Happy Birthday, Jaejoong~!

This is going to be a short message.  Happy 26th (27th in Korea) Birthday to my 2nd bias in TVXQ, Kim Jaejoong~!  ^o^

Maybe it's because I was first attracted to him before Changmin, but I can't really just leave him be.  I had to claim him as a bias.  XD  I really like his quirky atitude lately.  But I do worry about him sometimes with certain tweets he types.  It was especially so back in 2010.  I also worry about his health since he smokes and drinks.  :(

What do I like about Jaejoong?  Well, he's very handsome.  I also love his voice!  It hasn't changed since he debuted.  Here's what he sounds like:

Credit: cassiopeaishine via YouTube

Since the seperation, I think that he is the one who wishes for their reunion the most.  This year, I hope his wish will be granted.  Happy Birthday, Jaejoong and I hope you will be happy and healthy this year~!

What A Bumpy Road Life Can Be

So, the SOPA/PIPA bill didn't pass.  I guess that's okay.  It was rough trying to put out your side of the argument when so many saw it so differently.  It kinda reminded me of the episode of 'The Boondocks' where "R. Kelly" was on trial, and Huey's response to the whole thing (check out that episode one day).  Maybe it was because they probably saw more negative than positive?  Did they even think about what good there may be in the bill?  The whole thing was just really frustrating.  Not so much the bill itself, but the actions of people towards another when it came to speaking their mind.  I know I said that I was for and against the bill, but I seemed to try and express the positive sides in the bill more than anything.  ^^;;  But people said that this bill would lead to more censorship of the internet.  One person even said that we'd probably lose Amazon and YesAsia.  I found that kinda weird since those are sites where you actually buy stuff.  However, could our government be that crazy to censor everything?  I really don't think it'd come to that.  Then again, I guess I don't think that far into the future because it's always changing.  I'm not sure what an alternative could be for getting rid of pirated sites, keeping with the copyright rules and keeping our rights intact (since that is what people were complaining about).  But if anyone knows a good way, let the government know rather than retaliating in a wrong way.  I know that this is quite outrageous of me, but shouldn't we have at least a little faith in the government?  I mean, what if I became a Congresswoman?  Would I automatically become a bad person?  I know that there are some bad people in office, but there are some in the public too, right?  It really is hard to try and meet everyone's needs.

In the end, the internet is alright.  If anything, this whole debocle has made me think of how much time I actually do spend on the internet.  This should also be a little of a lesson to ones who dowload alot of stuff.  Try and cool it.  And try to buy the stuff too.  Remember, if I were a manga-ka and you were reading my stuff online but not buying it, I'd be a little upset.  ^^;;  Also, wouldn't it be wise to step out a little?  I remember whenever fans and netizens get all fussy, others would tell them to get off the internet and get some fresh air.  I think that is what we all need from time to time.  Maybe we've forgotten what it is like without hours and hours of internet activity.  Eh...this was quite a situation to begin the year.  Politics--as well as religion--never make anyone really happy when you converse about them.  But life moves on, you know?  Peace~!             

TONE...? SOPA...? PIPA...?

Now...before I begin this, please believe me when I say that I am a hardcore TVXQ fan that supports the five and an internet junkie in many (what may now be deemed as controversial/hypocritical) ways.  But today, I'm just going to explain certain things to you all.  Let's start with HoMin's first day of the TONE tour.  Actually I really have nothing much to say about it.  I haven't even looked at fancame or pics of the event.  All I know is that they did good.  They sang new songs...and probably sang some old ones.  I still wonder if they feel uncomfortable singing the old ones.  :x  I'm not so much as upset that they're touring.  JYJ has been touring alot too--but that's pretty much all they CAN do right now--so it's kind of equal.  But if they call it their 4th Asia tour or 5th Japanese tour, it makes me a bit sad.  Now, I may be now labelled as a hater for whichever side...but how can that be when my bias from the group is Changmin and my second favorite from the group is Jaejoong?  I miss my JaeMin moments.  You'd probably think that I have animosity against HoMin or JYJ.  Well, maybe?  I do think they all need a good slap...on the wrist.  Maybe a few of you would say that I may not be supporting them.  But I have 3 of their Japanese albums as well as three Korean albums.  I would eventually end up listening to fancams and stuff from months before....so I get around to it.  Who knows?  Maybe I'm desperate to see them as five again. 

Now, the next thing to talk about is this SOPA/PIPA bill that is being contemplated in Congress.  Today, people are protesting because it 'violates' our internet rights.  the bills are basically about trying to stop online piracy (illegal downloading of songs, movies, anime, manga, etc.).  If the bill passes, then the sites that cater to the things I put in parenthesis will most likely go away.  Obviously this is something I should be concerned about.......but I'm not.  Scratch that.  I am a little bit (because the sites that cater to my Kdramas and Jdramas may be at risk as well as YouTube) but I do think that illegal downloading is bad.  I admit that I do it, but it's because it is difficult to find albums from foreign artists here in the U.S.  We really should trade more with Japan and S. Korea (at least with music albums) so I can see TVXQ, KAT-TUN, Maaya Sakamoto, and other artists music on shelves here.  I do understand if manga sites shut down.  If I were a manga artist, and people were posting my manga online and not actually buying it, I'd be a little upset.  They've worked too hard!  >:(  The life of a manga-ka is difficult, folks!  Somehow, I think copyrighting is involved with these bills.  Eh...I was trying to see if there were pros and cons to this bill and try to see the good in it.  But if you want to know more, here is a news article from a local news station:  SOPA/PIPA Blackout.  And here's another from the Google page:  End Piracy, Not Liberty. 

Well, all I can say is this:  whatever happens will happen.  Peace.

2011's End and 2012's Beginning

I should've done this at the end of December, but look at this...IT'S ALREADY JANUARY!!!! 
Very much has happened in 2011.  It not only ranges from my fan girl life, but also in reality.  From war/revolution to really bad natural disasters to economical issues we're still facing.  It was a really rough year.  Of course the revolutions in the Middle East were a big topic.  Every now and then, I'd hear about them on the news and I'd wonder and hope that the civilians over there that are just minding their own business would be okay.  The death of a few dictators also spread across the news.  The death of the N. Korean leader was the one I paid more attention to because I've become quite attached to S. Korea through it's Kpop.  I'm always wishing for peace between the north and south, but I also know it's got a long way to go.  The 'end of the world' scare was another noteworthy event of 2011.  Some people actually thought it would end.  I was a bit afraid, but we're still here, so God isn't finished with us just yet.  ^_^  One of the big pieces of news from last year that REALLY caught my attention was the triple threat of the major earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear problems in Japan.

It totally shocked me and I was really sad.  :(  I used to live there and it gave me goosebumps just to see the water come on land like it did.  Since it was really late over here when it occurred, I stayed up until about 3am watching everything about it.  I switched between CNN, Fox News, and others.  If I only had NHK at the time I could have gotten the feed straight from Japan since it was based there.  Truthfully, I was worried about the Japanese artists that I was fond of.  Some were hurt, some were reported 'missing' for a while, and some lost belongings.  But I also worried about the citizens, and I had hoped that there wouldn't be too many casualties.  In the wake of the disaster, I had heard that people were suprised at how the Japanese acted and coordinated.  ^_^  But I was also annoyed at how some people had said mean things about them.  If I could, I would still love to go back.  People just don't know how beautiful of a country it is until they see it with their own eyes~!

Aside from that, another really bad thing was the Joplin, MO tornado. 

The part that is brown is the tornado path.  This sucker was an EF5--the highest rating a tornado can have.

I do admit that I really didn't watch all the coverage about this like I did for Japan.  And this even happened in my own country!  But I felt bad because I used to live in the infamous 'Tornado Alley' as well.  Every spring, I worried myself about something like this happening.  So far, I've been blessed, but I do hope that we won't have things like this happen any time soon.