Cals

unbelievable

2009-12-20T17:29:22Z

I can't find my keys, I have a hangover, and there is no tylenol ANYWHERE in this house! but none of those things matter.

Why?

Because the heroine of Last Scandal just got ACCIDENTAL VAGINAL REDUCTION SURGERY. Amazing.

Slicing master!

2009-12-20T06:17:09Z

It seems like whenever I go to a party, I end up cooking. I don't even cook! It's sad, really.

Pssst!

2009-12-19T04:50:21Z

Does anyone have a Demonoid invite they are willing to give to me? I will be grateful forever!!

10 Things That Make Me Happy Today:

2009-12-19T03:55:36Z

IN CELEBRATION OF IT FINALLY FUCKING BEING FRIDAY!

01) My super amazing gift wrapping skills:

02) The many presents gifted to me (which much less stellar gift wrapping I must add):

03) Seriously gorgeous Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino wool yarn:

04) Jane Austen books at a bargain price:

05) The shelf of shameful reading:

06) My obsession with sequins: the second they go out of style I am doomed. It's like a DISEASE. I can't resist them.

07) My laptop, with its shiny shiny Windows 7 and purty wallpaper!

08) Junkfood! I am going to pig out tonight!!!

09) Delicious azn passionfruit tea with delicious coke in the background that you cannot see:

10) Kpop on mah ipod~

I think I might have actually caught the xmas spirit by accident.

Last Scandal and kdrama chat

2009-12-18T06:03:04Z

Oh my god. I have no words for the beauty that is the "fight" that takes place after the heroine sees her daughter skipping school to stalk the superstar celeb hero. Amazing. You know what else is amazing? Choi Jin Shil's ahjumma perm. OH MY GOD. It is 1000x worse than Kim Sun Ah's ahjumma haircut in the first half of City Hall. (And I didn't think hers was all that bad to begin with, just that it made her look frumpy.)

I am going to watch the pilot for Brilliant Legacy and You're Beautiful after this, and decide which one I will continue with. I also considered Sons of Sol Pharmacy but that one is waaaaay too long.

I feel so spoiled by CH; it was too good. Every other kdrama I try seems to be missing something in comparison. I'm starting to think it's partly because I really, really like the vibe Kim Sun Ah brings to her dramas; there's something so comforting and feel-good about her and I just don't get that feeling with other actresses. Earlier tonight I tried to bait my mom about it by telling her the lead actor (Cha Seung Won) is AMAZINGLY GOOD LOOKING and she pretended disinterest, like she watches kdramas for the deep and meaningful plots. Uh huh.

Along those lines, I am in the process of taking a bazillion screencaps of City Hall for an EPIC picspam that will bring you to your KNEES. Watch this space for upcoming visuals of Cha Seung Won's fantabulous shirt collars.

Just finished SyFy's Alice...

2009-12-13T05:58:06Z

Wow. That really plunged into awfulness in the second half. Yikes. Andrew Lee Potter was cute, but WOW. That was really bad. And so BORING. How did they manage that?

Help!

2009-12-12T22:59:26Z

How do you make moving .gifs from avi files? Is there a magical program out there that I can download and use? I swear I won't abuse such tools for evil purposes.

Cha Seung Won juseyo~

2009-12-11T01:37:26Z

I stayed up disgustingly late to finish watching City Hall last night. I ended up getting four hours of sleep and then went onto a 9hr shift at work on what was possibly the BUSIEST DAY EVER and I cannot say I regret it! The last four episodes were awesome; full of angst and single emo tears and pwnage. I want to watch it again. Agaaaaain.

ALSO THE RETURN OF HORAN + UNCERTAIN LOVE! That song is so much better than the other song they started playing during the musical montages in the latter half :P Not to mention their rendition of Sorry Sorry which was crazy random but I totally enjoyed it. I GIVE CITY HALL A++++!

I was going to move onto Brilliant Legacy next but right now I am too freshly in love to start a new drama. It is probably now my favourite Kdrama.

ETA:Hmm, I feel like this post is missing something. I must go find some kind of picture/screencap/gif to add.

ETA2: I just really like the tango scene apparently.

City Hall eps 14-15

2009-12-09T03:37:20Z

Jo Guk is so ridiculously SQUISHY and adorable when he's in love. I'm torn between giggling and flailing; lsdkjfalskfj. I have no words. I just lovelovelove him.

She leaves after his inauguration ceremony to his outrage - Guk will have NONE OF THAT.

And then while she is trying to be businesslike and professional, he is being all affectionate and trying to distract her by playing with her hand:

And demands hugs:

Which he feels entitled to after this:

Here is a screencap of him doing Uncle Sam:

And a gif purely for your entertainment:

I'm so easy. I want one of my own!!

GJ, City Hall writers, GJ.

calixa @ 2009-12-08T00:41:00

2009-12-08T05:41:59Z

Omg, I have pretty snowflakes in my userprofile! Thanks vowel, alexandral, dangermousie and sodahands! That was very sweet of you.

Episode 12 of City Hall: OH GOD, I LOVE THIS SHOW.

I am actually watching a kdrama.

2009-12-08T00:57:28Z

City Hall is quite entertaining. The beginning was a bit uneven, but once you hit episode 8-9ish, which is where I am, it becomes quite addictive. Kim Suna's character was insanely weird to start with but hilarious, and Cha Seung Won is deliciously tall and swoony. He is a bit of an ass, but not too much so which is acceptable to me. They make a great pair, lots of chemistry.

Mi Rae's bff, Boon Mi, is played by the actress who played the epic Kang Ja in Fantasy Couple, hands down my favourite comic performance in any kdrama EVER.

A very pretty insert song by Horan (of Clazziquai"). It makes the musical montages delightful, which is saying something as I am often bored beyond belief by kdrama montages. Horan - Anxious Love <3

Purely as a point of interest, I remember thinking, several times, that Mi Rae and Jo Gook seemed strangely forthright about the romantic side of their ambiguous relationship without ever having really had a moment or a turning point where they crossed from reluctant friendship to mutual attraction. I think it was partly because they do this extended scene thing where there's a flashback and the character recalls a previous event, but there's more to it than what was shown to us before. One scene was Jo Gook watching Mi Rae dancing with his jacket in her yard (which was an unbelievably sweet and tender scene) and the other was her stroking his face while he pretended to sleep in the tent. Obviously there is an "OOH! SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!" appeal to this technique, but it seems to lose poignancy when there are so many other clues hinting that they feel affection for each other. I still loved those scenes, so I'm complaining, but not really complaining... if you know what I mean. It's just something that stuck out to me.

I really enjoy the secondary couple - Counciller Min and Director Lee. They have an oddly endearing dysfunctional yet loving marriage and I'm rooting for them to work it out. Min is so bitchy but there's something adorable about the way she goes about shamelessly scheming and thwarting people.

Kdramas have begun to realise that Hero/Secondary Guy is the wave of the future. Forget Heroine/Secondary Guy! Slash is the way to go.

Jo Gook's fiancee scares me, a little. I find her refreshing in that she's not out to destroy Jo Gook/Mi Rae for the sake of selfish emotional fuckery, but purely out of ambition. But as relieved as I am about the lack of true annoying love triangle drama, I fear she might be even more of an obstacle than the usual Other Girl simply because of how ruthlessly determined she is.

I'd recommend this if you want to watch something funny and bright. This is a romantic comedy and underdog story rolled into one; with strong, effective female characters and a really dashing, attractive, age appropriate hero. He has got at least 15 years on me but there comes a time in a girl's life when the Yamapi's and Jang Geon Seuk's of the world cease to have much appeal.

And now that I've wasted a whole hour composing this entry, I'm off to watch more.

Yippee

2009-12-03T01:49:03Z

If you wish for a holiday card from me, please leave a comment with your name and address! I have stamps and I'm not afraid to use them. Comments will be screened, of course.

A WARRIOR MUST GREET THE DAWN WITH BATTLE

2009-11-18T02:10:28Z

Man... Samurai High School is hysterical. This one is going to be my favourite this season, I can already tell. Miura Haruma is acing the samurai schtick like nobody's business -- I can still remember how last year I found him annoyingly all over the place and didn't like him at all, but now I'm really rather fond of him.

Anyway, really fun and goofy show; it's something I'd watch with kids, or even my parents -- they like the crack as I do.

LIAR GAME 2: ep 1 liveblog!

2009-11-17T02:01:28Z

Will be updating this as I watch!

00:00 - Oh, LIAR GAME. Still doing what it loves to do best: recapping everything like it thinks its audience has early onset Alzheimer's and needs that extra reinforcement. I'm glad to see that season two plans to continue in season one's magical footsteps, soundtrack and all. Good times are ahead, folks. GOOD TIMES INDEED. Now reveal Akiyama's new hair to me, show! TELL ME IT'S STILL AS SILKY AND LUSCIOUS AS I REMEMBER!

00:05 - AKIYAMA-SAN... DISAPPEARED WITHOUT A WORD. What?? WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT LITTLE BIT AT THE END WHERE SHE FOLLOWS HIM WITH THAT LITTLE BESOTTED SMILE ON HER FACE? Did I dream that up or something?

WTF? Some of the old liar game players from s1 sent her a card that say LIAR GAME REDUX or something to scare her into thinking its starting again but really they're throwing her a surprise bday party! Why does she hang out with these dudes??? I'LL TEL YOU WHY: AKIYAMA IS MIA.

Just look at her skipping away with her red umbrella all joyously. You know bad shit is about to hit the fan.

... and there's the box o' money. Creepy gold tooth guy is back. HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHA. rofl the mad laughter.

Pretty model-y OP! AND THERE IS AKIYAMA'S NEW HAIR. EVEN SILKIER AND MORE LUSCIOUS THAN BEFORE, WITH 100% MORE CURL. FIERCE. He has been hopping countries! Gold tooth guy obviously does not understand the power of Nao and Akiyama's OTP. His kitten radar is TINGLING!! SEE: HE IS AT THE AIRPORT. Even liar game lady knows! She is trying to entice Akiyama back into the game by telling him Nao is probably going to play.

New character: weird professor chick wearing a top hat. As you do when you are a psychology prodigy. Perfectly normal.

Erika Toda is so pretty. So, so pretty.

Did I miss something? Mushroom Head guy and Nao are friends??? I'm confused. Maybe I should have watched the entire 3 hr finale...

YAY, OTP REUNION!!

They are team KINGDOM OF SUN along with Mushroom Head. This is very epic...

Oh boy. They're introducing team debt now. A new level of gibberish maths and backstabbing drama and betrayal to exploit!

I have to say I really do love the colours in this drama. The flashback of Akiyama and Liar Game lady on the cemetary hill was really pretty.

Professor girl is awesome. SHE DOESNT JUST HAVE A TOP HAT, SHE ALSO HAS A WALKING STICK. She's a regency buck! A PSYCH0ANALYZING REGENCY BUCK.

What the fuck is this russian roulette game? With fake guns? If I were playing this game I would seriously get bored/pissed off. There are so many stupid random rules and everything is so fucking complicated. AND THE MATH. FUCK THIS SHIT. I would just bust a cap in someone's ass.

Akiyama has that sulky look he gets when nao is in trouble and he can't do anything... his JUST LET ME DO THIS FOR HER IT WILL SAVE US ALL TIME look. I am surprised Nao realises her chances of getting hit by a bullet are 6/23. I couldn't have figured that out. Math. pft. rofl. His pained expression.

What is WITH Nao's wardrobe? Why is she wearing a rainbow tartan shawl over a yellow spring dress?

There is gravity and physics involved in this explanation. How depressingly logical. Mushroomhead is such a drama queen.

I am kind of enjoying this russian roulette bullet game now. Everything is more interesting when Matsuda Shota is explaining it to you as he leans casually yet attractively against a balcony railing.

IT'S A TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!

Dude, wtf

2009-11-08T18:31:32Z

It's November and I am about to go outside in a t-shirt because it's 18C. Where am I???

Sigh x2.

2009-11-06T02:09:23Z

I was right about today being hell, but not in the way I expected. Work was bizarrely empty and dead for the majority of the day. I still wanted to tell at least three people to fuck off, though that's nothing new in retail. No, it's family drama that has completely ruined my night. Blah. Sometimes I wish I lived alone and didn't have to deal with anyone related to me, ever. At least it's friday tomorrow, and HOPEFULLY by monday my usual manager will be back at work and I won't feel so harrassed all the time by idiots since she always deals with them. And I'm probably PMS-ing, which doesn't help.

Whine whine whine.

Sigh.

2009-11-05T12:54:45Z

Today is going to be hell. 9 hour shift, early christmas rush, one coworker not coming in because he is getting knee surgery, and the other still out with pneumonia. It's just going to be me and my easily frustrated boss (who is usually nice and reasonable, but becomes very impatient and short-tempered when rushed/busy). I want to do what Erika is doing in my icon all day instead of getting up to get on the subway now.

Mmmhmm big 2-4

2009-10-28T22:26:21Z

Thank you my loves!!!! Work was crazy busy but I got a lovely visit and card from euterpeslullaby and Roy bought me a birthday cake :D

Just look at the craftsmanship and effort that went into this beauty!!

Yay!

New jdrama season... yay!

2009-10-11T13:27:17Z

Under these cuts are exciting and deep thoughts about upcoming jdramas.

LIAR GAME 2

I'm seriously excited. Who could blame me, though, given that the first series of Liar Game was an exercise of deeply intelligent plot, riveting drama, and an exquisitely detailed exploration of the human soul when faced with the twin monsters of greed and ambition? It's like SAW but with blonde dudes in tuxedos and nerds with inspired mushroom hair. The craftsmanship and emotional depth that went into the first installment of this franchise still stuns me! This poster infuses me with enthusiasm - see how they've juxtaposed and emphasized the highly important difference between the two main characters by making Erika force her eyes wide open like a newborn doe and Shota squint with the distrust of a damaged, fragile soul that can only be healed by the love of a pure woman. It's beautiful. Also, I like the little floating glowing bubble thingys in the background. And the font just screams LOOK AT OUR BIGGER BUDGET.

Samurai Highschool

Mochizuki Kotaro is a private high school student who is normally a mild-mannered, unmasculine guy. But after coming across a mysterious ancient document, he finds that whenever he gets into a difficult situation, he becomes imbued with the heroic samurai spirit of his ancestors. --Tokyograph

I don't even know, but I like it. It's like saturday morning cartoons. And I'd like to see what one looks like when one is IMBUED with the heroic samurai spirit of one's ancestors.

Tokyo DOGS

Takakura So witnessed his father's murder at a young age. Pledging to catch the killer, he grows up to become an elite cop in New York City, where the criminal lives. His character is cool-headed and disciplined, yet adapts well. Because of major drug dealings, he gets sent to Tokyo to conduct a joint investigation with the Japanese police. There, he gets teamed up with, Kudo Maruo, a detective from a special investigative division. Kudo is a hot-blooded fighting expert due to his earlier days as a delinquent, but he makes a strong impression with his stylish appearance and is always interested in going on group dates. His personality, interests, and investigation methods are completely mismatched with Takakura's, but the two somehow work together to crack the case they've been given. --Tokyograph

I am hoping this is going to be a gritty crime drama, but the chances are probably slim. You never know. But really, could you NOT give such cuteness a look?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B: oh, the pretty

I will pretty much watch Yoshitaka Yuriko in anything.

Untouchable

Narumi Ryoko is a reporter who gets dismissed from a top-notch magazine and winds up at a third-rate weekly. Clumsy yet persistent, she notices details that other reporters overlook, leading her to the "untouchable" sides of criminal cases and, ultimately, to the truth. --Tokyograph

It looks cute, and Nakama Yukie is always worth a try.

In other news I am sick as a dog and also happen to be turning 24 later this month, which I don't like to think about too much.

Cali's reading list

2009-10-04T13:58:34Z

01. The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell - a great little book for mystery lovers and the reference in the title can't be beat. I've been searching for a copy of this for MONTHS. When I found it last week at the local library there were tears, but that's another story for another time. I reread it like five times after I finished it; yesterday I went out and bought the first six in the series because I'm obsessive like that.

02. Mr. Darcy Takes A Wife ~Pride and Prejudice Continues~ by Linda Berdoll - Terrible, terrible book. Just typing out that title now is making me choke. Yeah... he takes a wife, alright. Oh god. OH GOD. I think the best part is how the euphemisms are all italicized! SERIOUSLY.

It was discovered then, that a man of suffiently warm blood could, even under the disadvantaged impairment of four previous accommodations, re-achieve a penis in erectus of considerable magnitude. In light of foregoing acceptance and resultant pleasure, the owner of this temporary priapism sought to explore just how abundantly his wife's newly liberated pudendum femininus could receive it.

Every page is like that and it's over five hundred pages long! In a SMALL FONT, in a GIANT paperback edition. After about 50 pages I was so disturbed I had to throw it under my bed.

03. The Devil You Know by Mike Carey - fun urban fantasy about a reluctant exorcist in an alternate world where dead people have returned in droves as ghosts/zombies/etc. Great turns of phrase and gets rather creepy in some places.

04. Sylvester by Georgette Heyer - doesn't beat Friday's Child as my favourite GH, but this one is up there. I also listened to the abridged audiobook version read by Richard Armitage, which was fantastic and completely romantic.

Now I am off to go see euterpeslullaby for lunch and District 9!

in the mad house

2009-09-21T22:21:57Z

House season premiere tonight! V. v. excited! It's gonna be kerrraaazzzay.

milk in bags: it's not that hard

2009-09-06T22:20:44Z

I don't know how we got onto this subject, but whenever people find out that milk comes in bags in Ontario, they get all worked up about it. It's hilarious how people just cannot wrap their heads around the concept.

Lorenzo* says: do you get milk in bags?!
Calixa says: yep
Lorenzo says: what's with that??
Calixa says: i guess it is weird, but i never thought about it
Calixa says: THAT'S JUST HOW ITS DONE HERE
Lorenzo says: that's CRAZY

FYI:

1) You don't have to drink the entire bag at once. You cut a tiny little hole in the top corner and put the bag in a plastic container and you pour it out when you want some.

2) No, the bag is not sealed, but the hole is NOT THAT BIG. Milk is not going to last all that long anyway and obviously it is intended for bag to be used up before it goes bad. Besides, it's going in a fridge. I recall that when I was little we went through a bag almost daily.

In case you need pictures: http://home.cogeco.ca/~husky66/Milk/

IT'S REALLY NOT THAT CRAZY. IT'S JUST MILK IN BAGS.

* name was changed to protect the innocent and embarrassed.

I need some LoM/AtA icons

2009-08-25T17:07:54Z

I finished Life on Mars. To be honest, I started the show pretty much knowing how it would end (having absorbed a lot of information about what happens in the finale simply through reading my flist during the time it aired, though not intentionally trying to spoil myself) but I still enjoyed the finale nonetheless. My recollections were vague, but because I had the notion in my head that Sam Tyler dies, I picked up on a lot of foreshadowing in Sam's freaky dreams and even the music itself. So I ended up being quite certain how it would end. This did somewhat lessen the HOLY SHIT! factor when he leaped off the roof, but still - HOLY SHIT!!

I'm watching Ashes to Ashes now, which is also entertaining, but very different. What amazes me so far is how they've created UST between Alex and Gene - seriously, how did they turn Gene Hunt into a viable candidate for a romantic pairing? Also, Ray Carling somehow managed to act like a non-misogynist human being for once. I was amazed.

ETA: This is unrelated but I felt the need to express my love for Park Bom of kpop girlgroup 2NE1. I just adore her, bloated face & corn eating notwithstanding.

I don't get it.

2009-08-23T21:09:28Z

I don't understand abridged versions of books, especially novels. What's the point? If you're going to read something, why wouldn't you want the whole story as opposed to just bits of it?

I'm almost finished with Life on Mars. I'm on 2x05! The finale of series one was just... messed up. For Sam Tyler, that is - now he is a man with problems. For me it was riveting.

Yay

2009-08-20T12:33:27Z

01) It's 8:30am, I'm getting a HUGE breakfast because I fell asleep last night before I could eat dinner, and I'm going to spend the next three hours watching Life on Mars before I have to go into work at noon. And I get three days off starting sunday next week!

Life on Mars is excellent so far!

02) GDragon's Heartbreaker: I was kind of excited for this because of all the hype, and I do think it's a good solo effort, but I really only like a few tracks off it.

03) I saw desdenova's post on Mike Carey's Felix Castor novels and thought they sounded interesting, so I checked out the first one. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it. I'm all for good urban/paranormal fantasy as long as "romance" isn't attached to it. I hate paranormal romance.