A Brief November Review (Through the Fog of Jetlag) – with Helpful Gifs

If you have ever had the misfortune to spend over 15 hours in a plane, or over 24 hours travelling, then you probably understand the extreme exhaustion I am currently feeling.

Staying awake is a struggle whenever staying asleep is not a struggle . . .

Basically, I am alternately feeling like I am going to die if I don’t sleep, or like I need to do five-hundred jumping jacks and run around the house (generally at 3 :00 AM or so) – which is just the normal cycle of the human body readjusting after travelling across about half of the world’s timezones.

Jetlag aside, I am safely back in the US of A, and I fully realize I went AWOL around the end of November. Since I have a lot of material to catch up on, including my last (almost) two months of adventures in Korea, and I am (as mentioned), exhausted, I am just writing this short update to clarify that: 1. I am still here, and 2. Plan on blogging more regularly again now that school is over for a few weeks.

First, if anyone tried to visit my blog in the last two weeks, you might have gotten a blank page. Sorry about that – it had security update issues that I couldn’t fix while working from my Korean ip address, and I’ve just managed to sort everything out. But yeah, I didn’t disappear for good this time.

Another cuter but accurate representation of me right now

Second, I fully plan to not only writing a few more posts about my Korean adventures, but I have a fun music tag (evil laugh) courtesy of Sara Letourneau that I’ve been really looking forward to, but some planned book reviews (I read A LOT on the planes), and even some writing updates! SO – while I am not currently lucid or motivated, I do have a lot planned once my brain becomes less scrambled. So stay tuned.

Accurate

Thirdly, here are a few notes/highlights from November and December that I may or may not expand on in the above-mentioned post ideas:

  1. I survived finals and had two extra weeks to explore Korea
  2. Exploring included visiting a book alley, the reality-show famous Lotte World (more on that later), the restaurant BTS (방탄소년단) frequented in their trainee days (the food was delicious, and I took pictures in front of the autographed door, which was unbelievably cool, and a HARRY POTTER CAFE, among others, so you know I’ll have to write about that!
  3. I also went to two Korean musical productions and they blew me away with both the talent/quality and the production values (more on this later)
  4. The musicals were Elisabeth and Jekyll & Hyde, and starred two of my beloved, crazy-talented singing heroes Park Hyung-sik (박형식), and Hong Kwang-ho (홍광호), respectively, which knocked two things off my bucket list.
  5. I over-indulged in watching the fantastic end-of-the-year Korean awards shows that always air in December (their staging is crazy) – see the video below for an example.
  6. I saw three movies: Ocean’s 8 (better than the critics said – solid 7 of 10), Solo: A Star Wars Story (Star Wars overkill, but also better than expected – respectable 6 of 10 stars), and Swing Kids (Korean tap dancing/anti-war film with great characters and dance scenes but really sad- 9 out of 10 stars)
  7. I FINALLY finished reading The Lies of Locke Lamora, among several other books, and I had lots of feelings – review to come.
FYI, this MMA performance was a 2018 highlight

Fourth, I plan on posting at least one coherent post before the new year, as a pre-New Year’s Resolution, and then just relaxing and catching up on some other blogs. Which brings me to the terrible truth that 2019 is in a few days and I am not ready. Not that 2018 was a poster year (though it had many moments! Especially in Korea), but I am just not ready for the year to change over yet. I just adjusted to it being Christmas time, and Christmas is already over!!

Exactly

And speaking of Christmas – who received some amazing books, or found some time to relax and read? I am looking for a few recommendations to check out in the next week. Since I returned so late (Christmas Eve), I am not planning to go back to work for at least another week (because I am basically useless at the moment, lol), so I will have some time to read in the next few days. I also hope to have some time to write. So, if anyone has a great book (especially a quick read) for me, please tell me in the comments.

Regardless, I hope those of you who celebrate had a lovely, restful time with family and/or friends, and I hope you are both more lucid and prepared for 2019 than I am, and I thank you for always reading and sticking with me, despite my erratic postings and tendency to randomness and rambles. Have a good week, and if I don’t follow through on my attempt to post before January 1st, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What to Watch When You’re More of Reader . . . (Top Ten Tuesday)

Apparently, Fall TV is a thing . . . ? And I currently have access to some cable and internet . . .

Anyhow, this week’s TTT is TV themed, and though I mostly just read for fun, I do find a little time to watch a select handful of shows. I tend to gravitate toward shows with twisty plots or great dialogue (preferably both), but I’ll stick with anything that has good enough writing/acting to make me care about the characters!

So what shows are interesting enough to get me away from the books?

BEHOLD:

Copyright : The Broke and the Bookish
Copyright : The Broke and the Bookish

TV Shows for  a Bookworm (err, More than 10)

Mysteries and MURDER, JOHN!

I don’t think I’ve mentioned my great love of a good mystery, but those can be hard to find! If you grew up on Nancy Drew, love some Agatha Christie, and are always drawn in by the next Sherlock Holmes retelling, here are a few shows to try:

1. Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation

This anime is more of a drama than a mystery, overall. Still, the hero is a quiet student who is reminiscent of John Watson, aiding the mercurial and eccentric bone-fanatic Sakurako as she finds bones (nearly) everywhere. It’s beautiful and eerie, and the only thing I didn’t like about it was the fact that there isn’t a second season yet!!

2. Sherlock – (BBC 2010-?)

Yes, it’s over-hyped, but it’s also really good! From the casting to the twisting stories, Sherlock deserves the praise for it’s clever writing and plots. Now if only there were more seasons already . . . *grumble, grumble*

3. Pushing Daisies

Pushing Daisies is about a piemaker whose touch can wake the dead, but if he touches them again, they’re dead for good. Pair him with his resurrected childhood sweetheart and a mercenary detective, and involve a lot of brightly colored weirdness, and you have this show. It was cancelled after two seasons and I AM STILL MAD ABOUT IT!!

4. Monk

Adrian Monk is an obsessive compulsive, but brilliant detective, consumed with finding out how and why his wife died. After 8 seasons (including many crazy mysteries and loads of humor and heart), he finally achieves his goal. Any show that can come up with compelling mysteries for 8 seasons deserves an award!

5. Psych: If you haven’t watched Psych, who are you?

Shawn Spencer, a man with too little ambition and a brilliant mind, pretends to be a psychic and solves a case. But now he has to keep the act up or be exposed as a fake to the police, with very real legal consequences. Alongside his best friend Burton Guster (Gus), a pharmaceutical sales rep who is hilarious, and a quirky bunch of detectives, Shawn grows as a character in a great positive arc, and there are a ton of fantastic mysteries. And it’s still one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. And most quotable. (And they made a musical!)

Spies, Vigilantes, and Thieves

No, they aren’t necessarily good role models, but the less right side of the law pack tend to have some great representatives in the TV department.

6. Chuck

So Chuck is more of a comedy/romance, but it is about spies. And your average, hapless everyguy who just happens to get a super spy software burned into his brain. Happens all the time. Fans of Firefly will appreciate Adam Baldwin’s comic turn as the “humorless” and trigger-happy Agent Casey.

7. Daredevil (Season 1)

This one goes in the BE WARNED category – it’s very violent and appropriately rated for Mature audiences. However, Daredevil (the first season) has some of the best writing, acting, and moral complexity I’ve seen on TV. More akin to a novel (and the graphic novels it was based on) in it’s pacing, Daredevil was one of my top shows of the last five years.

8. Death Note

(anime, I haven’t tried the live-action)- Still worth watching if you’ve read the manga. Clever cat and mouse that lasts way longer than you thought possible? Check. Characters that make you question your judgement and give you conflicted feelings? Check. Lovely to look at? Check. This one is a classic for a lot of reasons.

9. White Collar

Another older show, but definitely worth watching. Smooth criminal Neal Caffrey becomes an (unwilling) consultant for the White Collar crime division, starting an odd-couple comedy meets crime show with a lot of style and great characters.

Ghosts, Ghouls, and Mayhem

10. Tokyo Ghoul

Just like the manga, the anime is short, beautiful, and very bloody. But don’t let that scare you away. It’s a the story of a gentle college student who becomes a monster in the most Shakespearean style of tragedy. From questioning morality to humanity, to what really makes us monsters, Tokyo Ghoul does it all. The score is also excellent.

11. Who Are You AND Let’s Fight, Ghost!

These two shows have four things in common – they are Korean, they involve ghosts, the heroine has circumstantial amnesia, and the male lead is played by popstar TaecYeon, but that’s where the resemblance ends.

Who Are You (후아유) is a detective show with important supernatural elements – female Detective Shi On returns after a terrible accident (that she can’t remember), and finds she can see ghosts. As she is drawn in by the ghosts and their unresolved stories, she stumbles upon a web of corruption that is tied to the memories she lost.

Let’s Fight, Ghost! (싸우자 귀신아 ) follows student Park Bong Pal as he exorcises ghosts for money. When he meets a cute female ghost who is more annoying that malicious, he starts to question everything he believed about ghosts, and opens up to more people and experiences. There are a lot of Grudge-esque  ghosts and a truly terrifying villain played by the talented Kwon Yool. This one is short and sweet at only 16 episodes, and it has a lot of hilarious moments to break up the ghost-chasing action.

http://i1054.photobucket.com/albums/s486/BelWatson/Lets%20Fight%20Ghost/11/02.gif

12. Grimm

Ohhh, Monroe
Ohhh, Monroe

This inventive crime show blends supernatural/fairytale elements and procedural drama in the story of Portland detective Nick Burkhardt – who also happens to be a Grimm. The Grimm are like supernatural police, humans with powers who keep the Wesen (non-humans of various varieties) in check, and try to keep the balance between the “worlds.” It’s clever and fun, with characters you’ll root for, and it’s a must if you’re a fairytale nut. And it’s on its last season, so you won’t be waiting around long for the ending.

13. Doctor Who

This classic British show could probably have fit in any of these categories, and therefore, it doesn’t fit well in any of them. If you don’t know, it’s about a time-travelling alien (a Timelord) who wanders space and time with a human companion. Debates about seasons and Doctors abound, but everyone Whovian knows that it is worth the watch. From science to theology, to psychology, to downright silliness, there is a Doctor and an episode that has it.

Romantic Comedies

14. You Who Came from the Stars (별에서 온 그대 )

A romantic dramedy that is reminiscent of My Fair Lady, if the Professor was an elf-like alien, and Eliza was a spoiled actress. The premise works surprisingly well, and good acting and writing, compelling characters, and the usual dose of hilarity make this show one of my favorites ever!

15. Pride and Prejudice (BBC 1995)

For acting, production quality, faithfulness to the material, and being compulsively watchable, few things can beat the Andrew Davies penned P & P. Jane Austen’s classic novel has never been treated better. Still one of my favorites.

Honorable Mentions:

I rarely finish shows, and lately I have watched more nonfiction or documentary programs, but there are a few other shows I have enjoyed that didn’t make this list for one reason or another –

Supernatural – the drama about two brothers who really can’t die (where the world is always ending), with terrible plot holes, contradictory morality and theology, and general frustration. While I can’t recommend it morally (and I gripe a lot about it as a writer!), the show has its brilliant moments.

The Flash – A fun superhero show that has too many episodes for me to finish yet. Great cast, fun premise, and some good writing.

Psycho-Pass – an anime with an intriguing premise and great moral questions. I can’t recommend it because I haven’t watched enough yet!

Ice Fantasy – A beautiful Chinese drama starring all of the people who should have been elf extras in Lord of the Rings. One of the most lovely things I’ve ever seen – from the scenery to the actors to the costumes. But there are TONS of episodes, and I’m not very far into it!

Pinocchio (Korean Drama) I love this show so far, but I haven’t finished it yet. If you like your heart being twisted into knots, adorable characters that have terrible things happen to them, and alternately nasty and hilarious reporter drama, then you should check it out!

Boys over FlowersThe Cinderella-esque Korean school drama. Despite the fact that the drama sometimes annoyed me, I loved it enough to buy it. A fun cast, a relatable heroine, and lots of humor made this show one of the most popular and widely watched Korean dramas. And I’m sure that Lee Min Ho didn’t hurt things, 😉

So, have you seen any of these shows? Do you watch much tv? Is there a fall show that you’re looking forward to? Do you have any shows that I should watch?

Also, if you did a TTT, don’t forget to post the link so I can check it out!