I Don’t Think You’re Ready For This —

Roomie #1 and I found this gem at Sam’s Club. There was a lady with her teenage daughter a couple feet away who looked at us as if we were lunatics for laughing uproariously at the box for no apparent reason, but Roomie #1 said that they were craning their necks after we moved on to see what caused the ruckus. If only we actually possessed maturity.

If It’s Not Rough It Isn’t Fun

The First Step Is Admitting…

I have an addiction.

I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but there have been hints of it here and there.

“Why do you like listening to music you can’t understand?” people have asked.
Well, there are many reasons for that, but my question for them is, why would that inhibit me? Music is aural pleasure; comprehension is not completely necessary.

When I listen to music in English, I listen very intently to the lyrics — as a vocalist, I enjoy being able to sing along. If I listen to a song too many times, however, the lyrics start to get old, and then I can’t stand listening to that song anymore. Foreign songs, though, present a distinct challenge to learn [if I bother trying], and usually take much longer before fatigue settles in. For example, I’ve listened to the same Lee Jung Hyun songs since middle school and still have yet to evict them from my iPod.

If I like a song enough, though, I’ll look up the lyrics to find out whether my impression of the song rings true. Even if the lyrics turn out to be tasteless and puerile, at least it won’t greatly impact my experience — although I feel like America has the most issue with retarded lyrics.

As much as I love French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese music, my addiction is specific to Korean pop.

Why Kpop?
I’ve written before that I’ve always had an appreciation for Korean music, limited though my knowledge of the industry was. I don’t like using the term “fangirl” because of the squealing teenage image it evokes, and I’m not nearly as hardcore as some can be.
I attribute LC as my biggest influence in this area; over the summer and even a bit last semester, she fed me with Kpop photos and videos and the like, fanning what had been steady embers into a full-fledged forest fire. I take ownership of my addiction now, but I couldn’t have made it without her.

Key from SHINee: love at first sight

Anyone who assumes that all Asian music sounds the same is stupid. The majority of mainstream Chinese music is wimpy. Some of it is lovely, but I have a very low tolerance for weak vocals and pining lyrics. Japanese music is great too but can get comparatively weird [it's Japan after all]. Although Korea has been infiltrated by our hated enemy, autotune, they don’t overuse it to the point of giving singing careers to people who clearly can’t sing, and Kpop always has a kick to it — I love music I can dance to.

America churns out lively pop music too, you could argue. Of course: Lady Gaga will always be my hero. But the American music industry as a whole is in a disappointing state right now, with very little originality flowing through. Having watched innumerable music videos, I feel justified in saying that Kpop feels like it’s of a higher quality than its American equivalent. What I hear on the radio sounds like people have simply stopped trying, and I refuse to support their half-assed efforts. I can’t fully describe how refreshing it is to go from the countless U.S. music videos of the singer(s) swaying lamely in a club to actually choreographed, visually stimulating music videos from Korea. Even their phone commercials have ridiculous full-length songs with corresponding choreography!

Kpop stars also seem more charming than the drunken deadbeats we have in the States. The Korean music industry is much more controlling of the lives of their stars [living together in dorms and prohibiting dating is unheard for people of such celebrity], which surprisingly doesn’t make them turn out emotionally unstable even if they start their training young. This also means that they do a lot of fun collaborations, makeovers, and variety & reality shows.

More importantly, it means that these stars actually have talent. Kpop stars can sing and dance, AND they’re attractive! These kinds of celebrities are difficult to find in China, which I am very sad to admit. Knowing all this, though, Kpop can seem very contrived, but for those who really care, there are groups that play their own instruments and many who write their own songs.

When I think about the situation, it’s about quality of product [apart from the obvious aural appeal]. And I have found that the most consistent success in caliber lies within Kpop, so I shall unabashedly air my preference. I qualify that statement by noting that I have not completely given in to Korean culture — I refuse to watch dramas or learn the language. Music is all I want.

To conclude, I leave you with a screenshot of me watching a DBSK mv against my DBSK wallpaper [:D ILU JaeJoong!].

There Is No Owl

This is exciting — it’s my first time reviewing a movie before its actual release date! Last night I had the chance to go see a free pre-screening of The Fourth Kind, which is basically an alien thriller based on what appear to be facts.

I normally avoid scary movies like the plague, but the “based on true events” part intrigued me — aliens can’t be that scary, right? — and I hadn’t seen the trailers for this film, so I had no idea what to expect.

The Fourth Kind starts with actress Milla Jovovich actually addressing the audience, telling us that the film is based on actual audio and visual footage collected by psychiatrist Dr. Abigail Tyler, whose work and recollections fuel the plot. These “recovered” videos are actually interspersed throughout the film, giving it a feel of weighty reality but also serving as a constant reminder that we are simply watching these people act out a story.

The first half plays out like one of those ghost-hunter shows on TV that I sometimes find myself sucked into — they never fail to disappoint. I’ve never seen the discovery of an actual poltergeist in those haunted houses or abandoned prisons; those shows are mostly flashy video-editing and re-enactments of grisly murders and the like. I kept waiting for actual action to occur. With the constant splicing of “original” audio and video, the film also felt more like a docu/mockumentary than actual movie.

The Fourth Kind also attempted to make white owls the next girl-with-long-black-hair-crawling-out-of-a-well. Sorry, but that kind of kitschy enterprise simply will not work with blurry close-up shots of Hedwig.

Once the film gets past the drawn-out expository dialogue, the disturbing stuff develops in spurts. Suicide, levitation, possession and — of course — abduction led to an inconclusive ending and overall freaky film. I would say more, but I don’t want to spoil it.

I’m skeptical as to how much to believe. Despite the insistence that these events were real, we must remember that film directors are not journalists, and they have no obligation to differentiate truth from an ad campaign. Still, my first inclination was to believe [but I'm pretty gullible]. Somebody that sits through this entire film laughing is not fully appreciating it. I’m pretty perturbed by the images that have stamped onto my mind, and I kind of wish I hadn’t watched this film. Wimpy people such as myself should stay away from The Fourth Kind: in theaters Nov. 6!

Equal Opportunity

Excuse me, Yahoo?

It’s every woman’s worst relationship fear — that her man is cheating.

What, then, is a man’s worst relationship fear? That his penis will get “snipped off” in his sleep by his vengeful partner once she finds out?

We’ve all heard the statistic: half of all men cheat. And some experts say that number is even closer to three quarters. Could it be happening to you?

Well oh my goodness, men are that bad at controlling themselves? COULD it be happening to me?! Thanks for the helpful advice, Shine: Yahoo! Your female-targeting “service journalism” doesn’t make me paranoid at all! At least you’ve given me hope that it’s possible for cheating to help my relationship.

You know what these women’s websites [and, by extension, magazines] lack? A section dedicated to pictures of gorgeous, partially-undressed men. Dieting? Check. Parenting? Of course. Pecs and biceps? Only on gay websites.

I think one reason I like Kpop culture so much is that they have equal objectification. That doesn’t make it right, of course, but it’s certainly difficult to fight. On the other hand, I suppose it’s good that American women are not spending all of their time looking up pictures of naked men.

This isn’t necessarily a coherent blog entry, but I wonder if all men are attracted to the women that the mainstream puts up on pedestals. For example, there are many women who think John Mayer is basically the sexiest man alive, but he is completely ugly to me.
I had to buy the November issue of GQ for magazine editing class, and the cover stared me down uncomfortably. Would all straight men have a positive reaction to this picture? I wondered.

Not sure where all this is going. I simply don’t want to start on my massive pile of homework — I’d rather ogle my newest mini-obsession [he's of age! I checked!] and think of Halloween costume ideas…

Catharsis

I got a haircut on Saturday. I am now short 12 inches of hair.

It used to be this long

Now there's only this much!

Barely enough for a ponytail

Here is the rest

It's going to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths

I haven’t had hair this short since I donated my hair during second semester of senior year, and even then my hair was not this short. It feels weird to run my fingers through my hair and have it end so soon, but it certainly decreases my hair-washing time by a lot. Many say that I look better with short hair, but I can’t wait for my hair to grow out again.

Tied Down

“Let’s Kill Bluetooth” from Slate brings up a good point:

Why do my iPhone’s earbuds still have wires? Here’s a device that can stream YouTube clips of hits from the 1980s while I’m out in the middle of nowhere, completely untethered, yet the most convenient way to get “Take on Me” from the phone to my ears is the same technology that folks were using back when A-Ha topped the charts.

Why DO my earbuds still have wires? The rapid progress of technology seems to have largely forgotten about this inconvenience.

I use the earbuds that came with my iPod, and they literally bring me more frustration than any other object I own. When I’m listening to my music while moving around the kitchen, the wire gets caught on the back of a chair or the knob of a drawer, yanking the earbuds out of my head and the iPod out of my pocket [this may seem like no big deal, but it's not smart to irritate somebody who is chopping food with a Chinese butcher knife]. Or, when I take my iPod out of my computer bag, the wires are inconceivably tangled even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t tie them in knots before putting them away.

Wireless earbuds! This seems like a genius idea that had honestly never crossed my mind.

A search for them, though, results in mostly wireless headphones instead of earphones. Either that, or they are they kind that hook over the ears, which is simply not feasible for people who wear glasses. Some places offer earbuds that connect to each other through a wire that goes behind the head, which may or may not be an improvement, but still not exactly what I’m looking for [besides, that does not accommodate every hairstyle].

MetaEfficient lists the Sennheiser MX W1 Totally Wireless Earphone as the best wireless earbud choice, and at $399.95 [list price: $649.95!], I don’t doubt that they are very good — those are also pretty much the only ones that I found online. Unfortunately for us common folk, effective wireless earbuds don’t seem to be available at an affordable price. The wait continues.

Futile

What is the purpose of this?

Benefit’s lemon aid:

Our soft, lemon yellow cream helps to hide redness and discoloration on your eyelids. In a snap, eyes look refreshed, frisky, and ready for fun.

Eyelids can become red or discolored?! WHAT??
Really, who would pay $20 for this seemingly useless product? I’ve seen a lot of stupid things out there, but this one is just ridiculous.

Among other products I consider heinous is My Cleaning Trolley, via Sociological Images:

Note how it says “Girls only.” Sociological Images says:

There is nothing inherently wrong with toys that allow kids to mimic doing household tasks. Kids like to play at doing what they see adults doing–in fact, it’s an essential part of development.

Actually, my initial negative reaction stemmed from the fact that I wouldn’t want my kids trying to emulate some minimum wage hotel room cleaner — that’s not why my parents immigrated to America! White collar jobs only!

Fetishize

Today I was perusing a friend’s copy of this book when I read a sentence [in a piece by a woman & more or less directed at other women] that made me throw up a little. It went something like this:

And when you’re in the bedroom after the wedding, you surrender to your husband your body and your virginity, your most priceless asset [...]

Two semesters ago, I wrote my final sociology paper on the negative effects of putting virginity on a pedestal and received a 98% on it. Really? Until my wedding day, no part of me is worth more than my virginity? She did not comment on whether the same went for the husband. Too exhausted and sick to write more coherent thoughts.

Little Little Lies

I can always find the perfect song to match my sentiments.

Brown Eyed Girls – Candy Man