Hello again~
Well. November flew right by due
to my sky-high pile of projects… and December certainly snuck up on me. I can hardly believe that Christmas is in two
weeks! *flails* I’ve only just started gift shopping!
…But anyway. Before it’s too late, I wanted to post some favorites from last
month. Because I was so busy, I didn’t
keep a list like I usually do, so I’ve just covered a few of the basics for
November.
Music
Kyuhyun – At Gwanghwamun
As elaborated upon in my previous post, Cho
Kyuhyun, my favorite South Korean vocalist (and quite possibly my favorite
vocalist of all time), released his first album At Gwanghwamun, during the month of November. I managed to snag a copy of it as an early
Christmas present to myself, and I have to say that I am impressed—and very
much in love with this album.
You
have heard me talk about Kyuhyun’s voice before. It’s just beautiful. There are no words that can do it
justice. This album perfectly highlights
everything that I love about his warm, distinctive vocals. His voice was definitely made for the ballads
that make up most of this album, but Kyu hints at his versatility with the fun,
folk-like track “Flying, Deep In The Night.”
I
love all of the tracks on this album, but if I had to pick a favorite, “Eternal
Sunshine” would be the easy choice. This
absolutely gorgeous song was composed by Japanese pianist Yiruma, who also plays
the instrument in the song. …Oh
goodness. I cried when I heard this song
for the first time because it is musical perfection.
The
jacket design for this album is beautiful, too!
It’s simple yet elegant. The
theme is autumn, and I have to say that the photoshoot is one of the best that
I’ve seen in Asian music, at least in my opinion.
But
ya’ll know that I’m totally not biased.
Film
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I
“Are you
Are you
Coming to the tree?
Where I told you to run, so we’d both be free?
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree.”
—“The Hanging Tree”
If it’s one aspect of film—or any type
of entertainment, really—that I particularly enjoy, it’s how likely I am to
think about it over and over again even long after the viewing experience. I find that if a movie or book continues to
“haunt” me, that work has succeeded in its mission of making an impression on
my mind.
Mockingjay Part I is definitely one of
these works. I’ve heard mixed reviews on
it, but based on my personal response, I think it’s a fine film. It’s deep, fascinating, and eerily
beautiful. It’s a movie with a lot to
say about society and the human condition.
But that is a whole another blog post in itself, and I’m too lazy to go
there. Ha ha ha.
What
impressed me most about this movie was how it dealt with the incredibly dense
storyline of the Mockingjay book
almost effortlessly. It explains
everything well without being too explicit.
It leaves what should be left to the minds of those in the
audience. I have to admit that the first
time I read the book, I got about halfway through before I realized that I had
no idea what was going on, so I went back to page one! As I said, the film adaptation clarified the
complex events in an effective manner.
Product
CéraVe Renewing SA Lotion
As the winter chill has crept in and
settled, my problem skin has been demanding even more care. During this time of the year, it is of the
utmost importance that I keep my psoriasis in check. One product that I acquired recently was this
lotion from dermatologist-based brand CéraVe.
It’s a salicylic acid (SA) lotion and according to the packaging it
“provides patented controlled release of ingredients to help exfoliate, soften,
and smooth extremely dry, rough, and bumpy skin.” I’ve recently started a healthier diet with
exercise and out of all the products that I’m currently using to help ease my
external psoriasis symptoms, this one has helped the most to prevent scaling,
calm redness, and heal my patches. I apply
it three times daily: after cleansing in the morning, when I get home from work
in the afternoon, and at night right before I go to bed. It has worked wonders for me!
Book
Handling the
Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist
This was a novel that I had to read for
my “Monsters in Literature” course this past term, and I have to say, out of
all the books I’ve read this year, this one disturbed me the most. And by disturbed I mean that the story broke
the monotony of my normal reading material in an abrupt and unorthodox way.
What’s
it about? Zombies. No, don’t make that
face. And forget about what modern
entertainment has told you about zombies.
Handling the Undead is very,
very different, and would probably shock a follower of series such as The Walking Dead.
The
crux is that Lindqvist takes quite the opposite approach to the undead, which
he calls the “reliving.” Instead of
portraying the reliving as violent and terrifying, the author chooses to
emphasize their human value and focuses on the individual emotion of and
interpersonal relationships between their still-living family, friends, and
neighbors. The three main storylines
take place parallel to each other and at several points they do intersect, but
each character in the story stands for different things and thus has differing
motives for doing what they choose to do in regards to the reliving. They are written in a very thoughtful,
intelligent manner.
Bottom
line: the novel is dark, brooding, and eerily fascinating. You’ll never forget this one. Because of the subject matter, though, this
book certainly isn’t for everyone. Read
up on it and decide for yourself.
