It Started with a Journal

So far so good on the kombucha front. I made the nutrient solution (which is a fancy way of saying "sweet tea"), stuck in the SCOBY, and now I just have to let nature take its course. It doesn't help though that it's cooled down considerably here, so the temp in my house may not be ideal for yeast to thrive. :/

Apparently there's a Kickstarter to make an American version of Boys Over Flowers. There's less than a week left and so far under $1k in support. LOL. All I have to say is... GOOD. American TV would never be able to adapt YA Asian drama well. The studios don't appreciate the *sanctity* of a pure-hearted, guilty-pleasure romance. They'd totally want to ruin it with intrigue or infighting or sex or whatever the hell else to break the couple up -- not to mention, would either try to cancel it prematurely if ratings aren't good, or if ratings ARE good, try to unnaturally extend the series well beyond anyone's enjoyment. It's fucking sad that that pretty much describes all American TV. They don't know how to tell a good story and then let it go. All they care about is MONEY.

Never let it be said that Asian dramas can't actively improve your life. Not only do they provide a bunch of happy endorphins and make you really hungry for good Asian food (it's funny/awesome, food is such a big part of the characters' everyday lives, whereas on American TV, food is pretty much an afterthought -- characters pretend like they're gonna bite into a slice of pizza but never do, they push food around on their plate or eat one pea, etc.), they also give you great ideas like a bath headband to hold your hair back when you're watching your face! Now I have four of my very own. It's not as nice as Kotoko's (from J-drama Mischievous Kiss, the latest remake of the manga Itazura Na Kiss, though the best remains Taiwan's It Started with a Kiss), but it'll do, pig. It'll do.

So I woke up with a raging sore throat. Sigh. I was really hoping to miss cold and flu season this year. I got my shot and everything! This blows. At least I got to enjoy most of Restaurant Week before it hit. Since my last post, I've gone to... ( lots of places. )

I have read and enjoyed very much Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot, by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. Thanks for the rec, laria_gwyn! It's a really quick and easy read, though it did end a bit abruptly, I thought. So imagine my joy to discover that it actually has not one, but two sequels! Set in regency England, the entire novel is told in letters between two cousins, Kate and Cecelia. There's a fully connected plot that includes magic, intrigue, pretty dresses, evil stepmothers, and even a bit of romance.

Because I've been spending so much time eating out (and cleaning/tidying the house for when my mom comes to stay with me), I haven't been watching anything. I haven't seen the latest Merlin ep, and I have yet to start You're Beautiful (recced by adelagia) or Goong (recced by akscully). For the latter, I had A. rank the hotness of the male lead (because the YB male lead is kind of hideous) in comparison to other male leads from dramas we've enjoyed in the past. FWIW, this was her order of hotness (the most important detail, obviously, when starting any drama):

Zhi Shu (It Started with a Kiss)
Yi Jeong (Boys Over Flowers)
Goong male lead (Goong)
Jun Pyo (Boys Over Flowers)
.
.
.
(somewhere way far down)
Tsukasa Domyouji (Hana Yori Dango)
YB male lead (You're Beautiful)

Hotter than Jun Pyo (who is pretty dang hot)?! I'm there! But I do have to wait for the torrent to finish downloading, which according to uTorrent is going to take just under a week. >< I suppose that's better than the 3 weeks it started out as.