then there are blackbirds

Looks like I do need to check out Fresh Off the Boat! I guess we'll see how dead I feel after this week's grind is over.

♣ Fresh Off the Boat: A TV Dad and Hundreds More Cram Viewing Party

♣ Watching Fresh Off the Boat with 999 Asian Americans

♣ Underwater Sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor - environmentalism and sculpture! SO cool! :D Also, those pictures provoked ALL THE SEA-LONGING.

♣ Check out this interesting little fashion film with Mikhail Baryshnikov & Lil Buck! It isn't exactly breathtaking or charming like that Korea National Ballet Levi's commercial (BEST pants ad okay), but it was eyecatching in some interesting ways, I thought. ( video )

♠ Apparently this week my thing is going to be zouk earworms! Here's another of my favorite dance songs (the official video also cracks me up, and I like the dancing in it, which is a nice bonus!): ( Ne-Yo: One in A Million )

♠ UGH, how has it been almost two months since I've made a book post?? My backlog is officially too long to catch up on now, but if you're interested in finding out all the books I've skipped over, I have yearly bookshelves on goodreads. Currently I'm getting back to The Tale of Genji, which I haven't had sufficient brain to read in large doses (for once in my life I actually had to renew a book! twice!).

♠ I like the idea of treat memes, but I'm not terribly big on Halloween. How many people would be interested in doing such a thing if I made a post? (Multi-fandom, of course!)

+ Love meme at dingsi's! Thanks for my thread. ♥

+ Spreading the word re: kuroko_no_basket!

+ I am having Kaleidoscope nomination woes! Things I'm currently considering:

• Who Fears Death - Nnedi Okorafor
  
• Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera
  
• Lagaan
  
• eta; In the Heights

Feel free to suggest wishlist fandoms or recs, especially for non-East Asian fandoms! :D All strategizing welcome.

+ Shiny zouk video for your time! ( Shani & Yuval: )

Since I'm apparently stuck on procrastinating via music videos right now, I might as well share, right?? ;P Just the gateways, though, or we'll ALL be here all day!

Honey L Days (thanks, Tumbling, for introducing me to emo dudebro crack):


K-pop mashup of amazeface (not disclosing the number of times I've rewatched this):


And, not a music video, but reposting because TODDLER GQMF SWAGGER NEVER GETS OLD:

... why am I awake this early on a Saturday? ;;;; Brief linkdump before I attempt to go back to sleep (or, you know, run errands. or work on REMIX. sd;fkjsd;lj):

+ starlurker: Itanong Mo at Sasagutin Ko (Kung Alam Ko)
+ Tokyopop shutting down USian operations
+ such_heights is talking about a femslash fanwork trope fest!
+ Via angry asian man, A YO-YO MA/LIL BUCK COLLAB. YEAH. ( YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT: )

Poem for today:

Dinner with the Metrophobe

I could tell from our onion blossom
this was all a mistake. There was no
"flower" of fried petals, but a soggy mess
in a napkin-lined wicker basket instead,

a bad corsage at the end of prom night.
But at work he was kind—always had
an extra envelope, a red pen, offered
to get me coffee from the machine

downstairs. He was the only one
who didn't gasp when I cut eight inches
off my hair. There was no competition
over publications (he never even read

The New Yorker), and sometimes, he'd hold
my elbow as we climbed staircases.
So when he asked me out for dinner over
e-mail, I thought it was just his way.

I had to lower my silly poet-standards
of expecting roses with each question,
a clever note snuck in my coat pocket
about my eyelashes breaking his heart

or how he must see me right now. I never
expected this guy's hands to shake all over
our appetizer of clams casino—shook so hard
his shell spilled its stewy contents on his tie.

The clatter of his teeth on his sweaty
water glass as he dribbled. The hives.
All I said was Don't be too nice to me.
One day I might write this all down.

-- Aimee Nezhukumatathil
[audio file from Slate]