GenesisDreams

No TV

Television I don’t own a TV. In the UK they have this absurd notion of a TV Licence. You need to pay about £130 pound a year just to own a TV! Ostensibly this is to pay for the BBC. I object to the universality of the licence fee though. If I own a TV, even if I never watch the BBC, even if I don’t even have an aerial hooked up, even if I just watch videos on it, or use it with a playstation, or whatever, I have to pay the fee. Well fuck that. I’d rather just not have a TV. It frees up a surprisingly large amount of free time actually. When I get home from work I can’t just flop onto the couch and mindlessly watch some rubbish that is on. I actually do things, constructive things, and if I do want to watch a show I have to specifically choose something and watch it on my computer. There is no “luck of the draw” aspect to it. So yes I don’t own a TV, but I do own a computer, and computers don’t count unless you have a TV tuner card installed that allows you to watch conventional TV. So I do get to watch movies and the latest TV shows, as long as they are in a format my PC can display. I rent DVDs and watch them, and I also follow the latest TV shows. At the moment I am watching The O.C. Season 3, Lost Season 2, Battlestar Galactica Season 2 and Spooks Season 4. These are all really great show! The quality of TV has certainly improved over the past couple of years.

Doctors And Housewives

Television Ok so I thought that, considering my lack of updates recently, I would write a short entry covering my recent television watching habits. So firstly, New Doctor Who! It screens on Saturdays nights here and is up to the sixth episode, when the Daleks are back!! I really like the new Doctor, he is hip and funny and cool. Billie Piper is not bad as his assistant too. It's got the same old storylines which are cheesy but classic, however there is also this new cool underlying "time war" thread which I haven't heard of before which sounds very interesting. I'm definitely going to follow the rest of this series. I've also started watching Desperate Housewives. It had heard all the hype, so decided to check it out. I really like the dark humour to it, my style of humour. Of course then there is season 4 of 24, which is fantastic as always. This last episode was awesome. Bringing back old faces and keeping things exciting. Season 2 of the OC has lagged a bit with the last couple of episodes, but now that Ryan’s brother is on the scene again things have really picked up. I've also been watching random episodes of The West Wing, plus keeping up to date on Initial D Stage 4!

Television Review

Quotes - Television So I've not had much to do lately. Well other than look for a job, but that's a whole story in itself. So I've been watching a lot of TV, shows both old and new. Here's a brief review of what I've been watching recently. Dawson's Creek Season 1 Well I just literally finished watching all thirteen episodes of the first season of Dawson's creek. That's sort of what prompted this post. I love this show. I'm not ashamed to say it. I remember watching this series when it was first screened back in 1998. It was great! The characters in it were fifteen, stupidly over-analytical, used lots of four-syllable words, thought they were more intelligent than everyone else, and were in fact emotionally clueless. In short they were TV versions of me! Joey accuses Dawson at one point of thinking of his life as a Hollywood movie, where in fact things are more complicated in reality. For a while I was the same way with respect to this show. I was sad when I watched the final episode, which I talked about in my You Can Never Ever Leave Without Leaving A Piece Of Youth entry back around this time last year. It was nice now, almost a year later, to revisit where it all started. The O.C. Season 1 Over the last few days I’ve been re-watching the entire first season of The O.C. We’ve been having almost daily “OC-fests”, watching a few episodes at a time, and as Nikkie missed a lot of the episodes the first time round, it’s almost like watching it for the first time again. Seeing her reactions as the story unfolds reminds me of how I felt what I first watched it. This is not high-brow drama here; it’s just a bit of fun. It isn’t as heavily laden with teen angst as Dawson’s Creek was, but then, I’ve grown up, grown out of all of that (I hope) and so I’m not looking to relate anymore. I’m looking for some good clean (and not so clean) enjoyment and the OC provides that. The O.C Season 2 I have watched up to episode 10 in this serious so far. Episode 11 should be released tonight. My housemates and I still have our weekly ritual, getting together (usually in my room) to watch each new episode. The six or so episodes of this season were great, the last couple though have been pretty average, and I’m hoping that it picks up in the next episode. 24 Season 4 I watched episode 07 last night. Oh my God! So bloody cool! I’ve been a big fan of 24 since it started. This most recent season is shaping up really well. Jack’s as big a baddass as ever, and they’ve managed to come up with yet another “threat” that’s actually not that bad. Plus the ending to this most recent episode was just so cool. I’m not going to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen it yet, but you’ll know what I mean when you do. Neighbours I never really watched this that often at home, but now I can't miss a single day of it! BBC1 screens it twice a day, but I am not quite so pathetic as to watch it that often. Still it's addictive and I think there is a law somewhere that states that in order for me to legally live in this country I must follow Neighbours. Hollyoaks So I've been sucked into the British Soap Obsession. Hollyoaks is one of the newer breed of shows like East Enders and Coronation Street. It's a shameless soap, but it's full of good looking girls and funny plot lines, so for half an hour each night I can escape to a little place in Chester and have some cheesy enjoyment. The Prisoner BBC4 screens two episodes a week of this classic series. They are up to episode 14, so there are only a couple of weeks to go before the series concludes. This is such a fantastic show. For all the trouble I often go to in an effort to understand things, this is one show which I like because there is so much about it I don’t understand, so much that I don’t know. “I am not a number; I am a free man!” – Number 6. The Prisoner Written while listening to Keane’s Bedshaped. Be Seeing You ^_^

The End Is Nigh

Television - University This afternoon I sat my third last exam ever. It was on Financial Management, and as usual, I had done far, far too little work for it. For the first time I was actually coming close to almost fearing I might fail. It was a little scary actually. If I failed this subject it would completely screw up my plans. I wouldn’t be able to graduate, I would need to finish off just one more subject, and I would have to do it back at UQ… ewww The exam went well though, and I think I managed to somehow get a pass. I’ve got two more exams on Friday, but all of tomorrow to bum around and not do study for them. Then comes Friday night, when I’ll get absolutely shitfaced! ^_^ In other news, and in the current trend of me avoiding doing any study, I've now watched the first five episodes of season four of 24! I completely agree with the comments Brendan made to this entry about this season being much stronger up till this point than the equivalent place in last season. I’m actually glad that Jack is the only real main character back. Looks like he’ll get to do some real badass shooting in episode 6 as well! P.S. Brendan, I’ll be on Yahoo this weekend… when I sober up. Listening to Sometimes by My Bloody Valentine.

The First 24 Minutes

Television Well in my continuing effort to avoid doing any work, I've obtained a teaser for season 4 of 24. Though I am still incredibly addicted to The O.C. right now, I can see this season of 24 quickly grabbing my complete attention. I had forgotten how much I missed 24, and these first 24 minutes certainly wet my appetite. Thankfully more episodes aren't out otherwise I would never get any work done.

Christmukkah

Friends - Fun - Television It's been a really full on past couple of weeks. We had Christmas in Milton Keynes with my cousin Simone. It was just like a real family Christmas, lots of great food, and great company. On boxing day we walked down to the pub while Ed and Toby tried to canoe, however ones they got to the Grand Union Canal it was frozen over, so that quickly put an end to that idea. I drank far too much and ate far too much, and overall had a fantastic time. We went up to Liverpool on the 30th to stay with my other cousin John. Again we ate to much and drank too much and had a fantastic time. New Year’s was rather laid back, but fun all the same. I called home and talked to Fragma, Wulfen, Rur and Nash which was great. I hadn't talked to some of those guys since leaving Australia so it was really good to have a long proper conversation with them. On the 2nd, Ed, Jeremy and I drove down to Nottingham from Liverpool, via North Wales (a very round about way I know, but they wanted to see castles!). Mum stayed up in Liverpool because the plan was for me to take Ed and Jezz out for the night in Notts and show them what a party town it was. So this was going to be the last time I saw mum before she went back to Australia. She cried, told me to look after myself, said she loved me, all that nice stuff. It was sad to go, I really loved seeing her again after so long, but I still needed to leave and more and more I am happy with that decision and my decision to stay. So we went down to Nottingham, where all of my housemates except Bruce had already gotten back from their holiday break. We ended up going out to Dogma and having a great night. I got very drunk, but my brothers, needed to get up early the next morning and drive back to Liverpool, only got a little tipsy. Overall it was a great night, a very interesting night. Ed and Jezz left the next day. No tears here of course, just some manly hugs. No I am trying to finish off coursework and start on my study and catch up on everything I put on hold for the holidays. One of the first things I did though was watch the new O.C! Episodes 5 and 6 had been released while I was away and wow what fantastic episodes they were. I am not going to spoil it for anyone back home, but there is another Christmukkah episode! Fun all around. I'll try to keep this updated over the next couple of weeks but it will be difficult with all the work I've got to do. I'll do my best though!

The New Era

Music - Television After a week off the air, the fourth episode of the O.C. season two came out. As usually we all camped out in my room to watch it. My friends back home who have only just finished season one have warned me off from putting spoilers in my posts, so I'll do my best to keep my descriptions non-descript ^_^ This is definitely the best episode so far this season. In fact I think it tops most of the episodes from last season as well. It's just so cool, a new era indeed. Everyone comes together and then goes in different directions, things turn out as you expect, but at the same time it's great when the surprises come. A fantastic episode, a new start. Also guess what Calvin! The Killers were guest band on the O.C. this episode. They played Smile Like You Mean It, Mr. Brightside and Everything Will Be Alright. I really like the sound of the live version of Mr. Brightside. I know you are going to see The Killers live soon Calvin so you'll have to tell me what they are like. Written while listening to The Killers - Mr Brightside (album version).

Good Luck!

Japan - Television Good Luck! is a 10 episode Japanese mini-series about a Japanese pilot who has just got his wings. Nash recommended it to me, and truth be told, I loved it. I don't know what it is about J-Drama but it's addictive in a way that is completely different to western shows. The plot was interesting, the characters engaging, and the ending theme song was cool too. Also it was strange to see Shibasaki Kou as Ogawa Ayumi, last time I saw her she was killing people in Battle Royale! Anyway having actually almost mastered my katakana and hiragana now, I found I could pick up a lot more while watching the show, I could actually read sings, thing written on bits of paper, the karaoke lyrics at the end of the show to go along with the theme song. I also found my comprehension of what they were saying to be a lot better. My vocab is still pretty much nonexistent, but now that I have a greater understanding of Japanese grammar I could at least make more sense of the sentences and understand why things were said the way they were. I did mention I was studying Japanese as one of my subjects this year didn't I?

More Orange County

Television Well I aquired episode two of the second season of everyone's favourite series The O.C. Again all my housemates crammed into my room as the drama unfolded. The girls think that the "garden boy" is fit. Silly girls ^_^ Edit: Woops, I forgot, they read this now.

Tony At Tantra On Tuesday

Friends - Fun - Music - Television For the last four weeks running (I can't believe I've been back in Nottingham for four weeks!) I have been going down to this cocktail bar in town called Tantra on Tuesdays to listening to some great live music and drink half-price cocktails. It's sort of become a weekly routine and I really enjoy it. The music is provided by this really hip guy, who plays acoustic guitar and sings songs everyone knows the words to. Iris, With or Without You, Wonderwall, etc. etc. etc. It's open till 2am and as the end of the night nears, and we get progressively drunk off the cheap cocktails we tend to all start clapping and signing along. We have also taken to smoking cigars. All the boys in the house are really into The Sopranos. I just finished watched the end of season five myself. Graeme in particular likes to think of himself as Tony Soprano. So we sit around, talking, with this huge haze of cigar smoke billowing around above us. I don't usually smoke, I hate the taste in my mouth the following morning, yet last night I had three big meaty cigars and now my whole body reeks of the smoke. I also had a big deep conversation with Nikkie last night too. I am close to both of the girls, but the boys and I travelled with each other for a month straight, so there is a bond there on a completely different level to the girls. However last night Nikkie and I had a really good talk (a drunken chat as it was) and I think we became a lot closer. After getting a taxi back from Tantra we ended up sitting up another two hours after everyone had gone to bed talking some more as well. I've been so lucky making such good friends.

Friends

Friends - Friends - Television - University I just watch the last episode ever of Friends. Yes, I know, I do absolutely no work at all here at University ^_^ Bruce, Graeme, Ben, Nikkie, Viki and I sat, cramped, in Graeme's room, and watched final epsiode of the 10th series together. I'm not going to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet, but the ending was so happy, and yet so sad at the same time. I am really glad that things turned out the way they did. I had hoped it would end that way. Friends has been one of those shows that I grew up with, that I watched all through highschool. Like Seinfeld, it's something I will associate with my teenage years, and will miss now that it's gone. Yes it's just a TV show, but TV shows become a part of your life. I mentioned with the OC that I don't usually get emotionally involved with shows, but that doesn't mean they don't form part of your memories. Listening to Walk On by U2. It's the only song that will do right now.

The OC

Friends - Fun - Japan - Music - Television Over the last couple of days I've watched the entire first season (all 27 episodes) of The O.C. with Bruce. It started out as a form of procrastination. I didn't want to do any study, so watching inane American dramas seemed like a good way to pass the time. By the end though I was completely hooked, we binge-watched the final 9 episodes in one night. I was wallowing in a sea of self-indulgence and I loved it. The show is cheesy, badly acted and has only average writing, but it's got great music, some really funny/interesting characters, and is filled with fit women ^_^ It's also really addicted, and I found myself getting completely drawn into the story (as clichéd as it is). I must admit that I was actually emotionally moved by the ending, it was so sad. I'm normally detached from everything I watch, but this got to me for some reason. Now I have to wait the whole summer until the next season starts. I want to see it now! Just some general comments on the show. Seth is such a cool geek, he gives geeks around the world a good name. Ryan looks like a young Russell Crow. Anna is really cool, she makes a comment calling Marissa's "Princess Mononoke", that's awesome! ^_^ Marissa is beauty personified. Summer is just insanely cute. Sandy is possibly the best father ever. I loath Teresa. The theme song is really catchy; singing it with Bruce at the beginning of each episode has become a ritual. We actually got in trouble for it last night, we were singing it so loud (and so badly out of tune) that one of the hall tutors came and knocked on Bruce's door and told us to be quiet. If you get a chance, watch this show. It's not classic television, but it will keep you entertained. Written while listening to the Ryan Adam's cover of Wonderwall and Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, on repeat, looping forever.

You Can Never Ever Leave Without Leaving A Piece Of Youth

Personal - Television The series finale of Dawson's Creek was on this afternoon. Joey ended up with Pacey. I wish she has chosen Dawson. I've always liked Dawson's Creek. I started watching it when I was fifteen, when Dawson and Joey and Pacey were fifteen. I've grown up with them, been angsty with them, analysed life with them. Sure it's cheesy teen drama, but I love it. The characters meant a lot to me, their problems were real, even if their vocabulary wasn't. I was disappointed by the ending, I had hoped things would turn out differently. Everyone was happy in the end though, so I guess I must be too. It's almost time to go. I've been listening to Everloving by Moby a lot lately. I'm glad there are no words. There doesn't need to be.