it's not life that matters but the journey...

So I have an interesting, yet sad, coincidence to report.

One of my favorite shows, that I watched from April to about June, was the Starz original series called "Camelot" with Joseph Fiennes and Jamie Campbell Bower. I thought it was brilliant, and my mom and I enjoyed watching it together. So since I have nothing to do today, I went searching on the internet to see when it might be starting up again for a new season, and found out...

IT'S NOT! It's been canceled because of scheduling conflicts with some of the actors!!

And weird thing is... this is the second show with Joseph Fiennes that I started watching from the beginning which has been canceled after one season. The first was last year's "Flash Forward". I guess I'll have to stop watching TV series which star Joseph Fiennes - even though I do love him, and he was brilliant as Merlin!

*sigh*

I hate when good shows go away!

At least I've got BBC's Merlin to watch for my Camelot fix. But still...

anyway - life goes on.

Sunday night 8:45. Another weekend has bitten the dust. It wasn't a bad weekend, nor a very exciting one. Almost the same as usual. Friday night I watched a bunch of tv shows and drank some wine. Saturday I chatted on the phone with my mom for an hour, and my sister for an hour; and I also texted on Facebook with my friend Joie in Sacramento for almost an hour!
I had two private adult lessons - one in the morning and one after lunch -- and in the afternoon I went for an hour-long walk, which felt so good! The weather Saturday was nearly spring-like - I didn't even need a coat. After my walk, I watched the newest Supernatural , which I found to be quite - Interesting - for lack of a better word! ( my thoughts under the cut - for possible spoilers )

Saturday night I ended up watching The Social Network . My sister had mentioned wanting to see it when we talked on the phone - and I admit I've been curious about it too - and I have wanted to know what the buzz is all about ever since it won Best Picture at the Golden Globes. I had intended to just watch a little bit of it to see what it was like - because I really didn't expect to like it. However, once I started watching, I was totally and completely engrossed. ( my thoughts, here )

Well I think I had more to write about, but this has become an epic post. It's now 9:48 and I have to work tomorrow. so good night... and hope everyone had a good weekend, wherever you are.

I love Christmas time! I got my first three holiday cards this week - two today in fact! Thanks to dawnie1970, serialbathera and burningchaos for the beautiful cards - they're under my tree now!

Also thanks to Dawnie for the virtual milk and cookies on my profile page - yummy! I wish I had some real milk and cookies right now!

And thanks to selvatica for the pretty virtual present - sorry I am so late in thanking you for this! I love presents, even virtual ones:)

I've got a lot to write about, but not necessarily today. I had a great day Sunday at the JALT meeting (Japanese Association of Language Teachers). I met some great people who are hopefully going to help me in my search for a good job in the future (if I stay here in Japan). Also, they gave me some great ideas to get started writing and publishing some academic (or at least educational) articles. We had a presentation (by a guy who teaches at a university in Chiba) for 2 hours and then a dinner buffet at a department store restaurant near the station - all you can eat dinner and drinks for just 3000 yen (less than $30.00). the food and the wine (I had three glasses) was fantastic! It was really fun! And I did my Christmas shopping while I was in Shizuoka - I love that city! So much to do there!

Masahiko's been working really hard on the logo and website for our English school - he's bought a website building program and put up our sign again, and will start to make a pamphlet soon too. I'm getting excited for it and hope it works out!! I've got lots more to write about this when I have more time. I've been so busy lately with my job and thinking and planning... plus trying to catch up on shows. Most of my shows are either done for awhile, or on hiatus for the holidays. I hated to watch the last Dexter - that show owns my soul, and it's not back for almost another year! Speaking of shows... does anyone know where I can find information about when shows are returning from winter? Glee, for example? And when is White Collar back? is it just two more episodes?

anyway - I should get going and do some exercise and some reading before I sleep. Busy busy busy!

thanks for putting up with my mood swings lately. things seem to be looking up at the moment.
I hope that since I have enough postcards now, and most people's addresses (though a few of you didn't reply to my address request post), I can start writing and sending them this weekend. It's Christmas in just over a week, after all!

have a great week all!

While I'm waiting for some shows to download, I thought I'd do a quick post. My computer is quickly starting to overheat, so this may be brief...

The weather continues to be hot here. Next week is the first of October - isn't summer supposed to be over? Sometimes I feel like I'm being tested way beyond my limits of patience and perseverance. And I'm starting to crave foods that I can't get here in Fuji - foods like fish and chips, and ravioli, and lasagna and Thai and Indian food...

It's pretty easy to see that if I start to make lists of the pros and cons of living in Japan, the cons far outweigh the pros... of course at the moment, the pros are having both income and health insurance - things that I will lose the instant that I return to the U.S.

but I'm not here to bore you with my problems and my complaints. I'm here to discuss something far more shallow (but fun): TV and Movies!

First TV. I'm patiently waiting for all my favorite shows to start, meanwhile catching up on White Collar (which apparently is on hiatus until January), and watching the first season of Legend of the Seeker . And since I was bored, and caught up on most everything else, I finally watched the first episode of Chuck last night, and I'm already hooked! I know - I'm very very late to the party! But now I see why this show is so popular - it's brilliant!

And of course all my shows are starting at exactly the same time that I'm returning to work - which means that when I am home I will not only be making lesson plans, but downloading and watching about 5 shows a week, plus trying to watch the first three seasons of Chuck . But since I have no life, then I can live vicariously through my shows...

And now to movies. Of course being here in Fuji, I can't watch movies in real life either. I'm resigned to watching them when they have been released on DVD or somehow finding a download (usually some terrible cam version) on the internet. I'm still waiting for a decent download of Inception since I didn't manage to see it in the theater when I visited the U.S. this summer. I've been interested in some of the movies that are coming out soon, especially the following:

The Fighter - starring Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg (and Amy Adams, who I adore). This looks really amazing, especially since Christian Bale supposedly lost a bunch of weight to prepare for the role (just like he did for The Machinist ), proving what an amazing method actor he can be!



Love and Other Drugs - starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway
It's a romantic comedy about the pharmaceutical industry (apparently Jake's selling Viagra!), and it looks a bit cheesy I admit... but Jake looks adorable. And it's good to see him with Anne Hathaway again (they were together awhile back in Brokeback Mountain). She's always a pleasure to watch.



The Tourist - with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie
I have to admit, I'm against this movie in so many ways, but I will still be intrigued to see it. First, I don't like Angelina Jolie. I'm sorry but she just bugs me, even if she has proven to be a good actress. I can't see her and Johnny Depp together in any way, shape or form - and especially not romantically. And second, Johnny has definitely seen better days - he is starting to look far too eccentric and haggard for my taste. Third, this movie just seems to be so unoriginal - it's definitely a rip off of North By Northwest and Silver Streak - both of which are about a man who meets a beautiful stranger on a train (or elsewhere), and who get mistaken for someone else and then have bad guys after them. It's been done before. I just wonder how good Johnny is at playing a plain old regular guy.



And finally, I'm very interested to see Woody Allen's new film called You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - it stars Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts and Josh Brolin. Woody continues to make quirky and original films even into his 70s, and I will always be a fan!
This one again deals with marriage, infidelity and divorce - territories Woody has dealt with often. But for fans, I'm sure it will be fun! (oh and it also has Antonio Banderas and Frieda Pinto - very interesting!)




Thanks for indulging me and sorry for all the clutter on your friend's pages... hope you enjoyed those trailers though.

I'm off now - gotta turn off my computer before it spontaneously goes up in flames!

I'm bored. Too bad I've caught up with all my TV shows. I'm starting to put together a schedule so that I can anticipate when all the shows I've been watching will be back on (either back from hiatus, or back with a new season). Feel free to ignore this if you want, it's mostly for my own information. But if anyone knows the return dates for some of my fave shows, please let me know.

Flash Forward has been on hiatus since November, and it is scheduled to return Thursday the 18th (that's today in the U.S.), and continue uninterrupted until the end of May!
I can't understand why they made fans wait so darn long though - I had to go and re-watch the last episode so I could even remember what happened four months ago!

Supernatural has been on a two-month hiatus, and is scheduled to return next week, Thursday the 25th!

True Blood Season 3 will air on Showtime on June 13th !
I sincerely hope that this season is better than the last one, though. That whole bit with Mary Ann in Season 2 just got on my last nerve! I've now read all but the last two in the Sookie Stackhouse series, and I'm ready for the show to actually focus on some interesting aspects of the books, like the relationship between Alcide and Sookie, and the whole Debbie Pelt drama.

Dexter Season 5 premier won't be until September 26th! Why are these seasons so far apart??

Merlin Season 3: No sure exactly when this will premiere, but sometime in the middle of September should be about right. does anyone know?

Being Human Series 3 - I can't find any news of when this will premiere, but I've heard that it will now be set in Cardiff, Wales! If anyone finds out when the new season will start, please give me a shout! I became seriously addicted to that show!

and finally, I just watched the last episode of USA's White Collar the other day, and have no idea when Season 2 will be around. Probably in the fall, as all shows usually start then?

*sigh*

Well soon I'll be too busy for shows anyway, but this will keep me on track, so I won't miss the few shows I've become addicted to!

and I'll leave you tonight with something to (hopefully) make you laugh - that is if you're a fan of either Star Trek or Monty Python and the Holy Grail (or both)...

Clearly the person who made this video has more free time than I do. But it's pretty funny!

I stole this TV meme from winterdahlia, and thought it was quite fun. My answers are quite long, so I'll give you a teaser, and put the rest under a cut:

Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice :
Honestly there's not a show that I've watched every episode twice. I've watched most Supernatural episodes more than once or twice, and perhaps I've watched most Twin Peaks episodes more than once, and I know I started rewatching Freaks and Geeks , and Pushing Daisies but didn't get all the way through twice.

Name a (current) show you can't miss :
Supernatural and Dexter (when it's on!)

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show :
Jensen Ackles or Michael C. Hall

( click here for more TV Q&A )

In other media news, I just finished reading the third book in Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly series, and I loved them all! And I realized that she's published a fourth book in the series which came out in October... so when I go to visit the states this year (hopefully I can go), I'll buy that book! If I buy it here, it costs me double or triple through Amazon Japan. Charlaine Harris is consistently good - I'm amazed at how prolific she is. However, it may be that there's a limit to how much she can do with a certain series or set of characters - for example the Sookie Stackhouse series. I haven't even read the last two in that series, but I found book 8, "From Dead to Worse" to be a bit slow, and lacking in plot. However, I'm still intrigued to read some of her other series.

Other TV thoughts... I finished watching the last episode of season 5 of Queer as Folk last week. I really enjoyed that series, though I do believe that after Season 3 it started to get a little more tedious, and by the time Season 5 rolled around, it was getting a bit preachy and more dramatic. ( cut for spoilers in case some people are still watching or haven't watched the whole series )

I recently started watching the show Merlin , and I love it, of course! It's like watching Smallville set in medieval times - LOL! I'm a bit confused about what they've done with some of the characters though - I guess the show is very very "loosely based" on the King Arthur legends. Because as I remember from one of my favorite movies Excalibur , Morgana was a practioner of black magic, and Guinevere wasn't her maidservant. Although I suppose since this is supposed to be the early days of Arthur and Merlin, these characters could be slightly accurate. Arthur is indeed Uther's son, as in the legends, but Morgana is supposed to be Arthur's half-sister - and in the show they call her Uther's ward. In the legends, Guinevere actually became Arthur's Queen (they call her a queen consort) - which I guess could be possible - but as a maidservant, would he make her a queen? hmmm... oh well, I guess they're making it creative, and I do enjoy it!

I'm still working on my movie reviews, so those will come later:)

apparently, according to This article , I must not be a happy person.
Here's what this moronic writer, Roni Rabin says in the NY Times:

Happy people spend a lot of time socializing, going to church and reading newspapers — but they don’t spend a lot of time watching television, a new study finds.

That’s what unhappy people do.

okay, where was this study conducted? Sunnybrook Farm? Reading newspapers? who does that anymore? what century are we living in? and going to church? that's what makes people happy? can't we socialize while watching television?

so this begs the questions, and I think a poll is necessary:
( laura's non-scientific happiness poll )

I decided to peek my head out a bit and update while I'm waiting for my laundry to dry; of course I'm also postponing the inevitable assignments that must be done before next Monday's class. My teacher decided to give us the night off next week, which is great! But to make up for it, he gave us three assignments that need to be emailed to him by Monday night! So that means, my weekend will be totally shot. I'm already planning to spend the day at a law library with a few people from my class - we need to start finding cases for our big final assignment, one of which we need to find and read and brief by next Monday.

( cut for boring details about my class )

did I say I can't wait until this class is over? It's very interesting, but I wish I didn't have to work full time, and take care of housework and bills and other stuff, and still also try to have fun. But what is fun? I forgot!

I think I was a bit premature in saying I needed to take a break from LJ - I will really need the break next month when I get to the final crunch for that project. now I'm just in shock and in denial of what needs to be done!! Lj helps with denial:)

what else is happening? I've been a tv junkie recently: I finally finished Season 2 of Dexter - wow!! I watched the last 8 episodes in about 3 or 4 days. I was seriously hooked - and I have to say that I haven't found a television show that is more perfect than Dexter in a long time. Don't get me wrong - I love Supernatural, and Smallville; they are lots of fun, and full of gorgeous men. But Dexter just appeals to me on a different level, a deeper, darker, more insightful level. Kind of like how I felt about Six Feet Under - but I even like Dexter more. And I think I'm in love with Michael C. Hall. Seriously the man is amazing! I'm truly disappointed that I must wait until September for Season 3 of Dexter - and even then will have to download them because I won't pay for Showtime. Too expensive. But it's something to look forward to!

Also, I broke down and bought the first season of Smallville, and started watching them again. In fact, on Sunday, I watched two hours of Dexter followed by two hours of Smallville (I was having a depressed, stay-at-home-and-avoid-the-world kind of day,for which tv shows were the only cure!). I was laughing at how the characters look so young on that first season of Smallville! Especially Lana and Lex seem so young compared to what they were like on Season 6 or 7. Chloe too! Clark looks the same - but he got all buffed out in later seasons. I decided that it would be silly, and perhaps impossible, to buy all six seasons of Smallville. I think I'll go up through Season 4 (which has Jensen Ackles) and then see if I even want to buy 5 and 6. But god that will cost me a fortune!

oh and finally, my friend who used to work as a temp in my office (but who was recently asked NOT to come back) is having a baby very soon. She is due Monday, so that means it could be any day now! I'm so excited - more baby time for me!

well, I've got to rescue my clothes, so that's my cue for reality.
hope everyone is doing great and enjoying spring!
g'night!

where is everyone? or is Frank eating my comments or something cause I swore I wrote lots of comments in the last few days - but my email remains empty. it's so sad. I finally caught up and no one is around. *sigh* - but don't mind me - I'm just lonely. I hate winter, and I want to be doing something totally different. but what else is new??

somehow I missed Supernatural on Thursday. I totally forgot about it. that's just weird. But I downloaded it last night and watched it today while I was doing laundry. three loads. it was an interesting show. very different, and very cerebral, and a bit unnerving in many ways. but it just makes me love Dean even more. hey are there only two episodes left? someone tell me that they've solved the strike and they'll make more... please!??!

in other tv news, Dexter has completely consumed me. I'm absolutely hooked. It's actually scary how much I love this show. my friend told me today I should be watching Pushing Daisies. But I've missed so much already. has it been cancelled though?

So before I go, I guess I'll just post some memes. these were taken from two of my lovely friends, moondropz and ageless_aislynn. just for fun, and cause I'm bored (and avoiding thinking about my assignment for my research class):

( first, two personality memes )

And Last but Not Least, (this one is fun, I stole from Aislynn who posted a long time ago, ( the Layer Meme )