MAMAMOO / 2PM

This particular choreography of 2PM's "Again and Again" is just ahead of its time.

The hunger games series - although I read that in college & Just reread it this year - it still stands up.

This drama does not mess around.

Firefighter demonstrates how to put out a kitchen fire

as opposed to slapping oxygen inside the pan with the downward motion

Insp by this post

But on a different note, with the main couple, Gyeo-re is clearly very masculine yet Yeon-joo seems to "wear the pants" in the relationship. Gyeo-re is portrayed as being softer and more sensitive despite him being the ex-convict and Yeon-joo being the nurse. She's the one who confessed first, she can physically defend herself and is quite strong willed (not that a woman can’t do/be these things but her actions are very bold and dominant – the ones that male leads tend to traditionally take in dramas) and it’s HER that saves Gyeo-re from his abusive relationship, which I think is so important. Oftentimes, in media (and real life too), we see men save women from abusive relationships. And not to say that this is a bad thing to see — someone escaping abuse no matter the gender of whoever saved them is of course a good thing and better than being left with their abuser. But I find it really great that they were able to show that men can be victims and that men can be vulnerable and sometimes need help and that they are not incapable of being abused and it’s not always them that swoop in and save the day, that it can be women who are the saviors.

“To be honest I didn’t think I’d make it past twenty-one. I was living day-to-day. Thinking I knew everything, thinking I was an adult. And I was angry. About a lot, like a lot. I was fifteen when I had my daughter. And she was four when I went to prison for the first time. I came out for a little while. My girlfriend and I had another child, then I went in again. But this time my daughter was grown enough to understand where I was going. And that hurt. That’s one of the reasons I never went back. That, and the conversations I had with older men. A lot of them made one mistake and were never getting out. I ‘d messed up twice, and I was getting one more chance. I served 4.5 years. The mother of my children never left my side. She’s a great woman. We met in foster care; we have similar stories. And I came home to a stable home. For a little while I didn’t have to worry about bills. I could just focus on being a father: taking the kids to school every day, making dinner some nights, cooking breakfast on Sunday. I ended up getting a job at a homeless shelter; and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since. I fell in love with it. The people, mainly. Their stories align with mine. When my mother brought us to the shelter, it was the first time I ever felt poor. I was only eight or nine, but I said: ‘I’m always going to have money of my own.’ And that’s what led me to the streets. My daughters are on a different path. The oldest is a junior in high school now. Her grades are excellent, better than mine ever were. She’s got a little baby sister, so we’ve got three girls now. And I’m just a great dad, honestly. A really great dad. Just, I love my kids. And they love me. I can see it. And that’s what I’m proudest of. Because growing up I never had a father; he did 27 years in prison. I never even knew him. So for me to be a great father, that’s a thing.”

I’m only 32 and I’ve gone from seeing my existence as illegal to seeing people poo-pooing the codification of marriage equality as small potatoes. I just want to appreciate the moment.

Oh, and #knitblr? This is your time to shine.

WEAR A SCARF

Princess Diana’s looks in Season 5 of The Crown

MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT (2022)

Hard to believe it’s been nearly three years since having conversations with strangers became a public health risk. Humans of New York changed a lot during those years. The element of randomness was removed. The stories became more in-depth, and carefully structured. Often I’d work on a single story for weeks, and unspool it over the course of an entire day. The process was very rewarding in a ‘writerly’ sort of way, but these past few weeks I’ve been getting back to my roots: walking all over the city, stopping strangers. I’ve realized how much I missed it: the physicality of the work, the spontaneity, the city itself. But mainly the endless, small moments of connection. There’s something about sharing the same space with people: hearing the same sounds, breathing the same air. There’s a magic that can’t be transmitted through a computer screen. It’s bringing me a lot of joy, so I’m going to keep doing it. For the foreseeable future, Humans of New York is going back to what it used to be: random conversations on the streets of New York City. Hopefully you’ll enjoy meeting these people as much as I have.