K Drama: Queen Seon Duk

this is really a late post on a drama. Queen Seon Duk was aired in 2009 and had one of the highest rating for period drama. i been catching an episode here and there but since it was nearly 3yrs old, may online sites do not have the links to the episodes anymore.

i must really salute the writers and casts of this drama. Ko Hyung Jung played the beautiful, intelligent adviser Mishil. i am blown away by her acting. she portrayed an air of authority, mystery and evil by simply arching her brows or a slight smile. no big emotional displays, just tat mona lisa smile. it leaves you guessing her thoughts and emotions. i think the most touching scene was when her abandoned son, bidam, first called her "mother" in ep 49(not too sure). you can see how touched and probably how long she waited for him to call her mother, they found out about their relationship about 4-5 eps earlier but never confirmed it with each other. once she found out that he was her son, perhaps she knew all along but pretended to protect him, she tried to get him out of harm's way and refused to allow others to harm him.

the other notable actress is Lee Yo Wan, who played Deokman. her constant mental battles with mishil, her devotion to her country and giving up a life with her lovers (first love kim yu shin, then bidam). she was truely beautiful in this drama. i am sure it was a very trying drama, having to film in all seasons and all sort of terrains. the love story between her two lovers was heartbreaking, giving them up to be married to her country. she was very beautiful in her princess and queen outfits. although i prefer the traditional korean handok in dramas like Dong Yi, both Lee and Ko were breathtaking in their respective outfits.

Kim Nam Gil, bidam, was one of my fave actor. initially just a bum who happened to be helpful, a little fool to lighten the mood, he eventually rose to become a key player. his parentage perhaps gave him a great insight to how to solve problems, ok some of his solutions are bit evil, but he gained the trust of Deokman and became her lover. this drama also gave kim nam gil the exposure that made him a star.

the last actor who i should mentioned is Jeon No Min, who played lord seolwon and mishil lover. he was a military man who was commander in chief. he was quiet and reserved, a rather emotional man who was happy to stand behind his woman and followed her every wishes. i think he was the only one who truely loved and understood mishil (in the drama). jeon no min had a similar character in family honor, it was tat drama that made an impression on me. in this drama, lord seolwon was calm and collected even when mishil ordered their son (bojong) on a suicide mission.

Father Birthday 2013

Passing of A Great Dame

Margaret Thatcher passed on 8 april 2013. she was probably the most influential and powerful woman that ever held office and it was considered quite a feat of women in the 1980s.

i feel very disgusted by reports that her opponents may plan to hold a party to celebrate her death. come on ppl, she has stepped down from office for decades and even though she ruled with an iron clad fist (she is known as the iron lady), she did so in a time when it was probably unthinkable for a woman to hold such a high office.

regardless of what her policies were then, i am not a political person but do admire her courage to stand for her and her party beliefs, she did so out of the considerations what may be best for Britain then. she was known to have a sharp mind and even in her later years, her daughter said that she still had that spark and flashes of brilliance that had served the country then.

indeed a great woman that redefined the times.

to be exact, she was really the man for the job and she went on to prove it to the best of her abilities.

i dun see how anyone should be holding a party to celebrate her death. i think the world would be a poorer place has she not taken office then.

Mrs Thatcher, you have given all and so much more to your country and the world. Thank you for stepping out and stepping up.

Useless Quote

useless quote from a useless person, who thinks he is so damn bloody smart and good.

1. the mind is like a knife, you have to keep it sharp.

yeah yeah yeah..... but what is the point of keeping either mind or knife sharp when you dun concentrate on the task needed. this was quoted in the context of studying but totally useless cos the kid was playing around and not concentrating. thus the simple task of revising spelling becomes a game for kid and person and only makes the observer angry cos

"study time is NOT play time."

LeeSSang Champion

i never realised the story behind this song and had downloaded it mths ago as it was very pleasing to hear. i must say that i dun understand korean and rely heavily on subtitles to understand drama, variety show and songs.

the song was written after the death of a korean boxer choi yo sam who collapsed after a match and was decleared braindead on 9 jan 2009. he was a personal friend of LeeSSang, as both Gary and Gil were boxers in their late twenties. after the death of choi, it was revealed that he kept a diary of his hopes and dreams and fears. and thru the personal relationship, this song was born.

with gary simple yet touching lyrics, this indeed is a fitting tribute to a dear friend.

What is really Amazing

i am not on a mission to bash anyone, so if you are going to be all sensitive please leave this page now.

recently an article appeared in the local papers about how a lawyer woke from her coma. (cr: The Straits Times http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/singapore/story/lawyer-declared-brain-dead-wakes-after-calls-pull-plug-her-20130324 )

in the article, it was reported how medically it would be impossible for her to wake from her coma as she had something called brain stem death, plus there was some irreversible damage to her heart valves which only a heart transplant can save her. in short, dun wake up die, wake up die from heart failure. it was also stated how she "dreamt" about a man visiting her and tell her to follow him should she wish to move, and yet she "sensed" that he was evil and prayed for him to go away. she also said that the man threatened to take her daughter away and she renounced him as she was a child of god. then she woke up. and her damaged heart valves were as good as new.

wah, pretty uplifting and amazing right? wrong! this woman has been a believer for ages and probably can quote from the bible left right up down. during her coma, who is to say that her brain was doing some internal housekeeping since it was in a "downtime mode" and thus could have caused her "dreams". also the current medical equipment can only detect so much. true that they are very sensitive but there is always a cutoff. perhaps her brain was active but was not picked up by the machines. and everyone's biochemistry is different. you and i are two completely different individuals here. who knows, maybe during her coma she was given some drugs or whatever that reacted with her biochemistry and caused her body to repair the damages. come on, having a religion is good but just because no one can explain, one just credit or dump it on religion? hello?????

i would like to see religion at work to fix some of the problems we are facing now. take india for example, could religion give these rapists some moral? stop all these senseless rapes and degrading abuses that women has to face. could religion stop or provide food for the hungry and poorest in africa? make it rain and let them be able to farm. i am asking for rainwater and not rain food down.

now for something really amazing.

need i say more.

Bry Beijing K2 Term 1

just vids taken.