Musings of Darren Kong

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the nature of inspiration. With that in mind, it seems to be important to surround oneself with these inspirations. I like the idea of the mood board for these reasons and thought that I should start documenting them virtually and when I get more serious about it, making physical, tangible mood boards.

1) Ichigeki’s BOTY 2005 performance

just incredible, brings me to the verge of tears
so much creativity, musicality, simplicity, originality - such style
AND THE SWAGGER; “Okay, okayy. See you at the battle.”
The mix of these elements is truly beautiful.

2) LOVE STORY (Taylor Swift) meets VIVA LA VIDA (Coldplay) - Piano Cello - by Jon Schmidt

Beautiful song - definitely need to pick up this sheet music.

3) Roman Muradov - illustrator, comic book artist
A classically charming, playful comic style which is brilliantly mixed in with other media

Click picture to link to his gallery

4) Steve Reeves - bodybuilding champion
before the 1960s, bodybuilding was still a sport of aesthetics rather than one of pure size due to the lack of anabolic usage.

Steves went onto to be cast as Hercules and win Mr. Universe as well as other titles. His symmetry and size are something I and the average person can reasonably strive for without drugs.

5) SquatDR - probably the highest jumping man in the world. From what I can tell, Squat Dr, aka Alan Barch Jr., is one of the hardest working athletes but also one of the humblest and least spoken. He truly seems to be content to just train for himself despite these amazing accomplishments. I’m glad that his feats are starting to be publicized worldwide. The internet is a funny thing… pretty weird to think that amazing phenomenon would’ve gone unnoticed in the age before the internet. It also is pretty remarkable that I believe him when he says that he is drug-free.

need to focus my energy, my efforts. 

 

Glitch music is tickling my fancies. Maybe I should give electronic music a chance. 

Dance is going well.  I have been having some good sessions, and I think I’m finally progressing from being a noob. 

I didn’t get into jewelry making yet again. Oh well, at some point, I’m going to have to bite the bullet and try some DIY. Stay tuned… 

Intramural basketball team is in the finals for the low division :). Third time (year) is the charm.

On the other hand, training has been inconsistent. I also have not been cooking much, leading to unhealthy eating.  

Still finalizing summer plans, I got waitlisted for funding for a project. Everyone’s hurting in this economy. Although, that only means it’s grand time for innovation…

Studies have been going decently. My academic interests are broadening. I have been getting interested in anthropology, and I seem to be capable of fiction writing. We’ll see how it goes. Time to redouble my efforts.

Need to focus and stop getting distracted

This semester definitely has been eye opening. I’ve learned and thought about myself, exploring my identity to new depths.

I do feel like I am getting started a little late, but it is better now than… even later. Things finally are clicking into place. I am taking classes I enjoy, living happily and at peace in my single, networking with the right people, and… being confronted with serious decisions.

Since late high school, I had given up my aspirations to become a doctor. I just did not feel like it was practical. Now here’s my crisis; in my junior year, I am giving the premedical track thought again.

I had and still have a good understanding of my various life goals, but it was arrogant of me to think that this knowledge translated to knowing the path I will take to get there. Medical school is another possible path; one which I still think is more troublesome than it is worth, but a path, I am considering again.

Now this crisis is a two part problem for me. 1) What do I need to do to get into medical school? 2) Is going to medical school really worth the sacrifices? At this point,  my goals are not strictly to practice but rather to deal with medicine in another way, and increasingly, I see the importance of medical school as qualification of these goals.

All in all, this past month has been such a period of introspection. I need to talk to some people and seek advice. I need thoughts: my thoughts, your thoughts… anonymous internet thoughts.

I can not say much but WOW. The dynamics of life and society are fascinating. So this is a taste of what crisis feels like.

Welcome back to Fashion Friday!

I picked up Devil Wear’s Prada at the library, hoping to relive one of my favorite movies. Although it was not a bad read, the novel did not live up to my expectations of one of my favorite movies.

I enjoyed the gratuitous designer name dropping and Providence (the main character graduated from Brown University in the book) references. However, the whole novel was essentially the main character whining about her job and the fashion industry. The writing was not concise. While reading, each plot element felt the same. Oh, she wakes up in the middle of the night again from a call from her boss. Oh she messed up something again, and her boss is not forgiving… how surprising. Now, she has to go get coffee again.

The plot changes and simplification in the movie added a dimension of complexity to the novel. The movie was not purely about sinister bosses and superficiality. It was about learning in a foreign environment, building friendships, accepting oneself, finding one’s calling… These elements were amplified with brilliant acting which helped make the characters and themes come to life. Anne Hathaway was so cute, innocent, and awkward. Meryl Streep was truly arrogant, haughty, and demanding; however, she showed a more sympathetic and insecure character.

It is always interesting to see how actors, directors, and script writers can translate a story to the screen.

I want to watch the movie again.

Hallo all. This is fashunz freitag #1. In this post, I will give commentary on random developments in the fashion world. For this first post, I’d like to discuss sales.

Barney’s Warehouse Sale

Despite today being the third to last day of the sale, I decided not to go to the Barney’s Warehouse Sale which is essentially the Barney’s end of season sale. Stores will send unsold sale stock back to the warehouse, and the warehouse pieces themselves will be opened up.

A few interesting features of the Barney’s Warehouse Sale. No dressing rooms … so let’s hope one is not shy; inevitably clothes will come off of people trying things on. Items are sold as is which generally is a rule at a sale, but “as is” for the last items of the season can be a bit grimy from multiple returns. Typically the sale starts off with prices comparable to the last in store sale. Generally, one must also keep in mind that Barney tends to mark up their prices slightly compared to other retail stores, so those prices are standard. Prices get slashed as the sale goes on.

After reading that the stock was not good this year, I decided that I did not have it in me to peruse the maze and wrath that is LA driving. I also did not feel the need to pose while changing in front of the rest of the bargain hunters.

Not all hope is lost thankfully! Due to the delights of the interweb, sale season has never been better to on-line shoppers. With brick & mortar stores expanding their on-line presence, shoppers at home have an unrivaled stock a few mouse clicks away. Expanding on-line sales is Gilt Group.

Gilt Group

Sample sales are infamous for giving bargains, but unfortunately, most of the worthwhile sample sales are in NYC. This proves to be a dilemma as neither of my home bases can reasonably commute to NYC for a sample sale. Gilt Groupe is a relatively newish invite-only sample sale site which provides an interweb solution. They rotate sample sales from different brands biweekly. They both have men’s and women’s sales. *Plug* I get $25 credit for referrals whom make a first purchase from the link above.

They have been getting better brand selection and variety recently, so I expect some decent bargains. I haven’t seen any absolutely brilliant deals yet, but the prices are affordably solid.

Apparently other countries have well-established sample sites as well, so we can probably look forward to future competition from France’s vente-privee.com.

7-19-08 Homeland Lockdown 08

Last Saturday, I had an awesome time at Homeland Lockdown 08, a locking contest and 2 vs 2 popping battle event. I got seats a few minutes before the doors “opened” at around 4:55 PM. Things got set up in about 30 minutes, and then, it was a LONG, crazy night of funk :D. I missed the UFC on spike, Affliction Banned in Anaheim, and my friends’ batman movie outing, but in my opinion, I made the right decision; this night was clearly worth it.

The locking contest was excellent. A lot of quality lockers showed their groove. The locking final between Shyguy and Tiffany was awesome. Shyguy is a beast, and they were neck and neck. Tiffany pulled it out in the last round when she snatched a friend’s camera, started making cute poses on the floor, and locked her way around while taking pictures of the crowd.

Machine Gone Funk performed part of a routine they did for their ABDC audition, and it looks so much doper in person. I was happy to see them :D.

The popping battles were 2 vs 2. 20 teams entered, and 16 got ceded for the first round. Lady AK, Burst Rock, & Sir Ticalot judged the popping battles. Semi finals were Tronik and Frantik vs Preying Mantis/Mary Poppins & Lobo/Jet Li vs Slim Boogie/Kid Boogie. The final was Frantick and Tronik vs Lobo and Jet Li. Both teams were from the Funny Bones crew.

The popping battles got kind of heated. It was apparent that some rivalry was going on haha! Johnny 5 and Devious vs Kid Boogie and Slim Boogie was a memorable battle; Slim boogie’s KARATE CHOP to Johnny 5’s head as the music stop got the crowd (and me) GOING. Lobo and Jet li vs Kid Boogie and Slim Boogie - the snake charmer routine was DOPE, probably my highlight of the battles!!!! Mad Scientist and Tut Master vs ?? two veterans vs the future generation was another one of my favorites.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the level of skill. Watching these battles was serious inspiration for working on my foundation. The guys that were successful all had the whole package, but it all starts with foundation. I especially liked seeing the teams bust out awesome routines. After all, TEAM battles require TEAM effort. It showed a level of creativity and preparation while keeping it fun and not serious. This event truly shows why LA is the capital of funk. Many of these guys can, already have, or will perform on the international stage. I hope videos start popping up; I need to rewatch some of those battles!

After the contest, people loitered around. I am glad to have met a bunch of nice dancers. I and 7 others went to Denny’s for some grub.

Thanks to the organizers , DJ for spinning some awesome music, OG judges, the MC who did great despite the crowd being loud most of the time, the competitors for being an inspiration, and the showcases for entertaining.

The event could’ve been improved in a few small ways. Organizationally, things need to be quicker and more seamless. The rules should be laid out for contestants and the audience. With that said, the judging also needs to be quicker and less collaborative. One can’t keep the contestants and audience waiting while deliberating on who advances to the round. This problem made the event a bit long. Facility wise, the sound system needs to be louder. Most of the time I could barely hear what the MC was saying, and being new “to the scene”, I didn’t know who many of the dancers were. Also, having a more organized seating arrangement would’ve been nice. Setting out certain rules, don’t stand in front of other people especially if you’re tall, etc… Mostly these suggestions are small bumps in a great event that can be improved easily.  Thinking  about improvements is always helpful especially when applying others’ experiences to hosting one’s own events.

I took photos of the locking contest and some of the show cases in between rounds, but my camera’s battery ran out as the popping battles began. Here’s a few of the pictures I took that are a reasonable quality. I’m still not used to shooting in low light, and as I later realized I was probably not in the best place to shoot. Oh well! It was a learning experience :].

Click for bigger picture size!

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warming up for locking

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lots of people

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first show case

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I enjoyed lil b’s performance… This guy is entertaining!

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lol at the gloves

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boogiewalking boogie walking

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kip up during locking!

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props for competing while injured! the guy was groovy too.

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hat trick!

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machinegirl

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zheeee finalists, shyguy and tiffany, hug

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…and they face off

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uh oh… let’s keep this pg.

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lol cute, huh?

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yay MGF crew

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mechanics and robot

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haha awesome!

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nice wave…

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yee

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partner finger wave

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function of ABM crew

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nikodemus

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I love this angle.

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jsmooth finger tutting

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time for the OGs to throw down

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Those are most of the good pictures. Hope you enjoyed!

I am a fan of dance, epecially street style ones. I might be terrible at every style, but I still enjoy practicing. Fortunately, I do not have to quit my day job, and I can critique other dancers :D. Without further do, here’s my early season evaluation of America’s Best Dance Crew.

SUPREME SOUL on America’s Best Dance Crew Season 2

Watch out for SUPREME SOUL on America’s Best Dance Crew (click for full episodes on MTV.com). These guys are LEGIT. I am so psyched. People should not compare them to the Jabawockeez, last season’s show winner and “rival” of Supreme Soul. The Jabawockeez have some talent no doubt, but some of the guys on SUPREME SOUL are NASTY. BIONIC is absolutely nuts; he’s a world class popper.

Here’s a portion of their audition routine.

Episode 2 was such an entertaining performance. I thought Episode 1’s routine was great as well, but the judges disagreed. I guess I will have to listen and defer to JC and Lil Mama’s judgement for another ENLIGHTENING season LOL.

It’s one thing to hear Shane Sparks, a prolific choreographer, tell a crew that they need to hit harder, technical advice and criticism. It’s another thing to hear Lil Mama, a mainstream hip hop artist, tell a crew that they need to “stab the chicken” in their performance. Uh, ok Lil Mama thanks for the suggestion … I also don’t usually agree with JC’s, the ex-back street boy, advice… haha oh well. I can’t hate much because Lil Mama and JC aren’t dancers, and they give character to the show for the mass audience. I can appreciate their roles.

I can also appreciate the way the judges portrayed Supreme Soul as an arrogant crew LOL. I guess that’s reality tv. In the audition, Bionic is trying to be humble, and he says that both the Jabberwockeez and Supreme Soul brought it at that battle (note that battle wasn’t even between Jabberwockeez and Supreme Soul… it was between SOUL SECTOR and an “all-star” crew from SoCal which had half of the Jabberwockeez). Then, Pharcyde grabs the mike stating, “MAN, we took it!” Shane Sparks goes on to deride Bionic for not stepping up and saying that they won the battle, and I definitely can understand Shane Spark’s sentiments. However, after those statements, all of a sudden, a few questions are posed encouraging them to answer with swagger, and then, they are being called cocky. Of course… we are shown 2 minutes earlier that Bionic was being overly humble to begin with by acknowledging the other crew. Now every show, the judges or one of the hosts makes a swipe at them as the cocky crew.

On to another crew that didn’t make the season. I am sooo bummed that Machine Gone Funk crew (MGF crew) didn’t get on. Those guys are also nasty, and if you watched, their ABDC audition tape. Kaba Modern’s finger tutting routine was a DIRECT BITE off of a sequence they were taught in a workshop by the world famous J Smooth of MGF Crew. Kaba repped the asians (as I am sure every asian university student knows), but it’s time for some recognition of pure funk style groups. I definitely appreciate the effort and style of choreography-driven groups though, and Kaba Modern does it EXTREMELY well. They’ve got sick choreography and talented dancers in a number of styles, but one can’t expect a group that’s primarily college students to be the best in the world at their specific styles.

I also have to give my appreciation to Super Crew for throwing down for the bboy culture. Definitely, respect to them. They have some crazy bboys on their crew. It’s not easy getting out of their element and succeeding in the commercial choreo world.

Oh well, by all reports, extremely shady things happen behind the scene, so I’m not expecting a competition; it’s show biz after all. I am just glad that I can be entertained, and that dance culture is having some time in the lime light :].

The freaking producers still need to figure out that dancers need to be viewed from the front throughout the performance. We, the viewers, CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHAT’S GOING ON WHEN THE CAMERA ANGLE SHIFTS EVERY 5 SECONDS. Haha…

Biggest Online Dance Battle - Mandy and Miley Cyrus vs Adam Chu

On to random internet dance occurances haha, the director of “Step Up 2: The Streets” and that movie’s lead actor challenged Mandy and Miley of Disney fame to the “biggest on-line dance battle.” It’s pretty entertaining at points, and they bring in some big names in the dance and celeb world. Check it out if time permits.

ACDC Crew Dance #1 - the Challenge

M&M Cru Dance #1

ACDC Crew Dance #2

M&M Cru Final Dance Battle

I definitely thought that ACDC Crew dance #2 was bringing the heat. It’s pretty cool seeing Chris Brown perform. He seems to actually be a decent dancer. Still, I think he has a long way to go to reach Usher’s level in the “best main-stream r&b artist dancer.”

Life Update

In other news, I am healing, reading, watching sports (Wimbledon & Soccer Eurocup), and chilling! Life is decent :].

So the NBA is putting in fines for flopping haha (read more at ESPN here).

I love Rasheed Wallace’s comments, in the article, after their Game 5’s loss to the Celtics.

“All that bull[expletive]-ass calls they had out there. With Mike [Callahan] and Kenny [Mauer] — you’ve all seen that [expletive],” Wallace said. “You saw them calls. The cats are flopping all over the floor and they’re calling that [expletive]. That [expletive] ain’t basketball out there. It’s all [expletive] entertainment. You all should know that [expletive]. It’s all [expletive] entertainment.”

Haha, it may be basketball detracting, but you are right Rasheed. It is freaking hilarious entertainment sometimes…

Dennis Rodman & Karl Malone showing us their mastery of the technical skill.

Man, back in the day, I remember getting mad at Vlade Divac during the Kings-Lakers semis for his flopping antics. Retrospectively, I admire the man’s art. Thank you Vlade Divac, Manu Ginobbli, Reggie Miller, and John Stockton. Your contributions to the era of flopping will never be forgotten.

Musical taste evolution

The evolution of my musical tastes has been kind of funny. In high school, I was quite into exploring music; ska was my favorite musical outlet. Enter first two years of college, I strayed away from being into hipster and indie culture. I turned to more mainstream music. Really, it was just… accessible. Most of the music I listened to was from hanging out at the radio station or grooving to my dance mix. Regardless, I have been getting back into my music exploration phase.
I am sure I will have many more musical fascinations of the moments. One clear result of my evolving musical taste is a developed aversion to sad and / or angry emo music. I like being happy, and I like listening to happy music, whether it be calm or energetic, to keep me happy. Emotional music is tragic and cool in its own right, but those vibes do not jive with my personality most of the time. Why listen to something that will get me down? Anyways, without a further do, check out my indie pop fascinations of the moment, The Virgins and MGMT.

The Virgins

Apparently, the Virgins have been played on gossip girls. Although, I obviously wouldn’t know about that ;].

MGMT

MGMT is blowing up. They are touring with Radiohead later this year.

I guess these groups are not truly undiscovered haha. Now is the opportune time to admit that you are likely more hip than me ;], but yeah these are the more “mainstream” groups that I am onto now. Latch on, kids!

Take care everyone and stay happy :]! Tell me what you think about these peeps and suggest new artists to look into.

Wow - I am half way done with college, the “best years of my life.”

I have met some good friends, and I have learned even more about true friendship and relationships.

It is another year, and yet, I still feel the same. i still start watching more NBA as the play off games begin. I still look a bit chubby. I still don’t quite have that academic focus and undying motivation which others seem to have. Hopefully, it is the intangibles I have gained, those factors that one subtlely learns without ever really noticing - the minute differences that make or break understanding. Somehow, I am a bit skeptical. What have i really learned? It’s my last teen year. I guess I’m looking for things concrete.

Or when I resolve to do something, but it never happens.
Well, after 19 years of extreme wisdom -_- haha, I think I have finally realize that I can’t do much with just a goal. I need structure and a little help. i guess it’s the essential problem of not reaching the critical mass of skill. I contest that many things actually have a downward sloping learning curve. as you become an intermediate, it becomes easier to progress. Hopefully, writing is a skill with a downward sloping learning curve.

It’s a new blog, new start. We’ll see what happens.

On a different topic, wtf happened to having any room on air planes. I began typing this while my laptop was 45 degrees on my stomach because someone’s seat was reclined so back.

currently reading: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marquez