five things

Five little things I’ve been digging lately!

SHINee, “Dream Girl”
Talk about a cute and dreamy music video! I like everything about their concept. Nice hair? Check. Fun choreo? If getting fancy with the mic stand counts, check. Suits on suits on suits? Check, check, check!

49 Days
My friend told me when I started this drama that she haaaaaaated the ending (er, second to last episode) but I am at peace with it. Considering everything that would have happened had Jihyun not experienced her 49 day journey, I think it was the best possible ending. Think about it! It would been awful! Honestly, I thought this was one of the best Korean dramas I’ve ever watched. And Minho, as disgusting and terrible as he was, was surprisingly compelling for a villain. And I’m usually a baby when it comes to dramas (this one was SO melo), but I didn’t cry once. Cold heart, baby.

Vampire Prosecutor
Gosh. GOSH. To say I simply “liked” Vampire Prosecutor is a gross, gross understatement. At first I couldn’t buy into Prosecutor Min Tae-yeon’s posturing and maybe some of it was the eyeliner, but the guy literally oozes sex appeal and coolness. I cannot get over it. The smirks! The knowing glances! The unwavering sense of justice! And whatever’s going on between Jung-in and Tae-yeon? Don’t even get me started (it’s perfect — p.s. Jung-in is my girl). The story lines are solid, the cast was fantastic (who knew the annoying pianist from Scent of a Woman could be so endearing?), the visuals were slick and I’m certainly going to have a vampire bite sized hole in my heart once I wrap up the sequel. AIIISHHHHHHHHH.

Clazziquai Project’s, “Blessed” (album)
Several years and albums later, Clazziquai has still managed to stay true to their sound and what makes them unique. I wore Blessed out, but it’s still a good opportunity to re-listen to their older things! The sugiurumn remix of “The Road” (from MUCHO MUSICA/MIX) is stunning.

Korean romanization
I don’t like Korean romanization so much as I am confused by it. I’m actually really struggling with romanizing Korean names right now! I know it’s a matter of preference, but I can’t seem to stick with one method. Up above, you’ll notice that I wrote the character names in Vampire Prosecutor and 49 Days differently — one hyphenated and one not, or all together. I personally find the hyphen to be too distracting and prefer to romanize without unless there’s a phonological ambiguity OR I feel it just doesn’t ~flow. For example, I think Taeyang looks better written as “Taeyang” than “Tae-yang” or “Tae Yang”. But I’m totally willing to accept Gain as “Ga In” or “Ga-in”! Maybe I’m thinkin’ too hard about it.