Hello World! Hey! How ya doing!?
Today is Thanksgiving! Happy Turkey Day! I want to thank all my Native American chiefs and the Pilgrims for giving us such a wonderful holiday. I hope everyone stuffs their mouths with a lot of turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry, corn, etc. Mmmmmmm Yum! Well, since today is such a blissful day, I will enter your minds’ with a jubilant post.

Every school has that one class that every single student takes during one of their semesters because it is extremely easy and exciting. For Syracuse University, it is Human Sexuality. Once a week, you attend a lecture and the professor either puts up slides of body parts or brings in homosexual/transsexual speakers. The class is thrilling because we always see something that we have never seen before. Two weeks ago, the professor put up photographs of extremely hairy vagina’s and funky penises. Those pictures had me cringing in my seat like a Kindergartner looking at body parts for the first time! The class used to use the same exam every year so everyone would get an automatic A. However, they finally decided to change it but it is still quite easy. Finally, for a large portion of the grade, every student must either write an essay, attend a discussion every week, or attend six couple enrichment sessions if the student possesses a girlfriend/boyfriend. So what do you think I did? Hell yea babyyyyy. I do have a girlfriend. ;]

Let me take a quick moment to introduce her. Michelle Jeon loves to eat; she often brags that she can devour up to six plates of food at the dining hall. She also loves to take pictures and has an extraordinary talent in which she can look exactly the same in every single photograph. She is a very passionate girl who works fairly hard at what she wants (except weight loss) and is a girl of many thoughts. She is different from what she appears as and I’m glad that I saw it. And um… I can go into detail about all the other important traits and qualities of her but that’s only for me to know =).  Also, I was just kidding; she really is not fat at all. She is very good at being a girlfriend and should minor in it!

So here are the adventures of our couple enrichment sessions. We were able to shrink six sessions into four by making each one longer. You are lucky I am sharing!

Session 1:

Honestly, I was scared. Michelle was too. We had heard many rumors that couples would often break up because of these sessions. So with this terrified mindset, we both walked into our first session. The first day was slow. The activities were not very fun and Michelle refused to talk because she was nervous… Therefore, we had to rely on my smooth mouth. We had two counselors, Monica and Natasha: We were Monica’s last couple while also being Natasha’s first couple! So anyway, our first activity was a questionnaire. Michelle and I had to sit in a tiny room and answer questions about our relationship while the counselors waited outside; we had to circle a number from one to ten (Disagree-Agree) on questions like “Will you and your partner get married?” Sounds boring huh? It kind of was. We then proceeded to ‘Emotional Jenga’, which was a little bit more fun. Basically, it is the same as regular Jenga but under some of the blocks are adjectives that we would have to connect with our love life. So for example, if the word was “jealous,” whoever pulled it out would have to tell the significant other of a time when he/she was jealous in the relationship. What went on during the game will stay enclosed. It is a life between us two and it should stay like that. Don’t you think? But I did tell her that I will keep her safe forever when I pulled out “Safety.” Hehe.

Session 2:

This day was probably my favorite. By the way, we were in a larger room! Also, Michelle started to talk because she was now comfortable so it made our experience better. So when we walked in and settled down, the counselors whipped out a sandbox filled with sand. Then they also opened up three closets overflowing with toys. Our assignment was to use the toys to describe our relationship in the present, in the future, and how we view family. So we brainstormed together and built what was on our minds on the sandbox. The counselors took a picture of each situation but we liked the “Our relationship in the present” model the best so the counselors printed out a picture of that for us. Even though it is a bit embarrasing to say with my own mouth, I think the whole process was very cute; we tried really hard while giggling to closely translate whatever was in our brain to the sandbox. Our end product was this picture:

Michelle chose the treasure chest to portray that she treasures our relationship. She also decided that two little dogs would represent us and put us on a bridge to resemble that we will always be able to come together no matter the situation. I told her I should be a lion but she would not listen…She also picked two clay models, one with open arms and another crying, to say that we would always welcome each other with open arms at times of difficulty. I truly appreciated everything she did on that sandbox =). The first thing I did was place a snake and two devils under the bridge. From this, I tried to say that we would be able to be together even if there are obstacles. Then I placed a globe and made two soldiers point their guns at it. This means that we would be able to fight the world together and whatever it throws at us. The fire displays our love which will always be burning. The two empty books means that we will both write and live a beautiful story with each other. (It was really cute when Michelle placed just one book later on for the “Our relationship in the future” model and said that our life stories will become one). The open shell facing up means that we will always open up to each other without hesitation. On the other hand, the Spongebob hints that we will also be a joking couple in order to have fun at times. Finally, the genie means that I will try and fulfill all her wishes. Honestly speaking, when else would 19 year old college students play on a sandbox with toys? However, it was a very bonding activity and I hope others can experience it. I came to the conclusion that corny exercises help a lot in relationship building. Plus, if you are with the person you appreciate, everything should be fun.

Session 3:

We started off by drawing our family trees. This activity was good because we learned a lot about each others families. Obviously. One thing that I can tell you guys is that her family does not own a pet. On the other hand guys, I hope all you readers know about Yodi! Anyway, while I was figuring out my family tree, I realized that I did not know many names and ages of people in my family. But please forgive me, my mother has eight siblings. Somehow, I finished it and it was pretty accurate. As you can see, mine (top) is far more complicated than her family tree.

The activity that came after was probably the most meaningful activity out of everything. The counselors gave us blank white papers and told us to decorate a border. After we had borders, they told us to write each other a compliment. I told her that her smile brightens up my day and that all my stress goes away for a moment, and more. We then had to make another border and had to write each other a secret. I told her about a time in my life when I completely changed from a shy boy who had no friends to a confident young adult doing everything right. A story that may seem cliche, but how music saved my life (I will probably write about this in a future entry). It is a point in my life that not many know about, not even my parents. Anyway, with these two activities finished, we were dismissed. While walking out, Michelle and I told each other how happy these sessions make us; we would always walk out extremely joyful every time.

Session 4 (Last):

The last session =(. Although these sessions take up precious free time every Tuesday, I was really sad that it was soon ending. I liked it because I had fun but also because I knew that it made Michelle happy. Anyway, Michelle was in a bad mood this day; she felt sick and was feeling down because coffee sometimes does that to her. And to make everything better, one of the counselors (the fun and experienced one) was late. So we were stuck with an inexperience counselor working by herself which made it a bit boring. Our first activity was to draw a flower and write inside the pedals things that have changed within our relationship because of the sessions and what we should still fix. During this activity, Michelle was being very difficult: she sat down and did not do anything. LOL. Since I am such a nice guy and since I knew she was not feeling well, I did the whole activity by myself and acted as if nothing was wrong in front of the counselors. I made it seem like Michelle was contributing so that the counselors would not suspect anything.

After much hard work, we started the second activity. It was a game to find out how well we know each other. So for example, when the counselor said “favorite food” we would write our own answer on the bottom and what we thought the other person’s favorite food was on top. If you got it right, you would get a point. Another question was “What would you miss the most if you guys were long distance?” We both put “Everything.” You know what it is. Finally, when all the questions were asked, Michelle had more points than me and I had to give her a prize. She wanted me to make her dinner so I will have to do this once in the near future.

I am so glad I got a chance to attend these sessions. It was an opportunity in which Michelle and I were able to grow as a couple. We were able to look into what may happen in the future, how we could become a better couple, and learn stuff about each other that we did not know of. I really recommend couple enrichment to every couple, especially if you go to Syracuse University. I thank our counselors for leading us and hsowing us a great time. I asked them “Why did we have so much fun when other couples say it was intense and often break up?” They responded “We went easy on you. We sensed that you guy are really healthy and had no problems to bring up. You deserved to have a great time.” Michelle and I bought them chocolate and handed them a card each. They told us we were the first to ever do that. We ended our last session with a group hug. <3

Bottom: Monica
Top: Natasha, Michelle, Me

Un simple benchmark utilizando los 3 lenguajes para resolver un problema de números palindromes:

Go

package main

import (
    "flag";
    "fmt";
    "strconv";
)

func main() {
    s := flag.Arg(0);
    n, _ := strconv.Atoi(s);

    fmt.Printf("%v\n", palindrome(n));
}

func is_palindrome(n int) bool { return n == reverse(n) }

func reverse(n int) int {
    var l int = 0;
    for n != 0 {
        l = l * 10 + n % 10;
        n = n / 10;
    }
    return l;
}

func palindrome(n int) int {
    if n < 1 || n > 10000 {
        return -1
    }
    for !is_palindrome(n) {
        rn := reverse(n);
        n += rn;
        if n > 1000000 {
            return -1
        }
    }
    return n;
}

Genie

[indent=4]
init
    if args.length < 2
        print ("Usage: %s [number]", args[0])
        return
    var i = args[1].to_int()
    print "%d", palindrome(i)

def is_palindrome(n : int) : bool
    return n == reverse(n)

def reverse(n : int) : int
    var l = 0
    while n is not 0
        l = l * 10 + n % 10;
        n = n / 10;

    return l

def palindrome(n : int) : int
    if n < 1 or n > 10000
        return -1
    while not is_palindrome(n)
        var rn = reverse(n)
        n += rn
        if n > 1000000
            return -1
    return n

Python

#!/usr/bin/env python
import sys

def palindrome(number):
    if not 1 <= number <= 10000:
        return -1
    while not is_palindrome(number):
        rn = reverse(number)
        number += rn
        if number > 1000000000:
            return -1
    return number

def is_palindrome(n):
    return n == reverse(str(n))

def reverse(n):
    return int(str(n)[::-1])

if __name__ == '__main__':
    if len(sys.argv) < 2:
        print "needs a number as argument"
    else:
        print palindrome(int(sys.argv[1]))

Resultados:
Go:

time ./palindrome 145
686

real    0m0.021s
user    0m0.020s
sys     0m0.004s

Python

time ./palindrome.py 145
686

real    0m0.052s
user    0m0.048s
sys     0m0.016s

Genie

time ./palindrome 145
686

real    0m0.004s
user    0m0.004s
sys     0m0.000s

Un claro ganador?

You’re a hateful, socially-inept, charmless, morally spineless, cowardly, free-loading, Skeletor-faced, spunk-brained, king-sized loser of a limp dick. You’re a cock, you’re a tosser, you’re fat-arsed chair glosser. You make me sick.

Admit it. Reading that paragraph made you reflect on what an atrocious cunt you are. Experiment in cold-reading over. It’s ok. I’m not singling you out. The rest of us are scum too:  mankind is lots of tiny bits of scum floating towards other bigger clumps of scum to form a planet-sized ball of scum hurtling towards death, the biggest scum of them all, apart, perhaps, from life. One bloated rotten putrid scum together. Listen to Jeff Lewis’ East River song and this might somehow seem like a wonderful, magical thing. But it isn’t. It’s awful. And if you think differently you’re deceiving yourself like the self-deluding skin-sack of rotting scum that you are.

I’m especially scummy. I know this because I’m the target of a campaign of vicious bile-bombings by Charlie Brooker. Brooker has made my scummyness absolutely clear. The other day he verbally and physically assaulted me. Last night, he repeatedly kicked me in the face – I bled profusely, turning a snow-white pavement from the old Trebor Mr Soft adverts into the river of blood from the Shining. He didn’t say anything, mind – just raised an eyebrow, shook his head and walked off.

I’ve never spoken to Charlie Brooker. I don’t know him. Like every other respiring liberal, I love his column and Screenwipe and even the show he did on Channel 4 when it didn’t have Frankie Boyle and Josie Long on it making me want to fry slices of my own left-hemisphere, like a lonesome Hannibal Lecter, with the hope of making speech recognition an impossibility. But that’s as far as it goes.

See: Charlie Brooker is the Freddy Krueger of vicious satire. He’s terrorising my dreams. I’m not sure how he does it or why, but it appears he won’t stop until he’s successfully pummelled my self-esteem into submission.

So ok, it’s my sub-conscious doing a poor imitation of Brooker through a limited lens of uncreative swearing, with an eccentric bad vigilantism borrowed from The Punisher. But I’m convinced he’s got something to do with it. I walked past him in Clapham the other day, holding hands with a woman who looked like/was Konnie Huq, off of the new Aids adverts. It might not have been her, but the two are permanently associated in my mind after he made her do this. Whatever, she looked slightly ashamed. To be fair, we were gawping at them like drooling newborn infants unable to control our eye movements. But then CB looks like a grumpy Mount Rushmore president coming at you in real life: his head is all massive and granitey. With the added Huq-factor, there was plenty to involuntarily gawp at.

Mainly though, we were gawping cos we’d successfully, though accidentally, summoned Brooker like an evil comedy genie. Moments before he appeared, conversation had randomly turned to a loud discussion of his TV output. Coincidence? I’m pretty sure I said his name at least 3 times: anyone familiar with the Candyman films will know this is enough to invoke an evil spirit. Upon revealing himself, Brooker looked a bit angry (presumably because we’d rudely extracted him from the dark netherworld in which he usually dwells). I suspect it was at this point he used his nefarious powers to enter my subconscious, where he’s been stalking me ever since.

So: does anyone know how to stop a bilious dream satirist? Burying him in ground consecrated by Holy Water would seem like the obvious way to go, but I’m happy to consider other suggestions.

Bosko GD! Nie widziałabym nikogo innego w takiej stylizacji. To takie nieszablonowe i po prostu w jego stylu Oto G-Dragon jako dżinn:


Niesamowity prawda? Tae Yang też jest fajny na tych zdjęciach. Słodziak.
A to z sesji:

credits: ibigbang

This morning during breakfast, my son Al asked me, “Where did the idea of genies come from?” I have no idea what brought the question on, as I don’t remember they’re having been part of our conversation up to that point. I was tempted to answer that the origins of legends are almost by definition unknown, and that at most we can say what part of the world they come from. But I don’t think he meant the “where” geographically.

I could also have given an abstract answer about how people have come up with fanciful stories to explain things they don’t understand. But that wouldn’t really answer his question either. He wanted to know where the idea of the genie, specifically, came from.

So I decided to see what I could find out to answer his question. Just how did people come up with the idea of powerful beings with no more substance than smoke, who were kept in lamps and granted wishes when they were released? I’ve read a fair amount of mythology, but mostly that of European origins. Genies, as any kid who has watched Disney’s Aladdin can tell you, come from Arabia.

The word genie is the English equivalent of the Arabic jinn (or djinn). According to wikipedia, it came by way of the French translation of Arabian Nights, where the French word génie (from the Latin word genius for a guardian spirit assigned to each person at birth) was considered a particularly apt transliteration of the Arabic. Most of our ideas about genies came from the stories in Arabian Nights (and modern stories building on those literary foundations), especially the story of Aladdin. Oddly enough, this story was not in the Arabic version, and was added by the French translator, who had heard it from an Arab Syrian storyteller from Aleppo.

I read my father’s copy of Arabian Nights when I was growing up, but I had long ago forgotten most of it when Disney’s Aladdin came out. I knew that of course Disney had made up a good deal of it, but I couldn’t tell which elements they had kept from the original story other than the poor boy finding the lamp and the genie. From poking around on the web, I see other features of the original story that were preserved in the animated movie:

• A sorcerer recruits Aladdin to retrieve a wonderful lamp from a booby-trapped magic cave.
• After the sorcerer attempts to double-cross him, Aladdin finds himself trapped in the cave.
• The sorcerer is later able to get his hands on the lamp by trickery (in the original, he tricks Aladdin’s wife).

In the original, there are actually two genies, one in a magic ring and a more powerful one in the lamp. Disney left out the ring and gave Aladdin a magic carpet to fulfill some of the lesser genie’s functions in the story (remaining with him after a sorcerer gets the lamp away from him, and getting him out of some difficult situations). Neither genie helps Aladdin out of friendship and goodwill, as Disney’s Genie does. Jinn (which is the plural form of the word in Arabic) are generally not at all kindly disposed to humans, and serve them only when they must.

Several years ago I picked up an entertaining anthology of stories about genies (Aladdin: Master of the Lamp). Truer to tradition, these genies fulfill the letter of the requests that are made but nearly always manage to do so in some tricky way that makes the person worse off. Jafar’s treatment of Abis Mal (who finds his lamp and asks for a legendary treasure, only to find himself, with the treasure, at the bottom of the sea) in Disney’s The Return of Jafar is a good example of this.

I was surprised to discover that jinn are discussed in the Koran, and are considered a creation of God, somewhat similar to mankind. Man was created from dirt; jinn were created from “a smokeless flame of fire.” (And angels were created from light.) One of them, Iblis, disobeyed God by refusing to prostrate himself to Adam, because Adam had been made from mud. Iblis and other disobedient jinn became known as shayateen (satans).

According to Islam, jinn eat and drink, and procreate. They live in some kind of organized society, and are generally hidden from humans although they can see humans. We see them only when they take a material form, which is usually in an unpleasant or ugly form such as a snake or a black dog, as opposed to angels who take pleasant and handsome forms. They have free will, and can choose good or evil. They can even choose to be Muslims, or to be unbelievers. Like men, after death they will go to Paradise or to Hell. They whisper deceit to men and mislead them.

[Side note: I found it strange to read a FAQ page where people’s questions about jinn, such as whether a human can marry one, what they eat, and whether they have pets, are answered based on verses in the Koran. In some places the expert giving the answers acknowledges that scholars differ on the matter, and I was reminded of Random Name’s comment on WorldMagBlog recently in the midst of some theological disagreement:

Once a person accepts things that can’t be proven are the foundation of truth, they can argue about the details for the rest of their life, always claiming that they have “proved” their case.

Having scholars debate the details of the lives of jinn may seem absurd to us (considering that they are not arguing about it as literature but as an aspect of our reality). But the arguments that Christians have over the meaning of the Trinity or the nature of heaven no doubt seems just as absurd to non-Christians.]

I was further intrigued to read an opinion regarding evidence of jinn influence in our world today. Occult activity is attributed to them (whereas conservative Christians would attribute it to demons, and skeptics to trickery or pure imagination). So are religious visions of Christ or the Virgin Mary, and even visions of Mohammed or Allah (presumably Allah does not grant such visions). And so are the illusions performed by magicians, who are thought to have sold their souls to the jinn in exchange for their cooperation in tricks such as making objects disappear and reappear (which the jinn can do easily by traveling long distances almost instantaneously).

What I still haven’t found is how these jinn entered folktales as granters of wishes. I found an interesting article discussing characteristics of Arabic folklore, showing how the stories reflect the culture they grew out of. But while it mentions jinn (as one of the evil forces that control human beings), it makes no mention of lamps or wishes. As people everywhere do wish for things they do not have, however, it is not surprising that the folklore of cultures around the world include stories of wishes granted by magical beings.

In a culture where the most common supernatural beings are jinn, and they have powers that could grant some (though certainly not all) of people’s wishes, it is natural that stories would develop where jinn grant wishes. Since they have no desire to be servants to humans, however, the human would have to be provided some kind of power over the jinn in order to compel them to grant the wishes. Possessing a container which could be used to imprison the jinn would provide such a degree of compulsion.

As for why the wishes are granted by jinn who try to trick the humans and give them technically what they asked for but not what they really want, I suppose it reflects the wisdom of the community storytellers (typically a very respected position in a pre-literate society). Observation of human behavior over time will show that people very often wish for things that are not what is best for them, and often regret it later when they have what the wished for and realize it’s not what they really want. (And this applies perfectly well to non-magical wishing.)

Lately Al likes to ask me a question such as “What would you like to invent?” or present a scenario such as “Your teacher comes in holding a strange bag… What happens next?” Apparently these are exercises he has been given in school to develop creative writing abilities. Yesterday it was “If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?” Assuming that “more wishes” was probably not allowed as an answer, I came up with the relatively unimaginative “A million dollars” for my first wish.

A million dollars really wouldn’t go all that far, once I paid off all our debt, saved some for taxes (even money delivered by a genie would come under some taxable category or other), provided for our sons’ college education, given a good chunk to charity, saved for retirement, and fixed numerous problems with the house. So I don’t think that I would be ruined by sudden wealth, as I have heard that many lottery winners are. But I suppose I would lose the opportunity to trust in God to provide for our needs, so I will have to reluctantly conclude that it’s just as well that genies only show up in fiction.

Thank you all for the support during this year. Today (Thanksgiving) marks the day of my one year anniversary of starting to make mashups. In return for all the support, I give back my first true megamix that features some of the top korean songs from this year and last year. Please support me for next year as I am still a beginning but with help from my fans, I’m sure we can make great music.

Download (Song): MediaFire
Download (Music Video): Coming soon

Tracklisting (from appearance in MV):

Jewelry – Vari2ty
BoA – I Did It For Love (Feat. Sean Garrett)
Son Dam Bi – Amoled (Feat. After School)
Bae Seul Ki – Tiresome (Feat. Ha Joo Yeon (from Jewelry)
2PM – Again & Again
SNSD – Genie
f(x) – Chocolate Love (Electronic Pop Version)
SNSD – Chocolate Love (Retro Pop Version)
Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra
Eun Ji Won – Adios (Feat. Mr. Tyfoon)
2NE1 – Fire
4Minute – Muzik
Kara – Mister
Wonder Girls – Nobody
SHINee – AMIGO
f(x) – La Cha Ta
G Dragon – Heartbreaker
vs. Jeremih – Birthday Sex (Up-Tempo Instrumental)

Again thanks!! Have a great Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Expect more from in the future:)

Thank you all for the support during this year. Today (Thanksgiving) marks the day of my one year anniversary of starting to make mashups. In return for all the support, I give back my first true megamix that features some of the top korean songs from this year and last year. Please support me for next year as I am still a beginning but with help from my fans, I’m sure we can make great music.

Download (Song): MediaFire
Download (Music Video): Coming soon

Tracklisting (from appearance in MV):

Jewelry – Vari2ty
BoA – I Did It For Love (Feat. Sean Garrett)
Son Dam Bi – Amoled (Feat. After School)
Bae Seul Ki – Tiresome (Feat. Ha Joo Yeon (from Jewelry)
2PM – Again & Again
SNSD – Genie
f(x) – Chocolate Love (Electronic Pop Version)
SNSD – Chocolate Love (Retro Pop Version)
Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra
Eun Ji Won – Adios (Feat. Mr. Tyfoon)
2NE1 – Fire
4Minute – Muzik
Kara – Mister
Wonder Girls – Nobody
SHINee – AMIGO
f(x) – La Cha Ta
G Dragon – Heartbreaker
vs. Jeremih – Birthday Sex (Up-Tempo Instrumental)

Again thanks!! Have a great Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Expect more from in the future:)

Never mind The Weather Instead of pulling your hair out at the state of the awful weather, or the fact your wallet is really hurting in this horrible climate, financial or climatic, just get hold of your ‘Genie’ and let her find your family an economically friendly day of fun for you all. Don’t know about Genie? Well then just check her out a genie tutorial for free at geniesearcher.com will get you going! Here are 5 differing solutions for a family day out, so in fact you can add your own ideas as well, and then just get going on them for at least a week’s cheap holiday or roll through them again making alterations as you go for a couple of weeks, so get going – enjoy!

Instead of tearing your hair out at the state of the bad weather, or the fact your wallet is really hurting in this horrible climate, just grab your ‘Genie’ and let her find your family an economically friendly holiday of fun for you all. Don’t know about Genie? Well then, check her out and get a genie tutorial for free at geniesearcher.com!

Here are 5 different solutions for a family day out, and adding your own ideas as well, you can just get going on them for at least a week’s cheap holiday, so get going – have fun!

Fun Day 1: Museums or Stately Homes. Whatever the weather, be it rainy or a scorcher, this is a great time to treat yourselves to visiting a National Gallery Museum (take your sketch pads), Country House or Stately home. All of them are educational and fascinating to explore. If you use your imagination, you can dream up inter-family competitions on what you see as you expand your knowledge.

You will be surprised what sticks when it’s not a forced lesson! There are plenty of museum choices, such as art, natural history, aquarium, motoring, steam, flying and nautical museums, just to name a few. You might even try several museums in a day if they are all small.

Contrary to popular belief, these places are not boring and you can certainly find something of interest for the entire family. As far as Stately Homes go, well of course, here in the UK, we are very fortunate to have a very large selection, and it will be money well spent to become a member of the National Trust, because then, for one annual fee you can visit as many as you wish, nationwide, free of charge.

Then of course, you could also buy a Family Annual Membership and join the English Heritage, visiting the many national sites of interest, including many castles and homes, also as many times as you like free of further charges.

Fun Day 2: Country Fairs, County Shows, Festivals. You really should visit Festivals, Country Fairs and County Shows. In your area, try one this year. Finding many different things to do, you will get plenty of fresh air and exercise which will greatly help with your own well being. Usually there is food and entertainment, along with exhibitions of clay pigeon shooting or learning to cast a fly to improve your fishing, plus many other things to see. Being these shows are country based, on the whole, you get the chance to see all the magnificent farm animals at their best, on display for all to see and often touch, which really helps children to understand and appreciate them more in their own right.

Sometimes you will find such things as artists showing their original work in many shapes and forms, engineering hobbies, garden equipment and/or plants displays and many stands/booths with interesting trinkets, wood carvings, saddlers, hot tubs, emporiums of everything and much more. Mostly, these are all very inexpensive days out, where you have heaps of fun and never know what you are going to find.

Fun Day 3: National Parks or small local Parks. Many people live in cities where there are all different types of theme parks, but they have never gone to see them. There are many types of parks, including amusement parks, water parks, aquariums and garden parks; you can even take your dog to a dog park! Maybe you are one of the fortunate ones who has a National Park on your doorstep with all that this can offer.

All of these are wonderful places to take your family, but you have to check, as some can be expensive if big rides are involved, but with a little local research before you start, you can find inexpensive parks which can have many things to see and do.

Fun Day 4: A Trip to the Beach or the Lake. Many people forget that there is a beach or a lake nearby which can bring hours of fun. Some ocean beaches have rock pools where you might find some interesting sea life – something for the children to get excited about, and of course there is always beach fishing.

Some lakes will have a place for you to swim and/or fish.

Wherever there is water, the chance of water-sports is a possibility, so make sure your family is kitted out with safety in mind. These are all great places for exploration, and sometimes you can even find a spot that isn’t too populated.

Fun Day 5: Picnics The nice thing about picnics is that they can be enjoyed anywhere. In the old days, before we had technology to get in the way, many families would just get in the car and drive off to a favourite location.

Along the way – to stay within the family budget, they would often take a picnic lunch so they wouldn’t need to stop at a restaurant. These times are still great for bonding with your family. Picnics have the great advantage of not only being pleasant, but convenient also, because you choose when and where you eat, plus of course saving you a small fortune, as it’s economically sound and can be easily done on all your days out.

Having family fun doesn’t have to cost an ‘An Arm and a Leg’, and it can be very interesting to see what happens using your own home as a base while you bring in the changes daily, venturing forth into the great unknown!

Of course, if you are staying away from home, all of these cost effective days will work wherever you are.

I wish you all Happy Days…

Copyright (c) 2008 Mervyn Rees

Back to update about the second half of my day which SUCKED.

Gawd, physical training is so physically challenging -______- I could have died if I was a weakling. I’d rather run short distance for many times rather than long, medium & short with a lot of sets T_T

Physical didn’t go well for me. Uh, I didn’t run my 2 rounds AT ALL. I joined with the slow & talking people. Lazy to run >.> lol. I’m a different person than who I was in primary school. I don’t have that happiness when running already.

People arrived slowly. Met Farah otw when i was with Lover xD So we went hall. Saw C-Boys. Then later went for physical.

grr. 2 rounds around school. and later the Circuit thingy. Then later sprinting. 1st set I felt like dying already and we had to do 3 sets T_T Could have cried for someone to save me T^T I hope I slim down/ improve k. I don’t wanna go for nothing. oh and i’m NEVER DOING RUNNING ON A DAILY BASIS. I need a life and my life consists of sleep & eat & lurk around Soshified.

Went home after training with lover

Oh God, Elton called me telling me abt HIM gotting GENIE album IN HIS HANDS. UGH. I’m jealous ): Joyce is too. HAHA. One day I go with bie to HMV and get those album. 3 weeks time.. just THREE. It’s so close to my birthday in 3 weeks time ._.

Listening to BEAST – Yet

Their voices are gorgeous <3

See ya’ll tomorrow, (:

ihopedoojoondoesntquitBEAST):

Fucking Genies, I use to think Aladdin was my favorite DISNEY movie, but wow.. I was totally wrong.

1. Description:

It was a typical night in the world of Brittany. I sat at home in my Aladdin t-shirt, cat in arms, remote control on the couch and of course Aladdin on the T.V. screen. I was so obsessed with Aladdin, it was ridiculous. If you stepped one foot into my room, you would be repulsed. Aladdin was head to toe in my room, tigers all over the bed, each character on my wall, bedspread, wallpaper, pillows, clothes, and ect. Getting to the point, I was infatuated by Aladdin the “movie”.

2. Falling Asleep:

I finished watching the movie and went to bed.

3. THE DREAM:that ruined it all.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Orange County, CA. Like any fucking typical day, it was hotter then hell. My brother and I were on our bikes while riding through our elementary school. We were racing to see who could get through the bicycle licensing course first, without breaking the rules. I mean hello, guess who won….I DID! Shock, right? Well anywho, back with it, Kyle was extremely angry with me so he decided to ride off, and the next thing I knew was it was dark. Somehow, I ended up in my neighbors backyard next to a pool. Who do I see in the pool, I see my brother(let me inform you, he doesn’t know how to swim). My stomach instantly sank to the bottom of the tank, I had no idea what was going on. To the right of me was the Genie from Aladdin. He was holding my brother hostage. Their was no possible reason why Genie wanted to kill him. My mind was about to explode, how could this magical creature want to kill my brother? What the fuck is going on I asked myself. I remember going at Genie forcefully with his lamp. Then he whipped up into a tornado; he was the scariest tornado I’ve ever seen. He was like smoke with a red shift, and then it turned into a black hole. Then he blew a gush of wind at me and I flew through the air and hit the brick wall, damaging my scalp a little. I remember touching the back of my head and there was blood all over it. I said, “That’s it GENIE! Your going to die!” Somehow a light saber was in my hand and the only way I could kill the genie was to stab him in the back and then flush the pool. Well it had to be done, it was like I was in the matrix, I went through the air like a bird soaring through the sky. I stabbed him in the back and did a back flip onto the “flusher”. The pool went crazy, it was like a whirl pool and both my brother and I got sucked in, we fought for our lives, but we ended up both dying.

4. After:

I woke up crying because not only did my brother and I die. I now look at the Genie as an evil monster. What the hell, despite the sick innuendo’s Disney offers to the young public, I thought I could count on Genie to not become such a horrible sight.

5. Fuck off Aladdin.

This was so long ago. Not a very good description, but will do for now.

Any of you the readers who were not following our previous incarnation, mystromusic.com, wouldn’t know yet the obsession we have for K-Pop or Korean Pop Music.

For those of you who do know, this is the post you have been waiting for! A countdown of the Top 10 K-Pop Songs from the last year.

This list is constructed from accumulating sales data from the internet and physical charts, hype, awards Won, international popularity, the artist’s profile, among other things, but is mainly sales focused.

Without further adue, let’s start counting down.

First a few honorable mention for artists who just missed the cut.

KARA- Honey, Mister and Wanna were all massive hits and gained this girl group a big profile.

4MINUTE- Were almost the biggest rookie group of the year, with the hits, Muzik and Hot Issue.

BIG BANG&2NE1- Lollipop was only a promo single, but it introduced the biggest rookie group of the year, 2NE1.

#10- SHInee – Ring Ding Dong

3 weeks at No.1, their highest selling album to date plus having the entire teenage girl population week at the knees, makes SHInee #10.

NL2T Rating: Song: 2.5/5

Video: 3/5

#9- Son Dambi – Saturday Night

2 weeks at No.1, an 80’s inspired sound and millions of endorsement deals launched Son Dambi in to the spotlight as the country’s biggest Diva, making her #9.

NL2T Rating: Song: 3.5/5

Video: 3/5

#8- 2NE1 – Fire

Fire was the first single for this new urban girl group, 2NE1, winning countless awards and hitting the top of most Asian charts makes Fire #8

NL2T Rating: Song: 4/5

Video: 3.5/5

#7- Girls Generation – Tell me Your Wish

Tell Me Your Wish or Genie caused a massive mix of commotion and hype with sexy choreography and navy uniforms, Girls Generation had most of the korean men paying attention and also had their highest selling album to date. #7

NL2T Rating: Song: 4.5/5

Video: 3/5

#6- 2PM – Again & Again

Again & Agin was the big breakthrough for the 7-member boy band, spending 2 weeks at No.1, the fandom that 2PM caused with the Again & Again was only something a record company could dream of, the biggest boy band at the moment makes 2PM. #6

NL2T Rating: Song: 3/5

Video: 3/5

#5- Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra

Abracadabra was a do or die single for Brown Eyed Girls, with a sexy concept they captivated the whole nation with their saucy moves. Spending months in the charts and creating the biggest dance craze of the year is what make BEG #5

NL2T Rating: Song: 4.5/5

Video: 4/5

#4- 2NE1 – I Don’t Care

This is the second entry in the countdown for 2NE1. With I Don’t Care they brought back girl power with a mid tempo sing-a-long song that told the boys to sit down and shut up. 5 weeks at No.1, huge record sales this was the song that launched 2NE1 into superstardom. #4

NL2T Rating: Song: 3/5

Video: 3/5

#3- G-Dragon – Heartbreaker

Possibly the most anticipated record of the year was G-Dragon’s first solo album Heartbreaker. The title song spent 5 weeks at No.1 and launched this young rapper as an Icon of the music industry. GD is #3

NL2T Rating: Song: 3/5

Video: 3.5/5

#2- Super Junior – Sorry Sorry

The biggest boy band in the world(13 members) created a wave of fandom that went global, Sorry Sorry spent 5 weeks at No.1 in Korea and went to No.1 in almost every Asian country. Super Junior is #2

NL2T Rating: Song: 3.5/5

Video: 3/5

The Biggest K-Pop song of the year is ?

#1- Girls Generation – Gee

This song broke more records than Micheal Phelps could ever dream of! 9 Weeks at No.1 which is a record. An infectious love song, Gee was the most parodied song of the year, won the most awards, had the catchiest choreography and had the whole nation singing every lyric. The highest charting song in korean history make Gee #1

NL2T Rating: Song: 4.5/5

Video: 4/5

Yay for K-Pop!

Yo chers lecteur,

Ce week end un génie de la lampe fait dans le train, datant donc de l’époque où je prenait encore le train. Je n’ai pas posté la semaine dernière parce que je finissait d’amener mon bazar à Lyon. La chambre est sympatique (petite mais pratique), les collocs aussi discrets que moi (je suis en unité de vie, on est 6 dedans je pense, mais je suis pas sure d’en avoir croisé autant XD) et la connexion pourrie. En fait, à l’heure où j’écris, je suis au Mc Do du coin parce qu’au moins ici Google et Wikipédia ne sont pas bloqués (et oui, bloquer ça dans une résidence universitaire ça le fait! Jpeux même pas faire mes recherches pour la doc ou chercher un dico de synonymes, quelle classe… :-°) Que dire d’autre? Après la grammaire, j’ai découvert que la traduction c’était un truc bien. Enfin, disons que ça m’amuse de chercher la forme la plus adéquate ou toutes les formes possibles et enquiquiner ma prof avec des questions de précision. X) Et pour ceux qui veulent des nouvelles de le Belle au Bois Dormant, j’ai fini la troisième planche l’autre soir. The 3rd… Le week end prochain, je ramène mon papier grand format et mon scotch et je passe à la 4ème (et je sais que je vais en chier mais que je vais quand même me faire plaisir avec celle là….) Avec le troisième planche, j’ai déjà une espèce d’intro (la 4èmr c’est la page titre :p), du coup, j’hésite à vous poster ces trois en guise de prélude et attendre d’avoir tout fait pour publier chaque semaine une nouvelle planche, ou tout faire et rien publier pour l’instant…

Fin de rapport,

A ciao Bonsoir!

P.S. Les vaches qui rit panné c’est bon, mais c’est plutôt pour demain finalement X)

P.S.2 Je suis encore et toujours à la recherche de quelqu’un ayant un R2D2 de happy meal à échanger contre un Yoda de prédictions… :-°

P.S.3 DHL c’est vraiment pas bien. N’utilisez jamais eux pour vos livraisons. Moi, je vais passer du coté obscur de la force, aller chez eux, et tuer tout le monde.

here’s an update from m.i.t top 2o.. (k-pop songs are really doing well!!^^)

1. One Time- Justin Bieber
2. Party In The USA- Miley Cyrus
3. Automatic- Tokio Hotel
4. Fifteen- Taylor Swift
5. Genie- Girls Generation (down by 3 spots)
6. Its You- Super Junior (down by 3 spots)
7. Down- Jay Sean Ft. Lil Wayne
8. Fireflies- Owl City
9. Time For Miracles- Adam Lambert
10. Falling Down- Selena Gomez
11. New Perspective- Panic! At The Disco
12. Meet Me On The Equinox- Death Cab For Cutie
13. 21st Century Breakdown- Greenday
14. Ring Ding Dong- Shinee (new entry)
15. La La La- SS501 (so cute!)
16. Mirotic- TVXQ (man! i’m loving this song!)
17. Broken Hearted Girl- Beyonce
18. Meet Me Halfway- Black Eyed Peas
19. Doesnt Mean Anything- Alicia Keys
20. Happy – Leona Lewis

underlined songs are k-pop ^^ here’s a vid of ring ding dong for you to enjoy!

If a genie magically granted me three wishes, one of them would be to erase any knowledge in my brain of Miley Cyrus. I know way too much about this teeny popper than I should. The sad part is that I purposely avoid her, but, much like those stalker Jo Bros, she’s everywhere, spouting absurdities to anyone who will listen. This week, she invaded my realm again inciting a media frenzy when she told Q92 that she hated all things Twilight. So, why does this teeny popper hate the single thing that girls her age around the globe are drooling over 24 hours a day? Well, she claims that she doesn’t believe in it, leading people to think that Cyrus isn’t a fan of mythological creatures, but that can’t be true. She signed on to play a teen fairy in an upcoming film. I suspect there are other reasons behind her weekly outburst. Hmmm, could it be that her arch nemesis Thom Yorke, whom she threatened to destroy because he didn’t want to do a meet and greet with her, is on the New Moon soundtrack? Or could it be that New Moon is all any one can talk about this week and the trailer for Cyrus’s new movie Last Song has been virtually ignored? Who knows the real answer. Remember, this a girl who gave an interview in a locker room dressed like Pocahontas and said she doesn’t like pop music. And there was also that time she posted that picture of her and her little friends making slant eyes and being all derogatory towards Asians. And that other time she said she hated Twitter, which she uses all the time. Seeing a pattern? As Paris Hilton breathes a sigh of relief, Cyrus is turning into the media’s favorite new joke. There is too much going on behind the music for her to be taken seriously. Why can’t the music industry push the serious artists into the mainstream and leave the teeny poppers in the land of indie obscurity? It’s because intelligence is not so easily manipulated nor exploited, duh.

And now a Band of the Week I wish was mainstream…Miike Snow!

I just discovered this super-sweet, Swedish trio. Just one listen and I was hooked. Their sound is very nostalgic yet fresh and new. I love the fusion of 60s reverb, poppy beats, and funk. They released their self titled album earlier this year. You must check out the disco worthy “Animal” and the poppy track “Song for No One.” If you’re looking for something a little slower, check out “Faker.” This band is gaining a following in Europe and we are so lucky they will be touring the states in the spring. Don’t miss them on their small club tour. It’s sure to sell out. And you don’t want to miss their fabulous mustaches in person.

Until next time, “Is that all you really have to offer?” Bad Religion - K

The nine girls don’t have any new music stages but are still rockin’ the hits that have brought them to high ranking idol groups status.

The girls performed, “Gee”, “Genie” & their new hit, “Chocolate Love,” at a the Nonghyup ‘09-’10 V-League at a local Korean University, and the crowd went wild! SNSD geared up with knee high boots and champagne military threads with some fur. The performances were hot and so were the outfits. Pretty chic ladies.

Check out the fancams below!

Girl’s Generation – Genie

Girl’s Generation – Gee

Girl’s Generation – Chocolate Love

SNSD were performing for the Women’s Volley Ball League Opening Celebration on the 19th of Nov. They performed 3 songs, and member Yoona opened the game with the first serve. Their outfits are cute. Yoona looked adorable after serving haha! She was like ‘oooh!’

Gee

Chocolate Love

Tell Me Your Wish and Yoona’s serve under the cut.

Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)

Yoona’s Serve

If a Genie comes to you tonight, and ask  you, “What are your 3 Wishes?”

And you only have 3 hours to tell him or else it will expire, (because he has to grant other people’s wishes too) Are you ready to tell him your wish to make it come true?

I am ready! Because I wrote my Goals this year. Clarity and Focus on your Goals is the key to achieving it.

What are those 3 wishes :

1. $1 Million Dollars (to pay off debts, invest in businesses and travel)

2. Pick my mama at the Lambert Airport 3 months from now

(supposedly  I want this to happen on May 15, 2011 on my mama and papa’s anniversary, and my father could’ve been with her if he’s still alive. but hey, it’s the genie infront of you ready to make it happen tonight! why not adjust the time frame!)

3. 9 months from now go to Hokaido, Japan with my husband for 1 month, to meet our Japanese ancestors.

(this is also supposed to be on April 18, 2013 but the Genie is ready to give it to me, so again, Why not adjust my time frame!)

That right there is so Clear! I know what I want, because I wrote it!, I felt it! I own it!

Now, let me ask you the same question again,

If a Genie comes to you tonight, or when you are walking on a street, and asked you, “What are your 3 wishes?” Would you be able to grab that opportunity to make your dreams come true?

Have you ever been this CLEAR FOR YOUR LIFE’S GOAL(S)?

Post your comments here! And let us know your thoughts

Here’s the continuation of >>PART 1<< so enjoy! This post is shorter than the last, but there’s a very important statement at the end. Mhmm.

Okay, I’m going to post a bunch of Lee Seung Gi and Kang Ho Dong’s new popular SBS show, Kang Shim Jang (Strong Heart). I’d start this post off with TMYWG’s beating heart gif… but I don’t have one so I’ll just give you the goods straight up :p

NOTE: If you’d like to watch more subbed clips other than the ones only with SNSD (or the ones that I find interesting…) then I encourage you to visit >>TopRandom5’s<< channel! Thanks TopRandom5! Oh and if you want more of KARA’s cuts, go to >>SweetMelodix<< because Gyuri is a freaking G. Oh, and because I said so.

^__________^:

=[:

=0 and …Whatever face that is:

Sunny’s one Bright Girl:

 LOL Yuri,  You danced for that long >>on purpose!<<

And their latest Episode, >>with Jessica<< was posted earlier… but here’s something you didn’t see.

Notice the difference? Jessica really just doesn’t care because if she did, she would have showed it, just like how she’s showing her interest in humor. She has emotions, as you can see. But she only shows it when it matters; when it’s true. Sorry, Seo Ji Suk hottie, but she’s just not that into men you.

Oh and what is that? She was the only female who didn’t line up for a Lee Sung Gi hug?! Why, why, I wonder why. :p

Credits: Toebeast & TopRandom5 @YT

Oh look! Our cute little boy GD has become a genie in a few Vogue photoshoots~ isn’t he funny and cute..

no comment on the wild hair though ==

GD on the Vogue photoshoot. Thanks to aleee.

Okay, I’m going to post a bunch of Lee Seung Gi and Kang Ho Dong’s new popular SBS show, Kang Shim Jang (Strong Heart). I’d start this post off with TMYWG’s beating heart gif… but I don’t have one so I’ll just give you the goods straight up :p

NOTE: If you’d like to watch more subbed clips other than the ones only with SNSD (or the ones that I find interesting…) then I encourage you to visit >>TopRandom5’s<< channel! Thanks TopRandom5! Oh and if you want more of KARA’s cuts, go to >>SweetMelodix<< because Gyuri is a freaking G. Oh, and because I said so.

Jokester Yoona:

SNSD Shows Respect:

As any good Jopak (group of Kkangpaes) would. Plus, why wouldn’t you show respect to Im Chang Jeong? He’s like freaking awesome and multi talented!

I feel bad for them though… SNSD is a bunch of teases :p

BrAcadamy’s Theme Song is Gee:

Sorry, I just had to… Brian and Jokwon… I mean, it’s like they’re hyung and dongsaeng! Too alike, too hilarious, too talented. Also, you can really hear Sooyoung laugh out loud, especially in the second clip lol.

Everybody Wants…:

It’s OK, At least You’re Cute:

Don’t Throw Your Wishes Away:

Someone Ate Her Kiss:

Gyuri’s the G-Man Baby! Ah Gyuri, I’m so happy KARA’s finally famous so they can see your hilarious awesomeness. Though it’s sad that people take it the wrong way.

Credits: Toebeast & TopRandom5 @YT

Il y a assez de traîtrise, de haine, de violence,
D’absurdité dans l’être humain moyen
Pour approvisionner à tout moment n’importe quelle armée
Et les plus doués pour le meurtre sont ceux qui prêchent contre
Et les plus doués pour la haine sont ceux qui prêchent l’amour
Et les plus doués pour la guerre – finalement – sont ceux qui prêchent la paix

Méfiez-vous
De l’homme moyen
De la femme moyenne
Méfiez-vous de leur amour

Leur amour est moyen, recherche la médiocrité
Mais il y a du génie dans leur haine
Il y a assez de génie dans leur haine pour vous tuer, pour tuer n’importe qui

Ne voulant pas de la solitude
Ne comprenant pas la solitude
Ils essaient de détruire
Tout
Ce qui diffère
D’eux

Etant incapables
De créer de l’art
Ils ne comprennent pas l’art

Ils ne voient dans leur échec
En tant que créateurs
Qu’un échec
Du monde

Etant incapables d’aimer pleinement
Ils croient votre amour
Incomplet
Du coup, ils vous détestent

Et leur haine est parfaite
Comme un diamant qui brille
Comme un couteau
Comme une montagne
Comme un tigre
Comme la ciguë
Leur plus grand art.

***

Charles Bukowski (1920-1994)

Thought this was interesting… especially since I’ve been going back to the old school Brown Eyed Girls days (yeah, back when they weren’t electro and they were all about vocals!!!).

Then I thought to myself (and you all know how that goes…)

What if SNSD were doing THIS instead?….!!

>>Full Performance<<

…that almost kiss by Narsha and Gain gets me every time. Then again, Gain’s butt in the air with that little jiggle….

See, now you know why it’s dangerous to let me think :p

Anyway, here’s BEG with some real vocals with I got Fooled By You

Sorta reminds me of Big Mama’s awesome song, Refusal.

Credits: xDMangaFreakxD, ChibiMoonPika. melongyi, happysukmin @YT