Song of the Week 1:12 PM

윤하 (Younha) - Say Something

I love rock ballads. I feel like they're the perfect mix of bittersweet; strength and sorrow in one breath. The song above is the newest addition to my favorite rock ballads. Some others include:

임재범 - 비상
윤도현 - 사랑2
김동률 - 거위의 꿈
버즈 - 사랑은 가슴이 시킨다  Part 2
..and my all-time favorite
버즈 - 사랑은 가슴이 시킨다

(Sorry, some of these videos are of bad quality or live versions.)

Eugene's Song of the Week 3:34 PM

지선 - Roller Coaster Love




Nothing like good ol' Korean pop rock. The song's right up there with the likes of 윤하 and 아유! Like good fruit taffy.

Haven't been keeping up with the entries, but don't give up on me now! Today will most likely be my last post... UNTIL I BUILD MY NEW COMPUTER THIS WEEKEND!! Yeah, that's right. No more 5-year-old MacBook. We've had a good run, but it's time to move on. Next time I post it'll be with a brand-spankin'-new desktop.

Be excited, because I'm planning to post more interesting stuff. I'll be doing lots of photoshopping, video-editing, and the likes. So expect more media, more often!

Until then, signing off. See ya'll soon.

BY THE WAY: Does anyone know a good way to incorporate music into a post(not the whole blog itself) other than YouTube clips? Like a simple music player or something?

Yes or No 7:37 PM

Don't give your money to Sears!


Seriously. I ordered a microwave about three months ago from these people, and today I have: No microwave, no refund. I kid you not. I've spent over eight long hours speaking to different customer service reps and supervisors, and so far my request is "still in processing." I've had to deal with countless transfers to and from their different departments, several hours being put on hold, perplexingly rude reps(what are they angry at me for?), and even being hung up on by them. Twice.


Which is probably why the fondest of memories come up when I watch this hilarious video:



Haha. This actually works, guys.

No Need to Articulate 1:19 PM

5-year-old Japanese boy covering Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours"

Watch Community 12:58 AM

Do it.

Involvement, Relatable Content, Stupidly Outrageous Videos 1:32 AM

Time to be frank.

I have to check my blog at least daily to check for new comments, and counter-intuitive to the obvious notion that no one reads my blog the demographic of my readers is quite small, I get puzzled! "Why doesn't anyone leave comments on my wonderful posts?!"

Simple. After long hours of deliberation I came to realize that it wasn't the readers' fault; I just wasn't coming from the right angle. How would I get my friends to comment on my posts? I concluded that there are at least three factors to people-pleasing, comment-generating posts:

One - Involvement. Ever watch CommunityChannel's videos on YouTube? She always asks pointed and open-ended questions to let the viewers comment and be a part of the discussion.

Two - Relatable Content. If it's something you're not interested in, you suck and you won't leave a comment.

Three - A video or picture of something stupid, outrageous, or stupidly outrageous.

Yep. And that's why this post is all about the following video:

Now, is that not one of the most stupidly outrageous(point three), relatable(point two, who hasn't tried dropping Mentos in Coke? Which of you reading this post isn't Asian?) thing you've ever seen?

Now here comes the involvement(point one). I want all of you to watch that video again and answer the following questions in my comments section:

1. What in God's good, green Earth does "nooki" mean?

2. How many times does this woman say "nooki"?

Nooki away to the comments section folks. I'll do my best to comment on all y'all blogs too!

Did You Know?

Every time someone reads Eugene's blog posts, a beautiful unicorn is born. Every time someone reads Eugene's blog posts but leaves without leaving a comment, that beautiful unicorn kills three kittens and eats one puppy. Eugene then eats that unicorn.

Fermented Bean Paste & Women 1:03 AM

I will preface the following blog entry with two statements: One, I like Korea. Two, I like pretty girls.

I can easily presume where one might think this conversation may lead to. But before any assumptions are made, the following video is of interest:

(Click here to see the animated version)

It seems difficult to make trouble with a song that encourages young children to eat fermented bean paste(된장) as an alternative to sweets and instant food. Going as far as to propagate the idea that a diet consisting of such bean paste promotes "S-lines" and "V-lines"(0:49), however, definitely raises flags; not in its validity of statement but rather in the notions it conveys to its viewers. (For those unsure of what an "S" or "V-line" is, it becomes apparent when you imagine the line created by the curve of a slender woman's body, and the outline created by a slim woman's frontal portrait; her unobtrusive jaws gradually tapering down to a delicate chin. Unless you've spent any time with Soong, who insists that the bottom portion of the S-line is created by his beer belly.)


Seriously, do children really need to hear this?

Not that it comes as much of a surprise, however. The Korean people have long lived within a society that places high value on physical beauty. Virtually every marketing ploy in Korea consists of celebrity endorsements, and the country is ranked within the top five for the most plastic surgical procedures undertaken. Portrait photos are still a legal requirement for resumes and curriculum vitae, and it's commonplace to see teachers berate their students for being anything but skinny. Additionally, the media is saturated with conveyances of fairly blatant standards for beauty(the v-line standard being clearly illustrated here, and the s-line here).


Being said, I still see a line being crossed when I see a 3-year-old girl being instructed to lean over a stool to illustrate the s-line for the 된장 song, and another having to cover her natural baby fat with her hands to achieve the coveted v-line. Granted, the makers of this particular song/video obviously did not intend to communicate that children at said age should look like such. But the implications are still there. Kids don't need to be told explicitly or implicitly that eating bean paste is going to encourage s-line bodies and v-line faces, and that those are the standards of how their bodies "should" look like in the first place.


As stated at the fore of this entry, I do love Korea despite the occasional criticism I make. Modern society is still young in this country, and I'm sure that they'll rise above these petty social qualms very soon. As was also stated, I can't deny that I'm attracted to the slender body of a woman or that my genetic makeup dictates so. *cough*


Regardless, I am firmly against the objectification of women as mere "alphabets," as was so eloquently stated in this Korea Times article.

A Tribute to Spit (and R&B) 5:16 PM

I have three hours to finish writing my talk before the actual delivery...

...But I still need to take periodical breaks, right? And what better way to spend that time but to use it on sharpening my beat-boxing and R&B singing skills.

"Eugene, are you serious? Do you actually think you're good?" you may ask. Well, to that I say: "Yes."

(But no, really. This is some pretty retarded stuff. I think I saw a dead bird falling outside my window while recording this.)