Asian pop star BoA seems to be pulling out all the stops on her latest, self-titled album BoA, an English language release planned to hit the U.S. on Tuesday, March 17, 2009. And yes, you read that right. The Korean sweetheart, BoA, 22, beloved by South Koreans, Japanese, some Chinese, and multitudes of Asians abroad, is finally setting her eyes on the distant shores of the United States.
You may know William Shatner from TV. You know… Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek, Denny Crane in Boston Legal, and occasional shaman in World of Warcraft. What you might not know is that he's also Priceline's "Negotiator."
Yes, OGT week starts tomorrow and I have nothing better to do. So humor me and watch these brilliant commercials.
Hilarious clips from Conan O'Brien's trip to Amsterdam. Interrogating the locals and making a mockery of himself as always.
Part 1
Part 2
Favorite moment: Ozzy: … why the glum face? Conan: Ozzy Osbourne! Ozzy: Let's go pick some tulips. C'mon.
Man, I love him.
Update: If you're outside the U.S. and can't view these videos, here's a segment from Late Night with Conan O'Brien about Conan's support for the Finnish president Tarja Halonen and his amusing TV ads for her re-election campaign.
The last episode of Late Night was aired on February 20, and Conan O'Brien is set to take over Jay Leno's The Tonight Show in June. You can watch other classic clips (including full episodes) on Hulu. In the meantime, I'll miss you, Coney! Good luck!
Being misanthropic, depressed, and constantly alienated, I do try to cheer myself up from time to time. One of the most common ways I do this is by finding some gem of a music video to drool over.
"Bye Bye Beautiful" by Nightwish, Dark Passion Play (2007)
Yes! You guessed it. Gorgeous models backed by even more gorgeous music. And I simply adore Marco Hietala, the guy who accompanies Anette Olzon in the duet, even despite his, uh, double goatee (is that a double goatee?). Such a sexy voice. And speaking of sexy, see that punk rocker-esque keyboard player with the black eyeliner? I realized (just yesterday) that he was the composer/lyricist/mastermind/genius Tuomas Holopainen himself. I seriously had no idea he was that dashing in real life.
"Amaranth" by Nightwish, Dark Passion Play (2007)
THE quintessential rock video. Really pop in disguise, despite the heavy riffing, but I'm not complaining. Beautiful, beautiful stuff.
As an aside, Dark Passion Play is the first of Nightwish's studio albums to feature their new vocalist, Anette Olzon of Sweden. Her predecessor, Tarja Turunen, was fired in an open letter in 2005. The majority of fans are still divided about the move, and I myself think the rest of the band's demeanor towards her was uncalled for. ("Bye Bye Beautiful": "Did you ever hear what I told you? / Did you ever read what I wrote you?" It's really a spiteful farewell song to Tarja.) However, though I greatly miss Tarja's operatic vocals (after all, classical singing can't be beat), I'm gradually warming up to a Tarja-less Nightwish. In the long run, it probably was the right decision, given that they were moving away from classical vocals anyway. And if they keep producing euro-metal gold like "Bye Bye Beautiful" and "Amaranth"… well, then, I'm OK.
"The Islander" by Nightwish, Dark Passion Play (2007)
Beautiful folk ballad. One of the most haunting and visually arresting works of fine video.
And that concludes your musical update from Jenny-fa.
"– My fall will be for you –
My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
If you be the one to cut me
I will bleed forever…"
— Nightwish, "Ghost Love Score"
This operatic chorus (featuring none other than the London Philharmonic Orchestra) is one of the most awesome hooks I've ever heard. Check it out.
"Ghost Love Score" by Nightwish, Once (2004)
Since I had a nice long nap today, I'm determined to spend the entire night (and early morning) catching up on my favorite shows on Hulu. And since I know you're just bursting with curiosity, the shows in question include (in approximate ranking of brilliance/preference):
"Pirates of the Caribbean Medley"by Epica(Album: The Classical Conspiracy / 2009)
Enshrined
The cross-dressing visual kei vocalist of Schwarz Stein and Node of Scherzo fame. Artist: Kaya Nationality: Japan Genre: Electronic Official Web site: { link }