What is this, Horseville? 'Cause I'm surrounded by naysayers. Wordplay!

We are getting some crazy ass weather in my parts today. For anyone that has lived in an area that experiences tornadoes, you know exactly what I'm talking about when I mention the way the sky looks during tornado weather. It's bright and cloudy all at the same time. It's very eery. The sky looked just like that this morning, the only difference is that when conditions are right for a tornado you don't get any wind. This morning, the clouds were churning something fierce. I got into the office having only to drive through a few sprinkles. According to anyone that has gone out since 8:30 this morning we have some sideways blowing SNOW.

Note: I hate winter. Snow and ice are some of my least favorite aspects of it. They may be pretty but they are more of a hassle than anything. Give me 50-80 degree weather everyday and I'm as happy as a clam. No White Christmas for me, THANK YOU.

All of these year-end drama rankings and polls my flist (and dramabeans) are putting up have really made me think about the way I approach dramas. I always pick up these idol dramas thinking that they are going to be fun and I ALWAYS end up disappointed when they are so hollow (Mei-chan, Atashinchi no Danshi, ETC). I need to stop devoting time to them, because I always regret it. And even the ones that seem promising, like Buzzer Beat was in the early days, lose steam by the end and I just don't care.

Case and point: You Are Beautiful and IRIS started airing around the same time. I watched the first episodes and made the choice to follow YAB and hold off on IRIS. I finish YAB and it was... fine. I know a lot of people are going ape-shit crazy for it at the moment, and it was a very nice romantic comedy. But it wasn't the be all and end all of dramas. I've seen better. And I could have been watching something better if I'd kept up with IRIS. A fact I discovered upon watching the second episode and really enjoying it.

To make good on this new promise to myself to watch some quality shows, I've picked Bara no nai Hanaya back up. I watched the first episode back when it first aired at the beginning of 2008. It got shelved because my jdrama plate was FULL at that time. I am proud to say that it didn't get pushed aside in favor of crap. Two of the dramas I watched instead (Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi and One Pound Gospel - though that one was a JE vehicle) are two of my favorite dramas. Though the other one, Hachimitsu to Clover was a disappointment. But after rewatching the first episode and TEARING through the next two last night I am SO SAD that I dropped it. Because Bara no nai Hanaya is making a very strong play for a top spot on my drama rankings.



Bara no nai Hanaya is the story of a single father, Eiji, raising his daughter and running a flower shop. One day he meets a blind woman, Mio, who has just moved into the neighborhood and they begin a lovely journey of friendship and blossoming romance. The only problem is she ISN'T BLIND and has been hired by his dead girlfriend's father so he can get his revenge for something Eiji did. Mio almost instantly regrets getting involved because Eiji appears to be the perfect man: sweet, loving, and an excellent father. But we are starting to get glimpses of what must be a darker past.

IT'S JUST SO GOOD. After finishing YAB and it's 2-D characters it's infinitely fulfilling watch characters that could be real people. Mio is a wonderful example of this. She is in turn joking and dead serious, nervous and forthright. It's fantastic. And Eiji's daughter Shizuku is not only adorable but is played by possibly the best child actress I've seen in a LONG TIME. It definitely helps that she is written so well, because often children are written as too precocious to believe (or stand). But Shizuku along with the rest of the cast could easily live in our world. I'm very excited to watch more.

ETA: I am VERY UPSET at the issues viikii is having at the moment. I really want to see episode 21 of Smile, You. I've seen screencaps and I'm dying to see for myself what goes down between my secondary OTP.

ETA AS WELL: I recently read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and all I can say is... how happy am I not to be a woman in 19th century China!?