I GOT A C IN CHEMISTRY!!! HELL YEAH!!! ^_________^

And a 3.09 GPA to boot! FUCK, I'm good! *happydance*

Hopefully by next quarter I'll be able to pull it up to a 3.5... yeah, wishful thinking, especially since I'm taking full load (19 units, go me), but we'll see. =^_______^= *goes back to internet hibernation*

 
CD shopping spree, whee. Charlatans UK... *happy sigh* I just wish they had the Candyskins, or even Embrace, but they had neither. T_T Oh well, I broke my bank without them anyway. I /really/ need a job now...

Mum found out what her Christmas gift was (The Best of Moody Blues CD), since she was about to buy it. ^^; But since she is cool (and very economical), we found a cheaper version whilst shopping today, so I bought that and will exchange the more expensive one after Christmas. She just saved me six bucks. =^_^= Now, let's just hope that my da doesn't try get his own gift when we go to the used bookstore in Glendale on Monday... ^^;;;;

*pokes Juli* Any info yet? I'll try to get me mum to leave her cellphone on at the party (I would use mine, but I left its charger at the dorms >.<); if I do, I'll give you a call.

Kim, has your package arrived yet?

Congrats on finishing, Melen. Now you get to come home to the wonder that is San Jose weather. ^^;;;;

Ferrum, um... good luck with your essays! ^^; *stares at dinky little compositions she had to do, which are NOTHING in the face of your essays*

ooh, shiny layout! ^_^ Gimli is very sweet indeed. Chibi!Daniel is ADORABLE!! And out of curiosity, what was your Martial Arts paper about?

 
San Jose weather is just bizarre now. Two days ago (when I saw Two Towers), it was a brilliant day, chilly but sunny. The day after that POURED. This was the first time in a long time that I saw that much rain over such a long period of time. And of course, that was the day I decided to go back and visit my high school friends. So guess who stood for ten minutes in the downpour, waiting for a ride? ^____^ I'm probably going to get sick, but oh well, it was fun.

So I'm not the only one who saw parallels between Frodo/Gollum and Kamui/Fuuma. An LotR/X crossover, hmmm... would that mean that Subaru would be Gandalf, as the somewhat angsty mentor with a past? And if he's Subaru, then Seishirou would be Saruman... and if that holds true, then the SeishirouxFuuma pairing would be.... *squick squick squick* x_x

Anyway, now that I've started reading Two Towers, I can see why you didn't like the film (perhaps hate would be a better word ^.~), but I can see why they changed what they did. Treebeard was cool and everything (Quickbeam, whee!), but, well, they didn't advance the plot THAT much. And by having him mistake the hobbits for mini-orcs, that gave him an excuse to talk about the white wizard in ambiguity, which they skipped due to cutting off the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli scenes. I think talking about that ambiguity is pretty important, and they didn't really have anywhere else to put it. If anything, Treebeard's hatred for Isengard could have been developed earlier, but hey, that was pretty much it. I just wished they talked a bit more about Theoden shunning Gandalf, and a bit more about Shadowfax. But perhaps I'm just blinded with my love for Shadowfax, so, um, eheh. ^^;

Dammit, Pippen's SO much more intelligent in the books. At least they started changing his character a bit more in the movies, but still! He deserves more credit. I think in the books he would be seme, though I can't say the same for the movie. :P Merry's cute, but Pippen's cuter. Needs more lovin', that boy.

Still dreaming of the White Rider scene... wheeeee... I wanna do a layout of that. ^__^ But I guess I have to wait for the DVD for a good screencap. *sigh*

 
The following contains my review for the movie The Two Towers, being the second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

A. The Short Version

I LOVED IT. I WANNA SEE IT AGAIN.

B. The Long Version
Contains major spoilers for Fellowship, and minor spoilers for 2T. Hilight text for major 2T spoilers. Also, I've only read parts of the 2T novel, so unless I say otherwise, there's not much comparison between book and movie.

First of all, I'd like to say that Shadowfax rocks my world. You will find no better a companion in all of Middle Earth. =^___^=

So the movie opens up with a shot of those gorgeous New Zealand mountains, before it dives into a scene that contains both old and new material-- Gandalf's fight with the Balrog. It can't beat the beautiful opening of the first film, but, being that this is a continuation (as opposed to a stand-alone movie), it works well. Sir Ian McKellen is... whee. Enough said.

Sam and Frodo meet up with Gollum, and Frodo finds himself strangely bound to this creature. Their relationship is disturbing and intriguing at the same time. Then again, Gollum himself is disturbing and intriguing at the same time. ^_^ More on him later. Anyway, I never really liked how expressionless Sam was in the first movie, and he's only improved a tiny bit. Whenever Frodo pretty much says "I love you, Sam" (Ok, it was more like, "Frodo would be lost without Sam"), Sam would just kinda stare at him and do nothing. No eye blinking, no blushing, no sign of acknowledgement. I fear, however, that my disappointment with this lack of interaction is not due to bad acting, but instead due to my damnable yaoi/slash fanbeastie. ~____~ Wah.

Merry and Pippin (who happen to be both my fave charas AND my fave couple! ^_~) find good times in the Fangorn Forest. May it be said that Treebeard also rocks my world, as do all the Ents. What they did to Isengard... well, let's just say most of the audience was cheering for them when they broke the dam. TREE POWER!! I never really liked how the film for Fellowship made Pippin look like a total idiot. I mean, he wasn't the brightest of them all, but he really wasn't as stupid as what the film portrayed. In 2T, he had at least two awesome moments where I just wanted to huggle him. One of them was when he dropped the Elf leaf pin from his cloak for the others to track, and the other was his decision to go South in the forest. Even Merry was surprised! ^___^ *glomps Pippin*

I've read fanfics where Pippin's all depressed for inadvertently causing Gandalf's death, and I can totally see him feeling that way. I think, however, his decision to go South redeemed him completely. Not only was it a sign of his awareness of world responsibility (and personal responsibility, for that matter), but it also inadvertantly caused the destruction of Isengard's 'factories.' Even if Gandalf hadn't come back, I think he would have been proud, though neither incidents were really his fault. =^_^=

The trio of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli made up most of the movie. Gimli turns out to be quite the comedic relief, with his lack of horseback skills, and with his height. *snicker* I don't know how he's like in the book, but he gets kinda sentimental in the film. He's sorta like a mom, in some respects. ^^ Legolas gets more of a personality (yay!), and the Legolas/Gimli friendship/rivalry is particularly fun. ("I got 3!" "I already have 17!" "WHAT?!" "...make that 19!") Aragorn is friggenly cool, as usual. Gah... *worships the man* He would definitely be a good king. *huggles him as well*

I now see where people are getting Aragorn/Legolas from. In Fellowship, I never really saw them interact, in the film or the book. But now, there's lots of "O Aragorn, Where Art Thou?" scenes from Legolas, and much shoulder-slapping between them and whatnot. When Aragorn shows up after several days, Legolas sees him and is shocked, but all he does is smile and say "You're late." Cute! Even their make-up scenes were sweet, and almost domestic!

The fight scenes were bloody FANTASTIC. And there were lots of 'em, too! ^.^ Obviously, the Battle at Helm's Deep was the best-- with 10,000 Uruk-hai, you can't go wrong. XD Then again, I'm a sucker for great CG work, and pulling off 10,000 soldiers, even in the dark, can't possibly be that simple. I'm also an absolute sucker for charges, so when Gandalf showed up "on the fifth day, by the light of dawn" with Eomer and his men, I was in heaven. They took the Huns in Mulan and multiplied it by 1000, and the image of Gandalf the White leading those men in the charge was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. (have I mentioned how much I adore Gandalf?)

And yes, the new charas. Um, of all of them, Theoden was the only one who really did anything. The proud king of a dying country is indeed a difficult position to be in, and though I think he was maybe a little /too/ proud at times, I liked him. His transformation from what he once was was amazing. Which leads me to... Wormtongue! Disturbingly seductive and utterly slimy; if he weren't such an idiot, I would like him more. He's like, the ugly side of Mizuki. :P I think it's friggin' scary how in the movie, Aragorn's book description of Eowyn becomes Wormtongue's words. *shivers* It sounds completely different, coming from his lips. And Eowyn... she would have been cooler if she showed up more. ~_~ If you've seen the previews with her, well, that's pretty much all she does in the movie, other than playing "woman on the homefront." And she could have been so much cooler! ;_;

Faramir was like a mini-Boromir, which I found most amusing, except that Boromir had more personality. Faramir was just kinda... there. Gollum, on the other hand... *snicker* he's totally cool. Absolutely demented, but cool. I mean, if YOU had a ring for 500 years, and it was all you could think about, I think you'd go a little batty as well! His split personality / schizo scenes were by far the best. His plotting at the very end was FREAKY, especially after having saved Frodo and whatnot. Poor Smeagil. ;_; For anyone who has or will see the movie, or has read the book, when Gollum talks about "she" at the very end of the film, is he referring to the ring? Or someone/something else?

Arwen was just-- blah. She was a little more interesting in the first film, but now she just shows up in random dream sequences, probably just to show audiences something other than flying Uruk-hai heads. I was rather impatient during the romance scenes, as only one short one seemed necessary. So she's going away, and Aragorn loves her so much as to send her away. Ok. Cool. Now get on with it!

Haldir was WAI!!! I liked him in the first film, even if he didn't do anything, really. And now he's just... =^____^= Aragorn hugging his was hilarious. Elves need more lovin'! And I teared up in his last scene, I admit it. *sniffle*

We get a glimpse of the human soldiers of Mordor. I want more. ^_^ Their soldiers wear eyeliner. ^_^ And they get nifty Oliphaunts, too! An odd mix between modern Middle Eastern and Indian dress, with a touch of Hannibal's army... hmmm... Hopefully we'll be seeing more of them in the next movie, as they greatly intrigue me.

Amendment to the above: oook, I just read their description in the book; now they more than greatly intrigue me, I WANT THEM! They definitely sound asiatic, with a hint of Native American (a la Incans, or Mayans). From their accessories, they make me think of the Ethiops of Ancient Greek times. I. Want. More. Of. Them.

Things that made me grin like a loon-- Shadowfax (=^__^=), unexpected alliances/forces at Helm's Deep, Saruman's expression towards the end of the movie, Gollum speaking in rhyme, Sam and Gollum arguing about good food *snicker*, the return of the wraiths (dragon! dragon!), all the cute male-bonding moments, Faramir's final decision (SO much honor, just like someone of a certain relation!!), Haldir and Aragorn, Legolas's creative horse-mounting skills (the audience was in awe), Aragorn's horse (So. Cute. And. Loyal!), Gandalf's charge (it made me CRY, it was that beautiful), Gimli talking about female Dwarves, Treebeard talking about the Ents decision, Pippin's decision to go south (WAI!), and Sam talking about "what if someone made a story about us?" :D

Obviously, there were weak moments in the film. For example, all the romance scenes. >_< But that just might be me. I think the flashback scene of Gandalf fighting the Balrog (not the opening scene-- the second one, in the middle of the film) was kinda, well, cheesy. I think it's just 'cos it wasn't explained very well. What happened between the water and the 'highest tower'? How did they get there? And where is this highest tower anyway? Guess I'll just have to read the book all the way through. ^_~ Also, the future vision of Aragorn as an old man just threw me off. Maybe if they made it a little more dreamlike... *shrugs* Oh well. And Gollum's Song (ending credits song) was just... odd. It sounded like Bjork, but it was someone else. *is clueless* And they repeated the violin motif maybe one too many times throughout the film. Yes, it's pretty, but it does get repetitive. ^^;

Other than that, I LOVE Peter Jackson's visual effects. Not necessarily the CG work, but his excellent usage of full pans (showing off NZ's brilliant landscape to its fullest-- good times, good times), and dammit, the image of the White Rider is forever burned in my brain, and it's still making me tear up just thinking about it. Wah, Shadowfax!! And of course, the army of the Uruk-Hai was... wow. Absolutely mind-numbing. I cannot comprehend so many humans being able to do that in real life. Wow. *_*

So, all in all, it was a good film, a very good film indeed. And if you want more of a final summary, just read Part A again. =^_^=

 
Before I forget-- fun recent referrers!

how do you say when UKE can be SEME as well? - anou ne... reversible!
Thom Yorke and yaoi - honey, yaoi is an anime term for essentially slash, and Thom's very much 3D ^^;

 
Oh, the joys of Christmas. We finally decorated the tree, whilst listening to mum's current operatic obsession, Mario Frangoulis. *happy sigh* He may not be Josh Groban, but he is GOOD. I set up the toy train for the first time in years. Makes me wanna play with Legos again. ;_;

I'm starting to get worried, as my pinky knuckle's hurting more. I don't remember ever spraining that particular joint (as opposed to the rest of my finger joints-- tetherball ring a bell, Juli?), so hopefully it's just a random pang due to the weather. Hopefully. My dad made a nifty little cast for it out of plastic tape, so it'll be out of commission for a while. In the meantime, all my fingers are so cold it doesn't matter anyway. ^^;;;;

*huggles Koji* Glad you're feeling better! Yes, hotels are way fun, as is traveling in general. ANYTHING to get out of the dorms. XD

Lessee-- cool things going on in my life are non-existent. Actually, they've always been non-existent, but it's worse than usual. Um... we got hail today! And lightning! And the letter carrier was late by three hours! And I finally figured out what to get my family, after agonizing over it for the past month! *smiles brightly*

Bored bored BORED... but boredom is forcing me to think about doing things I've put off for years. Like watching Dark Crystal, and reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, both for the first time since I was seven. They made NO sense back then-- perhaps they will now.

Well, it's either that or stare at the ceiling. And I can do that in the dorms. Whoot.

Can you tell I'm bored yet? ^_~

So anyway, hopefully I'll be able to sleep tonight in spite of the cold (unlike last night x_x). My parents STILL don't believe in heaters, unless they're absolutely necessary, so I'm typing this in a pleasant 55 degree environment. At least it's better than outside.

I be seeing Two Towers tomorrow *yay!* And I'm also really desperate to put my Christmas layout up, now that I've finished it, but I figure I should give this layout at least a week. Or at least 'til Two Towers comes out. ^^;

oooook, I think that's all the rambling I shall do today. *totters off in search of something more productive*

 
Listening to my mum's new operatic obsession from afar (damn beautiful voice, whoever he is), as I burn 21 CDs for a Christmas exchange. Being that my internet time has been cut down from 24/7 to four hours max per day (more like every other day), boredom is pushing me to new levels. A Kaidoh shrine is supposedly in the works as of now. Would any of you be interested in joining a clique for anime boyz with glasses?

I have started the fourth disc of FotR. All I can say is, Orlando Bloom is a VERY touchy-feely guy. I think the only member of the fellowship he hasn't hugged/stroked/groped is Sean Astin, and even then I'm not sure.

Yes Mura, G4 iBooks are coming out. The $999 model is 700MHz, with 128 megs of memory, 20 GB disk space, CD-ROM, and has a 12.1" display. Now there's a possibility that when/if I go to NZ, I can just bring a compy with me. ^___^

Thanks for the scans, Kim! Atobe at the end was... wow. And I do love Fuji so.

after a bout of mindblowing sex
Fuji: Nee, Tezuka...
Tezuka: ?
Fuji: *niko* Wanna do it again?
Tezuka: ???!!!!

Rachel, thou are very welcome. ^__^ I'm just glad you didn't own it already! Also, HnG is now infecting you, eh? Mwuhaha. Akira's kinda scares me, regarding his obsession with Hikaru, but overall I like him. He does, however, need a change of wardrobe. Badly. And a haircut while he's at it. Waya could help him, if not for his undying hatred of the guy. At least Isumi's wardrobe changes, so maybe there's hope. How far have you gotten in the series?

Forgot to say this earlier (in my senility ~_~), but I like your layout. Even if I don't know the series. ^_^ 's cute!

Melen-chaaaaaan, I know I'm horrible at keeping in touch. ;_; You just need to hurry up and finish finals, then we can meet up and plot up evil plans like the old times. Or just go see Two Towers together. Either way's cool. ^_^ Speaking of which, do you think you'll be free on the 29? We could go for the Sunday matinee.

Juli, my 'rents don't know EXACTLY when when we'll be done with the dinner. Is the place far or hard to get to? They may end up having to drop me off. ^^; And what time is it exactly? And... your brother is terribly weird, but we already knew that. ^_^

Me stop bloggin now, as pinky is feeling dislocated (AGAIN, grr), and fingers in general are about to freeze and fall off. And my mom's walking around in a T-shirt. WTF??

Oh yes, joined the Taka clique *points below* Join, people, join! More Taka-love is needed! ;_;