Tuesday, December 28, 2010

He's Beautiful



Left to right : Jung Yong Hwa, Park Shin Hye, Jang Geun Suk, Lee Hong Ki





He's Beautiful also known as 미남이시네요 / Minami Shineyo / You're Beautiful / You're Handsome / 原来是美男


Storyline

Gemma /Go Min Nyu grew up in the orphanage with her twin brother Go Min Nam. She was a nun to be living in a monastery. One day she was approached by the manager of the famous Korean band A.N Jell, Manager Ma, to pose as her twin brother while he recuperates from a botched cosmetic surgery. Reluctant to do so, Gemma turned Manager Ma down as she was on her way to Rome to become an actual nun. However after being told of her brother’s intention in becoming popular was to locate their mother whom they have never met, she was pensive, but turned him down anyway.


While at the airport waiting to board her flight, Gemma accidentally knocked into Hwang Tae Kyung, the leader of A.N Jell and had their possessions mixed up. She quickly grabbed her things and ran towards the terminal without realizing that she has dropped her air ticket. Hwang Tae Kyung then picks up the ticket and tries to return it to her but she was nowhere to be found. Gemma on the other hand unintentionally picked up Hwang Tae Kyung’s MP3 player. After realizing that she has lost her air ticket and was unable to go to Rome as planned, Gemma was devastated. She then realized that she had a foreign object in her possession. Out of curiosity, she listened to the song in the MP3 player. The song touched her and she then changed her mind to join A.N Jell to fulfill her brother’s dream.


She then posed as Go Min Nam and joined A. N Jell. Initially she was resented by the group members. Trying her best not to be detected, Go Min Nam went on posing as a guy. Hwang Tae Kyung who was trying to kick her out of the band tried making things difficult for Go Min Nam. One day, Tae Kyung discovers that Min Nam is a girl and wanted to expose her. She begged him not to reveal her identity and agreed to the terms that he came up with. Not long after that, another band member, Kang Shin Woo discovered her identity but remained silent and helped her without her noticing.


All was going well until one day A. N Jell’s coordinator unintentionally reveals Min Nam’s secret to pretentious singer/actress Yoon He Yi. As there was a rumour that He Yi was dating Tae Kyung, she ceased this opportunity and blackmailed Tae Kyung to continue posing as her boyfriend or she will reveal Min Nam’s secret. Tae Kyung who was trying to protect Min Nam’s secret then reluctantly consents.


Soon, one by one, the members of A. N Jell starts to fall for Min Nam.


Cast

Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung
Park Shin Hye as Go Min Nam/ Go Min Nyu/Gemma
Lee Hong Ki as Jeremy
Jung Yong Hwa as Kang Shin Woo

Extended cast

UEE as Yoo He Yi
Bae Geu Rin as Sa Yu Ri (Fan club president)
Kim In Kwon as Ma Hoon Yi (Mi Nam’s manager)
Choi Ran as Choi Mi Ja (Mi Nam & Mi Nyu’s aunt)
Kim Sung Ryung as Mo Hwa Ran
Jung Chan as President Ahn
Choi Soo Eun as Wang Kko Di
Tae Hwang as staff
Yoo Seung Ho (cameo, ep9)


Having Boys Over Flowers cast as comparison, the cast of this show looks like pre pubescent teenagers and appears to be kind of stunted. I'm not too sure whether they (He's Beautiful cast)are tall in real life.


When I first saw the show, the first thing that came to mind was the lead actor bears striking resemblance to a Hong Kong actor called Wong Cho Lam. Apart from that, I think that the lead actor wears too much eye liner and it makes him look rather weird. Seeing other photos of him without eye liner, he looks better that way. Seriously, guys should not wear makeup.


Sometimes his hairstyle makes him resemble the lion in Madagascar. What were the stylists thinking anyway? Tying the guys' hair in multiple pony tails? Just watch the show and you will get what I mean.








Don't you think he resembles the Grinch smiling in this photo?






The lead actress of the show. Go Min Nam. Somehow she looks like a teenager in this show. Probably that's due to her chubby cheeks. I saw a commercial starring her and Kim Hyun Joong and she didn't look that short. They just look stumpy in this show. Anyway, I was wondering whether people in this era are that dense that they can't tell the difference between a boy and a girl. Is it still possible to pull a Mulan trick and get away with it? Seriously?




Kang Shin Woo the gentleman in the show. This was the scene where he secretly followed Min Nam around when she went out dressed as a girl. I sympathize with his character in the show. He secretly loved Min Nam and when he finally had the courage to tell her, he was rejected. Yet he stills stand by her, helping to protect her. I will be really touched if someone does that to me. Why aren't there any Kang Shin Woos in real life?









Of the 3 male characters in the show, I think he looks best. Tae Kyung's makeup really makes him weird. He looks much better without the eyeliner and weird hairstyles. The stylists idea of making Jeremy look cute ends up making him look idiotic.


Jeremy is the childish fun loving character in the show. He was initially against Min Nam but soon became nice to her when he come to know that Min Nam is an orphan. When he started developing feelings for Min Nam after learning about his past, he thought that he was turning gay and tried to keep a distance from her. Upon finding out that he is actually a she, Jeremy began to show his feelings to her.




Piggy rabbit, the doll that Tae Kyung made to represent Min Nam. Tae Kyung nicknamed Min Nam piggy rabbit because he claims that she is a rabbit pretending to be a pig. How all this came about was when they were lost in the woods and he told Min Nam about being bitten by a rabbit. He added that she is like a rabbit that looks docile but is actually dangerous, and piggy because she keeps making the pig snout whenever she's with him. Tae Kyung thought that Min Nam kept making that pig snout because she is teasing him for being chased by a pig that left him lost in the woods. Unbeknown to him, Min Nam actually makes that nose whenever she's trying to control and conceal her feelings towards him, a trick that Manager Ma taught her.




Shots of Min Nam and Tae Kyung. They also show the difference between Tae Kyung wearing eyeliner and without.




Can't recognise that it's Jang Geun Suk right?



Photo from Etude House BB compact advertisement.


The ending of the show was rather a disappointment though. I was expecting a lot more drama but it just ended abruptly. Anyway, the show is worth watching. There are several funny scenes and a whole lot of crying scenes. Only in Korean dramas do you get to see men cry. All the male leads in this drama shed tears. Besides that,the music in this show is actually rather catchy and is part of the reason that makes the show worth watching. It is after all a drama on a pop band A.N Jell. Apart from that, I certainly don't see the point of local television channel (8tv) censoring parts of the drama when the show is actually catered to tweens and teens, which means no erotic scenes. A better option would be to watch it online (whispers). Shhhh.

Friday, December 24, 2010

What Christmas Means To Me

My favorite season of all time is here. I have always been fond of Christmas because malls and hotels would be beautifully decorated with Christmas motifs. Not to mention, everything seems to look better when its colorful and the jingling sound makes the ambiance really merry. Since small, Christmas to me should be covered in snow. Buildings decked with colorful lights, beautifully decorated trees everywhere, lots of presents and Christmas carols filling the air. Unfortunately, I have yet to have my white Christmas. Hopefully very soon I will be able to celebrate a truly white Christmas.


The lion in Trafalga Square covered in snow. How beautiful.






"What Christmas Means To Me" -Hanson

Candles burning
Lots of mistletoe
Lots of snow and ice
Everywhere we go
Choir singing carols
Right outside my door

[CHORUS]

All these things and more
That's what Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love

I see your smiling face
Like I've never seen before
Though I love you madly
It seems I love you more
The little though you give me
Will touch my heart for sure

[CHORUS]

I feel like running wild
Those angels a little shy
I caught you underneath the mistletoe
I kiss you twice and then some more
I wish you merry Christmas baby
And a happy new year

Let's deck the halls with holly
Singing Silent Night
Fill the dreams with angels' hair
Pretty, pretty lights
Go to sleep and wake up
Just before daylight

[CHORUS]

Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love
Christmas means to me my love...


Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Winter Solstice 2010

The making of glutinous rice balls for Winter Solstice 22 December 2010.


Step 1: Glutinous rice flour is mixed into dough.
Step 2: Colour is added to dough (can be natural colouring or food colour).
Step 3: Roll dough into small balls. Leave to dry before cooking.
Step 4: Cook glutinous rice balls before adding syrup.
Step 5: Cook syrup. Boil ginger in water then add sugar according to preference.


Pink (food colouring)




White




Green (natural coloring using pandan leaves)




Amber (natural colouring using sweet potato)




Cooked glutinous rice balls in ginger syrup.

Given by neighbor (the colour is nicer because food colouring is used)




Home made glutinous rice balls in ginger syrup.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Tampered Mail

We received a greeting card from overseas a few days ago. We were rather bewildered by the condition of the mail though. On the front, there appears to be nothing wrong with the mail.








However when the envelope is turned, the flap is tightly sealed with tape. We were clueless as to why the envelope is sealed with cellophane tape. We didn't give much thought to it initially. In the envelope was a greeting card with a separate sheet of paper that neither belongs to the greeting card nor a letter that bears any message. Could it be that this friend of ours enclosed something with the greeting card? Photos, cash, etc. It then dawn upon us that there might be a possibility that the envelope was opened by the employees of the post system. How did we come up with such a conclusion? Well, Japanese place great importance on the packaging of their things. It is rather impossible for a Japanese to send out something in a torn envelope.





As you can see there is a big tear at the side of the flap to the right. Just because the envelope is taped with cellophane tape, it doesn't revert the torn state back to its original form. How stupid can these people possibly be?





This is not the first time our mail has been tampered with. During Chinese New Year we received greeting cards from Hong Kong without the postage stamp on the envelope. If the sender has forgotten to attach the stamp, the mail would most likely have not reach us and would be returned to the sender.


People these days simply have no integrity. Taking things from people without their consent constitutes stealing regardless whether the item is a piece of paper,or valuable items like money. Stealing in any form is a crime be it stealing a physical object or an idea. There is no such thing as taking something that is insignificant in monetary value does not constitute stealing. Stealing is stealing. Shame on these people.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Playful Kiss

Can't seem to get this song out of my head. It is quite catchy. This is one of the songs in the Korean series Playful Kiss (also known as Mischievous Kiss/Naughty Kiss/장난스런 키스 / Jangnanseureon Kiss).



Don't know why this script is broken towards the end. Anyway, below is the lyrics for this song. The writer didn't write the lyrics. They were Googled. Just to share a catchy song that is dominating my mind. Enjoy.


Will You Kiss Me (키스해줄래) – G.Na
Playful Kiss OS
T

eonjebuteo yeonneunji neoreul bon sunganbuteo
ibunichomada niga jakku saenggangna
neoneun mueolhaneunji.. jigeum eodiinneunji Ooh baby

irijeori boado igeotjeogeot dajyeodo
niga jakku mame deureo michilgeo gatae..
ireon naemameul aneunji.. ireon nae gamjeongeun aneunji

haruharu neoman barabomyeo hangsang gidaryeo bollae
ojik neo hanaman algo saranghae julge
saranghagiedo akkaun siganinde
neo eobsin amugeotdo hagi sirheunde

maeilmaeil achimmada nunman tteumyeon bogo sipeunde
ije neo eobsineun harurado salsu eomneunde
saranghanda geu hanmadi deutgo sipeunde
maeil saranghae.. neoman saranghae uriduri

Ooh baby..
hoksi niga naekkeoran geureon sangsangmaneuro
harujongil dugeungeoryeo michilgeo gatae
neoegero dallyeoga.. soljikhage gobaekhalgeoya

haruharu neoman barabomyeo hangsang gidaryeo bollae
ojik neo hanaman algo saranghae julge
saranghagiedo akkaun siganinde
neo eobsin amugeotdo hagi sirheunde

maeilmaeil achimmada nunman tteumyeon bogo sipeunde
ije neo eobsineun harurado salsu eomneunde
saranghanda geu hanmadi deutgo sipeunde
maeil saranghae.. neoman saranghae uriduri

malmuni makhyeo.. sumi chaolla(chaolla)
tteollineun naeson kkok jabeun ni dusone
nunmuri nalgeot gata.. jigeum naege gobaekhangeoni

naman hangsang jikyeojugo barabwa jullae
neo ttaemune nunmullamyeon kkok ana jullae
geutorok ganjeolhi wonhadeon sunganine
amuri saenggakhaedo mitgijil anha

maeilmaeil nae yeopeseo naman bomyeo jikyeobwa jullae
chinguro jinaegin neoreul neomu saranghanikka
saranghan geu hanmadi jigeum haejullae
maeil saranghae.. naman saranghae.. kiseuhae jullae..



When did this begin, I guess the moment I first saw you
Every 1 minute 1 second, you keep coming onto mind
What are you doing.. Where are you now

Ooh baby

I see this I see that
I do this I do that
You keep coming into my heart, I seemed to have gone crazy..
You do know why my heart is like this.. You do know why I’m feeling like this

Day by day I look at you only and waits for you always
Until now you’re the only one I know and I will love only you
It’s a valuable moment even when I’m loving you
If there is no you, I do not want to do anything at all

Every single day when I open my eyes in the morning, I want to see you
In my present days now, I cannot live if there is no you
I want to hear that one sentence “I love you” though
Every day, I love you..Only you, I love only you, Just the two of us

Ooh baby..

Probably just by imagination, thoughts like ‘You are mine’
Can make my heart pound whole day long
I seemed to have gone crazy
I will run towards you..and confess honestly

Day by day I look at you only and waits for you always
Until now you’re the only one I know and I will love only you
It’s a valuable moment even when I’m loving you
If there is no you, I do not want to do anything at all

Every single day when I open my eyes in the morning, I want to see you
In my present days now, I cannot live if there is no you
I want to hear that one sentence “I love you” though
Every day, I love you..Only you, I love only you, Just the two of us

Struck for words.. Out of breath (out of breath)
Your two hands that is grabbing tightly of my shaking hand
I’m crying already.. Are you gonna confess to me now

Keep watching and guarding me always
If I cry because of you, you must hug me in you tightly
That’s the moment I sincerely wish for
No matter how I think, I won’t be able to believe

Every single day, guard by my side and look upon me only
Because I love you too much, you who treats me as a friend only
Will you say that one sentence that you love me now
Every day, I love you.. You love me only..
Shall we kiss?



언제부터 였는지 너를 본 순간부터
1분1초마다 니가 자꾸 생각나
너는 무얼하는지.. 지금 어디있는지 Ooh baby

이리저리 보아도 이것저것 다져도
니가 자꾸 맘에 들어 미칠거 같애..
이런 내맘을 아는지.. 이런 내 감정은 아는지

하루하루 너만 바라보며 항상 기다려 볼래
오직 너 하나만 알고 사랑해 줄게
사랑하기에도 아까운 시간인데
너 없인 아무것도 하기 싫은데

매일매일 아침마다 눈만 뜨면 보고 싶은데
이제 너 없이는 하루라도 살수 없는데
사랑한다 그 한마디 듣고 싶은데
매일 사랑해.. 너만 사랑해 우리둘이

Ooh baby..
혹시 니가 내꺼란 그런 상상만으로
하루종일 두근거려 미칠거 같애
너에게로 달려가.. 솔직하게 고백할거야

하루하루 너만 바라보며 항상 기다려 볼래
오직 너 하나만 알고 사랑해 줄게
사랑하기에도 아까운 시간인데
너 없인 아무것도 하기 싫은데

매일매일 아침마다 눈만 뜨면 보고 싶은데
이제 너 없이는 하루라도 살수 없는데
사랑한다 그 한마디 듣고 싶은데
매일 사랑해.. 너만 사랑해 우리둘이

말문이 막혀.. 숨이 차올라(차올라)
떨리는 내손 꼭 잡은 니 두손에
눈물이 날것 같아.. 지금 내게 고백한거니

나만 항상 지켜주고 바라봐 줄래
너 때문에 눈물나면 꼭 안아 줄래
그토록 간절히 원하던 순간이네
아무리 생각해도 믿기질 않아

매일매일 내 옆에서 나만 보며 지켜봐 줄래
친구로 지내긴 너를 너무 사랑하니까
사랑한 그 한마디 지금 해줄래
매일 사랑해.. 나만 사랑해.. 키스해 줄래..


Ost Playful Kiss (Part 1) 01. G.NA - Will You Kiss Me.mp3

http://www.4shared.com/audio/pVj6D41b/Ost_Playful_Kiss__Part_1__01_G.html

Monday, November 29, 2010

What's New In Penang

Several new developments are sprouting in the island that once used to resemble a turtle from birds' eye view (but now looks more like a rectangle due to reclamation).

One of them is 1st avenue shopping mall that opened on the 25 November 2010. Located near Komtar and next to Traders Hotel and Prangin Mall. Nothing much to show as there aren't many shops opened apart from Parkson. Not wanting to appear like a clown snapping photos when there is nothing much to see. It is rather miniature compared to Pavillion.

The escalators upon entering from car park. Just to show that the escalators resembles slides in theme park. Whee. Not very clear due to camera resolution.




The view of Trader's Hotel Pool from 1st Avenue carpark.




The Times Square building taken from 1st Avunue.




Apart from that, Sungai Pinang has been transformed and is hardly recognisable. This is some high rise residential building in Sungai Pinang. The building is facing a promenade that overlooks the sea (on the right). From the promenade, Penang bridge is visible (from a distance).




The new shoplot next to the high rise.




Drum roll........................Behold the first Burger King in Penang. Located in Sungai Pinang. It is so out of place and practically hidden but should be visible if swimming to Penang from mainland.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Disruption in Water Supply

We don't know what we've got until we lose it. This saying is really true and it applies to almost everything in life. Last night, the water supply at my place was cut off because of the upgrading work somewhere. Although we did receive notice regarding the water supply disruption, we didn't really feel the pinch till the water supply was turned off entirely.


It is during times like this that we tend to use water more (refer to pie chart below for the break down). For instance, we tend to use the loo more when there's scarcity of water. Prior to the cut off time, we were getting ourselves prepared for it. We brushed our teeth right after dinner. However, not long after brushing my teeth, I had an urge to have a drink and had a cup of coffee with some biscuits. Then I immediately rushed to brush my teeth again before the water supply is cut off. Mum on the other hand, started purging after dinner. It was probably due to the mangoes she consumed. She was in and out of the toilet several times before the water supply was cut and continued visiting the loo a few more times after the cut.


After all the purging, she was hungry and started eating again. She invited me to join her and so I did and ate too. Then dad jumped on the bandwagon and had instant noodles with additional ingredients. Well, there's a price to pay for eating during a water supply disruption. I had to brush my teeth for the third time within 2 to 3 hours using as little water as possible from a bottle that was meant for all of us. I also had to control my water consumption so that I don't have to frequent the toilet during the disruption.


After going through this ordeal, I can say that I truly feel for those having to live with no water supply to their homes. For us having to live a day without water supply is unbearable. Imagine those who don't have water supply in their homes. To them it's a daily ordeal. This episode has really jolted me out of my comfort zone and has ingrained in me the importance of water conservation. We should never take simple things like water for granted.


Found a chart on Google that breaks down water consumption.



See the toilet image? The activity that garners most water consumption with 26.8%.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Near Heart Attack

The internet has been a real important part of my life. I have become so dependent towards it that a moment without it makes me feel uneasy. I had a near heart attack yesterday. I was surfing the internet and all of a sudden I got cut off without prior notice. And attempts to reconnect was futile. I tried restarting my computer...-negative, turning it off and on again...-negative. The wireless function went dead and there was simply no connection. It kept appearing that there is no connection and the cable was required for a connection. Regardless of what I did there was no connection. Then I tried plugging in the cable to make a connection. Nothing happened. No connection could be made. And the worse part was the other computer too lost connection to the internet as the result of my plugging in the cable to lappie. That got me really worried as I have caused a catastrophe. No computer technician is available over the weekend. Which means no internet over the weekend. T.T


I thought my lappie is "sick" because the wireless button is not lit. Pressing the wireless button does not make it light up either. This could not be happening. Lappie is hardly a year old. Only a few months old. It is not possible that it is dying. So for the whole of today, I was deprived of the internet because I thought I have screwed up the internet connection. Then a while ago I turned on my computer to transfer some files. To my surprise, there is internet connection. How did that happened? Does this mean that the problem does not lie with my computer but the ISP itself? Screw the ISP.

Sunday, November 07, 2010

Pup Sleeptalking

This is too cute. Pup sleeptalking. Must be quarelling with other pups in its dream.




http://purinaanimalallstars.yahoo.com/?v=8469519&l=100000085

Friday, November 05, 2010

Can't Breathe

I have been sneezing and blowing my nose non stop from the moment I got up today.
I tried to refrain from taking medication for the first few hours with hopes that I was able to overcome it. But after 4 hours of continuous sneezing and blowing, I was left with no choice but to swallow the medicine because my nose hurts from all that blowing. It didn't work and I continued sneezing and blowing for another 4-5 hours. Then I took the panacea, the wonder pill (a.k.a Panadol). But that did not help either. Two hours later, I took another runny nose stopper. That did not stop the runny nose either. At present, I am unable to breathe as nose is blocked. I strongly feel that being breathless is the result of taking the running nose medicine as this is not the first time I experience this ( difficulty breathing after taking the medicine). The dustbins are filled with my used tissues. Currently my nose hurts so badly.