Music Video of The Day: BoA (Day 77)

Today's music video is BoA's Bump Bump, featuring M-flo. BoA is a Korean artist who broke into the Japanese market. This is one of her Japanese songs. I think she was also putting out her English album around this video's time frame. Busy busy.

This music video is pretty normal. Close ups of the face. Dancing. Random rapper man. The only odd thing is that the back-up dancers are wearing creepy clown masks. It's like a scary episode of Doctor Who. Who are they and what do they want? Maybe her sweet dance moves will scare them off. Find out next time on Doctor BoA.

How To Change Clothes' Colour: Part 2 (Day 88)

How to Make a Mint Green Shirt Caucasian Pink.

Note: Caucasian pink is not a nice colour for clothes but it can be useful for making undershirts less visible, or for dressing up like David Bisbal in his early years.

The Steps.

1. Find a high temperature washer and dryer (European washer/dryer preferred)
2. Put your mint green clothing in with something intensely red
3. Wash and dry on the high temperature settings
4. Take out of the dryer. What's this? Where did my green clothes go?
5. Wear under white or semi-transparent clothes.
I suppose it should be noted that this same process turns jeans purple. Your friends will be mad if the jeans are theirs.

Comic-Con (Day 77)

Saturday! Saturday in Manitoba.

Today is a special day. Or rather, this weekend is a special weekend. This weekend, sci-fi/artist/wrestler (why?) celebrities are flown into Winnipeg to be displayed before thousands of their adoring fans. Or not so adoring, but either way they come. That's right, this weekend is Central Canada Comic Con...and I am going.

You are probably wondering if people dress up for these events. The answer is yes, about 40% do.

You are probably wondering what people do at these events. The answer is shop for nerdy things, look at art, play video games/board games, and take pictures of other people's sweet sweet costumes. The picture taking is my favourite. People can be so ingenuitive (sic) and skilled. The patience, determination, and work that it takes to make a good costume is really quite something, and needs to be appreciated.

You are probably wondering what the best part is. Answer: hanging out with friends. Without friends, these events would be lonely and the task of looking through hordes of nerd materials would be done expeditiously. Friends make the pictures more fun and give a pleasant dimension to the nerdiness that is happening around you.

What would make this all better? More free events like episode watching, panels, and random tutorials. For now we don't have those. Can we hope for them in the future? I don't know, but I do know that today should be fun. Maybe I'll even talk to a celebrity.

Yesterday's Ketchup (Day 76)

Or rather, yesterday's catch up. Toda's items are sewing and a story.

I started this skirt on Thursday night and finished it on Friday. It is made of a lovely red cotton weave and a white bedsheet. It is the right shape for swing dancing, and I sewed in pretty decorations. However, it is bunchy like early 2000's camo pants. That means it looks bad, and since it looks bad, will rarely be worn. Now it's best use will be to hang out at home during the hot summer months. I don't really know how it got bunchy either, which is the real kicker. What if I want to use a lovely cotton weave in the future?

And now it is story time. Yesterday, after finishing the skirt, I was talking to my brother. I was all like, "Dance!" (direct quote of recent Super Junior song) and he was like "No.". Then I told him I was quoting Super Junior and he replied, "I know." So I changed it to, "Party, let's party."(direct TVXQ/DBSK quote), and he replied, "That's not Super Junior. That's TVXQ."

Now, to a non-K-pop fan, this story isn't interesting, but to me, it shows me how much I talk/listen to K-pop. My brother recognizes song quotes and knows which group said them, and it's all because of me.

Music Video of The Day: Paradise (Day 76)

I was bumming around on Kpop Mondays by martinaandsimon on Youtube when I clicked on this video. Turns out, it's so good it gets to be posted before the topic of the day. Woot.

Infinite put out a new song in September that I liked on the first listen...and the second. The song starts out with some 80's beats and them smooths into a more modern mix of intrigue..ing music. Infinite likes their artsy metaphorical music videos, and they have made this song into such a video. In this one, a nameless woman is walking around depressed and cannot see the seven gorgeous men (in nice suits) being depressed with her. I think she's cleaning out the old relationship, but that's just my theory.

For a music video with very little movement, it remains interesting. The lighting and camera angles provide dynamic movement while the lack of person movement allows you to focus on Infinite's attractive faces and well made suits. The worst part of it is the worrying that the fake smoke will hurt their vocal chords.

So here is Paradise by Infinite of Woolim Entertainment...with fan made subs. You get the benefit of knowing what the words mean. I hope that doesn't change the enjoyment of the music video.

Music Video of The Day: Super Junior-H (Day 75)

Super Junior-H.
Short for Super Junior-Happy.
Subgroup of Super Junior featuring Leetuek, Yesung, Shindong, Sungmin, Kangin, and Eunhyuk.
They sing, get this, happy songs.
This song, Pajama Party, is deceptively happy. My favourite part is that the members look so innocent and cute...plus there's a gorilla.

 My not favourite part is that the lyrics can be changed to have a dirty meaning realllly easily.

The CWB Revisted (Day 75)

There are two main newspapers in my area. One is considered more intellectual and one is considered more trashy/tabloidy. As it turns out, they have different biases on the issue of the disollution of the Canadian Wheat Board. The more reputable one favours the CWB and likes to say that it sympathizes with farmers. The less reputable favours the government and the "freedom of the market". This difference is both interesting and healthy for readers. They get both sides of the story if they choose to read both, and it can lead them to search into the issue more.

For myself, it cleared up some things for me. 1) It is unclear what will happen to the CWB. One newspaper said that it would be disbanded and replaced. The other said that it would stay as a voluntary option. What I learned is that I need to look this up more. 2) In times of trouble the CWB can become a whiny being. 3) I am all for farmers having options in who they sell to, aka. a crown corporation or a different corporation. Whether this is being argued or not is in question. 4) The real issue is what do the farmers want. The government is pushing, in bully-like fashion, for no CWB. The CWB is pushing for their survival, in a similar way to how some children tell the teacher whenever someone else disobeys the rules. They want the farmers to vote on whether they stay or not. And, truthfully, this sounds like the most constitutional way to do things. It also sounds like self-preservation.

Getting the farmers to vote whether barley and/or wheat should remain under CWB monopoly and going from there is idealogically the best option. It also sounds like a huge costly hassle. But so does the government and the CWB pushing each other into court. What I want to know in this debacle is are either party focusing on the benefit to and desires of farmers and the people they influence?

Music Video of The Day: David Bisbal (Day 73)

What do swing dancing and David Bisbal have in common? Japanese television shows of course.

...I'm kidding. But when I think of David Bisbal and swing dancing together I am reminded of an episode of the original Japanese live action show Hana Kimi. In it two characters dance to the Japanese version of Oy El Boom, and it is amazing. I think it is called either Boom Boom Boom or Chacon Con Con by Hiromi Go. Here is a clip of the Japanese version performed by the esteemed David Bisbal.

Here also is Como Olvidar. The best part is when he runs into a dance party. Or maybe the part where a martial artist is attacking him. Or the part where they jump out of the super tall building to avoid the bomb only to theorically plummet to their dooms, because that's what super heroes do. Use the link to go see the bomb jumping. Otherwise you shall have to suffice with this live version in Valencia.

The real point of this is that David Bisbal rocks.

The Perks of Swing Dancing (Day 73)

The Perks of Going Swing Dancing

Like other things, swing dancing has many benefits. Benefits that help convince people to either come the first time, or to return again and again. And to my friend who reads this blog, no this is not to guilt you. I was just thinking about swing dancing today.

The Benefits are:

• Dancing is fun
• Most swing dancers are in a university club
• Thus they are youthful (18-35)
• And they are educated. Good for intellectual conversations should you so choose.
• Swing dancing is exercise and is thus healthy
• It relieves boredom
• Better posture
• You get to touch attractive men without being creepy
• You get to hang out with attractive guys...sometimes
• Swing dance moves can be used to figure out other moves...like boyband moves
• You get invited to other events: other swing dancing events, eating out, costume parties, etc.
• Swing dancers can also be nerds and are thus doubly attractive for being both athletic in a non-althetic manner and for having nerdy interests
• Costume gazing. Swing dancers often dress in 1920's inspired outfits and are thus interesting to look at
• Naturally dressing better
• Learning how to ask people to dance

The best part of swing dancing is going out to dance competently to a fast and fun song with a large group of other dancing couples. You are part of the group, but not. All your home problems slip away. All the social awkwardnesses of the night slip away too. It's just you and your dancing partner in a sea of people, grooving to the best of your ability to the song. It's a very in the moment sort of thing, and the moment can't embarrass or shame you later. It remains a fun memory.

Back on the topic of benefits, some of benefits I noted affect some people more than others. For example, swing dancing gave my brother better posture, a better wardrobe, and social confidence. It hasn't given me those things yet though. I'm still waiting for those.

Onto not swing dancing. In general, I feel like my posts are getting more and more to be just myself shooting myself in the foot. They are not very flattering towards myself and not very interesting to potential readers. I will try to change that problem in the future. If you have suggestions, or maybe more benefits of swing dancing, please let me know.

Music Video of The Day: LPG (Day 72)

Today is a slow mellow day, so today's song will be sad. LPG's I'm Sorry I'm A Noona is just such a song. I also find it to be a happy song because I know a lot of words in it.
Dongsaeng - younger person
Saranghae - I love you
Hadjimma - don't do that
Noona- older sister
bee-ah-neh (phonetically) - sorry (informal)
Abbsa (spelt wrong) - nothing/not
So basically what I understand it is saying is "Younger man, I love you. Younger man, I can't be with you. Younger man, don't come after me. I'm sorry that I'm older than you." The music video is depressing with a hopeful ending.

If you want the lighter end of things, there is also SHINee's Noona Is So Pretty...er Replay..the parody. 

Adventures in Child Rearing (Day 72)

I have recently rediscovered that children are quite maleable and unpredictable. Pretend this is a "how-to" if you like. That is supposed to be the topic after all.

This morning I was playing with my nephew. He's fairly young, being a toddler and all. One of the games he likes to play is that there is a shark that goes around biting people. The people don't like this, so they hire bodyguards/bountyhunters to stop the shark. The bounty hunters are a lizard and a crocodile. Everyone involved is quite menacing since they are soft cuddly beanie babies.
Anyway, to trap the shark, the lizard and the crocodile jump on top of the shark. I thought it would be good if my nephew put him into a prison so I told him to go get a prison. He didn't understand why that would be a good idea. I explained to him that the bounty hunters couldn't just sit on the shark all day. They needed to go pee and eat sometime too. Next thing you know, he's up looking for a prison and wondering where the bathroom is so that the bountyhunters can use it. "They need to pee", as he says. Laughing to myself, I tell him where the bathroom is. The bountyhunters go there. "Where's potty?" he asks. At this, I"m a little stunned. Recovering, I tell him it's the playmobile canoe. The lizard directly sits on the canoe and proceeds to go pee for a minute. "Pssssss", says my nephew. "Pssss pssss psssss". Then it's the crocodile. He doesn't need to go pee quite as much. He only pees for 15 seconds. When both were done, I asked my nephew if they were going to wash their hands. He just wanted to know where and off they went to wash their hands. Then they played cards and the shark escaped.

What I learned from this is that children have no problem playing things that are normal to them. They can go potty, so therefore their toys can go potty.

Music Video of The Day: Swing and Ska (Day 71)

On the topic of swing dancing, ska music was really cool around 1999.

...That started out wrong. Ska music still is cool. Today's music "video" is Buck's Truth And Life. Buck was a ska band back in the day. I think I got to see them in concert even, in 2003. Their Youtube music video is really just audio, so you have the opportunity to also watch the International Lindy Hop Championship's 2010 Strictly Lindy Finals...which are amazing. Seriously. Watch them.

Ramblin's (Day 71)

So you noticed that I'm slacking off have you? Well, it is true. I've been slacking. Somehow I've managed to book my time so that blogging happens late at night when there's little time to spare. How did that happen? Bad time management skills is what.

Instead of thinking of a great topic for you, yesterday I joined a field trip of a dairy farm. It was lots of fun. I looked into the grain auger of DOOM (scarier than the pit of death in Star Wars) and got to start a tractor. We pet the dogs, drank chocolate milk, checked out the milking parlour (nifty stuff that), saw the artificial insemination room, and looked at the baby cows. Calves are so cute.
Field trip done, I then went home and, instead of writing you something intellectual or some such, I sewed a skirt for swing dancing. A big problem with swing dancing is that one bounces alot and so jeans/skirt often inch their way done until there is butt cleavage to deal with. Thus, for myself, I made a skirt that goes all the way up to my waist in order to prevent future butt cleavage. I also added special "No Stomach Ache" technology for myself. Now I am excited to use it for dancing...tonight.

The question for today is what is the past tense of pet. Petted is not right, is it?

Music Video of The Day: Wrong Number (Day 70)

On a completely different topic than the topic post, today's music video is a repeat...of a music video that makes TVXQ/DBSK look good. Smooth and cool dance moves, interesting costumes...most of the time, and a catchy song. If TVXQ could have convinced me to like them, this is one of the songs that would have done so. So here it is, TVXQ's Wrong Number.

Fight (Day 70)

As I listened to our guests sing this evening I pondered on how people from certain less open countries seem so full of fight, hope, and love. Fight for the spread of God's message, hope in God and His work, and love for God and people. My thoughts really went something like this, "they seem so determined and hopeful in their desire to tell their people about God. Their singing in their mother tongue feels so much different than North American Christians who sing out of a place of physical safety. They understand the trials they will face and they are prepared to face them. Wow. We can learn from them." That's about how it was. I admire that they have hope and determination instead of despair when their work is so hard and so dangerous. They are an example to us.

Music Video of the Day: I Don't Care (Day 69)

Thanks to Youtube, I got to find out today that Girl's Generation's new music video already has over five million hits...and it's only two days old. Super Junior took three weeks to get that many on A-Cha. This made me sad since I don't like Girl's Generation on principle. They helped popularize the skanky-cute girl group in K-pop, and skanky-cute just feels so wrong. Therefore, today's song is I Don't Care by 2NE1. I think this is the song where Dara kind of looks like Ryeowook at one point. This may be the Japanese version.

Personal Crisis(Day 69)

When I was a child, I was the only one with my name...other than those 40 year old women of the same name. Now that I am grown up, I am hearing people have my name more and more. In my workplace. In the local sewing shop. When did this happen? I was so confident for so long that my name was pretty unique and unused. Now it turns out that I was completely and totally wrong and I have to learn to not turn towards people talking to their friend/relative of the same (my) name. I used to think it was a little rough to be one of those people who share their names with two other people in the classroom. Now I am a little jealous of them because they are used to sharing their name. It is neither new nor shocking for them. Maybe this just shows me to be a drama queen. .......

The Canadian Wheat Board and It's Big Bossy Brother (Day 68)

Topic of choice today: politics. Here is my rant, born of frustration with how the government is acting. For clarification, the Canadian Wheat Board is a crown corporation and is therefore technically run by the government. It required that all prairie farmers sell it their wheat and barley. I'm not sure how many countries have crown corporations so I thought it would be a good thing to clarify.
The Canadian prairies have long been ruled by the Canadian Wheat Board, the CWB. While a large portion of prairie farmers toiled away under CWB rule, having to sell their wheat and barley to only CWB at CWB prices, farmers in Ontario and other provinces had choices whether to sell to a government organization or not to. Being from the prairies, I took the monopoly that CWB had (only in the prairies) as a proof that Ottawa hates the prairies. Well, not hates so much as has little regard for.
Summary so far: Prairie farmers had to sell to the government. Ontarian farmers could decide to sell to the government or sell privately. There were feelings that the federal government dislikes the prairies.

Recently, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been super determined to get rid of the CWB utterly and completely...by next spring. The current plan is to start a new crown corporation to serve in CWB's stead as one of the options farmers will have. My question is, why not just downsize the CWB? Let the farmers decide who they want to sell their grain to. That is the issue, yes? The government could cut CWB operating costs based on voluntary CWB use by farmers. About 51% of farmers want to keep CWB anyway. A new organization takes time to organize, develop, and function. It takes money to rent the space, train the people, and figure out all the businessy stuff behind what happens (like the purpose statement, contacts, etc.). That just seems like wasted effort when there is a pre-existing building, employees, and business plan.

Summary: The federal government wants the CWB gone now. They want to make a new organization rather than downsizing the old one.

CWB is of course kicking up a fuss...so the Ottawa government is replacing their elected board...which is made up of farmers (who better to represent farmers than farmers). CWB plans to take them to court. Manitoba kicked up a fuss too, but the repercussions haven't occurred yet. Getting rid of the CWB means over 400 jobs lost in Winnipeg and more in the port of Churchill. Message to Manitoban's from all of this = the feds hate you and are treating you as a child that needs to be chastized.

Summary of this: Everyone involved is acting like children instead of discussing things like adults. The government is making themselves look bad.

What can be learned from this? Well, clearly there was a better way to deal with the issue. Now everyone is all tense from disagreeing with each other and they aren't willing to compromise. Is CWB's rebellion against Ottawa a good reason to oust an elected board in favour of government employees? Even though many farmers, somewhere near half, have wanted to sell their grain on the open market for a long time now, is  that a good reason to destroy one organization and replace it with another in a matter of months? What kind of organization will that even be able to be? Business decisions that make that kind of business happen take months all on their own. Then there is the hiring, the training, the contacts to make, the schedule to figure out, etc. etc. Business isn't and shouldn't be treated like something that will magically work. Yes some do, but the really important ones, the ones that support society, don't magically work. People put lots of effort into making them work. Can the government make their forced plan work? How will it affect farmers? And lastly, in a resource based economy, how will it affect the rest of us?

Music Video of the Day: Farmer/Pirate Theme (Day 68)

And now for a humourous look at today's topic. Arrogant Worms is one of those truly patriotic Canadian bands...because they sing about Canada, and they sing about it in a Canadian way. This would be a good time to note that that Canadian way is called humour. The celebrities that we get to keep are usually either comedians or politicians, so naturally humour is part of being patriotic.

Arrogant Worms had a number of truly patriotic songs, one of which was about farmers. It is called The Last Saskatchewan Pirate. They sing it hear with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at their backs, because that just makes sense.

Music Video of the Day (Day 67)

Thanks to Youtube and my curiousity, Beyonce's Love On Top is one of today's music videos. It is reminiscent of those 80's and 90's boybands that I enjoyed so much (NKOB, BSB, and NSYNC) in both song, dance, and cinematic style. Plus, the dancing resembles in no way, shape, or form the skanky-cute style of dancing so prevalent in South Korean girl groups. Beyonce can dance, and she dances well. Other than her dire need for breast support, Love On Top is an enjoyable music video.

The second music video is Super Junior's Mr.Simple. Considering that the costumers had to make over 30 outfits for the music video, it is somewhat impressive that only a handful were bad. Namely, the blue and white shirt on Sungmin, and 67% of Donghae's outfits looking like 80's greaser outfits. To balance things, the white, pink, and grey outfits looked really good on Sungmin. It suited him very well. Shindong also has a good outfit featuring pink and green. He so rarely is given a good outfit, it is refreshing. As far as the song goes, the dance is well done with organic shapes and nice backdrops. The song is catchy, but not too catchy, and the men are attractive. Here it is.

Mumbo Jumbo (Day 67)

As a blogger, I find it interesting who reads my blog and how they found it. For instance, just this week someone from Italy condescended (in the Jane Austen sense) to read my blog and found it through a site whose name I don't understand. And I thought to myself, "Wow. How did that happen? How did that site find my blog out of all the stuff sitting around in cyber space?...And why?" Since some travel site started to refer people to my blog I started to question my traffic sources a little. At the same time, I don't really care. So what if the referal site is odd and doesn't relate. People are bothering to read what I write. It feels good. At the same time I wonder how I can improve my product, my blog. Are there certain topics that people would find interesting?

That's really it for today. Good day to you. 

Music Video of the Day (Day 66)

When I first started my blog, I posted music videos by using links. A lot of people will not use a link if it is offered. Therefore, there were about 21 music videos which didn't get watched, many of those good solid pieces of pop wondercheese. I am now going to recycle them over time. Here is the first one. Bad Girl by B2ST/Beast.

When I originally posted this I wrote, "Imagine your man in one of these: funny looking harem pants, glitter, feathers, transluscent cloth, peaked shoulders, jewelry, and/or lipstick. Now imagine six guys wearing these things like they're cool." I think this was the fashion comment that my friend found funny. I was saying it in an ironic way, but now that I think about it, it can be a more serious matter. It takes a little something to get used to things like glitter, feathers, transparent fabric, and jewelry on guys...especially for a North American, but a lot of "feminine" clothes/colours are considered appropriate in fashion conscious South Korea. I think these outfits are especially appropriate for pop groups which need to both compete against each other in an increasingly saturated market, and for entertainment content. I really enjoy both good costumes and comically funny ones, and I enjoy guys who can act like bad costuming doesn't bother them. This music video, by chance, has both a lot of bad costumes, and six guys who pretend it doesn't bother them. Enjoy.

Review: Amy Pond, Season 6 of Doctor Who (Day 66)

I once read a feminist blog that a friend suggested. The blog stated how and why Amy Pond of Doctor Who was terrible. I was rather shocked. In season five she was fun, courageous, flirty and at the same time unavailable, had a dark and mysterious past, and a future that she was avoiding. In total, a good mix for a Doctor Who companion. At that time I wondered why anyone would ever not like Amy Pond.

Now I kind of understand. In season six... I don't really know what happened. I think they only have a certain amount of coolness that can be divided between the companions, and they deeply wanted to make Rory a cooler guy. Well, they succeeded in making Rory cooler to the detriment of Amy's character. She has become the helpless damsel in distress while Rory gets to threaten aliens and shove Hitler into closets.

The scene that the feminist blog cited as being a pivitol moment in disliking Amy, the scene where she craddles her new baby and hides from the evil aliens, also annoyed me. First off, she didn't watch the fight like a good companion would. A good companion would watch so that they; 1) knew when to run further away, or 2) knew when to come in to help. Second, she never looked like a brand new mom. That was the fault of the costuming and make-up departments, but it was a flaw nonetheless. Lastly, Rory and the expendable characters are the only ones doing something cool in this scene. Amy is a captive/hides while other people decide her future. That is something that bother feminists pretty universally.

So far this has been pretty disjointed, but I don't know how to flesh out my ideas to make it better. I just know that as I've watched the new season of Doctor Who, I've found Amy to be more and more dependent and helpless, and it bothers me. Amy is supposed to be a 'go getter'. She and Rory can share being cool. It needn't be one sided coolness, in either direction.

Music Video of the Day (Day 65)

I have an increasingly newfound respect for SS501. Thanks to that, you get to watch them more. Today's music video is UR Man, by SS501. I've heard this song before somewhere, in a better version, but this version is alright too. It features only three members of SS501, since the other two were too busy. Fortunately, it does feature the attractive one, whatever his name may be, and AJ, the one who probably sounds like Ryeowook of Super Junior. This is a fan version.

This is one of those mediocre music videos. The song is enjoyable, but the dancing isn't memorable and there are some questionable camera shots.

On the funny side, their super low buttoned shirts are mildly entertaining. One because the gold shirt make the one super deep neck line look kind of like no shirt at all, and two (for me) because I started to worry about them getting cold rather than checking them out.

How To: Old Cars and Long Distances (Day 65)

How to drive your '86 car 1500 km over three days. This is something I just did. My car began the trip with just over 350 000 km on the engine, and ended it with about 1500 km more. I'm not sure what those are in imperial but km to miles is about a 100:60 ratio.

The Steps.

1) Pray over the car and the trip every day.
2) Drive
3) Don't forget to gas up. Petrol is kind of necessary.
4) Get to your destination
5) Thank the Lord that the car was fine

Got to say, I was pretty excited not to have a blow out on the TransCanada highway. A donut (spare tire) is only made to go so far, and I'm pretty sure that the TransCan is about a lot longer than that.

Music Video of the Day: A Repeat (Day 64)

It's Mazeltov time again! I really like this song. Some parts are funny and some parts are cool. Go ZE:A!

Of Funerals and Other Fun Things (Day 64)

Today I am beginning the long trek to my great aunt's funeral. There will be (while driving) music listening, food eating, and tiredness, but it will be worth it. There will also be no blog until I am back.

First off, this death is not a sad one. First, because we are all certain that our aunt was Christian and therefore is with God. Second, because her quality of life was very low and she is now in a much much much better place. And, third, in our family, funerals are a good chance to hang out with the cousins. I live an eight hour drive away from our nearest cousins of this side, so hanging out time is very valuable. All the readers in Russia will understand this. The others, ...maybe not so much.

Oh, and I forgot that added to the joys of going to said funeral (I really am looking forward to it), my car is really old (It's an '86 after all). We get to be worrying about it functioning properly all the way there and all the way back. I personally am most worried about the tires, but I think my parents are more worried about its other various parts.

So that's basically it. It is now time to run around like a chicken with its head cut off. May you all have a nice weekend.

Music Video of the Day (Day 63)

This is the first time I'm separating the topic and the music video. If you want to see the earlier ones that will require going to the bottom of each earlier post.

Today's music video is David Bisbal's The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore. David Bisbal got picked up by Vale Music after he lost in Operacion Triumphe (sic) and was that ever a good thing. The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore is one of his English songs. Originally sung in the 60's by some U.S. band in England (The Atkin Brothers?),  David Bisbal's version is well done and nice to listen to. It is one of my top five favourite David Bisbal songs. I also like how he is so butch that he has a truck in the music video. It's very North American of him.

Things I've Learnt (Day 63)

Someone with red hair suggested that I do my topic of discussion in one post and my music video in another. This is probably a good idea. If you have suggestions, maybe you will let me know too?

About seven minutes ago I was pondering on the things I've learnt since high school. For a lot of people, what they imagined they'd be when they grew up is different from what actually happened, and this can make them a little sad. We forget what we've learnt and experienced can be valuable too, and even though our society or culture doesn't appreciate them, they are a good thing to remember.

These are skills and other things I've learnt since high school.

• How to make cream soup
• How to use the computer mouse with my left hand
• How to crochet
• How to tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean script
• Words in languages other than English or German
• How to sing in front of others
• Knowledge about the Old Testament and its amazing complexity
• That I have history. All 400 years of it.
• How to do the American Jive
• How to do basic Charleston
• How to do basic Salsa
• How to change a car tire
• How to dance with guys

I'm pretty sure there's more, but this is the time for you to think about what you've learnt, or where you've travelled, or something amazing that you've done. Remember to think about the positive things in life every so often. It makes it nicer.

Reflections (Day 62)

Today's menu is quotes with attending comments.

First, from the newspaper; "how we linguistically illustrate something often reflects our real attitudes." I agree, mostly because I already thought this, but I like the way this person put it. My way of saying it would be, "how you talk about someone indicates how you feel about them". I even have a theory that using politically correct language helps us change our minds about people of other cultural and ethnic backgrounds (aka, helps us not be racist). Words reflecting how we feel is also a good reason to talk about others with respect. Aka, refer to women as women, not girls. Don't talk about attractive people in derrogatory ways. Don't use racist terms. Etc. We (I) still fail to treat each other with respect, but I think talking more respectfully helps us be more respectful, and is therefore worthwhile.

Second and last, my cousin's view on relationships with God. As a Christian, I feel that relational closeness to God is important, yet I lack that very thing. My wise cousin put it this way; "when you are in a good relationship (friendship, etc.), you want to spend time with that person. You think and plan ways to spend time with that person." I see examples of this around me quite a lot recently. I know more and more people who want to and are spending more time reading the Bible, praying, and attending Bible studies. I see that in their lives and that it is good, but I'm not there. I don't seek out time to spend with God, reading the Bible and praying. I have a planned schedule that those activities fit into, if my other schedules allow them. I want to be in the place where I am desiring to spend more time with God, but I'm not there yet. I think it would be a very good thing. I feel like asking for prayer on this is selfish and petty, but please do pray for me if you are willing.

The music video for today is something that I listen to when I don't want to listen to k-pop. I like this song for the song and for the meaning. Just listen. Please just listen. Don't watch the music video. It seems that most of it is clips from a movie that the song might have been used in. These clips take away from the meaning of the song, and are obviously from a lower budget Christianese movie. Christianese and Christian being different things, Christianese media is a topic for another day. They were first called Christians in Antioch.
Today's music video is Falling Further by Spoken (who are apparently with Tooth and Nail Records).

Did anyone notice the randomly placed comment?

Catch Up (Day 61)

I totally skipped yesterday by accident. Yesterday's topic, decided at 11:15 PM, was supposed to be a review of the 90's board game Don't Be A Dork. There's not much to say about it other than Don't Be A Dork seemed to be a game determined to make fun of nerds, which not having any really nerdy content. The game's questions were random and self-referring, all the while trying to insult the players for playing the game in the first place. The game's art style was unnattractive in both colour scheme and picture style, as well as repetitiveness. The path one was to follow was demeaning to nerds and full of bad puns. Basically, Don't Be A Dork was a big letdown. It sounded fun, but wasn't really. That's why we sanded down the board and started to make a new game out of it almost right away. There was no point in torturing other people by giving it back to the second-hand store. Don't Be A Dork gets a 0 out of 5.

The new game made from the old board will be about collecting a hope chest in a creature filled world so that you can get married. Players will need to collect 5 furniture, 5 food, and 3 weapons before they can tie the knot and win the game. This is what happens when you get women who want to get married and women who are nerds brainstorming.
                                                                                                                                                                 

Today I was going to comment on the threats of less funding for the CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (?). CBC is part of Canada's culture. We've had it almost as long as there was tv. As a land with very little culture of its own, I think it is important to protect the culture that we have developed. CBC is part of that. They have had bad historical dramas for years and years (which we secretly enjoy). They have had wonderful comedies for years and years (which are important to our culture). They used to show random stuff like Cirque du Soliel and figure skating when I was a child. CBC was the reason I knew anything about politics before becoming an adult. I even watched the referendum (vote on Quebec seperation) on it (pretty sure). CBC is also the holder and promoter of some "high culture", just like the Cirque du Soliel I mentioned before. They have two radio stations, one of which I know involves talking about and listening to classical music (an artform that hopefully never dies). High culture is not something that really pays for itself, but is important to society anyway, and therefore it is left to government to make sure that we have it. I guess that I don't really have a point here, but it is kind of insulting/disappointing to see threats of funding decreases to an organization that promotes and is, of itself, part of culture. This is not even mentioning that some hockey players want to sue Don Cherry, that Canadian icon, for insulting them. Don Cherry is like that grandpa that says horrible things about everybody. No one pays attention to it anymore. Some people even like it because he says what he believes and that act in itself is refreshing.
                                                                                                                                                                 

Today's music video is SS501's Love Ya. Love Ya is impressive in a number of ways. First, it incorporates violins to be classy. Then at 0:23 seconds the real song starts, with dynamic dance moves(like the jump), dark lighting, and an intense feel to the song. I find it amusing that the backs of the suit jackets are cut out, making them "sexy" outfits since the member's backs are showing. The incorporation of backup dancers improves the general quality of the music video as well, without being distracting.  Another consideration is that SS501 is the only group I know of where the member's have different management companies. That means that several companies worked together to create this product, for the nth time, instead of being petty and focusing on their star's popularity. Here it is.

Thanksgiving and SS501 (Day 60)

To all the people who read this who haven't been my friend for 13 years, I'm impressed that you can follow along/are interested enough in what I'm saying to read this.

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. That means chicken, ham, potatoes, leaf raking, and relatives. I enjoy this time of year mostly for the food and the time spent outdoors. Even though the weather isn't that great, it is really nice to be in open air doing something useful (raking) with Grandma. It's nice to eat her cooking and sit around listening to relatives talk about the important issues of the day. I'm also glad that Thanksgiving is in a month that is still relatively warm. November would be no good for going outside since it is about freezing then with little to no snow; aka, cold and unnattractive. That was a misuse of a semicolon.
                                                                                                                                                                  

Last week I thought of something really clever to write on Sunday, but by now I have forgotten it. Since tomorrow I will be at Grandma's, that would have been written HERE. I don't think you want me to make something up though, so I'll leave it be for this week.
                                                                                                                                                                 

Today's music video is SS501's Love Like This. It is from their Rebirth album, which I am guessing is their second one. SS501 is the group I most often confuse with Super Junior when listening to music. They have a high tenor who sounds like Ryeowook and a similar music style so I think that throws me off a little. The leader(?) of SS501 was in the Korean dramas Boys Over Flowers and Playful Kiss. Love Like This features flesh toned t-shirts, a group member who became more attractive, and the "skipping dance" which takes all of half a second. SS501 is one of the groups I pretend to dislike, mostly because I skip their bad songs and confuse their good songs with Super Junior songs.

The Weather (Day 59)

Today's weather was a gongshow. In street lingo (because the street is where cool and hip people hang out), gongshow means ridiculous or epic or total letdown. In today's case, there was a wind warning. That's right, the wind was soooo fast that it deserved a warning.

This evening I drove my cousin to the airport. The trees were fluttering. The car reacted funnily to driving westward (due to the south wind). The lampposts were swaying. The street signs were moving. The traffic lights were moving in strange and dangerous ways. The construction signs were bent at a 35 degree angle. I got to contend with a rogue pylon which was weaving it's way into and out of traffic.  It was what one could call a "fun time", but in that lightly sarcastic tone. Fortunately the weather has improved since. It was interesting experiencing it.

I was going to post a random picture of some sewing project of mine, but am using the wrong computer for that. Therefore, you can watch this music video instead. It's by Boyfriend, the K-pop group whose first single was the similarly named song Boyfriend. Their song Don't Touch My Girl was featured on Youtube today. It's cute. In it one of the members looks like Nakamaru from KAT-TUN, and another member vaguely looks like a member of Fahrenheit (of Taiwan). Very multicultural looking there. There's yet another member that just seems really familiar, like his twin is in another idol group or something. Some of the dance moves don't match the positive beat of the song either, but in general, it is a pleasant music video.

Music Videos I Never Thought I'd Be Posting (Day 58)

Today is for music videos I never thought I'd be posting.

The first one is Mother Mother's The Stand. Someone I know pasted it on Facebook and I thought it looked interesting so I watched it. Gotta say that it is intriguing and captivating, even with the thinly veiled sexual references and cursing. I like the way the people don't react, and the way the pictures swirl on the wall. I find the song to be very catchy as well, which I also find kind of sad since the lyrics aren't all I'd like them to be.

The second one is a Tony Bennet an Lady Gaga duo. They sing The Lady is a Tramp. The music video is not very interesting at all, but the song is quite solid. It's nice to see something old school come out of Lady Gaga. It's a pretty fun duet. I also found out about this one through Facebook.

The Quest For Perfect Government (Day 57)

I mislabelled today's topic. I think the quest for perfect government is futile but necessary, kind of like trying to improve the world. The real topic is voting.

Today was the provincial election in Manitoba. I think the equivalent elsewhere would be state/county elections. There were four options in general, and only three in my area.

Option 1: New Democratic Party. NDP. Been in power for awhile. Think that social services are important. Have really annoying ads.
Option 2: Progressive Conservative. Were in power in the 90's. Are slightly more business oriented than NDP. Have only slightly less annoying ads than the NDP.
Option 3: Liberal. Haven't been in power provincially since the 1950's. No one even knows what they represent anymore. People just know that they don't like the Liberals. Their advertisements are okay.
Option 4: Green. The new kids on the block. Have some good ideas. Have some really bad ideas. Failed to present how most of their ideas would actually function. Not represented in my riding.

So, with that selection, I had a really hard decision on my hands. Would I vote for a party who had been annoying me for what felt like the last two months, or would I vote for a party represented by someone I didn't want to vote for? This is a cynical way to look at it, no? Their cumulative promises were all about equal, but the Liberals, having annoyed me the least, if at all, eventually won out. I know they won't win, which I appreciate, but at least future campaigning dollars will not be going to the annoying advertisers. Maybe next time I will use the 'decline' option.

It's hard to vote on prepackaged plans, with options that you do and don't agree with all mixed together. If it were possible, it would be nice to vote on the actual issues presented, and then pick a representative to fulfill the people's wishes based on how much we like and trust the person.

                                                                                                                                                                  

Today's music video is SHINee's Ring Ding Dong, mostly because I mentioned it yesterday. SHINee is one of those groups whom I appreciate for their music and cheesy music videos. They are a little too young for me to crush on, and I doubt that I'd want to anyway. They are all so fresh faced.

There are several solid outfits in this video, including the one that looks kind of like scales. I like the wing theme as well.

We Got Married (Day 56)

Monday is review day here, and today I talk about the South Korean variety show We Got Married. The show has an interesting premise in that it didn't originally feature real married couples. Instead, celebrities were coupled and tried out the married life. They don't do anything kinky. What they do is move into an apartment, make supper, clean, go on dates, etc. The mundane things in life to be precise. And, it is strangely charming. It is cute to see the "couples" argue, try to get along, try to impress each other, and try to act couply. Then they confess things to the camera about how they actually crushed on their celebrity "spouse" as a young person, or about how they are trying to control them.  It's cute and kind of fluffy but it can be slow and somewhat annoying sometimes too. I give the show a solid 3.5 out of 5. It's worth watching, but it won't knock your socks off.
                                                                                                                                                                      

Since I'm feeling the groove of G-Dragon's Heartbreaker today, you don't have to listen to Shinee's Ring Ding Dong yet. My favourite part of Heartbreaker is the "chicka chicka chicka tae" part where he is funnily hopping. It makes me smile.

G-dragon has a lot of good outfits in this music video (including one where he looks like an android). They really match his platinum blonde hair. The outfits start out quite feminine and get more masculine as the music video goes on. Also note the original sin/temptation/apple reference at the beginning. It's very interesting imagery for the context of the song.

How To Get Your Second Super Junior CD (Day 55)

It's a race against the clock to get this done by 12 midnight. Yay! Races are so much fun because of all the excitement. Today's 'how to' is just as simple as the prior Sunday's lesson.


The Steps:

1) Have friends who live in South Korea, or who will live there soon.

2) Offer to sew them this blanket if they buy you K-pop.

3) Demand some Super Junior in your K-pop wish list. Make sure your friend knows that they, Super Junior, are a must.

4) Have your friend go cd shopping

5) Have them mail you the cd's.
6) Make them the blanket.
7) Send them the blanket.

Tada! Once again, using iTunes or buying online are easier, but less fun.

New topic. Today in church I found that Romans 1:16a stood out during the sermon. It says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes". I think this is one of those things that I need to internalize, because then I would be more confident when people asked me about my beliefs. Being a better example is a different matter entirely.

The music video of the day is Infinite's Be Mine, the dance version. Dancing is important.

Hairpins and Painting (Day 54)

I just got inside from sweeping the house. The outside of the house, or rather, one wall of the house outside. I swept all the little paint particles off so that Dad could repaint.  Now our house will be the exact same colour it used to be -- white. It's all very exciting.

                                                                                                                                 

Today's music video is Nothing's Over by Infinite of Woollim Entertainment(?) I just watched two Infinite music videos and they are more campy than Super Junior and Shinee. They definitely focus on the guys being really good friends, although to the North American eye it looks kind of like homoeroticism. Infinite has a pretty good sound. I would put them up there with Beast as fun to listen to. You know that an idol group is solid when you barely know what they look like and you like them for their sound. So here they are with a song that I don't know.