My favorite kpop songs from 2015

It was summer 2015 when I finally ventured into the world of kpop and not only did I make it out alive, I also found myself in love with like five thousand Korean people.. whoops. Being a new kpop fan I listened to some classic kpop songs (like Girls’ generation – Gee) and some new releases. Today I wanna talk about the new releases with my top five favorite kpop songs of 2015.

1. VIXX LR – Beautiful liar
   This is the first song of the spin off band VIXX LR (with Leo and Ravi from the band VIXX) and I am in love with it and their mini album “beautiful liar”. The songs on it are very slow and hard hitting and their voices are just so beautiful together. The song beautiful liar is about a man who pretends to not care about his girlfriend so it is easier for her to leave him.
   Favorite line: “I haven’t imaged a life without you yet, but please be happy”
   Band bias: Leo
2. TWICE – Like ooh ahh
   Twice is a group that debuted in October 2015 and I am READY for another nine girls girl group! The song like ooh ahh is extremely catchy and their voices are adorable. Plus the music video is really interesting with the zombies!
   Lyrically the song is about a girl who has to learn that she has to love herself first, before she can fall in love with anyone.
   Favorite line: “I am not the kind of girl who gives herself away so easily”
   Band bias: Momo
3. Big Bang – Loser
   I kind of have a love/hate relationship with Big Bang. As in, I absolutely love some of their songs, but others I just hate. Ironically it’s usually their big hits that I hate… But the song Loser just hit hard with me. The song describes what it’s like to live with anxiety/depression perfectly and it really shows G-Dragons talent as a composer. I hope he writes more songs like this in the future!
   Favorite line: “I started looking at the ground more than the sky”
   Band bias: G-Dragon
4. GOT7 – If you do
   I only knew GOT7 from the song “just right” which is adorable and weird at the same time. So I was not expecting them to come out with a beautiful raw song about being in love with someone who pushes you away. The song surprised me and it made me love the boys even more.
   Favorite line: “I am tired of these trials with already known results”
   Band Bias: Jackson
5. IU – Twenty three
   IU is my favorite kpop solo artist, she adorable and has a amazing voice. I love how original her songs are and her creativity. (I also love her in the Kdrama dream high, but thats something else). I love the song twenty three, because of its originality and the music video is so amazing!
   Favorite line: “Pretend to be a fox that pretends to be a bear that pretends to be a fox”

Here are some songs that did not make the list, let’s call them.. honorable mentions:

• Girls’ Generation (SNSD) – You think
  Favorite line: “The tears I hid alone, the scars I received, you spit it all out”
  Band bias: Taeyeon
• Lovelyz – Ah choo
  Favorite line: “I found someone I’d like to wake in the morning”
  Band bias: Lee Mijoo
• Taeyeon – I
  Favorite line: “My life is a beauty”
  Solo artist
• Call my baby – EXO
  Favorite line: “You make me exist as myself”
  Band bias: Kai
• MIWOO – Broken doll
  Favorite line: “Being lost in your dreams, looking for those who you’ve lost”
  Solo artist
• 4minute – Crazy
  Favorite line: “The answer is already there, you’re just okay”
  Band bias: Hyuna
• B.A.P. – Young, Wild and free
  Favorite line: “Even if the sun falls and it gets dark, keep running”
  Band bias:  Zelo

Until my next post,
Stay nerdy!

My most anticipated book releases of 2016!

It’s going to be a new year, which means it is time for new books! With so many books coming out in 2016, I decided to make a list of my top 5 most anticipated books of 2016! These are in the order of the release date.

1. This is where it ends – Marieke Nijkamp, January 5^th 2016
   
   “This is where it ends” is a book set in a time period of 54 minutes in which it follows four different characters during a school shooting. The debut novel of Marieke Nijkamp already has lots of phrase surrounding it, like from Kirkus Reviews: “This brutal, emotionally charged novel will grip readers and leave them broken hearted”. I am exited to read about this controversial topic!
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2. Unhooked – Lisa Maxwell, February 2^nd 2016
   
   A lot of people have the wished to go to Neverland at some point in their lives, for the main character in this book this wish comes true. The story follows a girl who finds herself in Neverland, but it is nothing like the stories. Neverland is much much darker and more dangerous. Personally, this story had me hooked (so punny) at “hot pirate”. I can’t help it, the oncer in me just wants more Colin O’donoghue!
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3. The crown – Kiera Cass, May 3^rd 2016
   
   The crown is the fifth book in the bestselling “the selection” series. The dystopian series follows a girl named America Singer who grows up in poverty. But this changes when she gets the chance to enter the selection, a competition to win the crown prince’s heart. Basically this story is the bachelor royal edition with a couple of rebels that somehow keep getting into the castle (seriously, someone should do something about the security). This series is very addicting and has covers to die for (except this one)!
4. The marked girl – Lindsey Klingele, June 21^st 2016
   
   The marked girl is the first book in a new series. In this series fairytale characters fall through a portal and end up in our modern world where they meet Liv, but Liv is not what she thinks she is. It turns out she has a deep connection to the fairytale world and so the tale of them having to get home begins. Besides a amazing cover, this book caught my attention since one of my favorite tv shows ever involves fairytale characters ending up in our world (once upon a time). Although I suspect this book has more a Disney’s “Enchanted” kind of feeling.
5. Heartless – Merissa Meyer, November 8^th 2016
   
   The last book on this list might be the book I am most exited for. Heartless is a new stand alone by best selling author Merissa Meyer. The book is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland and tells the story of The queen of hearts before she became the evil queen we all know. I am exited for this for multiple reasons. First of all, I love the way Meyer rewrote fairytales in her previous series “The Lunar chronicles” in which she rewrote Cinderella, Little red riding hood, Rapunzel and Snow white. She is a master in taking well known stories and making them her own. The other reason that I am insanely exited about this book is because Alice in Wonderland is my favorite story in history and I am super exited to see Meyers take on it!

Until next time,
Stay nerdy!

Movies to watch during the holidays

Like many people, I have grown tired of the same old Christmas movies. I have no intentions to watch “Home alone” again, but there are some movies that are great to watch during the holidays that are not Christmas movies.

The Harry Potter series (2001-2011)
As you probably know, Harry Potter is the story about a boy who finds out he is a wizard. And not just any wizard, but the only one who can defeat the dark lord Voldemort. These movies are great for the holidays. They have this family and happy theme (all tough the movies do get darker towards the end of the series) that fit the holiday feeling and the Christmas scenes in the movies are adorable.
To be honest, it’s not Christmas until you had a marathon of all eight Harry Potter movies…

The Chronicles of Narnia series (2005-)
The Chronicles of Narnia follows three siblings whom discover a magical word that is ruled by an evil ice Queen. They are destined to safe the land from the winter and bring back summer for the first time in 100 years. This is another all age fantasy movie that is great for the Christmas time, it has a magical and family feeling to it while still being fun for everyone. And there is going to be a fourth movie!

The book thief (2013)
The book thief is set in the second world war and follows the life of a girl named Liesl. The movie has a fairytale like feeling to it, even though the ending is rather sad and it will probably make you cry. I recommend this movie for young adult audience and people who love historical movies!

Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
Bridge to Terabithia is a movie for childern which follows two kids who discover a magical world. The movie is great and feels like a true Disney movie. It is emotional and beautiful with a story that really touches everyone who watches regardless of their age.

The nightmare before Christmas (1993)
I can’t talk about movies for the holidays without mentioning Tim Burton’s masterpiece. The nightmare before Christmas is the perfect mixture between a Christmas and Halloween movie and is fun to watch on both holidays. I try to re-watch this movie at least once a year and it never gets boring!

Happy Holidays!
And until my next post,
Stay Nerdy!

The vampire diaries vs. the originals

The originals is the spin off from The vampire diaries, but many fans only watch the originals. They claim the originals is better, whilst other say the vampire diaries is. Time to settle this matter. I put these shows against each other and will decide which one is better based on characters, romance and plot.

The vampire diaries is about a girl who falls in love with the new boy in town that turns out to be a vampire. She also develops feelings for the his bad boy brother and the love triangle is the focus off the show.

The originals is about the first vampire family who comes back to New Orleans after leaving the place centuries ago. They discover another vampire has taken over and a war over the power of New Orleans begins.

Characters
The characters in the vampire diaries feel a bit boring and plain (with exceptions of course!), whilst the characters that moved over to the originals have more depth and character development. Boring characters are a rarity in the originals, whilst in the vampire diaries there are a lot of them.

The originals

 

Romance
Romance isn’t really a big part of the originals and the onces that are there, are kind of just there. In the vampire diaries the romances are more believable, they became the cause of many ship wars (the biggest one being Stelena vs. Delena). But the best romance is a cross over between the shows and yes, I am talking about Klaroline.

Caroline (the vampire diaries) and Klaus (the originals)

 

Plot
Honestly, the plot is a matter of opinion. If you want a cheesy romance show, I suggest you watch the vampire diaries. The vampire diaries is very plot focused in a way that character development is often put aside to introduce the new bad guy. The originals is slower pace and more based upon character development. Also the problems they face feel scarier and overall I prefer the plot of the originals.

The vampire diaries

 

Conclusion
My conclusion is that neither of the shows is better or worse than the other. They are equal and which one you prefer to watch is just a manner of opinion. If you seek romance, it is logical you chose the vampire diaries. If you seek character development and a intriguing plot, it is logical you chose the originals. Okay… maybe the originals is a little bit better…

Until my next post,
Stay Nerdy!

Scream queens season 1 review

A serial killer is on campus, killing every girl who pledged to the Kappa Kappa tau sorority. Who is killing these girls and why? And who will survive?

Scream queens is a new show airing on Fox, created by the same people who created American Horror Story and Glee. The show seems to be a perfect combination of the two shows. It doesn’t have the same amount of gore as American Horror Story, but still has that disturbing creepiness to it. It doesn’t have the same amount of dramatic story lines as Glee, but still provides interesting back stories and some real drama as well as some hilarious one liners like “Bitch, I’m ’bout to smack you so hard your tampon’s gonna pop out”

Even though this show is (in my opinion) amazing and worth the watch, it does take a few episodes to get into. At first it seems a bit all over the place, but after a couple of episodes everything starts to come together and the real craziness begins. Every episodes leaves you wondering who the hell the red devil is.

The characters seem superficial and two dimensional at first and some stay that way through the entire show. Like Chad, Zayday and Grace. The show is definitely not build on character, but on plot. Altough there is something about Chanel and her mean girl ways that make you love her and root for her to survive. For me, Chanel was the best character. She seemed very two dimensional at first, but as the episodes progress, you learn more about her live and she gets more layers than the rest of the characters have together.

Scream queens is a strangely addicting show which is definitely worth the watch if you’re looking for something original, strange or funny. It’s not on netflix yet, but you can stream it on amazon instant. If you need some more convincing to watch the show, watch the trailer.

Until my next post,
Stay Nerdy!

Will Hook come back?

SPOILER WARNING: This blog contains spoilers for the once upon a time episode “Swan song”

It has been three years since Captain Hook aka Killian Jones made his first appearance on ABC’s hit tv show, once upon a time. With his sexy accent, hot body and devilish smile he is the bad boy of many girls’ (including our main character Emma’s) dream. But that dream turned into a nightmare when he died. Now the hero squad is going to the Underworld to get him back, but will they succeed?

Disclaimer: everything I am about to write is my theory! We wont know what happens until the show comes back in March.

If you need to refresh yourself on Hooks’ death scene, go ahead. But I figure the scene is burned into most fans (especially the captain swan shippers) brains. “Let me die a hero” seems like the perfect ending for Hook.

The characters of once upon a time is going to the Underworld to save Hook and bring him back from the dead and back into the world of the living. “Underworld” sounds to me (and to a lot of other fans) like they are going to use Greek mythology. In Greek mythology there is a rather famous myth of Orpheus who (like Emma) tries to get his true love back from the death.

The story of Orpheus starts with his wife Eurydice dying from a snake bite. When Orpheus discovered her body he got overthrown by grief and played a song so sad that even the Gods cried. They advised him to go to the Underworld to get back his wife, so that is what Orpheus does. In the Underworld the hearts of Hades and Persephone are softened by his music so they let Orpheus take back his wife, but on one condition. Orpheus has to walk in front of his wife and isn’t allowed to look back at her until they reach the Upper world aka earth aka the land of the living. But once Orpheus reached the Upper world, he looked back at his wife. Forgetting that they both needed to be in the Upper world and that she was not there yet. His wife disappeared back into the Underworld, forever.

If my theory is right and once upon a time is going to use the myth of Orpheus in the second half of season 5, than Hook will not come back to the living. But given the fact that it is once upon a time and they do change stories a lot, you can never be sure.

What do you think will happen? Do you think Hook will come back? Watch the trailer for the next episode here.

Until my next post,
Stay Nerdy!

Hunger games characters vs mental illness

Last Sunday I went to see Mockingjay part 2 and I was originally planning on writing a movie review. But then I discovered this week is mental health week.
I decided to work with that, since it is a big topic in the books and the movies. So here is a list of characters and what mental health issue(s) they are facing.

Katniss Everdeen
Let’s be honest, Katniss goes through quite some shit in the books/movies. She sees more traumatic events in three years than most people would see in their entire lives. This has to effect her in some ways. Katniss most likely has PTSD since she suffers from flashback to her games as well as nightmares. Besides this she probably also suffers from depression. She thinks she is useless, blames herself for about everything, hates being around people and is constantly sad.

Finnick O’dair
Finnick is probably the easiest character to look over as it comes to mental health issues since he always puts up a smile and helps everyone. But the signs of serious depression are there.
Finnick first entered and won the hunger games at the age of 14 and after that he was a mentor, having to send kids into a certain death every year. He also was forced into prostitution and is basically a rape victim.
Finnick shows some serious signs of depression as he is known to have suicidal tendencies and he almost lost his shit when Annie was captured by the Capitol. The only thing that kept him “sane” was tying knots, sometimes until his hands bled. Yeah, I would categorize that as self harm.

Annie Cresta
Despite there being a lot of mentally ill characters in the hunger games, Annie is described as “the crazy one”. (Sounds a bit offensive and hypocrite to me, but that’s just my opinion.) Annie’s problems show in a way that sometimes she closes her eyes and covers her ears for no reason, she laughs at inappropriate moments without a clear cause and she sometimes stares lifelessly into nothing. The only person that is able to calm her down is her boyfriend Finnick.
Her problems started after she won a hunger games by being to only person who could swim when the arena flooded, but not before she watched a friend be beheaded. Ever since that moment, she has been very mentally unstable.

Until my next post,
Stay Nerdy!

Doctor who season 9 review

This season was definitely darker than the previous ones which I quite liked, as much as it hurt. Since I suck at doing overall reviews, I am going to split this up by storyline.

The magician’s apprentice & The witch’s familiar
The first storyline of the series featured one of my all time favorite Doctor who villains, The Master. Or Missy as she is now called. I really enjoyed these two episodes and the dark theme it explored. The only thing that bugged me is that Clara and The Doctor seemed to blindly trust Missy and by now they should have learned not to do that. In the end it looked as if Missy died and I hope that is not the case, I really love her and I hope she comes back.

Under the lake & Before the flood
I am not going to lie, I felt there were a couple of plot holes in this storyline and it did bug me a lot. It is not the favorite of this series, but it was still enjoyable.

The girl who died & The woman who lived
These episodes introduced one of my new favorite character, Ashilda (or as she likes to call herself “me”). In the first we see her in this old viking village where she sort of puts everyone in danger against a warrior alien species, but she saves everyone and becomes immortal in the process. In the woman who lived we see her again in the middle ages where the Doctor helps her steal something and safe the world. I love Me, because she is such an interesting character. She is immortal, but has human memory so she forgets a lot and keeps diaries that can now fill a entire library. There are many layers to her and I hope we get to explore them in the next season.

The zygon invasion & The zygon inversion
“OSGOOD LIVES” was one of the first thoughts I had during this episodes. In the season 8 finally it looked as if she was killed by Missy, but our geeky nerd hero lives. This episode is a continuation of the 50^th anniversary which at first seems random, but it will make perfect sense once you get to this seasons finally.
During these episodes, I got a little bit tired of the two episodes long story lines. But it was enjoyable and that anti-war speech the Doctor gives at the end of the zygon inversion.. so beautiful yet painful.

Sleep no more
This is the only stand alone episode in the season and it was confusing. I still don’t quite understand the ending and the whole episode was just one big “what the fuck?!” for me. It was scary and confusing and it wasn’t the best thing Doctor who ever produced.

Face the raven, Heaven sent & Hell bent
Well these were three episodes of tears. It was announced before Face the Raven that that episodes would be Clara’s death and no one is ever ready for a companion dying. Her death was painful and beautiful at the same time. It was so Clara and it was the only way she could die in my opinion. She could only die saving someone’s life.
Heaven sent was a more experimental episodes and was really psychological, I myself loved it. But people who are more into the action side of the show hated it. But the plot twist at the end had me off guard, what do you mean Gallifrey is back?!
If you thought Face the Raven was painful, think again. The Doctor does some stupid things in order to save Clara’s life, including risking the entire fucking universe. And in the end, his memories of her were erased. “Run you clever boy and remember me” but he did not remember. And yes, I am still crying about it.

Until my next post,
Stay nerdy!

Fall 2015, my reading wrap up

Fall, the leaves fall down, it’s cold outside and the fireplace is burning. The perfect time for reading… which I did not do. The fall was a disappointing reading season for me, having read only 7 books in three months and two of them were school books (blergh)! Still, here is a wrap up of all the books I read in the fall of 2015.

Playlist for the dead – Michelle Falkoff
2 out of 5 stars
This book had a set up for heartbreak… and I couldn’t care less about the characters. The idea of this book was amazing; music, pain and angst. Three things I absolutely love in my books. But the actual book was a huge disappointment to me. You could tell the author tried to make it emotional, but it just did not work…

De nieuwsfabriek – Rob Wijnberg
2,5 out of 5 stars
This is one of the two books I had to read for school and it’s dutch only. I don’t care much about the subject, but it was written in a very entertaining way. I did write a book analysis on this book on my old blog, so if you want to know more of my thoughts check it out here.

The news, a users manual – Alain de Botton
0,5 out of 5 stars
Do not read this book unless you absolutely have to. Not only does the author fall into countless clichés on this topic, he also menages to write sentences that are over 11 lines and are too confusing to read. This book was definitely not worthy of my time.

This book is gay – James Dawson
5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book, it is amazing and tells you everything you need to know about the lgbt+ community. It is funny, yet respectful. Even tough it is written for a younger audience, I believe it is readable for all ages and I believe everyone should read this book!

The elite (The selection trilogy book 2) – Kiera Cass
3,5 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this book, but the main character is really getting on my nerves! I personally love love triangles, if they’re done right. This one isn’t. America (the main character) just can’t decide even though there are problem much more important than who to marry. And I must say, for a “intelligent” character, she is pretty fucking dumb.

The pirate loop (a doctor who novel) – Simon Guerrier
4 out of 5 stars
Missing Martha? Then read this book. It is like an extra Doctor Who episode in book form and who wouldn’t love that?! Personally I loved Martha and am thankful for the books with her in it, as it gives you more insight on her character and makes you love her even more!

The prince (A selection novella) – Kiera Cass
4 out of 5 stars
A book with only 60 pages managed to make me love it, great job. This book follows Prince Maxon on the first day of the selection and I was really exited to read it since I love Maxon (seriously, he is the only reason I keep reading the series). And this book did not disappoint, although, the story line with the princess of France was a bit random and could be left out.

Until my next post,
Stay Nerdy!