Being Frugal

In these challenging economic times, I have been following various bloggers and twitterers who blog/tweet deals and money saving offers. I have never given this much emphasis before but find it necessary to do so now.

Recently, Mommies With Cents has been one of the blogs I found and enjoy following. They offer very useful info such as product reviews and great deals all around. Through their blog, I recently applied to be a survey/product tester and bought the Flip videocam at Amazon for a great price. Thanks Mommies!

For you electronic gadget-heads, they are holding a giveaway for a Replica Storage Device! Click HERE to enter.

Reprise: Twilight

I decided to watch this movie again after having read Book 1 & 2. This time around, my analytical visor was on.

It is my belief that the many fans of Robert Pattinson is a direct result of their initial vested interest in Edward Cullen after having read the books. One very important thing I noticed was that Movie Edward lacked charisma. At the very core of Book Edward, there was always fun, charm and a boyish/childlike wonder. Movie Edward is only good at brooding, squinting and wearing big James Dean hair and don't forget the RayBans. The movie version definitely played up his predator side but it's obvious R. Patz's struggled to hide his thick accent and the poor guy had to talk with fangs. (Side note: If you've ever heard Antonio Banderas talk about his experience as Armand in Interview with the Vampire, I would imagine R. Patz had similar challenges with those damn fang teeth.) His dialogue was strained and seemed so labored. I was definitely more disappointed this second time around. The only thing consistent with my previous impressions was that I still don't think Robert Pattinson is good looking. I wish it were otherwise, really!

I think Kristen Stewart has great sleepy-bedroom eyes. I enjoyed watching her again and really like the way she portrays Bella. I hope she continues to breathe the same kind of life to Bella in subsequent movies to follow because I certainly don't feel good about seeing so many different-styled directors signing up for theses movies (high probability of botching).

Overall, I think I liked the movie less this second time around. I am disappointed that I feel that way but it just didn't have the same lustre as the first time I saw it. I might have skipped the movie review altogether if I had read the book before watching the movie. In my opinion, Edward was meant to stay in the book, not be a wanna-be James Dean on screen.

Thoughts / Review: Kuroshitsuji

I guess I did enjoy this title for the most part. I did get excited with each new episode. Most had their own self-contained stories and Greil Sultclife was the most entertaining villain/supporting character. There was even one episode that was kind eye-popping (Sebastian seducing a church devotee for some info). Holy smoke!

My problem was the ending. I was expecting Ciel Phamtomhive to overcome his despair and somehow become a happier person. Maybe I was expecting too much. This was definitely not a happy ending anime. I think I will read the manga in hopes of changing my disappointment with the anime.

Overall, those who are interested in goth, supernatural, blood/gore would enjoy this title.

Plug into Web 2.0

I recently have been thinking a lot about the way our lifestyle has evolved. With all the press about printed newspapers stopping production and becoming obsolete, this is the harsh reality of our technological age.

I can recall a time back in college when the school Intranet was a black screen with white text and ASCII codes...scrolling and scrolling. That was what I knew of the online world at that time. I had a computer with a dial-up modem. I tested it with a friend and we would dial each other's telephone line and then type messages to each other on a blank screen (early version of Instant Messaging!). I found the World Wide Web one day probably through a news report on TV or a conversation with a fellow student. Seems that even as 1996 was coming upon us, there were still some students who didn't know what the WWW was. Haha, 1996...seems like such a long time ago.

You are not considered a regular member of society now unless you are technolgically plugged-in in some fashion. Who doesn't have an iPhone, raise your hand! What unfortunately comes with being plugged in that you become visible and people can find you. Like Facebook for example. I don't think there's a single person in the 12 - 39 age group without a Facebook account today (except for me of course). Old classmates who are starving for nostalgic olden years live there. They will ping your sister to get your contact info so they can invite you to your high school reunion.

I refuse to get sucked into Facebook. However, I am on Twitter. I established my Twitter account awhile ago, before it was known as the next Web 2.0 app. Like with everything else that's out there Twitter will get replaced, but for now I am having fun with it. Adding someone on your list to follow puts you really close to them. Closer than reading a blog. I am following Gavin Newsom and he's following me too. Hilarious right?

Thoughts / Review: Twilight Saga 1 & 2

So I haven't done any marathon reading in a long while. I was excited about the Twilight books after watching the movie recently. I actually read book two, "New Moon" before the first book.

While the movie adequately introduced us to Bella and Edward, book one definitely offers more in-depth exploration into their personalities. Edward is actually a lot more fun in the book. He is a bit arrogant but very charismatic and I didn't quite get that impression while watching the movie. Bella is your standard damsel in distress and that much was the same in the book as well as the movie.

We don't see much of Edward in book 2. This one really focuses on Bella's emerging friendship/romance with Jacob Black and the discovery of his latent talents. Bella and Jacob's interaction is really what carries the second book. With each turn of the page, you're wondering if Bella is going to change her mind and fall for Jacob instead. Love the suspense!

From the negative reviews that have cropped up all over Amazon, it would seem a lot of fans find Stephanie Meyer losing steam with her story ideas in book 3 and 4. Book 3, "Eclipse" the paperback edition doesn't release until August 2009. I'll see how long I hold out before buying. Maybe I will resume reading my Vampire Hunter D novels until then.

In The Goth Mood

All this Twilight buzz is making me feel nostalgic. I'm trying to rekindle the feeling from the yester-years when I was in love with Peter Murphy and everything Bauhaus. Ahh, memories.

The cool pic above is by one of my favorite manga artists, Kaori Yuki. The manga title is Ludwig Kakumei or Ludwig Revolution. Ludwig's adventures are actually modified versions of your classic fairytales such as Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood etc. Her work generally leans towards horror and macabre-very twisted stuff, which I love. Here's to nostalgia, cheers!

Thoughts / Review: Twilight

Yes, I am guilty of dismissing this title because of all the hype. I rolled my eyes and snorted whenever I heard the title. "The most epic romance since Titanic" according to critic review quote on the DVD box. Uh huh, riiiight. The nightly news was showing footage of your average goth girl at the store waiting for the midnight release on video. Based on that, I assumed this title was another teeny bopper phenomenon like The Jonas Brothers or more like Sweet Valley High - 2009 Vampire Edition for tween goth girls (goth, goth, loli, loli).

But since this is a vampire movie, it's inevitable that I watch it. My love affair with vampires has endured neglect in recent years. I grow tired of Lestat and the myriad of generic, wanna-be novels out there. So I watched it, expecting to be sorely disappointed. Surprisingly, that was not the case.

Bella Swan is your average teenager. What I found interesting was the warm welcome she received when she arrived into a new small town (population approximately 3000). Being a teenager that she is and starting in a new school, I expected her to be picked on and tagged with an F4 red card. Instead, all the popular boys seem to be interested in her and the girls are actually nice to her. This one detail was a welcomed relief and I immediately I liked her. She is smart, pretty and no-nonsense - very refreshing.

Now Edward Cullen, resident hot, weirdo, vampire who idolizes James Dean down to the RayBans and hair, I did not like him as much. Too much brooding and staring. And why does the world think he's cute? The actor, Robert Pattinson's most memorable movie on his resume is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I can't recall him at all. (Robert is now lucky enough to be desired by all the tweeny fan-girls. Good for you Robert!) Thankfully, the acting was good. He convinced me he was an awkward vampire who has lived an insurmountable number of years, repeating high school for the umpteenth time and wants this new girl. I told myself, "he's a good-looking vampire who wants an ordinary human girl, I want to be Bella." Yep, I fell for it.

The director, Catherine Hardwicke, did an amazing job. The scenes were filmed with care. The lighting was very thoroughly planned. It was harsh when necessary but also beautiful during softer scenes. A female director's touch is generally quite different from a male director and she captures these details very nicely thoroughout the whole movie. The pacing was wonderful and engaging - just right. This movie could've been a disasterous interpretation but I think she was able to finesse her magic and overwhelmingly scored big. I was very impressed.

Overall, I have to give this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. Huge right? I know! For those looking for a good romance movie without too much gore/blood of typical vampire movies (safe for PG-13 crowd), I highly recommend (love) this one.