Open Thread #107
October 30th, 2009 // by javabeans
recapped series
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Copyright © 2009 Dramabeans. Powered by Wordpress and Fastway 2.0.
Wow the first! Happy Halloween everyone!
second! You’re beautiful is simply irresistable! it keeps me and my friend entertained every week XD
epi 8 is full of twists and our emotion just followed the drama hahas. i find go mi nam best fren kind of cute, is it just me?
JY! Happy Halloween too!
Happy Halloween. Is anyone going trick or treating? Is that even a common occurrence nowadays? Just wondering….
trick or treating is still common ..at-least around my area lol mostly for young kids though. anyways! Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates it! on a side note..@_@ I LOVE IRIS..i’m totally hooked on it..but i don’t wanna watch episode 5 my heart can’t take it ! X_X JJH stole my heart since last scandal and has yet to give it back lol
I live in Asia…there’s no Halloween here, but Happy Halloween anyways!! *give sweets*
Happy Friday, Happy Halloween!
Hope you all have a safe weekend and a wonderful weekend.
=)
Happy Halloween!
First time in a looong time that my post is still in the single digits…a testament to dramabeans.com’s immense popularity
I am thoroughly enjoying all the love/hysteria/commentaries around You’re Beautiful. What a great group of readers you have here, JB.
Happy Halloween everyone! (I love how Halloween, on my college campus, starts three days before…last night was hilarious.)
I started watching Assorted Gems this weekend (Sunday night) and I finished all the subbed episodes by Tuesday night. That’s 16 episodes in two and a half days. Yay!. Now, I don’t have anything to watch. I’m still watching Loving You a Thousand Times, but now its just a matter of waiting for the subs, as is the same with Assorted Gems, which I just love; I think it’s my new favorite Korean Drama. No drama has pulled me in as much as AG has.
But I’m bored waiting for more episodes. Any ideas? And I don’t mean You’re Beautiful…cause I’m waiting for that one to be completely subbed before I attempt it. Heh. Something without overreacting main characters…? Thanks.
TGIF!!! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! I can’t wait until Saturday!!
Happy Halloween! I think it would be worth going to America just to experience a proper Halloween. Us Brits are just not the Halloween type. See Stephen Fry’s parody. I’d love to go to a fancy dress thing… my friend wanted to go to a horror movie screening in a chapel but it was all sold out.
Going crazy over YAB. Being a week behind is torture, WITHS2’s sub stats page has become my most frequented webpage for the last 2 weeks. Major shame about Viikii.
Found out thanks to MLIA that the internet turned 40 yesterday. Saengil chukha habnida!
Dressing up as a witch tonight for halloween. Despondent and torn over waiting another week for Your Beautiful. I’ve become an official addict. I don’t think I’ve been this addicted to a drama since “Resurrection” and that was a hell of long time ago.
I’m at my university right now and am sitting in my Dirndl, which is the traditional Bavarian dress. People know what it looks like by looking at Oktoberfest pictures, but mine is classy (aka not your typical sl** Halloween costume, for sure!). Happy Halloween, everyone!
I was restless last night so I decided to watch an episode of The Tudors just for fun. Dude…awesome show. And the cast is just so good-looking. That never hurts
Speaking of series and such, I can’t wait ’til I watch episodes 7 & 8 of You’re Beautiful. That will be my treat for surviving through this week
I <3 Matt Pond PA!
Where can I watch IRIS now that Viikii has suspended it? I had a little breakdown last night thinking I'll never know what's going to happen except for the little tidbits of episode previews offered by youtube!
Happy Halloween, everyone. My neighborhood is trick-or-treat central and I am especially looking forward to babies dressed as lions, tigers, or just plain ol’ cats (feline-get ups get extra candy from me).
I watched YB live for the first time this week. In fact, it is the first time I have watched anything Korean live. I downloaded the software, set my alarm to an ungodly hour, and watched the two episodes live! It was so much fun to be in a room of fellow YB nutcases commenting on every scene. Even getting ready for work after that was not as much of a chore. With daylight savings, though, I prolly cannot do it next week without being a zombie at work (which reminds me, Happy Halloween again).
JB — thanks for a great website and all your hard work. I am staying in my so far well constructed YB cocoon, but even from within the recess of my web, I can feel the mania on the web surrounding YB.
@xiahkixiri: after a slight hiccup on Wed, Viikii yesterday was back to its fabulous self and had subs up at a ridiculous early hour. So mad props to them for working through their issues and coming back to the fans with the love we have come to expect.
Does anyone know how I can register at SBS to give my boy JGS some mad love? Apparently he is down about the ratings. I got as far as the registration page, but don’t have an ID. Do I need to scan my driver’s license or something. I feel really uncomfortable doing that…
Jbeans, I hope you are planning to dress Maeby up as a chicken ( http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Rny4xQN6I7k/R6HqtyqdM2I/AAAAAAAAABI/JYzoARQ0-Ss/s320/lol%2Bcat%2Bchicken.jpg ) for Halloween and then posting the photo here.
^_______________^
Happy Friday! <3
Happy Friday!
I fell in love with the song playing when Taekyung from “You’re Beautiful” was feeling all relaxed in the field. Found out it was called “Breathless” by Shayne Ward. It’s so romantic but also sad. been playing it for awhile now. off to finish one more page of my paper and it’s off to eat, then class, and watching 7 and 8 of You’re Beautiful!
And got to decide what to dress up as Halloween. I haven’t seriously dressed up in the past 10 years. Last year, I was totally lazy and just bought a witch hat hours before going to a friend’s Halloween party. I told myself that I would be less lazy this year, but Halloween is tomorrow! yikes!
well Happy Halloween everybody!
Hi everyone.
Happy Halloween, we’ll be waiting another week for another episode of your beautiful. im looking forward to another great episode. its raining down here. there’s a storm hitting to where i live.
Happy Halloween!
As Halloween is a uniquely American holiday (3rd most party holiday, after Superbowl Sunday & New Year’s)…I’m curious if there’s a comparable holiday in other countries.
@ Samsooki
Will Ji Hoon be dressing up?
@ Reese
Glad you’re enjoying Assorted Gems. It really is a gem. After my visit 2 weeks ago, I even got my mom addicted to it. (She blames me for staying up until 4am to catch up on the eps)
Happy Friday and Happy Halloween,
# 14, Nom_Kitteh
I feel you, dear, the YAB mania ^^
I’m so happy now I left my lovenote at SBS.
Please go to post #202 YAB Ep08 “How to register at SBS”.
Cheers.
happy OT and happy Halloween
loving YB to bits….
@Nom_Kitteh
You watched it live? No subs? You must know Korean then. That’s good. I’d like to watch it with fellow YB addicts too.
I like that you love cats…hehe. My cat is in his costume perennially, he’s black. So my only concern during Halloween is he doesn’t get out of my apartment in fear of being kidnapped and used as a sacrifice. Do you know they do that? Ugh!
Happy Halloween!!! This is my favorite time of year!!! My love of horror movies seems ‘normal’!!!! This weekend I’ll be enjoying crazy fun ‘Army of Darkness’ with one of my favorite actors, Bruce Campbell!
Happy Halloween everyone!:-) I’ve happily converted from a lurker to someone whose fingers are just tingling to post:-) After effects of watching ‘You’re beautiful’ I guess:-)
Coming to this site feels like being in a cozy coffee shop sharing a hot cuppa with friends:-)Thank you JB for giving us all a such a fun platform to express our views and share our opinions:-)
*Much love and a cup of hot chocolate to all*:-)
@ samsookie and @hjkomo
I’m hoping Ji Hoon will be dressing up as Rain… Very tight shiny diaper (one wee butt cheek peeking out), or maybe neon velour footsie pjs with one shoulder cut out and some serious draping; pacifier on a long silver necklace… Manga-hair wig and a little gloss to play up those pouty lips and he’s good to go!
While it’s TGIF, I still have a midterm tonight T_____T.. But I plan to treat myself to a massage tomorrow, haha..
I hopped in late onto the Sons of Sol Pharmacy bandwagon. Finished watching 54 episodes in roughly two weeks and I loved it to bits. It got a little draggy toward the end, and I felt the ending to be one of those overly satisfactory ending, but it was awesome!! My fav couple is Jinpung and Sujin!
happy halloween everyone!
omo! hope this business get me along to at least unconciously make my waiting for the 9th ep of YAB shorter.HA! (as if this will last for a week)
oh,,i don’t know why but ep 7 really hit me hard that im staring at the moon and star more often now,,
nothing to do but smile at myself from being crazy.
Yes, Viikii is awesomeness itself – I was up until 2 am this morning, catching up on You’re Beautiful episodes and watching all the way through Episode 8 with their excellent subs. I have my two youngest daughters hooked on YB, and even my husband likes to hear about the funny bits.
@14 nom_kitteh, I have been reading the soompi thread for YP (another guilty pleasure is soompi, especially the City Hall thread…) and people have said that getting an SBS account is really difficult. Even if you send them proof of identity (which, like you, I find WAY too scary to attempt) it still takes them months to process the request. So we need to find some other way to send some virtual hugs to our JGS (so pretty! so earnest! so addictive to watch!).
As for Halloween, my 3 girls are going as a Scottie dog, “Soap” from Blues Clues, and a teen version of Alice from Alice in Wonderland. We go a couple blocks away, to where the streets are closer together and the kids more plentiful, and the houses are all decorated with pumpkins and orange lights and fake cobwebs in the trees. LOTS of fun.
@ Nom Kitteh – oh, awesome! Viikii is a sacred haven, even though I love YAB too much, I’m anal about waiting and watching in HQ. The pretty, the pretty! *crows*
@ skelly – *envious* I feel so despondent. People put up Halloween decorations in shops and things and sell paraphernalia but I’ve never even seen a proper carved pumpkin around or anything. Noticed on the way to uni today that all the leaves are falling and had great fun crunching them. Felt very Autumny and Halloweeny.
Random comment – I had sworn to stay away from SHINee but Ring Ding Dong is both lolarious and awesome. Lolarious. And. Awesome! Kpop, like all Korean things, seems programmed to create addiction. Small doses not enough!
@21 Hi, Snikki!
No, I don’t know Korean — but it is astonishing to me how much I have begun to understand! I hope that you will join us for a live viewing because there are fans from all over the world pitching in in the chatroom — there is the screen up top and the chat room screen right below — and just helping out. It is a unique experience. I hope I can be back next week, so hope to see you there. It will be 5:00 am (with DST) cali time)
I also watch raws always anyway because I like to watch the actor’s faces, get into the scenes and settings, and just immerse myself in the experience. However good I have gotten at skimming subs, I end up reading more often than getting into a show — so I tend to watch raws to get a gist and feel for the episode, before heading over to, usually at this point, viikii, to get everything else, and then here, and then I wait for Withs2 to post their subs…
This is why I only watch one drama at a time. It’s so freaking time consuming!
You should definitely keep your black cat at home on Halloween! I have heard stories. My cats are not black (they are silver, long-haired) but I don’t let them anywhere outside a few days before and after Halloween. There are way too many crazy teens around in my neighborhood.
@19 Movell,
Thanks for the info!
@skelly,
This is what I feared — that signing up for SBS is a headache. Might there be an email link for JGS? If he is posting messages, one would assume that there is a “contact the hot dude leaving this message” button somewhere on that page.
I got a copy of “Quick and Easy Korean Cooking” which unfortunately does not seem to include that really red spicy looking noodle dish they seem to eat a lot of in dramas. I’m planning green onion pancake (Coffee Prince) for lunch and kimchi fried rice (Triple) for later.
Happy Friday and Happy Halloween Weekend!!
@xiahkixiri – wait, what happened with viikii!??!! i know that YB wasn’t uploaded on Wednesday like it normally is but then both eps were up last night fully subbed. I wasn’t aware of what the drama was… please share??
@Samsooki – ok so Baby Samsooki HAS arrived??? CONGRATULATIONS then!! i was not aware. btw I LOVE reluctantbutaddicted’s costume idea haha. toooo cute.
@YB watchers – ok seriously. love. this. show. TK just keeps getting better and hotter lol. TK and MN’s chemistry is amazing. And i love how the funny is balanced out with a dash of angst and then angst is offset by the funny – it’s a tough balancing act but the Hong Sisters have managed it quite well so far. I also love all the side characters!! I’m not a fan of UEE as a person (or at least how she portrays herself in the general media, because obviously i don’t know her) and her character also irks me, but she is doing well playing the bratty and spoiled pop star princess who i feel actually has more to her than she lets on. I’ve seen twinges of a [dare i say it??]…a heart. Like in ep 7 when she’s driving up to find TK and wonders if he’s been hurt. Granted that thought was quickly replaced by anger that he’s ignoring her and then jealousy when she finds out who he really was with… but i like that we get to see glimpses of her insecurity behind the cool confident facade she wears. In no way am i on Team UEE (sorry shinwoo lovers, i’m all for TK/MN hehe) but i’m hoping this trend continues and we get to see UEE as not just a shallow evil plotting girl but someone with a story as well. and that’s my YB schpiel…for now
now i have to go eat the mound of baked goods i just bought at our company bake sale.
HAPPY HOLLOWEEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish i can dress up but i’m way to old to do that bummer…….
We should all write to SBS and let them know that YAB is a hit internationally that we are addicts to this drama and we wish that they expand the drama to 20 episodes…..The Hong sisters are doing a perfect job and the CAST is totally perfect even UEE who is new to acting is doing great…this drama should have been broadcasted right after IRIS or the weekend then the ratings will have been great….but we need to let the YAB crew that their drama is PERFECT and we fans are LOVING this drama……
The YAB crew should check out VIIKII they are about to hit 1 millions viewers that quick with just only 8 episodes…..that is GREAT …….
@29 Oh my, I totally understand about your fling with Shinee. I really liked the name because it was Firefly’s Kailee’s favorite saying. But seriously, the titles of their songs were….0_____0
But then I actually got sucked into watching the MV and listening to Ring Ding Dong…I will admit that it is addicting and likeable…
I love Iris!!! But I hate the waiting for each episode!!!
@b020 – did you get to watch IRIS ep 6 yet? Big Bang’s new song plays in the background of the scene with TOP… and the boy is looking smokin’ hot.
I’m also from Asia where Halloween is not celebrated, but Happy Halloween to all of you who celebrate it!
I’m drained from stalking JB’s favourite K-actor – Kang Ji Hwan over the past 3 days
*Warning – start of fangirl rambling*
JH and Kim Ha Neul were in Singapore from Wed till today to promote My Girlfriend is an Agent, and being a fangirl, I couldn’t miss the chance of seeing KJH up close in my home country! It was my very first stalking experience, and all I can say is that it’s TIRING to wait.
On Wed, I joined a small crowd of fans to welcome JH and HN at the airport in the early afternoon and managed to shake both their hands while they were walking out from the gate to the vans waiting for them *fangirl squeal* He’s soo tall (I’m a shortie) and slimmer than I thought. I shook JH’s hand first, and as HN was walking behind him and nobody was stretching out his/her hand for her attention at that moment, I thought, “might as well shake hers!”. She was nice enough to accept my outstretched hand and I felt a little guilty because I did it only as an afterthought. Sorry, HN unnie!
JH and HN headed for the hotel after that, and together with 5 other fangirls, we waited at the hotel lobby for a few hours till they departed for the cinema where the gala premiere of MGIAA was being held. The security team was pretty strict and our requests for photos were rejected by JH’s staff. It didn’t help that none of us could speak Korean, and JH doesn’t understand English
2 of us followed him to the carpark where his van was, and upon seeing me waving frantically at him, he waved back! *bliss* We then trailed JH and HN to the cinema, where they made a short public appearance before entering the cinema hall.
We fangirls went back to the hotel, and began our long wait for them to be back. Poor HN had an eye infection and had to visit the hospital, so she came back to the hotel before JH. Where was JH?! We were getting really tired as it was already past 12mn, and there were THREE false alarms (identical-looking vans to the ones JH and HN rode in) before the right van finally appeared. Unfortunately, he zoomed past us (he did say ‘thank you’ in English) with the pesky security team and staff (I know they’re just doing their job, but it’s still annoying!) and we couldn’t take any photos again. By that time, we realised requesting for photos to be taken with JH was probably forbidden, but seeking autographs had a higher chance of success. Oh well, there’s always the next day.
On Thurs, I was too tired to get up early in the morning to stalk JH at the venue for the private press conference (it’s a club, and the media reported that JH said it’s the first time he’s attending a press con at a club in the morning, LOL). There was a public event at a shopping mall in the early evening, and I arrived 1 hour before the scheduled time but I was already too late to get a prime spot in front of the stage. I blame You’re Beautiful episode 7 because I was so engrossed in watching it in the afternoon that I lost track of time and left my home late :p Anyway, I secured a spot in the second ‘ring’ of fans surrounding the round stage, and managed to get some nice photos. At times like these, I really curse my lack of height because I was blocked by many people’s arms/cameras/videocams once JH and HN appeared. There were fans standing on 5 levels of the mall, and JH was very thoughtful because he kept looking up at the fans on the higher floors.
A local Mandarin radio station had held contests earlier to select 3 lucky contestants who would get the chance to receive their prizes from JH and HN on stage at this event. There was only one female contestant, and she was lucky enough to be hugged by JH (of course, all the fangirls present exploded into squeals at this), who also posed for an individual photo with her after the hug. Sigh, I didn’t find out about JH and HN’s visit till early this week, so I missed the chance to try participating in the contest. Of course, getting through the hotline of the radio station is another hurdle altogether.
After the event, I tried to get JH to autograph my copy of Capital Scandal’s OST as he was speed-walking away from the stage, but he again zoomed by, escorted by security. >_< JH and HN had signed on the backdrop of the stage, and my friend helped to take a picture of me posing in front of their signatures before the mall security chased us away ^^
This morning, I arrived at the hotel, hoping to get JH's autograph on the last day. Unfortunately, I waited at the wrong floor and missed his departure O_O My last chance and I was just a few metres away!! Arrghh!
Being a stalker fangirl definitely requires time, stamina and money, and I'm glad this is happening now instead of 10 years ago when I was a penniless teenage student, LOL. However, the actual 'action', so to speak, was often sudden and frenzied, so after JH had passed by, I would berate myself for various 'should haves' – standing in a better spot to take pictures, shouting out to JH to catch his attention (I'm not a vocal person), or just enjoying the experience of seeing JH instead of crazily clicking on my camera. Oh well, this was my first time after all so I'll be better prepared next time.
Oh yes, there was one thing during my stalking experience that irked me – at the movie premiere, a lucky guy managed to get JH's autograph. There were also a few other guys chasing JH for his signature, At first, it just roused my curiosity that guys would be fans of JH (no offense meant), so I commented on it while conversing with the other fangirls. They had experience stalking other Korean celebs, and according to them, these guys were professional autograph seekers who would sell the autographed items to the real fans. These guys are simply despicable for robbing the true fans' chances of getting an autograph. I really hope nobody buys their autographed items!
*End of fangirl rambling*
Oh, and as for YB,there is a lot of enjoyment for this show yet I’m not as addicted to this show as some of you.
I’m curious though, is anyone else wondering as to if and how they’re going to reunite the twins? I really, really, want the twins to reunite. And personally, I find the lack of brother/sister background relationship makes me wonder as to the true motives of the deception.
It’s Friday again already? What happened to my week?
Halloween is the 2nd biggest event in my neighbourhood after July 4th. So many kids appear at my door I never have enough candy! Each year I buy more ($40 worth last year) and every year I still run out before the show is over. This year thankfully it falls on a work night for me so my house will be dark and they’re out of luck. All they’ll get if they ring my bell is barking dogs!
Trying really hard not to start watching IRIS as I know I’ll not be able to bear the waiting for next episodes! Looking for something to watch, so many dramas its hard to choose. I’m watching SOSPH but need to have a break now and then. 50+ is a major marathon for me!
Happy Halloween to everyone who celebrates it and have a great weekend to everyone else!
@19 hjkomo –
Will Ji Hoon be dressing up?
Oh, believe me, I TOTALLY wanted to dress him up, but fashion police / party pooper momma samsooki so far as negged my only limited idea, which was a bumble-bee costume. of course, i agree that the bumble bee costume was not very original and sort of lame, so…. okay, no fault so far.
So I need ideas, people.
@25 reluctantbutaddicted
I’m hoping Ji Hoon will be dressing up as Rain… Very tight shiny diaper (one wee butt cheek peeking out), or maybe neon velour footsie pjs with one shoulder cut out and some serious draping; pacifier on a long silver necklace… Manga-hair wig and a little gloss to play up those pouty lips and he’s good to go!
interesting………………………hmmmmmm………..
but where can I get neon velour footsies and manga-hair wigs? remember, I have less than a day, today is Friday, I am at work. plus, momma samsooki doesn’t like rain that much, doesn’t want want to ninja assassin, and didn’t like rain in full house (sacrilege!).
@32 lovenyc52
Baby Samsooki HAS arrived??? CONGRATULATIONS then!! i was not aware. btw I LOVE reluctantbutaddicted’s costume idea haha. toooo cute.
hee. yeap. baby Ji Hoon arrived and he and mama samsooki are doing fine. if I can figure out a costume idea and put it together, I can, perhaps, perhaps, show you guys a picture or two…
No guarantees though. Remember, mama samsooki was not enamoured with the bumble bee costume….
I’m also from Asia where Halloween is not celebrated, but Happy Halloween to all of you who celebrate it!
I’m drained from stalking JB’s favourite K-actor – Kang Ji Hwan over the past 3 days
*Warning – start of fangirl rambling*
JH and Kim Ha Neul were in Singapore from Wed till today to promote My Girlfriend is an Agent, and being a fangirl, I couldn’t miss the chance of seeing KJH up close in my home country! It was my very first stalking experience, and all I can say is that it’s TIRING to wait.
On Wed, I joined a small crowd of fans to welcome JH and HN at the airport in the early afternoon and managed to shake both their hands while they were walking out from the gate to the vans waiting for them *fangirl squeal* He’s soo tall (I’m a shortie) and slimmer than I thought. I shook JH’s hand first, and as HN was walking behind him and nobody was stretching out his/her hand for her attention at that moment, I thought, “might as well shake hers!”. She was nice enough to accept my outstretched hand and I felt a little guilty because I did it only as an afterthought. Sorry, HN unnie!
JH and HN headed for the hotel after that, and together with 5 other fangirls, we waited at the hotel lobby for a few hours till they departed for the cinema where the gala premiere of MGIAA was being held. The security team was pretty strict and our requests for photos were rejected by JH’s staff. It didn’t help that none of us could speak Korean, and JH doesn’t understand English
2 of us followed him to the carpark where his van was, and upon seeing me waving frantically at him, he waved back! *bliss* We then trailed JH and HN to the cinema, where they made a short public appearance before entering the cinema hall.
We fangirls went back to the hotel, and began our long wait for them to be back. Poor HN had an eye infection and had to visit the hospital, so she came back to the hotel before JH. Where was JH?! We were getting really tired as it was already past 12mn, and there were THREE false alarms (identical-looking vans to the ones JH and HN rode in) before the right van finally appeared. Unfortunately, he zoomed past us (he did say ‘thank you’ in English) with the pesky security team and staff (I know they’re just doing their job, but it’s still annoying!) and we couldn’t take any photos again. By that time, we realised requesting for photos to be taken with JH was probably forbidden, but seeking autographs had a higher chance of success. Oh well, there’s always the next day.
My post couldn’t go through; was it too long?! I’m splitting it into 2 parts before trying again.
Happy Halloween everyone! Is anyone planning on doing anything special? I might to go a labyrinth tonight, but tomorrow I’m taking a friend’s sister trick or treating. She’s a dragon girl this year, and it’s adorable.
You’re Beautiful has completely taken me over. By the time it ends, it might very well be my favorite Hong sisters drama. I think what I love most about it is that I don’t dislike a single character. Yoo Hee is annoying, but I still giggle when she’s on screen. Even Tae Kyung’s mother is kind of okay with me. Maybe this is where the Hong sisters have grown up…there’s plenty of characters I hated in their earlier stuff!
Ok, it was too long!
On Thurs, I was too tired to get up early in the morning to stalk JH at the venue for the private press conference (it’s a club, and the media reported that JH said it’s the first time he’s attending a press con at a club in the morning, LOL). There was a public event at a shopping mall in the early evening, and I arrived 1 hour before the scheduled time but I was already too late to get a prime spot in front of the stage. I blame You’re Beautiful episode 7 because I was so engrossed in watching it in the afternoon that I lost track of time and left my home late :p Anyway, I secured a spot in the second ‘ring’ of fans surrounding the round stage, and managed to get some nice photos. At times like these, I really curse my lack of height because I was blocked by many people’s arms/cameras/videocams once JH and HN appeared. There were fans standing on 5 levels of the mall, and JH was very thoughtful because he kept looking up at the fans on the higher floors.
A local Mandarin radio station had held contests earlier to select 3 lucky contestants who would get the chance to receive their prizes from JH and HN on stage at this event. There was only one female contestant, and she was lucky enough to be hugged by JH (of course, all the fangirls present exploded into squeals at this), who also posed for an individual photo with her after the hug. Sigh, I didn’t find out about JH and HN’s visit till early this week, so I missed the chance to try participating in the contest. Of course, getting through the hotline of the radio station is another hurdle altogether.
After the event, I tried to get JH to autograph my copy of Capital Scandal’s OST as he was speed-walking away from the stage, but he again zoomed by, escorted by security. >_< JH and HN had signed on the backdrop of the stage, and my friend helped to take a picture of me posing in front of their signatures before the mall security chased us away ^^
This morning, I arrived at the hotel, hoping to get JH's autograph on the last day. Unfortunately, I waited at the wrong floor and missed his departure O_O My last chance and I was just a few metres away!! Arrghh!
Being a stalker fangirl definitely requires time, stamina and money, and I'm glad this is happening now instead of 10 years ago when I was a penniless teenage student, LOL. However, the actual 'action', so to speak, was often sudden and frenzied, so after JH had passed by, I would berate myself for various 'should haves' – standing in a better spot to take pictures, shouting out to JH to catch his attention (I'm not a vocal person), or just enjoying the experience of seeing JH instead of crazily clicking on my camera. Oh well, this was my first time after all so I'll be better prepared next time.
Oh yes, there was one thing during my stalking experience that irked me – at the movie premiere, a lucky guy managed to get JH's autograph. There were also a few other guys chasing JH for his signature, At first, it just roused my curiosity that guys would be fans of JH (no offense meant), so I commented on it while conversing with the other fangirls. They had experience stalking other Korean celebs, and according to them, these guys were professional autograph seekers who would sell the autographed items to the real fans. These guys are simply despicable for robbing the true fans' chances of getting an autograph. I really hope nobody buys their autographed items!
*End of fangirl rambling*
It was too long, and I have to split it into more than 2 parts *blush* JB, Sorry for the long rambling
On Thurs, I was too tired to get up early in the morning to stalk JH at the venue for the private press conference (it’s a club, and the media reported that JH said it’s the first time he’s attending a press con at a club in the morning, LOL). There was a public event at a shopping mall in the early evening, and I arrived 1 hour before the scheduled time but I was already too late to get a prime spot in front of the stage. I blame You’re Beautiful episode 7 because I was so engrossed in watching it in the afternoon that I lost track of time and left my home late :p Anyway, I secured a spot in the second ‘ring’ of fans surrounding the round stage, and managed to get some nice photos. At times like these, I really curse my lack of height because I was blocked by many people’s arms/cameras/videocams once JH and HN appeared. There were fans standing on 5 levels of the mall, and JH was very thoughtful because he kept looking up at the fans on the higher floors.
A local Mandarin radio station had held contests earlier to select 3 lucky contestants who would get the chance to receive their prizes from JH and HN on stage at this event. There was only one female contestant, and she was lucky enough to be hugged by JH (of course, all the fangirls present exploded into squeals at this), who also posed for an individual photo with her after the hug. Sigh, I didn’t find out about JH and HN’s visit till early this week, so I missed the chance to try participating in the contest. Of course, getting through the hotline of the radio station is another hurdle altogether.
After the event, I tried to get JH to autograph my copy of Capital Scandal’s OST as he was speed-walking away from the stage, but he again zoomed by, escorted by security. >_< JH and HN had signed on the backdrop of the stage, and my friend helped to take a picture of me posing in front of their signatures before the mall security chased us away ^^
Last part!
This morning, I arrived at the hotel, hoping to get JH’s autograph on the last day. Unfortunately, I waited at the wrong floor and missed his departure O_O My last chance and I was just a few metres away!! Arrghh!
Being a stalker fangirl definitely requires time, stamina and money, and I’m glad this is happening now instead of 10 years ago when I was a penniless teenage student, LOL. However, the actual ‘action’, so to speak, was often sudden and frenzied, so after JH had passed by, I would berate myself for various ’should haves’ – standing in a better spot to take pictures, shouting out to JH to catch his attention (I’m not a vocal person), or just enjoying the experience of seeing JH instead of crazily clicking on my camera. Oh well, this was my first time after all so I’ll be better prepared next time.
Oh yes, there was one thing during my stalking experience that irked me – at the movie premiere, a lucky guy managed to get JH’s autograph. There were also a few other guys chasing JH for his signature. At first, it just roused my curiosity that guys would be fans of JH (no offense meant), so I commented on it while conversing with the other fangirls. They have experience stalking other Korean celebs, and according to them, these guys were professional autograph seekers who would sell the autographed items to the real fans. These guys are simply despicable for robbing the true fans’ chances of getting an autograph. I really hope nobody buys their autographed items!
*End of fangirl rambling*
@ Samsookie:
You mean you didn’t stock up on neon velour footsie pj’s before lil JH was born? I’m surprised b/c, well, it’s not like you didn’t know he was coming. And neon velour footsie pjs seem like required equipment.
But given your lack of foresight and preparation… you could spray paint a pair of footsie pjs neon yellow or purple, maybe even stencil on a couple of glitter stars or something, then go at it with the scissors like Makino’s enemies in Hanadan when she’s up for Miss Teen Japan. The manga hair wig in the small size… hmmm… maybe you’ll just have to do what you can with what he’s got and some gel? Or paint some hair on… the brushed down look with the heavy bangs.
I think you can do it… but if Mama Samsookie gave the bumblebee a thumbs-down, I’m not sure how she’s going feel about painting Rain-hair on JH’s little head.
@Samsooki – Well then, please allow me to congratulate you and Mrs. Samsooki properly on Baby Samsooki’s entrance into an obviously intelligent, humorous and blessed family
Glad to hear Mrs. Samsooki is doing well!! Please do let us know if little Ji Hoon decides to dress up. A good friend of mine had her baby about a year ago and was quite upset she couldn’t dress up her daughter as a hershey kiss 4 days into life. So this year, hershey kiss it is!!!!
@31
I have that book and love it! Have made kimchi fried rice a lot lately! Are you talking about spicy rice cakes? That’s in there (page 32) and black bean noodles!
Next recipe I want to try is the sweet potato noodles on page 131.
@ Samsooki
I’m partial to the lobster costume for infants, kinda plays up the wrinkled, pink, floppy characteristics of the newborn.
Both of mine hit their first Halloween after they could sit up by themselves, so I created a baby lion (so unoriginal) and a baby witch (equally so unoriginal).
I’m kinda leaning towards fashion police momma Samsooki here, you might actually lose Baby Rain when you dress him up as a bumblebee because there will be three bumblebees for every adult out there.
Not that you won’t know which bumblebee is your Ji-hoon, he’ll be the one working on his abs.
@ belleza
Say what? Kim Min-jung is injured and *may* need surgery, how the heck does a production deal with this type of delay? Will they shoot around it, i.e. KMJ’s character gets injured in the story, and spends a few episodes in the hospital like Kim Su-na character did in When its at Night? Or can MBC NOT shorten Heading to the Ground and let that baby finish the way it was intended? Or can MBC air a few special variety shows in that slot until Hero can regroup?
I’m nervous, because with YB and IRIS being so good, and doing well in ratings, Hero may be a total non-starter to begin with, which is such a shame because I like the entire cast, and this is Jun-ki’s annual one TV drama. I’ve given up on YB’s ratings hitting the mid-tweens, I don’t care if it cracks double digits, I think it’s impact will be manifested in completely different ways by its loyal younger viewers. I *heart* You’re Beautiful like it’s my third baby, I wonder if it’s tired or hungry today.
Re: Capital Scandal (a post-script)
If I strip away the expectation that CS was a grander scope and scale of a period piece, and just focus on the romance and the interpersonal relationships – then CS is still not a complete success for me. I finally understand what you meant (our earlier hypothetical about a 2005 version of YB with Jun-ki) when discussing that Han Ji-min can seen rather uncomfortable or detached with her male co-stars – in CS, she was the weak link, the one character and portrayal that was not as hardhitting as the rest. I think she just didn’t connect with Kang Ji-hwan, and it may not be her fault. Visually, she’s so petite that KJH is constantly looking down at her, and he craning to look up at him – its adds to the awkwardness. I kinda wished that Kim Min-jung played her role.
And lastly – complete agreement that any drama that has Joo Jin-mo descending like a greek god from the heavens in a helicoptor to greet his leading lady is a giant WIN in my book – the rest of the story be damned! I thought if Fashion 70’s ended with the same scene, I would have died happy.
@ To Team Park Kyu
I just started Tamra last night…….
@ Samsooki
Congrats to you and Mrs Samsooki on the safe arrival of your son. Let the fun begin!
That being said,I’m with Mrs Samsooki on the bumblebee idea. Now you have a whole year to plan something for next yr. What about a samsooki bear costume?
@Nom_Kitteh
Sounds fun! I wanna join, but 7am (my time), hmm… I dunno. I’ve to be at work by 8. And besides, you mentioned you had to download a software, I don’t think my bf will like that idea. I’m already being blamed for slowing down our pc from watching too many dramas, which I doubt is the real cause…but maybe.
Re cats: I know there are shelters that refuse to put black cats up for adoption around Halloween. And yes, it’s mostly teens who do those crazy stuff.
@Samsooki
Please post a photo if you can, I’m sure a lot of Dramabeans regulars would want to see the future Hallyu star. And of course, grats to you!
@45 coco
Wow, Thank you! I missed that — but can 1Tablespoon of chili paste be right? In the dramas it looks like there is a half cup at least. But maybe this is safer, since I can’t drink like Sam Soon.
@ 32 lovenyc52 – Yep, it seems the Viikii problem got solved, I’m surprised and pleased it got resolved so quickly. The drama it seems was pretty low-key. Alas, the same can not be said for poor Iris. It stinks that the media companies are on to Viikii, it really, really does. Hm, maybe they should move over to Overstream, it performs the same function, right? Except it existed before Viikii and for some reason only Taiwanese dramas really got posted there.
@ Aries – You shook Kang Ji Hwan’s hand!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! !! ! ! !!! ! ! *dying* What a prince. Alas, the woes of a stalker.
@ samsooki – Maybe dress baby as a cloud? *cackles* And play ‘go Rain, go Rain, it’s raining, it’s raining’. It must be related to Bi in some way! Or like one of those baby muscleman outfits. Or just in some of Rain’s particularly memorable outfits from Full House.
happy OT everyone!
thank you to all u OT-ers who were raving about black and white a while back. it sparked my curiosity and i finally started watching it. i finished it last night, and OMGADSKLFJOIWE is it a kick-ass drama!! the intensity just kept on building up, and i loved the way everything was presented to the audience, from the revealing of the secrets to the ending/epilogue. i am reallyyyy excited for the movie version to come out. but when mark zhao went on a variety show couple months ago, he commented that they will start filming this fall and the movie will not be finalized until three years later!? i cannot wait this long!!
this drama, the director, and the actors have all earned my utmost respect. definitely deserved the GBAs, and i’m really looking forward to watching more of mark zhao. since this morning i’ve been watching the variety shows the b&w cast went on to promote the drama way back when, and u can so tell they formed really close friendships with each other. vic is actually pretty funny, and mark is so incredibly adorable! i really hope the movie happens b/c it will be so awesome just to see the both of them onscreen together again!
@ Aries
You *touched* Kang Ji-hwan AND Kim Ha-neul’s hands? Brava, congrats on succeeding in stalking your idol. Did you watch the movie? It wasn’t my favorite – but they make a cute pair and 2 hours spent with KJH is never wasted for me. I need to check out Rough Cut.
@ 52 annieee
It’s been awhile since I finished B&W, and after some time to digest and think about the drama, I’m a little nervous about B&W The Movie. I fear it will be a total Infernal Affairs 2001 Andy Lau/Tony Leung edition gritty and badass, and then my heart and guts will be pulled out and gnawed on in anxiety for 120 minutes.
JB I’m curious about something. Since they’re similarish, what has attracted more attention to your site? BBC mania or You’re Beautiful mania?
(Im surprised your site hasn’t crashed from either!)
Happy Friday:) Today is starting off wonderfully with my mama making the family some yummy breakfast foods. Haha..usually my grandma cooks so this is a treat indeed.
I need to catch up on You’re Beautiful it is like my hour of happiness twice a week.
Best,
@ ockoala,
Thanks! Yup, I’ve actually seen the movie already *feeling just slightly guilty* I’m wondering if I should still watch it in the cinema to support JH and HN… for a weekday ticket on promotion, it costs only the equivalent of US$4.50, so it’s quite affordable. I enjoyed the movie and won’t mind watching it again.
It’s now 1.40am here and I’m having trouble trying to keep awake while reading all the posts in the open thread, so I’m going to bed after posting this. I’ll resume reading the posts tomorrow although the open thread will probably be inactive by then, which is the reason I’m usually a lurker. Goodnite everyone, enjoy your weekends!
@51 Isabelh -
be careful!
there are varying levels of spiciness for gochoojang (the chilli paste).
the hot kind can be… hot. Using more than a tablespoon of the hot kind for a whole saute pan worth of food would probably too much. the milder kind is probably better to start with. sometimes, the label won’t specify whether it is super hot or not, but if it is the roasted kind of gochoojang, then you might be looking at the really hot kind.
As with all things though, put a little bit in, and then taste your creation, then add a bit more, etc. never add more than a tablespoon of the gochoojang to a pot / pan unless you know what you are doing.
When I make stuff with gochoojang, what I do is I mix it in a separate bowl first. I take a dollop the size of a tablespoon-ish (my wife likes more, I like a little less), and then I mix with some hot water (like 1/4 cup) with a tiny tiny tiny spritz of white wine vinegar (like, a drop or two) and a tiny bit of sesame oil, to create a liquid base, before mixing into the pot… if you don’t want the sesame oil and/or the white wine vinegar, then just add the hot water and then mix together. That way, you get more even coverage in your pot of the chili paste / liquid. The reason for the hot water is because hot water “melts” the chili paste quicker so you don’t have to stir so much.
I really don’t get the deal with Viikii having to suspend Iris? Most people that watch it there are foriegn and we hav no other way of watching the show other than its being subbed? Do they want us really to buy full priced DVD’s for every drama that we might want to check out? Most of us don’t have the luxury to do that even if we want to. Its not like our watching is hurting its ratings but I guess copyright is important even though I don’t think they have a leg to stand on. Viikii isn’t selling the show. Anyway if you look around Iris will be subbed by groups, you’ll just have to wait. Im glad I didn’t start it yet because that would be quite the pain.
Anyway Yay weekend, I can finally watch YB, I heard this weeks is angsty, I love teenage angst.
Congrats Samsooki, you’re officially a father now, man they grow up to be terrors tho as my parents say to me:D
I’m a little miffed that IRIS has pulled copyright on viikii, preventing them from subbing more episodes. UM…please. Your material is NOT awesome. The best part about that drama is LBH. He’s hot, of course, but his character is also so cool I loved watching him figure everything out.
So, yeah, I’m dissing it but…I wanna watch more!
At least YAB is so great, and on so many more levels, that I actually shouldn’t complain. Heh.
@ 35 – I keep repeating a clip of the night club scene with TOP not because of the mediocre song(I am not a fan of Big Bang – I just listen to Big Bang music for TOP) but because he’s so freezingly hot!!!!
Hi JB i just read your post on “Heading to the Ground” been cut…..wow that sucks for the whole crew and cast….I mean i haven’t watch not even one episode but they should just have the production end their original run….that is bad habit that this TV stations are developing….I mean don’t they know all the hardwork that people put in to it……Now Hero which I don’t find that appealing is going to be rush and scrambeling to have the first few episodes done……that sucks!!!!!!!!
I JUST HOPE THAT YAB DOESN”T GET CUT CAUSE THAT WILL BE A CATASTROPHE!!!!!!!!! OF EPIC PROPORTIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
popping in for a quick “Happy Halloween!” to everyone.
And Javabeans: much love for the mppa song!!! I cannot wait for their next album to come out ^^
@b020 – you have no idea how many times i replayed that clip. no idea. and i love how when TOP does his hot hot thing, it’s his part in the song that’s playing in the background… and it ends with “I’m the man T-O-P, yea!” …and then i think.. yes..yes you are. i actually really like what i’ve heard of the song so far. BB music has grown on me and this song is kind of a throwback to their old style and i’m diggin’ it.
Re: Viikii and IRIS – what?!? what?!?! it’s pulled???????? I had no idea. none. I didn’t check IRIS on viikii yet, only YB.. noOOoOooOoO!!!!!!! sadness all around. if YB gets pulled…i dono what i would do. Actually i’d probably just watch it raw still, read JB’s recaps, and then keep on watching it raw and force my brain to absorb and comprehend the korean until the subs came out.
Dear JB: thank you a billion times for posting that vid of baby Jung Woo-sung from BEAT in yesterday’s YB recap. I can now safely say, while he gots that charm from way back when, but he’s gotten more sizzling with time. He and Cha Seung-won, to me, look better now than in their twenties. I can’t wait to watch the current crop of youngsters grow up and age gracefully before our eyes.
“I really don’t get the deal with Viikii having to suspend Iris? Most people that watch it there are foriegn and we hav no other way of watching the show other than its being subbed?”
It’s because the Taewoong production company has been trying to promote and sell Iris to various countries. For example, that is why we got an English language trailer during the summer. It’s the truest Hallyu product we’ve seen yet.
It’s actually been difficult even to get video footage of Iris. The company has been cracking down on various Korean sites providing raw footage. Not Viikii’s fault, and I can’t say I’m not really pissed off. But it’s the reality.
Which means . . .
I have a Wed/Thursday slot for another show now. But I may go back and finish City Hall.
“BBC mania or You’re Beautiful mania?”
BBC Mania? Dramabeans does recaps of Dr. Who? O_O
@ockoala,
“I’ve given up on YB’s ratings hitting the mid-tweens, I don’t care if it cracks double digits, I think it’s impact will be manifested in completely different ways by its loyal younger viewers”
Yeah, it’s worth noting that BBF’s uber-success was a freak anomaly, and that most on the business side didn’t see that coming at all. If YB was aired in late spring/early summer, when the competition wasn’t as brutal, it would probably be doing mid-teens. The main K-drama viewing demographic is different from J-drama demographic. In J-drama, there’s a perception that TV (especially since most adults work very late nowadays) is for the teens. In K-drama, TV is still controlled by the moms. BBF worked because the freakish displays of bling-bling played well to moms who wanted to forget about the recession. If BBF was showed last year, it may not have clicked in the same way. YB, which is really, really “for the kids”, doesn’t have as much easy crossover appeal.
YB is going to be a smash Hallyu export. It’s about as close to a TW idol-drama (I’ve come to realize that the Hong Sisters essentially do a hybrid of TW and K-drama — in episode 7, the piano scene a homages to a Hong Kong film ) as we’re going to see this year. You got . . .
A) Reverse Harem situation (cool guy, nice guy, weird guy, all androgynous)
B) Sweetheart, non-assertive female lead (tends to be more typical with TW than K, and it changes the nature of the romantic narrative)
C) Rawk soundtrack. We need more power ballads in our Korean trendies.
D) Somewhat episodic structure, tied in a coming-with-age narrative.
Argument D is what most of the viewers are actually reacting to from an emotional standpoint. This BTW is rarely done in Korean romances. Even though the show is still serial, each episode of YB is also somewhat self-contained. (This is like J-drama or American drama structure.) For example, episode 7 is about GMN’s finding a way to properly sing HTK’s song. You might as well title that episode “The Music of My Heart.” By the end of the episode, GMN learns a lesson about herself. That she is in love with him. That being really in love can be painful and lasting, but it can also be a force for your art. Each episode has a theme.
GMN’s innocence is beguiling, but it’s also a device so that we can experience her coming-of-age very much in her shoes. You may step back a bit and go “hmm, Shin Woo really does treat her so much better.” But the main point is that she’s in love with a person and she’s sharing the stages of her emotional awakening, through the music, through her monologues and wacky visions, and above all through her actions. Each episode is a lesson for her.
“I thought if Fashion 70’s ended with the same scene, I would have died happy.”
Indeed!! It would be so awesome if Han Tye Kyung descended from the Anjellcopter to take sweet Go Min Ryu away from the Rome nunnery . She, wearing her nun, is speechless as Mr. Zoolander, wearing aviator glasses and 5-foot hair (Zoolander was born to show his forehead and have hair that’s taller than him), smirks as only he can, says “you. let’s get married by 7pm. be prompt.” Sigh. He’s so romantic!
“Say what? Kim Min-jung is injured and *may* need surgery, how the heck does a production deal with this type of delay? ”
Article here:
http://www.allkpop.com/index.php/full_story/kim_min_jungs_injury_slows_down_hero_production/
This is just terrible news and I can’t understand why MBC is basically setting up Hero to be “Wolf, Part 2″ (hey another Han Ji Min-associated show, who’d thunk it?
) I hate to say this — but this production could be a bomb. Even if KMJ doesn’t need surgery, the production has already been out of wack. They might as well drop the romance.
The show needs divine intervention. Mother Absess, what should Lee Jung Ki do? *cue magic light coming from unseen source* Oooh, an angel with a smirky expression is coming to save LJK . . .
JB,
I feel lame now! If you want to retire “squee” because its past due for retirement, then that means that I’m more than one generation behind in terms of usage, because I just looked up.
How can a word be retired before I even get to use it?
Therefore, before you retire it, I’d like to use it once.
Ahem. I hope the Yankees lose the World Series because I’m a Red Sox fan. *squee*
@15 Nom_Kitteh – where and how are you getting YAB live on line?
Short of using a VPN tunnel, I couldn’t figure out how to. Techie details please, and we’ll join ya there! I’ve been waiting for the raw to come up on 1QDisk to watch. I’d love to watch it with an online group.
@ Samsooki
Ahem….sorry to go all usage-police on you, but I think you may not be using *squee* in the correct context. For the above sentence, I would use “hot d*mn” instead. Squee connotes delight and giddiness, not hope and a prayer.
*Puts on my fangirly 16 year old hat* here goes:
In the next episode, the moon better walk up to her star and just cradle his sobbing shinyness until he’s all comforted and can see a flicker of the truth that he’s totally falling for a novice in training cross-dressing as a boy pig-rabbit girl, squee!
or
*Puts on my langdon-unni hat* to simulate her presence on this OT:
Lee Min-ki is so smoking cool, I dreamt of him all morning, squee!
Ah heck, let’s just use is sparingly, m’okay, lest we annoy JB.
@ belleza
It’s seems like every piece of news on Hero (heck, every piece of news from MBC drama dept) is negative or not very reassuring these days. This is the only dark spot in an otherwise shiny, happy fall drama season for me. I can’t for the life of me know why MBC is making decisions like a kid learning to write and scribbling nonsense all over the place.
I’m worried, too.
I also find YB to be self-contained single episode vignettes almost, I tells ma sis that I can watch each episode alone and be vastly satisfied, like a meal in itself. Very appropos of a great drama.
YB is my gateway foe teen fandom. Ah, thank you weekend! I’ll be able to watch thiz week’s episode while drinking a cup of Starbucks :]
My friend & I are arguin on AIM on Twilight & Harry Potter. I’m rooting for Twilight (naturally) & need a diss to shut her up for sure now :p Help..?
@ ockoala, 54
i havent watched infernal affairs, but i’ve seen the hollywood remake (with leo dicaprio AND matt damon <3 <3) hahah. that was enough to put me on the edge of my seat. and if the black and white movie turns out to be like that, i'll be happily gnawing my guts out lol. i always thought i'd be too chickened to watch thriller/action dramas or movies, but after watching b&w, i think i like it!
im just hoping the movie will tell us more about what the director/scriptwriter had in mind to round out the story, y'know, about (MINOR SPOILER) heaven and the big worldwide corruption scheme (it'll also be nice if they told us who he xiao mei really is). the whole thing sounds really crazy and bizarre, but i think it's one of those things that draws the audience in no matter what.
seriously, three years? i cant wait that long!!
HOPE YOU GUYS WILL HAVE A ONE PEE-0N-YOU-PANTS-SCARY HALLOWEEN!
MMMmmm……now should i scare the crap out of my patients tonight??? hehe!
@ SAMSOOKI
Hehehehe! Go! RED SOX!
Okay, apparently squee is a sound, rather than an actual statement of intent or wish.
I thought I could be cool if I used it, but now that I used it wrong, I am less cool than I was before the Open Thread. I might lose so much coolness that my KJH will end up wanting to be with hjkomo rather than me…
1st time posting in the open thread.
SOOOO true, I agree with Belleza. I think I like YB a lot because it is an overglorified TW idol drama. It’s definitely the closest thing I’ve seen from Kdrama to TW drama. BOF is close but BOF was a little too disjointed in some places. I think YB will be quite popular in chinese speaking world. Not sure about Japan? Anyhow, it has its niche… and a cute storyline thus far. Totally my style. I have enjoyed other kdramas b/c they were very different from tw idol dramas but nothing totally sticks except STH… somehow I loved that one – KSW persistant chasing of CJW’s character. PSH has grown up a lot since then. I am a major sucker for “kinda strong but not too strong and a little absentminded” female characters and “a very sharp, smart, with an edge, but deep down has a soft heart” male characters. That pretty much spells out 90% of all TW idol dramas and YB. =) Basically at some point, the female lead needs the male lead to help her out – protection, school work, whatever. The guy almost always puts up a front on the outside, by being mean or whatever, but then slowly changes. Just to remind myself of the scenes that I liked in BOF – I actually watched the one where JP straightens his hair and wears his school uniform scene again. LOVE IT! Funny how both male characters changed their hair based on what the female lead said. =)
@ Samsooki
She didn’t like the bumble bee idea? Infants are super cute in those outfits, esp if they cannot crawl yet. If they can crawl – an animal would be very cute. =) Like a monkey, bear etc. I think 1 yr and less is the only age where those animal costumes are adorable.
Happy Friday and Happy Halloween to all who celebrate it! Oh and I really like the song of the day!
@Samsooki
I didn’t know Baby Ji-hoon had arrived. Congratulations to both you and Mrs. Samsooki! I hope that she and the baby are doing well!
@ockoala
If only the moon would go up to her star to comfort him! But I don’t know…it’s would be almost too good to be true or something. I’m sure there’s either a twist or somehow MN misses her chance. But it would be a great symmetry and it would be interesting b/c their emotions when he comforted her are much different now.
I am so emotionally wrapped up in YB. I *heart* Tae-kyung! And I love watching TK interact w/MN. The only other series I’m (casually) watching is Smile, You which only is interesting to me b/c Jung Kyung-ho and Lee Min-jung have good chemistry and I’m curious to see how it unfolds. But the parental storyline really is irksome and the Seo parents are almost seem like caricatures in a way. Was the Lobbyist any good? Has anybody started watching the jdorama Tokyo Dogs? I’m planning on watching the first episode this weekend.
@ SAMSOOKI
CONGRATULATIONS!!! ^-^ WISH YOU MORE BLESSINGS!
love bumble bee…^-^
@ 67, samsooki-daddy
Awww…how cute was that little squee. Nice try! But imagine you just left the salon and got EXACTLY the Binnie haircut you wanted… every time you looked in the mirror you’d SQUEE with delight. Maybe out loud, maybe not.
@ 69, ockoala
Thanks honey! No one could represent me better than you. And no one makes me squee like Lee Min-ki does.
Sorry for all the squeeing, JB. Maybe if we use it enough it will be fresh again?
Probably not.
@ jm126, using ’sparking/glittering’ @$#%× per page to describe a vampire in daylight. But frankly, your pal is a lost cause
Happy Friday! I’m kinda bumped Halloween is not on a workday…the freak in me is not going to get a release under my labcoat this yr….rawr
So true YB is in essence more along the veins of TW idol drama….esp on Minam’s characterization. But then TWdrama usu r not armed with this spunky writing and terrific acting. These are trained, talented professional 19, 20 yos. When I’m not busying myself in awwwwwing and mushing over the dramatics, they r a real delight to watch with what they do with their acting chops.
I’m a grump and it’s frustrating usu to watch fluff… tolerating some annoying characters (I also agree I find Hong sis’ past dramas too full of characters I want to break their necks) or atrocious acting (normal TW stuff). Bad acted out fluff is so not funny. and I need good laughs.
YB’s mom is still the usual evilmom fr kdramaland that I choose to turn a blind eye, but her convo with
MN’s star was too much.
@taohua
I am so glad someone mentioned Smile, You at last. I was intimidated by 50+ eps but now that I am enjoying the drama I am happy it’s that long. The lead couple is the sweetest and LMJ is utterly delightful. Yes, the scenes with the older characters are kind of boring tho’ I do like the mother and the brother.
@belleza You are right. YB is very much like TW idol drama except posher.
@77 langdon813 –
LOL, the heart of narcissism…. if I squee’d myself.
Btw, if you ever have the chance, I would watch Friend, Our Legend. It is kind of dark and brooding, so if you don’t feel like that, then just watch Episodes 19 and 20.
If you want the backstory (say, if you only want to watch the last two episodes), it is basically this:
Imagine 4 friends growing up, they are like brothers. One of them, Kim Min Joon, is sort of a natural born leader. The other one, Binnie, is sort of his second-in-command. Both of them are sort of messed up by their upbringing, and struggle to make their way in life. But they love each other dearly, and Binnie, though he plays second fiddle to no one, does so for Kim Min Joon because Binnie loves him. Both Binnie and Kim Min Joon end up in the gangster life. And Kim Min Joon constantly tries to look after Binnie, even though sometimes it looks like he’s trying to keep Binnie from getting ahead – but it’s because Binnie might even have a shot as a boxer, and not as a gangster.
Through loves lost and found, and through life, through circumstances that put Binnie behind bars and hardening him, and through machinations of others, they end up going their separate paths and then come back as rivals, with responsibilities to others and with separate agendas.
And through-out the years that this drama takes place, Korea is changing, coming to grips as a rising economic power and a viable country – and so one of the things it must do, as a country, is tackle the twin problems of crime and political corruption. Amidst this kind of backdrop, Binnie and Kim Min Joon, as rising and rival gangsters, face off despite knowing that their world is changing.
And Ep 19 will blow your socks off.
I suggest taking off your socks before watching Ep 19. That way, you won’t have to go looking for them after the episode is over.
Happy OT Everyone!
@Baby Bi* c/o 67
I’m so glad you’re here! Thank you for coming safe, happy and healthy. Oh and don’t get glitter on your dad tonight with all those stars on your butt
@66 Belleza
I was actually thinking just that after Thurs. ep. Every ep has a theme and is generally about one of the main characters, in such a way that they and the audience learn something new and/or concrete about the character. I love it. So thankful for two superb dramas this year… (Story of a Man and You’re Beautiful).
@69 ockoaloa
Loved your usage of “sqee” And you are absolutely right…the Moon and the Star need to get it together!
“Heading to the Ground” being shortened yet again is kind of grimy, but I’m not surprised. Like was mentioned by JB, I’ve heard that the show was rather weird…with the whole mental asylum and other jazz that was oddly placed. I actually feel pretty bad for U-Know because, though he wasn’t that great, his role and the show has turned out to be a rather poor choice. I haven’t watched it myself, I’m actually scared at how bad it will be but hopefully if acting is what he wants to do, his next project will fair better and his “chops” stronger.
I also finished Cain and Abel in 32 hours this week! I got addicted somewhere around ep 2 (ep 1 isn’t that great) and shocked the crap out of me by marathon’n it from Tues to Wed. So I am proud to announce that once again So Ji Sub is the love of my dramalife! And I am thankful, for, save the Oppas of IRIS, my loves of late have been borderline statutory
@samsooki, congrats new daddy!
have to be brutal but mama Ji Hoon is cooler than you. Not liking FH is my kind of gal.
it’s just usual Outback fanfare, but almost every one of these CFs, they allow a fanservice ’squee’ slowmo. lolz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZJSscg6rUU
This week I started and finished Brilliant Legacy, great drama and highly addictive. It’s full of the usual cliches but somehow fresh without doing anything differently.
Redeeming Hwan was believable and definitely one of those bits of drama that will stick in my head even after the other details fade.
ITA about YB being a TW drama with a good production budget. It’s a small thing but how Minam scurries after TK reminds me uncomfortably of Miss No Good.
@ Samsooki – finally, another person who liked Friend, Our Legend!!!! I love the intensity, darkness, and deep friendship in this show! Love love love this show and I really wish more people would give it a try. Its a different kind of drama and I love it!
Huh? Tomorrow is Halloween not today.
About Halloween, how do the rest of countries celebrate it? I was born in Philippines, but immigrated in the US when I as 9 years old. I remember in Philippines, we set up a table full of food for the people who have passed away and pray. I was surprised though when I came to the US and everyone were instead wearing costumes and Trick or Treat for Halloween. It was a BIG change and weird at first, but I came to like it (especially free candies). Then after a few years, I heard that Philippines also started Trick or Treat and dressing up for Halloween. I was kind of pissed about this because while I already knew Philippines has to COPY everything the US does, why must it also copy something that just doesn’t fit with the culture. What do you all think?
While I’m a big fan of DBSK, I just didn’t feel like watching Heading to the Ground. The first episode was too much to handle … Yunho is an amazing, talented person … but that talent should stay to singing. It’s really hard to crossover from a singer to actor or even vice versa.
You’re Beautiful gets 5 stars from me. If the rest of the episodes keeps its addictive and quality factor up, then it may likely become my #1 favorite Korean Romantic comedy. Full House hasn’t been beaten all these years. Hope ending is the best!!
@75 Taohua
RE: Tokyo Dogs – I haven’t started it yet but its on my list. Anything with Oguri Shun ends up on my ever-growing list. I’m waiting until a few more episodes come out though, because I’m already in the middle of 2 currently airing dramas (Ohitorisama and YB, natch) and I can’t handle the strain of watching another drama that will make me wait.
I also started Smile, You but did get scared off when I saw 50 eps. I was enjoying it (I love Jung Kyung-ho’s character) but I really don’t have that kind of stamina. So in my desperacy to distract myself while I was waiting for new episodes, I started the jdorama Sapuri, got about halfway, and realized I’d seen it before. Sigh.
@ 67 Samsookie : YOU feel old and lame b/c JB wants to retire a word you haven’t used yet? I read JB’s note and thought “oh, how unusual, JB made a spelling mistake… two ‘e’s and she left off the ‘l’”. Then moved on.
Imagine how ancient I feel now.
But I enjoyed the explanations, esp watching one DB poster imitating another (thanks langdon813).
@ 80, samsooki
I’m already there with Friend…I rewatched the first 3 episodes this week, just to get it all fresh in my mind again. So far I’ve resisted jumping ahead to watch Ep 19, though you keep making it harder and harder not to! I’m enjoying it but I have to mix it up with something lighter, otherwise the melancholy could be a little too much for me right now. I just have this overwhelming sense of dread about it but I’m hanging in there this time, I promise.
I’ll make a mental note about the socks!
@samsooki – congratulations on the baby!
But you’ve got the A-team theme stuck in my head now. We may be the only ones around here old enough to remember that show, though.
I think one reason that YB strikes so many chords it manages to combine high comedy in the parodies and gags with more angsty yet still funny stuff. Not easy to write or act that while not going overboard. It doesn’t take itself seriously, but also doesn’t go over the top.
Part of the fun at this point is, knowing how your typical kdrama works, trying to guess just which way the Hong sisters will send it. Personally I want the real Mi Nam to show up at some point….
And Go Phillies! Beat those Yankees!
man oh man.. i totally forgot about OT again.. this blows. i hate month end. and i was all caught up and just working a lame report too..
how am i going to get all the awesomeness that is IRIS if it’s not on viikii?? that’s where i was watching it.. i guess i’m off to try and figure all the dl stuff.. i’m kinda too dumb to do it.. but if i set my mind to it, i’ll figure it out.. later rather than sooner, i fear.
happy halloween!! my son is going as Freddy Krueger this year. he totally scared me the other nite.. it’s a good thing i had just finished in the bathroom, otherwise he woulda scared the piss outta me.. literally. for his first halloween, he was the bumblebee.. and he was commented on A LOT.. every mother that saw HIM complimented me on my beautiful daughter.
(in case you didn’t see it in OT 106)
Congrats on the arrival of Baby Rain, Mr and Mrs. Samsooki. hope you find a costume that won’t make Baby Rain look like a girl, unless that is the intention.
@Taohua,
Tokyo Dogs — Kinda intrigued with a police drama getting the Getsu-9 slot. MAY start this one if the buzz is good. Sometimes I think Oguri Shun kinda chooses which roles to sleepwalk through. He’s great in Tenchijin.
JIN — on strength of this one starring Osawa Takao in a really juicy role (brain surgeon goes back in time to Edo period.) Also it’s from the drama writer of Sekachu and Byakuyako (interesting casting with Haruka Ayase and Osawa Takao, who were respectively in the TV and film versions of Sekachu), so you know you’ll cry buckets. Buckets.
Anyone doing NaNoWrimo?
“Anyone doing NaNoWrimo?”
I might (sign by tomorrow night?) I don’t expect to get past 20-30 pages, but it’ll be good practice anyhoo.
I was itched to start Tokyo Dogs as well…in the mood for cop bromance sparked by B&W. my serious concern, I cringed all my life’s worth@ Hiro already…is he any better here than say Mr.Brain? I can watch Oguri Shun sleepwalking, he’s just weirdly fascinating. I loved him in that cameo he did in Sakuran
JIN: I’m liking it so far, but I’ll forever bear a grudge on Osawa Takao. how my Yukata was in major ANGST in Hoshi no Kinka.
It’s pretty tragic on Sakai Noriko in real life. Say no to drugs is no longer just pertaining to kids… *sigh*
Friend: It’s not just melancholy, it was an intense yet dull lump of leaded pain in my viscera. There’s no dramatics to release it like say MiSa, where the buckets are so useful, it just boils on and on as the drama progresses (Thanks for YB to come along or else I’ll be in a Chingu induced seasonal depression) There was a period that I had to put it down, got me off my binniewagon coz seeing him reminded of how helpless to the tides of life his DongSoo and pals were in Chingu. But it’s that undeniably good a drama, and therefore not that recommendable to watch leisurely….it intensely affects.
Someone is mentally tingling my mind about City Hall again, about maybe watching another episode (*cough* goes by the moniker b to the elleza). Such a tease, you are.
I’m saving a City Hall re-watch marathon (hopefully I’ve have my shiny director’s cut DVD set by then) for a wonderful day in late December where I can curl up with my TV, my shih-tzu, and my Jo Guk. Then, I can sit down and pen my first ever best list. I’m not qualified to do a worst list – too many I’ve never even attempted to watch this year.
And tonight, LA18 will air episode 2 of On Air – and I wonder, do the lead actresses and their characters get less peevish, shrieky, b*tchy by this episode, or do I have to wait another week, or more? So far, I have a hard time believing On Air and City Hall are written by the same scriptwriter.
Oh, and Happy Halloween tomorrow to everyone – I have to take the ever popular Spiderman and his little sidekick Hello Kitty Ballerina out for candy scrounging. Not in my hood though, my hood has no street lights, so no peeps come around.
Congratulation to Mr & Mrs Samsooki…..Best Wishes to you all. When did little Rain arrive? Our baby turns 26 on Oct 27th…time flies.
Disappointed about IRIS but oh well…Will watch it in VietNam the next 4 weeks…Have a Howling Halloween Everyone.
OH i totally forgot to mention I AM TOTALLY DOING NANOWRIMO. Er, I had better do it, I mean! I sat out at around Day 5 or so last year, but this year, by golly gosh darnit I’m going to stick with it, even if all I produce is crap. I found last year that it was a lot of fun adding Nano buddies to see how we each were doing, and we all kept personal blogs to keep track of each other, so if you’re doing it, find me on the Nano site! Gotta fire up the ol’ wordpress blog….
And I’m actually thinking of doing some kind of fanfic. You know, like “You’re Beautiful, This Belleza” starting This Belleza who dressed up as a boy band member to conquer the kingdom of Shilla from the evil grasps of, uhm, This Belleza’s secret Mother-in-Law and Belleza’s King/ deadbeat father-of-chidlren Lee Byung Hun. And, like, Mr. Samsooki will make a guest appearance as Merlin . . . .
Erm, yeah. Nanowrimo is hard to do without pirates and ninjas.
Good luck JB!
I was following your NANOWRIMO progress last year. I hope you finish it!
Nanowrimo…… that’s….. approx 120 pages of 12 point times new roman 1 1/2 line spaced writing…
In 30 days… that’s 4 pages of crappy writing per day…. every single day.
…cannot be done. At least, it cannot be done by me. I can do 1 good page of writing in a week, and 3 pages of crappy writing if pressed. That’s my limit.
GOOD LUCK TO JAVABEANS!!!!
I’m tempted by NaNoWriMo this year. I certainly have the time. I’ve got a few ideas, but we’ll see if I can get my act together enough by tomorrow to have an outline and whatnot.
Good luck to everyone who attempts it!
@29:
I feel the same way. Kpop really is very addicting. Listening to music generally puts a smile on my face. And watching Korean variety shows especially with SUJU, DBSK, idol group members doing wacky things makes me LMAO.
For proof, here’s what I’ve been watching lately >> http://goldlilys.110mb.com/yacs/sections/view.php?id=45 . Just click on the Korean MVs and Performances or Korean Variety Shows. They’re filled with my favorite artists. Can keep watching them over and over again.
Another underrated drama which I think is also pretty cute is Creating Destiny with Eugene. The 2 no 3 main leads have great chemistry. It helps get your mind off of waiting for the next episodes of You’re Beautiful.
“Another underrated drama which I think is also pretty cute is Creating Destiny with Eugene. ”
I’m actually watching it for the side story with the single mom. Nothing earth-shattering (and Kim Jung Nan, who ironically couldn’t marry her fiancee of 4-5 years because his mother wouldn’t approve) but I’m a sucker for noona love.
The family attitude toward their “arranged marraige” is funny, but when you think about it, it’s really rather horrifying.
@ langdon-unni
10Asia recently did an interview with Jung Woo-sung (see update in his Soompi thread for the entire interview translated into English), very nice and meaningful interview on his craft and trajectory as an actor.
Most interesting nuggets of information:
1. Apparently, JWS is compared most often with Jang Dong-gun, and JDG is called good-looking and JWS is called handsome. Refresh my memory but aren’t those synonyms? Whatever, they’re both amazeballs, and I heart them, but one slighty more than the other.
2. Someone/something has coined the term/ verb/adjective “The Jung Woo-sung” to refer to JWS’s style and attitude. Hhmm, it’s a douchey thing to coin the term oneself, but if its annointed by the public, well, that’s rocking some serious cinematic influence.
I says, here at the OT, we should coin “The samsooki” and “The belleza” for starters.
About NaNoWriMo…I WANT to do it, but I don’t think I CAN do it. Last year my thing was going to be trying to build each day’s writing around whatever dream I may have had the night before (maybe a weird concept, but I just wanted to try it), but I totally chickened out. Which is a shame, because I wasn’t addicted to K-dramas then, nor did I have any family members battling illness. All that has changed this year, so I think I’m going to pass on it yet again. It makes me sad, though. One day I really truly will give it a shot. I admire you guys for making a sincere effort!
@104, ockoala
Oh, cool! I’ll have to go check that out. It’s been way too long since I had a JWS fix!
@ belleza
If you change genres and make your romance of the three Shillas masterpiece a romance fantasy novel, then the *special scenes* in and of itself will take up 1/4 of the novel, and you can write them in your sleep. Consult your baby daddy LBH from episode 2 of IRIS, or some shirtless KSW from STH (on a white pianoooooooo) for inspiration.
I still have an unfinished manuscript from many nanowrimos ago, a manuscript consisting of dried cuttlefish scented paper from all the snacks I consumed.
@samsooki,
The general guideline for Nano is 1667 words per day. I can easily double, sometimes triple that for a single recap, so the word count isn’t what fazes me. It’s the motivation and inspiration that I have to be able to find for a longer prose work, which you’d think would be no problem. But you really don’t get much more inspirational than a cracktastic speedy kdrama, so perhaps that’s not a fair point of comparison…
@68 momosan
Go to http://www.livestation.com/ , download and install the software (very simple — doesn’t take up a lot of hard drive space). You will get a kind of a mini player. Open the player, do a search for SBS, connect, and that’s it.
I get really, really clear service — uninterrupted and very high quality. But that would depend on your internet speed, I imagine.
Great part is that you can access news and entertainment channels from around the world — including the always fantastic Al Jazeera.
——————-
OMG, NaNoWriMo sounds like so much fun! I might sign up.
@JB
The general guideline for Nano is 1667 words per day. I can easily double, sometimes triple that for a single recap, so the word count isn’t what fazes me. It’s the motivation and inspiration that I have to be able to find for a longer prose work, which you’d think would be no problem. But you really don’t get much more inspirational than a cracktastic speedy kdrama, so perhaps that’s not a fair point of comparison…
well, the problem for me is that writing requires …. what’s that word? the thing that a so-called muse breathes into your ear, the spark that comes when all you are really doing is just writing down on paper what is already breathing, waiting, dying, loving, hating, crushing, sighing, bleeding, just living, in front of you.
I’ve always subscribed to the notion that fiction is just reporting what happens in front of you, as if you were watching the events unfold in front of you, whatever your vantage point, however your style, whatever your filter or opinions.
what happens with me, when I write fiction, is that if I lose the picture, if the events stop unfolding before me, then I can’t write any more because I’m just making it up rather than seeing it and writing it down.
Like the Binnie and KJH in space idea. LOL. I still can’t SEE it exactly. The events haven’t happened yet, and so I can’t write it down. I can make it up (i.e., akin to lying), but then it’s not really what’s inside of me and so that kind of writing will peter out.
Syd Field’s cardinal rule is that regardless of the muse, a writer has to write, has to be disciplined. I have yet to be able to find the discipline to do that, it is beyond me, as is NaNoWriMo.
***
I wish you the best though, should you decide to do it. We will be cheering you on, rooting for you to do your best and complete your novel in 30 days!
Happy Mischief Night (and Happy Halloween tomorrow) to everyone. Hope I don’t see any smashed pumpkins tomorrow morning (Yes, it happens… :/ )
@momosan: Go Phillies! (Transit, please don’t strike!)
@mookie: I forever have Osawa Takao etched in my mind as the creeper from Utsukushii Hito, which is a good thriller but man Tamura Masakazu is old and gross.
I can’t sit through Tokyo Dogs, the storyline is weird… I’m not so worried about the acting. On a brighter note, I saw last weeks episode of Ohitorisama and I laughed.. the main girl buys some defensive gear (pepper spray etc) and the younger guy had some attack-alarm like hers and I believe he stated previous “trauma” with guy stalkers too. (!!!)
@javabeans: Good luck with the writing, and if you forget about it/slack off we’ll nag you to death about it here. ;D
@janna – so you’re liking ohitorisama? i thought about picking it up because i like teppei, AND the theme song is by Big Bang so that’s already 2 positivies
I want to see Tokyo Dogs too cuz i adore Hiro and Oguri, but most likely both of those will wait until YB and IRIS finishes up. i can only handle a few dramas at a time =P
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Samsooki. Enjoy it papa.
My son was a lion on his first Halloween and actually won a costume contest. Totally unexpected since I didn’t think it was that original.
Heading to the Ground – it’s sad that MBC has decided to cut it some more. I did not personally watch it but feel bad for the cast and crew, especially since it’s Yunho’s acting debut. I really hope that doesn’t happen with YB or else I think I will absolutely go bonkers! And please don’t let what happened to Iris on viikii happen to YB either.
Happy Halloween everyone. I’m going to go get my son’s Peter Pan costume ready for tomorrow.
I’d LOVE to do Nano this year but I seriously don’t have time. With failure promised, I’d love to try it anyway but I don’t have a plot. Writing was my ambition since I was a kid but even then I could never, ever finish a story. Lost the plot, found another one, fickle creature that I was. I’ve recently been bitten by the writing bug again but my problem is I don’t know my own motivation. Since I’m mostly toying with fanfic as practice (with an original story I really like in the sidelines), my motivation would be my love for the fandom but I think of those people and force them generally into whatever I want to do for the sake of writing them. I don’t know why I’m writing, I don’t know what I want to say and why I’m saying it, or whether I can say it in a way that’ll make it worth being written.
Whatev, Nano’s about not thinking so much, right? I have one day to come up with a plot!
Speaking of plots, I finished The Catcher In The Rye today – an odd let-down of a book (my fave part was the bit where the title was mentioned, it did get better by the end) but the protagonist mentioned a movie or a book or something and it was the Save The Last Dance For Me/Prince Turns To Frog storyline! Duke gets amnesia, falls in love with humble baker girl, is found by fiancee but doesn’t remember, gets hit in the face by a ball, remembers his old life and forgets baker girl, ends up with baker girl in the end. It’s a conspiracy!!!!!!!
@Samsooki- congrats! as for Halloween costume ideas- not sure if your wife will go for it, but I heard it from someone today that she knew someone who dressed up their baby as a nigiri sushi! i googled it and found a nigiri costume: http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/b/0/0/72/c/AAAAC04JtCEAAAAAAHLNBQ.jpg
i guess it’s a bit too late now since Halloween tomorrow- but maybe for your NEXT baby!
i agree with all those who said You’re Beautiful is like a tw drama but much better because of solid writing and waaay better acting. And now i’m in a taiwan idol drama rut- ever since the horror that was Easy Fortune Happy Life, which I started because I love Chen Qiao En and gave up because after episode 2, every episode was like a bad filler.
@ 114 asianromance – Ah crumbs, EFHL is bad? Chen Qiao En is awesome sauce and always picks good projects, I had hopes! Hopes! Taiwanese idol stars are always so busy, produce dramas like nobody’s business. Finish one and sign another. Shanghai Sweethearts starts on Monday! <3 It's looking to be awesome crack but I am praying to the twdrama gods that it's crack with a good solid basis because when twdramas are good they KILL, when they're band they tank. Show's hair already has this veering towards epic. Da Lang. Da Lang. I'm going to hear the Pink Panther theme whenever his name is mentioned, thank you for that Show.
Night party people, officially Happy Halloween!
Thanks for the tip about NaNoWriMo. I just joined, and am gleefully anticipating November 1.
Mr & Mrs Samsooki,
Congratulations on the arrival of your baby Ji Hoon.
I wish I can send a pair of leather All Blacks (rugby team) booties from New Zealand. I just love giving babies these booties.
If you can let me know your mailing address, I definitely will send a pair to Ji Hoon.
————————
As for Friends, Our Legend, I’m waiting for the subs to be complete before I start marathon-watching.
I’ve also book-marked Assorted Gems and Creating Destiny but would like to wait for more episodes to be available in viikii before starting to watch them Same with You’re Beautiful & IRIS.
I started Taiwan-drama Autumn’s Concerto and I’m liking it. Vanness has definitely aged handsomely.
Happy Halloween to everyone!
In the Philippines, where I’m originally from, we remember our departed loved ones on 1st of November. I will be remembering my parents, who’ve both passed away.
Have a good weekend all!
@Samsooki
Just wanted you to know, I kept my end of it…I didn’t say a word about our Ji Hoon.
Halloween custume…just let him be himself, an angel…if you want to be festive, how about just a simple nice Halloween bib?? Next year, he can be Samsooki
Call me stupid…but what is Nanowritmo??
I’m dead tired today, plus going home to a sick kid, so I’ll be a reader today on OT…HAPPY HALLOWEEN , Everyone.
@hjkomo
are you feeling better? If you missed it, I posted a home remedy for you to try. Take care
@ cingdoc
Nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month in the US. The goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. There’s this whole subculture of people who get together for write-ins, and talk about their progress. It’s totally crazy, but SO much fun.
You can check out the site: http://www.nanowrimo.org/
JB,
I tried to write last year but I think I gave up after 10000 words or so…due to school. But this November is proven not to be so sickly of test and random school materials so I think I will give myself another kick to try it.
Maybe I’ll actually go through it. 
Good luck to you…
and me too!
@118 cingdoc,
Yeap, given the tenor of the negotiations held today over the dinner table, it is unlikely that baby Ji Hoon will be costumed tomorrow, even for pics. I felt like I was trying to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program.
National Novel Writing Month…. the project is for participants to try to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. That’s it. You sign up, you try, and some succeed.
In 2008, around 120,000 ppl started the journey. Who knows how many will try in ‘09.
http://www.nanowrimo.org/hownanoworks
I wish I could do Nano this year as well…but unfortunately I don’t have the time. Maybe next year. But good luck to all of you who are doing it!
@belleza
Yeah I was surprise that Tokyo Dogs got that time slot. Does that mean Shun has arrived (outside of the realm of teen audiences?). The ratings for the first two episodes were supposedly in the high teens. Mizushima Hiro is pretty, but I’m not sure how I feel about him as an actor (ie. Mei-chan no Shutsuji and Mr. Brain were okay I guess)…even in Hana-kimi I liked the Nanba-senpai better in the Taiwan version.
But I heart Oguri Shun (probably one of my earliest J-actor crushes)…but you are right, he’s been sleepwalking through some of his recent dramas. I really liked his older stuff, especially in Summer Snow—I was impressed with his acting and I had a huge crush on him b/c of that role. Tenchijin is something I’m hoping to watch during Winter Break—it’s been so long since I’ve seen Tsumabaki Satoshi onscreen (I loved Orange Days!) and even longer since I’ve seen a taiga…Jin is on my list to watch list and I also heard Fumo Chitai is good?
Random question though: Did you watch Meteor Shower? If you did I would love to hear your take on it.
@sleeplessinwgtn
I watched the first episode Autumn’s Concerto when it first aired and it seemed interesting…but I kind of wondered if it was going to be similar to Prince Turned to Frog.
@Liv
About Smile, You…I agree that the whole 50 episode thing also complicates things because that’s a big time investment and I had hoped it was only like 24 episodes or maybe 30 at most. But to be honest, I have been fast forwarding recently through the episodes b/c some of the side stories aren’t as interesting. But I really do think Jung Kyung-ho is extremely underrated. He did a great job in MiSa as (a pretty annoying) Yoon and then I was impressed again in Time between Dog and Wolf. I haven’t seen Ja Myung Go, which I think was his first lead role, not sure though. But he’s doing great in this so far. I really hope Smile, You picks up plot-wise or at least in terms of character development.
@Samsooki
Re: Ji Hoon’s Halloween outfit
Since you’re one of my fav, I will give you a very IMPORTANT advise. PLEASE do not TRY to upset a postpartum wife. Trust me, she’s at her biggest change (drop) of hormones now, soooo unless you have a death wish and decide to cross her in any way, you will be in BIG trouble. Translation- just agree with Mrs. Samsooki, keep everything simple. There’s always next year, buddy. You will not regret it if you trust my advise ( this does not require a retainer, Sir… it’s pro bono…from a friend) And yes, after a few weeks, we girls will return to our SWEET , LOVEABLE, self….he he
ps Mr Cingdoc is still waiting….
I just saw the Moon/star part of YB…*sigh…so emotional MN…so dense TK…bad timing. TK, I know you are blind in the dark ( Retinitis Pigmentosa), but how can your HEART be blind, too???
Nanowritmo,
So, the month of Nov is for writing…got to tell lil cingdoc # 2, she’s a prolific writer; she might be interested…Thanks, you guys
Finished watching YB, and man is it good. Im so glad to finally see a K romance drama again thats fast paced, decently written and well acted. Esp the lead.
Most young actors in K dramas tend to half ass their way through their dramas (BOF being a prime example) but he acts in every scene like his life depended on it, seems very dedicated and it clearly shows. Not to mention the over all childhood plots are still keeping us on our toes, at this point it looks like their sibling, I wonder what the truth is. Tho the love rectangle is alittle strange, perhaps it should have kept to just two.
And also how refreshing is Han Takeyung? The guys doesn’t play around, he gets straight to the point, its been a long time, K drama tend to have such expressionless male leads most of the time.
And the field pig scene, I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in ages.
@85 Goldlilys
” About Halloween, how do the rest of countries celebrate it? I was born in Philippines, but immigrated in the US when I as 9 years old. I remember in Philippines, we set up a table full of food for the people who have passed away and pray. I was surprised though when I came to the US and everyone were instead wearing costumes and Trick or Treat for Halloween.”
I think your confused, in the Philippines visiting your loved ones who has passed on and bringing food is done on November 1 which is a national holiday called All Saint’s Day. It was never on Oct 30 or Oct 31. Though some family would visit and go to the cemetery sometimes before or after Nov. 1 to avoid monstrous traffic and overcrowded cemeteries.
And btw copying the “trick and treating for candies” part of Halloween celebration is NOT A COMMON THING in the Phils. Probably a miniscule of the 89M Filipinos does it. Usually its done in exclusive residential villages who have a lot of expat population or residential gated communities of the uber rich who does it. I would say that would be .00000001% of the Filipino population. Halloween is also advertised in the big shopping malls as a form of commercial marketing as opposed to the true essence of it to Americans. Its the same concept of Christmas in non-Christian countries like Japan. Its a big deal in all their malls because its a marketing tool, rather than the celebration a what really Christmas is to Christians. In hotels its also celebrated as an F&B event because of the foreign guests, but since we hardly ever have Americans (mostly Koreans, Japaneses, Chinese and Arabs) its there (Haloween) but not really a big deal.
Don’t be pissed, if you think that Filipinos has adopted Halloween as a major holiday, like Americans. On the contrary its a non-event for most Filipinos. The Catholic Church (which is very powerful here) even preaches against it because they believe that “celebrating the ghosts and ghouls” is sort of like the work of the devil, or something like that.
So your right its NOT PART of our culture, but your wrong if you think we have copied and embrace it, or even that we COPY everything from the US. I am sure you would’nt know since you have migrated to US since you were nine, IDK how old you are now so IDK how long ago is that. Mabuhay ang mga Pinoy.
JB with out realizing I think I have just fallen in love with your recaps, you seems to have the maturity that a lot of people lack when they give their opinion, but I do appreciate your honest opinion as in the case of Lady Castle, I do like Yoon Eun Hye very much, but thanks again for your hard work and your honest opinion, even when people give you a hard time I think 99% of the times you are right on target please keep up the faith, and thanks again all the way from Salem Oregon…JB Rock’s……
helloeveryone… it’s saturday here…
thanks Nom_Kitteh
im tuning in to KBS2 at the moment – IRIS is on. not planning to watch it yet tho
@YB
It’s official- besides My Gong Yoo ( in CP cup #13), JGS is the other Korean guy who made me cry while I was watching him crying his eyes out ***sob*** And MN “my star is crying in the dark, what to do”….man , have to wait another week!!!!
@122 Taohua
I have not seen Prince Turned to Frog so that’s okay.
The only odd storyline I’ve come across in the drama is the ‘court’ scene in the university. Is that realistic to do that in a university environment? Do they have any jurisdiction over private individuals?
Another observation of T-drama is the use of the incestuous interest of stepfathers on their stepdaughters. I’ve seen this in Mars, too. Kinda creepy.
Come to think of it, they use this also in Philippine dramas and movies.
Everyone….
Happy OT!
Happy Halloween!
Have a Blessed and Safe Weekend!
Mr & Mrs. Samsooki: The adventure of a lifetime begins … sincere congratulations and much happiness!
Thank you all for bringing up Nano! I heard about it from javabeans/dramabeans and a few others through their nano blogs last year. I so wanted to join last year but found out about it a week into November and thought “eh, I’m already late.” I’m excited and am really thinking about joining this year.
@ Langdon & Samsooki,
I’ll be joining my Friends crowd right after I finish Odoru Daisousasen this weekend. Been waiting for Friends subs to be completed before I start watching and next week is about right.
@122 Taohua and @129 sleeplessinwgtn
JIN is the show that has me all excited currently, besides YB and IRIS. I’m a sucker for time travel and historical stories, and the idea of a 21st Century doctor showing off his superior knowledge and skills in the Edo period (1603 to 1868), lumped with one of the most exciting times in Jp history, is just too exciting to pass. Three episodes in, I find JIN as addicting as YB and IRIS, all for different reasons. JIN has an excellent story line, a great cast to carry it through, breathtaking cinematography, and first rate execution/ production – everything!
Meteor Shower – as addictive as the Jp, TW and Kr versions. If your hero is Doumouji, MS won’t disappoint! I like all changes made for this version, e.g. Evil Mom is less evil – more realistic; lead girl’s parents are not floor or boot lickers (these two had always made me cringe in the other 3 versions). I would recommend it.
Autumn Concerto – has cliches written all over the place. Poor nice girl, rich bad playboy – tick. Rich Boy’s mother forbids relationship and wants boy to marry rich girl – tick. Rich girl is very nice, pretty and successful – tick. Rich girl likes rich boy – tick. Another poor boy likes poor girl – tick. Rich boy has brain tumor and requires surgery – tick. Rich boy loses memory after surgery – tick, tick tick! Nevertheless, I still find Autumn Concerto very refreshing. Vaness and Ady seem to be able to hold onto me despite the cliches, and I will continue to watch it.
i’m a day late again for the open thread… whew! missing all the discussions here.
@125 budsdiana,
Well said!!! i was actually kind of offended at that comment when i read it. Glad to see a Pinoy stepped up and spoke out. Well-done!!!
Congratulations, Samsooki, on the arrival of Ji Hoon! Hope you and Mrs Samsooki have enough sleep.
It seems everyone is being sucked into that enchanting black hole, that is, You are Beautiful. I do have to agree this is thus far the best work of Hong Sisters. JGS is amazing and I am so impressed by how he has created the whole routine of HTK body language. Just wish the HTK moment of truth will arrive on screen soon now that the jealously level is up and running. If next Wednesday is too much a wait, this one-shot fanfic on the studio recording scene in Ep 7 is worth a shot alongside re-watching previous episodes:
http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=318150
@ Capital Scandal – Much as I like KJH, I forced myself to finish the drama. Not just it is too slapstick to my taste, I have issue with HJM’s character and her romance with KJH is a bit off, or emotionally disengaged to me as an audience. The second couple is actually the best part of this drama. That is why Belleza’s comment on HJM’s chemistry (or non-chemistry) with her male lead is very spot on. She and SJS in Cain and Abel are so sweet and adorable that you think they might be a real couple in real life.
I have decided not to watch IRIS until it finishes. I can’t handle two live dramas at the same time. YB is already too much to handle. Will try to start a new ‘finished’ drama: should I go for Sons of Sol’s Pharmacy, or T-drama My Queen (I usually watch one or two T-drama and the last two were FTLY and B&W), or C-drama Meteor Shower (and I’ve never watched any C-drama before)….
Happy Halloween to everyone up north. We aussie down under don’t do much on this day.
@ xiahkixiri
actually, if you live in the us of a, u can probably catch Shanghai Sweetheart/Hi My Sweetheart sunday morning, cause it airs sunday night in taiwan. his look for the character of da lang is hardcore awesome. show’s got great comedic timing, so im sure this drama will be a real hoot. but right when we’re in the middle of all the sweetness, im sure things will start getting angsty and i’ll be crying my eyes out xp.
also, just curious, is IRIS good? i wanted to watch it just for TOP (yum yum), but now im not too sure if it’s worth my time, since i’ve yet to check out the other dramas on my to-watch list. is IRIS as kick-ass as black & white?
@Nom_Kitteh
“Go to http://www.livestation.com/ , download and install the software (very simple — doesn’t take up a lot of hard drive space). You will get a kind of a mini player. Open the player, do a search for SBS, connect, and that’s it.”
Is livestation different from TVU? TVU has every korean channel except KBS.
@epyc
I decided to also put IRIS on hold as well until YB finishes since time is limited and Viikkii isn’t showing it. I thought I wouldn’t get another great drama after city hall this year but YB has really surprised me and in some ways I’m enjoying it more due to the better writing.
@ 134 epyc, G’day! Glad to know there’s someone sharing the same sun down under… Do watch My Queen. It has a great storyline with a beginning, middle and end. The first part focuses on building a relationship, the middle focuses on problems in that relationship, and the ending deals with resolution of those conflicts. I like the middle part best, but the ending is also good. Hope I haven’t spoilt anything! Script is tight; I like it that there’s hardly any draggy side stories. OK, and I just swore I’d never use this word myself after reading it a thousand times in Soompi’s “You Are Beautiful” thread from those teenagers and youngers, but….
Ethan is HOT! If you enjoy City Hall ep. 14 first part, watch My Queen ep. 19 first part.
135 annieee: “is IRIS as kick-ass as black & white?” You bet, and with a much higher budget to boot!
Wouldn’t you know, this is the 2nd time in my working/no, actual life that I’m not at work, and I am NOT HAPPY… why??? because I’m home SICK WITH THE FLU!!!!!
(Seriously, be careful with the newborns, limit the amount of visitors to your house, esp during this flu period) Even me, Ms OCD who washes her hands minimumly 60 times/day (more if I have coughing/sneezing in my face patients- yes, I have been "sprayed" many, many time.)caught the bugs…ughhhh. Oh well, nothing to do, but park myself in front of the laptop and spend ALL DAY watching kdrama . What sacrifices I have to do, he he….;) ;o
along with my 2 kids( who probably gave me the germs in the first place) >_<
Don't worry, @Samsooki, I won't "breathe" toward you, so Ji Hoon should be fine,
my post is lost in kdramaland, again…oh well…I will just enjoy my sick day @ home.
@ cingdoc and hjkomo
Hope you two are resting comfortably. Cingdoc’s special flu remedy sounds intriguing, I’ll be sure to try it next time (I love homeopathic/home concoctions, it’s more often than not a sure fire hit).
If either of you are suffering from a high fever (cold chills alternating with hot sweats), then the most amazing remedy which has cured me three flus in three years running is this:
Take 2 large gingers, preferably old and wrinkly, but young ginger works just fine as well. Use a spoon to peel off the skin (the skin is soft and spoon scraping works like a miracle), then chop up the ginger into slices. Grab some stalks of green onions, and cut off the green stalks leaving only the white bulb portion, which you should rinse off thoroughly. Boil a soup pot of hot water, and throw in the ginger and green onion stems. Once it boils, lower the heat to simmer for an additional 20 minutes, then scoop out all the ginger and onions, and add a dash of salt and a large amount of brown suger to taste. Drink a large bowl WHILE it is still hot (but not scalding) – it needs to be drunk, not sipped, so let it cool for 10-15 minutes, then just chug it. I guarantee your fever will break within an hour. But you still need medicine to fight the underlying flu and/or virus. But at least you can lessen the discomfort.
Take care, everyone!
P.S. Last night’s episode 2 of On Air was slightly more palatable than episode 1, but I’m still not sold yet, though slighty intrigued. Also, the majority of the scenes from the Taiwan portion was shot at the Hotel Lalu in Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County Taiwan, which is near my home, and also where I got to stay in swanky style for a few days of my honeymoon courtesy of the dad.
It was/is an absolutely amazing hotel and surrounding environs are lovely. Too bad I didn’t run into the On Air crew filming scenes with Park Yon-ha and Sung Yoon-ah, though I wouldn’t have recognized them b/c I didn’t start my k-drama watching until long after.
@136 nycgrl,
I don’t know much about TVU. I checked out the TVU site, and it appears to be operating under the similar premise as LiveStation — but I don’t know what channels it carries. LiveStation is officially partnered with BBC, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, BBC-Persian, Indian TV, etc., so you can get very clear broadcast. And it’s free. TVU has a monthly charge, right?
—————————-
I made pumpkin curry soup with parsley and apples and celery FROM SCRATCH! From an actual pumpkin ————> soup. So proud of myself. And I am never doing it again. It took forever! But it was good nom
Unfortunately, I feel sick for 3-4 days already, but I just couldn’t resist going online and congratulating the new papa samsooki (and mrs. samsooki as well)!
JB, even with a very weird virus that keeps me suffering for a while, I still get online to read your blog. Isn’t it a progressive addiction?
@ cingdoc
“Wouldn’t you know, this is the 2nd time in my working/no, actual life that I’m not at work, and I am NOT HAPPY… why??? because I’m home SICK WITH THE FLU!!!!!”
I was sick with the flu last week and though I was upset since I had an international presentation which we had to reschedule since I’m the lead presenter. There was nothing I could do so I enjoyed the time off to slow down and catch up on my kdrama. That is when I discovered YB and I wouldn’t have watched that if I didn’t need something light and fun. But I imagine its hard to be sick with two kids though.
All the people who have the flu, slow down, have lots of hot liquids, gargle with salt water twice a day and catch up on your kdrama.
@Nom_Kitteh
TVU is free I believe and one of the top Iphone downloads. You can watch TV realtime on your iphone. I’ll check livestation though. Thanks
@ockoala
Thanks …my Mom makes a similar version of your remedy with an addition of a fish head…yeeeah, not my favorite. Basically, I just made a pot of juk, and just “vegging” in front of the laptop, in sweats and no makeup on…a very rare Sat for me not working my a$$ off. ***sigh**Unfortunately, I have class (continuing education) tomorrow from 8-6, rats!!! It’s MANDATORY, so I can’t miss it. ..double rats! OMG , I just remember there’s a time change (Fall back ) tomorrow, too, 1 less hours of sleep…triple rats! I really, really just want to stay home, with my laptop, with you guys….**sobs**
Thanks nycgrl
Hey guys, this has been bothering me and I know it’ll probably come to me when I stop thinking about it, but I figured why not ask the almighty OT-ers. What’s the adjective for something that just makes you feel (ie. laugh, cry, de-stress)? Thanks in advance!
O and I am going to try NaNoWriMo this year too!
@145 mud
an adjective that makes you feel ( laugh, cry, de-stress)- how about
-cityhallitis(esp. the-one-of-a-kind-designer-bag-itis)
-you’rebeautiful
with a subgroup of -Icanonlyseethemoon/mystariscrying-itis
-the man who can’t get married/who get himself in trouble every time he opens his mouth-itis
all these are just subgroup of a single omnipotent adjective-kdramaaddictive
Sorry if you REALLy ARE looking for a word, but right now, my brainwave is on a particular frequency, he, he
@145: Cathartic? Emotive?
@nyc: I don’t have an iphone — but am starting to consider getting one. If they came in pink…
@145, mud
Evocative, stirring, and affective are a few more options.
@cingdoc and deena, hjkomo too
get well. I think ginger seems to be the ‘it’ ingredient. My mum makes chicken soup with lots of ginger when we’re sick. And if you have a sore throat, grate a good amount of ginger, add honey and hot water. Try to drink it as warm as you can possibly stand. It helps soothe the throat.
@mud
I agree with cingdoc, right now for me it’s YB. It puts me through the range of emotions in one hour.
USC/Oregon coming up. Definitely watching this. Though I usually don’t, I will be cheering for Oregon this time.
Ginger is like the country cousin of the glorified Ginseng – it’s not very stylish but it does all the work while Ginseng gets all the high falutin recognition.
But I’m from the countryside – and I support the all-powerful Ginger, cold remedy king.
@ mud
I like “touching” – and not in an inappropriate way.
Yes! Mystery word solved, it was cathartic. I was trying to describe my YB <3 addiction without using the phrase "you know what I mean" excessively. Thanks y'all!
Yup, ginger is the best all-purpose alternative medicine. Be it sweet with honey/brown sugar or savoury in chicken soup/congee. My mum used to make a ginger-fried egg soup to kill off period pain. Lightly fry some shredded ginger in peanut/veg oil, then crack an egg onto the ginger and fry for a few minutes till the egg yolk sort of settled, add some hot water (probably 1.5 bowls), simmer for 10-15 minutes to reduce to 1 bowl capacity, season with a little bit salt. Viola, a bowl of yummy soup which is tasty and good to go with rice!
@ rambutan
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll give My Queen a try. I always think Ethan and Ming Dao look the same but E has a boyish charm that is unique to him. I watched Green Light Forest for him although I dropped it half way through. Nevermind, FTLY brought him the stardom he deserves!
@ ockoala
Please keep us informed your On Air experience. I tried it twice but never got past half of Episode One. I have for some time fancied staying at Hotel Lalu in Sun Moon Lake and it does sound like a worthwhile experience, huh!
@ cingdoc
Thanks for the remedy. I didn’t get to try it because all I had was Diet Pepsi, but I’m recovered now…though still a little tired. Luckily, I was able to sleep 10 hours last night.
Hope you feel better soon.
@ ockoala
My mom always made a ginger/lemon tea concoction for me when I was kid, but since I hate ginger, I usually tried to worm my way out of drinking it.
@ cingdoc, yvhsien
The Trojans are losing to the Ducks at the half. *squee* (hey, I also had to join Samsooki in using the term just once before it was retired)
O do get well soon everybody! I think half of the ppl I saw today was down with the flu. plenty of fluids and VitC
Ginger does work wonders. I was a coke (pop) addict when I was a kid, my grandma always boils cola with tonnes of ginger and some lemon whenever I had a cold/flu. I’m pretty sure it’s the ginger and the lemon that’s getting the job done as well. It’s VERY yummy even for just a cold rainy day.
@144 cingdoc : sorry to hear you’re not well (and same to all the others who seem to be stricken by flu just now)… but you will be happy to realize that tonight you get an EXTRA hour of sleep, The clocks go back, so you get to live one hour twice.
Remedies: I’m a huge fan of ColdFX –if you start taking it the moment you feel even the slightest twinge it works wonders. Works for flu too, they say, though I haven’t tried it yet for flu. Also a big fan of Herbon organic echinacea lozenges–I’ve headed off a few colds by sucking on a few of those as soon as I feel off and then going to bed early. Again, should be good for flu, too, but I haven’t tried it yet.
Here’s a question prompted by the recipe discussions. I just taught myself how to make spicy rice cakes (ddukbokki ?) this week… using prepared sauce I found in my Korean neighbourhood grocery store. I went back today to get pepper paste to make my own sauce, but the ingredients are a bit of a worry–lots of high fructose corn syrup. Does anyone know of an organic pepper paste? If I know of a brand I can ask the grocer to try to stock it. THANKS in advance.
Happy extra hour of sleep to all of you.
@mookie & hjkomo
I’m actually more tired than anything. The 2 princesses were milking it. Since each of them is on different level of the house, I had my share of “stairmaster” exercises today-checking their temp, bringing them meals, rubbing mentholatum on their back, and of course the lemon/coke drink. They both are very sad; the older one is missing a party, while the younger one is missing her trick or treating. But what to do, fever is holding at 99 to 100, and they both sounded very hoarse. I started the antibiotic on them already, so they are feeling a little better.
The lemon/coke concoction:
some one told me that the reason only canned Coke works is because there are trace of “coke”, therefore vasodilate ( or clear the stuffed nose feeling). I really don’t think it’s true. However, I tried it with bottled Coke once, and the efficacy is lowered.
Yes, hubby is watching the game, and I am cheering for ANY team that beats the SC. The fact that U of O is the alma mater of my brother makes it “sweeeet”.
GO DUCKS!!!
@Samsooki
So, how many treats has our Ji Hoon received for his 1st Halloween? Are you volunteering yourself to be the “official taster” & check all the goodies?
I need help. Even though I’ve been watching dramas for a year, I’ve never downloaded any. My question is, is there something I can use to join/merge videos into one while retaining the quality? Also since the videos are in part, how do I get the subtitles to start in the right place? Thank you for any help anyone can give me. For someone as computer illiterate as me , I’m finding the whole dl/sub thing confusing and a little frustrating.
@156 cingdoc -
Little Ji Hoonie was going to get a huge candy bar as a treat, but then we pulled the old bait ‘n switch and gave him a bath instead. LOL.
And he didn’t get any costumes this year.
@ 155 reluctantbutaddicted -
http://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?p=8801052811963
유기농 순창 고추장 – 900g Price : $19.99
Basically, what this says is Organic (유기농) Soonchang (순창) Gochujang (고추장). Soonchang… I don’t know what that means, maybe it’s just a name? It’s the only kind of gochujang I buy, so…. I guess it’s the normal kind?
But, I don’t buy organic… hehe… at least not for korean food. Below is more or less the gochujang we buy when we make the trip out to New Jersey to get korean food stuffs:
http://www.hmart.com/shopnow/shopnow_newsub.asp?p=8801831600108
찹쌀 고추장 = Sweet rice (찹쌀) gochujang (고추장).
@157 doublethink101 –
Where are you dl-ing dramas from, that they are split and need to be merged?
In order to have the subtitles come out right, you need to dl the right video and have the right player. i.e., if you get the ental version of an .srt sub for a specific episode of a drama, then in order to get the subs to come out right, you need to have the right player and make sure you dl the ental version of the episode.
@Samsooki
Shame on you, taking the candy from a kid…he he. If I was Ji Hoon, I want at least a bottle or O ma instead of the bath…
I wish I can make Korean food at home. **sigh The problem is that I’m the only one who LOVE it. ( Hubby and kids cannot take any heat, and only like bulgolgi). I just buy the ready made side dishes and eat it ( and only on days off since , well, I don’t think my patients would appreciate the “breath”). My favorite are the cold noodle and ddobokki… this is killing me as I am staring at my PLAIN juk …..
Once again, no one came to our block. It has a 2% grade incline, so most of the kids passed our block. My kids usually go to the blocks in the lower elevation from ours and do their trick or treating there. I can see my hubby reaching over the bowl and get his fav- Reese’s peanut butter cups. SO BUSTED .He thinks that I’m too busy with the laptop. He’s the one who has the sweet tooth. As for me, I’m the “give me the BBQ chips , and no one would get hurt” maniac. That’s why I never go down the chips aisle. (Got to do it- must lose the weight- WILL POWER)
@ cingdoc
So, your husband was watching the game while you and the girls are down with the flu?! Tsk…that’s karma.
I think an Oregon fan’s sign said it all: Welcome The Fall Of Troy
{Edit: As usual, we only got half a dozen trick-or-treaters. Everyone always goes one block over, skipping our street. Ah…I’ve had too much candy corn already.}
@ Samsooki
Interesting…I never thought about ordering Korean groceries online, but I’m not surprised.
Don’t worry, there’s always next Halloween…and by then, Ji Hoon may have enough hair for you to choose between a MNIKSS & SQ Binnie hairstyle for him. And if not, there’s also the Friend Binnie buzz cut.
cingdoc,
cocaine, particularly when used topically, would cause vasoconstriction that results in decreased swelling, thus clearing the nasal passages.
if drinking coca-cola led to such vasoconstriction (ie. there is enough cocaine in coca-cola to produce a systemic effect), then there is also potential for more serious side effects.
i know cocaine was added to coca-cola some time ago, but there is no way it is still added in the current product, even in ‘trace’ amounts.
@162 kb
thanks for the correction. Cocaine vasoconstricts but dilate pupil.
As stated on my post, it’s heresay , actually more old wives’ tale regarding the “effectiveness” of the concoction.I agree with you that no cocaine would be found in a popular drink that millions drink every day. All I can say is , the lemon/coke drink works for my family, and I’m not pushing it to the general public.
o gosh, both your girls and you are sick, Cingdoc? I feel you staring at your plain juk. (I HATE juk, when my hubby cooks it he’ll have to add tonnes of dried scallops to lure me) take care. I’m very sure this hot coke+lemon (+ginger) is a Cantonese thing.
It’s a staple at any HK bistro-esque ‘ChaChanTang’. that was more rabid before Starbucks. I bet to some hot, flat cola is as ‘appetizing’ as stinky tofu.
hearsay coke is soothing to the stomach, cola syrup has phosphoric acid which can help with nausea (?) Ginger aids circulation, it’s antiinflammatory and it also soothes the stomach. I guess when u r miserably sick, cant stomach anything down, sipping some hot syrupy liquid that is soothing with the added VitC fr the lemon can do no harm. we need the fluid and the fuel.
I only get 3 kids stopping by, my neighbors are actually bringing over their pets. I saw many more costumed cute vampire puppies than kids today. My neighborhood I guess.
@cingdoc
Aw…you don’t have to eat plain juk. Add some ginger and fish (fish is good for healing, at least that’s what I’ve been told by chinese women in my family). It’ll make it go down easier.
USC lost. I’m happy.
@159 samsooki
I’m downloading Tamra and YB from http://dkyang-kdrama.blogspot.com/ . Its only in two parts. I have the right player and the right version for the vids and subs.
@164 mookie
Wow, haven’t heard chachangdong for a while…I love stuff like that ( I get my fix in Rowland Hts’ HKG Garden(HKG styled bistro)) or if I’m too busy to drive out, I make my own “YinYang” coffee/tea at home. 16year old lil cingdoc is the official coffee drinker in our house, so she often will “ask” if I want to have one( that’s her sneaky way of asking me to make HER one).My sisters swear by the great food choices/prices and would come down to LA just to have a “food run”. The craziest one went like this- 8am Shanghai breakfast( lite juk with some kind of dough/bread ; 11 am Dim Sum; 400 pm Tea ; 530 fishball & stinky tofu ;8pm dinner. Before you all go “Wow”- I need to clarify that there were 16 of us, so for each meal, we ordered a bunch of food, and everyone just sampled. We did not “stuff” ourselves each time. It’s fun and quite easy since all these were within a mile radius , so we walked, talked and shopped before we headed to the next “destination”.
@yvhsien 165
I chose to keep the juk “plain” because I can’t keep anything down. Usually, my juk has dried scallops or dried oysters with a ham bone or a piece of lean pork that I’ve salted myself. When I’m sick though, plain is better, especially if there’s a stomach virus… o_O
Ok you guys, I better hit the sack, got to wake up early for class…Oh joy, boring lectures + I’m under the weather = loooooong day tomorrow. Wish me luck…I REALLY, REALLY rather want to stay home and be with guys…I guess I have to do normal, adult-like activities once in a while.( Work doesn’t count since I’ve done it over 20 years, it’s almost automatic now). Goodnite, everyone.
@166 doublethink101 – try hjsplit to merge your files. The parts are numbered .001, .002, etc. Program is freeware.
@159 Samsookie:
Thanks for the links to pepper paste. I think the 2nd one is available in my neighbourhood K-grocery (the label looks a bit familiar). But I’ll see if they’ll bring in the organic kind. I don’t worry about organics when I eat out, but I try to make sure I eat organic at home (so about 70% of the time). And I really try to make sure to eat absolutely nothing that has fructose(/glucose/corn syrup/all its other aliases). That stuff is evil.
I see in my k-grocery lots of other kinds of pastes… so I’ll have to get experimental and figure out what to make with them all. On the other hand, I have about 20 Korean restaurants within 6 blocks of my house… so maybe I’ll just keep eating out (the other 30% my food intake). I’m on a mission to try them all, but found a few favourites early on and now it’s hard to make myself go elsewhere. And the one place that had black bean noodles closed down while I was away earlier this year.
Oh the irony – hubby is extremely sick today, high fever, cough, looks like cr*p, the whole nine yards. So happy it’s Sunday, but I’ll need to entertain and edumacate the babies myself today. I think a trip to the children’s museum and pinkberry is on the agenda.
After the Halloween debacle of last year, the babies no longer act like ravenous hoards with their pilfered Halloween candy, I’m allowed to sort and ration it, thank the lord.
I’m really slowing watching Tamra – not because I don’t enjoy it, but somehow, it doesn’t have the OMFL I must watch the next episode anxiety. The score and the scenary are a knockout, MBC for shame to cut this short, so much love went into the production.
@hjkomo -
” Ah…I’ve had too much candy corn already.}”
Your the first person I know of who actually eats candy corn. When I was a kid, if anyone gave me candy corn I would use them for target practice.
I hope everyone feels better. It seems like we are all dropping like flies. I’m still under the weather after last week’s flu so hubby has been supplying me with hot drinks, doing the laundry and he just went out for a long bike ride so I can have the house to myself to nap (NAP! yeah right. I’m watching kdramas). The cleaning lady is coming tomorrow and due to being sick I got a pass from visiting my inlaws and parents so I don’t need to go anywhere so I decided to rewatch all of YB in one go in PJs and a nice blanket with some hot tea. So much fun.
@ ockoala
Saw this on Twitter today and thought of you and baby girl ockoala:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/19-awesome-pieces-at-the-hello
This has been the most exhausting weekend i’ve had in a long time. I really am not a big Halloween person, but the parties this year were a bit outta control. Started Friday night at a house party up in hollywood hills. it was the whole shabang. the house hired bouncers and security to enforce the guestlist (around 400 people in one house….i felt like a sardine) as well as people to clean and take out the trash DURING the party. and i swear there was a photographer there… then saturday was supposed to be the more chill drink at the house and then wander downtown LA, but why did i not sleep till 5?!?! and why did i have to hike uphill about half a mile both nights?? i’m too old to do this. my body didn’t even recover from Friday night before i had to don the costume and head out for saturday festivities.
But there were some amazing costumes this year – our hostess at Friday’s party made Lady Gaga’s creepy red lace costume from this year’s VMAs complete with the face covering and rocked it. Then last night my friend walks through the door…with a GIANT chewbacca headpiece mask. and i mean the thing was huge. and furry. in every picture his head took up about 1/4 of the picture. absolutely ridic.
But as crazy as this weekend was, i got my first taste of jook this morning… and man o man is it yummy. I got this kimchi octopus jook and it was delish – though maybe i should have gone with the chicken as it probably would have been gentler on my tummy after a weekend such as this. But still, uber yummy!!
Re: ginger soup as medicine – ahhh memories of my childhood and my mother forcing it down my throat insisting it would cure everything. i hated ginger then, and i hate it now. i can take it when it’s used in chicken soup to flavor, but i have never been able to eat it or drink it when it’s boiled down, no matter how much sugar my mom threw in. till this day she still offers to make it when i go visit her and i don’t feel well. I just ask where the advil of nyquil is – pop a couple of those and i am good to go.
Alright I think I’m gonna sleep through the rest of the day. I feel like I’ve been up for 48 hours.
@ langdon-unni
Thank you! (I’ll be sure to return the loving thoughts in kind should I ever encounter either Takeshi or LMK in the blogosphere). My fave is the Buff Monsters images, with Princess Leia Kitty as being super adorable. Second cutest is Cleopatra Kitty, though there is also Pharoah Kitty, which means Kitty is doing double-duty.
Just came home from a whole day of medical lectures; interesting, but dry. Thank God Hubby also attended so I have some one to pass notes to ( the older doctors sitting next to us kept giving us dirty looks, but hey! it’s 9 straight hours of class-you just excuse yourself in the middle of the lectures for potty breaks-I needed to do something before I nodded off
My hubby knew that I’m still sub par in term of energy, so we picked up Korean dumplings(mandoo), and Cal rolls ( for the girls) for dinner. I’m now enjoying myself with my lap top & eating my juk with delish kim chee along with my mandoo ( just 1 since I have lowered my meat intakes). This is MY cheap thrill.
@lovenyc
With regards to ginger: I wasn’t a fan until I had my babies. My Mom, even though was a doc trained in Western Med, loves to push ginger to ANY females who would listen to her. (It’s good for menstrual period, post partum and of course menopausal). I have to say, since I was “converted” after lil cindoc #1 was born, I really do have less “woman’s” problems. Unlike my friends my age who are going through el yucko menopause ( hot flashes, sweating, etc), I’m going through it relatively quiet. So girls, if you can , try having some gingers once in a while…I think I saw it on Oprah that ginger was found to have anti-inflammatory properties, so maybe that’s why it helps…***shrug*** AGAIN, I’M NOT ENDORSING ANYTHING HERE. I’M NOT GETTING PAID BY THE GINGER FARMERS/ASSOCIATION. he he
@Samsooki
Have you read the article about Binnie yet? So, he’s going to be in Seattle, uh? Should we go and stalk him? I think I will try to meet him in Pike’s Market!!! Just my luck, 25 years AFTER I moved from the Pacific NW (Portlan, OR), Binnie would come ….urgh!
@YB
What’s this talk about the fan population makes up of teens and 20 something…what that makes me??? A old ahjumma pervertly watching this wonderful show….so sad
@177 cingdoc –
Yeah, I was thinking about doing SOMEthing…. but it’s tough.
See, I don’t want to freak him out by like stalking him, but, I don’t want to be the same kind of random fan who just asks for an autograph and then walks away.
On the other hand, would he actually be friends with me? What would we talk about? Doesn’t he have enough friends? Would he share my thinking on KJH or would he be jealous? What would SHG say if he hung out with me more than her? Can I get him to hold a “BINNIE LOVES DRAMABEANS” sign so I can take a picture of it? Would he blue-tooth his cell phone address book to my blackberry so I can get a few other k-drama stars to hang out at the same time?
Too many questions…
@cingdoc,
“What’s this talk about the fan population makes up of teens and 20 something…what that makes me??? A old ahjumma pervertly watching this wonderful show….so sad”
Well let’s put it this way. Would you go to watch a movie starring the Jonas Brothers? Because they’re the same age.
When you go to Japan and you’re over, say, 24 — and then you mention you watch J-drama, be sure to mention that you mostly watch taiga (i.e. historical show) or the NHK. Why? Because if you don’t, they’ll give you the “TV is for teenagers!!” look.
Rules don’t apply the same way for Hallyu audience though. WE can watch anything.
@179 belleza
Well…how should I answer your question regarding the Jonas Bro movie…I went to the theatre , and I paid and sat though a concert, but that’s because of the girls…trust me, it was PURE torture for moi. But since they do not drive, I have NO choice but be there. I tried to pay hubby to go with them, but he told me to think of that as “mother/daughters’ bonding time”. He OWES me one.
@Samsooki
This is what you can do- 1) in perfect Korean ( I assume you speak it, right?), you offer your service as their US legal entertainment lawyer pro bono OR 2) you offer yourself as ESL coach for him FREE and last but not least 3) show him Ji Hoon’s pix- Ji Hoon is soooo cute, Binnie would definitely not say NO to you. he he
@ samsooki
I have so many questions about Friend but I don’t know if I should ask or not. Could be that I haven’t watched enough but I’m afraid that I might have missed something. I just finished Ep 7. Feel free to tell me to just be patient, but here’s what I’m confused about up to this point.
In an earlier episode, I remember Jun-seok and Dong-soo at Jun-Seok’s father’s funeral. He says “I’m an orphan now”, to which Dong-soo replies, “Are you a still a child?” (or words to that effect). The impression I got is that they were still fairly young when this happened. But in Ep 7, (at age 22-ish) Jun-seok’s father is alive but they’re estranged, even though they live together. But why? What happened between them? Is this something that has yet to be explained? Something to do with the aunt, maybe? And who is the guy that just got released from prison?
Sidenote…the 1983 mullet and Bill Cosby sweater Jun-seok sported in Ep 7 were absolute perfection. One thing this drama does very well is to accurately convey the era. Apparently the 1980’s were atrocious no matter what country you lived in.
“Sidenote…the 1983 mullet and Bill Cosby sweater Jun-seok sported in Ep 7 were absolute perfection”
Are you talking about the haircut at the end of Episode 7? That was the Jiro Wang cut!
At that point, JGS was officially trying out to be come the new member of Fahrenheit.
@170 rambutan
Thank you! That’s the only thing that joined them and kept the quality intact.
@182, belleza
LOL!
No, I was talking about Episode 7 of Friend, not YB. But I definitely agree with you about the Jiro Wang-ness of that ‘do (loved it)!
Watching episode one of Angel’s Temptation. Let’s just say my eyes are having problems processing what my mouth is seeing.
(Basically within 3 minutes of episode 1, a bride gets kidnapped and extorted. Then for some reason, she jumps from the 3rd floor into a pool. THEN she gets married. To a man she actually wants to destroy. Presumably this man, who looks close to 40 . . . .oops dude I didn’t know you were actually 32 lololol . . . will end up as Bae Soo Bin at some point.) Is this what I missed out with Temptation of Wife???
@180 cingdoc – Nov 1, 2009 at 7:12 pm
This is what you can do- 1) in perfect Korean ( I assume you speak it, right?), you offer your service as their US legal entertainment lawyer pro bono OR 2) you offer yourself as ESL coach for him FREE and last but not least 3) show him Ji Hoon’s pix- Ji Hoon is soooo cute, Binnie would definitely not say NO to you. hehe
Alas, alas alas. My korean (speaking) is no better than Binnie’s English. I can hear and understand pretty well, I can read and write korean, and I know a bit of written chinese (for korean newspaper reading, etc.), but my speaking…. alas alas. And I don’t practice entertainment law…. it’s a totally novel field for me. At this moment, I would have just as much success being a thoracic surgeon at Kyung Hee University Hospital as I would as an entertainment lawyer representing Binnie… But the ace in the hole is a picture of Ji Hoon. Would it do it for Ji Hoon? LOL. I might have to show the picture to SHG instead, and get her to show it to Binnie…
@181 langdon813 –
In an earlier episode, I remember Jun-seok and Dong-soo at Jun-Seok’s father’s funeral. He says “I’m an orphan now”, to which Dong-soo replies, “Are you a still a child?” (or words to that effect). The impression I got is that they were still fairly young when this happened. But in Ep 7, (at age 22-ish) Jun-seok’s father is alive but they’re estranged, even though they live together. But why? What happened between them? Is this something that has yet to be explained? Something to do with the aunt, maybe? And who is the guy that just got released from prison?
Hehe… a lot of the story is back and forth between periods, and you sort of have to just tuck information away and watch it come back again, and then things start to make sense. Most people who are watching this drama (in Korea) have already seen the movie from which this drama was based, and so they are sort of watching this as a “what really happened” kind of thing.
A lot of the smaller plot points are less important to the overall story, which is really about Binnie and his arc.
Thanks Samsooki! In other words…be patient?
I suspected this would be the case, but there’s a LOT of plot to follow and I worried that I’d missed something. It’s so good. Depressing as hell, but good. I’m dreading finding out how/why Dong-soo turns into the person I saw in Ep 1.
@langdong813
I’m dreading finding out how/why Dong-soo turns into the person I saw in Ep 1.
that’s really it.
But it shouldn’t be a dread chore. You sort of have to savor the acting chops brought out by Binnie. His accent gets better and better, and by the end of the series, its a non-issue. Every possible negative becomes a non-issue by the end of the series, and the Eps 19 and 20 are just about the characters and the resolution.
The strength of the ensemble cast, especially the character of Eun Ji, really bringing it at the end. By the end of the drama, the character of Eun Ji is so memorable to me, just a revelation.
Hope you enjoy!
@ langdon and belleza
But Jiro Wang no longer sports the Jiro Wang haircut himself – he’s got a brand new tude and a brand new do in Momo Love, where they’ve managed to pack in four pretty cute dudes in yet another attempt to create an F4-like structure. This time, the four guys play the four oldest brothers of the lead actress, and are so overprotective and adoring of her, it’s borderline creepy but we know it’s all innocent and manga-like in attitude we’ll let it slide.
Anyways, its the first time I’ve noticed Jiro Wang, as anything other than that other guy in the scene with ArJoe. I like Jiro AND his character a lot, but this looks like another cute but not terribly meaningful TW-drama.
@186 Samsooki
Lol…you are cracking me up. You are starting to sound like me ( just insert Cantonese in place of Korean) in term of what we know about our “mother” tongue. Yeah…that’s why I always get the funny look from my Mom whenever she sees me in person- how “useless” I’ve become in term of communicating with older relatives. At least you read /write Korean ( which I have yet to conquer), I know ( a little) of about 9 languages, but I’m a “closet” linguist- too shy to converse with the locals, at least not confidently.I understand the languages well, but unless I HAVE to , I just use the Universal language-SMILE.( And don’t even mention about writing- can read simple, NOT simpified, words, but I was once told that my chinese penmanship is “childlike”.
That’s one of the reason why I don’t watch TVB drama; I don’t get the colloquialism, and I get too frustrated trying to read the subtitles. Pretty sad, uh??
@Samsooki
And YES, about Ji Hoon’s pix. How could anyone NOT fall for that cutie pie ( I know I have, he he )
@ nycgrl
I never liked candy corn as a kid….but now, hubby always buys it at Halloween. Why?!!! He knows you obviously can’t pass it out to trick-or-treaters, and it’s just sitting there on the coffee table beckoning me while I watch dramas…I…can’t…resist. Plus, it feels less guilty than the leftover Halloween mini-chocolates, so I end up eating more. Aigoo!
@ Samsooki
“A lot of the smaller plot points are less important to the overall story, which is really about Binnie and his arc.”
So, it is more Dong Soo-centric than the movie.
I thought the film beautifully balanced Dong Soo, Sang Taek, and Joon Suk’s storylines. When I started watching the drama, I was a bit turned off by the way it seemed to shift more of the focus to Dong Soo (because I was most affected by Joon Suk’s character in the movie)…so I let this drama slip back onto my “will get to soon” list.
With your rave reviews, I was going to pick it back up again…but, alas, I have been distracted by the AWESOMENESS that is Conspiracy In The Court.
p.s. I vote for the twin-Samsooki pic….(or Ji Hoon wearing a hooded sweatshirt and sitting in a box, sweeping the floor?)
‘I thought the film beautifully balanced Dong Soo, Sang Taek, and Joon Suk’s storylines. When I started watching the drama, I was a bit turned off by the way it seemed to shift more of the focus to Dong Soo (because I was most affected by Joon Suk’s character in the movie)’
On the other hand, I thought the movie was clearly focused on Joon Suk, all the other characters were well developed (so was the drama) but it was narrated fr JS’ pov most of the time. A good drama is a good drama no matter what, PD Kwak had stated he felt DS’ character was not given enough narrative in the movie (which I totally agree) and thus we got the drama made. I really see no point of just regurgitating in a remake.
Ok BIG Hong Gil Dong rant and spoilers ahead….please don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens in the show —————————————–>>>
actually I find myself with a lot of mixed feelings. I can usually give a drama a rating right after I finish it, having throughout the series slowly built a feel and rating number in my mind, but HGD started so strong, and ended so sadly and suddenly that I really don’t know where to begin to rate it. it’s not that the ending was badly written (the scene with the arrows flying down on HBD and HGD and YN is hands down the best scene of the entire show for me), but I feel cheated somehow. Is it because the first scene in the series clearly misled me into thinking that HBD will continue in their quest happily after all the brouhaha is over with? that the fact that I watched the entire series thinking there is gonna be light at the end of the tunnel for them? this feels like one of those bad parody jokes, where you get a fantasy sequence and finds out it’s all nothing but a dream. except in this case it was 24 hours worth of FAKE.
Ok putting that aside. Is it because the show started off so upbeat, hopeful and hilarious that the sad ending just doesn’t match the tone it built in the beginning? HGD as the people’s king is such a noble idea, why did they dash our hopes and dreams the way they did? Why did the writers give us such a hilarious comedy the 1st 7 episodes and then do a 180 and dramatically change the tone ep8 – 24?
Or is it because of the pacing issues near the end? I can’t help but feel as if the writers were rushed into wrapping up the story in the last 2 episodes. Sure, things had been pointing that way for a while now, but the last 2 episodes just felt a little disjointed. I felt that we didn’t really get the chance to see YN mature into her decision to be with GD. YN in the scene with CH in the tent asking him to let her go back to GD (GD had sent her back after the request of CH) felt completely out of character for me. She had been acting the bumbling fool for the past 23.5 episodes, where did she get her sudden strength from? i felt that we didn’t get to see her grow stronger in the show, which is a shame.
And why did GD, who always seemed reasonable, tactful and wise, decide to go against the king in the end? the king gave him so many chances to compromise. if GD’s original intent was to create a world without classes and corruption, why was he stupid enough to want to fight to the death? How could he not have seen the bigger picture which was what the king offered? That the fact that all these happened 1.5 episodes before the end just added to the disjointed feel.
Why did Eun hye continue to exist in the story and wreck havoc? I could see her role as the evil love rival in the beginning but once she decided she had to kill GD I realized her role was useless by then. she didn’t serve any purpose in the story other than to write the story book, but that could easily have been done by anyone (merchant wang, for all we care). And her wanting GD to die? Come on.
Rants aside, I do also think the writers did a good job flushing out some of the other characters. CH especially, was well written. I loved that CH had to change sides as soon as he became king, that was the reality of the situation he was in and he adapted to it – showed his tenor and kept his character true. He knew his position as king would benefit the world better than the momentary situation he was thrown in, and he kept to the bigger picture. i can respect that. Too bad JGS was kindda weak in this role. I think that the script really killed any chance he could have had to show off his acting skills. this was also a role that called for an intense and serious actor whereas fresh and pretty-faced JGS is probably more suited to the young trendy drama stuff like YB. (I love love love YB and thinks JGS is PERFECT in there!)
The crazy king – i also admire how the writers weaved his story so well that we the audience came to understand and sympathize with his character. Bong hui (i think that’s his name) really brought his character to life! Same goes for the father of GD. at first I wanted to slap his father – why was he so loyal to a crazy king? but later on as I came to accept that as a mere fact i was able to appreciate his motivations, and his inner battle at the king vs. his son. well done.
phew! long post. I am still trying decide how to rate this. i loved this drama so much in the beginning, i seriously thought it was going to be the antidote to my City hall fever after a good long dry spell. and actually right up till ep 18/19 it was still engaging without me losing any interest in it. I guess i’m just disappointed more than anything by some of the writing at the end. I think the ending had to be the way it is yet hate the fact that the writers chose to whet our appetite for comedy and wrench it all away. If i had knew going in that hgd was going to turn all serious and angsty i would have watched it with a different mindset and been able to fully submerge myself in that mode. but as it was I felt like i’ve just woken up from a bad dream. sorry, i know a lot of you (who are still reading, that is) loved this show. but for me, HGD has become the one show that could have been.
TEAM PARK KYU!
H*ll, I dedicate the pledge of allegiance to Park Kyu.
#$%&*(&%%$%^ – Beo Jin – you pick a BOY over a MAN. What tha?
LOL ockoala! What ep brought this about? 11, perhaps??
Yes, episode 11 is exactly where I am (you’re a clairvoyant and my soul sister), but the feverish hoards in my house have finally infected me and I could not hold out any longer to finish that episode, but I powered through 6 episodes last night, can you believe it!
All I can say is, Tamra the Island is a very good drama, well-made, wonderfully acted, great cinematography and score – my god, it may not be a masterpiece, but how could MBC have not given it 2 more weeks to air the additional 4 episodes. It’s so much better than many, many dramas I’ve watched and given up on. I’m glad I watched it, only thanks to the Islanders’ recommendations!
Team Park Kyu all the way, in fact PK is a little wasted on Beo-jin, it’s kinda like taking a five year old to have dinner at French Laundry.
@194 kdxmel -
Innnnnnnteresting take on HGD…
I totally see where you are coming from, but I guess when I watch it, I sort of just focus on the scenes I like (of which there are a ton), and avoid thinking about the more problematic structural, writing and directorial issues that may or may not be evident in the series.
I sort of just develop amnesia for the ending, and I choose to believe that everybody lives happily ever after. After all, we all pass in the end, and lifetimes can be lived in a moment’s time. It is arbitrary whether the moment lasts for minutes or for decades, and all that is really important is that they were together, they were the “I Lub You”’s for the other, and were living in their dream home, the place where people were not discriminated against because they weren’t born of high class.
@ ockoala – oh!!!! welcome to the Island!!!!!!!!!!! i’m glad you’re enjoying your stay. yes Team PK all the way!! and ep 11… oh. the. angst. !!. i have to ask – are you watching it streaming on viikii or did you DL it? because i was only able to DL subs up to ep 5 and then the subber stopped. i’m not sure if someone else picked it up or not. but it’s one of those i wanted to rewatch in HD to pick up on all of PK’s longing gazes towards BJ
Hi lovenyc52:
I bought a DVD set subbed in Chinese, I prefer to watch sageuks in Chinese-subs because many of the terms are the same but just pronounced differently, so I get an added layer of Korean language appreciation.
I will most definitely buy the 20 episode director’s cut DVD. Tamra is a something I will watch and savor again and again, it’s beautifully done.
As for Park Kyu on HD and the big screen – worth every penny to watch Im Joo-hwan’s subtle acting at its finest, his every twitch, tic, slight eye shift, he’s the epitome of the noble yet steely leading man. Bravura performance, very understated yet completely overwhelming with his impact. Less is more has never been so true. And so when he does lose it and finally cries, jesus, it’s like my heart can’t stop hurting for him.
@194, kdxmel
@198, Samsooki
I had an appointment this morning and had to rush out but wanted to come back to respond to kdxmel’s post about Hong Gil Dong…and then I read Samsooki’s reply.
Which makes things easier, cause now all I have to say is “yeah, what HE said.”
Sometimes you just fall so in love with something that while you may acknowledge that it has flaws, in the end they matter not one single iota. HGD is like that for me.
@200, ockoala
I bet I’ve watched Ep 11 of Tamra at least 20 times. That was not only a pivotal moment in the drama, but what a career-defining moment for Im Joo-hwan. That whole scene when Beo-jin is talking to him through the door is just so agonizing. I wanted to scream if you’re going to leave him then STOP TALKING! JUST SHUT UP! But she couldn’t, because if he didn’t say goodbye to her, then how could she go?
Team Park Kyu all the way, forever and ever, AMEN.
@ ockoala – oh ya! i think i remember you mentioning that you had gotten the Chinese subbed dvd set.. unfortunately my chinese reading skills is limited to my name, i love you, mom, dad, older brother and maybe a dozen or so other random words i managed to retain through 8 years of chinese school. i already DLed all the raws and it’s not like i don’t know what’s going on lol
i guess it doesn’t really matter since i will definately be buying the 20-ep DVD set when it comes out anyway!
ok so… is it just me, or do i sometimes see similarities between Park Kyu and Tae Kyung from YB? i feel it’s in the way they talk. sometimes the way TK speaks sounds very… enunciated… like how PK spoke. It’s just when i’m watching YB lately and TK comes one, i feel like he’s a modernized version of PK in a way. maybe i’m just totally imagining things since i really love both shows SO much heehee.
I third what Samsooki said about Hong Gil Dong – the sum is greater than its mished mashed parts taken alone.
And lastly, I’m not sure what the quibble is with the drama starting out comedic, slap-stick, fantasy, and slowly evolving into something more dramatic, darker, more tears and fears. It didn’t bother me at all, and neither did Yi-nok’s character development.
Yi-nok in episode 24 is a completely different girl than in episode 1 – if we look at the fact that years have passed, and the girl has found true love, lost him, found him again, lost her only known relative in gramps, found a new relative in noble gramps, discovered her true identity, discovered her loss of identity and family was caused in part by the father of true love, has to choose between living alive as a queen, or dead with true love – well, I think Yi-nok’s last scene with Chang-whe was perfectly in character with who she had become by then.
Yes, it is a truism that if a story starts off with scene, and then flashback, well, then by the end of the drama, it’ll flash back to that scene, right? Well, in HGD, the answer is WRONG, and that’s where the Hong sisters succeed in buckling drama conventions yet again. But then again, it was never determined that the beginning scene was in fact, “a fact.”
@ lovenyc52
Ha ha ha, I think you’ve been blinded by the Tae-kyung love, sweetie. No, PK and TK are completely different characters, different leading men, different method of portrayal by the actors. But I heart both of them soooo much as well.
Come end of the year, I’m a-gonna have a hard time picking my favorite male character this year, and my favorite male actor portrayal. But for the ladies – the dark horse Park Shin-hye is already leader of the pack.
@ langdon-unni (new convert to sageuks) and all OTers who love an intense, so good it hurts sageuk, plus all OTers who think most sageuks are kinda wimpy on the bulging muscles, fight scenes, and general kick-assery which should be mandatory in every sageuk (men + swords = more fighting!).
Preview of Chuno, January 6, 2010 cannot come fast enough for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzcXGYH3hBk
Also, who do I root for? Seriously, Jang Hyuk AND Oh Ji-ho fighting over Lee Da-hae, are you kidding me? My usual criteria – the guy with more muscles – somehow doesn’t work in this situation. Check out the testosterone in the above trailer and tell me which guy I should support. Can’t pick? Me neither.
Also, LDH doesn’t even show up in this trailer yet – but it’s like the karma gods are rewarding her for the EoE debacle where she was the lead actress and then didn’t even get either leading man, by giving her two riveting male leads for her to schlep around Joseun era with. Nice.
Great preview, I can’t wait for this to air. We can just bypass Christmas and New Year’s as far as I’m concerned, that would suit me just fine! Ugh…need to get over that and try to get in the right frame of mind. It’s gonna happen whether I want it to or not.
That’s why I like Thanksgiving…cook a dish or two, sit down, pig out, and pretend to care about football. No stress.
I’m not even watching a sageuk at the moment (shame on me), but I think hjkomo has convinced me to start Conspiracy in the Court. Seems like she’s losing sleep over it, which is always a good sign!
Thanks transit. It’s cool of you to work for baseball and all…. but then stab us regular riders in the back a few hours before morning commute on this fine voting day? Stay classy, Philadelphia.
re:Ohitorisama, It’s really light fare and there isn’t much chemistry but it’s got Teppei and if that’s all you need to rock your socks, go for it. I kind of watch these shows right before I go to sleep because I somehow don’t need subtitle aid anymore. Last season I watched all of Call Center no Koibito before I would go to sleep on Sunday nights. It’s about a call center….yeah.
I’m a little bit of the Dal Jas Spring/Anego type in real life so I guess I like watching these woman on her own shows. Unfortunately I’m also at times a slob (In Ohitorisama, Satomi has condiments on her coffee table.. even leaving parm. cheese out…that can’t be safe). The show is not much to write home about….. oh, and I hate the female students. They bore me. To tears. They could at least have some.. ‘character’ to them even if that made them cartoonish.
Right now I have to soak my feet. I wish Hyun Soo would drop by on the bus and give me a plaster. OH WAIT I CAN’T TAKE THE BUS. ;D Seriously those last two episodes of Smile You are adorable. They keep getting better. I’m starting to like the fierce Ji Soo the most. Watch out, Sung Joon.
@204 ockoala
Just when I was getting frustrated @ work, thinking it’s going to be a looong week, I then read your post. Thank You….I needed that wonderful ‘eye candies”. It took me a while, but then I remember who Oh Ji Ho is- Single Dad in Love…yum.
Don’t look out the windows, but we are having another rash of brush fires, AGAIN. This time along the 60 from Diamond Bar to Pomona. Rats, I have to take lil cingdoc to the Ortho DDS tomorrow, and she is in DB !! Hopefully, the fires will be contained by then.
For those of you guys who don’t know, So Cal’s weathers are: Hot, Hotter, Santa Ana wind ( hot & windy ) and then brushfires. In regard to earthquakes- they are as rare as our chance of rain, right @ockoala??
@ ockoala – haha… blinded by Tae Kyung love…. that much is definitely true!! especially since he got rid of his emo hair. I think i want to somehow magically combine PK and TK and YB and Tamra into one glorious package and enjoy it all at once.
@langdon813
I would highly HIGHLY recommend Conspiracy in the Court, I have two more episodes left (I’ve been talking my time since it’s really intense and b/c I find the historical aspects fascinating) and I can’t put into words how amazing this drama is. Criminally underrated! I think I mentioned it before in a previous post, but the directing is one step above’s Story of a Man (which I thought was amazing) and the writing is tight and the actors are really impressive. In retrospect I finally understood why JB said Jin Yi-han was under utilized in “Who Are You?” All three main actors were phenomenal (JYH, Kim Ha-eun, and especially Lee Chun-hee as Man-oh) and the rest of actors were well casted as well. And I was really impressed by the cinematography, the detail of the costumes, sets and locations. It’s dark and intense, but probably is the best sageuk I’ve ever seen.
Let’s just say b/c of this drama, my expectations for Chuno are huge. But I have lots of faith in PD Kwak
Yeah, Conspiracy of the Court is considered by some to be the finest Korean drama in at least the last 4 years. In a critic’s poll, I think it ranked ahead of the White Tower.
This goes back to the high expectations for Chuno as well.
So Good. Tamra was so good. I feel honored I could watch and savor something made with so much love and heart and thought. Im Joo-hwan is a revelation for me, considering I’ve kinda just ignored him in his previous roles, such as in Snow Queen and his blink and you’ll miss it turn in BBF. Reminds me of how I felt about Jung Kyung-ho after TBDAW, but the appreciation is even more intense for his portrayal of Park Kyu. I adore Park Kyu!
I can totally see his career slowly taking off like JKH until he’s a solid leading man. And I didn’t even think he was cute before, goes to show what a great acting job can do to really impact a viewer’s perception of an actor/actress. He was all tense, coiled simmering hotness in Tamra – he radiated chemistry with Beo-jin enough for the two of them. Tamra was a one-man show for me – it was the Park Kyu show. I hope the deleted four episodes worth of material, every second involves Park Kyu being all smart, manly, reserved, all sad but can’t cry, and then all crying for very good reasons. I love that character, can you tell?
What a fun, well-made drama – two thumbs up from me, a definite keeper. And lastly, Tamra reminds be a bit of the structure of Capital Scandal in a general sense – and where CS failed to grip me and made me unable to overcome its flaws, Tamra was the opposite. Thanks, Islanders. I owe you one! Now, I’m totally even crazier to watch Chuno, in a fusion sageuk mood. Maybe I ought to finally get my butt ready to watch Damo?
@ockoala, samsooki, langdon
If the first scene hadn’t been as blatant as to read “A few years before this…” I would have no arguments towards whatever ending they could have come up with. But as it is, it did say “a few years before this..”. Now unless the subs are wrong for this particular one line, it was clear to me that the rest of the show is a flashback. To the audience, there was no indication whatsoever that this is NOT a flashback sorta series, and as such is the reason why i watched the entire show thinking that things are going to eventually wrap up to bring us back to the “present tense” (i.e. first scene ep1). I’m saying it’s misleading, and not in a well-intentioned sort of way. I have no problems with the way the story ended, but my point is, if they could have thrown in a scene anywhere from say, episode 9 onwards the “present” HBD all high and mighty and then move forward with the rest of the story from then on it would have saved me a lot of confusion. Not only would it have told the audience, ok now we’ve seen it up to the “present tense” so let’s see what happens to hgd here on out, it would also have also helped establish and explain the clear change in tone of the storyline. I have no problems with dramas that start out light and end up dark and dramatic, I just need it done right.
As for YN’s character, in reading ockoala’s paragraph i have to agree with you that she did grow throughout the show. I don’t know if its the acting, or the writing, but YN was so good in acting the dummy that when it came time to be serious (in that last exchange with CH) it was so jarring I felt that it wasn’t even in her character to be so articulate (”i will use my sword on your heart!” – wow, where did that come from?) if she had portrayed this more serious, mature side to her more frequently earlier on i would not have been so taken aback.
it’s a series of little things like that, that accumulated to my discontent about the last few episode’s pacing and storyline issues. dun get me wrong, hgd is still a great show, but i was ranting in vain that only, if only! there weren’t these problems, hgd would have been way up there for me. because i so wished for hgd to be great. my expectations and hopes for it were so high, that’s why i felt cheated in the end. this show COULD have been a legend of epic proportions, instead it faltered because of mistakes it SHOULD have avoided. Part of it is a writing problem, part of it is an acting problem. i’m just lamenting on the sad demise of the promise it held for me.
I get what everyone is saying about simply acknowledging its flaws and just enjoying it for what its worth. i totally get that. i guess that for me, maybe because i’m a libra, i try my best to be fair and objective in my assessments no matter how close to the heart something is (even city hall is not off the chopping block, and i love that show to bits and pieces) Especially if something’s close to my heart, i question it even more. the mediocre ones just pass us by, but the good ones are the ones that gets us analyzing the heck out of it. i enjoy the thought process and sometimes I even end up liking a show more because in the process of critiquing it, I also hone in on the good parts and truly get to appreciate the many ways that it did do well. i dun ask anyone to agree with me, i just needed a place to rant after finishing it last night. all these thoughts and nowhere to turn. i love a good argument, i love to be pointed out wrong, but most of all, i love analyzing a great show. and HGD is still a great show, no doubt about it. it just wasn’t ALL THAT, is what I’m saying. i dun mean to piss anyone off, seriously, and i apologize if anyone’s miffed at my dissing hgd.
On a lighter note (phew! do i need one) tomorrow’s wednesday – YB! Can’t wait!
“i guess that for me, maybe because i’m a libra, ”
If you’re a Libra, you may be really nice but you’re the snobbiest of us all!! Well, except for those stubborn Taureans.
Actually part of my issue with Jang Geon Suk is that his Leo-ness comes through in both good (magnetic) and bad (too seriously into himself) ways. And like most Leos, his mane is GLORIOUS. Park Shin Hye’s Aquarian sensibilities also come out too. She gives Go Min Nam a refreshing “blank slate” vibe that’s natural to an Aquarian sense of detachment. So where JGS’s Leo-ness makes him often mime for the camera, PSH can play off a scene with quiet wit.
And as for Shin Woo . . . well, yeah, he’s a Cancer. Of course he’s going to be all moody and not talk about his feelings.
@212 kdxmel
Oh gosh…I don’t think anyone is miffed! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions! That’s what’s so great about the never-ending OT, endlessly comparing thoughts and feelings on these crazy things we love so much.
I was completely devastated by the ending of HGD, believe me. I couldn’t make sense of it at all, and my heart wasn’t just broken, it was annihilated. But then I read someone’s (JB? not sure) theory that the first scene was probably from Eun-hye’s sensationalized version of events. That made so much sense to me that the juxtaposition of the happy, colorful beginning and the dismal, tragic ending seemed absolutely perfect in retrospect.
It’s 2:13 where I am…should I just stay awake at this point and try to watch YB live??
belleza…I’m a Capricorn, what does that say about me?
“belleza…I’m a Capricorn, what does that say about me?”
Know how the ajumma always spanks Han Tae Kyung and seems to rule all the boys with a broom? That would be you, the Capricorn.
Some of the astrology stereotypes do carry over. Scorpios are known for their “magnetic eyes”, and that certainly describes So Ji Sup. Leos are known for their hair; Jang Geon Suk and Kwon Sang Woo are a good example of that. Piscean actors are natural at goofy roles, and the guys often have large, soft eyes and dispositions. Aquarian actors are known for character transformations (since their concept of self is primarily intellectual rather than forceful, such as with Leo.) And so on.
One reason why I love Moo Hyuk in MiSa is because he’s really the prototypical Scorpio. When my brother’s wife (a Cancer, therefore has natural attraction to intense Scorpio types) first saw MiSa, she thought Moo Hyuk broke the mold of Man himself lol.
Now, Libra and K-drama is fascinating. Libra actors include Binnie, Kim Myung Min, Uhm Tae Woong, Song Il Guk, Go Soo, SONG SEUNG HEON BABY. Heh. Had to.
Not that I would dare gainsay the mighty and wise Belleza on matters such as these, but I tend to have a bit of a skepticism with respect to astrology.
Put it this way. On the day that our baby was born, there were probably a dozen other babies in the hospital nursery. Astrologically-speaking, will they all turn out to have the same tendencies, attractions, personalities, etc.? I think a tour through the nursery would give the impression that babies are all different – some are playful, others are brooding, some are high-maintenance, others are easy… all born on the same day, under the same sign…
I would argue that the spread of personalities, likes and dislikes, tendencies, will be just as wide as the normal population, all other things being equal. That said, I do think that climate/environment plays a factor in infant development, and so babies born during, say, the winter (if you are in the northern hemisphere) would likely have greater similarities in terms of environment (having to spend all winter cooped up with waaaay less sun) than babies born in the summer. However, if you take two babies born on the same day in the winter, but one born in Australia (where it is, in fact, summer) and the other born in Chicago, I would say their climate/environment would be quite different (and so would influence their personalities, perhaps differently…) while still being under the same sign?
just my opinion…
@ kdxmel
Oh no, I’m totally not miffed by your review and opinion of HGD, you’re very correct in pointing out what upset you about certain aspects of the drama. Strangely, the pacing and storyline towards the end actually was something I thought elevated the drama to epic proportions for me (somewhat). And I’m known to mock HGD’s sillier aspects all the time, but it’s more out of love and affection for this drama.
When I watched the opening sequence, I was like, oh cool, totally wu-xia vibe, super flying and kungfu and wireworks galore. Then it flashed back to the real world of HGD, and within a few episodes, I was completely rethinking already whether the opening sequence was real or a re-telling of the legend of HGD. Because, I could not believe that Yi-nok and Hwal Bin Dang would have developed such amazing kungfu skillz. And by the middle of drama, I was completely open to any ending, because I already was sure that something was fishy about the opening sequence. Does that make sense? So, it wasn’t a bait and switch ending for me – more like I understood that the beginning was not rooted in fact but rather seemed like a fantasy version of Hwal Bin Dang.
Re: astrology
Samsooki, if you take the twelve monthly astrology signs, plus the twelve yearly lunar calendar signs, plus the 4 blood types – then you’ll have a large possibility of personalities to choose from, all of which are rooted in fact, otherwise, how else would an entire astrological publishing industry make its money?
I’m a Gemini – totally hot and cold.
@ lovenyc52
PK to BJ – “Don’t go, I don’t like it.” (episode 8, I think)
TK to MN – “I told you not to go where I can’t see you!” (episode 10)
Just to sate your PK-TK longings. I definitely can see how our love for YB and Tamra’s leading men make us go all gooey inside and think really, each is just so perfect in their own imperfect ways (well actually, PK is pretty much THE perfect guy – no flaws I can see of, and he’s not boring b/c of his perfection, oh no, his perfection means he has to suffer in silence). Lately, I’ve been feeling so rewarded by watching so many wonderful dramas, and encountering so many awesome characters. Life’s good.
@langdon, ockoala
“the first scene was probably from Eun-hye’s sensationalized version of events.”
Argh! YES! the lightbulb just went off, thank you so much! I can totally see that now. Now that I think of it, later on in the show every here and there they interjected scenes of hgd’s supposed legends amongst the city folks, so why shouldn’t the first scene be of the same nature? knowing that now, i don’t feel quite as cheated. Just call me dense for not linking the 2 and 2 together. *slaps forehead* See, already I’m liking hgd better now cos one of my main gripes is lifted! Yay!
And belleza, I’m very sorry, i think I crossed a line here…
i didn’t mean to, and the last thing i want to do is to upset any of you good folks. I greatly respect all of your opinions, that’s why i thought that bringing up my rants here will only generate friendly discussion and help answer some questions. i didn’t mean to upset anyone, but i can see how my rants come across as snobbish 
I really apologize for that!
@ockoala,
“I’m a Gemini – totally hot and cold.”
Two heads are better than one, eh Gemini?
@kdxmel,
“And belleza, I’m very sorry, i think I crossed a line here…
i didn’t mean to, and the last thing i want to do is to upset any of you good folks. I greatly respect all of your opinions, that’s why i thought that bringing up my rants here will only generate friendly discussion and help answer some questions. i didn’t mean to upset anyone, but i can see how my rants come across as snobbish”
Oh no no I was just teasing ya.
It’s said Libras are the “nice sign” (i.e. avoiding conflict, preferring harmony), but Libras are also the sign of artistic expression. Most Libras said to have excellent and progressive taste in art (and are probably artistic in different mediums), but they can also be snobby for those reasons. Depends on perspective. But, yeah, start yelling at a Libra and it’s fun watching what happens. 
@samsooki,
“I think a tour through the nursery would give the impression that babies are all different – some are playful, others are brooding, some are high-maintenance, others are easy… all born on the same day, under the same sign…”
Yeah, that’s true. There’s explanations for all that. Somebody’s basic personality, you can look at a combination of their sun sign, moon sign, and their ascendant. At that point, there’s a lot of variation. Of course, none of it may be true.
OH NOES…why does everything good have to happen on Wednesdays these days? My Wednesday evening class is bad enough…but at least I usually have the newly subbed YB ep to look forward to when I get home. Which I still do, but…
My friend Scott (my Hyung-tae, if you will) has decided that we have to have a “When Harry Met Sally” evening and watch something online while we’re on the phone together. Tonight of all nights! Still, he’s dangled an almost irresistible carrot in front of me; a show that I’ve never even heard of but sounds like it’s right up my alley – Red Dwarf, anyone familiar with this? A Brit sitcom set in outer space that aired in the 80’s and 90’s?
I can’t say no to that!
belleza,
i’ve become addicted to kim yuna’s version of ‘if’ that you posted a couple OT’s ago.
isn’t it funny how someone you found unattractive before all of sudden becomes attractive after you find out that that someone has this amazing talent? that’s how i feel about kim yuna (her singing, not her figure skating, although that’s cool too).
also, did you notice how the tv screen behind her shows her falling on her butt while figure skating at about 3:10, right when she’s saying ‘painful’? i wince every time i see it. why did they add that? it kills me.
finally got my hands on HGD that isn’t mysoju.com. i’ll get started on it shortly.
I couldn’t resist! I watched YB raw on YouTube. The preview for episode 10 is killing me! I can’t wait for it! This is why I’ve never watched a still airing drama. This is very stressful!
But this helps, watch and laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU9M1vSkuSk&feature=related
This scene made YB my favorite drama.
heh.
I just got forwarded this… tempting tempting tempting…
DRAMA FO YO MAMA
http://iamkoream.com/the-koream-drama-fo-yo-mama-contest/
I know it’s VERY late in the game… but still, good luck to those with the directorial instincts!
doublethink101
is there a reason why that main character looks and dresses so effeminately? i haven’t seen YB, so maybe it’s supposed to tie in with his character, but that just looks wrong.
@kb,
“i wince every time i see it. why did they add that? it kills me.”
It’s part of Kim Yu-na’s legend. What Korea loves about Yu-na is that, even when she falls, even with the weight of her country, she is not phased. She continues to fight, and she fights with all her heart. There is nobody in skating who is stronger mentally than Yu-na. And some people argue that Yu-na’s performances represent an essence of the Korean spirit itself, which transcends whether she wins or not.
After watching her the past season and a half, I actually think this is now true.
However, when she sings, it’s a striking contrast from her image, because — then — she does sound like a teenager, a lovesick teenager. Whose tone is eerily like Taeyeon’s. I think somebody picked up on that, thus we have Yu-na’s and Taeyeon’s duet of “Can You Hear Me?”, the song from from Beethoven Virus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMUoG9D-nz8
Seriously at 3:40, the Taeyeon Twins get eerie.
belleza,
awesome!
doublethink101,
i answered my own question, re #225. YB looks interesting.
@ 224 Samsooki
Drama Fo Yo Mama was meant to be yours! I mean, you have currently with you all the necessary participants:
1. Newborn (can act as illigetimate child)
2. Mrs. Samsooki – lead actress – preferably the steely within, spunky outside variety.
3. Mother-in-law – the evil type, will be capable of delivering a smack down bitch slap worthy of slo-mo replay.
4. Any one of your guy friends – play requisite second male lead – I’d go with the lovelorn nice guy, easier to convince said friend to participate.
5. You – as the lead hero, of course – a cross between Binne and KJH.
6. Any one of your female friends – as the initially super cool second female lead, capable of gradually going insane and finally going batshit crazy on you.
And there: the six of you are capable of delivering 3 minutes of honest to goodness awesome drama. I’m sure everyone at OT would vote for you, so step on it, new daddy!
Speaking of newborns: remember how I mentioned a friend of ours just had his first baby, baby boy In-sung, last month. Well, I just got a pic that daddy took of In-sung posing a la Simba in Lion King with all the family stuffed animals as his subjects. It was funny, but what was funnier was how the new daddy is home from work and unable to stop fidgeting that poor In-sung is being draped in various tableau’s for daddy’s amusement. It was really cute though. I think I was guilty of that type of behavior in the past….
I’ll conclude with a desire to own a Pig-Rabbit stuffed animal – it’s the next Sam-soon pig.
Just in case anyone is even remotely interested with all of the YB hullabaloo (which, by the way, SO! CUTE!, and now I have to have both the Pig-Rabbit and the Samsooki pig, and what is it with pigs anyway??)…now I’ve lost my train of thought.
Oh yes! This is what I watched during my phone date this evening, with an Englishman who was reliving his glorious late teen years:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyKF2qd0-iQ
Not quite as funny as Gavin and Stacey or Coupling in my opinion, but I chuckled a few times, and now I’ve learned a new insult – Smeg-head.
@228, ockoala
Totally agree, Drama Fo Yo Mama was meant for our Samsooki…maybe next year?
@224 Samsooki
As ockoala has written, I totally can see a production starring you & the missus & Ji Hoon. You need to rename Ji Hoon as mountain, and two other (borrowed) kids as ocean and earth ( I forgot what Sam Soon named her 3 “dream” kids, sorry)….yeah you as Binnie and Mrs Samsooki as the more beautiful Sophie (KSS)
I only read the recaps for YB; I want a pig rabbit, too. Ummm, I wonder if my lil cingdoc#2 would notice if mommy surgically altered her stuffed toys/siblings( long story, don’t ask)…I will tell her, if I’ve been caught, that I am only practicing one of the new medical procedures, yeah… that sounded almost legit… he he
@ kdxmel
I second Samsooki’s post about HGD, but don’t worry, you’re not alone in your reaction to the ending. While watching the drama while it was airing, there were many who felt the same…who felt cheated.
The only thing I felt cheated out of was KJH’s slick hairdo in the first ep. We waited and waited for the pama to replaced…but it never came into fruition.
@ belleza
“If you’re a Libra, you may be really nice but you’re the snobbiest of us all!!
It’s said Libras are the “nice sign” (i.e. avoiding conflict, preferring harmony), but Libras are also the sign of artistic expression.”
Snob…artistic… Wha??? o_O
@ ockoala
Welcome to Team Park Kyu…and the world of the Chunojummas!!!
Seriously, January cannot arrive fast enough.
Jang Hyuk (His voice in the preview was haunting. And have you seen the new stills?!)
Oh Ji Ho (not as worried about his performance anymore)
Lee Jong Hyuk (DROOL!!!)
Han Jung Soo (has already proved he can rock the sageuk, in CITC)
Gong Hyung Jin (looking forward to his sinister role…he shows great promise in the preview)
Jo Jin Woong (Sol Pharmacy’s Brutus)
Jo Hee Bong (HGD’s crazy king)
The trailer footage was shot before Le Da Hae began filming…but I’m sure we’ll get more in the weeks to come.
@ langdon813
Conspiracy In The Court has exceeded my expectations. I’ve only watched the first two eps (I got busy), but I’m savoring every minute. I can’t believe that was Kim Ha Eun’s first acting experience. Jin Yi Han and Lee Cheon Hee are fantastic. And I’m glad I followed someone’s advice and watched Eight Days first. It really helped with understanding the political landscape of the time.
Ah…gotta get some zzzz’s now…
@ ockoala – haha thanks for feeding the crazy in me
YB just gets better with each episode, something i definitely wasn’t expecting and something i’m definitely very happy with. whereas Tamra dragged a little tiny bit [i want to italicize these words but i don't know how haha] in the middle because of BJ’s naivete and xiang qin tendencies, YB is going at a perfect pace for their 16 episode run. Literally, the second i get home from work on Wed and Thurs, the first thing i do is flip on my laptop and look for the newest YB to DL as i watch it streaming somewhere…. and then wait for DB’s awesome recaps so i can know what actually was said 
@ lovenyc52
“Tamra dragged a little tiny bit [i want to italicize these words but i don't know how haha] in the middle because of BJ’s naivete and xiang qin tendencies, YB is going at a perfect pace for their 16 episode run”
Ha ha ha, I totally concur on your assessment of BJ – you don’t think it was by accident I didn’t mention BJ any when I mini-reviewed Tamra? I think Seo Woo was WONDERFUL as BJ, she cries on a dime, does the dippiness perfectly, and is adorable and charming in her acting, she connects with her character, and thus, is able to connect her character to her viewers.
So, it’s not her fault, or any assessment of her acting, when I say BJ is a complete nincompoop. And that fact that her each and every action hurts our Park Kyu, oh, if I could sit her down and talk some sense into her. On the flip side – I love BJ’s mom, now that’s a strong woman!
One of the most glaring downsides to the Tamra cut, was that BJ’s gradual recognition of her feelings for William as compared to PK isn’t given enough time. Whereas, why she loves William and why PK loves BJ is very well developed in the first part of the drama. (btw, @ hjkomo – thank you for welcoming me to Team Park Kyu and letting me join as a Chunojumma – I’m going to die come Jan 2010 b/c I ABHOR watching sageuks live, my heart can’t take the cliffhangers in those, but I will do it for Chuno, how can you not watch that?).
Seo Woo’s portrayal of BJ is apt when compared to Ariel’s portrayal of Xiang Qin, in that, both actress got into character so well, you start to think she must be a ninny in real life. Kudos to them! And Im Joo-hwang as Park Kyu, it’s his crowning role in his young career, and regardless of the ratings, I hope more producers see his acting as PK and give him his due lead actor role in a more mainstream production, b/c that boy is a star!
@ cingdoc
The fires are all out by now, right? Can’t believe a single truck drove for miles shooting flames and the occupants didn’t know, which a bunch of idiots endangering the lives of so many. Sigh, hope you and the young ladies of your are feeling better!
Newsflash:
Jang Dong-gun has a girlfriend, ladies. Actress Ko So Young, they’ve been dating for the past 2 years. This makes me happy – I want to see the bachelors settle down, esp. with pretty actresses to make pretty babies. Lee Byung-hun and Jung Woo-sung better step on it!
@ockoala
Thanks…most of the patients in this house have recovered. I can’t say that for me, though, because I have now become….a b***ch. I think the 8 days of working/sitting in all day lecture/taking care of ungrateful sick teenagers/driving to ortho DDS during commute hours have finally broken the straw of THIS camel. My poor hubby, unbeknownst to him, said something (a man would have done )’ I didn’t know I should have said that” comment and ALMOST got his head lobbed off. A minute later , I regretted for what I did, and I’m so glad that he called me back 30 min after he went to work and acted/talked as if nothing happened. I apologized profusely and let him know that the stress has gotten the better of me.Sorry , you guys, for starting the day ranting like that….
@ 227 kb
Join the YB bandwagon!
You won’t regret it.
I have some hilarious news (veracity to be determined) to share on the k-star scene I gleaned from browsing my fave Chinese language papers, but I’m saving it for tomorrow. Soooo snark worthy/too good to be true/WTF/really???. Remind me if I don’t spill, I think its worth sharing with all OT instead of just us long-time residents. I’m in a total Tamra immersion this week with my spare time, the OST is indeed da bomb!
@237, ockoala
Now THAT sounds juicy! As long as it doesn’t involve Lee Min-ki getting a girlfriend or married or anything unacceptable along those lines…I’ll try to be patient!
@211 Ockoala: “Maybe I ought to finally get my butt ready to watch Damo?”
My recommendation: Watch it! Damo is the only sageuk that I return to once a while over the past few years. I’ve read all 82 pages of love and insanity for Damo contained here. http://www.hotelier2002.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2242&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0.
Took me 2-3 years to do that, and it was fun! You will recognise a few celebrity names in the Kr drama viewers scene in this thread, too!
Wow, Jang Dong Gun and Ko So Young! I’ve seen their movie Love Wind Love Song but it didn’t leave much an impression – will have to re-watch it. (Thanks, ockoala and look forward to the juicy goss in the next OT. I need a break from the heart-wrenching final scene of YB Ep 10 …..)
@ 239 rambutan
Didn’t realise the hotelier 2002 forum is still thriving!! I watched Hotelier about two years ago and had a great time backreading all things H at that forum back then. Damo has been on my to-watch-list but somehow I thought it would scar me like What Happened in Bali. The DVD is untouched so far. I will watch it one day though. Will catch up with you about My Queen in the next OT.
@ ockoala
“– I’m going to die come Jan 2010 b/c I ABHOR watching sageuks live, my heart can’t take the cliffhangers in those, but I will do it for Chuno, how can you not watch that?).”
Don’t worry…this is PD Kwak Jung Hwan here. I have faith in him.
) just to keep the audience hanging on for the next ep. 
There won’t be contrived episode endings with close-up shots of This Jang Hyuk or This Oh Ji Ho’s eyebrows (or pecs?
…which leads me to a question I’ve been meaning to ask –
I’ve seen several comments around that people dislike watching dramas live because they don’t like waiting a whole week for the next episode.
I think I’m the opposite. Throughout my drama-watching experience, I’ve found that I actually end up enjoying a drama more when I follow it live. I’m able to savor it thoroughly, read news about it, watch BTS & NG’s, listen to the OST, and have great discussions with intelligent folk. Whereas, with marathon-watching a drama, there’s the danger of getting too caught up in the momentum of back-to-back episodes which can mask the true degree of my enjoyment.
I don’t know…does anyone else have the same experience?
@ langdon-unni
Nope, the news had nothing to do with your LMK, you can sleep easy tonight. Might I suggest gearing yourself up for the inevitable, though, it’s bound to happen, and I don’t want to fan you whilst you faint away at the news that your LMK has knocked up XYZ actress and they are headed to the alter in 1 months time.
@ hjkomo
Watching TV shows live is a love-hate relationship for me. I love the rush of it, I hate the anxiety of watching for the airing time of the next episiode. But I thoroughly enjoy the fan-excitement after each airing.
On current US TV shows, other than Lost and 24, we don’t have as many cliffhanger shows from week to week, so if I watch any, it’s mostly episodic shows. I’ll probably be a mess of Lost-ness once Jan 2010 as well (and if the sacrificed too early Boone shows up, I’l just going to faint away with giddiness – I want the last season of lost to be purely eye candy, because unless JJ Abrams is the almighty, he’s pretty much going to not really explain anything to my satisfaction so I should just not expect that).
Anyways, back to watching live – since I started k-dramas only in the last 2 years, my first encounter was box sets where everything was all done and you can power through an entire drama in 2 days, and I loved that. Watching live has been a new experience for me, and guess which drama prompted me to start?
East of Eden! And it’s all due to my love for the robot/human hybrid Song Seung-hun.
@243, ockoala
* * * la-la-la-la-la-fingers-in-my-ears-can’t-hear-you-la-la-la-la-la * * *
Other than YB, the only shows I watch live are Amazing Race and Survivor, and those only because of my husband’s insistence that I spend at least two hours a week with him. And that’s it for US shows, at least until Lost and Friday Night Lights come back on. I’m sort of halfheartedly watching Autumn Concerto but it only comes on once a week, so I think I’ll stop until it’s finished and catch back up later. It’s not exactly keeping me on the edge of my seat like some other ridiculously addictive show I could mention.
I’m diving back into Friend later on tonight, I had to take a break for a couple of days but I’m up to Ep 10. Halfway there now.
@ langdon-unni
The ONLY, SOLE, SINGLE reason I am watching Autumn Concerto is because I cannot for the life of me believe that the male lead is the self-same Vanness Wu from F4, Meteor Garden days, which is when I last saw him. Good god, was that what was hiding behind that curtain of girly hair in MG?
With the sudden (for me) resurgence by VIc Zhou in Black & White, and now Vanness in Autumn Concerto (OMG, he is realllllly fine, and doing a credible acting job as well – his character is like Dao Mingshi, Gu Jun-pyo, but a playboy ass instead of just a psycho ass) – I am just agape at how really, I find most men really do look better in their thirties than in their twenties. Which makes me fear for my heart (it’ll probably stop dead in its beat) once Kim Bum, Jang Geun-soek, Yoo Seung-ho, et. al., really grow up in ten years time.
Anyway – dropping another hint, the news I have may involve not one, but four, huge celebrities. Brace yourself! BTW, if it turns out to be a joke perpetrated on the gullible Chinese media, well then, I take no responsibility for disseminating the information.
@ hjkomo
I love Ha Ji-won and her pout-seduction techniques, I’ve been meaning to watch Damo, I know of all the great, great reviews about it. I’ll definitely watch it before Chuno starts airing. And no, I don’t mind in the least if every single Chuno ep. ended with a shirtless Jang Hyuk or Oh Ji-ho, preferably embracing Lee Da-hae or pining for her. I love male angst, but pair it with unrequited or silent angst, well, that’s like my cake with a cherry on top.
@ockoala,
“And it’s all due to my love for the robot/human hybrid Song Seung-hun.”
Half teddy bear, half Borg — resistance is warm and fuzzy with Song Seung Heun!!
@hjkomo,
“There won’t be contrived episode endings with close-up shots of This Jang Hyuk or This Oh Ji Ho’s eyebrows (or pecs?
) just to keep the audience hanging on for the next ep.”
What????? *cue frozen bluescreen closeup shot of This Belleza’s National Eyebrow and that fat lady vocal ohhhhhaahhhhhhhhh*
Ah I do love Queen Duckie. Sure, I agree with Thundie that it’s the Kingdom of Shilla-ela-ela version of “Dumb and Dumberer”, but I also argue it has a little Ace Ventura and even Cable Guy in there. If you believe, Duckie put a man on the moon, man on the mooooonnn!!!! This Belleza and the Table of Evil (seriously, This Belleza loves This Mishil but does she ever stand in this show??!!??) approve!! *cue eyebrow*
@ockoala
I have been following the Autumn Concerto. One of the reasons is also Vanness, who I first saw in MG. However I also saw him in antoher drama with Vic Z, where his acting improved a bit over his MG performance. Of course, Vic’s acting improved tremendously, evidenced by his latest B&W. (I’m still saddened and feel sorry for Vic, for losing out to newbie Mark). However, I’m also liking the story (tho’ it’s a probably a reincarnation of earlier dramas) and the lead female character. I like that the writer did not turn her into the usual pathetic , pitiful lead female – she’s been given a strong character.
Your observation that men look better in their 30’s is so true. And that’s also true with women. The good features become more defined and whatever remaining ‘baby fat’ they have are gone.