articles

I've always been aware of substack/it's been in my periphery for awhile, but this was the month that I decided to take the plunge! I'm super excited to read the thoughts of people like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Roxanne Gay, Ijeoma Oluo, Anne Helen Petersen, and Robert Reich and hopefully be a little more up-to-date with current events.

books

As an anniversary gift my partner got me a Kindle! It was only embarrassingly recently that I discovered the difference between an e-Reader and a tablet, and I'm excited for my Kindle!

Also, I re-discovered Five Books and am looking forward to the recommendations from this website! It's like having a cool friend give you recommendations but in every possible category you could imagine.

movies

The King and the Clown (2005)

Where do I even begin? I first became aware of this movie through the amazing duet between Super Junior's Kyuhyun (one of my favorite vocalists) and Lee Sun Hee (the original singer of the song) which you can listen to here. From then on I became obsessed with this movie--a queer love story that somehow is still the tenth-highest grossing movie in Korea despite being a low-budget production that did not play in that many theaters. I think my expectations were a little too high for the movie (after all, I had been building up my expectations over five or so years) but it was an amazing movie that was structured like a perfect circle--it was so interesting to see how earlier scenes connected to later scenes.

music

Asphalt Meadows by Death Cab for Cutie

Some of my favorite albums include Transatlanticism and Plans by Death Cab for Cutie, and more so than any other album they've put out since I think Asphalt Meadows is the spiritual successor to those albums. Some particular standouts for me include the titular "Asphalt Meadows" as well as "Rand McNally."

The Sound by Stray Kids

I really enjoyed this album, probably more than I did Maxident. Favorites include "The Sound," "Battle Ground," "Lost Me," and "There."

"Anchor" by La Poem

Do yourself a favor and listen to La Poem. Really. A quartet formed out of the show Phantom Singer, all the singers are classically trained, and listening to them sing is like a spiritual experience. "Anchor" is a beautiful song that makes you feel like you're off on an epic seafaring journey. Do not hesitate to reach out to me if you want more La Poem recommendations!

"Killer" by SHINee's Key

I love the retro direction Kibum has taken his solo work, and this MV/song is perfection as always from Kibum.

"Volcano" by Stray Kids' Han

I love Han's solo music (ex: "Alien," "Close"), and "Volcano" is no exception.

Until next time!

etymologie

media round-up: feb. 2023