Rough start to 2010

So, thanks to the magic of Facebook, it isn't a secret that the guy I've been seeing and I broke up. It happened Jan 2nd (after he didn't spend New Years with me) and I've been kind of reeling ever since.

But, thanks to the wonderful support of my amazing friends, I'm getting by. But I'm not going to turn this blog into a sob story ... I just wanted to highlight two amazing books that are really helping me out now.

Have you seen the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You"? Did you know it started out as a book?

Anyway, the book is not like the movie (which was also very good). It's a great way for you to clue in whether or not the guy you're seeing is actually into you. Believe me, it was an eye opener. I was sure my guy was drifting away, but I didn't think that he had fallen out of love for me until I read this book and realized that he wasn't into me anymore. It was sad, but reading it has helped me come to grips with his feelings.

So, one you've realized he's not that into you, you can read this:

Same author, but this time he's writing with his wife. Ways to cope with your break up, and stories by other people on how they reacted very badly to their break ups to help you out. Great advice, and if you feel yourself slipping into the "maybe I'll just call him to see if he's suffering like me" phase, they have steps you can take to ensure that you don't.

Currently, I'm in the "Don't See Him Or Talk To Him For Sixty Days" phase. After that, sometime in early March, I'll see if I still miss him or even care.

(And if you're thinking "What if he reads this public blog?", well, I don't really care if he does. And also, I don't think he will. If he's not into me anymore, why would he go out of his way to read my blog?)

There's one more book by the same author of the previous books, which I can't seem to find in Canada or the U.S. but I would really like to own:

I've only seen in on the UK version of Amazon. It was published 2007, so it's not that old. I'll have to see if I can get this somewhere. Thank goodness for the magic of the internet!

As for me, I'm doing ok. But if you're concerned, drop me a line or invite me out someplace!

Latest Good Book

Again, I've been neglecting my poor blog. But I come to you with another must-read book:

Graceling, by Kristin Cashore. I'm a little less than halfway through this book, but I was hooked after the first page.

The world in which this book is set has people who are born with a Grace - an ability that makes them better at some things than other people. Some are Graced with cooking, with swimming, with talking backwards, or any number of things. For Katsa, neice of King Randa, she is Graced with killing... and it isn't a Grace she particularly likes.

Most Graced people live as outcasts, useful for their talent but otherwise shunned. Katsa's Grace makes her the King's dog, and she's sent out on any number of horrible assignments by his order. It's not until Katsa meets the mysterious Po that she decides to take her life into her own hands...

And that's as far as I am in the book so far. It's a fabulous read, very engaging, full of likeable characters. I highly recommend it to fantasy lovers :)

The Friday Night Knitting Club

By all rights, I shouldn't have even read this book. It's definitely not the kind of book I usually pick up. I tend to avoid the adult reality type books, preferring to enjoy my escapism with books about fantasy and vampires.

But, the book is about knitting (which I enjoy) and I had just finished reading a fantasy book about politics and assassins ("The Way of the Shadows" by Brent Weeks - very good!), so I figured what the heck.

I was blown away by the readability of this book. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I found all the characters to be extremely likeable. Their lives were beautifully displayed and each one was a unique and interesting person. The main character, Georgia, reminded me of the type of person I wanted to be. It was funny, heart warming, moving, and cathartic.

Whether you knit or not, you should read this book... okay, maybe not so much for guys, but everyone else should.

Guys, go pick up "The Way of the Shadows" instead. ;)

Seven Pounds

Since I was snowed in at the mall yesterday (darn), Corinna and I decided to see a movie once we had done the majority of our shopping.

(Honestly, people thought I was nuts for driving to Mississauga in a snow storm, but it was the best Christmas shopping day ever. There was barely anyone in the stores, no lines or fights, and I can think of much worse places to be trapped than at Square One. So the drive there and back was a bit harrowing. We all need a little excitement in our lives!)

*ahem* Anyway, we went and saw the new Will Smith movie "Seven Pounds"


Neither of us had any idea what this movie was about, but since Will Smith is so hot such a good actor (and there was nothing else playing) we decided to check it out.

It was... dramatic. Kinda boring at times. Will Smith was good (as he always is) but I found myself wondering what the plot was at times, and whether we had gone on some huge random tangent for a good chunk of the film. Rosario Dawson was very good (and I usually don't like her in stuff... unless I have her confused with someone else. She was the chick on Lost, right?), and I liked the big Great Dane named Duke. He looked like a cow :)

I would recommend renting this one... or wait until the library buys it and get it for free. The end wasn't bad but it was very abrupt, and by the time the explained why this guy was the way he was, the audience had already figured it out from the vague flash backs.

So a resounding "meh" for Seven Pounds. If you must see a movie before Christmas, go see Bolt. It was SO CUTE!!

Twilight

I went and saw the Twilight movie last night. After hearing some horrible reviews, I didn't think it was that bad. Certainly, I prefer the book and the glossed over parts and skipped part, but all in all it was good.

A few things bugged me, though.

1. Edward (can you believe I can't find a decent picture??)
Really, not my vision of Edward. I know in the book he comes off as creepy and stalkerish, but by reading it from Bella's point of view, it was kind of sweet. In the movie, it was just creepy and stalkerish. Made worse by the face that the actor who played Edward *looked* SUPER CREEPY for the entire film. Honestly, I was waiting for Bella to get all weirded out, especially with the random mood swings from sullen "we shouldn't be together" to angry "I am a monster!" to jumpy "we're dating! whee!" and back again.

2. Special Effects

The production company must have got a good deal on spinning cameras because I was feeling the motion sickness at certain points. Really, lots of spinning. And pointless scenes of Edward and Bella lying around and leaping through trees. Okay. We get it. Edward can scale huge trees. We don't need to watch it for 5 minutes. They could have spent more time with the fleeing-the-evil-vampires part and less time with spinning cameras and jumping up trees.
(And really, what's Edward thinking? Take the clutzy girl up the tallest tree in the world?)


Things I thought were done well:

1. The Cullens

Edward aside (okay and maybe Esme too), I really liked the casting for the rest of the Cullens. Jasper was little bug-eyed the entire film (he looked like he had recently been electrocuted), but Carlisle and Emmett and Alice were awesome!

2. Jacob Black (and other minor cast members)


Such a cutie! In the first two books, I'm totally on Team Jacob.
Charlie and Billy were done very well too. I felt so bad for Charlie the whole movie. Bella was broody and kind of annoying, but Charlie did a good job of being the awkards what-the-hell-do-I-do-with-this-kid type of Dad.

3. The Bad Vamps


James was scary! Laurent was cool! Victoria was, well, crazy :) Very very well done. I wish they had been in more of the movie...


In conclusion: If you liked the book as a good read and not much more, you'll probably like the movie. If you loved the book bordering on obsession, you probably won't.

"The Happening"

Sent to my by a friend, and therefore I am compelled to share:

A movie review of "The Happening", by Christopher Orr

"This film is so bad that I feel compelled to make a spoiler-laden list of its most laughably terrible parts rather than review it."

Well worth the read!

Twilight

So I finally got my hands on the must-read teen book of the year. I thought that I wouldn't like it. First of all, it's a romance. But not just any romance. A vampire romance. Seems a little too cheesy for me, but it's my job to know what all the cool kids are reading, so I bought a copy (the waiting list at the library would take me all year to read, and by then the hype would be over)

I'm about 280 pages into this 498 page book - and I'm hooked. Honestly, this book is very difficult to put down. It's very well written, in my humble opinion, and I can see with crystal clarity why all the teen girls want to read it. Very vivid descriptions, a good balance of mystery and action and (of course) romance.

I won't go into plot details. There's really no point. If you've heard of this book, you know what it's about. If you haven't heard of it, well, you should give it a try.

Dee, I think you'll like it. You can borrow it from me when you visit, if you like.

Wow. I'm gushing about a teen romance. I think I'm getting sappy in my old age.

Indiana Jones and the Disappointing Plot

I'm starting out by saying that I didn't dislike the new Indiana Jones movie - in fact, I found the whole thing quite enjoyable. And it's been quite a few years since I've seen the original trilogy, and I know that Indie tends to go after mythical "historical" objects, but the whole crystal skull thing went a few giant leaps too far, in my opinion.

(I don't want to say too much in case I spoil the ending for anyone who wants to see it. And I suggest you do go see it. If not for the plot, then at least for Cate Blanchett and cutie-pie Shia LaBoeuf)

The rest of this post will be written in white, so if you want to see it, you'll have to highlight the text. That way I won't be spoiling anything...

Okay, so I imagine a production meeting between Steven Spielberg (SS) and George Lucas (GL) went something like this:

GL: I don't get it. Why didn't anyone like the Star Wars prequels? They were *so much* better than the originals. I have money now, for one.
SS: I miss doing ET. Why aren't we remaking ET? That movie was awesome.
GL: The fans must have been missing something... something crucial...
SS: I mean, everyone loves aliens, right? Especially aliens that somehow benefit mankind. Who doesn't want to be bettered by aliens?
GL: I got it! Harrison Ford! That's why no one liked Star Wars. No Han Solo!
SS: Han Solo? Is that way? You don't think it had anything to do with Jar Jar, or the horrible writing, or...
GL: NO! They just missed Han. We should totally bring Harrison Ford back for a movie. Like another Indiana Jones movie or something.
SS: Isn't he old now?
GL: Not if we drive a dumptruck full of money to his house. He'd sign on for sure!
SS: But the people who watch the movie aren't dumb. They'll know Indie is *old*
GL: We'll set it in the 1950s... and just so people don't forget it, we'll stick every single 1950s cultural reference we can possibly think of in the movie every 5 seconds, so if the audience even starts to wonder why Indie is old now, something will jump out and scream IT'S THE 1950s! HE'S AGED LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!
SS: Okay...
GL: And since he was in Star Wars, we'll throw in some aliens.
SS: Like ET?
GL: ... sure. Beneficial aliens. I mean, why wouldn't Indie be finding aliens in THE 1950s?
SS: Not very historical... or archaeological. I mean, sure the Holy Grail and the Arc of the Covenant and whatever he was looking for in the second movie probably didn't actually exist, but are people going to believe that South American culture is based off of aliens with crystal heads?
GL: They'll believe anything we tell them, as long as we play the theme music A LOT and have long action scene.
SS: We might as well have Indie looking for Atlantis.
GL: All in good time Steve. All in good time.

I am Ironman

Yesterday was the premiere of the movie "Ironman"... and I was able to twist my friends' rubber arms and convince them to go :)

It. Was. AWESOME.

I know pretty much nothing about Ironman from the comics, but this movie had a coherent plot, lots of fun explosions, humor (lots of great funny parts not spoiled by the ads), and most importantly GOOD ACTING.

Robert Downey Jr, for all his substance abuse, is a fantastic actor. Everything I've seen him in, I've enjoyed. Like Johnny Depp. He's good at every roll he plays.

Anyway, I was so thrilled by a good Marvel comic movie that I decided to take a look at other Marvel movies and see how they compared to Ironman:

List of Marvel Comics made into movies
(what did we do before wikipedia?)

Blade (1998) - I saw this and remember thinking it was okay. 'Course, I was a teenager at the time.

X-Men (2000) - What happened in this one again? I enjoyed the first X-Men movie. It was the sequels that ruined it for me.

Blade II (2002) - Didn't see it. Didn't think enough of the first one to bother.

Spider-Man (2002) - I have a deep love for Spider-Man, in all his incarnations, which sometimes borders on obsession. My friends can vouch for this. So, I'm biased when I say that this was (at the time) the best Marvel movie I had ever seen. *LOVE* Spider-Man!

Daredevil (2003) - In spite of Ben Affleck being cute (but he's no Spider-Man), this movie did nothing for me... except promote Evanescence, which is now one of my favourite bands.

X2 (2003) - I loved Nightcrawler. Other than that, meh.

Hulk (2003) - I think Marvel is pretending this never existed, and I don't blame them. I do find it hard to believe they didn't learn from their mistakes, and another Hulk movie is in the works.

The Punisher (2004) - Didn't see it... no wait, I think I did. That's how memorable it was.

Spider-Man II (2004) - It's only my deep devotion to you, Spider-Man, that makes me continue to watch your increasingly bad movies. Doc Ock was amazing. That subway scene nearly made me snort pop out of my nose.

Blade Trinity (2004) - I *almost* saw this because Ryan Renolds is in it, but in the end, even that wasn't enough to convince me to see Wesley Snipes as a rogue vampire... for the third time.

Elektra (2005) - Huh? Didn't she die? Why is she back? No, really. This movie was so bad, it would have been better to leave her dead.

Fantastic Four (2005) - Wasn't there a scene with Jessica Alba in either her underoos or nothing, standing on a bridge? I'm pretty sure this whole movie was made *just* for that scene.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) - This movie was so bad, it made me sputter with outrage while I was watching it. What have you done to my beloved (but not quite as beloved as Spider-Man) X-Men??

Ghost Rider (2007) - Okay, I find Nicholas Cage to be really drippy, but this movie wasn't that bad... especially compared to the previous 7 Marvel releases.

Spider-Man 3 (2007) - Yeah, not even my profound love of Spider-Man could make me see the good parts of this film. Sandman was a good bad guy... I like Topher Grace... bad ass Peter Parker looked like he joined Good Charlotte. It was terrible. I was sad for days.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) - I haven't seen this one. I like the Silver Surfer's story, but I somehow doubt this movie will do it justice, since every other movie seemed to be so terrible. Maybe I was still hurting from the deep betrayal I felt over Spider-Man 3.

Ironman (2008) - HALLELUJAH! MY FAITH IN MARVEL IS RESTORED!

at least until...

*sigh*

Glad I'm not the only one

This is the best summation of the Sophie Kinsella's Shopoholic series that I've ever read:

"For those who haven't read it, Confessions of a Shopaholic is the first in a series of increasingly annoying books about a pretty darn irritatingly stupid girl for whom things seem to work out beautifully despite the fact that she never learns her damn lesson in a lasting way."

Bless those ladies at Go Fug Yourself. Nice to know I'm not alone, and that I'm in good company.

Follow the feathers

One of the three manga series' that I buy regularly is Reservoir Tsubasa Chronicles.


I originally started watching the anime before the manga was released in the west, and fell in love with it. I'm a fan of other CLAMP shows, and they had an ingenious idea with this series.

The main characters are alternate version of Sakura and Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. The plot involves them traveling through different dimensions to find pieces of Sakura's heart/soul which are hidden in the form of very magically powerful feathers. The ingenious part is that every world they go to is populated by different characters from CLAMP manga!

(Because of this show, I've purchased and read all of RG Veda, and rekindled my love of X)

The manga also crosses paths with xxxHolic, which encourages readers to buy both mangas (which I do...)

Tsubasa is much darker than Cardcaptor Sakura, especially towards the later volumes, which makes it more appealing to older audiences while younger readers can first enjoy the bubblegum sweetness of Cardcaptor Sakura and still come to know the characters. Like I said earlier, it also exposes readers to characters from other CLAMP titles, which in turn encourages them to read those series'.

The real heart-wrencher for me was that in order to gain the power to travel to different worlds, Syaoran had to give up his relationship with Sakura, whom he loves. When she regains a feather and her memories come flooding back, she never remembers her childhood with Syaoran. Later volumes has the tragedy shift slightly, but I won't spoil it for anyone :)

My favourite Queen...

What are you doing reading this blog, when you could be watching Elizabeth: The Golden Age?

This movie is just as gorgeous to watch as the first one was, and Cate Blanchett is stunning as Elizabeth I. A few historical innacuracies (what historical film doesn't have them?) but overall a magnificent movie.


Incidentally, the debate over whether or not Mary Stuart was actually in on the plot to kill Elizabeth is still raging. After doing some of my own research (for a university paper), I believe she was a naive and unwitting pawn in the whole ordeal. She genuinely believed that her cousin Elizabeth would save her and put her back on the Scottish throne... but you can form your own opinions.

Go see the movie!

P.S. The photos came from here and here

Make a Wish...

Wish (another Clamp creation) is a short 4 volume manga about a naive angel, Kohaku, who lands on Earth and is rescued by a human Shuichiro. She promises to grant him a wish in exchange for saving her, but Shuichiro says there is nothing he desires. Determined to fulfill her promise, Kohaku moves in with Shuichiro until he can think of the one wish he cannot fulfill himself.

The cast of this manga comprises of fallen angels and devils, as well as heavenly and hellish hosts. Of course, Clamp being Clamp, the whole thing is wrapped up in an adorable love story. The angels fall for the devils, the devils like to tease and bully the angels... and just to make the artwork as cutesy as the plot, whenever the sun is up the devils become chibi, and vice versa for the angels.

(see? chibi!)

Anyway, the story ends with an unexpected twist (remember, I love a good tragedy) but all works out in the end (of course)

Tokyo Babylon

Meet 16-year-old Subaru Sumeragi, the 13th head of his clan, and an onmyoji (a spiritual master). He's living in Tokyo with his twin sister Hokuto, and fulfilling his family's destiny to protect Japan from hostile spirits. Hokuto is always trying to set him up with Seishiro, a veterinarian and possibly a member of the Sakurazukamori, a clan of mystical assassins.



Those are the characters of the manga Tokyo Babylon, published in 1991 by CLAMP (one of their first manga). I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I'm enjoying reading these manga. The subplots are very monster-of-the-day, but the overall plot dealing with the relationship between Subaru and Seishiro is fascinating.



Of course, if you've seen X/1999, you probably can figure out how the relationship ends, but I'm not going to spoil it.

I'm trying hard not to race through the five volumes I have, and I'm a little sad there are only 7 volumes total, but I can hardly wait to see how it ends. If you like the occult/spiritual side of manga and are looking for a more mature series than, say, xxxHolic, definitely read this!