it was a double shock for me. IMO, christian should have won with his innovative jeans and rockin jacket and chris should have been eliminated with his 80's dress even though i love chris' personality or the curly haired girl for copying the same jacket from a previous challenge.

the staged gags in american idol are getting old. and they havent shown a standout audition yet. i have a feeling the producers want the votes to show little background for a fairer voting process.

sorry for Heath. At first I even didn't believe the news, but really.. Can't believe such things still happen. RIP

Heath Ledger's death really shocked the whole world. What a great waste of talent. *sighs* May he rest in peace...

wow heath ledger died... everytime i think about it, it takes me back to "10 Things I hate about you" and i get teary eyed... R.I.P

...the way I see it, hollywood is dying right now... I'm not one to watch TV, but damn I feel bad for those who do... Theres nothing on, ever.. Ever National Geographic seems to be slacking.. Reality tv has taken over... I wouldn't mind at all, if at least some of those shows were interesting.. sorry American Idol, you've never done it for me... and your blooper reel ,as i like to call them, are bowwwinnnng... How about changing the concept? wouldn't hurt...ya know?

...Doesn't seem to you guys that we are going through a transitional period? Literally in the US with the primaries and all... but it does seem like something BIG is going to happen soon, but it just doesn't come... but it also seems like theres nothing happening.. like we are stuck in the same place... or is it just me.. he he

Who are you going to vote for in the primary electioooons? (Yes, it's a personal question, but I thought I might as well ask....)

I felt very sad when I read about Ledger's death. He was a talented actor and died before his time. Is it true he was addicted to drugs and alcohol?

I know all the comments are going to be mostly about Heath Ledger but I'm also extremely sad about his death. I mean...there are many (understatement) people who die everyday but Heath Ledger is just another example of the fact that one doesn't know when he/she is going to die. But it's a still a shock. I'm not trying to sound mean (all right, another understatement) but if there were headlines that Lindsay Lohan and/or Paris Hilton had died and even if I didn't read the cause, I would not be half as shocked when I read that Heath Ledger passed away. I was really excited for the new Batman movie and still am, but I know I'm going to cry when I watch it now.

I couldn't believe that Heath had died...I was just studying for finals while watching Oprah and then the news heading caught my eye and I was just like OMG... It's so sad, but after seeing trailers of Batman, I can see why he was so stressed out. I mean, his character, Joker, is something else...and the way he wanted to portray Joker must have gotten to him. It's just so sad, such a young and good actor..

I never liked American Idol. I never could understand why so many people watched it. Is it that fun to watch horrible singers and Simon's bashing?

Mr. Ledger was the Johnny Depp of his generation. Respected when he was with us and now, in memoriam. He will be missed.

I've never been a watcher of reality TV, which is a good thing because I think I watch enough TV as it is :D And most of reality TV is cr@p, IMO.

Heath Ledger's death was indeed a shocker - good actor and it's sad for his daughter, but it dwarfed the news about the guy WITH A GUN who stole a purse and car in a neighboring city and was beaten and chased by the victim's boyfriend until he sought refuge at the high school TWO BLOCKS FROM MY HOUSE, trying to blend in with the students until he was caught by police. Frankly, I would have liked to know about the armed guy incident so near to where I live.

That nighttime map of Korea was interesting. Does North Korea have the same black-out curfew as China? When I visited Shanghai last year, all the big city lights went out after 10pm. It felt strange.

I know that we desperately need it, but ... RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY! COME AGAIN ANOTHER DAY! (like, next month, please!)

Love Rilo Kiley. You have great taste in music Javabeans. =)

I passed by Heath Ledgers apartment yesterday. It feels very surreal that he had just passed away.

@ hjk: LOL. are you ok? hubby's fine? Huh? ARMED robber outwrestled by boyfriend? ... i don't think you need to worry much, darling!

Valentine is only three weeks away ... time to stock up on Prozac.

I was shocked when i heard the news about Heath Ledger's death. I thought it was some cruel joke at first but i was able to confirm when I saw the news itself. The speculations on how he died -- drug-related rumors --- is not helping. My heart goes out to his family and specially to his 2 yr old daughter who will not know her father as she grows up. So sad.

hello javabeans!! long time!
i was talking to mily, and she reminded me of your wonderful site.
sorry i've been out of touch! i'm tempted to check out hong gil dong just so i can read your commentaries... i wonder if it's worth my time...? (i don't want to get spoiled!! hahaha)
anyhow, have a great week!! hopefully i'll talk to you soon

# tealeaf:
Yes yes...Heath's really the J Depp of his generation. An amazing actor with so much talent and charm.. I was so devastated when I heard the news..=(

Tealeaf, we're fine. It actually happened in the middle of the day, while we were both at work. Yeah, apparently the thief was a young guy, and the victim's boyfriend chased him down the freeway & into our local strip-mall, then proceeded to beat the crap out of him. He was so scared out of his wits that he ran, on foot, a mile and a half away, still being chased by said crazy, needs-anger-management-therapy boyfriend (come on, going up against a guy with a gun?) into the high school where he thought he could hide amongst the students, when the boyfriend then finally called the police. Unfortunately, for the gunman, the students were all in class at the time. My physical therapist, who also teaches sports medicine at that high school, was in the middle of giving a final when the school went into lockdown mode. He said that his students (especially, one particular group of misfits) couldn't keep quiet and kept opening the blinds to try to see what was going on. After Columbine and numerous other high school shootings, you would think that they'd be, at least, a little bit scared and not quite soooo stupid. Uh....DUH!! Kids, these days! Those misfits are certainly getting C's.

So, with Valentine's Day coming, why don't you just tell your patients to watch Kdramas instead? (You're a doctor, right? And not to make light of mental illnesses - they are real diseases.) Who needs Prozac when you could be ogling over Kang Ji Hwan? :D

It was rather surreal to hear that Heath Ledger being dead because it just wasn't expected. My office's morbid death pool had Britney biting it first. As for reality television....Anthony Bourdain and Top Chef are the only reality I need. :)

what else is going on?

If you live in LA, Ken Oak Band will be performing at Hotel Cafe 1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, California 90028 on February, 1 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpE5YKkQeo :-D

So... Ever since Javabeans dropped "In Soon Is Pretty" I've been wondering how it turned out. I'm curious enough to... be curious. But not curious enough to actually watch it. Anybody here watch it thru the end? Wanna fill me in?

Also, I started out watching KDramas on my computer about two years ago. Then I caught a couple of episodes on TV (AZN) more recently and noticed the quality seems off. Am I just noticing more because the picture is bigger? Why can I hear all the traffic in the background on TV but not through headphones on my computer? Am I just nuts?

To my surprise, Heath Ledger's death hit me pretty hard. Although I did respect him as a quality actor, I was never a fan. However, his death has really put me in depression mode for the last couple of days.

Well, I suppose rain IS better than it being 75 degrees (like a couple of weeks ago) in the middle of January, but LA rain is much warmer than the Bay Area's. It's also been unseasonably cold here (high's in the 40's during the day). I know, that's nothing compared to other parts of the country. My in-laws are suffering through -15 degrees (yes, that's a MINUS) in Minnesota. Holy f*@#!!! I love California! I guess I shouldn't be complaining...
It's just that the kids I teach are getting CABIN FEVER and going STIR-CRAZY! Global Warming, help me PLEASE (with the cold, not the rain) before I lose my mind! It's not even supposed to be an El Nino year, right?

#20 Gigi, Insoon Is Pretty had a very sweet ending and was well worth watching, even though Javabeans didn't like it (no bad feelings towards you ;) ). Check out the soompi thread if you're curious. I still haven't had the time to rewatch the remaining episodes with subs cuz I've been too busy with HGD. :)

Totally random but I was rewatching some old cartoons on youtube and was amazed at just how much more educational and well written they seem! For example, Animanics was actually very well written, filled with puns and witty writing (but sadly I probably didn't know how to appreciate it at the time.) Not to mention they brought us the capitals of the US and countries of the world songs (who can forget that!) which are highly useful in grade school and for regular general knowledge!

I also rewatched some old Disney movies and I wonder if kids heard of some of the words used like "provincial, peculiar, facade, and unrefined" just to name a few. I surely don't recall any cartoons nowadays that use such vocabulary. They also actually pronounced "culinary" correctly! (cue-lin-ary as opposed to cull-lin-ary).

I somehow feel that regular tv has been dumbed down a lot and I don't quite seem to get the same experience from it as I did before. Seriously, all these reality shows have absolutely NO educational value at all. Hopefully the trend will not continue this way.

hjk: there's nothing more pleasant than being stuck at SFO airport during a winter rain storm on New Year's Day trying to come home! But I agree, nothing beats lounging around the house on a rainy weekend. I'm fine with V-Day. The Prozac is for OTHER people. Who is Kang Ji Hwan?

javabeans: what's your opinion of the MacBook Air? Should i even consider it? I'd be really pissed off if it interferes with my HGD's watch.

So has anyone else been tennis mad like me? Australian Open! We were getting wild in our living room last night during the Federer vs Djokovic match. Djokovic beat Federer in straight sets!

I like watching dramas on my computer because I can hear everything properly.

tea leaf, you don't know who Kang Ji Hwan is? It's education time for you! Javabeans has a Kang Ji Hwan post float around somewhere, do a search on the site and you'll find it. (You're really not kidding right?)

#26 merriwether
ooh ooh me! Bummer that the guy that took federer to 5 games didn't win. That was one intense match. We're looking forward to Maria and Ana tonight. I'm pulling for Ana...she's so cute. Of course the hubby is gaga over Maria.
I'm looking forward to seeing Tom Brady in the Super Bowl too.
#24 jolee
Have you seen Schoolhouse Rock?

i just wish Ricky would STOP CRYING.

i was saddened by the news of heath ledger's death, he was such a handsome and talented actor, and i admired him very much... life seems so fragile, and the world seems so harsh...

Still trying to understand Heath ledger's death. Too bad some cameramen aren't giving any privacy to the family

That map is shocking. There is only that tiny little pinprick of light on N Korea, which S Korea is bright and shining. I also thought it was amazing about the height differences. Wow.

My prayers are with the Ledger's family. That poor little girl.

Everyone is right, T.V has gotten really boring. All the shows are the same. Just keep watching dramas on the computer.

project runway: christian is SO annoying. he's way too confident with himself and his voice...god. i agree with the comment about Ricky and his constant crying!!! personally i don't think he should have lasted this long on the show. i have a feeling he and Sweet Pea (though i like her a lot) will be out pretty soon.

i was (like everyone else) shocked about heath ledger. my favorite movie when i was a kid was A Knight's Tale, to the point where i knew all the words. i watching an awful TV Guide channel show about him, sort of investigating his death but not really (because it came to no conclusion whatsoever) that was talking about the possibility of him doing drugs. first they go on about how good he was, then they flash over and say "However...Heath Ledger played a drug-addicted man in a movie in 2006." oh then, it must have been an OD. like he's THAT into his part.

I heard Heath Ledger had wrapped up filming the second Batman movie. He plays The Joker. If they do decide to show it in theatres, it'll be so strange to see Heath's face... waah

@ jolee, it's so true. those old cartoons we used to watch when we were little were educational. i remember relearning the lyrics to the bonjour song that belle sings at the beginning of beauty and the beast -"there must be more than this provincial life" -- at camp and thinking, "provincial! = *SAT WORD.*" i'm a highschool senior now but i've still got this *SAT WORD* reflex.

Obama destroyed Clinton in South Carolina....If there's one thing I really like about Obama, he's not looking to manipulate situations or people. He comes off as honest and not twisted, like the Clintons.

Ron Paul for president though.

#27katwoman

I have never heard of Schoolhouse rock. Was it ever on mainstream tv or cable? When I looked up information about it, it seems like its a dvd only. Looking up some information on it (wikipedia lol) it seems it was written in the 70s.

What I was really trying to convey though, was that the mainstream hits of cartoons (think all the big Disney movies like Cinderella, Lion King, etc) were generally better written and versed. Back then I remember EVERYONE at school knew the lyrics to the theme (and every other song) of the latest Disney movies. Sometimes we learn from it and and sometimes we had no idea what we were singing (just imitating the sounds lol) but I guess it doesn't hurt to make it a little higher level, just like how students tend to read books of higher grade levels than they are, than to dumb down shows because they think kids won't understand the meaning. I mean, thats what learning is all about.

Oh, Schoolhouse Rock was the best - conjunction junction and "Bill" from Capital Hill! Have you ever noticed that a lot of Disney movies portray lead characters from single-parent families? Cinderella, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast...
I think there are quite a lot of shows now that are educational, especially for younger children - Dora the Explorer, Blue Clues, Little Einsteins, etc. These are much more appropriate for young children, rather than what I watched growing up like Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, Popeye...

It stopped raining today, yay! Too bad that another storm's coming, so I'll be stuck all week with kids running around, bouncing off the walls, and screaming like there's no tomorrow. Ahhh!!!! (and just as I'm typing this, I can hear the rain starting again) I don't mind the rain when I'm snuggled up indoors watching videos or reading a book. It's actually soothing.

more rain means more snow..and more snow means more snowboarding! :-D

Joelee. I agree with you. I don't watch regular TV anymore. I feel like my braincells are dying and are not being replaced when I watch TV. Was nice weekend went to the Sugar Loaf Festival. I must say there are a lot of crafty people in the US.