I've managed to break myself out of the reader's block and finished Umberto Eco's Turning Back the Clock, borrowed from access_identity. Today I'm starting with Tolkien's The Silmarillion, also from Tyas.
After Eid I might go shopping for new books. I haven't been to Kinokuniya or Periplus for months.

Last week I watched an Indonesian action movie, Merantau. While I applaud the effort to promote traditional martial arts, the plot is embarrassingly simple and linear.

This month's genre at genrechallenge is every previous genre, including fanfiction. Mayyybe I can use the opportunity to practice writing original one-shots?

Before I went insane and actually bought the DVD - fanmade clips from Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983.
The two main couples.
Yang Kang-Mu Nianci. Michael and Sharon show more chemistry than what I remembered.

I tried Dr. Wicked's Write Or Die for the first time tonight, and made it (166 words in 8 minutes - the goal was 150 words in 10 minutes). It was fun, and I might have worked faster if I'd been writing in English. Bahasa Indonesia have such long words.
Maybe one day I'll try doing word wars.

Manga I'm still reading:
Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas: Sasha is making an unexpected move, which might bring another bishounen into the story turn out to be a double-edged sword if she's not careful or fast.
Code:Breaker: Sibling hostility a la Sasuke and Itachi? Or...?

I watched the Star Trek movie. As a movie it's pretty exciting, with an enjoyable cast, but I can clearly see why some of the hardcore Trekkies are disappointed.

I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a movie whose storyline could use a lot of trimming. I enjoy Pitt's performance there, though I do wonder if it's worthy of an Oscar nomination.

I was tagged at Facebook for the 25 not so random facts meme. ( My 25 random facts )

I tried to start writing that Romance of the Three Kingdom AU TeniPuri fic, just to flex my writing muscles, and to my dismay discovered that the story wanted to come out in Bahasa Indonesia instead of English. I don't think this is a good sign.
Now the question is: can Eve write a TeniPuri AU without even attempting to be humorous and crack-ish?

Finished reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes, finally. I'd been spoiled about the ending, and I had my "bzuh?" moment, but there's an understandable reason at least for that particular event to happen. Neat cliffhanger, too. The next book is scheduled to come out this year, so I'll just wait for the paperback version. Current read is Obama's The Audacity of Hope (haha).

Rain, rain, relentless, heavy rain. Is Jakarta being flooded?

An opinion on why the wish-fulfillment in Twilight finds such a ready welcome. I still think those are not exactly my kind of wishes, even as a teen, and I definitely wouldn't want a boyfriend who wants to be near me all the time. I cherish my private space too much for that. Btw, I watched the movie, and more than anything else, to me it seems like a valiant effort on the part of the filmmakers to make the best out of The Adventures of Mary Sue and Her Vampire Boyfriend. Kristen Stewart's expression is hilarious, though.

One thing I discovered in 2008: how to effectively dry my laundry when staying in a hotel room.

One of my resolutions this year: try to finish watching Darker Than Black.

Cute Tegami Bachi clock. Also a thank-you message in Eng(r)lish.

huntersandkings posted an analogy about the Israel-Palestine situation.
Bush says Hamas is to blame for Gaza. "Hamas was a terrorist group dedicated to destroying Israel." I suppose Israel isn't a terrorist, then, for having killed more than 100 children (and many more adults) and wounded 2,000 others this past week alone.
Meanwhile, Jews and Muslims join to combat Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
World peace, one hope that always comes to my mind at the beginning of the year.

aiwritingfic, your postcard arrived today. Thank you, and also for the poem! :)

I started reading a book by Proust and another by Woolf and I don't know when I'll finish them, if ever. Moderation, moderation. *chants*

Shiny The Dark Knight DVD is shiny. This is the first time I bought a DVD for a movie I've already seen in the theater. Plot holes aside, it's still awesome. Eric Roberts looks better as he ages, don't you think? [/fangirl]

I did this again with the new username.

In 2009, lilacfield resolves to...

Give up hieronymousbs.
Get back in contact with some old zanbatous.
Tell my family about issen4s.
Take evening classes in fanfiction.
Find a better bleach.
Volunteer to spend time with nishizonotetoras.

Get your own New Year's Resolutions:

Even now, people still mistake me for an undergraduate student, age-wise. This would've been understandable if I were cute and petite, which I'm not. Not at all.

Today is yet another proof that I work in order to be able to buy books.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl - I've been wanting to read this for a long time. The blurb says it's about a girl who finds her teacher dead, and she wants to solve the mystery because she's a "student of books". It's a novel for geeks like me! I thought. Even the chapter titles are taken from titles of literary works. The heroine has a habit of casually referring to book titles and authors, and as a character has a quickly recognizable personality. Haven't read past the prologue, though.

Swann's Way by Marcel Proust - Sometimes I just have to force myself to sit down and read pretty words, if only because I'll benefit from them.

Also found at the bookstore:

- a biography of Shah Rukh Khan. If you know about Bollywood movies at all, you'll have heard of the guy. Khan's more than just huge - he's almost a deity to some moviegoers. He's got great presence onscreen, I'll give you that.
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, translated. I think I'll just wait until I can grab the original version.

I also bought Peter Jackson's King Kong on VCD - I didn't have time to watch it when it was playing on cinemas. Either I was too busy or too financially strapped at that time. The Sweeney Todd VCD was tempting, as well.

P.S. Nowadays it always rains in the evening.

One thing that often prevents me from writing something all the way to the finish line (WIP - such a formidable acronym I find it to be) is this: ideas that sound promising when tested out in my head suddenly develops plot holes and looks less interesting once transferred to the screen. This is probably why people write drafts. *sweatdrop*

The Dark Knight may be the first movie that I want to have on DVD immediately, so I can watch the extras. Also, I keep thinking that if it's ever shown on Indonesian TV, they may cut out the pencil scene.

Duma Key, finished. Daily Lit has also finished delivering installments of Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room, which I...haven't read. *coughs and shuffles feet*

New layout at lilacfield, though it may not last very long - I like the large fonts on the previous one.

So I write because I don't know how to do anything else, but conversely it makes me reluctant to write since I know the pitfalls? But I'm slowly writing again (emphasis on slowly), and that makes me happy.

This OST brings back memories. Does DL5 have Sanada dojo in it too, I wonder. And maybe everyone will wield a wooden sword?

To my surprise, The Dark Knight is as good as LJ-dom makes it sound. Nice little postmodern-y touches in the storytelling.

( May be TMI )