Written words:

The Hobbit and Tale of Two Cities

With my knowledge of Middle Earth enriched through Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales,  I’m ready to indulge in the adventures of the hobbits once more. It seems like forever since last time I read the trilogy cover to cover. However, first there is The Hobbit. I’ve already started it and it’s like a feast of wit. So many sparkling sentences. Professor Tolkien was a true master of words.

Because it’s always good to go back to classics, I’m also reading Dickens’ “Tale of Two cities”. I haven’t had the pleasure before. Certainly, it is a book that requires some tranquility and intellectual effort to engage. But there is so much enjoyable irony and vivid word-sketching. From bankers to beggars, wine-sellers to kings the plot prances about in unexpected directions from jokes to macabre to lovestory. Titans of literature are titans for a reason. Cherish the classics.

Animated Wonderfulness:

Fairy Tail

I’m on my way to become a legit otaku, anime is my main source of entertainment these days.I’m catching up with well-known anime titles right, left and center. I had a toxic experience of watching whole Death Note in 2 days (2 nights to be honest – why sleep?) – you know that feeling when you marathon something, at the end you just wish it to end, but you watch till it finished? I loved the show for L, couldn’t accept what happened and waited to the final for him to miraculously show up.

I venture through many titles, not all worth mentioning at this point. There is one though, that took me so much time to watch, that I cannot not mention it.

Due to an unfortunate event of having to spend 3 days confined to a Internet-less computer with only Fairy tail on the hard drive to help me forget reality and salvage me from boredom, I started to watch the show intensively. The premise was interesting and many stories was opened that I was curious to see how they end, so I continued for many days after. But I seriously had a love/hate relationship with this anime. There were times when I was banging my head on the table wanting to push the plot down the stairs. Fairy Tail committed way too many offences by my book. And it’s difficult to marathon, because there were many arcs that didn’t excite me at all. By all reason I should have dropped it, yet I didn’t. And after over 150 episodes, hate disappeared and only love was left.

Because Fairy Tail with all it’s faults is a splendid show after all. Much of it is pure, adorable silliness with loads of fan-service and imprudent humor – additional points for sex equality: beside curvy ladies, you get a male character with a tendency to randomly undress (Gray-sama, you’re the best <333 ) . And all that clothes falling apart in battles- nicely done.

With chemistry sparkles all around, close-knit friendships and western approach to skinship you can board whichever ship you want, and then watch with glee loads of heart-racing moments.

But all that joyness has a meaning behind it. It pops out suddenly and amaze you with its wisdom. While it disses tragedy, it celebrates life in itself, friendship and all the little things that we often forget to cherish. Surprisingly modern, it keeps the classic fantasy charm of quests and all that save-the-world deal, without being pompous.  Adventure is just an enjoyable occupation, and main reason to save the world is that Fairy Tail wizards can continue to drink, party and brawl with their comrades. It starts to remind me of fantasy series like Xanth or Pratchet’s Diskworld.

Mood Elevators:

G.B.F and Don Jon

I sometimes have that feeling that my taste is a little off and away from the popular opinion. There are many movies, that were “critically acclaimed” or were recommended all around the place, and I just don’t… Why?!! I often get bored watching movies these days. Comedies are particularly problematic; Either so stupid, I rather feel more sorry for them than entertained, or trying so hard to be intellectual and contemporary, that I don’t get the meaning at all.

These two movies, however, surprised me and had me laughing hard. Both manage to mock our commercialized reality, where everything and everybody are objectified, and yet show that people – be it playboys, closet gays, teenage queen bees or wannabes –  aren’t that bad and vain as they seem and, against popular opinion of terrified past generations, there is still hope for the future of mankind.

So that’s some highlights of what I watched/read recently. How about you? Anything worth discussing? Please let me know, I’m waiting.