September 22, 2010

SWITCHING BLOGS

0 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts

Hello: switching blogs! Just a quick update. I using prefer Wordpress, so please come visit me:

http://littlelolitofu.wordpress.com/

See you there!
I promise I will be blogging much more frequently than here. :3

Thank you!

 

June 7, 2010

Stranded

0 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts

Honestly, I love my car. My champagne-coloured 1993 Toyota Camry. A car that could be relied on. My first car ever. It was the car I learnt to drive with. The car that helped me get my G license. The car that drove me to my high school and then into university. It was my transportation for the long-trek of road between myself and my boyfriend. It carried my friends and me to dinner, to parties, to movies. It took me to my job, helped me earn my money. Warmed me in the winter and kept me cool in the summer. My 17-year old mechnical baby on wheels. It was the car that I never wanted to part with.

And here it comes, the obligatory "but" to set the reasons for our break up. Most people drive their cars for approximately 5-6 years and then trade in for a newer one or just sell it, but my Camry has been a good boy (yes, I denote my cars in the masculine rather than the feminine) for so long. For the past several years that this car has been with me, it was a smooth drive. My mother loved the car too, caring for it and making sure everything was running well, constantly taking it to check ups. So I was completely floored when I drove into university one day and my car just died on the street, two blocks away from the campus where I was supposed to be attending class in an hour or so.

It was the beginning of our little fights. Suddenly my baby needed to be fix, it was hoisted on its first tow-truck and moved to a mechanic, who informed me that the radiator cap had busted. After it was repaired, I thought that our relationship would once again become smooth and relaxing, when my Camry began a series of repeated problems a year and a half later. Driving around town, trying to get to my job in the late spring, I discovered a faint smell of smoke. Pushing into the garage of my office, I encountered a massive puddle of water and thinking that my baby could handle it, plunged into it... afterall, it had been in both heavy rains and blizzards. Immediately smoke billowed out and security raced over to handle the situation, telling me to get out of the car and not to continue driving it. After it was towed and "fixed", I encountered a new problem. Overheating.

Those of you who experienced this problem will probably understand the sheer terror of the situation. For those of you who have not, let me try to explain. When my Camry overheats, I cannot control the brakes anymore. The car begins to shake and tremble, and you have difficulty trying to stop the car since the brakes are unresponsive. The engine is roaring, speeding up, getting even faster even while you're idling and you're forced to park the car because you can feel how dangerous the situation is - you cannot STOP the car from moving. When you push the gear into park, the engine just spins even faster and you have no choice but to kill the engine and let it cool down, which can take up to 2 hours.

Got the picture? Not scared yet? Picture yourself in rush hour traffic and there are cars EVERYWHERE and you can't move. Imagine the car shaking and you stomping on the brakes, pushing hard into it, but the car still wants to inch forward, so you have to push as hard as you can to keep the car from smashing into the car in front of you. Do this several times and I can guarentee that you will freaking out in panic. 

For the past year, these problems have been reoccuring, and just last Saturday, my driver' side window motor just died - which means, the window doesn't move up anymore... HOWEVER, it moves down. And stays down. I had to use my hands to push the glass back up. Sigh. It's about time to retire my sweetie. It was my way to get out of the house when things got crazy, but that's a post for another day. Well, enjoy my stalker pictures from the view of where I stopped my car when it was on the point of uncontrollable. I sat there for two hours and people were eyeing me suspiciously. Sorry people. And the most infuriating thing was that my car was down ONE BLOCK from my office.


I stopped behind a private school - actually it's an all boys' school (one of the supposed 'top' schools in Toronto) and you can see the playing fields in the little space on the right of the red brick column. I must have looked stalkerish and extremely sketch while I was snapping these photos. But I could have probably used the excuse that two of my cousins actually attend this institution. YES. I'm serious!! LOL. I would have gone in to find them, but I think they'd be really confused as to why I was there.


 Look! It's Mashimaro!! That was actually a present from my Gor (non-biological big brother), Alex, who I haven't talked to in YEARS. I wonder how he's doing. But yeah, Mashimaro likes to sit there and get roasted in the bright sunshine. Did I mention that it was a HEAT WAVE that day? 34 degrees celcius. O__o Luckily my window was still working at the time.
Meet my window view. I would like to thank this tree for providing shade for me... for approx. 30 mins of the time I was sitting there. I sat here and watched grass grow. Great times. Still it's a pretty scene, lots of trees, nice avenue. It's a good location. If you have smart kids (girls or boys) there two top schools around the area both are single gendered educational facilities. I know I sound like a realtor and in reality I've done real estate work before. :P

On an interesting note: As to why I have these photos - well, it was because I pretended for 15 mins that I was a private detective while I was sitting there. Clearly, I'm not so good at it, since I didn't get a single picture of ANYONE. I will update with new pictures of my beautiful car when I can look at it without feeling heartbroken that I will have to retire it. Oh public transit, how I hate you. *sob*

 

Labels: , ,

May 1, 2010

We're off to see... Alice?

0 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts



Who's enjoying the April weather? Ah, the month of rain and gloomy days, I salute you! I know a lot of you have had your exams and assignments, so how many of you actually caught up on sleep? I'm still half in and half out and haven't really gotten my night and day separated. Waking up at night and sleeping in the morning makes Ayu a grumpy gizzard. So let's have an enormous post with pictures and fanatic ranting/storytelling. I do apologize for the photo spam later, but don't you love me? Come see! And you'll understand the title if you look at the photo spam... or will you? XD But seriously, I do have some questions (about drama llamas) near the end that I'd love for you to answer if you could.

One more thing: Strawberry_Yura's birthday is on the 11th!  HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY TO YURA!! XD Lots of hugs from me! :D 

I had some interesting time with my friends - going downtown to Kensington to visit Lolicon's shop, Her Majesty, at the intriguing Blue Banana. Now mind you, I had every intention to visit earlier, only the last time I went (with Claire) in January, we ended up lost, confused and decidedly very cold. JS hussled us back into the car and we - well, fine.. just me then - spent the next 2 hours being carsick as we entered terrible traffic on the 401. And yes, I get really carsick, but it's mostly serious headaches and moans of death.

Let me interrupt myself to talk a little bit about Toronto Highways. For those of you who don't drive, keep in mind that high traffic hours are as follows:
Morning Rush Hour: 5 am - 9:30 am
Afternoon Lunch Rush Hour: 11:30 am - 1 pm
After School Rush Hour: 3 pm - 5 pm
After Work Rush Hour: 5 pm - 8 pm
(On SPECIAL DAYS) After Dinner Party Rush Hour: 10:30 pm - 12 am

So judging by this probably-not-so-accurate-yet-possible-could-be-accurate information, you'll probably always be in high traffic unless you can afford to drive during time when there is much less traffic. One thing I never understood about traffic jams is why people honk when OBVIOUSLY no one can move? Yes sir, I HEAR your frantic honking/cursing and I see your single digit waving around in my rear view mirror, but please understand that I can't go anywhere since the car in front of me has yet to get the car in front of him to move with HIS frantic single digit waving and honking. PLEASE CHILL OUT. Back to the original topic... and upcoming photo spam!

Off to the Unknown Lands
We made our way to Blue Banana, this time with our friend, JC, in tow, who was trying to find a top hat that didn't cost $60. The funny thing was that the night before I had been checking Google Maps to see how the street would look like so I wouldn't get lost again. So arriving there, we saw several shops with hats. We spotted a sign that happily proclaimed, "BONNETS" for sale. Claire decided to check it out. Oh yeah, it was a bonnet, as you can see in the picture. A child's straw bonnet. But since it was sax blue, we decided that it was LOL-worthy and snapped a picture of Claire sporting one. For some reason the stall makes me think of the Hong Kong stalls in Mong Kok. Yeah, you know the ones - where you haggle for pirated Sanrio/Gainax/Capcom goods... er what? I have no idea what you're talking about! XD There were some really cool fedoras for JC, but being Claire and Ayu, we weren't exactly keen on him buying a fedora right away without making him try on an actual Top Hat. Though I have NO idea if we took a picture of him with the top hat later on... I know Claire snapped on of me. No idea where it is though....  Moving on from the multi-hat stall.

For some reason, there's always some obligatory photo of Lolitas and their teacups or teatime spread. I'm not sure if the Lolita Gods decreed it but even JC, who was hardly well-versed in the ways of the Lolita rules, made us sit under an umbrella and fak--er have a glorious Tea Time that was of course, a HUGE success with our delicious teas, little cakes, scones, and clotted cream. Mmmmm... clotted cream... *drools*.. What was I talking about? Oh right, the glorious imaginary tea. *dab dab* We were SO prim and proper that we scared the locals away. As they scurried away indoors, JC snapped a photo of us and our fantastic party for two. See the deliciousness of it all? Yeah, I bet you're drooling now. Be envious. Be VERY envious. And yes, to the shock and horror of the Lolita Gods, yes, I am wearing suede-like fabric boots with my Baby JSK. BOOYAH, scream in TERROR at my horrendous mistake! Well we'll talk about the boots later as the Gods punished me in the end, but eh, I was insanely happy just to be out of the house on a day that was pretty darn gorgeous. Mandatory shot of JC under the white umbrella. Oh yes ladies, despite his quirky, not-so-sure-where-to-look photo, he IS single and full of fun. So call 1-800-I-WANT-JC now and get your own JC today! I'M KEEDING JC, don't get mad! Haha. I'll stop pimping you out. Anyways, he looks like a nice boy here, but we changed that later... XD
Blue Banana is like the Artist's Paradise. It's a marketplace for things you might not find in the complacent suburbs. Of course the main point of the visit was to see if there were hats for sale and to check out Her Majesty. As I mentioned before, Claire snapped a shot of me in a Top Hat, which cost around $40, so it was a little over the top for JC. Not to mention there was a huge sign proclaiming that the hats were for women. Just didn't sit well with JC. Haha. So we went to find Her Majesty. We almost missed it. From the usual pictures, I believe that it was a corner spot, but we weren't expecting just a panel. Some cute things, though we couldn't afford any of it. It was great to actually look and handle the objects that you usually see online but don't often get the opportunity to see it in real life. So it wasn't too bad. On the way back down, we found some really gorgeous paintings and interesting cat sculptures by David Trant. Claire and JC loved the coffee-bunny sculpture holding a Timmies (Tim Hortons) Coffee which says "Happiness is in the Smell of Coffee". I don't really drink coffee unless I have an exam, assignment or work project so I don't know about happiness, but I have a friend who is so addicted to coffee that when she was trying to curb her addiction, she ended up desperately sniffing instant coffee powder to calm herself down. For me, I once took 3 tablespoons of instant coffee because I thought that it might not be enough to keep me up to continue studying for my Chemistry exam the next day. Ended up staying up all night and the next day I was completely jittery and on edge. While driving to school, every time the car hit the potholes, I'd clutch my heart and tell my mother to drive a little more slowly because I shaking so badly. So I never really cared for coffee, which is funny because JC is all about coffee - Starbucks, Timmies, Second Cup... everything. Well, the sculpture itself was cute and quirky! So that was agreed by all of us. I wanted to buy the paintings that I snapped here, even though I know what I big no-no that is. I love these. They're so just beautiful! I'm really sorry, Artist! :3

So after all of that, we walked from Blue Banana to Kensington Market, but decided to get a bite at Minerva (Korean restaurant) in Dynasty. Now remember what I said about the Lolita Gods punishing me for my boot-wearing sin? Yeah, the heels turn out to be hell. I was in a lot of pain by then, and we still hadn't finish the shopping or walking around. So I half limped, and half walked. I was walking slower and slower, and so we decided to eat before going back to Kensington Market to look for petticoats and hats. After the meal, my feet still were in heel-hell, but we walked back and stopped by Twylite. Like I said, JC normally looks like a nice, very conservative guy, but hey, once we got him into the store, he fell in love with Punk fashion. Fast forwarding some fun "lets-get-JC-into-this-piece-of-punk-clothing" time, which Amy (owner) joined in, we left the store and JC strutted out in punk. So people now not only stared at the two frilly-dressed girls, but also this skull-bearing, straps-flying punk boy. We searched for cheaper petticoats, but discovered that the prices were really high - $50? Sigh.. we weren't really too keen on spending that much for a petticoat that wasn't all that fluffy.

Petticoat-less and getting tired, we then figured we'd catch the 5 o'clock Alice in Wonderland movie. We had actually planned on watching the movie all along, completely with IMAX movie viewing and a Mad Tea Party, but a lot of people backed out, it being Easter weekend and lots of assignments were approaching their due dates. So we went in search of Richmond St. where the Scotiabank Theatre was located. Streetcars are a funny thing. You sit on them, and you forget when to get off. We were distracted with talking and taking pictures (as you can see) that we forgot to get off at Queen St. But hey, see what I mean by punk? Okay so it might not be the best picture, but you get the idea. Yes, Claire's strap is down for the count. XD The dang strap just didn't want to stay up!

So we missed the stop, then went all the way to Union Station. Of course I was still being punished by the Lolita Gods so even though we took the subway all the way back to Queen St, we would SOON find out we were almost 6 blocks away from Richmond St WEST because we walked out on Queen St. EAST. And it was supposed NOT EAST!! We were supposed to be on WEST!!! Argh. Walked the wrong way for 15 mins before we found out. Normally, if I was wearing proper shoes, 6 blocks would be nothing. But now we had a time deadline since the movie started at 5 pm and it was 4:40 pm. I marched myself there - thank you Air Cadet Drill Team for your intensive training - my feet were on FIRE but we GOT there. *Great big sigh of relief*
Now I know what people think about the movie. I knew it wasn't fantastic or awe-inspiring, but you know, I figured that if I had low expectations, it wouldn't be that bad. Turns out, I was right. Although I did not enjoy the fact that Alice pretty much denied herself to be the Alice of Legend and then near the end, she FINALLY decided, okay whatever, I'll be the Alice of Legend... I didn't mind "Alice" all that much. What I hated was how there was a romantic element between her and the Mad Hatter. Why is it that all Mad Hatters in any Alice of Wonderland type of movie/tv-shows are automatically called Hatter? I can deal with "the Hatter", but "Hatter" is so... I'm not sure why I don't like it. And why is there suddenly this MUST to have a romantic element between Alice and the Hatter? So we filed out of the theatre, a little disappointed about the whole thing, but happy that at least we watched it. We sat for a bit, trying to think of where and what we would do next. So we took some more pictures and I had JC do some "Hatter" poses. Haha. We figured, what the heck. Claire and I tried to mimick the Red and White Queen. I kind of think the Red Queen pose is pretty easy to mimick cause all you need to do it point and frown. Claire is better at it than I am. I have no idea what I was doing. O_o...  Actually, a part of our theme for our Mad Tea was that Claire would be the Red Queen and I would be the white. Though I can't stand Tim Burton's White Ditzy Queen. Can you guess who we are in our poses? ^^



Again, Claire's strap did not want to cooperate. But it's almost ironic that her strap sported a crystal heart and her pose was perfectly menacing with a hint of "off with their heads" crazy glimmer. Apparently I'm also good at pretending to be ditzy... or maybe I'm just ditzy? That would be bad. But it makes me a pretty good Tim Burton White Queen LOL. We had no idea about JC. Just figure he could pretend to be like Johnny Depp and sit as a "cool punk guy".

Pretty much called it quits afterwards. We went back to our calm suburbs and went to dinner, where I asked if my plate would contain onions and if they would kindly refrain from onions as I have allergies, blah blah blah. Turn into some major drama there where the waitress asked how seriously allergic I was, and then the floor manager came to change my order and assure me that no, today would not be the day I died of food allergies at their restaurant, and so on and so forth. Since we're all high school friends, talk turned serious, went into some past dramas that involved past friends. Ah... the past is so strange. Just like Wonderland.

 

April 19, 2010

Bring on the Drama Llamas!

0 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts

Sorry Guys, I know it's been a while since I've posted... and I said I would, but you know how mind-numbing exams and things can get. Seriously! >__< I'm really really sorry.

Anyways, let's talk a little about being a Lolita and how to deal with our communities. As you might have guessed, being a Lolita isn't easy at all and there always seems to be some kind of drama just lurking around. (Yes, thank you to my friends, Claire and JC, for demonstrating "drama" XD)

Why do we always have drama? It's like we create drama for the hell of it. Is it fun? For some reason it's just easier to talk about this person and that person and unfortunately, it IS interesting. Is it human nature to be a drama llama? I wouldn't say that the drama is only in North America or even in Europe, I mean cattiness is everywhere. Like it's sweeter counterpart, Love, drama knows no bounds. So.... here are some questions for Lolitas (if you're not, just pretend you are or pretend the "Lolita" clothing is some hot designer brand! ^^;;) plus some further questions for discussion. None of them are the right answer, they're just topic starters.

What would you do if you....

1. Met someone who said that they were a Lolita but were dressed in completely terrible "ita" Lolita clothing?
  • Would you teach them? Tell them exactly what they did wrong, and give them pointers such as where to shop?
  • Would you laugh at them and just ignore them?
  • Would you want to teach them, but don't know what to say for fear of being critical and hurting the person's feelings
2. Met someone who was dressed beautifully but said what YOU were wearing was horrifying and gave you a lecture?
  • Would you be offended? Ignore what they say?
  • Would you take their critique as a passerby comment and not think of it at all?
  • Would you be grateful to receive the critique and take everything they say into account to improve yourself?
3. Met someone who was dressed terribly but criticised your outfit?

  • Would you let them have it and criticise them back?
  • Would you take what they say and just keep your own comments to yourself?
  • Would you not say anything, but later tell your friends about it and have them make an "unbiased" decision on who was right?
4. Met someone who did not have a "cute" or "pretty" face, but was dressed beautiful... and enjoyed criticising everyone?

  • Would you ignore them, just be polite and not take anything they say seriously?
  • Would you be annoyed? And perhaps tell them off?
  • Would you be nice, pretend to be their friend only to laugh at them later with your other friends?
5. Met someone who was beautiful and was dressed beautifully, but criticised everyone?

  • Would you think them as stuck-up, brandwhore, or elitist?
  • Would you take what they say to heart and try to be as beautiful as they are?
  • Would you feel envious that you could not be like them?
6. Met someone who to your face told you that you were cute & was your "friend", but then turned around & laughed behind your back?
  • Would you talk to her and tell her that she hurt you?
  • Would you pretend that it didn't matter to you or insult her back?
  • Would you rage on it to your friends?
7. Had a friend who was stuck up and constantly criticised everyone else but failed to see her own mistakes?
  • Would you tell her? 
  • Would you keep it to yourself because you believe she will get hurt?
  • Would you discuss her with your other firends?
8. Were being talked about as a stuck-up, spoiled, brat who was annoying and insulting to everyone else?
  • Would you want to know that people were saying this about you?
  • Would you be insulted and attack everyone who criticised you?
  • Would you take the insults as problems that you might need to deal with and try to change your attitude?
I think there are questions that we don't want to ask, and we don't want to discuss. I mean, if I was doing something wrong, I may not want to know about it. I might be insulted to hear about it and therefore become very upset and lash out the people who said the "mean" thing. But perhaps maybe they were right? Then perhaps I would have only proved to them that I am indeed who they said I was. I always think that knowing is better than not knowing... even IF , ignorance is bliss. After awhile you realize how it's almost impossible to not be in some kind of drama and how it can be so hard to even discuss the above questions because you have no idea what the other person will do. Reminds you of chess or poker, doesn't it? If the stakes are high, we might not want to move or act in a certain way that will make us "lose"... but if the stakes are low... we might just do something.. unexpected. Who knows? 

Please, please, answer away! XD

 

Labels: , , ,

December 15, 2009

Geo + Harajuku Lovers = ♥

3 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts

I know I didn't write a review or recap or whatever... but really... I tried. I really really tried to love Alice (miniseries) but the more I saw, the more I didn't enjoy it. The first part was okay, but the second, I just couldn't get into it. Of all the characters I liked, Kathy Bates (Queen of Hearts) was the only one who really appealed to me. Everyone else was so fake. Even though I loved the concept... I think I'll wait for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

I know the people who know me have gotten used to me and my quirky nature but I really want these:


These are Geo Angel Colour Brown Circle Lens and as you can probably tell, it's a Japanese brand. Yes, they're brown and not blue. If you know me, you know how much I love my blue contacts and I wear them behind glasses so it doesn't matter to me if they have prescription or not. I have naturally large pupils so a lot of people tell me that my eyes are big enough, but it's not the pupil, people! LOL. I have an unhealthy obsession with contacts and seeing what I can do to make people go "whoa..." so when I first got into the whole contacts thing, I chose a bright blue that shocked people when they looked directly into my eyes. I won't wear white contacts because I'm not a huge fan of Guro Lolita, but for times such as Halloween or a family dinner, I might reconsider! ^^


For those of you wondering what Guro Lolita is, it's just one word: Injured. Now I'm not talking real injury. I mean fake ones. Guro Lolita often involves using white clothing (cover your eyes, Shiro Lolitas!) where you might consider splashing on fake blood and bandages around your forearms or leg. The point of it is to represent a broken doll, but more often than not you'll see girls looking like they've been horribly murdered. You might consider an eyepatch or create a massive discolouration under and around the eye with eyeshadows or facial paint to make it look like it has been severly bruised or injured. A friend of mine did it for the past Halloween and I wish I had seen her in full white, but wasn't able to. She looked terrific. The girl in the photo here is dressed as a Shiro Lolita, that is, a Lolita who only wears white. As you can see she's splashed herself with fake bright red blood, which in my opinion, doesn't really look like blood. Blood dries into this icky rusty brown colour and CLaire, my expert friend in blood stylings could tell you exactly how long and what she's tried to turn a normal lab coat into a bloody nightmare (no pun intended, ha ha ha). 

Personally I couldn't do that to my clothes. I treasure them too much to just splash it with paint, fake blood, etc... I'd definitely cry inside. Lolita outfits cost too much to just throw away like that! Unless of course I'm being paid to do it. But I think I'd still be heartbroken ;_; ... I'm more of a Gothic Lolita than just Kuro (black) or Shiro (white) anyways, I can't wear just white as it would be hard to maintain since white gets really dirty quickly. And I don't like just black sometimes. I do wear all black at times, but I prefer black and white, or a black/white/grey in checkered/plaid.

Speaking of black and white, I got my Harajuku Lovers Lindsey MaryJane shoes! It came in this really cute box. The photo below (not taken by me) doesn't show quite clearly the design on the box, but the baby/sax blue "border" is a printed image of a piece of blue ribbon with "HARAJUKU ♥ LOVERS" in endless repetition across the box. I'll take my own shots later, but here are some photos to give you the gist of it:


Aren't they cute? Yes I think so too! The straps are stretchy so you don't break them when you slide your foot in and as you can see, they have little Harajuku Lovers logo heart-shaped buttons. The inside is well padded and has an adorable design. Not to mention the soft suede-like fabric on the outside makes the whole shoe quite elegant, to say the least. There's also a little heart "charm", if you will, on the sole of the shoe. You can kind of see it in the photo. Overall, I'm really happy with this, although, I'm still struggling to work my way into them. They ARE 4 and 1/4 inches high, so ladies, don't wear them for too long unless you're already used to it!

 

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

December 8, 2009

Twisted Wonderland : Alice '09

2 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts


It was probably a week ago when my friend called and told me about the series, Alice, that was coming out. I was quite intrigued since I, like her, had been fascinated with Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventure in Wonderland. Of course, the fact that Tim Burton, who was one of our favourite director was going to revisit the fantasy in his upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie made it all the more popular for the masses. To be honest, I've never been someone who enjoy something that was mainstream or deemed extremely popular. So I was interested and a little worried. There's always that little worry that somehow the tv show or movie will destroy what you loved about a certain character. You probably understand what I mean if you've watched a movie and loved it, only to have it ruined forever for you because of its sequel. What's a good example? Ah.. the Matrix. The second one for me was terrible and the third? Let's not get into that. For now, let's concentrate on... Alice.

To sum it up quickly, Alice is a two-part TV series directed and written by Nick Willing (UK director who directed Alice in Wonderland in 1999). Or one of those "made-for-television" types of movies. Despite this, the first part has had an extremely clever take on the World of Wonderland. Definite uses of Carroll's characters and his poems. For those who loved the book, you'll love this. Especially if you're a quirky individual, it will make you dance, perhaps with glee.The cast is made up of mainly Canadian and UK actors and are quite the bunch, if I do say so myself! 


Main Characters

Alice Hamilton/Alice of Legend




We meet Alice Hamilton, who is played by Caterina Scorsone, a native to Toronto (<3). She is a young and innocent-looking black-belted karate (maybe even judo) sensei. Her father disappeared when she was young and because of this, she is wary of all men. When her boyfriend, Jack Chase, is kidnapped by the mysterious Agent White, she sets out on a mission to find him and bring him back. While pursuing Agent White, she falls through the Looking-Glass and ends up in the world of Wonderland. 


Jack Chase/Jack Heart




Jack Chase, played by Philip Winchester, the engimatic boyfriend of Alice Hamilton who is first introduced to us as a white-belted student in Alice's dojo. During a dinner with Alice and her mother, Carol, he receives a text message telling him to run. He is later kidnapped and taken to Wonderland under the orders of Agent White, but not before leaving an important ring in the hands of Alice.


Agent White/The White Rabbit




An agent of the Queen of Hearts, Agent White, played by , sets out on a mission to kidnap Jack Chase and retrieve the ring Jack has given to Alice. Although his shape is human, parts of his face resemble a rabbit's. His role is to go through the Looking-Glass and bring back "oysters" for harvest. He also owns an airship known as a Scarab.


Hatter/The Mad Hatter




True to his name, Hatter, played by Andrew Lee Potts, wears a hat that is a cross between a top hat and a pork-pie hat. A wily tea-seller who might give Johnny Depp a run for his money, meets Alice in Wonderland and calls her the "Alice of Legend". He owns a tea shop and does business with the people of Wonderland as well as refugees who have hidden underground. He tries to help Alice find Jack and leave Wonderland, but his true intentions are unknown. 


The Queen/Queen of Hearts




Played by Kathy Bates, an American actress best known for her role as Annie Wilkes in the horror movie, Misery, the Queen of Hearts is ruthless and unrelenting. She rules Wonderland with an iron fist and wants only more power. To do this, she commands Agent White to bring back "oysters" to harvest them in order to create instant gratification elixirs for her citizens.


Dodo/Leader of the Resistance




Ah Tim Curry, of course, how could you have a story about Wonderland and Alice without Tim Curry? In this first part, we only see him for a bit, but it is clear that he knows Hatter and is the leader of the underground resistance, the people who don't believe in instant gratification that is given to those who willing submit themselves under the Queen of Heart's ruling. A little quirky (as he always is) but dangerous as well, he wants Alice's ring. 


White Knight/Charles (Charlie)




The White Knight, played by Matt Frewer, is the sole remaining knight in Wonderland after the Knights battled with the Queen of Hearts. He lives in the ruins of the Chess Kingdom, where he spends his time setting traps, defending his beloved city, inventing interesting contraptions and as he says, "dabbling in black arts". Another lovable fellow with a French-inspired moustache/beard and will give Monty Python fans a faint reminiscence of John Cleese and his French Knight/Black Knight routine.

Dinah/The Cheshire Cat




Oh yes, the Cheshire Cat did make a quick appearance. Alice Hamilton thinks that the Cheshire Cat is her own kitten, Dinah. Yes, what a coincedence! But I do like how they tied the original story in.



While there are many more characters, I think I'll introduce these ones first. Of course in the course of this first part of the mini-series you will see:

The Carpenter and the Walrus (who actually uses parts of the "The Walrus and The Carpenter" while walking through a scene), the Dormouse (manages the tea-market, much like the stockmarket), the March Hare (who is known as Mad March, an assassin)...



 As well as several Card Suits (diamond dancers, clubs - looking like bishops, spades - kind of like the Men in Black!)... "suits" my blog! Har har har. :D
 



Dr. Dee and Dr. Dum (Tweedledee and Tweedledum), some of Little Alice and Carol Hamilton, Alice's mother.



And of course the King of Hearts, the Duchess (who wasn't actually described by Carroll but was illustrated as hideous by John Tenniel, the artist), the Duchess' child - the Pig (was actually a child before, but later turned into a pig).
 


 

Will post more about Alice later! Probably a detailed summary on both parts, keep checking!


 

Labels: , , , , , ,

December 5, 2009

Of Life & of Cake

0 comments Posted by Ace of Hearts

Today is International Lolita Day! What is everyone going to do? Usually Lolitas meet up and do something. There was supposed to be a meetup, but it was cancelled because there just wasn't enough time to plan; HOWEVER there might be a meet up later this month and we might go ice-skating! Yay! Lolitas on Ice, isn't that something? I think it would be really cute.

Hoping to get a good camera some time so I can do some pro-shots around the city. There are some beautiful shots that I've seen on Flickr such as this shot of Union Station. It's gorgeous isn't it? This particular shot was taken with a Nikkon D700 by Jabassen Da from Flickr. There's a fantastic collection of the city I love that he's taken and it's just beautiful. Do check out his photos by clicking on his name. They're a real beauty. 


Often we forget the beauty that we're surround by. Day to day, we run from one place to another, trying to accomplish everything that we've tasked for ourselves. Life has enough difficulties and problems for us, so once in a while, you should remember to take a deep breathe and just a take a closer look at the things around you. Trust me, you'll see just how beautiful something you might not have noticed before truly is. Like this photo from The Ginger Pixie on Flickr which is as stunning as the photographer herself. If you don't believe me, go on and click on her name and take a look at her self-potrait. The intricate frozen water molecules makes a stunning border on these fall leaves. Absolutely amazing! 

It's so cold today that I opted to stay at home and bundle up with some cozy blankets. It's suppose to be snowing on Monday! *Brr* Had a nice cup of Milk Tea (courtesy of Lipton), but am missing my PG Tips. It's funny but the heat doesn't seem to like floating to the top of the house. Usually hot air rises (as I'd say if someone around me lets one rip.. ewww), so I was expected to be warmer upstairs. Eventually it was too cold and I had to move downstairs with my blankets. Decided to reread parts of Jane Eyre while having my cup of milk tea. What was really missing was some yummy french sweets, but I'm sure I'll have enough of that soon since I'm planning a Lolita Cake Run sometime in December. Does this not look DELICIOUS?



That's right ladies, this is from La Bamboche Patisserie in Toronto. Click their name to check out their blog. Own by pastry chef Stephen Nason and his wife, it's a fusion of French and Japanese sweet-tastic pastries. I am dying to try their macaroons since they're the BEST IN THE CITY! There are so many different types of cakes, souffles, tarts... I don't know how I'm going to stop. The best part about a cake run is that you get to try so many types of pastry sweet shops. So for those who don't know what a cake run is, it's just a way for us to visit several cake/pastry shops without overeating and getting a chance to try a lot of different varieties - all in one day. It's normally 4-5 shops which are usually all in the same vicinity. There are two ways to go about it. You can either pool together and everyone choose the cakes and tries them or you can just choose what you want. I prefer pooling together to try different cakes. I love trying new things!

What kinds of sweets/pastries/cakes do you like and that recommend I try?

Photo Courtesy of Tanja of BlogTO.com


Well, here's a little dessert crêpe recipe that I'd like to share with you all, the basic crêpe recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com. I hope you guys find it as yummy as I did! ^^




 

Ingredients
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups of milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup of all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
**My own addition: 1 teaspoon of vanilla, sliced strawberries, half a silced banana, nutella, chocolate sauce and whipped cream


1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, flour sugar, salt and vanilla until the crêpe batter is smooth. 
2. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crêpe pan over medium heat.
3. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or apply oil with a brush or paper towel.
4. Using a serving spoon or a small ladle, spoon about 3 tablespoons of the crêpe batter into the hot pan, tilting the pan so that the bottom surface is evenly coated. 
5. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side or until golden brown.
6. Remove from heat. Spread a round layer of nutella from the middle of the crêpe to an inch from the edges. 
7. Fold in half twice so it becomes a quarter. Lightly drizzle chocolate sauce over it.
8. Serve with the strawberries, bananas and whipped cream or if you prefer something creamier, ice cream. 

Enjoy! Let me know if you tried it! <3

 

Labels: , , , ,

;;
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)