@V: Ooo you're right. Coffee House is on tomorrow! I'm so tempted to type Coffee Prince too! I will be interested to see what kind of story it is, as the previews/character descriptions didn't give much away. (And the couple pairing confuses me, haha).

@ v : Thanks for the TW drama suggestions. I've only seen Meteor Garden and FTLY so far. After MG I planned to watch Down with Love as a result of newly found Jerry Yan love, but then I got sidetracked with FTLY. I'm only looking for light and funny rom-coms... I'll check out a few off your list.

@ langdon813: I agree totally. Love the fact that OT is here for rants and rambles of all kinds, but DB is K-land.

@janna
ditto about Coffee HOUSE.. lol (in case ur wondering about the all caps, i just mistyped... venting my frustration)
yep.. the relationship triangle? rectangle? is so unclear. it does seem that Park si yeon will be the "main" woman but then, looks like KJH might fall for eunjung too from the story description... this looks dangerously like a topic for another IW vs. SJ female version to me.. don't know if i can take round 2... lol.
i guess it all depends on how equally adorable they make the 2 girls. eunjung does seem young but who knows, she might have a cute chemistry with KJH..
gosh, i'm already having a headache with this relationship thing and the drama has not even started. -_-"

@reluctantbutaddicted
ur welcome... ^^
i dont exactly remember what i recommended you (too lazy to go back and check) so here i go again..
for good (some of them are not extremely good but quite popular but basically all are the "top" tw dramas) romcoms... go for it started with a kiss (LOVED it), bull fighting, devil beside you, romantic princess, prince turns into a frog (with CYQ from FTLY), my queen (which as ethan from FTLY), easy life happy fortune (with CYQ from FTLY), my lucky star, and hanakimi (which is a mess but u might love it IF u didnt see the jap version)
not all of the dramas worth watching are listed but those dramas are best suited for a "beginner" i think. then, u can go watch more stuff that are good but may need knowing the cast more so i wont mention them here.
if u liked meteor garden, the Da S (=shan cai) has corner with love as a romcom, Mars with Vic zou (hua ze lei!!) a dark and twisted but AWESOME drama (i completely agree with JenMarie about that. dont know y but its good), and she's coming out with a new romance called Summer Bubbles.
for Jerry, well, down with love like u said is a good romcom. he also has starlit which was popular but didnt get me, the hospital which is long but a good watch, and hot shot a mildly serious sportsromcom i guess.
then VIC!!! can u tell i love him? lol. well, Mars, like i said. Black and White is an awesome thriller (+romance) drama, and then there's silence which is a romance too. for a romcom, he has sweet relationship, which is decent i guess. but the guy is most compatible with the more serious drama.
for Vaness Wu (mei zuo.. was that his name?), really, the only one worth mentioning is Autumn's concerto, a romance that has everybody go crazy over it.
and then for Ken, (shi men), wish to see u again is a decent dramas i guess.

lol.. did i write too much again?

@54
CYQ=CQE sorry about that. i got confused with another actress' name.

@ v and JenMarie: Great list! Thanks!

i'm off for now!
have fun in OT!
i wonder if tomorrow, i'll wake up and find out like today that i have a page of comments to catch up. looking forward to that!
and of course, coffee house, giant and what else?

@sam

I think PSH gets by a lot on his charisma, sexiness and charm but I can think of worst actors who don't even have charisma part but I understand your pain. Have you ever seen How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor? See below comment to Ockoala.

@ockoala

"Did you watch Iljimae? "

It didn't interest me enough and I'm not an LJK fan and not enough of PSH to watch it. I think PSH has marginally improved since How to Meet a Perfect Neighbor. His crying was really painful to watch in HMPN and I remember laughing hysterically because he was so bad especially next to Bae Doona but he was pretty good in the comedy scenes since he plays the straight man. BTW HMPN is pretty good if you have nothing to do between watching Tamra and Thank You :-) The friendship chemistry between Bae Doona and Kim Seung Woo is really great. You can tell they totally enjoyed acting together. In Family Honor, the lead actress is a bit wooden so PSH actually doesn't look half bad though some of the hospital scenes had me looking away pretending he wasn't so bad.

@serendipity

Yup we're still soul sisters. I'm suppose to go to Gold Cost, AU so maybe we'll almost meet again :-) Even if we never agree on another kdrama we still have Mawang, Resurrection and Thank You. That is 3 more than I have in common with most people. I forget if you've seen or have an opinion on MiSa/White Tower/Ruler of your Own World.

@ nycgrl

Well, it seems to me that the single biggest reason for stopping by my country, for people living in the Western Hemisphere, is "en route to Australia", so a near-miss is very much on the cards. But I'm convinced that no near-miss in all of OT history will be as freaky and cosmos-shaking as our National Gallery near-miss!

I have all of MiSa/White Tower/Ruler of your Own World on DVD, sitting pretty on my shelf, waiting for a time when I can give them the attention they deserve. A window may be opening up in my work schedule / emotional-energy-demand quotient, and I'm veering towards MiSa, I may be in the mood for another SJS train-wreck (After WHIB - have you checked out ockoala's super review on Thundie's blog?)

I liked "How to Meet a Perfect Neighbour" too! Not ground-breaking, and I don't think I'll re-watch, but it was sweet. The highlight, as you say, was the Bae Doona and Kim Seung Woo partnership, and it was refreshing that the focus was on their friendship, though of course this being a K-drama there HAD to be unrequited love, but thank goodness they didn't major on that. I thought PSH was serviceable as the romantic foil and was quite taken by his look. I particularly like that he rocks the non-double eyelids, so satisfying when beauty is grounded in Asian-ness. But, yes, the acting, best to ignore...

@ ockoala

I did see that photo of Jang Hyuk (yum), so nice to see him looking normal, as in "normally hot", i.e., minus the life-sucking anguish. I was re-watching a slice of Thank You recently, and it was so healing to see Jang Hyuk happy, after Chu- "you WILL cry" -no (and yes I did cry even though I KNEW more-or-less how it would end, and even though I KNEW it was all out to make me cry, and even though my brain was still going "WTF, this late in the game and they are still throwing around continuity anomalies, they really don't care and JUST want to make me cry, don't they?")

@ twin
um... i just dun care for Gu Long...maybe i should reread but i doubt i'll enjoy the general exploitative, extremely sexist themes. that trailer is bleh...the editing is so reminding me of the usual JZJ hand esp the crappy inappropriate music cues w/o the sweeping JZJ's gorgeous cinematography. there's not 1pensive scene exc maybe the 'rape' ? OTOH i'm having a sudden wuxia crave watching the trailer... i'm confused

i dun think Baron and ZaiZai share the same charms... ZZ has a softer metrosexual vibe whereas Baron has that wounded 'the world has wronged ME' type of antihero angst...even in a TW romcom...therefore he's much more engaging in wuxia...maybe the costume grounds him and gives him a better read of the character and put his tendency of being over-dramatic to better use?

i think the achilles' heel for many TW idols to translate into wuxia is because TW idol dramas have very limited genres, limiting them fr broadening their repertoire, the stars r selling essentially their own star charisma, encouraged to stay safely w/in type. ZZ's turn in BW is amazing in part it's fun to see ZZ cosplaying a cop, it's well into the drama when we r wow'd by his real acting.

@sam

word on almost everything u said and i do <3 kimutaku...but i'm more near the peripheral of the fandom in he can do diff roles... competently and entertaining ....but not the best actor in the league, he impresses us w/ his brand of charm + sufficient acting... if i can live and see the day when he's playing sth that i completely cant see his usual markings, i'll take my word back. it's more my pet peeve in dramas is to see an actor literally playing same roles. that's also y i'm the oddest man out in OT for not loving CH because Suna is playing her MR following the same Samsoon playbk imo.

i cant love CHANGE for the writing, i just cant love West Wing for a while and tolerate Change's bastardization...and it felt so blatantly manipulative watching it w/ so many gimmicks loaded on to dazzle me yet it felt fake, the writn is so amateurish even w/ the good performances stopping me fr engaging, what a shame imo. it disappointed me because i had a high expectatn of it b4 airing.

now TnK (have u watched it?)....i dont like too many things about it even b4 it airs. it's not like i hate Ryoko or Keiko or Shota... i just think they r overrated w/, at best, average abilities. and for a kimutaku getsuku romance.. it's just not gd enough. ( i didnt mention a certain someone on purpose)

now Erikasama, that beast of an actress...i. cant. wait. i dun really care much for what kind of human beings my actors r in RL (but of coz a noona protecting grade sch PIE is more than swoon) i'm a cold callous thing w/ my dorama watch... if i had to tax myself looking for scenes said actor/actress is doing a gd job in the puddle of mediocre, i'm not giving out brownie points... it's 11~ ep, i dun feel generous.

hehe seems like we have a very unanimous OT big <3 for Yankeekun! this alone makes me grin :)

@ v
lol i think i write like u (pls dun take offense ;) ) but u r cuter w/ ur musings.

@ mookie and ockoala

I've been reading both your post back and forth about wuxia on several OT. It's been a long time since I saw it last. I remember watching Condor Heroes series. But it's been so long that I don't remember the storyline. And the various remakes makes my memories merge and I cannot tell anymore who is acting with who and in what series. I'm not Chinese and I don't read Chinese so I usually don't know their real names. I just know their character's name at that time.

I remembered watching Felix Wong's (I remember the face and internet is a marvelous thing...you can google him. I just know his name late last year from both your discussions :)) acting and being mesmerizes by him when I was in my late teen. He usually was the quiet character but his face is expressive. Of course Chow Yuen Fatt and Andy Lau, I knew their names a long time ago.

About KimuTaku ..." he can do diff roles… competently and entertaining ….but not the best actor in the league, he impresses us w/ his brand of charm + sufficient acting…" so agree with you there. He has that X factor to pull people in to watch him. Not the best of actors... but we remember him fondly.

TnK... just watched half of the first episode. Feel that I don't deserve to comment on it yet. Maybe later. But KimuTaku looks the same. Cool as always. Doesn't he age? "a certain someone not mentioned" is a bit distracting, eh? Maybe because J Dorama style doesn't suit that person?

Narimiya Hiroki is one actor, like Kevin Bacon, who when I see the name in a drama or film I won't know if he is going to do a dark role or a light role. He can do both. Love Yankeekun.

@ 58 nycgrl. I don't think I have the time to see How To Meet Perfect Neighbor. I don't have life already, watching sooo many drama. :)

@V Sorry about dissing PSH. I love KSY. Seen her acting chop a long time ago in AAE. She was the villain then but I feel empathy and sorry for her character. That was very good acting for someone so young. I never doubted KSY talent. I started to watch PP because of her.

Have a productive week everyone. Need to do work

@ V & janna
Giant night, tonight! Wheeee!

Coffee House sounds great but I don't know, it's just not 'grabbing me by the collar and demanding: 'I watch it, or else...' kinda thing.
The female leads part is confusing, and I hope it's Park Shi Yeon, I may not have liked her prior to this drama's press releases but she looks so much more adorable here than ever before.

And nothing can ever be more confusing than PP's two male leads, for the first 10 episodes they manipulated us all by having the two men constantly sooo close in competition. Well, nothing since My Love Patzzi that is.

@janna - thanks for sharing the name and 5 episodes is manageable, I should defo be able to slot it in somewhere in between G and BG.
Too bad she's meant to die in it though, but I suppose I have to get over the Japanese and Korean fascination with lead character deaths, terminal illness or otherwise.

AAE: I never really completed that drama but when I saw KSY in it as Yong-mi (for the first time) I remember thinking how beautiful she was, I was hoping she was the main lead but it was Chae Rim. CR is great but I've never been able to shake off how similar she looks to a school friend, even the mannerisms and facial expressions and I never paticularly liked this 'friend'. Is anyone else weird like that? Thus I never finished it.
The second time I saw her was as Sun-hwa in IRIS and she was haunting and so bewitchingly beautiful, although I didn't recognise her as the same actress at first.
She is sublime as Hye-ri in PP, I was so rooting for this girl. I can understand how her role takes a little to A LOT of getting used to, it may not be everybody's cup of tea but she really ran wild with this role, how can a character be SO funny, yet so heartbreaking at *exactly* the same time?
Defo love this actress.

I LOVE Suju comeback so much i might call myself an ELF one day!! (not yet..)
there... i said it. lol.
and once again, there was a mistake in Inkigayo perf made by teukie.. is the bonamana dance cursed or smth? how come they make a mistake everytime they perf.. lol. oh well, he compensated by almost taking off his shirt. kya!

ditto about Y-k and M-c.. love how most pple like it!

@mookie
Gu long is OK in my book, lots of thrill, suspense, plot and all but Jin Yong provides much more profound, complex and addicting works.

and for zaizai.. i know he's not perfect but i'm nuts about him... or used to at least. XD. but i do agree with ur description of him and baron.. but i still think they have something similar... just can't pinpoint on what it is.

yay for Kimutaku love... i think he's one of the rare actors in a large number of dramas which i can enjoy... not to mention the dude is just... to die for. and seriously, he barely aged at all. -_-" is the dude human? lol. so that's why im hoping TnK gets better. keiko was okay in BB but overrated. like i said, i like shota cuz of his english accent but i really loved ryoko in anego (she was okay in other dramas too but not brilliant)...

and XD. haha, i'm not taking offense (um... it may sound dumb but i really can't tell... what exactly did u think might have offended me?). lol.. i think u write better than i do since english is not even my 3rd language so when i dont put my mind to it, my expressions go haywire... haha. altho we'll both be busted if we wrote like we do here anywhere else in real life. XP
"but u r cuter w/ ur musings." lol... yesterday must have been my day... that's the 2nd time i'm being called cute! ^^ *dances around being too happy*

@sam
haha.. u don't have to apologize for dissing PSH... i'm not blind to his flaws, im just blind to reason where he is concerned.. XD but even objectively speaking, i do think he has potential.
love KSY too! yep, my first exposure to her was in AAE too and she rocked her villain role.. she's one of the villain that is the most memorable to me up till today.
and yay for starting PP cuz of her!

@supah
Wheeeing with you!!! Giant here we go for round 2!! i couldnt catch it live cuz livestation doesnt seem to load for me... -_-" i dont know what wrong with it.. but i'll watch the raw when they are out.. i don't understand everything since my kr is mediocre but i understand enough to love it!

as for CH.... for me, it doesn't sound great... the plot doesnt look that interesting to me but i'm still excited over it because of the cast and the director and the vibe it gives... plus, PP plot didnt sound all that thrilling to me either and most banal out of the 3 wed/thur drama and the drama is totally addicting. i don't think ur the only one confused here about the relationship.. everyone has been asking that question but PSY seems like the lead lady to me.. and ur right, she looks adorable during the promotion for the drama and surprised me... i have a slight negative impression of her before, not so much because of her acting but more so due to the characters she took on.

lol... i TOTALLY forgot about MLP and the 2 leads KRW and KJW... gosh that was so CONFUSING... till this day, i'm still not sure which one was the lead (really, which one?). and the debate it caused (and is still causing) was heated... i didnt actively participate in it but i was following it and having my own opinions silently expressed but boy, that drama made the competition so CLOSE... everyone was passionate about their own "lead" man. haha. i think even more so than in PP, which is saying a lot. but still, i'm seeing that we might have a similar case with CH, altho i do hope (or do I?) it's going to be more clear. round 2 of intense debate might burn my what little brain cells i have left. XD

about AAE, i agree with u.. KSY was really beautiful in it, more so than CR. and they still both look good now.. she has perfect bone structure and her carpet appearances always stun me. wow... ur "friend" must be really pretty if she's like CR and altho i find CR cute most of the time, i do understand a bit what u mean because sometimes, CR does irritates me (and that was clearer in OML). and even tho i was rooting for CR and JDG in AAE, KSY was in no way overshadowed by CR, which might have happened if anyone else was playing the role of the "secondary" character, especially during that time (Winter sonata, and the endless love series and all).
after that, i saw KSY in Gourmet and she didn't have a big role but she was beautiful... and when i saw her in IRIS, i almost did not recognize her but dang did she kick ass in that drama. she was one of the main reasons why i watched it and kept with it. and then, when i saw her in the PP poster and the PP first ep, i was like... is that the same person as Sunwha??? if we look carefully, we can see that she still has the same exact features all along so it's really amazing how different she looked, and most importantly, how radically she changed her character. she's such a brilliant actress!!
sorry, i wrote more on KSY than i anticipated... lol. can't stop raving about her.

Totally <3ing Yankee-kun!!! I've loved Hiroki since his Gokusen days so it's fun to see him back in a school drama, even if he is 10 years older than the character he's playing hehe. BIG thanks to @ ockoala and @ mookie for bringing it up and making me take notice :P

Oh, for all you Big Bang lovers out there, here's the MV for their new Japanese song "Tell Me Goodbye". It's supposed to be their contribution for the Japanese IRIS soundtrack. I'm loving their vintage look! Tabi is ultimate hotness with his grey hair and omo does GD look smexy or what?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE_4RtpVVaw&feature=player_embedded

forgot to add...

minna, HAPPY MONDAY!!! hope ur week will be awesome!

@lovenyc52
yay for BB love... it's been so long since i saw them in an MV so i was so excited yesterday when i saw on allkpop that their new mv was out. ditto about their vintage look... i had to get used to TOPpie hair tho but now, i love all of their looks. and this is a GOOD song! but hallelujah is better in my opinion. cheers!

yep.. it's me again, with another random comment... lol

omo... MBLAQ mv for Y is out and... it starts with a shower scene??!!! haha.. like it. but dang, my first thought was that the guy in the shower was rain altho my brain told me that it had to be lee joon... no wonder he played rain's younger self in ninja assassin. may has so many awesome comebacks such as WG, 4minute, seo in kook, son dambi, and f(x) and.. SUJU!!! lol... i'm excited by myself.

@ twin

i LOVE that you sent me the BB vid.. cuz i ripped it this morning. ha! GD is all kinds of hot in that MV, and that is so NOT RIGHT, cuz he's so effeminate. but i'm weirdly so attracted to him in the MV. and of course, MY Daesung is so hot w/ the fedora... TOP is totally working the grey and red streaked hair. and his EYES!!! HIS EYES!!!! wow. just WOW.

btw.. our boys won Inki too!!! they've swept all the music shows! hopefully they'll all get healthy and stronger (yeah, ang ang and junK, i'm talking to you!!).

@ CU biatches ::SPOILERS:::

wow. i'm so loving KJ.. i can totally see him wanting EJ all for himself once he's actually gonna see her. i mean, even now, he's interested--if only for her yeast making abilities. but once he sees her, he's gonna totally fall for her. i can't wait to see this weeks episodes!!! HS's revenge on LMS (or will she forgive so easily.. as she is her father's daughter). KH taking more liberties w/ EJ.. maybe we'll get more than just a HUG! and i want JW to get all freaken batshitz crazy mad over EJ/KH. give the boy some worthwhile scenes please!!! more JW character development. thankyou.

@ v,

o it's just that I think when I read your post there's sth resonating w/ how I approach things even when u r discussing sth that I dont have any opinion on. we both write 'longer' and go on tangents that maybe harder to follow (in my case) for other OTers. :) and I hope u wont get offended when I bunch u w/ my writing 'style' coz I do spill out stuff w/o much thought all the time and I'm way more b8tchy/ranty than u. I just wanna say your English is fine. ;) haha I do write sorta the same in RL or I go the dry mode for work.

@sam,

o gosh when I'm rambling on wuxia, it's not really comprehensible.. I think only ockoala can follow because I do use too much abbrev. and I rant even more overwhelmingly annoyingly because I passionately love wuxia, or more specifically Louis Cha, so passionately and for now 20 years that I'm also very critical of his works because they r the only ones worth my time to dissect. it's hard to discuss en masse on Louis Cha's masterpieces and the adaptations because they r just very complex and we love or hate them w/ a frenzied passion that one talking point alone or a character can use up an OT as ockoala and I did around the OT115/116 ballpark.

My fav Guo Jing in Condor Heroes is also Felix Wong. What is very difficult in casting a character in any Louis Cha work is his characterization is so very complete and profoundly fleshed out, it left very little leeway adapting it into another media, and a great amt of physical resemblance, charisma that is absolutely in sync w/ the character on top of all the other demands r a must, and Felix is still the best fit. Moreover, none of the following renditions r close to the earnestness and true to character as his. Now the best Huang Yung (the heroine in Condor Heroes) will open up very colorful debates because she's easily the most loved heroine esp for the ladies in a LC work and we have the Barbara Yung good standard of a terrific HY in the 1983 adaptation. I used to think the most impt criteria is the physical charisma. Ariel proved the contrary and showed us what great acting is capable of transcending, in the very difficult genre of wuxia for actors.

I'm actually quite looking forward to AAE's Chinese adaptation now after seeing the stills, it looks very mature and I can already see the understated thoughtful actings....I'm pleased w/ everything exc JH's hair. I. do. not. like.

maybe **spoiler**?
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1531/5410051711074015578452.jpg

the Dr Min do is sooooooooo much better, at least imo
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/9530/235a801625576a224b90a7c.jpg

@ v

i did a double take at Tabi's grey hair too, but it grew on me right away.. somehow it just fits?? the man can wear a burlap sack and i'd be all over that.

@ twin

totally ripped both the song and MV last night as well... then realized i forgot my earphone for my ipod so i can't listen to it at work. FAIL!! but ya, when i saw the vid pop up on my subscriptions, my first thought was OMG GOTTA SEND TO TWIN!! hehe :) yes, GD is smexy hot. so weird. so wrong. and yet... so right LOLs!!!!!

umm... can i do a claim of KJ please? he's so hot.

@ sam

You actually "read" mookie and mine insanely meta, not to mention looooong, discussion of wuxia dramas and LC's works? Heh, glad we didn't scare you away. I agree with both of you, Felix is the only Guo Jing that manifested the novel hero onto the screen. He's probably the least good looking of the Five Tigers, but in some ways, he was the warmest, the gentlest, the most trustworthy, because of his characters and his screen presence.

If I liked Chilam or Hu Ge's Guo Jing, it was because I like Chilam and/or Hu Ge, not that their portrayal moved me. Only Ariel has (come close, or actually did) dethroned the unassailable Barbara's version of Huang Rong.

I can write about wuxia dramas all day (and night long). If there was ever a drama genre made for bringing young kids, teenagers into the drama watching fold - it is wuxia. All the pathos, none of the melodrama. Plus kung fu fighting! Exquisitely cool period costumes. Which kid wouldn't find it catnip?

@ twin

MBS 2010 looks......hard to stomach. Gu Long is sexist even when he attempts to be all gender-breaking (by having Gao Lao-da a woman, ooooh, a woman leader of an gang of assasins), because then he shoves the Xiao-die gets raped story + make Gao Lao-da really an insecure and emotionally stunted woman. Yeah, thanks Gu Long, you really do suck in so many ways. I wish I could quit you, but sometimes your stories are really riveting.... If I watch MBS 2010 its for the Baron loving. He definitely has a world has wrong me expression in all his acting, which in a wuxia drama - ACTUALLY is in fact the shit his character has to deal with. Works for me!

Jang Hyuk, sigh of happiness.

@ BB lovers

i've had Tell me goodbye on repeat all day.. and i still can't make out what GD sings or TOP raps. ha! his engrish is love. i did get something about body aches tho.. lols.

@ momosan

CN blue.. i am really liking ICOMYM mascots alot lately.. so buying their cd when it finally drops (along w/ Bluetory). my daughter's fave song atm is a.ri.gato :)

@ twin

i believe i have already claimed KJ. but for you.. i'll share :)

@ twin

so the kclub i was at on Saturday played some CN Blue, but i have no idea what song it was. I did like it though.

you can't make out when GD is singing? really? his voice is so distinctive though!! And Tabi's engrish makes me lol. The only part i got on my own was <i.'sorry to be scrappin' which made me lol some more.

here's the lyric translation for BB's song :)

http://ibigbang.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/translationslyrics-big-bangs-tell-me-goodbye-song/

thanks for sharing KJ!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

@mookie
LOL.. i do tend to ramble and rant a lot. XD especially when i'm excited... i write on top of my head and that's where abbreviation, typos, out of topics and all happens. XD
oh well, that's y i love OT. haha thx for the clarificaton ^^

@lovenyc52
ditto about TOP. :) that guy's stare is to die for.

for those in the US, what do u guys think of the new Miss USA.. me like her. pretty.

and now... off to go read PP recap 14 and watch Giant! and TnK and Coffee House!!
phew... looks like i'm going to be busy.

@ twin

no, i know when GD sings, i just can't make out his Engrish either.. which is weird cuz his pronounciation is usually spot on.. but this time, i'm having trouble understanding him.. kinda TOP-like Engrish understanding fail on my part. dang that song is so good tho. it's gotta be my absolute fave BB song...

CN blue.. prolly was "i'm a loner" cuz that's the most played song i hear of theirs.

@V
I knowww!
I totally did that too... was about to write about AAE and veered off into PP rhetoric again. It's awful how it's consuming me, in spite of the fact I've stopped watching it.
Just two more episodes and I'll be free. Hellooo Kim Nam Gil!

And Hellooo.. Giant 4!

@v & janna
ok, 35 seconds into the fourth episode and I'm already crying. Crying because it's so beautiful. *sob*

Anybody watching TWdrama Year of the Rain(那年，雨不停國)? Vanness Wu produced, AC PD (<3) directing. I saw an ep last nite, madly in love.

This 16 min preview is so drawing me in, I cant look away even though I know I'll be a sobbing mess thro'out the drama, sorry I can't find any subbed versions, but it's good stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY1FoD0ybTE

*spoiler*
I'm addicted to these tenacious girls picking up their lives fr tragic pieces. The heroine has all her immediate family perished in the big 8/8 flood in TW, she's now living w/ relatives, living life in a lost daze. We have an earnest, warm, maybe too naive hero, a lost birth mom that is leading a shady existence...but wants heroine back.

and more Yankeekun <3 :)

o how I love ep 4!!!!!!!!!!!! I dun want to change a thing in this lovely thing but I can still allow my pervie mind to WANT a BL kiss btn Daichi and Izumi, can I?! lol and it would be awesome if I get a longer Hana kicking those 2 boys' ass. (I <3 that scene to bits, but I wouldnt mind if my version got made as well!)

and I would NEVER EVER get tired of Yankeekun's fantasies. MORE PLZ!!

I just love the lesson of the day as simple as it is, school is good, friends r good...yet we still get a kickass ep out of it. <333

@supah
lol.. it's funny how u describe pp ending as being "free" while i want to be imprisoned forever... (well, maybe not. XD). but yay, kim nam gil!!! that's gonna make my PP withdrawal syndrome better.

ive just watched TnK 2 (will comment on that later...). as for Giant 4... i'm going to watch it now!!! ^^ let's see if i'm going to cry... but u sure know how to make one want to watch something with a single line. lol.

@mookie
yep... i was interested in that drama a while ago when i saw the preview and how it talked about the disaster that happened but i didnt know it was out already. thx for pointing that out! :) (sigh... another drama on my current watch list. -_-")
but i think i have to wait for the subbed version. korean, i can handle ok, japanese if it's not too fast too, it's ok too but im weaker at chinese. i can handle conversational ch but i'd rather understand everything... since i can only understand about 60%, i only watch raw dramas that i'm dying to watch or wuxia adapted from books that i've read since it's easier for me to understand. lol. do u know if maybe they have a vietnamese subbed/dubbed vers? i'm going to go check on that....
lol at ur y-k m-c fantasies... haha. i'm loving the show too. i was afraid it might ruin the manga but it's standing on its own so im happy. ^^

@V
if you're going to watch it you'll need tissues! Lots of them!
It's a very powerful episode for all four of the Lee siblings! :*(
Savour the magnificent child actors while you can, the pace is moving too fast and something tells me we're moving towards the adult portion -- very soon.

@ momosan

If not for the arrival of momochan, you'd still be momochan, nee? Nonetheless, momsan is always a chan at heart and super kawaii, so I'm glad you got to tease those boys a bit at Best Buy. :-P

I vote for the blue streaks, screams punk and rock simultaneously. And rock on with the Queen and the Big Bang on full blast.

@ twin

I love the director who did AC (single best thing about AC was the directing, hands down, raised the mediocre story up like 12 notches for me). The Year of the Rain looks wonderful, heartbreaking but wonderful. I can't watc it tho, and definitely can't show my mom. She lost half her family in the Eight Seven floods in 1959 (still the worst flood in TW history) when she was a kid.

I'm going to have to take a Tamra break tonight (catch up on Yankee kun, yay!) cuz hubby has been watching every episode with me, we're up to 6, and he actually really really likes it. He says "what a lovely story" and made me promise to wait to watch more after he gets back from a quick business trip.

I can't believe Tamra is the drama which hooked him. He saw Chuno and IRIS when it was airing on TV and he thought one was a lame 24 knockoff and the other he barely paid attention before snoozing off.

@supah: Ah, that 5 Episode show is one where she won't die. The other show she'll be in is a terminal illness one. (Yeah, I don't understand the fascination with them either, other than they like pure love story angle.)

@v: I'm just glad you can understand what I write. Haha. So jealous you already watched TnK!

So I get home from work and my sister welcomes me home by saying "Cook dinner" and she was off work today. No you didn't girl! It's Monday! (anger!)

@momosan: Rock a bright removable hair piece like f(x)! You'd be the coolest ever. Have you ever watched Detroit Metal City with Kenichi Matsuyama? It's the funniest Japanese Death Metal movie! (And possibly.. the only movie of the genre.)

@ momosan

How about you rock the River look? :-D I mean, c'mon, kick the entire galaxy's ass, and you have Mal by your side as your reluctant wise-cracking appa/oppa (well, Simon is the oppa, but Mal is like my dream big brother).

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/45125

@V and Janna
Giant 4, have you two seen it yet?
That was THE finest hour of Korean television I've ever seen! Pure quality.
I'm going to recommend Giant 4 to everyone, whether they watch the rest of the series or not, that episode on its own is a masterpiece.

Please let me know when you two have, I'm anxious to discuss!

Just when I was like: Lee! Kang! Mo! You tough little bastard! Lee! Sung! Mo! has to pull something even more crazier! I love these two brothers and the actors Yeo Jin Goo and Kim Soo Hyun were on fire. Flawless acting.

They should give us at least 10 episodes total with just the kids, dontchya think?

@ momosan + mookie-twin

WAHHH, must see to be believed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnbj7eY7OAo

Who let SMAP out?!? OMLord in a handbasket, the "singing" is so off-pitch its actually cute. And watching KimuTaku 2010 doing the same dance he did in 1996 is.....surreal. Like, the only reference point is if Johnny Depp 2010 put on his wife beater and channeled 21 Jump Street him. Or if any former boy bander who is one now of the biggest Asian stars in the known universe joined his boyband mates in singing their greatest hits. :-) This vid made me happy. LCH's giantess size made me not so happy.

@BB Lovers

Love the MV. I am waiting for the day Big Bang will come back to NYC so I can drag hubby for the 2nd time. Every time a friend/cousin backs out hubby is my go to stand in.

Re: All About Eve

I've always wondered why KSY didn't become bigger star after AAE. She was the best thing about AAE and I'm not even talking about her looks. She has acting chops and screen presence.

@Momosan

Too funny. Boy did he put his foot in his mouth. When in doubt go with lower age range. I remember at my bff's wedding her italian uncles & aunts thought my older sister (4 years older) was my mom!!! You should have seen my sister's face.

Here is my husband's experience at Best Buy last week while looking to buy me a gift for keeping my new years resolution and working out 2 times a week.

hubby: do you have any ipads?

bb: no

hubby: can you check if you have any in the back?

bb: I don't think we do

hubby: can you check if any other best buys in the area happen to have ipads in stock?

bb: I'm certain we don't

hubby: do you know when you are getting more in?

bb: I don't know

hubby: (getting annoyed) can you tell me if you're EVER planning on getting any more in?!

bb: I actually don't know that sir.

(at least he said sir)

@janna
"I’m just glad you can understand what I write." lol... i'm glad i made u glad but i have no idea what u are referring to... XD
about TnK, well, am i lucky? r u waiting for subs or u dont have time? i said i would stop watching after ep 2 if it's still like ep 1 and well, it did improve in some way, or it might just be that i have lower expectations now and am used to the way the drama is done... -_-" anyways, i'm going to try ep 3 as well. :)
and lol.. about ur story with ur sister... i would SO not accept the order if my brother said that (i dont have a sis. lol). haha. unless he's like dead tired or something. ur relationtionship with ur sister looks fun (is it the same sister who liked suju during love letter days or im mixing up pple here.. ???)
@ockoala
lol.. thx for the vid. this is the 3rd time im seeing it. first at LJ, then I saw a few days ago that Ender's girl posted the same vid on her blog... seems like it's popular. XD love SMAP anyways... JE was never about singing, or dancing, or music or really... what's it about?? lol
@nycgrl
hihi... the BB mv is growing on me too.
and yay to ur comment about KSY in AAE.. she was brilliant in it, despite her being a villain. wish she'll become popular. PP is her first time getting a title role so it's going somewhere...
@supah
Giant 4 SPOILER
OMO, OMO, OMO... WTH!!! it was BRILLIANT! can't remember the last time i've cried, like TRULY cried while watching a drama...
thanks for the tissues warning... unfortunately, i didnt bring them with me when watching and had to use my sleeve instead.. i must have looked like a mess. lol
i felt so much for the lee kid, and in this ep, especially for SM!! OMG... that kid can cry.. and the scene where he looks at his sis eat and just moments after, she's lost... and then the scene goes to KM looking at their family pix. T.T and then back to SM heartbreaking scene. and then when he chases the car ... and then *big sigh*.... this ep is just full of GOOD stuff
and KM boxing against the african dude... ouch. but dang do i love KSH. and YJG (yay! i now finally remember his name for good... i always referred him to the kid who played the young version of who and who in which drama. lol) is so good!
and the ending.... oh my god... do u think he can survive after having all that fall on him?? and how they stilled the end with SM's distressed face...
and yeah, i love the two brothers too! and i seriously wish they could extend the childhood portion of this but u have a point... the ep has been moving quickly so they might go to the adult part soon. but really, if it was up to me, i want those kids to star in their own drama... like now. they deserves this... and i NEED this.. it's a waste of talent to not use them more.

@IWxHR lovers
with all the angst in the latest eps and probably more to come, here's a cheerful MV w/ cute HR and IW moments. it contains some ep 14 scenes so spoiler ahead.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpI79UcqbvQ

@serendipity

" A window may be opening up in my work schedule / emotional-energy-demand quotient, and I’m veering towards MiSa, I may be in the mood for another SJS train-wreck"

O Serendipity you must watch MiSA! I personally think its much much better than WHIB. I'm super excited that you might watch this but I don't want to get your expectations too high. Two caveats : In case you couldn't tell I'm a huge Im So Jung fan so I wonder at times if that slanted my view about MiSa and MiSA is probably a little dated at this point but the chemistry between the OTP is really amazing and its SJS acting at its best. You'll see a difference between his performance in WHIB and MiSA.

(After WHIB – have you checked out ockoala’s super review on Thundie’s blog?)

Not yet but will do. I'll probably like it more than WHIB. I haven't been on Thundie's site in a while.

"I liked “How to Meet a Perfect Neighbour” too! Not ground-breaking, and I don’t think I’ll re-watch, but it was sweet."

You know it won't make my top 10 list but I love parts of it to bits like the friendship angle, the weird sort of humor, Bae Doona's quirkiness and Son Hyun Joo and Kim Sung Ryung (Hwang Tae Kyung's mom from YB) building relationship were all so great. The part I disliked was the mystery angle but I guess they needed some kind of outside catalyst that tied everything together.

@V

*SQUEALS!!*

Giant 4 SPOILERS AHEAD!

Kang Mo is the younger brother (YJG) and Sung Mo, the 'hyung' (KSH), and Kang Mo is the one who'll grow up the main lead, later to be played by Lee Bum Soo.
Sung Mo will later be played by Park Sang Min.

Anyway, yes! IRONY, you are so freakin' beautiful!!

Isn't it funny how KM is now the designated shoe polisher to Jung Yun's (NJH) dad and SM as the guy who irons Major Cho's uniform? How close these two siblings are to the two big players behind the Lee family destruction.

I love when Sung Mo irons Major Cho's shirts, going over his name tag with a murderous glint in his eyes... I'm like: Yes, Iron himmmm!!

But where the irony was at its most beautiful was when Sung Mo crazily jumps into the boxing ring to take on the challenge from the US soldier, and all the slurs from the Americans saying no yellow monkey can ever beat this one US champ, and you know Major Cho abhors the Americans. Sung Mo is one crazy kid, trying to get his attention this way!
But as he is no match for this US dude, he's taking the hits and knocked down bleeding, and ironically he's seeing flashbacks of the *beeeep* who pulled the trigger on his dad, Major Cho and it's the very same man who's calling out to him in encouragement ''stand back up kid, get on your feet, fight!'' (Uh, you sure, Cho? This same kid's gonna destroy you.)
And obviously since no one can withstand KSH's mighty fury even this undisputed US boxing champ is defeated but I loved how SM won his enemy over. He even got a pocket knife as a reward from Cho. Pwned!
Yes, that's right, a defenceless kid walks right into the Lion's (Cho's) Den and ends up showing the lion who's boss. Rawr!
(OK, maybe not just yet but one day -- baby steps!)

I was a bit tentative actually, because I don't like how Korean/Japanese dramas portray Black people. I was expecting something cringy, but so far there's nothing I can fault Giant on. It's probably the first kdrama where they've been more conscientious so as not to come across racist. Bravo!

The scene before that with Kang Mo, the street brawls, what a kid!
Around 10 older boys from the shoe polish gang are beating him black and blue and he still kept getting up and lunging at them again, and Jung Yun was like, ''you crazy kid, they'll kill you!''

The funniest part was attempt #4 when he flies at them and shoe slaps them! (SMACK!) Hahaha!
Attempt #5 was like whoa..!! OK!

You just don't mess with these Lee brothers, huh?

And I cried when Sung Mo escaped the barracks and waited all night for his siblings at their meeting point in Seoul. *sob* He arrived seconds too late.

And I'm still not over the bus scene with sweet little Mi Joo with the angel voice... and Kang Mo having no choice but to send baby Jun Mo to the orphanage. SO many tears shed.

@supah
lol... about my previous post... in case ur all confused and not knowing what i'm talking about.... i just realized i mixed up the bros' names. XD like i said previously, i still have trouble remembering the names... it'll take some time. haha. when i watch it, then i know who's who, but after that i forget... cuz i watch so many dramas at the same time (also jp and tw and c dramas) it becomes confusing. -_-"
also... my korean is not really up to par so i have some stuff i'm unclear about. when i watch and even with rewinding, for some lines, i dont get what they say.

EDIT
ooops... when i was typing the above, ur comment didnt show up yet... lol
now im off to read it...

@momosan,

lolz but it would be sooo off the hook if u can blast the BB. ;)

@janna, I got such a kick out of Detroit Metal City , easily the my fav role of Kenichi (who has couple movies lined up in 2010 that I cant wait). is it PG safe for momochan, momosan?

@ twin
*hug* , I so sorry for your family. I'm not sure y but last months I'm in a very nostalgic mood but my MIL is the opposite, she hates a lot of HK movies lately which I enjoyed (Echoes of the Rainbow, 72 tenants). She said she doesnt enjoy seeing sth she has first hand accounts on and I kinda ruin the Mother's Day marathon I planned for her. ;P

so glad Mr Koala is enjoying Tamra as well!! ;) I'm kinda ashamed for mine to air it out he's enjoying CU w/ me, maybe not by choice but he didnt walk away and even asked if I have dl'd come Wed/ Thurs

@supah
GIANT 4 SPOILER
haha... it helps that u mention which actor ur talking about when u mention the character.. (and i might make some more slips in the future so bare with me... for a while at least. XD)
and YES!! thanks for mentioning it... Irony... this drama is full of it.. my, my.. it's going to get SO complicated.

yes... when i saw the KM was the shoe polisher for NJH's dad i was like.. omo. and the scenes with SM (=KSH) and major jo are thrilling...
" I’m like: Yes, Iron himmmm!!" => same for me. and KSH is so good at acting those scenes! especially with his eyes...
and yes, when major jo not only cheers for KSH in the boxing ring (btw, i would not want to fight with either lee brothers... gosh, they DO NOT give up.. lol at ur recap of the brawl scene... the shoe was definitely funny if i was not super worried KM was going to kill himself trying to fight. ), but he also gave him the knife.. i was like, uh oh... irony to its max. major jo, u have no idea who u r facing here... trouble ahead for u buddy.

and then more irony for the future... when little mi joo (?) (=hwang jung eum's role) will fall for jo's son.. boy oh boy. not only the 2 bro but the sis too. thisis going to be quite a ride huh?

and i had the EXACT same thought when i first saw the african american. it's really irritating to me how sometimes, asian dramas tend to portray in a stereotype and arguably offensive way "foreign" people, black or otherwise and i was worried i was in for another irritating scene but they soothed my worries. Giant is sure rocking it.

and i cried to when he waited at the meeting point!! gosh, TALK about frustration... (referring to pp recap here. lol) dang, i wanted to punch something.
and yeah, the bus scene is so heart-tugging but i cried really hard when KM was holding the baby and was crying his heart out...

what an episode!!! u know how i wasnt completely invested in Giant? i loved it but i wasnt hooked hooked yet... well, this ep turned the tables for me (altho i'm still deep into PP so i'm not fully devoted to Giant yet but close). the childhood portion is so good i'm a bit worried about how the adult part will fare.

@ nyrgrl

I loved WHIB because as mind-fucks go, it was a glorious one! All the while staying within the confines of K-drama trope, which I think is a kind of genius of subversion. And of course the acting was amazing -- I'd never seen ANY of the lead actors before, disgracefully (Hey, I've only been watching K- & J-drama for 2.5 years, I'm still in catch-up). I thought SJS did well, so I'm dying to watch him do better; I'm sold, I'm so onto MiSa next.

How to Meet a Perfect Neighbour -- You know, I don't even remember what the mystery was! Just goes to show how important that was to me. But it was that show that taught me, without my consciously trying to learn, the word "chingu".

@serendipity
if u like SJS, ur right to try i'm sorry i love u/MiSA... of course, he also has other dramas but this one is kind of a classic and loved by many.
and you are going to LOVE him in it...

@ mookietwin

My family history, huh, having living through the Japanese occupation and the KMT rule and a variety of crappy times and happier times, life just keeps going on, no? I just know I hate having my mom watch stuff about shit she really went through (or similar thereto), cuz she's a mess afterwards and makes me sad. :-(

I'm not surprised my hubs is loving Tamra. It's a completed prior to airing drama and the quality really shows. But he's not impressed by technical prowess or complicated plots. He really feels the heart of Tamra, and that's what's keeping me riveting and totally enjoying the show with me. And the acting is stellar (well, except for William, but he's actually not bad the second time around). Other than watching the first 10 eps of Royal Tramp with me (the awesome kids section that was so cute I dies), this is the only other drama watching we've done. And for some reason, Tamra just feels like the perfect drama to bring our disparate tastes in TV together.

@ nycgrl

Heh, love your hubby's Best Buy experience. Tell him to shop online next time. :-P

@ SMAP

OUCH! Please, please, guys, PLEASE lip-sync!! We don't mind, honestly. We don't need artistic integrity from you. We just want you to be cute and cool. Mind you, in the cool department you need quite a bit of intervention; but singing in tune would be a good start. Boys, studio pitch-adjustment is your FRIEND. Embrace the studio mixer!!