@ 95 mishane

Agree with your post, but ultimately, Nodame and Xiang Qin are the exact same type of character studies, with Nodame given a few redeeming traits for her character to be more palatable than poor Xiang Qin, who will jump into the nearest storm ditch to commit suicide if Joe got run over by a truck.

I also dislike Xiang Qin's character way more than Nodame except for one weird quirk of mine, I'm totally OCD in keeping my house clean and spotless, so Nodame's freakishly dirty apartment is so scary to me it's like watching a horror movie to come life, I'm quaking and shivering and immediately start cleaning the vicinity of any area I am sitting in.

@mishane - re: nodame vs. xiang qin - EXACTLY!!!!!! haha...

@ockoala - I get your POV too cuz yes nodame is unusually obsessed with a guy who barely acknowledges her and treats her like crap most of the time, but for me that's where it ends because nodame has her own talents and goals. they may have evolved later on, but she initially already knew what she wanted and didn't want to do. She is just as talented if not more so than Chiaki (just less focused). Xiang Qin literally followed Zhi Xu everywhere and went into whatever field he chose just to be near him. Her goal in life... was to be with Zhi Xu. Yes nodame was crazy in her own right and always called herself Chiaki's wife, but i definately feel she would have been fine on her own w/o him as well.

That said, i loved both dramas...even if Xiang Qin drove me up the wall and I wanted to strangle her to her senses half the series, i still loved it. Though Nodame is the one I can rewatch because i don't think Nodame is a dumba$$ with zero common sense.

BTW I am really excited for the 2010 Nodame Cantabile movie! I saw the trailer for it. I hope hope hope that Nodame will FINALLY play the piano with Chiaki conducting.

Are the mangas worth a read? How much do they go into the relationship between them? I mean is it basically what it's like on the drama or are there more aspects/is it more nuanced?

At break during work, so I figured I'd drop in

@Samsooki and Mrs. Samsooki
Congratulations! And LOL about your commment about what baby Samsooki will not be allowed to do. Though I second AnitaLotti's comment :)

@mishane
Yeah, the older jdramas tend to be somewhat similar to present day kdramas, especially if you look at dramas done by Kimura Takuya or Takenouchi Yukata or even early Sormachi Takeshi (though he's tend to be slightly cracky) and definitely early Matsushima Nanako (the actress that played Doumyoji's elder sister in HYD). I really really liked Kimutaku's dramas from the 90's and I sometimes I miss old school jdramas

@ockoala
I probably will give MFL a try eventually, especially after going back and reading the recap for episode 9 after reading your post :) I generally do like YEH's dramas, so I probably should give this a try

@ mishane and Taohua

I love and miss the old-school j-dramas. 1998's With Love by Takenouchi Yutaka is my absolute favorite, sizzling soundtrack, a very well-developed love story - and he was my deep dark desire of sexy, bad boy lover.

I really like to keep my manga love separate from my drama love. Someone asked about the Nodame manga, my sister has all the books, but I'm disclined to read them, she's says it's good.

Samsooki and Mrs Samsooki

CONGRATULATIONS! Baby Samsooki! Awww too Cute! All the best to the Samsooki family! :)

I suppose Kdrama addictions can be good training ground for sleep deprivation? I know I have been when i have marathoned a kdrama! Samsooki if we don't read a post from you in awhile we will know you are on baby duty.

Re: OT100
Gee did it get to 400s? Well this is an awesome site with there had to be a celebration of the milestone of OT100. Wow gonna have to go back and check it out. FYI I did make the cupcakes in celebration of OT100. They were very yummy . Then I read the JB tweet "Turns out there IS such a thing as too many cupcakes. (Urggg)'. Oh dear! :(

@ everyone talking about the recommended jdramas..

i like cracktastic.. i just wasn't sure if it was teenyboppy.. but if it's kinda sorta like ISWAK, then i'm in. i REALLY enjoyed ISWAK.. so i'm good w/ giving the jdramas a try.. thanks for all the recs.. they're all going on my list.

massage was great. booked another for two weeks out. YES!!!

@lb_tmi - welcome to the wonderful world of massages!! i cannot do w/o them. i go to the chinese places and pay $20 including tip..and it's the best hour of the day hehe. makes me want to get one this weekend...my arm and lower back has been sore...and i keep throwing out my hip.. i feel like im an 80 year old halmoni...

firstly congrats on the baby news mr and mrs samsooki :) that's probably the nicest news i've had/heard of all day. because my day was utterly AWFUL!

9am: student tells me to eff off even though she's supposed to be in the school prison unit. school prison warden acts like her best friend. wot?

9.30am: expressive arts head tries to manipulate me cos he wants to take over a choir that i've built up from scratch in the last two years. lies to my face and makes me feel * big about why i happen to be upset.

12pm: 6 students cause a ruckus in my classroom and shouting and throwing pens at each other, telling each other to eff off. 3 students walk off mid-detention.

3pm: student cries in my lesson and 6 students start shouting at me and each other.

ps. if you're wondering, i teach in a bog standard secondary school (UK...nice....)

8.30pm: good friend of mine accidentally burns his arm because the spicy thai and coconut pumpkin soup i've been cooking explodes onto his arm via a very dodgy blender. goes to a&e for a plaster but his arm is red-hot-red.

midnight: can't wait to get onto DB and am rewarded with the familiar chats and frivolities of OT :)

*sigh I'm so glad it's Friday....

Say word! Mr and Mrs samsooki had a baby? Whaaaaa~ Do we get to see baby pics? LOL Congrats!!!!!!

And Congrats on the 400+ comments in the 100th Open Tread! Dang that is a lot of commenting. Quite envious as my site never gets hits.

We should make a little open thread congrats banner or something.

@100 mishane - Lunch Queen IS a comedy.. It's just not a crack-comedy like so many J-comedies are. Plus, the ending made me very, very angry. >O Now I just pretend that the ending didn't happen. XD

Oh man, I love NCIS reruns. I've seen all of these multiple times, but I like having them playing in the background so I can tune in randomly. :D

So...who wants to recommend good indie bands to me? :D Korean, American, British, doesn't matter. I've been in an indie mood lately, but I don't really know any bands. :(

@ 113 asianromance

Ooh, you just watched With Love last year and loved it! Yes, it does stand the test of time. I've always thought it would, I saw it in 1998 when it aired during my j-drama phase. I agree with your review completely - the heroine was my preferred personality, but she was perfect for the hero, and the actress was initially made quite unattractive and gradually she really became more glowy as she fell in love.

Here's a wonderful video of With Love set to Destiny (My Little Lover), the theme song from the OST.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MpKl9v7p6w&feature=related

To my langdon-unni - I know your love for Takeshi Kaneshiro, but Takeshi is actually Takenouchi Yutaka v.2 TY was the original smoldering, sexy, bad boy. And they look very much alike in features and charisma. Anyhoo, this is thanks for unearthing the LBH vid for me last night (it must have been so tedious and painful, to watch video after video of LBH, poor unni always suffering for your little sis). ;-)

@ samsooki

Congratulations! ^-^ wish you More blessings!!!

Gookie?! lol! I dont think baby Samsooki will like that when he grows up into a cute teenager..... ^-^

@mishane

I so agree with you RE: comparison between Nodame and Ariel's character in ISWAK. Though I am a fan of ISWAK 1 (purely just becos of Joe Cheng), I'm not a big fan of Ariel's character becos as you mentioned, she has absolutely no ambition in life but just to be with Joe. Sometimes I am not even sure if she's just very naive or is she that stupid. Oh well. Ariel pulled it off though. She's quite a good actress.

Meteor Garden and ISWAK 1 are the only TDramas I liked. I'm more into Kdramas and Jdramas.

There;s going to be a Nodame Cantabile movie? Wow I didn't know that. Looking forward to it!

Did anyone else here liked Atasinchi No Danshi (sp?)???

I have started watching the American series "Glee". Its starting to become a guilty pleasure for me. A nice break from all the procedurals I have been watching (CSI, Numb3rs, and Bones). I loved the songs in all the episodes so far!

Any Supernatural fans here?

@Samsooki and Mrs. Samsooki,

OMG! Congratulations and best wishes! What great news.

Have a safe delivery. Wishing you a healthy baby!

Wow.. 100+ posts already!! Unfortunately, I don't have the time to read all of them as I'm in the middle of finalizing my application for med school this weekend (I hope I get in!) But on another non-hectic note..
anyone watching assorted gems? I watched the first 2 episodes and then stopped.. I might pick it up later!

Also, Season 5 of Bones!!! Yah!!! I'm am in LOVE with that show.. (it IS the only English TV show I watch except for Food Network shows). I love Booth and Temperance and Sweets and Caroline and Hodgins and Angela and Cam and.. lol.. I basically LOVE the show! =D

@114, ockoala-dongsaeng

Thanks for the link! I know this guy, believe it or not! He is gorgeous in a smoldering, broody, Heathcliff sort of way, but...I fell for Takeshi first, so you know how that goes. First love never really leaves you. As long as TK doesn't find out about my dalliances with Lee Min-ki, Lee Jung-jae, or Kim Rae-won, I'll be in good shape. I don't want My Future Husband upset! :-D

I've seen Takenouchi Yutaka in With Love, Ice World and Rondo; all during MY jdrama phase last year (before I discovered my drug of choice, the crack that is the Kdrama experience).

@itsjustme - i loved atashinchi no danshi :) i love horikita maki and mukai osamu so this was a real treat. it started off kind of weird but so weird it was hilarious. i had to keep watching and i'm glad i did. it was really cute! and all the characters had such good chemistry :P and yes, nodame is scheduled to come out with a movie this winter, followed by a second movie next spring. can't wait!!

in other news...who else saw this?? if you're a 2AM fan, you gotta take a look at this haha. who knew all that was hiding this whole time??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-rzQHpbzFU

happy friday indeedy ;)

@Samsooki and Mrs. Samsooki, Congrats!!! I love baby news!!
I'm grinning from ear to ear right now just hearing the word, baby!! =)

@ mishane and lb_tmi:

Since you guys are fairly new to J-dramas, check out my site >> http://goldlilys.110mb.com/drama_col.html for recommendations. It has brief summary for my top lists divided by genre.

For what you guys refer to as "crack" LOL that would be under "comedy" and "with heart" would be under "family / tearjerkers" . Try to be more open minded and I know you guys will love these shows too.

Both of you seem to love 1 Litre of Tears, so I recommend Beautiful Life, Bara no nai Hanaya or Byakuyakou.

@ockoala, lb_tmi, langdon...dongsengs
@ samsooki and mrs: congradulation on baby samsooki ! you're a wise man, yes the key to a great marriage is LISTEN to your wife. my hubby found out the hard way. : )
you guys are very funny, the OT is such a nice play ground for me for
I am a lurker but after hearing you guys saying about LHB, I have to jump in to join the gang of LHB shippers. Love the god since beautiful days, Ockoala you sum it all up plus ...oh the eyes...piercing glaze at choi ji woo when she drawing his portrait in the restaurant. omo ! he's crack for the soul, the brain the heart and anywhere in between. I have a six pack of him on my computer background and I am proud to say I am enjoying ART on my computer everyday!
ockoala, I wish we were neighbor so I could just come over your house babysit baby ockoala and discuss and drooling LHB with you. you and I have very similar taste in candy. just finish with love a couple week ago and absolutely loooove it, yukata...oh so many candy...so little time....

@121, lovenyc52

MY EYES! MY EYES!

Please tell me they're all over 21, otherwise I feel like I need to scrub my eyeballs and hope my computer isn't raided by the FBI for kiddie porn. Oh my Lord. Is it hot in here to y'all? :-D

Harrou!

Happy friday/ or weekend...

Anywho one of my best friends just became the biggest boys before flowers freak last weekend, and as a result, has refused to come uni all this week and just watches her favourite nibs and nobs of the drama, which is pretty much the entire series...and then my other very good friend wanted to see what the fuss was about and "yoo-hoo" lets just say the very very Belated Hallyu aka Hallyu's, say Grand-offspring finally whacked her behind the head and told her to get on...

How sad, the stood up our plans to go binging lastnite... frankly our mothers (God Bless their Souls with extremely high tolerance levels for un-deserving daughters like us) don't know whether to be happy or disappointed that were not out giving the cops some actual work to do (mild terms...lol) or instead totally blowing off uni to marathon kdramas...

I wanna introduce them to dramabeans but poor old javabeans might just totally block us out...lol citing *Spam*

Awww I'm so freaking bummed that ahboos blog was deleted! I flippin love 1n2d... those guys are just so darn hilarious, its really cute to watch, they have great chemistry (in a brotherly way, ok!) they just all complement each other, like a fridge magnet and a fridge ... lol sorry thats the best i can do right now, i'm on a uni hiatus coz i refuse to pay for parking on campus and i'm too proud to use public transport ....

What else? What else? oh yeah VIIKII really getting her knickers in a thick bunch, so thick that i empathised with her and donated... viikii's a charity right? so am I considered a philanthropist now? me thinks maybe not...lol i hate this crack-down on copyright infringements and what-not...

And OMG

They TRIED let me reiterate that again, TRIED to impose this law that saw anyone caught downloading unauthorised material - (Because Big Brother is so watching... bastard) albeit music,movies,DRAMAS (crumbles inside) and so on, your internet connection will be terminated immediately, like cutty cutty cut cut.. CAPUT... Haha but the public were uber pissed (Cheap Arse's, including myself!) and made this big fat huge fuss about it and now that law is being re-written.... whew...

oh yeah and one more thing...

I assume a lot of you have laptops? is it safe to have the lapie on your stomach, chest whatevs? coz i'm pretty lazy and i tend to read open thread in bed and it really pisses people off when they see the lapie on my tummy (of steel!hehe) or maybe its just the tragic sight of me... i don't know... any thoughts?

@121

OMG i just saw that on popseoul!!! i guess its 2PM clock out time and 2AM's TIME to shine?!
hehe

I'm a loser...

@langdon813 - haha well... half are over 21 :) changmin (23), seulong (22), jokwon (20), jinwoo (18!!!) i felt kinda guilty lookin at jinwoo too, but i figure, if i love my channie baby to bits and pieces and HE'S 19...then this is ok too!! as long as they're over 18 it's legal, right?? now taemin from shine.. i avert my eyes when it comes to that boy. kid is beyond jailbait haha!!

so i'm torn on whether to start all in and get me some good ol LBH time in..or to continue MFL since i heard it's gettin much better... I NEED TO DO SOMETHING WHILST I WAIT FOR TAMRA!!!!!!!

@hjkomo - dono if you're still here but i saw you wrote on soompi that there were NGs of the tamra spoiler pic...WHERE?!?!??! i must see... i need something to snack on before ep 13 is available to me... haha.

@ lovenyc52

I also frequent a Chinese place because it's much more reasonably priced than typical American day spas, and these women are the only ones strong enough to give me a proper deep tissue massage.....but $20 including tip?!?!?!?! o_O

@ lovenyc52, langdon813
kiddie porn indeed...omo, omo!

@ Icarusfalls
I'm watching Assorted Gems. I haven't seen the writer's previous works, but so far, it looks like this one's going to be the best weekend family drama in its timeslot.

=====

So.....last night, I had my second Korean language dream, except the Korean only lasted for about one or two sentences. Then, the dialogue turned into English, but I knew that it was still supposed to be in Korean. (You know, like when the Tardis translates everything in your head for you.) Anyways, this was the most vivid dream I have had in a very long time, and it was as if I were watching a drama...or a documentary. It just seemed so real.

What was it about?
The secret love between Kim Min Joon and Kim Hyun Joo. LOL.
I have no idea how these two actors ended up together in my dream. All I know is that I could feel the deep love between them. They'd go on secret dates together (nothing like this Choi Ji Woo/Lee Jin Wook stuff, ugh), but in public, they'd act as if they barely knew each other. On multiple occasions, they'd attend the same functions but hardly even make eye contact. My heart ached as I felt the extreme sadness of their relationship when they had to hide from the world on these occasions, and it rejoiced when they could finally meet each other in private.

I woke up with the same feeling you get after watching a really good, touches-your-soul kind of drama or movie. Weird, eh?
Perhaps, this is my subconscious reminding me to finish Friend, Our Legend... ;)

@BellaMafia

Yeah Jensen Ackles is so hoottt!!! There was a time that I took a break from all the KDramas and just gobbled up all the US series. I've been a follower of CSI since my college days. Bones and Supernatural since season 1. I just discovered Numb3rs last year.

I relocated here in Singapore almost a year ago for career purposes and living all alone. So watching dramas, series, and KPOP makes me forget all about my home sickness. Me and my friends who I don't get to see very often since we are scattered across 3 continents, have a weekly conference on Skype just to have our own 'open thread" on our picks of the week. LOL

@lovenyc52

Yeah me too!! I love the quirkiness of it all..One of my fave jdramas. Although I wish there was a bit more between Chisato and Sho at the ending.

Saw the 2AM pics..Who knew they were hiding all that underneath? I guess when 2PM was hogging all the limelight, the 2AM boys are woking hard on perfecting their abs. I still miss Jay though =(

@hjkomo - yep! $20 hour-long massages. you sit in those armchairs and soak ur feet in boiling hot tea and it's pretty much a full-body massage, but they focus more on your feet...reflexology i think. i usually drive out to our asian area in rowland heights or san gabriel cuz there's a whole bunch in every plaza there hehe. ever since i discovered those places i have not gone back to an american day spa. i can't fork over $120 for an hour massage when i could get 6 massages for that!!! :)

@Jossy! - i have a heat pad and a laptop desk/pillow for my laptop.. this way the heat from the laptop is absorbed into the laptop keeping it cooler...and the laptop desk/pillow is so it's more comfortable. only thing with the heat pad is that it's the kind with little crystalized thingies in there that "melt" as it absorbs the heat, so it only works for about 3 hours because once all crystals "melt" they need to cool down toreform to be used again. u can try one of the cooling pads that u plug in and there's a lil fan in the pad and keeps ur laptop cool as well.

@ockoala
I really liked Nodame Cantabile the manga and it was because I liked the manga that I watched the drama. The manga definitely contains more technical aspects relating to music and does go into the side characters a lot more, but also I feel like the manga contained both more romance and an eventual equalizing of Chiaki's and Nodame's relationship. I'm pretty sure at one point Nodame is fed up with Chiaki for taking her for granted and even punches him. On the discussion you and mishane's were having about Xiang Qin and Nodame, I always felt like Nodame would've left Chiaki if Chiaki ever treated her the way Zhi Shu does Xiang Qin in the first half of ISWAK. But I definitely recommend the manga (though I think it's on hiatus still? I don't remember if the mangaka has started drawing/writing again)

@Kender
You should definitely check out what JB puts up in the previous OTs as her songs of the day. I really liked the song by Metric she put up a few weeks ago and checked their other music which I also really liked. I don't know much about indie music, but have had friends make me mixed cds and some bands whose songs I've liked includes Death Cab for Cutie, Jump Little Children, blondredhead, Explosions in the Sky, Roman Candle (they are local for me and they are impossible to find online 'cept for on Itunes or Ruckus I think but I really like them), Superchunk, Sufjan Stevens, Of Montreal, The Shins, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, and Olivia Tremor Control. Some of them may not be indie and there's a mix of popish to more rockish groups. Hope this helps somewhat, but I would say JB's song index is a good starting point :)

@itsjustme - oh absolutely adored all the chisato/sho moments...shosato i think shippers were callin them hehe... takeru was my 2nd favorite - endless laughs from him!! and 2AM really impressed me!! i knew seulong and kwonnie were pretty cut cuz of the Dirty Eyed Girls Abracadabra parody video (seulong's b-cups haha!!) and just from random kwonnie pics i had come across.. but changmin and jinwoo surprised me. i have to admit i don't really follow 2AM as closely because they were just never as heavily promoted as 2PM (and to me, 2PM is just pure <3 <3 <3 <3 <3!!!) but i adored changmin since i first saw him on Star Golden Bell as one of the guys in the Bell Line..and he is SO FUNNY. knowing now the smokin hot body he's hiding underneath makes him that much hotter to me. so yay now i <3 the giant maknae of 2PM (chansung is my #1 forever) and the oldest of 2AM... and i too, miss jae like crazy.... sighs.

@129 asianromance &
@132 lovenyc52

Thanks for the wise words of lapies on the tummies! it was cozy for winter... but its spring now so Yay! I just bought a lapie table for $1!!! how rad is that! but how internet shopping goes what lacks in price is made up for in shipping...

p.s lovenyc52... i just totally clicked about your name... love NYC 52... and here the entire time i've encountered you (indirectly of course) on dramabeans i kept saying lovency to myself... lol weird... and that just goes to show that I'm not from the states...

*hmph how odd

@ langdon-unni

"He is gorgeous in a smoldering, broody, Heathcliff sort of way, but…I fell for Takeshi first, so you know how that goes. First love never really leaves you"

Yes, I know. TY was MY first j-love, so he's always got a special place in my heart, like Takeshi for you! All good, just that talk of With Love got me thinking that he might be your eye candy, too! And look, I was right. You've seen more of his works than I have, I've jumped all over the j-drama land back in the late nineties.

I know you're camping all weekend in Tamra-ville, so stay warm and toasty and enjoy your BJ-PK shipping.

@ 124 kimuta

"I am a lurker but after hearing you guys saying about LHB, I have to jump in to join the gang of LHB shippers. Love the god since beautiful days,"

Congrats on de-lurking, it's always daunting but forever rewarding. So, LBH is the de-lurk trigger for you? I am in complete understanding, after watching him in All In and now in Beautiful Days, that man can pretty much make me do anything for him. If we lived in ancient Greece, he'd be the God of Awesome Hotness and I his disciple.

I agree with his eye-acting, that scene when CJW is drawing him and he's just looking at her, I mean really looking, not blinking, getting closer and closer, and silent as always, man, he brung the eye sex so thoroughly, I'm surprised CJW didn't ignite on the spot.

However, quite a few good actors/actresses have superb eye-acting ability (current case in point - YSH and YEH in MFL). But very few have back-acting capabilities, as @ epyc pointed out and I saw with my very own 2 eyes.

I'm happy to talk about my newfounded love and appreciation for LBH with you anytime, you needn't saddle yourself with babysitting my baby ockoalas. They're quite a handful, sweet but mischevious.

And yes, we have very similar tastes in "candy." ;-) I'm finally off to spend some more quality time with LBH. However, I have this gut feeling that the writers of BD are about to give LBH a personality transplant for the second half of the drama, and wow, I'll have something to say about that. Am saving my All In review with my BD review, sorta a tribute to LBH after my marathon week with him. Thank the lord hubby is off to Asia for a few whirlwind days, so I don't have to contend with him mocking LBH (he can't, he already conceded the LBH hotness).

@112, Kender

Oh, a subject near and dear to my heart! Some of these bands you may have heard of, others maybe not, but these are on my Ipod permanently:

Red Letter Agent (great Atlanta based band)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HASh29fFRgo

Future of Forestry (Christian band, some amazing songs)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N45cEfdonjM

Mumm-ra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXFXjh9a8lY

Ryan Adams (can't go wrong with him EVER)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omZM1yjgaJg

The Wannadies (this is my happy song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4D5N0vqFXw

Mute Math (could only find the song in a fanmade Twilight video, sorry)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg7oBzVvYOw

The Catherine Wheel (great 90's band from the UK, LOVE them)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqprbDoh4g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0O9uNvoMec

@16 hjkomo

Haha…it took me longer than I expected. I do book layout (dtp) and I thought it would be cool to have an index at the end of #100 OT (like a book) to make it special. But sorry, it didn’t turn out nice. Even when try to refer to the index, I got crossed-eyed. Lol. I am still very new in posting and I don’t know how to italised and bold the words (stupid me, please can you teach me?). I wanted to bold the names or italised the numbers to make for easy reference, also rushing to get it done before #101 OT starts!

Note to JB: If you will kindly remove the post 433, I will revise and improve it and even include @436 who called me _ _ _ _! I didn’t know what it meant and goggled it and I was shocked! I am no puritan but then again…

Anyway, DB OT is like virtual ‘Cheers’ (imo), where everybody knows your name, you come and have a good time, laugh, tell stories, share your happiness and sorrows etc and everybody will cheer you up, encourage, support etc. Its so warm, comfortable here. :-D Thanks to my 3 DB angels @hjkomo, ockoala, langdon813.

Re: Anne of Green Gables
Thanks so much for the link. I am itching to buy it but its shipping within US only. I will call my sis in Canada (since its a CBC series) to try get it for me. Thanks for the VHS offer, but I don’t have a VHS player (died long ago).

Wow, #101 move very fast, and I am still hungover from #100.

***Congratulations to Samsooki and Mrs Samsooki. *** Baby samsooki will be 1st baby of DB rite?
Now I am imagining a little Wang Seok-hyun (love him in Speed Scandal) or boy Yisan. Oh, I just love the child actors of kdramas, eg. the four children in Fsh70s, Byul in JWD, 4 year old girl in WL, little Rang (CH) just to name a few…the list goes on! They are so awesomely talented, its unbelievable.

@ockoala
Please wait until Tamra ends before starting. SPOILER ALERT! This weekend is going to be so heartbreaking (reading from the spoilers, just can’t help it) that next week is going to be so excruciating loooong before we get to see the ending. I think this #101 OT is going to be another epic one with all the Tamra fans coming to rant and cry… Hjkomo, langdon813, please can you give me tissues and hold my hands… Btw, I just love Park Kyu’s ‘Oh Ho… or Ho!’ when he is reprimanding Beojin. If I am tech savvy I will edit/cut those parts and play it over and over again…

I am glad you are enjoying LBH All In and BD. I don’t know how to put in words, but LBH’s intensity, eyes, silent look, censure, angry jealousy just sucks you in, right? I love his walk ‘manly gait’? Hmm… if only, he’s a little taller…(covering from LBH fans). Oh, BD’s soundtrack is sooo good, that’s how I fall in love with RSW’s voice and the part where he sings and plays the piano in the supermarket for CJW. I am a sucker for actors who plays the piano for real (not acting STH etc) and just love KSA in MNIKSS when she really plays (KSA is a piano major).

Umm btw…how many more hours to Tamra??? Tissues ready. Check. PC screen protection. Check. No dangerous objects to throw. Check

@55 Samsooki : Slap Chop love

I'm late to the thread today and skipped over about 200 posts to respond to your desire to send JB a slap chop... where were you last week when I so so heartfeltedly wanted to contribute to giving JB a Slap Chop to commemorate OT 100?! Every morning making an egg sandwich with her Slap Chop (one egg, one pickle, bit of mayo, chop chop chop), she'd be thinking, how great is this? 20 seconds and my lunch is made, and all b/c of my devoted band of DB followers.

But you weren't here.

And I must confess, it never occurs to me to look at OT after Friday. I guess I thought it magically closed up shop at midnight somewhere or other.

OK, now I'm caught up and I realize Samsooki you have a decent excuse for being otherwise occupied of late... Congratulations! Hope Ms Samsook is taking things easy for the last week or so of waiting.

Oh, thank God. I was afraid I'd killed the OT with my last ridiculously long post, but finally some new ones popped up (hi simplesim and reluctantbutaddicted)!

@ simplesim

I refuse to even entertain the possibility that Tamra will end any way other than the way I want it to. But if it does, I'll be beyond devastated. There aren't enough tissues in the world. Let's hold hands until the end...FIGHTING!!!

@ reluctantbutaddicted

Well, according to the tally compiled at the end of OT100, I'm one of the main reasons OT Friday usually lasts until the NEXT OT Friday. I should probably be embarrassed about that, but I know it won't change anything. The Original Verbal Diarrhea girl, that's me.

Wow, JB's 100th thread is 400 posts already. I was late to join. he he ^_^

I am now sooo soo addicted to Tamra Island. Im Ju Hwan is the next Gu Jun Pyo for me. I heart Im Ju Hwan and I am going nuts. <3
Can't wait until tomorrow for another episode.

As for American tv series:
@61- Dale- I sometimes watch "Criminal Minds" on tv when I flip through the channels- this is a very interesting and complicated plot series. I really enjoy watching it, but it does have some creepy cases.

@116 itsjustme- I have not watched "Glee" yet, but I AM A HUGE fan of BONES.
I really recommend this drama to everyone. It has the cop aspect of CSI, but it's also very funny. The two leads are like the "x files" Mulder and Scully- except more sexual tension. 5 stars.....

@ lovenyc52

massages for $20 tip included? dayem.. i just dropped $60 for my hour long.. i need me a chinese spa.. these american ones are sucking me dry, and i've only been to one session! LOL!

@ everyone talking about 2AM's hot bods..

dayem!!! where the heck have these boys been hiding the bods? i'm still wiping up the drool from this morning.. but i do have to say i'm disappointed at Jinwoon. i woulda thought he'd be considerate enough to show us his baby abs too.. even if they're still abs-in-training. LOL!

@ all the LBH love

has anyone else watched the movie "Addicted"? it's been a while, but i thought LBH was creepily wonderful in that movie.. the psycho stalking stuff and his eyes.. his eyes are so handsomely creepy.. totally gave me the chills, yet captivated me all at the same time.

YAY to GI JOE 2 and 3 w/ LBH. gotta watch 1 soon too!

can't wait to watch TGTBTW.

@ samsooki

Mr and Mrs Samsooki - CONGRATULATIONS - I am so happy for you both.

@81 Dele

Happy Birthday, wish I could be as young as you, whew!! those were the days.

To all Muslims
Happy Eid-Elfitr (End of Ramadan) on September 21.. I am not a Muslim. but we have a lot of hotel guests who are, and just about 4 years ago this holiday was declared in our country as an official national holiday to give importance to the culture and religion of our fellow Muslim countrymen. Our country is about 90 percent Christians (Catholics, Protestant, Charismatic and other variants) and 10% Muslims.

@ Langdon813 : OK, I've got to go check that tally, but please! don't dream of clamming up... your participation is a crucial part of the enjoyment of these OTs.

@141 langdon813 unni

ur diarrhea is contagious.. and if i were able to access the thread past my curfew, i woulda ranked rite up there w/ the rest of the family. LOL!

That tally is too much! Stellar effort on the part of the compiler.

@langdon813

I refuse to even entertain the possibility that Tamra will end any way other than the way I want it to. But if it does, I’ll be beyond devastated. There aren’t enough tissues in the world. Let’s hold hands until the end…FIGHTING!!!

Don't worry, I believe strongly that PK and BJ will live happily after on Tamra Island. We just have to get through this weekend and wait for next one. A soompi 'hitman' is ready with his/her bazooka to blast W! FIGHTING!!!

@ mishane, ockoala & Taohua on Nodame Cantabile

I'm so happy some of you brought this drama up! It's my favorite favorite J-drama of ALL TIME! (1 litre of tears used to be on top, but then it was pushed down to No.2.. hehehe..)

I didn't watch ISWAK, so I can't make any comparisons. But just on Nodame itself, it's just GOLD. Definitely one of the best made comedic/OTT J-dramas I have EVER seen. Have to admit I actually got turned off watching it for the first time because of the exaggeration and OTT-ness. Everyone was craving about it at that time and I was 1 year late into watching it.. My initial reaction was that Chiaki was not attractive, and Nodame was so plain!! But I geared up my attention to watch it for a second time, BOY I WAS SOOOO WRONG. Chiaki and Nodame make a PERFECT combo despite their differences! Chemistry was just all over the place. Loved how they balanced out the OTT comedic scenes with the focus on classical music, loved how Chiaki slowly grew fonder of Nodame and S-orchestra, loved how the drama didn't downplay the emphasis of Nodame trying to the pursue her own dreams of playing music with Chiaki because of their odd love story. The mixture was just right on spot. Not overbearing and yet was enough to touch our hearts.

With regard to the essence of Nodame's character, I think it was Ueno Juri the actress who made a difference. Yes, she was naive, over the top and overbearing in her actions. Some ppl find that really difficult to swallow because it's not realistic at all means. But Juri managed to flesh out Nodame's character in so many ways that it made her character more lovable and endearing to watch. Definitely a praiseworthy performance by the actress.

@ Taohua on Conspiracy in the Court

Remember me in OT#100? I still have half an episode to go till I finish the drama. Like you said, the cinematography and direction of the drama is just zero to none in comparison to the few sageuks I've seen. The intricacy and fine-ness of PD Kwak's touches really blew me away. A extremely enjoyable treat I must say.

I do have one minor thing to get off my chest tho. Not that I'm disregarding all praises and compliments for this masterpiece... maybe it's just me. I think I kinda lost the zealousness I had for the drama toward the last episode. Thought the political aspect was overplayed and kinda overshadowed the relationship of the main characters. And that NangJa didn't show too much compassion or love toward Sang Gyu anymore whilst the later still loved her so much. And one thing, that Sang Gyu didn't really bother to even investigate further on the conspiracy and was so dead on just saving Nangja? What about his friend's death? What about the King's orders bestowed upon him? Was he that weak?

On the cast, they did a wonderful job considering that they're kinda new to the drama scene. Especially Lee Cheon Hee, who managed to flesh out his vulnerability as a human whenever he's with Nang Ja. I love it when he gets all teary even whilst unleashing his anger or hatred... such refined and great scenes by the actor.

@ Old school J-droma and Yutaka

You guys just heat up the thread with hotness man! Man I've loved this actor ever since his drama With Love. Think I watched it like 10 years ago? And I remember I kept playing the song he was writing? Something called Once in a Blue Moon or something? The lady was really a plain nobody....but their love story was really endearing... (considering that there was no MSN back then hah!)

Did anyone watch his mystery investigation drama Ice World with Matsushima Nanako? I loved that drama too! The mystery of who killed all the ppl made it so much more interesting because YT was investigating Nanako (the suspect) and ended up falling in love with her!

@ All Tamna/Tamra Island lovers

I just watched Ep 1 over viikii, and I found it really really interesting! The setting and music in particular really intrigue me... so refreshing, unique and alluring. But is it only me or viikii has been putting up some new instructions for us to donate or stuff before we're able to watch episodes during peak hours? I came across an announcement asking us to install some viikii player or something too? I was going to finish off Ep 1 when I got stuck!! urhhhh..

@ Mr. and Mrs. Samsooki!

Congrats on the newborn! The baby might keep you guys busy for a while I guess. But we'll always have a spot for you here in OT! ^^

just wondering if anyone has this problem.
sometimes I would hit "submit comment" and then it refreshes this thread, but my comment is not posted yet. and I would have to type my comment all over again. I will use my back up method- copy and paste. it's just my own technical problem?

Anyways- I am sooo ADDICTED to Tamra Island. Im Ju Hwan is my new BOF Lee Min Ho obsession. Im Ju Hwan is so adorable. the quality of viikii videos does not do him justice. he really does need to be seen in HD. Cannot wait for another episode tomorrow.

@ 61- Dale-
I have seen Fringe S1 and so far, so good. The plot is a bit hard to understand if you don't watch every episode. Warning; this drama has some very graphic scenes, going to the "gross" category. But the plot is very complex and good.
Also, I watch Criminal Minds every now and then when I flip through the tv channels. It a very good cop/profiling show.

@116- itsjustme- I also LOVED BONES. I recommend this show to everyone. It has the cop aspect of CSI, but it's also similar to x-files- the 2 main characters are like Mulder and Scully except with more sexual tension.

While I am dicussing american tv dramas- has any watch the BBC drama "North and South" yet? If not, and you are the person this is into "Pride & Prejudice" and anything that has to do with romantic British dramas- go right ahead and watch " N&S". It's my second favorite English romantic drama next to "P&P".