[Music || Louise, "Pandora's Kiss"]
Scandalous and sexilicious. "The O.C." is a show I had initial doubts about but un garcon, was I wrong! This show is such fun filled with classic lines such as "Welcome to The O.C., bitch! That's how it's done in Orange County!"

The show itself has two 23/24-year-old boys (men) playing 16-year-olds. Who cast that Russell Crowe look-a-like as a 16-year-old! That silly hairdo doesn't fool me for one minute! This reminds me of that old guy playing a teenager on the brilliant spoof "Grosse Pointe." Not only have I never seen a 16-year-old have such huge arms, not many tweens shave either! Old looking! Ryan is the boy from Chino ("Eww") who is smart but doesn't apply his knowledge. He's suppose to be the tough boy from the wrong-side-of-the-tracks. The make-up and torn jeans don't fool anybody for this model look-alike.

The "Gilmore Girls" boy Seth looks like a tall 16-year-old. Passable. However, he is 23 in real life as well. Yuck, what is with these old guys playing young kids. Get a life casting directors! Teens CAN act as teens, y'know.

Mischa Barton is 17-year-old in real life but she looks mature. Still, she looks like a teenager. Nothing wrong there. Just a very sophisticate teenager as the drunk, girl-next-door Marissa. So far, Marissa and Ryan are suppose to be buddling (with their smokes, y'know?) but I see more chemistry between the two boys than these two. Mischa probably finds it strange to try and seduce a 24-year-old! Hey, there are laws in California so I don't blame her!

Also, I must praise Fox for giving American Idol 2's Top 32 finalist Ashley Hartman a spot on this show! She plays Holly, a blonde party girl. She's fun to watch and she's 16 and looks like it. Good job on that part, casting directors.

And there are old people in the show to satisfy the mid-age viewers.

So catch "The O.C." which airs every Tuesday (for six weeks) on Fox at 9. Like Marissa says, "You have no idea" how entertaining this soap is!

[Music || Delta Goodrem, "This Is Not Me"]
"I didn't like it because I had lost my way."

(EDIT: I'm not ready to post this just yet ;))

My review of "Innocent Eyes" by Delta Goodrem.

1. Born To Try - 8/10 - I love this song although something about it doesn't make me want to listen to it everytime I start up the CD. It doesn't make a great album "lead-off" but that's besides the point. This song is inspiring and I love the story.

2. Innocent Eyes - 8/10 - I love the "da-da-da-da-da." I predict, it'll go to #1. Oh wait, it already did. Everytime I play it, I want to spin around in my room and go bonkers! Similar to Delta in the video for it.

3. Not Me, Not I - 9/10 - A fitting fourth single. It's one of those "I-will-survive" songs but not overly empowering. I love the vulnerablity in her voice. I love these types of ballads.

4. Throw It Away - 7/10 - Not one of my favorites. I didn't understand what the song was talking about until last night when I realy listened to the lyrics. I like the "Fly by Frankie thinks he's Superman" line, I don't like the chorus. I won't choose this as a Delta single since it sounds like purely solid album material.

5. Lost Without You - 9/10 - This has grown on me so much. Possibly the hype or me learning how to play it on my guitar. I like it now but I notched down a point from a perfect score because I like Jaci's version a bit more. This is a good song after I listened to it overtime.

6. Predictable - 8/10 - You were right Sean, moody moody moody Delta might have been riding the crimson wave when she wrote this. I like singing to it and think about people who were "just so predictable." Although this song isn't predictable, it's far from original.

7. Butterfly - 10/10 - I agree with GeoGuy's review. Better than Mariah! This is a butterfly that is beautifully written, sung, and composed. When I listen to it, I can see the clear skies and feel the summer breeze. This is a song I want to listen to as I walk along the shores of the beach when I get lonely.

8. In My Own Time - 8/10 - At first, I didn't like this one that much because the lyrics didn't flow as nicely. But the lyrics shone. Now I like the beauty of how the song doesn't flow as well. Sometimes when everything is so confusing, things don't make sense. I liken this to Natalie Imbruglia's "That Day" even though they don't sound anything alike.

9. My Big Mistake - 9.5/10 - This sounds very familiar to me as well. Very Natalie Merchant "Wonder"-ish sound! I have to go with Sean to say that "magic magic, tragic tragic" is infectious. I can't give this a 10 because this sounds all too familiar that Delta might have stole it somewhere! Haha.

10. This Is Not Me - 9/10 - I adore these lyrics. This is the song (along with "Born To Try") that pushed me to purchase the album. I'm more of a lyrics person and this song connected with me (and the song is pretty good too). If her album and songwriting focused more on lyrics similar to "Lost Without You," I would not have purchased it.

11. Running Away - 5/10 - The album's weak link. The beginning sounds like it might be a good dance song, but then it strays away and becomes a watered down ballad (it also sounds like music I hear at Little Saigon shopping center). Plus, Delta uses the words "predictable" and "individual" again.. in the same verse.

12. A Year Ago Today - 5/10 - Hey Lene Marlin, let Delta cover your song "One Year Ago" to fill this spot up! Nice song, but I would've put it as a B-side.

13. Longer - 10/10 - This is what great, breezy pop songs are made of. Had me humming the chorus all day long! Probably my favorite song on the album. The lyrics are very sweet and charming too. Hasn't everyone felt this way before? "Just a minute longer..." Delta's delivery of the word "In fact devastated!" captures the feeling perfectly!

14. Will You Fall For Me - 7/10 - It's a beautiful track. I wouldn't know if I would've used it to end the album with. I kind of expected more from this song since I read the lyrics first. Some parts of the lyrics seemed forced into place.

The DVD behind-the-scenes footage of her videos is more of a montage. I was hoping Delta would explain what it felt like working on the set and other "secrets" of shooting the music video, etc etc.

Also, I don't like the texture of the booklet. Yuck. Reminds me of Nelly Furtado's album booklet.

CD: 8/10 - B-
Bonus material (DVD, notepad, lyrics): D (lyrics lifted it up from a F)

[Music || Tonya Mitchell, "You're The One I Want" & album tracks]
I've spent so much money on CDs. Well, not so much but even if I get a stack of CDs for free, I'll feel that I've spent a lot. You can only have so much time to listen and absorb each CD. Still, it'll always be in my CD rack for whenever I feel like listening to old memories. My CD collection is growing too vastly. I have to control myself. This means no CDs unless Hilary Duff's album is exceptional. And exceptionally cheap. And I'm so lonely in college I want to take a walk down to Tower Records.

Well, yesterday was fun. Instead of watching "Charlotte Sometimes," I watched an intriguing documentary called "Spellbound" by Clay's suggestion about kids who want to want the spelling bee. It's so sad and heartbreaking that they study and memorize for their whole lives to win the honor. And one wrong letter can cost them. Who ever knew a spelling bee documentary could be so interesting? Not me. I'm going to miss the Academy 6 theater.

While waiting for the film to begin (since we were late for "Charlotte Sometimes," we decided to go for "Spellbound" later), we searched through Michael's. I would like to think I'm not a very arts and crafts person, so I don't visit Michael's much. The place is nice and a lot larger than the one in Cerritos that I use to know. There were stamps for 1 cent! ONE CENT. One of the three ONE CENT stamps was "Kayla," my dear cousin's name! She lives in Delaware and although I don't know her much, she's real kewl so I bought it for her. My mom can give it to her whenever they visit or in November, I'll see her in Vegas for a relative's wedding vow renewal.

Later, looking through Trader Joe's, I found out a drink I really thought was interesting. It's called Ginger Lemonade. I was thristy, so why didn't I try it? Ahh.. have I not learned how to live life through "Life or Something Like It"? Well, actually I did but I couldn't spend money which I saved up to buy mucho CDs later in the day. Also, I found these nice cards at Trader Joe's (99 cents each) which were called "Favorite Things." They're really cute. I would love to send them to people for any joyous occasion.

After the movie and getting a bit lost on the freeway, we arrived at Amoeba. I didn't feel that psych my third time in the store. Maybe it was all the loose change and keys I carried in my pocket that held me down as I looked through the Clearance section for "treasures."

It took me at least 15 minutes to find Savage Garden's "Affirmation." The reason I bought that album isn't because I'm a big Savage Garden fan (I never really liked them), but because I saw them on my friend Steven's Mp3s in Cerritos. Savage Garden songs remind me of Sohee (Bernard's sister liking "The Animal Song" haha), Cerritos, and hopelessly romantic thoughts. The songs on Savage Garden (nee "Truly Madly Deeply" which I didn't really love) are the characterization of hopeless romantics. Total cost for "Affirmation": $4.95

Next, I found the A*teens' "Teen Spirit." Ah, I wanted this so much. I swore last time Amoeba did not have it in their clearance section. The CD case was cracked but so what? (Luckily, the cashier gave me a brand new one!) I never bought this CD because I thought the A*teens would have a sophomore slump (I was wrong, they had a terrible third album though but that was probably because of the budget they had to make it). "Teen Spirit" was the A*teens at their best. It was ABBA for a new generation without remakes (their remakes were great though, I love ABBA songs now and this reminds me of "Muriel's Wedding" but I won't get into that). "Teen Spirit" is the perfect pop album. Bubblicious and Swedish pop. I love it. Every song is catchy, upbeat, and it captures high school lovey-duvey crushes in all the lyrics (read "Upside Down": "My grades are down from As to Ds/ I'm way behind in history/I've lost myself in fantasies/Of you and me together"). I remember how much I loved their songs during my sophomore year in high school. I never bought the album even though I downloaded most of it. I'm glad I bought it now! It also includes the bonus track "Don't Even Know Your Name" (great lyrics, once again!). Years from now, I don't want to look in my CD collection and not find "Teen Spirit." It captures the essence of having fun in your childhood. Even the album design is matched to that! (Unfortunately, many eye candy pictures/pages but no lyrics). Total cost for "Teen Spirit": $2.95

My next CD in my "Buy 4, get cheapest 1 for free" was Tonya Mitchell's "I Represent." Granted, I didn't love her songs except for the single "Broken Promises." Still, something about her is so interesting that gets me looking at updates on her personal website. She posts a lot of pictures of herself posing but little about her career. She's cool and intriguing, this is why I bought her album. Her album doesn't fall short of my expectations, because I didn't have any. Generic pop with some good ("You're The One I Want," "Broken Promises," "I Don't Wanna Fall In Love"), some passable sappy ballads ("Turn Around," "A Little Too Late," "I Cry Real Tears"), and bad ("Stay"). Some of the songs are amazing such as "A Place Like This" but I don't think it fits Tonya or the production is not up to par. I heard Jenny Hyun cover "A Place Like This" accapella on a clip she recorded online and it raised goosebumps on my arm. Tonya's voice sounds too sweet at times and she doesn't have powerhouse vocals to make you jump out of your seat (well, neither did Britney so it's not a big deal). This is not a memorable CD and I didn't expect it to be. Still, a little part of myself would not be able to sleep knowing I didn't buy it for cheap at Amoeba to see how the album is. Total cost for "I Represent": $2.95

My last CD I bought was Franky Perez's "Poor Man's Son." I have no idea who he is or how he sounds. I just know that he's on Angela Via's old label LAVA and I listened to clips on his website before. I remembered liking it. I have yet to listen to this album. Total cost for "Poor Man's Son": Free (My cheapest cd, which had a sticker price of $2.95).

There was a Chinese DVD which called out to me. It was called "Love on Garden Street." I am intrigued but good thing Clay controlled my finances. I hope the DVD will stay there so the next time (whenever that will be... I say the next time I come back home for the holidays) I return, I can buy it. I love Chinese movies and this one looks bad but I think I will like these love movies. Haha.

We also had to trick the parking system by getting validated twice (that means running out and driving out and then back into the parking lot so we have another "one hour free"). Both times we were right on the dot (59 minutes, and the second time.. 1 hour!). One more minute, and we had to pay $1.50!

I felt a bit guilty since my Delta Goodrem special edtion album "Innocent Eyes" came in the mail yesterday. So many CDs. I have yet to listen to Delta's throughly but I like it. I just have a defected DVD. I emailed the store to see if they can do anything about it.

Well, yesterday was a fun day! I'm going to miss days like this.