Invader Zim shoes

More shoe painting shenanigans!
This time it's for Nazim's birthday next week. He's turning 12! My kid brother is finally going to be old enough to get an IC. How bizarre. :p Anyway, I'm OK with posting the pics up now because he definitely doesn't read this blog space.

As you can see, he's a big Invader Zim fan.
I had some issues deciding what to draw for him. I thought of maybe drawing some L4D2 zombies but heck that's a lot of painting to be done and I'm an amateur. So I settled for this.
I quite like drawing Gir. He was the easiest. x)

Tomorrow I'll start on making Hanna's shoes.
Yeah this is the problem with having siblings born close to each other. Scrambling for presents. Haha.
I still haven't finished studying yet. Pffft.

Utter failitude

OH DEAR LORD WHAT IN FLYING TOMATO-LAND IS THIS

Gossip Girl. As a manga.

Ack all my hair is standing on end this is so much fail.
I couldn't move the first minute I looked at this ... my limbs were frozen in place out of embarrassment. Check out the freakishly rainbow coloured backgrounds and the character designs. I know I can't be a good judge because I don't like manga to begin with but I have some respect for some styles which are pretty cool. THIS STYLE IS NOT.

Argh come on people you can find classier artists than this.
Bleh I can't bear to look at it but I can't tear my eyes away. It's like a car crash.

I have goosebumps.
*shiver*

Therapy

Just found the best way to take my mind off things ...
Wrote a letter to myself saying all the things that I'm too scared to say aloud and I'm too ashamed to think about. It's good to just lift myself out of myself and see everything from another person's POV, know what I mean?

I think it worked.
I feel oodles better. :)

Been spending the past few days watching season 2 of Gossip Girl.
Yeah I know I'm way behind. Pfft.
I think I'm hooked.
Why are they all so damn pretty? I could stare at their faces for hours.
Oh wait, that's exactly what I've been doing. Haha.

Heading for swimming later, Hanna's got a class and I'm driving.
Swimming is the best thinking time! Awesome.
Ta.

Mark my words

I laughed.

Exam status: OK-lah.
NaNoWriMo status: SOB my wordcount. I'm supposed to be hitting 10,000 today but I'm still at 7,859. Urghhh.

Here's the new Wordle.

Like a child-girl

Wild World: Skins Version

Video!
Couldn't embed because of some reason or other. So click if you're interested.
Anyway, I used to be a hugely obsessed with this show. Sure, it's ridiculously vulgar and has no qualms at all about showing any kind of content (so far the only thing I haven't seen is man-parts, everything else is pretty much free showing). But it had some pretty awesome characters.

The video contains spoilers for the first season finale.
I really suggest watching it 'cause it's a pretty cool show, but don't watch this vid if you don't like spoilers. :)

Spent the past two nights digging through TV Tropes.
It's amazing if you're a big entertainment nerd. It's like wikipedia for the fandom geek. It's how I rediscovered Skins after two years of not watching (they've changed the cast for the third season apparently so I'm not interested in catching up) and a lot of other books, comics and whatnot.

EDIT: Spent a bit longer on TV Tropes and found out that the way I'm digging through it, clicking never-ending trails of links for pointless information is called The Wiki Walk. Teehee.

It's a nice distraction from the hectic whirlwind that is college. Can't wait for hols.

Spilling intestines and stuff

Spent the past couple days watching the whole of season 5.

Spoilers ahead, I guess.

Firstly, my reviewing has sucked lately and for that I apologise. I only ever do proper reviewing nowadays for college assignments, and I haven't really reviewed anything in this blog since the Abhorsen trilogy. I think. I'm just going to post some random thoughts here, so don't expect a real review.
K. My overall thought? So. Depressing. I cried a few times. Especially the part with the little girl that Bailey lay down with because her dad was too busy trying to find a plane ticket to Mexico. I found the lesbian plot between Erica and Callie very annoying, mostly because I thought that Erica was a total bitch. Haha.
I quite liked the dorkiness of Derek and Meredith's romance, even though asking whether or not they were going to make it through as a couple for long got really old. The whole 'this brainscan shows the very first time we scrubbed in together yay!' thing was so cute. Also Derek giving Meredith that diseased kidney in a jar as a forgive-me present. And how his wedding present to her was a solo surgery. Haha.
Also, I think little Grey is cute. In a little bunny that remembers everything sort of way.
The episode where all the graduating college students died except for the valedictorian gave me shivers. Along with that guy who got into the car crash, the way he kept saying over and over again, how he was just going to the back and the crash shouldn't have happened. So depressing.

But the number one depressing moment?
The ending.
Sniff.
I mean, most of us know that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight are leaving the show but I didn't expect them to leave so ... depressingly. I think it's a sort of consolation that as best friends, they died on the same day and sort of accompanied each other. But still! Especially the way George had to go, I was in shock. I get sad every time I think about it. I always watched the show for Izzie and George, mostly because I like to look at their faces. Heh.
And now they're gone.
Maybe.
The finale was very vague.
Gah.

I actually had a dream about people having surgeries last night.
I need to watch something cheerful.
Hahaha.

Random note: I think I've actually seen that Grey's Book of Anatomy before in the SA library. I could be mistaken. I just sorta remember finding it during one of the debate research sessions in Form 4. (/random)

Insert fire reference here

...
Despite still being a little upset that they couldn't find some nice, hot chinese fella to play Zuko, I think I can live with Dev Patel playing the part. xD I'll just think of the movie as being completely separate from the tv show. They are individual creations after all.
Ah, feel much better about this whole tv-to-movie transition. xD

But if the movie sucks on its own, then there's nothing I can say.
It better be good.

Year 2008

Well, since that I won't be around for the New Year, I'm making my NY post now. A list of bests and worsts, along with a summary of how the year treated me. :)

SPM - Meh. I'll just say what I've been telling countless relatives and friends of the family for the past month: "It was OK". I didn't feel like dying, but it wasn't the most awesome thing in the world. What can I say? Glad it's over.

School - Haha ... Ko-ku wise, it was pretty good. I finally got that certificate I've been working for the past 5 years. I got some good posts, good certs to back-up my future education and some good experience. Working in HU for Pn. A was horrendous, but I guess I learned something: Paperwork sucks worse than actually getting people to do things so that I'll have paperwork to begin with. xD

Class-wise, frankly, kinda sucked. xD A lot of little quarrels, and by the end of the year, everyone was tense. Overall, it was bearable. The teachers' nagging was the worst. Drove me around the bend. I'm glad that's over with. But I'll miss you guys. :( Ya'll knew how to have fun.

Social - GAH MY FRIENDS ARE AWESOME. BEAR HUG, EVERYONE! *glomps* And also, to my juniors for being cool; proud of you guys. Keep rocking that school. Carry out the pranks and hijinks that I never had the chance to do. Don't tell Pn. M I put you guys up to it. ;)

World Events - Some good, some bad. Some ridiculous. But this is the world, we're talking about. We're all crazy. Yeah. Persoanlly, I've been pretty sick of some of the stuff that kept popping up in the newspapers this year. xD

Now, for the stuff I've enjoyed, whether or not it was released this year, or a century ago:
Movie - Dark Knight. Wowee it was awesome.
TV Show - Friends. I crack a rib laughing.
Cartoon/Anime - Avatar: The Legend of Aang. I've never felt this much love for a cartoon before.
Singer - I don't have favourites.
Band - Fall Out Boy. Still love their songs.
Book - Pendragon: Raven Rise. Had to think a lot about this. But yeah, that book was awesome. The ending especially.
Character - Prince Zuko. Please, don't make him Jesse McCartney. He's too badass! D:
Song(s) - The Man Who Can't Be Moved (The Script), Love Story (Taylor Swift), What A Catch, Donnie (Fall Out Boy)

And now, for the worst (or least liked):
Movie - Over Her Dead Body. Seriously. I actually thought of all the books I could be studying while watching it. It was boring.
TV Show - 90210. Blech. They can't act.
Cartoon/Anime - Most of the crap on Cartoon Network.
Singer - Hmm. Soulja Boi. I hate his music with a passion rivalling the ardent love of a thousand Romeos and Juliets.
Band - Hmm. None.
Book - Eh, Darren Shan's books. I just don't feel it.
Character - Heh. Bella. No offence, peoples. I just really don't like her.
Song(s) - That one Soulja Boi song. And anything by Sean Kingston. xP

Special Mention - Goes to the Twilight series. Neither in the worst or best, it gave me the most entertainment this year. What a ride. xD

Here's a special category, What I would dress up as at a costume party after going through the year 2008: Sabriel, from the Old Kingdom trilogy. Makes me wish there really was a costume party going on, so I could dress up for it. xD

Summary - A good year, once all is said and done. I had fun. Learnt some stuff about myself. Learnt some stuff about people around me. I have great friends, and a good end to high school life. I'll miss everyone from school. We'll see each other in March when the results come out. ;) This was also the year that Tarsha talked me into watching anime. Thanks, man. I'm still iffy about most of the styles, but you helped me open my mind a bit.

I had more to say, but I can't remember. xD So. Here's to an even better year, 2009.

Reset, reset!

Avatar Casting - First Look

All I can say is, are you kidding me???
Jesse McCartney???
Dear God.
If this is true and not some rumour-twisted joke, he better be a bloody good actor.
Or else I don't think I could enjoy this.
Zuko's one of my favourite characters, you CAN'T SPOIL IT FOR MEEEE.
D:

*hopes it's not true*

Ps. I'm OK with the other people. Although I really was wishing they'd get ... y'know ... non-white people.

Royal drama.

Our new kitten, Scout. Name is subject to change at the moment ... some of us *glances at other family members* are torn between Doctor and Che Det. Yes, Che Det, as in Dr. M's nickname. xD You can put the credit for that idea on Nazim, who just read that new Dr. M biography comic and seems to have proclaimed him his new idol.

In other news, the fam and I are going to watch the Mamma Mia! Musical in December. Papa's always liked ABBA and the new movie seems to be a catalyst to the rebirth of his sudden want to watch the musical. So, yay! I spent my childhood lisetning to them on the radio, so alright.

I watched this ^ yesterday. Completely historically inaccurate, but hey, it's entertainment, and it sure does entertain. SPOILERS coming up, so if you'd rather watch it for yourself, hit the Back button, now. Anyhoo, the story centers around two sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn. Mary is married, and pretty much a good, honset person. Anne on the other hand has been given the challenge of wooing King Henry VIII, in order to glorify the family's name. But the King instead falls for Mary, leaving Anne feeling more than a little betrayed by her sister. Due to a secret marriage with one Henry Percy, Anne is banished to France to wait on the Queen there, since that Mr. Percy is engaged to somebody else.

Meanwhile, Mary becomes the King's mistress, and soon she becomes pregnant, later confined to her bed. Around this time, Anne returns, having learned a thing or two from the French; the King is fascinated by her changed self, and decides to go after her, if you get my meaning. But Anne has plans ... she won't give in to him, she says, because that would be betraying her sister. But the King wouldn't rest, and on the very day Mary gives birth to a son, he promises Anne to never speak to Mary again. Anne, triumphant, sends a betrayed Mary back to the counrty with her newborn baby boy.

Anne continues to play with the King's affections, asking for more and more. The King breaks ties with the Roman Catholic Church for her, just so he can annul his marriage with Catherine of Aragon (or was it Katherine?). This makes him very angry, what with everything crashing down about him. In a fit of rage, he ends up raping Anne (yes, you read right) just before they get married. Oh, and around this point Anne and Mary have forgiven each other and are now together again. Anne becomes pregnant, but gives birth to a baby girl. The King isn't at all pleased, what with his wanting a son. Anne, frightened by the disastrous results of her scheming, falls pregnant again; and miscarriages.

This is the part where I started going "WTFISH D:" a lot. Anne, desperate for a son and scared of informing Henry of the loss of their baby decides to get pregnant again - by her brother George Boleyn (played by Jim Sturgess, who is cute in a puppy-faced sorta way, whee.). Mary, who was probably WTFISHing as much as I was decides to run away (good for her). The thing is, George's wife Jane sees them about to commit the act, and she runs off to tell Henry. In the end, George is executed (it was horrifying. They chopped his head off. And he made this horrible little squeal just before the axe fell. Doesn't help that I think he's too cute to die.) and Anne confesses to Mary (yeah, she came back hoping to save her siblings' skins) that they never commited incest - George couldn't do it (well no duh, man, you're his frickin' sister.). But no amount of begging from Mary could change Henry's mind, and Anne too was executed. Mary later moved to the country with Anne's daughter Elizabeth, where she married Stafford (some guy who worked for her father ... he's sweet.) and basically lived happily ever after THE END.

Phew. So, royal drama like whoa. Like I said, historically inaccurate, but entertaining. Loved the costumes. Made me itch to find a reference so I can draw some pretty dresses. And the acting was alright, although Scarlett Johansen's face annoyed me a bit what with her constant expression of "Oh ... ohh, that's not good. :(". Natalie Portman pulled off Anne's downfall convincingly, you could really see where she started goign a bit cuckoo with the whole "I can't produce a son, I'm so SCREWED! I know, I'll get my brother to impregnate me, then nobody ahs to know I miscarriaged!" scenario.

But just as a note, read a few history articles before discussing the movie with anyone else. I'm lookin' at the IMDb forums, and lots of people are frustrated by the inaccuracy. I don't mind myself ... it's just good television. Speaking of which, I've gotten an urge to watch The Tudors (British t.v. show about ... well, the Tudors, duh.) now ... anyone know where I can find the episodes? :D

Fashion out da windooww. :D

This pic made me LOL so hard. I had to share it with the world.

Say it with me, Mira! "THEY SO MACHO."
xD

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY ATUK!
I meant to post yesterday, but I forgot. ^^;;

Pn. L chased a bunch of us to class today. Because we were walking slowly. Evelyn happened to be walking behind us, and she got most of the poking. The rest of us ran, ran as in "OMG RUN FOR YOUR LIVES D:" but couldn't really, because a few of us were sporting heavy bags. So yeah, that was funny. xD

Oh, and to any Twilighters reading this space, check this out: Clicky! Something I drew during the weekend. Inspired by Sofeya quoting poor Edward on her blog. xD

Other than that, today was tiring. I dunno why exactly. Anyway, Internetzz time for me is now limited. I'm only online right now because I'm finishing up an Agama presentation. I need to study for Trials.

Ps. Damn you SA FORMATIVE. Dx *shakes fist*

EDIT: This happened just now during dinner:

*Nazim and Hanna just watched Friends*
Ross: I haven't had sex in a long time!
Hanna: Yeah, Ross hasn't had six in a long time! *giggles like the six-year old she is*
Me: Yeah ... he hasn't had ... six.
Mama: Uh-huh, he hasn't been sick for a long time.

Oddity of Ends

I post too slow, I think. So many eventful things in life, so little blog posts! I didn't even talk about My Epic Weekend. So I will, just 'cause it was the most epic fun I've had in terms of fangirling. First, I watched Dark Knight (cue "Oooh" sound). Then, I finished reading Pendragon: Raven Rise (cue "Aaah" sound). Then, I went online, still reeling from the awesome and shock that was the book, only to find that the Avatar: The Legend of Aang finale had already shown in the US and had been posted online (cue whistles and applause). It was the best cartoon finale I've ever watched in EVER.

Seriously, it was like an overdose of Good Stuff. I was high for most of the weekend and Monday. It was so good, my dreams consisted of me being a Traveler from the Pendragon books, having to hide away some secret book. Most of the dream consisted of me actually able to make decisions, as if I was awake. Shasha was in my dream. xD And Loor, from the Pendragon books. Grampa dude from the Ben10 cartoon was there. And River Phoenix, dressed up as he was in Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade. Georgina from Gossip Girl made an appearance (she was in kahoots with the evil bad guy, who was Saint Dane - also from the Pendragon books). And ... I could've sworn Prince Zuko was somewhere lurking in the background. Can't be too sure. Oh, and the rock used in last year's drama team was essential to our secret mission. Then there was a nightclub, and Pn. Alainal. O_o Yes. That was the weirdest part, actually. And there was dancing. Lots of dancing and neon lights.

One of the weirdest dreams ever. Even tops the one I had two years ago about Batman and Borders (the book store) and the mysterious "Jagged S".

Wow, typing all this out has made me feel loads better. :) Because there were some events of this morning that managed to kick my spirit around again. Seriously, I have to give it a tougher skin.

Hear that? Tougher skin. Which is exactly the reason why I was miserable. Or rather, the lack of it developing. Making no sense? This is intentional. Remember Wormtail? From Harry Potter? Yeah. He wasn't a very nice guy. :( I feel sorry for Sirius, James and Lupin. Poor things. They were like BFFs, but now they're BFFs - 1.

Or, they're nothing at all, 'cause they're dead. Because JK Rowling killed 'em all.

Ouch. Tragic.

It's nearly ...

The AVATAR FINALE is online.
I can't believe it's ending.
Should I watch it all now, or just half or not at all?
...
I think I'll watch just half. Prolongs the roller coaster ride.
*goes into fangirl-mode*

Oh Em Gay.

OMYGAH!
Avatar Book 3 Southern Raiders Episode!!!
ONLINE.
AM LOADING.
OMG!

[/geeksqueal]

*runs off to watch, howling with glee*

Ps. Dark Knight update will be coming soon! After my sanity returns.

Another to the list

Well what can I say? I'm a sucker for proving myself wrong.

I can hear you say it, yes I can ... especially you two, Nad, Hannah. xD You all know about my dislike for anime. So what's with all this anime-watching lately? First Blood+ (I blame Tarsha) and now Death Note (I blame deviantArt)?

But, it is nice to be proven wrong, at least on these two occasions anyway. DN, I have to say, is very pretty. I found myself pausing the YouTube vids so I could randomly sketch stuff into my sketchbooks.

So yes, I was enjoying myself immensely for the past week or so. Watching two brainiacs battle it out in their minds against each other? It was like reading Artemis Fowl, except that there're a whole lot more lives at stake, there aren't so many jokes, and there're two of them.
I was pretty much wrapped up in this. I really wanted something to keep my mind off of the upcoming Avatar episodes (gah, taking too long). I managed to get to episode 34 this evening, then I searched for 35 ...

And it's not there.
There is no English-dubbed episode 35.
D:

Turns out that I'll have to wait again after all. In the meantime ... I want to find something else to watch. Anime, I mean. Something that's pretty and doesn't make me wanna cry everytime I see the pointy limbs, legs the length of the twin towers and eyes that could easily pass for other-worldly dimension portals.

*runs off to stalk YouTube*

Onwards to battle, ladies and gentlemen ...

"No moshing"?

Well so much for that warning.
I'm pretty glad nobody smoked inside the hall myself. :D

So yes. BotB. Never been to one before, today was my first. First thing I noticed upon setting foot on school grounds: everyone (nearly everyone) was wearing black. WTFish, people. xD I know black makes you look slim and all, but it stops oozing the cool factor when everyone wears it.

I was wearing red myself. Nad's tuition-buddy Andrew was wearing red too, so we were red-buddies. Speaking of which, yes, Nad, your tuition-buddies are indeed awesome cool people. :D

Anyway, the overall thing was OK - the weirded sound system killed it a little for me ... we could hear the guitars and drums, but could barely make out the lead singers. Kinda disappointing. And no moshing? No fun, if you ask me. I've never moshed before, but heck, it looks like fun.

Looks like fun, Sara? Hang a second, what happened to the 'no moshing' rule? Well ... it got scrapped. xD Basically, it started with these two guys dancing like crazed idiots in front of the stage. Then there were three. Three bands later, there was a small group, crashing into each other like water molecules (science-reference, whee). Then there was a bigger group, doing the can-can together.

Apparently, they got 'escorted out'. Poor things.

After the 'ten-minute break', things went wild. When the band started playing (can't remember which one it was) a whole group of guys leaped up and started to dance; I was at the very edge of the crowd, and it was bedlam, I tell you. More people started crashing into the makeshift mosh pit, and people were bouncing off each other, there were cameras flashing, people screaming, and the band howling away in the background. One dude got on a chair and started waving his guitar over the crowd's heads. Then one guy started crowd-surfing. A second guy followed him, and he tumbled off at one point, poor dude. He looked like he was gonna pee his pants.

It was the wackiest piece of fun I've ever seen in my life. I told everything to Acu (it's her birthday btw ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACU!) and she laughed and said that the moshing sounded like something out of a comedy movie.

Well, comedy's gotta come from somewhere, and I'm sure most scriptwriters are inspired by real life. I can see clearly now! *dramatic music*

Ps. Don't speak of Narnia: Prince Caspian to me. I can't watch until the holidays. Dx
Ps2. I just watched all existing episodes of Gossip Girl. All I can say is: *incoherent squeaks and blabbering*
Ps3. I am a weak human being who read the Avatar spoilers. D:

Real geek-moment with added panic.

I just went on deviantArt, and one of the users was warning all Avatards that the Sozin's Comet Juniour Novel is coming out this month. Which means, anyone who buys this book will know THE ENDING of Avatar: The Legend of Aang. Which is NOT COOL because then people who are total spoiler-haters (eg. me) will get spoiled.

So, I thought it wasn't that big a problem ... the book hadn't come out yet, right? Right.

Wrong.

I went on iMDb, and the book is out. D: People on the Avatar board were discussing it. And now I'm scared of getting spoiled. Ohhhh noooo.

Aw man, now I'm all paranoid of the Internet.

Sorry, I just had to get this off my chest. Grarrh.

Exams, then geek-moment.

Grarrh, this is the worst exam season ever. I got diarrhea during Add Maths and gave up with half an hour to go. I just ... don't know how to apply things. I'm alright with the exercises, I'm the first few to answer during class, but during exams I feel as if I'm missing something important. Blech.

Can't wait for this to end. I've got nine books waiting for me, all bought from the MPH clearance sale. xD And I ended up reading Maximum Ride 4 when the fam went to visit the sungai last week. It was an OK book, but I ended up being all skeptic about (SPOILERS) how the flock keep getting powers and Max is in this whole "I just want us to be friends, but DON'T YOU LOOK AT ANYTHING IN A SKIRT" thing with Fang, who really needs a break, poor boy. (END SPOILERS)

And I'm trying to load Gossip Girl. Which is stuck. Dang.

And I can wait for Avatar to air in July. In fact ... maybe I should order the DVD? All the awesomeness of element-bending fight sequences and squee-worthy character interaction easily accessed in a compact disk which I can watch at anytime in my geeky, SPM-spinning life!

Now there's an idea.

Pretty fluffy clouds

Sokka: Pretty clouds.
Zuko: Yeah. Fluffy.
---
Zuko: Sometimes clouds have two sides. A dark and light ... and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich. So when life seems hard, take a bite out of the silver sandwich.
Sokka: Maybe we haven't failed after all!
Zuko: That's the spirit! I can't believe that worked. I didn't even know what I was saying.
Sokka: No, what you said made no sense at all.
---
Zuko: I had a girlfriend. Her name was Mai.
Sokka: That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?
Zuko: Yeah.
Sokka: My first girlfriend turned into the moon.
Zuko: That's rough, buddy.
- AtLA, The Boiling Rock Part 1

Seriously, these two prodeuce the cutest character moments. Man, I really really love this show.