#yung excel

[misslexsus]

[spaceghostswim]

FKA Twigs referencing Kelly Rowland & Nelly's Dilemma in her & Yung Lean's Bliss music video.

[kamalkafir-blog]

Hong Kong’s Cathay vows to instil safety and reporting culture in cadet training

[ASIA] Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has vowed to instil a great sense of safety and culture of reporting in its cadet pilot training, saying these areas formed an integral part of daily operations. The airline made the pledge on Friday as the first batch of 34 cadet pilots graduated from its training programme held partly in Hong Kong, including the inaugural in-house…

[damienkarras73]

An essay on Furiosa, the politics of the Wasteland, Arthurian literature and realistic vs. formalistic CGI

Mad Max: Fury Road absolutely enraptured me when it came out nearly a decade ago, and I will cop to seeing it four times at the theatre. For me (and many others who saw the light of George Miller) it set new standards for action filmmaking, storytelling and worldbuilding, and I could pop in its Blu Ray at any time and never get tired of it. Perhaps not surprisingly, I was deeply apprehensive about the announced prequel for Fury Road's actual main character, Furiosa, even if Miller was still writing and directing. We didn't need backstory for Furiosa—hell, Fury Road is told in such a way that NOTHING in it requires explicit backstory. And since it focuses on the Yung Furiosa, it meant Charlize Theron couldn't return with another career-defining performance. Plus, look at all that CGI in the trailer, it can't be as good as Fury Road.

Turns out I was silly to doubt George Miller, M.D., A.O., writer and director of Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet One & Two.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is excellent, and I needn't have worried about it not being as good as Fury Road because it is not remotely trying to be Fury Road. Fury Road is a lean, mean machine with no fat on it, nothing extraneous, operating with constant forward momentum and only occasionally letting up to let you breathe a little; Furiosa is a classical epic, sprawling in scope, scale and structure, and more than happy to let the audience simmer in a quiet, almost painfully still moment. If its opening spoken word sequence by that Gandalf of the Wastes himself, the First History Man, didn't already clue you in, it unfolds like something out of myth, a tale told over and over again and whose possible embellishments are called attention to in the dialogue itself. Where Fury Road scratched the action nerd itch in my head like you wouldn't believe, Furiosa was the equivalent of Miller giving the undulating folds of my English major brain a deep tissue massage. That's great! I, for one, love when sequels/prequels endeavour to be fundamentally different movies from what they're succeeding/preceding, operating in different modes, formats and even genres, and more filmmakers should aim for it when building on an existing series.

This movie has been on my mind so much in the past week that I've ended up dedicating several cognitive processes to keeping track of all of the different ponderings it's spawned. Thankfully, Furiosa is divided into chapters (fun fact: putting chapter cards in your movie is a quick way to my heart), so it only seems fitting that I break up all of these cascading thoughts accordingly.

1. The Pole of Inaccessibility

Furiosa herself actually isn't the protagonist for the first chapter of her own movie, instead occupying the role of a (very crafty and resourceful) damsel in distress for those initial 30-40 minutes. The real hero of the opening act, which plays out like a game of cat and mouse, is Furiosa's mother Mary Jabassa, who rides out into the wasteland first on horseback and then astride a motorcycle to track down the band of raiders that has stolen away her daughter. Mary's brought to life by Miller and Nico Lathouris' economical writing and a magnetic performance by newcomer Charlee Fraser, who radiates so much screen presence in such relatively little time and with one of those instant "who is SHE??" faces. She doesn't have many lines, but who needs them when Fraser can convey volumes about Mary with just a flash of her eyes or the effortless way she swaps out one of her motorcycle's wheels for another. To be quite candid, I'm not sure of the last time I fell in love with a character so quickly.

You notice a neat aesthetic contrast between mother and daughter in retrospect: Mary Jabassa darts into the desert barefoot, clad in a simple yet elegant dress, her wolf cut immaculate, only briefly disguising herself with the ugly armour of a raider she just sniped, and when she attacks it's almost with grace, like some Greek goddess set loose in the post-apocalyptic Aussie outback with just her wits and a bolt-action rifle; we track Furiosa's growth over the years by how much of her initially conventional beauty she has shed, quite literally in one case (hair buzzed, severed arm augmented with a chunky mechanical prosthesis, smeared in grease and dirt from head to toe, growling her lines at a lower octave), and by how she loses her mother's graceful approach to movement and violence, eventually carrying herself like a blunt instrument. Yet I have zero doubt the former raised the latter, both angels of different feathers but with the same steel and resolve. Of fucking course this woman is Furiosa's mother, and in the short time we know her we quickly understand exactly why Furiosa has the drive and morals she does without needing to resort to didactic exposition.

Anyway, I was tearing up by the end of the first chapter. Great start!

2. Lessons from the Wasteland

Most movies—most stories, really—don't actually tell the entire narrative from A to Z. Perhaps the real meat of the thing is found from H to T, and A-G or U-Z are unnecessary for conveying the key narrative and themes. So many prequels fail by insisting on telling the A-G part of the story, explaining how the hero earned a certain nickname or met their memorable sidekick—but if that stuff was actually interesting, they likely would have included it in the original work. The greatest thing a prequel can actually do is recontextualize, putting iconic characters or moments in a new light, allowing you to appreciate them from a different angle. All of season 2 of Fargo serves to explain why Molly Solverson's dad is appropriately wary when Lorne Malvo enters his diner for a SINGLE SCENE in the show's first season. David's arc from the Alien prequels Prometheus and Covenant—polarizing as those entries are—adds another layer to why Ash is so protective of the creature in the first movie. Andor gives you a sense of what it's like for a normal, non-Jedi person to live under the boot of the Empire and why so many of them would join up with the Rebel Alliance—or why they would desire to wear that boot, or even just crave the chance to lick it.

Furiosa is one of those rare great prequels because it makes us take a step back and consider the established world with a little more nuance, even if it's still all so absurd. In Fury Road, Immortan Joe is an awesome, endlessly quotable villain, completely irredeemable, and basically a cartoon. He works perfectly as the antagonist of that breakneck, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote-ass movie, but if you step outside of its adrenaline-pumping narrative for even a moment you risk questioning why nobody in the Citadel or its surrounding settlements has risen up against him before. Hell, why would Furiosa even work for him to begin with? But then you see Dementus and company tear-assing around the wasteland, seizing settlements and running them into the ground, and you realize Joe and his consortium offer something that Dementus reasonably can't: stability—granted, an unwavering, unchangeable stability weighted in favour of Joe's own brutal caste system, but stability nonetheless. It really makes you wonder, how badly does a guy have to suck to make IMMORTAN JOE of all people look like a sane, competent and reasonable ruler by comparison?!?

…and then they open the door to the vault where he keeps his wives, and in a flash you're reminded just how awful Joe is and why Furiosa will risk her life to help some of these women flee from him years later. This new context enriches Joe and makes it more believable that he could maintain power for so long, but it doesn't make him any less of a monster, and it says a lot about Furiosa's hate for Dementus that she could grit her teeth and work for this sick old tyrant.

3. The Stowaway

Here's another wild bit of trivia about this movie: you don't actually see top-billed actress Anya Taylor-Joy pop up on screen until roughly halfway through, once Furiosa is in her late teens/early twenties. Up until this point she's been played by Alyla Browne, who through the use of some seamless and honestly really impressive CGI has been given Anya's distinctive bug eyes [complimentary]. It's one of those bold choices that really works because Miller commits to it so hard, though it does make me wish Browne's name was up on the poster next to Taylor-Joy's.

Speaking of CGI, I should talk about what seems to be a sticking point for quite a few people: if there's been one consistent criticism of Furiosa so far, it's that it doesn't look nearly as practical or grounded as Fury Road, with more obvious greenscreen and compositing, and what previously would've been physical stunt performers and pyrotechnics have been replaced with their digital equivalents for many shots. Simply put, it doesn't look as real! For a lot of people, that practicality was one of Fury Road's primary draws, so I won't try to quibble if they're let down by Furiosa's overt artificiality, but to be honest I'm actually quite fine with it. It helps that this visual discrepancy doesn't sneak up on you but is incredibly apparent right from the aerial zoom-down into Australia in the very first scene, so I didn't feel misled or duped.

Fury Road never asks you to suspend your disbelief because it all looks so believable; Furiosa jovially prods you to suspend that disbelief from the get-go and tune into it on a different wavelength. It's a classical epic, and like the classical epics of the 1950s and 60s it has a lot of actors standing in front of what clearly are matte paintings. It feels right! We're not watching fact, we're watching myth. I'm willing to concede there might be a little bit of post-hoc rationalization on my part because I simply love this movie so much, but I'm not holding the effects in Furiosa to the same standard as those in Fury Road because I simply don't believe Miller and his crew are attempting to replicate that approach. Without the extensive CGI, we don't get that impressive long, panning take where a stranded Furiosa scans the empty, dust-and-sun-scoured wasteland (75% Sergio Leone, 25% Andrei Tarkovsky), or the Octoboss and his parasailing goons. For the sake of intellectual exercise I did try imagining them filming the Octoboss/war rig sequence with the same immersive practical approach they used for Fury Road's stunts, however I just kept picturing dead stunt performers, so perhaps the tradeoff was worth it!

4. Homeward

Around the same time we meet the Taylor-Joy-pilled Furiosa in Chapter 3, we're introduced to Praetorian Jack, the chief driver for the convoys running between the Citadel and its allied settlements. Jack's played by Tom Burke, who pulled off a very good Orson Welles in Mank! and who I should really check out in The Souvenir one of these days. He's also a cool dude! Here are some facts about Praetorian Jack:

He's decked out in road leathers with a pauldron stitched to one shoulder

He's stoic and wary, but still more or less personable and can carry on a conversation

Professes to a certain cynicism, to quote Special Agent Albert Rosenfield, but ultimately has a capacity for kindness and will do the right thing

Shoots a gun real good

Can drive like nobody's business

So in other words, Jack is Mad Max. But also, no, he clearly isn't! He looks and dresses like Mad Max (particularly Mel Gibson's) and does a lot of the same things "Mad" Max Rockatansky does, but he's also very explicitly a distinct character. It's a choice that seems inexplicable and perhaps even lazy on its face, except this is a George Miller movie, so of course this parallel is extremely purposeful. Miller has gone on record saying he avoids any kind of strict chronology or continuity for his Mad Max movies, compared to the rigid canons for Star Trek and Star Wars, and bless him for doing so. It's more fun viewing each Mad Max entry as a new revision or elaboration on a story being told again and again generations after the fall, mutating in style, structure and focus with every iteration, becoming less grounded as its core narrative is passed from elder to youth, community to community, genre to genre, until it becomes myth. (At least, my English major brain thinks it's more fun.) In fact there's actually something Arthurian to it, where at first King Arthur was mentioned in several Welsh legends before Geoffrey of Monmouth crafted an actual narrative around him, then Chrétien de Troyes added elements like Lancelot and infused the stories with more romance, and then with Le Morte d'Arthur Thomas Malory whipped the whole cycle together into one volume, which T.H. White would chop and screw and deconstruct with The Once and Future King centuries later.

All this to say: maybe Praetorian Jack looks and sounds and acts like Max because he sorta kinda basically is, being just one of many men driving back and forth across the wasteland, lending a hand on occasion, who'll be conflated into a single, legendary "Mad Max" at some point down the line in a different History Man's retelling of Furiosa's odyssey. Sometimes that Max rips across the desert in his V8 Interceptor, other times driving a big rig. Perhaps there's a dog tagging along and/or a scraggly and at first aggravating ally played by Bruce Spence or Nicholas Hoult. Usually he has a shotgun. But so long as you aren't trying to kill him, he'll help you out.

5. Beyond Vengeance

The Mad Max movies have incredibly iconic villains—Immortan Joe! Toecutter! the Lord Humongous!—but they are exactly that, capital V Villains devoid of humanizing qualities who you can't wait to watch bad things happen to. Furiosa appears to continue this trend by giving us a villain who in fact has a mustache long enough that he could reasonably twirl it if he so wanted, but ironically Dementus ends up being the most layered antagonist in the entire series, even moreso than the late Tina Turner's comparatively benevolent Aunty Entity from Beyond Thunderdome. And because he's played by Chris Hemsworth, whose comedic delivery rivals his stupidly handsome looks, you lock in every time he's on screen.

Something so fascinating about Dementus is that, for a main antagonist, he's NOT all-powerful, and in fact quite the opposite: he's more conman than warlord, looking for the next hustle, the next gullible crowd he can preach to and dupe—though never for long. For all his bluster, at every turn he finds himself in way over his head and writing cheques he can't cash, and this self-induced Sisyphean torment makes him riveting to watch. You're tempted to pity Dementus but it's also quite difficult to spare sympathy for someone who's so quick to channel their rage and hurt and ego into thoughtless, burn-it-all-down destruction. When you're not laughing at him, you're hating his guts, and it's indisputably the best work of Chris Hemsworth's career.

It's in this final chapter that everything naturally comes to a head: Furiosa's final evolution into the character we meet at the start of Fury Road, the predictable toppling of Dementus' precariously built house of cards, and the mythmaking that has been teased since the very first scene becoming diagetic text, the last of which allows the movie to thoroughly explore the themes of vengeance it's been building to. A brief war begins, is summarized and is over in the span of roughly a minute, and on its face it's a baffling narrative choice that most other filmmakers would have botched. But our man Miller's smart enough to recognize that the result of this war is the most foregone of conclusions if you've been paying even the slightest bit of attention, so he effectively brushes past it to get to the emotional heart of the climax and an incredible "Oh shit!" payoff that cements Miller as one of mainstream cinema's greatest sickos.

Fury Road remains the greatest Mad Max film, but Furiosa might be the best thing George Miller has ever made. If not his magnum opus, it does at least feel like his dissertation, and it makes me wish Warner Bros. puts enough trust in him despite Furiosa's poor box office performance that he's able to make The Wasteland. Absolutely ridiculous that a man just short of his 80th birthday was able to pull this off, and with it I feel confident calling him one of my favourite directors.

[sushigoes]

1/24/2025 • Thanksgiving Party 🪩

- almost 1 month lang kami nagprepare kasi peak season nung Dec, so January na nakapagplan for the party. it wasn’t grand, we just wanted to make it happen bc our general manager told us it’s been so long since they had a party with everyone. (super busy ng red retail company na to chz)

- 200 pax tapos 10 lang kami sa department, di pa lahat tumulong mag organize (thankful for VM and Marketing) .

- sobrang tedious magmanage ng program, let alone the planning, but it’s possible (found it enjoyable too kahit super tiring)

- i realized parang mas trip ko talaga employee engagement kahit super introverted ako HAHAHA. or baka namiss ko lang being in the field (tangina gusto ko pa rin mag field work, ayoko na ng desk job but i also love my me time-excel time at work)

- what i noticed dito sa HR, magttransform ka nalang talaga pag may pumitik sa sintido mo kahit gaano ka ka-introverted hahahahah.

- hinatid ako ng manager ko pauwi tapos nabanggit ng workmates ko na may pupuntahan pa nga ako, 10 PM pa lang yun. my manager told me bukas na ako gumimik and they will drop me off sa bahay (alam nila coz she’s been doing it before pa, tinamad lang ako sumabay recently) HAHAHA pero syempre nagpababa ako sa bahay kasi dami ko rin bitbit. tapos umalis ulit para magyosi. tangina next time try ko na sa rooftop namin mag yosi para tipid sa pamasahe. 🙄

- coffee & yap with cath (syempre yosi on the side) hahahahah i love nights like this; walang pasok kinabukasan lol

- memorable tong party na to kasi take out ko, fruits. 🍉🥭🍈 kaumay yung lechon.

[indomitablegal]

Bumisita kanina yung boss ko sa store kanina kasi may inayos siya and may binalik narin. Dinala niya rin yung cash tips namin for december kaya masaya kaming lahat. Hahaha. Tapos bigla niyang sinabi, "Ali, I'm sorry. I thought we're gonna have another filipina that will work here." Ako naman sabi ko, okay lang. Parang dalawa kasi sila nagtraining, isang viet at isang pinay. Ang natanggap yung viet. Though feeling ko naman talaga matatanggap nga yun kasi yung pinay hindi masyado nag-excel sa training niya. Ok lang naman sakin na iba iba lahi na ka-work . Kaso yung ikaw lang yung naiiba? Ako lang pinay, tapos lahat sila viet. 😵‍💫 Parang nakaka-frustrate minsan. Out of place ako. Sila lagi nag-uusap, nagtatawanan. Minsan napapaisip kasi ako, "Ako ba pinag-uusapan? May nagawa ba ako?" Though gets ko naman na natural na mag-usap sila sa kanilang language. Pero minsan naman sinasali nila ako sa usapan kasi andun ako. Yun nga lang, kelangan nila i-translate sakin. Eh kaso medyo hirap sila mag-english, kaya parang nagui-guilty ako na pina-translate ko pa. Hehe. Kaya minsan di na lang ako nasali sa usapan nila minsan. Para akong si mark villar pag nasa work, tahimik lang haha So pag una sila nag-approach, saka ko sila kakausapin. Nauuna lang ako mag-approach pag may sasabihin akong work related. Kaya hirap din ako makipag-close sa kanila eh. 😐 Hayyy sana next work ko, ma-feel ko na belong ako. 🦧

[scramboileditlog]

I took some tests online, yung 16Personalities tapos Jungian Archetype test kagabi dahil na-curious ako on what these tests tell about me. Ibang perspective lang aside from what I'm aware of.

The result from 16personalities was ENTP-A

As an ENTP (Debater), you are a vibrant intellectual force, always ready to challenge ideas and push boundaries. Your quick wit and audacious spirit make you a natural provocateur, thriving on the mental gymnastics of a good argument. You see the world as a playground of possibilities, where every conversation is an opportunity to explore new concepts and challenge the status quo.

Your innovative mind is constantly buzzing with ideas, making connections that others might miss. You have an uncanny ability to see potential where others see problems, approaching challenges with enthusiasm and creativity. This makes you an invaluable asset in brainstorming sessions and think tanks, where your out-of-the-box thinking can lead to groundbreaking solutions.

The result of my Jungian Archetype test is 95% Jester.

The Jester: Represents the quintessence of humor, playfulness, and irreverence. This archetype thrives on levity and laughter, often seen as the life of the party or the class clown in various settings. Jesters have an innate ability to turn any situation into an opportunity for humor, making them excellent at diffusing tension and brightening moods. They are characterized by a lack of pretension and a readiness to display vulnerability, which endears them to others and often masks a deeper understanding of life's complexities. Jesters are not just entertainers; they often possess sharp insights into human nature, using their wit to highlight truths and absurdities in a way that is both enlightening and delightful. In the workplace, Jesters can be invaluable for maintaining morale, fostering creativity, and encouraging a positive, open environment. However, their constant jesting can sometimes be perceived as a lack of seriousness or evasion of responsibility. Despite this, the Jester's role is vital in bringing joy and perspective, reminding us that while life is to be taken seriously, it's also important not to take it too seriously.

🃏

[grimmertales]

would the jabberwocky be wanted? elodie yung for the fc maybe.

the  jabberwocky  would  be  a  deeply  cherished  addition  to  our  wonderland  family,  and  the  group  at  large  🩶  and  elodie  yung  is  an  excellent  choice,  but  if  you  require  suggestions,  we’re  happy  to  provide  !!

[starcrossed591]

KDrama Year in Review 2023

While I watched more KDramas this year than CDramas, none of them consumed my heart and soul quite like this year's crop of CDramas did (CDrama review post here). And I dropped KDramas more readily than I have in years past, in part because there were so many more things to watch than I had time for (also I had to finish my dissertation and graduate, etc etc). Still, there were definitely some that I really, really enjoyed, so here's this year's KDrama round up:

16. My Lovely Liar: Started strong, got boring real quick. Dropped for homophobic murder plot. Still, glad to see that Hwang Min Hyn can actually act (although full disclosure, I did still enjoy him in Alchemy of Souls, wooden as that performance may be). Hoping Kim So Hyun can catch a break and get a role in a drama more worthy of her in the near future.

15. Crash Course in Romance: Excellent performances and chemistry by the ML and FL. Romance between two middle aged people instead of youths is also a treat. Dropped around ep 12 because of the unnecessary, homophobic murder plot. Pass.

14. A Good Day to Be a Dog: Surprisingly stronger than the goofy premise suggests, largely on the basis of Park Gyu-Young's performance as the FL who turns into a dog upon being kissed. Pacing problems in the third act around the origins of the whole dog curse thing. Can't say I recommend unless you're really in the mood for some shenanigans, but largely inoffensive if a little silly. (Also it turns out Cha Eun Woo *really* leveled up his kiss game for this one!)

13. Love to Hate You: Perfectly serviceable rom com. Nothing too special, but a nice weekend binge if you're in the mood for that. Also a good way to see Kim Ji-Hoon's v handsome face and that *hair* without having to deal with everything involved with his rather murderous run in Flower of Evil.

12. Joseon Attorney: A Morality: Perfectly serviceable law procedural/Joseon historical. If you don't like either of those genres your mileage may vary, but I had missed having Bona on my screen, so it worked well enough for me.

11. Welcome to Samdal-ri: I seem to like this one more than literally everyone else I know, and I fully admit that my enjoyment of this drama is more vibes-based than plot-based. I guess I have a soft spot for Shin Hye Sun yelling at people at Ji Chang Wook going a bit unhinged over a woman who ran away from him (see also: Lovestruck in the City).

10. My Demon: Very much enjoying Song Kang as a cranky demon falling in love with a human. Very tropey in the best way, and feels like a return to form for the supernatural romance genre. Remains to be seen if they'll land the ending as of this writing, but enjoying as it goes.

9. Doctor Cha: A contribution to the slate of divorce comedies I watched this year (see also: Strangers Again (KDrama) and Let's Get Divorced (JDrama)), a surprisingly touching story about growing older when you've devoted your life to someone who has not done the same for you.

8. Alchemy of Souls: Light and Shadow (Part 2): While Ko Joon-Yung never quite managed to replace Jung So-Min as the FL for me, I definitely still enjoyed the closer to this fun fantasy series. Special shout out to Shin Seung-Ho as Prince Go Won and his pet turtle

7. Strangers Again: I didn't see a ton about this one on tumblr as it was airing, but I found this rom com? melodrama? divorce procedural? makjang? story about relationships and why they end unexpectedly profound. I tuned in expecting mindless makjang hot mess, and instead got a thoughtful meditation on divorce. Left me feeling unexpectedly melancholy at the end, but glad I watched it.

6. The Secret Romantic Guesthouse: Very fun sageuk! Probably won't knock your socks off, but it does what it does very well. Bonus points for a B couple as compelling as the A couple. I've also been a big Kang Hoon fan since Little Women, and there are a couple of other actors in here that I'm always glad to see working.

5. Perfect Marriage Revenge: Tour de force makjang. Came out of nowhere and blew me away. Hits all the right beats, and unexpectedly fun (and was a nice break from the heaviness of My Dearest for me). This was a good year for jaded and slightly unhinged transmigrated FL's back for their #revenge (see also: Story of Kunning Palace in CDrama land), and I was here for it. Also features one of the spiciest make-out scenes of the year, 10/10 recommend

4. See You in My 19th Life: Absolutely loved this haunting, melancholy, and sometimes unexpectedly goofy reincarnation drama. I loved the webtoon and had high expectations, and this drama largely met them! The continuing relationship between sisters Ji-Eum (Shin Hye Sun) and Cho-Won (Ha Yoon Kyung) was a special highlight for me, and while Shin Hye Sun is already a never-miss for me, I'm especially looking forward to whatever Ha Yoon Kyung does next. I prefer the ending of the Webtoon to the KDrama, but I'm still delighted this drama exists and am glad I watched it.

3. The Interest of Love: Look, I loved this drama. Even though it seemed on the surface like nothing but *mess* in the interpersonal lives of these characters working at a bank on the border between a rich and poor neighborhood in Seoul, it nonetheless had some of the most searing class commentary of the year for me. I also love an FL who will (spoiler) pack up her things and disappear at the drop of a hat, even if no one else will understand her decision to do so, because she just cannot deal anymore (see also: the FL in Lovestruck in the City, whom I also love but everyone else hated). This drama kept me gleefully coming back every week in a year where not a lot of others did.

2. Call It Love: A revenge slice of life melodrama that I found unexpectedly touching in its deep melancholy. Loved not only the main couple, but the relationship between the siblings and their pharmacist bestie. A lovely character study. (Also I somehow ended up watching this at the same time as Till the End of the Moon and Li Susu as Ye Xiwu's hidden identity/revenge plot, which was unexpectedly stressful! Had a very "it's the same picture" moment despite two dramas in two genres that could not be further apart.) If you missed this one (and since it aired on Disney+, you might have--Disney+'s effects on the KDrama streaming ecosystem will be the death of me), it's worth seeking out!

1. My Dearest (Parts 1 and 2): Kind of feels like everyone has said everything there is to say about sageuk of truly epic proportions, but it blew me away as well. Epic romance? Check. Twisty political machinations? Check. Heartwarming friendships between women? Check. Strong ensemble cast? And my top FL of the year, Lady Gil-Chae, played to perfection by Ahn Eun-Jin. I've adored her since Hospital Playlist, and am delighted that she's getting the attention and the roles she deserves. Namkoong Min also a top contender for ML of the year as Lee Jang-Hyun. Part 2 dragged for me a bit in places after a nearly perfect Part 1, but such a great drama overall.

Favorite Drama of the Year: My Dearest. See above.

Favorite Female Character: I mean, it's gotta be Gil Chae from My Dearest, right? She starts out as such a spiteful, spoiled noblewoman, and then turns out to have a core of pure steel. Turns out all her conniving and strategizing, which went towards causing mischief in the village, really just needed a proper outlet. While I would never want to be in the circumstances in which she found herself, if I did, she's exactly who I would want on my side.

Favorite Male Character: Everything's coming up My Dearest this year, because this one is Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest as well. Checks the box for my competence kink, and has a knack for showing up just when Gil-Chae needs him, even at great personal cost. Also a smart-ass, which I probably like a bit too much in a man.

Favorite Secondary Female Character: Cho-Won from See You in My 19th Life. Her relationship with her reincarnated older sister was almost more compelling to me than the main romance sometimes, and really helped develop how the ties that bind us are not just romantic ones. Also she was just super cute

Favorite Secondary Male Character: Could have picked anyone from Team Himbo in Alchemy of Souls, but gonna have to give this one to Go Won, himbo prince of my heart

Favorite Ship: Again, it's gotta be Gil-Chae and Lee Jang-Hyun in My Dearest. Sometimes, there are drama couples that nearly cause me pain when they are apart, and these two quickly became one of them. Though their relationships is hardly functional for much of it, through all that push and pull, they ultimately learn how to show up for each other. Also, their *chemistry* is insane!

Favorite Secondary Ship: I loved Hye-Seong and Sung Joon, the B couple in Call it Love. Seeing the SFL grow more comfortable with herself after a truly shitty ending to her previous relationship was a nice respite from the hidden identity stress of the A couple in this one. I'm also a sucker for a good romance where you start to see someone you've long taken for granted differently. (Close Runner Up: Cho Won and Do-Yun in See You in My 19th Life)

Favorite Platonic Relationship: Gil-Chae, Eun-Ae, and their maids, Jong Jong and Bong Doo, in My Dearest. I loved loved loved the relationship between these women in this drama, and part of the reason the second half of the drama suffered a bit for me is because of how far it moved away from this core relationship. They were ride or die for each other more than the majority of the men in their lives, and I loved that for them.

Trope that Needs to Die: While I find murder plots in rom coms tedious at the best of times, homophobic murder plots are really not it. Quit it, y'all. It's not cute.

Dramas I Missed: Moon in the Day, The Story of Park's Marriage Contract, and Tell Me That You Love Me (grrr Disney+ on this one) are on the list for next year. I'm probably missing others.

Non-2023 Drama Spotlight: Finally went back and watched Do You Like Brahms? for a hit of Park Eun-Bin. A lovely, if also melancholy, slice of life romance that's just as much about what to do when a (career related) dream that you've worked really, really hard for just isn't going to come through as it is about the main romance. Also made me fall in love with Kim Min-Jae and his lovely deep voice, enough so that I also then went back and finally watched Dali and the Cocky Prince, which was also a treat. Recommend both.

Most Looking Forward To: I continue to yearn for a Yumi's Cells 3, and who's to say if that one will ever come through, but I'm putting it out into the universe anyway. More realistically, I'm looking forward to the surprisingly stacked line-up of sageuks coming up, including Captivating the King and Love Song for Illusion.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

PARANOIA INTRO • WODRAINER • YUNG SHERMAN • FLATLINE • ONE SECOND • SAD MEAL • FUN FACT • ONLY GOD IS MADE PERFECT • DONT WANNA HANG OUT • I DONT LIKE PEOPLE (WHITEARMOR INTERLUDE) • I DONT LIKE PEOPLE • END OF THE ROAD BOYZ • D.O.A • DONT DO DRUGZ • LOWS PARTLYY • SO COLD INTERLUDE • MESSAGE TO MYSELF • TERRIBLE EXCELLENCE • RED CROSS • LUCKY LUKE • RIVER FLOWS IN YOU • KING NOTHINGG • BAD 4 BUSINESS • OTHERSIDE • NORMAL • FLEXING & FINESSING • PM2 • FALSE • CANT END ON A LOSS (OUTRO) • COLD VISIONS (OUTRO 2)

Spotify ♪ YouTube

[theministop]

ang daming nangyari kanina 😭

🫩 muntik na ako ma-late sa work kanina kasi nagising ako 10 mins before my shift.

🫠 nagcrash excel ko habang nagpo-power query tapos nalimutan ko kung pano ko ginawa yun.

😭 bumaha sa may kitchen and dining area nung umulan kasi wala pa lang madadaluyan ng tubig, natambakan nung inayos namin yung ibang parts ng bahay.

😳 muntik na masunog kusina 😭 jusko, buti na lang namatay apoy for some reason kahit sobrang daming fire hazard na malapit sa kalan.

🫣 mahal pa din talaga ako ni Lord, narealize ko lang.

[bumblecrisp]

This week I listened to Kaleidoscope - Siouxsie and the Banshees, Dawnrazor - Fields of the Nephilim, First and Last and Always - Sisters of Mercy, Broke with Expensive Taste - Azealia Banks, and Alligator Bites Never Heal - Doechii!

Kaleidoscope— One thing I will say about this album, it is excellent about matching compositional elements to subject matter. But in terms of pure musical enjoyment, I definitely prefer Juju. I don’t know, something about it was just so compelling, and Kaleidoscope lacks that something. I probably should have listened to the albums in order, because I think there’s a clear musical growth happening that I am unfortunately witnessing in reverse. Of course, there were plenty of songs I enjoyed here too. I particularly liked “Christine”. 4/5

Dawnrazor— I never thought I’d like these sorts of growly vocals, but here we are. McCoy’s style is very metal, which would generally be a major turn-off for me, but having been sort of gently eased into it by Andrew Eldritch of Sisters of Mercy I find it much more tolerable. And the instrumentals are very gothic rock, quite lovely. As I’ve said before, I always appreciate when an album lets me see a musical element in a new light. It must be said, too, that I’m generally a sucker for steampunk. While Fields of the Nephilim are definitely more goth cowboy, there is some sort of proto-steampunk vibe going on which I just eat up. The flour-cocaine anecdote seals the deal. There isn’t a single track I don’t like. 4/5

First and Last and Always— I love “Marian - Version”. I adore it. It’s sooo… poetic, both in lyrics and the quality of the music. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just *mwah*. Chef’s kiss. I mean, I love all the songs on this record, but that one… ugh. So good. Please go listen to it. It calls to mind the first stanza of “I Put The Coffin Out To Sea” by Lisa Marie Basile - a poem, not a song. Very beautiful, very tragic. Eldritch’s voice is always lovely to the ears, but it’s especially haunting here. Like a siren-song, ironically. I could talk about this song all day - or try to talk about it, it’s difficult to verbalize the enormity of my feelings. The rest of the album is genuinely great too, but everything seems to pale in comparison. 4/5

Broke with Expensive Taste— Am I the only one who didn't know she spoke Spanish? Good for her. I really love when you can tell an artist had fun making the music, and despite her difficulty getting it released, you can tell she enjoyed its creation. It’s so fun; snappy, clever, and her flow is addictive. I adore “212”, of course, but I feel that “Yung Rapunxel” and “Miss Camaraderie” are (comparatively) underrated. And “Nude Beach a-Go-Go”? A musical number??? Adore. Fantastic. Amazing. And I don’t even like musicals! It’s just so camp, I’m utterly charmed. My only complaint, really, is that it feels more like a collection of unrelated songs that happened to be released together than a cohesive album. But then, it was designed more for radio and club play than a sit-down listen, so that’s understandable. 4/5

Alligator Bites Never Heal— I, like everyone else on the planet, adored “DENIAL IS A RIVER”. It’s so delightfully straightforward and honest, and I love the conversational structure. I really liked “WAIT” as well. It’s a brilliant representation of the frustration felt by young people fighting to advance their lives amidst the economic and political uncertainty of our times, constantly being advised by the older generations to take it easy: we don’t have the advantage of decades’ experience; from our perspective, to quote Joan Didion, every day is all there is… Or so I thought, until I saw that Doechii stated in an interview that the lyrics are intended completely unironically. Huh. Maybe I’m just particularly impatient. Apart from those, “CATFISH” and “NISSAN ALTIMA” are great fun, very 90s, and “Anxiety” is a bop. Doechii is nothing if not a hitmaker. Overall, the thing holding this album back for me personally is that is, at times, a little too honest. A few of the more comedic rhymes, while I’m sure they worked for some, ended up pulling me out of the music. But all in all, this is a very good album and an exceptionally strong rap debut. Her flow, playfulness, and unapologetic infusion of personality all speak to enormous potential. On a technical level, I’m impressed. (Then again, I’m nowhere near qualified to be making any of these judgements.) 4/5

[souvlki]

🪽.·´¯·.·★🎀𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓰𝓮𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓼, 𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 𝓯𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓸𝓸, 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷 𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓽𝓮𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓯𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓼 (𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓲𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓸𝓵)🎀★·.·¯´·.🪽

omgong haii i lov these

[akonaman]

Everytime i hear news about POGOs feeling ko nag kaka justice na yung trauma na inabot ko nung 2019 Alam kong madami yung mawawalan ng trabaho but Filipinos deserve better.

- Most of the Chinese na nagwowork sa POGO are not using their real name pag pasok ng Pinas. Kaya takot na takot sila lumabas even sa mall kase baka ma question yung pagkatao nila. Kaya di na ko nagtaka kung pano nakalusot si Mayor Alice Guo. Some of them are using an English name.

- Uso kidnapping sa kanila and kapwa Chinese pa nila yung gumagawa nun kase wala naman silang bank account and puro lang sila cash pag sumasahod. 150k+ sahod nila kase once a month lang rd nila. Pero sahod na yun ng limang pinoy sa POGO.

- I won’t forget how disrespectful yung mga Chinese na kawork namin na lalaki. Most of them mas gustong babae yung partner ng Chinese on shift kase nakakapikon talaga yung ugali nila and prone sila sa away. Naranasan kong may nagsusuntukan sa harap ko while on shift. Very unprofessional. Mga bastos pa, they are sexualizing girls na kawork nila including us.

- Mostly na kinukuha nila is mga Chinese nationals na farmers, mga di nakapag aral, and laki sa hirap. Nothing wrong with being a farmer pero i would say na yung iba talaga sa kanila, wala talagang modo and halatang walang pinag aralan.

- Mapanakit sila. Nung naka gy shift ako that time may isang Chinese na trip talaga ko saktan. Habang naka break ako sa labas ng office dinaganan niya yung hita ko ng walang rason and sobrang nagpasa siya. Pinalagpas ko yun kase paborito yun ng boss. Take note na lalaki siya. There are times na bigla nya iuurong yung lamesa na kahoy minsan pag trip nya and babatuhin niya ko ng crumpled paper for no reason. He also used spoon sa balikat ko to call my attention habang kumakain ako ng lomi.

- Tatanggalin ka nila kapag may mistakes ka sa transaction. Puro pera from gambling yung need naming isend from diff banks and may isang Chinese dun na ang lala ng galit sakin. He mentioned thru google translate na malas daw ako. Shuta never ako nagka mistake sa transactions ko kase sobra akong nag iingat. Kalahating araw niya kong pinagmumura in Chinese dahil lang ako partner nya that day and hindi gumana yung pc nya.

- 12 hrs shift mo with 30 mins lunch. Literal na para kang OFW vibe pag andun ka. Yung feeling na alipin ka sa sarili mong bansa. Yung boss namin na Chinese nagagalit ng walang dahilan. Very unreasonable. Nahuli nya kong nagsasalamin and shuta sinigawan nya ko. Yung nag mentor naman sakin na babae, napuno na kase kumuha lang siya ng tissue sa box ang dami ng sinabi nung Chinese. Haha Pinakyuhan ni ate geraldine yung boss namin sabay Resign kinabukasan.

- Kung pera lang ang usapan I would say na eto yung pinaka madaling work na ginawa ko. Kase encoder kalang and same excel sheet lang gagamitin mo everyday. Pero wala siyang growth kase most of the time naka tunganga ka lang.

- I hate my experience in POGO given that 2 mos lang naman tinagal ko dahil gusto ko magpahinga sa BPO, mas ok na kong sigawan ng mga kano sa calls kesa maging alipin ng mga Chinese. Working environment there was awful for me. And inhumane. It was an eyeopener for me na wag magpa api sa sariling mong bansa.

- Some had good experiences with POGO, given that pumapantay at humihigit pa nga sa sahod ng mga bpo workers, pero sana hindi nila ma experience yung mga naexperience ko.

- There are still good Chinese na nakilala ako. Some of them kumapit na lang siguro sa ganitong trabaho to help their families in China. Sila lang yung mga pinagpepray ko na sana ok pa rin up until now.

PERO SATIN PA RIN ANG WEST PHILIPPINES SEA.

[trissaysmoi]

Week 6

Moi!

My week started calmly which is a good thing after all the misfortunes I've experienced the previous week.

One of my goals this month is to go back to using Notion since it's been very helpful to me when I was in uni and now I'm opting to incorporate it into my personal life. I've been setting up and customizing my dashboard since last week and opting to continue doing so this week when my laptop froze, crashed, and showed me that blue screen of death complete with the sad face lol.

Basically I wasn't able to use my laptop for the entire week and it was inconvenient for me since I was also supposed to sort out my document for the BIR. Good thing I was able to do so using my work computer in the office or else I'll get sued for tax evasion lmao.

My department is supposed to have dinner together on friday but my supervisor suddenly wouldn't be available that night so he made it a group lunch on thursday instead. We had pizza, pasta, and chicken. And there you have it, our first bonding together. :D

I'm enjoying the camaraderie of my department so far. There might be an outlier--an egoistic workmate--but things are still bearable for me.

On friday, I finally got my new debit card. I really have to be careful in using it next time. After our shift that day, we went to a photo studio since my workmate really wants to. That was fun. We also ate dinner at the food court. Over our foods, I found out how the department beside us have been badmouthing us which is something you don't wanna see in the workplace. Just because we're new and they're tenured doesn't give them the right to do that. They also advice my workmates to not excel just so they can always emerge on top. How stupid is that, really? What a bunch of insecure pricks with superiority complex lol.

I try my best not to mind them. Since I started working, I'm trying to practice leaving work-related stress in the office and not bringing them home. I tell the same thing to my workmates but at the same time, we shouldn't show to them that we're inferior. We're all getting paid the same anyway.

Another workmate added that instead of stooping down to them, we should just shut them down by actually excelling. Sino ba naman kasi sila di ba? Hindi naman sila yung may-ari ng company lols.

[indomitablegal]

Sabi ng sissy ko, ang himbing daw ng tulog ko kagabi. Nanunuod kasi ako ng Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage kagabi, nang bigla akong inantok. Hindi ko namalayan nakatulog na pala ako sa sofa. Tulo laway pa daw ako. 🤤 Tapos ginawa ko raw lumipat ako sa bed ko and then nakatulog agad ako. Tapos ginising pa niya ako ng konti at sabi niya humaharok daw ako. Pero sabi ko daw, "hindi ako humaharok". Gusto ko yung ma-pride parin ako kahit na tulog pa yung diwa ko. 😅 Ayan talaga ngang mahimbing, excellent daw eh. Tapos kumain lang kami ng tteokboki at fried chicken sa isang korean restaurant. Sarap ng tteokboki, anghang nga lang. 🌶️