Last night, in order to get into the spirit of BBF series night, we opened a jar of Kimchi. When we opened it, it was bubbling. In my head, I heard the word "BOTULISM!" being screamed over and over. I looked at Dest and told her that if we didn't make it, it was great knowing her. Then we took the plunge.
This morning, as I sit here eating my leftover General Tso's Chicken (shout-out to Ming Garden), I reflect upon last night. Oh TC! Oh Emo! Oh Grass (Jan Di)! Oh Golem (Ga Eul)! Oh Dragoness (The Chairwoman/TC's mother)! Watching episodes eleven through sixteen was both painful and amusing.
First, I swear Emo was wearing colorful ankle socks with his dress shoes. I swear I will never understand Korean fashion. The other fashion highlights include Grass wearing her pajama bottom to deliver milk and newspapers (she was wearing other clothes too, in case anyone was confused), Emo's entirely white conductor's formal attire, and the various hideous sweaters worn by just about everyone. Not even going to do more than mention Grass and Golem's party attire for TC's birthday event. Also, is it ALWAYS winter in Korea? Six months had passed during one point, but everyone is still all bundled up. Color me confused.
Next, I wonder: Doesn't anyone know how to have open communication? Oh DAMN at the pride of both TC and Grass! Either the storyline or the Kimchi has given me gas. On the other hand, despite TC being so cruel to her, Grass does persevere, even if it means her being stomped to shit emotionally by Dragoness. TC at the airport, falling to the floor and crying almost made me cry (if I were a pubescent girl), but I managed to hold it all in. Nice to know that Emo is always there to pick up Grass when she needs to be (also, I love how they always swoop in to save her - F3/4, that is).
So, Dragoness is behind a lot of the misfortune that befalls Grass' family, though most of us could have figured that out. Although I wonder how a chairwoman for a global company has that much time to pull the life strings of so many people and still manage to function as chairwoman. However, I do believe that she is beautiful when she smiles, albeit in a condescending and evil sort of way.
Golem and Cassanova (So Yi Jung, the potter dude) have an interesting subplot. It's cute and way less dramatic than the plot of TC and Grass, and I wonder how this will turn out. I also wonder if anything will ever appear/progress romantically for Gangsta (Song Woo Bin), the one who is rumored to have mafia ties. Gotta love how he randomly spurts out ghetto-ish style sayings.
In closing, I must say that I enjoyed the episodes that we watched last night and I enjoyed bastardizing the Kimchi with stale Everything Flatbread from World Market and Long Beans from the Korean store. Yum yummy! Who's ready for the next installment??
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Hot or Not: Min Lee Ho
Pros:
- He's tall. How tall? Who knows. He's taller than the others I've seen him with so far. Always a plus to be taller than the average Asian.
- He's got good hair. Good enough to curl -hence, Turd Curls. Gotta love a guy with good hair.
- He generally looks pretty damn happy. I like happy guys. Happy guys make for happy girls.
Cons:
- He is in terrible shows. It's almost painful to watch.
- He just isn't pretty. I like pretty boys. It's a character flaw I know but it is what it is and he isn't it.
- He isn't a Korean pop star (which means that I'm merely making fun of a Korean actor which somehow diminishes the pleasure I get from the experience).
Overall: I'm undecided on this one. I'm leaning towards Hot just because he makes an excellent spoiled rich kid if you like your spoiled rich kids acting like they're twelve. Not to mention he isn't the worst actor I've ever seen in a Korean television show or movie.
But...
Unless he cuts his hair in the typical anime Asian mullet, puts on some eyeliner, turns emo and starts singing Korean songs that randomly throw in English phrases like 'hey shawty' and 'bounce it baby', I'm going to waver on a final judgement because who doesn't love an emo in skinny jeans whining in Korean and randomly saying English phrases so heavily accented that it makes a love song seem like a bad pick up line?
Pop it, bounce it... So sorry, sorry.
Boys Over/Before/Under/Near/Around/On Top/Behind Flowers:
This show vaguely reminds me of my days at the catholic high school I attended. Oh, those happy days of the past when every day I got up, threw on the uniform in five minutes and headed out the door to my
quintessential Mercedes with my Diet Coke breakfast of champions in hand. Yes, kids from others schools made fun of us but we were RICH, dammit. They just didn't understand.
Luckily, we were not nearly as bad as these kids. There was no super special group of 'hot' (or supposed to be anyway) guys who ran the show. The level of superness of the F4 is so unimaginably unrealistic that all you can do is laugh - as they enter the scene, light bathes them so one can almost feel that specialness soak into their senses. Yes...they are oh-so-special and I AM OH-SO-FEELING IT.
That feeling of 'specialness' is somewhat diminished, however, by the use of what I can only guess is digital HD cameras which give this spectacular vision the same feeling as a soap opera or an adult entertainment movie. There is no slight blur to the edges to soften the look - it's just Korean guys and girls in gritty HD. Eek. It looks bad and it detracts from the oh-so-specialness of the Almighty F4. It's tragic. Really.
So rekindling the specialness...
We meet the female lead riding her bike -because all female leads have to ride a bike. I suppose this is to show she's athletic or poor. Not sure which but I'm not convinced of either because she just looks so
pained doing it. She's instantly made famous for saving some kid's life as he tries to commit suicide because the ever-so-special F4 (God, please no, say it isn't so) has made him the target of ridicule....just
because they don't like him. Oh, the public goes crazy -bullies at the Richy-rich high? NO! And alas...Super Justice Wonder Girl is born. And Mommy Dearest, big group leader of the super elite group that
practically runs the world decides she needs to get this girl into her school ASAP to save face.
Derp.
You know what's coming next.
From then on, it gets pretty lame. Of course two of the F4 guys are going to fall for her and, of course, she's going to be torn between the two because what is drama without a love triangle.
Love #1: I'll call him Emo, they call him Ji Hoon. Supposedly this guy is in a Korean pop group. I say he's addicted to Botox because his facial movements look painful (or are non-existent). His smiles are so fake that they have to hurt and he is about as emotionally warm as a wet rag left in the snow. But he's cute in that 'oh my god, he looks like like an anime character' kind of way. Asian anime mullet that's been bleached and all. I was really rooting for this guy at first. According to the subtitles, he had been autistic after the death of his parents (when autism became not only sudden-onset but also curable in Korea, I don't know) so he's wounded, has issues, and of course is in love with the hot model who pulled him (at the age of five) from a pit of despair/autism. I'll buy it -just because he's cute and does the typical K-pop blank pouty 'don't hate me because I'm beautiful' stare so well.
Love #2: To be fair, my opinion of Turd Curls, i.e. Jun Pyo, was skewed originally by the horror of watching a young male dressed in a fur trimmed jacket. And the curls. Y'know, I get he's rich but why does he have to be tacky too? This was almost traumatic for me. Anyway, as the effervescent leader of the ever so Almighty and Amazing, F4, Jun Pyo is without a doubt the most clueless of the four (which is odd if you consider Emo as a cured austic). While he's obnoxious, he's stupid, and he dresses horribly, I couldn't really wrap my head around the fact that this guy wasn't getting laid. He's gotta be 17 or so, rich as hell, and he's sitting around the house with three other guys playing on a Playstation? Yeah...I didn't get it either. But as time goes on and his glaring lack of social skills turn a budding crush into a small war, you can't help but like this idiot. Seriously. He tries so hard and fails so miserably.
This, unfortunately, doesn't really amount to a very good love triangle. Emo, with his Botox facial expressions, just isn't nearly as fascinating as Turd Curls with all of his grand overtures and schitzophrenic obsession with the female lead, Jan Di. One moment he's in a rage and threatening to throw her down to lavish rather pitifully unromantic kisses on her; the next he's rather apathetic to the entire mess. There are, however, a few moments of real emotion which keep you hanging on, all made much more fascinating by the fact that the actors use so much chapstick they sparkle. All in all, by the end, you're hoping Turd Curls gets a shot at hitting it because, damn, he's working hard for it.
Does he get to hit it? Or will Emo be the lucky winner of Jan Di's puffer faced declarations of love? I will leave that for you to find out.
Subplots that are worth mentioning:
**LOL, Smiley Face: One of the other members of F4 is having a crisis all his own -his mommy is suicidal, daddy's a manwhore, and he's falling for Jan Di's best friend. Oh the tragedy of falling for the prettiest girl on the show who just isn't rich enough for the rich guy. All the while this guy (Yi something I think but he's not all that memorable really) is smiling this creepy smile that reminds me of how I smile when I'm horrified but, to be respectful, I still have to smile. Y'know those times -like when someone shoves their kid's picture in your face and it's godawful ugly and looks like an alien but you have to smile and say how cute it is. You know those kind of smiles...well, he smiles like that ALL THE TIME. And he plays a saxophone. At the dance club. Yes, I know, he's talented at blowing. I see the possibilities but I just was laughing too hard to care. I just want to
see Ga-eul (Jan Di's friend) get that just because he's the worst kind of snob: the quietly snobby kind that looks down on you without ever actually saying the words 'you're not good enough for me'. Oh yeah...I
wanna see that wake up call: OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I DO?
**Jan Di's family: Mommy's all about the won, Daddy's needs to call Gambler's Anonymous, and her
little brother reminds me of Shorty from Indiana Jones; "Dr. Jones! Dr. Jones!" They have to be the absolute BEST family EVER. Not only do they try to sell Jan Di's first gift from Turd Curls on E-bay, they have her
married and living the high life before the first kiss. I love these people. Seriously.
**The triplets: 'Oh maya gawd' (just like that) - these evil-doing witches are the source of more than one incredibly funny moment on this show. I hope that was the point.
**Jun Pyo's Sister: She's a cool older sister with drama with her mama.
**Ji Hoon's Emotional Breakdown: Yes. It really happens. And, yes, you have to see it. Personally, I thought he was laughing at first. Oops, my bad.
**Woo Bin, the K-Gangsta: It isn't really a subplot since he never actually does anything. Seriously. Nothing. Doesn't even get a girl. Not even sure he knows what one is. He has his one tiny little moment of glory and then it's back to one liners and heavily accented English asides that never fail to make me laugh. Heeeeeey buddy, yo yo yo. Makes you just wanna hug this poor actor and tell him it'll be alright -better luck in the next K-drama you score a part in.
MY OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THIS SHOW: You gotta watch it. At least one show. Despite it's flaws, this is a definite must-see for anyone who enjoys 25+ hours of good laughs.
quintessential Mercedes with my Diet Coke breakfast of champions in hand. Yes, kids from others schools made fun of us but we were RICH, dammit. They just didn't understand.
Luckily, we were not nearly as bad as these kids. There was no super special group of 'hot' (or supposed to be anyway) guys who ran the show. The level of superness of the F4 is so unimaginably unrealistic that all you can do is laugh - as they enter the scene, light bathes them so one can almost feel that specialness soak into their senses. Yes...they are oh-so-special and I AM OH-SO-FEELING IT.
That feeling of 'specialness' is somewhat diminished, however, by the use of what I can only guess is digital HD cameras which give this spectacular vision the same feeling as a soap opera or an adult entertainment movie. There is no slight blur to the edges to soften the look - it's just Korean guys and girls in gritty HD. Eek. It looks bad and it detracts from the oh-so-specialness of the Almighty F4. It's tragic. Really.
So rekindling the specialness...
We meet the female lead riding her bike -because all female leads have to ride a bike. I suppose this is to show she's athletic or poor. Not sure which but I'm not convinced of either because she just looks so
pained doing it. She's instantly made famous for saving some kid's life as he tries to commit suicide because the ever-so-special F4 (God, please no, say it isn't so) has made him the target of ridicule....just
because they don't like him. Oh, the public goes crazy -bullies at the Richy-rich high? NO! And alas...Super Justice Wonder Girl is born. And Mommy Dearest, big group leader of the super elite group that
practically runs the world decides she needs to get this girl into her school ASAP to save face.
Derp.
You know what's coming next.
From then on, it gets pretty lame. Of course two of the F4 guys are going to fall for her and, of course, she's going to be torn between the two because what is drama without a love triangle.
Love #1: I'll call him Emo, they call him Ji Hoon. Supposedly this guy is in a Korean pop group. I say he's addicted to Botox because his facial movements look painful (or are non-existent). His smiles are so fake that they have to hurt and he is about as emotionally warm as a wet rag left in the snow. But he's cute in that 'oh my god, he looks like like an anime character' kind of way. Asian anime mullet that's been bleached and all. I was really rooting for this guy at first. According to the subtitles, he had been autistic after the death of his parents (when autism became not only sudden-onset but also curable in Korea, I don't know) so he's wounded, has issues, and of course is in love with the hot model who pulled him (at the age of five) from a pit of despair/autism. I'll buy it -just because he's cute and does the typical K-pop blank pouty 'don't hate me because I'm beautiful' stare so well.
Love #2: To be fair, my opinion of Turd Curls, i.e. Jun Pyo, was skewed originally by the horror of watching a young male dressed in a fur trimmed jacket. And the curls. Y'know, I get he's rich but why does he have to be tacky too? This was almost traumatic for me. Anyway, as the effervescent leader of the ever so Almighty and Amazing, F4, Jun Pyo is without a doubt the most clueless of the four (which is odd if you consider Emo as a cured austic). While he's obnoxious, he's stupid, and he dresses horribly, I couldn't really wrap my head around the fact that this guy wasn't getting laid. He's gotta be 17 or so, rich as hell, and he's sitting around the house with three other guys playing on a Playstation? Yeah...I didn't get it either. But as time goes on and his glaring lack of social skills turn a budding crush into a small war, you can't help but like this idiot. Seriously. He tries so hard and fails so miserably.
This, unfortunately, doesn't really amount to a very good love triangle. Emo, with his Botox facial expressions, just isn't nearly as fascinating as Turd Curls with all of his grand overtures and schitzophrenic obsession with the female lead, Jan Di. One moment he's in a rage and threatening to throw her down to lavish rather pitifully unromantic kisses on her; the next he's rather apathetic to the entire mess. There are, however, a few moments of real emotion which keep you hanging on, all made much more fascinating by the fact that the actors use so much chapstick they sparkle. All in all, by the end, you're hoping Turd Curls gets a shot at hitting it because, damn, he's working hard for it.
Does he get to hit it? Or will Emo be the lucky winner of Jan Di's puffer faced declarations of love? I will leave that for you to find out.
Subplots that are worth mentioning:
**LOL, Smiley Face: One of the other members of F4 is having a crisis all his own -his mommy is suicidal, daddy's a manwhore, and he's falling for Jan Di's best friend. Oh the tragedy of falling for the prettiest girl on the show who just isn't rich enough for the rich guy. All the while this guy (Yi something I think but he's not all that memorable really) is smiling this creepy smile that reminds me of how I smile when I'm horrified but, to be respectful, I still have to smile. Y'know those times -like when someone shoves their kid's picture in your face and it's godawful ugly and looks like an alien but you have to smile and say how cute it is. You know those kind of smiles...well, he smiles like that ALL THE TIME. And he plays a saxophone. At the dance club. Yes, I know, he's talented at blowing. I see the possibilities but I just was laughing too hard to care. I just want to
see Ga-eul (Jan Di's friend) get that just because he's the worst kind of snob: the quietly snobby kind that looks down on you without ever actually saying the words 'you're not good enough for me'. Oh yeah...I
wanna see that wake up call: OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I DO?
**Jan Di's family: Mommy's all about the won, Daddy's needs to call Gambler's Anonymous, and her
little brother reminds me of Shorty from Indiana Jones; "Dr. Jones! Dr. Jones!" They have to be the absolute BEST family EVER. Not only do they try to sell Jan Di's first gift from Turd Curls on E-bay, they have her
married and living the high life before the first kiss. I love these people. Seriously.
**The triplets: 'Oh maya gawd' (just like that) - these evil-doing witches are the source of more than one incredibly funny moment on this show. I hope that was the point.
**Jun Pyo's Sister: She's a cool older sister with drama with her mama.
**Ji Hoon's Emotional Breakdown: Yes. It really happens. And, yes, you have to see it. Personally, I thought he was laughing at first. Oops, my bad.
**Woo Bin, the K-Gangsta: It isn't really a subplot since he never actually does anything. Seriously. Nothing. Doesn't even get a girl. Not even sure he knows what one is. He has his one tiny little moment of glory and then it's back to one liners and heavily accented English asides that never fail to make me laugh. Heeeeeey buddy, yo yo yo. Makes you just wanna hug this poor actor and tell him it'll be alright -better luck in the next K-drama you score a part in.
MY OVERALL THOUGHTS ON THIS SHOW: You gotta watch it. At least one show. Despite it's flaws, this is a definite must-see for anyone who enjoys 25+ hours of good laughs.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Two weeks later...
I am still finding myself singing "Stand By Me" in my head, though luckily the Rick Astley portion has disappeared. I think that, despite the wretched lyrics of the song, my mind has found it fascinating. Perhaps I am a naive and insipid Korean schoolgirl at heart? Well, if I am, could I at least have the androgynous and slim body to go along with it? I think I'd miss my boobs too much though. Oh, the choices!
In other news, I've begun to watch "Personal Taste", which is another Korean dramedy featuring the hot and sexy Turd Curls... I mean, Lee Min Ho. This one is more serious than "Boys Before Flowers" (I've not finished it but I will, I promise) but I still find it interesting, especially since he plays an architect who pretends to be gay for various reasons. I'm on episode 8 and the little lie of being gay, or lack of admission of the opposite, has really bit him in the butt. What a cute little butt too.
Admittedly, this is one of the few Asian males that I actually find attractive, but Lee Min Ho is rather masculine in comparison to many other guys of his age, so I think that has a lot to do with it. I'm quite sure that, if I ever went to Korea, I wouldn't make a total ass of myself by falling all over the majority of the feminine-like Korean males. However, I might request to use their chapstick. Hmmm, I do recall Lee Min Ho's character being taunted as having a "greasy mouth" in BBF (Boys Before Flowers). I wonder if he'd lend me his chapstick?
In other news, I've begun to watch "Personal Taste", which is another Korean dramedy featuring the hot and sexy Turd Curls... I mean, Lee Min Ho. This one is more serious than "Boys Before Flowers" (I've not finished it but I will, I promise) but I still find it interesting, especially since he plays an architect who pretends to be gay for various reasons. I'm on episode 8 and the little lie of being gay, or lack of admission of the opposite, has really bit him in the butt. What a cute little butt too.
Admittedly, this is one of the few Asian males that I actually find attractive, but Lee Min Ho is rather masculine in comparison to many other guys of his age, so I think that has a lot to do with it. I'm quite sure that, if I ever went to Korea, I wouldn't make a total ass of myself by falling all over the majority of the feminine-like Korean males. However, I might request to use their chapstick. Hmmm, I do recall Lee Min Ho's character being taunted as having a "greasy mouth" in BBF (Boys Before Flowers). I wonder if he'd lend me his chapstick?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
RickRoll'D Korean-style
Watching the 2009 Korean television show Boys Before Flowers has been an eye-opening experience, not just for the dramedy of the show, the characters, and the hilarity of the dialogue, but also for the music. After hearing "Stand By Me", which is played many times throughout several of the episodes, I found myself humming the notes, singing the chorus (which I now know that I had terribly misunderstood), and even finding lyrics of other songs with which to mix the lyrics. For instance, Rick Astley's nauseating but popular "Never Gonna Give You Up" mixes well with the song, no matter how you write it. For instance:
Together making love
Forever making you smile
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Equally amazing is the following:
Never gonna give you up
Together making love
Never gonna let you down
Forever making you smile
See what I mean?
Rick Astley must do a cameo with the group that sings the song, Korea's SHINee. Nothing like an older pasty-skinned redhead thrust among a bunch of effeminate young Asian guys, right?
See for yourself: SHINee - Stand By Me & Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
Together making love
Forever making you smile
Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Equally amazing is the following:
Never gonna give you up
Together making love
Never gonna let you down
Forever making you smile
See what I mean?
Rick Astley must do a cameo with the group that sings the song, Korea's SHINee. Nothing like an older pasty-skinned redhead thrust among a bunch of effeminate young Asian guys, right?
See for yourself: SHINee - Stand By Me & Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up
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