For anyone wondering, I won't be at Azkatraz (room & board + plane ticket + con ticket + comic con, (which I would want to go for too) = $$$) so...I WILL LIVE VICARIOUSLY THROUGH Y'ALL INSTEAD. Take photos, take vids, do livestreaming via Ustream/Qik on your mobiles!

The highlight of the summer for me is American Idol Concert on the 23rd in Dallas. I was headed there anyway for family reasons, so I bought a ticket for the show. I WILL GET ALLISON'S AUTOGRAPH \o/

koyuki_san, would you like autographs from Kradison or anyone else??? I don't care if I tan the color of fudge in the Texas heat that day - AM GETTING TO MEET THEM, WOOT!

Also going to vid Allison's performances and livestream it via Qik.com! I'm very tired of the poor cell cast quality @ Rickey.org The cellcasts don't compare to livestream quality really.

OMG, WATCHING HBP AT THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE IN 3 DAYS!!!

Edit: Oh and I still wish there were fic about this guy who transforms into this beast *_* Both forms are just, wow :)

Fangirl!Allison being interviewed by Kris FTW.

WHY ARE THEY SO AWESOME AND LOL-TASTIC?

Have lost count of the number of times I watched this since its comedic gold and so awkward and so good (the last line, "I know.") and its on the same level as the "YEAH, CAPES!" bit by Kris a while ago.

(( And I admit, I like to more than the Kradam interview XD ))

( Hillarious interview vid XD )

And there's also the Kris Allen hates losers one and then Allison not realising the camera is on and going "Hey loser, I'm talking to you!" when Matt keeps ignoring her during his interview with Anoop, AND THEN SEEING THE CAMERA, LOL

So I finally got around to The Demon's Lexicon.

First: fanart of Nick can be found here (scroll down) and here

In a nutshell: it didn't work for me.

I know a lot of people adore the book to pieces so please skip this post if that's the case for you.

( Thoughts... )

 

"At last she said: 'I can help you, I know I can, I will. But it is a big task for a small person. Do children in your world usually perform such tasks?'

Nathan thought of all the books he had ever read, of the Pevensies, Colin and Susan, Harry Potter, Lyra Belacqua, and a hundred others. 'All the time,' he said." -- The Greenstone Grail by Amanda Hemingway

This is the first of the Sangreal Trilogy. The thing is, I started reading it and then Demon's Lexicon came out and since I'd been waiting for months for that one, my excitement got the better of me and I started that before finishing this.

But.

I kept thinking about The Greenstone Grail. And Nathan. And kept comparing the storytelling styles. And after a chapter or two, I gave in and returned to Amanda Hemingway's book, which is just so fresh and darn interesting. I love the way the story develops and how its writen.

The lines quoted above were rather unexpected and reading them made me laugh out loud in glee, especially to see Lyra from His Dark Materials listed alongside Harry Potter. I googled Susan and Colin and traced the characters back to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen which I'll probably end up trying sometime now. Oh, and there's also a mention of Star Wars at one point XD

It was the above references that made me realise that on some level, I'd already put Nathan - the main character of The Sangreal Trilogy - in the same box as the Pevensies and Harry and Lyra. They were protagonists of similar mettle in a way.

Not only is Hemingway's writing super easy to keep reading, but its got a great, great way of showing rather than telling, even for the simplest of things.

On some level you're making realisations about scenes and understanding the characters and their psyches, without being told point blank like so many Young Adult Fantasy novels tend to do these days. So while teens most likely find it easy to read, the wealth of information that's left unsaid makes it enjoyable for older readers too and means that there are certain nuances left to be discovered when re-reading the book.

While the editorial review on the Amazon page does draw similarities to Rowling, Gaiman and Lemony Snicket, attention is also drawn to the development of a strong female character, which sets Hemingway's novel apart. Nathan's mother, Annie, holds her own in that regard and seeing the mother-son relationship and their thoughts juxtapositioned in a particular scene is great. 

Then there's Bartlemy - Nathan's uncle of sorts - whose cooking made me run to the kitchen to make soup. And Hoover, who is one seriously cool dog. Seeing the relationship between dog and boy right from the start made me all warm inside :) And as interesting as the characters are, the plot is just as gripping, with a unique blend of fantasy a bit pf science fiction and adventure and mystery and just, well, great story telling.

Still need to get my hands on the second book but I just wanted to rec this out to anyone who might be interested in reading something new :3

You can read the blurb and preview most of the pages of the novel over here on google itself. For me personally, its definitely a keeper :D

snagged from ladyshina :D List 10 of your favorite characters from different fandoms, and ask people to spot patterns in your choices, and if they're so inclined, to draw conclusions about you based on the patterns they've spotted.

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph, followed by Zuko
2. American Idol 8: Allison Iraheta
3. HP: Draco
4. FullMetal Alchemist: Edward
5. Chronicles of Narnia: Edmund Pevensie
6. Naruto: Naruto followed by Sasuke
7. X-Men: Rogue
8. Spider-Man comics: Peter Parker
9. Gundam Wing: Duo Maxwell
10. Kare Kano: Yukino Miyazawa
11. BECK: Koyuki
12. Ookiku Furikabutte: Mihashi
13. Discworld series: Death (the Grim Reaper)
14. Eyeshield 21: Hiruma
15. The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon
16. Star Trek: Voyager: Seven of Nine, followed by the Doctor
17. Star Gate SG-1: Dr. Daniel Jackson, followed by Jack O'Neil
18. Star Gate Atlantis: Dr. Carson Beckett
19. Star Trek The Next Generation: Data
20. Merlin: Morganna

OBV, I CAN'T COUNT. I based it on the idea of who I am most interested in and most willing to read about in fanfics...

THE ONLY PATTERN I CAN SEE IS THAT THEY'RE ALL AWESOMESAUCE XD

You know you haven't been posting on LJ enough when your sister says you haven't updated XD

I admit RL and impromptu shopping research (what started out with bras went on to swimdresses and now I'm looking for a cheap mirror) has pulled me away and the few moments I'm online, its usually on TWOP's AI boards or hell, ontd_ai

And now, instead of saving up for a Con in the fall, I'm thinking of buying two tickets for the 2009 Idol tour (either Dallas or one of the neighbouring states on that weekend) and dragging my sis - since I don't know anyone else who'd be interested since I usually RUN AWAY from bandom and not towards stuff like that. But the attraction of Kradison cannot be denied *_* I just want to cheer my heart out for Allison :3 Hopefully this will all blow over soon though...

And anyway, the flist has been slow for the summer. What have y'all been up to? How are all the lurkers this very fine weekend?

Technically, I don't really ship Kris/Adam but rather Kradison (Adam/Kris/Allison) but...my mind gave me AU!Kradam.

Had an extremely short dream where they're all muddy and they go for a shower - its not a gym but...more of a private men' club? And they're in their late 20s and have been friends for a long time (and from the looks and tension something more) I could tell they were just waiting for the showers to empty out before boinking but...

then they started arguing. ARGUING.

Only in my mind could I have Kris and Adam, naked, with shampoo in their hair and frickin' arguing.

Next thing I know, I'm seeing their parents at some business!hotel talking about buy outs and shares and D: Brain, GO BACK, DAMNIT.

And then I was dreaming of me and my dad in India and we were catching a rickshaw

WTF BRAIN WTF

[001] I've been wanting to drink some Indian filter coffee for a while now and decided instead of constantly visiting a desi restaurant, I'd get the filter and coffee which would be cheaper in the long run XD

Not sure where I can get the regular coffee/chicory blend locally but might try buying Community Coffee or Coffee du Monde in future...

[002] Thinking back to the Star Trek '09 movie, my mind tends to jump to Karl Urban - so discovering that emmagrant01 wrote McCoy!fic (in particular, Kirk/McCoy smuttiness), made me all \o/ While I adore Leonard Nimoy, I'm not too fond of Sylar Movie!Spock slashed with Movie!Kirk *shrugs* McCor is *it*

[003] If you watched even a single episode of American Idol this year, its worth watching the videos of Idolatry - if I could, I'd rip the episodes, zip 'em up and share them - but since I can't *shamelessly pimps* 

The vids are absolutely hillarious - there's a reason why people who don't keep up with AI, still watch Idolatry every week XD Oh and the interviews of Anoop, Adam and Allison are great - the one for Kris is going up on the weekend :) The finale will be the Danny interview - considering the hate from Kristen week by week, its sure to be hysterical MWHAHAHAHA

[004] As much as I adore the Kradison and Kradam friendship, there's this part of me that is dying for future!Kradison romantic fic (like the general, hot threesomes likecharity writes, lol) - where Allison is 21 or so, Kris is divorced and Adam finds the whole situation insanely funny.

It doesn't have to be smutty at all and may just be focussed on the development from friendship to...more. And perhaps a scene of smarmy!Danny and Kris (or Adam) wanting to punch him in the face XD I feel so evil for wanting it but...*siiiiigh*

There's way too many Kris/Adam, Kris/Allison, Allison/Adam pictures and scenes + THIS and...*dies*

[005] Is it my imagination or has posting slowed this month in general? I know personally, I've kinda taken an impromptu mini LJ/DW vacation but people seem to have posted less in the past few weeks

[001] So umm, new default icon! I don't get girl!crushes very often but when I do...^^

I woke up this morning and the first thing I listened to was this ballad - and I rarely listen to ballads. While I love Allison rocking out, this song made me realise that she doesn't need to raise her voice to showcase its strength:

It just makes me all ♥ And then I see her being all adorable and goofy and fun and I spazz XD

[002] There aren't too many icons for AI that aren't just Kradam or Adam *sigh* but here are 15 icons that made me pause:

( 15 icons of note... )

[003] After marathoning BSG, I'm not really in the mood for Terminator: Salvation. Kinda want stuff that's less dark and gritty so I know I'll just be turned off if I watch T4 right now. And I've heard that it leaves some stuff unresolved for a possible T5? Can anyone confirm this for me if they've seen the movie already?

[004] blackeri is back from a two year hiatus with stunning art (yes, its NOT a photo *_*)

( Youtube+ Hrithik Roshan = me unable to do anything but stare *_* )

HE'S A FRICKIN' NOODLE - if only there were more actors who can dance like that *sigh*

But still, 3 minutes of bliss XD

Victoria's Secret is having a sale (10 panties for $25) but I wasn't too keen 'cause it's only the cotton underwear section.

Then this morning Aerie emailed about their 7 undies for $25 which made me all \o/ since I'm still in love with the ones from the previous sale :3

Ended up getting these:

• ( image | link )   Sailor Cheek
• ( image | link )   Colorblock Tanga
• ( image | link )   Floral Tanga
• ( image | link )   Seaside Boykini
• ( image | link )   Geometric Boybrief
• ( image | link )   Beach Flowers Boybrief
• ( image | link )   Astrology Boybrief

OH HAPPY DAY

[001] First ever AI icon! I don't think I'll get tired of seeing these three together XD Where are the threesome/twosome picspams?

[002] While I won't be watching the new Ryan Reynolds/Sandra Bullock movie, the promo video/skit for it was rather funny XD

[003] Am on season 6 of The Next Generation though I've taken a break to watch old Bollywood movies, in particular Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar which makes me all ♥ I think that's the reason I'm a sucker for sports!movies/anime/manga etc.

[004] Top 10 Overlooked Shows from the 90s - dude, Sliders! And forgot about First Wave haha. Though I never realised that Space: Above and Beyond inspired Battlestar Galactica's reinvention - but it makes sense in a way.

[005] You can get all 3 GuildWar games/campaigns for the price of one - GoGamer is selling the GuildWars Trilogy for $33 and considering that you never have to pay subscription fees with Guild Wars \o/ Not to mention GW's graphics are just beautiful :3

[006] Awesome Doctor Who fanart of the cast by questionstar! You can see the initial sketch over here too.

[007] Yes, totally slipped under the radar for the past week but RL got busy :/

Totally happy about AI especially after watching the AI!extra interviews with Adam and Kris. While you can already see a backlash starting to form from the upset online (both media and forums), I can't be anything but pleased by the result - Adam is most likely going to get a contract anyway - one which would be less binding than if he'd won - and Kris will finally get the major pimpage the producers never allotted him (along with Allison) during the show. And I get happier with each Kris!interview, really.

I know if it had been a final 2 with Allison and Adam or Allison and Kris, I'd be devasted if red haired rocker chick hadn't won but since it came down to the two boys, knowing that Adam will do brilliantly anyway makes me happy Kris won.

And the interviews were doubly amazing because not only was there no mention of Gokey but there was all this Adam/Allison/Kris lovin' sprinkled in. SO FABULOUS. It was like, Gokey, who? and the Trifecta of Awesome :3

Okay, this is my last individual AI post - never gotten this interested before ever XD

Edit: EW has an excellent article over here thought its the third page of the article that had me going, HELL YES. They also have a great interview with Kris - can't wait for the Idolatory interview for the top 2! Though the Danny!interview is going to be hillariously evil hahahaha

Am now reading their On the Scene article :)

HAHAHAHAHAHA

I srsly can't stop laughing at the results XD

Edit: In the words of TWOP:

Can't we all just be happy it wasn't Danny?

Oh and best thing ever:

I was hating Danny all over again when he sang "Hello?", but then I got a mental image of Scott forming a bust of Danny in art class and then I couldn't stop laughing.

Been a bit under the radar this week. Firstly I installed the Aion chinese beta that I pimped out previously, with the english patch. Have been enjoying it so much I ended up buying a few more hours of gameplay over here (paypal is ♥)

My first character was a Scout which took a while to level up to 10 for wings but I adore the 'hide' skill - its possible to sneak past dangerous areas and surprise enemies or just get to the boss for a quick kill. Ended up choosing the Assassin path for that character XD My second character levelled up much faster though thanks to a much more powerful arsenal in comparison (she's a mage).

Anyway, its a gorgeous game with super customizable character appearances so *_* So far while I've only played two characters, I've created four with hair colors in purple, teal green, pink and deep blue. Will post caps at some point.

Secondly, I finally got around to starting my Star Trek: The Next Generation marathon - made a post on it and Malcom in the Middle on GB.

Can I just say, DATA IS LOVE. Best android ever. The only robot I love as much is Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Though favorite hologram would be the Doctor from ST: Voyager. And while Seven of Nine is awesome, she doesn't really seem to fit into any category, lol. Favorite former Borg? LOL

Stumbled across a torrent today that made me all O_O

This is Star Trek Generations without Captain Kirk. It is a NEXT GENERATIONS movie now. Impossible? Nope.

We do not hate Captain Kirk, but he spoiled this movie nevertheless. Although the beginnging is kind of nicely done, it is still not a worthy death for James T., so it had to be deleted. Our plan was to make this the first Next Generation's movie, filling all the plot holes between the TV show and the movie, First Contact. It was dificult was to make up a story without Kirk that would work, and since we did not want Picard to fight Soren two times with bare hands, the 50 gigawatts force field had to knock him out.

Our edition is an improvement over the original, if you like Next Generation and did not like Captain Kirk in this movie. 42 minutes of cut footage is a lot, but for the pace of the movie it was good. See for yourself.

Just, wow. Shatner!Kirk in the movies makes me cringe, so having him edited out makes me all \o\o/o/ MWHAHAHA