I love the features on WordPress. They provided users with a report/review on their blogging experience for 2012. Since I’m a marketing major, it’s interesting to get an insight on these kind of statistics.
Although there is an option to share the entire report, I’m only going to share a few interesting parts in it.
I like how the number of views on the blog have been compared to the number of tourists that visit Liechtenstein every year. Nice facts! And yes, I whitened out the number of views on November 5th. I don’t like to boast =P Of course, my most popular post is, EXO’s Kris Wu – “The ‘Mysterious” Member *sigh*
The report provided details on the overall amount of views from each country. People from 180 countries have stumbled across my blog. What’s interesting is that I have some views from China. It’s less than 10, but it demonstrates that people there must be using a VPN to access sites, such as WordPress, that are meant to be blocked in the country. The highest number of views are from the U.S. followed by Indonesia and the Philippines.
Last but not least, it’s nice to see a message from WordPress tailored to their audience.
What caught my attention is, “Thanks for flying with WordPress.com in 2012.” How was I FLYING with WordPress.com? o.O WordPress.com is not a dragon…how does it fly? =P Just kidding!
I would like to wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Thanks for being great followers and readers. It’s always nice to read comments on here and have a conversation. I wish you all lots of happiness for this upcoming year. ^^
Ace Wu is Ren (?) =P (Credit: To the rightful owner)
Ren from NU’EST! Hahahaha! The black sunglasses, the blue scarf, and a black cap with a skull…they’re almost the same! Remember how Ken is one of Kris‘ nicknames by fans? =P Ken and Ren. It all makes sense now!
If I had only known this months ago, I would have greeted Ren aka Ace Wu when he had visited my uni.! I missed such a good opportunity.
Aww, I’m missing out on this! This year it seems that Dubai is trying to do something different. In the video, it looks like the images that are seen are being projected onto a screen. I wonder what the screens are made out of.
I remember New Years Eve in 2011. One of my friends and I decided to chill on our university campus at night and watch the fireworks. Yes, we were able to see the Burj Khalifa and the fireworks display all the way from our campus!
This is what was actually going on up-close! I like the fountain show, which I didn’t get to see.
Overall, I thought the New Years celebration in Dubai in 2011 was alright. New Years Eve is the best in Sydney! They always have a fantastic fireworks show. I’ve seen it a few times when I was young. I’ll be missing out on that too =P
EXO at SBS Gayo Daejun 2012 (Credit: TV Daily.co.kr)
It has been one year since the last Gayo Daejun, in which Luhan, Kai, Tao, and Chen of EXO had performed on stage for, took place.
Let me just mention how awesome this year’s S.M. the Performance on Gayo Daejun is. I can feel the energy with these kind of collaborations. I noticed that the music that plays when Eunhyuk starts dancing is from Metallica xD I used to be a huge fan of the heavy-metal band so it was easy for me recognize it. The facial expressions on everyone makes me laugh =P Other than that, I like how there’s a full moon Taemin‘s leather jacket.
Here is the audio for the song, Spectrum, by S.M. the Performance. I love it. It has a very futuristic sound, kind of like music from the Japanese group, Perfume, that I listen to. UPDATE (01/01/2013): The original version of Spectrum is by Zedd ft. Matthew Koma (click here to see).
Kris at SBS Gayo Daejun 2012 (Credit: izeaza)
The picture on he right-hand side is a nice candid shot of Kris in black attire while snow is falling. His white bow tie also matches the snow. It’s beautiful. I would love to have a picture like this in the snow. Fans take such amazing photos.
In this picture, it looks like Kris is thinking very deeply. NOT =P It’s how Penn Badgley, who played Dan Humphrey and later turned out to be Gossip Girl (sorry, if I have spoiled the story for those that haven’t finished watching Gossip Girl yet…I got bored of the series somewhere in the middle of Season 3. My boredom from the TV series is what also led me into East Asian Entertainment where dramas have family values and morals, something that we can relate to), said that, whenever a photo of him going out to get breakfast appears online, he gets surprised by the instant feedback from fans, such as, “He looks so tired,” or, “He looks sad.”
Badgley’s response to such comments is something similar to, “I’m not tired or sad. I was only getting breakfast!” Hahaha! It reminds me of how we fans often make assumptions about how our biases must be feeling by simply observing their facial expressions through their pictures. Maybe in our bias’ head, while he reads similar comments, he is thinking, “No! I wasn’t tired or sad. I was just walking towards the car!” =P
Dui Zhang taking care of Sehun aka the maknae (Credit: supereee)
While watching the video of EXO walking on the Red Carpet, I was wondering, is it common in South Korea for people to say, “You speak handsomly”? xD I’ve only heard the phrase, “You speak beautifully.”
I also noticed that the brotherly actions between Sehun-ah and Kris have increased. Looks like Dui Zhang is taking care of the maknae now! I remember stating that the members of EXO should pay a bit more attention to Sehun-ah. In my opinion, Sehun-ah looks lost half-the-time, as if his mind is in la-la land. I don’t know why I get this impression of him. It seems as though he is in his own little world. Sometimes I picture him imagining himself running through a field of flowers and butterflies xD
Sehun-ah with a bouquet of flowers (Credit: hokaid-o.tumblr.com)
Other than that, I have to laugh at the fact that Chanyeol was right next to Sandara Park aka Dara of 2NE1 at the event! As soon as I saw a picture of Chanyeol and Dara standing near each other, I thought, “How does it feel to stand next to your ultimate bias?” =P Chanyeol is known to be a huge fan of Dara since pre-debut and I could just imagine how much he probably wanted to jump in the air with joy at that moment.
After stumbling upon these gifs., one can notice what Suho, Kris, and Chanyeol may have been discussing. The way they looked at one another and whispered is something I’ve seen guys their age do. Kris‘ smile kind of gives it away that he knows that his best friend/twin brother, Chanyeol, is a fanboy of 2NE1, especially Dara. The same goes for Suho‘s “guardian angel” smile. Hahaha! Guys will be guys. I’m pretty sure that huge gossip session takes place when these guys are together. I’m also sure that the question, “So, who do you like from this girl group?” has been raised as well.
There were quite a few other funny moments including one in which Chanyoel, Kris and Suho were “dancing.” Hahahaha! xD The only member missing was Chen Chen the Dancing Machine =P Awkward turtle moments. I didn’t expect Kris to be like this when I saw a pre-debut video of EXO in which he was rapping to one of Drake’s song in front of his instructor. He looked very comfortable at that time. Kris can be a really awkward person, but it’s okay. It makes him look less intimidating. ^^
On a random note, I was watching a video of EXO greeting fans at SMTOWN Singapore, and I noticed that D.O. is pretty good at speaking in English. If he keeps practicing, I’m sure that he would be able to learn the language very fast. He is quite talented.
I also saw Tao‘s update on Weibo that said, “Every human being is equal,” in regards to an article that he had read online. I agree! Everyone should treat others the way that they would like to be treated. It’s nice to know that the members of EXO read the news.
Baekhyun teasing the fans (Credit: To the rightful owner)
I hope EXO has a variety show in 2013. It would be interesting to see how they are really like in their more relaxed state. I think Baekhyun would be excellent on such shows. For some reason, I picture Kris showing off his red dragon, Ace, and green dinosaur plushie to the camera person and saying, “These are my babies!” *picks up Ace* “Say ‘Hi’ to the fans, Ace!” *Kris changes his voice to make himself sound cute* “Hello everyone! I’m Ace of EXO-M. I love Appa very much. He is the best! We are one!” =P I should write a script xD
Kris thinking, “I should have brought Ace along.” =P (Credit: FruitXFruit)
The New Year is just a day away!
P.S. I’m trying to find an audio file of the song Feels Good by a Korean hip-hop duo called Geeks. I can’t find it anywhere on the Internet -_- I heard a bit of the song in a fan-made video two days back and I’ve been searching for the title of the song since then. One of the rappers from the duo sounds exactly like G-Dragon! When I found out the title of the song and the name of the artists today, there is no audio file for it online =P
It seems as though I have caught the Shinhwa fever.
Shinhwa‘s live performances are so fun to watch! I have also become familiar with each of the members now. Hye-sung and Andy are my favorite. Andy‘s ‘buing buing’-like actions are so cute on stage…so much aegyo! LOL. Eric is funny, Minwoo looks like Super Junior‘s Eunhyuk from certain angles, Dongwan is the best-looking member in the group, and Junjin scares me =P He kind of looks strict >_<
I saw a small documentary on Junjin‘s past and I can’t believe that he had to go through so much in life, but I’m glad that his problem is resolved now. I always knew that a lot of the artists under SME have had some sort of past dilemma. This reminds me, people need to stop peeking into the personal life of our current K-Pop biases…they will eventually reveal what they want to when the time is right. For the meantime, let’s just watch them grow ^^
Shinhwa‘s live performance for Eusha! Eusha! is so cute and funny. I’ve seen different live versions of this song and in this one they look incredibly hyper. Reminds me of old-school Super Junior. Dongwan‘s actions are kyeopta! I feel hyper watching this xD I want to see EXO like this on stage =P
Even though Shinhwa still dances great, the energy that one has when he/she is young is obviously at a different level. I’m sure that being in their 30′s, sometimes their memory is weak when it comes to remembering dance steps or they feel tired more easily. Youth is such a precious thing. I sometimes get scared at the thought of growing up too. You know, when everything in your body starts to ache and your strength weakens. I guess that’s part of growing up. Life…
I love all these old-school K-Pop groups ^^ I’ve discovered many many more! It’s nice to be aware of how K-Pop was like when it first started out.
I’ve always wondered how fans of EXO place cute emoticons or images in the preview shots that are taken from the smartphones that they have
I remember talking about the cute bunny rabbit emoticon with tears in its eyes in the post, EXO Kris’ NATURAL Aegyo.
Through some research on the Internet, I discovered that there is an application for it on the iPhone. It’s called LINE Camera. I immediately downloaded it to see what other cute or funky features it had and I really like it.
I used the following photo that I had taken while taking a walk around the neighborhood at night just a few days back. I used the same emoticon that was used in Kris’ photo.
Bunny rabbit losing its balance while walking on the footpath ^^’
The bunny rabbit is a super star that I had spotted during my walk xD I missed the opportunity to ask for an autograph >.<
LINE Camera looks like a fun app. to play around with. The C.Fisheye is a cool filter. I’m always discovering new things through all these lovely Asians. I like it =P
Today my post is dedicated to Romantic Kung Fu Panda, Tao, who is well-known for taking strolls on the beach alone, having a sweet tooth for chocolate and cake, being soft at heart and tearing up easily, enjoying romantic K-Dramas, taking selcas in front of a mirror in the washroom, updating his Weibo and QQ with poetic statuses, and loving all things Gucci and leopard print xD
It was Tao‘s teaser that caught my attention and wanting to learn more about EXO. If it weren’t for his awesome wushu skills in EXO Teaser 3, which had reminded me of my trip to China in 2006, then I wouldn’t have been a fan of EXO from the beginning. I also remember trying to search for pre-debut videos of Tao on YouTube and then stumbling across one in which he was walking next to Kris…the cowboy that later transformed into a dragon that can fly =P
According to Tao‘s QQ update, he can’t believe that it has been one year already. I can’t believe it either, but we can all agree that time flies by really fast! Speaking of Tao‘s hobby of strolling on the beach alone, I found this video absolutely hilarious!
LMAO at Kris “singing” at the end. I saw that video too =P Kris, you are beautiful. That is no lie =) I think taking a stroll on the beach with Tao would be rather fun! xD
SNSD‘s comeback is near! I’m looking forward to the track that is played in the drama teaser that was released just recently in comparison to their actual song:
The music is really nice. It gives this feeling of being in the past. Furthermore, I love the colors – a typical trait of most K-Pop girl group music videos.
I don’t know if anyone has this notion, but the fact that SNSD has sang, The Boys, and is now going to release a song called, I Got A Boy, makes the group attain this image of being boy crazy >_< It just…doesn’t feel right. Most of the members of SNSD are around my age o.O
I was hoping that the actor in the teaser would be a trainee that is supposed to debut in the rumored boy group that SM Entertainment is planning on. That would have made things more interesting. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Apart from that, why does the teaser show that the actor is hanging out with every single member? Tsk tsk tsk. This is unacceptable! =P
I hope there are more interesting things to see regarding SNSD‘s comeback within these few days! ^^
Hands down, my favorite Final Fantasy game is Final Fantasy VII (FF7). It’s not the first Final Fantasy game that I have played…that was Final Fantasy VIII (FF8), but FF7‘s plot, character development, soundtrack, and game-play are all very memorable even ’til this day. FF7 can perhaps be considered one of the greatest video games of all time, particularly in the genre of role-playing games.
Final Fantasy VII (ファイナルファンタジーVII?) is a role-playing video game developed by Square (now Square Enix) and published by Sony Computer Entertainment as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. It was released in 1997 for the Sony PlayStation, in 1998 for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers and in 2009 on the PlayStation Network. The game is the first in the series to use 3D computer graphics, featuring fully rendered characters on pre-rendered backgrounds, and was the first game in the main series to be released in Europe.
Final Fantasy VII follows protagonist Cloud Strife, who initially joins the eco-terrorist rebel organization AVALANCHE to stop the world-controlling megacorporation Shinra, who are draining the life of the planet for use as an energy source. As the story progresses, Cloud and his allies become involved in a larger world-threatening conflict, facing off against Sephiroth, the game’s main antagonist.
Helped by a large pre-release promotional campaign,Final Fantasy VII became an immediate critical and commercial success. It has continued to sell solidly—10 million copies were sold by May 2010, making it the best-selling title in the series. Final Fantasy VIIwas praised for its graphics, gameplay, music and story. Criticism pertained to its English localization. It has retrospectively been acknowledged as the game that popularized the Japanese role-playing video game style outside of its home market, and has frequently ranked highly on various top game lists. The popularity of the title led Square Enix to produce a series of prequels and sequels for different platforms under the collective title Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. —Wikipedia
It is hard for me to describe exactly how I feel about FF7. There are so many beautiful memories and emotions attached to the game. The plot is almost near-perfect. Actually, scratch that. The plot IS perfect!
From the moment I inserted the first disk of the game into Sony PlayStation around 11 years ago and heard the prelude, I couldn’t help but be entranced by the beautiful music…a sad yet hopeful theme. I also liked how the opening started off and immediately led into the mission.
The characters were well-developed. Each one had a story of his/her own and struggles that he/she needed to overcome.
My dad got this book back in 1992. I saw the date written on it when I opened it. I’ve been quite critical lately and my parents want me to be able to control myself from over-analyzing and being critical about world issues, so they gave me this book. However, as I skimmed through the pages, I’ve only ended up being critical about the book instead =P Why?
1. I’m not driven by the thought of being a millionaire
2. I’m not a man
3. Most of the millionaires mentioned are all linked with dark ways of achieving success.
I was quite a different person before I graduated from undergrad. university, but you know…reality sets in once you step out into the real world. I know, how can someone that was once called an “over-achiever” be like this now? I started seeing so many problems with society and the idea of social issues and social pressure made me just want to go back into hiding and live like a child. This resulted in me becoming overly-critical with the idea of stepping into that world once more. It’s not like I didn’t try to take up the challenge. I did, but I will now have to take it as a learning experience. Some experience is better than no experience, right?
To tell you the truth, I want to do something meaningful. Something that really has a purpose. Something that I would enjoy. However, it’s not always easy. You have to start somewhere in order to reach that point. So I’m changing my thought-patterns: for me, rather than using a million dollars on myself (if I get any =P), I think it would be much more purposeful to use it on those that really need it. At least I would be making a difference that way. That’s one of the points that drives me. One is more likely to make a huge change in society if he/she has money rather than no money.
Apart from that, the book has a bit of an Atheistic approach to matters, so my dad told me to read it with an Islamic point of view in my mind. There are some useful points in the book as to how to remove mind blocks from the mind and other points that my dad highlighted, but any time the book mentions anything about making money a priority and wanting to become a millionaire, I feel like tearing the pages =P Yes, money is important for survival…but money is not everything.
I’ll sit and read the book, as there might be something useful. Moreover, it would make my parents happy with the fact that I took their advice. If I’m away from my blog for a while, then chances are I’m reading this book xD
