Week in Review: June 15-22

The Good

-All of the taxis went on strike on Wednesday to protest rising gas costs and the very low, government-regulated starting fares. How is this good? Because this had already been the night Seung Hyun was planning on renting a car to take us around to some of the hearder-to-reach parts of Seoul. We went to Samcheongdong (GORGEOUS) and drove around a lot on the small mountain beside that neighborhood, I'll be writing all about these places soon when I do a blog post on romance in Seoul.

- I've managed to make it through one more week. Seriously, since I found out my exact dates for finishing at Hye Hwa and for my visit home it's been a little more difficult to be completely enthusiastic. All teachers experience the malaise of "summer vacation's almost here," it's just that my summer vacation is a hell of a lot shorter.

The Bad

- I saw Prometheus. Though it was visually stunning and the acting was very well done there was nothing that could save this movie from itself. The plot was just... terrible... it was god-awful, and it really failed to answer ANY of the questions it posed. Any connection to the Alien movies was slap-dash and treated as an afterthought. The visuals were so amazing that I am reluctant to tell you not to see this movie. I guess this is the best way to put it: if Avatar made you rage-fail do NOT see Prometheus.

- No closer to obtaining an apartment for late August. We made a few important steps but, yeah, no real progress.

- I am steadily coming to the realization that a lot of people I really like and/or care about will be departing soon, and that kinda sucks a lot.

Music Video of the Week:

EASILY this goes to F(X)'s "Electric Shock":

This song has been blowing up since it was released last week. With over 12 million views on the YouTubes and even a mention on Perez Hilton it's a real testament to just how popular KPop is becoming internationally.

I hated the song at first, but it's grown on me a bit (I know, I say that a lot about KPop songs). The beat is very nice and the singing is pretty quality. Ehhh, I dunno, though, I don't think I'll be tempted to put this one on my iPod, not even as in a work-out mix. I will be the first to admit that I am TERRIBLY biased against girl groups. If their voices are high and whiney in any way during a track I am not likely to want to listen to it again. I blame the fact that I have never really been a girl.

I like the video alright, but a few things really bother me. Like the fact that UNNATURALLY COLORED CONTACTS NEVER LOOK GOOD ON ANYONE... EVER! Seriously, they take all of the expression out of your eyes and give you permanently dilated pupils. Some of my students wear them and I swear it makes them look like dolls. If you are going to wear colored contacts only enhance your natural color, don't go for a different color.

Also, the dancing isn't appropriate. There are weird moments where some girls are dancing pseudo-rapidly during a slow part, and all of the dancing needs to kind of be tailored around the fact that one of the girls in this group is a tomboy. She just looks ridiculous at times. The dancing needs to be more masculine if there's going to be any dancing at all, I get physically uncomfortable watching this at times.

There's no runner-up this week, THAT'S how huge this song has been.