quoththeraven

For some follow up:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRATt2u7-Jo JJY is Jung Joon Young, the guy in the thumbnail, who is the one who filmed his partners without their consent and shared the footage with friends. The hosts are twentysomething Seoulites Danny and David Kim (no relation), who both spent part of their childhood in Canada, which is why they speak English without an accent.

Interesting comparison of the differences between and the relationship between Get Out and Us: https://afropunk.com/2019/03/jordan-peeles-us-review/ I haven't seen Us, but I'm more likely to based on this, particularly since I did see Get Out.

Ah. Sometimes I can't tell.

No, I wouldn't debate anti-vaxxers because there's a much longer history, the one fraudulent study that supported them has been disavowed, and their position fundamentally misunderstands everything about vaccination and herd immunity and is a quest to benefit their kids at the expense of others. But Truvada as PrEP hasn't been in use for that long (although Truvada as treatment for AIDS has) and some qualms are due to ignorance. That said, I have less patience with looking at it as though it's some kind of conspiracy against men who have sex with men, which is why I responded.

What makes you think the Chinese government can't make mischief with that information now? They may not be as anti-gay as Russia, but they're not friendly. It may be true, however, that they aren't interested in ruining your life, but only the lives of Chinese nationals or famous or politically connected people they can embarrass or threaten.

Some of it depends on whether they are charged and tried and whether they go to jail, if found guilty, but given the potential connection with the previous president, who was impeached and removed in late 2016/early 2017, and South Korea's burgeoning #MeToo movement, I don't know. Although South Korea is notoriously lenient on famous and well-connected men accused of sexual crimes, and concomitantly tough on women, this has stirred up a lot of public outrage. BigBang is unlikely to welcome Seungri back, nor is a record label or agency likely to take him unless he avoids prosecution or is somehow cleared. (His defense is that he was kidding when he talked about providing prostitutes for business associates.) He might try to promote himself by himself. He has a lot of business interests, although the ramen chain he started fired him recently because the connection with Seungri has caused them to lose business. Jung Joon Young is toast. I find it hard to believe he won't be convicted, and there's enough pressure to do something about the spycam epidemic, which so far has seen one of if not the harshest sentence be imposed on a woman who filmed a naked man without his knowledge that I doubt his accepting responsibility, which can be spun as repentance at sentencing (a factor often cited when sentences are suspended), will result in no jail time. The kind of person most likely to return is someone like the guy from Highlight, who composed and produced a lot of the group's songs. If they're not actually on stage, but behind the scenes, they're more likely to be able to return. Koreans have long memories. If this is taken seriously enough, this is going to affect the future prospects of many of them for a long time.

The strike in LA further supports what The Economist has reported: neither Uber nor Lyft cover their costs. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to believe that if left unregulated, not only will they drive taxis out of business but once they dominate, they will increase fares significantly as well as continue to exploit their drivers. The whole concept is only sustainable if it's a part-time gig for most drivers.

With "visionary asshole" and the tech talk location, I was convinced this was about Steve Jobs.

In the case of Roman Polanski, one could say that the victim, who is now an adult, was opposed to extradition and jail time, and her wishes should be paramount. (I assume she wasn't pressured into it by Polanski or his supporters.) One could also say it didn't make sense to let this lie fallow for many years and then take an interest in extraditing. But to try to minimize or excuse drugging and raping a thirteen year old is pretty extraordinary and hard to see as anything but callous.

Streisand's response is both a very human one and an immoral one. At the risk of making myself unpopular here, it isn't all that different from letting James Levine continue to take advantage of students until he was about to retire because he was such an artistic boon to the Met. Granted, his victims weren't as young, but many of them were still underage, and comments similar to Striesand's were made about them on this very forum when they went public.

This is delaying and possibly affecting whether he is nominated to be Secretary of Defense. https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/03/22/shanahan-pentagon-nomination-boeing-1291109?__twitter_impression=true

In the MV? I keep changing my mind as to whether he's Korean or, say, Filipino or Southeast Asian, as he's darker-skinned than the norm in South Korea, which has been colorist longer than it's been racist. Colorist in the sense that darker skin and a tan implies manual labor, whereas whiter skin implies leisure time and higher status. (Just like a farmer's tan is considered declasse here.) That's been true far longer than darker skin has been a marker of racial difference. The overall South Korean norm for male attractiveness skews more masc than the standard for K-pop idols, probably because male K-pop idols are expected to mostly appeal to female fans. There are some both within the idol system and outside who skew more masc, though, including MRSHLL (the other out gay K-pop artist), Baekho of Nu'est, Wonho and Shownu of Monsta X, and RM and Jungkook of BTS. But in general South Korean society seems more tolerant of what to us looks like a blurring of gender norms in K-pop idols without necessarily linking that to sexual orientation. "Gender identity" can also be used as code for the LGBTQ community without getting Korean netizens all up in arms over advocacy of homosexuality or queerness. RM, the leader of BTS, did this in a speech (in English) he made on behalf of the group to the UN General Assembly last fall -- that's the speech Holland was asked about, and that's the part of the speech he's referring to as being of comfort to the LBGTQ community.

Of course the government is targeting gay and bisexual men for Truvada. They are at greater risk of HIV infection because anal sex - more specifically receptive anal sex - is the most likely sexual means of transmission. (Blood transfusion/transfer is the most risky overall.) Truvada is approved because of its record in preventing the transmission of HIV and was developed at least in part in response to diminishing use of condoms now that HIV and AIDS are no longer viewed as death sentences. Yes, the government has mistreated Black people in the course of unethical research, in part because of a racist and erroneous belief that they aren't as susceptible to pain as white people, but to my knowledge the research on HIV, AIDS and Truvada has been conducted ethically. There really are no contextual markers suggesting promotion of PrEP is a way of targeting the gay community for abuse or harm. That's entirely separate from one's personal feelings about Gilead, condoms, barebacking and drug adherence. It's possible to see this as too cozy with Gilead, too trusting of Gilead or not your thing because the drug is too new or because resistant strains may develop without also treating it as something insincere or intentionally harmful. In a broad sense, all early stage drug usage is a gamble because there can always be anomalous results that have been suppressed or haven't yet been noticed.

I don't know if it still exists, but there was a museum dedicated to Rockwell in Arlington, Vermont as well, pretty much due north of Stockbridge. Its exhibits were more likely to be prints or actual magazine covers than the original paintings, but Rockwell had lived there and used locals as models for some of his most famous work, and displays about that personalized his work in ways the Stockbridge museum doesn't. I felt fortunate to visit both back in my leaf-peeping country inn-visiting days.

Here's an interview with out gay Kpop star Holland mentioned above. http://m.kpopherald.com/view.php?ud=201903221407438322519_2 Some excerpts: Have you ever been treated unfairly or experienced discrimination because of your sexuality? Holland: The agencies I spoke to prior to my debut told me not to disclose it. After I came out and debuted though, that was not an issue anymore. I don’t think I was disadvantaged as far as contract conditions are concerned because I was gay. One thing I find regretful is the terms on which idol contracts are signed in South Korea. They are young people with their own dreams, visions and ideas, which are, in my humble opinion, often overshadowed by their agencies’ opinions which are far more powerful. I had offers from agencies but I knew we were going to clash and people around me who really care for me in the entertainment industry encouraged me to do it on my own. I think I’m too different for the typical entertainment agency system. You funded your debut single and the video and they were of pretty high quality. How did you manage financially? Holland: Honestly, I don’t think my debut single (Neverland) was high quality. I used the money I saved up from working part-time to fund the music video to make it look like as less cheap as possible. I persuaded the filming crew that I want to do something new and the team even lost money and invested in me. I think they found the work fun and interesting. Musically, since I’m a Seoul Institute of the Arts student, I was able to get help from the people I know. I didn’t have professionals to help me with singing or production so I personally think the quality could’ve been better. But I can say that I did my best within my capabilities then so I have no regrets. Your music videos are quite out there. Do you have a say in their making? Holland: Of course. There was no kiss scene at first in the “Neverland” video. But after I heard that a kiss scene (between two men) would give the video an R-rating, I found it ironic and told (the staff) that we need the scene. Secondly, I didn’t want the overall theme to be dark at first. In Korea, the LGBTQ community is portrayed in a dark light and as a social issue. But my romantic experiences have been all bright, young and pretty so I wanted to show that side. “I’m Not Afraid” was more intense than “Neverland” in terms of LGBT representation. Holland: I realized I need to learn more about LGBTQ issues after my debut. Other than being gay myself, I never had a chance to meet other sexual minority people. I gave a lot of thought to it since a lot of my fans are of various sexualities and orientations and many people felt supported by me. In “I’m Not Afraid,” you see drag queens, people of different races and different gender identities. I wanted to give more exposure to these guys, showing them just mingle together freely. When did you first come out? Holland: Though my close friends knew it, even my parents didn’t know until I debuted. It wasn’t easy. I still find it difficult. I have no regrets though. My fans help me overcome the hurt from the past especially when I was in school. Even if I don’t experience it first-hand, there are always people somewhere, online comments or the media talking about us (gay people) in a certain way which can be hurtful. What do you think of the gap between K-pop’s gender-neutral aesthetic and its heteronormative narrative? Holland: In my view, same-sex love is fantasized in the K-pop industry but when it comes to addressing the actual issues like coming out, it can be very sensitive and conservative, which is very “ironic.” Then again, I understand the role of (idols) who are meant to be liked by as many people as possible. I tried to see these things positively. [Editorial comment: male idols have male fans too, some of whom are vocal and devoted, so a man yelling "Jimin!" at someone like Park Jimin of BTS or a male fan at a fansign asking if the idol would go on a date (aware that wouldn't actually happen) isn't unusual. The accepted answer to the question about a date is 'sure.'] What’s it like living as a gay person in Korea? Holland: I’m currently surrounded by people in the arts, many of whom are from outside of Korea, those who have lived abroad and people familiar with the LGBTQ community. So I don’t get hurt often these days. But still, when I meet new people every day in society as a business representative and think things went well, I still doubt myself when I go home and think, “What would they think of me?” and find myself feeling stressed a bit, which I think is indicative of the hardships I’ve experienced so far. I hope things change for the better. You said your parents didn’t know you were gay in an interview last year. What was it like coming out to them? Holland: My parents love and support me. They are actually really proud of their celebrity son (laughing). They know that I work hard on my own so they trust me. They are deeply in love with each other and living together happily. The MV for his first song, Neverland, is posted above. "I'm Not Afraid" is here: "I'm So Afraid" is a sequel to "I'm Not Afraid."

Regular blood tests - at least for STIs - are part of the protocol, so this is suspicious why? Why is it not possible public health agencies consider it a boon to public health and part of their effort to stop the spread of HIV? If you don't want to take it, don't.

I found one of the articles about Jung Joon Young's first statement. He said “I filmed women without their consent and shared it in a social media chatroom, and while I did so I didn’t feel a great sense of guilt.” https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8502216/jung-joon-young-confesses-filming-women-without-consent-south-korean-sexual-crime-ring The Cut did an even better general explainer than the one posted above. https://www.thecut.com/2019/03/jung-joon-young-seungri-charged-in-k-pop-sex-video-scandal.html?utm_campaign=thecut&utm_source=tw&utm_medium=s1

I was going to be snarky and say who isn't an oral expert, but thinking about it the ask is more specific than I expected. And not everyone is good at giving as opposed to receiving.

Ha, I thought you meant the play about the six-foot tall pukka rabbit, Harvey.

I believe every state has a statutory maximum.

I am posting this dance routine performed to the music of "Work It." Let me also point out the dancer (Gong Minzy, at the time a member of girl group 2NE1) was 17 at the time, this took place in South Korea, and no one batted an eye. Hiphop is the most popular genre of music in the US. Missy Elliott's "Work It" is a classic from the 90s. Hiphop's going to get used in ads. Those who don't like hiphop will need to reconcile themselves to that.

No, don't name beneficiaries as executors. Even if it's allowed, it's a bad idea. It's not uncommon for lawyers to be executors if you don't have relatives who are contemporaries or younger.

*headdesk* This is why groups like Public Citizen were founded.

*headdesk* This is why groups like Public Citizen were founded.

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