Hi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sep. 6th, 2009 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alexandralWe are back from Florence. I must re-write my list of 5 favourite cities because Florence will be right there at the top. We had wonderful holidays and Mr. Alexander made some gorgeous pictures. In short:
- I have seen so many paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci that my head is still spinning
- Ice-cream in Florence is the best in the world
- In Florence everyone has a bike or a scooter and uses these means of transportation whilst wearing high-heeled shoes and without wearing any protective suits.
- I have developed a great like for Mr. Iain M. Banks' novels during the course of holidays
Fannish metters
I am in desperate need of a new Western show to watch and will be thankful for any recommendations. Just before the holidays I have discovered absolutely great (although short) Canadian show "Durham county". I highly recommend it and will try to make a proper post.
Asian drama matters
I am watching "Orthros no inu" and loving it. OMPH! Takki is so grown up and pretty! If only Nishikido Ryo and Takizawa Hideaki were cast in the Japanese re-make of "Mawang" instead of the ugly leads that were cast for "Maou"!!!!!
- I have seen so many paintings and sculptures by Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci that my head is still spinning
- Ice-cream in Florence is the best in the world
- In Florence everyone has a bike or a scooter and uses these means of transportation whilst wearing high-heeled shoes and without wearing any protective suits.
- I have developed a great like for Mr. Iain M. Banks' novels during the course of holidays
Fannish metters
I am in desperate need of a new Western show to watch and will be thankful for any recommendations. Just before the holidays I have discovered absolutely great (although short) Canadian show "Durham county". I highly recommend it and will try to make a proper post.
Asian drama matters
I am watching "Orthros no inu" and loving it. OMPH! Takki is so grown up and pretty! If only Nishikido Ryo and Takizawa Hideaki were cast in the Japanese re-make of "Mawang" instead of the ugly leads that were cast for "Maou"!!!!!
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Date: 2009-09-06 11:42 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-09-06 05:55 pm (UTC)Thank you for the rec - I will try to find it!
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Date: 2009-09-06 01:31 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-09-06 02:17 pm (UTC)has a bike or a scooter and uses these means of transportation whilst wearing high-heeled shoes and without wearing any protective suits.
Hee! I've seen that in other parts of Italy as well. I have no idea how they do it, and how they manage to remain so stylised all the time.
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:04 pm (UTC)I know! You can very easily tell who is a tourist and who is not in Florence. :D But to be fair, their weather is much more forgiving to these kind of exploits. I shudder imagining to be caught in British rain on a bike in high-heels and no protective gear.
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Date: 2009-09-06 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:14 pm (UTC)In Florence everyone has a bike or a scooter and uses these means of transportation whilst wearing high-heeled shoes and without wearing any protective suits.
Haha, yes, so true everywhere I've been in Italy, and yes, it's rather amazing. This being said, it's pretty much only in the cities that protective gear isn't worn. Our friends who ride motorcycles always wear some kind of protective gear (padded or armored jackets, etc.) when they travel outside of the cities on highways or other roads.
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:24 pm (UTC)Haha, yes, so true everywhere I've been in Italy, and yes, it's rather amazing. This being said, it's pretty much only in the cities that protective gear isn't worn. Our friends who ride motorcycles always wear some kind of protective gear (padded or armored jackets, etc.) when they travel outside of the cities on highways or other roads.
This is what Mr. Alexander and I thought as well. To be fair, in a city like Florence where a) it is very very hot and doesn't seem to rain much, b) traffic is much slower than in , for example, Leeds (otherwise they would have constantly be running over all the tourists wondering the streets) , c) a big part of the city is closed for automobile traffic it seems that a bike/a scooter and a helmet is a pretty sensible combination.
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:45 pm (UTC)I agree! I miss it horribly every time I leave - I miss the country nearly as much as I miss our family & friends. :)
Re: motorcycles & scooters - yes, to all your points. However, one thing that Nic points out to me all the time is that scooter usage in the cities is really bad for air quality in Italian cities since many scooters (not all - I don't think Vespa does this) burn gasoline & oil mixed together which generates harmful particulates in a way that cars & motorcycles don't. Scooters then produce a different kind of exhaust which lends to the "blue haze" one sees in many Italian cities.
In any case, I'm always impressed when I see a woman in a skirt and high heels flying by on a scooter, because I'm always impressed that she manages to not let her skirt fly up while she's driving! :)
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:52 pm (UTC)This is interesting - Mr. Alexander pointed out that quite a large percentage of the scooters we have seen in Florence were electric, and we also have seen few really cute electric one-seater cars there. In comparison with around here where I am yet to see an electric car or even a hybrid in RL I thought it was a big step forward. but may be this is specific for Frolence?
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:31 pm (UTC)You are watching Durham County! Hee, I have it waiting, just haven't found time to watch beyond EP1 but what I've seen was great. The 2nd season is not quite as good, I've been told.
In fact, I haven't had time to watch much anything. Gearing towards my trip to Seoul....
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Date: 2009-09-06 06:34 pm (UTC)But OMPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seoul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ** is totally speechless **
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Date: 2009-09-06 07:43 pm (UTC)Iain (M.) Banks's novels really are very nice indeed. I like both his sf novels and his more realistic stuff.
I though OnI started a bit uneven, but it's been getting better and more exciting with each episode. And Takki is so gorgeous and intense as Ryuzaki! :)
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Date: 2009-09-06 08:17 pm (UTC)Iain (M.) Banks's novels really are very nice indeed. I like both his sf novels and his more realistic stuff.
Recently I seem to have read many good fantasy novels but it was really great to see that a contemporary author is doing so great in a big-scope-vision sci-fi. YAY! I intend to read (though I never do it too fast) through all his novels.
I though OnI started a bit uneven, but it's been getting better and more exciting with each episode. And Takki is so gorgeous and intense as Ryuzaki! :)
I agree on both accounts. I didn't quite know what to make of OnI at first , it seemed too straightforward somehow and a little naive, but in the recent episodes the show developed quite nicely and some decent twists were introduced. But Takki was a joy to watch from the very beginning.
I got quite annoyed few times with Ryo's character but it is nice to see that he also is getting a grip in the recent eps.
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Date: 2009-09-06 08:43 pm (UTC)A good example of his contemporary stuff is Crow Road which was also made into a very nice TV series some years ago (since you were asking for TV recs as well :)).
Ryo's character was a bit too naive and simple in the beginning, but it's getting more interesting. The same goes for Hasebe, who seemed totally incompetent in the beginning, but she's been getting more depth in later episodes.
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Date: 2009-09-07 06:24 am (UTC)Oh, the TV series was good.
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Date: 2009-09-07 02:37 pm (UTC)Ryo's character was a bit too naive and simple in the beginning, but it's getting more interesting. The same goes for Hasebe, who seemed totally incompetent in the beginning, but she's been getting more depth in later episodes.
I still can't quite understand Hasebe - why does she refuse for her daughter to be "treated" by Ryuzaki?
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Date: 2009-09-07 05:10 pm (UTC)I suspect it's a matter of principle for her. She seems very strong in her beliefs of what is right and what is wrong. In the beginning it was probably because she thought Ryuzaki was a criminal, a killer who showed no remorse for his victims. Then when she saw how people only wanted to use him and his powers and went completely mad in their desire to take advantage of Ryuzaki's healing, I think she decided not to join that crowd.
I also think that is why Ryuzaki finds her so interesting and appealing. She is the only one who is not interested in his powers above all else.
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Date: 2009-10-11 08:24 pm (UTC)I know! I think her being a good mother also appeals to him - his childhood was quite a sad one!
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Date: 2009-09-07 10:51 pm (UTC)It's very stylish and scientific in it's outlook, and bases most of it's story on the characters and their interaction. Anybody can be tempted to join the leeches with good enough incentive, and they excel at finding people's weaknesses.
They manage to cram quite a few morally interesting stories into the 6 episodes that span this entire series. Some FX might seem a bit dated nowadays, but the series relies more on the characters and the story than on FX, so it's only a minor thing.
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Date: 2009-09-07 10:39 pm (UTC)Also, welcome back! I'm SO JEALOUS.
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Date: 2009-09-08 04:56 am (UTC)It's a fantastic show everyone should watch, IMHO. It's probably not for everyone, though.
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Date: 2009-10-11 08:18 pm (UTC)