Happy lots of things tomorrow!

Happy graduation and happy birthday Tabong~~!

I agree with you, this kind of evolutionary psychology applied to modern consumer culture is TOTAL nonsense. Of course, it does allow me to say to my wife: "I need the really big screen t.v., because of my evolutionary history: primitive men needed to scan the horizon as widely as possible, to detect the danger of approaching white trucks." But otherwise, any theory like this is totally ahistorical in really stupid ways. Men might, MIGHT spend less time shopping for food (I certainly don't!) but they spend more time shopping for other things, that consumer culture associates with masculinity: automobiles, electronics, workout gear, etc. Historians of consumerism have several explanations for gender differences in shopping and marketing, and all of them are based on social constructions with clear, non-genetic antecedents. The analysis behind articles like this one is designed to reinforce existing norms--we can't change our behaviors because they are hereditary.
I have to say, though, the one example of this analysis I kind of like is the "drunken monkey hypothesis" arguing that human's taste for alcoholic beverages comes from pre-human primates eating of fermented fruit, that because of alcohol's antiseptic qualities, inhibited dangerous bacteria and allowed the drunken monkey to survive better than sober monkeys. Of course, they couldn't have been too drunken, or they would have fallen out of trees. But then I imagine one monkey carrying a drunken one on her/his back, leading to a romantic relationship and more progeny who liked alcohol!

I liked Heirs for the other characters :

Kim Woo-Bin was very funny in this role and way more charismatic than LMH ;

Kang Min-Hyuk and Krystal's couple was super cute ;

Kim Ji-Won and Kang Ha-Neul's "friendship" ;

Park Hyung-Sik was so young in this one!

The cheesy OST was the cherry on the top :p

I've tried to rewatch BoF but never thought of Heirs. I can't wait to do it.

This may call for a rewatch, haha!

I recommend that back then we used to watch any kdrama we found and we were LMH and PSH (and F(x)) fans, so we were REALLY excited about Heirs, but we suffered so much. I don't remember much about that time (I don't even remember the show well) but I still haven't forgotten my sister's complains about the it. LOL

the "mariya" part in the theme song brings so many memories.

For obvious reasons, the whole concept of a eunuch is distasteful to me--one of the reasons I generally stay away from sageuks. Of course I also feel the same way about concubines, on the opposite end of the sexuality spectrum!

I really liked her in Witch’s Romance~

I will this weekend.
Grant:Ney: Ney has dissociative amnesia and no interest in learning wht she's missing. SING's sequel. Don't ask why I'm writing it at th same time as the original book. Started a third notebook last week.
From Surviving to Thriving: About a girl who has neglectful parents and wants to please God. Wrote 1 scene. Really need to finished writing 2010. Hope to do this next week. 🤞🏾 Let's see what happens.

Reading: I've only read a couple days this week. I need to read every day.

The director who takes me to dinner: Not really a "I'm only gay for him" so much as I am blank-sexual. And will literally die without you. Kinda steamy. Kinda love it
The New Recruit: Director Kim gives me and Seunghyun life.
Bongchon Bride: didn't read at all.
Playing a Chapters game about Being Claimed by the Alpha. Didn't read at all.
Semantic Error: Oh! My! Lord! The red outfit is even funnier here than the drama. I didn't know that was possible.
Just Contract Lovers: didn't read at all.
My wife is a man: chapter 15. Didn't read at all.
Boku Girl: didn't read at all
All's Fair in Love, War, and High School I've read this book soooooo many times. On chapter 4. Already can't wait til the ending. But will enjoy the journey there.

"I'm about to break and read the one book about Alex, who is lying about being a chaebol and acting as a poor kid. I swear ONE more f*cking ad." Me last week
Haven't see a single ad. Did the media get it out of their system.

My best friend is writing a webtoon where everyone can be headcanon as trans and its amazing.

I need to get back into webtoons. Didn't dl that at all last week. I need to get back into anime but can't afford my Crunchyroll. Might look into that next Friday.

I have sooooo many shows on my to watch list but I can't find a site.

If you want to follow any of my missions: my eating recovery, EtJ, or media feels, ask me for the links.

I have not but for the longest time I had Japanese films STOLEN IDENTITY (2018) and STOLE IDENTITY 2 (2020) queued up on my watch list on Viki US. UNLOCKED and the Japanese films are based on a novel by Akira Shiga.

a bit scary for its real life implications. not really a thriller for me. Forgot the title of the other Im Si wan as villain movie, which i did not finish. He can be a scary villain.

Men are trash, they still have this expectation that they don’t have to help out with housework, expectations that in-laws have for the woman their son marries are still astronomical and very sexist, and all in all, women don’t want to give up the freedom they have worked so hard to attain. The education system and employment/working situation in Korea is brutal and many don’t want to make a child suffer through that anyway even if they do want one. I know multiple expats who live in Korea with Korean spouses who definitely plan on moving back to their home country to raise their children because they don’t want them dealing with the hellish academic culture in Korea.

It’s worth noting that young women and young men tend to have very different thoughts on feminism in Korea. Feminism is growing among women and in response a resentment towards feminism is growing among men.

Let me raise a few hypothesis (my two cents)--
1) costs of getting married outweigh its benefits - child care, children's education, security concerns
2) demographic imbalance - there are more males than females
3) parents' marriages may lead some to be commitment- phobe; soap operas and their ideation of relationships may not contribute towards getting hitched too
4) being single has way more advantages than married and with the big wide world open out there by internet, the freedom to explore without hackles is a reasonable choice
5) climate change and mental conditions- finding your soulmate or suitable partner can be hard
6) income inequality - the rich would rather mix among themselves; in medieval times, if daughters cannot marry among peers, they are likely to end up in convents (often built or supported by parents, hence the proliferation of small convents in Italy)

I have posted many times about the plunging birth rate in SK. It is happening in most highly industrial countries, but SK fall has been dramatic (to 0.78 when 2.1 is needed to maintain level population). The reasons are pretty clear: highly educated women feel marriage and children are not more important than a career and friendships. The old society principles of duty to marry have fallen by the wayside. Also, the divorce rate in SK is now higher than in the US. Young people are seeing their parents and grandparents divorce, with seniors citing not being burdened by being a caregiver in the end. Also, the economics of marriage are not beneficial especially in the big cities.

There is also a global trend that younger people using social media and dating apps really do not develop deep, real connections with people. Social and communication skills have definitely declined in recent years. However, one would think with the surge of SK celebrity marriages and babies, things would start to reverse course.

Aren't birth rates down worldwide?
And honestly, it's totally understandable considering the state of the world.

On a smaller level, you have the everyday social issues (quality of life problems, inequality, how expensive things are, etc) and on a bigger level, people are ruining the planet so we're dealing with global warming, climate change, and more natural diasters.

Why *would* people want to bring more people into that? And isn't the planet over populated anyway?

As a woman who doesn't dream of marriage and kids, it's not that unbelievable to me that more people aren't interested in that.

And while I get the appeal of having kids, I also get the appeal of not going that way.

Marriage is the single greatest driver of poverty for women. "A way out of poverty". Pfft.

Earlier this week I read an article in either Korea JoongAng Daily or The Korea Times (can't find it now) discussing the causes of low birthrate in SK. When asked about causation, a sociology professor replied with a logical and doable solution, "Men need to contribute more around the house as husbands and fathers".
The world we see in Kdramas rarely reflects the reality of life in what young Koreans refer to as "Hell Joseon" for all the reasons others have listed.

I'm a woman who has never dreamed of baby or marriage.
I've never seen the appeal of babies. They emit an intellect-destructive aura.
Marriage is there to protect the familly, so I do not need it.

It is a general trend around the globe and in history that the more women are educated the less baby they produce. When they have the choice and the possibility, women want to have/retain their freedom.
In a patriarchal society with very high pressure on motherhood and familly care, I'm not surprised to see the birth rate plumet.

"Somehow it is all or nothing: either you are severely disabled or you are a healthy neurotypical." I hate that this double standard still exists despite all the talk of mental health in recent years. Even though social stigma has reduced, there's such a lack of support in the wider system of local policy and government levels. I really hope things work out for you, just take it a day at a time for now :)

For what it’s worth, I don’t believe things like self-reliance and financial circumstances should have any bearing on whether you are deserving of support, especially in a world that strongly favours neurotypicals. I think asking for help is a brave thing to do, and I’m glad you’re continuing to look at other resources.💗

Good on you TS to push on this with your employers and social services. Glad to hear there has been diagnosis. I wonder if there were tests you went through that identifies your occupational inclinations or what type of role is best suited. That would be a start.

Aw, I’m sorry for the family’s loss of a dear faithful friend~

Thinking of you all at this time.

Sorry for your loss 🥺

Pets are fully-fledged members of the family - I’m sorry for your loss, and am sending you and your family lots of love.💗 I only wish their lifespan mirrored ours.

I’m very sorry. A (dog person) friend says that pets come into our lives in order to break our hearts. On days like this for you, it sure feels that way ❤️

Sorry to hear your family's loss of a much loved pet. One reason why I have resisted having a pet.

I've been watching that too!
I thought the bad boys group was interesting because they were clearly out of their element in their outfits and they were so polite to each other when they were attempting to intimidate the other group. They even bowed deeply to each other. One of the judges was like be like this and the contestants looked so scandalized, turning red and laughing.

The sexy category was a good one. Both teams were so good and it was cool that was the first split decision.

I’ve been watching that too! It’s been more engaging than I expected. I like seeing if my opinion lines up with the judges - mostly it does, I could totally be a judge 😅

I’d like to see the groups doing some Super Junior covers just to see Kyuhyun’s reaction 😄

I don't remember anything specific, but I remember that after this drama we were much more attentive to the various sounds in dramas.