@ samsooki

Xie-xie, I owe you a cute outfit for Ji-hoon, lemme know if wifey wants him dressed as a baby sailor, a baby indiana jones, or a baby sherlock holmes.

"says he wants to work with Brad Pitt"

Really? I'm surprised, JWS totally gives off the George Clooney bachelor for life vibe. Maybe that's why he wants BP, to steal him away from GC. :-P

Oh, and on behalf of your Ji-hoon, thanks pops for laying off the cancer sticks. It looks cool in pics and all, but not so nice for my infant nostrils and brain development, ya know?

I'm gifting you with a word today, JWS (and you) seem very 瀟灑.

@ Langdon *hug*

@ ockoala,
o I read that news! :) I saw this pic and *squee* http://f.imagehost.org/view/0520/11MB018
Actually I heard MM on Sandra Ng's radio show a while ago and he was gushing about his attraction to Chik. It's almost love at first sight and he's so cute reminiscing on it. They went to drama school together and she caught his eye right away.. at that time a bunch of them (Barbara and Kent....etc..) they were all pretty much working in back to back dramas and were so close-knitted they would play majong and hang out instead of catching up on sleep after the grueling filming... so fr a group date... he got his wife! Actually other than Kent, the other 4 tigers r all faithful in long term relationships, right? haha I'm still not getting the whole hoopla on Andy's marriage news. He's a 40+ yo man, if he had a wife, whom he's been with for years and years and he does not want to share this piece of personal life with the world.. so be it. What is the freaking big deal, ppl?! This possessiveness of fandom, calling him all sorts of names and all the negativity, is sth I will never ever get.

I did watch that drama... *sigh* I'm sooo hopelessly a wuxia addict. I'm not a fan of 古龙, I know he's considered distant #2 in the wuxia novelist world...but his fav trope is harem....meh. But MM can make that work for me, imo scratch all the other adaptations of Chor Lau Heung and just let MM do every single one of them forever and ever. The Legendary Siblings is my only 古龙 novel that I've finished and actually liked. haha it's been years since I read the book, but I can't help but mix it up with Hap Hak Hang by LC since I watched both dramas and read the books around the same time. I have myself to blame!

wuxia novels r like superhero comic books, but what sets wuxia on a higher pedestal for me is usu we'll have a historical background to add plenty of intrigue, and the ethic of 'hard work = superhero kung fu master'!

LoCH08 was by no means perfect, I think fr ep 20sth ~40 I ff'd quite a bit. And YK's later developments were still contrived, but I can't think of a possible way to still adhere to the novel enough and not spin him into a completely unrecognizable charactor. But what I like about this YK the most is, his feelings for NianChi is genuine, and I really like how Yuan Hong is spot on reading the character. Even when he's lost in everything else, his YK still manages to savage the remaining bits of his humanity to have some true feelings for her, albeit mixed with some darker motives later on.. fr YH's acting I got that it's not evil manipulation...I saw the struggling of a boy/man, I saw his defeat in being eaten up by his demons/weaknesses, I saw how he's trying to run in regrets fr all the mistakes he's made along the way but didnt see any way out, which was not the case in the book, and not in other versions even in MM's. Now with MM's version, I can't help but think his YK was too assured, too slick, too dashing and I can't suspend the belief of him being this smart but fail to work a way out of his mess and so I couldn't connect with him any more than as intended by Mr LC. The LoCH08 YK, we got a realistic portrayal of an 18 yo human being struggling in the wuxia world... and not succeeding. What YH did not do with his YK, which was brilliant, was he didn't idolize him, he mentioned he did not think YK was as smart as he believes himself to be, and his YK was able to feel the guilt in bits along the way even when he's internalizing it. I got that he's ' literally thinking “what the heck am I being ask to do” during some of his scenes ' as well , but the doubts, confusion works for his YK.

189 ockoala : forgot to say, thanks for the link to AC trailer. That's a finely slung bath towel indeed! I wonder what the NGs looked like... the scene screamed potential wardrobe malfunction.

@ ockoala

thx, can't watch now but will definitely check it out later! :)

@ Samsooki

ahem....aren't you supposed to be getting your work done instead of translating & reading OT?! o_O

@ wuxia twin:

btw, I gave in and read LC's latest revised LoCH and I have to stop after vol1.... now I want to poke my eyes out. *sigh*

@ 241 samsooki -

I deeply deeply love Strunk and White, but I'm totally with you on and/or. It lacks a certain aesthetic and stylistic elegance, but it's not truly grating, and not nearly as ugly as "impact" used as a verb (shivers). It embraces the virtues of both brevity and clarity. I defend your right to "and/or" Go Soo unequivocally.

@ mookie twin

"btw, I gave in and read LC’s latest revised LoCH and I have to stop after vol1…. now I want to poke my eyes out. *sigh*"

Le giant sigh - what did the grand master do with this revision? Excise the YK-MNC love story and have Yang Guo spring from the loins of a plum blossom tree?

All my LC books are at my folks place, so I should go and retrieve them. I wonder which editions we have, very early ones I presume, my mom was a teacher/writer way back when, so she had lots of books in her collection.

As for Yang Kang - this is the first version of YK that elicits such a strong love/hate feeling from me (MM elicited hate and nose-twitches of anger, Gallen Lo's version just annoyance that he was even around). And its the combo of interesting character writing and impeccable acting. If I didn't just swoon over 120 minutes of Yuan Hong as the warrior general with love in Yang's Clan, I would thought of YH the actor as this incredibly bratty, manipulative, insecure brat from his portrayal of YK, he's that into character its pretty funny to compare and contrast the two roles.

LoCH 2008's, you said it perfectly (as usual): "we got a realistic portrayal of an 18 yo human being struggling in the wuxia world… and not succeeding. What YH did not do with his YK, which was brilliant, was he didn’t idolize him, he mentioned he did not think YK was as smart as he believes himself to be, and his YK was able to feel the guilt in bits along the way even when he’s internalizing it"

That's totally the portrayal, but I can't help but cringe at many plot points that were altered to protray this version of YK (hhhmm, Ouyang Ke's death and the reason behind it, very very different, like night and day). This YK is a flesh and blood man/boy not a cardboard cut out evil character, and while I love it, it does tone down the evil mastermind YK and turns him into deviously wounded YK. And it also dumbs down Guo Jing even more, not that I mind, as really, this version of LoCH 2008 belongs to Ariel Lin and Yuan Hong, everyone else is playing catchup. Oh btw, I never realized just how far the production went to "uglify" Hu Ge, once he finally gets rid of the hair in face and dreads, jeez louise, is the boy *fine*, oh so handsome, with an air of melancholy, like you described. Just sheer chiseled perfection, now if only he can act better.....

It would have never turned out this way had BXR spent a second of her 18 years teaching her son moral ethics, instead of moping in that house and polishing that spear. And if QQJ had been less of an asshat master and more kind. And if YTX hadn't traveled the country looking for GUO JING to fulfill his brother's dying wish, instead maybe looked for his son and wife first! Alas, the sins of the parents, the children must pay. Doesn't Yang Guo live this very idiom from the very first page of RoCH? - YG cannot NEVER erase his father's sin, just as YK can NEVER escape all the crappy decisions his parents made.

Conversely, every single mildly negative to bad trait of Huang Rong and Guo Jing is manifested in their devil spawn of a daughter Guo Fu (so, Mr. LC, equal opportunity destroyer, aren't you, I like that, you build them up, you tear them down), and all the goodwill of LoCH goes out the window for this couple in RoCH. LC understand irony quite well indeed.

Anyways, I like LoCH 2008's version of YK a lot, because I feel bad for him at the same time I know he will pay for his sins. There are a couple of scenes with YK and GJ and MNC that Yuan Hong is just killing it (grrr, you want to slap him and hug him at the same time - like watching your miscreant son stand at the precipice and you want to pull him back and you worry he is too far gone).

@ hjkomo

You'll like it, I promise. :-)

I also unequivocally defend your right to and/or Go Soo.

Hello! from my mom's!

@255 reluctantbutaddicted

Yes, I second that as well. Thank you. What a fine clip it is!

I finally managed to watch WISFC Ep.9 and 10. Awww... Will it be down fall from this point on? Or will there be at least one K drama obligatory date? I want them to experience some good time together... Go Soo is looking hotter by seconds... Can he be mine as well?

Have to get ready for my phone appt.
afteer that, I can watch Infernal affairs 2 and 3 on DVD!

Hello! from my mom's!

@255 reluctantbutaddicted

Yes, I second that as well. Thank you. What a fine clip it is!

I finally managed to watch WISFC Ep.9 and 10. Awww... Will it be down fall from this point on? Or will there be at least one K drama obligatory date? I want them to experience some good time together... Go Soo is looking hotter by seconds... Can he be mine as well?

Have to get ready for my phone appt.
after that, I can watch Infernal affairs 2 and 3 on DVD!

Whoops! Guess I hit the button twice?

Re: Gu Long and his ridiculous leading men

*ppsst, a mite worried about my JWS starring in a GU Long novel movie adaptation here*

Anyways, back to MM as Chor Leu Heung: "but his fav trope is harem….meh. But MM can make that work for me, imo scratch all the other adaptations of Chor Lau Heung and just let MM do every single one of them forever and ever. " - I second that, twin.

MM's CLH was not as iconic as Adam Cheng's (you come first, you kinda call dibs), but MM's was CLH as I envisioned him. A tad sleazy, a lot breezy, and totally charming in a Lee Junki sorta way. AC's CLH was too much of a gentleman. How can CLH be a gentleman, he had a harem of women who lived with him, possessed unparallel beauty and the talents of all types from cooking, drawing, music, medicine, you name it, he's got a babe for that. And they all followed him happily. Only MM can pull that off with the right amount of panache. And none of them ever got jealous that he eye-sexed every hot young thing he met. Totally a male's dream fantasy come true. Gu Long tapped much more into the male psyche with his works.

Oh, and totally way off topic - I agree, everyone and their mothers needs to leave Andy and his personal life alone. Like, NOW! If they don't want a redux of Leslie or anyone of the unhappy celebs from HK. And I'm really happy they've laid off Tony and Carina (finally) after they got married (which I wished they did sooner, but all the well wishes to them, Carina is Tony's Da Lau-po after all, right?).

@ celestialorigin

Ooh, a date with Andy and Leon, nice! Have fun watching IA 2 and 3.

*sigh* I think I've lost my inner screaming voice.

@twin, I ranted last nite to my gf on the phone, who WARNED me with pleading eyes not to touch the revision.

I really want to crawl into Mr LouisCha's mind a la Being Malkovich on y and how he did the newest revisions (I'm not sure if he'll tackle all 14, so far I've only read the RoCH (imho: lemon) and I brought the LoCH revision a few yrs back but havent touched it....till I watched LoCH08 and was soo mighty tempted to read IF any of this YK brilliant rewriting was LC's ...and so far ...nope)

I'm only at the part where Mei Chaofeng was spilling her life's story to GJ before her intended killing him off, avenging her hubby's death.

[Mr LC WHYWHYWHY!! Argh...]
(don't read on if u fear u'll love LC less...)

sigh....so in Mei's narration (I hope to TPTB there's no Huang Yaoshi confession... )
she as a teenager, was (and still is) having a big lolita crush on her maestro Huang and it's not one-sided! they have sth flirty going on... he even commented on her closeness with an older disciple-bro of hers sourly! WTF!!!!!!! I'm losing it when I read that Huang was jealous of her attracting her older disciple-brothers..yup not just her future hubby, but the other most elder discipline who's later crippled by the maestro. shenanigans not unlike Wife's temptation btn this love rectangle (?) ensued... My head maybe spinning too bad in revulsion, but the 'Great Wicked East' Huang, due to jealousy, left cherry blossom island... eventually marry himself a young wife, mom of HR... ARGH... I can't go on. I mean I'm iffy on Huang the Pharmacist as a true great master, a diva metrosexual maybe, too many of his deeds were evil and/or cruel and I'm giving him big brownie points since he's an adoring dad to HR and his undying (a bit creepy) love for his wife (who frankly died for him).

What I'm headdesking at, the Mei+Huang love/hate relationship was well depicted staying on the original tangent of disciple/master respect/betrayal, I have never heard a whiff of complain. This whole additional sexual tension thing is... so...*sigh* *sob*

@ockoala!

ooo I think u've coined the best translation of 瀟灑:
totally charming, a lot breezy without any hint of sleazy.

@ mookie

One word; ARGHHHHHH!!!! Is LC having a gigantic brain fart? His publishers should restrain him before he effectively eviscerates his own masterpieces.

Next thing you know, Yang Guo will be secretly crushing on Huang Rong and Guo Jing in a fit of jealousy sends him off Plum Blossom Island and entrusts him to the Quen Zen Sect. Or Dong Fang Bu Bai really will secretly fall in love with Linghu Chong. Or Yuan Zi-yi will decide to leave the order and return to civilization and marry Hu Fei (okay, if he changed this bit, I will be mucho gracias thank you Mr. LC for fixing a GLARING flaw with Fox Volant of Snowy Mountain and Other Tales of the Flying Fox).

Anyways, revisions are so dangerous, so dangerous......

That's what fanfiction and the world of fanfics are for, right? So the fans can write their hearts content but the canon remains intact.

Btw, I'm totally told my sister about Yuan Hong, and she saw a video and says, he reminds me of Roy Lui 呂良偉. Did you mention that you thought so before? I can't remember, but I don't get the resemblance and feel, but I think of YH in looks as maybe a cross between Chilam and Ekin, with the eye-acting of a CYF and the smirk of a MM.

@ mookie

ooo I think u’ve coined the best translation of 瀟灑:
totally charming, a lot breezy without any hint of sleazy.

瀟灑: thy first name is Chor Leu Heung, they last name is Linghu Chong.

@ mookie

Yang Mi is wonderful as Guo Xiang, like you said, she does not overact the cutesy, and she delivered the heart break of a girl finding her first love and losing her first love. [I'm keeping an eye out for Yang Mi, she's really very beautiful, without the icy coldness of Crystal Liu Yifei, and more earthy than the wispiness of Liu Shishi, I like her!)

As a character, Guo Xiang is the female version of a 瀟灑 warrior. One of my favorite characters ever written by Louis Cha, but I also understand that we can all idealize her because she never really gr2w up (other than as a flashback in Dragon Sabre). Guo Xiang was the perfect 16 year old with the soul of her grandfather mixed with the kindness of her dad.

Anyways, Yang Mi is supremely adorable, a tribute to the only female in RoCH worthy of Yang Guo, too bad he couldn't let his XLN go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqOUJILrofw&feature=related

Oh, and Zhang Ji-zhong *really* needs to lay off the wind-machines. He should consult the Chuno filmbook for effective staging of dramatic scenes.

o yes I said that on Yuan Hong resembling Roy Lui 呂良偉 in looks. esp his YeluXie vs. Roy's Hu Fei in Fox Volant of Snowy Mountain. I see a bit of ChiLam esp when he's being sweet and earnest. In terms of screen presence and acting style, I do see a young CYF as well...with his timing and that alert, sharp precision in emoting. I don't see an Ekin though... Ekin is mediocre, I don't hate him, but imo he can't draw me into his characters, all I see is the superficial.

I lobotomized what LC did with RoCH's revision, nth to my satisfaction, an understatement. LC changed Yin Zhiping (XLN's rapist's name) to sth fictional since there's a real historical figure named Yin. I guess that's the most we can squeeze out of him to admit the using of a rape as a major plot point to illustrate 'undying love' was so so moronic.

My laptop's Skype is sick, not functioning well... Well, there are all sorts of things not functioning properly. I have to postpone the session till I get home since my mom's phone is a20 years old analog one with a cord attached and can't have privacy here...

It must be a sign for me to just go ahead and buy a new laptop, I guess... I'd really like to get a Mac. but a bit concerned about the file sharing and other stuff between my desktop and Mac. Momosan(I think it's you who sounded familiar with Mac?), If you are around, I'd appreciate your input, suggestions anything. Thanks!

Oh, wait. I watched Code Blue season2 episode1. It was surprisingly well done and interesting enough. Yamapi is as cute as ever. I'd recommend this one.

@ 272 celestialorigin : re Macs

Macs are pretty seamless now in terms of sending docs back and forth to PCs. Word, Excel, Ppt, they all work completely functionally on the Mac. Maybe if you have specific custom software or something, that might not work on a Mac, but most major software works or has a Mac version.

And they're so GROOVY! They're such a pleasure to use. Can I say I 'ship' Mac?

Speaking for myself and (many) others, I'm thankful for his "self" too. ;-)

You have to wonder though...how many of our MINE guys really do look in the mirror every day and go "Damn...I look GOOD."

On a sort-of related note...I've disocovered that I REALLY wish I looked like Honey Lee. She is a goddess.

@ ockoala

*muah* nice vid! :D

@ Samsooki

Vogue: Actors you wanted to meet at Cannes?
JWS -> Brad Pitt (something about BP having done all the good movies...the types that he's wanted to try, like Fight Club, Seven...)

Last question -> At first, I thought he said 다 (everything)...
but 나 (me) fits better in the context. Because of himself, he has the opportunity to exist and be valued/evaluated... (It's hard to translate. I think it sounds better in Korean.)

Oh, and @Samsooki, I second ockoala's commendation of you quitting the cancer sticks. ;)

@278 momosan

I'm feeling already like Duhhh... It seems to me I only have 50% comprehension to what you've kindly described for me above.

Anyway, so, it's easy to do file sharing between Mac and PC? for non techie person like me? At Apple store, it was like, Oh, we can copy all the files from your PC to Mac. and actually that's sounds great except I have to carry the tower from my home to the nearest store which is some miles away since I live in a very small posh/hick/ resort like town in northern Ventura county near Santa Barbara. So, closest one is 45m away, BTW, I know I need to get that initial one on one tutorial session(or what ever you call it) for $100.00 anyways which includes the file transfers. So, it's seamless? I guess my basic need is for my graphics: Photoshop, and Flash(need a refreshment? course on this one). Am excited about finally getting CS4 with decent fonts selections(So, I heard from my friends with Mac.)

And for my growing business, I need some sort of organization thing. I do have exel and I'm getting a little tutorial lesson next time I'll be in Japan from a guy who is managing my girl friend's classes and sessions(like who has applied for what classes? Who has payed for which one and who hasn't and how many are now officially in a class and how many are potentially coming and so on. all the details at a glance, sort of. ) and power point for some visual presentations for classes. I was told if I get -------(can't remember the name of a softwere), The office can be run on Mac as well and it's only $40? $50 at the store.

And of course, streaming video stuff! It's so essential how I can go on living without seeing my Go Soo?(since I was finally able to watch WISFC, my heart is full of adoration for him right now!)

So, is it something , I can do in 24 hours? After going home and buy one and get everything transferred to Mac and have it connected with my desktop and printers, Skype up and running without glicthes. Oh, wait, have to buy Photoshop Mac version, right. Ouch! Right after getting one for PC, that hurts a bit. That may have t o wait...

Oh, and Mac book doesn't come with a card reader. Is attachment for that available? At the store, the guy was pushing Macbook pro more. Oh and that firewire thingy... I didn't quite grasp what exactly it was. Isn't lit like a broadband cable?

Anyway, I really appreciate your expert opinion/suggestions. Please let me know. Thank you! Thank you! Would you like anything from Japan? Like some omanjiu? or osenbei toka?

momosan above.

Thank you. It`s helping me. It seems like Macbook would be fine for me. with 250GB, I can download avi files! 2usb drives seem a little skimpy...

Adobe CS 4: my son is getting the exact pack you have for me for belated Christmas present using his student discount. But that one is for PC. I need one for Mac, too. There was something about one box set a year or something. But I`m sure there are others having PC and Mac both. I`d better ask if another one can be purchased at that bargain basement price

The thing is between now and back when I posted my comment above, my laptop stop recieving wi-fi signals? and now no internet connectivity... I guess it`s ready to retire... Now, using my brother`s laptop.　Japanese laptop is a bit wired. have to get re-oriented...

momosan again

while I was posting you`ve posted as well.Thank you again!　I should copy and past this and sr\end them to my e-mail account. May stop by at an Apple store on my way home from LAX home. With my day job, we have a little corporate discount which is less 8%? and have to order via company website and delivery is supposedly next day shipping. (I just noticed no spell check functions on J computer. Whew... ). I don`t know, I might need an in person assistance on this one. I`ll check on my company site again and decide.

Anyway, Thank you so much.

Hi everyone! It looks like its been a pretty busy week for everyone.
I have been swamped with too many dramas but I think I'm getting the swing.

I actually wanted some insight from anyone who could give me some. (Because I trust you all much more than my common rationalities.) I began watching Swallow the Sun when it began and pretty much slacked off cause the subs were slower than my interest and then the show was too much at times. In the course of that I got my drama buddy duped into watching it with me and we are now nearing the end....
Drama buddy and my question is... Has anyone else seen this show? I ask because this is only the second drama in the my drama watching history (3yrs) that I DID NOT want the main couple to end up together. While watching my disdain greew with every passing minute of Sung Yu Ri's Su Hyun. At this point (ep 24), I feel she is one of the most self-serving female leads that I have ever seen! It boggles my mind why Jung Woo would ever trust her again, let alone begin a renewed love relationship with her.
Now, as I watch dramas, I always try to examine my thoughts and what I bring to the table and I believe strongly that I am not "supposed" to feel this way. I was hoping that there was some kind soul out there that could help me understand what I'm missing. Is it the writing inconsistency? SYR's acting? Or is this the way any rational breathing person would feel while viewing this drama?

@langdon813

So sorry about your mom, condolences to you and your family.

@Samsooki

City hall 5 favorite scenes

- Where JG kneel down in front of BB
- The proposal
- JG changing in MR's room after the fight in the rain
- Their first kiss
- The stairway break up scene

so many good ones its hard to choose.

@celestialorigin
When you buy a Mac you can get MS office for some discounted price and I think its worth it since MS Office is still the standard for business if you need to use Excel, Word and PPT. Also get the Apple Care. I've always wound up using it.

I get a new MacBook Pro every year for work and keep one backup laptop in case one breaks. I've partioned my Mac so I run virtual windows using a program called Parallels for programs like MS project and Visio that doesn't work on Mac OS X though you can find equivalent software like Omni graffle on the Mac. You can run your PC Photoshop using Paralles though you might need to transfer the registration number.

If you want to create websites, print layouts and banners you should get the CS suite from Adobe since the bundle is very affordable considering what they used to sell for individually. Font selection and control is much better on the Mac but you should be aware that if you use fonts in applications like PPT that are not supported in standard PCs you will have your PPT presentations rerun text from what you formatted to look like .

I use VLC for watching dramas and subs. Skype for IM and international phone calls, Firefox for browsing (I find it faster and less buggy than Safari), Mail for email and iCalendar for calendaring, iPhoto for managing photos, IMovie for movie editing, MS office, Paralles to run virtual PC, TimeMachine to do automatic incremental backups from Time Capsule which is also my router. All software save Paralles and MS office are free with Mac purchase.

I have 4 MacBook Pros (2 for me, 1 for hubby and 1 for guest) and 4- in-1 printer all connected by wireless.

My next purchase will be the Apple TV so I can watch dramas and home movies on flatscreen HDTV ince I no longer watch shows on TV any more.

More ICOMYM -
CN Blue MV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDy3FNdd1Tw

@290 nycgrl

Thank you so much for moreinformative tips. I`m copying this and e-mail it to myself so that I don`t have to franticly look for it later. I was very much concerned about transitioning time from PC to Mac since once I get home from here, I won`t have much time to spare as I`ll be getting my class materials ready while working my day job part time which also requires me to be away from home and can`y leave home without a laptop! So, I`ll have to get a new one very soon may be on my way home from this trip. With tips and suggestions from you and momosan, it seems I can make a wiser decision. Thanks again.

@291 hjkomo

Muwahhh, Kawaiiii!!! This is exactly what eye candy(candies) means! They are almost atable like candies. Please pardon me for my obasan moment.

Work has been super busy since I got back so I still have not had any time to follow OT. I feel like a chunk of my life is missing... but that's the price i pay for a kickass vacation! :) Hopefully I'll be back on OT in full swing either this week or next...

I remember several OT's ago (feels like eons ago....) there was a discussion of Angel's Temptation and how it was bad but yet good (mainly cuz of Bae Soo Bin's utter hotness) and so I decided to pick it up last night. I usually steer clear of these makjangs because the revenge gets batshit crazy (and I have the tendency to just scream at the screen, wondering why o why aren't the other characters seeing the very obvious Evil Smirks and why o why do they not see through hastily covered up lies?!)... but rumors of shirtless BSB abounds.. and that I cannot ignore. Now my only question is... when does BSB appear?!?!

Also wanted to mention that I finally got around to reading the year-end reviews and thoroughly enjoyed them! Thanks JB, Dahee, Thunderbolt, Samsooki, and hjkomo for taking the time to watch, review and write so coherently about all the good, the bad and the just ok dramas this past year - very much appreciated! ;)

Just finished Infernal affairs 2. Whoa! It must be what it`s like to have a shot of Scotch, sort of... Tomorrow, onto part 3. Anyway, the boy/guy was seriously adorable as well. Shawn Yue! with his pretty eyes! The other boy was also cute, Edward Chan, is it. The one with sex scandal! It took me a while to connect dots. Anyway, this must be past my bed time, my words aren`t connected properly any longer...

@ lovenyc52

You know, its looking like there is way too many awesome dramas and barely enough time on any of our plates, serious overload. With that in mind, I need to tell you that after the so ridiculous but seriously wickedly fun awesomeness that was the early half of Angel's Temptation, the latter half is so bad I FF through it in about less than 3 minutes per episode. It's just terrible, melodrama done wrong and ponderous. Still, the first few episodes when BSB shows up are worth the entire drama alone. So, for your pleasure, BSB shows up in the last 10 minutes of episode 6. I found that the drama was pretty fun until about episode 11, then just took the crazy train downhill.

Enjoy! I can't wait to hear about your vacation to some of my fave places, remember, you still owe me a lunch date! :-)

@ celestialorigin

Sigh, close but not quite right, the jerk's name is Edison Chan. And I don't know if the HK entertainment industry has even returned to normal since the "incident".

Btw, @ mookie, I never knew until the "incident" that one of my fave old-school Hk actors (Patrick Tse) was Nicholas Tse's daddy! Took all the Cecilia and Nicky craziness for me to realize that that Nicky was HIS son.

@ 296 momosan
"What I have on my big screen is a Hack – it's a netbook that has been Mac-ified. It sits on the network like any other computer and sees the Sony screen as just a big computer screen. So I watch Hulu and Dramafever straight from the browser. A regular Mac with the proper video out and a tv with the proper video in match up will work as well. "

I have the latter set-up, my mac connects directly to the TV... but I find the sound still comes out of the Mac, which is a bit disconcerting. Is there a way to feed the sound through the TV?

@Samsooki

Too many CH favorite scene to choose from. I read all the suggestions and really, they could all be my favorites. One scene that wasn't suggested but was one of my favorite was the scene where Mi Rae ran into the guy transporting water containers (?) and Jo Gook stepped in to help her. I loved the part where he says "I hold onto her, she dies. But if I let her go, I die."

The kiss of course is one of my favorite scene as well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have started to watch some of the new shows such as Pasta and Stars Falling from the Sky. So far, I am liking both of them. Pasta is quirky. I read that some people thought the kitchen is unrealistic and while I can't say if they will really have a kitchen like that in a upscale Italian restaurant, when I was in the culinary school our "restaurant" kitchen was set up exactly like that. Thinking back our chef was Italian so maybe there is something to that. Watching that show sure brings back so much memories. At least while in culinary school, the chefs were really treated like god almost. Saying "yes, Chef!" and scrambling to get whatever the chef needed was how you lived. Oh, we even had a few really good looking chefs. Something about hunks in chef coats...

As for Stars Falling from the Sky, I like it enough to stick with it for a while. It really does get better once you get past the first episod.