Month: December 2020

25 Dec 2020

Blog Roundup

  • The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020 [Paper Mag]
  • The Year Instagram Became Facebook [The Verge]
  • Some Cities Will Pay You $10,000 to Relocate [NPR]
  • The Missed “Magical Negro” Trope in “The Queen’s Gambit” [Bitch Media]
  • Steve Yuen on the Honesty of ‘Minari’ and His Eclectic Career [Variety]
  • Meet Pdogg, the Musical Dynamo Helping Shape BTS’s Greatest Hits [Fast Company]
  • Your State’s COVID-19 Epidemic, Explained in 4 Maps [Vox]
  • The 100 Best Songs of 2020 [Pitchfork]
  • The Best K-Pop Moments of 2020 [Teen Vogue]
  • 10 Remote Airbnbs As Stunning As They Are Secluded [Architectural Digest]
  • ‘The Bachelorette’ Stylist Shares How the Fashion Came Together for this Unprecedented Season [Fashionista]
  • The Journalist and the Pharma Bro [Elle]
  • Why Dave Chapelle Doesn’t Want You to Stream Chapelle’s Show [Vox]
  • Best House of 2020 [Arch Daily]
  • My Unusually Normal Life in Taiwan Amid the Global Pandemic [Bloomberg]
24 Dec 2020

My Thoughts On Micro Apartments: Then and Now

Like [Doobybrain] I once loved the idea of a micro apartment. I remember first being interested in them when I was college and learning that my neighborhood was planning on building spaces specifically like these. At the time, I was constantly on the move. The studio I was living in wasn’t more than 400 sq feet, maybe 350 at most. Since I was between school and work constantly, I was really only in my apartment when I wasn’t at those places or to sleep.

I loved the idea of staying minimal. Having a smaller space meant that I needed to be better at managing my own belonging and knowing when to get rid of things. It’s 10 years later and having gone through a pandemic where I’ve spent the majority of my time indoors and at home, I’ve had a change of heart. Watching a video of these micro apartments doesn’t evoke the same kind of desire I had for them once before. In fact, it’s much farther than what I actually want. Even as we shift towards a more remote workforce, I still am not sure if these will be as appealing.

24 Dec 2020

Song of the Day

V ft. Peakboy – Snow Flower

So while last night’s release by Jimin sounds a little bit more like a traditional Christmas song, V’s “Snow Flower” is more of a song for the season. Also, while I know the fandom feels completely spoiled by their constant releases and news a part of me just wishes the guys could take a break every once in awhile! When do they even have time to sleep or be with their families? In listening to both singles and while I’l love both of them and their talents, “Snow Flower” feels much more up my alley. Now, if only I could add these to my Spotify playlists already!

24 Dec 2020

Gucci x The North Face

There’s something about unlikely collaborations that really gets me excited. Though both clothing brands in their own right, you could say that both tailor to different audiences. However, what if you’re an individual that wants a piece that can double as functional and fashionable? In their latest collection out January 6th, Gucci and The North Face bring to you a line of ready to wear items that can be worn both indoors and outdoors.

The collection will release in China first and then be available to US customers beginning January 6th.

[Source]

23 Dec 2020

Judge My Spotify

If there’s something I’ve discovered in years of perusing time waster sites, it’s that people love being made fun of. It’s a very strange concept that human beings are attracted to. Across my feeds today were plenty of people sharing a new site called “Judge My Spotify.” It’s exactly what you would expect it to be, but in more defining terms – an AI bot that combs through your Spotify playlists to tell you who you are. People love things like this because it’s something that they can continue to share or pass on. Another reason why people love Spotify Unwrapped if you will.

Here’s a snippet of my results above. They aren’t wrong about the song choices, but I haven’t actually listened to that much Taylor Swift this year even with two album releases. You know that people are going to eat up the low percentage “basic” rating. If there’s anything I do find strange though, it’s the call out to Dustin Tavella. While I did go through a heavy phase of listening to that song (went through a breakup myself like Selena Gomez) I can’t recall a single time I listened to that this year.

It’s unclear if this bot is supposed to detect all of your years in music listening or just this year. The reason why I’m struggling with that is because K-Pop was only popular on my playlist this year. The rest doesn’t seem to quite match up. To try this out yourself, visit the site [here]

23 Dec 2020

Song of the Day

Jimin – Christmas Love

It’s much harder this year to feel like our Christmas spirit selves. Normally, Christmas break is associated with trips back home, visits with friends, decorating the tree and plenty of Taco Time. We’ve got our traditions for this time of year, but this time none of them seem to be happening like most of us are experiencing. Honestly, I even forgot that Christmas was two days away until our Jiminie dropped this gift for us tonight. In a surprise release, Big Hit shared a Christmas track sung by Jimin Park of BTS. What makes this even more special is that in a recent interview Jimin even shared that he didn’t have too many positive memories around Christmas because he was usually alone. It’s unclear how or why this track came to be, but I’m sure like “Life Goes On,” it’s something most of us didn’t know we needed.

22 Dec 2020

Suzy Bae’s Wedding Look From “Start Up”

If you haven’t watched the finale of “Start-Up” by now, I am not to blame for spoilers. As we saw in one of the last shots from the series, our two leads, Nam Dosan and Seo Dalmi do get married after all! The camera pans across their wedding photos posted up in their workspaces at the company that they’ve successfully grown together. Said shots of the photos however glide pretty quickly across the screen so I’m grateful to now have a second look.

From my television, Dalmi’s wedding dress seemed simple and understated. These photos, however, tell a different story. It’s the first time I’m noticing her dainty crown and these petal sleeves. I like to think that I followed the wedding trends pretty closely every year, but these sleeves aren’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. Designed by British label [Safiyaa], the [Dara Ivory Long Dress] retails for $1,799 USD.

Honestly, we love this look for Suzy! Now comes the hard part of not actually shipping our favorite k-drama couples in real life.

[Source]

22 Dec 2020

Dua Lipa on Saturday Night Live

https://youtu.be/oDsyocmK3XI

Admittedly, I have not been doing a great job of keeping up with Saturday Night Live this year. However, I’m glad that I went back to watch these Dua Lipa performances from this past weekend’s episode. Dua Lipa had one of my favorite albums of 2020 and we’ve been a fan of hers from the start. She’s also someone I would categorize under “Most Improved” as her performances and her dancing have reached new levels this year. For the appearance on Saturday Night Live, Dua performed her two hits from the last year off her album, “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating.”

https://youtu.be/rl7rfTWVubE

I don’t quite understand the hat that she’s wearing in this “Levitating” performance, but I’m too tired to truly critique this.