Alpha and Omega

Terminator Salvation

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:56:19 GMT

Terminator Salvation was not as bad as I thought it would be. The preview they show when we watched Star Trek was barren and unexciting that many of our gang decided not to watch but I needed to kill time on Friday nights, so I went.

It was probably because I watched after working from 6am (woke up at 4am), stayed at work after work and watched it from 7pm to 9pm. My brain has by then switched off and I was happy I didn't fall asleep.

The models of Terminator you wouldn't have seen in previous Terminators was quite cool, the Moto-terminators especially, can calculate and maneouver around obstacles provided enough time. The function of snakelike terminators were harder to figure out until you see their action in water, although their function still seem somewhat...meh.

The highlight of the movie for me was first and foremost, the slash I saw between Marcus and Kyle and I'm so glad I'm not the only one seeing it! (go to kylemarcus for your needs :D) and second, Christian Bale being bashed around by badass CG-Arnold.

While they spoiled the 'twist' in the preview (Marcus is a Terminator!), I don't think that was the twist at all. You were kept uncertain during the movie whether Marcus is evil or not, he seems like a good guy, but you're kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not to mention the 'radio signal' that the resistance discovered, that wasn't at all what they thought it was. Although honestly, radio signal? Why don't someone just create an EMP-based device already!

I was half-expecting to see Horatio!John seeing he was the 'sole survivor' of the mayhem that was the beginning of the movie, and I was glad to be proven wrong.

And vote for Survival of the Hottest 'Ship!

Ahhh... sleep-ins.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:31:43 GMT

After a month of having two ten-day weeks, sleep-ins feels like heaven. Also managed to slip in a movie marathon before going back into end-of-financial-year madness at work, providing data for audits left and right on top of the job I'm hired for. Moving right along...

I'm back to watching movies lately, started from watching Star Trek, X-Men: Origins, Angels and Demons then the movies I missed: The Day The Earth Stood Still, He's Just Not Into You, Bride Wars, Marley & Me, Sunshine, The Curse of The Golden Flower, Bedtime Stories and P.S. I Love You.

Yeah, I've been watching more chick flicks than usual. The verdicts:

He's Just Not Into You makes me think I really don't know anything about men and women because they're absolutely clinically insane.
Bride Wars is heart-warming, funny and Anne Hathaway always makes me swoon. However the theme and plot was nothing new.
Marley & Me made me cry, it's a story about building a family and about the things you do for family and I can relate to that.
I fast-forward most of The Curse of The Golden Flower, the story gives me a headache.
I liked The Day The Earth Stood Still, I think it's the shiny ball. The whole "US got whumped for treating the unknowns with 'shoot now ask questions later'" makes me feel strangely happy. Keanu's acting in this movie is really worrying me for his role in 'Cowboy Bebop'.
Sunshine was really better than I thought, it's a bit (really, a smidgeon) trippy, but it feels real. I don't know why a lot of people gave it bad reviews. Oh, someone should really slash Mace and Capa. My brain was running its own 'production' all through the movie.
Bedtime Stories is a typical Adam Sandler 'diamond in a rough character finally shines' comedy. Loved Russel Brand in this one.
P.S. I Love You is a lovely love story. Hard to understand at first why Gerry seems to make it hard for Holly to let go, but I can understand how you treat a deep wound by curing it over time for it to heal completely than quickly and leaving a scar. My biggest surprise was seeing Jeffrey Dean Morgan (John Winchester, Supernatural) speaking in sexy Irish accent in this movie, so I finally looked up his filmography in IMDB. Wow, the dude is in Grey's Anatomy these days. Crap >.< I don't want to watch that show!
Star Trek, love the meaningful looks between Spock and Kirk. Ah, budding love.
X-Men: Origins suffers from either bad editing or directing. What with the different directors for different locations anyway? The scenes doesn't quite work so the messages they're trying to imply about Wolverine's character (yes, I feel that they were trying to imply Wolverine's character through the scenes they picked. Stop laughing.) feels weak.
I haven't read the book, so I found Angels and Demon pretty good though I spotted the supposed 'twist' coming, I think they intended to though because Ewan's line, "It's him! Look, he has a gun!" is very revealing. Also, it was worth it to watch Ewan McGregor in priest collar.

I'm aiming to watch all the movies in The Movie Guide to Surviving The Apocalypse and Your Favorite Movie Badass. I find your lack of faith disturbing...

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:14:09 GMT

Witch-in-training Tiffany Aching hadn't expected magic to involve chores and ill-tempered nanny goats! But as Tiffany pursues her calling, a sinister monster pursues Tiffany, and neither Mistress Weatherwax (the greatest witch in the world) nor the six-inch-high Wee Free Men (the greatest thieves in the world) can defeat it. When the monster strikes, Tiffany will have to save herself—if she can be saved at all!

Tiffany was apparently a witch, and hence she has to live with a full-fledge witch to train to be one. At the beginning of her journey, her use of magic attracted of being that is forever hungry for power without a thought of neither purpose nor intent. This being consumed the greatest wizards, powerful animals and other supreme beings until its host expires and they move on. Now it's seeking for Tiffany.

Rob Anybody got married and had to juggle between protectin' the wee big hag and bein' with his newly-wed wife. There was a frog who used to be a lawyer and of course, the blue cheese named Horace.

Related links:
Terry Pratchett's Website
A Hat Full of Sky in Wikipedia

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:48:03 GMT

There's trouble on the Aching farm: monsters in the river, headless horsemen in the lane—and Tiffany Aching's little brother has been stolen by the Queen of Fairies. Getting him back will require all of Tiffany's strength and determination (as well as a sturdy skillet) and the help of the rowdy clan of fightin', stealin', tiny blue-skinned pictsies known as the Wee Free Men!

The first installment of Tiffany Aching series (which at the moment appears to be a trilogy), starts off with the meeting between the Feegles and Tiffany when Tiffany's grandmother who is the unofficial witch of Chalk country passed away.

With magic protection around Chalk country weakening, the Fairy Queen and her land started to invade the Chalk disrupts life within, but when Tiffany's youngest brother, Wentworth was taken by the Queen, Tiffany decided that enough was enough.

Terry is probably one of few authors you can depend on to weave a good yarn on pretty much anything, this book has a similar tone to Wintersmith, the urgency to save herself and his brother from the Fairy Queen and her enchanting land, all rolled together with the antics from our Wee Free Men.

Related links:
Terry Pratchett's Website

Raised By Wolves: Matelots by W.A. Hoffman

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:02:39 GMT

1668 Marriage in the West Indies

Wherein, we follow the continuing adventures of the buccaneer Will and his beloved matelot Gaston as they contend with unexpected brides, the need for an heir, misunderstandings with the French, and Henry Morgan's ambitions against the Spanish.

Conflicts arise as Will, former libertine and duelist, haphazard philanthropist and philosopher, negotiates an ever-trickier path betwixt the requirements of his remaining the Viscount of Marsdale and his commitment to his matelot.

Amidst this, Gaston, exiled French nobleman, physician, renowned buccaneer and madman, must learn to control his madness before it destroys them both.

Together, they must discover how to nurture love and passion in the face of war, tradition, and the demonds of their pasts.

I worship this writer, she writes tomes of volumes worth every dollar I spent on it. If you want pirate smex... well, you probably won't get it from this book, the book explores less about gay sex than love crossing gender and more into finding that other soul that forms a feedback loop with you.

This volume explore further relationship between Will and Gaston, readers would be happy to know it has now progressed past UST that was in first volume (although I was really enjoying all that UST) although Gaston still have a long ways to go.

Tension rose between Striker and Pete as Striker found a woman he wished to wed. Drama, drama everywhere.

Great second book :)

Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 09:18:11 GMT

They were dark and stormy knights...and when they had their way with a helpless tavern wench one terrible evening, they didn't know the product of that twilight brutality would the rogue Apropos of Nothing. Through happenstance, Apropos becomes a squire in the court of the good King Runcible. Matters deteriorate when a routine mission to escort the king's daughter home after a long absence goes horribly awry, and Apropos must survive a berserk phoenix, murderous unicorns, mutated harpies, homicidal warrior kings, and—most problematic of all—a princess who may or may not be a psychotic arsonist.

It took me a while reading this book, it's definitely different and darkly funny, but it's really hard to root for a hero who blames everything on other people and quietly self-serving. It's darkly funny because everyone self-serving either wins or in that space where you neither win nor lose and everyone seemingly selfless or idealistic pretty much gets trampled. Also in this book, if something bad can happen, it will happen.

I am slightly reluctant to recommend this book. It's quite and interesting read, different, and well-written for sure, but I find it hard to get into it. Still trying to get through the second book, "The Woad to Wuin" which I should interest me since most of it is parody of 'Lord of the Rings'.

However, if you like plotlines like Fables: The Mean Seasons, you'll like this.

Related links:
Peter David's Website (You can read his Potato Moon 'gang-fang' on his site).

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:37:30 GMT

When the Spirit of Winter takes a fancy to Tiffany Aching, he wants her too stay in his gleaming, frozen world. Forever. It will take the young witch's skill and cunning, as well as help fromm legendary Granny Weatherwax and the irrepressible Wee Free Men, to survive until Spring. Because if Tiffany doesn't make it to Spring—

—Spring won't come.

This was my first Terry Pratchett book and I didn't realize at that time—since I was buying by the back cover blurb—that it was the third in Tiffany Aching series, started from The Wee Free Men.

I've heard Terry Pratchett's name, watched Hogfather and The Colour of Magic (I like this one between the two), but that was the extent of it. This book made me realize just how one-of-a-kind author he is.

The Feegles takes the gold in all of these books, their beliefs and antics provides endless hilarity throughout the story, to Tiffany's exasperation. I think this part of the book illustrates this best:

"Aye," said Rob Anybody, "the Wintersmith canna abide the heat. Oh, I'll be forgettin' my ain heid next! We brought a wee letter from that hollow tree down in the forest. Gi' it to the big wee haf, Wullie. We picked it up on the way past."

"A letter?" said Tiffany as the loom clacked behind her and Daft Wullie began to pull a grubby, rolled-up envelope from his spog.

"It's from that wee heap o'jobbies at the castle back hame," Rob went on as his brother hauled. "He says he bides fine and hopes ye do likewise an' he's lookin' forward to you bein' back hame soon, an' there's lots o' stuff about how the ships are doin' and' suchlike, no' verra interestin' in ma opinion, an' he's writ S.W.A.L.K. on the bottom, but we havena worked out what that means yet."

"You read my letter?" said Tiffany in horror.

"Oh, aye," said Rob with pride. "Nae problem. Billy Bigchin here gave me a wee hint with some o' the longer words, but it was mostly me, aye." He beamed, but the grin faded as he watched Tiffany's expression. "Ach, I ken you're a wee bitty upset that we opened yon envelope thingy," he explained. "But that's okay, 'cuz we glued it up again wi' slug. Ye wouldna even know it'd been read."

He coughed, because Tiffany was still glaring at him. All women were a bit scary to the Feegles, and witches were the worst. At last, when he was really nervous, Tiffany said: "How did you know where that letter would be?"

She glanced sideways at Daft Wullie, he was chewing the edge of his kilt. He only ever did this when he was frightened.

"Er...would you accept a wee bittie lie?"

"No!"

"It's interestin'. There's dragons an' unicorns in it—"

In this book, Tiffany made a grave mistake that could change the story of the changing of seasons, and the elemental 'Wintersmith' mistook Tiffany for Spring, the one he is eternally in love with but always remains elusive to him. Wintersmith thought that he had finally found her, that she has finally revealed herself to him as Tiffany and this turns Tiffany to Spring while Spring, who lies in the Underworld, will never wake because Tiffany has taken her place.

Superbly Pratchettian and a wonderful tale, the sense of urgency is there because Wintersmith carries winter with him wherever he is, killing many creatures in his path, but cushioned with humour from Rob Anybody and his clan.

The Wee Free Men would give you more history as to how Tiffany and Rob Anybody's clan met, but this book can be read as standalone. Very highly recommended to lovers of puns.

Related links:
Terry Pratchett's website

Boooo--

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:18:24 GMT

Let me start off by outlining the shows I watch by priority and here is what will happen with the list next season:
1. Better Off Ted
2. Chuck
3. Eureka
4. ~~Kyle XY~~
5. Psych
6. Fringe
7. Eleventh Hour
8. ~~Pushing Daisies~~
9. Supernatural
10. Dollhouse
11. Dexter
12. NCIS
13. Life
14. Kings*
15. ~~Knight Rider~~
16. Legend of The Seeker
17. Reaper
18. CSI NY
19. Lie To Me
20. Heroes

Italics 50% or less likely chance of a next season
~~Strike~~ Officially cancelled
*Shifted to next season

I'm losing half of the shows I watch religiously and most of them in my Top 10. (Updated 19/05: They renewed Better Off Ted, Chuck and Dollhouse)

Kings, the only serious 'political' drama show that I watch because it's SO BRILLIANT, is moved to start again in June before they decide to keep it or axe it. Granted it's only on #14 because I have to build my guts to watch David despair/rejoice in his fight against all odds. It's one show that you're never quite sure the protagonist will come out the winner in the end and the twists always comes unexpectedly.

Stupid NBC and ABC. And why is TV.com showing 'Lost' as Top 10 Australian Show?

Reaction to: Which shows are coming back for ABC? and Downturn in economy could save faltering shows

Amused by The Presidential Election is third in top ten TV series, says Time.

Related links:
Veridian Dynamics ads (Fictional company in Better Off Ted)
Captain Awesome's Tips (Captain Awesome is a character in Chuck)
Brave New World (Various medical articles on topics covered in Eleventh Hour)
Create Your Own Dollhouse (Random Dollhouse DIY creative art?)
Billy's Blog (Billy is a character from Knight Rider)
Build Your Conspiracy Theory (...behind the plot in Life)

Ouch!

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:21:17 GMT

Sometimes you get a whack-up-call from life reminding you that you might be more than slightly off mainstream. Some people at work found out I read slash and they have this 'leer' when they caught me reading slash between work and I really can't figure out why. When I think about it though, I think I get it: Most people deem slash is pr0n. That, and I suppose I really shouldn't read slash at work.

filogrrl asked me once why I like slash and I really can't explain it. It's not the porn, I can read hetero porn or same sex (both gender) porn just the same, but I prefer gay romance and out of all gay romances, I like sci-fi ones. However, it doesn't explain why, so maybe I should explain it from why I don't like most hetero romances: the female half of the pair is generally a clingy, whiny, weak and spoiled girl. A good example is Fushigi Yuugi, which was a series I enjoyed in the first season and abhorred in the second season. Miaka was a capable priestess in the first season. She's a klutz, but she's trying hard. In the second season, whenever she's in trouble, she does the least that she could do: Scream "Tamahome!!"

Argh! Go and die already!

A lot of slash are also quite funny and smart, the likes of indybaggins's But I’m A Lieutenant Colonel (Just the summary is enough to crack you up) while others, can't be explained or put into words. When I read sheafrotherdon's Compass Points and its accompanying vid for example. I don't know about you, in the space of time when I read that fic, I smiled, my nose burned and my eyes tear up a bit, I laughed and in the end, there's this slow burn under my ribcage that could just be heartburn, except it wasn't there before.

After a week of this, I would go and read a fast-paced thriller or a totally off-the-wall humourous book, but that's another story...

Finally Finished Torchwood Season One

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:52:36 GMT

Which I suppose a long time coming since I started watching the series almost a year ago, but I just can't really get into Torchwood since I'm not used to watching Sci-Fi with so much emo and so many stupid people doing stupid things and blaming the consequences on someone else, then turn around like nothing ever happened. Felt like watching Smallville, really.

Oh and I can't take all the sex scenes either, although this time I'm smart enough to just fast forward through them. I think Torchwood has a cool concept and great lineup of actors, but the plot is making me cringe so it took time to slog through it, each episode me thinking, "Oh my God, you're not seriously that stupid."

Abaddon died from supposedly, overconsumption, for example. I mean, honestly, what?! I guess you can reason that he has never met a 'buffet' like Jack before so he wasn't aware he could die from eating too much. He, Abaddon The Destroyer, would not die like a thirsty man with too much water. But it seriously lacks impact.

I was pleasantly surprised of one thing though: Ianto and Jack is canon! I wonder why the production team decided that, not that I'm complaining mind you. I really like Ianto's scene while Jack was lying in the morgue and he cleaned up Jack's office. He found Jack's coat on the hanger and cried with his face buried in it. That was an 'awww~' moment. Of course when Jack woke up and kissed Ianto on the lips was nice too, it was the moment I realized that it's canon, not just insinuations or my mind reading too much into it.

Now on to season two. *sigh* I'll think of Spike getting snogged to motivate me. I'll search for some Ianto/Jack slash along the way.

Avenue Q is HERE!!

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:54:45 GMT

Oh my God! I left my credit card at home! They've started the pre-sale for Avenue Q tickets already! *bash head to wall*

Somebody do something!

I also just found out there's a Supernatural Convention in Sydney in April. All the good tickets are gone, except for the day tickets (a whoopping $150). *sigh* I'm not going, but... wow. Don't have $1400 lying around though even if they still have the Platinum tickets, which they don't.

I Finished CSI:Hard Evidence on Wii

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:46:28 GMT

First game I finished on a Wii, and I'm going to replay some of the cases again when I get around to it (After I finished Okami, I hope). Gil model is not very good, in fact amongst all I think his is kind of buggy, but when I leave the 'current CSI I've been assigned to' too long on the screen, they start to glance around at Gil which I thought was kind of cute.

Oh, the things I do to avoid CSI withdrawal. There are the last seasons DVDs too, of course. There aren't too many good CSI fanfics out there, though. I don't want to think what I'll do if they ever decide not to run another season of CSI. As it is I'm crushed they're not renewing SGA for another season.

T_T

Dammnit! Why?! Ok, I know why, but still... WHY?!

Would you buy PS3 for FFXIII?

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:25:02 GMT

I wouldn't. The hype nowadays about FF XIII is the fact that it's going to go multi-platform. Whereas FF titles has always been a Sony-exclusive, starting from FFXIII it will also be available on Xbox 360.

I bought my PS3 not because of FF XIII because I couldn't care less about FF titles. They're full of nice graphics, but I never finished an FF game because I always ended up bored midway while wondering around fighting numerous enemies I didn't know were there. Walking past a plain from one end to the next become a total pain in the @$$.

Which is why I love Chrono Cross, if they ever release another like Chrono Cross, that's a title I'd buy PS3 for.

TV Show Meme

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:51:55 GMT

01. Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice: none

02. Name a show you can't miss: CSI Las Vegas

03. Name an actor who would make you more inclined to watch a show: Jensen Ackles

04. Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show: Not a TV actor, but Leonardo DiCaprio.

05. Name a show you can and do quote from: Dead Like Me

06. Name a show you like that no one else enjoys: Flash Gordon, I love Karen Cliche's Baylin!

07. Name a TV show which you've been known to sing the theme song: Wonderfalls. We're bobbing along in a barrel~

08. Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch: Psych, it's hilarious!

09. Name a TV series you own: NCIS

10. Name an actor who launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops in television: Masi Oka, I was totally surprised he started off in Comp Sci and that my Special FX lecturer talked about the water effects (for Perfect Storm) algorithm that he co-created. So. In. Awe.

11. What is your favorite episode of your favorite series? CSI Las Vegas' Pirates of the Third Reich, even though the Miniature Killer arc is fabulous, this particular episode is a defining episode for CSI LV. I wished this episode was longer.

12. Name a show you keep meaning to watch but you just haven’t gotten around to yet: Battlestar Galactica

13. Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad? Dawson's Creek

14. Name a show that's made you cry multiple times: Quantum Leap

15. What do you eat when you watch TV? Lunch and/or fruits

16. How often do you watch TV? Once or twice a week if I'm lucky. Once a month when not.

17. What's the last TV show you watched? NCIS Season 5 episode 15

18. What's your favorite/preferred genre of TV? Dramedy

19. What was the first TV show you were obsessed with? Stargate Atlantis

20. What TV show do you wish you never watched? Dawson's Creek after the first season.

21. What is the weirdest show you enjoyed? Torchwood

22. What TV show scared you the most? Supernatural

23. What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched? Black Books. On top of being funny, Bernard and Manny are like a married couple.

And in the middle of researching people for question #10, I found out John Barrowman is actually gay, and not just in a 'Hahahaha, he's so gay!'-manner. It surprised me, but I thought it was kind of cool, that he is so 'out' and been together with his partner for so long.

...and Wiki taught me the word, pansexual which has very little relation with pants. Looks like there's another word for filogrrl's use of 'man-whore' to describe Jack Harkness :P

Sheppard!

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:58:03 GMT

Coz I'm an Atlantis freak and I need to feel better for missing out on floor seating to Foo Fighters concert...

Which Stargate Atlantis character are you most like? Your Result: Col. John Sheppard Spunky, witty, brave, and surprisingly intelligent--these are all adjectives that describe John Sheppard. By being simmilar in personality to him, it means that you can do pretty much anything you set your mind to. You love adventure, na dyou know how to make people laugh.
Dr. Radek Zelenka
Dr. Elizabeth Weir
Dr. Carson Beckett
Teyla Emmagen
Dr. Rodney McKay
Ronan Dex
Which Stargate Atlantis character are you most like? Take More Quizzes

I scare myself sometimes.

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 01:41:09 GMT

Though really, it's not my fault!

I'm talking about NCIS season 5 episode 7: Requiem. How are you supposed to help it when DiNozzo said, "Don't make me kiss you, boss!" A few minutes (which probably really only ten seconds or so) before he said that I was just staring at the screen, wide-eyed and if I had a sheet nearby I'd probably clutching that tightly too, biting my lower lip anticipating DiNozzo doing CPR on Gibbs.

Then he said that and I started screaming, "Yes, damn you! Kiss him! Kiss hiiimmm!! Yes, go!" and then he did—the CPR, that is, covered from plain sight with his hand but you ignore that tiny detail for the time being—and I exploded and went, "Aaaaa!! Oh my God, oh my God, wow, etc." At this stage I was relieved I wasn't clutching a sheet or it would've ripped in two.

Then he gave CPR to the girl without the hand cover -.-; and I found myself screaming, "Hey! Not fair!" pretty... loudly. Luckily no one was home then.

But it was good... a few days later I had an NCIS dream which I had to wake up from, but that's another story. Will try and get a screencap up later (not that millions others hasn't done one already).

In the end though, I had stray thought that maybe I should kiss someone now so that if I have to help someone with CPR... I'm not going to get tunnel-vision and think, "My... first... *beep*".

Meme!

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 11:09:28 GMT

Tagged by i_am_chi and mystic_plum, God I feel special :P

Rules
1. Post 10 things that recently made you happy!
2. Then tag 10 people and force them to post this meme on their LJs. Everyone needs a little happiness once in a while.

1. Got tagged! :P
2. Caught up with most of my favorite TV shows.
3. Shook hands with Joe Flanigan.
4. Made friends with a fellow fan who made me more confident about my priorities.
5. Still have a job.
6. Watched Transformers @ IMAX with friends.
7. Chuck Season 1 episode 3 Captain Awesome x Chuck tango lesson.
8. Survived a cocktail party.
9. Weaned mom off coffee after years of her insisting that it was not an addiction *rolls eyes*. Dad next.
10. Got to know my work colleagues better.

Me taggy druscilloskayne, dyxl, firelle, friezaess, grungypoo, gurumi_sunday, lcz128, nezuji, pfcblogshere and ~~reedoo~~.

I survived...

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:21:14 GMT

So it didn't went that bad, but it wasn't a big success either. I tried as much as I can, but long chats just aren't my thing. I've lived on my own since I was nine, in my own house, so pretty much I'm not used to say so much because there just aren't anyone to chat with.

I clicked with one of the girls there and that was pretty much it. Spoke briefly with Billy West, said 'hi' to Alan Tudyk (popular guy, he was practically surrounded by girls XD), and a couple of other guests (I forgot their names). There were a lot of Sydneysiders and dare I say most of them are kind of snobbish. Most of them came to get a glimpse of Joe, no surprise there. I'm kind of relieved he isn't there though I thought it would be amusing to see it, as it was pretty... I don't know... clichéd? to see Alan surrounded by the girls at the party. For me, it still feels kind of wrong fangirling Joe, but the heart and the brain are like a Mac and an IBM.

Cocktail parties are just not something I'd like to do often, celebs or no celebs. I would've preferred to stay at home and catch up on the DVDs I've yet to watch or bake some pie/cake/bread or figuring out what card design I am going to go for this year's Christmas and New Year. Anyhow, that was done, work tomorrow :) and I might try to trick my mom into coming to Armageddon :P

It was a good idea at the time...

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 06:43:19 GMT

Two hours before the 'cocktail party', I Googled 'cocktail party' and found... I need to change my attire *shlump*.

I'm considering bailing out, but half of me was going, "Weren't you doing this thing, where you try to do things that scares the hell out of you but you should do it anyway because you think that fear should be conquered or you'll never grow as a person? Think of it a learning experience, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'-thing."

Damn it, I hate that half right now!

1st half: Hey, hey, maybe I can just rock up, see what it looks like and leave! Yeah, yeah, I can do that.
2nd half: Not. The. Point. You're not supposed to be scared of it in the first place! Think of it... a 'social experiment'.
1st half: Whose experiment?
2nd half: Look, there's nothing to worry about. You'll meet new people, introduce yourself, have a short chat, it'll be like starting a new job or something! Except, you don't have to see them the next day if you really screw up.
1st half: ...operation 'This will most likely end badly' is a go.

I didn't get why I am so freaked out

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 03:14:40 GMT

I mean, I like John Sheppard (Stargate Atlantis), but I don't know much about Joe Flanigan except that:
- He's the type of person that won't be in my circle of friends IRL.
- He's married and has three sons who he loves very much.
- His hair is naturally that way.

so there shouldn't be any reason why I should be so excited/nervous/freaked out/hyperventilating about being in the same venue/room with him (and hundreds or thousands of other people). Then I gushed on the prospect of Michael Rosenbaum doing voice in Dragonlance.

This reminded me of the 10 Sexy Men list I compiled earlier this year. I think I will definitely freak if I meet any of the guys listed here (yes, including Rove), although not so much on Tom Welling or Matt Dallas (I don't generally freak out on guys younger than me). I think I'm going to edit that list again and add Lee Pace to it, 'coz GAAAH!! He's so cute clean-shaven with the James Dean hairdo!

In the end, I don't really get why I am so freaked out, it's probably something psychological *shrug* but I know what trips the trigger.

I really need to get Wonderfalls.

EDIT: Apparently my freaking out is a normal reaction for someone who is in the same room with a celebrity that they often see on TV. It is a psychological thing.

Just when I'm a little less freaked out...

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 11:09:19 GMT

...I remembered about the cocktail party.

Anyone who knows me more than as a passing acquaintance knows that my comfort zone is out of the limelight. Not that I dislike it, but I'm not familiar enough with being under the limelight to know what to do in that situation. The limelight often includes social situations where I'm supposed to be interacting with strangers who doesn't need help in any way (I'm good at interacting with strangers who needs help getting off or on public transports, getting the doors or directions :P).

So even if I like Joe Flanigan as John Sheppard, I probably won't go spastic and glomped him to death. More like I'll be grinning like mad from afar, making him twitchy or something.

xris60 responded to my concerns about the proper con 'procedure' because I've never been one before. The last time I went to something like it was the Game Expo, but that one I just went to see the seminars (XBox Live, PS2 Developer Forum, etc.), saw the hoardes of people playing LAN games and went home. I wasn't meeting any celebrities. He gave me this link that gave a guide on How to Survive a Con.

I didn't realize until I read the guide that to get an autograph from a celebrity, you have to talk to them!!

D'oh! Of course!

I panicked, I panicked and shredded the piece of paper in my hand into confetti.

So it took me some time to get used to the idea. Every morning I try to imagine being face to face with The Flan and control my ever-widening grin. So far I found that when I'm sleepy, I'm less freaked out about it and smirked instead. Maybe I should get drunk? I tend to act the same, drunk or sleepy.

But I forgot about the cocktail party that was supposed to happen on the Friday before the event.

Ah God!

*Buries head under a pillow muttering "ImgonnadieImgonnadieOmygodImgonnadie"*

Edit: Just read the guest autograph schedule. I think I should count my blessings that I don't intend to get any autographs from the wrestling guests.

City Romp VS Armaggedon Expo

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 02:28:24 GMT

After all the hype of me wanting to go for the City Romp, I just realized that it's going to be on the Sunday of Armaggedon Expo when Joe Flanigan is going to be (He's not coming on Saturday)! What am I to do?

Well, I thought about going to Army (Armaggedon Expo) in the morning (they start at 9 am, City Romp start at 10am-12pm) and then going for City Romp because it's only a 4-hour event and come back for Army (they finish up at 6pm). I don't know, does that sound like a pretty tight schedule?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

...and wasn't it sad the young guy in Ticketmaster booth doesn't know how to spell 'Armaggedon'. What's the world coming to?

EDIT: Just read that The Flan's Stargate Atlantis panel is going to be at 1pm on Sunday. Bye bye City Romp T_T.

CSI:NY Blood On The Sun by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 10:12:24 GMT

Part of 50bookchallenge, book #16 (2007).

Detective Mac Taylor is a dedicated crime scene investigator who believes that everything is connected and everyone has a story. He and Detective Stella Bonasera lead a team of crack forensic experts through the gritty and kinetic world of New York City as they piece together clues and eliminate doubt to ultimately crack their cases.

A modest home in a suburban Queens neighborhood is the unlikely site of a grisly crime scene: a married couple and their daughter are found brutally murdered. Missing from the scene is the couple's young son, and Mac Taylor and Danny Messer soon uncover signs of a possible kidnapping. Can they find him before it's too late?

In a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, the body of a devoutly religious man is found ritually displayed on the floor of his synagogue. Stella Bonasera and Aiden Burn initially suspect a fringe fundamentalist group that has had run-ins with the victim's congregation, but the group is led by a charismatic and antagonistic man who does everything he can to stonewall the team's investigation.

Two very different crimes, with one thing in common: CSI investigators who won't stop until they uncover the truth.

heavenly_rain told me that she preferred the darker style CSI:NY in season 1 than the seasons after that, and I have to agree with her for this book. The next CSI:NY novel by Kaminsky after this one was Deluge that I reviewed earlier. This book was much better and I think I know why.

Most of it can be contributed to the backgrounds that Kaminsky wrote for our beloved characters. In this book we see Danny's pain and frustration with the horrors he sees everyday, Mac's reflection to his past and the burden that came with the job that he could see affecting Danny, and the many ironies in life Hawkes would come face to face in his line of work. Then there's the stalker who's trying to kill Stella and how Stella managed to outthink him (she's just amazing).

Then there's the crime cases themselves, one of them is pretty cool while the other one was sad, but predictable. This book doesn't have the elaborate weave of lives that Deluge has, but it certainly has drama and the few worrying seconds when the serial (professional) killer managed to take Flack down. Tension, tension, tension! Read all about it!

Related links:
Stuart Kaminsky's website

Supernatural: Nevermore by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:21:47 GMT

Part of 50bookchallenge, book #15 (2007).

Sam and Dean have hit New York City to check out a local rocker's haunted house. But before they can figure out why a lovesick banshee in an '80s heavy-metal T-shirt is wailing in the bedroom, a far more macabre crime catches their attention. not far from the house, two university students were beaten to death by a strange assailant. A murder that's bizarre even by New York City standards, it's the latest in a line of killings that the brothers soon suspect are based on the creepy stories of legendary writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Their investigation leads them to the center of one of Poe's horror classics, face-to-face with their most terrifying foe yet. And if Sam and Dean don't rewrite the ending of this chilling tale, a grisly serial killer will end their lives forevermore.

If this book was a Supernatural episode, I would give it a 'good' score, something like 7/10 because it has a pretty decent story and the characters are relatively in-character, but it's not hitting all the notes that would make it a great or exceptional Supernatural episode.

A great Supernatural episode for me would involve some hair-raising enemy/supernatural creature that would put our two main characters in (constant) jeopardy, lots of tension and great lines, and sinister plots.

Both the plot lines introduced in this book are too easy for Dean and Sam, the female ghost is pretty unthreatening and although the serial killer was kind of creepy and dangerous, he's really more a nutcase than anything.

Introducing the 'network of law enforcements' is interesting, especially when one of them was on both the boys' tail and you were kept wondering which side was the cop on.

The interaction between Sam and Dean was pretty good, probably the part of the book I enjoyed most, along with Dean's struggle with the secret that he's keeping from Sam. It's a book to read if you're missing a Supernatural episode, but not a must read.

Related links:
Keith R.A. DeCandido's website | Keith on LJ | Keith on Wiki

CSI:NY Deluge by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:14:51 GMT

Part of 50bookchallenge, book #14 (2007).

Days and nights of heavy spring rain threaten to cripple New York City. Neighborhoods are experiencing periodic blackouts. People have been reported electrocuted by fallen power lines. Flooding of some subway lines has stopped trains in their tracks. And in the midst of the deluge, the CSI team has three cases to solve.

Mac Taylor and Don Flack are on the trail of the prepetrator of a string of grisly murders with one thing in common: initials curved into the victims' bodies. When an unusual connection is found between the victims' lives, Mac realizes the killer isn't finished—not by a long shot.

Lindsay Monroe and Danny Messer investigate the death of a teacher at an exclusive Manhattan private school. The victim seems like everyone's favorite teacher on the surface—but they soon uncover a darker secret lurking beneath.

Stella Bonasera and Sheldon Hawkes are on-site at a suspicious building collapse when shifting rubble traps Hawkes in a deep pit with a mysterious stranger. Tensions rise as their oxygen starts to run out...

The intrepid members of New York's crack forensic team must race against time and the elements to bring three very different criminals to justice.

At one point, I thought it was going to take me forever to read this book. It wasn't the best time to be reading this book, to be honest. I was starting a new job and I can only read it on the tram to and from work, so most of the time I only managed to read a handful of pages before I started nodding off.

After reading Dead of Winter I realized that it was Kaminsky's style to write multiple storylines and sort of wrap them up neatly into the different cases. Sort of like he's trying to show how something innocuous can be significant in the greater scheme of things. This style is further emphasized in Deluge, which made me curious about the preceeding book, Blood In The Sun.

I'm not sure I can give this book a decent review because it took me so long to read it that I finished the book with a sense of relief that it was over. The story line didn't really compel me to find out what happens next, although I did roll my eyes a few times at the stupidity of one of the characters in the book.

Since the story is set not long after Flack's accident that happened in season 2 (the bomb that injured him) and on the TV, Flack pretty much got back to work looking none the worse, it was interesting to see how the injury actually affected Flack in this book. It wasn't much, but you can't help but think how hard it was for him and how significant that moment would have been for him.

I really quite enjoyed the various side stories in the book. They brought a lot of colours into the background story of life in New York city. This is an alright book, pity I was too tired to really get into it.

Related links:
Stuart Kaminsky's website