Entertainment

…the anime version, that is, and not the film.

After the watching the film “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and feeling the anxiety to know what happened during the characters’ journey to saving the world, we decided to get a copy of the anime version.  We initially started Book 2 and realized that the film left out a lot of pieces in the story that made sense.  So we got Book 1 and started all over again.  And I swear, it was amazingly addicting.  The anime version is so much better than the film (which really sucked pala).  In just two weeks, we finished Books 1-3 and we’re watching it all over again.  Yes, it’s THAT good. 


In the anime version of “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, you will get to know each of the character better:

Aang – the only Airbender and Avatar tasked to save the world.
Katara – the only Waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe who believed that the Avatar can put the war to an end.  
Sokka – he doesn’t have bending abilities but he turned out to be a great warrior and leader of Team Avatar.
Toph – a blind Earthbender who became Aang’s earthbending teacher.
Zuko – banished prince of the Fire Nation.  He started out as someone who wanted to capture the Avatar but in the end his destiny was to be Aang’s firebending teacher.



If you liked the film version, I highly recommend that you watch the anime version and I’m sure you will love it!

A spin-off from this series is coming out this year, “The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra“, and we can’t wait to see it.

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Since Chuck ended, the Husband and I have been on the lookout for a new TV series worth watching.   This weekend, we were happy to discover SMASH, a TV series about what goes on in producing a theatre show in New York.

As theatre enthusiasts, we got interested with the storyline when we read about it online.   We got ourselves a copy of the first episode and towards the end, we were hooked.  We finished three episodes of the Season 1  in one day and we can’t wait to see how the story will unfold.  At this early too, we are already loving the songs featured in the series.

If you like Glee and if you are a theatre enthusiast, I suggest you have a go at watching the first episode and see if you’d like SMASH too.



At the end of the third episode, one of the lead characters named Ivy Lynn (portrayed by Megan Hilty) sang an inspiring song that calls out to dreamers like me.  Read the lyrics below and if you have time, please play the video to hear the song.

Crazy Dreams 
(originally by Carrie Underwood)
Sung by Megan Hilty in SMASH

Hello you long-shots, you dark horse runners,
Hair brush singers, dash-board drummers,
Hello you wild magnolias, just waiting to bloom.
There’s a little bit of all that inside of me and you,
Thank God even crazy dreams come true.

I’ve stood at the bottom of some walls I thought I couldn’t climb.
I felt like Cinderella at the ball, just running out of time.
So I know how it feels to be afraid, and think that it’s all gonna slip away
Hold on, Hold on.

Here’s to you free souls, you fire-fly chasers.
Tree climbers, porch swingers, air guitar players.
Here’s to you fearless dancers, shaking walls in your bedrooms
There’s a lot of wonder left inside of me and you,
Thank God even crazy dreams come true

Never let a bad day be enough, to go and talk you into giving up.
Sometimes everybody feels like you, oh, feels like you, just like you, yeah.

I’ve met some go-getters, some difference makers.
Small town heros, and big chance takers.
I’ve met some young hearts with something to prove.
Oh yeah.

Here’s to you long-shots, you dark horse runners
Hair brush singers, dash-board drummers
Here’s to you wild magnolias, just waiting to bloom.
There’s a little bit of all that inside of me and you.

Thank God even crazy dreams come true.
Thank God even crazy dreams come true, yeah.



Have a great week and may we all be inspired to dream the crazy dreams!

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It’s been awhile since we’ve had a day-out in Sydney and it was refreshing to spend the whole day of Friday last week walking around with the sun hovering above us.  Summer is very weird this year as most days, we are bombarded with cloudy skies and rains that won’t stop for days.  We’re glad that the day we picked to have a day-off together, the sun was shining for most of the day so I took this chance to be in my most laid back ensemble.

First stop was lunch at Eating World Food Court in Chinatown that serves the best Hainanese Chicken (more on that later).  Been craving for awhile so the Husband indulged me with food that I wanted.  The best thing about food courts is the cheapness of food and lots of choices.  The Husband on the other hand got himself some fried Pork Belly with Broccoli from a Thai restaurant.  Both dishes came in big servings for not more than AUD$10.00.
 

The main reason why we took a day-off was to see the Harry Potter Exhibition.  It was a pleasant and exciting afternoon as we remember scenes the Harry Potter film series by seeing more than 200 artefacts and replicas from the movie.  My HP article will come out in Ang Kalatas and later I will share more photos from the exhibition here in AWCL, so please watch out for that.  


Since we were at the Powerhouse Museum, we also got to see the Love Lace Exhibition.  It was a beautiful and poignant exhibition that made me fall in love with lace all over again. 




It seemed that it was an “Indulge Your Wife Day” last Friday as the Husband brought me to the Little Korean Town in Eastwood.  Since we’ve had an electric smokeless grill, we’ve been having our Korean BBQs at home but once in a while, we still crave to dine out…well, because we just want to have a break from washing the dishes hehe.


We had time to explore the two sides of Eastwood.  On the West Parade exit of the train station, you will find Eastwood’s Little Chinatown.  Walked thru streets full of shops, bakeries, butchers and restaurants. That’s where we found a woman juicing and selling Sugarcane.  The Husband told me we have this in the Philippines but I can’t remember drinking it so he bought me a large cup.  I loved it!  It was refreshing and sweet.


On the Railway Parade exit of the train station, you will find the Little Korean Town.  Just like in Little Chinatown, there were shops, bakeries, cafes and restaurants but only in Korean flair.  We had early dinner at Jonga Jip Korean where we experienced the most number of Banchan Dishes, it filled up the whole table.  We had two plates of meat (pork belly and beef) for BBQ and a small pot of Kimchi Stew.  

After dinner, we explored the shops and bought a few bars of our favourite Lotte chocolates.  We wanted to have coffee before we left but changed our minds because we were so full from dinner.   

We decided to just go home and have some tea as we watched Friday’s sunset in our balcony.

What a lovely day.  And as always, my heart is grateful for days that turned extraordinary because of the things my Husband does to make me happy.

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“Is this crazy or what?” 

That was the only thought I had from the time I bought us tickets to the K-POP Music Fest Concert

The Husband and I are not fond of watching concerts.  The one and only concert we watched (one that I will always remember) happened years ago.  Although we enjoy music and watching artists perform on stage, there’s something about concerts that we’d rather wait for the DVD and watch the show in the comfort of our home.  I fear big crowds that have a potential to be rowdy–there I said it.  I know, I’m such a coward haha. 

Anyway, when I learned about the K-POP Music Fest (thanks to my friend Trish who messaged me) and found out the line-up of performers, I got excited.  With so much hesitation, I gave in to that excitement and got us tickets the morning they went on pre-sale.

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney

I got us tickets away from the front so we can be far from the more energetic fans.  We knew that most of the people who’d come would be young adults who may like to dance and jump around while we just want to watch, listen and enjoy the show.  So I intentionally got tickets in the silver section.  Luckily, we got good seats not too far behind from the front section. 

This is the first ever Hallyu concert in Australia to celebrate 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Australia.

Here are some snapshots from the concert:

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
Shinee

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
Miss A

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
Secret

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
2AM

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
4Minute

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
CN Blue

Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney
All the groups that performed at the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney

Highlights:
  • Each group sang at least two to three of their hit songs.
  • Dance showdown that featured SNSD’s Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Yoona and Yuri and Shinee;s Taemin and Minho.
  • Song number from 2AM’s Jo Kwon and Changmin, 4Minute’s Gayoon and SISTAR’s Hyorin.  They sang Beyonce’ “Halo”.
  • Song production from BEAST’s Yoseob, MBLAQ’s G.O. and CN Blue.  They performed Huk Gak’s “Through The Sky”.
  • Best highlight!  4Minute and Miss A performed Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”.  Such a sweet gesture to Australian fans for doing this.
  • At the end of the concert, they called out all the groups to give a final bow and a group performance.  They sang “Arirang” then handed out autographed plastic balls to fans.
Snapshots from the K-POP Music Fest in Sydney


The show started at exactly 7:00PM and ended at 10:00PM.  I’m amazed at their punctuality and professionalism which resulted to no dull moments as groups came out the stage one after another.

 
The concert was a blast!  We really enjoyed it.  There were 11 groups that performed and the artists were all great and each production were visually entertaining.  The money we paid for and time we spent was all worth it.

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The thing with online shopping is that some establishments have scheduled delivery times, with some having a waiting period of 2-3 weeks (sometimes a month) before they deliver your order to you.  I have no problems with that as long as the duration of the waiting period is always stated in the website.

Last night, while watching a Korean drama, I suddenly jolted and said, “Our binoculars hasn’t been delivered yet!  I forgot all about it.”

So there, most of the time, I forget about what I bought online especially when it has been weeks since I’ve bought it.

Just when I remembered last night, one of my packages arrived today (I’m still waiting for two more packages)!  The binocular we bought a few weeks back got delivered at my office this afternoon. 

Our Binocular Arrived Today
Our Binocular Arrived Today
Our Binocular Arrived Today


I don’t know anything about binoculars.  I tried learning about the different specifications online and crossed my fingers that I bought the right one for what we need.  I chose one that’s light and handy too.  I tried it out when I came home and I’m relieved that I made a good choice.  Even the Husband approved.  It can magnify up to 288ft and I’m happy that it came with a case.

Our Binocular Arrived Today



All photos edited using the Snapseed app.



We bought a binocular specially for this

KPOP Music Fest in Sydney!


We received advise from the concert organizers that cameras/videocameras are not allowed during the concert (WHY????) plus, we intentionally picked a seat a bit far away from the stage, so I took the liberty of buying ourselves a binocular to help in seeing the performers on stage.


Now I really can’t to see the concert.


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