randomly...

[meganbmoore]

1. Dentist took way longer than expected today, and I had to have 2 shots. Now that the anaesthetic has completely worn off, I can definately feel that I had two shots.

2. I am told that Ryan Tang, AKA, Umeda/Mei Tian in Hana Kimi is in Tokyo Juliet as a curly haired playboy. The dorama portion of the flist is ordered(in a requesting way) to find pictures of this for me.

3. I feel somewhat in the mood for an anime, but can't decide which, so I'm turning to the flist for help(yes, I seem to be constantly posting polls and asking for help lately...)

[Poll #1039931]

The "why" in the comments would be much appreciated.

4. Also asking for aid from the flist: the last few years, urban fantasy took over my fantasy reading, asnd often the majority of my novel reading in general. With one exception, I think I've pretty much caught up on all those series that I'm going to check out, and am now looking for recs of others. One author I'm looking at is Charles de Lint. While I suppose some would say that's urban fantasy, but from what I've read about them(and what I vaguely recall about a couple I read in high school, which I remember liking) they're more modern fantasy or modern fable. Recs for him or others are greatly appreciated. Besides, if I start one more series where every vampire and werewolf in town is lusting after the "Special" female, I may puke.

5. The Amazon order, for the curious, ended up:

The Faery Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm by Ellen Datlow
The Coyote Road by Ellen Datlow
Canon: Volume 2 by Chika Shiomi
Samurai Deeper Kyo Volume 23 by Akimine Kamijyo
Dokebi Bride: Volume 3 by Marley

and

Asoka

6. Back to Hana Kimi, I'm impressed by the actress playing Julia. Sure, she's not a blonde with big blue eyes and has a very accent, but her English is better than most dorama actors and somebody at least studied expressions and mannerisms for American teens(earliest example being saying "gonna" instead of "Going to.") This pleases me, as I've been rather worried about how Julia would turn out since the show was first announced.

7. If I didn't update at least once a day, would people REALLY think I was dead?

Comments

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

To me, Charles De Lint is urban fantasy because he was one of the earliest writers of the subgenre. What we're seeing now -- the spunky heroine urban fantasy -- is not so much a subgenre as it is a marketing category. No one wants to really say that out loud because some folks get ruffled and upset but it's become a category in the way Harlequins are category romances: sarcastic heroine who kicks ass, supernatural hero to sex up, more supernatural heroes on the side to add romantic tension in order to hide the fact there's no real plot, tour of the supernatural underworld...

I got tired of De Lint because while he is good, he is very much into the "Writers/artists are special people and I'm going to make sure this is clear in every book I write" message and it's get tiring after a while. That said, I liked The Blue Girl, which is YA.

Oh!

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

And I voted for what I voted for because it's the only one of those I've seen. :O!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

a very good point. It's the LKH category. Sadly, as soon as one of them gets compared to LKH, the partner hopping starts...

Most but not all authors seem to fall into "writers are special" or "i think writers are special but i pretend i don't" really...at least, the bigger name ones.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

E's Otherwise is fun and enjoyable, but if you want something really deep and dramatic, Last Exile is incredibly haunting.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*notes*

yeah, i think your posts were why i decided to check e's out.

[chaos00tryza.livejournal.com]

I think I voted for Exile...but meant to vote Samurai.

Honestly, I've never seen any of them, but I judge by the good things I hear about them.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I've heard a lot of good things about both, myself.

[chaos00tryza.livejournal.com]

Hopefully it won't be a hard decision! I've given up on anime..save for Naruto...and latched on to manga.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Ryan Tang pics!!

http://images.asianfanatics.net/gallery/albums/userpics/10114/20060622-udn.jpg

Publicity photo so his hair's not quite right...
http://images.asianfanatics.net/gallery/albums/userpics/62124/normal_20060526-tom02.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/arieluniverse/tang4.jpg

That's all I can find on a quick internet search - I'll run & do some screenshots later.

Oh, & I vote for Ai Yori Aoshi. Ai Yori Aoshi is sweet & crazy. E's Otherwise was pretty good & fairly short.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

That hair is certainly...something else. What, I ask, do TPTBs have against his normal hair...

[tjfox.livejournal.com]

I have no real reason for voting for Last Exile except for that the animation is very good and it's the only one on the list that I've seen a few episodes of.

As for question #7...yes. :p

[fa3ryg1rl.livejournal.com]

The last book I read by DeLint was The Blue Girl and I liked it a lot. I'm vowing to read his whole Newford series by the end of the year. Have you read any of them?
Also by DeLint, but it's a fairy tale type story, but definitely a great read was Seven Wild Sisters and it has artwork by Charles Vess. There is another book that features 2 of the sisters called Medicine Road that is urban fantasy. And then there is also a children's book that is sort of a companion to it called A Circle of Cats that was cute.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Haven't read any of those.

*notes*

[akosikae.livejournal.com]

Last Exile because of the artwork :)

I have Blue Girl which I posted somewhere for sale which means it didn't really entertain me much. I do love Someplace to be Flying. I am also in the middle of Forests of the Heart. Currently on hold actually to give way to the Coffee Prince novel hehe. So far I like Forests. There's also Widdershins which looks good.

[gloryquest.livejournal.com]

Last Exile, just because it's the only one I've seen any of, although I still need to watch the last 2-3 DVDs.

[chomiji]

7. Yes! I'd worry like crazy. It's comforting to see you post, even if it's just about dorama that I have never heard of ... .

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

do not tempt me to try to convert you...

(actually, you might likethe wuxia dramas...)

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

What is urban fantasty compared to regular? Modern day setting type of thing? Have you ever read anything by Tad Williams? Supposedly his Green Angel Tower series is great fantasy but I've only read his "The War of the Flowers" novel - which was very interesting & a unique look at fantasy. But I don't know if any of that qualifies as "urban" fantasy.

Also, I know you probably aren't going to watch Tokyo Juliet but I decided to give you the pic spam you requested. Rather than attach each pic here, here's the folder on my photobucket. - http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b267/ockola/Tokyo%20Juliet/

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Urban fantasy is modern settings, usually with a darker, often noirish undertone.n I think I read a Tad Williams book once, but it was a mid-series book and I didn't realize that when I started it so i was lost.

*goes to look @ pics*

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

Well, then, "The War of the Flowers" probably counts but with fairies, trolls, pixies & evil disease spirits rather than vampires & werewolves. It's about a 30 something wannabe rocker who goes through a bit of a midlife crisis when his girlfriend has a miscarriage & dumps him, plus his mother dies. So he runs off to a remote cabin with a mysterious notebook he discovers written by his uncle, purporting to be a visit to Faerie. While lounging sadly in a remote cabin, a combination of circumstances boot him into Faerie itself, where the story really begins.

This Faerie isn't your average Charles de Lint, pan-pipes-in-the-meadowlands kind of place. It's as technologically advanced as ours, and Theo finds many things that are familiar but bewildering. He is almost helpless in the tide that sweeps him through the novel, and Williams renders the reader helpless too, withholding all the crucial information until it's almost too late. A seasoned fantasy reader will recognize many fantasy elements, but Williams twists and turns them to fit a sort of Faerie-cyberpunk universe. Theo gains and loses allies, makes enemies and dispatches them, but all in a bemused, lucky manner. There's a beautiful girl and an ugly troll, there are cars and electric lights and televisions, but just when the reader makes an assumption, it's yanked out from underneath her.

Eventually the plot takes an even more unexpected turn and things become clearer to Theo (and to the reader). He finds himself pitted against the major demesnes of Faerie and their powerful leaders. What's at stake? The world of course!

It was good & a very unique take on fantasy in general.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

That sounds like more modern fantasy than urban fantasy and honestly, i wish there were more modern fantasy out there. *adds to list*