Happy weekend Beanies! Happy new month!

Moonlight Drawn By Clouds is indeed a great K-drama, but gaaargh I was rooting for Yoon-Sung!  The worst part: naturally I spoiled myself while it aired 2-3 years ago, so I knew this would happen. My heart shattered anyway. Do not get me wrong, this K-drama and its OTP are great (Bo-Gummy, DUH), but Yoon-Sung is one of these second leads I would not mind wooing in real life, if I had the guts that is.

Anyway, I will be able to join in on the squeefest once I am done mourning. I even considered sending in an entry about Yoon-Sung and Ra-On this month, but Yoon-Sung has more to offer than second lead status, so I guess I will drabble some ode of sorts instead, we’ll see.

Romance is a bonus book: I am torn about whether I should start this one or not. I am reading the recaps and skimming the episodes, so I sort of know what is going on….but I don’t think I will like the OTP, which is what the story seems to be all about. Our second lead pairing, the publishing company setting and its employees on the other hand…It also seems to contain a lot of wisdom that I can use at the moment.

I wrote it on a fan wall, but again I miss Kim Seul Gi and Kim Se Jeong on screen!

happy friday, everyone!
I’m not an active participant of Open Thread. But I come here, time to time, because i love reading the comments.

I haven’t been that avid drama viewer these years. I only watched Signal, Goblin, Just Between Lovers, Because it’s the first time, Mister Sunshine, and Sky Castle (to the final episode) in the past few years.

I started watching The Light In Your Eyes.
It started out fine, until HyeJa changed after that incident. I mean, it’s too heart breaking to watch her older self, especially when she get the sentiment of the elderly while she’s mentally 25 years old.
But, as the story goes on, I think I should drop the drama, since I have lost my interest in the storyline. Believe me, if i get to list all of those drams that i dropped in the early episodes, i think i might get a lot more than those that i had actually finished.

What i am really an avid fan of is, Na PD’s shows, Youn’s kitchen and now Coffee Friends. I just love to watch without any particular reasons. I really want to have Son Ho Joon’s hand drip coffee (sour flavor), hehe.

Again, happy weekend everyone.

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all doing well today!

And just like that it's the month of March. What? Already?

The Last Empress - One more episode left to watch! ..... I'm going to miss this crazy bunch.

Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul-ho 2 - Down to watching an episode and a half at a time. I don't think I'm missing much in the parts I'm not watching.

Romance Is A Bonus Book - Enjoying how this is moving along. ..... I liked Eun-ho's rejection letter to Hae-rin. And I have to say that since this drama started, I've been liking the variety of coats Eun-ho's been wearing.

Trap - Episode 5!! Episode 5!! Episode 5!! ..... then there was Episode 6!! Episode 6!! Episode 6!! ..... What a week with this show!

That's all for now. Everyone take care and and have a great Friday!

I haven't been watching any dramas except RBB. Hopefully that will change this next week.
I just haven't had a great attention span this past week.

This morning has been a comedy of errors already so I wish I could just go hide under the covers and watch dramas.

Forgot it was the first so had to dig out change for bus.
Then realized I'd left my house without my glasses on🤦‍♀️ so had to go back.
Then almost walked into the neighborhood skunk. I backed up way back to wait and give it the right of way.

Rewatching Chuno
Spring is Spring
Crowned Clown
Liver Die
J drama Manpuku

Currently enjoying J drama Saving Rock and　A story to read when you first fall in love.
Saving Rock is only 30 min long or so per eps and I must say that it is cheaply made( low budget) compared to K drama. The story is about a salaried man( relatively young and maybe a bit silly) who was obsessed with guitars and rock' roll . He somehow became obsessed with saving money with the same rigor and passion for guitars. I think that it is only Japan who can make a drama about young man saving money! I really enjoy it for its silliness.
A story to read when you first fall in love; the main heroine is still clueless. When she failed to get in Tokyo Uni, all her confidence was lost and she became so clueless with love! Poor girl.I love two of three men who are interested in her. The high school student who decided to try Tokyo Uni and her elite cousin are quite sweet. I cannot help cheering for her cousin( he is so nice) but something about pink hair high school student makes me cheer for him as well. I do not like other guy who is a high school teacher. He is a bit sly compared to other two.
Both Sky Castle and this drama talk about competitive university entrance. While SK became a bit of tragedy and in more upscale setting and made us think twice about the extreme competitiveness on uni admission, this one seems to be focused on the heroine's love life on surface but when i peek this drama a bit deeper, the drama folds to show how she gets back her confidence not just as a cram school teacher but as a person. I also like the scenario where a black sheep tries to get in Tokyo Univ. The teachers talk about ways to study in order to get in Tokyo uni in the drama and I found it interesting. The examination of Tokyo University is freaking difficult so one has to study with extreme efficiency! One needs certain tactics in order to get into the uni for sure.

Oh, and the last thing; I hate 'Live or Die'. I am sure there will be a redemption coming but I think it is too late to feel happy for them. The family is so dysfunctional.

Happy March everyone!
(more later. about to go to a meeting with my advisor in a min)

Happy Friday beanies!

This week has been tough! Because of work, I’ve only averaged 4 to 5 hours of sleep each day. Hopefully next week will be a leisurely one.

This coming Monday is my birthday... going to celebrate by going to a Brazilian steakhouse tomorrow. Cant wait to sink my teeth into some tender juicy meat, yum!

Currently watching Sky Castle, it’s good but I am not addicted yet.

Also watching Narcos on Netflix, which is pretty good.

If anyone wants a good podcast to listen to, Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime” is very entertaining.

I also listen to Brooke and Jubal (radio show) segments - awkward Tuesday phone call, second date update, loser line. They are available on the website and on YouTube, and freaking hilarious!

Hope everyone has an great start to March. I think March Is a popular month for birthdays.

Happy happy Friday Beanies! Hope everyone had a fantastic week!

My Strange Hero 7.5/10 This was a really cute drama. Yoo Seung-Ho is of course an excellent actor and I adore his smiles. His whole face smiles and sparkles when he does smile. I've never seen Jo Bo-ah in anything before but she was adorable and sweet and had good chemistry with YSH. The drama could be frustrating at times by the injustice that was blatantly happening but it had a good ending for all the characters. Overall an enjoyable drama that I would suggest to others. 😋

Legend of Yunxi 4.5/10 Not a good drama. I started out finding it entertaining but as the drama dragged on and the romance was nothing but Long Feiye constantly pushing Yunxi away I got tired and annoyed with it. Long Feiye was borderline abusive. He would do these things to push Yunxi away to 'protect' her but was just asshole moves. And then he would be all lovey-dovey with her in the next scene, then shoving her away again. That's what abusive people do. The ending was kinda left to your interpretation but I don't even care what the ending is because I have absolutely no interest in the characters or their outcomes. I felt no romance or chemistry at all between the leads, there were constant plot holes, nothing felt serious even when it should have been a serious scene, and it was cheesy and silly (and not the good kind of cheesy). Stay away from this one 🤢

Happy Friday Beanies!

I have been sucked into - of all things! - C show Super Vocal.

I'm not a variety show person but C variety shows are invading my tv. The scale is always grand and they have big budgets but of course the most important, China has crazy number of talents. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because their population is huge.

Anyway, this Super Vocal is singing talent contest with a difference - the contestants are trained opera and musical theater singers. I just started yesterday and can't stop watching. Doesn't help that the contestants are all tall and incredibly good looking.

Also, the weirdest thing - I now know who Henry is.

Hi Everyone and Happy OT!

My youngest child just got home ... just past midnight. So now I can come on here with a clearer mind. Kids!
Conversation with youngest
"Why did you leave so late?"
"We wanted to get the ice-cream."
"What's so special about the ice-cream? Why should it have made you late?"
"It's good and cheap. We had to have dinner first, and we had to line up for the ice-cream."
That was all well and good, but by the time the kid had ice-cream and got out of there, the trains stopped running and the buses were few, and there was still the walk from the bus stop.

Last week, I learnt that a child, Boy A, whom I took to be stubborn and uncooperative, was actually probably a bit special. He couldn't understand how to read other people or recognise when someone was annoyed with him.

I wouldn't have known either if there had not been a blow up between him and Boy B. Boy A did not know that when other boys approach, they might just mean to talk, but he reacts by moving away or pushing them away. He might be a bit OCD too, because he wants to put things back a particular way and neatly before he can move on to something else. Hoping he'll come by again tomorrow and that we can figure out how to meet his needs.

I think I’ll rewatch goblin. You know. That drama with only 15 episodes? No and don’t try tell me otherwise.

TGIF! Hope everyone had a good week (after being flabbergasted by a couple of dramas). So we have only one episode left for The Crowned Clown(TCC). I am amazed how the show is still engaging after big ep. 8 showdown. I had doubts, so I got curious about the writer who was able to pull this off impressively (I think directors -filming, art, music- played big role in show's success too). The description of the show includes "The clown who became the king and the queen who became to love the clown, and the loyal subject who devoted his loyalty enduring his loss of dignity for the country the new king tried to build. Some say they were fake, but to them it was very real. That passionate and intense journey starts now."(Did I misunstand minister Lee?)

The main writer Kim Sin-duk never wrote a mini-series before (I couldn't find info. on this writer. There is another writer Sin Ha-eun who was co-writer for the drama Argon, but it is not known how much she is involved.). Maybe that is why this drama feels different? (fast moving plot?) I found her short interview done before the show started on Jan 7th.

[Sports Josun,2019.01.07] When heard this was a hit movie remake people were very curious about how it would be re-created for the home theater. Here is Q&A session.
Q: What is direction of adaptation and unique color of "The Crowned Clown"?
Kim: Because it was story with very clear motif "The Prince and the Pauper", it was easier to bring out imagination. I'm trying so that the story would be played out in the direction to raise the dramatic tension using the real history and the movie setup to the max. TCC starts from the inspiration "How would it be like if a clown who has excellent skill to make people laugh is actually a boy who didn't even experience his first love?" It is the story of this boy clown's growth by becoming a real king and a man who knows how to love. In that process I am building the drama to make people laugh with his struggling image, and moved with his image going straight forward with pure passion and will power. I am trying to show new episode and new character in every episode. But I can't give you detail because I don't want you not being able to enjoy the drama because of spoiler.

Q: What do you think about the casting?
Kim: I think I am lucky having greater actors than I expected. I have high expectations about characters and their stories vividly coming alive through their acting.
Q: How do you think of Yeo Jin-gu?
Kim: I like his innocent face and low voice which give you faith. I think he is an actor with solid base who can emote various feelings.

There was new drama news on DB which Lee Sang-yeob will star in. I always liked him who did "Top Star Yoo Baek" recently, so I looked up his interview. There was one done after the show ended. But first short intro.
Per wiki(and the like) Lee Sang-yup (36) debuted in KBS drama "A Happy Woman" in 2007. After he finished his army duty in 2011, he returned to dramaland doing dramas like I live in Chungnam dong(2011), The Innocent Man(2012), Jang Ok-jung (2013), House of Bluebird(2015) and Signal, The Doctors, My Wife's Having an Affair this Week(2016), While You Were Sleeping(2017) and The Hymn of Death(2018). Lee won the New actor award in MBC awards with drama "Give Love Away" where he played the first title role, and after 4 years he won the acting award in SBS awards for "While you are sleeping". When he played the villain Lee Yoo-bum in While you are sleeping, he gained popularity- viewers even awarded him with the words "Yoo-bum guilty, but Sang-yeop not-guilty". Lee also did a few movies including The Villagers (2018). As for variety, as appearing in "Running Man" Lee showed undeniable chemistry with other members playing active part, and received the reaction like "Variety genius" and "Running Man regular".

Lee is one of actors who has good image and does not have criticism about acting. Even when he had the scandal "Debt too" (It was revealed that his father was sued for scamming in Nov, 2018), the response was more like "Don't hurt Sang-yeop hyung.". He can do vocal impersonation of Jung Woo-sung and Jang Hyuk which he showed in variety which drew enthusiastic reactions (But Jang Hyuk didn't like it when he heard of this-heh). He appeared in Running Man until July, 2018 for 14 times as the guest who appeared the most. According to Lee, his parents were stern and blunt. He happened to see his mother laughing when he did a play in church when he was young, and that scene came into his sight like pin light was falling. And since that day he had the dream of becoming an actor someday. He majored in Management in the college, and happened to check a talent management agency's home page (SsaideoseuHQ) while doing the assignment, and saw the banner for audition for new actors and applied and passed. It is said that his parents objected harshly about him acting, but now they are supportive. He seems religious as he mentioned "Thanks for God" in the SBS awards in 2017, and "Our church people are watching" while doing "Knowing brothers". Lee was revealed as only grandson of the former Dongguk Jaekang chairman. (rumor says his broke-up with Gong Hyun-joo whom he had once publicized dating relationship with was due to his family.) Now onto the interview.

[hankyung.com, hankookilbo.com, bnt, 2019.01.31] Lee played Choi Ma-dol who was the top star of Yeojeuk Island and love rival of Yoo Baek.
Q: How do you feel now that the show ended?
Lee: I feel weird because this is first filming done in Seoul after 4...

OT Week 107! I almost hate the week after leave from work because there is undoubtedly more work that you must do when you get back. This is where I am today, still trying to tie up loose ends from when I was gone. But, Yay! we get to celebrate my hubby’s birthday tonight, so that will be lots of fun! Going to a steak place with the best hamburgers ever and truffle fries! Totally overindulgent.

I’ve been busy, but I’m still watching three dramas: “Radiant,” “RIABB,” and “Touch Your Heart.” Radiant is the hardest for me to watch. After “My Ahjusshi,” this one is good, but not as good. NJH is doing a bang up job here though. I’m impressed. Now, will he ever be a Yoo Jin-goo, Gong Yoo, or even Nam Da-Reum? Probably not. But he’s not bad at all. (Speaking of NDR, he’s going to be the lead in a school-drama, melo, of course, because he’s awesome like that.)

The squeefest that is the fan wall for “Touch Your Heart” is unparalleled. It is cute. Too cute for words right now.

And RIABB is…there. I don’t really look forward to it, but it’s enjoyable when I do watch it, and I’m not behind or anything, because it’s on the weekend and I can usually watch the episodes as they come out.

Conversations:

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from my daughter and the math genius. Turns out, there is another math competition around the corner.

Me: Oh, I got an email that you qualified for the regional math thing.
Daughter: So did my best friend!

Me: How about math genius?

Daughter: Of course, that’s the only way my best friend got in!

Me: Why?

Daughter: Because she was on his team and they got second for the word problem round! I was on a team of newbies. They didn’t make it.

Me: But I’m glad she gets to go with you. I remember this actually. He wanted you on his team.

Daughter: Yeah, we’ll all be on the same team now--how it was meant to be.

Moral of the Story: Hopefully, “it was meant to be” between math genius and my daughter.

2nd moral: Who needs kdramas with this?

3rd moral: Have a great weekend everyone! We have more snow coming and winter will not leave!

Well, I made it through Memories of the Alhambra. To be honest, it could've stopped at ep 15. The writer should've asked anyone off the street to write the ending (pick me! pick me!); it would've been better. I was glad they mostly dropped the romance thing; Jin-woo did tell her not to trust him. And let's face it, he was a little too world-weary for Hee-joo's naive tears (so. many. tears.) For me, the creepy NPCs represented personal demons, the ones that keep you up at night looking to take you down when you least expect it. Overall, I quite liked the show, and the effects and production were so pretty (did I mention Hyun Bin's dimples?)

In other news, I slogged through Fates and Furies. It would've been so much better if no one got together with anyone. Tae In Joon just wanted to make shoes! Leave him alone! The only thing I ever wanted from this series was Cha Soo Hyun's wardrobe. She killed in every outfit.

Finally, finally got to see the last 3 eps of Devilish Joy. (sob) I wanted to hug everyone.

Waiting very. patiently. for Beauty Inside to catch up. It depresses me a little, mostly because it encapsulates everything I feel about life and love. Everyone deserves love and happiness no matter what they look like on the outside. I usually don't identify with female leads, but Han Se-Kye became my heart. And having a core group of friends can help you through anything.

And now... The Last Empress. Where have you been all my life? After Fates and Furies, I was ready for anything. But no. You barged into my dull existence and blew it up! You stole all of my free time, and dropped me off on a corner in the middle of nowhere. Can't you see me in your rearview mirror, staring longingly as you drive away? You occupied all my space, then you just up and left. And yet, I can't be mad at you. Sigh. Farewell my crazy, crazy friend.

Happy March everyone.

Will this horrendous winter never end! Yes it will. SOON!!!!!!! Fingers crossed, anyway.

Dramas:

I'm liking so many and had to drop a few.

Radiant/Light in your eyes -- sweet, dark, slow and smooth like molasses. The melancholy in this has me wishing for a bittersweet tragic ending so if we get an HEA, it had better be earned. Show, do not fail me by giving me some easy out. That young actor is sooo good! I trust him and our actresses to hit this drama out of the park.

Fiery Priest -- Honey Lee is one of my favorite actresses. So am liking seeing her on the screen. There is a vitality, a throw-it-all-in carefreeness, and a committment to gusto in her acting that some other actresses just do not have.

Romance is a Bonus Book and Touch Your Heart (Reach of Sincerity) both are so sweet. The office families in both are so what i need. Reminds me of King of Savvy. Am glad we won't have to deal with any trope of evil second lead female. I was getting tired of that. Romance reminds me of those Japanese business dramas where we learn about some kind of industry. I'm not invested in the mystery and i don't feel we really need one but kdramas tend to overplot so...i gotta deal. I liked the scene of our hero cutting his dad's (?) nails. I do wish hero and Dani would've shared their pains with each other. IF they are friends, they should risk upsetting and grieving their friend by dumping their own sorrow on them.

Legal High. Am accommodating myself to this version. It's good and silly. With a good fleshed out plot.

Spring Becomes Spring. I love the adulterers. They are so greedy and silly and the actress is doing a great job playing such a silly evil woman. I tend to fast-forward through the discussion with the guy boms because i am so not interested in them.

Dropped Item, Haechi, Poong Sang, and avoided Trap. The stress was too much. I love me some Jung Il Woo but i just couldn't. Maybe when i'm better. How do those ahjummas in Korea deal with all that sorrow? Also dropped Hoalan because it was just fatiguing what with all the battles our heroine was facing. Every other episode there was some new scheme. It became ridiculous and i just couldn't invest. It's good popcorn material though.

Watching The Golden Eyes and liking it a lot. Great fun and i'm learning so much about Chinese antiquities. Awaiting some kind of Indiana Jones adventure.

Watching Carpisma a Turkish Drama that is subbed on youtube. If you're into fate collisions, you might like this one.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend, all!

I'm adding a note of complaint about Viki.
Of course the week that I subscribed was the week their English translations imploded. Episodes are popping up with no translations at all or with 2/3rds of the dialog translations missing. And the stuff that did get translated is random, like song lyrices or just the word 'Hello'. Turning on the timed comments function, you see frustrated viewers begging for English translations or making up random dialog to fill in for the missing translations. I had signed up to Viki for 'Sky Castle' and the episodes are unwatchable.

Babel and Trap this weekend and I think I am going to rewatch episode 8 of Reach of Sincerity. It was so funny and cute and kind and warm.

I love, love, love the scene with the female staff members and would like more of that. The ladies had their reservations and then got over it when they realized that Yoon seo was pretty great. No cattiness or undermining behavior among them and when Secretary Kang offered her phone number....wow, it just made we want to go out and hug someone.

General life question of the week: Are rejection letters not a common business practice?

I'm not talking no-callbacks in the early stages, I mean when you've gone through multiple interviews, all your references have been called/interviewed, and you've gone through every stage possible over the course of several months and then there's silence for weeks. I get that companies have policies against giving status updates in order to prevent people from getting the wrong idea before something is set in stone, but is there any reason an HR person can't politely tell a person they're no longer being considered if they ask about where they are in the process? Like, are there actually bans against letting people know that they've been rejected or something or is it just a personal decision from an HR person that doesn't want to be the bearer of bad news?

I've always thought that it was common sense to let a potential candidate know, even if it's in a roundabout way, when a decision has been made against hiring them and to thank and encourage them to apply again sometime. Therefore, I've assumed that in the final stage no news is good news since it means someone is still working (very slowly) to put together an offer for you. After all, you don't need a month after a final interview to make a decision about whether or not you want to hire someone. But perhaps this is not how the majority of businesses actually operate? I mean, everyone knows the worst thing you can do to an applicant is not give them any closure, so why not do so?

Fam, anyone in the East Coast get BTS tickets?

Hello Everyone!

I’m so glad more Kdramas are coming to Netflix. I have added a few to my list such as Six Flying Dragons and Bad Guys.

I have asked a question about what ate the beanies’ 5 top favourite kdrama on my fan wall and i’ve added few of the beanies’ favourite to my must watch list like My Ajusshi, Six Flying Dragons and Just Between Lovers. I’m also interested in Prosecutor Princess but I’m not a fan of law drama or medical drama, there’s only very few exceptions like Forest of Secrets. Anyone else doesn’t like medical and law-related dramas?

My attempts at making friends this year have been unsuccessful so far, I’ll be going to a cafe meet up and see if I can make at least one friend. I need to talk to more people to be less socially awkward and hone my social skills. I’m good at reading the atmosphere but i’m not that good at talking so reading The mood is useless if my social skills isn’t adequate enough. Let’s hope tomorrow meet up will be successful.

Beanies, have you been reading anything interesting lately?

I’m 2.5 episodes to the end of Crowned Clown (for Jingoo, I will survive this train-wreck). Then next week I will be on my way to Japan (for Seo In Guk!) so I don’t plan to begin any live dramas until I return.

Any suggestions of completed dramas that can fill my long haul?

Anyone want to talk about the ending of The Last Empress? I was all ready to hate all over the show for the exit of Choi Jin-Hyuk before the final episodes, but actually they handled it quite cleverly and turned it into a poignant plot twist. It did a good job of showing that the quality of someone's life and the manner of their passing can have a huge effect on the rest of the world...something I did not expect from this crazy little show. At first I thought it was just makjang, but it turned out to be makjang with a wink and a smile and a nice little message in amongst the poisoned kimbap, secret torture dens, opium cookies, drownings, deadly hairpins, explosions, exhumations, massage chairs (princess versions, large AND small!) and safes filled with incriminating documents and gold bars.

I'm here waiting for Lee yo won's drama "Different Dreams"..

Only watching:

Touch Your Heart ~ just finished ep. 8 and shooooooon this drama has slip into my heart. I love the main couple, how unangsty and real for a new relationship they seem ~ though I’m more like YS in relationships, I wish I was cool and elegant but I just usually end up just bottling things up that then come out much much less gracefully.

Clowned Crown ~ I’m caught up through ep 13, and man, the political machinations are making it hard to get through... my new ambition is for Eunuch Jo and the mathematician to survive. That’s all I ask, drama gods