Hey! I'd like to water down things a bit with a New Yolk Times post, where I express some food for thought. A special anime review will be coming your way very soon, but for now let's talk about something serious. So today marks the start of Holy Week (sort of), and that also means the start of summer vacation for the rest of us (unless you go to my University). And whenever vacation hits, a majority of the human population struggles with one thing: and that is productivity.
First I would like to talk about books that I am currently reading. The first one is totally unexpected. It is entitled, "Paano Ba 'To?!" (How to do this?!, in English... I think) and it is written by Bianca Gonzales-Intal, a very well known television personality and blogger. It was pretty interesting because I've always admired the way she handles herself and her career. She's not one of those famous people who hog the spotlight and when I met her on the day I got the book (which was a random school event, by the way), she is so down-to-earth and so simple. Hearing her story increased my respect for her. The book, however, is something I do not usually read. It is a self-help/inspirational piece of literature and I honestly never imagined myself reading something like it. So it was a brand new experience for me and I suddenly became excited to read it. Basically, the book targets mostly young Filipino girls. The chapters are divided into different aspects of life such as love, friendship, fashion, etc. In this book, you will see pieces of advice from experts, her friends, family, and other Filipino showbiz personalities. It is so great to read this during my past time. It's been a very long time since I heavily felt the presence of the author in a book. All the pages are not just creative and very artsy, but it had Bianca written all over them which I appreciate a lot. So thank you again for writing such a great book! Please write another. :)
Another book I have been reading is a sequel of the book that I've been reading last month. It's called "Vortex" by S.J. Kincaid. As I've said earlier, it's the second installment to the Insignia series. And so far, it is one of the greatest Dystopian (?) science fiction stories I've ever read. The development of the characters so far are just so interesting; I've never encountered a main character who is very complicated. I thought the previous heroes I've encountered are messed up, but this is the real deal. I definitely recommend this to people who are into young people going into war and trying to change the world because I think this series covers the entire package. It may not have much hot men or burning romance, but the plot itself will take a huge grip on you. I do not want to reveal much because I really urge everyone reading this post to read this book. Every character is well-written and it is so straight to the point. Furthermore, I think a lot of people will love Tom, who is the protagonist of this story because I think he represents everything a young person is. Insecure, tormented, demented, curious, full of himself, and many more. Just read it guys, you won't be disappointed.
Now let's move on to films! Well not really films because there aren't any that completely grasped my attention. However, there is another Studio Ghibli Film that I really enjoy and it is called From Up On Poppy Hill. The plot is very simple. It's about this young girl who raises flags every morning and these flags are actually a decoded message for her father, who is already dead in this movie but she still raises them every morning hoping for some miracle. Then it turns out, someone at the sea was actually answering back to her flags and she learns this by reading a poem in the school newspaper that is about her and her flag-raising activity. Apart from that, the school had an issue regarding this building where all the clubs (and all the members are boys) are being held. The authorities planned to shut it down and replace it with a new one, and this made the students take action in order to save the building they have. These two issues somehow become connected because the central message of the story is about connecting to the past. And that for me, was very intriguing. I enjoyed mostly how the students really worked together to save the club building and since this is a love story, I love the chemistry between the two main characters.
I tried a new TV series this month and it is called Once Upon A Time. I know, better late than never. It is about Emma and her son Henry, facing this mysterious town called Storybrooke. It may seem like any other gloomy town, but in reality it is a cursed place where all the Fairy Tale characters are trapped in. And the best part is that they don't remember who they were before Storybrooke. And the entire town is ruled under the instigator, who is the Evil Queen from Snow White. And yeah you guessed it, she totally did this because she was this mad at Snow White. I've always liked Disney, so I guess this is why I was immediately drawn by the series. I already finished the first season and so far, I like it. I can't wait to get my hands on the next seasons.
The rest that I enjoyed this month are just a bunch of Youtube videos. The first is by Geek and Sundry and they have this segment called Craft Lab by Greg Aronowitz, where Anna Akana is a featured Youtuber. All they do is create awesome geek-related things out of very unusual things. My favorite project of theirs was Sonic the Hedgehog made out of chicken bones, and yes it is featured in this very post as we speak. I am so impressed with how they actually pulled it off. The materials they used seemed like they're out of the question, but after making it, I end up being amazed.
The next two are Youtube series. The first is Riley Rewind by Ray William Johnson. It features, again, Anna Akana as the lead and the story is so compelling. It's about Riley, a girl who has the ability to go back in time and she tries to use this power for good by saving this particular person from committing suicide. The story may seem a little bland to most, but what made the entire series so beautiful is the script. All the words were heartfelt and they all screamed inspiration. And in that moment, I swear my respect for Anna Akana got an upgrade. Finally, the last is called Carmilla. It is created by Vervegirl TV and it is based on a Gothic novel under the same name. The story starts with Laura, an average journalism student who just posts Youtube-like videos online about her journalism adventures. And these so-called journalism adventures started when her roommate started to go missing and a girl named Carmilla randomly pops in and becomes her new roommate. Again, I do not want to reveal much because what is great about this series is the suspense at the end of each episode. A lot of things happened in each episode--which are each in a span of at least three minutes--and everything becomes so hard to keep track off. I love the concept of just random vlogging, the script was really good, and the acting is well-delivered. I highly suggest this if you are into dark, Gothic, forbidden romances like Twilight, because this series shows so much more than that.
Today I'd like to do something new. I'd like to share my current favorite shows, movies, anime, music and books on my blog every once in a while. It is kinda like one of those monthly favorite things beauty bloggers and Youtubers do, only I will not do it monthly because I get too excited about something that I have to share it right away. If I had to wait till the end of the month, I might just end up forgetting about it, you know what I mean? Anyway just like "Let's Review" and "Fangirl Moment", I shall call this segment, "The Egg Tray" meaning to say I shall show what's new and what I am now loving in my egg tray (that sounds kinda wrong). So let's get to it!
The Tale of Princess Kaguya I did a quick review about this on my previous blog post, so I think I've already established how much I love this film. It is very simple, yet it is so full of meaning, color, and life.
Anna Akana's Short Films Lately, I have been into short films and I could see a lot of these on Youtube. And one of my favorite short films are the ones created and directed by Anna Akana. I think you can tell that I not only love films of quality, but also films that can deliver messages. Her craft is a mixture of horror, thriller, comedy, Gothic, and abstract. If that's not what you wanted to aim for in your short films, Anna, then I am so sorry for misinterpreting you because really I love you and your work. Never stop. Your films are fantastic.
This here is my favorite short film of Anna's entitled, "Emergency Call". It's totally sick, so you gotta at least check this out! You can learn more about her on her channel.
Love Rosie OST I am going to be honest; I was sort of disappointed with this film. I am not saying I hated it but I guess this is what I get for setting up high expectations for a movie featuring the beautiful Lily Collins and a story written by Cecelia Ahern. No worries, the only part I did not like about Love Rosie was the plot, surprisingly. The actors and actresses were superb in their roles, in my opinion. However, it's not the movie I adore, it's the music. The original soundtrack features songs by Kate Nash, Lily Allen, Elliot Smith, and many more. The music for this film is just so great that I had to listen to the original soundtrack. For me, the music is so relaxing that I tend to listen to the songs at night before I go to sleep. Yes, I have a mix for making myself sleepy and this soundtrack is one of them.
Insignia by S.J. Kincaid This is a book I am currently reading. It's actually a trilogy and this is just the first book. So far the story is about a young boy who lives the hard (but futuristic) life. He moves homes with his dad, constantly becomes absent for school, and he dreads the possibility that he would not be able to do anything important with his life because all he's good at is just play video games. Until one day, some general sees his potential in some sort of army for the youth and his story begins there. I guess what intrigued me was the main character himself because I have never encountered a character who wanted to do something important with his life that badly. So I am very interested to know on what happens next.
Adult Wednesday Addams Again, I actually heard of this mini series in Youtube before, since I've been a loyal subscriber to Anna Akana since last year. I only got to watch it now because my friends recently started to watch the episodes as well and they highly recommended me to check it out. And so I did, and I instantly fell in love with it. It's basically parody-kind of series that centers around Wednesday--the only girl in the Addams Family--and her life as an independent adult. Melissa Hunter is such a great actress/director/writer and I think she portrayed the Adult Wednesday Addams very well. It also made me miss watching The Addams Family (and its been one of my favorite shows growing up). Currently the show has two seasons in, and I hope that they are able to produce more episodes because it is so good.
Kimi ni Todoke I've been wanting to see this anime for a long time, but I have not gotten the chance to do so because I was either too busy with other fandoms or I was just too busy. It's a simple Shoujo Story about a boy and a girl and eventually, they started to like each other but it took them a while to finally confess. When I heard of the plot, I thought it was too simple for it to be an anime (and it's two seasons long???). My friends also recommended me to see this anime because of the chemistry between the characters, as well as the comedy. It's the most recent show that I am watching (as well the most recent anime since Kill La Kill), and so far I love the art and the music. I also find the main girl absolutely adorable. I still don't know how the story will unfold since the main plot is very simple (even more simple than the story of Princess Kaguya), but I will see how this goes.
So that is it for my current favorites in my egg tray. Till the next post~
