salon's sexiest man living 2007

Who: Tony Leung
Age: 45
Know him as: Actor

Martin Scorcese's Oscar-winning "The Departed," a remake/rip-off of the nail-biting 2002 Hong Kong thriller "Infernal Affairs," turned off fans of the original for one unavoidable reason -- and it wasn't Jack Nicholson's scenery-chewing. It was the absence of the smoldering Tony Leung in the role of the undercover cop lost in a convoluted game of spy vs. spy. As good as Leo DiCaprio's Boston honk and flinty rage are in the remake, he just can't hold a candle to Leung.

But then, of course he can't. Leung is a professional smolderer; the guy's a virtual human Duraflame. Throughout the past two decades, in "Hard-Boiled" (1992), "Chungking Express" (1994), "Happy Together" (1997), "In the Mood for Love" (2000), "Hero" (2002) and "2046" (2004), he's left only glowing embers in his wake. In this year's "Lust, Caution," he added a sadistic streak we'd never seen from him before that caused us to recoil -- and still come back for more.

How, exactly, does he do it? We think it's the way he will occasionally hold our gaze -- a beat or two too long, with such haunted, hungry eyes we feel slightly bruised afterward, like we've had an actual physical interaction. We sure don't get that from Tom Cruise's maniacal, trademarked grin.

Observers are fond of referring to Leung as "Asia's answer to Clark Gable." But in film's new world order, Leung ranks as a much bigger global star than most of the pretty boys in Hollywood's (or People's) stable these days. And the fact that his roles are being recast for more middling American tastes doesn't just make him the poorer for it -- we're the poorer for it, too.

romantic fatalism

from what i've encountered in life, i've decided that i am fated to be single forever. and cursed to be in a country where couples wear matching outfits, old couples hold hands, and there are less couples than singles. guys hold the stuffed animals they've bought for their girlfriends, and they text each other constantly. it's like everyone is in a fairy tale korean drama, while the foreigner is left feeling dejected. i think the problem i've been having with even making friends is...when koreans approach me i don't understand them and white people will never approach me because they think i'm korean. i like it in seoul because many people speak english, however i wouldn't be able to live there because there are far too many people. the subway system feels like stuffed oven. you have to push your way in and push your way out. i'm thinking about giving taiwan a try next year, i think i might enjoy it more over there because i can actually speak the language. just a thought though. enough self pity...i've accepted my fate.

P.S. i watched "while you were sleeping" again...33rd time now? still a hopeless romantic at heart. i believe in love for others....just not for myself.

"You can’t quit until you try
You can’t live until you die
You can’t learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie

You can’t breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you’re the joke
There’s nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive

Just open your eyes
Just open your eyes
And see that life is beautiful."
-Life is Beautiful (Sixx A.M.)

another year of resolutions that won't be met?

i'll be away from the internet for at least a week so i wanted to write down my resolutions now.

new year's resolutions:

1) be an awesome teacher
2) get the whole django solo down
3) practice a lot of guitar
4) make new friends
5) learn korean
6) figure out what i want to do after i finish my year at the hagwon
7) get the students to love me
8) experience life like i've never done before
9) do something bold
10) try something new
11) write a chapter...

je t'aime

"one day i'll be buried too and maybe no one will visit me. but i won't care, i'll be dead. but i'm not a sad person. au contraire. i am a happy person with many friends. it's just that sometimes i wish i had someone to share things with. for example, when i saw all of Paris from a skyscraper, i wanted to say to someone, "isn't that beautiful?" but there was nobody there. i thought about my ex-boyfriend dave, if he would have enjoyed this trip, but then i felt a little stupid because we have not spoken for 11 years and now he's married with three children.

then i found a lovely park. i sat down in the park and ate a sandwich that i'd bought. it tasted very good.

Then something happened, something difficult to describe. Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone i know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something i'd never known before or have always been waiting for, but i didn't know what. Maybe it was something i'd forgotten or something i've been missing all my life. All i can say is that i felt at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness because i felt alive. Yes, alive."

-Carol the American tourist (Paris Je T'aime)

this feels like it's telling my life story. minus the married ex-boyfriend named dave but it's the same concept. korea is gonna be like my paris...and hopefully i will fall in love with it, as much as this lady has.

Return of the Mystery Fingers: Minor Swing Solo

Fucking awesome right? too bad it's not me playing...*sigh* so jealous!

smile like you mean it...

so it's all boiled down to these last few days...my vivid imagination can't even begin to picture what life is going to be like in korea. i have a lack of words to describe that ill feeling i have in my stomach. it's exciting, it's amazing, i'm stoked but at the same time i can't help but feel like i might just need to hang myself over a toilet for awhile.

this is probably one of the biggest steps i've ever taken in my life and i don't even know what to expect. at some point i just wanted to travel and see the world, now i get to live in another part of the world far far from all the comforts of los angeles. my last few weeks in the states has been exciting and i've gotten to hang out with a lot of my friends. part of me wants to cry, other parts of me want to scream, and most of me just can't wait to get out of here. but as i packed up my things i could feel the room begin to feel lonely. i know that sounds weird, but it's like that same feeling i got when i moved out of the apartment. the feeling that churns my stomach when you realize life is never going to be the same again.

i am not just a text away, my friends aren't just down the street when i get bored, i won't speak their language, i can't go out and buy food when i'm hungry, or cook instant dumplings when there really isn't anything to eat. i have to make myself into a teacher, i have to make people interested in the things i have to say, i have to be an authority figure, and i have to earn respect from a whole bunch of new people. but i do get to make new friends, eat new foods, hear new stories, gain more experiences, and see the world for everything it really has to offer. in many ways i feel very adult and in other ways i feel like a child that got seperated from their parents at the supermarket. i really don't know how to feel anymore...just that i'll miss everyone and everything here. remember to write me and i'll have a new blog up for korea. that'll have my address so you can send me stuff :)

http://beyondtheneonlights.blogspot.com

Toodles,
Christine

Minor Swing Solo pt. 1