LB | Prelude 03

Consider the mind the father, the heart the mother, and the soul the child. Often times even in a violent and depressed marriage, parents often stay together for the sake of the child. In such cases, while the soul—the child—experiences the traumatic stressors of having to live with parents who just cannot get along, at least he or she knows what it is like to have the two figures in life. When the mind and heart are healthy, the soul thrives. But when the heart breaks or the mind deteriorates, the soul suffers.



It is important to remember that one’s talents can also be one’s blessing and curse.

credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

thanks mr o

I've been cleaning through my pile of worksheets, books and whatnot throughout the years. I found this in my homeroom section from Year 11. Still remember the homeroom periods that I had in that year. Mr O really took care of us and tried to inform us and encourage us for the future and of course, at that time, the struggles of VCE.

He told us the story of a man and his persistence and perseverance towards his goal.I remember sitting there being in awe of this man. I'm pretty sure Anna was as well...HAHA. Anyway, here's what Mr O shared to the class, and since I'm gonna throw the sheet away, I wanted to type it up so I've got it somewhere.


"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The slogan "PRESS ON" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"

- Calvin Coolidge -

Train ride home

Just a tidbit of a conversation I heard. I thought it was sweet and it probably made my day.

Hey, I'm still on the train right now. There's some beef in the fridge, but it's fine if you don't want to cook. You're probably dead tired. Wait till I get home and I'll see if I can do something with it.

- A male on the phone.

My current state of mind?

Mark my words and paint them on the wall Seoul. If affection is a condition, then love is just a state of mind. Until the day I die, until my very last breath, I’m never letting you go.

Credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

The Last Airbender

Rathbone told MTV News earlier this month that, "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan. It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."

Yes, because doing all the things above will help you achieve the "Asian look". Don't forget the sticky tape so that you'll achieve the slanty eyes!

Via CARTOON BREW, comic book artist Derek Kirk Kim is protesting as well: [AVATAR is] wholly and inarguably built around Asian (and Inuit) culture. Everything from to the costume designs, to the written language, to the landscapes, to martial arts, to philosophy, to spirituality, to eating utensils! -- It’s all an evocative, but thinly veiled, re-imagining of ancient Asia."

He continues, "Imagine if someone had made a “fantasy” movie in which the entire world was built around African culture. Everyone is wearing ancient African clothes, African hats, eating traditional African food, writing in an African language, living in African homes, all encompassed in an African landscape...but everyone is white. How offensive, insulting, and disrespectful would that be toward Africans and African Americans? How much more offensive would it be if only the heroes were white and all the villians [sic] and background characters were African American?

"My top choices for Aang were all young Asian-American actors. All of them had more talent and experience than Noah Ringer. But, Aibel and the producers had the final word. I am very disappointed with the cast that was chosen. My daughter hates me, now that her only hero (Katara) will not be an actress with a complexion close to our own. Mike and Bryan are also disappointed and feel that all the blood and sweat developing the Asian heroes was for nothing."

SOURCE: http://www.awn.com/news/films/avatar-last-airbender-casting-controversy-continues


Here is the original casting calls for The Last Airbender. I doubt they had any real intentions of casting any Asians for the lead roles. And well, I feel quite sorry for people who are aspiring to be actors, but aren't physically attractive enough :/

AANG: 12-15 years-old, Male, Caucasian or any other ethnicity. We are looking for a young man to play the lead role in a motion picture franchise. He must be athletic and graceful with an ability in Martial Arts (not necessarily extensive experience, but at least an aptitude for it). Kids with experience in gymnastics, dance, or sports could also be good. He is a young adventurer and should seem like the type of young man who will grow up to be heroic.

KATARA: 14-17 years-old, Female, Caucasian or any other ethnicity. She is Sokka’s younger sister. She is a headstrong and determined girl with a real sense of idealism. She believes in herself and feels that she can play on the same team as the boys. She is beautiful, intelligent, passionate, feisty, and has a real sense of adventure.

SOKKA: 16-20 years-old, Male, Caucasian or any other ethnicity. He is Katara's older brother. He is intelligent but awkward, and very funny (although not necessarily intentionally so). He aspires to greatness, but he tends to doubt himself. He is always one to be swayed by a pretty girl.

ZUKO: 16-20 years-old, Male, Caucasian or any other ethnicity. He is a brooding, intense young man who wrestles - not always successfully - with being good. Regaining his honor is a driving impetus for him. He is extremely handsome and is the type of dangerous boy every girl falls in love with. Athletic and/or martial arts experience is a plus.

There is no way I can word my feelings towards this subject better than Derek Kim has done above. I feel uneasy when I watch a film that has been adapted from a story where the characters are Asian but are replaced by Caucasian actors.

To constantly have Asians being denied the chance to play a role which are "designed" for them is just upsetting. There are many Asians out there who could play these roles, but instead, they are offered to Caucasian actors. Maybe its because the producers believe that Asian actors aren't box office draws or because they don't have the experience...but that's just because they're constantly denied any work. The only place where Asian actors can shine is in martial arts films or as the antagonist. And honestly, we're more diverse than that. Not every Asian is awesome at martial arts and we aren't all planning on ruling the world.

The main reason why I dislike whitewashing is that it underlies the notion of white/Caucasians being morally superior, or just superior in general, compared to people who are coloured. Well, that's what I get out of it anyway, not sure about anyone else.

Now, if I can make a tangent...let's talk about Avatar. The storyline of Avatar is similar to many events throughout history, where European colonizers are determined to obtain certain valuables or resources from the land in which indigenous people inhabit. So, it's not surprising that the notion also applies to Avatar. It takes a Caucasian male to save an entire civilisation, an entire nation if you will.

So, I'll just end this with something I found a while ago.

A good read about this topic from Derek Kim's blog: http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-day-in-politics-same-old-racist.html and http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/28/DDMU15ICE4.DTL
Below are just some quotes that I wanted to highlight for myself...so take no notice of this :D

Or even worse, having our hearts broken over and over going after roles that specifically call for Asian Americans like "Avatar, The Last Airbender" only to see them go to white actors.

Back in my Drama days in high school, I used to dream of being white so I could pursue acting.

"The Last Airbender" has the potential to be something like "Star Wars"—something with lasting value that could give new heroes to your average household in America. And to have something for Asian American kids, and ethnic kids in general, to look up to. To let them know heroes can also look like them and speak fluent English like them.

African Americans kids can finally, realistically dream of being president one day. Can't Asian American kids—perhaps my kids—at least dream of being something as relatively insignificant as central characters in some escapist Hollywood movie where everything is stolen from their heritage?




"What frustrates us most is that you had this amazing opportunity - you've got a nation of fans who love this quintessentially Asian story," Kim says. "This could have broken down every barrier in the business, proving you can have an all-Asian cast and score three blockbuster successes. Instead, we just get three more chances to cringe."

My version of Marilyn Monroe words

If I can't take care of you at your worst, then I sure as hell don't deserve you at your best

LB | 013

". . . There are just certain people in this world that you meet and instantly hit it off with. The chemistry blows through the roof. It's intense, like this gripping fire that just won't you let you go. You feel as though you've known them for a long time, like an old friend who managed to travel with you life time after life time. The conversations are great, perfect. The interactions are intimate, personal. You tell that person everything about yourself, every little secret. You're not shy, you're liberated. Then, on the other hand, there are other people in this world that you meet and instantly you can't stand them. Just the mention of their name and you cringe, you curse. Every move that person makes, you feel disgusted and angered. They could be eating and you could nitpick that they chew too loud, scrap their food too hastily. You become introverted, you don't speak because you feel it's a waste to share yourself with someone like that."

"And then there are certain people you meet, where at first you believe they are one way when in fact they turn out to be more than you ever expected of them. How behind a pretty face — is a dark soul."

credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

I loved this chapter. It was a breather. Not only that, but the chemistry between Tamhee and Boe intensified. I am so gonna print this out so that I can read it to cheer me up :D

LB | 012

"But you'll never know what it's like. What it's like to have a family, to have children, and most importantly — what's it like to be normal: to wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, lounge on the couch and watch a movie, to go shopping, to have sex that really means having sex with the person you love — not just sex, two flesh pounding at each other. You will never know."

"But we're more alike than you think. But I will fight whoever thinks they can force me to live a life I never signed myself up for. You fought them. I heard you tried. But you didn't fight hard enough."

credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

Kenita Tamhee and Kimauro Seijun

...............................................................................I've attached a piece of my soul.

A piece of your soul

"There are just some names you can never forget. You hear it once and it rings in your ears. You see it on paper and you memorize the spelling. You think it's a brilliant name, when in fact, it's only brilliant because your soul has attached a piece of it to the person."

credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

I think every time a new chapter comes up, I'm gonna be all over it and posting the section that I want to remember the most.

Solangel, she's simply brilliant.

April loves Black Coffee

Ven held up his hand, signaling to him that he needed to finish. Ven kept his eyes pinned to mine behind his mask. "You heard of April loves Black Coffee, TamHee. You heard how HanSuk, his men, and a street gang cornered one of the most infamous gangsters of all time in a hospital stairway. You heard of how they stabbed him to death with butterfly switchblades. You heard how Yoon JaeWon bled to death in front of Maybelline Lee. You heard how he died in her arms, and she was helpless to save him. You heard - because we gave you the order – to catch Choi SangWoo and Kim JiYong for allowing such an heinous crime to occur at such a public place. It threatened the underground's survival and concealment. You heard of April Loves Black Coffee when you were the one that caught and threw Choi SangWoo into Aajung, and you most certainly heard of April Loves Black Coffee when you dug up Yoon JaeWon's grave – on our orders – to be moved West. Their love story is not infamous because he died. It is infamous because love cannot exist in our world! LOVE is the game we use to reach our goals because LOVE is the most easy and effective way to get people to do what we want!"

credits: Solangel - Love Bugged

Who would have thought that after 3 years, I'll see that phrase again in Solangel's story. CBU tore me apart and I've never quite recovered from it. After reading the story, I was depressed for a week. As stupid as it may sound, I cried myself to sleep because April loves Black Coffee. It struck a cord in me, and I've never been able to let it go. Every year, I'll re-read bits and pieces - only the happy moments. I won't be able to cope with reading the whole story again. I just couldn't.

AKTF

credits: unknown

Love Ya

We can be so
perfect