I've got news...of the horrifying kind. Ashlee Simpson is dropping a new album. I thought since you love music you might appreciate the sadness that I feel right at this moment. Why is it that people who can really sing, put out one album that fails to have mainstream success (Res, who I love), and they promptly get dropped from their label? Meanwhile I get to be tortured by Jessica's lil sis. At least they didn't let Beyonce's sister, Solange, have another whack at my eardrums. Have a good weekend.

i actually know more than one person who has a leap year birthday...what are the chances.

umm..outside of that, CA weather is fiiiiinnally getting back to where it should be. suuunshine!

hi im a leap year baby and my birthday is always on the 28th
it depends on the time ur born cuz my friend is also a leap year baby and he's march 1st cuz of the time. i also think that the parents can deside.

did you hear daniel henney was cast in an x-men movie spin-off? he is an okay actor, i hope he improves.

Rain will (or might) be Jubei from Ninja Scroll....and the producers are currently looking for more Asian actors.

David Archuleta is the reason why i'm not too fond of American Idol. I think that he has amazing musicality and most definitely will be the winner this season. But, there's just something slightly pre-fabricated about him . Uhhh, yeah, we're talking about American Idol here. Personally, i prefer Eva Cassidy's rendition of "Imagine" more - for its raw conviction.

Was excited to see The Other Boleyn Girl. Until i read the reviews. What a tragedy. The novel was reallllly decent.

BTW, may i ask, if you're planning to check out Three Dads and One Mom? The plot is not too exciting but the cast is promising. Jae Hee, Jo Hyun Jae and Shin Sung Rok?

my birthday's on the 27th.. it was pretty close. :p and i'm pretty lucky. ;]

Sort of off-topic of the topic in the off-topic forum (hahah....the irony) but the Hana Yori Dango post kind of got me into the whole jdrama feel and I just wanted to talk about it more. I have to say, I'm not usually a fan of the trendy jdramas just because they usually tend to be over dramatic and completely slapstick and unrealistic which doesn't appeal to me. But I got sucked into the latest hit Hanazakari no Kimitach e (also currently being remade by Taiwan....oh so many remakes of everything!)

Oguri Shun was great in HYD but in this latest manga-drama adaptation, he totally fell to the sidelines and was outshone by Ikuta Toma who stole the entire show as the second lead! I definitely recommend watching it just for Toma! In a way I feel like he finally gets his big break he deserves even though he has a lot of talent but his company just pushed him to the side and forgot about him. Hes been in the entertainment industry for a while as a singer but luck was never on his side. His contemporaries (Matsujun and some others) are all HUGE idols in Japan and its kind of sad that the company didn't even debut him as a singer yet. Hana Kimi immediately shot him to fame and its nice to know he's recognized for his persistent in the ent. business.

I got my license on the 29th, yay! Finally off my learners. I don't trust myself in the car though haha.

I love J-dramas precisely because most director how to cut slapstick scenes with the right rhythm. And in general Japanese humor tends to veer toward Python-esque absurdist gags anyway (whereas a lot of Korean drama humor are based on screwball tit-for-tat.) NONE of that is exhibited, however, in the Hana Kimi adaptation. The direction in that show was terrible.

Hong Gil Dong is dying for a director like Takeuchi Hideki to navigate all the tropes being used in the show, a unseemly tension between good, flighty writing and poor direction (worse than even Thousand Years of Love.). From the mechanics of fusion drama, there's very little terrible rhythm in the otherwise imaginative appropriation of silent film, horror, wuxia, and other film tropes. Even the Damo-style bits where the sequence are slowed down and sped up, and frame rate adjusted, are not well done.

That said, non-idol teen J-dramas are really good and really different from Nobuta, Nodame, and HYD. This style is closer in approach to the HBO/Showtime model of drama, where you have a tight narrative written around themes, a few main characters, and a unique stamp in direction. One of the exciting developments in K-drama have been production studios trying to look at the J-drama format and adapt from its comedic grammar and narrative structure. The J-drama "office lady" staple was retooled for K-drama audience (i.e. Dal Ja's Spring being a remake of Ryoko Shinohara's Anego.) Yellow Arts Entertainment shows like Alone in Love and Someday, as well as hipster sitcoms like Soulmate (and to a degree Coffee Prince) take influences from Americans and Japanese dramas to give a more sophisticated product. Less concerns with the extended family, more private scenes of nuclear meltdown.

Rami won a spot in PR. eh, i really like Chris 'cause he's so niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiceeee (next to Christian), but i liked Rami's clothes better.

But i think a good K-drama is a lot like stereotypical French (or Cassavetes) cinema -- dialogue as story, 10 minutes of plot, 55 minutes of little moments. Good Korean drama breathes in the space between plot points: writers writing about nothing, actors talking about nothing, directors setting close-up shots and screen pans into nothing.

And in that nothing -- that void of public tedium and private feeling -- that's where we the audience connects with the the actual living of normal people in abnormal situations.

I also think J-dramas are still in a decline. They've kinda lost the 21-40 audience due to programming WAY too many idol dramas.

I think Nodame was a very well done teen drama which managed to hit all the comedic notes in perfect timing. Not to mention the directing, cinematography and use of music was top notch.

I noticed there is a tendency for jdramas to be more episodic like Jikou Keisatsu, Galileo and Liar Game. The story is more focused on problem solving, which neatly begins and wraps up within one or two episodes. There are also a lot of what I call the "stereotypical KimuTaku drama" which the lead actor plays a rookie (insert some occupation here) that manages to find their inner balance with their skill and become competent/number one. I find it interesting when they tried to incorporate some of these styles into kdramas like the episodic character of Air City which I thought was a nice change but had some flow issues.

I have to say that I like how the story is more focused and many times inspiring especially those that consist of a physical handicap. The shorter length also moves the pace along much faster. And I'm glad not to see a love square repeated. I agree that jdramas are more stylized and dramas from different areas of the world have different pros/cons and styles that are fun to compare.

jolee: The story is more focused on problem solving, which neatly begins and wraps up within one or two episodes.

Very much. For example, a staple of Asahi shows are mystery dramas. These dramas don't require character development or serious acting (though they help), but they put a premium on intricate plotting and plot devices, as well as sharp direction. Galileo was a luxury edition of a well-established J-drama genre.

I think most non-Japanese drama fans connect with the coming-of-age aspect of Japanese romances. If there's a melodramatic twist (Sekai, 1 Litre, H2, Orange Range, even HanaDan), it's usually accompanied by a lesson or set of hard truths that changes the lead character. And it also extends into Japanese workplace dramas, where as you said, you have a rookie with fighting spirit who prevails after a set of trials, having been "educated by pain" and accepted by his or her mentor. When Dae Jang Geum became popular in Japan, there were rumors that its novel story structure (i.e. coming-of-age, tournament layout, cooking geekery) borrowed from various Japanese manga sources. For example, I like New Heart drama because it's kinda written like a medical J-drama . There's such a pure geek love of work in the show, almost a weird glee at the blood and guts flying about, and the two lead characters learn truths while working through a progressive set of challenges/trials.

Oh, Nodame is one of my favourite jdramas too. Also liked Anego, Hotaru no Hikari, Hakken no Hinku, and Galileo to mention a few. Oh, I just realized I might be becoming a jdrama addict, but my first love is kdramas. keke.

tealeaf - I was also excited to hear about The Other Boleyn Girl.....until I read the reviews, too... :(
Has anyone watched the BBC/UK version? Just curious.

Don't worry, Sarah. I'm sure the rain'll be back eventually. As much as I dislike constant rain (multiple storms back-to-back), this sunshine and heat of late has had me going "Huh?" Feels like late summer instead of winter. And we definitely need more rain this year. (Watch, I probably jinxed it, and we'll get the wettest spring ever. Haha.)

Do you mean the Tudors? I heard that they're not all that alike.

belleza - There was a 2003 TV version in the UK starring Natasha McElhone, Jodhi May, and Jared Harris. I don't think it ever aired here in the U.S. (on BBC America or Masterpiece Theatre). I was wondering if it was any good.

Speaking of the Tudors, is that any good?

@hjk:
Yes, I watched the BBC version. It was very good so probably why I am staying away from this new version. Natasha was brilliant in her role and I don't think either Natalie or Scarlet (don't know who is playing who) will match her. Also, I find smaller productions focus more on the characters than the look of the production, if you know what I mean. Take Pride & Prejudice, the film just didn't work at all for me because although it looked lovely, I just didn't care about the main leads at all (Kiera Knightley playing yet another feisty English rose ref. King Arthur & Pirates) whereas in the BBC version, I really liked Lizzie and felt like I understood where she was coming from. But hey, Hollywood has it's own agenda right?

i love k dramas and j dorama too...they're both special..i like doramas for well written and fresh idea of drama but still lack of romance. i like k dramas for emotionally and deep feeling about the cast. but still i choose the best one only to watch..i dont want to see story about another looking for the real mommy, lost of short term memory, tearjeaker tragedy..i must skip this kind of k drama..well j dorama and k drama are special. i love funny scene from k dramas and comical scene from j dorama...they are both special in their kind of way..:D