september book challenge

65. Shiloh Walker - Her Best Friend's Lover
3 1/2 stars - though the story is nice, i just dont like the fact that they're best friends but he can't remember their night together and for Lauren being such a coward and telling him that he's the father of her child. oh, and the cover looks cheap.

66. Sarah Mayberry - Can't Get Enough
i love this author! she does not disappoint! this time it's Jack and Claire as office mates in love. beautiful romance, funny scenes, heartfelt passion. 4 1/2 stars.

67. Toni Blake - One Reckless Summer
i love reading about small towns in the US, where everybody knows each other. her style is more kristan higgins with a little rachel gibson. though i dont like Mick's past - as being a bad kid with a record and with Wayne committing crime and breaking out of prison and just dying, i still loved the romance and the pacing of the story. and i love Sue Ann.. i wish i had a best friend like her! looking forward to read Rachel's story and also hoping the other 2 girls will have their own story too! 4 1/2 stars

68. Kristan Higgins - All I Ever Wanted
i love how kristan can always come up with a great girl, guy and crazy family in all her books. i love ian mcfarland, even though at first he came out as a bit of standoffish, he was actually nice and i think he and Callie were perfect for each other. For Callie, i understand her "obsession" with Mark, and i like how she was able to overcome it and find the right guy for her. For Mark, he started out really okay and made us think that he was such a great guy and that's why it's hard for Callie to let go, but was disappointed when he became a jerk in the end because then i thought Callie wasted years pining for a jerk. i was hoping that he's a bit like Joe Carpenter (the Carpenter. hehe) a really nice guy but just wasn't in love with Callie and i wish they could have remained friends in the end and the bitchy girl was so awful, i thought it would have been better if it was Mark who dumped her and not the other way around. but i'd still give this 4 1/2 stars.

the second half of the month had me reading YA novels one after another.

69. Danielle Joseph - Shrinking Violet
the plot was really simple but i love her and her boyfriend, Gavin. 4 stars. i can imagine myself to be like Teresa because i would love to be a DJ - i think i have great taste in music and would love to have my own show, except that i don't like talking on air (i wouldn't know what to say and my voice sounds like a kid) and talking with callers.

70. Jen Calonita - Secrets of My Hollywood Life
sounds a bit like Hannah Montana but this was is a whole lot nicer. i love Kaitlin Burke - even though she's a 16 year old A-list actress, the author portrayed her as mature and not spoiled. I doubt though if there really is a young star in Hollywood as nice as her (maybe Selena Gomez?). looking forward to the rest of the series! 4 1/2 stars.

71. Lauren Oliver - Before I Fall
4 stars. one of the reasons why i started reading this because of the plot. the idea that she wakes up everyday redoing the last day of her life, plus the fact that i loved watching Groundhog Day when i was a kid. i loved the way the author made me like her in the end and how she changed from being a bitch to a better person. what i didn't like is how the story started really strong then slowing down until it ended on a flat note. i liked how she tried to change the things she did differently everyday and you can see how each action she did changed the course of the evening but i thought some of the sideplots were unnecessary - like anna cartulo and they guy cheating on his gf, or seeing the two teachers making out. i especially didn't like why the story had to center on juliet sykes. *spoiler ahead* and it because of that, i didn't like the ending. i thought the reason Sam was supposed to relive her day was to teach her a lesson but instead, it was like it was really her last day and Sam was just being given a chance to die of a better cause than because of booze. juliet didn't want to live no matter how much Sam tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen so i dont understand why Sam had to die for juliet. i dont see why her dying for juliet made her stop reliving her last day. it wasn't even her fault juliet became an outcast - it was her other friend, so i didnt understand why she had to suffer instead. and speaking of her friend, there was no resolution to her, its like understanding that she's scared made up for her lying and bitchy ways, which i thought was wrong. another not so good thing is Sam's relationship with Kent. the first half of the story, Sam didn't like Kent or didnt feel anything romantic with him. and just when she started being nice that she started falling in love with Kent? and why bother trying to force a romantic relationship for Sam and Kent if she will die in the end.. how will Kent feel?? it would have been better if she didn't have a boyfriend, and instead just carried on with breaking up with her boyfriend. one last thing, she did not die every night so how come she still had to relive the day again?

72. Jennifer Ziegler - How Not To Be Popular
4 1/2 stars. loved this book. i respected how Maggie was so gutsy enough to wear those hideous outfits! i think if i were in that school and saw her, i would also be laughing at her. as this is high school and it's in high school that we make our immature mistakes i thought her idea was both ingenious but at the same time dumb. she started with the idea of trying to be a loner and outcast and i thought that's what she should have done but by being so outrageous and outlandish, people noticed her more. so in a way, i did agree with the principal. too bad though that the ending was a bit abrupt. they just left her and Jack's relationship in a to-be-continued kind of way, and i thought that if he really liked her, he would have liked her for her still and not back off and just end up being friends in the end. it would have also been nicer if they had a short epilogue where she's back in school and no longer had to wear her hideous outfits. oh and why make shanna the homecoming queen? all throughout the story she was made into a lying scared girl so i didnt think she deserved winning it.

73. Sarah Ockler - Twenty Boy Summer
4 1/2 stars. this book reminded me a bit of sarah dessen for the tragedy and hailey abbott for the boys. i loved how she ended the book with Anna and Frankie being friends again, Anna getting closure on Matt's death but what i hoped was that there would be a resolution between Frankie and her parents, and hoped that Anna would be able to continue her relationship with Sam beyond that summer. they looked so in love and yet in the end, they didn't promise to meet each other. but then i guess the main point was for Anna to be able to let Matt go. The title seemed a bit misleading though that was their original plan, but she could have made it Ten Boy Summer instead or made Anna and Frankie meet more guys. and i was also disappointed with Jack. all through out the story, there never was an instance where Jack was rude or a jerk yet in the end Frankie tells Anna that she refused to have sex with him and he dumped her and he's a jerk. i thought it would have been nice for Frankie to end up with a nice Jack who will love her. but maybe another reason is for Frankie to learn and grow up first (you know the saying, you can't love someone if you dont love yourself). oh and Anna having sex with Sam - did she do it because she really wanted to or she just felt obligated to do it? because she blamed Frankie for pressuring her until she found out that Frankie has never done it in the first place.

yay! 27 books to go! i can't do this!!!

2010 top 30

it sucks when my hard disk just suddenly stops working.. all my docs, pics, videos (!!) are all gone and i have to start all over again :( a good thing is i had just synced my itunes to my ipod so i was able to recover all my songs..

i was trying tracking my top 30 most played songs for 2010 and though i couldn't finish it until dec 31, i was able to save a screenshot of my top 30 as of today.. so here it goes:

obviously, most of the songs came from Q1.. though i think if given more time the following songs would have made it by end of year: Rainbow's A, Miss A's Good Girl Bad Girl, Shinee's Lucifer and SuJu's No Other.

will try to manually calculate the results from tomorrow til Dec 31 and let's see if the rankings change!

jay park in manila

first was rain.. next is jay.. i'm tempted to watch even without a friend.. but with all my expenses, not sure if i should buy or just skip this??

im already skipping john mayer and now this..and i heard taylor swift's coming too! oh no! i think i need to find a new set of friends!

new kpop songs!

the fight for the next big girl group with sistar, secret, rainbow and nine muses:
Sistar - Shady Girl

Secret - Madonna (until they've stopped singing Mazik)

Rainbow - A (with their controversial ab dance)

nine muses - no playboy (looking like an older and more plastic version of SNSD)


Narsha - Mamma Mia

2NE1 - can't nobody (not really a big fan, they're overrated and trying too hard to be fierce and too much autotune.. i feel sad for bom.. she looks like she's had too many plastic surgeries already)

and the veteran girl groups are trying to outdo each other in japan:
Kara - Mister (japanese version)

SNSD - Genie (japanese version)

Brown Eyed Girls - Abracadabra (Japanese version) - MV is coming soon but for now here's the japanese audio

[k-drama review] oh! my lady

Title: 오! 마이 레이디 / Oh! My Lady

Genre: Romance, comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: SBS
Broadcast period: 2010-Mar-22 to 2010-May-11
Airtime: Monday & Tuesday 20:55


Synopsis:
A spunky 35-year-old housewife, Yoon Gae Hwa, takes on the job of manager to prickly top star Sung Min Woo in order to earn enough money to regain custody of her child from her ex-husband. Romantic hijinks and hilarity ensues when they find themselves in an awkward living situation as Min Woo pays Gae Hwa to take care of his daughter, Ye Eun.

Main Cast:
Chae Rim as Yoon Gae Hwa
Choi Si Won as Sung Min Woo
Lee Hyun Woo as Yoo Shi Joon
Park Han Byul as Hong Yoo Ra

Review:
When I first read that Chae Rim and Choi Siwon is starring in a new series,  I was excited. I love Chae Rim ever since I watched All About Eve (one of my fave and early kdrama i've ever watched) and Choi Siwon is probably the only Super Junior that i like (plus i loved him in 18:29). Plus the story seemed like it's going to be a fun drama!

And i was not mistaken! While it took me weeks before I can finish Pasta, it only took me one weekend to finish this series! The series was light and breezy most time but it also tackled some serious issues. First up, the cast. Chae Rim is so pretty! This is the second time that Chae Rim is playing an older woman (first was Dalja's Spring with Lee Minki which i loved) and again, they tried to give her awful hair to make her look older. Her character is spunky and independent and i love when she manipulates Min Woo and how she's such a great mom to both girls. However, i didn't see much progress in her character's development, she just stayed flat the whole series which was a bit of a letdown for me.

On the other hand, i knew that the producers were banking on thousands of fangirls watching to see Siwon's pretty boy looks and hot body, but i was also pleasantly surprised that he can actually act. He's not that great of an actor yet, but i love how he was able to convey different types of expressions. plus it was so fun watching him play an idol star. i also loved how his character progressed from just a mere pretty boy to a serious actor and doting father.

it was fun to watch Gae Hwa and Min woo's bickering all through out the show and the way you can see their gradual concern for each other, but still i can't help but think -- the love that they feel, is it really love or more out of being so close together? i think the director and writer could have added more romantic stuff into the show to make it more believable.. i can see that Minwoo fell for Gae Hwa but Gae Hwa's so subtle, you don't really see that she loves him back. and the drama only showed Minwoo wooing GaeHwa only in the last 2 episodes. i dont know if they rushed it or not. But still, i liked their kind of love, which is more mature and steady, unlike the usual heart throbbing romance most kdramas seem to show.

funny, but Lee Hyun Woo was also the second male lead in Chae Rim's Dalja's Spring and his character was exactly the same stony-faced-businessman. i dont know how he gets a lot of acting roles but he really can't act! the only scene that surprised me was when he punched a wall - the only outburst i've seen ever from him! not really much competition here since he's married - i thought they could have written a stronger story for him and the wife instead of the endless silence from him and her trying to provoking him but at least they gave them a good ending.

likewise, Han Byul is playing a similar character which she does best - playing an innocent looking but a conniving bitch (Fantasy Couple). it's soo funny seeing her act so "feeling" and i would laugh so hard everytime she's embarrassed or things dont go her way. i think it's time for Han Byul to step out and try out other roles or she will never being a lead.

the most adorable part of the series? definitely the 2 cute kids!!

i love all the scenes where the 4 of them are together!

and i especially love minwoo's scenes with his daughter! so freaking adorable!

overall, i would say this is an entertaining series to watch but nothing special. it even made me think of various kdramas that were combined into one drama. however, i wouldn't mind watching this again as i'd love to watch siwon and the adorable kid again but the story does not stick to your mind for years to come. for that, i'd give this 7.5/10 stars.

[k-drama review] pasta

Title: 파스타 / Pasta
Genre: Romance
Episodes: 20
Broadcast: MBC
Broadcast period: 2010-Jan-04 to 2010-Mar-09
Airtime: Mondays & Tuesdays 21:55

Synopsis:
"Pasta" covers the dreams and success of a young woman who aspires to become an elite chef at La Sfera restaurant.


Seo Yoo Kyung started her career as a kitchen assistant at La Sfera restaurant. She eventually works her way up to become a chef.

Choi Hyun Wook is the top chef at La Sfera restaurant. He studied the culinary arts in Italy and started out as a chef assistant at a hotel in Sicily. Hyun Wook eventually worked his way up to become the most widely recognized Italian chef in Korea.

Main Cast:
Gong Hyo Jin (Sangdoo, Thank You) as Seo Yoo Kyung
Lee Sun Gyun (Coffee Prince) as Choi Hyun Wook
Lee Ha Nui (Ms Korea) as Oh Sae Young
Alex (from my fave group Clazziquai) as Kim San

Review:
I wasn't really keen to watch this drama, mostly because i didn't like the 2 leads - i thought Hyo Jin wasn't pretty and after watching some of her shows, i find her boring. I didn't like Sun Gyun in Coffee Prince (my eyes were focused on Eun Hye and Gong Yoo.. hehe), but after hearing a lot of nice things about this drama, I decided to give it a try.

Hmm.. the drama was mostly ok but a little average. I've seen Bambino (Jun Matsumoto) so some of the scenes reminded me of that show but sad to say, i liked Bambino more because I saw how Jun's character evolved in just 10 (or 11?) episodes. In Pasta, I didn't see much improvement from Yoo Kyung's cooking (except for her ginseng pasta) - until the end, she was just one 2nd to the youngest chef in the team and it didn't seem like she became better at it at all. The story focused instead more on her relationship with Hyun Wook, which i loved. I thought they had really good chemistry and their scenes together looked cute and natural. But i did hate Yoo Kyung annoyingly call Hyun Wook "Chep" all the time!!! I love that Hyun Wook is such a kick ass chef - it seems like he can do no wrong, but i didn't like that he screamed so much. He could have taught his team more rather than just screaming his head off everytime someone makes a mistake. I did see though that he lessened his angry outbursts and was able to gain the respect of the Korea team. and and i take it back, he can be quite handsome, esp when he smiles and i love his voice!

The second leads - Honey and Alex weren't that bad - it was Honey's second try and Alex's first try at acting. Honey was quite irritating with her endless smirks.. it's like she thinks smirking is the same as smiling. and her clothes are nice but sooo shiny and sparkly! There are 2 kinds of male second leads - the bad one who tries to break the leads apart and the good one who is happy to keep his love unrequited and continue to support the female lead. Alex's character is the latter and while I love having those types of guys in real life, girls just tend to gravitate toward bad boys (Hyun Wook isn't really bad just had a strong personality). oh and i love the cacti pictures that he sends to Yoo Kyung!

Supporting cast - Korea team vs Italy team, definitely i like Italy team better.. not only are they so cute (esp the curly hair who looks so much like Lee Junki), but Korea team just had such low confidence and crappy personalities, it was just well that Hyun Wook was also getting angry at them all the time. On the other hand, while loyalty is a good trait, sometimes Italy team takes it too far with their rebellion that they look like immature kids.

The 3 ex-lady chefs were pathetic. i can't believe that with their cooking skills, they couldn't even get jobs! i mean, come on! they were unnecessary to the story and shouldn't have been part of the entire series at all! and the ex-president-turned-waiter wanting revenge on Hyun Wook? hello, he pocketed money and blamed it on Yoo Kyung! it was totally justified that he got fired! good thing San was such a nice guy and brought him back at all! Though in the end, i like how they showed him to be nicer.

the head waiter had little role.. but he was such a cutie that i just had to include him here:

2 great things about this drama - food and music.. loved the scenes of them cooking the food.. it was just so yummy!! everytime i watch an episode, i can't help but drool and wish there's a nearby italian resto where i can order pasta! i also love the ost! my fave track is the one sung by After School called "You're Cute".


overall, while it was entertaining and the romance was good, it took me quite a while to finish this series. there were some parts they could have omitted (like the 3 chefs) and more parts they could have added (like more problems with the customers) and not just focusing on the love story. i would give this 7/10 stars!

danny and rain in manila!

daniel henney and rain arrived in the philippines to shoot some scenes and promote their new drama series called, Runaway or Fugitive. danny was interviewed by ruffa g and rain by dj mo in paparazzi.


they also held a presscon at the Manila Hotel last Sept 9, 2010 with Lee Nayoung and the director


afterwards, rain had a concert on Sept 11 at MOA with U-kiss and Christian Bautista.

damn!! i knew rain was coming here.. but i wasn't sure about daniel henney coming here until the news came out!!! double damn!! these are times when i need to be watching more tv!!! last friday, it was a holiday and i was actually joking with my brother that i want to go to Manila Hotel and stalk Rain... if i had known that Daniel was also there.. i would have gone there.. no hesitations at all!! to think that danny was only a few km away from me.. and i missed him!!! argh!!

here are more pics of danny and rain during the presscon!! too bad i missed this!!!!

he looked sooo handsome!!! 

lee na young is such a lucky girl!

 can't wait to watch Fugitive! it airs in Korea end of the Sept (2 eps per week!) hope the series lives up to the hype! can't wait to see Danny play the bad guy (again after Agent Zero).. and excited to watch Rain's probably last tv series in a while (since he is off to the army soon!)

 

early xmas present anyone?

true blood figurines.. i like i like!! how to get them for xmas?? tell mee!!!