Let Me In...(side a Vampire's Mind)

Having come from a schmooze fest with the Jackass 3D stars...and booze, I was pretty thrilled to head to another free screening back in Berkeley (so I could walk straight home afterwards without taking too much time.) The screening started late - almost at midnight - which was perfect because I could then walk home in the dark, freaking myself out the whole time after a scary movie.

Talking to some people in line (I tend to do that a lot), I found two people who regularly get into a ton of fre screenings and they taught me some of their little tricks. They recommended several movies that I should see, including Easy A. We ended up discussing what we hoped this movie would give us, and we all agreed on one thing - we wanted to be scared, to jump from our seats (and hopefully, not be the only ones in the theater screaming).

The screaming part seemed like a hard task to fill because the screening came out so late that only about 10 people showed up, and we were the only two girls there. >.< It seemed as though we were doomed to fail.

Once I entered the cinema and sat down, I realized that it must have been a playhouse at some point because there was a stage, a balcony, and seats that leaned back. Also, the entire room had an Egyptian theme, which led to my next conversation with the man sitting next to me. A tremendous history buff, he spouted dates and told me of their significance. We also played the time-travel game - when and where, as long as it wasn't within the last 500 years. Soon we were cut off from talking as the movie started.

Let Me In is a movie about the relationship between a 12-year old boy and a 12-year-looking girl vampire. What is the current obsession with vampires? I've been constantly inundated with movies and tv shows after Twilight became popular i.e. True Blood, Vampire Diaries, Vampires Suck. There are probably more, but that's all I can remember immediately.

It has all the makings of an awesome scary movie: creepy music, random deaths, voyeuristic peeping...but it just never lives up to its potential. Honestly the music was the scariest part of the movie. Several times it would be in the background slowly haunting its way into the forefront where, expectedly, someone/thing would jump out and kill. Unfortunately, that only happened twice...both in plain view of the audience. There was never any hand reaching out and grabbing the shoulder, or the sudden twist of the camera to show that it had been jumped upon.

pic courtesy of fearnet.com

Instead of creepiness and gore, I got hugging >.>

If, however, you disregard it's classification as a scary movie and its creepy buildup of haunting music, it's a not a bad movie with a decent plot line. There are some poignant parts to this movie, especially where Owen realized that his bully was bullying him the same way he was being bullied by his older brother. Unfortunately, Owen was unable to step out of the bullying cycle because once he stood up to his bully, the bully's older brother stepped in and took over the bullying.

Three-fourths of the way through the movie, I knew exactly what was going to happen to all the characters, which isn't good for a scary movie. Plus the entire time I wasn't scared! This movie was a huge disappointment, so I think I would have to give this movie a rating of D+/C- because the message of bullying and friendship was heartwarming but definitely NOT what I would have paid for to see this movie (luckily I didn't).

Jackass 3D's Reality

When I initially heard that Jackass was coming out with another sequel, I groaned. It's good for laughs, but it's really more of a reality show, not movie material. And then I learned it was coming out in 3D.

3D is a fad that's resurged over the years, first in the 50s, then the 80s, and again now. Understandably, it's a concept that can allow the audience to immerse themselves into the movie, but previously movies with and without 3D haven't had much of a difference.

A while ago, I had the chance to watch Step Up 3D, which was a decent movie. However, there was very little of the 3D idea taken advantage of. Other than title screens displaying the name of the new dance battle they were participating in, and a couple extra large in-your-face shots, the only 3D thing that really came through were trees. Yes, you could 'see' the trees moving closer to you. The trees. *sigh*

So when I heard about Jackass 3D, I thought they could actually do something with the 3D and play around with it. In my opinion, it would either be the bomb...or bomb it.

I managed to score free screening tickets, unfortunately when I went, I discovered (along with everyone else waiting in line) that the screening was only 7 minutes long. 7 minutes?!? That's barely double the length of the trailer. No one was happy with that, and in fact were actually complaining. That is - until they announced that there would be an afterparty with one free drink per person (over 21), then there were fewer complaints. To me, the waste of several hours to travel to and from, and wait in line was worth more than one beer, but I had already waited in line and it was almost the screening time, so I stayed.

Just before the screening started, Johnny Knoxville jumped on the stage and relayed (to a super excited crowd) that he would be at the afterparty. That little fact pumped everyone up again and people were less unhappy with the 7 minute screening.

Me with Johnny Knoxville - super exciting

I was definitely correct about 3D making Jackass a better movie. Many of their stunts allowed for the audience to get more involved, which is what 3D was made for. For me, Jackass is a movie that I would want to watch in 3D, however since 3D is also more expensive, I don't think I would pay to watch it. So unless I can score free screening tickets to the REAL movie in 3D...I think I'll pass.

Double-Rainbow: Psychic or Skeptic?

Castle S03E02 He's Dead, She's Dead

Every cop show, even the comedic ones, eventually deal with the topic of psychics; Castle did an excellent job of balancing the two sides of skeptic and believer the entire episode. Though the expected line of 'she (the psychic) didn't see that coming' was said (it had to be), in fact the running debate was whether she actually HAD seen it coming because a letter to the police detailing things from the murder appeared.

The very first shot of the episode showed a view 90 degrees above a girl entering a door. At the time, I thought it was just a cool opening to the show, but now I realize they were setting up the idea of the mother's POV looking down from above.

The sound mixer usually does a fantastic job with Castle, knowing exactly when to start playing more light-hearted music to signify a humorous jest, and when to cut out the music to emphasize the idea of 'crickets chirping' from the inanity of a comment (usually Castle or Ryan). This episode made one large glaring error. When the daughter called her mother's cell-phone and quickly turned around because she heard something, the muffled ringing isn't heard until she already reached the couch. While it was pretty obvious to me that in context the ringing is the reason she turned around, the background music completely overwhelmed the sound.

The fascinating thing about Castle is that the writers keep the show current by including things from popular culture. As soon as I heard Martha (Castle's mother) say she needed to decide whether she was 'in or out' I was immediately reminded of Project Runway (probably because Heidi's phrasing of 'in or out' has been a subject of joking by the designers for several seasons running). Not only that, but they brought in the 'double rainbow' phrase as something as unbelievable as unicorns and fairies - from the viral video of some guy going crazy over seeing (and filming) double rainbows.

I also liked the daughter's weird pieces of advice to Beckett. The moment she told Beckett about an important Alexander who might save her life, I knew that Alexander would be Castle - the writers wouldn't write in another character prophesied to get together with Beckett. At the same time, I was wondering whether it was foreshadowing of more danger or whether it was just rehashing the past because in the previous season Beckett was saved by Castle's call.

Although I'm a very rational and logical person the majority of the time, I'm willing to admit that psychics possibly exist, simply because of a very weird experience I had when I was younger. The episode captured my indecision about psychics perfectly - confronted with 'proof' of a psychic, Beckett was able to rationally explain them away as coincidences (and for the most part she wasn't stretching for ideas). I love that the ending scenes with Castle and Beckett kept up the mystery of the psychic.

Great mother-son interaction was explored this episode because of Chet's proposal to Martha, and later his death, which caught me completely off-guard (good thing I don't like reading spoilers). A very touching scene occurred when Castle reminded his mother that by putting off her decision about marriage, she gave Chet an extra day of hope allowing him to die in peace. The most heartwarming scene, however, is when Martha tells Castle that she raised a good man, despite her many mistakes; it reminds me that I not only watch this show for comedic value and entertainment, but also for the feelings it can inspire.

Now and Zen; together again

I had been looking forward to Sunday for several weeks. Alice 97.3 (the radio station in SF) hosts a free concert twice a year - once at the beginning at summer and once at the end  (though I didn't know about the early summer ones). The lineup, in order, for Now and Zen 2010 was Ryan Star, Five for Fighting, Natasha Bedingfield, Plain White T's, and Sara Bareilles.

I've noticed that as the show goes on, more and more people become interested in the artists, until the ending act has almost everyone involved. It's really interesting to see.

In any case, I woke up a bit late and just barely managed to make the bus to SF. I was doing a quick jog  from my apartment until I could see that the bus was sitting at the bus stop (it takes about a 5-10 minute break at that particular stop), but when I slowed down to take a breather I heard - to my horror - the engine start. Breaking into a run, I climbed aboard the bus and a fellow passenger gave me a high-five and said 'You made it!.' I guess he had noticed me jogging/running for awhile.

While I was supposed to go with some Berkeley friends and meet up with Fremont and Oakland friends at the concert, my Berkeley friends still hadn't awoken by the time I left. Since I had a bit more freedom with my time because no one was rushing me to do anything besides myself, I decided to go to the farmer's market at the Civic Center BART to grab some snacks for the concert.

That station is about half-way between where I was and where I wanted to be, so I decided that I would walk along Market until I saw and could hop on the MUNI (bus). Not knowing the buses that well, I thought I would ask the 5 driver whether he passed by the Civic Center BART. He said 'No' when I was at Powell BART, so I kept walking. Oddly enough, I was walking just as fast as he was driving the bus...and he lied to me! I saw the bus at the corner of Market and 8th! In any case, I made it to the concert 15 minutes late.

My Oakland friends (and their friends) were in line for the McDonalds bathroom when I got there, so I decided to stick with them - and wash my fruit too. They had been waiting for the restroom for half-an-hour! By the time we made it into the park, Five for Fighting was just finishing up their set. In the half-hour we missed, two groups had come and gone - really short sets.

The friends of my friends really aren't concert-goers. They wanted to set up 'camp' at the very end of the park, where nothing could be seen, just heard. My friends and I, however, were adamant that we not be stuck at the back the entire time. You can't tell people that you've seen singers in concert, when you can't see them!
So we set out to find good seats, luckily we managed to snag some awesome seats because a group was just leaving to meet up with other people.

It was really good timing - two people were right behind us, asking if we needed all that space, so it's a good thing I also brought two picnic blankets to cover the area. Then, those friends of friends didn't stand up when artists came on (even when a lot of people in front were standing, so they couldn't see a thing). The only good thing about that was that they watched our things when we went closer to the stage; they didn't want to come because they were scared of people possibly pushing/shoving them (it's not a rock/metal show, there's no mosh pit). Also they decided to leave about 20 minutes before the concert ended, to 'beat the rush of the crowd.' *sighh*

The concert was awesome - what I saw of it anyways. Having never heard of Ryan Star before the promotion for this concert, I didn't care if I missed him - and I did. Though I'm disappointed that I missed most of Five for Fighting, at least I heard their Superman song. Natasha Bedingfield was good and had really awesome vocals live, but the crowd wasn't super into her. I've heard her new single Strip Me before, but it's wayyy catchier when she keeps repeating that la-la-la part live.

Plain White T's were sooo good and apparently this was their first concert in 2010! They were busy writing songs for their new album and premiered some of their songs today. After they sang '1,2,3,4', I predicted that they would end their set with 'Hey There, Delilah' and I was right. By then, people were much more into the concert, and a lot more people sang along.

Then Sara Bareilles came on and she was amazing, which I didn't really expect her to be. Since she's more of a slow song-person, I expected her to not do much (like Colbie Caillat last year who kinda bombed in my opinion). I was wrong. Her vocal chops are ridiculous, like Natasha, and it probably helped that she was either drunk/high because she kept swearing and saying things like 'I'm drinking straight vodka.' The crowd totally loved her, and in one part of 'Love Song' she had the crowd sing and it was LOUD!

I met up with my Fremont friends after the concert ended; they managed to arrive just as Sara Bareilles started her set. Since the weather was a rare sunny day, we decided to hang out in SF for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, my Oakland friends had to leave to meet up with their other friends who skipped out early >.<. I'm lucky I managed to meet up with them though, I hadn't seen them in several months because they're always busy with family events.

. At first our game plan was to hang out at the Piers, watch the bridge light up when it gets dark, then walk to Japantown to eat dinner, then go home...but that all changed. Though we went to the Piers just near Embarcadero BART, and hung around as the sky was darkening, we got really hungry about 7-ish and couldn't wait for the bridge to light up. After consulting the map, my Fremont friends weren't willing to walk the 2 miles to Japantown just for food, especially since the restaurants probably closed early, so we headed over to Chinatown instead.

People on the corners in Chinatown kept trying to get us to go into their restaurants, but I realized that if those restaurants had enough money to pay people to direct customers to go in, their food was probably expensive. We managed to find a little hole in the wall restaurant (those are almost always the best) that apparently won some food award in a SF magazine. The dishes were decent tasting, piled high, and cheap.

Afterwards, we headed down to Union Square to just chill and talk for awhile. I lost track of time while we did all these things, but we started heading home at about 11. I unfortunately missed the bus by 1- minutes, so I ended up arriving home about 12:30. A very tiring, but fun day.

Pics to come when I get them from my friends.

The Whole Truth

The Whole Truth S01E01 Pilot

Another new tv show is out - The Whole Truth, starring Rob Morrow and Maura Tierney. Honestly, I wasn't super interested in the premise of the show because I remember Justice, a tv show from a few years back that was amazing - and got cancelled. And surprise, surprise, it's the same producer as well (Jerry Bruckheimer), who also produces the CSI series.

I only really wanted to check out this show because Rob Morrow is a star, and one of my all-time favorite shows is Numb3rs (I can't believe it got canceled >.< but at least it ended with all the plot-lines tied up.)

Since the show depends on showing both sides of the case as well as the reality, the director made some good choices repeating specific key scenes to show continuity and to get the idea that it's happening at the exact same time as what we saw earlier. Other scenes don't have the authenticity I've come to expect, such as the conversation at the gun range. The whole idea is to use the headphones to block the sound of the guns firing (which are a lot louder than your voice can reach) and yet they can shoot the guns and talk to each other at a normal volume?

The idea of the show is compelling, but I think this is one show I'll pass on. The ratings support my case - it got a measly 1.5 (data from tvbythenumbers.com). I think Rob Morrow is going to need to find a new show, fast.

Squints back in Action

Bones S06E01 The Mastodon in the Room

Bones is back. At the end of the last season, it seemed as though they had given a kiss-off to the show. All the characters had left for other things - Brennan and Daisy to Maluku, Booth to Afghanistan, Angela and Hodgins to Paris.

Cam is about to lose her job, so Caroline calls everyone up via satellite phone (why does Booth carry it on him?!?) and mobilizes everyone to come back to D.C. to save Cam. In the 'seven months' they've been gone, the Jeffersonian has shut down the forensics program, downsizing them to work in a basement level laboratory. All the 'squinterns' are gone, moving off to other things fitting their personalities - like Vincent Nigel-Murray winning a million dollars in Jeopardy. I wish that he had stayed instead of Wendall >.<

Daisy and Sweets' relationship is in trouble because she chose her career over their love together and he's not willing to take that chance again. I really dislike Booth's advice to Sweets to just 'move on' like he did, and I'm hoping that this break from their relationship gives him more time to mature. He's definitely changed from the previous seasons, and it's refreshing to see a grown-up version, rather than the childlike demeanor he's had.I'm surprised they gave Brennan bangs, it doesn't seem to fit her no-nonsense personality, but it does make her prettier.

Booth is in another relationship with a hot, blonde woman, a war correspondent he arrested in Afghanistan. I'm annoyed that Booth is the one who claimed to love Brennan and was willing to try a relationship, and yet he's the one managing to just pick up and move on to the next relationship, always referring to them as serious.

Angela is pregnant! I'm super surprised, and happy that the writers chose this route to keep them in D.C. and not Paris. She would make a fantastic mom (even if she does like talking about sex...a lot). The scene where Hodgins finds out he's about to be a father is the cutest scene ever and very believable.

I like that they used the Mastodon at the end as a parallel to Brennan and Booth's elephant in the room. I really hope the writers don't destroy the relationship we love, because Booth is definitely giving Brennan the cold shoulder.

The crime portion wasn't too focused upon this episode, but I think it was smart of the writers because the relationships between the characters really needed to be highlighted and lots of plotholes to cover. However, I really think that this episode needed to be a 2-hour premiere. I really hope Bones keeps doing well, it's one of my favorite shows.

Avant-Garde and a $20k reward

Project Runway S08E09 Race to the Finish

The boys have all been moved together, and Andy, who lives with Michael C, said 'It's nice to have people you can trust.' O.o Bitchiness is starting early.

Their challenge this week is to design a high-fashion look for a L'oreal Paris ad, i.e. avant-garde. The designers need to incorporate an eyeshadow combination. The winner gets to go home with $20,000 just for this challenge. OMG. They've never had a cash reward for winning a challenge before.

Mondo and Ivy chose 'Bright', Andy and Michael C chose 'Metallic', Valerie and Chris chose 'Crystal', April chose 'Matte', and Gretchen chose 'Velvet'. They're given $300 and 2 days to complete the challenge.

Drama between Gretchen and Michael C. - again. They chose the same color, a purple-pink. Michael C's dress is looking pretty pagenty in the workroom. Poor Mondo needs to restart after spending 12 hours on his bodice because his model is smaller than his form.

Uh oh - twist again. They need to make a second ready-to-wear look, and they don't get any extra time. Valerie is stressed out; she doesn't even like what she's made and had a mini breakdown.

The Final Looks

April used black - again. I like the avant garde look, especially the fur thing. The ready to wear look doesn't work for me, the jacket is just weird.

Mondo made something pretty awesome, I love the back and the hair. I like the ready to wear look, but it doesn't follow the color scheme of bright >.<

pic from mylifetime.com

Ivy's avant-garde look is pretty hideous, the weird strips of organza reminds me of another look of hers that she got in trouble for (think way back to the beginning of the show when they needed to make clothes out of someone else's). Her ready to wear look is really pretty.

Michael C's avant-garde look is very pagenty, just with a super long train. His ready to wear look is pretty nice...but I don't like those weird side-hip things.

Chris's avant-garde look is good, except for the bottom half of the white, which makes her kind of look like a cake. His ready to wear is quite nice, except it's in white polyester looking fabric.

Gretchen's avant-garde look is way too hippie looking, which isn't avant garde at all. Her ready to wear isn't bad, but I hate that front panel which is doing weird things.

Valerie's avant-garde look reminds me of a wedding dress and is pretty nice. Her ready to wear look is weird because it's in black.

Andy's avant-garde look is definitely over the top, and very him - a warrior princess in metallic cloths, but I didn't like it. His ready to wear is awesome though. I love that the metallic sheen shows a hint of a jacket, without there actually being one.

pic from mylifetime.com

The judges liked Gretchen's avant-garde >.> of course. Heidi agreed with me on Andy's looks, but the other judges loved the avant-garde as well. The judges think Mondo's avant-garde look is a bit short and the fabric a bit cheap-looking >.< which means he probably hasn't won.

Lol, the judges thought that Ivy, Valerie, and Michael C. all had problems with the bridesmaid/pagenty feel. They pretty much agreed with me on my comments. Heidi didn't hate Ivy's ready-to-wear as much as everyone else.

OMG MONDO WON?!? That's amazing, considering that I thought the judges were leaning towards Andy. After having won $20k and a spread in Elle, he's walking away a winner no matter what happens now. YAY Ivy's out, I didn't think she deserved to be here anymore - she's a good seamstress, but not that good of a designer.

A Treat of Aida

Last night, I headed to SF for a live simulcast of Aida in AT&T park. I hadn't looked at the map before heading out because I thought I knew where the stadium was - and I did, but it was a lot closer in my head. My confusion stemmed from having passed a street sign several times before that said AT&T Park with an arrow, leading me to believe it was close. I ended up walking an extra mile because of the twisty turns of the streets, and the fact that I was following the driving directions.

I started at the bus terminal (circled in pink), walked to point A to get some bottled juice, and then took the route in blue to get to point B (AT&T Park). I could have simply taken the route in green and shaved off a lot of time.

Luckily, the walk to and from the stadium was nice and I got a couple of nice shots. I followed the Embarcadero along the water and got gorgeous views of the sunset and the bridge at night.

I had brought all my things ready sit in the field, but I got there too late and the field reached capacity quite a ways before I managed to step inside >.< Surprisingly, there were very few restrictions on food and drink, so I brought along both and made my stomach happy.

The stadium was crazily packed. The announcers estimated 32,000 people showed up, with an extra 3,000 at the War Memorial Opera House. The lines to get in were ridiculous. I was sitting behind a group of people who seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about opera, so I got to hear some tidbits. I would have talked to them, like I did to the people waiting in line with me, but I felt I had nothing to offer them - no pearls of opera wisdom of my own.

The full scope of the line doesn't come through here. I was by myself, so I didn't want to step out of the line just to get a picture, and lose my spot.

This picture was taken after the opera ended, and lots of people had already left.

Aida was magnificent, and at the end I was so moved, I was holding back a few tears. Surprisingly, I was able to make out some of the Italian (from my Latin knowledge). Mostly, the words were so twisted from the singing it was difficult to tell.

After the opera let out, I rushed over to the bus terminal, and made it with a couple minutes to spare - good thing I didn't hang around too much. It was a great experience, though I did manage to lose my earphones >.<

Getting some Action ^.~

Undercovers S01E01 Pilot

Undercovers is a brand new tv show created by tv show master J.J. Abrams. He also directed this pilot episode, which was done brilliantly, and may have just created a new show for me to fall in love with. The plot is about a husband and wife catering team (also ex-CIA agents) who have been pulled from retirement to help with the not-so-legal jobs of the CIA.

Abrams touch is easily noted, with his love of the moving camera in almost every shot. Rarely does he have just a still shot of something...instead he pans around and shows the whole scope of the place, which being an action show full of spies and intrigue, there's plenty of wide-open shots that require these shots to get the full effect.

He delivers the rushing of the spies with lots of cut scenes and montages in order to get the frenzied feeling across - and it definitely works. I love the close-ups he does on some important items, such as the toy robot usb because its importance is portrayed, without knowing why at first. Luckily he doesn't drag out the suspense of it to the point that we don't remember the scene.

The humor in this show was well-written and several stick out in my mind. One is when Steven (the husband) tells the CIA agent that he'll help out but his wife must never be told, but then the door fully opens to show Samantha (the wife) standing there. Another is when they are about to jump off the plane and Sam tells Steven that she used to date the agent they're trying to locate and then jumps off. Then Steven turns to Hoyt (their liaison) and yells 'This is NOT the end of the conversation.'

In my opinion, this was a very successful pilot and I've been hooked. I can't wait for next week.

An Unwilling Participant Changes the Rules

Criminal Minds S06E01 The Longest Night

My lovely Shemar Moore is back in a prominent role as Derek Morgan for the 6th season. The last season left off with Derek getting hurt in the process of trying to save a cop's little girl, and the cop dying.

Spencer Reid's hair on this show has had many different looks, but I don't really like this newest one. It looks as though he allowed it to grow crazily and messily...it actually kind of reminds me of The Mentalist's hair LOL.

Some really cool scenes were the memory scenes of the Prince of Darkness, in which his mother and him are dancing around in a circle. It had several layers of opacity fading in and out, with a yellow tint, and the director wisely used it several times, and also showed how it was just in his dreams, not reality. 

Also some really good choices were made to enhance the horror the little girl felt by being with the killer. The sound fading out when she accidentally gets the father killed, and the slow motion wiping of the spit off her cheek. Smart editing.

I'm really sad that the producers have cut the female leads...hello, that'll make it a boys only club GRR. As if to make up for the fact that AJ Cook, who plays JJ, has been cut from the cast, she gets a prominent role in this week's episode. Unfortunately I think it placed a bit TOO much focus on her - a good several minutes is spent just focusing on her phone call frustrations and her talking to the unsub over the radio. It kind of ruins the flow of the show, which I'm guessing is because the writers needed to work in more screen time for her before her cut and weren't prepared.

In any case, I don't understand why they cut AJ and reduced Brewster's episodes, while keeping Mantegna and making a spinoff of CM *sigh.* At least Vangsness is still in the show full-time.

Makeover Pranks

America's Next Top Model S15E03 Patricia Field

When the girls found out that they were having makeovers, some of them decided to play a prank on the others by making up a pretend 'makeover list.' Of course there was some drama when they got their hair done, especially since some thought they were getting something completely different.

While some got super shocking makeovers and rocked it, like Kayla - who got fiery red hair and possibly lost a girlfriend, others started crying when they got shorter haircuts (hello...you already have short hair...) like Terra and Liz. The twist this time was that a girl got sent home immediately. Poor Terra and Chris - they got split up. At the same time, it was obvious that Terra wasn't that strong.

The photo shoot challenge is to be a 'fallen angel' and they have to work it in harnesses in the air. From other seasons, all the whining about the harness hurting has all been heard before, every season the girls are told to suck it up and not let it be heard/seen...and yet some of them STILL complain...why?!?

                                pic courtesy of the cw

Final Pictures

Liz - nice shot, cool with the wind in the feathers
Chelsea - hmm...okay-ish
Esther - no...just weird
Jane - cool body shot but not good in the face
Kacey - not twisted enough
Lexie - not enough feeling
Sara - not seductive enough, weird, awkward
Chris - pretty in the face, but not in the body
Rhianna - awesome
Kendal - flat
Kayla - so cool, love the hand under chin
Ann - wow, but weird in the mouth

                                pic courtesy of the cw

Tyra's pissed off that the girls didn't step up to the plate and super weak this week...and she lets them know it. Ann got best picture again, with Kayla as the runner-up. Although I think it should have been the other way around, I think it was chosen that way because Ann's picture puts the focus completely upon her - that's the photographer's handling though. It finally came down to Lexie and Sara as the bottom two. I knew that Sara was going home though - she's been weak since the beginning.

Hands All Over

Maroon 5's new album, Hands All Over, was released yesterday. Adam Levine's voice is very distinctive, so when I first heard his new single Misery on the radio, I immediately knew it was a Maroon 5 song. The only problem is that several of his songs tend to sound very similar.

For a song of confusion and ending relationships (I wrote 200 letters I'll never send...why won't you answer me/the silence is slowly killing me), Misery is oddly very catchy and upbeat. Give a Little More is not so classically Maroon 5 - the ending portion (I have no defense/I know you're gonna get me in the end) is a good change from the fast tempo.

I like the way Stutter changes the chords around, but I really don't understand singers' fascination with stuttering - there's been at least 3 songs about it recently. Don't Know Nothing and I Can't Lie kind of remind me of oldies songs - Motownish, but I really enjoyed it.

Several of the other songs are slow songs, which isn't very Maroon 5, but they're not bad. Of these songs, Just a Feeling and No Curtain Call are ones that I really liked. The rest of the songs are just okay...nothing really special about them.

Re-connecting

Castle S03E01 A Deadly Affair

I was super excited for the season 3 premiere of Castle that premiered yesterday because I loved the past couple seasons full of mystery, intrigue, and comedy - and it fulfilled my every expectation.

The show definitely began with a bang, literally. The opening scenes were ones of chaos, running, and Beckett and Castle pointing their guns and shooting - at each other. The comedic elements were really well done, as always. However, I didn't enjoy the parallels to Castle's 'home life' as much this time around.

Usually the show relies on using the characters of Castle's daughter and/or mother to help him understand how he has blundered in his relationship with Beckett. This time it felt as though the point the writers were trying to make was too blatantly obvious.

Other than that small point, the plot line really captured my attention, as Castle frequently appeared in the right place at the wrong time. I adore this show and can't wait until next week's episode.

Walking around SF town

Normally after walking a lot, my legs twitch in the morning from over-usage. On Sunday morning, however, my legs felt great and my feet weren't sore. So I decided, why not punish them some more XD. I planned on going to another fun event - Comedy Day at Golden Gate Park.

Getting ready to leave was quite a hassle; I kept remembering things I needed/wanted to bring. Having forgotten the sunblock yesterday (and looking at a very prominent tan line), I grabbed some sunscreen, as well as a water bottle, a picnic tablecloth, phone/radio earphones, a camera, and my wallet.

Once I was all prepared, I started heading towards the bus stop...only to realize that I only had about 5 minutes to get there. The Berkeley buses usually run a bit late, so it's not a big deal to get to the stop exactly on time. However, the F bus (which goes across the bay bridge to SF) leaves on time, and sometimes even a bit early. Unfortunately as I was jogging to the bus stop, I could tell that it had already left.

Since the bus runs every half-hour, my choices were to sit down at the stop and read a book, or to walk part-way and catch the bus further down the route. When in doubt, I almost always choose the route of exercise - partly because I don't figure in the time to go work-out. In any case I managed to walk over 2 miles - almost to my friends' house - by the time the next bus came.

After arriving in SF, I walked from the bus terminal all the way to the park, passing several 'shady' parts of town. A good 4 miles walk, it took me about an hour and 10 minutes. Maybe I looked a lot tougher than I felt, but nothing happened, although I did receive several 'who does this girl think she is walking alone' looks. Half the time I was frightened that I would get mugged. However, I put on a brave face, didn't completely make eye contact, kept my camera out of sight and power-walked. 

Once I finally arrived in the park, I was half-surprised to notice that not that many people had shown up. The weather was a horrible mist of doom and gloom and at times was more sprinkling than mist, but the comics completely made up for it. The 1st half of comedians weren't that funny, and indeed tended to get just a spattering of laughter - more silence than anything else.

The 2nd half were pretty much all great. Johnny Steele, a host for part of the show, had some amazing practical jokes, like walking into a fast food restaurant and ordering something weird to see them turn around and look. Many people started leaving when the rain started falling more, but I'm happy I stayed because Robin Williams was there. ROBIN WILLIAMS!! It was an amazing show and I'm glad that I went, even though people didn't come with me.

Afterwards I headed over to my friends' house (the same one I almost managed to walk to) because they decided to hold a bar-b-que. Luckily they live along the F bus route that goes to SF, so I easily made it to their place (though I had to sprint to catch the bus and made it with a minute to spare). Predictably, the weather cleared up as I boarded the bus - just in time for me to miss the sunshine. Compare the weather as I was outside to when I was inside the bus.

One of my friends is vegetarian, so it was a vegetarian BBQ with tofu, mushrooms, corn, and veggie burgers. Chips, beer, margaritas, and ice cream sandwiches completed the feast - a fun night overall. Unfortunately it was a Sunday night, so the party broke up relatively early - people still needed to get their homework finished, and get over their sicknesses. Hopefully they didn't pass along the germs, but since I just got over being sick last week, I think I'm relatively safe.

Fest Quest

Health professionals recommend walking at least 10k steps a day for good health, and I normally manage to hit around there per day (7000-9000). However, I've been lazy and taking the bus for the last several days, so my average fell from about 8k daily to 5k this week. So today I had a little walk-fest to make up for the rest of the week.

SF hosted two festivals today 9/18: J-Pop Summit Festival in Japantown and the Autumn Moon Festival in Chinatown. So I walked from the transbay terminal (point A) to Chinatown (point B) to Japantown (circled in red) back to Chinatown and then finally back to the terminal - a total of about 7 miles, which according to my pedometer (sorta) is about 22k steps. O.o My feet don't feel like I've done that much walking, but I guess I did sit down and rest quite a bit.

Since I couldn't catch the earlier bus (it only comes every half-hour), I ended up missing the beginning of both festivals; they both went from 11 am to 6 pm >.< So I went to Chinatown just in time to see the ending of the lion dance (from far away), but wasn't able to get any pictures.

Luckily I was able to see the dragon dance, even if it was performed by middle-school kids so it wasn't super professional or anything. It was actually quite funny to see how they kept stepping on each other. Like many other festivals, there were balloon artists - but they did awesome animals, not just the normal dog/butterfly. I saw a hello kitty balloon, and the guy was twisting some complicated asian monkey when I was passing by, at that point I swear it had 20 different little twist bubbles - though it doesn't really come out in the picture.

After hanging around for about a half-hour, I realized that it was really very similar to the Oakland Autumn Moon Festival I went to a couple weeks ago - a whole bunch of booths selling mooncakes (duh), lots of 'dvds/cds' for sale, tv stations, banks, a food...lots of it. So I decided to hop it and head over to Japantown because I had never been to a J-pop festival-like thing.

On the way to Japantown, I walked up several SUPER-CRAZY streets, and at one point I was panting when I reached the top of the street. The sign said park at 90 degrees, and there was a little picture too. Literally I was looking down and able to see the bay - pretty amazing. Also on the way, I passed several gothic-looking buildings that looked as though they were those old Gaelic medival castles. Of course, they were churches.

Japantown wasn't as crowded as Chinatown was (thankfully), but there were still a good 1000 people there. I headed to the concert area first and checked it out. The first band I saw was SOU, but they weren't that good. Only one person was into them, while a whole crowd of people were just sitting there - not a good start to my J-pop experience.

By then I was getting a little thirsty, it was pretty hot out and I also forgot my sunblock >.< So I went and got a nice boba milk tea, very refreshing. I checked out the food stands too, and they had some pretty cool asian fusion stuff - like seaweed on hotdogs.

Although the hotdogs sounded interesting, I wasn't willing to shell out the money, so I hung around and did other stuff, like check out the stores selling cosplay outfits and an art gallery, which was all red and cool. I found a cute little stand that sold hats, hairbands, headbands, jewelery...pretty much all the accessories a girl could wish for. I found an awesome hairband which worked really well with my hair and complexion, but it cost $15. If I wore that kind of stuff more frequently I might have bought it, but I know I'd just stick it down somewhere and almost never wear it...so I let it go.

Yes, I'm squinting it that picture (it was really bright!) After that, there was an anime cosplay contest! Unfortunately, this being America, the cosplayers here aren't that good...so I didn't really take that many pictures. The winner of the contest got 'big prizes' which turned out to be more cosplaying clothes LOL. There was only one guy who I thought was worthy of being called cosplayer...but he didn't win! (He did get the most requests for pictures though).

Then an AWESOME band came on called Jinny Oops! Apparently they're pretty well-known because they got everyone pumped up, and had tons of people crowded around the stage yelling that they loved them. I got right up next to the stage - and managed to hurt one of my ears >.< but in exchange I got some awesome pics and video clips of them. I also managed to run out of camera batteries because of them, but I ended up using my camera phone for the rest of the pictures.

There was also a graffiti artist spray painting a huge mural for the entire 6 hours of the festival, and during that time people could make a silent bid on it for charity. It was pretty crazy because each time I walked by it looked really different, and had added complexity. I'm surprised he could work on it the full time in the heat!

Then there was a harajuku fashion show, with the fashion (and some girls) coming straight from Japan! It was way to neon-y bright for me. Bright pinks and greens dominated the show, with several yellows there too. Ughh...yes it's supposed to be all bright and punky and cute, but still...neon?!? Those are the colors I hate the most!

There wasn't really much else to do after that - unless I wanted to watch an air guitar competition >.> count me out. So, I decided I should get back to Chinatown and grab a roast duck. When I got there, I called a friend to get the name of a famous Chinatown bakery from them. To my surprise, they were in Chinatown when I called, but not for the festival, which cracked me up. They meant to go, but set out too late...so they were going to go to Fisherman's Wharf.

We went to Golden Gate Bakery, and got their famous egg tarts - even though it took 45 minutes of waiting time, during which I practiced my Cantonese with a fellow line-waiter, someone who reminded me of my mom. We almost didn't even get egg-tarts because they were out, but we were lucky and got the last batch - after much arguing from other customers. Wanting to enjoy our treat, we went to a milk-tea shop and grabbed a couple drinks. I got matcha green tea icey with red beans...yummy.

The egg tarts really were as good as the rave reviews. A fluffy crust and perfectly cooked custard. It was interesting to look at the texture of it and see it jiggle more than normal. YUMMM. Unfortunately, by then it was too late to grab any roast duck and most of the places were closed. I decided to ask for a recommendation for a good roast duck place from the tea shop people. They gave it to me, and also advised me to come at 8 or 9 in the morning to get good ones. >.> No way I'm coming out that early just for duck...thanks, but no thanks...I'll just get it from them later, LOL.

I had just enough time to get walk back to the bus terminal, and caught the bus with a couple minutes to spare. The F bus, which crosses the bridge to SF only runs hourly at night, so I was super lucky for that to happen. I was power-walking by the end of it because I was hoping that I wouldn't just miss the bus - not that I knew what time it left.

I was hoping to get this post out on the 18th, but I've missed that mark by 8 minutes *sigh*

ANTM's back...Cycle 15 O.o

America's Next Top Model S15E01 Welcome to High Fashion
America's Next Top Model S15E02 Diane Von Furstenberg

Can't believe that it's back...how is it still going?? But it's my guilty pleasure, so... >.> Love the drama? Not really, it kinda wears me out...but I love seeing how the not pretty girls turn SUPER pretty in the right settings. Since not all that much happened in the first episode besides meeting the girls, I'm writing about both episodes 1 and 2.

The Girls

                                    pic courtesy of the CW

WOW, already have a favorite (Rhianna - the willow) her poses are awesome, and she seems super chill. I like Liz also, she's got a nice strong face, and she doesn't look like she'll pose mean - plus she seems very down-to-earth. Esther has CRAZY boobs...36 G?? Geez. Jane needs to stop playing (or being) the rich bitch. Kendal had the funniest intro: she doesn't like semen? LOL. Funniest quote too 'I just like to cuddle...something wrong with cuddling??' 

The sisters are too much...tone it down! But I think Chris is prettier right now...we'll see. Jordan is already annoying me, if she's so against consumerism, why does she want to be a model? And I hate her hair; it drives me nuts! When they showed a clip of her by the pool, it looked completely different (i.e. much better). Lexie's pretty, but we'll see how much I like her later.

6'2" Ann is freaking TALL AND SKINNY...like CRAZY SKINNY!! I don't mind her, but she's soo skinny it looks like she's kind of got an adam's apple, and her voice is deep too. Her description of the perfect man is reminding me of a video game character loll.

                                    pic courtesy of the CW

Of the girls they showed that went home, I really disliked Vanessa...she was so stuck-uppity. Emily took it really well, she sucked it up and said 'I'll be okay; I'm a big girl.'

Unsurprisingly, there are no plus-size girls this cycle...it's Italian Vogue and I.M.G. Models >.> Basically in Europe the models tend to be skinnier than normal and weirder looking, so there's no way Tyra is going to try to break that mold for plus-size models. She may be able to do it in America, but she can't change the opinions of the entire European market.

Drama

How do they manage to get drama in the very first episode?? *sigh* They've played up racism and girls not wanting to be there. 'If you can't handle the heat, get out the kitchen,' omg don't like >.> If you're gonna say something with emphasis...in my book at least say it correctly! In the second episode, we see Anamaria being crazy arrogant - and perhaps she's a bit anorexic? She doesn't seem super skinny when clothed, but when they come off, all I see are bones bones bones, no muscle/fat. But she thinks she needs to be leaner >.> No, girl, you need to put on some muscle!

Challenge

They're walking in the air in an actual Diane von Furstenburg show?? And doing their own hair and makeup?? WHAT?? I don't understand this sky runway walk >.> People can look up your skirt/dress...WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? Anamaria, why do you have to be so annoying arrogant? Rhianna what is that walk...*yawn*. Sara did really well.

The Shoot

Their shoot this week was about teen bullying and getting past it. A good theme (like all ANTM shoots, it's a good message to be promoting). Poor Kayla broke down about her word and how she had to change schools because of it - she's a lesbian - but she chose well for her power word (free). She's a winner in my book ^.^ Several of the girls had problems, and Terra even broke down from nerves...not a good start to the show.

                                    pic courtesy of the CW

Final Pictures

    Lexie - gorgeous, love the eyes and 

    Kacey - don't like the head tilt backwards

    Jane - don't like >.> can't really say why

    Kayla - soo pretty, love that the 'free' on her neck really stands out

    Liz - reminiscent of a rock and roll star, but not model-ly

    Esther - not good, awkward not in a good way

    Kendal - niice, but why the white eyes? better makeup pleaseee

    Sara - borinnnggg, too cookie cutter

    Terra - faded into the background

    Chris - good pose, but not in the eyes

    Chelsea - good, but kinda crazy

    Rhianna - didn't like...but I don't want her to go home

    Anamaria - yuck, but pretty face

    Ann - wow, pleasantly surprised, and she looks really pretty

                                     pic courtesy of the CW

  

So it came down to Terra and Anamaria. I pretty much guessed that Anamaria would go because of being too skinny. Tyra likes to send good messages through this show, and body image is a big part of that.