Randomosity on Fridays: Friday 5

May is coming to a close and summer is on its way here! I'm chipper this Friday because Thursday was strangely awesome, even though I am also extremely jealz of all the people currently chatting it up at BEA in New York. One day!

Here's my Friday 5.

1) On the other hand, though I may not be at BEA this year, it turns out I will be going to Comic Con after all! Yay for scoring badges during the resale! That was Thursday Awesome Thing #1!

2) Thursday Awesome Thing #2: While I was pining over the fact that people were getting Maggie Stiefvater's The Dream Thieves ARCs at BEA and commiserating (and also offering bribes) with Mindee Arnett, the very lovely Sarah Goldberg offered to share the ARC that will be coming to her. Obviously, I jumped on that offer ASAP and pledged my undying love.

3) News came in that NBC renewed the TV show HANNIBAL for a 2nd season. I'm so excited because this is such a stylishly shot show. It is tense, creepy, and also truly disturbing. I love the psychology and the moodiness, the horrific imagery. SUCH a good show (even if it makes me question my love of food). Recommended! (Also, I love Hugh Dancy.)

4) The Sister and I marathoned the new Netflix season of Arrested Development with our friend Justine. She also hosted an amazing viewing party: lasagna cupcakes, guacamole and chips, juice boxes, candy beans, and the all important chocolate-covered frozen bananas.

Definitely deserving of the title Mister Manager!

She even made us gift bags!

The Sister went to the party as Buster.

The new episodes were definitely different - even wackier than the original and the formatting has changed - but we still enjoyed it.  Just took a bit of getting used to, and we loved how the different storylines intersected. We want more! (Also the song "Getaway")

5) The Sister and I also got to see Imagine Dragons last night at the Hollywood Palladium. Needless to say, it was awesome.

Shot by the Sister from the balcony, where we watched most of the show.

Sister did a short vine video of Radioactive.

Q4U: What are your Friday Fives? Are any of you going to Comic Con this year??

Whatever Wednesday: Video Edition

Hello and good day, for 'tis Wednesday the 29th and quite nearly the end of May!  'Tis also then the near end of Asian American Pacific Islander Month and whilst Krispy and I did intend to post more things related, never did we get around to it or so the universe has fated.  Whyfor is this post written in rhyme?  Perhaps because Alz has the time.

ENOUGH OF THAT AHEM.  Anyway, to round out our lackadaisical APA Month postings, Krispy and I wanted to share with you this very special video by Ken Tanaka about how to respond to that question--"So where are you from?  No, like, where are you from?"



Now if we're ever asked this question, we'll have a verbal riposte ready.

And now have a video of Loki VS the Hose:



Loki was super fluffy after his bath and subsequent toweling and blowdrying, whereafter he promptly went to lie down on the gritty ground.  I suppose that's better than rolling in the mud, though I'm sure if there had been mud around, Loki would've gone for a brisk romp therein.

Q4U: So, seeing Loki up there biting at the water made me think about how I've never drunk from a hose (talking about a garden/lawn hose here)--but when I was little I had a couple of friends who drank from hoses without a second thought.  I always thought it was kinda gross, particularly as our hose was always lying around outside in the dirt and stuff, and if I was thirsty I'd just go inside for a drink.  Have you ever drunk from a hose?

Randomosity on Fridays: Friday 5

May has been crazy, and I can't believe it's already coming to an end. How is this year going by so fast? In any case, here's a bunch of random updates and pictures.

1) Today marks one year since the Sister brought Loki home! I can't believe we've had him for only a year. It feels like he's been with us forever.

2) We've now seen The Great Gatsby and Star Trek into Darkness movies, both of which we enjoyed. I have a few mixed feelings about Gatsby but I liked it overall - and I loved Leo's take on the character! The sister wore an appropriate shirt; the ticket taker even commented on it.

3) Lydia sent us some awesome Control swag. I love the necklace and can't wait to find out its significance when I read the book in December (so far away)!

4) We've been watching Arrested Development this week in preparation for the new season that's going to be on Netflix this weekend! I cannot wait for the AD viewing party! Candy beans and frozen bananas, yum!

5) The professional photos from my friend's wedding back in March were ready earlier this month, and they are beautiful! I'm so excited to see the wedding video later. Here are a few of the photos by Docuvitae.

Oh and I realized I never posted any of the photobooth pictures. So these were from our smilebooth sessions.



Happy Memorial Day weekend, my U.S. peeps. Enjoy the long weekend! Everyone else, live long and prosper!

Q4U: What are your weekend plans?

What's Up Wednesday (2)

It's time for What's Up Wednesday!

"What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme started by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up." Jamie and Erin will have a link widget at the end of their What's Up Wednesday posts for those who want to join and link up.


WHAT I'M READING
I'm currently reading Melina Marchetta's FROI OF THE EXILES, Book 2 of her very excellent Lumatere Chronicles. I absolutely adored the first book, FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK. It's a great, sweeping fantasy with danger and romance and really complex themes. Here's my goodreads review if you're interested in hearing me gush some more: Finnikin review.

Before that though, I blasted through Rick Yancey's THE 5TH WAVE, which is pretty much lives up to the hype. It was thrilling and touching and had these lovely themes and literary motifs (I am a sucker for good themes and good use of literary devices). I cannot wait until the next one! I'll probably review Book 1 soon.


WHAT I'M WRITING
I'm still not writing much, but I did #twtpoem some more. (The current theme is lens, by the way, if any of you want to participate!) I'm also toying around with some ideas - mostly trying to figure out a plot. I suck at plot, guys. I like characters, themes, relationship stuff, personal arcs, and cool settings/world-building - so I think my brain just tends to focus on that stuff first? Not that I don't like cool plots; I'm just terrible at working them out first. :P

I've also been helping someone else toy with a Shiny New Idea, which is much easier for me. I just get to make ridiculous (and not so ridic) suggestions, and they decide what they want to go with.


WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
The weather. It is all sunshine and blue skies and toasty summer-y heat. I thrive in this kind of daylight.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
Other than watching a ton of movies, the Sister and I (as well as my friends) have been super looking forward to the new season of Arrested Development. One of my fellow bridesmaids is throwing a themed party on the premiere date, but also exciting is the Arrested Development promo tour. Lucky us, the LA area tends to play host to these sorts of things, so we did some tour stop hopping.

Last Saturday, we found the Bluth Company (stair) Car at Hollywood & Highland!

You're gonna get hop-ons!

Then yesterday, we made a date with friends at the Bluth Frozen Banana Stand. Alas, we barely made it in time for pictures before closing, so they were all out of frozen bananas. The line was also HUGE, and it's possible threats were made about burning down the banana stand and "cornballing the heck" out of it if we didn't get pics...

There's always money in the banana stand!

Both of these visits resulted in a lot of swag too. Posters, notes (so you can always leave a note!), Mr. Manager stickers. You can call Sheepy, Mr. Manager.



Q4U: What are you up to this Wednesday? Are you excited for the return of Arrested Development?

Randomosity on Fridays: Star Trek Version

Greetings, all, and happy Friday! The following pictures summarize why Krispy and I don't have much of a blog for you tonight:

We saw. (Krispy giggled every time she saw Benedict Cumberbatch - "evil Sherlock".)  We enjoyed. (Krispy also again lamented the fact that had she been a few years older, she might have stalked looked for Chris FinePine in college before he graduated.) Got any movie plans this weekend, Trek-related or otherwise?

Name That Book the Fifth: Answers!

Well, well, congratulations to all who played!  No misidentified titles or covers this time, which either means my drawings are more accurate or you're more used to my artistic idiosyncrasies!  The most unidentified cover was #3, and I'm not sure if it's because it wasn't that hyped and/or it was a terrible book and/or maybe my ):< expression for the girl on the cover threw people off.

Here are the answers.  See how well you did!

1. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

2. Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

3. Daughter of the Centaurs by Kate Klimo

4. Plain Kate by Erin Bow

5. Grave Mercy by R. L. LaFevers

So how did you do in this round of Name That Book?  I kind of liked drawing stick figures for that one round, so maybe I'll do that again next time.

I need some book recs!  Got any scifi, fantasy, or dystopian titles for the Alz?

Name That Book the Fifth!

Howdy and happy Friday, folks!  First of all, thank you for all the lovely comments about my manatees and shiny things.  It's always nice to finally be able to step back after all the blood, sweat, tears, and more blood and see a finished product, be it a manatee or a necklace or a story.

Anyway, we're ending the week with another round of Name That Book!  I haven't anything else exciting to say here because (as often happens roundabout these here parts) Krispy and I didn't have anything in particular planned for today, but Name That Book always provides funtimes.  For this round it's once again based on book covers, so have at ye!

1. A contemporary paranormal that Krispy and I both loved.
Sequel will be out this year!

2. Victorian steampunk with zombies.

3. A terribly-written post-apocalyptic fantasy that I hated.

4. A surprisingly dark fantasy.
The talking cat was definitely the best character in the book.

5. Ah, a medieval romance that I hated so very, very much.

Take a gander and a guess, and stay tuned next week for answers.  Have a fantastic weekend!

What's Up Wednesday & AAPI Heritage Month

We really should have used this last week on May 1st, but it slipped our blogging-mind. (We certainly made a nuisance of ourselves with it in other aspects of our lives - namely Twitter and in Real Life.) So I'm just going to leave this meme here.

Ahem, now that I have that out of my system, on to more important matters! It's MAY once again (what? how?!), which means it is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month! This is something we highlight every year on the blog because we're Asian American and while being that is not always easy, we do think it's also pretty flipping cool.

Normally, we have at least a few things planned for the month, but May sort of snuck up on us. We'll come up with something, but for now, check out the President's Presidential Proclamation about AAPI Month and its continued importance today.

We're also making our inaugural appearance in Jamie Morrow and Erin Funk's What's Up Wednesday weekly meme.

"What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme geared toward readers and writers, allowing us to touch base with blog friends and let them know what's up." Jamie and Erin will have a link widget at the end of their What's Up Wednesday posts for those who want to join and link up.

WHAT I'M READING
I'm currently re-reading the great American classic, The Great Gatsby in preparation for the movie release this week. I am beyond excited because I generally love the crazy, artsy things Baz Luhrman does (Moulin Rouge ♥ ) and if nothing else, the movie will be art-deco gorgeousness and has a great soundtrack. Anyway, I haven't read Gatsby since high school so it's interesting seeing how much I do and don't remember. Hopefully, I'll get a lot more out of it this time around too (since I'm older and maybe wiser?).

I'm also reading an ARC of the upcoming Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn. I'm feeling a little burnt out from my constant reading, but there was something about the voice and dark tension in this one that has me hooked!

WHAT I'M WRITING
Honestly? Not much. I started writing a random scene from my WIP-that-has-no-plot, but alas, I still have no plot! The only other writing I've done of late are the #twtpoems with Lydia and April, which reminds me, I owe them one for the prompt lancet. Here's one for you that's sort of related to AAPI month:

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW
Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing in The Great Gatsby! I totally did not appreciate this back in high school (when I existed in a chronic state of sleep-deprivation, stress, and mania). Look at these gorgeous descriptions!

For a moment the last sunshine fell with romantic affection upon her glowing face; her voice compelled me forward breathlessly as I listened--then the glow faded, each light deserting her with lingering regret like children leaving a pleasant street at dusk.

This is a valley of ashes--a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens, where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air.

WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
I spiced up my wardrobe a bit with leopard heels, a spring manicure, and newly purchased space leggings!


Last weekend was pretty awesome. On Friday, I did a 4 hour round (yes, FOUR HOURS) of karaoke with some coworkers because one of them was leaving. Someone tried to convince me to quit and pursue a singing career. Um, no. Then Saturday was STAR WARS Day aka May the Fourth (be with you)!

Ladies and gentlemen, my sister.

Sis and I also saw IRON MAN 3, which was excellent. I actually was not that offended by The Mandarin (I still can't help giving this the side-eye) and think they did a pretty good job (cleverly) modernizing that villain. Also, Loki may have my heart, but Tony Stark (or should I say Tony Snark?) is still kind of THE BEST!

This Loki hated the random rain & that we ditched him for Iron Man.

Q4U: What's up this Wednesday with you? You excited for the landslide of summer movies coming up? (Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Star Trek into Darkness, Monsters University...just to name a few!)