Procrastination at its finest

I have so much I have to do before next Tuesday, yet here I am talking to all of you. I have a midterm in my Intermediate Fiction class that I need to start writing, a book to finish for World Literature in English, and a chapter to finish and then study for History of Japanese Art since my test is on Tuesday. The only class that isn't having me do back flips Tuesday is Abnormal Psychology. This is just normal college bitching and I should be happy that I am here and furthering my education, but sometimes I just want a weekend where I don't have to do anything. 


Now that I written this I feel stupid and whiny. I have no right to complain. Just the motivation I need to get this stuff done. 

Inspector Lynley - Playing For The Ashes

I literally stumbled upon this Mystery! show by pure chance one night when I had my TV on in my room before bed. It this was before we had cable so I only had five channels. I can't remember which episodes PBS was showing that night, bur within the few minutes I had it one while I was getting changed it sucked me in. I watched the end of that episode and tried in vain to watch it next week, but I didn't understand how Mystery! worked and that it wasn't the same show every weekend. I now know better, but I also own a few on DVD.

All that being said I have recently been informed that this is based off novels and watching the beginning credits, which I must have not before, I see that indeed they are. I must get my hands on one of these to see if I enjoy them as much as the show. Anyway the story follows Detective Inspector Lynley and his partner Detective Sargent Havers as they run down and catch criminals. Simple enough and done on many other programs, but I think the reason I like this so much is the dynamic between Havers and Lynley. There is a partner, slightly romantic, kind of awkward, brother and sister, I don't even know relationship that pulls the story along. I have to say though if you haven't watched any British programming before it might take you a while to warm up to the characters.

This episode centers around the death of a famous cricket player and a radical group stealing dogs that are going to be used in testing. Now I know absolutely nothing about cricket and it makes no sense at all to me, but the episode still made perfect sense. Now I felt no sympathy for the man who died, he was divorcing his wife who had three children, shaking up with his agent, and also living with a wealthy woman. However I really was surprised at who the actual culprit was and though the dogs had nothing to do with the death it was needed to piece everything together. It was a brilliantly woven together crime and solution that was really fun to watch.

The relationship between the wealthy woman and her daughter was really touching and extremely heart breaking in the end. Olivia was so confused and so alone and had no idea what to do. Finally her and her mother are reunited and then everything goes wrong. I felt so bad for Olivia and wished that in the end something would have been done to help her. I also felt for the cricket players wife and son. The wife couldn't admit that he was leaving her and her children while the sixteen year old son was trying to take care of his family the best he could. There was a lot of heart in this episode which you didn't realize until the end. 

Overall I think that it was a wonderful mystery that kept me on my toes. This might be because of my lack of knowledge of the cricket world, but I don't think that could be all. I always love a good mystery as well as crime show and I have always loved British programming so it isn't hard to see why I fell in love with this series. It might also have to do with the fact that if I ever became a cop I would probably be a lot like Havers.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book One Water

So after hear everyone rave about this anime, even my best friend who usually doesn't like this sort of stuff, I finally sat down and started to watch it. I can say that it pulled me in quickly and now that I am done with the first book I am excited to move on to see what happens next. A quick run down goes like this...the fire nation is trying to take over all the other nations (water, earth and air). The war between the nations has been going on for almost 100 years and the air nation has already fallen to the fire benders. The avatar is the only person who has any chance of bringing the fire nation down, but he has been missing since the war started. We join the story as the Avatar, Aang, is rediscovered in an ice berg by Katara and her brother Sokka. Soon they set off to get Aang masters so Aang can bend all the elements and fulfill his destiny. 

Aang is the avatar so obviously he is the main character, but there is a lot of growth in his character through out the first book. When we first meet Aang he is only a fun loving boy of twelve who wants nothing but see the world and explore all the fun it possess. However as soon as he sees what the fire nation has been doing in his absence he starts to embrace his destiny slowly and works towards mastering the elements. Aang is lovable as well as someone that your heart goes out to. It is a lot of responsibility for a twelve year old to handle. 

Katara is the heroine in this anime and sometimes it feels as if she is the main character. Katara is the voice of reason and logic from the beginning as well as the only water bender left on the South Pole. As she tries to protect Aang she also has to grow up herself. She is so engrossed by learning to water bend and use her power that on more then a few occasions it gets the group into trouble. Sometimes I found myself a little upset with Katara, but then I had to remember that she is only a kid as well and even though she acts much older she is still subject to childish impulses. 

Sokko is usually used as the comical relief in this series, but he also does so much more. Unlike in many other cartoons where he would only be there for laughs Sokka is very important to the story. He is not a bender like most of the other characters that they encounter, yet he fights and holds his own when he needs to. The relationship between him and Yue was adorable. I knew what was going to happen because I saw the live action version *shakes head* but I still felt sad when Yue and Sokka kissed for the last time. Sokka quickly became one of my favorite characters because while Katara and Aang are all high hopes and ambitions, Sokka is grounded and practical.

Zuko, though he is seen as the bad guy for most of this season, is by far the character that develops the most. I have a hard time deciding whether he or Sokka is my favorite character in this first season. He has a wonderful heart and great passion, but he is torn between his loyalty and love for his father and doing what he thinks is right. Though this is only the first season, by the last episodes you can see that he is really confused about what he should do with his mission to capture the avatar.

Now a little time has to be given to tree very special characters. Iroh, Appa, and Momo really are important secondary characters even though two of them are animals. Iroh is just plan badass, there is no more to say then that. When you first meet him you think he is just a sweet old man, but as the season progresses you learn just how wise, powerful, and smart he is. He is the reason Zuko is half that man he is and will become. Appa is Aang's animal guide and kind of badass. He is all cute and flying until the Bato of the Water Tribe episode where he fights the bounty hunters beast. You can't watch this and not love Appa. The same goes for Momo who is comic relief. He is just so freaking cute! 

Now usually I pick my favorite and least favorite of a season, but I can honestly say that there are none that stand out from the pack as really good or really bad. Now don't take that the wrong way, I mean they are all awesome that there are none that I this is much better or worse then all the rest.

Overall I think that this is a rather deep show for what is supposed to be a child's cartoon. Watching it as a nineteen year old it deals with deep issues and though you can watch it for pure entertainment you can also learn a lot from it. This is probably the reason it is still so popular with a wide range of ages and they are making another series (which I am super excited for!) It is much like a Disney movie in the sense that there is a lot of things that is thrown in for the older audience and I love when they do that. This gets a 4.9 out of 5. 

Supernatural Season 1

This is the second or third time I have rewatched the first season and it is still freaking awesome. I can't even put into words how brilliant I think the writers are and the acting is wonderful. Of course is always help to have two sexy leads, but even if they weren't drop dead gorgeous I think the show would still work. Now I am a giant baby when is comes to horror movies and I admit that some of the episodes scared me, but this show has just the right balance of humor and creepy that is should work for almost anyone. However if you are like me I suggest not watching it for the first time at night, with the lights off, home alone. 

To put the show into a sentence it is two brothers who hunt demons. However there is a lot of internal and external conflict between the brothers as well as they father who they are searching for most of the first season. You learn more about each brother as well as their childhood as the series goes on, but the first season is both of the brothers getting to know each other again after being apart for the four years Sam was away at college. It would take far to long to go into each episode so I will just highlight my favorite and least favorite after a few character introductions   

Sam Winchester is my favorite of the Winchester boys, but what can I say I have always had a thing for the nerdy ones. Sam is 22 when the series starts and reluctant to go back out hunting because he is trying to have a normal life. However after the same demon that kills his mother also kills his girlfriend Sam goes with Dean to find their father and kill this demon once and for all. Throughout the first season we get to see Sam and his difficult relationship with his father as well as Dean, but we also see how much he loves both of them. A lot of people don't like Sam, but I think he is a lot easier to relate to then Dean at the very beginning. Maybe it is just because I have always thought Jared Padalecki was drop dead sexy, but if you had a normal life with a woman that you were thinking about marrying why would you want to go out hunting for things that went bump in the night? As the season progresses Sam develops a kind if psychic ability in which he as visions that come true. I love Sam's character and he kind of reminds me of myself when I get together with my older brother.

Dean Winchester reminds me a lot of the people I usually have as my best guy friends as well as my own older brother. Flirty, smart ass, yet deep down really good guys. He is 26 at the beginning of the series, but it's Sam who is the serious one. Dean is all badass, great lines, and a whole lot of mess up your day attitude. I love Dean so much and even though he isn't my favorite brother I get a lot more emotional when Dean gets angry or tears up then when Sam does. Dean is trying to hold everything together when it just wants to fall apart and I love him for that. I also can't handle how much he loves his dad and Sam, he is always saving him and looking out for him even when Sam doesn't know or appreciate it. I wish I could put Dean into a more clear statement, but I can't. He is a very believable character in a series that is about hunting demons which is saying a lot.  

My favorite episode has to be, and this was a very tough choice, has to be Hell House. The playfulness between the brothers, the Ghostfacers, everything was really well done. The fact that the brothers are playing pranks each other through out the episode already gave it a fun and up beat feel, but then you add the two dorks trying to do paranormal investigation and it is just amazing. Also the creature in this episode is a really interesting thought about being created just because people believed it was real. It was one of the 'lighter' episodes of the season and even though a lot of other episodes came really close (Something Wicked being the runner up) this has to be my favorite episode. Not to mention there is Sam in only a towel, what isn't there to like?

My least favorite episode is, again very hard choice, has to be Faith. Now before you take me out behind a building and beat me, let me explain. The reaper is one of my all time favorite creatures, I mean he is totally badass and the whole idea of the episode is awesome. However the whole dynamic between Dean and Layla makes me so sad. She is such a good person and she can't be healed because Dean and Sam have to stop the reaper. The end of the episode made me tear up the first time I watched it. I like the episode, but the awkward confrontations with Layla's mom and the overall sad tone of the episode make it my least favorite. 

Now let me just say that every time I get to the last episode of the first season I go "OMG WHAT THE HELL! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT! WHAT HAPPENS! WHY?!?!" even though I know perfectly well what happens next. It is by far the most aggravating ending to a season I have yet to come across in all of my TV show experience. I really can't say enough about this show and I am pretty sure I am going to bawl my eyes out when it actually finishes. Rating of 5 out of 5 for sure. 

World Literature In English = UGH!

Alright so I took this class to fulfill a requirement for something, a major or general education I can't remember, and I really am starting to wish I hadn't. I hate the books we are reading, the professor is a nice lady but I hate her teaching style, and I am pulling a solid B- in the class because I never have any idea what she wants us to write about in our papers which is the only thing we are graded on. I am just so frustrated with it and yet there is nothing I can do. I can't talk to her because she seems very set in her thinking and refuses to bend not to mention she kind of annoys me. It isn't a hard class, but I am going to get a mediocre grade in it because of the unclear nature of the essays. People have even asked her to clarify, but it doesn't make any more sense. *sigh* that's college I guess.

Psychic Dectective Yakumo

I actually stumbled upon this anime by pure chance a long time ago, almost two years I think. I watched the first few episodes, but then got side tracked by other things and never finished. I recently ran across something about it on my tumblr and decided that I should finally finish it since there is only 13 episodes.

I am a big fan of anything that has to do with the paranormal, which is odd because I am a giant baby when it comes to scary things. What really struck me about this show was that Yakumo couldn't fight the spirits only talk with them. The main story revolves around Yakumo's parentage and the events leading up to his birth. We find out early on that as a child Yakumo was almost killed by his mother. As the anime progresses we find out that his father was a man that kidnapped his mother and held her captive. There are a lot of other interesting developments in the case as well as how Yakumo and the other characters are connected. 

The dynamic between all the characters is really complex and interesting, which gives the series another layer of mystery other then the base story line. They are all connected by unknown connections or by new relationships, which is a very Buddhist principle, the red string of fate. Due to my History of Japanese Art class I have learned a lot about Buddhism and I feel like I understood a lot more of this anime, especially Isshin, because of it. There was a lot of depth to this anime which I really liked. 

Yakumo is a rather fun hero in this anime because he acts as if he doesn't like anybody which leads to a lot of fun dialogue. He is a lot like a cat, but Harika finds little bits, like the fact that he is ticklish, that make him more human. He is also very dark and even though he appears to always be in control you can never really tell. With everything that he faces it is easy to believe that sometimes he gives into his hate and despair. The inner turmoil that he faces by not being able to do anything but talk to the spirits is another interesting part of this series. He wasn't the normal happy go lucky main character really was a nice change. 

Haruka is the normal heroine in an anime, cute, a little ditsy, but caring and sweet. She is the first person not scared of Yakumo's red eye that let's him see spirits, which is a first for Yakumo. I was really upset that she never really took on the situation herself besides in the episode in the cabin. She always needed pushed or proded by someone to go to Yakumo's side which really made me mad. Even in the very end she needed Gotou to tell her to go to Yakumo. I liked Karuka, but like most females in anime I think she needed a little common sense knocked into her. 

Now another thing that I really like about is that the police aren't depicted as idiots and are actually a big part of this anime. Gotou and Ishii completely believe in Yakumo as well as help him with his own personal issues while Yakumo helps with investigations. They worked through all the cases and really were apart of the series instead of side characters to push the plot forward. Gotou, his wife, and Nao was the most adorable thing in this series. Nao in general is just super cute. 

The ending was sad, but a good ending for an anime about death and the spirits of the dead. I would have like Yakumo and Haruka at least hug at the end, but saying that he would protect her was enough I guess. I wish that it wouldn't be left open but with the manga ongoing I guess they left it open so they could make a second series if they wished. Overall it is a really interesting series and I will probably look into the manga when it is finished. I try not to start a manga that is ongoing so I don't forget what is going on or forget what is going on. Rating of 4.2 out of 5

A Hundred Years of Solitude

This book has to be the most entertaining I have read for World Literature in English as well as the most bizarre. The story follows a family line who were the founders of the imaginary town of Maconco. This novel is written in the style of magical realism so everyday things are paired with the fantastical, such as washing laundry and then being taken by the wind up to heaven. When reading the novel you really just need to go with the flow and not stop to think about how weird or gross some of the events are or you are never going to get through the entire novel. There is a lot of incest, sex with random women, illegitimate children all over the place, and just plain odd stuff.  

I enjoyed the ending of the novel. It came full circle, like Ursula had has been saying the whole novel, back to the gypsies and the scrolls. To be honest at this point and time I was just happy that the book was over, 417 pages of all that nonsense was a little much, but looking back it was a good way to end the novel. I also enjoyed the fact that the thing Ursula feared the most, the dreaded pig tail, was on the child that would have saved the line if he had lived. We talked a lot in class that all the mental instability in the family was actually the pig tail and the child born with the actual tail would have been sane. However you never find out since the father totally abandons the child after the mother's death and the child is eaten by ant (yes you read that right, ants) 

Now the most confusing thing about this novel was that every male in the novel had almost the same name or at least a name close to that of his father. In the first couple of generations it wasn't a huge issue, but with all the children, grand children, and onward it was extremely difficult to remember who belonged to who and which geberation the person belonged to. By the fourth generation I just gave up and kept reading thinking that I would get a marker somewhere to know which person it was. 

Overall it was fun to read, but I don't think I will read it again for a long time. Maybe over the summer if I am truly bored I will go back and take my time reading through it. Rating wise I give it a 3.5 out of 5 due to confusing parts, names, and overall just being much too long. If you are interested in Latin America or magical realism give it a read, but allow yourself time and don't get too frustrated. After a while it will either start making sense or you will just go with the flow.