Awakening of Hibernating Animals in Awakening of Insects#
The Awakening of Insects generally marks the deepening of spring. The sound of thunder begins to ring, waking up hibernating animals and arousing dormant animals, hence the name Awakening of Insects. The natural world presents a vibrant scene, but that refers to the natural world. As for me? Lifeless!
Relying on American Ginseng to Survive#
I haven't written anything for a while, mainly because I'm too tired and haven't recovered my energy. And because I haven't had the energy to discover interesting things in my daily life, it's been all work, eat, sleep, and it's been particularly boring. With more and more things to do, I find it increasingly difficult to regain my energy and motivation to write.
Finally, I felt that something was really wrong. I brewed a cup of American ginseng and drank it, and my energy immediately recovered (although the body still felt sore). Let's see how much I can write slowly. After drinking American ginseng, my energy did recover quite a bit.
Ancient people said that relying on ginseng is like hanging on to life. The power of this ginseng is really strong, recommended for those who have been tormented by work.
A Rain Shatters the Dream of Cherry Blossoms#
When it comes to spring, people think of cherry blossoms (people who are not familiar with flowers default to cherry blossoms blooming in spring), so I thought about taking wedding photos under the cherry blossoms.
However, things didn't go as planned. The Awakening of Insects was indeed the time for cherry blossoms to bloom, but it rained during this period.
Different from Jane S1#
I came across this drama on Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok). At first, I thought it was about superpowers, so I didn't expect the rating to be too high. But when I searched on Douban (Chinese film and TV review platform), it had a rating of 8.0, so I thought it might be good.
The first half was very interesting, with creative settings that combined superpowers with the challenges of real life, presenting a society that is both fantastical and realistic. This drama goes against the traditional superhero genre, where most people are ordinary and those with superpowers stand out and poorly imitate Nietzsche's "Superman Theory." Instead, this drama takes a different approach, where having superpowers becomes normal, but the female lead still hasn't obtained her own superpower.
The later part of the drama was a bit weak, resembling the kind of Japanese dramas that start off interesting but become mediocre as you continue watching. The plot in the later part was just a cliché TV drama disguised as a superpower story. It's either the screenwriter ran out of ideas or they were influenced by capital to tell a mediocre story. Capital tends to like mediocre stories because they don't go wrong.
But for the audience, a mediocre story is wrong.
The character development in the drama was still very good. The protagonist Jane, because she never activated her superpower, developed a complex, selfish, lazy, and even somewhat self-destructive personality (because superpowers can be seen as a measure of a person's value, and the stronger the superpower, the more respect they receive). In this system, the pursuit of self-worth and the desire for recognition became the main driving force of the plot.
BBQ rating: 4.2/5. The brainchild of superpowers is interesting, and combined with British humor, it can really relieve the pain of work. Therefore, the cliché plot in the later part is still watchable. It's good as a light comedy and can provide a unique viewing experience for first-time viewers.
Hindered Development S1#
The story tells of a real estate tycoon who is imprisoned for economic crimes, causing chaos in the family. The most reliable son steps forward to support the family. Actually, these backgrounds are not important. This is a comedy, and the screenwriter is a genius! I can't believe how funny the jokes are! The TV series uses a pseudo-documentary (or maybe pseudo-variety show) filming technique, similar to "Modern Family," and uses non-linear storytelling in editing, providing a lot of humor and rich background stories in each episode, cleverly connecting the entire family story in an interesting, orderly, and reasonable manner.
Now that I'm watching the drama, I used to think that many characters on TV were stupid. I used to think they were simply funny, but now I see that the humor comes from the characters being self-centered and having a distorted understanding of real life. Well, there are really people like this in real life, and it's not funny at all.
BBQ rating: 5/5. The screenwriter is a genius! It's a very good drama, better than "The Big Bang Theory" but not as good as "Friends."
The Amazing Story of Henry Huggins#
This movie has a strong Wes Anderson style, with a runtime of only 41 minutes. Actually, I'm not qualified to review Wes Anderson's movies because I can only vaguely feel that it consists of a series of stories that progress back and forth. But I can't quite grasp this feeling; it's very vague, fleeting, and immediately replaced by new vagueness.
The short film tells the story at a very fast pace. The story is somewhat interesting, but not particularly interesting. It's imaginative, but not enough to stimulate the audience in this era of depleted imagination.
BBQ rating: 3.5/5. It has humor, satire, and a fable story under the guise of fantasy. Benedict Cumberbatch's low, calm, and fast-paced narration makes me want to fall asleep. The filming style and techniques are superb, and the movie seems to focus less on the story, as if showing off. The director is playing with something new.
Pop Team Epic#
Those who know me well know that I like Popuko and Pipimi. Recently, there was a collaboration between Popuko and Coco, and I drank three cups at home and got refrigerator magnets and stickers. But! We also had the opportunity to go to the themed store!
Dragging my exhausted body around, I finally found you in the twists and turns of Xiao Chongqing! Who would believe it! The themed store is just a board placed there!!! I went around in circles for this!!!
I checked in and got the "limited edition sticker." They said each themed store had a limit of 200, but when we came, the event had been going on for many days and it still hadn't run out. Strange IP + obscure themed store = no one comes to check-in.
Swallows Return to Paint the Emerald Green on the Spring Equinox#
Actually, I didn't expect our wedding photos to be taken on the Spring Equinox. It happened to be a clear day after the rain, and our luck was not bad. The botanical garden had cherry blossoms, but not many, so most people came to see tulips, which provided a good space for us to take photos under the cherry blossom trees.
I didn't have much time to take photos of the flowers in the botanical garden. There are more beautiful ones than just these.
Wedding Photo Related#
This photography studio is actually a husband and wife shop. The husband is responsible for photography and post-production, while the wife handles online operations and outsources makeup. They also hired an assistant.
Compared to many other studios in the city, although their prices are slightly higher, they agreed to three outdoor sets without any compromise. They even provided transportation and excluded lunch, and they didn't charge us for the round trip highway tolls, which would have cost at least 50 yuan. There were no hidden fees, and it was really a very fair price. Other studios wouldn't even provide transportation, and they would complain if we wanted to do two outdoor sets.
Both of them have a very laid-back attitude. They shoot in a film-like atmosphere, and the studio is located in a villa area. They have a Tesla and a cat and a dog (the boss's car is full of cat and dog ornaments, which is very lovely). The boss is very easy to talk to and tries to fulfill all requests.
The boss said they used to shoot in Dali (a city in China), and they only returned here to shoot in the past few years. I feel that this is what freelancing should be like, the feeling of wanting to do a job, so I do it. I hope that one day I can live such a life.
Later, I found out that the price of 6,000 yuan for 36 retouched photos, with no hidden fees, not forcing you to add more photos, including transportation, and everyone paying for their own lunch, is the true value. The next day, they even gave a super big red envelope for posting on Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social media platform) after retouching. I highly recommend this studio to anyone who wants to take photos!
Before they sent me the retouched photos, let me show you a photo I edited myself, hahaha, I couldn't resist playing around.
The background is all edited (you can't see the details at all). If there were really such beautiful scenes, it would be amazing. However, beautiful scenes only exist in dreams.
What's funny is that after I edited and showed it to my mom, she said it didn't look good.
Maze Rice#
"Somali and the Forest Spirit" received high praise before, and I admit that the art is good and Furan is cute, but I can't really get into it. Maybe it's too calm, with a hint of sadness in the calmness. It's too difficult for cows, horses, and office workers to watch calmly. On the other hand, "Maze Rice" really resonated with me.
I've watched up to episode 11 so far, and the setting is very interesting. It gives off a vibe of an underground dungeon version of "The Solitary Gourmet," where everyone leisurely eats monsters and explores the underground dungeon to save the sister. It's interspersed with some world-building and seemingly philosophical discussions. Perhaps because death doesn't exist in this underground dungeon, everyone doesn't seem to be in a hurry to save the sister? But in episode 11, they said the sister had been digested??? Anyway, I'm planning to find the manga to read.
I read a comment saying not to worry and just keep watching.
I actually feel that the anime may have lacked budget in some places, and some scenes were reused.