In Case You're Wondering, Those Are Prison Jumpsuits

Occupation

K-Pop, again

This is a very impressive video. It subtly mocks the older conventions of Asian pop, which I find sappy and annoying, has some organic conversational moments and characterizations, and has the song go in and out.

Very impressive.

Lady Gaga and Ke$ha have done similar music videos where it's some sort of extended narrative. And of course, so has Michael Jackson. But this one has a sophistication to it that fits it perfectly.

I've gotten to thinking about why this is so popular, and it really isn't just the music, but also the lottery/American Idol part of it. Now, American Idol has been great, but really it hasn't produced the biggest acts. The biggest talents come up on their own, through the real industry channels. So Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, etc they never went on stage to American Idol.

In Korea, process is king, so you can take just about anyone, put them through the process, and out comes a pop princess. In Korea, the Idol winner (to a different extent of course, there's no voting or televised performances) becomes the biggest star. And she could be anyone just walking in the mall one day who catches the eye of a talent scout.

This used to happen in America, too. The biggest analogue to K-Pop is the Hollywood studio system. When Gone With the Wind was being produced, there was a nationwide casting call for the female lead. Any woman could be in it.

Nowadays, celebrities gobble up all of the bit parts. It's a more crowded world, simply. The previous system could ensure hits because it was the only game in town. Now, with digital tech, anyone can release a movie. Celebrities are basically a bigger and brighter neon sign.

But I'm tired of seeing Brad Pitt in all of the movies and thinking of the character not as like Colonel Jackson, but as Brad Pitt.

Korea is having it's golden age right now, I think. This is their 1950's and 1960's.

A Movie Idea That I Will Never Have the Time to Pursue

The New York Times is being annoying again. Here, they are sympathizing with a hit and run driver, who by the way has a hispanic/latino last name, telling us his life story of mishap and misfortune. He killed these two people when he slammed into the cab that was carrying them.

Raisy and Nathan Glauber. She was pregnant. The child did not survive.

Here's the hit and run driver.

So what's the movie idea?

Kind of unrelated to this event. It turns out that Mr. Julio Acevedo was once forced to kill a close friend of his. The close friend was a major criminal figure who went by the alias "50 Cent." Curtis Jackson, the rapper, later adopted the same handle. 

So what happened was a man named Richard Bush plotted to have Mr. Acevedo kidnapped. They kidnapped Mr. Acevedo and then threatened family members of his. They gave him a gun. He killed his friend, 50 Cent.

Hell of a movie idea if I ever heard of one. 

Dixe Dirt- Pieces of the World

Here is an album of heartbreak, of the most stricken female voice I've ever heard. It washes over you like a dust storm. It's music of noble suffering, of a western woman out on the hinterlands, of the worry if he'll ever make it back, and yet I don't think she'd have it any other way.

I can't this stupid korean song out of my head

It's catchy.

It's kind of neat how they do all these I guess feminine twirls, which I vaguely recognize from anime I've seen.

Then comes the chorus and they sound like clone ants. It's a little creepy at that point.

Number one group in Korea right now. I'm impressed, actually. The music won't win any, like, feminist race theorist accolades, but the craftsmanship of the music is impressive. The melodies swirl around each other, the beat bubbles up, there's a breakdown, it's all very good.

Chinese Man Sues Wife for Birthing Ugly Baby

Here's the baby

Here's the wife.

Here's what she really looks like