My shopping basket...

Yay my DVDs arrive on the mail today! It contains:

- Penelope: can't wait to watch James McAvoy in this chick flick. Plus, I adore fairy tales.
- Princess Diaries 2: I like all Princess Diaries series (not the books, but the movies)
- Spotlight 1-16 episodes: yay! I adore Son Ye Jin and this is her latest series. It also features Ji Jin Hee, whom I like in Dae Jang Geum :)

Red Cliff - the main characters

Posters for each main character in Red Cliff, along with a Chinese word to symbolize their character. (not in order)

Gan Ning, a warrior that belongs to Sun Quan's army. Brave and disciplined - he trains his soldiers well. The character on his poster symbolizes courage.


Xiao Qiao, the most beautiful woman in China, the object of affection of both Zhao Yu and Cao Cao. She weds Zhao Yu and loves him passionately, though. Lin Zhi Ling plays a graceful Xiao Qiao, elegant and graceful but also has a flirty side.


Lady Sun's brother, Sun Quan, who is intelligent but has been hiding in the shadows for too long. He is quiet but is actually a good leader.




Cao Cao. Cruel, full of ambitions, but also lacking good warriors that are trustworthy. He is in love with Lady Xiao Qiao - obsessing over war for the sake of this woman. Ken Watanabe was supposed to be cast for Cao Cao, but people protest for a Chinese cast.

One of my favorite characters, Lady Sun, portrayed by Zhao Wei. I wish her character is given more depth (such as participating more in war strategies and inputs). Lady Sun is an independent tomboyish sister of Sun Quan. She is to be wed to Liu Bei to strengthen ties between two allies.

I like it whenever she inserts humor to the movie. And my favorite part is when Zhu Ge Liang tells her, "You have exceptional talents but you hide them. You are unique, and unique people are most misunderstood."



Not supposed to be the main character, but since Tony Leung is playing Zhao Yu, it is a very outstanding main character. Fierce, smart and a music maniac who understands war strategies.


The character for Zhu Ge Liang symbolizes knowledge. He's supposedly calm, intelligent, and not the type to rush things. Takeshi Kaneshiro makes a great young Zhu Ge Liang, but sometimes his expression is innocent instead of knowledgeable.


Zhao Zi Long - the brave warrior that saved Liu Bei's wife Lady Gan and son (although in the movie, Lady Gan committed suicide to save her son. I think Hu Jun is a better fit for Zhao Yun than Andy Lau (no offense, I like Andy and all but I think Hu Jun's great as Zhao Yun).

Editing, editing

Change of scenery might do me good. I am now almost always sitting on the dining table with my laptop on, my printed unedited draft sitting on my right, my comfort food and water bottle on my left. Plus my earphones to plug off any noise that would disrupt my writing. Music on all the time, ranging from mild instrumental to pop, old rock and soundtracks.

Finished editing Sei's part, 2/3 of the novel. Now Ai's part to go.. the hardest of two :)

I wonder what I should write about..

Ai, yang perlu editing

Kamis malam, saya dapat telepon dari salah satu penerbit yang sudah diincar sejak tahun lalu. Akhir-akhir ini suka deg-degan kalau dapat telepon dari penerbit. Dan katanya, mereka sudah membaca (dan menyukai) naskah novel Ai yang saya kirim bulan lalu. Good news, right?

Tapi mereka ingin saya menambah lokalitas khas Indonesia ke novel tersebut.

I'm open to suggestions, editing and all.. walau saya personally menulis Ai karena ingin menonjolkan sisi Jepang yang jarang dieksplor di sini. Dan akhirnya, saya pun memutuskan untuk mengedit naskah tersebut.

Tapi masih bingung bagian mana aja yang harus diedit supaya lebih 'lokal'. Any suggestions?

Oh ya, bagi yang belum baca, Ai adalah novel kedua saya yang bercerita tentang dua orang sahabat - Ai dan Sei, dan menyentuh sisi-sisi seperti persahabatan, kematian, dan lain-lain. A little dark but not too gloomy.

Sekarang saya baru menambahkan beberapa chapter ekstra, juga mengedit beberapa bagian. Sisanya, saya masih stuck. Hope I'll unwind soon.

Koleksi buku..

Koleksi buku saya sudah memenuhi satu kamar. Di rak-rak khusus, buku-buku dijejerkan dalam barisan rapi sesuai nama pengarang, lalu dibariskan lagi di depannya, lalu di atasnya, dan sisanya ditumpuk di mana ada tempat yang memungkinkan. Tempat CD dikosongkan, kaset-kaset dan cakram lagu lama disisihkan ke dalam lemari supaya buku-buku bisa muat di sana. Lalu di balik radio, majalah, draft dan buku ditumpukkan seadanya.

Di kolong meja rias, sebuah kotak plastik raksasa memuat buku-buku dan ensiklopedia besar. Ketika sudah kepenuhan, buku-buku lain pun ditumpuk di atasnya. Juga di atas meja masih ada buku-buku yang belum terbaca. Komik ada di paling ujung, tumpah ruah entah bagaimana harus mengambil salah satunya.

Hmmmm. Dan masih saja saya terus membeli buku, mengoleksinya, menjualnya kembali untuk mendaur ulang uangnya untuk buku baru. I can't get enough of books.

Can I walk with you?

I woke up this morning you were the first thing on my mind
I don't know where it came from all I know is I need you in my life
You make me feel like I can be a better woman
If you just say you wanna take this friendship to another place

Chorus
Can I walk with you through your life
Can I lay with you as your wife
Can I be your friend till the end
Can I walk with you through your life

You've got me wondering if you know that I am wondering about you
The feeling is so strong that I can't imagine you're not feeling it too
You've known me long enough to trust that I want what's best for you
If you wanna be happy then I am the one that you should give your heart to

Chorus

Now everyday ain't gonna be, like the summer's day
Being in love for real it ain't like a movie screen
But I can tell you all the drama aside you and I can find what the worlds been
looking for forever friendship and love together

Chorus

Can I walk with you through your life till the day that the world stops turning
Can I walk with you till the day that my heart stops beating
Can I walk with you through your life
Can I walk with you till the end that the birds no longer take flight till the
moon is underwater
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you

This is the moment I've been waiting for
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you

You are everything I've been looking for
Can I walk with you
Creative intellectual
Can I walk with you
Can I walk with you as your wife

(K-drama) Summer Scent

Title: Summer Scent
Also Known As: Summer Aroma
Language: Korean
Subtitle: English
Genre: Romance, Drama
Episodes: 20
Broadcast Period: 2003-Jul-07 to 2003-Sept-09
Rating: 5/5

Casts:
Song Seung Hun as Yoo Min-woo
Son Yeh Jin as Shim Hye-won
Ryu Jin as Park Jung-jae
Han Ji Hye as Park Jung-ah
Shin Ae as So Eun-hye
Jo Eun Sook as Oh Jang-mi
Ahn Jung Hoon as Ji Dae-poong
Kim Hae Sook as Min-woo's mother

I recently finished watching Summer Scent (in just 3 days). It is a K-drama produced in 2003 but I haven't had a chance to buy the DVDs when they came out back then. I only bought it now because I wanted to see Son Ye Jin and Song Seung Hoon, who starred in Autumn in My Heart, a K-drama I rewatched last week.

Summer Scent is a slow-moving drama with beautiful views of the village. There are flower fields and bamboo trees everywhere, with good casts and strong plot. I especially like Son Ye Jin (after her stellar performance in A Moment to Remember, I continue to watch her movies such as April Snow and Open City, and dramas such as Alone in Love, Sunny and Jeanny, and Spotlight). I should say the first episode was so strong that it attracted me to watch till the end :) Son Ye Jin's character Shim Hae Won was lovable, although she seemed to change in personality as the story progressed. This also happened to Song Seung Hoon's character Lee Min Woo. However, after the first half of the series, everything started to slow down and the plot became more complicated. There were more tears and problems, although more solid, they did not always intensify the story.

The ending is magical, as the beginning. The soundtrack is exceptionally wonderful, with Bi Mil by Jung In Ho being my very favorite (the heartbeats playing at the beginning and the end fit the story well). The songs, the Serenade by Shubert, and Say Yes (played during happy times) also very well captured the scenes. I am downloading the whole OST for my MP3 collection now.

A K-drama worth watching, if you like both actor and actress, also if you feel like watching a sad but romantic love story filled with beautiful sceneries. Often the scenes drag and get slow, but don't worry there is always the fast forward button.

Rating: 7.5/10

OST Summer Scent

Track List

01. Main Title
02. Bi mil - Jung In Ho
03. Missing U - Seo Jin Young
04. Uh jjuh myun - Seo Jin Young
05. Yuh reum hyang gi - Jung In Ho
06. Serenade (guitar)
07. Second Romance - Seo Jin Young
08. Yuh reum hyang gi 2 (instrumental)
09. Doo bun jjae sarang - Seo Jin Young
10. Uh jjuh myun (piano)
11. Serenade - Yoo Mi Sook
12. Bi mil (piano)
13. Doo bun jjae sarang (instrumental)
14. Love - Seo Jin Young
15. Bi mil (instrumental)
16. Sarang han da myun - Jung In Ho and Seo Jin Young
17. Yuh woo bi (instrumental)
18. Love (instrumental)

I like all of them! :)

(series) Gossip Girl season 1

I am not a big fan of the book, I can't get through Cecily von Ziegesar's writing style, unfortunately. However, this show is one I can hardly wait for. Bought the DVDs at once and devoured it immediately.

All the characters come to live, exactly as I pictured them, especially Blair (by the beautiful Leighton Meester who successfully adopts Blair's selfishness and bitchiness perfectly, even her insecurities), Chuck, and Dan. At first I wasn't too fond of Serena (Blake Lively is great in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but I never considered her as Serena), Jenny (Taylor Momsen is too skinny and too pretty for her, Jenny is supposed to be plain, big chested and innocent.. but the Jenny here is wicked and gorgeous), and Nate. But in the end I really like all of them! :)

The end of season 1 is left hanging.. not sure what to expect for season 2. They also changed various parts of the book, such as Erik (Serena's brother), etc.

(movie) A very long engagement

I was doubtful about this long movie at first, feeling that it moved very slowly and very detailed. However, as the story progressed I could not press fast forward, and kept watching till the very end. Every actor and actress was successful in making the scene alive - especially Marion Cotillard as Ange's lover, Gaspard Ulliel as Manech, and Audrey Tautou as Mathilde.

Not only the setting was beautiful, the touch to the cinematography was also outstanding. I had the coziest feeling as if watching eternal sunset during the movie - and the goriest details of war.

The ending is the most beautiful scene in the movie, although there are others I am rather fond of :) very clever movie, and just the perfect ending.

Lately I've got...

... a short fuse
a mood swing
one vertigo
an exhausted body
and a tired mind...