Kennedy

It’s been three years since I’ve sat down and made a list of some of my favorite things. I’m really excited to share this post.

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Listen & Read:

“Baby Don’t Stop” by NCT

“Put My Hands On You” by Dean, Anderson Paak

“Like I Do” by Christina Aguilera, Goldlink

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(not in any particular order)

1. Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast (효리네 민박) ~ There are so many times that I put shows on my list, not with any particular motivation to ever watch it, but just because I don’t want to lose it in the hundreds of films, shows, specials, and weekly episodes that encompasses Netflix. This was absolutely one of them. One day, randomly, I decide to watch Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast, a reality show in Jeju Island that aired weekly on Netflix, showing the Beyoncé of South Korea (who, at one time was the highest paid female artist in Korea) and her husband, Sangsoon, open their home to upwards of 40 people as a bed and breakfast for two seasons. About ten cameras per room show every movement of not only the couple but of the many lucky people that became guests. Although the show displayed to the audience that they interviewed a very diverse crowd (with short clips of applicants in an office room of varying ethnicities and ages), this reality show lacks major diversity (aside from an awkward white guy, a father and young son duo, and a woman that is hard of hearing). On the bright side, this show offers a very ‘lax environment of people getting to know the “Nation’s Fairy”, her husband, and her five dogs and three cats, as well as Hyori and Sangsoon acknowledging that they don’t like being around strangers yet they push themselves to be open and end up making really strong connections with each and every group or solo traveler that came through the gates. Along with the deeply heart-warming conversations, yoga sessions, and bon fires (and hot tub moments during season two), you get to see how completely beautiful Jeju Island is. After I finished watching both seasons, I had a strong post-binging blues, and now I’m watching it again.
2. Joe Mande’s Award-Winning Comedy Special ~ This is something that I never thought I would enjoy as much as I did. When I found out about Netflix offline downloads, it was around the same time that I was packing to study abroad in Switzerland. I was recommended Joe Mande’s Award-Winning Comedy Special, and I decided to save it as an offline film. It mostly consists of celebrity cameos as Joe Mande prepares to make an award-winning comedy special. Cut to being alone in my dorm with no wifi for two days. I’m not sure if I watched it over and over because it really was that funny the first few times, or I just needed consistency in a time when everything was happening and changing, but I literally have seen this special so many times at this point. It began me watching it as I unpacked just to have noise in the room, and ended up me wanting to watch it as I had dinner or popped grapes in my mouth for breakfast. I’m not a fan of comedians; for some reason when I know I’m supposed to laugh, it triggers me to literally not find anything funny, but with this it was so foolish that I really enjoyed it.
3. Busted ~ I am, completely and utterly, obsessed with this show. This is a semi-scripted detective show where every episode is a new crime, and yet it all somehow connects with one another and maintains a common thread that pops up within every episode. Although it features acts of murder, disappearance, and mystery, it is so so so funny. It’s a Netflix original, only one season, and I hope, with the cliff-hanger at the end of season one, we will have a season two. This show is in Korean, and it features big actors, K-pop idols, and variety show hosts.
4. Grace and Frankie ~ Season four of Grace and Frankie was a great kick off to the new year. This is a show about two older women who once did not really like each other, and after a shared experience become bestfriends. It’s a comedy that goes through the struggles of friendship, romance, and lack of youth. Grace is the uppity, undercover alcoholic who is harsh on her kids, while Frankie is the laid-back, hippy mother of two who rarely has her head on straight. Being such strong contrasts, they work well together and both now live under the same roof of a SoCal beach house.
5. Chewing Gum ~ You cannot watch this show if you are not ok with cringing (in a hilarious way). This show… is literally so funny in the most second-hand embarrassment kind of way. It’s a show about a black young adult who, in the familial environment of deep Christian beliefs, just wants to know what being a sexual being is like and will go far to do so. Following the life of the main character, Tracy Gordon, as she naively tries to be more grown than she naturally acts.
6. Strong Girl Bong-Soon ~ So here’s why this show is amazing. It’s a K-drama about a character who has super-strength. It’s not a show about how she realizes she has these powers, but a show about how other people may or may not find out, and how she deals with that. There is also a golden love triangle, which I could have done without (partly because I’m still salty that she chose the one I didn’t want her to choose), but it didn’t deter me from watching each hour long episode. It’s part comedy, romance, and sci-fi… along with really gross scenes of this guy whose teeth constantly keep falling out.
7. Hassan Minaj: Homecoming King ~ A comedy special that is part relatable laughs and part spine-chilling social commentary. It’s both a life of a brown man whose family immigrated to America and how this background has not only shaped his life (and homecoming) but clearly makes a connection to other people of color in America whose backgrounds also shape their lives. It’s low-key like People of Color Struggles 101 class for white people that want to understand (or maybe don’t want to) but can’t. The way that the comedic affect smoothes out the “scariness” of talking about race allows for a more Caucasian-digestible meal.

1. Instagram Sayonara ~ There became a point where I had been back home for about a month, and I had no more abroad annoying experiences to rant about on my finsta. This was also at the end of BTS’ Love Yourself: Tear comeback era, but I had gotten so used to checking social media that I would literally cancel out of twitter and Instagram and then without thinking open it immediately after. So I thought it was gonna be a two week break. Just until my 21st rolled around. Then that happened. I got on, posted a picture, and deleted the app again. I’ve done this a couple times since first deleting the app, and I’ve found that after committing myself to two weeks off of Instagram/Twitter, …… I don’t want to come back right now. So it’s been great. No pressure to post something. No stress from staying on top of celebrities. I’m chilling, really.
2. Buzzfeed Unsolved ~ I think it’s a general consensus that this Buzzfeed series was the best thing to ever happen to Buzzfeed. And eventually, when Ryan and Shane grow even more and part ways, inevitably uploading a ‘Why I Left Buzzfeed’ video, we’ll all stand by them. If I were to ask any of my friends if they know about this duo who analyze real unsolved mysteries, they either know about, or they search it and they are hooked. The only thing– some are kind of scary to watch at night. Don’t watch it before bed or if you are likely to think deeply about it hours later with eyes wide open in the darkness and your closet ajar.
3. Urstyle ~ for any Polyvore users– It was fun. For many years, Polyvore was the place I would go to create outfits, mood boards, interior designs, etc. I would go on the website if I had an idea of even if I did not, and I would like items for later and play around with designer clothes that I could not dream of affording now. That was until one day I try to go online and it redirects me to a random clothing website. A box appears that says Polyvore is now owned by this company… polyvore sold their company and they completely deleted polyvore without ANY prior notice. We were able to recover some stuff, if we knew what had happened and requested that, but I still cannot access countless collections and likes. Every polyvore user had to find a new place to go, and there were a few good contenders. The best one, at the time, was a website that was essentially the exact same as polyvore, but everything was in Japanese. I created an account anyway… but that was just… hard to navigate. I created many accounts after the deletion of polyvore, but I only stuck with Urstyle, a similar outfit creating site that is constantly updating their pages to better mimic what polyvore was. There are still parts of the site that I don’t yet understand, but they have a YouTube channel with tutorials that make it easier, with many old polyvore users that are there to help out.

1. Homecoming ~ so buckle ur seatbelts!! This podcast is scripted, which I didn’t even know podcasts did, and it is so intense. I think it is defined as being a thriller. No spoilers! It’s about a facility that houses war veterans with PTSD and uses their inventions/medicines to aid with that. There are two seasons currently, and the third season is being picked up for television on Amazon video with Julia Roberts. That comes out November 2 of this year. I’m not sure if it will brief the viewers on what’s happened, or start from where it left off, but make sure to catch up before it comes out!
2. The Friend Zone ~ This podcast was so important for me when I was studying abroad. I was always the only person of color or the only black person in my class. In addition, I was one of two black people in my study abroad program. It was very isolating… and micro-aggressions…. ran rampant. Tiring is to say the absolute least. Suddenly, I thought that I should find a podcast to listen to so I can hear black voices just make stupid jokes and talk about black things. The Friend Zone, with three black co-hosts, encompasses mental health, music, reality tv, pop culture and an advice segment. All enveloped in African American culture and AAVE.
3. The Nod ~ Going along with The Friend Zone, listening to podcasts like that really kept me grounded and in a weird way… made me feel ‘black’ again. The Nod goes hand in hand with this feeling. With two black co-hosts from the New York Times, every week The Nod goes into a black culture topic or person that you may not know much about. They explain it for it in a flowing, story form, with bits of comedy in it as well. Very educational!
4. Psychobabble ~ I’ve been listening to this podcast for years. Two youtubers, also ex roommates, came together to just talk about pop culture and say nonsense things that are still funny and talk about their day. It’s as simple as that. You may not find it that interesting if you don’t already know who that are or you weren’t subscribed to them long ago, but I’m suggesting it anyways for people that like jokes that literally don’t make sense in any context; it’s ridiculous in a very sweet and funny way.

ahhh! My favorite section!

1. Blonde album (Frank Ocean, 2016) ~ I’m… extremely late. I was one of those people that complained about Frank Ocean being gone for so long and then when he came back I really took my time getting to the music. The only song I listened to was “Nights“, which I love that song and if I can only recommend one song from the album it would be that one (I could go into a whole story of what I imagine happens in an alternate world when this song comes on). But recently, and randomly, I decided to listen to the whole album. Let me remind you how random that is, because I never can hold my attention for a long time without getting bored or thinking of a better thing to do, and so I have more songs that I love! The whole album seems to be dangling on a common thread– the instrumental that comes on during all of the interludes (which you can listen to what I’m talking about here). It just reminds me of like looking back on video recordings from many years ago. Anyways, listen to Blonde (it says ‘Blond’ on the album cover but ‘Blonde’ on Spotify).
2. “Baby, Don’t Stop” (NCT, 2018) ~ I love this song!! So two guys from the 18 person K-pop group NCT sang and rapped this song while in suave suits in museums and in the snow and in a theater and it was just a lot. What really got me were the trailers, like they were crafted so nicely that I was really so ready for the full music video to come out. It’s just an upbeat, sexy kinda song that make you… wanna walk around your room and be cute you know what I mean? Like feel yourself.
3. “134340” (BTS, 2018) ~ Y’all… now THIS is a song of … the century? the summer? I’m not sure how extreme I should go. So I started liking BTS in December 2017. Their album, ‘Love Yourself: Tear’, was the first album (and comeback) I’ve ever been a part of. Picture me, waiting for a bus in London to be with my friend during the royal wedding, and suddenly I think, “… The album comes out today… wait, is it on Spotify?” and then with the last remaining minutes before the bus pulls up and I lose wifi, I download the entire album and listen to it twice on the drive from the airport. As I was listening, the guitar intro came on, and I really stopped moving and thought yeah.. this is.. gonna be my favorite song. And I was right. It is a totally different style from anything they’ve ever done, and quite frankly it even stands out in the album itself. It sounds very like what my black parents would have listened to when they were growing up. Like a 60s and 70s black culture vibe. I love this song.
4. Crush ~ Crush! Another Korean artist. His voice is truly like a gelato. Soft and sweet! He does a lot of RnB style songs that make you wanna lay back in a hammock and talk about things with your friends. I found out about him when I was a freshman in college. Someone sung “Sometimes” during a karaoke night at my university, and I remembered that I liked it so much I hunted it down and added it to my playlist on Spotify. I really grew into him this year (there is a trend of me finding one song and then years later I decide to actually sit down with their music). Here are some of my favorite songs: “be by my side” a song dedicated to his fans, when I listen to this song I feel like I’m literally flying I’m not kidding; “your dog loves you” the music video is so cute! it’s a very calming song it reminds me of like giving ‘puppy’ eyes to someone. this song also features Colde if you like him as well; “party [shut down” this song is technically Sik-k’s song and Crush is featured on it, but it’s so good. It’s just talking about partying on the weekend it’s a fun song to play in the car on the way to a party.
5. Tame Impala ~ exhibit C of finding one song long ago and then finding many songs years later! My friend in high school liked Tame Impala, and I always loved her music, so I added “Mind Mischief” to my phone. Fast forward, as I was getting ready to study abroad in Switzerland, I asked a different friend from high school to craft a playlist for me to listen to on the plane. She added “Love/Paranoia”. It was essentially the title track to what I wanted my utopian experience to be. This summer, I searched for him on my own, and I found a lot of good shit: “Gossip” under two minutes of instrumentals, probably my favorite song; “’cause I’m a man” a song about how stupid men are, basically; “Eventually” this is an easy song to remember the lyrics. the song begins with a really loud guitar, so be prepared for that.

1. Fashion ~ here lies those chunky low rise sneakers that once upon a time lit up at the bottom perimeter. may they rest in peace. I’ve definitely walked 500 miles AND 500 more in those shoes while being abroad. Those were the only shoes I brought on every. single. trip. Literally every time I traveled anywhere. They have memory foam soles. I got them for $20 at ZooShoo two summers ago.
2. Books~ Crazy Rich Asians!! I found this book in a Swiss Salvation Army this time last year. I remembered the buzz about how it would be turning into a movie so I bought it. Similar to my chunky shoes, I brought this book along with me for every trip that I went on. I essentially only read it when I was on a plane or a train, so it took me just up until the actual release of the film this summer to finish it. So good. So funny. My only critic, and it’s quite a large critic: in both the movie and the book, it’s evident that the South Asians with darker skin tones were working for the East Asians with lighter skin tones. I understand that this is similar to reality, but no acknowledgment of it from any of the characters, any of the actors, and neither the author nor the director is… weird. I saw an article that reads, “It’s a Cultural Moment for Asian Representation– As Long as You’re Light Skinned”.
3. Games ~ So when games are concerned, I only watch them. For years, I’ve been watching several gamers on YouTube, it’s just less stressful and costs nothing. However, in 2017, I bought Sims 4, and … I’ve never turned back. For anyone that would prefer to stay home in the bed on the weekend, this game is for you. Create your own universe, and just have fun.

That was so much! I had such a fun time writing this, since I haven’t done one in such a long time. If you’ve gotten this far, thanks so much for reading, and please tell me if there is anything on here that you already love or want to love. Also, let me know what you think should be added!

Have a good day,

Ken