Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Neogogo 2.0



There has been radio silence for a while and here are the reasons:

- Too much work!!!
- Indulging in my new fan girl obsession Jang Keun Suk (better find out)
- Discovering Kpop (more on this later) and catching bad case of Hallyu fever (what is this?)
- Taking up rigorous new weight training course with new personal trainer
- Also suffering through harsh new diet implemented by said trainer
-Making cool new friends on Sukkie (Jang Keun Suk - yes, this will probably be a recurring theme for the forseeable future. You should get used to it.) fan blogs and forums.
-Moving blogs

Which of the above is true? Shockingly enough all of them. All of these things have occurred in my life between now and the last time I wrote on here. Even the weight training and especially the moving blogs.

I am on wordpress now and as a result, I will soon cease to update this blog. Why? Nothing against blogger, I just want to separate the Sugar Water brand from the imekura brand it is currently joined to on my blogger account. I also want to do more with it.

As I aspire to reach new levels of neogogo-ness (i really like this word, lol!), I want to try and do more with the sugarwater blog. I hope anyone who enjoyed reading my rambles will continue to accompany me on my fringe dance.

Just click here!

loves ya.

Monday, February 1, 2010

"You're Beautiful" or My name is Neogogo and I'm a Suki-holic!



For some reason, this year, I've really been all about doramas as well as K and J movies. Despite all odds (that's my country; All Odds) I managed to watch a few which fed the craving but also encouraged it. They really are like good chocolate!

Anyway, I plan to write reviews of all of them overtime so anyone can decide if they want to see them too, but this post in particular is dedicated to the K-dorama, "You're Beautiful," which just finished airing on Korean TV, end of last year (Also sometimes known as He's Beautiful or She's Handsome).


(bottom right is actress Park Shin Hye! You could tell, right?)

Like most doramas, this one flows like a shoujo manhwa (I say manhwa as opposed to mangas cos the Korean stuff has a sense of humour that I feel is a lot closer to ours and some of that is evident in the show.) It's a gender-crossing romantic comedy starring cute, multi-talented Park Shin Hye as a Novice (about to be a nun) who has to fill for her identical twin brother as a new member of the hottest, boy band in the country, A.N.Jell.



("Boys" of A.N.Jell)

Her brother is of course absent for most of the show and we get to watch Shin Hye's hilarious attempts to keep her gender a secret from the rest of the band and it's management team. Attempts which mostly fall apart by episode 2. The cuteness factor is ramped up by how adorable she looks in her boy disguise most of the time and her and the rest of the boys' androgynous wardrobe is actually worth watching the show for. That and the love rectangle!

But the real reward for watching this show is its lead bishounen, the ridiculously charismatic, real life idol, Jang Geun Suk (or Jang Keun Suk) who'se image is currently gracing my laptop's desktop. He plays the character of cold, arrogant and anal retentive band leader, Hwang Tae Kyung and he plays it with aplomb!



It's funny because when I first started the show, I didn't think he was that cute. He was always sneering, smirking or just looking pissed off. I liked Kang Shin Woo (the sweet and sensitive type back up guitarist) and "Jeremy" (the blond quirky drummer) better. But I was very fascinated by his ultra, ultra bishounen idol hair and wardrobe and I also loved his walk or, for lack of a better term, swagger.


(sure she doesn't look much like our idea of a boy. But in Asia, few boy idols do ^-^)

As the show proceeded and he and Go Mi Nam's (Park Shin Hye's) relationship grew, my admiration for this actor seriously climbed. He managed to bring an unbelievable amount of charisma and humour to a very bitter and anal character so much so that by the middle of the show, I had eyes for no one but this arrogant bastard. And when he finally smiled........HUGE pay off!!!!!!!!


(me? bitter? anal? A behind the scene smile from Sukkie.
Watch the show to see the one there ;))


That's why I'm currently a Suki-holic. I think he's filled up the sad space in my fan girl heart that Tony Leung left and since he's just 22, he'll probably be there for a while! ^________^

Despite his age, Geun Suk has charmed the ladies via TV and Movies for the last 18 years. I had seen him in Do Re Mi So Fa Ti La Do where he was also a musician in a band before this Show but I didn't even know it was him because he looked and seemed so different. The charm and the huge performance were the same though prompting me to feel that this guy is really someone to watch out for.

In addition to his acting career he is a musician, a DeeJay and a hawt model. What more could a girl ask for in a real live bishounen, I ask you?


(Multi-talented Seuk on the Turn Tables!)

Anyways, look for Jang Geun Suk in You're Beautiful, Beethoven Virus, DoReMiSoFaTiLaDo, Baby and Me and The Itaewon Murder Case, his latest and most gritty to date (goodbye squeaky clean, idol image). Also catch the songs he's done for Promotional purposes. You won't believe how catchy and listenable they are, kinda like Black Eyed Peas! Currently on repeat on my mp3 player: "Drag," "Toucholic" and "Black Engine."


(Images from "Toucholic" (Sukiholic? Geddit?) and Black Engine Vids)

This guy is my favourite right now and if you check out his stuff, I'm pretty sure he'll be your favourite too!

Eh-to...atashi-wa, Neogogo-chan. Suki-holic desu!

My Screen Caps from the Show

(Discover the Mystery of Pig Rabbit!)


(Hyung-nim does not like to be touched)


(My favourite hairstyle. Bishounelicious!)

**Disclaimer: Most of these images were pilfered from sites giving news of or praise to Geun Suk. I am very grateful to them for their work but I have lost the credits and I hope they will forgive me for reusing these pics pleeeeeeeeeeze! Just trying to spread the love on my side of the globe! Go Fighting Eels!! ^_^;;

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Durarara!!




Okay people listen up cos I had to cut my mourning short for this!

There's this new Anime that I just watched two episodes of and immediately got hooked on like crack cos it's sooooooooooooooo freakin' hilarious. It's called Durarara!! (or DRRR!!) and I think it's literally airing right now so I have to wait for each episode :(

It's made by the same guys who made Baccano if you've seen that and has that same style of what seems like a massive amount of characters in random bizarre and disparate adventures till it all starts to come together as the series progresses. But where Baccano! takes quite a few eppies to start making any kind of sense, Durarara!! grabs you in that 1st episode and enslaves you by the second one.

Without giving anything whatsoever away, main character moves to bright city lights of Ikebukuro (large entertainment and commercial district of Japan. Maybe like Times Square but bigger?) in Tokyo at invitation of former middle school best friend. Learns of the three most dangerous characters he should never cross in that city and promptly encounters all of them. And lemme tell ya; these guys are bad news!



Like I said it features many characters but you don't feel lost so much as intrigued at every turn. You get the feeling that your narrator is very much in control (unlike some other series I could mention *coughCodeGeasscough*) so you can relax and enjoy the ride.

The animation style itself is very cool so it's nice to look at and the intro and outro songs are pretty sweet. All in all it's definitely, on the strength of those first episodes, my first pick of the season. I'm hoping this is a sign of things to come in 2010!

Durarara!!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111


Wai jai! Why???!!! After all these years!

No, the image is sadly not a movie still and yes, I am in deep mourning as I put away my fondest fantasy of somehow stealing Tony Leung away from his girlfriend of 19 years (I'm not saying she's not a trooper).

It's true that it was a flawed fantasy full of logistical nightmares like getting to Hong Kong, battling other better equipped fan girls and then convincing Y to accept our new polygamous status but as fantasies go, it was definitely an old favourite.

My devotion to this actor started I think 7 years ago when I saw Chung King Express and has grown with every one of his movies I've been able to lay my hands on. But I was not a very good devotee, I think. After all this apparently happened in 2008 and look when I'm finding out!

Ah, well, out of respect to Carina (the new Mrs. Leung) who I have to say was a most worthy opponent, I must put aside my fan girl torch and retire to the position of regular fan.

Goodbye Wai jai. You were the best matinee idol a fan girl could ever day dream about. Goodbye! <------@


Dorama Love #^_______^#



Are there Nigerians out there that like K and J doramas as much as I do?

For the uninitiated, Kdorama or Jdorama are simply slang terms for certain sorts of TV dramas that come out of Japan and Korea.

The Dorama is a very wide genre encompassing everything from serious to somewhat bizarre or perverted but the type I'm referring to tends to follow certain patterns: melodramatic, mushy romance or silly, comical, romantic comedies. Characteristic features include, high school life, swaggering pretty boys, clutzy but cute or spunky heroines, bullying, love triangles, jealousy, fights, possessiveness, emo posing, angsty brooding, heart breaking misunderstandings, dramatic confessions, bitter sweet endings and syrupy sweet j or k pop sound tracks.



Of course there are variations. Some of them feature older, working types and therefore slightly more mature stories but the end product is the same. Something to massage your heart strings. They are literally shoujo mangas (japanese comics aimed at girls) on TV. Quite a few of them are based on mangas or manhwas (the Korean equivalent).

I have recently discovered that those shows are like crack to me! I mean it's a good thing we don't have an Asian TV channel in Nigeria cos I don't think I would be able to leave the house!

Why do I love them so much? They are predictable, manipulative, derivative, saccharine, frequently unhealthy...but I could say the same about chocolate and I love that too.

The truth is that a good J or K dorama gives me the warm fuzzies. You know that feeling that you get when you realize that you're smiling despite yourself? Even when you're alone? They also make me tear up despite myself and make me laugh despite myself.

I love when the school idol (usually a pretty boy, tough guy that all the girls, including myself, squeal at and all the boys fear, see bishounen) cracks his icy cool armour and falls hard for the (insert predominant quality - shy, quirky, spunky, clutzy, average) girl and starts to indirectly woo her. I love it when competition rises in the form of another pretty boy tough guy that's a foil to his type. If our main guy is rowdy, this guy is a cool customer, if our main guy is chill, this guy is wild and happy go lucky. Like a mugen and jin (samurai champloo) situation.

I love that the shows never try to be clever. They are what they are and are unashamedly so. I love the online communities of soft hearted fan girls that spring up around and as a result of these shows.

Doramas remind me that there is a place and a time for everything. Sometimes you want something deep and thought provoking. Sometimes you want something that challenges your imagination. Sometimes, you just want something thats fun, can only described in squeals and awwws and gives you warm fuzzies.

I guess that's why I'm addicted to doramas and I wish other Nigerians or West Africans would be interested in them too because that would influence the supply around here! Right now, it's not worth it to my DVD supplier to get them :(

Will do my best to post about some of the dramas I have been enjoying so you can check them out too. Mean while, some good places to start introducing yourself to the genre include here and here.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Updates




I have to say, quite defensively I'm aware, that its not all been thumb twiddling during my long absence. I actually managed to try out some new games and check out some new (at least to me) shows so I have a plump post or two coming up on that.

I'm also tweeting now so you can get accosted by me in a whole new medium. I'm @neogogochan and I'm about sugar water stuff but also the hard ship of being an online scam artisan in a disillusioned world. Which I must be since I'm a Nigerian and I'm online? Oh - wait, no. I think we're terrorists now.

My sister and I have a t-shirt line (Imekura) and we just released a new collection. It's been years since we released one so please check it out. I even shot a video for it!

I have been working with Y and an amazing artist on a comic book called, "Monster Boy." It's a Nigerian cyber punk/fantasy boy adventure mini series. Easy.Delicious is on hold for now though not forgotten.

Well, '09 was a crazy year. I'm hoping i can make some sense out of '10 but so far, it ain't looking good. I really hope I can at least be a better blogger.

Here's looking at y'all kiddoz.

Friday, January 15, 2010

I heart Asian Cinema 3: Chung King Express

Thought I should start the year off with a continuation of my AZN film series! If you remember, it's about Asian films for newbies, movies to get into the genre with. The third entry is actually a film that beat out Godfather as my all time bestest movie:

Chung King Express


A whimsical sort of existentialist HK romance by the god of film making Wong Kar Wai, this is the one that made me (and countless other auteur wannabes no doubt) want to be a film maker.

It's made up of two intermingling stories about paths crossing and loneliness. A cop and and a beautiful illegal immigrant traffiker take up the first half and a traffic warden and a girl that works in a fast food place (Chung King Express) but dreams of moving to California take up the second.



You don't need to know about all the awards it swept at Cannes or how its DP Christopher Doyle is the bEST cinematographer in the world or even just how cute Faye Wong is in this film. All you need to know is that this is a beautiful, unforgettable drama that will make you love the song, California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas.

It also has Tony Leung in one of the roles that made me literally fall in love with him.

*sigh. A must see for any true film buff.