Re: NYC v SF

I too recently was debating on whether or not I would prefer to live in NYC or SF if I were to move to the States. I like the space that SF offers (in terms of housing) but I love the hustle and bustle of NYC. I guess NYC is very similar to London. There's always something to do and someone is always available for a drink or two. Also, the workaholic in me would love to test my strength and endurance against the NYC big boys. :D So I think NYC wins for me.

@JB, please try Speaker for the Dead, and I wonder whether your opinion of OSC's writing will change. It is far more flowing and literary, imo. But your critique of Ender's Game is very fair, and echoed by other reviewers (though I think the prose was deliberately like that because it is basically a recounting of a war, and, because the lowest common denominator for readability for younger-ish audience is more stark writing).

@297 nycgrl - well, rents have come down quite a bit in the past year....although again, it really depends. Two blocks closer to Central Park, and you might find rents to be hundreds of dollars more, for quite a bit less.

TO ALL, FROM DRAMA FEVER:

coming soon to DF: All In, Style, My Girl, Stairway to Heaven, Lovers in Paris, Lovers in Prague, and the drama that started it all, Sandglass! Each week, one of these drama "classics" will be added to DramaFever!

Woohoo! My Girl!

^ ^ Totally agree, JB. There's a world of difference between "trashy" and "trash". Trashy is good, but I've been known to pitch a book straight into the bin if it's not well written. Life is too short to waste time on bad writing.

Not really in the romance genre, but another author I really like is Jim Butcher. His Dresden Files and Codex Alera series are both just outstanding. The Dresden Files had an unfortunate TV series based on the first book (loved the actor playing Harry Dresden, but the execution was weak and you never felt like they had much faith in it). Couldn't find a decent synopsis on Amazon but here's Barnes & Noble's (which doesn't do it justice):

...Harry Dresden, a modern wizard who's set up shop in downtown Chicago. Unlike Hellblazer's John Constantine, Dresden is unambiguously heroic, cooperating with the police to solve gruesome magical murderers while also working solo as a supernatural PI. The two cases he undertakes here don't seem related, but they both send Dresden out into the mean streets and eldritch corners of the modern world.

samsooki, you might like the Codex Alera series (SO GOOD!!):

Amazon's synopsis of Book One, Furies of Calderon:

At the start of Butcher's absorbing fantasy, the first in a new series, the barbarians are at the gates of the land of Alera, which has a distinct flavor of the Roman Empire (its ruler is named Quintus Sextus and its soldiers are organized in legions). Fortunately, Alera has magical defenses, involving the furies or elementals of water, earth, air, fire and metal, that protect against foes both internal and external. Amara, a young female spy, and her companion, Odiana, go into some of the land's remoter territories to discover if military commander Atticus Quentin is a traitor—another classic trope from ancient Rome. She encounters a troubled young man, Tavi, who has hitherto been concerned mostly with the vividly depicted predatory "herdbanes" that threaten his sheep as well as with his adolescent sexual urges (handled tastefully). Thinking that Amara is an escaping slave, Tavi decides to help her and is immediately sucked in over his head into a morass of intrigues, military, magical and otherwise. Butcher (Storm Front, etc.) does a thorough job of world building, to say nothing of developing his action scenes with an abundance of convincing detail.

Wow...all of this has convinced me that I really need to start reading again. And I will. Right after I finish Robbers. :-D

@ JB, lovenyc52

Lord of Scoundrels is a classic, I hear it recommended often, and it truly is so very well-written. I can't say all of Loretta Chase's books are enjoyable, I think I've only really loved LoC.

lovenyc52, you've been reading all of JM's books? Ooh, I'm so excited for you, like I said, she's my absolute fave RM writer (not counting Georgette Heyer, and to a lesser extent, Jane Austen, I'm just talking about writers still alive). Her Something Wonderful is spectacular, and I also love Once and Always, and Paradise (which is a modern RM, which I typically eschew, but if JM wrote it, I reads it from front to back).

And JB, I almost forgot a recommendation of one I read a few years ago, but is still a beloved dog-eared novel that I can re-read anytime: As You Desire by Connie Brockway (all the sparkling dialogue we adore, with a very intelligent, totally enchanting and loveable couple, PLUS, it's set in Egypt in the turn of the century - think the Mummy period costumes without the pysch-babble). But CM is also not very consistent, most of her other novels are just okay.

@ ^_^ (you're back to being a symbol again)

Different subject matter, same high/low quality in writing in both genres. Like JB said, we'll match you writer for writer. :-)

@ langdon-unni

I read one Sookie Stackhouse novel and had no desire to continue. Did I stop too soon? It was fine, but I didn't get absorbed into the mythology and characters. I'll check out the other series you suggested.

@ 302 samsooki

Hilarious. Guess what's sitting on my DVD player as we speak, courtesy of Netflix? Discs 1 and 2 of Sandglass. Yep. Figures. But yay for Bad Couple, because I've been watching that on AZNV and Dramafever is way better.

@ 304 ockoala

I dunno, maybe it's a Southern thing, but I love me some Sookie. But with Eric, the Viking vampire. Not Bill, the Boring Emo Civil War Veteran vampire.

Funny story about the author of the Sookie books. She's a friend of a friend (they're soccer moms, what a hoot), and without being too spoilerish, I asked my friend to please ask Charlaine to put Sookie and Eric together again, because...OMG. I can't say why. But TRUST ME on this. Anyway...I got an email from Charlaine herself and she just said "Yeah, like I never hear that!" Hilarious!

I'm not quite sure about Romance novels, either... You mean those books next to Mystery and Sifi/Fantasy sections? Do Diana Gabaldon's Outlander Series count? Or those by Rosamunde Pilcher, actually, she writes quite beautifully. As for Fantasy, my all time favorite is Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon... Otherwise, not much in those categories.

And I'm still talking about Bigbang(sorry, don't mean to bore you)... Just came back from running on a trail in Los Padres mountains. OMG, their music is perfect for running, It was almost surreal seeing the sky, the mountains, animals running around, the beauty... it's like everything is sooo alive and I could feel the pluses of this universe I'm part of... And yet, I'm almost ready to move back to somewhere closer to LA area...Only if I don't have to drive as much as I do...

catching up on today's OT -

@ lovenyc52
"HAHA. that’s where i’m from. Specifically, Cupertino. Right down the street from Apple, where I swear half the people I knew from high school work at. I’ve always felt that Irvine was just a giant Cupertino with higher speed limits. Maybe that’s why when I came down to Irvine for college, it wasn’t such a big shock to be 400 miles away from home. And now I can’t seem to leave. "

I have two different friends (both Chinese) who live in San Jose and specifically refuse to live in Cupertino, even though the schools are better, because they want their kids to have a more diverse life. ;)

@ ockoala

Can't one be a fan of both romance novels and Dune? :P
And then there's the fantasy genre, which is like romance novels set in uber-cool magical kingdoms. (Is this why I love fusion-sageuks?)

But like lovenyc52, my drama-watching has zeroed out my reading time in recent years. ;)

Oh, and btw, Sweet Valley High was the reason I had to start wearing glasses. (But thank gawd for LASIK!)

@ 307 celestialorigin

Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series definitely counts! 20th-century Claire and 18th-century Jamie, one of the best literary couples ever, how could I have left them off my list?? Claire could totally have been in the ICOMYM club, since Jamie was several years younger than her...and a virgin. :-D

Needless to say I haven't read the newest one but now that I've been reminded I think I'll ask for it for my birthday. These books are phenomenal, such great attention to detail. I think I read that it takes her about 2 years to write a each one. Some books in the series are better than others, but the first one is absolute perfection. Time travel, medieval Scotsmen (and swords!), druid lore, medieval Scotsmen (and kilts!), adventure, medieval Scotsmen (and castles!) and a truly terrifying villain, Black Jack Randall.

I hate to see this OT end!

@ langdon813

200+ Italians equals a great party and good food. Being a fish out of water is great. I once went to a salsa party in college and my sister and I were the only asians in entirely latino party. Its was one of the best times I ever had and latin men can sure move their hips.

@ belleza

I go to SF quite a bit for work and I have loads of college friends who migrated there. I love the food and the looser carefree lifestyle but for myself at least I like it only for visiting. I'm a type A personality that needs crowds of people like a vampire needs blood. I noticed the common denominator amongst my college friends who moved to SF--loves outdoor life (always playing beach volleyball and biking), works in technology, wears fleece and generally just more laid back which all = not me.

@lovenyc52

"…and i have yet to go to brooklyn!! (much to the dismay of all my brooklyn friends)."

When you live in Manhattan, brooklyn feels like a schlep so I can imagine what it feels like for an out of towner though Brooklyn is getting very popular with the tourists. The tourist usually walk across the brooklyn bridge, walk down the promenade and go down to dumbo to eat pizza at Grimaldis and have dessert at the Brooklyn Ice cream factory. The view of the manhattan skyline is the best in all of NY as the stream of double decker buses will attest.

@ hjkomo/@crzycpl

Have either of you been to Alinea in chicago? That is on my to-eat list this year as well as the Momofuku Fried chicken--curse you David Chang and your reservation system . My friend went El Bulli and thought it was a wonderful experience but not all the dishes were tasty which is what I think of WD50 and speaking of WD50 I just happened to see Wiley Dufresne walking past me on East 9th this weekend. Also I agree with Crzypl. Like you I'm not a fan of Gramercy Tavern but I like Gotham Bar and Grill. Also I love Momofuko Ko, Degustation and Eleven Madison--these are the three standouts in NYC dining in the last couple of years for me.

@samsookie

"New York City is the capital of the world, as far as I am concerned. I lived there once, working there a long time, near Wall Street for a gigantic law firm and for a midtown white shoe law firm. It is a place where you are surrounded by 8.5M people and you can be lonely. It is expensive, dirty, powerful, cool, lonely. Some people love it, I am not a huge fan. LOL."

This makes me so sad :-( like you told me my child was fugly. I also worked in mid-town and wall street for many years before I started to work for myself and unlike your experience I never felt lonely but energized by the number of people and the history of NY. I would eat lunch in the graveyard at trinity church and marvel about the people buried there and the old wall that comprised wall street and the old indian trail that became broadway. Incidentally I travel to Boston a lot as well and I don't much like Boston except I notice that Bostonians walk, drive and talk faster than NYers. I guess we are polar opposites but at least we both love Dune.

Ok one more cool thing about NYC. I went to see a "Street Car Named Desire" with Cate Blanchettt this past weekend and not only was it a marvelous performance but I was sitting near Jeff Goldbloom and Jason Giambi.

@ nycgrl

I haven't been to Alinea, will try to check it out next time we visit hubby's grandmother.

I do miss my trips to NYC (haven't been in 9 years, when I went to see Ralph Fiennes at BAM). If I ever did have to move there, it would be for the theatre & the food. Unfortunately, I'm spoiled when it comes to weather. I hate extreme heat (anything over 80), any humidity, and the cold. I guess it works out well that I live in the mildest part of the mildest metropolitan area in the country, in terms of weather (even the city can be too cold & foggy for me). ;)

@309 langdon813

Yes, I really savored the first 3 volumes, especially the 1st one, I read it over and over and over until the book literary fell apart. I was still married back then and was madly in love with my Ex#2,still, I totally fantasized about a guy like Jamie...

Talking about ICOMYM club... So my Ex#2 is 15 years older than me and now he's re-married to a Parisian woman 22 years younger and has a 2 years old baby... And I...( Well, it's late enough and not so many people are on this thread), so, I'm seeing a guy 15 years younger than me... just several years older than my kid... We've been really good friends for several years and there is some sort of deep connection between us... never thought of being anything more than a friend with him but somehow for now that's the way it is. Life is full of surprises, right? Am I over qualified for ICOMYM club?

@ 312 celestialorigin

No such thing as overqualified for the ICOMYM...I think you might just be the mascot! ;-)

My beloved Lee Min-ki is a 1985-er...so yeah, he's about six months older than my oldest child, and I would leave my hearth and home for him. I kid, I kid. Mostly. Okay, not really. Min-ki...call me?

i have been faithfully watching MNIKSS after work each day and am 4 episodes from finishing . alls i gots to say is I LOVE KIM SAM SOON. i mean, i really do love her! i want to be her. the woman has got spunk and heart and fire and i love that! i read through some of the MNIKSS discussions several threads back (ok actually, i skimmed cuz i didn't want to spoil the show too much for me) but i'm recalling certain topics/points that were brought up and it makes so much more sense to me now! can't wait to finish this up :)

ps - i just finished the halla mountain scene and i literally burst out with 'OMO!' when he appeared!!

pps - i loved her cursing as she went up the mountain. and how she refers to him as a flying panther hee hee!!!

@hjkomo

"I haven’t been to Alinea, will try to check it out next time we visit hubby’s grandmother."

If you go please be sure to report back. When I used to fly to chicago for business I would look forward to chicago style hot dog, deep dish pizza or Italian beef but lately Chicago has usurped NY in certain forms of cooking like molecular gastronomy.

"Street Car Named Desire" was also at the BAM. Its really an intimate theater and I find I like it much better than some of the larger broadway theaters. You can see the review of Street Car here http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/theater/reviews/03streetcar.html?hpw

@313 langdon813

Thank you for your kind words, LOL! And yes, Lee Min Ki is my squeeze as well! We can share him!

As I'm doing laundry, I'm watching Dae Jang Geum for the first time. beautiful music, beautiful costumes( Personally, I think Korean traditional costumes are prettier than Japanese ones), Brighter colors, nicely shaped: more practical than Kimono, although I do love Japanese Palettes, There's something really appealing Korean Palettes as well. Oh, and gorgeous Korean country side... It feels like it's going to be a great historical drama.

@ celestialorigin

"And yes, Lee Min Ki is my squeeze as well! We can share him!"

haha i dono if langdon813 is down for that. I'm pretty sure he's her MINE! and LUB hehe :) but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

LOL! Y'all remember that slogan the NRA had a few years back..."I will give up my gun when they pry my cold dead fingers from around it"?

That pretty much sums it up. :-D

@ langdon813

HA! :P you crack me up. if ya don't mind, imma steal that for my claim on TOP. kthx.

Whoops! Hummm... What should I do???? Can't give up on him myself, I'll just secretly adore him? Suddenly at this moment, I can't think any other cute boys but him...

Dae Jang Gum wise, It's already heart wrenching... argghhh...

@ hjkomo

I blame my near blindless on three things (I started wearing glasses in 4th grade):

1. Glass no Kamen, or Glass Mask (chinese translation Woman of a Thousand Masks), the manga by Suzue Miuchi. It started in the 70s and is still ongoing after a hiatus period, up to book 45 I think. My sister and I vow the manga will finish before we DIE (and before the age of internet and wikipedia, we went through a dark period where we thought the writer did in fact die and the story would be left hanging). It's about acting, a pair of acting rivals and their trials and tribulations to become the best stage actress in Japan, and it's magnificent.

2. Crest of the Royal Family (otherwise known as Daughter of the Nile) by Hosokawa Chieko. Also ongoing, started in the 70s, and is up to 55 books. This manga makes me want to headdesk myself until I fall into a concussion, but I need to finish it, only to make sure stupid Carol makes her way back to the 20th century and marries her oldest brother Ryan who is actually adopted and the re-incarnation of an Egyptian pharoah Memphis that Carol falls in love with and marries when she is cursed back in time by the Priestess Isis, only way the end the story, girl can't stay in ancient Egypt forever. Whew, that was a long sentence. Every XY character in this manga wants Carol, it's unbelievable in its sheer ridiculousness.

3. And of course, the ever-famous Candy Candy (which is currently causing me massive amounts of anxiety as I am re-reading it and re-living the sheer agony of watching the writer tear soulmates and true love apart in the most wrenching fashion - I HATE YOU - in my world, Susanna learns to walk again and tells Terry to stop being so self-sacrificing, and he and Candy re-unite at Lakewood and get married and have 100 babies). Yeah, its called fan-fiction, and you can't stop me. ;-)

So, hjkomo, Sweet Valley High merely made me MORE blind, but alas did not cause it.
I need to have lasik. Soon.

321 ockoala

OMG! You mean they are still on going??? I left Japan in 1979 and of course, I grew up with all of them! Candy Candy? Is it by Igarashi Yumiko? When I was in Idaho Falls this fall, my friend(also from Japan) and I were at Borders and I happened upon Anime/Manga sections, Who would have known? I never knew they were this popular, they even had Otomen!I just because I was a J moderator on fan-sub team on Otomen, I was extra delighted) All the way up in Idaho, it's not like SF or LA, still, there they were,Funny thing was that everything was in reverse order and books open from the left and Golly, they were in English! I couldn't handle that. LOL! Guess next time I'm in Japan, I have to go to Manga cafe and catch up on those series. Oh and when I was at my mom/brother's, I found Tetsuwan Atom's (sorry, already forgotten the English title, Atomic boy?) very first volume, not the real original one, but was petty cool, indeed.

OH, Gawd! my friend just called to tell me our mutual friend in Atlanta went home to God last week........................... Sigh............. Why?????????????????? May she be embraced by unlimited love and grace..............

@celestialorigin,

"Dae Jang Gum wise, It’s already heart wrenching… argghhh…"

Jewel in the Palace is probably my favorite drama of all time. It's probably the most CHINESE (seriously, Jang Geum is the Perfect Chinese Daughter) K-drama I've ever watched in my life too, and that's probably why I love all the scenes between Jang Geum and Madam Han. OMG, I can't begin to describe to you how much I loved Madam Han; she's like the Greatest Chinese Mom in my book. By Episode 5 or 6, I think I memorized the words to the DJG theme songs.

I have a working theory that Jewel in the Palace tends to create different responses between Chinese people and non-Chinese people. Like, most non-Sino K-drama fans may love the story and Lee Young Ae or Jo Jin Hee in the story. But to a lot of Chinese people, there's something about Jewel that just speaks to the Soul in a tremendously emotional way that even most current C-dramas don't. I can't explain it -- my brain turns off whenever I see reruns of Dae Jang Geum on TV, and I get all happy and emotional.

@323 belleza

It's been a very strange night for me... But I kept on watching Dae Jang Gum as soon as I regained my composure,regardless... It sure took me to the world of its own. So far, I've just finished Ep3. and I'm already loving it. It's a well made drama and the little girl is absolutely adorable. I guess I haven't gotten to the Jang Geum and Madam Han part yet. Good to know there's something to look forward to.

"But to a lot of Chinese people, there’s something about Jewel that just speaks to the Soul in a tremendously emotional way that even most current C-dramas don’t. I can’t explain it — my brain turns off whenever I see reruns of Dae Jang Geum on TV, and I get all happy and emotional".

Wonder what that is? Anyhow, I'd say there's also universal inter-dimensional heart to heart, soul to soul level theme going on here as well. which I really treasure and appreciate...

Whoops, I have to drive to Santa Monica for a trade show for my business, I'd better go to bed to get a decent sleep

I <3 open threads.

hehe.

Seriously, if you go back through this ONE open thread, do you know how many different, coherent and meaty and fun and interesting and sad and encouraging and obsessive lines of thought there are?

In ONE thread!

@lovenyc52 - my wife doesn't easily get emotional during k-dramas. in fact, I've only seen it twice. One of those two times was when Binnie was at the top of the mountain waiting for Samsoon. She jokes about it now, but I was wise to just avert my eyes at the time.

@nycgrl - well, to be truthful, I'm not much of a city person. My wife is a city girl, and it took a lot of convincing to get her to agree that we wouldn't live in the city after we got married. Sometimes I get the feeling she is bored living in the quiet connecticut suburbs, so we did have our regular trips out to the city for dinners and shows; I would hold my breath until we returned to breathable air. =)

How can it be that a person likes Dune but doesn't like Boston? hehe.

Oops, forgot it was Friday already...moved my post to OT #112. ;)