I'm so proud of myself. I've got this downloading raws and torrents and subs business all figured out. And I didn't have to rent a 10-year old to do it! :-D

I miss aja-aja, though. I was only there for a month or so before it closed to the public (having belatedly discovered the joys of downloading vs streaming), but it sure didn't take long to be spoiled rotten by the sheer simplicity of the process at that site. Just doing what little I'm doing for my own personal use is a lot of work...to do everything they do and then have it stolen boggles the mind. Watching high-quality video is a wonderful thing, though. Well worth the effort and the wait for subs!

@ 349 celestialorigin

And that is why I know there's hope for me and Lee Min-ki. It's destiny, I'm telling you.

We'll have to send that chick an ICOMYM trophy! :-)

@ momosan

I'm almost finished with Otomen - it's just so adorific. Every single episode, there is a laugh out loud guffawing my head off moment, and then just amazing eye-candy sweetness all around. I need to finish b/c my sis is bugging me big time to lend it to her, and I've been lollygagging for awhile.

I think episoe 9 had a shoutout to HanaDan and F4, too.

@ celestialorigin

You are too kind - there was but one fine looking male in the trailer for Summer's Desire, then one creep-assed male, and then a big-eyed barbie. And a story that makes absolutely no sense, not even in makjang land.

@ mookie

I liked Yi Shu's novels much better than her TW counterpart Qiong Yao's fare, like a billion times better, which is not saying much since both are romance novels at the end of the day.

I don't recall YS novels having any redeeming value for a woman's self-esteem, other than to expect that if you are kind and beautiful, a rich dude who lives on the Peak will find you and marry you.

Back to my fave topic - LoCH 2008 - ha, I'm pretty much done fangirling this piece of darling drama, but have a tad more to say on the final showdown between Guo Jing/Yang Kang.

We all know this didn't happen in the novel, since YK is already dead in the Iron Spear Temple from OYF's poison that was left on HR's soft armour when he tried to kill her (I loved the symbolism, and the total "dude, you brought it on yourself karma" LC had in mind - but this death doesn't work in this version AT ALL, I'm glad they changed it).

It was an epic battle, I only wish it was longer. Seriously, I wanted them to be pounding each other bloody by the end. By the end GJ is so powerful he can kill YK with one fist, but I love how it was all hand to hand combat without using any inner kungfu.

And the dialogue - oh geez, Hu Ge had the *same* dazed expression throughout the entire sequence, from the moment YK shows up, when YK stabs his Jin daddy, until the very end. Only when he tells Tuo Le that if he wants to kill YK, he has to kill him first, does he show some emotion. Hu Ge plays GJ too *stoic* in my book, he confuses GJ's stubborn simpleness for a blank visage or lack of animated expression. Felix would have *knocked* that sequence out of the park if it was his version of GJ (Chilam, eh, not so much).

But the dialogue you quoted was unbelievable, the raw bitterness and resignation and anger that is all inside of YK, it comes pouring forth, and every word he says to GJ is like he knows it the end of the line - and Hu Ge looks slightly concussed the entire time. Sigh, it was still awesome, which goes to show how freaking cathartic it was for me to see this scene, even if I know it could have been more.

I think the whole issue is that this version of GJ never truly *relates* to YK, one has no daddy, the other had two daddys, and that a heck of a lot of baggage to carry, what with the confused daddies and the confused national allegiance. GJ never was able to be the big brother YK needed, he was the big brother he knew how to be.

GJ's simplemindedness really is his saving grace, if the situation was swtiched (i.e. GJ in the Jin palace, YK in Mongolia, this would have been fine, GJ can walk out of there, just like he walked away from Genghis Khan in the end when asked to attack the Song). GJ always does the *right* thing, and YK is just too smart to accept that there is always a right/wrong and black/white.

Anyways, what a marvelous treat, to rethink a fave novel and drama, and have so much fun chatting about it. Thanks for accompanying me on my train wreck watching experience! Experience was good, I was a train wreck, of course. ;-)

@ samsooki

I've always been curious, since you admit to playing FF VII, have you played this one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNefNLOHVYk&feature=related

I only know because my Stinkfoo guy friends were all going gaga over it, plus it has a theme song sung specifically for the game by one of my ALL TIME fave singers Faye Wong - Eyes on Me.

@351 momosan

Thanks, I forgot J-girly comics are all translated and sold here in the states. Right, I even saw Otomen at Borders in Idaho falls... Perfect Girl Evolution! it is...

Anyway, it's sort of like Atashinchino danshi, may be I'm saying it because the place looks like the house in that drama or something. Oh well, one girl and more boys situation, I guess.

@352 langdon813

And that is why I know there’s hope for me and Lee Min-ki. It’s destiny, I’m telling you.

We’ll have to send that chick an ICOMYM trophy!

LOL. Sure, sure. What about those beautiful eyes of his? Can I just have him partially, at least, then?

P.S.

@langdon813

Thanks, I'm finally downloading chuno. and subs from d-addicts? Did you have to fix the file names? that's where I get messed up...

@ celestialorigin

I do rename the files and it works fine as long as I give both files the same name and save them in the same folder.

And I might be persuaded to loan LMK's eyes out for very short periods of time, but the teeth are all mine. :-D

@ samsooki

Bears DO poo in the woods, and I also have it on good authority that the pope wears a funny hat!

#344 kb

"i meant $25-30K per year."

This figure is true and actually even higher judging by what my neighbors are paying this year.

" i’m wondering if these parents are just caught up in the rat race or if there is truly a legitimate advantage (growth-wise) to going to these schools that have been substantiated by studies. "

There is a rat race prestige thing going on that starts from preschool. If you get your child into the right preschool and then they will get into the right kindergarten, right middle school, prep school etc. At the same time there is an advantage to being friends with kids from wealthy families for business or future marriage prospects if that is the parents objective. For myself having gone to a parochial and public schools in the city I find the experience of being friends with different backgrounds to have helped me as a person and also in my work.

Also NYC has one of the best public schools based on meritocracy eg Stuyvesant (apparently harder to get into than Harvard), Townsend, Bronx Science etc. Even the kindergarten, middle school and junior high have very good public schools and based on IQ and Q&A eg. Anderson, Hunter and NEST. So if you have smart, hardworking kids you can get them a private school level or better education without paying for it.

@ ockoala

oh! my freshman year roommate used to play that all the time (i don't know the difference between any of the FF's) and had this song on repeat.... it's such a pretty song and i love the video too :)

Hey guys! Just want to know if are there any good K-Dramas right now that are still up and running in Korea? .... It's been almost 2 months since I haven't been watching any K-Dramas, the latest was the highly successful, You're Beautiful! :))
I've probably watched the drama thrice already but I am still entertained about A.N. Jell and Go Mi Nam. Now, as much as I hate that the drama has already ended, I am now desperate to watch yet another good drama with lots of hot guys in it [like in YAB and BOF :D], I NEED TO MOVE ON! Boys Over Flowers? I've probably watched it over a hundredth time already but everytime I go full time marathon of BOF, it still feels like watching it for the first time! amazing right? LOL. Well, as I've said, BOF is again, sooo 2009! I need to find another alternative, a new drug to feed my drama addiction... So puhleeease, recommend all the good stuff :))

oh I'd much prefer if it's a light story, more on comedy than a tearjerker one [I am not into heavy dramas...kekekek.] and, A BUNCH OF HOT CASTS kekekek.

thnx in advance!

@ samsooki pooping in the woods

It was late, I was tired, what I meant to ask was: Was FF VIII any good? The graphics were pretty kick-ass considering it was 11 years ago!, but I always wanted to know whether it was a good game in the pantheon of FF games.

Just curious.

@ lovenyc52

Yeah, I knew a bunch of those folks who played all the time.

^ "samsooki pooping in the woods"

That made me LOL! hehe :P
*yawn* need coffee...

Man, it's a sloooow work day for me. I'm diving into Wish Upon A (The?) Stars since I've got plenty of time on my hands.

But before I do that I have to make a confession.

I've never ventured into claiming any boy from the Kmusic (especially Kpop) world, and if I had it probably would have been Tablo, who has to be one of the sexiest humans on the planet. I stayed strong, even when Rain went Ninja and TOP was steaming up my screen in IRIS.

So why this skinny, not especially pretty boy has so captured my heart I'm not entirely sure (except he makes me laugh like a crazy person), but I'm just going give in and love him openly like so many others do, as evidenced by this new clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45rwNvEhHew

"362 ockoala - Jan 19, 2010 at 8:44 am
@ samsooki pooping in the woods"

i nominate this as the best OTLotW!!!

thanks, ockoala.. that totally made my day!

@ langdon813

i actually get all the attraction to Tablo. all thanks to my twin, lovenyc52.. i get it. and that he's married and has a baby on the way makes him even more attractive in my eyes. guys like him are hard to find. for any woman that has one, you're lucky!!

@ 367 samsookie..

yes. but if it's against Mrs. Samsookie, i'll have to say no.

Ah, OT.....one topic begets another, one joke spawns another, and on and on we go because we all love it so.

No problem, guys, love to entertain, esp. at the expense of samsooki. :-P

@ langdon-unni

Watch out for the kids in Stars, esp. the oldest brother, he's a winner through and through.

@ samsooki

We will cheer you, defend you, and humidify you if necessary. And if that's not enough, we'll call on the miraculous powers of Ha Ji-won, Kang Ji-hwan, Binnie, The Voice...whatever it takes. You better believe it.

Wait a minute...I'm suspicious.

I'm adding an "as long as you're not fighting JB or hjkomo or belleza" caveat to my declaration.

@ Samsooki

"battle to the death" - saw that one coming from a mile away!
Don't even go there...you already know who the OT-ers would back in a battle between you and us (hint - it wouldn't be you ;) )

"yes, a samsooki pooed in the woods"

PRICELESS!!!!!! :P

Uh huh. Sneaky. So that's how you're going to be? I was all set to buy a super deluxe humidifier, and I was even thinking of loaning you LMK for a short time if you *really* needed him.

No, that's okay. I'll join your army. Just like I promised.

The question now becomes whether or not you can trust me not to betray you. :-D

@ bear pooping
A bear will poop in the woods if it lives in the woods. A circus bear or the bears in John Irving books on the other hand obviously can't poop in the woods.

All of which reminds me of "Primary Colors" quote "I think we're the woods and the bear just shit on us."

365 langdon813 -
Tablo is dorky, cute, intelligent, talented and has an quirky sense of humor--what's not to love? If we both weren't married to other people, and I wasn't half way across the world, and I didn't have this shitload of reports and presentations to do and I wasn't so lazy, I'd be totally stalking him or at the least writing him a blood letter.

373 langdon813
"Wait a minute…I’m suspicious. "

Yeah. I think I smell bear poop.

Tablo went to Stinkfoo. :-) So much better than saying the cheating cheater who cheats went to Stinkfoo. :-(

@ samsooki

Why battle? I thought you were a lover, not a fighter? Be aware that your (rash) actions today may beget the curse of the father-less son who grows up confused as to whether he's a Korean-American or a Guido from Jersey Shore. Think of the (your) child(ren)!

I advocate a peace treaty along the Central time-line (the OT version of the DMZ 38th parallel). To the east belongs to samsooki, to the west belongs to hjkomo, and the entire planet belongs to JB and trumps everything else.

You guys have too much time LOL...

Yes, delusions of grandeur is a sign the disease has spread to his cerebral cortex. Paging Dr. of full frontal lobotomies.....

I think our dear samsooki may have knocked a few screws loose practicing his NPW. :-D

there are so many wonderful OTLotW since the subjects of bear poo and death matches were introduced..

the humidifier references are priceless!!! :D

man when my twin told me about this samsooki death battle, i hauled a$$ to get back on OT in the midst of deadlines galore...

@ momosan

i believe samsooki's delusions are calling for two humidifiers....

@ langdon813

my love for tablo knows no bounds... he is adorkable and talented and eloquent and seems so down to earth. he brought me back into kpop music ... ok he's not kpop, he's k-hip hop, but him and epik high brought me back into the korean music scene :) i was ecstatic when they came to LA and did a concert and meet and greet signing last year. and yes i waited for 4 hours in the hot pasadena sun in order to get a picture and autograph from them. sigh tablo. glad he's happily married with a baby tablo on the way!!!!

"erstwhile supporters whose fickle affections sway like baby water reeds on a windy day in early spring"

See also:

facile (adjective)

Characterized by ready but often insincere or superficial discourse (glib, slick, smooth-tongued)

OMG, is that a picture of my dear samsooki in that thesaurus? I think it is! :-D

rally in your defense??? i was only to be cheering.. for more blood... loss by samsookie. lol

Wow, while I was sleeping, a new battle coming up on OT field? At least this one seems to be a mock battle of sort with at least dual/triple humidifiers for injured ones.

@358 & @373 langdon813 - Jan 19, 2010 at 10:43 am

Wait a minute…I’m suspicious.

I’m adding an “as long as you’re not fighting JB or hjkomo or belleza” caveat to my declaration.

I'm with you!

Hummm, are we chopping up our lover boy now?
Whoops! I 'm the guilty one having started it, inspired by lovenyc52 & lb_tmi's transaction completed while I was away from OT for a seemingly short period of time. Sometimes it gets too hard with time differences and jet jags.
Anyway, then, might I obtain Lee Min Ki's lovely hands for now? Darn, I do feel like I'm playing a butcher...sigh...

@341 ockoala
Watched Wish Upon A Star ep5 last night and initially this wasn't on my "must watch" list and I still have no intention of putting it there but I like this show more and more with each episode. I was upset that I don't like KJH and I was concerned about he inevitable transformation...will it be believable, etc. But after watching ep5 I am relieved and expecting to be very pleased.

@langdon
I like a couple others, totally get the Tablo crush. We first met about a year and a half ago and as soon as he began to speak and I heard his "Dream" I knew I would love him. Thankfully, I love him as a friend. Mithra is MINE!

So somehow (boredom and my love for KHC) I got sucked into Love You a 1000x. Now, I'm not saying I love it but I am intrigued as to how the next 8 or 9 eps are going to go...
One question I do have is: What is up with "the truth" allergy? I mean I've seen two dramas back-to-back where at least one character cannot tell the truth. I really don't get it. Unlike Adelaide's cold in Guys and Dolls, this has no real basis. Shouldn't it be the other way round like Pinocchio's nose? Its almost like these people think that they might die a sudden and abrupt, though not without dramatic flare in only Kdrama style, death if they answer anyone honestly!

@CN Blue mascots
So the adoption is official?
YAY! I've always wanted to adopt!!!!!!!