Blue Valentine

Jesus Christ he is gorgeous. Voice, nose, scruff, eyes, height... everything. Even if I don't love all his characters, I love him as an actor (not just cuz he's fucking hot, either).

Michelle Williams is awesome, too. She is uncannily talented at expressing and transferring her vulnerability to the screen. I already feel all gooey and heartbroken for her from this 1 minute trailer! Can't wait to see it~.

Cutieee! and SKK Megazord! yeah!

Sorry, I'm watching Sungkyunkwan Scandal right now and he is sooo damn cute in it! I just wanna take a bit outta him! rawrr.

He says things that are kinda wacky in this offhanded, flamboyant manner that makes you question if he's being serious or not, but everything he says actually rings true and is surprisingly insightful.
For instance, when Yun-shik and the gang go to intern at the city government office, Yong-ha arrives wearing one his outlandishly colorful outfits (and top of that, he spins to show it off) instead of the required uniform.

When Yun-shik asks why he's not wearing a uniform, he hilariously responds- "Do you know why Joseon is in such a shit state right now? It clothes all its officials in the same uniform without regard to individuality or expression of personal taste (essentially squelching them). How could any good policies come from those hard heads?"

It's such a scathing critique of the ruling ideology disguised in entertaining pizzaz, which makes him my favorite little dissenter. I'm hoping there's more substance to that pizzaz and that he's got some serious opinions and backstory going on. I love how his true character is slowly being revealed to us bit by enjoyable bit. At first, he was just an elitist, hedonistic comic relief with questionable motives (lovable all the same), but then he was revealed to be best friends with the school outcast and generally pissily unkempt Jae-shin, who also happened to have a secret side job as a masked rebel fighting to bring down the corrupt ruling party, and happened to NOT be a random street rat like we all assumed, but the son of the head of the opposing party and whose older brother died fighting to bring the corruption to light (along with Yun-shik's father, as we find out).
And now Yong-ha's friends with the low-class Yun-shik and the son of the ruling party head/ left state minster, Sun-joon?
TELL ME MORE, SHOW!

I love that these kids are as politically invested and motivated as their elders, but are fueled by compassion rather than greed (which is how they're able to become friends despite their differences). I love that they try to be adult-like yet are all still so naive. I love that they all think their own ideologies are solid solutions to the world's problems but experience the gut-wrenching feeling of inadequacy when faced with the cruel reality. But what I love most of all is that they build themselves back up together through camaraderie and juvenile fun. Like Yong-ha said, individuality and freedom of expression are important, but these four go beyond that and prove the strength of their combined effort and skills.

I see them starting out as individual brick walls of differing strengths and attributes:

Yong-ha: charm, cunning, connections
Jae-shin: passion, physical prowess
Yun-shik: female perspective, lower-class perspective, intelligence, drive
Sun-joon: focus, drive, intelligence, morality

They're each stronger than most other individuals, but not enough to fight back a system of collaborative wrongdoing.
They all have a stronger sense of self (and pride) than most people, too, so it takes a lot for them to break. However, once their walls are knocked down, they happen to be together and wind up helping each other build each other's walls back up. In the process, though, they discover that they have all been working on the same wall, mixing all their special bricks and constructing one mighty wall of super-strength (think of it like the Megazord from Power Rangers :P). And that shit is cemented with love, loyalty and FUN TIMES.

exhibit A:

tying up some drunkenly passed out guards and writing "thief" on their faces

They're gonna change the world, y'all! ;)

Yong-ha: "Whooooooo I love life!"

Yun-shik: "hee, boys are so fun. Hm, Yong-ha's kinda cute. and so's Jae-shin. but OMG SUN-JOON. His FACE IS SO CLOSE TO MINE. and OMG. MY HEAD. IS ON. HIS SHOULDER."

Sun-joon: This is disturbing. Why am I doing this again? Wait, am I having fun? Is this what fun is? and why is this boy next to me so pretty and why does he smell like spring blossoms and everything nice?

Jae-shin: These idiots ... why do I hang out with such fools? ...Okay, this is kind of funny. Heh. Heh heh. goddamn. 

Russian lit. and Japanese tea

Dostoevsky + a pot of sencha makes for a relatively successful and pleasant end to a cold wednesday night. I am actually thankful my laptop ac adapter is broken because it's forcing me to read more.

hello, hello!

Awwww, these kidsss! ^__^

Their hairstyles are a bit of an abomination (I forgive Onew, though, because it's for the musical "Rock of Ages") but other than that, they are so freakin' adorable! Like little roving puppies. Their earnest sweetness is so endearing because it seems so unpretentious (which probably means they're just good actors- heh). This should have been their summer single rather than Lucifer!! It reminds me of their "누난 너무 예뻐" days, which in my book is a good thing.
Anyway, I love the last scene when Onew's about to 고백해 (confess). That face he makes! He looks like he's gonna laugh and poo at the same time. but nope, it's just his personal pep talk face. :D
AHhhh I want Onew Dubu as my pet. He'd be my favorite pet ever! He's like a mix of a mischievous little kitten and a clumsy but well-meaning puppy.

:)

FOOD

Had dinner with some friends at Yamato, a sushi restaurant in Westwood. It's located in this huge cathedral-like building, and I expected good things from the fancy-schmancy outside. First thing I'm introduced with: A huge statue of Darth Maul elevated 10 ft above the ground behind the hostess table. ...Okay.  Huge mirrors everywhere and huge bottles of alcohol stacked on glass shelves that reach the ceiling. Kinda cool, kinda tacky. Lots of different levels and seating arrangements throughout the ginormous area. Finally get the menu, and... everything is marked half-off already. I mean, the prices are supposed to be half-off for Happy Hour, which is from 5pm to closing, but like, on the menu, you see the original price crossed out with the new price next to it. How tacky is that?? Eh, but I can live with that if the food is good. My rolls? So disappointing. TINY piece of salmon layered on top of terrible quality spicy tuna rolls, with spicy mayo drizzled across to disguise the lack of quality. Blegh. Not even worth the half-off price, and def. not worth the drive to Westwood.
Made up for it, though, by going to Diddy Riese a few blocks down. Bought a dozen cookies. Promptly shoved 3 down with the aid of some milk. :).

Came home and decided to bake some cheese corn! I've been wanting to do this forever! Anyway, it was good, but I was so full I could only eat a few bites. It's definitely a food to eat while drinking / drunk. It's really heavy on the mayo.... seeing how much mayo goes into it was kinda sickening. ughh.
The cheese makes up for it, though. ^___^ <3 (cheese + susie 4eva!)

Oh, and working at Boba Bear has inspired me to try making crepes better! I bought some flour and nutella earlier today and now have the crepe batter settling in the fridge as I write! Totally did some research on crepes and even watched the Good Eats episode on them. Of course, any excuse to watch the lovable Alton Brown getting down with his nerdy food self is fine by me~! =)
Will report back on the progress later.

송재림

AHA! I've found you at last, mystery actor who caught my attention with your douchebaggery hotness in 2ne1's Go Away mv.



(btw, I do not condone his actions! this guy should have his balls stepped on with 6-inch stilettos!!)

And of course, he happens to be a model-turned-actor...

Seriously, if I had to name a "type" I found consistently hot (based on physical appearance alone), it would have to be the model-esque Asian man with a disheveled looking ponytail. Something about the immaculately cut yet messy hairstyle on a lean, well-dressed man with sharp facial features just does it for me. Of course, I've never had the opportunity to get to know one of these kinds of people on a personal level (and as a matter of fact, I think the only time I ever saw a guy who actually matched this level of hotness in person was a man I passed by while walking around Hongdae my first night out in Seoul. Only time I've ever done the stop + gawk. :P ), and I refuse to believe anyone so good looking + put together can also have a winning personality. ^__~. Anyway, here he is:

Good starting pic, eh? 

Suit + a ponytail!! Deadly Combination of sexpoints!

 Kinda has a Hong Tae-sung vibe goin on. ;)

Is it weird I think this is more masculine than feminine?

Men should have sexy bed-head, too! 

What a good little Moddle (oops, been reading too much Jezebel). (Although I do believe LOLcat speak should be acknowledged as an official dialect  in the English language.)

 딱 내 스타일! ^_^

oh except for one thing. His name 재림 (Jae-rim) means "second coming" and it refers to the second coming of Christ. Apparently his very devout Christian mother named him. Also, he has a tattoo on his right arm of praying hands with "Philippus 4:13" under it (Philippians in Romanized Korean), which is the popular verse, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Actually, this doesn't affect his hotness... Kinda makes him more interesting... if you get my drift... :P (and it's quite alright if you don't). 

extra goody:

With Park Shin-hye for the Lacoste spread  in the March 2010 issue of Instyle Korea. 

Isn't he sooo pretty? Ugh, that hair and that nose and that smile and those eyes! I love. 

I can't tell if I want to BE him or DO him. 

...I just really appreciate beauty, guys. 

Yeah, that sounds like the right answer. 

내 여자친구는 구미호 - 11화

대웅: 미호야, 가지마. 나한테서 떨어저 나가지마. 딱 붙어 있어줘. (Miho, don't go. Don't leave me. Stick close to me.)


미호: 내가 너랑 달라도... 괜찮은거야? (Even though I'm different from you... Is it okay?)


대웅: 안괜찮아. 말도 안되고, 어이도 없고, 미쳤다고 생각 될 만큼 안 괜찮은데, 너를 좋아해. 괜찮아서 좋아하는게 아니야. 좋아하니까 다 괜찮은거야. (No, it's not okay. It's absurd, it's ridiculous, and it's not okay to the point where I think I've gone crazy- but I like you. I don't like you because it's okay to like you. It's that because I like you, everything is okay.)


...


대웅: 너 인간이 되려고 나 이용한거야? 내가 필요해서 날 좋아했던거야? (Did you use me to become human? Did you like me because you needed me?)


미호: (*shakes head*) 아무 사람이어도 상관 없었는대, 니가 좋아서, 널 필요로 한거야. 필요해서 좋아한게 아니야. 니가 좋아서 필요한거야. (It could have been anybody, but because I liked you, I picked you. I didn't like you because I needed you. I need you because I like you.) 


대웅: (*dramatic walk towards 미호*) 필요하면 이용해. 다 갖다 써. 대신... 나 책임져. (If you need me, use me. Use all of me. But in exchange, take responsibility for me.)


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


I don't think the world is large enough to contain the cute.  

Power of the Couple Ring

So, what was I doing for the past few hours ?

makin some videos! yeeeah that's not embarrassing. Haha I was driven to make these because I couldn't find any on youtube! I realized I had to stop relying on other sources and do it myself! and share the wealth!! :).

Seriously, this scene made me cry because I was laughing so hard.


(sorry, I made the subtitles too small. they're easier to read if you enlarge it.)

like, wtf is she doing, scratching the wall or some shit? hahhahahaaa dear god.... and Hyunjoong's WTF face is so good. esp in this 2nd one:


(the subtitles are litttle better here, but still tiny. haha, I'm learning...)

HAhA. His startled reaction is priceless (I totally credit the director for getting such good timing from HJ. and on that note, I totally blame the director of BBF for being such a shithead :P). I think the best part is that every time I saw her zipped up in the rooster hoodie, it freaked me out, too. so when HJ bugs out, it feels like we're sharing the experience. But then you also feel like you're sharing Hani's embarrassment, too.
In the hands of another actress, it would probably be a lot more awkward or just kinda weird. Jung So Min MAKES IT HAPPEN. She manages to incorporate weird, cute, and comical all into one earnest, endearing performance. I think she may actually be an anime character come to life.

exhibit a:


How freakin adorable was that?!

She is so aware of her body movements and facial expressions that she executes everything perfectly on cue. Love her.

Best scene ever