Life in boxes

Thursday, November 15, 2007

PSA: Do NOT Watch Two Girls One Cup

**Disclaimer: This post talks about very disgusting things. However, no links lead to any of these bad places. Instead they lead to wikipedia or urban dictionary, where said disgusting things are more thoroughly explained. We at Life in Boxes would not wish these sites on our worst enemies.**

Have you ever heard of goatse? If you have (especially if you've seen it like I have), you already know that this post is going to a very bad place. If you haven't, then I think I need to explain.

On "teh internetz" there are very dirty, bad, places known as "shock sites," which are websites that show pictures of disgusting, unnatural things. Goatse is arguably the most popular of these images. Essentially, it's a picture of a man... stretching out... his butt... far.. out. It is very disturbing.

Anyway, the reason I am talking about this is because, like all things on the internet, the shock site fad has gone into video form....

There is a video circulating out there entitled "Two Girls, One Cup" that is the Goatse of videos. I haven't watched it, but from the description, I think it is probably a gazillion times worse. I don't want to go into details since you can just click on the link, but all I will say is that it involves the consumption of poo. Yes, poo. And that's only, like, half of the video.

So if somebody tries to get to you to watch the video, just be glad that I warned you and you do not need to gouge your eyes out with your bare hands.

*The more you know*

PS.
There is a website dedicated to showing pictures of people's reaction to seeing goatse for the first time @ firstgoatse.com

Oh, and there's another site that shows sort of subliminal goatse pictures called goatse sighting. As in, goatse images that look innocent, but if you know of the actual goatse image, then you can see how the innocent image looks so very wrong. That's where i got the post image.

Also, there a parody video with John Mayer and Sherrod Small (of Best Week Ever fame) reenacting the two girls, one cup video. You can watch it below.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

[Mixtape] Cool Winter Day Playlist

It's a pretty chilly day out, and it will be for the next 4 months or so. Here are some fitting songs that I'm currently into.

The Bravery - Believe
Apparently, they have an ongoing feud with the Killers? Whatever. Just an all-around great song, has been featured on The Hills and Gossip Girls.

So give me something to believe
Cause I am living just to breathe
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for
So give me something to believe

Lovers Electric - Closer
Also featured on The Hills (you can knock the show all you want, but they do feature some great songs time to time). They are a two-person band from Australia, and I haven't heard any of their other stuff, but Closer is pretty great.

I love the lyrics to the song. Contrary to the title, it's about distance and the differences of two people in a relationship that prevents them from being... that's right, closer.

Gym Class Heroes - It's OK, But Just This Once!
I highly enjoy this group. I highly enjoy pop hip-hop in general. The song is off their As Cruel as Schoolchildren album, which spawned such hits as Cupid's Chokehold, The Queen and I, and Clothes Off! I think this song is my favorite though. I like going around saying, 'it's ok, but just this once!' and having no one know what I'm talking about. =P

More after the jump...

Kathryn Scott - Hungry (Falling on my Knees)
A praise song; it's been stuck in my head for 3 days now. It's kinda how I feel about my spiritual walk at the moment. The Matt Redman version is good too, but I love her singing it.

Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks
I'm pretty sure the song has been used in every other advertisement and tv show. It's so catchy.

Mandy Moore/Marie Digby - Umbrella
I'm one of the few people out of my friends who actually like Rihanna's Umbrella. Ella, ella, ella, eh eh eh~ The acoustic, slowed-down versions by both/either Mandy Moore and Marie Digby are definitely worth checking out, even if you hate the top 40 one.

Alicia Keys ft. John Mayer - Lesson Learned
They play off well with/against(?) each other. It's one of my favorite songs off her new album.

Warning: Racial Humor

Friday night at a friend's house...

Me: "I wonder what it would be like to have a Latino College, you know like Black Colleges. The only thing is that I'd doubt anyone would show up for class. Damn lazy Mexicans."

Black Guy: "Yea but you guys would have some great landscaping."

Asian Guy: "There would have to be a class called 'Moving With Boxes 101.'"

Black Guy: "And think about how much you would save on construction. A whole building would cost you 1 or 2 thousand tops."

Me: "But you know, the college could be all Latinos but the dean would still be Korean."

Asian Guy: "You need someone to tell them what to do."

Surgeon General Warning! Racial jokes can be dangerous to the social mood. Racial jokes should only be used by and around people with a sense of humor. Failure to do so will result in whining, bitching, and in some cases ass kicking.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

iPod classic vs. iPod touch

This year for my birthday, I'm going to buy myself a new iPod. Why? Well, for someone who uses an iPod 2 hours a day almost everyday, I still own the old antiquated one, you know the one without color, video, and photo capabilities. It's all fine and dandy, but I'm currently on my 18 out of 20 gb, and what better time to buy myself something than the holidays/birthday?

So the question of the day. The iPod classic or the new iPod touch?? Either would be a huge upgrade from my current iPod (they don't even have a name for it, it's so old now). Here is the breakdown: the newly released iPod touch, is basically like an iPhone minus the ability to make calls on it. The touch screen is pretty awesome. And so is the wireless factor. The iPod touch comes in 8gb and 16gb models, which translates into about 1,750 to 3,500 songs respectively. That's actually not a lot; most people have that many songs, if not more, on their music devices. Well, I do anyway. But you can't say it's not a cool piece of machinery.

The iPod classic comes in an 80gb model, which is about 20,000 songs, and an astounding 160gb model, for those of you who know/own 40,000 songs. That is a lot. Plus it starts at $250, so that's like a lot of bang for your buck.

Who wins? I'm finding that the iPod touch is actually inferior to the iPod classic as a music player. I understand cramming those uber-cool features into a device requires making sacrifices. But shouldn't a music player not lose its music playing capabilities, no matter what the exciting new features are? Not only is the storage smaller on the iPod touch models, the battery life is considerably shorter as well. Apple probably rushed to get this on the market in time for the holidays, but as I often feel about their products, something seems missing beyond the shiny packaging and the hype that goes with their new releases. So, I'll probably get the iPod classic, but I just wanted to throw it out there and see if anyone strongly agrees/disagrees with my decision. Two cents anyone?

p.s- i heart the ipod. i'm not looking to buy anything else, so you can save those suggestions.

Chin Up, Kanye

Dr. Donda West, mother of rapper Kanye West, died on Saturday, November 10.

The cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but many suspect that complications with plastic surgery may have been a cause.

--
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the rapper and his family.

Monday, November 12, 2007

[Feature] Palisades Park: The Rise and Struggles of Becoming Little Korea

In the summer of 1992, a seven year old Korean-American girl from Charlotte, North Carolina moved to a little town in New Jersey known as Palisades Park. Considered to be a minority Asian back in Charlotte, she was frightened to see many of the same almond-shaped eyed children in Lindbergh Elementary school. As she learned to socialize with these children who did not find the smell of kimchi to be an oddity and were able to recognize her mother’s cooking familiar to that of their own mothers, the little girl would later realize that she was not the only one adapting to a sudden recognition with a culture she had once been ashamed of back in North Carolina; in fact, the little town known as Palisades Park would slowly but surely become quite acquainted with Korean culture.

Affectionately known to its residents as the “greatest square mile,” the Borough of Palisades Park was created in March 22, 1899 from portions of its rival towns, Ridgefield Township and later Fort Lee. Many of its first residential families were Italian-American immigrants who did not stray too far from their first step into America, by means of Ellis Island, New York. But the predominantly Italian town soon began to see a sudden influx of Korean-Americans with ambitions to form a community of their own.

According to Jason Kim, founder of the Korean-American Voters Association and recently elected councilman of Palisades Park, “about 15 yrs ago, Palisades Park’s Broad Avenue – business was dying off and there were many, many empty stores and no more businesses going on .. the Koreans started moving in there, one after the other, and they found out that it was a good place to live and it was so close to Manhattan – only about 15 minutes away, so it’s locally a good place to live” (NPR, May 2007). This brings back a memory of growing up as a Korean-American in Palisades Park: the real reason why more and more Koreans kept moving into town. Supposedly, the explanation amongst the Korean kids at school was that there was rumored to be a commercial that ran in Korean networks back in the motherland, actually advertising Palisades Park to be the best town to move into, especially for Koreans who were fancying the idea of immigrating to the States. United States was the land of opportunity, but Palisades Park was the land for Koreans who wanted to be in Korea with the same amount of opportunity.

Nonetheless, despite the actual logistics of why Koreans decided to immigrate to this square mile, the residents of Palisades Park soon saw a surge in Korean immigrants. And as all people hate to see changes, the Italian-American residents no longer began to welcome these foreign newcomers when they realized that their once quaint Italian community was slowly becoming more “Koreanized.”

Soon, Korean hair salons and restaurants slowly began to replace old town shops that were (coincidentally) owned by Italians, but had failed to keep up business. Karaoke lounges and Korean restaurants began to thrive, but only to be controlled by town ordianance 1293. The ordinance stated only certain businesses and restaurants were allowed to be opened 24 hours, whereas all others were to close at a given time, or else summonses of $500 in fines and 90 days in jail would be issued. And it didn’t help that the only business allowed to be open for 24 hours was a non-Korean owned business, Golden Eagle diner. Thus became the “cultural clash” of the titans: the Koreans versus everyone who wanted their old town back.

In October of 1999, a vandal sprayed a graffiti message on Safenet, a Korean-owned computer store, which read “Why don’t all you Koreans go back to where you came from.” Calling together Korean business owners and residents, the Korean community yelled “Racism!” to the then-mayor Sandy Farber, who was rumored to dislike the Korean community. Fueled by the graffiti and still feeling the sting of Ordinance 1293, first generation and second generation Korean-Americans joined together a month after at a protest rally, demanding equality for Koreans and non-Koreans alike. The protest rally did make a bit of a change; most of the Korean businesses now close at about 9PM, but restaurants, including the Greek-owned Golden Eagle diner, are required to close at 3AM (but really, they just stay open to clean and prepare to open for the day, just a few hours later). The situation in itself has quelled, but the taste of bitterness still lingers to this day. At any given chance for power in the town, it is now common for Koreans to vote for Korean candidates in any given situation, just for the sake of “power.”

Throughout the years, Palisades Park has faced major changes. From store changes to residential changes, and the now popular rise of tearing down one family homes for over-priced duplexes, a once sleepy square mile is now a bustling, high-rent town in which Lexus cars and BMW SUVs fight for parking spaces.

This is Palisades Park – park at your own risk.

Soju! Knife! Cars! Oh My!

So apparently, drunken fights between Korean men have reached an all-time low.
A drunken fight between two Korean men quickly escalated as one of the men (of Leonia) suddenly ran into the restaurant kitchen to grab a knife. The fight was then taken outside, only to to lead the Leonia man to hop into his car and run over the other (of Palisades Park). And as if running over him once wasn't enough, he threw his car into reverse to run him over again.

Seriously, it puts a new meaning to "don't drink and drive."

A drunken man + car never ends up with positive results.