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Ok first I'll share this first to get this over with. It's too cute to not share. :P
Love this to bits. :D
Ok next! In complete contrast, something quite horrifying that happened in Singapore lately.
Has all the elements of a drama. Society that's currently quite xenophobic, especially towards those from China at the moment, with a mini-election over the horizon. Rich China immigrant with a Ferrari dashes a red light, smashing into a cab. Kills the Singaporean cab driver, who is sole bread winner of a family with 3 children, as well as the Japanese passenger. The China immigrant also dies. As a side act, somebody robbed the dying Japanese lady after the crash.
Articles in Stomp. Original incident. Family and friends of the immigrant says this. Other opinions, here, here and here.
I wanna write a short reflection on the incident.
1. The Farrari driver is clearly in the wrong. He reached the junction 4 seconds after the red light came on. There is absolutely no excuse for his actions. He simply and clearly did not intend to stop. And no, don't even say the taxi driver wasn't careful. In his shoes, anybody else would also have died. The current system works because every driver trusts other drivers to follow the traffic rules. Additionally, the cab driver had no room to maneuver. So NO! The accident is in no way the fault of the cab driver, and responsibility rests solely on the Farrari driver's shoulders.
2. As one can see, the articles written on Stomp and TemasekTimes are completely biased (ie tends to wards raising a hoo-ha and anti-government respectively) and are of low quality. It worries me, cuz these two sites actually get a lot of traffic, and irresponsible reporting often leads to a lot of other bad shit. Not to mention the amount of critical thinking in the comments is really disturbing as well.
Why are they bad you ask? You want examples you say?
Count the number comments that bring in the Nationality and social status of the Farrari driver as a basis to insult him. How are these factors even relevant to his crime? Do only rich people cause traffic accidents? Do only China immigrants cause such traffic accidents? By all means accuse and rage, but kindly rage objectively, and factually.
Stomp titles their article such that it implies that the Farrari driver's family is rebellious and unremorseful for the actions of the Farrari driver, when it actuality, the family members are only protesting the irrelevant insults and untruths projected on the Farrari driver. Further, the family of the Farrari driver also experienced a loss. The Farrari driver was dear to them as well. They would naturally be upset. Can they not protest? And wrong though the Farrari driver may be, it doesn't give us the right as observers to insult and "add charges" that are clearly irrelevant to begin with.
I can't even bother with the temasektimes... sigh.
3. Immigrants are not the enemy. They are people as well, and people who've had to leave their homes to make a living. Stop placing emphasis on irrelevant things and instead spend time on bettering one self.
4. Singaporeans are a loo...ong way off from being a gracious society. Sigh at the comments... and good lord for someone to even conceive stealing when the Japanese woman was dying -.-
Alright, after that bit of black stuff, I wanna rescue this post, so...
Cutie bomb!! XD
Ok back to IU!
IU's new album's been released! She's got a super long MV this time! It's nearly half and hr >.< keke
At the End of Each Day
Full MV
There's so much footage here of IU cuteness haha. Like it ttm :D
Song only MV :)
The song's really nice! It has the same feel as Good Day, and is really energising for me. Listening to it non-stop already :)
Just one question. WHO IS THE GUY!!!? (Rumor has it~~ It's just manager oppa XD)
I actually want to end this post already, but I'll give a bonus for this post! Delved into it kinda late but, it's still something crazy that happened. :)
Not subbed by me, just something I found. 23rd April episode of KBS Hello. The crazy stuff starts at around 6 mins.
My first exam this week turned out horribly... Once again banking on the bell curve...
Can only blame myself for that... What happened to being more disciplined this sem...
To add to my troubles, they're making us choose our specialisation now (wtf NUS? why during exams?)... I'm really not prepared to do that yet... The modules are becoming really tedious...
Is this really the path I want?
And then there's that thing with the YongSeo couple. I swear I'll never get myself attached to another of those couple gimmick things again. Beautiful though it may be if their relationship is true (BANMAL SONG!! T.T Find myself smiling or tearing every time I hear the song... Knowing the "true" story behind the song changes the significance of the song so much!), and damn I hope it is..., both the possibility of it being only make believe, and the cold termination and denial of the relationship at the end of the show if it is real, causes me way too much unnecessary distress...
Their lives have nothing to do with mine. I have to re-centre my life and tackle my own problems already...
That said. If it's real... Thank you for the good times...
The original video uploaded by the pair w eng subs...
Banmal Song - YongHwa (C.N.Blue) & SeoHyun (SNSD)
And the touching finale that nearly drove me insane...
To end off, the song that seems to have some relevance my current state of mind at present...
Watched and finished We Got Married: YongSeo Couple!
Reality show where Yonghwa of CNBlue and Seohyun of SNSD get into a make believe marriage. Watched it here.
Before I start, this post is nothing but YongSeo spoilers. Don't read ahead if you haven't watched it. Anyway what are you doing not watching it? Faster go watch! :P
Comments I couldn't help but type here...
Seohyun is just unbelievably pretty no matter what she wears. And for some reason that playful look/glare she has occasionally makes my heart skip a beat. Holy shit her eyes >.<
Ep 26: Omg! The atmosphere felt as if Yonghwa would say something like "I wish you were actually my wife." to Seohyun!!!! kyaaa MAX!!!!!!!
Ep 51: Seohyun re-scripted the lyrics to the Banmal Song!!
But their story ended at episode 51...
I totally crashed and burned then. Both looked so traumatised by the separation. Seohyun didn't want to leave, and Yonghwa had this torn but bearing with it look.
The farewell
They had so many memorable moments together...
The Sweet Potato field...
The remaking of the rings...
The short performance...
The story books...
The 2 songs written thinking about Seohyun...
Their growing intimacy...
To some extent I feel this show is really cruel. The two of them tried so hard to get to know each other, and actually hit off... As the show progressed, Seohyun went from being totally awkward to actually initiating skinship naturally... and Yonghwa... slowly but surely, was charmed, and quite noticeably, left with a gaping hole at their separation.
I really wish the two were allowed to progress beyond the constraints of their jobs and the show. They've done so much for one another... At some points its actually noticeable that the only limiter was the camera and the resultant impact on their careers if they showed too much, or took it too far...
Just look at that long look that Yonghwa gave Seohyun in the last ep, as she was making the drink in the kitchen... Totally reckon he was aching to do a back hug... But he's been bracing himself for the pain of departure by distancing himself... No longer Hyun~ or Seohyun but Seohyun-ssi...
Yonghwa is especially poor thing... He looked so totally smitten... and stayed consistently so even after the show... It's like getting him addicted, then telling him, no interactions, just see...
Seohyun did claim that there were no real feelings for Yonghwa, even during WGM, on one Happy Together episode... If it is true... it'd make me feel even worse, cuz then Yonghwa would be the only one left in the ditch. And at the same time, it would make me despise Seohyun, since the whole YS experience would've been fake, and she would be someone who led a sincere guy into a ditch and did no follow up on the situation before announcing said shocking news to world.
That Happy Together ep...
But since I know nothing of the behind the scenes, though Seohyun was looking terribly cold in the follow ups... and considering the nature of their jobs, the position of their company, as well as her reaction in the last ep... I'm hoping that there's at least something there...
Banmal Song Live performance in Japan...
Seohyun's look of cold professionalism vs Yonghwa's comlicated expressions...
That aside, as a first bf, Seohyun received the treatment of a man who loved her, though imperfect, but at every turn, the epitome of the model boyfriend. Goodness, even I was impressed. If too many girls watch WGM us normal guys won't ever have a chance. :P I think chances are she wouldn't ever find another capable of replacing him, his deeds, or the memories they had together...
Clearly not happy with how the whole thing wrapped up...
Emo-ing. I should stop getting so attached to these shows/characters.
Should be struggling to realise my own dreams, and live my own life...
Dreams...
Ray
The other song written with Seohyun in mind~~
Love Rain - C.N.Blue
EDIT:
Goodness... I realise I've totally sunk into my own imagination. Who's to say if Yonghwa or Seohyun meant any of it, or if any of their deeds weren't scripted... What if all of it was fake... </3 :(
I'd still like to believe it was real though...
Just had the busiest week ever. Nearly every day oso chionging something :\
oh well... kinda used to it alr :P
Anyway! I finished watching SBS Heroes! This is like old news, since I didn't really have time to do this stuff last week :\ 40 episodes of tears and joy, and unfortunately it has come to an end...
**Long post warning. Stop reading if you're not interested in hearing about how much I like this show =P**
Heroes Ep 40 [END] Trailer:
The best clip i could find without having to post the whole episode to make my point...
Cried me a river of tears argh TT TT Seeing Jiyeon so sad made me tear even harder :( For some reason it had low ratings in Korea, even though till now, many people overseas are looking for a good translation of it to watch. And the people currently subbing them are sooo cui... urg. Glad I could understand chinese... I actually watched the last 15 eps or so in chinese... am actually considering helping to translate from chinese to english.... if i wasn't so bz lol.
The episodes in chinese are all available on dailymotion! under the name 英雄豪杰 if ppl wan to find! :D
Gee I'd really like to download the full set and keep it if I could... but there're no good raws, nor are there complete english subs yet. Not to mention some of the english subs are so bad one probably couldn't understand them -.-
I've really come to like the different stars in the show. Most of them anyway. haha... in the words of those who've been in the kpop scene for way longer than i have, i've gotten a bias. Or rather a few biases :P
Totally fallen for IU, Jiyeon and Yoo Inna now :D All of them are so great and talented in their own way...
From the left:
IU in a maid outfit during a really tough episode where they ran a charity restaurant.
That memorable moment where Jiyeon accidently poured wayy too much salt into a kimchi soup :P
Yoo Inna in the episode where they prepare a wedding for the couple. Lucky guy~~ :\
More pics:
IU getting the opportunity to kiss her long time ideal type, Taeyang from Big Bang while performing "I need a Girl" in one of the earlier eps.
even i went kyaaa~~ when i saw this... lol!
PRETTY MAXXXX!! =D
Ahh good times :P haha couldn't resist posting these when i found them while i was looking for pics to post.
Oo oo! One more!
In na's acting is amazing! haha and Jiyeon's just so adorabe :P
Back to topic, I really like Narsha and Nicole as well. Along with IU, they're the few who're consistently really diligent with their tasks :)
Nicole scalding her fingers while fry Pork Cutlets in the restaurant episode. She was the only one in the group who willingly and diligently took up this role, despite the risks to her as an idol.
The para from this blogpost totally describes the situation:
Quote"
Nicole in particular stood out from her teammates as her tireless work ethic drove her on to work hard to complete her task; she concentrated so furiously on frying the meat properly that she didn’t even rest, despite the fact that the task took up hours. Whenever she made a minor mistake, she would immediately apologize and attempt to remedy the situation.
Viewers were especially impressed with how wholeheartedly Nicole threw herself into her work, without a single care for sullying her pretty idol image. She was often seen furrowing her brows or cringing as she concentrated on her station. Nicole even burned her hand at one point after quickly picking up a piece of meat that had just been fried, due to the delay in orders going out.
Although those around her worried by asking if she was okay and told her to take a break by washing her hands, Nicole said that she was okay and continued working in her station.
Viewers left glowing responses to her work ethic with, “Nicole really was working hard. She wasn’t like an idol at all,” “I saw how genuine Nicole was, I was almost upset for her,” and “It must’ve been hard staying in front of the hot oil like that all day, she’s amazing.”
Although Nicole had oil splattered all over face, her hair in a tangled mess, and her hand was burnt, viewers were moved by how much more beautiful she was there by the deep fryer than on stage.
"
Pity she kinda disappeared due to some problems with her company at the later parts of the series...
Couldn't find the one on Narsha... but it was the reporter episode :\ anw, instead i'll put something cute :P
What happened earlier...
Hmm next... I didn't really like them at the start of the series, since they were like "oh i'm big shit since i'm a senior" and stuff... but I've new found respect for Shin Bong-sun and Noh Sa-yeon, who both took really hurtful remarks and results in stride. They've also shown to really care for their fellow actors in the series, especially in the last few episodes. Bong-sun was also a really superb restaurant manager during that charity restaurant episode. Pleasant surprises :)
Likewise although they didn't really stand out at the beginning, I found Hong Soo-ah and Kahi to be really likeable, Soo-ah especially for her sunshine personality and straight forwardness.
A picture with Jiyeon... She's kinda clumsy, but she's really nice and easy to get with :)
Haha funny pic during the ep where they visited the zoo. Soo-ah got the shudders when the giraffe licked her :P
Might post the vid later since I can't find it at the moment, but Soo-ah gave me strong impressions in the episodes where she lectured the high schoolers, as well as the "Make your own short film" episode.
As for Kahi, I've only got one thing to say: "DAEBAK!!!" XD
...And once again I can't find a vid or a pic :\ she had this really funny tone and look when she says "Daebak". It feels something like a moooooo =P Haha... Soo ah did a really funny imitation of her in one of the eps... and she has this really funny habit of falling asleep when she isn't on camera =D
Hurr... At this point i might as well make a post for all the heroes don't you think =P
Hmm anyway I'm ending off le :P I just want to say something about Seo In Young, who changed soooo much since the pilot ep.
At the beginning of the show, she was this really strong, outspoken and uptight character, who'd show off when the situation is to her favour, and scowl or glare in a really obvious manner when it's not. The other stars in general were kinda afraid of her, and well, frankly I didn't think much of her either.
Her relationship with the stars didn't really improve until the episode where the stars planned a birthday party for her. In order to make sure she doesn't notice, they behaved in a really mean way towards her. Skipping the details of how... they were so "successful" that at some point she was on the verge of crying, and actually thought "ahh... i really am the worst right..." So to salvage the situation (they didn't think it'd actually turn out like that) they kind of sidetracked her to think they were planning a party for one of the MCs, who was getting married at the time, and found some excuse to hide her in the closet, before preparing frantically for her surprise.
After some delaying tactics (skillfully done by MC Hong Chul and Shin Bong sun :) ), they sprung it on her!
One of the most touching moments of the show i feel... She said afterwards that she was actually really upset and had thoughts about quitting because she couldn't get along with the members... but from then on the members became really close... and was more open to messing around with the rest of the members.
At that point I felt I could really relate to her. As people, most of us have an image, or a certain dignity we want to maintain. We want to look cool, and stay away from embarrassing situations. What more a star like her, who prides herself in being an idol who's cool, independent and feminine at the same time. As a result of this desire, we sometimes come off as boring, uptight or unfriendly. But in the end really, we're just socially awkward people who would like to fit in, but just don't know how...
Haha but after that, i feel that she's just that much cooler, because in spite of all that she went along with the show's gimmicks... her favorite catchphrase "This is not my style!" also becomes so much funnier :)
Maybe sometimes giving up something small, we gain so much more huh :)
Alright. It's been a really long post. I doubt anybody read it to the end, if anybody reads this at all haha.
If you haven't guessed it yet, yes I'm gonna say this here too!
This is the Heroes episode where they're supposed respond "Yoo Hooo!" when they're woken up by "GOOOD MORNING!!!" :P
Funny last bit says "Kid looking for comfort in mommy's blanket" haha...
Also addicted to her duet song, Nagging!
Hmm episode 23 of Heroes is probably the most meaningful episode to me so far. 6 stars each hold a lesson for high school students, and tell them things that will be helpful to them when they step out into society.
Many of these lessons came from the stars' own backstories, and it's really precious in that it shows the tough route to stardom behind all the glamour. The thing in common with all of them is really that they never did give up, and plowed on with a positive mindset in building their strengths and overcoming their weaknesses. I've personally gained a lot from watching this ep...
I found a pretty complete back story of IU on Win Win 111213 ep 93 (13th Dec 2011) ep, as well as on strong heart ep 110.
Win Win
Strong Heart.
Haha well... supposed to be catching up on my work still. Have to balance it a bit. Cya
Although finals are a month away too but still it's good to have a breather :)
Had a really good rest in the last 2 days. Slept like log haha... >.<
Would really like to go out with some friends soon. I haven't even spoken to jh or ws or even syl in so long. Have to do something to break out of this lull :\
Anyway... things I wanna share here this time round :)
First! Mahou Sensei Negima has ended!
Don't really know whether to be happy or sad about it. The comic sorta lost steam at the last bit, with everything being covered only really really briefly. So many interesting things were only hinted at and done off screen that one kinda wonders... it seems as if the author just wanted to end it already. :(
That said, it's been a great 9yrs, with a story epic in proportions and truly grounded in culture, yet amazingly imaginative. If you haven't read it yet, and would like a story that balances action and romance, I would certainly recommend this comic :)
The only burning question that's left unanswered is WHO DOES NEGI END UP WITH????? Hope Akamatsu will do something about that too. And there's also that bit about rescuing Nagi. Why was it done offscreen? hrmph lol.
Next! I cannot believe I'm saying this but i've totally become a fan of Li Ji Eun aka IU! >\\\\<
She's shooooo cutttee XDDD and pretty at the same time. I dunno how the koreans manage it. It was always either pretty or cute. Now they've managed to do both O.O
Not to mention she's a really good singer XD
Check out Good Day :)
The lyrics and dance are so cute too haha.
Not really getting enough of her juz via MVs so am watching SBS Heroes! Super funny variety show!
Eps can be found here
And first ep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz8CrzITk7U
Alright cya all! Gotta catch up on my webcast debt now >.<