tis a good weekend (so far)

Taxes done! I almost sent one of them out with a major mistake that would've cost $600. Good thing I compared it with last year's to make sure I was on the right track. ^^;



I also made my first katsudon yesterday for lunch. I had some left-over tonkatsu that had been sitting in the fridge for a while, so I got my mom to teach me her fast and easy method of making tonkatsu. Basically we started with a small amount of "dashi shoyu" (translated as "seasoned soy sauce" on the label of the bottle) with very little water diluted to taste in a pan. Threw in some onions and let them wilt. Then threw in the leftover tonkatsu and rotated it so that all sides could heat up and soak up the broth. I had some nira (are they called Chinese chives?) so I threw those in at the end as well. After a while I cracked in two eggs--only after I cracked them in did my mom suggest that I should've mixed them up in a bowl before dumping them into the pan, so I quickly mixed them in the pan before they solidified too much. I like my eggs runny, so I turned off the heat immediately and let things continue to cook on their own (it was a cast-iron pan so lots of residual heat). I put left-over rice into a bowl and scraped the goo out of the pan onto the bowl (I think I had it at too high heat so the eggs stuck a bit). It took very little time (esp since the onions were already cut XD) and tasted very good! I highly recommend this--even I could make it and not mess it up (much). XD

My mom also suggested adding a small amount of honey to make it taste rounder and slightly sweeter. I'll try that next time I have leftover tonkatsu.

Nabari no Ou

I watched the first episode of Nabari no Ou (more info at the manga publisher's site here)...I am amazed I got to the end. I'm not sure if my boredom came from the show being slow or because I rarely have the patience to watch anything lately. I like the feel and pace of the manga better. I think the comic moments were translated really badly in the anime, like all those moments when Miharu teases Kumohira. The fight scenes were pretty good. I don't quite understand why the backgrounds are so purposefully sketchy, but it's a nice effect (if distracting). Why do they insist on the close-up on everyone's faces in the opening? It was bizarre. I liked Miharu's voice, someone I've never heard before. Kumohira's voice was much lower than I expected.

I think I'd like to see more only to hear Yoite's voice, but beyond that...

It's rather disappointing to have such a negative reaction to the anime of a manga I really like. *sighs*

reading random fanfics from random fandoms sometimes is a really good thing

Wow. I just read a series of stories starting with Breathe, Keep Breathing that stick House and Wilson from House in the (new) Battlestar Galactica universe. I've seen half of season one of House and nothing of BSG, but I couldn't stop reading. Fabulously gritty, and House is House is House. It is slash, but the slash is such a natural (and not gratuitous!) part of the fic I was just. Wow.

I laughed at House stalking Wilson bugging him about when he's going to be unfaithful. And how it "resolves."

Totally Captivated

I can't get to sleep, so I figured I'd post about a manwha I read recently to pass the time instead of tossing and turning in bed. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep soon...I really don't want to be a zombie at work tomorrow...

I recently read all that's available in English of the manwha Totally Captivated by Hajin Yoo. I've been seeing the very pretty cover of volume 1 around and finally decided to see if it was any good. It's about ordinary college student Ewon (I keep thinking his name is "Ewok"), who cheats on his boyfriend and ends up having to work without pay for his now ex-boyfriend's new boyfriend, a hot young loan shark (gang boss?). The gorgeous cover features said hot young loan shark (gang boss?), Mookyul. This is basically the story of how Ewon and Mookyul get together. It takes a while and there are a lot of twists and turns, but at the point I am at (volume 3 chapter 6) it seems like it's almost a done deal. What will piss me off is if these guys don't have penetrative sex sometime soon. Seriously, what is so fun reading the thin excuses one guy makes to avoid going all the way? (Though, frankly, if you've willingly given a blow job I don't think you have much to stand on. I understand that the "dick in ass" type sex is an uber-important milestone for the lighter BL fare, but still...Annoying. These guys are both adults and have had sex lots of times before...What's the hang up?) The manwha is best when it's being funny and cute. Ewon is adopted by the gang members and they provide a lot of cute moments where the tough gang members indulge the puppy-dog-like Ewon. Mookyul also gets some fun moments, which are much better than when he's being the intense, slightly rough (and utterly frustrated) suitor. Geez, if he's supposed to be hot stuff, can't he make his case a bit more strongly? I think the artist is trying to go for the tough young guy can't be tough when faced with his "true love" business...As long as she doesn't string it out too long I'll be okay.

Possibly even more annoying than the always-being-put-off consummation is the English. Not only is it as bizarre as Let Dai (done by the same company), in some ways it is worse because at times I can't tell who the hell is speaking. It happens more in this one series than in all the comics I've ever read combined (when you discount those times when there are ten people exclaiming something at once and you can't always tell who's saying what). Two people talking, and I have to stop and think about who is saying what. I don't know if it is the original Korean or the translation that is the problem, but it's frustrating.

Despite all the problems I have with the series, I like the art and I do want to know what happens.