Book Review: Neverwhere

Why:
I had to drive from Tennessee to Texas and wanted to listen to something for the 12+ hour trip. I got the trial audible subscription and looked at all the top books. Neil Gaiman popped up. I remembered listening the Moth Radio and hearing him talk about something related to his dad. Since then he had been on my radar.
But, I've heard of him before that. My brother always talked about the coolness of Sandman.
I didn't end up buying the audio version of Neverwhere, it turns out I already had it in my possession when I borrowed it from my brother.
Didn't I say I really liked / believed in star aligning coincidences?

In record time, it only took a month to finish the book. That's good considering I mostly read on the bus or while doing errands. Lately, I've been trying to avoid staring at my phone. It's hard.

Summary:
It's about this guy name Richard going to London Underground and embarking on a quest by accident.

Rating:
08.5 / 10.0

Reason:
It was good and I hadn't read a book like that ever. It was the first time I had to pay attention to details and there were many "ahhhh, I see" moments. However, Richard is annoying which is bad since he is the main character. Gosh, I wish I could have heard more about the Marquis or Door. She was cool.

SPOILERS:
SPOILERS:
SPOILERS:
So the story is about the every day Joe, Richard, stumbling across this young woman named Door. She's in trouble and he decides to help her out. In doing so, his life is completely altered. He no longer "exists" in the normal everyday London. He is only seen in the realm called London Underground, a place where the people who slip through societies cracks end up.
These two goons are on the lookout for Door, but no information is given on why. Pretty cool, eh? Since he no longer can live in London Above, he decides to accompany Door and her small, makeshift team to find out why she is being hunted. He hopes to return to the world above. Just from that you should guess how it ends.
What bugged me, was how useless he was. There was no explanation on why the others let him accompany them other than feeling sorry for him. I was also irked by the typical hero who is just given the title hero without really earning it. For example, the end. He kills this giant beast, but only by sticking out a spear he is holding and stabbing that thing as it lunged onto his pal. There was no tactic. He didn't even find the spear, it was given to him. In another part he has to face a trial to get this thing and the reason he passes is because he finds the belonging of a previous companion. That's it.
Door and company seek out this angel named Islington. It tells them to find a key and in return he will provide answers. They get it. Turns out, the angel is bad. One of their companions, Hunter, is also bad. She dies at the final stretch by the beast that she wanted to kill. The remaining party is caught but Door saves the day by preemptively replicating the key and opening a door to another dimension. The angel and his henchmen get sucked into the dimension and all is good.
Did you guess the end? Richard goes back to live in London Above then decides that maybe he doesn't want to live there after all.

Characters:
Despite the flaws with Richard I really enjoyed all the other characters and was fascinated by The Marquis. I imagined someone like the guy from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. While Door and Richard suspected him of being a traitor, I always knew he was "good".
Hunter, a hunter that ends up betraying the group, was also cool. She died rather lamely, though it is possible that she could still be alive. I loved that about the book, leaving stray ends for the reader to come up with their own theories.
Door, she was cool, but at the same time I couldn't get a good mental picture of her. Was she really young? 20? 25? 30? What about Richard made her like him? What did she do before the being hunted? I wanted to talk to her over coffee or something.
The Angel...it didn't really occur to me that he was bad. Perhaps I should have guessed it. Why did he need a key? What probably caught me off guard was it not being obvious. They talked to him about halfway in the book and I figured it was just a small plot line.

And that's that. Another crappily written review. You're Welcome.

-Alyssa

Come Closer (from ...Archives)

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN 2011... my opinions may have changed, but I am too lazy to re-watch. I'm putting this out here, because I can I guess. 

Come Closer is a movie that might not be for everyone. It is paced a bit slow and is a slice of life. 

Characters:

• Su-Jin (Kim Hyo-Seo): She is the first character introduced. She answers the phone in the coffee shop.
• Young-Soo (Oh Chang-Suk): draws pornographic images and is struggling with his old boyfriend over an affair with a woman.
• Se-Yun (Yeom Bo-Ra): She sleeps with Young-Soo eventually ending up with him.
• Hyun-Oh (Yun Gye-Sang): He is trying to move on his life while his ex keeps showing up to stop him.
• Eun-Hee (Jung Yu-Mi): She cannot get over her ex(Hyun-Oh) and stalks him from time to time.
• Woon-Chul (Jong Seo-Won): He is dating Young-Soo, eventually getting dumped after Young-Soo decides to leave him for a girl.
• Ju-Young (Yoon Hee-Seok): He is hangs out with Hye-Young and complains about woman wanting stability instead of romance.
• Hye-Young (Yozoh): She is in a band with Ju-Young and has (almost) given up on relationships.

Notes:

So…let’s talk about Come Closer. Right from the start the movie gives and indie vibe. I usually like the genre in general; however it seemed a bit cookie-cutter. As if the creators got together and said, oh this will definitely make it more indie. Take for instance the opening. The movie begins with a Polish guy looking for his girlfriend. He calls a Korean Coffee shop, explaining that someone told him she might be there. The girl who picks up the phone tells him no, and opts to listen to his story. The polish guy proceeds to describe his girlfriend a bit and what it’s like in Poland. This whole ordeal goes on for about ten minutes, during which, I was under the impression that the scene was the opening credits for the production team. You know, like Pixar’s short animation before the movie begins. There was also a very mellow vibe that screamed; look I’m indie!

Most of the stories that were presented were a bit too brief for me to gain any emotional attachment. For example during the scene with Eun-Hee and Hyun-Oh, I was trying to figure out its point. I know some movies are just stories that don’t have a deeper meaning, but sometimes the story should be interesting. You know? I didn’t really care that she couldn’t get over him. It happens to all of us; however we do not go stalking our exes.

The story revolving around Young-Soo was probably my favorite because it consisted of about half of the movie. I was able to get a grasp on the situation while formulating an opinion. I understood that it was a big deal for him. Most people are concerned about liking the same sex and try to push their awareness away, however it is opposite for Young-Soo. He pushed away his preference for women because he mistook admiration for love.

(4:38PM)(10/13/11)

Thus the awkward scene where he had sex with Se-Yun makes a hell of a lot of sense. During most sex scenes, participants act with lust (or passion…whatever you want to call it) but Young-Soo is making a discovery. Oh my goodness, after all these years, I never knew this could feel so good. And with this, his movement is a bit stifled. All his life he thought he knew one thing, but within an instant the rules have completely changed. It’s like eating the forbidden fruit, there is no back button. The whole confrontation with Woon-Chul (his boyfriend) adds on to his development.

(5:10PM)

Young-Soo explains that he had felt inferior to Woon-Chul since high school. As he watched in envy, he became attached. He wanted to be closer (unintentional reference to the movie title) to Woon-Chul in hopes to be a little more like him.

….AGH!!!

(5:16PM)

Obsessed

(5:17PM)

As time draws on, he becomes more obsessed with Woon-Chul, eventually forming a relationship with him. He felt happy, but only because he was making Woon-Chul happy. It’s kind of like when we were younger (or even now), we became obsessed with celebrities and wanted to be just like them. At the end the movie, we don’t know whether or not Young-Soo and Se-Yun will last as a couple, but it is irrelevant. The point the movie is trying to make, is that Young-Soo needs to find himself. If dating a woman makes him happier, then he should do so.

 (10/13/11)(9:01PM)

My second favorite story is the friendship between Hye-Young and Ju-Young. For some reason I enjoyed their pessimism about love. While looking at younger couples still in their honeymoon phase, they both agree that after a while, people want stability over a fast burning love. Hye-Young seems to be more in a rut than Ju-Young, claiming that all guys are idiots. It is established early on that she has gotten out of a relationship, however how much time has passed since them remains unknown. Thus it is unclear about whether or not this is just a phase for her. It makes me curious; will she ever be able to accept a relationship again? She seemed so adamant about her position in the whole ordeal that it is hard for me to imagine her doing so. There was an occasional moment or two in which I thought that there was an attraction between them; however I am still unsure about whether or not this was intended. Because of this I like how their scene ended with their future unclear.

The ending of the movie was a bit typical, indie music and shots of the characters on their own. Seeing as this movie consisted of multiple storylines, it is hard to imagine an alternative. It just seemed like it was missing something though…The last shot was of Hye-Young looking nonchalantly into the distance. I kind of wished that it would have ended with a shot of leaves or something, I don’t know. I felt like there should be a deeper meaning behind choosing her, but I couldn’t find it. Any ideas?

Overall I liked the movie, but I had to watch it in intervals because it was a bit slow at some points. After completing the film, I looked up the actress who played Hye-Young and was surprised to learn that she was an indie singer (Yozoh). Her music is quite nice to listen to while working on homework or writing. I didn’t think her acting was bad at all, does anyone else think differently?? I decided to watch this because Yun Gye-Sang was in it, but was disappointed that his role in this movie was approximately 20 or so minutes.

I would give this movie a 7.5 /10 for quality and an 8/10 for personal preference.

Oh My Goodness! And Book Review. Spontaneous

I thought that I had so much more on this blog that I've been elevating in the back of my head. I looked at it today, because I wanted to talk about a book I read a few weeks back. The last post March 2015...Almost a year ago. Whoops.

The in between stuff that has been happening will be saved for another post, sawwwrryy.

The book: Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer 

How I found it: Well I just happened to be with friends looking around a local bookshop and there it was. I've always been a sucker for things that shouldn't be there and this book was it. On it, it said advance reading copy, not for sale. On the back was a poncho. It was only seven dollars, a steal!

On the cover there is a girl blowing a bubble with bubble gum in a power pose on top of a ice cream truck. I thought she looked cool.

Brief summary: The seniors of a high school are combusting for no apparent reason. The story takes place in the perspective of a girl named Mara. She's sort of self-absorbed and is written to be dark humored. I would probably wouldn't be friends with her. Despite this I was curious, why were they exploding? What important lesson would they learn?

Spoiler: They don't learn anything other than live your life. Gosh, if only I had spontaneous combustion there to tell me that.

More Spoilers: Her best friend is Tess and I really, really wanted the two of them to get together. They had a spark. But no, Mara chose Dylan. Who was Dylan? I don't know...some guy that sought her out for no apparent reason. In the end, when he dies, she admitted that she didn't love him. She talks to Tess in the final chapters and they really have a moment. Like, I couldn't be reading it wrong, it was definitely there. And then...Tess is gone. Did she die? Did she run off to start a new life? The book doesn't say.
Well...it ends with Mara being optimistic that Tess is still out there and that she will make it a goal to find her. I guess that's good enough?
You never find out why they were exploding either. Everything just felt pointless.
At one point they brought up this girl named Jennifer Lawrence and how she was wronged...but nothing is confirmed. They don't hint that she could be behind it all. She's brought up to show how cruel they once were.
Maybe I missed something.

The good: It was an easy read, a page turner. I enjoyed shipping Tess and Mara.

The bad: It was fluff. Maybe if I went back in time it'd be more useful...probably not. It felt like the author was doing his best to tell the readers (who I assume are supposed to be high school age) that he gets them. Trying to get on their level. It was just so forced. What high school full of drugs, booze, and sex did he go to? Where are the normal kids?

More Reviews: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23587115-spontaneous

My "Rating": 07.0/10.0

Takeaway: I've got my reading muscles going and I realized that I really wanted to read a sort of adventure mystery (Hello Neil Gaiman!).

Coffee Prince Episode 1 and 2: Sort of Recap

I thought and thought about what drama to watch. Then it hit me, Coffee Prince. Okay, it didn't. It just happened to be on the first page of Netflix and I hadn't seen it since early high school. Years have passed and it's safe to say that I forgot a good chunk of the drama other than the obvious, she's pretending to be a he and the male lead questions his sexuality.
It was shortly after episode one that I decided to start recapping. It's fun to write without too much thought :)

Episode 1:

-I totally forgot that the whole thing started because Choi Han-Gyul 's parents thought he was gay. Also, Ko Eun-Chan is really cute as a boy. I'd like to say it's progressive for the time. 

-I remember how much I dislike the mother. She's one of those characters whose only purpose is to fuck things up. 

-Choi Han-Sung is the man. Ah, that sweet, sweet deep voice. Sigh.

Choi Han-Gyul (Gong Yoo)

Ok Eun-Chan (Yoon Eun-Hye)

Han Yoo-Joo (Chae Jung-An)

Choi Han-Sung (Lee Sun-Kyun)

Episode 2:

-I'm around the 30 minute mark right now. Han-Gyul made a proposition to Eun-Chan at the end of the previous episode. He wants her to be his gay lover to get out of blind dates. She agrees under the pretense that she is a guy.

-On the storyline B, Han-Sung  is struggling with feelings for his ex (Han Yoo-Joo)who has come back after two years. She wants to get back together with him and he's confused at what to do. She left him for another man.
-Later, he has a run in with Eun-Chan and asks for advice, disguising it as a problem that his friend has.
-He ends up sleeping with Yoo-Joo and telling her to go the following morning. He's upset that she doesn't try to stay.

-A montage of Eun-Chan and Han-Gyul shopping together plays and the two commence strolling down the street in matching suits. As they walk the people watching them suddenly are hit by a gust of wind that I'm still trying to figure out. Is this symbolism for the gay romance? There is even some CG fruit.

Looking FIIINE!

My fruit! Gust, gust, gust...

Eeek!

-The two have lunch and Eun-Chan shows off her special dog nose skill. Han-Gyul ends up drunk. Eun-Chan tries to take him home, but wouldn't you know it, she can't open the door. He wakes up at the Karate studio Eun-Chan works at. There he learns more about "him", smiling at the bits he discovers. It's what normally happens in a hetero romance, but with him believing she's a he it's awesome. 

-Hang-Sung struggles with his feelings for Yoo-Joo some more.

-Han-Gyul lends Eun-Chan money and awakes to a thank you call from her. His grandma comes to assign him a position as the owner of a local shop. Meanwhile Eun-Chan learns that the owner of the dojo she was working at skipped town, leaving her without wages. Weird music plays to cue the change that has just plopped onto their lives.

Which Drama Should I Recap?

So I've been thinking and thinking and thinking. What better way to start the year than to recap a episode from a drama. I'm open to any suggestions. I got my eye on Xena right now.

-Alyssa

2014 End Thoughts

So this is me checking in, a year ago I posted about the new year. I wish I was as full of life as I was last year.

One of my biggest and most ambitious goals was to come out to my mother (and a few other people in the family). It was New Year's Eve when I thought about it for the first time in a while. I'm sad to report that I didn't.

With that semi-depressing talk out of the way, my year:

Places Visited:
Virginia -> Washington D.C. -> New York City
Canada - Victoria and Vancouver
Texas - Dallas, Austin

Projects:
updating this blog
Graduate School  - (animation)(research)
more vlogs
SIGGRAPH volunteer
running more often

Breaking Comfort:
using couchsurfing
going to another country on my own
making friends
more small talk
two week road trip with Grandparents and young cousins

Other Stuff:
It's hard remembering the last year, because it seems like it was halved. Half when I was an undergraduate finishing Civil Engineering degree, half as a graduate working towards a Master of Science in Visualization. I did a lot at times and a little at others. These past four or so months have been a blur and I lost part of myself, without even knowing. And back to the sad bits, it's just so darn easy to spiral down.
Um, what was I saying? I didn't do much in terms of projects, look at the damn list, updating this blog was part of it...yup. I spent most of my time focused on school and developing my social skills. If you forgot, two years were spent under a rock and the past two years I slowly crawled up. I'm at a point where I have friends and watch movies and go out to eat and chat and laugh and normal people stuff. Remember when I said I lost myself? I lost that girl content on being alone in her room and typing or drawing or watching or thinking of the future and how cool I would be. Now, I'm barely able to keep still and write this. I want to things, but a lot of times the opportunity arises and I back away, not sure of who I am. I guess a lot of the year was spent building myself up only to discover that I was a big hollow shell. Sigh, I can't escape this "sadness".
I'm typing this and I don't feel upset. I don't feel like crying. I have a smirk on my face and am thinking about what I can do tomorrow or now, the next step. How to fix things. It's like I'm in denial or just so beyond feeling sorry for myself that it's sort of empty.
Despite all this bullshit that I'm spewing out, there were many highlights in the year, times I felt like I could do anything. I climbed a mountain, made friends with a complete stranger, made friends, appreciated family, and learned a little bit more about how the world ticks.

So fuck it.

-Alyssa
How was your year?

High School King of Savvy: Sort of Review

I did not realize that the last drama I talked about was Master's Sun. I remember at the end of it I was skipping just to finish. King of Highschool was no different.

The leads:

Lee Min-Seok  - Seo In-Guk

Jung Soo-Young  - Lee Ha-Na

Jung Yoo-A  - Lee Yeol-Eum

Yoo Jin-Woo  - Lee Soo-Hyuk

Basic Plot:

Lee Min-Seok has to pose as his older brother, working a corporate job and juggling high school. Jung Soo-Young is in love with Yoo Jin-Woo, but eventually falls for Min-Seok.

Reasons for watching:

I have a huge celebrity crush on Seo In-Guk. When he smiles, my goodness… 

Reasons for Finishing:

I kept thinking it'd redeem itself. How could so many people like something so patriarchal?

-The female lead is nothing more than a run of the mill temp worker, eventually getting "upgraded" to secretary. Not by merit, Min-Seok demands she is re-hired in that position. She was had to be re-hired because Jin-Woo, the second lead, did not like her and decided to fire her, sparking all the feels for the rest of the show. 

-Let's talk about Jin-Woo. This guy is creepy. Though, I'll admit he changes near the end. He manipulates her, tries to force a kiss, and is a aggressive with his "feelings" which were never developed enough for me to find it plausible.

-Min-Seok is an alright character in contrast. He seems like someone who strives for fairness. What I didn't like was how the show pretty much handed him everything on a silver platter. Girl, check. Job, check. Awesome athletic abilities, check. Loyal friends, check. Stalker girl, check. Handsome, check, check, check!!!

-Trying to go back, I'm struggling to remember all my plot complaints that dealt with sexism…I guess I'll just move on to general grievances. The boy is 18 and the woman is 28…That's a huge gap for the age group. 28/38, good, but 18/28…no, no, no. I couldn't go with it. I'm 22 and just thinking an 18 year old seems icky.

-Gosh I don't feel like going beyond bullet point ideas. I doubt anyone would read this and if someone is, I'll go further. No use getting worked on something that isn't worth it. Kind of like reviewing a hallmark movie.

-Uh.... I did read some comments on Dramabeans and one talked about how the show went against normal conventions. The ending was unexpected, there wasn't too much angst, no rich guy, etc. In that respect, I liked the show.

Alyssa Notes:

As I'm typing this I pause in between. I feel like if someone else read it, they'd catch these pauses. It's not a nice flowing article, "girl, sexism, blegh". Oh, well. I will be talking about my more negative reviews in future posts. 

Rating 7.0/10 --- I finished :) and <3 Seo In-Guk <3

-Alyssa Pena

Originally written : (11:03pm)(12/18/14)(Friday)