or for a clichéd "oops, we misread the MRI/X-ray/blood work and you don't really have cancer!" ending. But I'm bracing myself for suffering and death all the same.

The worst part about this drama is finding subs fast. Anyone have any suggestions? I can't watch it on ViKi (not available in my region) and DarkSmurf takes kind of a long time (ugh, I've been so spoiled by how fast the City Hunter subs come out). I've found a MegaUpload folder for ViKi softsubs (here), but for the life of me I can't figure out where to find links of softsubs from ViKi itself. Does anyone know?

City Hunter
Despite the fact that it fizzled a bit towards the end, this is one of my favorite dramas ever. It may even have taken the top spot if a) they had kept the tone more even throughout, and b) I didn't have such ridiculous amounts of affection for Coffee Prince as my first ever drama.

The most interesting part of the last quarter of the drama was definitely the prosecutor. I haven't really taken to the character, mostly due to his decision to abandon Kim Na Na to her fate in episode 8 while he went off after Seo Yong Hak. After all, he had NO reason to trust the City Hunter at that point. And to be honest, it doesn't even look as if he's counting on him saving Na Na, it's more as if he's trying to get to Seo Yong Hak first. I just couldn't understand because if Na Na falls, her death will be irrevocable. If Seo Yong Hak escapes...you can catch him later?

But I think I finally get it. Because that scene is what lays the groundwork for his sacrifice. It shows that (misguided or not), he values justice more than life itself. And when he sends Yoon Sung that text message he makes a conscious decision to sacrifice himself so that the truth will come out and justice will be done.

And in contrast we have Yoon Sung, who learns (or at least solidifies in his own mind) that revenge - his own brand of justice - isn't worth it if the price is too high. In his case that means the lives of innocents/good people. (And I think the reason he doesn't hesitate to point the gun at his own head or jump in the bullet's path is that he doesn't necessarily consider himself either of those things. He's an instrument, and he will use his body and brain accordingly.)

That's why his nightmare could never come true - Na Na is both innocent and good, so he could never kill her, no matter what. His nightmare was more about his fear of letting his own good sense being taken over by his father's twisted way of thinking. But when he fell for Na Na, he learned to trust his inner voice, so even at the time he had the nightmare, the possibility of it coming true was becoming ever more remote.

I also like how the contrast of the two scenes highlights the differences in Jin Pyo's and Na Na's roles in Yoon Sung's life. In his nightmare, his father stands in the shadows and tries to poison his mind. In reality, Na Na lightens his burden by taking the very tough decision of shooting his own father out of his hands.

I'm saddened by how much they sidelined Kim Na Na in the end, but she remains awesome and one of my favorite female characters ever. Now we just need a season 2 where she and Yoon Sung fight corruption side by side and I'll be a happy camper.

As for the ending, I'm not even sure what to think besides: NEEDS. MOAR. MAKEOUTS.

I just saw this on Tumblr and I ordered it right away:

Framing it and putting in my hallway! Yay, I've been all indecisive about what to put on my walls there. Now I've got a start!

The end of an era

jems00@gmail.com — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:42:47 GMT

(just thought I'd get that subject line in first. *waits impatiently for the multitude of posts that will use that same subject line over the next few days*)

It's weird how Harry Potter was never really a fandom thing for me, and I never think I'm going to have anything to say about it after a book or movie is released, but inevitably all these FEELINGS and THOUGHTS keep cropping up and I end up posting about it anyway.

For me, Harry Potter is all about...well, Harry Potter. (It used to also be about Hermione Granger, but I don't enjoy Ron - especially not in the books - and the more her story entertwines with his, the less invested I become.) This movie? Also All. About. Harry. Potter. Unfortunately to its detriment.

Look, I love Harry, I do, but his journey in this book isn't what affected me the most, it was how his life had become filled with all these other people who chose to stand with him at the end. It was as much about them as it was about him, and this movie just wasn't.

Instead of the battle being this intense fight of goodness vs evil, it almost felt like it was just snapshots of moments while the real focus was on Harry and the horcruxes. Especially Molly's "Not my daughter, you bitch", which I was so looking forward to, felt completely disjointed. There was no build-up, nothing. Just a cut to Bellatrix and Ginny, Molly stepping in and then back to Harry and Voldemort.

And don't even get me started on Fred's death, which made me cry buckets when I read the book. (Though in all fairness, this could be because something was cut from the film for the Swedish release to bring the rating down from 15 years to 11 years.) Like, first a quick glance at something happnening and then all we see is the aftermath? I am not okay with this! (I'm actually hoping the scene was censored here so that I can at least see it the way it's supposed to be when it's released on DVD.)

I get the feeling that Snape's memories are supposed to make us feel sympathy for him, but all I could think when I read/watched that was "god, he's such an obsessed creepster!" It may redeem him in that it shows us he's not a murderer, but I find his obsession with Lily so icky that I'm just repulsed by the whole thing. Especially the part where he wants to look into Harry's eyes as he dies because his eyes are just like his mother's. IIIIIICK!

There, I think I got all the negatives out of the way. The positives aren't as fully developed in my mind, but some of the highlights were:

Neville! And his speech! And his stoic bravery! And his taunting! I loved it all.

Draco and his mother, who loves him enough to betray Voldemort just to find out if he's alive. Draco was never a favorite of mine, but damn if that didn't get me. More than in the book, actually.

Harry and Hermoine on the stairs when he tells her and Ron about what he's just learned from Snape's memories and he's voicing her worst fears and they hug and... Oh, I love them so much! The Harry/Hermione relationship is totally my favorite relationship in the entire series, and it doesn't have to be romantic or anything. They're just perfect together, whatever their relationship is. (The best part about the epilogue was the way they were framed in the last shot and how they in my mind, after the screen went black, turned to each other and said "see you at work tomorrow", before casually waving goodbye and going their separate ways.)

(Since about the end of book five I've actually been hoping that Harry would end up with Luna. The fact that he didn't was the biggest disappointment of the epilogue for me. ~~Well, except for the fact that the epilogue exists at all.~~)

I think this movie will work much better when viewed together with the first part. Neither movie feels like it has an arc, because part 1 is all set-up and part 2 is all climax. If I had had anything to say about it, it would have been released as a four hour movie with an intermission in the middle.

Oh, and before the movie I found another desk I want! At about a third of the price of the one from my last post!

All those pieces are made of different types of wood and there is storage underneath. Since I was wanting a desk that does double duty as a make-up table, this works perfectly. You could put a mirror on the underside of one of those lids! And keep the make-up inside the compartment! I'm about two seconds away from ordering it, to tell you the truth. And since it's so much cheaper, I don't have to wait until my tax refund to pay for it, either.

Though considering I've found two perfect desks in the space of a week, maybe I should wait a while longer? What if I find an even better desk in a few days?

Stuff. And things. Plus the ever-present drama.

jems00@gmail.com — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:49:12 GMT

I can haz Harry Potter tickets! For the premiere on Wednesday! (Well, there is the midnight showing on Tuesday night, but sometimes you've just got to admit you're an adult now and work responsibilities have to take priority.)

For the past few weeks I've slowly been migrating three more bookcases to my living room from my bedroom. "Slowly" because it's been hot and/or muggy the whole time, and I haven't exactly been jumping for joy about vacuuming/carrying/shelving books for hours on end. Anyway, my livingroom now has ten bookcases and my bedroom only has three! Soon to be two! Which means there's tons of space! Which of course means I'm surfing the web in search of new furniture.

First up: a bedside table. I haven't had room for one until now, a low bookcase has had to do double duty. Anyway, I love this one:

Kind of reminiscent of one of those British(?) revolving bookcases, except with more modern, clean lines. Perfect! Except that it's kind of tall (93 cm), so I'm unsure of how it will look next to my bed, which is just average bed height. There is a lower version, but I'm not quite as fond of that one:

(I'd still want it in walnut, though. This one is in oak.)

Now for the part where I curse Danish design. For being both great and ridiculously overpriced.

I figured I'd need a desk and when I found this, the WANT reflex kicked in:

It's like the equivalent of 3 000 dollars. And yet? I'm seriously considering it. Because of the aforementioned WANT.

This chair isn't Danish that I know of, but I think it would look pretty good with the desk.

(Would probably want it in different color though.)

My kdrama obsession continues unabated.

Dream High
So, I watched the first two episodes last night, and didn't really like them all that much. But then I put on episode three when I started my book-carrying session for the day and I'm currently watching episode ten wondering what the hell happened.

It definitely improved, that's for sure. I'm kind of loving that it's not the same old storyline. Also, an actual love triangle where the outcome isn't a given (at least for me, which is kind of unusual).

I do have to wonder if we're just supposed to pretend that we don't see their foggy breaths, though? Because it's kind of ridiculous for a school not to have heating.

Heartstrings/You've Fallen for Me
I don't know, I'm kinda bored? Especially by Lee Shin's CREEPY AS FUCK obsession with the dance teacher. Ick to the nth degree. I'm not one to FF through dramas I haven't watched before, but if this keeps up, I may have to make an exception.

One thing I don't understand, though, is people expecting this drama to "fix" their 'ship from You're Beautiful. After all, chances are that Lee Shin will be pretty much the same character as Hwang Tae Kyung, since this drama seems to follow the same pattern as 90% of them. (Okay, so he might not be quite THAT much of a robot, but certainly closer to that than Shin Woo.)

City Hunter
I think I'm starting to burn out on City Hunter. Oh, not that I'm not still ridiculously excited about new episodes, but for two weeks, City Hunter was pretty much the only thing I watched. On my stationary computer, on my laptop, on my phone on the subway... Like, All. The. Time. And these last couple of episodes I've "only" seen twice.

I do think that may be because they seemed to have dialed the intensity down a notch or two, hopefully so that they can start ratcheting it up again for the finale.

I saw some speculation that I found interesting, but it's sometimes hard to figure out what's actually speculation and what's really spoilers masquerading as speculation. (Though considering the fact that episodes seem to be filmed up until they air, practically, I'm not sure spoilers are even possible. Proceed with caution, though.)

Anyway, the speculation was that the president is actually Yoon Sung's father. Which made me want to rewatch the relevant episodes (the first episode and the one where he goes to visit Yoon Sung's mother) to see if there are any clues. The general sentiment seems to be that mom cheated on Moo Yul, but I was thinking that another possibility could be that Moo Yul married her after she got knocked up by the (presumably) married president-to-be.

Also, Kim Na Na continues to be my absolute FAAAAAVORITE. Seriously climbing up the ranks of favorite female characters ever, not just female drama characters.

Romance Town
I still haven't seen the last two episodes, because they're not subbed yet (or weren't when I last checked on Friday). And I can't help but wonder if the DarkSmurf subbers aren't working on it for the same reason I haven't been all that interested in watching: because last week's went off the rails in a big way. It's just...oh dear lord, what is happening in this drama? So weird and nonsensical I can't EVEN.

And yet? I'll probably finish it off. If only for completion's sake.

In conclusion, can it be ~~Monday~~ Tuesday now so I can see Myung Wol the Spy? *is officially getting excited*

I'm obsessed. Film at eleven.

jems00@gmail.com — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:53:41 GMT

I'm going to keep talking about City Hunter, because I can't not, if you know what I mean (and I think those of you watching do).

I had to watch the first few minutes of episode 12 just now because the episode 11 cliffhanger was killing me. Phew, she's alive. And yay, they brought her to Jin Sae Hee! I haven't mentioned it before, but I love her part in this drama so freaking much. (When Kim Young Joo called her pitiable I first wondered if maybe it was mistranslated, because it made me want to slap him. I've since seen the same translation elsewhere, so maybe it's right? And he should be slapped? Or maybe it's correct in meaning, but not in spirit?) I wish they'd do even more with her.

And hey, speaking of cliffhangers, I think the ones on City Hunter may *literally* kill me one of these days. Sure, after the literal cliffhanger endings of episodes 7 and 8, they toned it down a bit for 9 and 10, but yesterday's cliffhanger was the worst yet!

And even though 9 and 10's cliffhangers weren't as bad as 7 and 8's, I still feel like the show keeps escalating and escalating, getting more and more urgent, with the stakes being upped with every episode. I only hope it all comes together in a big climax around episode 19 or so instead of fizzling out around episode 15.

(And yes, in that scenario I was saving episode 20 for OTP!goodtimes. =)

Actually, despite the very real fear that City Hunter would be ballsy enough to kill off the female lead halfway through, I was pretty sure that wouldn't be the case. Even before watching the beginning of episode 12, Kim Na Na getting shot had mostly allayed my biggest fear, which is that the ending will be "rocks fall, everyone dies". Now that they've shot him and they've shot her, killing them off in the end seems kind of...well, overkill, you know?

I just really want at least one more season of this where Na Na and Yoon Sung team up to fight corruption. I WANT IT SO BAD I CAN TASTE IT. MAKE IT HAPPEN, KOREA.

And on a last note, I just keep loving Kim Na Na more and more with every episode. She's so emotionally honest and brave and it's so refreshing to see that when the generally accepted trope is that characters will lie even to themselves about their feelings. I'm so glad she's not dead, did I mention that?

So, I linked this vid on Tumblr yesterday, and it's so brilliant. I never really get excited about vids, but this one? Oh, I've watched it at least 50 times. It's the timing thing, especially at 0:12-0:17 and 0:48-0:54. Those two sequences leave me breathless every single time.

Oh yeah, and Lie to Me ended.

It fizzled out at the end, but really, what kdrama doesn't? I still loved it overall, mainly thanks to the chemistry between the two leads. I do think that I would have loved it more if they had maintained the original premise for longer. If they'd kept lying to the outside world while things were starting to happen for real between them, I think the drama as a whole could have been more cohesive. Not to mention the fact that it would have had my two biggest kinks - fake relationships and secret relationships - all rolled into one.

I write LJ posts, therefore I am?

jems00@gmail.com — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:46:30 GMT

My job is so awesome sometimes. Like today, the Daily Show file was late so the translator and I made our own fun by having an extended email conversation using really bad translations of English idioms. (And I'm not even counting the fact that I get paid to watch The Daily Show. Every. Single. Day.)

True Blood
Aaaand we have ~~liftoff~~ amnesia! Awesome, I can't wait to see how this season unfolds.

I got the biggest kick of the night out of Eric's company name (through which he bought Sookie's house). I can't help but think that the writers were fucking with Alexander Skarsgård by naming the company AIK, which is the name of my home town football (soccer for you heathens) club. Because it's also the arch rival of Skarsgård's club (I first thought Djurgården, but I looked it up and it turns out he's a Bajen supporter. Yes, Stockholm has three teams and we all hate each other's guts. =).

Haha, I hope they bring it up often this season.

I am seriously obsessed with City Hunter, checking the Tumblr tag several times a day. I'm even to the point where I rewatch and notice things that make me want to write meta. Meta! About a kdrama! I don't even know, you guys, how come this drama is so GOOD?

Of course, I forget everything I want to say if I don't write it down immediately. The only two things I do remember:

First: They keep bringing up Kim Na Na's earring. I was so sure it would lead to her discovering the City Hunter's identity, but not so much, so WTF, y'all? Considering how many episodes apart the mentions were (light years in kdrama time), I can't imagine it not being planned.

Second: The way they keep harping on death and dying and NO ONE CAN KNOW YOUR IDENTITY and bloodshed, blah, blah, blah makes me seriously think they will end up killing someone (besides dear old mom, that is. She's a gonner for sure. After a tearful reunion where all misunderstandings are cleared away, naturally.). I can almost deal with ahjusshi dying, but if they kill Yoon Sung or Na Na, I WILL RAIN DOWN HELL UPON THEM. Do. Not. Do. That.

In other news, I'm so glad Na Na figured it out. Great female kdrama character or GREATEST FEMALE KDRAMA CHARACTER? (Actually, Cha Song Joo from Capital Scandal is still the greatest, but of the leads Kim Na Na is right up there.)

Oh, also, I made the Tumblr thingy I made last week into a wallpaper for myself if anyone wants:

Lie to Me
I didn't have as much of a problem with last week's episodes as I thought I might, because most of it was lots and lots of OTP time (ALWAYS A GOOD TIME!), but the ending felt forced and stupid. Why do you have to bring the angst when it's so stupidly done? If there was actually a point to it, like earlier in the season when Ki Joon went back to Yoon Joo, it feels earned. This? This just felt moronic and forced and oh, did I mention STUPID?

Best Love
Okay, I guess, but I never really loved it and thought it was annoying and boring at times. I guess it's something to watch if you have nothing better to do?

Romance Town
This drama just gets more and more bizarre. I don't even know what to think anymore. I'll keep watching, but the only thing that really works for the show (the two leads) are getting less and less screentime as ever more stupid stuff happens with the lottery ticket plotline. Meh.

Baby-Faced Beauty
I think my reaction to this drama can best be summed up in my profound disappointment when I reached the end of episode 16 and realized, hey, that's probably not the final episode. Up until then it was just something to distract myself with while waiting for City Hunter, but now I'm almost offended that it didn't end there, since I found it so meh.

And you know what else offends me? That this is apparently getting higher ratings than City Hunter. Just...WHAT? I guess it just goes to show that television audiences are the same the world over - they all suck.

Penny can!

jems00@gmail.com — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 18:39:36 GMT

I got back from my island vacation a couple of weeks ago, but hiatus doldrums have put the kibosch on my posting anything. Basically, it all boils down to this:

What I Did on My Spring Vacation

Sunshine? Check!
Parasol? Check!
eReader? Check!
Diet coke [not pictured]? Check!

I hadn't really been inspired to post until I was emailed the link to this today: Jersey Shore transcripts as read by actors from Oscar Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest.

YOU'RE WELCOME. WHO SAYS PEOPLE NO LONGER MAKE GREAT ART?

I caught up on my shows in three days, though pretty much the only thing that aired during my absence was a bunch of reality shows. And The Good Wife, for some reason. My reactions, in short:

Top Chef
Good. I'm glad Blaise won. Yes, he was cocky, but as long as you've got the skill to back it up, I'm okay with cocky. Speaking of which....

Survivor
Rob Mariano, you evil genius! I want him to make it to the end so bad you don't even know (not least of all because I know my interest will fizzle out to nothing if he's ousted and I'm enjoying this season tons and tons). I think the key here is playing the immunity idol at the right moment.

Extreme Couponing
I can't believe I'm watching a show about couponing. And enjoying it! Well, except for the people who say that their couponing skills are a gift from god and god wanted them to have all this free stuff, etc, etc. That's creepy as fuck. As is...

The Amazing Race
Mallory's constant prayers: so over it. Every time she's not eliminated I cry a few bitter tears (sorry, but that means you have to go too, Gary).

And speaking of bitter tears, oh no, not the Cowboys! Sniff! I knew they wouldn't last and considering the way they've been sucking at travel this race I'm actually kind of amazed they lasted this long, but it's still heartwrenching to have to say goodbye to them.

Now, the Goths can leave anytime. Well, Kent can leave.

Hey, I know, why don't Vyxsin and Gary team up and leave their annoying team members by the wayside? That would work wonders for me. Especially since the Globetrotters can't be far behind the Cowboys.

Cougar Town
I wouldn't mind if they spent entire episodes doing this:

Penny can!

(Again!)

Because that's just how entertaining these characters have become. Hey, remember when this show sucked for like the first five episodes? Thank god they got over that, right?

I can't believe there's only one more episode of The Good Wife left! And it's not for another two weeks! I watched the preview and OMG! <lj-cut text="Spoil yourself at will.> Peter! Moved to his own apartment! Actual repercussions and Alicia -- *gasp* -- NOT forgiving him for his swinish behavior! It's like Christmas in season finale form! The one thing I feared about the whole Kalinda/Peter thing was that Alicia would put all the blame on Kalinda and forgive Peter again (I hate it when women blame the other woman instead of, you know, THE GUY WHO ACTUALLY MADE PROMISES TO THEM TO STAY FAITHFUL). Of course, with Alicia I can totally understand her having issues with Kalinda now too, but at least in her case it will hopefully be grounded in the fact that Kalinda withheld this vital information that would have impacted her marriage and their friendship. And yet, I can totally see why Kalinda wouldn't say anything. In the beginning there would be no reason. And in a new friendship there is such a thing as too much honesty. I think where Kalinda went wrong was when they whole thing floated up to the surface and instead of facing the music, she tried to bury it even further. Nothing good ever comes of that. I just really hope that Kalinda and Alicia's friendship survives this storm. And that Peter and Alicia's marriage doesn't. </lj-cut>

Troy is the only thing keeping me from Hulk smashing right now

jems00@gmail.com — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:40:28 GMT

Hart Hanson retweeted this earlier:

Oh look, is that an Unfollow button I see?

Being annoyed with 'shippers is one thing. Being annoyed with 'shippers when you constantly tease the 'ship and then pull the rug out from the viewers for six long years, and oh yeah, are too chicken shit to write an actual romantic arc because you're convinced it'll get your show canceled, that''s something completely different. DON'T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU. Fuck you, show-runners-in-general-and-Hart-Hanson-in-particular, you suck.

(I think it says a lot about my Twitter inconstancy that I quit watching Bones a few episodes into this season and I still hadn't removed him from my feed.)

In conclusion:

jems00@gmail.com — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:21:02 GMT

I haven't posted in over a month and the sad thing is that I still don't feel like I have anything to post about. But I'm going to give it a try nonetheless, because this is getting ridiculous.

My Year in Entertainment
I'm trying for the 100 / 100 / 100 trifecta this year. That is: 100 movies watched, a 100 television seasons completed, 100 books read. I'm totally counting rereads/rewatches or I'd never make it in a million years. So far I'm doing pretty good on the books and movies front (13 books read, 9 movies watched), but the TV seasons category is probably not going to start paying serious dividends until all the May season finales.

Capping
Last year I tried to get back into capping, and I must say, it's paying off this year. Over my holiday/Christmas I capped the first discs of three of my DVD sets:

Community, season 1

Fringe, season 2

The Good Wife, season 1

And I also started my Farscape rewatch (now stalled) by capping the first six episodes of season 1.

I Shop, Therefore I Am
I've been spending TONS of money this month. Most of it came from Christmas/birthday money, so it's not too bad (my favorite purchase was a Global chef's knife. Cost me my parents a fortune, but soooo worth it. Damn, but a good knife will just make your day when you're cooking), except that last night at three am I went on a spending spree at various online clothes stores. My favorite purchase (I only hope I like it as much in real life) is this coat:

The hood is my favorite part.

I Watch TV, Therefore I Am
At least, that's how it used to be, but while I'm liking a lot of stuff, I'm obsessive about nothing right now. The closest I get is Fringe, but it's been so long since we've had a new episode that it's not at the forefront of my mind at the moment.

Recently, I have watched:

Spirited I really enjoyed it, in the way that I enjoy most Australian television: for its lack of pretention. Everyone is quirky and everyone feels real, even when you're dealing with something as otherwordly as ghosts. My one beef with the show would be the way they're promoting it. The tagline is something like "what if you don't meet the love of your life until you're dead?" And to me, the show's strengths isn't the romance. So to bill it as this grand romance? Eh, didn't work at all for me.

Downton Abbey I thought it started out kind of slow, but by the end I was truly invested. Even though I hated Mary to start with, I think she ended up my favorite character, just because she was the most interesting character of the bunch. She really is her own worst enemy, isn't she? Sybil is the nicest, of course, along with Anna, and I think of Edith as a female version of the Nice Guy, which fascinated me endlessly because I don't think I've ever seen one before.

So that's the state of me. I'll try not to crawl into a hole for another month. If I could only find the inspiration to picspam...

App City

jems00@gmail.com — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:02:06 GMT

Lucky me, I GOT SICK AGAIN. Second cold in a month, oh joy! I spent all day yesterday curled up with my new phone, reading Meg Cabot books and feeling sorry for myself. Today I had to work (because I hardly got anything done Thursday-Friday due to the aforementioned sickness). And this evening I've been playing around with my phone (I LOVE this thing, can you tell?), and I thought it'd be a good idea to list some of my favorite apps/widgets and see if anyone has any recs for me.

APPS FOR DAYS

Calendars, Tasks, Etc

Astrid Tasks
Check list of upcoming tasks. I'm tempted to buy the Astrid Power Pack in order to get more widgets, though the 2x2 one is working fine right now (I tend to use it mostly for work stuff I can't forget, and since everything is important, I check things off rapidly so I rarely have more than three tasks to display in the widget).

Evernote
txvoodoo told me about this, and it's pretty awesome now that I'm figuring out uses for it. The widget for this is kind of useless, but I pretty much always want to open the application directly, so an icon works fine. Also, the recent update improved the app about a million percent.

Jorte
I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with the native calendar app(s), but I love the widgets for this one! (I use the 2x4 Weekly widget.) Syncs with Google Docs!

Entertainment

Aldiko
I've read about ten books on this eReader app, and I'm very happy with it.

Laputa
Another eReader app that I installed today. Okay, I guess, but so far I prefer Aldiko.

Meridian
Media player. Has the most godawful widgets, so I use the native player for music. This app is for watching videos.

Games

Andoku
Sodoku app of choice. I have another one installed, but I only use this one. *makes note to uninstall the other one*

Angry Birds
I actually find this kind of boring.

Jewels
Bejeweled for Android.

Mancala
This is (was?) called Kalaha in Sweden, and I'm having lots of fun rediscovering it. It's probably the game I've played the most so far.

Reversi
My best friend and I used to play this game All. The. Time in middle school. The nostalgia factor is high, let me tell you! But I also love strategy games, so this one is a keeper.

Unblock Me Free
I love this game! Puzzle games and me are like this!

Images

FxCamera
Does Polaroid, Warhol, Toy Cam effects, but it doesn't really have a range, I feel. Anyone have recs for other apps?

Photoshop Express
Only tried this out quickly on a test shot. Seems okay for improving coloring and other small stuff.

Maps, Etc

Compass
Haven't actually started using this yet, but it sounded interesting.

Google SkyMap
AWESOME and pointless at the same time. What could be better? (Speaking of awesome and pointless, I also have the Magic Eight Ball app installed. Hee!)

Nosy Parker Stuff

Eniro.se
The company that makes the Swedish phone book. If I don't have a number in my contact list, this app does a search and as long as the number isn't private, it displays all the info available on the person (full name, address, the whole kit'n'caboodle).

Fordonskoll
Lookup for Swedish license plates. Basically, you can look up the owner of that car that almost just ran you over in the crosswalk because he ran a red light. And then you can use the Eniro.se app to find his cell phone number, call him up and chew his ass out (and freak him out in the process. Score!).

Social Networks

LJBeetle
Have yet to find an app for checking my flist, but this works for posting. I guess, I've never actually tried it.

Seesmic
For Twitter. I'm not that happy with it, but I've tried the native app (which I think is Twitter's own) and TweetDeck and I really didn't like the widgets for them. Funnily enough, the 4x1 widget for this one is the one that I like best, but what I really want is a widget that's 2x4, 3x4 or 4x3 (leaving at least SOME room for other programs), which is apparently impossible to find. What's your favorite Twitter app? Because I can't for the life of me seem to find one that meets my criteria.

Tools

Advanced Task Killer Free
I keep a couple of these widgets on different screens so that I can zap all apps that are using up memory.

Alarm Clock Plus
Just installed this today because for some reason, the alarm isn't going off on the regular clock. What I really like about it, though, is the 1x1 clock widget that you tap to bring you to the nap timer. Awesomeness! I used it today to force myself to work (instead of using it as a nap timer I set it to an hour and told myself that I only had to work until the timer went off. And it worked!)

Apps Organizer
Love the labels! And I have a shortcut to Starred Apps on just about every screen since it's so useful.

Scandinavian Keyboard
Well, I do need my Å, Ä and Ö. I only wish I could figure out a way to use the keyboard, but the native dictionary instead of the one you have to download. Because I much preferred the native one.

Work

ConvertPad
For converting mass, length, whathaveyou. I need to use these for all those wacky American measurements BECAUSE THEY MAKE NO SENSE. (All hail the metric system!)

Dictionary.com
Looking up words in the dictionary is something I do pretty much hourly when I work.

Folkets lexikon
A Swedish dictionary that actually has been pretty useless so far. Might see if I can find something better...

IMDb
For looking up movies/shows/episodes/etc.

Urban Dictionary
I used it today when I translated Jersey Shore! Also? UGH times infinity!

Wapedia
For looking up things on Wikipedia. I like it so far!

So, got any recs? Should I have a browser (I think the native browser works fine, but maybe I'm missing something?) Is there a GoogleDoc app yet?

The rumors are wrong. I am, in fact, not dead

jems00@gmail.com — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 21:38:38 GMT

Last week was a close call, though, when I got sick on Tuesday morning and still had to work all week (racking up 50 hours total for the week. Fun! Except not.)

I really needed more than just a weekend to recharge, but that's all I get, so I tried to make the best of it. And by "make the best of it" I mean "buy the last charms I need to complete my Pandora bracelet". So that's what I did today...

So that's my first Pandora bracelet that's just the way I want it. I say "first", because I'm already dreaming of bracelet number two. This is what I had in mind:

And this one is going to cost A FORTUNE with all those gold charms, so it's going to take a while. Don't worry, I'll keep you updated on my progress since I'm sure you're all just dying to know. ;-)

Other things that have happened:

I finally got myself that new cell phone I was talking about a few months back! And yes, I ended up getting an HTC Legend after all. I LOVE IT. Don't know how I ever lived without it. I've read two books on it so far, I've got two True Blood episodes awaiting viewing, I've become addicted to Mancala, Reversi and Unblock Me (any other game app recs would be most welcome!) and it's the only way I've been able to stay sorta up-to-date on my Twitter feed for the past two weeks.

I've been fairly good about keeping up with TV. Well, considering...
HIMYM - I caught up last weekend and I'm enjoying this season so far, but I'm not invested AT ALL. Oh, what havoc they wreak with the fangirl mind when they screw up an entire season...
Fringe - I'm really enjoying this season! And especially Olivia! Which is noteworthy since I thought Anna Torv sucked in the first season. But retconning the suck to be a personality quirk due to the experiments worked. I totally jumped on board and lo and behold, she's actually good now! Alterna!Olivia really freed her, acting-wise, I think.
The Good Wife - You know, I was never really on board the Alicia/Will train last season, but I am now. A couple of episodes back, things just clicked for me with those two and you are now looking at a bona fide 'shipper.
Community - What the hell was that episode before this week's? Weird, much? And not in a good way. But other than that I'm happy with this season so far, even though I do get what people are saying about doing away with all those messy "relationships" and "feelings". It just hasn't gotten to the point where it's bothering me yet.
The Walking Dead - I still haven't watched the second episode. I found the first one to be really enjoyable, because while horror doesn't work on me, dread apparently works like a charm. I just haven't been in the mood for it, and then I read some less-than-favorable things and...well...
Kdramas - I ran into some trouble when I watched a long succession of sucky dramas. It got old pretty fast. So I'm currently keeping current with only one Kdrama - Dr. Champ - and it's airing right now (ending next week). I think they're dragging out the love story too long (HELLO! We're at episode 14 and the female lead still fancies herself in love with someone else? WTF?!), but other than that I'm loving it.

I am also up to date on TBBT, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, TAR, Criminal Minds, Lie to Me, Top Chef: Just Desserts and Cougar Town, mainly thanks to a few marathons over the past couple of weeks. And Being Erica, but since anything I have to say about it will be spoilery, I'm going to talk about it below.

I uploaded a bunch of icons today.

Being Erica
So, this latest episode... I'm not too pleased with my 'ship mostly being used as a vehicle for another 'ship. I was afraid something like this was coming, which is why I waited until this weekend to watch instead of doing it earlier in the week. I dragged it out for as long as I could, because the way they're pushing Adam on us so hard I just knew it wouldn't be satisfying even if they did end up sleeping together.

And whatta ya know? I was right. The only part where I felt that it was all about them and not about Erica defying Adam or being upset about Dr Tom? Was when they were saying goodbye as he left in the cab.

Okay, so maybe I'm just hyper sensitive about this because I want so much for them to have a chance, but right now I don't feel that Erica and Kai willl make it. Which makes me less excited about the rest of the season.

I'm thinking it may be time to spoil myself silly (if that's even possible for BE).

Being Erica

jems00@gmail.com — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 23:07:09 GMT

I hate that so few people watch Being Erica, because I so rarely get to ~~squee~~ talk about it. Basically, any time someone on my flist says anything even remotely related to the show I jump down their throats (sorry about that, guys!) and I can't understand why, when this is pretty much the only show I'm fannish about, hardly anyone else watches and/or cares.

Of course, I do have my 'SHIP, and that makes all the difference in my world. And this week they were back and They. Were. Awesome. Just the fact that the two of them stood in the same room together made me go all flappy!hands and squeal with happiness.

You guys! All two of you reading this! Kai came back from the future and slept with Erica in a few weeks! Man, I hope this means he's coming back in a few episodes (whether or not they sleep together is irrelevant, though I tend to think they will because...well, didn't it already happen? Doesn't it become a time paradox otherwise?)

This kind of scenario is pretty much exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted their relationship to be like The Time-Traveler's Wife (except without the suck). And you know what makes this couple a million times more brilliant even from the get-go? THEY BOTH TIME TRAVEL. Thank you! Also, I can't imagine Erica letting her life become All. About. Kai. So, you know, another check mark in the win column for Being Erica.

I loved that the episode was both a callback to the do over day and that it was Groundhog Day - Erica style. (Though I would have loved to have gotten more info on Kai. Especially since now that he's shown up I'm not sure if he's coming back. The only thing I spoiled myself for was the fact that he was coming back, but it could have just been this once, what do I know?)

And then!

Then this happened!

Looks like I'm going to have to redo my Top Ten Kisses picspam again. LIFE HARD! Except not, because OMG!somuchlove!

I have nothing to post about, so meme it is!

jems00@gmail.com — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 18:09:48 GMT

How do you want to be remembered after you die?
Why are you trying to kill me off with the first question?!

I don't know, as the longest living human being to date?

Do you like to read?
Of course, who doesn't?

What kind of books do you like to read?
Right now I'm on a YA/Fantasy binge. I've recently emerged from a regency romance novel binge and before that... A mixed bag, I think. I usually read a lot only when I find a series or genre, otherwise I'm just idling, reading books I feel like I should be reading, but not really getting into it the way I will with lighter fare.

What country or countries would you like to visit?
Australia has always been on my list, but my recent Kdrama addiction has put Asia on the map (pun intended!) as well.

What is your name?
I go by Jennifer, but my first name is actually Minna. That's what the M in Jems stands for. (The E stands for Elizabeth.)

What does your name mean?
Stealing the answer for Jennifer from crackers4jenn from whom I stole this meme:

The meaning of the name Jennifer is "'White; fair; smooth". Seems about right. Also, racist.

The meaning of Minna: "protection, love"
The meaning of Elizabeth: "consecrated to god"

What color highlighter did you last use?
I don't remember the last time I used a physical highlighter, but the last time I used it in a Word document I used yellow.

How long have you been at your current job?
Twelve years. God, I'm old.

Have you ever slept in a bunk bed?
Sure. (Also, this question is totally boring. Why would you guys care if I've slept in a bunk bed or not? I DON'T EVEN CARE.)

If you were kicked out of your current residence whom would you call?
I'm not sure who would kick me out since it's my own home that I own, but I guess I would call my mom. Or just walk over there (my parents live five minutes from me.)

Honestly, if you could go back and change something in the past 5 months would you?
Yes! I would have not watched the royal wedding on TV, because I'm currently being forced to REwatch it since I'm translating it into English. No one should have to sit through that thing twice. (I'm also procrastinating on getting started by filling out this meme, that's how much I don't want to sit through it twice. At least this time I'm getting paid for it?)

Do you think money buys happiness?
I believe money buys peace of mind in which you can find happiness. So in a way, yes.

Has anyone told you they would never leave and left?
I don't know, I don't think so.

Is there someone you don't ever want to be out of your life?
Um, all of them? Why else would I have them in my life?

Would you say geography or history was more appealing to you in school?
History. More reading, less memorizing. Geography is only appealing once you actually go to the places you've been learning about and learn more about its...that's right - HISTORY. Oh, and when you play Trivial Pursuit and stuff! Totally useful then.

What is the oldest movie you've ever watched?
Not sure. Probably not Citizen Kane, but somewhere in that vicinity? Gone with the Wind is older, right?

Have your parents influenced the music you listen to at all?
Not so much, neither of my parents are all that into music. Well, my mom used to love Elvis and my dad enjoys classical music, but neither of those things have influenced me all that much.

What do you plan to do this year for Halloween, if anything?
Pray that this is the year Swedes stop trying to copy this American holiday? We already have our own holiday around this time (All Saints' Day), stop fucking up that beautiful tradition by incorporating candy and crap from Halloween! Also, it's only Halloween if you celebrate it on the 31st, you can't just celebrate it any old day!

Are there any shows that you've been hooked on since the beginning?
I've had pilots hook me, but then the show didn't quite live up to the promise (The Black Donnellys, Glee). There are plenty of shows that I've grown to love where I started watching from the very beginning (Veronica Mars, The Good Wife, Community). But I think the one that comes closest to the spirit of the question is Pushing Daisies. Except I still haven't watched the last three episodes (I don't think I can bear to finish it and never having more PD episodes to watch. So I cling to those last three episodes like a life raft).

Do you watch Law & Order? If so, which one is your favorite?
I've only watched season 1 of SVU, and I never bothered to keep going with that one either.

Do you feel like smoking weed is starting to become more of a trend?
No, but then again, I live in Sweden and don't hang out in those kinds of circles.

When is the last time you went to church? If ever?
I was in church for my cousin's wedding a few years ago. If the question is "when did you go to church to willingly attend a service", then never.

What day do you get paid on? If you don't have a job what do you do for money?
In Sweden, we get paid monthly, usually on the 25th or the 27th. I get paid on the 27th.

Have you ever found a bug in your food? If so, what did you do?
Well, it has probably happened when eating outdoors, but I can't remember a specific instance. Which probably means that the bug wasn't very big, in which case I probably just scooped out the food it landed in and kept on eating (I'm not a picky eater).

If you are in a relationship do you listen to the same music as your significant other? If you're single do you have the same taste in music as your friends?
No. I'm not much into what's played on the radio, which is what people around me usually listen to.

Would you ever want to have a career working with wild animals?
Nope, I have the career I want, thank you very much.

Do you have a Tumblr? If so, what do you use it for?
I don't! I just recently started being more active on Twitter, though. (Mostly reading.)

Are there any upcoming events you're excited for?
I'm going to the Canary Islands in late March! Which isn't so much "upcoming" as it is "oh my god, soooo faaaar awaaaay!"

When was the last time you walked somewhere over a mile away?
Last Thursday, I think? The subway wasn't running, so I got a ride to work with my dad. He let me out near the castle and I walked to work from there. And it was the most amazing sight I've ever seen. The morning fog was still on the water and the sky was blue and pretty much everyone was stopping on the sidewalk to take pictures. This is one of the pictures I took with my crappy camera phone (where the lens is all scratched up):

(Actually, it's two pictures pasted together, I couldn't get the whole panorama from where I was standing.)

Do you ever shop online? If so, what are some of your favourite online stores?
ALL THE TIME. I like Swedish stores where I can get billed instead of having to give out my credit card info, so I usually buy my books from bokus.com (I actually have my latest purchase of Earth: The Book and the second Toby Daye book waiting for me to pick up), I buy a lot from Etsy (favorite shop would be GudonyaToo and I recently bought Pandora charms from Purrpleturtle). I buy DVDs from Amazon (.co.uk mostly, but also .com and .ca) and AxelMusic. I've bought make-up stuff from eleven.se, binary clocks and other ~~useless~~ fun from coolstuff.se and my online auction site of choice is lauritz.com. I also bought my bathroom tap online, my kitchen lamp, my bathroom ceiling lamp, my bathroom furniture, etc. I am an online shopaholic, it seems.

Who, in your opinion, is the best looking male celebrity? What about female?
This question bores me because I'm more into characters than the actors that play them.

Well, that meme sure fizzled out with that last question...

TV and stuff

jems00@gmail.com — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 18:56:19 GMT

Stuff first. Namely, Pandora stuff. I got my bracelet, and in the week since then I've bought TEN charms. I KNOW. I'm sort of insane (and eating nothing but bread and water for the rest of the month, but whatever).

Basically, I started by buying some of the beads from the picture in my last post, and then it just snowballed and last night I ended up buying three charms from Etsy (I'd forgotten all about Etsy! And then I went there and found a TV charm, a book charm and a camera charm, all in just minutes!). So, this is the current plan for the bracelet:

I have bought the blue enamel beads and everything in between them (well, the cola can came with the bracelet). I also bought the ugly duckling charm in the grouping on the right. And knowing myself the way I do, I'll probably buy the rest with next month's paycheck. Between this and saving for my vacation in April, I'm going to be beyond broke for a while. But that's okay! Because I've got a pretty bracelet to make up for it! *g*

And now for some TV pilot/premiere talk:

Nikita 1x01-1x03
I gather from my flist that everyone is kind of meh about this? I'm right there with you. I'm not hating on Shane West quite as much as everyone else, but he is less than compelling in the part, I'll give you that.

Also less than compelling? The conspiracy. If I ever felt that Nikita was in real danger, or if it wasn't as black and white as they make it out to be, if there was ANY sort of conflict, I'd be much more eager to tune in. I'll give it a bit longer to find its feet, but it'll probably be a goner by Christmas if it hasn't.

The Good Wife 2x01
I'm glad to have the show back, but I thought the episode was kinda meh. Probably because I thought the way the cliffhanger was resolved was very predictable and I wish they'd gone a different route. Like maybe Alicia choosing herself - divorcing Peter but not getting together with Will. Or her choosing Will and making the conflict be the trouble that choice creates for everyone involved. Can't someone think of an original idea? Must television writers keep the couple set up as the show's OTP separated at all costs?

Speaking of which...

Bones 6x01
I feel like this show and I are on the cusp of breaking up. I just don't CARE that Booth found someone new in Afghanistan because I KNOW it's just another way of stalling. Anything to delay the inevitable, right? Well, I'm tired of it. And I'm not a huge fan of Angela/Hodgins either, so the baby thing isn't exactly making me jump for joy.

Unless the next couple of episodes are REALLY GOOD, I'll wash my hands of it. (Well, until I feel like a marathon some weekend.)

Undercovers 1x01
Was it just me or did this show feel incredibly bland? I mean, it seemed to be trying to be as inoffensive as possible, and in the process, made itself not appealing in the slightest. Unless there's a ton of buzz, I won't watch past this episode.

No Ordinary Family 1x01
I liked it! It wasn't love at first sight, but I'm definitely going to keep watching. Also, I liked Julie Benz so much better in this than on Dexter.

Raising Hope 1x01
My Name Is Earl with baby? I didn't mind the baby part, but I got kind of tired of the white-trash-as-a-source-of-jokes a few seasons into Earl, and I'm still not in the mood for it. I think I'll pass, even though it did have its charms. Maybe a marathon later?

Running Wilde 1x01-1x02
I don't think I was expecting the show to have the tone that it did, so I couldn't get into the pilot at all (except for the Final Countdown reference), but I REALLY enjoyed the second episode. This one looks like a keeper!

Hawaii Five-0
I'm not even sure what to think of it. It wasn't bad, but the fact that I haven't sought out the second episode kind of speaks volumes, don't you think?

Premieres I have nothing to say about: Fringe, Criminal Minds, The Big Bang Theory, The Amazing Race.

Being Erica

jems00@gmail.com — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:53:08 GMT

I wanted to finish rewatching season 2 before diving into the season 3 premiere. That didn't happen.
I wanted to finish capping season 2 before picspamming. That didn't happen.
I wanted to to do a well-rounded picspam. That didn't happen.

Instead, this happened.

All Erica/Kai, All the Time

Honestly, I'd totally forgotten that Kai is there from the very start of season 2. I was sure he didn't enter the picture until later (probably because I didn't take note until later). Rewatching season 2 is AWESOME. Foreshadowing all over the place! Like when Erica thinks Ethan is acting weird and hardly even wants to open the door because she's afraid of what she'll find inside. JUST WAIT UNTIL LATER IN THE SEASON, MISSY, THEN YOU'LL REALLY HAVE SOMETHING TO BE SORRY ABOUT. And then there's this:

Look how Kai is framed in the shot as always coming between Erica and Ethan! I mean, this happens in almost every shot when all three of them are present. Spooky! ~~Or totally planned. Whatever.~~

Oh man, such a good start. Little glimpses here and there of their connection, which then sort of explodes all over the place with the due over day.

Oh Kai, you know you're not going to remember, you did it because you want Erica to remember.

Ouch.

Oh man, the way he looks at her? Holy Intensity, Batman!

Caps are here.

And now I will talk about the season 3 premiere, so don't scroll down if you don't want to be spoiled!

So, group therapy, huh? I'm not sure what to think yet. It didn't exactly make me sit up and go "oh yeah, this is awesome". You know where my mind went, though? "I wonder if all of these people are from the same time?" Because really, when you're time traveling anyway, why not try to get the best group dynamic by bringing people in from different times?

And then do you know where my mind went? "What if Kai joins the group later?" It's the perfect way for future!Kai and present!Erica to have a place to meet ~~and make out~~! Okay, I know I've got my 'shipper goggles on a little too tightly here - cutting off the blood to my brain, no doubt - but it's so perfect that if it doesn't happen this way, I kinda need someone to write me fic where this happens. (No one will ever write me fic where this happens. /sadface)

Totally looking forward to seeing Erica and Julianne succeed (they have to defeat evil!Brent, right?) in their business (and their new offices sound awesome. Exposed brick and a fireplace? Hells yeah!)

Getting my charm on

jems00@gmail.com — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 13:14:37 GMT

My mother just won two Pandora charm bracelets at auction and she's giving me one of them, so I blew off work this afternoon to drool over charms at the Pandora web site.

So, this is the bracelet:

You guys, it has a COLA CAN. I've never even seen one of those before, but the moment I saw it I knew it had to be mine (which was a week ago, on the auction site, and then I promptly forgot about it, so thank goodness my mom keeps on top of this stuff, right?). Besides water and milk (and in wintertime, sometimes tea), cola is all I drink. (Well, diet, but still...) It's kismet, I tells ya!

The middle three charms I will probably remove, maybe giving them back to my mom whose bracelet also only has nine charms. The animal in the middle looks like an Aries ram (I'm a Capricorn, but they usually have straight horns, so I'm leaning towards Aries), and I'm not overly fond of the one on the left, and the one on the right has pink stones, which I'm not really interested in. Instead, I'll probably be buying these to add to the bracelet as my budget permits:

I like symmetry, what can I tell you?

The further away from the center the charms are, the less likely I am to buy them. Some of these I haven't seen in real life, so I may hate them on sight, but the middle three are ones I've loved since I first found out about Pandora.

In other news, new TV is just around the corner, which to me only means More Ways in Which I Will Fall Behind on TV Due to My All-Consuming Kdrama Addiction. I think that's why I've been reluctant to seek out what new shows to pick up, but now that they're actually HERE, I guess it's time to give it some serious thought. So far I've got:

Nikita (saw the pilot and am willing to keep watching even thought it didn't blow me away).

The Walking Dead (ZOMBIES? I'M SO THERE).

Running Wilde (GOB and Felicity - together at last! I mean, haven't we all pretty much been waiting for this day?)

And sadly, that's pretty much it. What shows should I be watching? Anyone excited about anything else?

I think I'm going to take my newly acquired Being Erica season 2 DVDs and do a marathon this weekend to gear up for the premiere next week. And maybe even do some capping? I feel like I'm going to need both an Erica and an Erica/Kai icon pretty soon.

Decorating my apartment

jems00@gmail.com — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 21:01:34 GMT

Now that my kitchen and bathroom are done, I'm turning my attention to the hallway, so today I spent some time window shopping (except it was online, so window surfing?).

I never set out to to buy white stuff, but the only sideboard/hallway table I could find that I really loved was this one:

(and I have this lamp on it:)

And then today, I was on the hunt for linen storage (my previous linen wardrobe was built-in and became a casualty of the recent remodel. I didn't mind in the least since it looked horrible, but I've been making due with keeping my bed linens and towels in the livingroom bookcase - where I have tons of empty drawers since I threw out all my VHS tapes - and I don't really want them there) and I've been thinking about buying a Chinese lacquer cabinet of some sort and this one became my absolute favorite:

So now I'm pretty much set on a black and white hallway. Mostly white with black accents and maybe using flowers for a splash of color? (I'm already buying roses pretty regularly, because they look awesome on the new hallway table. Especially shocking pink ones.)

(Other white stuff I covet:

This wall clock. But for the kitchen, not the hallway.)

Answers! I have them!

01. Justice

Amanda Seyfried's guest starring role on a very short-lived procedural that I only had a cap of because of this picspam.

02. The West Wing

King Corn! Visually, my favorite West Wing episode.

03. Battlestar Galactica

04. Ugly Betty

05. Pushing Daisies

06. The Black Donnellys

07. Sons of Anarchy

08. The Office (UK)

Not guessed.

09. Fringe

10. ReGenesis

11. Farscape

12. Sports Night

13. Rome

Or as I like to call it: The not!Felicity cap.

14. Dawson's Creek

15. How I Met YOur Mother

16. Firefly

17. Friends

18. Arrested Development

19. True Blood

20. Being Erica

Not guessed.

21. My Name Is Earl

22. The Middleman

23. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

24. Buffy

25. Parks and Recreation

I thought at least someone would guess P&R based on the subject matter of the sign alone, but I guess not.

I return bearing cap game

jems00@gmail.com — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:29:55 GMT

TV cap game, for a change!

PLAY!

01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

*NB: Full screen caps have been cropped to widescreen.

jems00@gmail.com — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 22:22:56 GMT

A couple of years ago, on the first day of winter, we had people in Stockholm who were stuck in traffic for seven hours (black ice was the culprit if I remember correctly). I thought that was bad, but this NINE DAY traffic jam has to take the cake. Holy crap!

The only shows I'm keeping up to date with are reality shows. I may get spoiled for True Blood, Eureka, Mad Men, et al whenever I venture outside my flist (and sometimes even when I stick close to home - mostly through no one's fault but my own), but knowing one thing about an episode won't completely render it pointless the way knowing who gets booted off does for a reality show.

Project Runway
I'm not really sure who I'm liking this season, but I do know who I'm not liking: Gretchen. GOD, she's like the most pretentious designer they've ever had on, AND THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING! And with so little reason, considering every time I see one of her outfits walk down the runway I flash to this:

I'm sorry, but no one who steals so liberally from ABBA in its declining years deserves to be that smug, not even when the judges are that ~~blinded by the fug~~ taken with her designs.

This last episode I was so happy that Michael C won, just to shove it in those guys' faces. And Ivy getting all huffy about him winning? When she was nearly booted before she even made it onto the show? SHUT UP! And your outfit sucked ass with all that blandness.

Top Chef
Tiffany is edging ahead as my favorite. She just seems so genuinely pleased to win, so happy to be there and so joyful about her cooking. It rubs off on my view of her food (which at first seemed to me to be good, but could do with some refinement. Now I just want to taste everything she puts out.)

I watched a bunch of episodes this weekend, so I may just be dreaming this, but Alex was booted in the last episode, wasn't he? Because if not, I'm not so sure I want to wake up to the nightmare of still having that misogynist creep who can't even cook on my TV screen. If the producers weren't running interference to keep the controversial figure on the show as long as possible I'll eat my hat (and it would probably taste better than Alex's food!)

Can't say I'm sad about Kenny, and if Angelo goes soon, I won't be crying tears of sorrow either. Though at least he's not as full of himself as he was after the first couple of episodes. Come to think of it, he and Gretchen share more than a few things in common (and GOD, I hope Gretchen gets taken down at least as many pegs as Angelo).

And just because I'm bored:

Ten Random Things About Me

My biggest pet peeve is noisy chewing. To such a degree that all my friends are hyper aware when they're chewing gum around me. I'm trying to get over it, I honestly am, but UGH, I find the noise So. Disgusting I can't even... *shudders*

I am distantly related to Thomas Hardy.

I have never read a single one of his books or watched any adaptation of them.

On the last day of high school, my Marine Biology teacher asked what I was doing after graduation and when I said I was moving back to Sweden he was shocked because he thought I was American. I'M STILL RIDICULOUSLY PROUD OF THIS. (Probably because my little brother was 9 when we moved to Florida, and I never felt I was quite as fluent as he was.)

The first tab on my Firefox is always my userpic page, scrolled down to my latest uploaded icons. (I feel kind of embarrassed to admit this, but there you have it.)

You know Chandler's nubbin? Yep, got me one of those! (TMI? Honestly, it just looks like a birthmark.)

Since May of last year, when I bought my eReader, I've read more books than the eight years before that COMBINED. (Granted, a lot of it has been crap, but I do sqeeze in the occassional gem.)

Since June of this year, when I first got into Kdramas, I've downloaded 500 GB of dramas. (This figure seriously scares me. Am I going to have to buy another 1TB external harddrive just a couple of months after buying a new one? The 1TB one before that took years to fill up.)

When it comes to dental hygiene, I try to follow the advice given to me by my father (who's also my dentist): Don't use toothpaste; brush before a meal, not after; floss. (He's never told me the reason for the first piece of advice, but when I do use toothpaste, I kinda get it, because you just don't brush enough. The toothpaste gives the illusion that you've done your job, but your mouth really only feel fresh from the mintiness. As for the second rule, he explained it to me like this [when I was like six]: the time between meals is when bacteria starts to form in your mouth. When you eat, the bacteria uses the sugar in the food to start attacking your teeth. If you brush after, the cavities have already started to form, brush before and there is no bacteria there to start the attack. The third piece of advice should be self-explanatory, yes?)

I have a mortgage, a car loan and I've worked in the same job for over a decade and I still don't feel like a grown-up most days. I wonder if I ever will.