Dara Shinee Etude House Ad 2

Before I talk about the ad, I just wanna say President Obama has come out to support Gay Marriage. I am so happy. As a Canadian, we have already legalized it and I remember all the debates around it at the time. At the end of the day, heterosexual couples still marry and the sanctity of marriage is not in any danger like some nutcases preached. Now I just hope people from the LGBT community support him by voting for him in the next election. As for the ad, the guys are cute but what is with the awkward shuffling. It looks like they need to go pee. Dara makes an adorable cheerleader. BTW, I heart Korea for letting guys endorse a makeup brand. I mean guys are putting makeup on and it is not considered 'gay.' The ad made me realize how much we see products in a binary way. In ancient Egypt Pharaohs wore makeup and it was cool for both sexes to rock it.

Kim Jong-Il is dead!

Yeah, so he finally passed away. Kim Jong-un will be his successor. What a year! Osama, Gaddafi and now Kim Jong-Il. Now, if only Mugabe also ends up in the hell with them, I can truly call 2011 a splendid year.
Here is a link to The Globe and Mail. Read the rest here.

P.S: Reading a variety of opinions, there is consensus that change is unlikely at least in the near future. China controls Korea and has the most to gain or lose. Let's see, what happens. For the sake of poor North Koreans, hope they get freedom.

R.I.P Jack Layton!

For those of you who don't know who Jack Layton was, he was the leader of the Member of the Opposition at the House of Commons in Canada. He was also the man who worked hard and diligently for the success of his party (NDP). Jack lost the fight to cancer today. You can read more about this at the Globe and Mail link. I actually have see Jack campaign around my University and my Dad's actually talked to him. My Dad said he was gracious. Wonder what's gonna happen to NDP as Jack was truly behind its success in recent elections. My condolences to his family.

Canadian Elections and Osama Post-Death Analysis

Oh, what a historic election. Conservatives got a majority, NDP is the official opposition. Oh, did I mention first Green party win? Let's hope the Parliament decides to co-operate and work for once.

Some articles that discuss elections in detail. Here are the links:
Globe and Mail

Toronto Star

Lots of articles on How Osama's death will impact America and US-Pak relations. Here are some good ones from Foreign Policy.

Osama's Dead, But how much does it matter?

With Bin Laden gone, what will U.S and Pakistan talk about? 


I know it is strange for a primarily Asian pop culture blog to talk about Politics. But, I think everyone should participate in democracy as it is their civic duty. Look at what is happening at Libya and Syria. The folks in these countries are dying precisely because they want their voices to be heard and have a right to elect their officials. Also, with globalization, what happens in a far away country does impact us.

P.S: I will be doing a post on Japanese actresses and Strange things I've learned about Korea through K-pop.

Shor in the city, elections and JYP auditions!

First of all, a serious issue. All Canadians who are eligible to vote, Please do so on May 2. In the case, you are living under a rock, I am posting a link to four major parties platform.

Conservatives

Liberals

NDP

Green Party (no, they are not the marijuana party)

Kpop is really boring me, I don't really like any of the rookie groups but 2ne1 is making a comeback. (source: allkpop.com)

I am really excited about Extravagant challenge. In my mind, Siwon and Donghae can do no wrong (unless they turn evil and want to sacrifice monkey blood but that's unlikely). To keep myself occupied, I am watching their songs. Ennjoy Bonamana:)



Has anyone heard of JYP doing global auditions in Toronto? My sister read it on allkpop but I can't find it. No, I am not going to audition but her friend who is of Chinese descent wants to. I believe anyone can audition although they are more likely to pick a person of Asian descent.

I am really excited about Shor in the city. I love how Bollywood is bringing more of these movie that have an indie vibe. Oh and it stars Sendhil Ramamurthy from Heroes. Yay. The soundtrack is good. You know if a Hindi movie has a song Karma is a bitch it's going to be fun.

Trailer



Song

Indian Moral police and Shibuhara girls.

So, In India a case was filed against Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu because of her cover in Maxim. In India, there are many problems with child hunger, poverty, female infanticide and here's this guy who has time for such frivolity. Seriously, get a life. I like Bipasha because she is strong, independent women who is comfortable with her sexuality. She's been always classy instead of vulgar. Here's a pic of Bips "offending cover":

The pic is from the indiandaily.com

On another topic, does anyone know where us non Japanese people can watch Shibuhara girls. It is by MTV and apparently based on the Hills. I really wanna watch this show. Please someone sub this show! You can learn more about the show at MTV Asia. over here.

Here's a teaser:

KAT-TUN, Egypt and Skip Beat (weird combo, I know).

First of all, I've deleted my last post on immigration in Canada because I want to do a proper review and response to the TVO series. The new post hopefully should be on my next Sunday.

I know I said this blog will mix asian pop culture and politics but I haven't really posted much. What's going on in Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia is relevent to everyone in the world. I think the "revolution" is too fresh and I am still waiting more information before I do a post on it.

New volume of Skip beat is here. You can read a review here. Um, I am guilty of reading the scan of this before it got published. But if you want to do it proper, go read A feminist Otaku's review. I will be getting the copy of the manga when I get time, ok?

Now to more fun topic, not that Skip beat ain't fun, I am introducing one of the best Japanese boy bands, KAT-TUN. Many of you may know Jin Akanishi has left the band. Yes, it made me sad because I think he and Kamenashi make a good couple team.

Okay, I want Jin to comeback because I miss them together. I know there are rumors that they are not on good terms. Atleast that's what i've gleaned from youtube comments on their videos. I know not a reliable source but I heart these guys. Seriously, look at them. They are so hot;D

The image is from djmusiq.com.
For those new to the group, Kamenashi Kazuya is on the left and Jin Akanishi is on the right.

Here's one of my fav KAT-Tun song:
Precious one.

Where have sane people gone?

Today, I was walking past my university and saw a guy holding a sign that stated my university in Toronto had become a hot bed for Jihad. Now, we do see various protests occuring in and around university but this just took the cake. I mean, seriously it is a liberal university and I suspect most students are on the left spectrum of political ideology. When did left wing ideology had anything common with extremist right wing Islamic ideology? Most students who are not left wing are right of centre.
Read the comments in this article by politico and you will be forgiven if you think most of the commentators are uneducated.
Gosh, people understand you isms. You know like the actual meaning of liberalism, conservatism , Marxism etc. Go read the actual works of Weber, Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Nietzsche. Maybe take political theory at local college.
So far, all I've seen on the most comment sections of major Canadian, American, Indian, Israeli newspapers is just vitriol. Most of the time there are no rational facts behind the statements. Is it too much to ask for fact based opinions people?

Politics is dirty and you should be interested in it!

Let me tell you something about myself. I am not only a super nerd interested in Asian pop culture and old school Bollywood music but I am also a political science undergrad. There, I said it; I have no chances of getting a money-making job ever eh? I hear so many times that people find politics dirty and depressing. They'd rather fill their heads with stories of Lindsey Lohan's DUI's. If there is anything I feel more strongly about, it is that people should be interested in the political process of their nation state and about what's going in the rest of the world. Believe it or not, it does affect you in your everyday life and we are lucky we live in a western liberal democracy. Since, I live in Canada; here are some of my resources to make "complicated" politics uncomplicated.

For Canadians (or those who are interested in us) and most importantly Ontarians:

 TVO's got a great tool for people to understand how Provincial Government actually works. It's called Civics 101. For Canadians, who might only care about Federal politics, it's the provinces that control the Education, Health, Welfare etc. In other words, they control many things that affect you in your day to day life.

For people interested in local politics especially Vancouverites (again, they matter and control your property taxes) check out CityCaucus.com
For Torontonians, Torontoist is good.

For federal politics, check out Rabble.ca.

 Interested in International Affairs and Foreign Policy: Well, check out Foreign policy.com
Care about the war in Afghanistan and how India and Pakistan affect the region; check out the Af-Pak part of FP.
Read Pak Tea House.net to understand about Pakistan (is a liberal blog).
The Acorn is good for understanding India's national interest.

Most importantly, read news, lots of it. Here are some of my news sources:
Globe and Mail
Toronto Star
 The New York Times
The Guardian
Haaretz (for Israeli news)
Johnson's Russia List (for news about Russia)
The Huffington post
Politico.com (USA)

Well, now you have no excuses, next time there's an election (might be soon for us Canadians), I want you to make a well-informed decision and vote. Yeah, vote because every little vote counts and you can't really rant about the government if you didn't vote.