Yes, I’m still here and watching stuff too. I’ve even somehow managed to amass a full roster right now. ๐ It’s just that RL issues have not magically disappeared, soooo… still not much time nor energy to be dedicated to blog posts. Unfortunately this will be the state of things for quite some while yet, but at least I know there’s an end in sight… some time next year. Continue reading
Jinyoung (of GOT7)- Cotton Candy ๐ฅฐ
This is such a chill song! I’ve been vibing here, carried along by the melody, ha. Just what I needed after a mega stressful work week with multiple 10-11 hour days. The vocals are sooo smooth and calming. I’ve always loved Jinyoung’s voice and he’s improved quite a bit over the years. The songs he’s composed for GOT7 are pretty much always the ones I seem to navigate towards. There’s just something about them that “speak” to me. ๐
Hereโs a live version with ํธ์ง (Letter) as a bonus song. As he tells in the video, ํธ์ง is perhaps his fave song of this new solo album of his (Chapter 0: WITH) and a genre he wanted to try out. I really like it too, it reminds me of the korean folk inspired kpop ballads from early 2000s… ah, the nostalgia.
Gosh, he looks SO good. ๐
Drama Year 2022
I could probably copypaste most of last year’s end of the year post here as nothing much seems to have changed. Well, save for the dramas I did manage to watch. quirkycase @dramabeans pretty much said it in her post – “There were some dramas I enjoyed, but not many stuck with me afterward or made a strong impression.” Which is one reason I struggled with trying to write something, anything about most of those I watched. So I didn’t. The dramas I enjoyed the most were Under the Skin, Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte and New Life Begins. No surprieses there as those are the ones I was compelled to make a proper post about. All three were excellent in their own way and gave me planty of happy drama hours. Continue reading
OMG, Shinhwa is actually back!
Well, techincally it’s just half of Shinhwa but still. ๐ My fist and forever kpop love. It’s been SO long since they were active as a group. I’d more or less given up hope ever seeing them together again, so half of Shinhwa is better than none.
Flash is such a fun, happy bop and I just can’t stop moving along. It puts a big smile on my face.
Here’s the performance video (one take version). These ahjussis still got it. ๐
Thoughts On: New Life Begins – Up till ep 19
I am not a huge fan of romcoms or romantic dramas in general but that does not mean I don’t watch any. Every now and then I come across one that draws me in, almost against all odds. ๐ New Life Begins is one of those. It’s unabashedly romantic fluff and I appreciate that it doesn’t try to pretend to be anything else. Which is what so many kdramas don’t seem to grasp these days. Drama has 40 episodes, which might sound a lot but I haven’t felt like it, so far anyway. Every epi has something to offer, some are slower and some are busier but I’ve enjoyed them all. And I haven’t done much FFing either! ๐ฒ
“Worlds” Colliding
Just a silly little post to amuse myself… *g*
I would have tittled this “Fandoms Colliding” but I’m not a ‘fan’ of neither N.Flying nor League of Legends, I just enjoy watching both, ha. Anyways, I came across N.Flying doing a cover medley of couple of League of Legends songs and they did great. Riot makes rather awesome animated vids (for a game company)… and the songs ain’t that bad either. ๐
The original music videos:
Warriors or… there’s also the Season 2020 Cinematic version (I know all the champions in it and i don’t even play the darned game!) ๐
Enemy
RISE
POP/STARS
A blast from the past – The Nuts
Well, it’s actually not that far off in the past, but it is a blast from my kpop past. ๐ In one of the comment threads at kfangurl’s Queen In Hyun’s Man group watch post, there was a discussion about Ji Hyun Woo’s music carreer. This got me thinking about his first band, The Nuts whom I was a big fan of back in the day. Which in turn sent me to my old tumblr account in search of a tribute post I once made for them. Yup, I used to have a kpop dedicated tumblr. It didn’t last very long and got left by the wayside when I lost interest in it, ha. I never cancelled the account though, so it’s still around, gathering dust. Anyway, I got the notion of re-posting the whole thing here (with a few updates and edits). Might be of interest to some… or not.
Drama Grab Bag
Another post! I’m on a roll! ๐ Or something. I’ve actually been watching stuff this month and for some odd reason they all happen to be cdramas. Drama Gods work in a mysterious way.
Thoughts On: Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte
Kikazaru Koi ni wa Riyuu ga Atte (There’s a Reason for Dressing Up Love) is a drama I watched quite a while ago but never managed to write about then, despite of how much I liked it. And I did like it a lot! There’s something about slice-of-life jdramas that just seem tailormade for me. ๐ No high drama just for drama’s sake or convoluted plots, relatable characters who feel like real people with real jobs they actually go to and not one uber rich asshat in sight (yey!). I’ve also come to appreciate characters that are generally really nice, even when they are supposed to be e.g love rivals. Thumbs up for loving, supporting parents as well. It’s all so refreshing after, say… kdramas with all these nasty, borderline basket cases. ๐ Besides ticking off all the right boxes, Kikazaru Koi put a big grin on my face and that is something I love in dramas these days. If you are looking for a heartwarming, “healing” drama, this might just be it.
A Cat in a Book
Last week, on my way back form a short holiday in Germany, I and my friends were browsing in the airport bookshop. One particular book seemed to be beaconing me. Yes, books do beacon, occasionally and those generally turn out to be books well worth a read. This book, titled “The Cat Who Saved Books”, had a very aestethically pleasing cover with a ginger, tabby cat. I have a bit of a “thing” for ginger tabby cats so this, in addtion to the title, was definitely a sign ๐ The story seemed to be right up my alley too. It turned out to be exactly that, a “heartwarming story about finding courage, caring for others –ย and the tremendous power of books”, as it says at the end of the short introduction. I read the whole thing on my flight back, ha. I felt the story was rather “Japanese” in essence and will probably not suit for everyone, but I liked it a lot. Oh, and I think the Finnish translation of the title actually fits better, being “The Cat Who Protected Books”.
I’m quite painfully aware of lack of posts in recent moths, so why am I blathering about a book instead of something drama related? Well, the author is Japanese, Sousuke Natsukawa which sortakinda ties up with the general content of this blog… and there might be others who’d possibly feel like checking the book out. It would actually make a pretty good short drama. ๐
I’m hoping to get back on track with dramas and blogging in general at some point, just not sure when. At least I’ve finally started to feel like I would be up to writing about dramas again. The first half of this year has unfortunatey been more of the same – work pretty much sucking all energy out of me. ๐ฆ
A Touch of Drama 