OMG yes!
Category: I Like It
BookPeople
“Travel Books” Austin, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today I dropped off my son and his friend downtown (Austin) so they could post some concert photos. And of course I had to stop by my favorite book store, BookPeople! It’s my favorite place to buy greeting cards and I needed to stock up on a few. But before that, I checked out my favorite section, which is Travel Memoirs. I love traveling so looking at all the cool destinations gets me excited! Where to go next?
What I love about BookPeople is that as an independent book store, they have the freedom to make staff recommendations (which are awesome) and also create their own displays. For instance, this incredible display:
“Display” Austin, 2017
Love it!
And then I had to browse the notebook section. I almost bought a Rhodia notebook, but then found these really nice (and affordable) Japanese notebooks. The staff recommendation said they are perfect for fountain pens, so I picked up these two notebooks:
“Notebook Haul” Austin, 2017
The paper is nice and writing on the pages with a fountain pen is smooth and the ink looks great on it. I kind of regret starting my daily journal in the current notebook now… it’s too big! Will take me years to fill it up. I should use smaller notebooks so that I can try different ones. I guess I just need to bite the bullet and switch over, leaving all those pages in the old book blank. 😭 But life’s too short to worry about those things, right?
I hope you had a nice Sunday!
おやすみ
Back to the 90s (2015) – Movie Review
Back to the 90s is a movie about a teenager who accidentally travels back in time and tries to repair his mom and dad’s rocky relationship. It’s a fun story, with some touching moments and a couple good plot twists thrown in. Add some nostalgic ’90s references (Tamagotchi!) and you have a nice, entertaining movie. Nothing amazing, but the acting is strong, and the ending is both satisfying yet leaves you wanting more. (sequel please?)
I really enjoyed Som and Tam’s characters, and learning about their motivations brings a welcome level of complexity and interest to the story. It’s also the first time I’ve seen a Thai movie, so that made it fascinating to watch. Cool to get a glimpse into an unfamiliar culture, even if it is off by two decades and covered with a Hollywood-like polish. 😁
BTW, I came across Back to the 90s by reading Age’s blog, Write Them All. Lots of good things to read about there. Check it out if you have a chance!
I definitely recommend Back to the 90s if you like romcoms or are a fan of Baifern (the actress who plays Som), which I have now become. Enjoy!
My rating: 8/10
Obi Wan VS Anakin: Fictional Fight Commentary
OMG this is SO good!
Watercoloring
“Watercolor Table” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。Today I sketched a bit and did a watercolor of La Sagrada Familia. For my first watercolor in many years, I think it turned out ok. There are a bunch of things I would change, and I’ll probably do more versions of the same pic just to experiment. But it’s a good image to use for practice. And lots of fun because it brings back the memory of the great time I had in Barcelona!
For the painting, I sketched using pencil, then applied the watercolor. After that, I erased the pencil marks that were still on the white parts of the paper. I like the shape of the cathedral and detail, but the trees in front are just cloud-like blobs. I also should have extended the cathedral down a bit on the left side so that it looks more like it is behind the trees and not sitting on top of them. Still, I am pleased with my first attempt!
“Prisma Classics” Cedar Park, 2017
For this painting, I used a new watercolor set: Prima Marketing “The Classics”. It’s a compact tin, with 12 colors in half-pans. I was surprised at how small the tin is… it’s not even the width of my LAMY Safari! Before I bought the watercolors, I watched a couple of reviews, and decided on set by the same brand called “Tropicals”, but it was back-ordered at Amazon so I ordered the classics instead. There are a few colors that I don’t really like, or perhaps don’t know how to use, and a few colors I would like to have from the Tropicals set, so I’m not sure what I’ll do. Perhaps I will just buy some empty half-pans and tubes of paint. Thankfully Teoh Yi Chie has a review of the tropicals set and I can use that as a good reference as I build my palette.
“Pilot Kakuno” Cedar Park, 2017
Also, my Pilot Kakuno arrived! It’s such a cool pen. I love the fun design and blue color and it’s pretty compact in size, which I like. I’m going to use it as just a basic writer, with the black ink that came with it, but it’s a joy to use and gives me more pleasure than just using a generic ballpoint. Why not try to brighten up your life, even in small ways?
I hope you had a nice Saturday!
またね～
