As it’s the second part of the O.P.A. album, my feelings towards it are rather the same, though I think I like it a little less just because of the cover. Also because it’s less interesting to watch the hero get out of trouble than into it, I think (though the action sequence at the end is quite something).

Also, the ending, with the plane (I am trying not to be too spoilery!), was really touching, beautiful and romantic.

Little Plastic Castle (or as fans call it LPC) is something like the ultimate Ani album for some reason. I often heard older fans say that “they liked her better in LPC time” and for many people, it’s the album that drew them into Ani (with Not a Pretty Girl, I think). Personnally, I started with downloading songs (how evil, I know, but I now own a bunch of albums so that’s alright) and Gravel was clearly the one who got my attention. It’s also nice to hear, on the Madison bootleg, the happy exclamation of fans after Ani plays the first chords of the title song.

In short, what I’m trying to say is that it’s a monumental album. It’s a bit hard to criticise it really, because it’s such an important one in Ani’s career, and also because it is just so good. Each song has a good melody and great lyrics (it’s all very quotable). Pulse is also a great poem which once agains shows off Ani’s wonderful speaking voice. My favorite song from this album (which is also probably my favorite from Ani) is Swan Dive, with, oh, almost all of the others as close seconds.

If you’re interested in Ani but don’t know where to start, this is the one album you must own (well, apart from the Canon best-of I guess). Weirdly, it’s my tenth Ani album – I really should have gotten it earlier.

Though this is probably one of the heaviest Largo Winch albums on the money talk, I quite like it, possibly rating it in my favorites. I think the love story with Mellie (who graces the cover with her beautiful self) balances the O.P.A. stuff quite well. I actually really like the Mellie character, and not just because she’s awesome cute. I also think the story is very well constructed and it’s interesting to watch Largo fall into the trap (even if he has suspicions) while you know something bigger is happening behind the scenes.

For some reason, this album has always held a special place in my heart, possibly because Aaricia is my favorite character and she just kicks so much ass in this album. (After all, it’s not Thorgal but her who is depicted on the cover.) The story feels very familial to me, what with the coming home to have another baby and Thorgal being so protective of Aaricia and Jolan (and Jolan himself being pretty cool and hinting at his future as the serie’s main protagonist).

The high of the album is without a doubt the (watch out, it’s a bit spoilery) intense scene of childbirth with Aaricia and the wolf. It’s such a magnificent way for Louve to be born and I love how it ties up with her later powers. I also love how Thorgal and Jolan are fighting their manly war while Aaricia is really the one having the most strength in this album. Also, she looks so pretty with her enormous belly! :)

In my mind, this is the best of all the Thorgal BDs. It’s so well-done, so complicated too! Time-travelling is always a tricky business and it’s hard to make it work, but in this masterpiece everything just flows beautifully. Though it does bogle the mind. I might eventually have to draw up timelines to understand it all.

As usual, the drawings are great and it’s a pleasure to see the northern winter landscapes and its summery contrast. The characters who share Thorgal’s story for just this album, Torric and Vlana, are fully-fleshed and very interesting. (I actually loved Vlana so much, her name became my Internet surname for a while.)

It’s really the best Thorgal. Everybody must own it! Also it’s nice because it’s a one-album story (not a cycle) so you don’t need to buy ten albums to understand it.

I was intrigued by Buffy and thought that since the WGA was striking it was a good time to catch up on old series. So I asked for it at Christmas and luckily got it! I was a bit disappointed to see it was only 13 episodes, but then I bought Seasons 2&3 for cheap on boxing day so it compensated.

The first season is a mixed bag. Some episodes are frankly bad (the worst of all times clearly being I Robot, with the demon on the Internet, who is really dated) while some are quite good, like Angel. I liked the characters and the writing, but lots of plots and the general filming style felt like they needed to get a bit better before it was really good. I am currently watching the second season and the difference is palpable.

The DVD menus were pretty bad, what with having to select the language options on every episodes and to check every episode for bonus features. The bonus in themselves were okay, a bit sparse, but the commentaries were interesting.

So, I think it’s an okay buy, especially in the sense that it’s necessary to get in the Buffyverse. Don’t let the bad stuff scare you, it gets better!

I liked Zazie very much when I was a kid, so I bought this album without really thinking about it too much when I saw it was on sale. I had been really disappointed by her previous one, La Zizanie, so I didn’t expect much from it, but I was pleasantly surprised. Some songs are plain and one or two are boring but I like La dolce vita and J’arrive and a few others. I don’t think I’ll listen to it a lot, but I’m glad I bought it. It’s definetly better than the last one, though not as good in my opinion than some of the first ones like Zen or Made in Love.

My mother bought this to give it to my cousin at Christmas, but finally decided against it and… I got it instead ;) I did graduate from college this year, though I’m not out of school like Michael in this one. I love all the FBorFW and it’s always a pleasure to read them. I like having kid!April around, and to see Elizabeth in other storylines than relationship drama (though of course I like that too). A good read!

For some reason, because it’s the beginning of the school holidays, I thought I’d consume much more in December, but it didn’t turn out that way. First I was busybusybusy with the exams, and then my brain kind of turned to off for a while after, and then the whirlwind of partys and stuff started. So, a bit of consuming, but not that much!

I read two books in quick succession near the end of the month because I needed to fulfill my goal of reading 25,000 pages in 2007. Other than that, nothing really out of the ordinary, I read and I watched and I listened. The highlight of the month was clearly Gilmore Girls, my love for which knows no bounds. I am also finally finished with my second Walt Disney Treasures, which is rather good because I was consuming it since months.

All in all an okay month; I think January will be more special, with calmer holidays and lots of gifts to consume ;)

I loved this game, loved being back in Spira and loved the girls, loved the dresspheres and the world tours – but I missed an important thing in Chapter 3 which made me miss the Good Ending. I was pretty pissed off, but I decided to keep on going anyway… and then my game (which I bought used) decided to crash during the 1000 words sequence. BAH! :( The DVD got stuck there no matter how hard I tried to remove any dust and stuff from it. I decided it was destiny. I will probably buy it (new!) in the not-too-distant future to finish it because it was really a lovely game.