Random Friday

[alexandral]

A test that made me happy

I have completed the "blunt personality test" (taken from lage_nom_ai, Here) with the very surprising results.! I am "Almost perfect", and from the more serious explanation of the test, I am "Idealist" (Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving). "Thoughtful and considerate", "Intuitive about people", "Do not like to conflict", "Flexible and laid-back", "Perfectionists with high standards". :D

Battlestar Galactica
I am still in a day-dream state after "Unfinished Business" episode, you know, when you are thinking about someting dosing off to sleep three days in a row?

House
After conversation with umeedmerchant I have started watching second season of "House". Hugh Laurie is as entertaining as ever, and I am so much drawn to articulate sharp genius type in RL as well as in Fantasy Life. I can just stare at the screen for hours and listen to Dr. House’s snarky remarks. Also I absolutely unexpectedly like Dr. Chase very much this season too. And my dearest likes "House"; this is an additional plus!!!

Love Contract
I am plodding through this Taiwanese drama, but I am getting increasingly frustrated with the pointlessness and un-interestedness of almost all of the secondary characters. And there seems to be much of the screen time devoted to them. Some scenes I think are meant to be funny or evoke a feeling, but I just don’t seem to get any flicker of it. Even more, many "funny" scenes are plain disgusting in a manner of some teenage comedies. (I apologise very much to anyone who does like teenage comedies, but I am so well passed that stage in life that it seems that I want to wash my eyeballs after seeing even some of the trailers, this is just me!).

"Love and Honor" (Bushi ni Ichibun); Takuya Kimura
I am still so happy about the fact that as catdecember posted (Here), "Love and Honor" (Bushi ni Ichibun) beat "Casino Royale" on the first weekend gross in Tokyo. (It doesn’t mean I don’t like “Casino Royale”, am just happy for "Love and Honour")

I have huge expectations for "Bushi ni Ichibun", directed by Yôji Yamada. I have seen one of his films, "Twilight Samurai", beautiful and unusual romance with the most gentle, philosophical and heroic male protagonist. I hope for something similar (and with inimitable Takuya Kimura as additional plus)

To celebrate this, I posted some pictures of Takuya in dorama_chat

This is a preview (Especially for koalathebear :D ):





Good weekend, everyone!!!

Comments

[lage-nom-ai.livejournal.com]

Yay for you, Ms. Almost Perfect!

I'm not heartbroken when I miss an episode of 'House,' but I do enjoy it a great deal. I've always liked Chase, but Foreman also grew on me in the second season! (Though I started disliking Wilson...).

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Ms. Almost Perfect!

ALMOST is the key word here. I am so going to tell this to my dearest. ( and I think I already know the reaction).

"House" is my favourite pre-bedtime watching. If I watch something too involving/provoking I can't sleep for hours afterwards. And if I watch something truly BAD I get not a little annoyed. BUT Chase! He even seems to look cuter in this season.

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

Gah. Shinkai. He is one of my beloved tv crushes :D I know Good Luck! is never up there in anyone's list of favourites for jdoramas, but I still love it. Shinkai, Ogawa, food - and the fact that they love their jobs so much. It's very inspirational :D Thanks for sharing the image even though I know how you feel about his hairdo in GL ;)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Actually, I love Shankai on this picture, haircut and all! ( You can see the bigger version if you click on it)

I know Good Luck! is never up there in anyone's list of favourites for jdoramas

I was thinking about this recently. Why? Because their romance is not full of angst, deathly diseases, lost brothers and sisters, orphans etc.? I like "Good Luck" more and more with time, it is just somehow different to all the rest of doramas. And as you know, Shankai and his mentor Kouda is one of my favourite non-romantic relationships EVER!

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

I had to go and add another one of your wonderful Good Luck! icons to my user icon list :D

I think the drama doesn't have enough angst or romantic tension in it for most people and also, the actress who played Ogawa put a lot of people off with her prickly portrayal of Ogawa. Also, most people think she's not glamorous looking enough.

Another thing is that it's a fairly simple storyline but I like the fact that Shinkai and Ogawa despite their initial antagonism are friends almost from the start and are attracted from the start. They don't cheat on one another, they don't play games. Shinkai's very direct and obvious about the fact that he likes her. Even Fukaura is never a threat. So that's nice because it means that the two of them talk about a lot of things apart from just whether or not they like one another.

I love how it's a truly ensemble cast, a lot of shows just focus on one or two characters but I found all the characters in Good Luck lovable/interesting in their own way. I, also liked Koda. How as the series developed, you really got to know and understand him.

I loved Shinkai's relationship with his father and his brother - how they were so guy in the fact that they couldn't talk to one another and express how they felt. One of my favourite moments is when Shinkai, Makoto and Mr Shinkai are out on the water after Makoto has runaway from home:

Mr Shinkai: I want you to man a much bigger ship, not a tiny one like this. Man a big ship and go places where there's only the sea, 360 degrees around the compass.

Shinkai: (translating for Makoto) He says you can't man a big ship if you're dumb

Makoto: (pouting) Oh, all right! I like ships so...

Shinkai: (translating for his father) He says he loves you.

:) It's just so sweet. I am also really admire how Shinkai doesn't give up even though everyone kind of writes him off - how he's not a hotshot like Tom Cruise in Top Gun. He's just an ordinary pilot who was bottom of his class but loves flying. :) I've watched the drama quite a few times and I suppose I count it as one of my 'comfort' watches - good for cheering one up and all that sort of thing :) Sorry for waffling....

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I had to go and add another one of your wonderful Good Luck! icons to my user icon list :D

EEEE! Icon angst! I thought I will never be having “icon angst”, but it is coming to it – I was really frustrated when I had to delete some icons this week.

the actress who played Ogawa put a lot of people off with her prickly portrayal of Ogawa. Also, most people think she's not glamorous looking enough.

This should not be a problem, as a fact – I noticed that about 80% of dorama heroines are prickly in demeanor. (and the rest of 20% are saints). But you are definitely right that the is not enough of usual angst. This is appealing to me now. :D

Another thing is that it's a fairly simple storyline but I like the fact that Shinkai and Ogawa despite their initial antagonism are friends almost from the start and are attracted from the start.

You are right – this is again very un-cliché!!

Mr Shinkai: I want you to man a much bigger ship, not a tiny one like this. Man a big ship and go places where there's only the sea, 360 degrees around the compass.

Shinkai: (translating for Makoto) He says you can't man a big ship if you're dumb

And this conversation is hilarious.

He's just an ordinary pilot who was bottom of his class but loves flying. :) I've watched the drama quite a few times and I suppose I count it as one of my 'comfort' watches - good for cheering one up and all that sort of thing :) Sorry for waffling....

This is what again goes against cliché’s (and one of my favorite cliché’s too), that a main hero has to be out of ordinary somehow. But it is really difficult to pull “ordinary guy” off, make him interesting to the viewers. I think Takuya did the great job. I also find “good Luck” very comforting, it gives a lovely message that even if we are ordinary (and oh man, I am ordinary so this is for me) we can do great things if we try hard.

And the other message is that the heart matters over the brilliance.

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

You've been lucky if you have managed to escape icon angst until now. These days I'm getting a bit ruthless and swapping out icons quite regularly because there are always so many nice new ones to come along and I realise that I tend to reuse a certain number of favourite icons anyway :D

I agree that Kimura did an amazing job of being believable as an 'ordinary' and average person - who's also really attractive and appealing. He wasn't a player who slept around, but he was believable in that role

The series made me want to be a pilot :D I posted a thing on my Good Luck! website here (http://www.gel.com.au/koala/goodluck/miscellaneous.htm) about how the number of airline job applications in Japan increased when the series was airing :D Understandable!!!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Indeed! I had an urge to be a pilot too when I saw it! Actually, this is one of my "unfulfilled" dreams, I want to learn to pilot a plane. I know, not now, but some day, I will do it. Flying lessons are only 3 times more then driving. My father-in-law's friend received the crash course in flying for his 60s birthday. :D

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

I've red the introduction to the test, and it's so funny, I must do it --even though it will tell me I'm "like a hyperactive kangaroo on crack" (this sentence made me laugh too much)...let's try, I'll let you know :)
I think House is one of the best characters tv shows have offered us during last years, I can't wait to finish season 1!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Actually, it is quite good and accurate - click the link at the bottom of your results page, where it says "less snarky results" (or something like it) , it actually goes into some serious psychological explanation of what your personality type is. And it is SPOOKY!!! My friend from work sat with me when I was answering (to make sure I was telling the truth) and he says that "Idealist" fits me!!!

[teh-haley.livejournal.com]

*sigh* it's been bad with me!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh no! What did you get????