this may be my favourite tv commercial ever

I've always loved clever advertising. If I could draw (like, at all) that's what I would have studied at uni. This ad is so beautifully nuanced and technically sound, and it must have had a great director. In a sea of car ads babbling on about power and sleek design, the slogan 'have fun out there' is light and endearing and perfect for a car named after freedom. As for the actor, I want to drive with him to a place where you can see the sun set and then make out with him in the back of his Jeep Liberty. And I don't even care for four-wheel drives...

baby! baby! rock me gently, rock me slowly
take it easy. don't you know
that I have never been loved like this before?

hot tomale hero

For anyone who's lived in Japan, here is probably the least surprising news you've read this year just in from Japan Zone:

SMAP member Kimura Takuya (35) has topped one ranking of Japan's most popular men for a remarkable 15th year in a row. The annual ranking is done by women's magazine "anan" and published in a special issue. In addition to being the Most Popular Man, "Kimutaku" was top once again in four other categories: Best Boyfriend (he's married), Sexiest Man, Sharpest Dresser, and Man I'd Most Like to Sleep With. With SMAP about to release a new album and start a concert tour at Tokyo Dome tomorrow, there seems to be no limit to Kimutaku's popularity.

No, no there isn't. This guy has charisma in spades and and sales of any product he endorses go through the roof. I love his TV dramas, too. My friends and I experienced this charisma first hand at a SMAP concert. We all went there thinking the guy was fairly hot, but also quite up himself. We each had an alternative preferred band member. Towards the end of the concert, the band members hopped on a truck that took them around the arena so the more distant fans could get that close-up feeling. Well three foreigners are pretty easy to spot in a crowd of Japanese, so we caught Kimura's eye. He just looked at us for a long, delicious moment and we were lost. We spent the hours after the concert trying to figure out how he did that. I wish I knew, because if you could bottle it, there'd be a fortune to be made.

Now that I've built him up past any reasonable expectations, here's a fun video compiled from four Gatsby ads he did:

ed westwick on his style

Quote of the week from Ed "Chuck Bass" Westwick:

"I like the glamorous indie-rock look, like the Libertines. But, you know, without the heroin needle sticking out of my arm."

Now imagine it in his British accent. Mmm.

alex zane

This is Alex Zane. He's on British TV. Apart from that I have no idea what he does really. I just think he's pretty.

In fact, it looks like someone mixed...









Neil Gaiman, my favourite storyteller,











with Daniel Johns, the most attractive man in the world, in the right light (I think he's the most beautiful man in the world, and I've seen him in person, but I have also seen some really crap photos of him).



If that were actually possible, he might be my perfect man, especially if Neil's worldview and lovely sense of parenting came with him. Daniel's probably nice, too, but I've only seen him on stage, whereas I've actually seen Neil make pleasant conversation with the 500th person asking him to sign a book, which seems a bit more revealing.

most fervently

Found this via &duck. Make sure to read the comment under the photo. <--- (Not mine, the one on the linked page.)












I'd be smiling, too, if I was Mrs Darcy.

heart grown fonder yet?

I've certainly been absent long enough.

Blogging all the reasons would kind of miss the point of not having time to blog, so here's a quick post.

On my highly recommended list right now: Iron Man

There’s a reason this superhero comic book adaptation is up to 93 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s not (in my opinion) because it’s giving us something we haven’t seen before. Rather it’s giving us all the elements of a great superhero action flick, in just the right balance. I loved Transformers ~ so much so I wanted to see it twice on the big screen because those massive robots seemed to deserve that much space ~ but there’s no denying that it was all about the special effects and not much else. Iron Man has the special effects, but it also has strong characters, great casting, a witty and unpredictable script and a topical story that creates a meaningful internal conflict for the protagonist.

Speaking of which, did I mention it also has Robert Downey Jr looking sexier than most 42-year-olds can manage, in spite of looking every bit of his 42 years. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it. And he does. His perfect sense of comedic timing doesn't hurt either. Tony Stark is charismatic and every inch the man used to saying something and have it happen, or making it happen himself. I loved the way his mind was always totally engaged in whatever it was he was doing at that moment. I also liked that, in spite of a generally devil-may-care attitude, when an action plan he totally believed in turned out to have flaws he hadn't seen, he immediately admitted this and acted on his new understanding. There was a very real integrity underneath the banter. We got to glimpse the spots where he was vulnerable, but he never wallowed in it or used his emotional (or any other) challenges as an excuse to be weak when he needed to be strong.

Great movie. See it.

lines I like from buffy

Recently I insulted the scriptwriting in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Industrial Athena threatened to use my kidneys for ping pong balls (or, you know, something like that) unless I retracted said vile statements and checked it out properly. Hence I am now watching all seven series. What I have discovered so far is that while (as IA herself conceded) the first season does suck as much as I remembered, there is some pretty witty banter in there. I also discovered that while Angel, by the time I saw him in his own series, was fair to middling in the hotness department...in the first six episodes of season one, he was 'I think my knees just melted' hot.
























Anyway, I'll be posting some Buffy quotes from time to time for your reading pleasure. Here are some snippets from the first six episodes:

Ep 101

Giles challenges Buffy to 'spot the vampire' in a nightclub and she does...by his terrible fashion sense.

Buffy: Deal with that outfit for a moment.
Giles: It's dated?
Buffy: It's carbon-dated.

Ep 102

1. They're trying to work out where the vamps went.

Buffy: As soon as I got clear of the graveyard they kind of just...voom.
Xander: They can fly?
Buffy: They can drive.

2. Buffy's at the nightclub the next night, doing the slaying thing. She holds a mike stand, ready to throw it.

Macho vampire: You forget, metal can't hurt me.
Buffy: There's something you forgot about, too...sunrise.

She throws the stand, breaks a glass panel and light streams in. The vamp reels from it, then stops, wondering why he isn't burning. We see the source of the light...a regular globe on the ceiling. Buffy stakes him.

Buffy: It's in about nine hours, moron.

He dies.

Ep 103

Nothing jumped out at me. A few things did jump out at Buffy, but sans snappy dialogue.

Ep 104

Giles is explaining the modus operandum of the scary she-mantis, who incidentally has Zander.

Giles: Basically the she-mantis assumes the form of a beautiful woman and then lures innocent virgins back to her nest.
Buffy: Virgins? Well Zander's...not a... I mean, he's probably...
Willow: Gonna die.

Ep 105

Giles and Buffy are in the library researching. Superfine boy (Owen) walks in and Buffy turns into starry-eyed girl. Giles is...less than happy about this.

Buffy: Ooh, Owen. Hi.
Giles: What do you want?
Owen: Uh...book?
Giles(Remembers he's the librarian at this school.): Oh.
Buffy (to Giles): See this is a school, and we have students, and they check out books, and then they learn things.
Giles: I was beginning to suspect that was a myth.

Ep 106

Zander has become hyena-like and mean (it's a curse thingy). Buffy consults 'the expert on weird', Giles.

Giles: Zander's taken to teasing the less fortunate?
Buffy: Uh huh.
Giles: And uh...there's a noticeable change in both clothing and demeanour?
Buffy: Yes.
Giles: And...well, otherwise all his spare time's spent lounging about with imbecils?
Buffy: It's bad, isn't it?
Giles: It's devastating. He's turned into a sixteen-year-old boy. Of course, you'll have to kill him.
Buffy: Giles, I'm serious!
Giles: So am I...except for the part about killing him.

It's late, so that's all for now. The next episode is called Angel. Seeing as he's been mysterious and hot (but not told anyone he's a vampire) so far, I'm guessing that's the episode where Buffy finds out. Should be good. ^_^

daniel johns: a lot going on inside

Speaking of Daniel Johns, I found this interview with him on Youtube. It's from Enough Rope, an interview show hosted by Andrew Denton, easily the best interviewer in Australia. They cover his fame at a very young age and the way his inability to deal with the expectations and pressure (and violence in some cases) led to some really serious illnesses (anorexia, reactive arthritis, etc).

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

I found it interesting the way he talked about the album Diorama and making a deliberate decision to write and perform more positive music. He got to a point in the early days where he hated his own music, and given that he describes music as "the only religion that makes sense" to him, that's a dark place to be. I think he enjoyed the creative process, but hated the attention and pressure releasing the music created. In the interview it seems like he can talk about all of this now because he's just in a completely different mindset to before, and finally happy. Even if you're not a Silverchair/Dissociatives fan, it's an interesting interview.

This interview on Rove (another interviewer I love) was done right after Diorama was released when he was dealing with the arthritis. The quality is pretty crap, but it's a funny interview and interesting. Plus you get to see him with long pirate hair (I'm a big fan of long hair on guys, if it suits them).

in the rock, scissors, paper of love...

career beats romance, yet again...

Daniel Johns and Natalie Imbruglia ~ my favourite entertainment couple ~ have announced that their four-year marriage is over. I can't say I'm all that surprised: when you live most the time on the other side of the world to your spouse, you're kind of asking to grow apart, no? But I still remember Johns telling Juice magazine:

"I can't believe how scary it was to have found your soulmate at 21."

And I loved them together, and I wanted them to last forever. I guess so did they.

"This mutual decision has not been taken lightly or quickly," the pair said in a joint statement.
"However, our career demands and our lives in different parts of the world have brought us to the point where unfortunately this difficult decision was necessary for both of us.
"We have simply grown apart through not being able to spend enough time together."

Here's a little video I found on Youtube. The song is Natalie's "Only You".



If anyone hears any bad news about Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick, just keep it to yourself. I'm already in mourning.

i heart jim halpert

##Full of 'The Office' SPOILERS##
Nemesis introduced me to Jim Halpert with this 'jelly bean' spot. Of course at the time I thought Jim Halpert was the name of the actor. But now I know he's the most adorable fictional character since Vinnie Teranova, the undercover cop I spent my romantic formative years desperately in love with. (I didn't discover Mr Darcy till I was an adult.)

I watched the UK version of The Office a while back, so coming into the US version I was all primed and ready to love Jim, because he was the equivalent character to (UK version) Tim, whose romance with Dawn was adorable (clip of when they finally got together). But oh my goodness Tim is so beyond crush-worthy. He's actually pretty goofy, but in the sexist possible way, haha.

There are two reasons I watch The Office:

1. To watch Jim play pranks on Dwight, and


2. To watch Pam and Jim's romance...


and wish it was me. *^_^*

and in other potter related news

Here is the new wallpaper on my work computer:

Is it just me, or is Harry looking a little more...buff than last time? I mean he's no Vin Diesel (which is fine as that guy is scary level buff), but still. I guess you have to get some muscle tone going if you're going to appear naked on stage, hey? Actually I think this gratuitous, shirtless eye candy shot below probably shows better just how much our Dan has been working out. It just seems wrong that a seventeen-year-old boy can look that hot. Makes me feel like a bit of a perv. (Oh, and in Australia that word means you're just looking. It's not quite as skeazy as the US meaning.)


Movie review coming, by the way.

if only i was a scum-sucking parasite

If I was a lowlife paparazzo (or would that be paparazza because I'm a girl?) willing to lurk outside people's homes or invade their privacy every moment of the day, I'd have it made. Apparently one half decent photo of Jake and Reese together could pay off every cent of debt I have, buy me a new car and an overseas holiday and leave enough change for me to put a deposit on an apartment. Does Photoshop count?

If you happen to have a camera close by, one new couple will earn you the really big bucks.
"Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon are Hollywood's hottest and newest couple and we haven't seen them together yet," says Splash News Online editor, Gary Morgan. "So a picture of these two will guarantee you a six-figure sum."
Morgan has some of his best men (armed with lots of lenses) stationed around the Brentwood/Westwood area where Witherspoon and Gyllenhaal have been working out and eating out.
The Hollywood hotties have apparently been dating for two months, but they are "taking it slow, having meals at home and being cautious," according to a Witherspoon pal.
"The last place you'd ever see them is at The Ivy," says Morgan. "This isn't Posh and Becks. The last thing they want is attention but we are dying to find them and give it to them."
Paparazzi are also perched outside their million-dollar mansions just in case one half of the couple drops by to visit the other.

In case you missed it, I loathe paparazzi. But it gives you a bit of insight into why they do what they do, no?

Oh and did I mention he's hot? I know the subject came up several times in my head while I was trawling Google images breathlessly looking for a photo to add to this post.