A fine, fucking Sunday - thank you BTS!

 I love Bangtan so much.

The end of the epic 4-day PTD in Las Vegas! And what a fucking finish to a legendary moment in life.

Fav chaotic duo

 

Everything felt different somehow in the last show.

Black Swan seemed to have new choreo. 

JK seemed even more energetic than his usual self if that's possible.

Tae was so jumpy and happy. 

Just model Tae walking the runway lol

Jimin and JK were cutely running around photobombing the members during Life Goes On. hehe.

Suga inundated with hundreds of 'Yoongi, marry me' posters hahahah. And he was like there are many drive-through wedding places in Las Vegas hahahaha

hahaha

Speaking of posters - there were many witty and cute ones. 

I loved what Hobi was wearing here. (Can't seem to find a full body pic right now)

I was so proud of JK and Hobi's English speeches. They have become so fluent in the language. This motivates me immensely to learn Korean. The Bangtan Academy classes begin in May - I'm so excited!!!!

And Hobi took a moment out of his speech time to thank Jin for still delivering a world class performance despite his injury so that bts on stage looked like the cohesive team they are. I believe Jin seemed really shy and a bit overwhelmed at this praise from his dance leader. During his own speech, Jin expressed regret that he hurt himself which hindered the quality of performance BTS is known for and he apologised to his band members. Tae was having none of that and immediately stood up and went up to Jin to say NO, you are not a burden to us, okay!!! 😭

Oh the fuzzy warm feelings don't stop there. Joon initiated hugs with his members. Now that makes me proud idk why lol. When he stepped to share his final thoughts, JK went 'our boss' hehehhehehehe.

my fav duo ever 

He was also in a nostalgic mood as he went all the way back to the AHL days when they were cleaning hotels and asking people to come to their concert.

Joon gave a full bow to army. And LAB dance team returned the bow to Bangtan.

THE ENDING WAS LEGENDARY. I mean Joon had been hinting something was coming because he kept saying stay with us till the end. BUT THAT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

When I heard the heard the words 'WE ARE BULLETPROOF' and saw the June 10th date, I literally flopped my legs and squealed loudly and sat up on my bed. hahahaha....After I calmed down, I found my own instinctive reaction so hilarious. 

I am so happy. Thank you, BTS for always colouring my life with joy. I will keep praying for only the best things for you.

BTS IS COMING!!

A little heartbroken, a little healed

I'm not sure I am okay. February is coming to an end. 

'Look at the wildflower'

 Okay, life pro tip #∞

'Just do it'

👀

Okay, okay - let me explain.

I bet a lot of us drown in the belief that if we're not good enough at something then there's no point in doing it or talking about it. Essentially, we consider that to have been a waste of time and effort. 

Case in point - I want to make short videos but I can't even take good photographs, why do I even think I can make videos?

Or someone may enjoy baking but their cakes/cookies might not be all that they hope for.  Or someone else loves painting. It relaxes them. They enjoy playing with colours. But their paintings do not reflect the image they had in their heads. So they think they are absolutely terrible at it and should stop wasting their time.

So this article I read said something like this - (I'm paraphrasing here) - The main point is that we're doing something we are interested in and enjoy. That itself holds value. It doesn't matter if the end result is not the quality we wanted. That shouldn't hold us back. We shouldn't let the fear of 'failure' or anxiety of producing low quality work stop us from pursuing things we are interested in.

Two days before his birthday, Jin (from BTS) published a letter and released a song. In the letter, he wrote about grappling with imposter syndrome and low self-esteem issues. Most notably, he shared how he had discussions with Bang PD (BH CEO) about his feelings and his fear that the music he makes is not good enough. Bang PD said, “Such things are not important. But if you give it a try, you’ll surely do a good job. I’ll look for someone who has a good fit for you.”

Now doesn't that perfectly tie with what I read earlier this week? It felt like a transformational moment for me when I read that letter and remembered the earlier article. 

Then I also started thinking of the many times Yoongi has told his members to release their mixtape instead of waiting for it to be 'perfect'. The younger members have been working on their mixtapes for quite some time now and I think Yoongi is correct when he says sometimes you just have to put yourself and your work out there. Because when you are waiting for perfection, you might be losing out on the raw, beautiful moments that actually sum up our life.

So the life pro tip is to not get too bogged down by peculiar standards of beauty, perfection, skill, etc. At the risk of sounding cliche, life is truly a journey and everything we do has a starting point, a mid point and an end point. We should learn to enjoy all these three stages. Everything has value. Let us try our best to throw away our fear, insecurity, and impossible standards. 

p.s. I don't know if I made any sense

p.p.s: Please listen to Jin's song. 'Abyss' is raw and emotional and beautiful. 

brainfood

• Text of Indian writer Arundhati Roy's speech in 2018 - in-what-language-does-rain-fall-over-tormented-cities. This is jam-packed with historical, political, literary, religious, and cultural references. It requires a bigger brain than mine to fully comprehend. But it is a must-read. Be warned - it is very long.

• RM's interview where he talks about his first mixtape. It gives an interesting insight into his mind. The 2015 Namjoon talked honestly about his art, his mistakes, and his aspirations. I also loved reading about the kind of relationship he has with his agency and the misgivings he had then as a Kpop idol. I can see how the path he was on at that time led him to be the man he is today.

• This 2011 article, republished in Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies, talks about the accessibility, and lack of, education and the English language- and the way it was/is being used as tools against the poor and marginalised in India.

• I came across this blog piece titled 'Mimetic Traps' after listening to the 'Not Over Thinking' podcast. Very interesting and thought-provoking. It talks about how a lot of us could be caught in jobs, situations, a life that is essentially a reflection of other people's desires, and not truly our own. The trap is basically us 'inheriting other's desires' and thinking we want something very badly. We invest energy and time on that specific thing but we might find out too late that it doesn't hold any value for US. I want to read it a couple more times to make sure I understand it as perfectly as possible.

Dynamite is here!!

 

I SLEPT AT 6 PM AND WOKE UP AT 8:30 PM THURSDAY EVENING. HAD A HEARTATTACK THINKING I MISSED 'DYNAMITE' PREMIERE SCHEDULED FOR 5 AM FRIDAY UK TIME.

FINALLY SLEPT AGAIN AT 1:30 AM AND WOKE UP 4:30 AM.

WORTH IT!!!!

DYNAMITE IS SUCH A BOP. 

THE MUSIC, THE LYRICS, THE VISUALS, THE DANCE - CHEF'S KISSSSS

ARGHHHHHHH

BEEN STREAMING SINCE 5 AM.

THIS IS ME RIGHT NOW!!

groovy nights!

Just one of those nights when I vibe to BTS songs.

Usually starts like this - okay, I'll listen to that song and get back to this book.

Before long I'm sprawled out on the bed looking up at the ceiling and enjoying the night breeze. Track number 12 or 16 is playing from one of my many BTS playlists. And I have different playlists dedicated to them - BTS favs, classics, energisers, mellow, etc.


"HOW MUCH LOVE, HOW MUCH JOY!"

as they say, with great power comes great responsibility

Global stars BTS spoke up in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement that is currently ongoing in the US and across different parts of the world.

The artists (and BigHit) also extended financial support with a donation of $1 million earlier this week. 

As the news broke out, ARMY, who was already starting to collect money for BLM, launched an online fundraiser to match BTS' donation. This massive fundraiser called upon ARMYs and any fans or collaborators of BTS' to contribute. Online activism was at its peak (even thought ARMY was already speaking up loud and clear) that day. There were continuous tweets, fundraiser updates, and tagging celebrities the entire day.

I was up for 20 hours (7th to 8th June) reading up on the latest happenings of this fundraiser. It was so heartening to see everyone wholeheartedly supporting the BLM movement. Racial injustice has long been a bleak and harsh truth. Police brutality being the reason of one more innocent black life lost pushed everyone to act.

We need people with influence to speak up and share their support publicly. ARMY was proud of the boys for speaking up and contributing financially to this fight for equality and respect. The boys' influence was so vast that ARMYs across the globe started donating whatever they could spare to match the artists' donation.

And we made it!!! 

$1m million within 24 hours....

I donated a tiny amount. I hope that helps, one way or another.

Thank you, BTS, for speaking up and showing solidarity with fellow human beings. Your visibility in this movement helps affect how young people think and behave. I'm sure your black fans appreciate your support. And your non-black fans will remember your stand in this important matter and try to emulate you.

To top that spectacular day, BTS was part of YouTube's  #Classof2020 celebration. They shared their personal graduation stories and also spoke about what has helped them function as adults today. Namjoon said to keep on pushing ahead and that we are alone but together. Yoongi said learn to let go of things you can't change and focus on what you can actually do something about. Jin said don't compare yourself with others and it's okay to go on at your own pace. Hobi said take that one more step when you feel like giving up and one more again, every time. Jimin said you will always be loved. Tae said remember that luck and opportunity is waiting for you. Jung Kook said have faith in yourself.

My graduation is long gone. But I'm still always in need of support and comfort like anyone. I hope the young graduates, who watched the YouTube celebration on their behalf, found warmth and took comfort from everyone who spoke at the event.

The best was saved for the last and BTS gave one of their cutest performances to date. The boys looked happy and comfortable. They sounded amazing. What more can any ARMY wish for?

take comfort

would somebody please just do a comprehensive research on the impact of BTS on their listeners and fans across the world?

yes, they are a huge source of entertainment. their songs are amazing. they dance like........ they are fucking charming. let me get all these crossed off the list.

but, personally, I think the people who listen to BTS and then stay, do so because BTS is a source of hope and comfort. it is comforting to see young men work hard, be fun, be silly, struggle with their own issues, and try to help others. this is the epitome of normal young people everywhere, I believe. because all of us are just trying to live and be better, every day. we want to do more than survive. but we struggle to be happy for more than a few days continuously. so we try to find peace, hope and comfort where we can. and we share. we reach out to family and friends. friends and family. we share. we discuss. our cries are our own. but then we try to take a breath and remember we have a tomorrow where perhaps we can have a better day.

their thoughts aren't exactly revolutionary. but the world hasn't seen a group of young artists like BTS before. and I say this because no where has there been artists who've connected with masses- transcending race and language- as they have. there's love. and there's love.

they are special because they aren't perfect. they try. they project. they try. they fail. sometimes, they share. and that is special.

young people will listen to their music. watch their videos. laugh with them, at them, for them. and then they will remember each member for their individual stories. they will save memes. they will make memories. they will internalise what a member said that touched them deeply. if they take that to heart, maybe we will have a world where we have an army of empathetic and strong human beings who believe that sorrow and hurt is meant for us all but it doesn't have to spell the end for us. 

Okay, Bangtan songs, line up!

• Persona
• Serendipity 
• Trivia: Love
• Come Back Home
• Ddaeng
• Trivia: Seesaw
• Shadow
• Lie
• Dionysus 
• Adult Child
• Born Singer
• Anpaman
• Baepsae
• Epiphany
• Her
• Answer: Love Myself
• Home
• Move
• Magic Shop
• Miss Right
• The Truth Untold
• Spring Day

Some of my favourite songs that I could just list off the top of my head. The line up varies, but Persona is always leading it.

These songs seem almost magical because of the meaning behind the words, the performances and the music. The perfect blend of all three essential ingredients. Just immerses the listeners in a sea of emotions.

The words to their songs bring up strong emotional responses within me, especially Epiphany, Come Back Home, Answer: Love Myself and Home. A lot of listeners will be able to identify with the lines in the songs because love, struggles, exhaustion, the need for rest and comfort are universal.