Granted, I love trashy romance novels just as much as the next girl. Maybe more. Still, despite this fondness for the pinnacle of literary achievement, even I found Twilight to be bad. So much so that I talked through reading the book, which my neechan found endlessly amusing.
Lately, I've been listening to it on audiobook whilst knitting, and reliving the horror. (as someone I read today put it, it's a special kind of masochism to rearead them. Listening is worse, trust me.) And one thing led to another, and I've come across some amazing articles that I felt the need to share.
First up, because it is omfg amazing and the best thing out there:
LDS Sparkledammerung is here!!!
This is a series of articles recapping the Twilight series. And they are hilarious. Also, written by a former LDS member, so with lots of interesting tidbits about the stuff Meyer threw in that relates to the LDS church... Also, did I mention hiliarious? Complete with images. The author put a lot of work into this... And her icon (the one at the top of the page) is great too...
This I found in a link to a site called Smart Bitches , a trash novel review site which I will probably be visiting in the future. When paired with the real trailer, it's pretty awesome. The guy who plays Lawrence is hot. Also, the last scene makes me snort and roflmao every time...
To be fair, the link to Smart Bitches came from another LJ post, Ask Doctor Science! - Twilight fun and even thoughts. The author of this is a bit more serious that Sparkledammerung, but she does explore some interesting thoughts on Meyers' depiction of pregnancy vs. LDS teachings, which the other post doesn't get to until her review of Breaking Dawn. The comments are pretty insightful too.
Here's a comic Nick sent me. I find it funny, altho a bit inaccurate re: Twilight's fanbase. But then, the artist fully admits he's never read the books. Still I think what annoys me is the idea that anyone who enjoys vampire romance is a 14-yo Hot Topic goth/emo junkie. But then, that attitude has always bothered me, and it's one of the many annoying stereotypes at which I scoff...
Hijinks Ensue - Twilight Comic
Lastly, and kind of entirely unrelated, but from a link in Sparkledammerung (I believe in response to Meyers' comments on feminism), here's Barbie Liberation! Sounds awesome.
And though I read comments about it, I didn't take the time to look it up cause I am lazy. So, if anyone has seen the video interview of Robert Pattinson talking about how much he didn't like the books and found them disturbing, please link me!! I want to see that. Masochism, I know.
Going back to bed now I think.
And then i really need to be knitting for the rest of the evening. Christmas is a week away, and i have a scarf to finish. I'm listening to Twilight as I knit, since I have to pay attention to the stitches, so i cant watch tv at the same time. I'm realizing more than when i read it that Meyer REALLY needed a good editor. When I'm reading, I can kinda skim through the meaningless description without much trouble, but having to listen to all of it is hilarious and frustrating at times. Also, I'm realizing how ridiculous it is all over again. -sigh- it's going to be great. I wonder how much scarf it will take me to get through the book, or vice versa.
Also, I read a funny article the other day, and thought I would share. All you Twilight fans who realize how bad the books are will enjoy this, I imagine...
If Twilight was 10 times shorter and 100 times more honest...
And now, korean words of the day! these from pansy/lily class
Worm = chidori
Watermelon = tsubak
I'm teaching the letter 'W', hence the words.
I have spent the evening discovering the wonders of ihasatardis and found some wonderful stuff which i feel the need to share/re-post for posterity/to look at later when I want to laugh. A lot of these are NSFW, don't say I didn't warn you. And I've credited the author, but if you want the original post you'll have to find it yourself (it's somewhere in Nov/Dec.2008).
Firstly - A rather tame S3 piece from Jack, Martha, and the Doctor... By Firestorm172001
And because I love this video, even though I found it a long time ago. There are others, (including some of my favorite Internet songs), but this one is the best...
The best one for last, cause I can't copy the whole thing here. But here's the link below, and my favorite pic from it.
Well as I was walking to get my special trash bags from the store, I passed the bakery. Their sign outside says -
The greeting is an ice cream smoothing my frozen mind.
Isn't that awesome? Engrish never ceases to amaze me. This makes no sense, but I still like the feeling of it
Here's my new hat. I think it's adorabibble.
It's not fair that three such beautiful people should be fiction. granted, the actors who play them are real, but it's the characters I really love.
I spent the afternoon finishing Season Three, and I really loved it, even though I'm still a Rose/Ten shipper. But who needed that? There was enough slash to drown in, what with the Master and dungeon-surviving!Jack and last but not least, "Regenerate!"/angst!Doctor. Martha was nice too, though I think it would be cool if she hooks up with Dr. Milligan later. I thought the comment the conversation about the TARDIS key perception field was funny - "Like someone you fancy who doesn't even know you exist!" and Jack's comment, "You too?" Although, to be fair, it's been mentioned enough times as a joke that it's very clear the Doctor does know. And Martha's been building her house of cards since the first episode and the genetic transfer, so even though I think she's awesome in her own right, I still don't get the Doctor/Martha shippers. It's just not there, at least for me.
Ahh. And now that I have finished that, I will let myself dl the next episode of Psych. God knows I have so many shows that people have recommended that I will never finish all of them. Even though it's sad, it's kinda a good thing that Torchwood and Who are taking a break, cause it gives me time to catch up. I go through spells of TV watching, so it takes me a while.
Also today I finished my second puzzle!! This one took me the same amount of time as Starry Night, despite that it was 500 pieces, not 300. But I think it was a bit easier, even though I loved it and had lots of fun. I'll post of pic of it later.
While looking for pics of the puzzle on the internet, I discovered the Art Renewal Center. They seem a bit forceful in their views, but the important thing is that they have high-res images of lots of pre-Modernism paintings. And since I love pr-Modernist art, I really loved browsing through their stuff. I found some awesome stuff, and a new artist to love.
All these new pictures (and some of my old ones that I have been editing lately make me want to change my blog to make it more personalized, so I might start making banners or something. Or just do image editing. In all my free time, when I'm not doing other stuff, you know. Haha.
I'm off to the store for food and then to cook dinner, listen to an audiobook version of Twilight, and knit Tim's scarf. Fun times.
Since I needed something to do tonight, and neechan recommended procrastinating on Cakewrecks, I thought I'd see what they have there. Unfortunately I couldn't remember the address, so when I googled it, one of their older posts came up. It is, in fact, a post of horrible, horrible Dalek cakes.
Now, I think a Dalek cake would be pretty awesome, but these are just sad.
Here's the best one:
From there I wandered into Endgadget, where I found this on their list of crapgadgets
USB Volcano! I wish I could post the vid of this, but I can't link it from the site. -sigh- I'm convinced this must have been invented by a Japanese company. They're obsessed with USB things.
I think that's enough for this evening.
It didn't turn out really great. probably cause i have been thawing the chicken in the fridge for like 4 days. -cringe- Don't throw anything at me, neechan. I stopped eating when it started tasting funny. Other than that - less soy sauce/garlic, more onion. and probably cook the rice with the rest for longer as well. Considering I've never used a recipe, just some vague instructions from my okaasan, and it's only the second time I've made it, it could have been worse.
Other than that, tonight has been occupied with planning my japan trip. -sigh- So boring. This is why I usually don't plan trips. i prefer to chill and wander my way through. But I have got most of the details down, just have to actually buy the tix and work up a budget and I'm good to go. I'm thinking half of my paycheck should be fine. I'm going to try to pack really lightly, but I'm debating exactly what to take. I think I could manage with just my backpack and my brown bag for a week. My laptop will most likely stay here, cause I don't want to haul it everywhere, despite that I have no clue how I will charge my ipod without it. The most annoying part at the moment is trying to think in yen as opposed to won.
I found this while looking for things on ESL cafe. It's crazy and awesome. It's this cat named Maru, who's very popular in Japan. He likes boxes.
I am going to take a shower now, then go to bed I think. Or maybe do more email. Still have things to catch up on. (When don't i?)
Well, after I put together my Starry Night puzzle. It took me about 5 hours, for 300 pieces. But then, it's a hard painting to put together. Still, I feel like it shouldn't have taken me that long, though I haven't done a puzzle in forever. I was going to get a frame for it, still might. Strangely enough, it actually came with glue to hold it together once it was finished. I though that was pretty cool. I have one other one still that I bought when I went to COEX, but there are a few more there that I was looking at that I liked - three of them were from Night of the Milky Way Railway, which I thought was pretty fricking awesome.
Then I ate the rest of my burrito and watched Human Nature/Family of Blood. I really liked that episode. For one thing, Thomas Sangster is so adorable. (He was the kid in Love Actually, Sam, whose mom died.) And he's only two years older than my sister, which makes me feel kinda weird, but oh well. I'm sure everyone has their child molestation urges every now and then. Though he is 18.... as of May.
I was annoyed with the Doctor for the way he treated Joan, but she was a bit snitty at the end too, though I can sympathize. I mean, he has Martha - and he'd just heard her say she loved him! And then goes to ask Joan if she wants to come along. -sigh- Watching this made me realize how amazing David Tennant is, how much I am going to miss him, and think that perhaps I should watch his new show. Looking it up on Imdb, it doesn't look too amazing, but still... But then, I have a ton of other things to watch. Psych, Torchwood (when it omg FINALLY AIRS), etc. Legend of the Seeker, the Sword of Truth miniseries is finally out, and while I kind of cringe, I also want to see it. And people keep talking about Merlin.
Ack. Just got lost on IMDB for 30 minutes reading randomness. Interestingly, they are remaking one of my fave shows from when I was younger, Cupid. No Jeremy Piven, but alas. Although, Fantasy Island wasn't as good as I remembered it being when I rewatched it, but it was still pretty damn sweet. I never did review it, though I meant to. Oh well. So much to do, so little time. Did I mention I was thinking of taking up watercolors again?
And lastly, cause I need to go to bed - I saw this and it made me laugh. Look at it, really.
'Torchwood' Writing Provides Absolute Confidence
It all changes in 2009 and fans of "Torchwood" have got to be ready.
One thing that won’t change, though, is the high standards and quality of writing the series has displayed from the first season.
http://www.syfyportal.com/news425614.htmlI choked when I read that second sentence.... -laughs-
Korean word of the day from Daisy teacher:
grandfather = haramboji
(In case you're wondering, grandmother = halmoni)
This is it, plus this weekend.
So, if someone had emailed me back *coughazizamcough* I might be able to present you with a specific term for this, but as it is, maybe those of you out there in the tubes can help me out. What's the term for a word that isn't new, but acquires a new meaning separate from its previous one?
This is relevant, I promise.
I am proposing a new meaning for the word minion. For one, because it's such a cool word, and unless you're hanging with a lot of D&D geeks, it doesn't get tossed around in normal conversation nearly as much as it should. Also, because I have recently acquired a minion of my own, and wish to stretch the definition to fit an entire genre. Thus, I propose that the word 'minion' is henceforth a synonym for 'small appliance.' It sounds cooler - and it's easier to say.
Here is my minion. It is yellow and blows smoke in a menacing fashion, as all minions should.
As an added benefit, this minion is also approved by physicians to assist those of us who suffer from chronic allergies to smog. It also doubles as an entertaining kitten toy, though I haven't gotten pictures of this yet.
I have other minions as well, and since pictures have been requested, here they be. My small purple oven and my small green rice cooker. They are adorabibble, as minions should also be.
This week dragged like crazy. Being sick didn't help. I didn't get to go for my waffle date on Friday (sad) but I was also not really in any condition to go out, since I was coughing every 5 seconds and such. But Saturday was much better. I woke up around 10, tried to sleep, and then decided to clean up my apartment. It's been cold lately, but it was bright and sunny, so I swept and generally did all the cleaning I have been putting off while I was sick. I always feel better in a clean apartment anyway.
Then I went into town and hung out with Tim in Caribou while he worked on a paper and I played Fire Red. I thought I remembered Brock being vaguely challenging, but I beat him with my Mankey and that was that. Got the Magikarp and did my first round through Mt. Moon before we left to have dinner with Holly and Shin for her birthday. Then I headed to the Dragon Hill Spa to meet up with my SnB girls. Since I was late, I didn't find everyone else till after I had had my bath and soaked a bit. Three of us spent the night there, and it was fun, despite the lack of comfortable sleeping places. I spent half the night on the floor and half in a massage chair (which is not as comfortable as it would sound). Highlights included the outdoor bath, which required not slipping on the ice (yes, ice) as you got out. It was absolutely delicious.
I couldn't find Cheryl and Lindsay this morning, so I got a quick shower and left to explore. It was snowing lightly, and I have pictures of the fountains out front, which were covered in snow. Note the dragon has a long icicle fang...
The spa was right next to a huge mall and I wandered in there, had Baskin Robbins for breakfast, and then poked around until 1 or so. It was there that I learned today's Korean word of the day!
squirrel = daramji
I also learned the reason the spa had that particular name. It's in an area in the middle of Seoul called Yongsan. I don't spend a lot of time in the area; it's more the south-central part of Kangbo (north of the river). So I was surprised when I glanced up at the characters for the station and realized they mean "Dragon Mountain." Makes sense. After that, I headed up to Hyehwa to the SnB meeting. Yes, I was ridiculously early, but I wanted to work some more on figuring out Tim's scarf, which I started last night. After I got the new cast-on down, it's going fine, but I still have to get used to the stitch pattern before I can work very quickly.
As it happened, I spent the time till Jenny got to Cafe T+ re-seaming my gauntlets. YES I FINALLY FINISHED THEM. Well, technically I finished them the other night, but I wasn't really happy with them, cause they were so loose. I'm definitely going to have to adjust that pattern if I use it again. Anyway, I took them apart and reseamed them so that they fit my hand, and I'm much happier with them after that alteration. Look aren't they purty? I added the suede bows to tighten them, but left them cause they're still cute, even though not as necessary now.
Afterwards Cait and I went to Sinchon for On the Border with Tim, and so I brought home half a burrito to a frantic kitten who was convinced she was starving, and also that I had abandoned her. AND IT WAS SNOWING!!! I mean, it had flurried a bit earlier in the morning, but not really stuck. But when we left Hyewha it was really coming down, and continued all through dinner and was still there when I got to Jamsil. I was really happy about it, and was almost dancing down the street as I walked home and attempting to catch snowflakes on my tongue, despite Cait's warnings about dying from ingesting acid rain. This behavior prompted some hot Korean guys to say hello to me - I'm not sure if they though it was cute or if I was crazy or what. -shrugs-
So now I am here working on my computer and attempting to get things back to normal in a more organized fashion than they were. It's a slow process, mostly cause I have to rip all my music from A to D from my ipod again. -sigh- But I have Something Corporate to keep me company, so it's not too bad. Other good news - I get paid this week! And I can plan my Japan trip!! Yay!
