I Dreamed A Dream Of Asian Sensations

I know, it’s been a while. But I needed a place to blab about this hilarious dream I had last night.

In my dream, my sister and I somehow won a contest where we could tag along with CL from the Kpop group 2NE1 while she travelled to various young girl’s houses all over South Korea in an attempt to find the group’s fourth member as part of reality show. Yes, for some reason my dream took place in the early 2000’s but me and my sister were our current age. The group only consisted of Minzy, CL, and Park Bom, no Dara yet, so technically I already knew the outcome haha. We were on this tour bus with CL and 10 other excited Korean fangirls who also won the contest, when we pull up to this huge mansion. An older man answers the door and he’s like “oh you must be here for my son... G-Dragon.” LMAO 4EVER.

Anyway Ji-yong aka G-Dragon swags downstairs to meet CL and there’s friendly hugs and he’s like “yo girl, I found the perfect fourth member for 2NE1, lemme get on the bus and direct you to her house, I’mma give her a call and let her know you’re coming with your fans and cameras.” So he gets on the bus with us all and there’s so much Korean being spoken that me and my sister are kind of lost, but everyone is being really cute and perky so we’re enjoying ourselves regardless haha.

We get to Dara’s house and GD does the introductions between her and CL as we all cram into her living room. We can tell she’s nervous but she just sits down at a piano and starts playing AND singing at the same time. It’s some Korean song but about two lines in, me and my sister give each other a look that says “wait, why do I know this tune?” In fact I start humming along and all the Korean fangirls are giving me weird looks like “how does this Indian Canadian girl know this?” Anyway, CL is clearly impressed with Dara’s singing and after she’s done they just start chatting like they’re old friends and then CL points out that I was humming along with the song, so me and my sister are like “we know this song! There’s an English version! Maybe you guys stole it?” and the conversation continues in stilted English and we’re talking about how both Korea and India have a history of stealing popular English tunes and inserting their own words, hahaha!

Then CL invites Dara to come on the bus with us back to Seoul and on the way we stop at a wildlife preserve and GD ends up wrestling an alligator. The end. :D

The Love Keeps Growing

Time for me to share my favourite iPhone apps of the moment.

1. KingCamera – This app has some of the best filters ever. Not only can you tweak things like contrast, saturation, etc. but there's pre-set gradients and overlay layers and stuff I don’t even know how to explain, all I know is that it makes my photos look PRETTEH. ;) I've had compliments quite a few of my creations with this app and that really says it all.


2. Frametastic – This is an app that allows you to stick multiple photos within various frame setups, which is especially nice if you don't want to spam your feed with a ton of really similar photos. I've been using this app in conjunction with Instagram a lot when I'm taking photos of my nails; I take one pic with flash and one without, but instead of posting both I just combine them together in one frame, then add a filter in Instagram and voila!


3. Forestville - My current game obsession! It's basically a spin-off of Farmville; you have to discover different species of animals and build a forest town by farming and building businesses. It's strangely addictive and incredibly cute, very kid friendly. My only major complaint with the game is that it's MASSIVELY GLITCHY. I can't even remember how many times I've been in the middle of restocking my shops when the game shuts down or gets stuck in a loop. So beware!


4. EEBA - The acronym stands for the Easy Envelope Budget Aid. It's an app that lets you set up your monthly (or weekly) budget, and then tracks how much you spend and how much money is left in your allocation as time goes by. Incredibly powerful and quite nifty! I haven't quite gotten into the nitty gritty of this app simply because I have an Excel spreadsheet I use for this stuff, but I can see right away how fantastic the app would be for those in need of a good tracking system.


5. Meernotes - A very simple app, but the best things in life are simple aren't they? This is basically a diary app; you choose your font and just start typing. The app also allows you to sort what you right into different coloured tabs, and if you want you can have multiple notebooks for multiple writings. Great for jotting down thoughts that come by, I can really see myself using this if I get back into writing my novel.

Bollywood Movie Review: Agneepath (2012)

I don't usually watch Bollywood movies and have a whole lot to say about them, but for some reason my brain can't stop thinking about this movie. To start off, let me say that I liked it. It wasn't particularly spectacular or mind-blowing but I did find the movie to be enjoyable. Then again, I haven't seen the original Amitabh version, so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. ;)

If you don't want to be spoiled for the rest of the movie then I would suggest not reading forward! It's pretty long review too. Apparently I had more thoughts than I originally realized.

You could tell just by watching this movie that it was a remake of a 70s Amitabh movie, simply by virtue of the story/plot as well as Hrithik's acting method... STOIC VENGEFUL YOUNG MAN. Of course, Hrithik being Hrithik he also showed emotion as only he can: with those wonderfully wounded soulful eyes of his. Ahem. But I digress. Yes, great emotionality, especially anything concerning his family. The scene where he sits outside his mother's house wolfing down her food and confesses to Kaali that he's been waiting 15 years for his mother to love him is quite the tear-jerker. Hrithik does a great job of balancing Vijay's cold-hearted killing with the love he has for those close to him.


"I may be a stoic killer, but wait till you see me dance!"
Priyanka was enjoyable in the role of Kaali. She kept the peace and cheered Vijay up, and the audience laughed their assess off when she preened like a peacock or yapped away. I think she looked fantastic and her outfits were all pretty as well. The picturization for Gun Gun Guna was one of the best parts of the movie; I definitely wouldn't mind having it on a song DVD. And to be honest, when she suddenly died I was really sad, mostly because I thought: "she died before consummating her marriage with the hotness of Vijay? THERE IS NO HUMANITY!" :P But after the movie I watched the picturization for "O Saiyan" (which was cut from our version of the movie) and realized that they had consummated the relationship, so I was satisfied, hahaha.


"Pay no attention to my extremely botoxed lips!"
But without a doubt, the movie belonged to Sanjay Dutt. He was pure nightmare fuel as Kancha, a heartless monster who used the Bhagavad Gita to explain and rationalize his lack of morals. O_o That was one of the most interesting aspects of the movie actually, just seeing how the unquestioningly evil villain could twist Krishna's words about removing desire and attachment to attain bliss and enlightenment into a rationale for unchecked profiteering, power, and cruelty. Kancha was absolutely wacked out of his gourd and I still sort of don't believe that Vijay could have killed him because DID YOU SEE THE SIZE OF THAT GUY?


"We wants more cocaine, preciousssss..."
This review wouldn't be complete without mention of the songs, specifically Katrina Kaif's item number "Chikni Chameli". In my opinion: a big fat meh. The dancing wasn't that great and I don't even really like the song all that much. I feel like the combination of Katrina dancing for a song sung by Shreya didn't give the song that low-down dirrrty factor they were going for. Katrina does great item numbers, but she has a certain amount of sexy class when she does them. And Shreya's voice was just somehow too innocent sounding for a hot item number. I find it interesting that in this movie Shreya did a typical Sunidhi song and Sunidhi did a typically Shreya song (Gun Gun Guna).


"What I am doing in this movie? Even I don't know."
While we're on the topic of the songs, I just want to say that I really liked the song "Shah Ka Rutba", it's a great qawali and quite catchy. Actually, it's interesting that there's one mega-Muslim song (Shah Ka Rutba) and one mega-Hindu song (Deva Shree Ganesha) in the movie.

Some final thoughts. It was interesting to see Rishi Kapoor in such a horrible role, he played a great villain... I still haven't recovered from how he was trafficking those poor young girls, so disgusting! The movie had some great shots that I'd love to turn into desktop wallpaper too; the one that sticks out in my mind is when Lala is in the hospital and Vijay comes back to the head-quaters to sit in Lala's seat. The background is a dark green and there's a rich maroon blanket draped over the chair and the spotlight hits Hrithik just right... *_*

Alright, enough my gushing! As far as criticisms go, the one thing that I couldn't ignore is that movie has a very dated plot, but it's a remake so you can't really help that. It's a very long movie, almost three hours, and the first half seemed to drag a bit more than the second half. It was also quite a melodramatic movie, but again I sort of knew it was coming because Karan Johar directed it. ;)

Overall, I'd give this movie an 8.0/10. Solid movie with good songs and some awesome acting, just remember that you will basically be watching an overwrought 70s remake. ;)

Ring It In

Happy New Year! I hope everyone celebrated in their own appropriate way, whether it was a quiet night at home, a rocking dance club, or in my case a house party that featured a room where everyone was playing Rockband and a room where everyone was watching K-Pop videos on YouTube. :D

As it were, I have once again fallen down the K-Pop rabbit hole and have a few very lovely videos to share. Two are done in a very sleek, muted style while the other two are in a bright and boppy style. Love them all!

1. Girls' Generation (SNSD) - Gee


2. Brown Eyed Girls' - Abracadabra


3. HyunA - Bubble Pop!


4. HyunA & HyunSeung - Trouble Maker


Bonus music commentary: I saw Jessie J's new video Domino and it's like... dude are you sure someone didn't switch the audio out for a Katy Perry song?! WTF LOL.

Unbalanced

Am I the only one who gets frustrated that my right shoe is always a little more worn out than my left shoe because it’s my right foot that shuffles between the pedals in my car and gets all scraped up? I bought some boots a little over two weeks ago and the right boot already has a scuffed bald patch on the back! Bah, the perils of being a frequent driver. It’s the asymmetry of the shoes being different, asymmetry has always bothered me. Maybe one of these days I’ll show some pictorial evidence. It really is unacceptable!

Put Yourself In The Corner!

PEOPLE, we need to SIT DOWN and TALK. Why? Because this article exists: Anti-bullying bill a front for ‘sex education’ agenda, group says.

My first response: LOL. My second response: SIGH, where to begin? The crux of this article is a bunch of religious dweebs complaining that they don’t want kids to know that bullying their gay peers is wrong because learning about gay people will OMG TEACH THEM GAY PEOPLE EXIST or something? I don’t even know. But there was one particular quote that really got my beef.

There is a time and place for everything, said Rondo Thomas, of the Evangelical Association, but there is no “time and place” in an 8-year-old’s mind to try to make them conceptualize something beyond “tying their shoes.”

I can’t understand why someone would actually admit that they think kids are DUMB USELESS BABIES who CAN’T DO SHIT. It boggles the mind, especially when in fact children have a wonderful capacity to parse the world around them, much more than adults ever give them credit for. Of course they need guidance from parents and such but do people even realize how much an 8 year old understands about the world? It’s a lot yo. They’re pre-teens, not toddlers.

Can't Get Enough Of These Things!

Enough time has passed that I believe it’s time for another episode of me suggesting what free iPhone apps y’all should download. I’ve got a few lovely ones to share today. My apologies if they are not free anymore. :P

1. Asteroid Blaster - I’ve always loved that game Asteroids; this updated version of the game released by Atari is a total gem, especially since it’s free. In addition to the game we all know and love, there’s the ability to unlock power ups, new sectors, and different ships. The learning curve gets very steep (I’m kind of stuck right now) but it’s so pretty and engaging that I’m willing to plug through with it.


2. Pocket Camera - I actually deleted Camera Sharp because I loved this new app so much! It has waaaaay more options than Camera Sharp ever had, like changing the metering and the focus, all kinds of resolution options, and of course the ability select timers and focus. Unfortunately I think this app is no longer free; I can only find it as Pocket Camera Pro in the iTunes store.



3. Snapseed - Aside from Instagram, this is my go-to photo editing app because of one special capability: CROPPING. It allows me to crop the image as I see fit, or even leave it in its native landscape/portrait orientation, as opposed to the perfect squares of Instagram. And for that, I thank it. It's also great for doing just minor fixes and tweaks on photos, when you don't want to get all artistic but just want a nice clear photo.


4. How Stuff Works - This free app is surprisingly awesome because it gives you access to host of amazing podcasts. As someone who is often stuck in a long commute, sometimes I switch the radio off and turn my iPhone up and listen to something from the Stuff Your Mother Never Told You series, a series that generall warms my little feminist heart. ;) Other rocking podcasts can be found under Stuff To Blow Your Mind and Stuff From The Future, but they're all brilliant really. Highly recommended for those of us who want to learn something interesting for 20 minutes. :)


5. Craftgawker - As a crafty crocheter, sometimes it pays to get creative inspiration from areas other than just crocheting, in which case I dip into the lovely visual distraction that is this app. It's basically just a pile of photos (with link) to all kinds of crafting projects online, from making your own buttons to a how-to on turning old tires into a retro kitsch lamp. :)

Damned Lies

Every day I run into so many ridiculous gender misconceptions that it’s hard to keep them all straight. But there is something I really just want to put to rest right about now. Are y’all ready for it?

Fact: if a man holds his girlfriend or wife’s purse for two seconds, his penis will not, I repeat NOT, fall off or shrivel up.

I know, it’s a revolutionary thought!

I’m talking to you, DJs on my morning radio. Saying that a man holding his girlfriend’s purse is the height of boyfriend emasculation strikes me as preposterous hyperbole. And I’m talking to you, commercial for Wiserhood whisky. Comparing a woman’s purse to dog shit, wow, how nice of you, thanks for the heads up that you hold my personal belongings in so much contempt.

Seriously though, if you think a dude’s manhood is in question if he simply holds a sack of shiny jeweled plastic, you might want to rethink your beliefs about what really makes a man a man. You know, like compassion and kindness? Think about it.

Major Lazer

So this past Friday, I got laser eye surgery! I've been dreaming about getting it since I was maybe 19 years old and it's always been something I've wanted to put my savings towards. The surgery itself went by ridiculously fast, even though I was kept waiting for about 3 hours the day of the surgery. The surgery itself wasn't even painful, just uncomfortable at times due to being blinded by bright and/or flashing lights. Oh, and then there was the part where I could smell the laser burning off my corneal flesh, ew. If anything, that was the grossest part. But otherwise? Easy peasy. The staff at the office kept asking: are you nervous? Do you want some Xanax? Hee. Naw, I was cool as a cucumber.

Initially things were pretty blurry and I wanted to keep my eyes closed a lot while sitting around and wearing protective sunglasses. There was also the complex system of eye drops I was required to take post-op; eye drops are never an issue for me but the steroid eye drops (to prevent inflammation) had a nasty freaking aftertaste that would drip down the back of my throat, causing me to go "BLECHHHHH I NEED FOOD TO WIPE AWAY THE GROSSNESS." ;) By the evening my eyesight had mostly returned and I was reading shit from meters away.

I woke up the next day with really dry eyes, but thankfully my intense regiment of eye drops fixed that. At my follow-up assessment, they told me my eyes were a vision (hah!) of perfect health and that my eyesight was at 20/15. I don't think I've ever been able to see that well. Ever! I've been wearing glasses since I was 8 years old, after all. This is probably the best I've ever been able to see in my entire life.

Right now, things are looking good. I've got a bit of eye dryness at night and in the morning, plus ghosting/starbursts when I look at bright lights at night, but typically those side effects fade away around 4 weeks after the surgery. I'm just watching that I don't rub my eyes (which is something I never realized I did all that much, but now that I can't do it I notice I want to do it A LOT), and I can't wear any eye makeup until my next post-op check up in a week. But it's stunning how quickly I've become a Person Who Can See Unaided. It's weird to wake up in the morning or be in the shower while being totally able to see everything, I keep wondering why the hell I'm wearing my contacts!

I'm sure I'll get used to it soon enough. :)

Imagine Life 10 Years From Now

Last night I was talking with a friend about jobs and the market and education and he brought up a point that someone had raised at one of his management meeting. The point was this: when we were in high school and university, educators were trying to train us for jobs that didn’t exist yet. So by the time we’d entered the labour force, there was a slew of jobs for things we hadn’t even envisioned. I could see exactly where he was coming from… no one told me in high school that I could have specialized in CCS and HTML and become a web/graphic designer in my late 20s because the field basically didn’t even exist at that point. High school “computer class” involved antiquated programming languages and using Lotus 1-2-3. :P

And today, another friend of mine mentioned that her university was looking for a professor of Social Media. Seriously, SOCIAL MEDIA. A PROFESSOR. What kind of wonderful world are we living in!? ;) It’s a crying shame that there are some awesome careers out there that didn’t even exist three or four years ago, so there’s no real way for people above a certain age to get into them without taking time off for re-educating themselves.

Guess I'll Go Home And Make Chicken Fingers Instead

Today, I felt like doing something interesting and different after work. I thought it might be a nice idea to take some random photos of trees and flowers in nearby parks, just as the leaves are starting to fall. I even began to google potential parks that are on my route home.

But then I thought: “What if something BAD were to happen to me? I don’t want that. And people would just say well you’re a petite, well-dressed woman, out on your own at dusk... you shouldn’t have been so reckless.”

So I’m not going. And THAT, my friends, is how the patriarchy works.

Gaming Changes Everything

"When I had my daughter, my perspective and my lifestyle changed, but I did NOT feel that I fulfilled my role as a woman or whatever that old crap is. For me it was like *pop-up* [Achievement unlocked: Baby!]"

I don't know why but I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING AT THIS. Amazing metaphor hahaha!

Crash And Burn

In the past couple months my computer has taken a turn for the worse. It all started when I upgraded to the latest version of Firefox and promptly hated everything about it. I ended up uninstalling it and going back to version 3.6 or so, and that’s when the problems started. Every five minutes, my browser would suddenly stop responding and start thinking really, really hard for a couple minutes before returning to normal. Needless to say, this sort of stop-and-go nonsense really ruined the flow of my internet experience, but I’m fortunate enough that I have an iPhone to supplement my online needs.

Alas, things have become worse. It came to my attention that it wasn’t just Firefox that was affected, but any internet browser on my computer (e.g. even IE had the same problem, and downloading Chrome or Safari wouldn’t be of any use). And since this past weekend, the ratio of “non-responsiveness” to “functional browser” has gone from 25 : 75 to 55 : 45. D: Honestly, I think I may have to reformat it once again, because Googling for a solution has just resulted in a lot of advanced gobbledygook that suggests Javascript is to blame.

It sucks. I don’t want to lose all my 6000+ songs and countless graphics all over again!

In other news, I was thinking of switching my blog from Blogger to Wordpress. I like the convenience of having Blogger tied in with my Google account, but on the other hand it makes me uneasy at the same time because, well. *points at tag*I also like how nicely you can customize your blog here, layout and image-wise. Just look at that lovely background pattern! But Wordpress is simply a lot more dynamic, easier to navigate and with more bells and whistles and customization options when it comes to privacy, security, and content promotion. That being said, as soon as I had thought about moving, Blogger decided to release its sleek new interface. So now I’m unsure what to do. I think I need to play around a bit more with the Blogger options before coming to a final decision.

Jack Layton = #WIN

Goodbye To Canada's Champion For Social Justice

I’ve been meaning to write a post about Jack Layton for a few days now, but I’m finding it hard to come up with anything meaningful without revealing my political practices and affiliations for all the internet to see. Let me just say that when I came in to work Monday morning and my coworker casually mentioned that he had passed away, my first reaction was "haha very funny". Then I realized she wasn’t joking. I was shocked, in disbelief, and immediately scurried online to see if it was true. Honestly, I felt somewhat betrayed by fate, that right when the NDP was poised to make some great changes to the arena, its champion was taken away so suddenly. It wasn’t fair that Layton would never be able to take his party to the heights he had dreamed and worked so hard for. But the nation-wide outpouring of grief and condolences showed me I wasn’t alone in feeling so bad, and then when his letter was released, so full of optimism and hope, it felt good knowing that even in the end, Layton reached out to the country and encouraged everyone to make his legacy come true.


I don’t know if the NDP will falter now without it’s charismatic leader. But I’ll be going to the state funeral on Saturday with a bottle of Orange Crush. I’ll be remembering the one time I met Jack Layton, a few years ago at Earth Hour. He was just part of the crowd at Yonge-Dundas Square, enjoying the atmosphere like any other citizen, while graciously taking the time to speak with anyone who approached him. We briefly chatted about Earth Hour and how we hoped it would be a success that year, and then he was off to a couple who wanted a photo with him.

Seems like only yesterday I was ROTFLing over Layton using the words "hashtag" and "bling-bling" during the national debate. He will be sorely missed.

Liberal Thoughts

When parents neglect their children, we (rightly) call it criminal. When governments neglect their people, well, we might call it criminal if that government is a dark-skinned warlord who's stealing food intended for his country's starving citizens. But when a "civilized" government neglects to provide choices, resources, options for meaningful work, opportunities for participation in conversations about national needs and identity, cultural inclusion, some basic sense of being valued, to its citizens, we call that "democracy," and call criminal any display of frustration, despondency, rage at that grotesque injustice.

Read the whole post here at Shakesville, regarding the riots in London.

I Love My New Plaything

Time for another episode of Apps I'm Using On My iPhone! As always, all the apps I share are free ones, so GO BANANAS, GO GO BANANAS. :)

1. iHome+Sleep - I use this as my main alarm now, screw that old school radio-clock! Not only does it allow you to create multiple alarms that can repeat in specific intervals, you can pick your wake-up (and go-to-sleep music). Plus, the app tracks your sleeping patterns and monitors hours and gives you nifty stats as a result!


2. Tiny Tower - Such an addictive game! Basically, it's like Sim Tower. You build residential apartments to move your "bitizens" in, then build different kinds of stores and services that they can work in and earn you money, so that you can build more apartments and stores... very Tower of Babel, LOL. ;)


3. Camera Sharp - I don't use the default camera app for the iPhone, I use this wonderful thing. It gives you so many added options like the ability to select where the image focuses on, what the exposure of the image is, timed photography, anti-shake options, and more. Seriously, I swear by this app, it makes all my photos look so much better for when I use them for the next app...


4. Instagram - A fun little app that allows you to run your photos through a bunch of lovely filters, then share them on Twitter and Facebook. I pretty much swear by this app, it's a great way to share snapshots of your life and see what creative things your friends can do too! :)


5. Hi-Def Radio - I like listening to the radio in the morning but I hate how morning radio has all those annoying DJs with insipid and generally rage-inducing things to say. So I've downloaded this app and every morning it's either the dance/trance station from Germany, my anime music station from Japan, or a Bollywood station from France of all places, hahaha. Non-stop good music makes my morning. :)

Two Fresh Beats For Ya

Have discovered a few fun songs since my vacation from the UK but I'm going to just share my favourite two. First off, this sexy-fun tune by Nicole Scherzinger.



Oh man, girl can dance. Can I please have her dancing skills? And her swag? And her body? Oh my god. Also, upon watching this video in fullscreen 720p I noticed that one of her background dancers is Kim from SYTYCD Canada! HI KIM! You're doing well for yourself, I see! ;D Love that it's just a bunch of girls dancing in this video, they look so joyful and happy.

Then I saw this video courtesy of Kelly Rowland.



There are so many things to like about this video: the purple lipstick, the slick choreography, Kelly dancing in black combat boots and not heels, the men who must have come straight from the Usher School Of Sculpted Dancers. PURE LOVE. Make mama proud indeed. ;)

This Friday Night... Do It All Again

I have so many great songs I could share with you right now (by bands such as Two Door Cinema Club or The Roots or Starslinger or Lykke Li) but instead I'm going to share this:



Yes, I'm listening to this on repeat, despite the fact that I really love the other songs I have now. It's just... THIS SONG. OMG. I LOVE POP MUSIC. <333

Old Post Is Old

From: http://www.safercampus.org/blog/2011/06/rihannas-man-down-stirs-controversy/ "...media watchdog groups such as Mothers Against Violence and the Parents Television Council are organizing to ban "Man Down" because, according to a spokesperson from the Parents Television Council, Rihanna should be "telling victims they should seek help" instead of "[releasing] a music video that gives retaliation in the form of premeditated murder.""

Listen, I don't condone violence. But can I point out that the film "Horrible Bosses", a movie about three white dudes who deal with their workplace difficulties by deciding to kill their bosses instead of complaining to human resources, is getting a wide release all over North America and no one's saying boo about it at all? Also, has anyone watched Law & Order: SVU lately?? No one's getting uppity about a whole SHOW about women being subjected to domestic violence there. (Well, except the feminists pointing out we live in a culture that celebrates that kind of thing.)

The hypocrisy, it burns us precious. Rihanna has the right to do whatever the hell she wants. Quite frankly, I find her video for "Man Down" refreshing.