Music & TV Current Guilty Pleasures

Ok so this post is about my current obsessions.These are the things that I've been enjoying lately in the pop-culture- media world.

MUSIC

G-Dragon is my new K-Pop guilty pleasure. G-Dragon is the leader of the Korean boy band Big Bang, who are great in their own right. However, G-Dragon released his first solo album in August and I have been loving all of the music I have heard. Yes, it has been tainted with many plagiarism rumors, but who knows how it all went down. All I know, is that I am enjoying the album & G-Dragon's crazy fashion. I adore that boy.



I also really like 2ne1's mini album. Their music is really catchy. They debuted this year under the same label as G-Dragon, YG Entertainment, and I've been listening to them a lot this past month.

TV

Like many others, I am loving Glee. I was so excited when it came out. It takes 2 of my favorite things, TV series & musicals, and puts them together with a dash of comedy. I've enjoyed all 4 episodes that I have seen and I can't wait for more. Here is a clip-

Another tv series that I have become addicted to is the Taiwanese drama It Started With a Kiss (2005-2006 series) and it's sequel They Kiss Again (2007-2008 series). It's about a girl in her last year of high school who adores the intelligent, cool guy in school, but he turns her down. She ends up living with him and his family because her house gets damaged in an earthquake and her father is good friends with his parents. He eventually softens up to her. The sequel picks up in their first year of college until they begin their careers.

Although acted well by Ariel Lin, the female character sometimes gets annoying because of how super clingy and dependent she is of the male character, Jiang Zhi Shu, especially in the 2nd season. However, a big part of that season was Zhi Shu trying to make her become more independent, so that she didn't rely on him so much. He also had to deal with his own commitment issues and his coldness towards her.

The show is addictive. It draws you in and even when you get frustrated at the characters, you still can't turn away. I loved the chemistry between the 2 main actors, Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng. It's one of those dramas that I would rewatch over and over again. Here is a fan made video with scenes from the sequel They Kiss Again. If you are interested in the series, you can stream it on sites like MySoju www.mysoju.com/it-started-with-a-kiss/ & Dramacrazy www.dramacrazy.net/v/taiwanese-drama/it-started-with-a-kiss/

Nagasaki/ Obon Weekend

I know that this entry should have been written a month ago. Oooppps! Sorry!

On August 13th to the 16th for the Obon weekend, I took a trip to Nagasaki by myself. I caught a bus from Miyazaki to Nagasaki. It took about 5 1/2 hours, but the bus was comfortable and it stopped twice at rest stops, so that we could stretch our legs.

Once we arrived, I took the tram to get to the hostel. Of course I ended up taking the wrong tram and had to back track. Once I got out of the tram, I started looking around at my surroundings and trying to figure out which way to go next. Two girls got off the tram with luggage at the same time as me and asked if I was going to Akari hostel. We ended up walking together to the hostel and later we found out that we were placed as roommates at the hostel. Funny Coincidence! They were only there for 1 night though. The rest of the time I was there, my roommates were Interac ALTs from up north.

Overall, my trip was great. Nagasaki is a wonderful city. It reminded me a bit of Macau because it is clearly influenced by a variety of cultures from both the West and East.

One of the most important, but most emotionally difficult places to visit is the Atomic Bomb Museum. Certain images are just so painful to even witness. However it's important for people to learn about the horrors caused by the bomb, so that we do not repeat the past.

Another great place to visit in Nagasaki is Glover Garden. It has many European resident houses from the Meiji period. There are also good views of Nagasaki city. I was surprised to see a statue of Giacomo Puccini and a statue of his opera Madame Butterfly in the garden. I did not know that Madame Butterfly was based on events that occurred in Nagasaki in the 1890s until I got there.

My hostel, Akari hostel, was great. We had an event every night. On the first night, many of the guests from the hostel got together and did fireworks together. On my second night, we took a cable car to the top of Mt. Inasa to see the Nagasaki night view.

However, the highlight of my trip was probably the Obon festival in the street. Obon or "Day of the Dead" is a custom of honoring the deceased spirit's of one's ancestors. In Nagasaki, families create floats with lanterns and pictures of their deceased family members. I even saw a float for deceased pets. They would walk around the streets with these floats while fire crackers were going out everywhere. It was really noisy because of all the firecrackers. Once I got there, I realized why the conbini had ear plugs at the front of the register to purchase. lol. However, it was a really interesting festival to observe. I was glad that I got to see it.

I really enjoyed my time in Nagasaki. If you are in Kyushu, you should stop by. That's after you visit Miyazaki, of course. (^_^)

You can go to my Flickr account for pictures of Nagasaki- www.flickr.com/photos/stefy29/sets/72157621938467771/