#and like yeah my career field is not tied to youth by any means

[forcebookish]

now these three years were funny and all but can i have my late twenties back

[lvlyhao]

『127′s ideal type』

headcanons, NCT 127

A/N: je suis back~ in these headcanons i talk about the type of person i imagine each member with, along with some of the traits i think they wouldn’t be too fond of. i did NOT include physical traits (ex: “would like a short/tall/blonde s/o”) because i really don’t know them??? lmao also that kind of thing could be a bit damaging to someone’s self esteem, and i want yall to know ur perfect & beautiful so

mark and hyuck will be included in dream’s version of this, and sicheng will be in wayv’s :)

today’s gif theme is just random gifs i like bc idc, there’s no aesthetic

as always, this is gender-neutral

IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE REBLOG IT AS WELL AS LIKING IT T^T

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓻𝓮𝓼: fluff (♡) and if you squint really hard angst (❆) bc of some REALLY small things that for me are not actual angst but oh well

𝓦𝓪𝓻𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼: i think none?? if you read this and find something you think should be here let me know please!!!

word count: 1.5K

pairing: nct 127 members x reader (includes taeil, taeyong, johnny, yuta, doyoung, jaehyun, jungwoo)

disclaimer: the characters in the story below do not reflect real people or present real facts. this is purely fictional, and you may not copy, change, translate or repost my work in any way. all rights reserved © cherry-hyejin 2021.

*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Taeil

I see Taeil getting with someone who’s not only mature (personality-wise, actual age doesn’t matter) but also very determined and decisive. He’d like a person that doesn’t change their mind about things too often, learns well from their mistakes and is just all-around balanced. Other traits that I think he’d look for: politeness, a MUST; grounded; good at giving advice. Pretty much a twin-flame of his.

I think he’d find it cute if they think in a detail-oriented way and appreciate the small things in life. A positive, grateful mentality would be SO attractive to him, I swear. 

One of his deal breakers would most likely be excessive jealousy and possessiveness. He trusts you and your love for him, and I think he’d feel distraught if you were constantly questioning the relationships he has with other people (friends, co-workers, fans, etc.)

Last important thing: needs a person that can take a hit. He’s probably looking for someone he can spend the rest of his days with, so a quitter just isn’t good for that. There will be difficult moments in the future and he needs to know they won’t give up on him and on the life he chose.

Taeyong

I think Taeyong would like a calm person that knows how to take control of the relationship. He probably feels tired sometimes from leading a group of 23 people, so I can imagine he’d be thrilled if he was able to not worry at all when he’s around his partner. He trusts they’re capable of dealing with any problems that may arise and keep their feet on the ground. Bonus points if they have a good relationship with themselves.

By that I mean: you know how people say you can’t truly love others until you love yourself? Yeah, that. He’s a person like any other, and there are times when he struggles with self-love, but he needs someone that doesn’t hate themselves, or he’ll simply go crazy. With his career come so many rumours and moments that tear at his confidence… he just doesn’t need a person that has to be convinced every single day that they’re worthy of the good things in life. 

I’d say, in general, all he asks for is someone that can watch out for themselves. He’d take care of them too, but he’d like it SO much if just for once in his life he’s the one being cared for. Would just melt on the spot if you have that caring, almost parental instinct in you. Gods, yes. That’s all I can say.

Johnny

I can see him being with a very bright, smart person. He’d like someone that comes from a different background so he could learn more about their life—whether that means the country they were born in or their field of work. I think he would appreciate a very laid back person that doesn’t get stressed too often and won’t make fun of him for his bad jokes. Also, doesn’t like people that try to play him. Honesty above all.

He’d like it if they are super curious and creative, too. Picking up new hobbies and interests is something he’d be up to anytime, and it doesn’t matter what it is either. He’d give anything a try—from knitting to marine biology, no questions asked.

Something he’d dislike is if the person is too materialistic. It’s not like he’s a completely spiritual being and lives with 0 detachments to objects but he’s a firm believer in what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: what is essential is invisible to the eye. And, you know, what you truly find essential is up to you; it can mean family, friends, love, hope, all of that… he just wants you to love life itself as much as he does.

Yuta

He’d probably like one of the two drastic variants: a very gentle, sweet person or someone who’s on his level of flirtatiousness and boldness. Wouldn’t mind any, but he needs a strong personality, either way, you know? No blandness here. 

Something very attractive to him is being involved in social issues and caring for the world around you. Very sexc, yes, and also likes people that make others smile.

Something that would make him quite literally give up on someone is the excessive fear of change, or just the will to remain in their comfort zone at all costs. He earns for a person that wants to live life to its fullest. If not they’re not ride-or-die to that level, then he hopes they at least accompany and support him in all of the things he wants to do. 

One thing that is very tied to that is his dislike for know-it-alls. He lives in such a diverse scenario that it’s just dumb for him to think someone would ever be capable of knowing every piece of information on everything that’s out there. He’s fine with people making mistakes, but if they can’t admit to that or admit they don’t know something he just gets pissed off. So, yeah, he’d avoid stuck-ups.

Doyoung

He’d like someone very loyal and fair, who treats people with respect but calls them out if they ever have to. I think he’d prefer a person that is naturally a deep thinker and wouldn’t lose their mind over small disagreements. 

Much like Johnny, he likes that intellectual side of yours, and when I say that I don’t mean like “ah, he’d want to date a math genius” or something. No, no. I’m referring to all types of intellectuality and intelligence. The thing for him is simply using your brain and being proud of it. He would just dislike a person that kind of lives life on autopilot, you know?

He’d like it if they’re interested or professionally involved with music somehow and would consider their opinions in his career. He wouldn’t mind if their taste is hugely different from his, though. It’s alright if pop music is not your favourite or if you have no idea who EXO is (lol). All he wants is to see the world through your eyes too, in all aspects of life including this one.

Will also love you forever if you side with him when he’s being teased by the others, because, c’mon, it’s always 22 people against poor, defenceless Doyoung. Please don’t join them, he’s begging you—

Jaehyun

This is very, very clear to me but he needs to be with an independent person. He’s quite sentimental and he has his more romantic moments, sure, but he wants someone that can give him the space he needs when he needs it. A person that’s constantly begging him for attention would be way more of a burden than anything else.

Also, he’s 100% alright with someone that has a very explicit and loud love language (like saying “I love you” 300 times a day) but he’s not like that, and he needs them to see that. Jaehyun could NOT be with a person that doesn’t appreciate the love he shows in the little things, like making coffee in the morning, and if they ever question the way he feels… yeah, not good. He’d feel misunderstood and that’s a big no-no.

He’d find it cute if they’re bubbly or just very youthful but is also capable of falling for an old soul that shares his interests in things like classical music and vinyls. I don’t think he’d ever get with someone that's kind of a tech addict, though, idk why but that’s quite clear to me. Always being on your phone or caring too much about social media would probably make him feel like you’re not grateful for the things you have around you, in real life. So, yeah, not attractive, bestie.

Jungwoo

Jungwoo is a very, very, very sweet person and he needs someone who’s also like that. He wouldn’t care if that’s there for everyone to see, in the sense that they’re not shy about it, or if it’s a part of them that only a couple of close people know. As long as it’s there, he’s happy.

Aside from that, I think he’s fully capable of falling in love with quite literally anyone. He can see the beauty in all types of people, from all places, backgrounds, races, and just—anyone. He’s just so full of love for people, ah I can’t even. He’s too good for this world.

Some things that could, however, push him away from getting to know someone: a negative way of thinking, being too traditionalistic, and too much scepticism. He’s fine with people that like to honour the past and their roots but like, you’ve gotta keep up with the world you live in and accept that things change. I think that’s very tied to how much he likes defying masculine standards, too. 

The scepticism thing is quite simple: he can handle teasing just fine but if they’re constantly making fun of him for wearing his heart on his sleeve or being a bit goofy, he’d feel kind of betrayed.

---

final notes: this is the 3rd nct work i’m posting here and i’m already writing more, so i think it’s time i set up a masterlist, a fic rec blog and a tag list. if you want to be tagged in my future fics, let me know (dm, comments, anything) :)

[elloarlfellow]

  .

“seattle | by rcarver seattle | by rcarver”

In the last year, I was celebrating many firsts. It was the first time I ever attended a concert. First time I ever traveled on my own. First time my mom felt it safe enough. And, it was the first time after a long time that wishes once painted in naivety came true. I felt welcomed and connected in an academic, professional space. This little 20-year-old black girl in undergrad was respected. My work, what I wanted to do, what I wanted to become, who I was now was not accepted as mere asset in the name of ~Diversity~ but rather a welcomed addition to a growing national conversation about creating space for people of color rather than training us to accommodate to white, elitist spaces. I no longer had to hope for such a home. It was curated for me, molded to me, and shaped by the rest of my cohort. The Association of Research Libraries 15th Annual Leadership Symposium fulfilled a dream I had long relinquished, introduced me to people I was in awe of without feeling like I could never be like them. They're all only a message away. It was everything I imagined I would have to forge far in the future, when I had just enough social and material capital to make it happen. Central leadership like Mark Puente and the tireless work of those who believed in this work like Amy or Mira, and others behind the scenes made it happen for us. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

When I arrive back home, I am tired but replenished. I felt I could tackle all the projects circling in my head and give them a narrowed focus as I lessened my workload and signed up for courses that inspired me. I'm still dealing with the same hesitance and uncertainty in myself, but it is no longer rooted in shameful fear. It is an uncertainty inherent to a future I am still writing. But after meeting my cohort, after meeting those who entered a continually changing space from differing fields joined together by their love of innovation, of learning, of creating that welcoming space, I feel this fear is no longer in vain. It is part of a bigger conversation of fear that all youth has, all innovators, trailblazers, and scene-shakers. I am again reminded that I'm part of a legacy of change for the "greater" good, even in seemingly minute ways. That good can just be for the better. That's good too.

This is the impression I left with. That academic libraries were leading the charge in creating open communal spaces that could work to unite a university's charge in inclusive education. And then I hear of the conference that happened in the same city as my revelatory experience and I smacked back to the reality. Ah... this space was refreshing because I didn't have to deal with racism from the attendees and organizers. Ah, I felt safe because I was constantly reminded that I could speak however I wished. Ah, I was comfortable because this space made me a priority. Ah, this is a rarity. A luxury.

Was I marked by a youthful naivety again? Naivety. Is that simply the second name thrown at hope in the face of reality?

I was told about this incident through panicked groupme texts with the rest of my incredible cohort. But, I didn't have the energy to search through twitter hashtags to figure out what the hell was going on. So I avoided because I could. The privilege and irony in this doesn't escape me. Soon after, I was reminded in a meeting with my supervisor, and I could only stumble out a "yeah" when asked if I knew what was happening. I didn't. But I could assume I knew. I was all too familiar. When my supervisor shared the work of April Hathcock through her blog,At The Intersection, I first wanted to familiarized myself with her legacy in librarianship. I did not want my first interaction to be one of shared pain. I did not want to define her as the woman harassed, as the interchangeable face of racist and misogynist conflict. But her work, like my own, is intrinsically, intricately tied to our identities. How then can she avoid speaking at length about how this identity is perceived by the ever-looming white response? At the intersection. Black women reside here, resting where we can, surviving as we must. And after reading her piece"ALAMW: What Happened, and What Should Happen Next", I find a quiet murmur of "of course" leave my lips. Because of course this happened. Because of course "this" is a repeated misery, of white rage and dystopian response to black women who focus their work on the humanity of PoC, especially when examining this relation in professional spaces. But that damned beast Naivety - or maybe it���s that damsel Hope- returns.

"I thought they were working to make us feel safe. I thought we mattered. I thought they witnessed the problem and were working to fix it." As April writes, "Boy, was I naive and wrong."

I don't think it can be described as hope anymore.

-----

When applying to the Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Fellowship, I wrote:

"In every institution I make my professional and academic home, I discover secrets buried beneath the foundation. These secrets, piece by piece, connects my history as a black queer woman to those before me. Despite the complicated relationship marginalized identities have with various institutions, I understand the privilege I have by being exposed to this history while having the opportunity to ensure the narrative is controlled by those within it. It is not simply a matter of making sure a story is shared with the world, but rather ensuring the people involved become the main architect of their legacy. "

I seemed to have stumbled across potholes so deep they rock the foundation of the entire road. Is this a path that I once again must repair, fill by stretching myself, allowing myself to be run over so people can pretend the whole road is fixed again? I mean, who cares of the collateral damage if you make it to the other side, right? What matters of the roadkill.

-----

When I was reflecting on my time in Seattle with my supervisor and an Associate University Librarian at VCU, we talked about the Symposium being a place of comfort and safety, even if I was completely ignorant to what the library was in the 21st century. I couldn't deny that my impression remained "Cool, free books." It was all new and it gave me an entirely new direction on what my career course may be. When summarizing the fish out of water feeling I had when talking to various lead directors of libraries all across the nation, I tried to pin down an anxiety that I felt would seem foreign to professionals who had been at VCU Libraries for at least a decade.

"I mean, I couldn't even drink at the bar." I got a chuckle out of it. So maybe it was an adept summary of youth, of the rush of time, of that uncertain fear again. But even still, with such inexperience in this new professional world, I am already familiar with the language used to resist people like me; the words chosen, the looks given, the expectations of incredible excellence that can only be explained as "black girl magic", the expectations of incredible disappointment that can only be explained as "lottery pick, quota fulfiller". I learned a long time ago how to navigate all these possibilities, even if they occupied the same person.

Do I celebrate this as survival skill? Is it 'black girl magic'? Is it clever? Strategic?

"I may not know how to swim, but I do know how to shrink myself. Make myself easy to swallow."

How do I add this to the resume?

I think a lot of the time when I was listening to people speak about the lack of diversity in the libraries, it sounded like it was incidental. Like it was only a branding issue. The libraries just so happen to not have people of color high in its ranks. But after learning of the racism that was embedded in the ALAMW, the question of lacking diversity is never incidental, even if it is not exactly purposeful. It is, however, a fact that white people, even in the academy, are resistant to learning their involvement in displacing, silencing, and threatening people of color in any and all spaces. This resistance is summarized by some scholars as White Fragility, adopted by Robin DiAngelo who even spoke at the ALAMW conference - though I also read that many walked out in the midst of it. None of ALA's publications speak to this, of course. Whatever we decide to call it, it becomes part of the system when the leadership controls initiative and program and languages used in the announcement of both. This critique, of course, isn't unique to the Library. But, by having such polar experiences in the same field, same city, same days, the disparities become all the more evident. The work needed becomes all the more present. But it also becomes all the more possible. If I could be in a room with other undergraduates with various majors, those working to complete their masters in Library Sciences, and working professionals without ever feeling like I had to focus on merely surviving the possibilities of racialized trauma, then it could be possible in a field where this Symopoisum resided.

I don't believe this to be naivety. I believe it to be hope. A good hope, a real hope.

So, here's to hoping.

[theconservativebrief]

Steven Yeun appeared on most people’s radar thanks to his role as fan favorite Glenn Rhee on The Walking Dead, whom he played from the series’ earliest episodes until the character’s death in the season seven premiere. Since then, Yeun’s resumé has taken a turn toward the eclectic — featuring everything from animated series like Voltron and Stretch Armstrong & the Flex Fighters to prestige projects like Bong Joon-Ho’s Okja, which premiered at Cannes in 2017 before going to Netflix, and Boots Riley’s widely lauded Sundance breakout Sorry to Bother You.

Now he’s in Korean director Lee Chang-dong’s moving, mysterious noir film Burning, which premiered to acclaim at Cannes this spring and subsequently played at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. Set in South Korea, it’s a story about Korean youth who are lonely and adrift, and Yeun plays Ben, a cosmopolitan aesthete who captures the heart of a young woman named Hae-mi (Jong-seo Jeon) — to the consternation of her more reserved schoolmate Jong-su (Ah-In Yoo) — right before she disappears. It doesn’t help when he casually tells Jong-su that he likes to burn down greenhouses.

Steven Yeun in Burning. Well Go USA Entertainment

Ben is described by another character in the film as a “Gatsby” type, and though he speaks Korean perfectly, there’s something slightly off about him — something that’s especially evident to audiences familiar with Korean culture.

Yeun was born in Seoul, but emigrated to Canada and then Michigan with his parents when he was a child, and identifies as Korean-American. Lee and Yeun perfected Yeun’s conversational Korean to play Ben, but decided to have him retain his more American mannerisms and movements, which lends an extra layer of mystery and even menace to the mysterious, seemingly unrooted, supremely confident character.

Yeun and I recently sat down in Manhattan, the day before Burning’s theatrical release, to talk about his career so far, how his religious upbringing intersects with both his career and his identity, and working in a post-Crazy Rich Asians Hollywood.

The following conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for style and clarity.

Alissa Wilkinson

Burning is such a different role and different film than some of the others you’ve done.

Steven Yeun

Yeah. I guess it kind of all comes together at a specific time for me. I got to do seven years of [The Walking Dead] and really build more confidence and get the reps in, and after I left I was very fortunate to have each project stretch me just a little bit more and more and more. I feel like I hope it’s not culminating with Burning, but Burning was one of those experiences where I don’t think I’ll ever forget how that went down.

Alissa Wilkinson

You chased the director, Lee Chang-dong, because you wanted to work with him, right?

Steven Yeun

“Chase” is a strong word. I mean, I would gladly chase director Lee, but I just never thought that that would ever happen. It was less of a chase — more like I just [said in an interview that I’d like to work with him], to answer a question. It turns out when you say things out loud sometimes they come back to you. Gotta be careful about what you say out loud.

Alissa Wilkinson

How did this particular one come back to you?

Steven Yeun

I was in London. I was tossing and turning at 3 in the morning, jet-lagged, and I get a phone call from director Bong [Joon-ho, with whom Yeun worked on Okja], being like, “You need to call me back right away.” So I was like, “What?”

I called him back and he was like, “Director Lee wants to meet with you.”

And I was like, “Why?” He’s like, “There’s a project that he thinks you might be right for.” Director Lee had me read “Barn Burning,” the Haruki Murakami story.

Alissa Wilkinson

The mysterious, minimalist short story that Burning is based on. It’s a very short story, like five pages, right?

Steven Yeun

Yeah. Very short. I remember reading it and being like, “Do I need to be in something with this mood?” That made me so excited, because in some ways that’s kind of what I’ve always been looking for — something a little bit more grounded. Something about it really attracted me to it.

Then [Lee] was like, “I’d love to meet.” It was very fortuitous that literally two days later, I was going to Korea anyway. So I went to Korea, and director Lee talks about it. He’s like, “You know, if you didn’t come to Korea, we’d probably still wouldn’t have cast you, because a Skype conversation about this thing — you really can’t have that.”

We spent three days of us poring over the character, He sent me the script, and we read it, and I came at him with my ideas.

The third day he hugged me. And I was like, “Cool. This is going down.”

Yeun on the Cannes red carpet at Burning’s premiere in May. Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images

Alissa Wilkinson

It’s got to be kind of interesting to be picked for a character like Ben, who is basically the villain of the story.

Steven Yeun

Yeah. You self-assess!

Alissa Wilkinson

He’s not really a character that you’ve played before.

Steven Yeun

Right.

Alissa Wilkinson

How do you think through that kind of character? He’s an enigma.

Steven Yeun

For me, it was kismet to have this role. Being 30-something, having a child, getting off of a long-standing show that consumed your identity — [all of those things can] leave you in a very strange place where you’re reassessing yourself. I found myself in that place. Then this thing came along. I felt like this inherent emptiness of this character as I read him off the page. I could tune into that in some respect.

Alissa Wilkinson

Obviously, you speak Korean. But this is a Korean film about Korean characters. You’re Korean-American, and that adds a different shading to your character and performance in the film. I’m a white American, and when I saw Burning at Cannes, I didn’t know that Ben’s mannerisms were noticeably different from what a Korean viewer might expect to see, and so I was interested to hear about it later, because I understand that your Americanness adds something to the character for people who can spot the difference.

Steven Yeun

I would love to ask you: Did you feel, when you saw me enter into that frame for the first time as Ben, that the character didn’t feel naturally Korean? Or natively Korean?

Alissa Wilkinson

What it felt like was I was watching a character who had been everywhere. He’s a man of the world.

Steven Yeun

That’s, I think, what it is.

Alissa Wilkinson

How so?

Yeun’s character, Ben, is suave, cool, and a little unsettling. Well Go USA Entertainment

Steven Yeun

I think it might have more stark dissonance to a Korean viewer, but I don’t think it’s too different from what a Western viewer has, which is like, this person doesn’t seem to be tied down to the social structures of Korea. He looks it, he speaks it, he lives it, but there’s this carefree-ness about him that doesn’t seem to have to bend to the collectivist ideas of how you have to treat others, or how you have to be in relation to others.

In Korean society and Asian society, there’s just a lot of hierarchical respect that you have to manage. I don’t think Ben operates from that place.

Alissa Wilkinson

Really it’s a movie that has a lot to say about young people in Korea. It mentions the low employment among young people in the country, for example. And its other two main characters are from a rural area so close to the North Korean border that they can hear the broadcasts happening on the other side of the border. How much of the culture of the country were you ready for when you arrived on set?

Steven Yeun

I went to Korea with a task: to not just be a visitor, going with the flow of things, but to really examine the place that I’m in. There’s a really interesting juxtaposition of collectivism to individualism that happens when you’re a Westerner who comes to Korea. The ability to not have to bend to the will of the collective helps you see that other people have other responsibilities that you don’t have.

Alissa Wilkinson

Like what?

Steven Yeun

You can always lean on your American-ness to just be like, “Oh. I didn’t know that because you’re older, I have to speak with you with this type of deference.” Or, “If you’re younger, I speak different to you.” The Western view of the world is very much that everyone’s on an equal playing field — which of course isn’t that true.

But that’s another thing that’s interesting: I feel like Korea’s understanding of the system is very upfront — people are aware of the system that they’re living in.

Alissa Wilkinson

Of where they fall in the hierarchy.

Steven Yeun

Of where they fall. They’re constantly assessing themselves on where they land, which breeds its own negatives and positives. The Western ideal starts from a place of individuality. You’re free to be yourself, but then the negative is that you don’t have any real “group.” You don’t have this collective power. And also, by virtue of the fact that you’re living life that way, you trick yourself into thinking there isn’t a system, when there really very much is.

My wife — who is so much smarter than me — always talks about the “in between-ness” of everything. All the special, meaningful things in the film are in between spaces and identities.

Yeun with his costars Ah-In Yoo and Jong-seo Jeon in Burning. Well Go USA Entertainment

Alissa Wilkinson

I know you have a background in improv comedy, having trained at Second City for years, which probably isn’t what people expect! But I want to talk about another part of your background, which is growing up in church. I grew up in a large evangelical church, and I feel like one thing those churches provide to young people is an opportunity to try out performing, by singing in the choir or playing in a band or doing skits or whatever.

Was church was part of your formation as a performer?

Steven Yeun

For sure. My upbringing was very safe. I’m sure as I age, and maybe do a little bit more work on my mental health over time, maybe I’ll unpack some things that I have repressed. But, for the moment, I look back and realize my parents, as immigrants, really did a wonderful job of really giving us a safe childhood. That a built a lot of confidence for my brother and me, and going to church was part of that. Our schooling, and the places that we lived in suburbs of Michigan, were very a safe place to grow up.

The negative of that is that you sometimes don’t get to question your reality. I think where religion has helped me tremendously with my craft has been this ability to let go. I think I had that from the beginning. I reverse-engineered my understanding of acting; it’s become more cerebral over time. Earlier on, it was just me just projecting and emoting and doing whatever I could. I didn’t have a grasp of the cerebral — I was chasing images, or ideas of what a person does in various situations.

Now that I’ve studied a little bit and understand a little bit more to balance out how I approach acting, I start roles by looking at them very cerebrally, at first. But then there’s this great moment where you just build that feeling of faith — to just let go. You’ve done all the homework, and you just let go and do the performance.

I feel like religion in that way has really helped me tap into that — just this idea of feeling small, a blip in the larger scheme of things.

Alissa Wilkinson

This is partly me projecting from my own experience, but while I was born and raised in the US, I was raised in a religious community that often seemed like it wanted to remain separate from the outside world. I can imagine there’s a double experience of that if you are an immigrant who is also part of a religious community, since you’re maybe not part of the majority culture around you as well. I know you’ve been talking a lot lately in interviews about your experience as an Asian-American — does being raised religious have anything to do with that?

Steven Yeun

For sure. As Korean immigrants who were Christian, we not only had the Christian collective, we also had the Korean collective. I remember meeting white American Christians, and there was also that same dissonance, where I couldn’t connect. They had an ability to take or leave the religion whenever they wanted to. They didn’t have this overwhelming sense of doom and fear that [many Koreans had].

For me, as a Korean Christian, my white friends that were also Christian would be like, “Yeah. I go to church. Sometimes I don’t.” And I’m like, “Oh. I have to go.”

That’s not to say that white Americans, Christians, don’t also feel that in some degree, they have different sects, but I was always feeling like, “Oh, you guys have a different approach to this all together.” Now I realize that a lot of my conservative upbringing in that way was also based in my Korean-ness.

Identity-wise, I think the problem with collectivism is that it helps you feel this oneness and this sense of togetherness, the sense that you’re just a cog, a piece of the whole. But the danger is that sometimes it doesn’t allow you to be your true self in order to add to the whole — rather, it makes you mold yourself into whatever the whole says you are. So then you’re not really serving anything.

I said this in another interview recently, but that’s why my favorite verse is Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

You have your purpose on this planet, and in this universe, whatever it might be. It could be benign, it could be small, or it could be massive. But there’s no difference in importance. It’s just what you are placed here to do. That’s always been a favorite verse of mine.

Yeun at a screening of Burning in New York in October. Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Alissa Wilkinson

I often have this perception that people with religious backgrounds — even if they’re not practicing when they get to Hollywood — are met with a lot of resistance to their beliefs from other people in the entertainment industry. Or they struggle to know whether to take a particular role because of their moral beliefs, when they start out in “secular” Hollywood.

Was that you at all? Was there any dissonance for you between your past and your career when you started being an actor?

Steven Yeun

As a Christian?

Alissa Wilkinson

Yeah.

Steven Yeun

Yeah. You have to mentally get over a lot of things that you might have to emulate on the screen that you wouldn’t do in your normal life. You go, like, “Is this a sin? Is this bad?” I know that feeling.

But, that’s when you start to pick back and peel back layers. If God made all of us, then He made all of us, the good and bad parts. If in our art we’re trying to understand big ideas, then why would we try to wash away that complexity? The beauty of us is that we have complexity.

That allows you to have this interesting balance: searching for expression in a human way, as opposed to following some other moralistic mandate.

Alissa Wilkinson

It’s interesting to see how often people assume Hollywood is this super anti-religion place, where I often find it’s not.

Steven Yeun

Sometimes it’s the most religious. Sometimes I feel the most spiritual people are in our line of work.

Alissa Wilkinson

You’ve talked about the collective versus the individual a lot. Another film you were in this year was Sorry to Bother You, which is very much about collective action versus the individual. In the film, you even play a union organizer, named Squeeze. Did your thinking on these matters come into playing that role?

Steven Yeun

Yeah. What was great about playing Squeeze was the place that he operated from. He was seasoned. He had seen things before. He understood the world in that way, where he’s not too high, and he’s not too low — he is really truly trying to just be a part of a greater machine that can help overturn these terrible human atrocities.

And it was fun to play Squeeze because with the kind of cast in that film, you recognize how wonderful each actor is, and how beautiful and strong their personas are. I think if I was younger I might have thought to myself, Make sure you pop. Make sure you take some time for yourself. Make sure you show what you can do.

So I’m glad that that role came a little later for me, because I was able to just approach it and be like, the whole point of Squeeze is that you don’t know what he’s doing. He’s almost just in the back. A couple of times, I’d be talking to Boots [Riley, the director] and I’d be like, “Can I just slip out of the frame? I don’t think you wanna see me. Or can I just be in the back?”

That’s probably not the best way to approach your career, depending on what you want out of it, but it felt so honest to me in that moment.

But yeah, it’s that balance between recognizing that collective ideal, but also being strong in your individual nature and submitting yourself as an individual, comfortable enough to play into the larger idea that you have to serve. It was a really cool balance to find that.

Yeun with Jermaine Fowler and Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You. Annapurna Pictures

Alissa Wilkinson

I interviewed Boots! He’s a character.

Steven Yeun

Boots is the shit.

Alissa Wilkinson

He’s great. And when I talked to Lakeith, he was like, “You wouldn’t believe [Boots] if someone described him to you.”

Steven Yeun

No way. I mean, his name is Boots! I love him.

I’ve been very fortunate in my career to work with really giving and wonderful people. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve just been able to work with a lot of egoless people. Well, not egoless. Nobody’s egoless. But they’re really there to just do the thing.

Alissa Wilkinson

So now we’re in a post-Crazy Rich Asians world. Has your approach to your career changed following some of the shifts in Hollywood over the last year or so, with some new focus on diversity in roles and characters?

Steven Yeun

To be quite honest with you, I don’t think how I view this career and how to approach it has actually changed. If anything, all of this stuff has made me realize that what I was doing actually makes more sense to me than I thought before. Before, it was kind of a gray area — “Do I do something for Asian-Americans, or do I do something that’s more me?” I was pulled and pushed and pulled,

But I always ended up realizing that my face will do the work, because I can’t change that I’m Asian. All I can do is just try to be as human as possible; my face will decide this other layer.

All of these big projects that have come out have changed the landscape of how Hollywood might react to an Asian face, but I don’t think that mission changes at all. I think, if anything, it just becomes more stark — let’s get to that human part of us. The inherent nature of my face will do a lot of the heavy lifting, because it’s not like I’m gonna approach a character and be not thinking what an Asian person would be going through in this scenario. Every part of me is Asian. For me to play truthfully is inherently just an Asian performance.

Alissa Wilkinson

Diversity initiatives and pushes are tricky — on my side of things, for instance, there’s been a lot of talk about increasing the number of women in film criticism. But some people are concerned that the motivation for that push isn’t to diversify criticism, but instead to make sure that there are more critics who feel obliged to support anything a woman makes. Is there a mirror to this concern from your side of the business?

Steven Yeun

Yeah, I would say definitely. You feel that pressure. I’m completely an Asian American, but it is also something that can take the central focus of who you are. That’s always been something that I’ve been wary of submitting to.

For me, as a human being, there’s so many layers to my identity that to only talk about one single aspect seems a little short-sighted. But I also recognize that there are a lot of people on this planet for whom their biggest hurdle is their ethnicity. I know a lot of Asian-Americans who really still feel shameful about being Asian-American. And I know that feeling, because when I was younger I felt that way too.

So I agree with you. There definitely is that fear of being like, “Do I have to support everything just because my face looks like this?” But there’s also things to be said — like when you’re talking about Crazy Rich Asians, that’s a whole anomaly in and of itself. It did a wonderful job of showing the marketplace that if you want to disparage us by questioning whether we can support a film like this monetarily, that excuse is now out the window. That’s done.

Yeun with Constance Wu at the premiere of Crazy Rich Asians in August. Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

You also show this huge array of Asian-American actors who are ready to have their moment, or at least get their reps to build to their moments. You see wide-ranging talent. People can have different takes on whether they like the film or whether it’s a film for them or not; I think that’s a real place to address. If you’re not into mainstream rom-coms, you’re not into mainstream rom-coms.

What I hope is that this doesn’t then invert on itself and make us only have to make these particular movies again, but instead have the industry just go, “Hey, Asian people, they’re everybody. It’s fine. Let’s just make stuff without thinking so hard. Let’s just find humans. Let’s be humans.” It’s all part of the journey. All part of the process.

Burning opened in theaters on October 26.

Original Source -> Steven Yeun on his new film Burning and his hopes for post-Crazy Rich Asians Hollywood

via The Conservative Brief

[junker-town]

NFL Dad, Week 5: The fleeting joys of apple picking and the Browns' first lead

Relive Sunday's action with one dad, two toddlers, and six hours of the RedZone channel.

I went apple picking with my daughter and her preschool on Friday. It was three joyful hours at a beautiful farm in the Hudson Valley bracketed by a six-hour round trip on a school bus full of toddlers. This was (A) not nearly as bad as it sounds, but also (B) NOT GREAT, BOB. A rule of parenting: any place worth taking young kids to requires a trip that at one point will make you regret your decision to leave the house.

Now, if you haven’t gone to an orchard recently, one of the perks is eating freshly picked apples as you fill your bag. And the progression typically goes like this:

(eating the first apple) HOLY CRAP! THIS IS JUICIEST APPLE I’VE EVER TASTED, WHY DON’T I EAT MORE APPLES?!?!?! I WANNA MOVE SO WE’RE CLOSER TO A FARM!

(apple #2) Mmmm, so good!

(apple #3) Honestly, I’m good on apples for the season.

Anyway, I came home with more apples than any reasonable family would choose to eat, so my wife is making a pie today. APPLE PIE AND FOOTBALL, LET’S AMERICA THIS SUNDAY UP!

EARLY GAMES, FIRST HALF

— At 1:00, I put my son down for his nap. By the time I turn the TV on, it’s a few minutes into the games, and the first thing I see on the RedZone channel is ... Browns celebrating? That can’t be right.

Then the camera cuts to a wider view that shows they’re playing the Jets, and it makes a little more sense. The celebration is for Myles Garrett, finally making his NFL debut today, who sacked Josh McCown on his first NFL snap.

Cleveland Twitter is celebrating like the Browns just got their first lead of the season (they have not).

— “Can you look at my treasures, Daddy?” says my daughter. Assembled on the table are two acorns, a penny flattened by a hand press, and several rocks sized perfectly for a child’s palm. Eric Ebron drops a pass in the end zone.

— A.J. Green hauls in a 77-yard bomb for a touchdown in the Cincinnati rain. Green may be the odd Hall of Fame receiver who is somehow underappreciated his entire career. He’s not as electric as Odell Beckham, not as physically dominating Julio Jones, less elusive than Antonio Brown. But he’s perfect! He’s fast and graceful and has amazing hands (he’s a skilled juggler), and his only sin is playing in a small market for one of the most underwhelming teams in the NFL.

— A shotgun snap flies past Philip Rivers. He flails to push the ball out of end zone and oh my god it’s beautiful. It’s like the Zion National Park of of Rivers flailing.

YOUR 2017 Los Angeles Chargerrrrrrs!!!!!! http://pic.twitter.com/GjtX4SNJTm

— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) October 8, 2017

Philip Rivers is the master of finding the balance between the smart play and self-preservation, and the result is looking like a total spaz. Like, he got BOTH hands on the ball, but covering it up in the end zone would mean a defender falling on him, and Rivers is too smart to take unnecessary hits. That’s why he’s willing to look so dumb. You ever see him get the snap when a lineman jumps offsides? He throws the ball into the ground like it’s delivering 120 volts into his body.

Phil Rivers throwing a ball rugby style out've the back of his own endzone while screaming at his center is why ill never stop watching nfl

— PFTCommenter (@PFTCommenter) October 8, 2017

— There’s not much to like about the Tennessee-Miami matchup (Matt Cassel versus Jay Cutler, yikes) but the mix of Dolphin teal and Titan sky blue is incredibly soothing to me. Stop the game and make them do tai chi on TV, I’ll be perfectly centered.

— Carson Wentz has thrown three touchdowns in the first quarter, and Philly leads Arizona 21-0. In the seven other games being played, only three teams have managed even a single touchdown.

— Matt Cassel is strip-sacked for a Dolphins touchdown, and there’s the answer to “How on earth can this Dolphins team score a touchdown with Jay Cutler at quarterback?”

— Christian McCaffrey’s first NFL TD is a shovel pass on an option play, and the Panthers and Lions are tied at 10. I am not opposed to widespread use of wide spread use in the NFL.

— DeShone Kizer just committed his SECOND red zone turnover of the day, an interception thrown at a well-covered receiver. That seems bad.

DeShone Kizer is the first player to have multiple giveaways in a game inside his opponent's 5 yard-line since Josh Freeman in Week 13, 2009

— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 8, 2017

Confirmed: bad. The Cleveland fans in attendance break out the rarest of surrender cobras: the scoreless first half surrender cobra.

Smart of Cleveland fans to rock Cavs and Indians gear, though. You wanna display your love for the home squad, but you also want plausible deniability after the game.

— The Jets kick a 57-yard field goal as the half expires. They lead 3-0, and the Browns have still never led this season.

— At halftime, the Matt Cassel and Jay Cutler stat lines are ... not good. CBS made a nearly perfect graphic for them, and I have tweaked it only slightly to highlight the inherent emotion of a combined 75 yards passing at 2.7 yards per attempt.

Matt Ufford

the anthem standers

EARLY GAMES, SECOND HALF

— Fifth-round sophomore Kevin Hogan is in for the Browns. RIP DeShone Kizer, you will be lovingly added to the joke jersey that lists all of the Cleveland quarterbacks since Tim Couch.

Also: where is No Cody Kessler on the depth chart? It seemed like he wasn’t complete dog crap last year. I mean, as Browns QBs go.

— Jalen Ramsey versus Antonio Brown is a ton of fun to watch. Roethlisberger goes deep down the sideline to Brown, who makes a leaping catch — but he’s out of bounds because of Ramsay’s positioning. That subtle boxing out is only done well by the best in the game.

— BROWNS SCORE! BROWNS SCORE! A great one-handed catch by David Njoku for the team’s first lead all year!

He followed that with a sumo celebration that ended with him spiking the ball into his own butt.

— Matt Cassell has thrown a TD pass to Phillip Supernaw; it’s tied at 10 in Miami. Incidentally, “Supernaw” is my response to a game featuring Cassel and Jay Cutler. This is an easy joke that thousands of people have already made, but I am incapable of not making it. I’m protected by dads’ rights, you can’t stop me.

— Some bird-on-bird crime in Cards-Eagles:

Nelson Agholor just destroyed this Cardinals DB in every way possible #Eagles http://pic.twitter.com/4v1aFCVEDd

— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) October 8, 2017

That is rookie Budda Baker, in case you’re the one chiseling the headstone. He didn’t just get burned; he got burned, then juked, and then he missed a tackle. And then watched as Nelson Agholor took the Nestea plunge into the end zone to cap off a 72-yard touchdown that put Philly up 31-7.

By the way, are we still calling it the Nestea plunge? I know I’m a hundred years old and that ad campaign was forever ago, but do the youths know about it? Attention youths: Please Snapchat me about your awareness of the Nestea plunge. I’ll check my messages in 3-4 days.

— Ben Roethlisberger has thrown CONSECUTIVE pick-6s to the Jaguars and I am HERE for the Steelers getting dragged at home. Did I pick the Steelers to cover more than a touchdown in a win? Yes, I did, and I will happily be wrong forever if it means that hairy sentient ham suffers a public humiliation every time he uses the media to chastise the star wide receiver who makes him look good every week.

Well, almost every week.

— Here’s Melvin Gordon stiff-arming Janoris Jenkins into the turf.

Melvin Gordon stiff arm on Janoris Jenkins http://pic.twitter.com/91tFxByWKU

— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) October 8, 2017

I include this because one of the best things SB Nation makes is a show called “Will You Be My Friend?” and you should watch the episode with Gordon. Here, I’ll embed it and you can watch it right now. Go ahead, kick your shoes off and luxuriate on this webpage a little longer.

— My son is up from his nap. He sleepily staggers over and throws his arms around me in a big hug. I know that doesn’t really pop off the screen as anything special, but trust me when I say my brain is FLOODED with dopamine from his carefree smile and chubby arms.

This is the bone that human biology throws to parents. “Oh, is every day with a young child the hardest thing you’ve ever experienced? FINE, bathe in the warmth of infinite love.” And all of us stupid parents are like, “Oh, yeah, that’s good. This is worth surrendering my house to childproofing measures and chiming plastic bullshit.”

— Jermaine Kearse is wide open for a TD, and the Jets lead 17-7. Good night, Browns. You were powerless to protect your home turf from the juggernaut Jets as they cruised to 3-2 for a share of the AFC East lead. Fire up the Josh McCown Pro Bowl campaign!

— Odell Beckham gets open behind the defense for a 48-yard touchdown. He celebrates by performing CPR on the ball.

Giants are on life support but @OBJ_3 is trying to bring them back. http://pic.twitter.com/wWVXXldt0n

— Clay Wendler (@ClayWendler) October 8, 2017

OK, this is just a disastrous mockery of life-saving procedures. First of all, he didn’t even check his ABCs: Airway, Breathing, Circulation. He didn’t perform any rescue breathing. And he performs chest compressions by pumping his arms, which wastes energy; he should keep his arms straight and let his body weight to do the work. No wonder he spikes the ball; his life-saving efforts hastened its death.

— Ben Roethlisberger has thrown his fourth interception. And now a FIFTH! Merry Jagsmas!

— The Lions are attempting a furious comeback against the Panthers, but they started it too late to have any realistic chance of victory. In Cincy, with the Bills trailing 21-16 and two minutes remaining, Tyrod Taylor throws a pick. My daughter wakes up and, noticing the smell from the kitchen, asks what we’re cooking. “What did Mommy say she was going to make?” My daughter is lost in thought for a moment, then her face lights up. “APPLE PIE!!!”

— Leonard Fournette rips off a 90-yard sprint for a TD, and the embarrassment is complete. 30-9, Jacksonville.

— The Colts have managed to blow their two-touchdown lead. Leading 23-16 with 24 seconds left, they were a goal line stand away from the W. Instead, on 4th and goal, the Niners get a tight end open with a rub route and he just BARELY breaks the plane. Once again, we are saddled with overtime between two crap teams instead of sending them home with the tie they earned (or ending with a do-or-die two-point conversion, which would likely be more exciting, and certainly faster).

— Oh no. Odell Beckham is injured and crying. You can tell from his face that he knows his season is over. UGH.

The Giants are up 22-20 late in the game, but they already don’t have a rushing game, and Beckham is the FOURTH Giants wideout to leave with an injury. Eli Manning is gonna have to run the wing T from a goal line formation.

My daughter, who is almost healed from her broken collarbone, is looking at the screen with concern. I say, “He’s sad because he hurt his leg, sweetie.”

My wife adds, “Where’s he going to go to make his leg better? Who’s he going to see?”

My daughters face brightens. “To the DOCTOR!”

On the next play, Manning is strip-sacked. The Chargers recover and take the lead on a touchdown pass to Melvin Gordon, his second score of the day. The Giants have no response. They deserve to have the dignity of running up a white flag and packing it up for the day; instead, Eli Manning throws an interception on 4th-and-10. Even for a team that entered the game winless, the final four minutes of this game were especially gutting for the Giants.

LATE GAMES, FIRST HALF

— Ahhh, my beloved Seahawks! The first play RedZone shows of them is third-and-14 for Russell Wilson and the offense, which is the most Seahawks down and distance possible. Alec Ogletree sacks Wilson. Excellent. Yes. This is the good shit I choose to watch every week.

— In Oakland, Jared Cook’s fumble is returned for a Ravens TD, and Baltimore is up 14-0 less than 4 minutes into the game. With Derek Carr out, E.J. Manuel is responsible for getting the Raiders back into the game. With all due respect to Joe Flacco’s crappiness, this game is effectively over. I will not write another update about it unless Marshawn Lynch, like, crowdsurfs in the Black Hole after scoring a touchdown.

— After an easy drive down the field, an apparent Todd Gurley touchdown is wiped off the board when replay shows that Earl Thomas’s goal-line chop knocked the ball loose short of the goal line, resulting in a touchback for the Seahawks (it’s the second time Thomas has done this against the Rams). The end zone fumble/touchback foible remains the most inexplicable rule in football, and I love it very much in this moment.

— Jacoby Brissett throws a pick in end zone. Hey! What are the 49ers and Colts still doing here? This is late game territory, busters. I may have to start organizing this column under different headings. Let’s wrap this one up: The 49ers will do nothing with the ball, punt, and lose on an Adam Vinatieri 51-yarder.

— My daughter wants me to summon pictures of Rapunzel from Tangled on my computer screen. She has never seen the movie or even read the kids’ mini-book. her only familiarity with the story is the generic fairy tale. But she has an electronic reader with a picture of the Mouse’s Rapunzel, and that is enough to stoke the flames of curiosity. (shaking fist) DISNEEEEYYYYY!!!

— Following a methodical Dallas touchdown drive, Aaron Rodgers leads the Packers downfield and throws a perfect strike to Davante Adams. Mason Crosby, however, misses the extra point, and Packers trail 7-6. This game appears to be just as good as Fox had hoped.

— After the Seahawks throw an interception on a trick play, the Rams drive deep into Seahawks territory. On 3rd and 11, Jared Goff hands off to Tavon Austin, who goes untouched for a 27-yard touchdown. I had hoped that whatever Jeff Fisher-brand Seahawks poison the Rams employed over the last five years would be gone from this Rams team, but apparently not.

— I am starving. I haven’t eaten since a late breakfast, and my entry into our small kitchen puts me on the hook for making the kids’ dinner. While I toast a bagel for myself and cook quesadillas for the kids, the Seahawks recover a muffed punt, only to blow easy points by throwing an interception that flips the field position.

Thanks to Russell Wilson’s touchdown-saving tackle, the defense is able to hold the Rams to a field goal and a 10-0 lead. But you know what’s even better than hustling back to save a touchdown? Not throwing 40 yards across the field so a safety can undercut your throw with an open field ahead of him.

While I cook, my daughter is “reading” an illustrated Bible. She’s quiet and content for a long time, until she wants to know why some people are crying. Those are just Lazarus’ friends, sweetie. Don’t worry, he turned out fine.

— Dallas goes for it on 4th and less than a yard from the Green Bay 21, and Dak dives ahead to move the chains. A few plays later, he throws a perfect pass to Dez Bryant for a diving TD. The Cowboys lead 21-6, and are totally dominating time of possession.

— My daughter: “I’m going to the bayou!” She must have gotten her mitts on The Princess and the Frog again. I would love to thaw Walt Dinsey’s head just to punch him in the face one time.

— On second and goal from the Rams 4, the Seahawks throw a jump ball to Jimmy Graham, who uses his height advantage to pull in an easy touchdown. This is the sort of thing that Seahawks fans expected would become commonplace when the team traded for Graham three years ago, but has almost never happened because the coaching staff is allergic to exploiting potential mismatches.

The touchdown caps an impressive, time-consuming 75-yard drive. I didn’t take any notes on it, though, because I didn’t want to jinx it. I am sane.

— The Seahawks tie the game at 10 with a 48-yarder just before the half. Unprompted, my daughter sings, “There is nothing else, and I love you anyway.” That’s it, young lady. No more playing with haunted dolls.

— In Dallas, Green Bay scores on a 7-yard run from rookie Aaron Jones, who’s getting the start in place of the injured Ty Montgomery. The score is 21-12 after another missed extra point. Bad day for Crosby.

LATE GAMES, SECOND HALF

— My son has finished his dinner, and he is singularly focused on playing with bubbles, even though that’s strictly forbidden in the apartment. The kid is WILD about blowing bubbles. It’s not enough to blow bubbles FOR him; he needs to hold onto the wand AND the soap solution himself, even though he ends up immediately dumping the solution out EVERY TIME, which results in tears. So I’ll usually try to hold on to the container with the solution, but he’ll grab at it and start crying.

Please believe me when I tell you I hate these motherfucking bubbles. I am THIS CLOSE to banning all bubble-related objects from the apartment. NO ONE GETS ANY BUBBLES UNTIL YOUR FINE MOTOR SKILLS IMPROVE.

— “Daddy, do you want to go in the hallway?” my daughter asks. My wife is taking the kids to the end of the hall to set up the bubble machine (one of these doohickeys). I tell her I’ll join her as soon as I get a little more work done, and in my head “Cats in the Cradle” plays.

The Rams face a 3rd and 10, the Seahawks blitz their linebackers, and Goff runs more than 20 yards through the space they vacated yards for first down. UGH. In the hallway, I hear the shrieks of delight.

A few plays later, the Rams convert another 3rd and 10 conversion to get into the red zone, and you know what? I don’t really give a shit what the stupid Rams and Seahawks do.

I go out into the hallway. My daughter is shouting “BUBBLES!” and her brother is saying “BUH-BUH!�� because he is a tiny diapered caveman. The stress I had from watching football has evaporated. Bubbles, man. I gotta rethink my stance.

— When I go back to the apartment to get some paper towels, I see Jordy Nelson drop a slant that would be a touchdown. Green Bay kicks kicks a field goal (hey, a kick that worked!) to cut the lead to 21-15.

My daughter followed me back inside and, seeing her untouched dinner, suddenly realizes she’s hungry. She eats better when we read to her at mealtime, so I read to her a rugelach recipe from a Smitten Kitchen cookbook. She makes odd requests, OK?

— Hey, the Rams and Seahawks are still tied! How did the Rams blow that scoring chance? Bubbles, man. I ran a bubble screen on them.

— My son comes back into the apartment, and I pull him up into my lap while reading my daughter a marbled pumpkin gingersnap tart recipe. His heart is racing from the excitement in the hallway, and he’s clawing at the neck of his tee shirt. I take it off of him to get him ready for the bath; he’s soaked with sweat. Little dude raved too hard.

— This is too many Seahawks-Rams updates, so let’s wrap this one up, even if it messes with chronology: the Rams can’t stop turning the ball over, and the Seahawks can’t do anything with the ball when they get it. After my kids go to bed, Cooper Kupp drops what would have been a game-winning touchdown. Seahawks win, 16-10.

The lesson: never try to stretch the ball over the goal line if Earl Thomas is in the same ZIP code.

— In Dallas, Green Bay has mounted a comeback despite strategically trying to blind Aaron Rodgers.

The Dallas plan to blind Aaron Rodgers is working http://pic.twitter.com/qWGEOKmX00

— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) October 8, 2017

YOU FOOLS! Blindness can’t stop Aaron Rodgers! He quarterbacks mostly by echolocation and proprioception.

The light streaming into AT&T Stadium DOES look cool as hell, though. It reminds me of some Getty photos from a few years back:

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Hard to believe that’s Brandon Weeden under center, isn’t it? Nevertheless, it’s no surprise that a Weeden offense could only look good in still images.

— Dallas has bled a ton of clock with an epic drive to retake the lead, but Rodgers gets the ball back with a minute left and a timeout. He takes the snap staring straight into sun … and throws a perfect back shoulder pass to Davante Adams. On the next play, with the sun still in his eyes, he completes it to Martellus Bennett for another first down. See? He’s like a bat, or a dolphin.

— Anyone who’s ever played the Packers knows how this ends: with an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass, and your heart broken. Mike McCarthy should be jailed for only going to one Super Bowl with this demigod.

— Time for pie!