Lords of Kobol, hear my prayer...

++ The South Korean president has been impeached, with many of the protestors celebrating the announcement. Watching the events unfold from when he had declared martial law only to quickly revoke it hours later with a small "whoops my bad" statement, to the mass protests by South Korean citizens over the last week, it's been wild but I can also imagine scary. At least the protests managed to keep up those spirits with the people, since they were using kpop as a way of keeping everyone united in solidarity with one another, with the various group light sticks and even kpop idols were joining in the protests. Congratulations, South Korea. America really should take notes......

++ Dreamcatcher has been releasing meme recreations as official teasers for their upcoming Christmas comeback. They've done similar things with their self-made music videos for the b-side songs. It's adorable, fun and silly, and so on brand for them.

++ In a recent interview Sarah Michelle Gellar made a brief comment about being open to a reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when previously she hadn't been. Now I'm taking this statement as merely hypothetical, just based on the context of why she was saying it. I think she's more or less just wanting more kinds of characters like Buffy in the current political and social climates we're living in, which I cannot blame her for. Honestly, I can't think of a character or show in recent years that compares to what BTVS/Buffy Summers was to a lot of young people when the show aired, especially young women (not that things are given a chance in television to really make such a strong impact, mind you). So I can understand the longing of needing another Buffy-like character and story to exist in media again.

Obviously the show doesn't need a reboot, it's fine as it is. And since people are still discovering it for the first time anyway, it's best to leave it be and let people naturally gravitate to the series.

++ Due to 2NE1 having reunited at Coachella recently, which was a pleasant surprise to say the least, it made me yearn for reunions of 4Minute and Wonder Girls so badly, even though the likelihood of that happening is small.

I've been listening to kpop (and jpop/cpop/etc) since the early 00s and when I discovered 2NE1 and those other groups when they debuted it wasn't anything new for me, but I think I mostly was only exclusively listening to solo artists, which I didn't realize at the time because I only ended up listening to whatever sounded good, and still do, actually, I don't really pay that close attention to anything beyond that (I'm not of the kpop fandoms, btw, I listen to what I like and that's it). But 2016/2017 were years that a bunch of kpop girl groups ended up getting disbanded, with 2NE1, 4Minute, and Wonder Girls being the most notable ones, which I have to admit was disheartening at the time with them disbanding so close together (I even made a post about it at the time when it happened). I know some individual members of those groups attempt to go solo afterwards and some are quite successful, but still. Disbanding happens all the time, usually due to contractual negotiations, but I think it was with those particular disbanding that made me understand just how fragile the industry worked over there.

I don't know, I just felt like rambling about this since I'm still slightly bitter about it, but still happy to see that even after all this time the members of 2NE1 can still come together to do a small unofficial comeback reunion.

++ I haven't been playing video games as much as I used to, and it's not due to disinterest because I still want to, but it's more due to a combination of IRL stuff that got in the way over the last few years and also focusing my attention on other fandom and media things. There are plenty of games that I have that I haven't gotten around to playing yet that I want to, it's just a matter of finding the right time to do so since my schedule is a bit borked at the moment.

Of course now I'm thinking about all the games that I want to play, but can't because a.) I don't have the console the game is exclusively on and b.) most games nowadays are far too expensive. It's been that way for years now, but it's something that just completely baffles me, and it's why I'm always so "late" when playing games because I wait for certain ones to go on clearance sales at a much lower price. I mean, I'm not that concerned about being caught up with whatever is popular in the gaming world, but it's just ridiculous that the more notable games that I find intriguing and want to play are ones that I probably won't be able to for some time for all the reasons stated above. It's annoying, is all.

++ Ron Glass (Shepherd Book from Firefly) passed away yesterday. It's kind of hard to believe, honestly. It feels like it was yesterday when the excitement over the Serenity movie being made and the entire cast was returning. I may have never met the man but I have heard and seen much about him, from his sardonic sense of humor to his heartwarming moments with the rest of his fellow cast members, to his infectious booming laugh. It's hard to comprehend that a member of the crew is gone, but he will never, ever be forgotten. Rest in peace.

++ 2NE1 has officially disbanded, which adds more salt on the wound since 4Minute also disbanded earlier this year as well. Though I have to admit it wasn't surprising about 2NE1 since CL has been trying to make her American debut and it would be impossible for her to do that while doing a comeback with the group in Korea, whenever that would've been, so I suspected it as much. But 4Minute's disbanding broke my heart because they had just had their comeback, but it was announced of them being discontinued as a group rather abruptly. I know some don't necessarily care about kpop groups, and I only know some of the drama/behind the scenes negotiations from what I read at selective sources but not as closely as more hardcore fans who follow those kinds of stories. But nevertheless, such news is still heartbreaking. I really liked both groups, they both debuted around the same time and both released some amazing bops over the years. Some of my favorites from 2NE1 include: "Fire", "Can't Nobody" and "Follow Me". And from 4Minute: "HuH (Hit Your Heart)", "Crazy", and "Hate". Thank you girls for everything over the years, may your futures be bright and bring you much success.