These are a few of my (current) favorite things...

True Blood
I cannot even begin to describe how much I am addicted to this show. If I so much as miss one episode, I freak. I missed last Sunday's show (it airs every Sunday at 9 PM on HBO) because I was out with some friends, but honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that I can watch the show after it airs on OnDemand (thank you, sweet-sweet ComCast), I probably would've canceled on my friends. Yes, I love the show that much. So much so that I was dying when they didn't show a new episode last night for some inexplicable reason. Does anyone know why?! *Le sigh.*

If you want to check the show out, let me warn you, it's not for the faint of heart. There is sex, violence, cursing, more sex, vampires, adult themes, did I mention sex? So why am I so addicted to the show? No, not for the sex. I promise you. The story is just so compelling. The main character, Sookie, is a very human girl with a very supernatural ability -- she can read minds. She starts experiencing more of the supernatural when she starts dating a vampire, Bill Compton. You see, the show takes place in a world where vampires have "come out of the coffin" thanks to the invention of synthetic blood, which is sold in beer-like bottles and given the oh-so-clever name "Tru Blood."

Originally based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris, each season so far focuses on one book. The show is currently on its second season, and while it plays fast and loose with the plot of the books, it's still highly entertaining. Watch if you dare.


Neil Gaiman

The first book I read of his was Coraline. That was sometime last year, when I first got wind of the stop-motion film adaptation coming out (I adore stop-motion movies. True story.) I liked what I read, so I decided to read another one, The Graveyard Book. Then another one, Neverwhere. And still another one, Stardust. And so I've come to the conclusion that this man simply can't pen a bad book.

I recommend all the books I just mentioned. Heck, I recommend anything by Neil Gaiman. Not only is he a first-rate writer but he can even hold his own in an interview with the devious Monsieur Colbert. I plan on picking up some of his comic books next, which I've heard are phenomenal. I'm sure I won't be disappointed.


Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
I forget how I first heard about this book. At first, I was dubious. I couldn't help thinking this was blasphemy of the lowest sort -- how could they rewrite Pride and Prejudice, one of my very favorite books of all time, let alone include zombies in their revision? Blasphemy. But then all these positive reviews started coming out. I was looking for a new book to read. I looked it up on Amazon, flinched at the cover art, but was more taken aback by the amount of great feedback the book has on Amazon. It was on sale, so I decided to buy it. And you know what? It deserves every positive review it has gotten.

If you love Pride and Prejudice, you'll love this book. It manages to create a new world out of a very well-known and loved fictional world. Read my review (no big spoilers, promise) to learn more.

The Black Ghosts
I first heard of this band on the Twilight Soundtrack. And for those of you who are rolling your eyes at what you just read, stick with me. This band is worth a listen.

The first song I heard of theirs was "Full Moon" off the aforementioned soundtrack. I loved it instantly and it was on repeat mode for many an hour on my iPod. When I finally grew weary of hearing the same song over and over, I decided to give the rest of their music a try. I wound up buying their self-titled CD. And I honestly love the majority of this album. Songs like "Repetition Kills You" and "It's Your Touch" are so catchy you will be singing it in the shower, in the car, in the elevator, to your pet cat ... well, you get the point. They sound a little bit like Yo La Tengo and Beck got together and made a lovechild. You'll see what I mean when you hear the song below:

Full Moon - The Black Ghosts

Pandora
Speaking of music, one of my recent loves on the interwebs is the website Pandora.com. How do I explain the wonderment that is Pandora.com? Well, it's like this: you type in a band or a song title that you adore, and Pandora will play a song that you have never heard of before but suddenly adore even more than that first song you typed in. I don't know what kind of witchery goes on behind the scenes at Pandora.com, and I honestly don't care. All I know is that this website is my new best friend. It's like having your own personal DJ who knows just what you like. Try it out! I've discovered some yummy new bands like The Foxglove Hunt and Moving Units on this website. You can find me on Pandora under my user name: AnaHasCheezburger.

Well, I'm feeling very musical this month. :p What are some of your favorites this month? Share them in the comments! :-)


P.S.) This blog has a new URL: http://threadsthataregolden.com. Please update your bookmarks and let me know if the old URL doesn't redirect you!

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Bubble Tea

I'm amazed at how fast this weekend has gone. I guess it's because I've been so busy - on Friday, I went to see Twilight with the boyf right after work (read my review if you want to know what I thought of the Movie-of-the-Forever), then we ate dinner at this little hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant near his house that makes the best bubble tea. What's that you say? You don't know what bubble tea is? Well, you just don't know what you're missing! It's this sort of iced tea concoction that is served with a huge straw. The straw is not just for show or fun (though it is fun!) - it's meant to suck up all the delicious tapioca pearls that await at the bottom of the cup. There's different kinds, but my absolute favorite is the Taro Boba:
It may sound strange to say, but this drink tastes as though a rice krispie treat were blended into a shake. It's delicious, trust me. And it's just oodles of fun to slurp the "pearls" through that gigantic straw.

So that was Friday. On Saturday, I woke up at an ungodly hour to help the boyf's best guy friend and his girlf move into their new house in West Palm Beach. The boyf and I made the long drive and spent most of the day just waiting for the movers to arrive, then wait for the movers to figure out how to fit this massive couch through a tiny door, then wait some more. Just because. The girlf and I were supposed to go see Twilight, but that didn't happen because the move took so darn long. Ricky and I got home past midnight, bone-dead-tired. Did I mention yet this is like the fifth time we've helped this dude move? Hopefully it's the last!

Today I woke up at an ungodly hour again, this time not due to an alarm clock ringing but rather my phone. "Unknown Caller," the Caller ID informed me as I blearily reached for the phone before docking it firmly back into its cradle. Ugh. After that I couldn't go back to sleep, so I've just been blahing around my room all day, dithering around on the internet, and updating my Twilight Blog, which I think I'm going to keep (for now). I have a massive stack of papers to grade, tests to type, things to do. The boyf wanted to buy me a new camera today, but I don't know. I'm feeling a bit under the weather. We shall see.

I am looking forward to the season finale of True Blood, though! That airs tonight at 9 PM on HBO. If you haven't watched it yet, why not?

Why "True Blood" Doesn't Suck. (Heh.)

(N.B. This was originally posted on my Twilight blog.)

If you're anything like me, you are experiencing some serious Twilight-withdrawal symptoms, what with Breaking Dawn having been read twice, Midnight Sun put on indefinite hold by Ms. Meyer, and the film still two months away. Yeah, I've got the shakes. It ain't pretty, folks.

But I heard rumblings of a new vampire show on TV, something called "True Blood." For some reason, I kept calling it "Tru Blood" in my head, which was probably why I didn't get around to seeing it right away. There's nothing I hate more than deliberate misspelling, especially in film or show titles. Inevitably, I get the dimwit in class that insists, "N'uh uh! That's not how you spell true, teacher! It's not written like that on the show!"

And so on.

Back to "True Blood." So I am flipping through the On Demand channels to see what's new, and I notice that HBO has all of the latest episodes of "True Blood" available. I am pleased that the title is spelled correctly, silly though it may be. I decide to watch the first episode, prepare to make fun of it after I hear the pseudo-twang of the actors (it takes place in Louisianna), but somewhere in between the opening and closing credits, I fall in like with it.

Don't get me wrong - it's not perfect. There's so much sex in the show, I would not feel comfortable watching it with my mom in the room, and they drop f-bombs left and right (it is on HBO), but the story is somehow compelling, and the actors are better than they have any right to be.

Anna Paquin plays Sookie Stackhouse (and every time I hear her name, I cannot help but be reminded of this Sookie). Sookie is a waitress who just happens to be able to read minds. She lives with her grandmother and slutty older brother Jason, their parents having died in a flash flood years ago. Her best friend is a young black woman named Tara who can't hold a job down because of her threadbare temper. Tara happens to have a crush on Jason, but for some reason he's not interested in her (despite the fact that he'll sleep with anything in a skirt). Rounding out the cast is Sookie's boss Sam, who has a so-obvious-it's-painful crush on her, but Sookie is not interested in any men. At least not any human men (In the second episode, we realize why she doesn't date - her ability to read minds leads to often offensive, sometimes hilarious intimations about the guys she's dating).

Enter Bill The Vampire. Yes, his name is Bill. As in Clinton. As in of Rights. As in, oh my Dog, what writers were in charge of coming up with the character names for this show?! Sookie? Bill? Seriously, people, I know there was a strike less than a year ago, but there's no excuse for "Sookie" and "Bill The Vampire."

At least Bill is of the handsome, brooding variety of vampire, not the white trash or scary-punk types shown before he arrives on the scene. Oh yeah, and there's an Ann Coulter-esque vampire who's even scarier than the scary-punk vamp. *Shudders*

So Bill the Vampire enters the diner where Sookie works and she knows instantly what he is. Why? Because she can't...read...his...mind. Dun, dun, DUN!

Of course, Sookie floats his way and begins a conversation, sparks fly, violins reach their crescendo, and I am going to end it there because I want you to watch the show, and I've just wasted a half hour writing about this show on my Twilight blog. No, I will not be making a True Blood blog. At least not yet. :D

Why should you watch "True Blood"? Because there are glimmers of Twilight in it, as in the fact that Sookie is a mind-reader (an interesting twist after reading about Edward's mind-reading ability in Midnight Sun). Because Bill (sigh) The Vampire's Heathcliff-esque brooding reminds me of Edward. Because "True Blood" reinvents the vampire myth and even throws in some clever new twists - in the world of the show, vampires have come "out of the coffin" due to the Japanese invention of "Tru Blood," synthethic blood that is sold everywhere in six-packs as if they were beer. (Check out the slick website HBO created to "market" this so-called product.) Oh yeah, and the vamps in this show have retractable fangs. No sparkling as of yet, though.

I don't know what Twi-hards will make of the show - already on YouTube there is mass hysteria abounding by fans who swear up and down that "True Blood" steals from Twilight. Whatev, dude. Stephenie Meyer didn't invent the vampire - she just created her own version of the myth. Who's to say no one else can do likewise.

To visit the HBO site for "True Blood," click here. To watch the trailer for "True Blood," click on the video below.