The Crazy Ahjummas Tackle the Liebster Award Nominations & Questions

We have been nominated for another blogger award!  YAY... not that it really means that we have received an actual award, but more that there are people out there (minus friends and family) that are actually following our work.  So, YAY again!  The lovely blogger at the IKurate blog have sent TCA some questions and Dongsaeng and myself are happy to answer.

Harmonious Sounds {Monday Morning Therapy with Dongsaeng}

Recently I've been listening to the soothing and soul-mending sounds of my favorite guys singing acapella and other harmony-heavy tunes.  Being a pseudo-musician myself (you know, I was like in choir and stuff in high school hahaha), I have an affinity for acapella and harmonious music.  It really does just speak to me and calm my troubled heart.  Or my untroubled heart.  It's good anytime really.  I don't mean to pigeonhole it into something when the application can be all-encompassing and a great deal more vast than our occasional emo moments.

Right now I'd just like to take a moment and direct you towards some lovely music.  Some is acapella, some not, but all have been playing recently around here and so I thought I'd share.  Because they're pretty.  And we could all use a little more pretty on a Monday morning.

I'll start with some old school DBSK/TVXQ when they were still together.  What I wouldn't give to see these 5 perform live once again.  If I had a bucket list, it would be at the top.  Their voices are just amazing together and go straight to my heart.  I'm only going to post links to these since they aren't "official" vids and that's just my thing.
 
Hug


Why Did I Fall in Love with You

Somebody to Love

Whatever They Say  (in this one, Jaejoong is sporting the craziest hair I've ever seen him sport - I love it in a weird way!)

10 Minutes of more DB5K acapella

and, probably the most beautiful, harmonious song ever by my favorite former 5 - Love In the Ice.  This one has been playing on repeat for days on my phone.  It's been my song of the week and so it's only fitting that I share it.

In addition to the acapella, I've been introduced to some cover songs by group Lunafly.  Do you know Lunafly?  This trio of very talented young men debuted last year.  I'm a bit Yun biased personally, though Sam's accent is killer.  Their own music is wonderful, but these cover songs have been amazing to listen to as well.  Here are a couple few of my favorites



Okay, so I hope these help you get started this morning and give you a lift and/or a boost.  May your week be wonderful and full of beautiful harmonious sounds.  Thanks for stopping by!

Unnie's WWU: Unnie Speaks!!

Since this is a Wednesday Write Up, not a review, I can talk about anything I want to.  First up, I apologize for not keeping up w/ my WWUs for the last couple of weeks.  After my trip to So Cal I went through a little post trip depression.  I missed my friends & the excitement & I just wanted to go back for more Big Bang.  Like a magic spell or hypnotism.  I LOVE my family but for the first time, in a REALLY long time, I did something just for me & as a result, I had a hard time accepting that my vacation was over.  A little post vacation blues if you will.  I decided that it was time for me to "reboot" myself.  I took a little break from all things K related to help me get past the blues.  Not completely cutting myself off.  After all I still had Full House 2 to watch.  I am so addiKted to that lovely piece of not serious fluff.  It has been the perfectly ordered medicine for my blues.  Minus the long weekend wait for the next episode.  That I don't like.  But the flip side of that is that I actually do, to a certain degree, look forward to Monday mornings.

So many wonderful things have been happening in the world of all things K.  Music videos, scandals, law suits ended, concerts, new shows, musical award show wins, MTV European Awards, & the world Star Craft competition.  So many things to talk about.  I don't even know where to begin.  Too many topics for my poor ahjumma brain.  So instead of talking about one thing I have decided to talk about all sorts of things that I've noticed but haven't really commented on just recently.  

*rubbing hands together* where to start? where to start???  

How about with this week's release of Lee Seung Gi's (aka Dimple)  latest Mini Album, "Forest".  It is a beautiful album.  And the first, hopefully not the last, song off the album to be get it's own MV & honestly the MV is really lovely.  That is the actual adjective I used when the video came to an end.  "Lovely" How often do I use that word?  Almost never.   And Lee Seung Gi's voice is amazing.  I loved the MV & the song.  But don't let me be the only one enjoying it.  See for yourself.  

Official Lee Seung Gi MV for Return (Looking Back):

See?  Lovely.  Perfectly lovely MV.  

Next up to talk about...(these btw are in no particular order)

Did I ever mention the fact that I am a PC gaming widow?  Yes, yes I am.  My husband loves online video games.  His current poison is DiabloIII.  He & our 14 yr old monstrosity play against each other a lot.  It would be more but I have strict usage rules for the kids.  Anyway a couple of weeks ago CA came to me excitedly to report on something K related to me.  The huge Star Craft World Competition.  On Nov 17th & 18th Professional Star Craft players around the globe competed against one another in this global competition.  it took place in Shanghai this year.  it also included World of Warcraft players as well...

From the actual Webpage:

"The field has now been narrowed to the 32 best StarCraft II players and 10 best World of Warcraft Arena teams—each of whom will face off for more than $500,000^* in prizes and the title of world champion."

Now granted I didn't tune in, neither did CA.  But he was giddy that he could tell me about something that had to do with my AddiKtion.  Usually it's the other way around.  Although he hardly ever gets excited when I try & tell him about this or that.  His typical reaction is to just nod his head benignly, smile & say, "Oh that's nice."   Still I loved his participation.  What a sweetie for trying to keep clued into the K world.  

Let's see what's next?  Ahhh yes, there was the HUGE scandal that wasn't really a scandal at all when IU accidentally Tweeted a pic of her & Eunhyuk's (of Super Junior fame) picture was released of her in her jammies.  And everybody either cheered them on or freaked out that they were "possibly" in bed together.  is it because they're Naughty Naughty?  Nah. According to IU's peeps it was taken on a day when IU was really sick & Eunhyuk came to visit her & try to make her feel better.  What is the real story?!?!  Oh the heck cares?!?  Really.  If they are dating, good for them!  If they are just friends, good for them!  What happens to them in their personal life, should stay their personal life.  IMHO I hope they find happiness, whether it's together or not I don't care.  There was also the cry of they did it on purpose as a publicity stunt.  People get better lives.  Step away from the magic box & stop jumping to conclusions & "judgments"   Whether it was legit or a set up who cares.  Not me.  It was a cute picture of them both.  And anytime Eunhyuk wants to come & take a pic with me, I'll be happy to participate.  Ahem...in my jammies or out of them.   >:)

And how stinking cute is GD's dad when he brags about what a good son GD is & how proud he is of him?!?!  Omo!!  Omo!!  So cute!  What a sweet dad.  Just the idea of getting a weekend stay at their new vacation house sounds wonderful.  I love that his mom decorated a room just for GD & that his dad was very specific in that the "Ji Yong Crayon" room would not be rented out, ever.  Fine by me, as long as GD is staying there the same weekend I am.  Let's just keep that info from CA when I ask him if I can go by myself for vacation to Seoul.  I have no intention of telling him I plan to stalk oppas in person.  

As for awards? Well, Psy took home the award for Music Video of the year from the MTV Euro Awards & I say good for you Psy oppa!  You rock.  Well done.  I'm also happy to report I still hear "Gangnam Style" on the radio here pretty regularly.  yesterday I saw an article that said he was up for "Man of the Year" from Time Magazine.  I was so happy for him.  Fingers crossed he wins, he gets my vote.   Then today I saw this article from "Gawker", talking about how Bill O'Reilly recently dedicated an entire segment to Psy & the "Gangnam Style" MV, & it's popularity.  Although all O'Reilly & his idiot sidekick "Dr" Albow manage to do, is prove their stupidity, racist tendencies, & the fact that they are in fact cut off from the real world, by simply opening their mouths.  2 biggest morons on the planet IMHO right now.  But I want you guys to remember that not all conservatives are like Bill O'Reilly.  He's a special kind of stupid all on his own.  I know lots & lots of conservatives that are great, loving, compassionate, people.  Me?  I don't talk politics.  I keep all my political feelings to myself.  Trust me I am informed & have strong opinions BUT they are my business & no one else's.  To quote my daughter whom I just overheard telling off her brothers, when they started arguing, "End of discussion!"  hehehehe...it was seriously so awesome listening to her telling them off.  

And another awesome award, more than well deserved, was when my favorite JYJ man, Xiah Junsu, won at the Musical awards, for his performance in the musical "Elisabeth".  If anyone can get me a legal copy of that musical on DVD I will gladly kiss you.  Or you know, less creepy, pay you.  I actually cried when I read about his win & his wonderfully humble speech.  I was so happy for him to finally be recognized.  Way way way overdo.  Junsu Fighting!

But that is not the only good news for JYJ...

No our Mickey has also received praise for his latest K drama performance in I Miss You.  I admit freely I have not started this one yet.  I want to.  I really really want to.  But it's a melodrama & I have a hard time with those.  I really prefer comedy & rom/com over melodrama.  I get far too emotionally involved & have been known on more than one occasion to do the big ugly cry over a melodrama.  You know the cry...the one where you gasp for air you're crying so hard & you have snot running form your nose & your choking.  Your face gets all red & blotchy & you find yourself wondering for your sanity.  It's a TV show!  Why am I crying so hard over a TV show?  What is wrong with me?  I'm already not a pretty crier so I try to avoid those shows.  I hear great things about I Miss You though & am just waiting for it to either get at least 1/2 way through it's live airing before I start or I might wait till Winter break & just marathon it one day.  It would help if we got a nice big snow storm during winter break & the kids & I were stuck in the house.
{^_-}

And then last night I heard the most amazing news!!  Best news I've heard all year long.  A few months ago you remember I went off & did a serious post about my frustration with the treatment that our beautiful JYJ received in their home country from certain entertainment affiliates.  To date still my most read post, in a 24 hour period, on TCA.   Well last night, a friend posted the news on FB & Twitter that the JYJ/SMEnt court battle has come to a close.  That is MY Christmas Miracle, my fellow AddiKts.  Have you heard?  Allkpop released the news first here.  And I was so excited.  I had a difficult time falling asleep last night.  And it kept me going this morning as I battle a sore throat & stuffy head.  And all I could think was that now maybe we'll get to see our boys on Korean Music shows finally.  Inkigayo Mnet etc...  Maybe Jaejoong's wish to be on an episode of Running Man will come true & I was giddy!!  Until that same friend posted this article quoting the responses of the major stations in SK to the news of the dropped suits.  Which in my opinion translates into KBS is fine with having the boys on their shows.  However, MBC & SBS are too cowardly to say they'll have them on their channels because they haven't yet been given the "all clear" from SMEnt or it's allegedly corrupt President.  But I am cautiously optimistic that it will all have a happy ending for JYJ.  If anyone deserves the "Happily Ever After" ending, it's JYJ.  Don't you think?  

Now you may be asking, "Unnie do you think it was your article that blew the whole thing over & caused SMEnt to finally give our guys a break?"  Well....*blushing* you said it, not me.  {{Giggle.  Just kidding.}}  Of course I don't.  I doubt, I or my little article, had absolutely anything to do with it at all.  I'm not that naive or that vain.

Let's see I'm also watching King of Dramas, up to episode 3.  Siwon rocks the comedic timing in this one.  Way better than his performance, so far, in Oh My Lady.  So between the epic awesomeness of the hair styles in FH2 & Siwon's performance in KOD, & Dimple's new MV/album release, I am a happy happy unnie.   I'm gearing up for more holiday fun & for Winter Break & for a new year.  A new year, new dramas, new music, new music videos & more TCA blogging & reviews.  And that Addikts wraps up my WWU.  I hope you have all had a great Nov.  And I hope you have a great Dec.  I will be back next week as well.  No worries.  I'll probably disappear again as I get closer to Christmas but I will do my best to not neglect my WWU's until then.  

Saranghamnida, 

P.S. I apologize if this post rambles or makes no sense.  Like I said I am battling the beginning part of a cold & this post took all day to write because the computer screen made my head hurt so much.  So I had to keep stopping myself & starting again later.  Which means this post is probably disjointed & makes no sense in places.  I'm also on cold meds.  Ooo I am high as a kite.  Not really.  It's just Dayquil.  But it still gives me blank spots in my head.  Does that make any sense?  Plus I just had a lot of different topics & things I had been setting aside to talk about with all of you.  As usual I hope you got a giggle or chuckle & that my post made you smile at least a little.  Lots o' love guys!!

Unnie's Wednesday Write Up: Fans that take it too seriously

Writing this week's WWU has posed me with a conundrum of sorts.  I want to be a well rounded writer & be able to write on a variety of topics & not allow myself to be pigeon holed as the actual "crazy" ahjumma.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore writing the funny posts, that focus solely on the hotness of our oppas, the hotness of the kiss scenes (or lack thereof) etc.... And I know last week I said that in general I am not a serious person.  Which is true...I do have a tendency toward the foolish & laughable.  That is a self defense mechanism though.  My life has been full of trials & challenges, so to protect myself from focusing solely on the pain, I force myself to find the funny in... well, just about everything.  I think that's one of the draws for me to Korean Dramas so much.  When they do humor, they do it really well.  I love their humor.  Just like I like British, Irish, & Canadian humor.  So when it came time for this week's write up, I was pondering the merits of a serious research based post or just a lot of fluff to make you all smile.  And quite possibly make you shake your head at the nut job that calls herself  Unnie.  Seriously, who calls themselves Older Sister?!?!  o.O  In this respect I feel like an actor must feel when they face the threat of the dreaded "typecast".  *Shudder*

Therefore, I have decided....{{drum roll please}} to write a mostly serious post w/ a little humor thrown in when it gets uncomfortable.  I hope this works out in reality the way it sounds in my head.  One friend suggested I go the humorous route & I almost did but this idea has been in my head for over a week now & I just had to get it out.

*Blows bangs off forehead*

One of the things I found out after becoming a KPop fan is that each performer/group has their own group of fans.  And that the fan clubs have names.  This is a new concept to me, who grew up with US music.  It's not like MJ had a group of fans that called themselves the Billie Jeans or the Thrillers or the Mirrors.

{{Get it?  It's from his song, "Man in the Mirror"?}} 

They were just MJ fans.  Or the fans of Madonna calling themselves the Virgins/Vogues/Rays of Light, you get my point.  It just doesn't happen here, w/ the exception of Lady Gaga & her "Monsters", remember there are exceptions to every rule & Lady Gaga?  Well, she's always an exception.  But the KPop loving world takes their fan group names seriously.  They cast votes & the artists approve the fan group name.  This blows my mind.  I'm not quite sure why.  It was something I wanted to talk about though so I did a little research.  There are the group names; BigBang fans are called, "VIPs", 2NE1 fans are called, "Blackjacks".  And there are individual performers fan clubs.  Kim Hyun Joong's fan group's name are the "Henecias" & Lee Seung Gi's are called "Airens".  But there are also individual fan club names for members of each group.  For example from the group Big Bang; G Dragon fans are called *for obvious reasons* "Dragons", T.O.P fans are called "Charmers" *again a rather apt name as he is himself exceptionally charming, sigh*.  Even the actors themselves get fan club names.

The fans get even more serious when a group breaks up, as in the case of DBSK.  When Jaejoong, Junsu, & Yoochun broke away from DBSK (TVXQ) & formed JYJ, the fans, for the most part, divided down the middle.  Some stayed w/ DBSK & claimed that the 3 men that left, were traitors.  And the other half of the fans, went w/ JYJ & called SMEnt & the remaining  2 members of DBSK their own bad names.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post regarding the treatment Junsu received from SBS during the Special Olympics Opening Ceremony & how they turned the cameras off before he could perform on air.  I won't digress, if you didn't read it & your curiosity is now piqued you can see it HERE.  I was also tweeting it constantly, supporting JYJ & Junsu & Jaejoong & Yoochun like crazy.  That post alone gotten 497 views since it went LIVE on TCA.  More than any other of my WWU has ever gotten.  Shortly after that post one of my Jess Unnie followers on Twitter went on a rant using the foulest of language about how JYJ were the traitors & that I should stop spreading lies & a few other nasty things.  Shortly after that, I no longer had that follower, not because I blocked him/her but because they simply stopped following me.  I welcome all viewpoints, as long as they are given respectfully.  This was not respectful.

It shook me to hear such vitriol come from another human being over a band's break up.  Personally, I loved DBSK when it was the 5 guys & I still love it with Changmin & Yunho, 2 very talented & sexy men themselves.  But I also love JYJ.  But I wasn't around during the tumultuous & heart breaking break up.  So maybe I would be split as well.  My beef does not lie at the feet of the 2 men who stayed & continued to be DBSK.  It lies with SMEnt alone.  {{And all the broadcast companies & crooked politicians/judges who refuse to stand up to SMent.}}  One of the things I absolutely love about KPop is that it is so much fun to listen to & that it just makes me smile & makes me want to move.  But there are some songs that bring me to tears, especially after I hear the trials the group had to go through & I know where the song came from for them. It makes the song that much more poignant & moving & therefore more intimate for me the listener.  Once I learned the story behind JYJ & its formation & then heard the song Pierrot I realized that that song would always be an emotional listen for me.  Of course it's only a theory of mine, that Pierrot is about the whole JYJ/DBSK/SMEnt debacle.  It's sad that this happened, it's sad that 5 wonderful friends are no longer in complete sync with one another, as they once were, but it happened & getting angry with the fans of the opposite team is wrong & even sadder still.

It's okay to love both groups equally.  My only beef with K Pop/K Dramas are in fact some of its more fanatical fans.  You are all human beings, all human beings deserve respect, dignity & grace.  Stop fighting amongst yourselves & just support your difference of opinions.  Value each other's humanity for crying out loud.   I have always tried to be that person that tries to see things from every perspective.  I want to take the opportunity to see it from your viewpoint, so I can decide for myself, what is best for me.  There is always another point of view, another side to look at, & we have to remember it takes 2 to fight & it takes 2 to make it work.  If I had one wish it would be for ALL the fans to stop trying to run down each others idols & just cheer everyone on equally.  It's okay to have a bias & to support that bias to the very best of your ability.  I do.  But I remember that there are lots of incredibly talented artists in K Pop & K Dramas.  And each one has the right to his/her supporters too.  It's why I always have a hard time picking a favorite this or that.  I like them all.

{{*whispers but Kim Hyun Joong is my absolute 

favorite, shhhh....I'm trying to keep it on the DL

*giggle* not very successfully I'm afraid.}}

Just recently a pin began surfacing on Pinterest that I found intriguing & some what rude...

Sulli of the girl Kpop group, f(x) & Choi Minho of the boy KPop group SHINee
who recently starred together, in the K Drama, "To the Beautiful You". 

I will admit, I didn't know f(x) or its members that well, until I watched TTBY.  So by this fans remarks I was jumping on the bandwagon & following the crowd.  One of my fellow KPop loving friends responded in this manner to the pin itself on her Tumblr...

"Here is a prime example of one of the things I hate about the so-called “die hard” fans of any artist/actor/etc.  There are some who have been following a celeb since day one and have fallen in love with said person.  In love enough to follow their careers from the very beginning.  Whereas there are also those fans who are just now starting to follow that particular celebrity when he/she gets some recognition.  This is not “jumping on the bandwagon” after the fact thing.  This is the celeb getting new fans who may not have known about them prior to that “moment” that garnered them the recognition.  One fan is not better than the other.  We are all fans. PERIOD!!!" 

~Bonstanceus

I thought it very well put. Very succinct in summing up this part of the fan craze as well.  Some of us have only been into KPop & K Drama for a little while & are still learning whose who of all of it.  Dongsaeng just covered this in her birthday tribute to Donghae of SuJu fame.  She knew of SuJu & had even heard a few of their songs & seen a few of their MVs.  But it wasn't until she started watching the K Drama Panda & Hedgehog that she really noticed Lee Donghae.  And from that moment on she had another bias.  Kim Jaejoong, Lee Donghae & I know another one she will reveal on Monday.

{{Yes I peeked!  Whatcha gonna do about it?}} 

Although I want it known I've loved him since day one.  Which simply means, she will have to stand in line behind me & about 20 billion other crazed fan-girls (& boys).

{{And no she hasn't fallen for my Hyun-y.  

She knows that, that simply isn't allowed. ^_^}}

I guess I sum up this post by saying, "You people need to chill out!"  KPop/KDramas & their stars are here to entertain & provide people for us to crush on healthily.  Not to obsess over, stalk & even kill for. o.O  They're trying to bring joy to the masses, we're the "masses" btw, you & I are the "Masses".  Let them do their jobs.  Sit back, relax, & enjoy the incredibly yummy view as they; act, sing, croon, dance, grind, & thrust their way into our hearts & fantasies.  But remember to log off the Internet every once in a while & see the world around you, from time to time.  It might help you to remember the people in your life are far more important than whether or not a group you like is splitting up or whether or not your favorite actor is getting the recognition that they so richly deserve, in your opinion.  There are real problems in the world, that deserve more attention & concern than the behind the scenes drama found in the entertainment world.  And this includes every country's entertainment world, including mine.  I have never ever bought a rag magazine.  I do not read them online.  I ignore the TV rag shows as well.  No TMZ is played in my house, no Entertainment Tonight & I only watch E to see Joan Rivers rag on the fashion faux pas' of the week.  I seriously love her vicious streak. In real life I don't care which actor is sleeping with whom, or who is getting divorced or who is in rehab.  Quite frankly, it's none of my business.  As long as they continue to entertain me, which is their actual job, I don't want to know their personal details.  Anymore than I want to know that about my neighbors.  TMI peeps, T.M.I!

And just to prove my point that I like lots of different groups enough I looked it up & I am a; Henecia, a Boice, a VIP, a Blackjack, an ELF, an Airen, a Nastie, a B2UTY, a Baby, an Orion, an A+, SHAWOL, a Triple S, & A Kiss Me.  So there.  I'm probably a few more in there as well but I figure if I keep going on & on this post will never end. ^^

You all survived another serious post by Unnie.  Well those of you that didn't immediately close the page when you found out it would be serious.  Are you okay?  Do you need to lie down?  Should I quickly insert inappropriate humor here?   How about if I give you something beautiful to listen to instead?  And before I go, just a reminder that as of right now I have exactly.... 7 full days before I leave for AZ & my dongsaeng.  And 8 days till we are on our road trip to So Cal. and only 10 days till BIGBANG LIVE AT THE HONDA CENTER in Anaheim. I am so SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE excited!!  I CANNOT WAIT!!!  I am so looking forward to this trip.  It hit me today as I was trying to plan my family's menu for the next 2 weeks, so I could then write the grocery list.  I had to actually stop what I was doing & text my husband & ask him what he wanted to make the kids those 5 days I was going to be gone, so I could add those ingredients to the grocery list!  It hit me right then.  My 2 week menu includes 5 WHOLE DAYS where I don't have to cook....for anyone!!!  OH.  MY.  GOSH!!!!!  It sounds so incredibly heavenly to me.  I think 5 days off every 15 or 16 years sounds reasonable.  Don't you agree?  

{{HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE....they may have 

to take me to the funny farm I am so excited!}}

*Whew!  Okay, calm down Unnie.  Big Breath In....And Big Breath Out.  There I am much calmer & more rational now.*

Until next week AddiKts.

Saranghamnida,



Here are two beautifully performed MVs from DBSK when they were all together & in perfect sync.  Really truly moving Live Concert Performance MVs.  Enjoy AddiKts.  <3 Unnie.

 For a complete list of Fan Club Names, go to; All KPop Forums