@ langdon813

“If you’re old enough to feel pervy about loving them, then you’re in!”

I see lb_tmi is in... and so am I.

Oh man...Chuno. Let's just say I'm never planning to delete it from my laptop. Lord have mercy. I'm also watching Pasta, forgot about that one! :-)

Sigh...I desperately wish someone could join me on this trip, it would make all the difference in the world. But my whole problem with it is that my company schedules every single minute of our time, from 8 in the morning until well after 10. It's exhausting. I'll stand on my feet for three days at a trade show, saying the same exact thing at least 1000 times a day, then go out to dinner with a different group of people every night. If I'm lucky I might get to see a show, but I've been so many times that I've seen most of them! I know I sound ungrateful, a lot of people wold be happy about an all expense paid trip to Vegas, but the timing stinks, I'm just not in the mood for Vegas right now.

Anyway, anyway...enough griping for one night, sorry guys!! Besides, I do have my SoCal trip to plan! Now THAT I can get excited about, once I figure out when I can go! :-D

What is it about Ariel that's driving DB-ahjummas quite mad with love? Let me see......hhhmm, adorable visage, a genuine smile that is a million watts in voltage, being one half of the incomparable coupling that is ArJoe (you can't have one without the other, though alone, Ariel is just unstoppable, but Joe, please, cut short your short-lived music career, you really need to stick to acting), and oh, lest I forget, she's an unbelievable actress, she *is* whomever she is portraying, end of story. And usually its the story that fails our Ariel, she never does not deliver.

@ langdon-unni

I was all composing a LoCH primer for you, and I then I realized sevenses did one already, and its a billion times better and funnier than anything I can do. So here you go: http://sevenses.wordpress.com/2008/07/22/legend-of-condor-heroes-2008-first-impressions/

Read before you start, then off you go when you head to Vegas! Sigh, I can imagine how tiring these trade show events can be. Good luck!

@ OJH in Chuno

Okay, exactly *how* out of place does he sound? I have no clue - is it like Senn Penn channelling Jeff Spicoli doing Hamlet?

Because right now, I'm totally aching for his character. Don't get me wrong, I love Jang Hyuk and his Dae-gil, but I'm totally not ready to ship either coupling yet. I guess this is the same reason I never get the Yoon Eun-hye mumbling comments, sigh, I feel so incapable of getting the full Chuno treatment.

@ celestialorigin

haha. bargainings were as follows:

i claimed all of BIG BANG (post #50)
i then gifted 100% daesung and 5% of TOP to my twin lb_tmi in exchange for 100% of chansung and timeshare of the rest of 2PM (post #51)

it was a busy day....

i love that daesung clip btw. hilarious. :)

ok late but here's my contribution....

Dibs.

Jung Woo Song is this not the most gorgeous man!, Bae Yoon Joon...Shin Dong Wook.. shhh secret crush Cha Seung Won...cant help it....he's in the "IF ever" group with Kwon Sang Woo and Kim Seong Su....

Then there is Gong Yoo....ahhhhh..Hyun Bin, Yoon Sang Hyun,Joon Ji Hoon....I know but I dont care!

Ha Dong Qn and Park Hyo Shin ...!!!

Matsumoto Jun...Matsuda Shota..Kim Hyun Joon, Van Ness Wu....

lol thought I was the only one...my Mac's name is Noir and I am still getting to the bells and whistles! My daughter gave it as a Christmas present a year ago...

@253 djes

Would you phuleeese post the exact link to the scene mentioned above? I've been looking for it and ended up watching numerous non-English-subbed version episodes of Strong heart and Idol world for over 2 hours now instead of working, whoops.

Which is anyway, a bit unrealistic since I missed my flt NRT-LAX and ended up flying NRT-SFO-LAX all the way in economy class, I was happy I brought my own food at least. On top of that, my checked in bag didn't show up for the longest time, then , I was tagged at the custom stop and had to go through the X-ray thing for my rice crackers! ran all the way to domestic terminal and finally made it to my connecting flt to LAX. From there, I had to drive home in time for my phone appt. with my client. Needless to say by the time all was done I was exhausted.

So why not Bigbang? they are young, cute and fun to watch...

@255 lovenyc52

Oh, my... I had to go back to see what I'd missed. Now, I sorta remember those posts... they just didn't register with my jet-lagged brain, I should have been more alert, Sigh...

And all the Chuno people,

I still don't find it. You guys are all watching them from downloads? I shall check D-addicts.

Well, I still have WISFC, well, I only watched EP11, seg. 1 of 7, right before checking out of the hotel. I mean, I had to leave, but it was sort of Good that Kang-Jin & Ji Wan were finally sharing some happy/blissful moments together and that's how it ended for me. I'm not sure if I can dive back into the world of excessively typical K drama type plot Jambalaya( you know, every thinkable situations all thrown in a pot and stirred up). I might take a break from watching and just read JB"s(Thank you JB, we love you!) recap for now until the situations stabilize if that's possible...

@ 257 celestialorigin

Check soompi re: Chuno!

And I'm with you, I made it all the way up to the happy part of WISFC (all three minutes of it) and just decided to put it on the shelf for a while. Same with Autumn's Concerto...for whatever reason watching both of those dramas just seems like such a chore right now, and I'd rather not stress over it. I'll finish them both eventually.

Same thing with The Devil, which I just this minute finished. I watched the first three episodes several months ago but for some reason I got stalled. I decided to start watching it again a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was pretty incredible, especially the ending. I'm going to have to go back and re-read a few previous OT's where there was a lot of discussion about it that I skipped over, because I didn't want to be spoiled. I'm REALLY glad I did that, because I loved the way it all unfolded and wouldn't have wanted to know anything in advance.

The next one I intend to finish is Alone in Love. I watched the first four episodes or so a while back and have heard so many good things about it that I'm ready to dive back in. As crazy as I am about Son Ye-jin I can't believe I didn't devour it whole over the course of a weekend! I have no clue now why I stopped. Something shiny (and sageuk-y) caught my attention , probably. ;-)

whahaha

i feel good with you kim bum

@ 244 ockoala,

I was all prepared to fight tooth, nails and claws for JWS until I read that bit about Barbie Hsu spending months with him. Now, we're cool.

In a certain language, the word barbie sounds like pig.

BARBIE MUST DIE...LIKE RIGHT NOW!!! I can't get over the fact that I'm not going to watch Rain of Swords to get my fill of JWS just because of her.

o my gosh... I just checked out the trailers for Summer's Desire (?) with Barbie Hsu and my 'beloved' HXM and my 'dreamboat' Peter Ho.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7IaeFsqGzo

what I noticed: is Barbie playing a ghost?! what is with that ghastly zombie makeup?!?!?!?! Barbie dear, your look is ALL you have...
HXM.. the hair, does he need to downplay his pretty by showing one eye only so we won't be zapped out by his gorgeousness for the sake to pay attention to his acting?!
Peter Ho manages to have ONE singular expression (or his regular face?!) thro out the whole trailer of 5+ min. WOW!!! This will pwn StH in my ultimate 'best' drama list. And... they can't play students years ago, long past due to wake up to the fact.

I do feel for all the JWS' fans if he has to live in close vicinity of Barbie's acting for couple months. No need to worry about all the kisses or touching though... fr the look of Barbie and HXM... they make locking lips btn 2 anatomically pretty ppl sterile. that's some set of extraordinary skills I guess.

sorry to both Barbie's and HXM's fans. I can't put it any nicer. I suffered thro the trailer afterall. :)

@ mookie, ockoala, etee7114

OMG, that's Barbie?! And she's starring with our beloved JWS??? o_O

and..hmm...interesting to see that casting Caucasians who can't act or speak English is not limited to Kdramas...lol.

Have to say, Barbie's IMPROVED. :D

"what I noticed: is Barbie playing a ghost?! what is with that ghastly zombie makeup?!?!?!?! "

I kinda like the eyebrows and pancake makeup. It's like I'm watching a Korean programme from the 80s. ;)

^ we don't need to go back to the glorious 80s it's the makeup of Zhao Wei in StephenChow's KungFu soccer. (but then the character was based on Anita Mui's makeup in the 80s...)

don't be too worried hjkomo, she's just playing a cute assassin...so all she needs to do is be cute and hopefully got killed ...soon. and it's a John Woo... so girls will just be girls, so casting Barbie is making mega sense. lol

"it’s the makeup of Zhao Wei in StephenChow’s KungFu soccer"

OMG NOW I REMEMBER. Can we just forget the 80s? :D

To be honest, Barbie's . . . okay. There's nothing wrong with her making cute faces, looking really scared, and kissing every idol guy again and again and again and . . . It's not acting, but you know, it's not acting. ;)

Sigh. I could have made it in TW-drama. If only I lived in Rowland Heights. Sigh. :(

@ 263 hjkomo,

I don't know what's with him and CH/TW actresses recently, I'm still sore over the last pair-up with Gao Yuan Yuan. GYY lacks screen presence (imo) and it beats me why JWS keeps pairing up with sub-par actresses of late.

I should warn you about the English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rm0H7W9vR-M&feature=related

@ 264 Belleza
"Have to say, Barbie’s IMPROVED."

Oh that's right. She can read the script.

@ 260 jinky

Don't we all...

:-D

"I should warn you about the English."

I'm sorry -- I couldn't get past "Let's sleep together." It's like this movie reads my mind!!!

By the way, aren't we missing a samsooki?? He seems very quiet.

Started on God of Study . . .

Actually hated the lawyer character through virtually the entire show of Dragon Zakura. (Philosophically, I think he's a 120% douchebag who has no real bearing because he himself didn't succeed, and the notion of simply gaming an examination system to bail your life is exactly why the suicide rate among Asian youth is so high.) And I also strongly disagree with the sentiment that Hiroshi Abe brought humanity to the rule -- in fact, he made the character even more of a bastard than the part normally would require. And the character is a BIG TIME douchebag during the ending of Dragon Zakura, so I wonder whether this will go the same route.

Having said that, DZ is a good story (and a good antidote to feel-good school drama genre), and at least through the first two episodes, this version so far is a great adaptation. The situations with the teens seems more realistic and daunting, and above all, you really empathize with them and their innate difficulties. It's a little like watching Friday Night Lights.

@ etee7114

But ...

JWS + Engrish = Adorable

JWS + panda = I'm taking him (them) home! :P

@ langdon813

Samsooki has been very busy...as should I be... ;)

@ Samsooki
"there was a spy..."

You're lucky you aren't after Lee Min Ki...langdon's the one who stalks DB posts. :P

"I should fake hjkomo out by heading north and then reversing direction to head south…"

That didn't work on the Feds, and it sure won't work on me. I break the Asian female stereotype - I actually have a sense of direction. ;)

Hey now! As y'all can tell from a few posts in this OT, I have to be diligent about protecting my boy. I love you guys and all, but trusting you is a whole 'nother issue. I can't let my guard down for a second. :-D

@ belleza, mookie, hjkomo, et. al. re: Barbie and the train-wreck that was the Summer's Desire trailer.

Holy mother is that one horrific piece of crap drama, that is five minutes of my life I can't get back. Let's put aside the dumber than a doorpost story (from what I can glean), but the collective bad acting (nay, epically bad acting) from HWM, Barbie and Peter Ho - its sure to be a masterpiece.

Wow, I thought HXM was a bad actor, and I know Peter Ho is not even an actor, but when you compare face to face in the same drama - Peter's monumentally bad acting consisting of the SAME expression he wore through the entire Yang's Clan saga, takes the cake. HXM actually changes expressions, albeit very inappropriately. HXM also has added to his kissing technique, but bringing and inducing passion he still has not mastered - but then again, it's neigh impossible to bring out ANY passion in Barbie (oh oh is what I've been thinking for months now, hjkomo, thinking of her even in the same frame as JWS!).

Oh, and yeah, HXM - you are so freaking good looking - I need to stack HXM and Hu Ge side by side and have them preen to decide who is *better* looking. I was gravitating towards Hu Ge, then a few perfect screen shots of HXM confuses me again. And then they can collectively get PWNED by my loverboy in the acting department.

Sigh, Summer's Desire - I shall call it Phantom Lover 2 (now with added bad acting with HXM).

@ etee7144

"“Have to say, Barbie’s IMPROVED.”

Oh that’s right. She can read the script."

Mwahahahaha, thank you for the best laughter ever wake up call. Sigh, wiping tears from my eyes now.

When I think what my Ariel could have done in MG instead of Barbie, I sigh, that's all.

ahh.. all this talk about Barbie just resurrected my hatred of Meteor Garden. how in the world did i subject myself to that.. it's a good thing that i've blocked out all of that drama that i can't recall what went on, only that Zai Zai was HOT!

i'm on the "barbie must die" train that is going to hit her. yep yep.

speaking of Ariel Lin.. i've not been keeping up w/ news on her.. i expect she's made a full recovery from her brain surgery? she is too cute for my liking.. but i just adore her!!!

@ lb_tmi

Oh yeah, Ariel's been back and better than ever.

She just wrapped a theater production in the mainland last month. I hope she picks an exciting and challenging new project soon!

http://iurgnotmis.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/men-women-war-peace/

"Abe Hiroshi is hate-able through much of the show. "

Very much so. Kim su-ro is kind of a prick in God of Study. But Abe Hiroshi is a worldclass asshole in Dragon Zakura.

I feel that God of Study is so far better than DZ. The focus in DZ is more or less on the lawyer and various teachers, and each episode covers an issue that the lawyer solves in order to push them further. God of Study puts it on the students, and you very much get a sense that the students are still trying to figure out where they fit in the scheme of things.

Above all, however the DZ was originally written (the manga was a Kodansha winner, and the author wanted to basically kick his readership's butts with this one), the director of GoS really sides with the students. In a way, like in many Japanese school dramas, the kids are really the adults. They're doing their best and in a way they're doing better than the other people around them.

"But a show that makes you ask about whether the system is failing students (j-drama preachy preachy moment per show) is not a bad thing."

I tend to see GTO as being more like that. Now, because we haven't seen a GTO-style show in Korea in awhile, it makes this show's empathy for the kids really stand out.

"When we were watching it, I had to explain the Japanese exam system to my niece – she thought it was nuts – otoh, my other niece who got some private tutoring to try to get into a private school out west – she just went "ok, I can see that."

Yeah, my high school was like that, and of course my parents grew up in the Asian exam system. That's one of the disconnects for the 1.5ers. Asians see high school as Americans see college. And that cultural bias inevitably colors how I see Dragon Zakura/God of Study, because I philosophically disagree with his belief that even making it to a Harvard of Korea -- especially when you're putting everything on standardized exams rather than a real body of work -- will save you.

@280 momosan -

lol! But, then again, how many hospitals can you name in Korea off the top of your head? Hopkins was listed as the best hospital in America by US News and World Report, having at least 6 ranked specialties... so it isn't surprising that Koreans would be able to recognize the name. The issue isn't whether scriptwriters can name US med schools and hospitals, but whether the viewing audience can recognize the name. Name-dropping means nothing unless the people who are listening can identify the names dropped...

But still, to be fair, in that drama series New Heart (with Ji Sung and Kim Min Jung), the American hospital on everyone's lips was Cleveland Clinic (the top ranked hospital for heart and heart surgery).

I myself can only name about six famous US hospitals... lessee.. Mayo Clinic, Sloan Kettering, UWash Med Center, MGH (Mass General Hospital), Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins... heh... And I only heard of Cleveland Clinic because of New Heart (LOL)! Ironic, isn't it, that I had to watch a Korean drama to find out which American hospital was the world's best in heart surgery... hehe!

@ momosan

"Toudai to my niece was a trip. I was trying to come up with a similar “get in here and you are set for life without even trying anymore” thing in the US and I just couldn’t."

I dunno, ask samsooki. Has he done anything since getting into that crimson school in the East 15 years or so ago? :-) My hubby is still skating on residual good will - or so I say when he comes home night after night close to midnight - Why are you working so hard, shouldn't you be set for life? Aigoo, you should have grown up in Japan and gone to Todai, in Korea and gone to Seoul U, or China and gone to Beida.

@ Wish Upon the Star

I adore the heart in this show, so touching and meaningful, really a show that doesn't strive to hurt and question humanity, but makes you want to reassess ones own values. On the otherhand - this show is making me dislike my choco-abs KJH the second immensely, which is not good, me despising his smirk, receding hair line and lack of emoting.

@ momosan

"ockoala – I can’t give the Crimson that much credit"

He he, didn't my sarcasm come through? :-P Hubby definitely has friends who have chosen the lifestyle and are happier for it. I've met your friends the plumbers before, very enlightening.

"I was trying to come up with a similar “get in here and you are set for life without even trying anymore” thing in the US and I just couldn’t."

We call that Stanford. ;)

@ belleza

"We call that Stanford"

Doh! Don't go there, girlfriend.....I deal with hjkomo on a daily basis (thank god both our basketball teams suck donkey this season, so we're on a truce until football season starts in August).

HHmm, I started it, so I guess I deserve it. Oh well, battling on two fronts now - Calpoo folks plus those who went to the Stanford-of-the-East.

@ momosan

In all seriousness - I hope that the US is so much more a meritocracy that one good school on your resume does not automatically give you a pass for anything you do.

282 samsooki - Jan 18, 2010 at 10:29 am

lol! But, then again, how many hospitals can you name in Korea off the top of your head?

I was going to reply to this: I cannot name one hospital in Korea, but I know they are abundant (often owned by families or corporations undergoing some kind of intergenerational crisis (eg The Road Home, Sons of Sol Pharmacy)), and richly stocked with humidifiers.

Then I noticed you've already established a humidifier index of illness severity...

"then got into my crappy safety school (yale"

HAHAHA. Spoken like a true Harvard grad. ;)

@ 296 samsookie..

LOVE it!!!! the THREE humidifier unidentified illness!

@ belleza
"We call that Stanford."

Uhh....tell that to hubby. Now, if he had taken up that friend's offer to join a certain start-up, then, yeah ...but, otherwise, nope...

@ ockoala

daily basis? o_O
I have the utmost disdain respect for Stinkfoo...no, really... ;)

@ samsooki

'how hard are you willing to work"

ha ha, apparently, not very hard since I'm on DB and at work! Or shall I say - 6 years at a Big Law firm, equal 12 years of my life gone and done with. 2 babies in 2 years plus 38 hours of hard labor - equals 30 years of hard work. Ergo, I'm done, and retired already. I work because I love it, its balance for my otherwise mentally ADD mind. If I wanted to be more successful and work harder, then I'm defeating the purpose for why *I* work, which is doing something I love and apparently am good at.

Oh, and sorry for the digs at or mentions of ur school - it's unconsciously done at this point - it's sorta a running joke in my household these days. If you heard the shit hubby tosses at me, you'll feel bad and allow me a few subtle digs and kudos to you occasionally.

@ hjkomo

" if he had taken up that friend’s offer to join a certain start-up, then, yeah…but, otherwise, nope"

Oh I totally feel you sister - you mean he *could* have been that number 3 guy at Google, or that # 8 guy at Yahoo, or that #10 guy at Amazon. Coulda, woulda, shoulda - sigh, how many more times do I need to hear "but pigscanfly.com had a great go-to-market strategy and loads more Angel investors, who knew *search* would be the next microsoft word of our generation?"

"Now, if he had taken up that friend’s offer to join a certain start-up, then, yeah…but, otherwise, nope…"

Google? Yahoo? CalOwnsAxe.com?