Musings of the Obsessive Kind

Somebody, please convince my a third rewatch of Mars is a bad idea. I have a backlog a mile long, I have seen Mars three times already, and I know it backwards.

But all it took was one little MV and I am back to reshuffling my drama watching plans.

Oh, Ling and Qi Luo, why must you be so awesome?

Yeah, dozens of dramas later, it is still by far my favorite.

I overslept Veronica Mars last night! I was so exhausted, I sort of collapsed and that was it. Dammit, it sounds like it was a great episode too. Oh well, will obtain it ASAP.

How pathetic is it that I am excited it's Wednesday as it means only two days until the new Hanadan ep. My life is saaaaad. And speaking of Hanadan. Everyone should head over to tatterpunk's LJ and read the best damn ep 2 and 3 (and Domyouji) meta I've yet come across. Go here.

Am continuing with Loveholic (it's my emo drama and Hana Kimi is my fluffy one) and still love it, though I am still on ep 9. Mainly because ( spoilers for the ep )

Oh, according to folks at soompi, Kang Ta is going to star in a twdrama (or is it cdrama?) Which makes me gleeful as Chinese/Taiwanese dramas are my fave.

In my push to get more of my friendslist interested in checking the 'Best Drama Ever' aka Mars, I bring you an utterly unspoilery (unless it's a spoiler that the leads in Mars kiss a LOT) mv of it which is basically just four minutes of Ling and Qi Luo making out. Come on, don't you want to see a drama with THAT much physical affection going on? Yeah, yeah, I'll post good intro MVs later :)

( MV behind cut )

And on Vic Zhou note, oh Vic, what are you making me do? As soon as I finish with one of my dramas, I am going to start Love Storm. Look at what you are making me do! The damn thing is entirely unsubbed! I am going to watch 20+ hours in Chinese! Grah.

Clearly, since Silence was the first drama I tried unsubbed, Vic Zhou=dangermousie going insane.

If you ask me why this is so weird, considering I am mainlining Hanadan raws, well how about this:

1. I know Hanadan plot from the manga/other adaptations so can figure out what's going on. I know nothing about LS except the really general premise.
2. Hanadan subs come out soon after. Love Storm is NEVER going to be subbed.
3. 20+ hours, people!

If only there was some website with even detailed summaries of the thing. But oh well, my previous scan-through of the drama indicated that there is spinny kissing on the beach and Vic getting shot protecting the OTP with his body, so language comprehension is not necessary for enjoyment :)

Oh, and while we are on subject of dramas and owning? Oh my. Hana Kimi. I love you with love surpassing that of women (or however that Biblical quote goes. Though seeing that I am straight, that is perhaps not much of a comparison).

You are so light and funny and cracktastic and perfect. ( Brief rambles on ep 5 )

Seeing Jiro be so awesome in HK made me go looking for KO One which is on youtube, but no subs. Boooo. I adore Jiro but he is no Vic Zhou so I think I'll be skipping KO1 for now. I did found this awesome MV for it from the KO1 sountrack with his character and what I assume is his OTP (it's the same set up as the Hana Kimi MV. It's their KO1 characters but not in scenes from the drama, but a separate little story). Anyone see KO1? Does he really fall for the teacher? It's an awesome MV in its own right, so check it out:

( KO One MV behind cut )

In other 'Hana Kimi has eaten my brain news,' the fact that Wu Zun (Quan in HK) has a blog should not make me so gleeful but it does. And there are pictures and he posts in English (as well as Chinese) and I am glad to see that netspeak has spread everywhere. Of course, it's rather lowering to one's self esteem to see that he gets over 6300 replies to his messages while I've never gotten much above a hundred. Just because he is famous and hot and a star doesn't mean it makes sense :D Anyway, if you want to check out the crack for yourself go here.

To continue the 'yes, am still obsessive' theme, I found some awesome Wu Zun and Ella pics from some interview or other. I've also found the translation of that interview which amused me because I think it set off a new RPF frenzy (probably deliberately) :D

( Awesome pics )

( Interview translation )

I was having a discussion with fivil during the course of which I realized that Mars is one of the very few dramas that actually has a sex scene in it (not an explicit one, but still).

And I think it’s actually one of the really rare stories that needs it. Because sexuality and approach to it is, oddly enough, a really really important part of the story.

( Really long Mars meta that wanders all over the place )

I was having a discussion with fivil during the course of which I realized that Mars is one of the very few dramas that actually has a sex scene in it (not an explicit one, but still).

And I think it’s actually one of the really rare stories that needs it. Because sexuality and approach to it is, oddly enough, a really really important part of the story.

( Really long Mars meta that wanders all over the place )

Yup, still in tropical paradise. Had a bizarre dream in which the Winchester brothers ended up on Moya, which is probably a hint I should watch more Farscape but not before bed.

Watched the second ep of Samurai Champloo which was neat and second episode of Hana Kimi which was neater. ( Spoilers for HK ep 2 )

I have also finished the Takizawa Hideaki jdrama Boku Dake No Madonna though judicious use of ff button. TH was excellent in it (and was angsting most prettily in the shower) but the female lead drove me nuts. That is actually a big chunk of the reason I adore kdramas and twdramas but not jdramas for most part. The female leads. Most times, I fall madly for the female leads in a kdrama (usually before I fall for the hero, actually). And most times, that's true for twdramas too. But in jdramas, with a few exceptions, I want to strangle them, and here was no exception. I totally loathed her and she never changed. Still, worth watching for ( vague spoilers for BDNM )

Now I am sort of torn. I don't want to watch a jdrama, so I am probably going to finish Magicians of Love. I have a mad yen to rewatch Mars though (both of which dramas I have here). I'd actually rewatch Meteor Garden which I also have here, but HYD 2 is going to start before I finish and I don't want to be confused. Helpful hints?

I still have the bulk of S2 of Farscape to get through, and Samurai Champloo, and I started Nana the anime (very pretty) but I am thinking of doramas as well...

Yes, I have Battlestar Galactica thoughts. One word: awesome. For longer review, tune in later in the weekend.

I am on episode 5 of My Girl and yes, it's better than Full House. It's even better than Goong!

( Lengthy gushy meta )

I LOVE THIS DORAMA

In completely unrelated news? I am still in love with Mars, by far the best dorama I've ever seen. If you only watch one, watch this one. Maybe it's the story of two irredeemably messed-up people finding salvation with each other that just so gets me, but it really is amazing.

Here's a MV of it:

Yes, I have Battlestar Galactica thoughts. One word: awesome. For longer review, tune in later in the weekend.

I am on episode 5 of My Girl and yes, it's better than Full House. It's even better than Goong!

( Lengthy gushy meta )

I LOVE THIS DORAMA

In completely unrelated news? I am still in love with Mars, by far the best dorama I've ever seen. If you only watch one, watch this one. Maybe it's the story of two irredeemably messed-up people finding salvation with each other that just so gets me, but it really is amazing.

Here's a MV of it:

Finished Tokyo Juliet ep 12. All I have to say is that I want to stab the bra guy in the eye with a fork.

I checked the cover of my shipped Magic Ring DVD and GLEEEST GLEE THAT EVER GLEED. The English summary on the back is comprehensible! This is usually a good hint the subs will at least make sense (you should see the scary summaries on backs of ISWAK and Goong). YAY. Am a bit closer to angsty angsty Joe Cheng (though if it turns into Love Contract Mark 2, I will scream. I watched LC after DBY because I wanted to see Mike He angst and ended up bawling for hours). Am amused that the front refers to it as 'fetish' serial. I know they mean 'popular' but a girl can dream, no? Mmmm, Joe Cheng and chains. Hmmmm. ( pics of DVD cover, front and back )

I have also watched more It Started with a Kiss. Ep 14 (the Christmas episode) makes living worthwhile. Honest. You think I am joking?

( ISWAK thoughts, spoilers through beginning of 15 )

In rec news, scottishlass wrote an excellent, NC-17 Mars fic here and alexandral has the picspam of ISWAK's Hospital Kiss here.

I think I have seen enough temples and shrines that if I were a Buddhist, I'd be worried I've achieved enlightenment and was going to shuffle off this mortal coil.

We have seen 16 (!!!) temples and shrines here in Kyoto, 11 of them today. After literally walking for ten or so hours, a good chunk of it up hills, I am going to have legs of steel. Literally. Mine will have to be cut off and replaced.

But startlingly, every single temple/shrine is different from the next and they do not blend into one another but are all distinct and beautiful. We have seen temples in the woods, temples in the hills, and temples wedged in onto busy streets. Gigantic temple complexes that would take ages to cover and tiny neighborhood shrines. There are temples that are so ornate they could be a medieval Catholic church and temples stark in their simplicity. Shrines with orange wooden torii, with paint still fresh on them, and ones with weathered stone ones. A monk chanting serenely, and another one in full vestments hurring somewhere with a photographic tripod (one of my favorite images of the trip). Boys tripling up on a bycicle (I am so impressed with riders here. They often ride with one hand on the handlebars and the other holds a cell-phone or an umbrella. We saw a gentlman in a sharp suit riding a bike today, too). Being in a small temple that was founded in eigth century and realizing we are the only people there...A serene and open temple where there are gardens of moss and all you hear is...a children's pop song as there is a kidergarten nearby and they are having their lessons. A young man (and quite a hottie :P Btw, I got much better at sneaking pics of people so I did take some pictures of attractive men, let's see if they come out) praying at a temple and wafting the insense towards himself and all that, being engaged in a very dedicated prayer and then, a few seconds later, taking out his camera and snapping pictures, with that easy alteration from worshipper to tourist.

School groups crowding into a temple that looks like what Shangri-La should have, and giggling middle school girls doing the ritual trips from one stone to another with their eyes closed, (if you can make the short trip and touch the other stone, you will have luck in love) as members of their group kept clapping in order to help them by the sound. A middle aged couple praying devoutly in the hall of the Thousand Kannons (it is incredible: there are literally a 1000 statues there in the hall) in a temple near which Musashi fought his famous duel (and where there used to be archery endurance contests and which still hosts annual archery tournament). Walking the Path of Philosophy next to an ancient canal and passing by a high school with rap blaring out of the windows. Women in traditional dress walking in the incredible sand gardens of Ginkaku-ji. Ending up in the shrine with thousands of torii donated by worshippers so it is as if you are walking through a prayer manifest, and it is dusk and the rows are never-ending (it is also where there was a duel in Kenshin, but that is a separate matter).

Narrow steep streets up some of these temples, selling everything from sweets (I am addicted to green tea ice cream) to kimonos to religious amulets. Seeing a geisha in full get-up drive up to a temple in a rikshaw, and sitting next to her a gentleman (friend? client? family member? business associate?) in t-shirt and jeans. And earlier seeing two geishas walk down the street, stopping for a moment for one to fix the other one's hair and to...fiddle with their camera phone.

And at night, one can walk the narrow streets hung with lanterns, where traditional Japanese establishments (where unless you are Japanese, good luck!) mix with modern, English using clubs (and a Russian vodka bar, with a slign in Russian no less. It is run by a Japanese person though), and where people in traditional clothes walk next to young people in English language t-shirts (there is a great deal of illiterate shirts here, one odder than the next. My favorite spotted t-shirt being "I lost my virginity in Madagascar." Seeing that the girl was a 16 year old Japanese girl, and the t-shirt was mass made, unlikely, but A for effort. I guess it is the equivalent of all those Asian calligraphy shirts back home).

I love Kyoto.

I have also discovered one Japanese food I definitely do not like: natto. Fermented soybeans mixed in with raw quail egg. Appealing only if the alternative is starvation to death.　

And checking the TV schedule in the paper for last night, I discovered that they are showing Mars here, in Chinese with Japanese subs. It is on after 1:30 am, so I did not get a chance to watch it, but it would have been fun to watch on TV!!!

Also, every day there are articles in the papers about the new baby Prince. There are write-ups that mention normal Imperial rules and regs too, so now I know where the creators of Goong got their idea. No wonder Shin was going spare...

Tomorrow, the mighty castle at Himeji. Yayness!

P.S. I do intend to read all of my flist when I get back. Daunting but fun!

I think I have seen enough temples and shrines that if I were a Buddhist, I'd be worried I've achieved enlightenment and was going to shuffle off this mortal coil.

We have seen 16 (!!!) temples and shrines here in Kyoto, 11 of them today. After literally walking for ten or so hours, a good chunk of it up hills, I am going to have legs of steel. Literally. Mine will have to be cut off and replaced.

But startlingly, every single temple/shrine is different from the next and they do not blend into one another but are all distinct and beautiful. We have seen temples in the woods, temples in the hills, and temples wedged in onto busy streets. Gigantic temple complexes that would take ages to cover and tiny neighborhood shrines. There are temples that are so ornate they could be a medieval Catholic church and temples stark in their simplicity. Shrines with orange wooden torii, with paint still fresh on them, and ones with weathered stone ones. A monk chanting serenely, and another one in full vestments hurring somewhere with a photographic tripod (one of my favorite images of the trip). Boys tripling up on a bycicle (I am so impressed with riders here. They often ride with one hand on the handlebars and the other holds a cell-phone or an umbrella. We saw a gentlman in a sharp suit riding a bike today, too). Being in a small temple that was founded in eigth century and realizing we are the only people there...A serene and open temple where there are gardens of moss and all you hear is...a children's pop song as there is a kidergarten nearby and they are having their lessons. A young man (and quite a hottie :P Btw, I got much better at sneaking pics of people so I did take some pictures of attractive men, let's see if they come out) praying at a temple and wafting the insense towards himself and all that, being engaged in a very dedicated prayer and then, a few seconds later, taking out his camera and snapping pictures, with that easy alteration from worshipper to tourist.

School groups crowding into a temple that looks like what Shangri-La should have, and giggling middle school girls doing the ritual trips from one stone to another with their eyes closed, (if you can make the short trip and touch the other stone, you will have luck in love) as members of their group kept clapping in order to help them by the sound. A middle aged couple praying devoutly in the hall of the Thousand Kannons (it is incredible: there are literally a 1000 statues there in the hall) in a temple near which Musashi fought his famous duel (and where there used to be archery endurance contests and which still hosts annual archery tournament). Walking the Path of Philosophy next to an ancient canal and passing by a high school with rap blaring out of the windows. Women in traditional dress walking in the incredible sand gardens of Ginkaku-ji. Ending up in the shrine with thousands of torii donated by worshippers so it is as if you are walking through a prayer manifest, and it is dusk and the rows are never-ending (it is also where there was a duel in Kenshin, but that is a separate matter).

Narrow steep streets up some of these temples, selling everything from sweets (I am addicted to green tea ice cream) to kimonos to religious amulets. Seeing a geisha in full get-up drive up to a temple in a rikshaw, and sitting next to her a gentleman (friend? client? family member? business associate?) in t-shirt and jeans. And earlier seeing two geishas walk down the street, stopping for a moment for one to fix the other one's hair and to...fiddle with their camera phone.

And at night, one can walk the narrow streets hung with lanterns, where traditional Japanese establishments (where unless you are Japanese, good luck!) mix with modern, English using clubs (and a Russian vodka bar, with a slign in Russian no less. It is run by a Japanese person though), and where people in traditional clothes walk next to young people in English language t-shirts (there is a great deal of illiterate shirts here, one odder than the next. My favorite spotted t-shirt being "I lost my virginity in Madagascar." Seeing that the girl was a 16 year old Japanese girl, and the t-shirt was mass made, unlikely, but A for effort. I guess it is the equivalent of all those Asian calligraphy shirts back home).

I love Kyoto.

I have also discovered one Japanese food I definitely do not like: natto. Fermented soybeans mixed in with raw quail egg. Appealing only if the alternative is starvation to death.　

And checking the TV schedule in the paper for last night, I discovered that they are showing Mars here, in Chinese with Japanese subs. It is on after 1:30 am, so I did not get a chance to watch it, but it would have been fun to watch on TV!!!

Also, every day there are articles in the papers about the new baby Prince. There are write-ups that mention normal Imperial rules and regs too, so now I know where the creators of Goong got their idea. No wonder Shin was going spare...

Tomorrow, the mighty castle at Himeji. Yayness!

P.S. I do intend to read all of my flist when I get back. Daunting but fun!