This episode both exasperated me and provided some satisfaction. Warning: long rant ahead.
SONG OF THE DAY
Lee Ji Hoon - “Goodbye” [ Download ]
Hmm. I didn’t really love the first half of Episode 7, although that wasn’t because it was bad. I think we’re just in that phase where plot setups start to bear results, and some of those can lead to uncomfortable moments. The developments are necessary, of course, and we get some nice acting amidst a more somber tone. And this scene (with Eun-soo and Young-soo in the rain) was a definite highlight.
Also, last week only aired one episode, so tomorrow we’ll be back with Episodes 8 and 9.
SONG OF THE DAY
VEIL - “Special” [ Download ]
Oh, pleeez.
Kim Ah Joong is putting out a book and has announced plans to donate proceeds to a hospital for handicapped children. She’s co-editing with Koryo University’s writing professor Kim Kwang Su, and the book Emotional Communication goes on sale on May 30.
The book is described as dealing with a study on the spectrum of human emotions as classified into several categories such as horror, anger, sadness, love, happiness, etc. It takes a look into several academic fields in its synthesis of the human emotional experience, such as neuroscience, physiology, and psychology.
Professor Kim explains that he’d come up with the concept of the book in early 2007, and was impressed with Kim Ah Joong’s enthusiasm and insight when she attended his lectures on the topic (read: He saw his ticket to publication). He apparently approached her and suggested her participation, and thus the collaboration.
Yeaaaah, I’m sure. A pretty young actress and jeans model, whose claim to fame is a mainstream romantic comedy fluff hit, seemed like the perfect partner for compiling an examination of human emotions using an “academic approach”? A university professor works on a book for more than a year, brings in a student, and now they’re “co-editors”? I wish the workload balance tilted in this direction when I was a college student.
Hey, maybe she has a knack for the subject (also, maybe not) — but no matter how bright a student is, no way does a college intro-lecture-attendee have any sort of business co-authoring a book bearing this description. This is no slam against her — it’s miles away from Horan’s essay collection, Yoon Eun Hye’s craft projects, Jung Ryeo Won’s sketchbook, or Park Jiyoon’s photography. Even pop- and pseudo-science ought to require the bare minimum in the way of academic credentials.
Via Star News
SONG OF THE DAY
Bless - “남자답게, 옴므” (Homme) [ Download ]
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Hm. Perhaps SBS and I are not meant to be on friendly terms.
It’s not that there’s anything about the broadcast station in particular that I don’t like; it’s just that it’s been ages since I’ve seen an SBS drama I really enjoyed. And the dramas I’ve actively disliked recently have all been SBS series.
I did not like On Air. There’s no one specific reason for my reaction, merely a general spirit of distaste.
It’s not that it’s badly made — it’s got an obviously high production budget and a glossy look to it. It’s slick, it’s quick, it’s star-studded, it’s… kind of heartless.
First off, the characters are all detestable: pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside. It’s been a long time since I’ve so thoroughly disliked all the characters in a drama. Usually I can pick out something to connect to, in someone, but nope. Empty shells all.
In her plots, writer Kim Eun Sook has always relied on a confluence of contrivances, which I noticed previously and am again reminded of in On Air. Rather than creating believable ways for people to be connected — and in an incestuous industry like entertainment, that’s not hard — she instead creates an entanglement of coincidences. Bah.
SONG OF THE DAY
On Air OST - “고마운 사람” (Thankful person) by Park Yong Ha [ zShare download ]
Boa, Jamilya
SONG OF THE DAY
Jamilya - “오빠 미워” (Oppa, I hate you). What an ear-screechingly horrible song. It’s like one of those pop-trance hits of the late ’90s, with none of the kitsch factor. If I clap my hands everybody, just clap my hands, will you stop? On the upside, her Korean’s pretty good. On the downside, her voice isn’t. [ zShare download ]
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Okay, I’ve gotta say this ticks me off on so many levels.
Singer Ivy is being sued by the cosmetics company she was hired as brand model for, under the accusation that her scandal last year did the company considerable damage. Her “inappropriate personal life events” degraded the company’s public image and value, allegedly, and they have filed a lawsuit against her management company, Fantom Entertainment, demanding recompense of $500,000 (500 million won).
A rep from company Able C&C (which owns Missha and Beautynet) said, “In cosmetics advertising, a brand model has a very strong influence on the image, as well as a tremendous effect on sales.” And now they lay the blame for a decline in business on the fact that Ivy was blackmailed and threatened and accused of being anything from a liar to a slut and had her name publicly dragged through the mud by salacious gossipmongers, netizens, and the general public. Way to blame the victim, huh, society?
The rep also censured Ivy, saying that because she acted in a way “damaging their honor” and “damaging the value of the product through acting in a way that stirred public criticism,” she had violated her contract with them, and no longer has any “advertising power.” Really? Since when does being the victim of blackmail count as breach of contract?
You know, frankly I don’t care if Ivy has a sex tape — which, by the way, has never been produced. Her ex-boyfriend, who’d blackmailed her last November with what he claimed was private video footage, giving rise to sex-tape rumors, was tried on criminal charges and convicted. What pisses me off is the gleeful rush to cast stones and label her some kind of whore because her violent ex-boyfriend may or may not have a private video of her, which he used against her illegally and for which he was punished.
Uh, WHO’S in the wrong here, again? Who’s the victim? Why is Ivy all of a sudden the defendant in a situation where she was so clearly the target? Where SHE was the one most hurt?
I don’t even count myself as an Ivy fan — her music is very hit or miss with me — but all this Ivy backlash is beyond irritating. It’s ignorant and narrow-minded. Well, fuck you Able C&C and Missha cosmetics. I wish I used your products so I could now STOP.
Via Mk.co.kr
SONG OF THE DAY
Ivy - “난…” (I…) [ zShare download ]
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