Heard it through the Grapevine Episode 7 & 8 Review

Heard it through the Grapevine A.K.A Heard it as a Rumor A.K.A I heard a Rumor [HITTG]

Global Perspective! Everything's complicated! This is the truth and nothing can be simple! Or can it? At least In Sang believes that the complicated issues can be tossed aside, life is too short just thinking about the positive things.
\\(◕ฺ ▿ฺ ◕ฺ)// #hero
While I do understand where Bom's coming from when she expressed her frustration of being different and "outcasted" from the rich and powerful, I love how In Sang still has this vision about everything working out. It didn't feel like a fantasy vision that was impossible to me when he said it. Or is it just me, am I becoming too optimistic like him? ); omg Lee Joon is such a good idol actor.

Bom is portrayed as a pretty smart kid (and i use kid here because that is exactly how most people are treating her). She is turning tables around and probably even on her way to fulfilling her dad's dream of her becoming at least a Minister of Justice. However, things are complicated, aren't they? The spider web unravels in these 2 episodes, giving us a look into how different characters are related and what they struggle with/care about most. The episodes also took a turn in storytelling and focused more on the characters and emotions than moving forward in the timeline. So, it was more like branching out than progressing in the story. Pretty refreshing.

The episodes also revolved around generations, virtue, self control and traditions. So basically, they were what some deem as important while others might deem as old fashioned values. However, pride was also another issue brought up and hinted throughout the episode, which I thought held greater significance than the others mention above. Pride was what led to wanting to hold on to what are "good and valuable"; pride was what was stopping some from being "real". Notice how I used quotation marks? While some might think that they are "XXX", it is not exactly Black and White. Yep, haha and this brings us back to complexity. Wow.

Black comedy is all about complexity yea. Looking forward to the next episodes!
Just so I don't back out, I will write here that I will continue to watch and write about my thoughts asap soon (after I finish rewatching Orphan Black! ><)
Tweet me @raycherr, or... read my other posts on Heard it through the Grapevine here ヾ(๑╹◡╹)ﾉ” 감사합니다!

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Heard it through the Grapevine Episode 5 & 6 Review

Heard it through the Grapevine A.K.A Heard it as a Rumor A.K.A I heard a Rumor [HITTG]

Wow, after a few weeks haitus, I am finally back with a short review of Ep 5 and 6... I believe I'm about 10+ episodes behind, ohno!!! ): I really should find time to just binge watch and catchup, shouldn't I? ;)

So... I am so sorry, I became lazy [read: writer's block] and I didn't take any notes for these two episodes. I feel super guilty about it as I don't remember that much details... :/
Actually, it has been a few days since I watched, but I decided that I will still write about what happened since I would love to continue to write about the show, there should be more of a continuity.

Alright, enough of me emoing and giving dumb excuses, back to super cute Han In Sang!!! XD This is actually one of the few korean dramas that I remember the main characters' names well: Seo Bom, Han In Sang and their baby Han Jin Young. The writers must be doing something right. *claps* Now, the next level would be to remember the parents' names.
Now to the story, yes! The young couple registered their marriage officially and practically the whole world knows about it! What?!? That was pretty unexpected, especially with the twitches that the rich parents had for the next few days after the shocking news arrived. Hence, this is a step forward for the young family, congratz! In Sang's female friend(aka his mum's friend's daughter) wasn't too good at hiding her jealously too, and was quite interesting to watch, I wonder if she will start to get in the way of the new couple to break them up somehow, to stir up some trouble? Sounds like a plausible story development to me! :/ Plus there were so many jealous characters after news of the marriage were announced too, its funny! For example, the pregnant lady in the office, she was quite pissed about not having the best nanny in town.
Following, the families had their own worries too. Like rich father and his politics. Bom's sister and her job... :/
Soon after, the couple's parents FINALLY met!!! Having the upper hand, the rich family tried to exert their authority by putting out terms and conditions on the table, trying to force Bom's parents into a corner with money and prospects again. Luckily, In Sang overheard the conversation, ok the entire house heard it hahahahhaha, and he was embarrassed by his parents' lack of real empathy. Justice!
And there you have it, a fight in the big beautiful house as episode 6 came to an end.

Cheers, in the meantime, you can find me on twitter @raycherr as I try to find time to binge watch the drama!

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Writer's Block?

Alright, I'm not exactly a writer, not worthy of this awesome title yet, but I guess I do write about my thoughts on dramas and reality tv... :/

So, recently I started this blog, and I began to write about my opinions and thoughts on different shows, with 2 of them starting out as long term "projects" that I should be writing on at least once a week, namely Survivor Worlds Apart and Heard it through the Grapevine. However, while first impressions got me excited to tell the world how I felt, it started to feel like work after a few episodes passed. ): Once the novelty of writing about the new show I'm watching started to wear off, I had about probably only about a paragraph of things to write about... While I could have dive deeper into each episode and discussed the topics with depth, I just didn't want to take notes and dig at "nothing" or that I just couldn't be bothered to ponder and review them. Perhaps, I just think that I don't have anything worthy of discussion when I only skim the surface, sorry. I just wanted to enjoy the shows and became lazy.
Look at this:

#SurvivorWorldsApart Great impersonation by Rodney; very impressive fake idol; upsetting that Joe is out; is Mike the biggest threat now?
— Rachel (@raycherr) April 16, 2015

): I am embarrassed by how little thought went into that compared to a blog post. But then again, I don't think that entertainment should be work. It should be fun, no? ):
Alright, all play and no work makes Jack a mere toy...
I sincerely apologise to anyone of you reading(if any!) for starting on this journey and then taking a short cut, changing to tweets(I love Twitter, don't get me wrong) after a few episodes.
Sigh, hopefully one day I will get to finish a long term "personal project".

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Book Review: The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Alright, so i admit this i my first ever book review >< so if this is somewhat lacking please do pardon me, and feel free to leave a comment if you have any constructive criticisms. Here goes nothing!

After searching for this book online, I found out that there's a film as well, with a screenplay by Amy Tan, but I have not seen it YET... hopefully soon.

So yes, I am really glad i decided to give this a go. The last book i remember reading that covered the Chinese culture is The Last Leaf/Chinese Cinderella. So when i spotted this book on the library shelves a few weeks back, I was like, I probably should go back to my roots again, so i picked it up, and never looked back. What a brilliant debut novel!

The story itself is a piece of beautiful artwork, complex yet appealing. It did take a bit more brain juice to get through as each chapter took a look at 4 different mother-daughter pairs. While their lives were interwoven (through the Joy Luck Club), it was slightly hard for me to remember clearly who did what previously, and I found myself flipping back and forth to link with what happened in the previous chapters. Perhaps I haven't read anything this deep and compelling in a long while, or that I read them in separate sittings... Either ways, this should not deter you from giving this book a go, the reward when you approach the end of the book is pretty heartwarming.

This book looks into the 2 different generations of Chinese women, the mothers who spent their childhood in China and the daughters in America. The stories revolve around their beliefs(influenced by their past and present) and how the daughters are both different and similar to their mothers. It also looked at how cultures are different, and how globalization made their lives a tad more complicated. Coming from different backgrounds, the Chinese mothers all had different values that contributed to who they were. They had different beliefs, different struggles. Such vulnerabilities displayed by the mothers made me empathize and think hard about whether traditions and heritage had any place in today's society. In fact, even if what they think do not coincide with yours, the writing allows for the reader to explore and not judge. I actually enjoyed the mothers' side of the story slightly more than their daughters'. The daughters are still learning and growing, and were supposedly more relatable to me. I guess I gravitated more towards wanting to know more about the "greater" challenges that the mothers faced and how they "tried to influence" their children instead. Most of the mothers' story-lines had greater breadth and depth, which makes for a more wholesome picture. While I unfortunately didn't manage to remember all the characters clearly in my first reading, they all came together to form a larger story that is memorable, or at least the emotions evoked are. That, I feel is most important. Overall, it is ultimately a story about reflecting upon who we are, and how relationships are shaped. Definitely a book for me to read again when I am slightly older, as for now I feel that this book will give readers varied afterthoughts as one's maturity changes and character evolves.

Now for me to check out other books by Amy Tan. Cheers!

~~ Feel free to tweet me @raycherr for book recommendations or opinions on The Joy Luck Club! :)

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