another jack bites the dust

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How is it June 7 already?! WTF. I don’t even know.

Been too busy at work. Leaving no time for TV or blogging (cannot believe it’s been over a week since my last entry). HORRORS.

Anyway.

So… the Lost series finale. After my initial viewing, I was a little underwhelmed. But now after multiple viewings and over 2 weeks to mull it over, I think I love it. I really, really do. (Or maybe I’m just easily manipulated). It was emotionally satisfying and that’s enough for me. I’ve never been as invested in the mysteries of the island anyway. The mysteries may have hooked me but I stayed for the characters, their personal journeys, and the relationships they formed with one another.

I know I won’t be able to write a proper review of the finale (I’ll direct you to one of my favorite TV critics instead) so I’ll just run through some of the great moments that really stayed with me…



Seeing Rose, Bernard… and Vincent too! So happy they were given a happy ending. I was a little worried Smokey was going to kill one or both of them off.



The first of the flashbacks between Sun and Jin. *sob* I never thought I would love them so much. I didn’t care for Jin at all at the beginning of the show.



OMG. I TOTALLY knew that Juliet was going to be Jack’s wife in the sideways-verse. I KNEW IT. Oh, show. Sometimes you are so predictable. I’ve always been a Jack/Kate ‘shipper but this scene made me realize how good Jack and Juliet could be too.



Smokey/Locke: “Jacob, being who he is… I expected to be a little more surprised. You’re sort of the obvious choice, don’t you think?”
… then later …
Jack: “I’m gonna kill you.”
Smokey/Locke: “How do you plan to do that?”
Jack: “That’s a surprise.”
BWAH. Dun dun DUN!



BOONE! I was so sad when he died in season 1 so it’s been great to revisit his character again in this last season. And as much as I like Shannon/Sayid, all I kept thinking during this scene was… what was Boone’s “moment?” You know, his own moment of clarity?



OMG. This scene was so beautiful. I loved that Kate’s moment came when delivering Aaron. Again.



“I saved you a bullet.” YES. Kate kicking ass! There have been times over the years when she’s disappointed me (*ahem* indecision over Jack and Sawyer) but definitely not in the finale.



SQUEE! Jack and Kate’s “I love yous.” Only one word to describe this scene… FINALLY. But so unbelievably sad knowing what happens to Jack. It upsets me to think that Kate left the island and had to live without him. *sob*



THIS reunion scene between Sawyer and Juliet was the one that really *got* to me. Just… so perfect and romantic. AND HAPPY! You can clearly see the joy in their faces. They’re so in love! Their relationship surprised me back in season 5 but I fell hard for them and was seriously heartbroken when Juliet died setting off the bomb in the season 6 premiere.



Jack’s confusion and hesitance to accept the truth and let go. Seriously, Matthew Fox KILLS me with his eyes. He is SO GOOD at being on the verge of crying… his eyes fill with tears and just a few of them roll down his face. It gets me more upset than if he was straight-out sobbing.



Hurley becoming the island protector with Ben as his second-in-command. I’ve never been able to fully embrace Ben as a character but I’m glad that he found what he’s been searching for — respect.



And finally… *sob* Acceptance and all the characters reuniting in the sanctuary. I have to admit — I wasn’t crazy about the explanation for the sideways-verse. I thought it felt too easy. I was expecting a huge reveal tying the sideways-verse with the “real” world. It took me awhile to realize that’s what I got. It was just less “Oh sh*t!!! WTF!” and more of an “Ohhhhh…” moment. LOL. Sometimes I’m slow. What can I say?

And of course, Jack’s death. WAHHHH. I had a feeling Jack was going to die so it wasn’t a surprise. He was at peace, he knew his friends made it off the island and he wasn’t alone (Vincent!)… so as sad and twisted as it sounds, his story got a happy ending too. Love the callbacks to the pilot with the entire scene. Details like that make me happy. Total TV geek, I know. But seriously, this episode (and the show in general) gets better and better each time I watch it.

Farewell, Lost. I will miss you!

Many thanks to Lost Media and ABC for the pics.

farewell jack bauer

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Confession. I have no desire to watch Sex and the City 2. I thought the first movie was pretty darn perfect as is. I don’t want my memories to be ruined by the new movie. 🙁 Maybe I’ll watch it on DVD.

So work has been rough lately. Which means I’m super behind with TV. And I totally forgot So You Think You Can Dance premieres this week. WTF is wrong with me?

I did manage to watch the 24 series finale, though…



I complain a lot about this show. It has been enormously frustrating the past few seasons. But I freaking LOVE it. It brought me Jack Bauer and his Jack-pack, one of my most favorite couples in Tony and Michelle, Bill, Chloe, Presidents David and Wayne Palmer, Aaron (the best Secret Service agent ever), and many others.

OMG. I will miss this show so much.

Season 8 was a weak season overall (what was the BIG DEAL with the peace treaty and why didn’t the Russians want to sign it?) and the series finale wasn’t much better but it had some great character moments (mostly between Jack and Chloe) that I loved…

— Chloe bringing Jack back from the dark side. It’s been really hard for me to watch Jack let his need for vengeance get the better of him in these last few episodes (the episode where he cuts open Tokarev to find the SIM card comes to mind… *shudders*). And it made sense for Chloe, someone who’s truly his friend, to be the one to make him stop and think about his actions before he went through with the assassination.
— Jack forcing Chloe to shoot him. OMG. This scene was unintentionally hilarious. I don’t know if I’ve ever loved Chloe as much as I did here.
— President Taylor and Dalia Hassan’s throwdown. FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. You could seriously feel Dalia’s shock at being simultaneously betrayed and blackmailed. I have to admit, though, that I’m a little disappointed that Taylor’s character was written this way to begin with. This was the same President who sent her daughter to JAIL last season because she had such a clear sense of right and wrong.
— President Taylor’s desperation and remorse at finding out she might not be able to stop Jack’s execution. The way she leaned on the wall in the elevator as if she couldn’t hold herself up… that was amazing acting.
— The final scene between Jack and Chloe. It was perfect. Their farewell was unbelievably emotional (no doubt Kiefer and Mary Lynn’s own). I loved the way Jack looked straight at the screen like he was addressing the viewers and thanked Chloe for having his back all these years. *sob*

I wish Jack didn’t have to be on the run, though (way to recycle the season 4 ending, writers). It’s not fair that he’s rebuilt his relationship with Kim and now he won’t even be able to watch his granddaughter grow up. That makes me sad. But I guess the ending had to be open-ended if the rumors for a theatrical movie are true. Maybe Tony can be a part of it somehow. 😀

Farewell, Jack. It’s been a fun 8 seasons.

DAMN IT!

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Trip Report: Vancouver, Part 2

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Saturday, April 24.

Woke up to rain. 🙁 But we made the best of it!

After breakfast, we headed to North Vancouver to visit Grouse Mountain.



Crossing Lions Gate Bridge from downtown.



The Skyride that goes up the mountain to the Chalet. LOVED the ride. It’s exhilarating to see the world at your feet.



At the top (not to be confused with the peak – you have to take another chairlift up there, which we didn’t). Unfortunately the visibility was TERRIBLE so we decided just to take a short hike to see the 2 orphaned bears that live on the mountain.



We were walking and I didn’t realize how deep the snow was and I… TOTALLY FELL DOWN. How embarrassing.



After getting lost on the way, we found the bears!



Heading back down the mountain.



It was still raining but we decided to go to the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge anyway. (There’s another suspension bridge in North Vancouver that’s supposed to be higher and longer — Capilano — but they charge admission there and we’re cheap!).



So exciting! The bridge is a little narrow but I actually liked being able to just glance to the side and see the creek down below.

We headed back downtown (where it wasn’t raining – go figure!) and set out to see more of the sights, like…



Gastown steam clock.



Love the street lamps here.



A closer view of Canada Place.



The Olympics cauldron! Too bad we had to see it in this state. They’re making it a permanent fixture in this plaza and it was still under construction.

After all that walking, we got settled back at the hotel, watched the Lakers lose to the Thunder (grrr!) and treated ourselves to yummy Indian food from Rangoli.

Sunday, April 25.

Our last day. 🙁

Didn’t have anything planned except for brunch at Cafe Medina. We arrived just before opening so we were seated right away. Thank goodness because seats were filled quickly and a long line formed outside (in the rain!).



Blurry pic of the inside.



Brunch was AH-MAY-ZING. We ordered these mini waffles as appetizers and they were SO. GOOD. For entrees, we tried the fricassé (fried eggs with short ribs, potatoes, arugula) and the cassoulet (fried eggs, baked beans, bacon, and andouille sausage).

Seriously, GO HERE. I swear it’s yummers.

And so ends a fantastic trip.

More pics on the Flickr here.

We don’t have any other trips planned this year except for a local trip down to San Diego in July for Comic-Con! Rob and I have passes for all 4 days and YES, I’ve already arranged for the time off. Can’t wait.

supernatural s5 finale

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Supernatural 05.22: Swan Song

This seriously felt like a series finale.

Season 5 has been very “meh” (the episodes *barely* moved the story forward, if at all) so it was only fitting that the BIG! HUGE! FIGHT! between Michael and Lucifer (and Adam and Sam as the vessels respectively) was a big anti-climactic disappointment. Poor Dean didn’t even have an important role to play. Instead, he gets beat to a bloody pulp. He did deliver my favorite line of the episode, though — “I’m not gonna let him die alone.” *sad*

I’m glad that Castiel and Bobby were brought back to life (especially Cas — love him! Ass-butt!) but I feel like their deaths totally lost any kind of emotional resonance when they were so easily restored. It wasn’t earned. It was lazy writing. Their deaths didn’t even have a chance to sink in yet! But I guess I’m torn because I don’t think the show would be the same without either of them.

As far as the ending, I had a feeling that Sam (or is it Lucifer?) was going to reappear. There really isn’t anywhere else the story could go. I just hope they’re not going to recycle the Buffy storyline with Sam not coming back “right.” I’m happy enough with Dean giving up hunting and settling down but a part of me wishes it could be with Jo. Why’d they have to kill her off? I’m sure I’m the only one in this fandom that feels this way, lol. I just love Alona Tal.

Lastly… Chuck? God?! Where did that come from? I guess we’ll see what happens in season 6.

wango tango 2010

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Sometimes my job is cool because I get free things. Like the tickets I got to the annual Wango Tango concert that’s produced by local radio station KIIS-FM.

Rob and I had a birthday dinner to attend so we got to the Staples Center an hour late and missed B.O.B, Iyaz, and Adam Lambert. That’s ok, though. I was really only there to see the headliners — Ludacris, Usher. And YES FINE OK, Justin Bieber. 😀



Our seats were pretty good! We were on the right side of the stage.

I noticed right away that I AM FREAKING OLD. There were groups of teenagers sitting in front of us. And between artists they all sat down, pulled out their phones, and sent text messages, posted on Facebook, etc. I admit I posted a Twitter update during a break but that was when Rob left to go to the bathroom and I didn’t have anyone to talk to!

ALSO. During the next set of artists, the teenagers knew ALL THE LYRICS to each song. And I knew… NONE. I guess Ke$ha, David Guetta/Kelly Rowland, and Akon are popular with that age group? I don’t know.

Anyway. Ke$ha was kerrazy and fun. Akon was diiiirrrrttyy. I felt dirty just watching him. And poor Kelly Rowland’s mic was messed up so you couldn’t hear her at all.

Introducing each artist were random “celebrities” like the casts of The City, The Hills, Twilight (I only recognized Ashley Greene and Nikki Reed), and freaking DAVID HASSELHOFF. Hilarious. But my favorite presenter was Derek Fisher from the Lakers!



That’s him. I swear.



The Lakers championship banners.

Ok. Back to the music. The last group of artists to perform were the ones I was most looking forward to. First up was JUSTIN BIEBER!!! I can’t help it. I like him. I cannot even explain why. It’s not that I think he’s cute (he’s too young). Or that he has an amazing voice. He just seems like a good kid, I guess. Or maybe I’ve just been infected with Bieber Fever. BWAHAHA.

Entirely possible.



He had a short set (only 6 songs) that included my favorites One Less Lonely Girl, One Time and Baby. SQUEE.

Next was Ludacris who seriously sounds EXACTLY the way he does on his records. No auto-tuning here (or whatever they do to artists to make them sound perfect). He was incredibly high energy and was even able to get ROB OUT OF HIS SEAT. That’s some amazing stuff. Sadly, I didn’t get a non-blurry picture of him.

And finally, closing the night was Usher!!! He had the longest set by far (30 minutes) and not only did he perform his new singles (Daddy’s Home, OMG), he also sang many of his older songs too (Nice and Slow, Confessions, Yeah, U Got it Bad, My Boo, Caught Up). He was great! YAY.

You know, it’s funny. I mentioned earlier that the teenagers around us were familiar with the earlier artists but when Usher started singing his older stuff, they didn’t know any of them. I really *am* old.



Usher!

After the concert, we walked to the other side of the Staples Center to check out the rest of LA Live. It’s amazing to see how developed the area is now. We also found the new Chick Hearn statue.



It was a good night. And my ears are still ringing. 😀

iron man 2

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Went to see Iron Man 2 on Sunday morning (10:45am showing!)… possible spoilers???



It wasn’t quite as fresh and original as the first movie but I still found it super fun and entertaining.

My biggest disappointment was, shockingly, Don Cheadle. Especially compared to the awesomeness of Robert Downey Jr. Cheadle played Rhodey so flat. And I normally love him in everything he does! It was like he was just reading lines from the script instead of infusing emotion and charm behind the words. I almost wish Terence Howard wasn’t so greedy to see what he would have done in the role again. He’s the reason why I love Rhodey and his friendship with Stark so much.

On the other hand, I really liked Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. I usually don’t care for her acting at all so I lowered my expectations accordingly and she pleasantly surprised me. Her big fight scene was cool too. A little “pose-y” but whatever. I know that was aaalllll for the guys. Heh.

I also thought Mickey Rourke was effective as Vanko but his death felt a little anticlimactic. It took all of 2 minutes of fighting with Iron Man and War Machine to go down? Some villain! Ehhh.

As mentioned, RDJ was awesome even though Tony was kind of an ass for most of the movie. His interactions with Pepper and Happy made me so… happy. LOL.

So yeah. Go see it! And stay until the end of the credits to see the teaser for the upcoming Thor movie (?).

Brief thoughts on other movies I’ve seen recently…

Julie & Julia
I read the book last week (it was… ok, not really what I expected) so when I finished it, I wanted to see how the movie compared. And I actually liked the movie FAR better than the book. Terrible, right? I feel like I should be totally ashamed. Books are supposed to be better than movies! The main reason I liked the movie so much was because they dedicated a larger part of it to Julia Child and Meryl Streep was amazing in the role. They also toned down Julie’s character (or maybe that was thanks to the charming Amy Adams) and streamlined her storyline a lot, which I appreciated because the book had too many random moments thrown in for no apparent reason. Although I still don’t feel like either the book or the movie adequately explained WHY Julie took on the cooking project in the first place and what her motivation was to keep it going.

Princess and the Frog
Liked it! Didn’t love it. But I think it’s a step in the right direction for Disney. It doesn’t reach the standard they set with old school movies like Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast but it featured likeable characters, awesome sidekicks, and a satisfying story. My only disappointment was the music! 🙁 None of the songs were very memorable. The only one that I remember is the Ne-Yo song that plays over the end credits but I think that has more to do with the fact that I’m a Ne-Yo fan. I wish Alan Menken hadn’t been replaced. His work in past Disney films really enhanced the movies and the songs stayed with me over the years — I mean, Beauty and the Beast and Part of Your World? Those are classics.

what emma wore

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Every week I watch Glee and covet some piece of Emma Pillsbury’s wardrobe.

So finally last week I totally SQUEALED at the TV when she was wearing something I ACTUALLY OWN. !!! She totally stole this felted lei cardigan (thanks Anthropologie) from my closet…



I’m so ridiculous. 😀

Thanks to Glee Images for the pic.

it’s getting there

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May House Update.

Our closing date got pushed back a week and a half… so we’re looking at late June again. How cruel.

Oh, well.

We decided to take a look at the progress over the weekend and found that…



The exterior stucco has been painted.



And the interior is really getting underway. The crown molding, kitchen cabinets, island and countertops have been installed. Along with the white subway tile backsplash we picked out! It’s so shiny. The hardwood floors are also hiding underneath the butcher paper.

*happy*

Trip Report: Vancouver, Part 1

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It’s been over a week since we got back from Vancouver and I still have the vacation blues… so yes, to prolong the memories, here’s the start to yet another vacation trip report. (I’m also going to finish the Australia one if it kills me). 😀

Thursday, April 22.

It was an early morning. I think I woke up around 6 am. I DON’T WAKE UP THIS EARLY ON WEEKDAYS.

When we arrived at LAX, we found out our 9:30 am United flight was delayed. Typical, I thought. Our last 4 United flights were all delayed so what’s new. Luckily it was only delayed about 15 minutes. That’s nothing compared to our past delays! Maybe United likes me again.

After a quick 3 hour flight, we arrived in Vancouver! We picked up our rental car, got lost on the way to the freeway, but still managed to get to our hotel downtown within half an hour.



It was a gorgeous day so we decided to walk through Yaletown towards False Creek and take the Aquabus to…



…Granville Island where we checked out the Public Market, indulged in a nutella crepe, did some window shopping and found these little guys…



The Vancouver Olympics mascots. I love them! My favorite is Mukmuk on the very left. Isn’t he cute?

We headed back across the creek for a walk along the seawall and I was so excited to see…



BC Place! Home of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.



The Olympic Village! Which housed the athletes. YAY. I’m such an Olympics junkie.

Aaaannnndddd… that’s pretty much it for our first day. LOL. Except for watching the Lakers lose to OKC in game 3 but let’s not think about that.

Friday, April 23.

We woke up to a dark, overcast day. But it wasn’t raining (yet)! So after picking up coffee and donut holes (breakfast of champions!) from the Tim Hortons next door, we drove to Stanley Park to…



… rent bikes and bike along the seawall (I think it’s around 5 miles?)!



The start of our bike ride.



I was treated to my first and only sight of blooming cherry blossoms while in Vancouver. LOVE.



There was some sort of filming going on at the Vancouver Rowing Club (couldn’t help but hear the director barking out “Action!”). But we didn’t stick around long enough to figure out what it was.



The view of downtown Vancouver across Coal Harbour.



Totem poles.



Canada Place! The main press/broadcast center for the Olympics.



Lions Gate Bridge — connecting downtown with North Vancouver across the Burrard Inlet.



A beautiful garden area.



And finally, Lost Lagoon marked the end of our bike ride. SO FUN!

We finished just in time for lunch (mmm, Japanese ramen) and after freshening up at our hotel, we decided to spend the rest of our afternoon walking around downtown along Georgia and Robson Streets. In the rain!

Just a few blocks away from our hotel was the Vancouver Art Gallery.



We didn’t go inside but instead admired the beautiful hand-painted mural by Michael Lin hanging on the exterior facade.

I was also excited to see that the…



Olympics Countdown Clock was still there!

We headed down Robson Street for shopping (Roots!) and also to find the Japadog stand. 😀 You see, when I was planning our trip, I happened to watch the episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain is in Vancouver and he has a Japadog. So I wanted one too. Of course.



The menu. It’s basically different types of hot dogs (beef, bratwurst, etc) that are topped with various Japanese toppings. I ordered the basic Terimayo dog, which had Japanese mayo, seaweed, onions, and teriyaki sauce. I know, I know. It sounds totally weird but it’s YUMMERS! Really.



Luckily there was no line. Awesome! We ran back to our hotel to enjoy our Japadogs, rest our tired feet, and get out of the rain.

We ended the day with even MORE Japanese food for dinner at Guu with Garlic, an izakaya in the West End. SO GOOD!

UGH. I WANT TO GO BACK.

confessions

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HAPPY MAY.

Confessions.

I have been too busy indulging in the following guilty pleasures to blog…

1. Listening to Justin Bieber. Gah. I hated this guy on principle when I first heard him sing the opening notes of the We Are the World remake. BUT THEN. He hooked me with that song Baby. Damn Ludacris. Yes, I know. I’m like a freaking 16-year old stuck in a 30-year old’s body.

2. Reading Lisa Kleypas romance novels. I’ve always enjoyed a romance novel here and there but rarely read books consistently in the genre. Mostly because there are SO MANY books to choose from and it’s hard to wade through all of the titles to figure out what’s good and what’s a bust. Thanks to the influence of Sarah and Ceci, I found Lisa Kleypas and totally devoured her 3 contemporaries in the past week. It’s times like these when I wish I had an e-reader so I could just download another book to read instead of ordering them online or going to the bookstore. But I love the feeling of a real book in my hands. So torn.

ANYWAY.

Rob and I went to Vancouver last weekend and had SO MUCH FUN. Also ATE TOO MUCH.

Quick pic…



Can I be an honorary Canadian? More later.