#the first puzzle to my understanding of Korean pop culture

[el-cheung]

Byung-hun Lee, 28th March 2024, Masterclass at Florence Korean Film Fest.

Photo by me and please do not reupload✨

To whom it may concern,

(What I actually mean is, to my fellow Mag7 and Goody x Billy besties)

Guess whom I met last week?

[jentlemahae]

(Album Review) Sticker by NCT 127 – Did It Really Stick?

Just last week, South Korean group NCT 127 – numbers referring to the longitude coordinate of Seoul – released their long-awaited, third full-length album, Sticker, which immediately caused an uproar among their fans. Some really loved it, while some really hated it (and were not silent about it). It’s the so-called ‘third album syndrome’, where artists create a record that is so new even for them, that it ends up being polarizing for the fanbase. Sticker might have been just that for 127, as fans are either calling it a masterpiece or a huge disappointment – no in-between.

(Those who are already familiar with NCT 127 may skip the following section. Those who are not – buckle up!)

A beginner’s guide to NCT

For those who may not know, NCT (short for “Neo Culture Technology”) is a boy-group under SM Entertainment. The band has been able to stand out from the KPOP landscape since its very debut, and not only because of their music and talents, but also thanks to their distinctive concept. In a nutshell, the idea is that the group can have an unlimited (or infinite) number of members, as fresh new boys can be added to the lineup at any given time. So far, they have accumulated 23 members, divided into four different subunits – NCT 127, NCT DREAM, WayV (fixed units), and NCT U (rotational unit).

Each subgroup has its own characteristic sound and/or concept, but there is one thing they have in common – they are all known for going against the current, be it musically or style-wise. In fact, they are considered the pioneers of the takeover on KPOP by ‘noise music’. But what is noise music? Sometimes affectionately called ‘pots and pans’, it is a genre characterized by an expressive use of sound that is not bound to traditional music rules, and encapsulates different chords and types of notes within a song. Nowadays, it has become the main style of the 4th Generation, and NCT were the ones who truly popularized it to the current audience (despite being 3rd Gen).

NCT 127’s approach to noise music is particularly fascinating. Fans describe their sound as ‘NEO’, which is confusing and vague unless you are familiar with their discography – then it makes perfect sense! The group always takes noise music to the next level, yet manages to not make it sound completely nonsensical and (too) migraine-inducing.

Now that you are all up to speed, we can proceed with the actual review!

Sticker – peeling the songs off

After weeks of teasers and hints, NCT 127 finally unveiled to their eager, hungry fans their new single and album, Sticker. This record perfectly encapsulates the cornucopia of sounds that the band is known for, as the songs go from EDM to hip-hop to heart-warming ballads. And of course, the group’s signature sound – the pots and pans are here, louder and stronger than ever. But enough chit-chat for now – let’s go through the album together.

Sticker (8.5/10)

NCT 127 made the bold choice to open the record with the title track, Sticker. Why ‘bold choice’? Well, let’s just say the song is not exactly easily digestible… The melody is a plethora of sounds, yet feels almost empty and subdued to the vocals at the same time. It is a bacchanal of frenzied beats and a dirty bass line accompanied by a shrill flute and piano, with cut-throat raps and beautiful harmonies that are disjointed from the overall melody. Sticker is chaos, but an intentional one, thus its instability manages to captivate you whilst disarming you.

Truth be told, I was a bit taken aback by the song when I first listened to it. Nothing appeared to make sense to my ears, as they seem to be fighting with the beat (and losing) throughout the entire track. But that’s exactly the point. The disconnection between the instrumentals and the singing is clearly done on purpose, perhaps in order to further highlight the members’ impressive vocals, which overpower and outbalance the otherwise empty beat. Or maybe the purpose was just to render the song more impactful, which sure as hell worked – you may not like Sticker, but the song is likely to remain stuck in your head one way or another.

Lemonade (8.3/10)

The second track was teased by the group prior to the official release of the album with a track video, and was immediately loved by fans. This catchy B-side includes an addictive deep bass which makes the perfect beat for both powerful raps and hefty vocals, a signature cocktail in NCT music.

The song is so good that a puzzling question immediately erupted following the release of the record, and spread like wildfire within 127’s fanbase – why wasn’t ‘Lemonade’ the title track? After all, everyone likes it, both fans and non-fans, and it could easily be something you’d expect to find at the top of the charts. In contrast to Sticker, on which everybody seems to be divided. So, wouldn’t it make sense for it to be the title track, given its striking popular appeal?

The answer is no. What some fans don’t seem to understand is that when it comes down to KPOP title tracks (especially nowadays), the issue is not whether it is the best or the catchiest song on the record. The real question is, does it make an impact? Given how new KPOP groups are popping up left and right, managing to leave enough of an impression on the listeners can make or break a career. The title track needs to be instantly stuck in your mind, and for that Sticker fits the bill, as Lemonade sounds just like any other song you could hear in the first 30 minutes of Inkigayo. It’s good, but ordinary. It just doesn’t cut it, and NCT 127 clearly know that.

Breakfast (8/10)

Third song on the record, Breakfast feels reminiscent of past SM boy groups’ releases, namely SHINee’s song Prism from the album 1 and 1. The song encompasses bright melodies and retro beats with a modernized twist, which serve as a perfect mix with the members’ voices. The song’s main stars are the vocalists (particularly HAECHAN, whose tone works wonders with the genre), while the raps are tamer for the group’s standard.

Focus (9/10)

The fourth track is a mid-tempo R&B romantic song, a genre that is characteristic of 127’s B-sides and displays the group’s more soulful edge. Focus flawlessly showcases the members’ honeyed and warm vocals (especially JAEHYUN’s), and the slow lazy-like raps remind of early 2000’s sultry slow jams. This track was an immediate fan-favorite (as attested by yours truly).

The Rainy Night (9.5/10)

The Rainy Night is an R&B-tinged ballad reminiscent of boybands in the 90’s, and is the perfect follow-up to Focus, as vocals appear to be the true protagonists of both songs. In the track, TAEIL manages to stand out in particular by showing off his impressive range, with his beautiful adlibs on the suit-and-tie beat.

Far (6.2/10)

Next up is Far, characterized by a boom-clap drumline and a chanted chorus. Despite being rather forgettable, it is a good song after all – something straight out of a superhero movie soundtrack. It just sounds like something we’ve heard before at least a million times from about any KPOP boy group out there.

Bring The Noize (6.6/10)

Bring The Noize is about as NEO as it can get, with loud and thunderous beats, growling raps and sounds mimicking a car engine, which together make you feel as if your head were in a blender. Just like Sticker, this song is pure chaos, but of an overwhelming and impetuous kind because of its packed production. Yet, I think that’s where it all goes sideways – Bring The Noize is just too overwhelming, because it’s too crowded. On top of the production overflowing with sounds and effects, the vocal aspect of the song is simply too much. All members sing or rap on the track, but the variety of vocal colors is disarming and confusing to the ears in the worst way. Simply put, some members could have stayed silent in that recording booth…

Magic Carpet Ride (6.4/10)

Doing a full 180 from the previous track, Magic Carpet Ride is a ballad with pop elements, and a melodic beat that particularly shows off DOYOUNG and JAEHYUN’s vocals. Despite being a lovely song, it’s nothing particularly exceptional – it’s good for what it is, but it falls slightly flat and forgettable. Nevertheless, it does a wonderful job in proving that not every KPOP song needs a rap part…

Road Trip (7.3/10)

Road Trip shows off 127’s more boyish and bright side, with nice layers of guitar, drums and delicate vocals, proving once again how the band’s is not just a loud gimmick. The song is enjoyable – however, it’s not something we haven’t heard before from NCT. It’s sweet and lovely, but it’s definitely nothing to write home about.

Dreamer (7.4/10)

This upbeat song gives yet another sweet and poppy feel to the tracklist, with retro beats, trumpet riffs and a happy-go-lucky melody. Dreamer kinda sounds like something out of an Old Navy commercial, but I mean it in a good way – its funky, childlike charm combined with the uplifting lyrics is likely to put a smile on your face!

Promise You (7.2/10)

127 chose to end the album with a letter dedicated to their fanbase, NCTzens. Due to the ongoing pandemic, groups have not been able to meet fans in a long time as they normally would. In Promise You they sing about being separated from a loved one and then being reunited again, which is likely a nod towards their fans. Musically, the song intertwines retro-inspired beats with atmospheric synths, that give it a dreamy-like appeal. The track is sweet and serves as a great album closer, as wrapping up the record with DOYOUNG singing “So stay” in a longing yet reassuring tone, feels like the perfect goodbye.

So, did it stick?

Overall, Sticker is a very well-made album – it has ballads, upbeat tracks, addictive songs, and a decent dose of the good ol’ pots and pans. Does it sound like something we have never heard before in KPOP? No! Does it sound like something we’ve never heard before from NCT? Also… No… But whilst the record follows a similar algorithm to 127’s past albums, it is still incredibly enjoyable without sounding boring or too déjà vu. It has a good 50/50 mix of experimental songs to ballads and R&B-influenced tracks, and it leaves room for both rappers and vocalists to shine.

The album truly screams ‘NCT 127’ – it’s experimental, not sonically cohesive, confusing, and a little weird. Plus, just like all of the group’s music, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Or better yet, it’s not at first listen. Sticker might be odd and disarming, but it will get to you eventually – you just gotta let it stick.

8/10

[dprdabin]

DPR: ‘We Did this Ourselves From the Ground Up’

From a hit debut album to an upcoming world tour, producer DPR REM and artist DPR LIVE talk about their hip-hop crew’s ambitions and expansion plans

Talking to the members of DPR is almost always like a productive frisson that leaves you breathless and excited for the things to come. On the day we chat, the voices of producer Scott Kim—better known as DPR REM—and Hong Dabin, aka DPR LIVE, crackle through the phone on a fine Seoul evening, merging together in waves of introspection and quiet, focused ambition. They’re gearing up for their first world tour, but also trying to wrap their heads around the fact that it’s finally happening.

“Everything is just still so surreal for us. It’s not like we’ve done this in a past life or we had experiences in other entertainment companies. This is all ‘Do It Yourself’, like DIY,” says DPR REM. “Every day is a new experience and a new journey, and I think this world tour is one of the biggest steps we’ve taken in that direction.”

On the off chance that you’re a stranger to DPR, short for Dream Perfect Regime, it’s worth noting that ‘Do It Yourself’ is the cornerstone of the septet’s philosophy. The crew, which has morphed into one of the most prominent and creative voices to emerge from the Korean hip-hop scene, is a completely organic and independent effort–a rare feat in South Korea’s label-saturated music industry. They first gained prominence through their captivating and cinematic visual output which included music videos for K-pop acts such as Big Bang and MOBB, courtesy of in-house director and free-spirit extraordinaire, Christian Yu (known as IAN within the collective.)

Rapper DPR LIVE, essentially the face of the collective, is both a founding member and their first formal artist. LIVE started out by uploading his music on YouTube and eventually commanded people’s attention through his tightly packed, spitfire rap on the viral collaborative 2016 hit “Eung Freestyle.” Then in 2017 came Coming To You Live, his debut EP featuring an impressive roster of collaborations and an even bolder declaration—DPR had arrived in full swing. This, however, was followed by the comparatively mellowed out HER the same year. While Coming To You Live was a grand display of confidence, HER was more focused and convergent in its themes, essentially a one-man act that took DPR LIVE to No. 8 on the Billboard World Albums Chart. “I think going off of CTYL, it was hard to just really stick with one theme because there was just so many people involved. We wanted to keep it open-ended for the artists to translate and interpret the way they wanted to,” says DPR REM, who’s produced both albums. “On the cover album for CTYL, we have a change of seasons going on in the background.” DPR used that as a metaphor of how they wanted to offer different varieties of songs and themes, so it not only introduces DPR LIVE as a rookie artist but also incorporates a lot of the other artists that featured on this project to display their thematic lyricism.

However, REM goes on to explain that when it comes to HER, it became a very solo project for LIVE. “It was solo for being not only for his own experimental purposes, but also in that he really wanted to zone in on his artistry and portray his story, and really give the fans like, ‘Okay, this is me, really like raw, without anybody around. This is the music I want to do right now, the vibes I want to put out.’ I think that’s the distinction.”

At just 26, LIVE is succinct but assertive, prefers to channel his words through music and is always aware of his values and goals thanks to his time in the army, which he says brought focus to his music. “I went to school in Guam. I knew how to speak Korean, because that was the only language my mom and my dad can speak, but I definitely wasn’t good at it.” When his family came to Korea, he had to enlist in the army within a year of arriving. “You have to stay in this military camp for two years, being told what to do, when to eat, when to sleep, and stuff like that. I actually really just honed in on myself, my goals, what I wanted in life, my values, and I learned patience and focus there. I think it was a very good thing to do though, because I don’t think I would have learned another way,” he says.

With millions of online views on their videos and the label of an underground collective left in the past, the members of DPR are gearing up to perform at sold out shows in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. Here are excerpts from our conversation with REM and LIVE, where they discuss their success, music, and plans for expanding in the future.

On their collaborations with other artists and Coming To You Live:

LIVE: I think for collaborations, it’s always important to meet the person you’re working with, to get a vibe of their energy, their lifestyle, their beliefs. Just getting to know someone as a human is so helpful in understanding them as an artist. Through various talks and meet-ups, I think that’s where the music just naturally comes about. At least in my experience, that’s how you can be versatile. Meeting with various individuals and just communicating – it really opens you up to new thoughts and experiences.

REM: We were actually very lucky with that, because it just all timed perfectly. Usually, you hear a lot of stories where schedules don’t match up or you’re waiting for some other person and they get back to you, which is very often in the entertainment industry, but just—I don’t know what it is. I like to think it’s a lot of luck, to be honest, there’s a lot of great timing and luck that happened.

On music videos and DPR’s visual output:

LIVE: Not just my input, but everyone’s input goes into our visuals. It’s a collective effort, and that’s exactly the reason as to why I think we are able to deliver top notch quality works. We each present a different piece to the puzzle.

REM: I dedicate a lot of that to Christian. He’s a genius when it comes to that. I really think he’s just a crazy gifted kid that you just can’t put into words at times. It just happens for him.

“I don’t want our tour to just be your typical ‘show’ or ‘performance.’ I want fans to gear up for an actual party–a family reunion,” says DPR LIVE. Photo: Courtesy of Dream Perfect Regime

On being independent artists in South Korea:

LIVE: We really did this ourselves from the ground up. Countless mistakes were made, but through just pure diligence, we were able to get to a point where now we can constantly create and make what we want to. That freedom is priceless.

On their Billboard charting and online success:

LIVE: Although I’m super grateful and humbled, I try my best not to focus on stuff like that. The more you start thinking about certain stats and whatnot, I just believe it tends to really limit and almost negatively impact your career. Constantly being burdened and stressed with thoughts like that seem to do way more bad than good. I think these days I’ve just been working on trying to create constantly and explore myself as an artist more and more.

REM: We’re still young kids if you really think about it. Beyond the fame, beyond the success, it’s the fact that we have influence, and that’s what drives us, right? I think we’ve gone various letters in the email and handwritten letters from our fans all across the world, saying ‘Your music has shifted me in this direction and it’s for the better’ and ‘Your music has really inspired to go and pursue my dream, my passions.’ When we get things like this, it’s a very surreal experience. I’m sure a lot of artists feel the same way, but for us, really coming from the ground up, really not knowing anything that we were doing, going through countless mistakes, countless failures, it’s a really rewarding experience, more than anything.

On getting more people to hop on board:

REM: The short answer is: of course, we’d love to build this movement. I think the betterment of the team is just getting more people on board. The bigger your movement becomes, the bigger impact you get. The long answer to that, now, is that because we’re so family oriented, it does get a bit tricky. You have seven kids that grew up together making this DPR dream a reality. At this point, and we’ve said it before, we know each other so well. If we had disagreements and communication problems, it’s exactly how a family would handle it. This is not a company vibe at all, and I feel like, going off of that, we want to conserve that culture as much as can. That’s where it gets difficult, because you have somebody from the outside coming in, and it’s just like… can they really adapt to this environment? Can they adapt to this culture that we’ve set up before it already? I think that’s the hard question for us.

On the upcoming tour and possible new locations:

LIVE: Besides the fact that I’ll be able to finally see my fans face to face, I’m most looking forward to just being in a space filled with people who really support our movement and resonate with us. I don’t want our tour to just be your typical ‘show’ or ‘performance.’ I want fans to gear up for an actual party–a family reunion. Anybody that supports DPR knows up front that our culture goes hand in hand with family. So for us, this tour is similar to like seeing your long lost relatives, or getting together with family members you haven’t seen in years. That’s the level of excitement the team and I have.

REM: We really tried to include as many cities as we could in this tour. It is a world tour and we wanted to hit as many cities as we could, even despite our physical health or whatever. We really wanted to make the time and effort to get to any place that really knows of us or wants us. Even other Spanish-speaking countries or places like India or South Africa… we have tons of fans hitting us up saying we have fans here and there, and we want to cater to those markets much as we can, but at the same time just thinking about the whole bigger picture of the scheduling and the logistics it just couldn’t work out.

That’s what we told our fans, that ‘Hey, just because we’re doing this first world tour doesn’t mean it’s the last world tour. We’re just getting started here, right?’ This is just the beginning, so it builds momentum for the next few cities that we have yet to hit. We’re like, ‘Hey, we see you guys. We know you’re there. Just wait for us.’

© Lavanya Singh @ Rolling Stone India

[taehyungiestummy]

Summer Dreams -- Chapter Sixteen

Masterlist     Previous     Next

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3053

         “I admire Nari’s work ethic, and how she only took off a few days when we got here, but I wish we could spend more time with her,” Emily sets her camera down on her lap, picking up her pencil to write down another scrapbook idea in her notebook. She’s claimed the recliner today as she works on her passion.

         “I don’t want to interrupt her life too much, though,” I wiggle back to get back into a sitting position against the arm of the couch. I’ve been working on planning characters for a story while also playing phone games when creativity lulls. “We are only here for a few months, and then we will leave, and she’ll have to go back to a normal life without us. I don’t want us to become too much of a constant in her life.”

         “I understand that,” Emily nods a few times. “But she did agree to let us come over, so I think she has prepared herself.”

         “I’m just glad that she takes the time to give us Korean lessons, and that she is cool with letting us do basically whatever we want. Just opening up her home to us for a few months is more than I could have asked for. She’s gone above and beyond. I’m going to miss her so much.”

         “I don’t even want to think about leaving and missing people yet. There’s still a good chunk of summer left, and still so much to do.”

         “You’re right,” I chuckle, stretching out my fingers. “This is going to be the first time we don’t see fireworks on the Fourth of July.”

         “I can’t believe we’ll be spending our first American holiday outside of the United States,” Emily sets her pencil down, quickly putting her hair into a ponytail. “Do you think Nari will let us have a little party with American food?”

         “I don’t think why not,” I shrug. “She has spent her whole life learning and experiencing two cultures, so she would understand us wanting to have a little fun.”

         “We could even ask the boys to come if they can get the time off.”

         “That would actually be amazing,” I grin, looking back down at the spiral notebook on my lap. “It would be a lot more fun with more than just the three of us.”

         “We still have to meet two members, as well.”

         “Then we can dive headfirst into their music, and music videos, and interviews. It will still be weird since we know them, but it will help when we can’t see them.”

         “You just want to be able to see Taehyung even when you can’t be in the same room as him,” Emily chuckles.

         “I mean, yeah, that’s part of it,” I slightly smile.

         “Never thought that my best friend would be in a long-distance relationship, but if she’s happy, then I am over the moon.”

         “I am very happy right now. Oh, I just remembered, that quote you said yesterday,” I put down my pencil, looking back up at my best friend.

         “You did write it,” Emily looks up from her camera. “I remember from some story you had me read. I’m not sure what, but it was you. I’ve always like it, so that’s probably why I remember it.”

         “I’ve been thinking about it. The puzzle of my life is slowly coming together, year by year, more pieces are placed. This summer, I think that I have figured out a lot more than I was planning, so that is fun,” I awkwardly chuckle.

         “I’ve figure out that I do have the best friend in the world. Also, boys aren’t terrible, and can make me so happy.”

         “Well, I’ve already known that first one for a while since I love you and all. But, I think, that the other half is true for me in a different way. I knew that boys could be good if I found the right one to get close too, but I didn’t think it would happen for a while.”

         “Taehyung is a good match for you. The way he tries so hard to meet up with you, and how he makes you smile, and just how he wants to talk to you. It is so heartwarming to see it. More so with you being my best friend. All the trouble you’ve had with boys in the past, you deserve happiness with him.

         “It’s hard to fully fall for him since he’s a Korean star and all, though. It feels like an out-of-body experience when we are together, like he could disappear at any moment.”

         “And he has the choice of so many other girls? That scares you too, right?”

         “Yeah,” I take a deep breath. “It seems like a joke.”

         “Amber, you can’t see it, but when Taehyung looks at you, his eyes show it all. There is a sparkle that shines when his eyes land on you. He truly likes you. There’s no doubt about it. Trust me.”

         I look down at my writing: pages full of characters falling in love, something I really want. “Thank you.”

         “What?”

         “Thank you for telling me that. I needed to hear it.”

         “Oh, you’re welcome.”

         “Now, keep taking pictures, or looking through them to plan your scrapbooks, and I will keep writing away at something.”

         “I believe Taehyung is what you’ve been waiting for.”

         “I believe Namjoon might be for you.” I glance up to see my best friend smiling.

         “Maybe. I’m not objecting, and we keep getting closer by circumstances, so it is possible.”

         “He’s a little more reserved, so it is hard to tell, but I think he enjoys being around you. He knows that every time that Tae meets up with me, he gets to see you. I think it is sweet that he’s giving you a chance.”

         “I mean, he kind of has to since Taehyung needs him to talk to you.”

         “He could have just been polite without getting to know you, so I think you are just saying bullshit because you don’t want to admit that you could have a small crush on that boy,” I tilt my head just enough to see Emily’s cheeks reddening.

         “You did the same then before admitting that you liked Taehyung, so do not flip this on me,” she smirks, catching my gaze. “I’m testing the water, to see if what I am feeling is true. Don’t worry, you will be the first one to know how I feel when I figure it out.”

         “Good,” I look back now at my papers. “I need to be in the loop.”

         “You do know that we have to ask Nari if it will be okay to come back next summer?” Emily throws the conversation into a new direction.

         “I know, but I am just waiting for the right moment to run the idea pass her. Plus, I don’t want to think too much about next summer because the only way we can come back is if we want to leave, and I am not ready to leave yet.”

         “Then you probably don’t want to think about your birthday.”

         “Hm, no, we can talk about me birthday. It will be weird not being back home for it, but I think that we will still have a great time here.”

         “I know you will want a chocolate cake, as you have for the past five years.”

         “I think it has been six,” I giggle. “I love me some chocolate.”

         “We’ll probably have it here to make it easier. Take-out for the meal to make it easier, and you’ll probably invite the boys.”

         “Of course,” I smile, wishing that my phone would ring. It’s been silent since this morning, as Taehyung greets me through text every morning. “It would be boring without them.”

         “It would also be the last guaranteed day that we could be together.”

         “What did I say about talking about the end of the summer? I don’t want to think about the last anything.”

         “It’s not for over a month, so there is no reason to fret over it.”

         “The saying is that time flies when you are having fun, so I just know that the days are going to start flying by.”

         “Just knowing that we are getting closer to half-way sucks.”

         “Thank you for bring that up,” I let the sarcasm drip off my words, looking up to glare at her.

         “Sorry, sorry,” Emily raises her hands in defense. “What do you want to talk about?”

         “How about I turn some music on and we just focus on what we are doing?”

         “That sounds like it would be for the best,” she slightly smiles. “Maybe the boys will text soon to let us know when we can meet another member.”

         “I just want someone to text,” I pick up my phone, going to Spotify for the K-pop radio. “Now, let us enjoy some music as we continue to relax.”

********

         “Girls, I have to say, that I am impressed at how quickly you are picking up this language,” Nari widely smiles as we finish up our Korean lesson for the night. “I am also proud at how you are so willing and eager to take on the challenge that is Korean. You can have short conversations now, which is a lot more than you could say just a few weeks ago.”

         “It’s all thanks to you, Nari,” I place my notebook down on the coffee table. “Without you, we would be mispronouncing every other word, and probably wouldn’t have gotten far with learning.”

         “Thank you for being an amazing teacher,” Emily adds. “This is only the beginning of us tackling Korean, so I hope you are prepared for being our teacher for a long while.”

         Nari chuckles, “Of course. I will be your teacher until you two tell me that you don’t need anymore help. I’m sure it won’t take you two long to master Korean, and by that, I mean as much as I know and can teach. There are still areas of the language that mess me up sometimes.”

         “I think that everyone feels that way with their native language,” I settle back into the couch. “English can still be a struggle.”

         “There are so many rules in English,” Nari shakes her head. “If I didn’t grow up learning both languages, then we would not be having this conversation right now.”

         “I can’t even not being here right now,” I sigh, looking over at Emily. “Everything is perfect right now.”

         “I have to agree,” Emily lazily smiles at me. “Amber have the chance to picked from a multitude of family from all over the world. I’m glad it ended up being you.”

         “Ah, yes, your parents told me that when they contacted me the first time,” Nari nods a few times. “I was so scared because I hadn’t talked to you for many years, and I hadn’t been with you in person since your birth. All I could think about was freaking you out, pushing you away, ruining my chance to be the one you picked to spend a whole summer with. It would have sucked if you decided to go with another family member. I love that I was able to open my home to two curious girls, and that they fell in love with my country.”

         “The first time we Skyped, I was surprised because up to that point all the other people I was talking to were a lot older than me,” I look over at my cousin. “That was a point in your favor, as I knew the others would force me to do certain things on certain days. I just wanted to be able to relax and have fun while exploring a new place, culture, and language.”

         “I was sold when Amber showed me pictures of the area,” Emily speaks up. “It was a little odd that we would be coming to Korea, but knowing that a young cousin would be taking us in made it much better.”

         “I am so glad that I was lucky enough to be the one you picked,” Nari giggles. “It’s a good thing that I am young and understand what it is like to be a teenager that just wants to have fun.”

         “Fun means doing little but spending it with the people you love,” I fall onto my side. “To me, anyways, as I am introverted, and people tire me out.”

         “That’s why I am her best friend,” Emily taps my back with her foot. “We balance each other out, as I am more extroverted, and can talk when she shuts down.”

         “You two are super close, too,” Nari says. “If I remember correctly, you have been friends since elementary school. That’s more than half of your lives. I’m sure you know everything about each other.”

         “We have secrets,” Emily and I say as one.

         “Gah, that freaks me out,” Nari wiggles as a shiver runs through her body. “You are like the twin girls in The Shining, which I can read the book, but the movie gives me nightmares.”

         “Come play with us, Nari,” Emily and I are quick on the draw, but can’t help bursting into laughter.

         “I was going to rush out of the apartment if you two didn’t just burst into laughs,” Nari chuckles, shaking her head. “Now, I want to be caught up on your adventures, so what have you been doing the past few days?”

         “Three days ago we met Hoseok at the café, so that was nice to get out,” I answer. “The day after tomorrow we are going to meet another member, which is exciting and saddening because that we have almost met all the boys. It is just crazy how this summer is turning out.”

         “I have to agree with that.”

         “Other than that, we are just staying in,” Emily continues for me. “Playing video games, or doing our own little projects. I’ve never cooked so much in my life, so that has been fun.”

         “I love that you girls cook,” Nari runs a hand through her hair. “All you have to do is follow a recipe, and then it is perfect.”

         “I am more of a sweet making girl, but I have enjoyed making simple Korean dishes.”

         “It feels better knowing that we are making something to give to another person and not just ourselves,” Emily nods a few times.

         “Sure, sure, now, back on topic, what is up with you and your crushes?” Nari smirks.

         “I am just happy whenever Taehyung is able to meet up, and I am taking every day one step at a time,” I answer. My fingers instantly reach down to mess with the hem of my shirt. “I’ve had crushes before, but he makes me feel much different than those. Probably because he is reciprocating the feelings back to me, and I don’t have to stress over if he likes me or not. I know he does, and I hope that we keep getting closer.”

         “It warms my heart knowing that you are finding good friends, and possibly a future boyfriend,” Nari clasps her hands together. “I am still trying to wrap my head around that those friends are idols, but I trust that they are good people.”

         “Emily is also developing a crush that she will not accept,” I shift back into a sitting position. “You two gave me shit for not admitting I liked Tae, so now I feel like the same should happen to Emily.”

         “Namjoon is a nice guy, and I appreciate all that he has done for us,” Emily speaks up. “But I don’t want to mistake those feelings for me thinking I like him. I am just waiting to see how we continue to be around each other as our Korean knowledge expands. This is a different situation than yours.”

         “Shut up,” I pout. “I just didn’t want to be teased anymore. However, I do believe that Emily is forming a crush on Namjoon, which is super cute.”

         “Maybe,” she mumbles, adverting her gaze as her cheeks begin to take on a red tint. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up and find out that he doesn’t like me back. Taehyung clearly likes you, Amber, but Namjoon has yet to say anything close to that towards me. He’s just being a gentleman, and I can’t know if he is like that with everyone he meets since I barely know him.”

         “I completely understand that, Emily,” Nari speaks up. “There’s no wrong way in approaching a relationship, and maybe this is just a crush that goes nowhere. It is okay if the two of you stay just friends. I think that you’ll find someone that fits perfectly with you, and that is all that matters. Lucky for Amber, though, because she seems to have already found that person.”

         My cheeks heat up at the comment. “That’s very nice of you to say, Nari. I’m hoping that it all works out.”

         “Well, I think that we have exhausted the topic of boys,” Nari slaps her hands on her thighs.

         “Hold up,” I narrow my eyes at my cousin. “What about you, noona?” I tease. “Is there not a boy that you like?”

         “Me?” Nari points at herself as a chuckle leaves her mouth. “Oh, that is sweet to ask, but I do not have my eye on anyone. I dated briefly in high school, but then I dove into my work and didn’t have time to be in a relationship. That is fine by me, of course. It is the path that I chose.”

         “So, you just need someone who understands hard work like you do, and then it will be perfect.”

         “But also someone who knows how to have a fun time and relax,” Emily adds in. “There has to be a balance.”

         “I guess so,” Nari shrugs. “Don’t go out of your way to find someone for me, though. I am happy with my life at this moment, and I don’t think that I could handle being in a relationship at this time.”

         “Sure,” I goofily smile. “How about we watch a drama to end the night? They’re starting to grow on me, and I think I may be hooked.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hope you enjoyed reading! I wish I could tell you how many chapters are left, but I don’t even know yet myself. Another chapter will be out on in a few days, so be prepared for that! :D

[katrinatravelsthroughasia]

Final Integrative Essay

 At First, K-pop; At Last, Japan:

My Journey of Changed Assumptions with Asian Conversations

I have been looking to Asia since I first stumbled upon K-pop in 6th grade. My interest in the popular culture of Korea quickly grew into a fascination with the language, cuisine, and history of a country that is not my own. While traveling during Interim to China, Japan, and South Korea, I was forced to perform a distinct identity, partly due to my physicality and partly due to my citizenship, and contributed to the ��worlding” of whatever culture people viewed me as having. I also experienced the shifting of the visions I had of “Asia,” specifically Japan, before going. In juxtaposition with everything I knew about Asia, especially Korea, my developed concept of Japan was challenged when I actually visited. In this essay I will explore the themes of what imagined community I had in mind for Japan, the preconceived images that have been transformed, and how the linguistic landscape shaped my understanding of Japan, as well as how these have affected my identity as an “Asian Studies” student, all through the trip with Asian Con.

My initial interest in K-pop developed into a committed involvement with the Korean Culture Association on campus. In fact, I am still independently studying the Korean language in my free time, due to many years of interest and involvement. As for the rest of Asia, I dipped my toes into the world of anime a few years after discovering Korea but didn’t really acquire a desire for Japanese culture until I (somewhat randomly) decided to learn the language at the beginning of my time at St. Olaf. Only after visiting China through Asian Con can I now say that I also have a serious interest in learning more about China. My curiosity of Asia has grown slowly yet steadily over the past eight years. However, since 6th grade, I have only imagined Asia through the entertainment media available to me in Minnesota.

After finally getting the opportunity to visit these countries for myself, I realized that television and reality are indeed different. I had the image of an “imagined community” floating around my head about what life in Japan looked like before visiting, and they mostly resulted from comparison with what I understood about the other locations I would travel to during Interim; first Beijing and Shanghai, and later the familiar Seoul. I expected Japan to be much different from both China and Korea. Flying from Shanghai, I expected Japan to be cleaner and quieter, but to what degree I was unsure. Upon returning home, I realized how many similarities could be found between the three, contrary to what I had assumed might be in this “imagined community.” Indeed, people around the world enjoy good food in very similar ways, or interact with social media the same way. I had quite the thorough understanding of Korean culture for an American, so my prior text was significantly more in play there than the lack of prior text with which I went to the other two countries, especially China.

I had a general idea of the overall vibe of Japan and the difference between areas of the city, but I didn’t have many expectations as to how interactions would happen in those spaces. Benedict Anderson defines an “imagined community” as the abstract ideas we have about a certain society and location before experiencing it. “So often in the “nation-building” politics of the new states one sees both a genuine, popular nationalist enthusiasm, and a systematic, even Machiavellian, instilling of nationalist ideology throughout the mass media, the educational system, administrative regulations, and so forth” (Anderson 163).  We have been taught believe certain things to be true, often through media and education, and therefore act accordingly. As an American, I am living with thousands of other people who are supposed to be on my “team,” even though I only know a miniscule fraction of them. This idea of community is conceptualized through concepts like “geo-bodies” and “prior text”—we have a long background of being told that a map or a flag represents “us,” and that we must respect that symbol of our existence. I have somehow learned about “Japanese culture” over the years; things like Pokémon and J-pop, and I already had an affection for sushi and soba, so I did not go there completely clueless, but I did not have a strong “prior text” beyond these basic, “exterior” things. It was perhaps the slight lack of knowledge that caused me to be more open. But my understanding of the Japanese people and how they behave was greatly lacking, because I only had the images shown to me in the media to rely on. Perhaps shockingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, I found the Japanese people to be quite similar to every other person I’ve interacted with in this world. There is indeed a lack of geisha and samurai, and an abundance of very normal office workers.

Benedict Anderson’s idea of a preconceived notion of a society, labeled with the term “imagined community,” describes a phenomenon of interpreting things differently from how they really are. Karen Strassler introduces the idea of “refracted visions” in her book of the same name. According to Strassler, a refracted vision is when the meaning changes depending upon who is viewing the photograph (in Strassler’s case) or otherwise, or what kind of impressions it gives off. She argues that “images become increasingly central to the ways individuals and collectivities imagine and recognize themselves” (3). But these views are not always reflective of the actuality. Pictures, or whatever we view, often don’t show the truth of the thing. This is caused by our own bias, the photographer’s bias, and preexisting ideas that interfere with what could be gleaned from the image. Personally, I was raised and educated with the idea that Asia is very far away and very different from Minnesota. The former has been made somewhat false with modern transportation, and the truth of the latter is debatable, as I have learned through Asian Con.

My experiences in Asian Con are the strongest basis for how and why I now better understand the concept of “Asia,” and Japan in particular. When I was young I saw the strong sumo wrestlers, the cherry blossoms, or the electric streets in pictures and videos of Japan and gleaned that they are perhaps an idealized version of “Japan,” but I now know that they are only a part of a much more complex history and culture. I would argue that a visit to the location in question is absolutely required to fully understand why and how things are shown that way to “outsiders,” and I was hoping my own images would be altered by doing so. Indeed, I changed my own very basic, media-based visions of Japan by traveling to see it for myself so I could attempt to absorb the culture in a non-biased way. Part of this entailed traveling outside of the center of Tokyo, which was done by visits to Nikko and Kyoto, and by traveling to areas not on the “top 10” of every travel book in existence.

A random trip to the somewhat empty town of Koganei was decided last minute when we had only a small amount of time to spare after one of our required interview assignments one day. We took the train just two stops away from International Christian University and wandered in hopes of finding magnificent movie maker Miyazaki’s art studio or the building he used as inspiration for the bath house in Spirited Away. We did not find either. However, we experienced a magical little neighborhood with a brown-grass park and the most delicious ramen I have had in my entire life. This location revolutionized the image I had of Japan. Unlike a place like Shibuya or Akihabara, Koganei felt more like my hometown.  This made me think that perhaps Japan isn’t so very different and that it’s not just a nation of mouthwatering sushi and extraordinary cosplay. In fact, there are dads who cannot get kites to fly, couples who fight, and children who loudly do not want to go to the potty all over the world. My vision was refracted, was changed by my numerous experiences, and I began to see the geo-body of “Japan” in a completely different light.

The “linguistic landscape” of a place is another aspect that changed how I experienced Japan. This concept constitutes any visible written word of a location which can then be characteristically analyzed. My language is perhaps my greatest connection to the country, so it only makes sense that I would be highly interested in the things I saw written everywhere. It was fascinating to find Japanese in all of the little places and work it out like a puzzle; the kanji of the “caution, slippery when wet” sticker in the shower of my dorm room, things written only in katakana on the back of fashionable jackets, and so on. This is what Peter Backhaus calls the linguistic landscape. He mentions that “one frequently comes across apparently English expressions that only make sense when read as Japanese” (Backhaus 120). Reading things in their original context with original intentions still intact has a huge impact on the way something is interpreted. For me, I was given an insight into the Japanese way of thinking because I knew the language. At this point of the trip I realized how much more Japanese I want and need to learn to be as skilled as I want to be, which motivated my learning during second semester. At the same time, I was extremely pleased to discover that I am capable of communicating in a foreign language and can engage with people who might not speak English. It was addicting to use my language skills, which is one of the reasons why I was so eager to find a way to return to Japan very soon.

When I think about traveling back to Japan this summer for my internship, I am very glad I made the effort to make it happen, and that I enrolled in Asian Con in the first place. Without the language basis and cultural background, I do not know how comfortable or passionate I would be to return. I am already searching for a subsequent opportunity to visit, even though I have not yet started the first one. After all of the readings and learning I have done in Asian Con, I can now say that I have a changed and improved understanding of Asia, and that it is not based upon media nearly as much as it used to be. I do not think I could be a qualified Asian Studies student without the experiences that Asian Con has given me. Thanks to this program, I was able to examine the imagined community I had for Japan and transform my image of a place through visits to “normal” locations, all with the help of a language-based understanding of the linguistic landscape. 

I second the motion to rename it Greatest Con, because I have grown in so many ways because of it.

Works Cited

Anderson, Benedict. "Census, Map, Mueseum." Imagined Communities. 3rd ed. London: Verso, 2006. 163-85. Print.

Backhaus, Peter. "Case Study: Signs of Multilingualism in Tokyo." Lingistic Landscape. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2007. 64-140. Print.

Bardsley, Jan, and Laura Miller. "Behavior That Offends." Manners and Mischief Gender, Power, and Etiquette in Japan. Berkeley: U of California, 2011. N. pag. Print.

Strassler, Karen. Refracted Visions: Popular Photography and National Modernity in Java. Durham: Duke UP, 2010. Print.

[topworldhistory]

Their account, recovered with the help of hypnosis, detailed extensive medical exams, including a crude pregnancy test.

Betty and Barney Hill, who claim to have been abducted by aliens in 1961, holding a book written about their experience circa 1967.

Is it chasing us? That thought coursed through Betty and Barney Hill’s minds as they drove down the empty winding country road in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. It was a September night in 1961, they hadn’t seen a car for miles, and a strange light in the sky seemed to follow them.

When they finally got home to Portsmouth at dawn, they were far from relieved. They felt dirty. Their watches stopped working. Barney’s shoes were strangely scuffed and Betty’s dress was ripped. There were two hours of the drive that neither one of them could remember. What had happened?

Betty and Barney Hill (TV-PG; 1:29)

With the help of a psychiatrist, the quiet couple eventually revealed a startling story: Gray beings with large eyes had walked them into a metallic disc as wide, Betty said, as her house was long. Once inside, the beings examined the couple and erased their memories.

Their experience would kick off an Air Force inquiry, part of the secretive initiative Project Blue Book that investigated UFO sightings across the country. The incident would also become the first-ever widely publicized alien-abduction account and shape how stories like it were told—and understood—from then on. Debate continues as to whether the husband and wife were liars, fantasists, crackpots or simply sleep-deprived people who later recovered seriously scrambled memories.

READ MORE: Interactive Map: UFO Sightings Taken Seriously by the U.S. Government

Strange lights in pursuit

The Hills’ road trip was spontaneous, a well-earned break Barney decided the couple needed, as explained in The Interrupted Journey, a 1966 book they collaborated on with author John G. Fuller. Barney worked a grueling night shift at the post office, driving 60 miles each way. Betty’s job handling state child-welfare cases was no easier. The little free time this biracial couple had was devoted to their church and activities related to the civil-rights movement. After 16 months of marriage, Betty and Barney saw this trip through Montreal and Niagara Falls as their delayed honeymoon. They left so impulsively they had no time to go to the bank before it closed for the weekend. They got in their car with less than $70 in their pockets.

On the last night of their three-day trip, the tired couple sipped coffee in a Vermont diner to recharge before driving back. Barney figured if they pushed through, they could beat the wind and rains from an approaching hurricane. They left the diner around 10 p.m., estimating they could reach their red-framed house in Portsmouth, New Hampshire between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. at the latest.

READ MORE: Meet J. Allen Hynek, the Astronomer Who First Classified UFO 'Close Encounters.' 

As they drove, strange light in the sky gave another reason to hurry. At first it looked like a falling star, but grew larger and brighter with each mile. Barney, an avid plane watcher and World War II vet, was sure they had nothing to worry about. It’s just a satellite, he assured Betty. It probably went off course.

The light seemed to move with the car as Barney steered down the curving mountain road. The light zigged and zagged, ducking past the moon and behind trees and mountain ridges, only to reappear moments later. Sometimes it seemed to move toward them in a game of cat-and-mouse. It had to be an illusion, they thought. Maybe the car’s movement made it seem like the light, too, was moving.

Curiosity overcame them. The couple pulled over at road stops and picnic turnouts to get a closer look. Through binoculars, Betty saw that the white light was really an object spinning in the air.

“Barney,” she told her husband, “if you think that’s a satellite or a star, you’re being completely ridiculous.”

The close encounter

He knew she was right. Barney had an IQ of 140, noted Fuller in his book. Barney was also a pragmatic man who wouldn’t give flying saucers a second thought, remembered his niece Kathleen Marden in her work, Captured: The Betty and Barney Hill Experience. The night was too quiet for a helicopter, a commercial plane or even military jet with a hotshot pilot. He didn’t want to spook Betty, but he was becoming concerned. What was this light and why was it toying with them?

About 70 miles past the diner, the object hovered just above the treetops, approximately 100 feet above them. Barney abruptly stopped the car, keeping the engine running. He shoved a handgun he’d hidden beneath the seat into his pocket and rushed into a dark field, leaving Betty in the car. What he saw was as big as a jet but as round and flat as a pancake. “My God, what is this thing?” he recalled thinking. “This can’t be real.”

READ MORE: This Scoutmaster Had a Run-in with a UFO. The Kids Saw it Too.

Behind rows of windows, gray uniformed beings seemed to look right at him, Barney recalled. He tried to lift his hand to his pistol but somehow couldn’t. A voice told him not to put down his binoculars.

He had a startling thought: We’re about to be captured. Yelling hysterically, he ran back to the car and barreled down the road as Betty tracked the craft, craning her head outside the car window. Without explanation, loud, rhythmic beeps sounded from the car’s trunk. The couple felt instantly drowsy and lost consciousness.

They came to around two hours later and 35 miles down the road.

Barney holding up a diagram explaining the alien abduction.

Recovering the memory

Back home in Portsmouth, they tried to make sense of the night. Barney felt compelled to examine his body’s lower half. Both seemed aware of a puzzling presence.

In the weeks and months after, Betty, an avid reader, checked out books from the library discovering the civilian UFO group National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP). She also reported the sighting to the Air Force, worried about radiation.

In coming years, with Betty suffering from disturbing dreams and Barney developing an ulcer and anxiety, the couple sought mental help. The two met with Benjamin Simon, a psychiatrist and neurologist who specialized in hypnosis, a mainstream technique at the time.

READ MORE: When Dozens of Korean War GIs Claimed a UFO Made Them Sick 

Through months of weekly sessions, Simon helped the couple piece together what they think had happened: A vessel had landed on the Hill’s car, putting them to sleep. Afterward, gray beings walked them up a long ramp and into the spacecraft.

Once inside, the Hills were separated, taking turns in an examination room that had curved walls and a large light hanging from the ceiling. Each was asked to climb up on a metal table. The table was so short, Barney’s legs hung over the side.

During the examinations, the beings removed Betty and Barney’s clothes, plucked strands of their hair, took clippings of their nails and scraped their skin. Each sample was placed on a clear material, not unlike a glass slide. Needles, connected to long wires, probed their heads, arms, legs and spines. One large needle, around 4 to 6 inches long, was inserted into Betty’s belly. This pregnancy test left her twisting in pain. Throughout, a being Barney and Betty called “the leader” watched from the side.

After Betty’s examination ended, the beings rushed back into her room, excited. They discovered that Barney’s teeth could be removed. Betty laughed, explaining that Barney had dentures, a fact of human aging the beings struggled to understand.

Later, alone with the leader, Betty asked where the craft had flown, admitting she knew little of the universe. The being joked with her, saying “if you don’t know where you are, there wouldn’t be any point in telling you where I am.” Later, under hypnosis, she drew a star map shown to her on the ship.

In 1965, the Hills' story was picked up by a Boston newspaper. After that, everything changed. The quiet couple’s story became the subject of a best-selling book and a movie starring James Earl Jones. The upstanding civil servants had become celebrity abductees.

READ MORE: In 1952, the Flatwoods Monster Terrified 6 Kids, a Mom, a Dog—and the Nation

The model for alien abductions

The Hills weren’t the first to spot a UFO or even to report an abduction. But their story did capture the nation’s imagination and was so widely publicized, it has helped shape how we talk about alien encounters and abductions to this day.

Before the Hill’s story, alien encounters were friendly, according to Christoper Bader, a professor of sociology at California’s Chapman University. Some aliens even lived on earth and commuted back on weekends. But once the Hills’ story became better known, abduction accounts shared certain characteristics, such as medical examinations and missing time. Aliens with large heads and big eyes—dubbed “grays” in UFO circles—became classic sci-fi staples in personal accounts and pop culture, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and shows like the X-Files.

The Hills’ story—and those that came after—helped pave the way for a new understanding of human experience. Richard J. McNally, a Harvard psychologist, puts it this way: “The ‘alien-abduction’ phenomenon, in my opinion, shows how sincere, non-psychotic individuals can develop beliefs about, and false memories of, incredible experiences that never happened.”

Experts of all stripes have tried to explain why intelligent, otherwise mentally stable people came forward with these experiences. Many psychologists say sleep paralysis and hallucinations played a role. Leading questions during hypnosis—the main way most abductees unlock their stories—could also have been a factor.

Barney and Betty Hill holding a newspaper reporting about their alleged alien abduction in a rural portion of New Hampshire in late September 1961.

A view into the human brain

Those who report abduction might also see the world a little differently. According to research, one of the strongest predictors of false recall is a vivid imagination. This group scores high in “magical ideation” and is more likely to believe in ghosts and tarot readings, according to McNally.

Some believe the Hill’s story was simply a myth in the making, with the supernatural meetings, vulnerable protagonists and otherworldly journeys that are often the hallmarks of legend. Many point to the stress of being an interracial couple living in a predominantly white state in a turbulent era. (The year of their hypnosis, 1964, was marked by Cold War tensions and civil-rights unrest, with numerous urban riots erupting that summer.) “You have a biracial couple at a time where obviously it was not easy to be a biracial couple,” says Bader. “Look what those aliens were: a mixture of black and white. I find that very meaningful.”

READ MORE: The UFO Sightings that Launched ‘Men in Black’ Mythology

Abductee stories depend on first-hand accounts—the most vulnerable form of evidence. Memories can be distorted by stress or distraction, or even manufactured. When a false memory is in place, psychologists say, the brain works to fill in the details. Psychologist Michael Shermer points to ‘patternicity,’ the tendency to see patterns even when none exist, helping us to see faces in clouds or assume that one event caused another.

Past experience also shapes human perception. Barney, a World War II vet, thought the head “gray” looked like Hitler and seemed menacing. Betty, meanwhile, who had been excited to see the aliens, bantered with the affable gray who performed her medical examination. That alien even agreed to give her a book to bring to earth with her, she said, though other crew members would later overrule that decision.

In this way alien abduction and encounter stories have helped psychologists understand the human brain, its defects—and the weaknesses inherent in memory and first-hand accounts, according to Christopher French, a psychologist specializing in human experience related to the paranormal. “What we see and hear, especially under less than ideal observational conditions, can be heavily influenced by our prior beliefs and expectations,” wrote French in the The Guardian.

NICAP’s scientific advisor cross-examined the couple and found their account credible. The Air Force’s Project Blue Book would ultimately dismiss the story, determining the unexplained craft could be explained by “natural causes”—hinting that the couple hadn’t seen a spacecraft but only the planet Jupiter.

For his part, psychiatrist Simon never felt the Hills had made up their story. He concluded Betty had dreamed the abduction and Barney had absorbed her story, especially since many of the most vivid details matched descriptions of dreams Betty had jotted down after the event. “I believe implicitly in the honesty of these people,” he said on a ‘70s radio program.

Of course, another explanation is always possible: The abduction actually occurred. The Hills stuck by their story, despite years of skeptics and detractors. Like many abductees, the couple never felt false memory or sleep paralysis explained what they experienced. Betty became a known voice in UFO research and claimed she was visited multiple times in the decades to follow.

from Stories - HISTORY https://ift.tt/34jtiyX December 14, 2019 at 12:09AM

[odyssey-of-a-human-being]

Konta vs Ostapenko - a Saga in Three Parts Lemonade, Two Parts Vodka, One Part Pimm’s

It’s June 29th at time of writing and I am sober. As an unemployed, unemployable man it always feels quite natural to watch the television. As circumstance would have it, I happened upon a tennis match on BBC2. “This will have to do,” I lamented to my warm can of comfort (beer). Fate had thrust me into a match between two female women’s-tennis players: the teenaged Latvian wunderkind Ostapenko, a spunky, highly aggressive player whose meteoric rise to tennis fame put me in mind of a meteor (ascending, rather than crumbling to nothing in the atmosphere), and whose endearing frustrations translate in sporting terms to not just personality, but a personality, the highest accolade any woman sportsman can hope to achieve. She was battling against her opponent, Konta, who was quite tall and wore pink.

It was obvious who the home favourite was, particularly after John Inverdale remarked that she was “the home favourite here at Eastbourne.” As it transpired, Konta – Jo Konta – was in fact the British number one women’s-tennis player and number five women’s-tennis female player worldwide. And then I pitied her – I could see the weight of expectation that had been imposed upon her. Every broken microwave, every smashed up toaster from every penalty shootout in the modern era dangled over her like the Sword of Damocles. Because it’s always been a source of deep shame and secret regret to the English that the greatest tennis player in the world - perhaps in the entire universe - our national hero, our homegrown British champion is not in fact English, and soon will cease even to be British. Moreover, Murray, busy with training, never developed his personality, let alone a personality.

Sponsors, event organisers, broadcasters, journalists, content distributors...they can make him juggle cantaloupes, trim his neckline, play instead with a squash racket for Sports Relief (for money); they can tee him up with softball questions desperate for some kind of humorous aside, but it’s symptomatic of our denial: not only is Andy Murray - our national Hero - a foreigner, he doesn’t even possess a personality. Off court, he may as well walk into his airing cupboard and power down until morning practice. Observe the relationship with his wife and you’ll see there’s about as much chemistry in it as a North Korean chemistry GCSE – which is to say there’s some but that it’s essentially false, with some rather telling errors and glaring omissions betraying a blatant misunderstanding of the basics of chemistry. Long have I wondered what she sees in Sir Andy Murray. I suppose I pity her, too. 

The days of Henmania – days of hope for our nation’s greatest semifinalist – are long over, and soon history shall forget him, as indeed it has forgotten multiple Doctor Who episodes, charity wristbands and custom ringtones. Or perhaps he shall instead be vilified? Which would he prefer? Shall we judge him for demoralising the British spirit, for that time he got disqualified in 1995 – thankfully in the doubles – for hitting a ballgirl in the face. Will we happily forget that it was with a tennis ball? Shall instead it be his racket, or his Scottish fists?

Jo Konta - the Heroine of the Hardcourt, The Queen of Clay, The Grass Goddess - is she doomed to a similar fate? Doomed to the mercy of our damaged hopes, a victim to our scorn, the goat to our damaged scapes, the nationally despised national hero, shall She die for our sins? We accept we cannot have an Englishman champion but we have a Scottish one, so who is to say we are not ready for a female woman one? Surely we’ve moved past all that. Can we not welcome her likewise into our needy arms, as we did indeed Mo Farah? Is this our new prime candidate…is this Henwomania?

And then, out of frenzied panic, I googled her: that was when my hope crumbled like so much vintage cheddar, for ‘Jo’ was a deception. Perhaps you thought it was short for Joanna? Nein. It’s Johanna. And Konta – Mr. Konta isn’t drinking Carling down at the Red Lion and moaning about the surnames of the senior England football squad. Mr. Konta isn’t tagging the Kontas of this world into anonymous hateposts. Yes, you’ve got it – her parents are South African and she played for Australia – quite naturally, having lived there until she was 14. I can understand a Scottish champion, but surely it is beyond our pale to root for a South African Austro-Anglian woman’s-tennis player. I pondered on all this, and having found it to be profoundly sobering I poured myself a Pimm’s (& vodka) and lemonade.

After the first set (Konta nudged out Ostapenko in a deciding game) I decided to invest fully and totally into the match - and it was only then that I noticed an ugly tension in the atmosphere. And I understood it immediately. The crowd…old, white, crusty Tories, they were not rooting for the South African Austro-Anglian, they were rather wishing failure upon the Latvian Latvian. And then it took on an altogether political tone. The Old Tory Brexiteers, upper middle class, upper middle-aged men, perving on women they despise – men mercifully unaware of private browsers, let alone Google Chrome. The top 2%, the only people worse than the 1%: in this sense, Eastbourne is considerably worse than Wimbledon – ask any self-respecting tennis-hating tennis fan. Look at them, in their brown brogues and authentic Ray Ban’s, enjoying a perv and a Pimm’s – “It’s Perv o’Clock!” I overhear one of them say, rubbing his hands together – wrinkled with time, not toil. Unwittingly rooting for their immigrant. An Australian, no less. But shall we forgive them for they know not what they do?

I poured myself another vodka (& Pimm’s) & lemonade, no ice or fruit or anything, and I knew then, for sure, what I thought I knew before. “This,” I said to myself, “is war. Plain and simple.” And it was that dreaded Brexit. Our minds have become enspoiled with its putrid filth, like a dangerous dangly dirty politoctopus, whose slimy tentacles invade the sanctity of our personal space, encroaching it, squirming through it, past through our eyes and our tears and our ears and into our tiny little brains, fidgeting down through to the small of our backs, its tendrils gathering like polyfiller through to our corpus callosa – the brain: an organ as predictable and as knowable as the spleen. Look at it: a great grey meaty bolus. And it was then that I vowed to be a soldier in this war: fighting the good fight. Henceforth, all my meals are to be made with non-locally sourced ingredients – my sausage shall be German, my mash shall be mashed up French fries (also German, Dr Oetker – oh yes, it will be complicated). I shall master every cuisine of the world, learn every other language, cram my brain full with enough knowledge of the vocabulary and grammatical nuance of every language, every dialect, every patois, in the hope that I will eventually expunge all existing knowledge of my mother tongue, expunge every pub-factoid, every pop-cultural frame of reference, all my slang, all my friends, my childhood memories, everything that ever happened to take place in this scuppered Isle, to get rid of all of it! Replace it with knowledge of Scandinavian politics, the etiquette of Japanese cuisine, re-learn how to cycle, but along the frigid canals of Amsterdam, spliff in hand - smoke and steam in the winter air - French cheese and Polish cold-cuts in my wicker basket, trring-trring!, with a great big massive baguette, and I’ll learn to love Finnish melodic death metal, appreciate German architecture, practice Persian poetry, study Chinese history, explore Norse Mythology and eat those little paprika crisps you sometimes find in Lidl. I consummated this noble decision - and to me it felt like a good start in the brain-damaging process – with yet another vodka & lemonade (and a dash of Pimm’s).

As I sobered up after a small nap and after a small period of time, my allegiance toward Europe and the promises I had splurted at a mirror I had mistaken for my own face, now moist with spittle, had somewhat waned. My unshakable hatred toward the wind-power couple – Murray and Murray wife – had now settled into amused bemusement. My anger towards the audience was now little more than a mild vexation – a mere frustration, a puzzling perturberance – nothing more, nothing less. And probably not even that. And the words ���Ostapenko’ and ‘Konta’ suddenly evoked within me as much emotion as the words ‘limestone’ and ‘velcro’ do. The episode was finally over: I had drunk myself into contention and slept it off.  The match finished, Ostapenko having lost, and I was at peace. As an 18-24 year old educated to master’s degree level I am naturally quite accustomed to failure, and tennis. I lost in 2010. I lost in Brexit. I lost in 2015. I lost against Konta. As indeed we all did. But I did not lose Andy Murray. That’s right – I won the Independence referendum. Which is to say I didn’t lose it. Murray’s ours, for now at least. But we should be prepared. For we shall lose him. And that’s why we need, now, a man like Joe Konta, to step into his red, blue and white sneakers (except at Wimbledon where they’re not allowed) should he no longer need them. Because Murray won’t be here forever. Look at that stony-faced expression, gazing outward in press conferences waiting for his questions to be translated, desperate to think of nothing. Desperate not to be there. There is more in that glazed expression than Murray could express in a million words. Look at him. Dare to countenance him. 

Murray himself has begun to lose Murray. And losing is not an option.