#saw a clip of him during death knell how could I not

[moonlitministry]

Man I love river

[roo-bastmoon]

Honestly you're entitled to your opinion. I just don't understand how you think. Cause jkk were obviously fine in April (Vegas), and now since Festa everyone thinks they're not together anymore but then Washington was AFTER Festa and they were hanging out with Jhope and Her as we saw. I'm sorry but if you just broke up with someone (which in this case would be less than two months ago), you won't go out of your way to hang out with them for fun, especially if you're forced to work with them everyday.

Now I understand you're also starting to doubt they ever dated because of car changes? But like, we know they have different schedules now since their solo projects work has already started for a while now. There, explained. Why do some people want them to spend every second of every day together all the time ? Jungkook not knowing about Jimin's tattoo? All the boys know where Jimin's tattoo is, he just realized he wasn't supposed to talk about it cause Jimin hasn't said anything himself.

I just don't understand, at all, where y'all's doubts come from. Literally. Doesn't make sense...

I think you might be confusing what I’ve said with what a few others are saying. I’ll clarify then I have to sign off for a bit—please don’t feel ignored!

1. I’m pretty sure Jikook were an actual romantic couple for years and might still be. Of course without confirmation from them, it could all just be a flirty loving friendship with plenty of fanservice and I’m a clown. But I don’t think so…

2. I became an Army in December (my beloved nana died in the fall and BTS got me through my grief) and then there was a 3 month stretch of radio silence in 2022 from my bias Jimin and it made me worried something was wrong because he was usually on social media way more and JK never mentioned him even when he was rushed to the hospital. I panicked but older Army said to hang tight—and they were right!

3. There was then a period where Jikookers were well fed (White Day, Seoul concert moments, all the Vegas moments—especially the last night). Sometimes their interactions seemed a bit stiff/shy and sometimes JK also had way more flirty interactions with other members on stage but performing is euphoric for them and they all love each other. The Vegas Vlive showed signs of real intimacy—soft tones and touches, personal info only they know about each other, diet and exercise plans exclusive to each other—typical Jikookery.

4. Then silence again. JK embraces insta but only talks about Jimin if asked. Silence even during Jimin’s first OST. Jimin is totally withdrawn during the whole mail “scandal” breaking in the news and maybe JK was just following his lead. Footage of interviews and photo shoots where Jimin barely smiles or speaks and even forgets to bow are jarring. He’s just off. They don’t touch, talk, look at or flirt the way they used to. Okay. Everybody has off days and they’ve been together for years so… no big.

5. Jimin seems cagey and a little sad in the airport. After the White House speech they go out with Hobi for games and food and seem friendly—in those few seconds of clips they appear not flirty but very friendly—clearly okay with each other, having an great time. They get mobbed when back in Korea and travel home separately, then more silence. Separate cars, separate trips, separate activities like festivals and matches—all normal for regular couples, a bit out of the ordinary for a Jikook but hardly a death knell for a relationship.

6. The few times I’ve seen footage of things since Vegas (which honestly could have been filmed any time!) they seem distant. Not angry. Not cold. Not nervous. Distant. Gone is the pink fuzzy warm sweet aura where they always climb all over each other and talk about each other; now it’s polite, professional business. Might be because they were wrestling with the news of their big transition. There are things they can’t fully share with us, I get it.

7. Mostly what makes me wonder if Jikook’s relationship has changed is that I’m seeing old footage and new footage for the first time all at the same time and there’s a shift in tone. Which is normal and natural. But JK initiates plenty of hugs with Yoongi, Hobi and Joon and he’s all over Jin and Tae. Yet Jimin is the one who mostly initiates with JK anything more than a pat on the shoulder. I’m not used to it.

8. There are plenty of instances that are cute moments between JK and Jimin this year but it’s different now. They aren’t stuck together like glue. They don’t know key things about each other (JK’s wanna see my cat joke, friendship tattoo, songs—I cannot tell if not knowing these things was kidding and deflecting or genuinely not knowing these things). They don’t flirt shamelessly. There was a time when JK stared at Jimin constantly, had to be grouped with him, initiated hugs and touches, complimented him, promoted his songs and projects, gave only him gifts, spent tons of downtime with him, was besotted for years, back when we had weekly episodes. That’s been happening less and less (that we can see) since the pandemic. And not at all since Vegas—that I’ve seen. But I’ve barely seen anything. There could be stuff coming out that shows I was a total dumbass for doubting—and I will ecstatically proclaim my dumbassery if it does because I want my doubts to be wrong!

9. So all these little shifts have led me to ask—not state as fact—if they may just be good friends now. It is not my business and I’ll support them no matter what. They don’t owe me a performance. But I’m not the only one seeing the difference lately. So I’m just asking why JK seems so aloof sometimes and then sweet on Jimin others, why Jimin seems so sad sometimes and so into JK others. I’m curious because we have so little of the full picture and I like distracting myself from my recent health crisis by pondering—not proclaiming with any certainty—what might be going on. It feels a bit like being on a roller coaster, with extreme highs of loud lovey dovey Jikookery and then dips of silence or distance where they don’t really acknowledge each other much. Yet JK isn’t aloof with everyone else. As a newbie, I’m confused. It’s hard for me to get a handle on JK’s love languages and “rules” (totally okay to sit on other men’s laps or kiss their ankles, definitely not okay to help them peel shrimp or share solo songs at the office). I know he teases a lot but I can’t tell how much he means and how much is bratty playfulness. Sometimes he downplays why Jimin is in his videos or the one he seeks out, and it comes across as attachment avoidant. But really wtf do I know? I’m six months old in this fandom. So I like to ask for your perspectives to help guide my interpretation. Sometimes I worry I’m on the spectrum or not understanding cultural nuances here…

10. But in the end I’ve got to stop talking so much about this because as I said when I began—I don’t have enough evidence to make a judgment about anything, and I may never have enough evidence to know what their status truly is. I think I may be upsetting other fans and I never want to be an asshat. I doubt I’ll arrive at a conclusion by constantly talking about it. But I’m 18 days away from a complete radical hysterectomy to remove endometrial stromal sarcoma cancer so I best get my shit together and stop obsessing about K-pop idols. Now is absolutely the right time for me to just catch up on all original content and celebrate what wonderful moments they do share with us on and off stage. It’s not my relationship. I don’t NEED to know their personal business. I love them and hope they will be very happy and fulfilled. I need to shift focus to only happy things for mental and physical health reasons.

Sorry for any typos. These are all my sincere thoughts on the matter. Which can be wrapped up by saying—I know nothing, I just sense weird vibes right now , so let’s wait and see?

[karaokeadvice]

Meaningless Time

It’s a...Tuesday? I think? In the summer? I do know that it’s August, because I moved back to the States on August 1st. So I’m also completely jet lagged and I don’t have any sense of the time of day. To add to my confusion/displacement, I’m staying in my childhood bedroom at my mom’s house which has remained relatively unchanged since the mid-90s. (Case in point, my sister and I still refer to one of the bathrooms as “the new bathroom” although it was renovated in 1995.) So every day I wake up at about 5am craving enchiladas, and unsure about what decade it is, and where I am in my life. But I don’t think this is a unique problem. I assume that most of you are feeling aimless, unsure of the day of the week, and perhaps craving enchiladas at whatever hour you awaken. All of the “normal” markers of life are gone. Seems like a good moment to do a deep (medium?) dive into songs about time. 

Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club 

[This is Karen’s only entry because not only is time meaningless, but I can’t remember any songs I have ever heard at all over the last 44 years.] 

I go through periods every few years where all I want to do is listen to this song on repeat and start crying a little bit when actual chiming reminiscent of a beautiful yet merciless clock gently starts up during the chorus, and if that’s not something you can relate to, I guess you probably didn’t grow up waiting to just get to the part when you’re an older yet wiser divorcee in a peignoir with a high rise apartment featuring large windows to knowingly gaze out of over a twinkling cityscape as a saxophone solo wails in the background. 

Well, some of that has come true for me, but not most of it, but luckily there’s always SOPHISTI-POP to help me cut to that feeling. According to Wikipedia, this is a term applied retrospectively to music “that emerged during the mid-1980s in the UK which incorporated elements of jazz, soul, and pop.” To me it’s songs that came on Top 40 radio after my mid-1980s bedtime of 8:00 pm so I had to listen to them on my clock radio stashed under my pillow and fantasize as detailed above and also something about impatiently taking off a large clip-on earring to answer the phone. 

This feels like a love song but it’s actually a giant dis and a meditation on the sunk-cost fallacy of long-term relationships that are dead in the water. “Time won’t give me time / And time makes lovers feel / like they got something real / but you and me we know we got nothiiiiiiiiiiin’ but time.” At first it feels romantic--we’ve got nothing but time, baby, time to spend together in this beautiful partnership. But wait a minute. Time makes lovers feel like they have something real, but in this case the lovers have...nothing but time. That’s it. Time and nothing else is what’s keeping them together. The charming chiming is actually signalling the death knell of a relationship. “Time won’t give me time.” Isn’t that the truth? Also: an excellent saxophone solo.

Time Passages - Al Stewart

I always get Al Stewart and Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics mixed up. (I know, I know.) This song is actually pretty boring: a perfect fit for this period of ongoing malaise. The experience of listening to it is the equivalent of not listening to anything. It also seems to go on forever, clocking in at 6 minutes and 40 seconds. 

There’s a seemingly endless youtube video someone made which pairs the song with just pictures of sunsets and skies. It’s exhausting and somehow irritating to watch. I think it’s supposed to be relaxing? 

There’s also a weird screaming instrument (or person) at just about the halfway point. So, it turns out I hate this song. I didn’t know until I started this entry. I learned something new about myself today. If you want everyone to die of boredom, you could sing this at karaoke. Actually, that would be a great idea for a room full of drunk kickball players. Please someone take me up on this challenge when and if we can ever safely gather again.

Breathe (2 AM) - Anna Nalick

I don’t know where Anna Nalick came from or where she went after she wisely cautioned us all to “just breathe” at 2am when we are waking up in a cold sweat and calling her for advice. Actually, at 2am I haven’t gone to sleep yet. I’m likely doing one of the following: having a debate with myself in my head about whether or not I should just give up sleeping and start a movie; deciding if it actually matters if I brush my teeth; wondering what things are plugged in that shouldn’t be; and/or mentally cataloging every boy I ever kissed. Also if someone called me at 2am I would scream. I’m calling BS on Anna Nalick actually picking up. At any rate, she is a really good friend to even consider answering the phone at that hour. Also maybe put your phone on vibrate?

Chicago - Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

This is truly the question for RIGHT NOW. It’s also a really really dumb song. It seems like a filler song, like truly stream-of-consciousness writing (no shade; I’m doing the same thing right now!). But I’m envisioning the producer of Chicago’s album saying kind of last minute, “guys, we need one more song on this record. Literally anything.” I mean, look at the lyrics:

As I was walking down the street one day / A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch / And I said / Does anybody really know what time it is 

I mean, maybe I’m not giving the songwriter (Robert Lamm!) enough credit. I guess he’s having the same existential crisis that we all are? But I just find the whole thing so irritating. Who wants to listen to a play-by-play of his day and the people he encounters while on his ambling stroll? TL/dr: one guy wants to know what time it is, some lady feels the need to inform him that her watch has stopped, and then there’s a lot of pushing and shoving (?!) as people are going to and from work. But not our narrator! He’s just walking around, waiting to be approached, so he can NOT ANSWER the question he is asked, and instead ponder the meaning of life. It’s so annoying! And also completely confusing how this was a HIT SINGLE?!! The 70’s, man. (More about this soon.)

Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce

When I lived in England (the first time, as a kid) I had my first BEST best friend, Judith. (Hi Pudes, if you’re reading this.) Like the first person outside my family who actually totally *got* me. I guess we got each other? It was actually how I always imagined friendship to be, but it had never happened like that for me before. 

We hung out every day after school and spent most weekends together. We’d stay up late listening to music in her room and just talking, talking, talking deep into the night. It was just before either of us had discovered boys, so all the energy that would later be used for crushes and romance was channeled into this amazing friendship. 

When we moved back to the US, I was devastated. 

We wrote long, newsy letters to each other faithfully for years. We saw each other every summer. I think it was the first summer we were reunited (her family came to the US to visit) that we sunk a lot of hours listening to “Time in a Bottle” and feeling sad about our fleeting moments together. We took the unusual step of writing the lyrics out on belts (?!!) for each other, and that belt with her handwriting and Jim’s lyrics hung on my closet door for all of high school. 

But there never seems to be enough time / To do the things you want to do / Once you find them / I've looked around enough to know / That you're the one I want to go / Through time with.

The bitter irony here, of course, is I lived in England again until last Saturday, and there still wasn’t enough time to see her. Not that we were allowed to for much of the past several months, anyway. But regardless, we have families and busy lives of our own now, and that brief fleeting moment when friendship is your only responsibility has long passed. 

Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper

I get a Strong Emotional Reaction from the opening chords of this song; do you? Flashback, warm nights!

This is one of three CL songs that I mix up. I always wonder, is this the one that makes me sad and I also think might be good to sing at karaoke? So I start here. Then, I realize, no, the one I’m thinking of has a longer title and something to do with night.

Oh! It must be “I Drove All Night.” So I move on to that one but it’s too upbeat.

Finally, I realize I must be thinking about “All Through the Night” and get the gut-punch nostalgia hit I was seeking from the opening keyboard twinkle. (Twinkle?!)  Hope you enjoyed this tour of my brain.

Anyway, back to this song. Time after time, Cyndi helps me sift through the suitcase of memories, dreaming about my bright future as Mrs. Corey Feldman. Like Karen’s SOPHISTI-POP entry, this is another ten-year-old under-the-covers listening experience. With no baseline for actual relationships, I pictured this as a treatise on Adult Love. A series of gauzy-hued Missed Connections, punctuated by consent issues (you say, go slow).

Upon grown-up relistening, it is a strikingly accurate portrayal of Relationships. She’ll be waiting for her lover, time after time, no matter what; but also literally waiting--what with the clock ticking and the second hand unwinding. I’ll wait for you forever but also it’s 7:35 WHERE ARE YOU.

(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life - Bill Medley / Jennifer Warren

This is not the best song on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. That honor OBVIOUSLY belongs to “Hungry Eyes” by Eric Carmen. I don’t think you need to hear any more details about my ten-year old fantasies though, so I will spare you. 

“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” made a recent reappearance in my life when it was played at a Halloween party. I had a drunken miscommunication with my friend Nelson where I stood at one end of the dance floor and ran towards him at full speed, thinking he would somehow instinctively do “the lift”. But instead I just crashed into him and almost broke his glasses and nose. So, this is really just a word of warning. 

Also, Patrick Swayze is SO MUCH OLDER then Jennifer Grey; how did we not notice/care? Just so busy stanning Baby and Johnny Castle. Better or worse than the glaring age gap between David Bowie and Jennifer Connolly in Labyrinth? EVERYTHING IS RUINED.

All My Life - K-Ci & JoJo

Luckily, the YouTube comments have written this entry for us. 

Y.N. 2 months ago

Who’s listening during quarantine?  😁

O.S. 3 weeks ago

If you are also randomly playing old music. Hit like

JO 1 month ago (edited) 0% Butt shaking  0% Drugs 0% Lambos 0% Strippers 0% Cursing 100% TALENT

J.C. 2 weeks ago (edited)

TIMELESS!!!

[junker-town]

NBA scores 2017: The Warriors can still flip the switch and beat anybody

Golden State is fine, and they showed that Wednesday.

Oh, the Warriors are fine.

Since losing five games in seven games that had everyone in a panic, they’ve rebounded to win nine straight outings. (The turning point must have been Klay Thompson signing a toaster.) On Wednesday, Golden State basically spotted the Spurs the first quarter and a 22-point lead, before roaring back in one of the most dominant showings we’ve seen from them in months.

The two team’s last meeting had been the flashpoint for a league-wide talking point, after the top players on each side sat due to rest and injury. The NBA hated it, wanting their product shown at its best on national television. While it wasn’t an overtime thriller, that happened on Wednesday. It just wasn’t an equal distribution of wealth — for a quarter and a half or so, the Spurs were at their best. For the rest of it, Golden State took over.

The loss will almost certainly keep San Antonio from the overall No. 1 seed, something that briefly appeared to be in reach after Golden State’s brief burnout and the Spurs walloping them in that now notorious rest game. But as quickly as the Spurs have drawn close, they’ve fallen back off — and this game was the death knell. With seven games remaining, Golden State has a two-game cushion, even if the Spurs are perfect. (If they’re not, the Warriors have even more flexibility.)

Who knows why it took so long for Golden State to heat up, but they did. It took more than four minutes for the Warriors to score, and at one point, they were 1-of-11 shooting the basketball for five turnovers. Well, the rest of the game, the Warriors shot 42-of-73 (58 percent).

It wasn’t a peak Golden State performance, and that’s somewhat scary. Obviously, Kevin Durant remains out, with the latest news predicting a return during the team’s final three home games. Draymond Green was miserable, especially early on but barely improving after that. He finished with four points on four field goal attempts, with four assists stacked up against seven turnovers.

But the rest of the Warriors were enough on Wednesday. Stephen Curry had 29 points while Klay Thompson heated up late for 23 of his own. Golden State’s bench may be ragtag, and you can never really know what to expect from them, but they came alive on Wednesday, too. David West had his best game in a Warriors uniform, setting season highs with 22 minutes and 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. West has been a steady part of the rotation of late, but he was also mothballed for a stretch earlier this year. His emergence can mean nothing but good things for the Warriors.

Andre Iguodala came alive for 14 crucial points, too. Many of his came in the first half, keeping the game close and refusing to let San Antonio run away with it. They didn’t, thanks to his efforts, and the Warriors firmly closed out the game in the second half.

It feels like we’ve been viewing the Warriors more existentially with each passing week, but those times are over. Oh that’s right. Golden State is still a deadly basketball machine built to truck your favorite team. Oh, guess what. They’ve won nine straight and looked like this without Kevin Durant, whose return is likely imminent.

If for even a moment, you wondered if the Warriors could still flip the switch, they can. We just saw it.

Around the rest of the league

Russell Westbrook did his whole “oh hey look I deserve the MVP” thing again, with a 57-point triple-double and 19 points in the final seven minutes to help the Warriors win a basketball game against Orlando. Yes, that’s a FIFTY-SEVEN point triple-double. Yes, HERE’S the game-tying three-pointer he hit with seconds left in the fourth quarter.

(Reminder: Westbrook literally did this last game, too, scoring 12 points in the final 3:30 for a nearly impossible comeback vs. Dallas. I wrote about it here.)

I’m curious to see how James Harden responds in his final game against the Warriors on Friday, which is a nationally televised affair. I still think Harden has the tiniest bit of an edge for me in the MVP race, but one thing he’s lacking is clear “MVP moments.” Why we need MVP moments is a bit silly, since the only thing that should matter is a player’s front-to-back performance throughout a season. But here we are, and that’s why Kawhi Leonard earned so much buzz for his go-ahead three plus game-saving block against Houston earlier this month. Harden has been terrible in three games against Golden State, but maybe something on Friday can allow him to show how good his season has been.

Then again, it’s not like Westbrook has been good going up against Golden State, either, so this is probably unfair. Just like it’s unfair to look at Westbrook’s absurd fourth quarter comebacks, when Harden has the Rockets playing well enough that they don’t need many absurd fourth quarter comebacks. And here’s the impossible dilemma of the MVP race, and why teammates inevitably impact each player’s candidacy.

The impossible to understand Clippers won again, this time a high-scoring affair against Washington that featured 41 points from John Wall in a loss. Four Clippers scored 23 points or more.

Wednesday’s final scores

Pelicans 121, Mavericks 118 (The Bird Writes recap | Mavs Moneyball recap)

Hawks 99, 76ers 92 (Peachtree Hoops recap | Liberty Ballers recap)

Thunder 114, Magic 106 (Welcome to Loud City recap | Orlando Pinstriped Post recap)

Bucks 103, Celtics 100 (Brew Hoop recap | Celtics Blog recap)

Hornets 110, Raptors 106 (At the Hive recap | Raptors HQ recap)

Heat 105, Knicks 88 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | Posting & Toasting recap)

Grizzlies 110, Pacers 97 (Grizzly Bear Blues recap | Indy Cornrows recap)

Warriors 110, Spurs 98 (Golden State of Mind recap | Pounding the Rock recap)

Clippers 133, Wizards 124 (Clips Nation recap | Bullets Forever recap)

Jazz 112, Kings 82 (SLC Dunk recap | Sactown Royalty recap)