CRAZYANKA ♥

Happy December everyone! The year is coming to a close and as much as I’d like to welcome 2013 with open arms, I can’t help but feel like 2012 slipped by way too quickly. Sigh!

Well, it’s too late to regret lost time now. But to be honest, I only feel slightly remorseful towards the huge amount of time I’ve been spending watching videos lately.

For some reason whenever I’m stressed I always end up finding new things to busy myself with. Of course, I have some “distraction staples” like blogging and drawing, but recently I’ve been broadening my horizons when it comes to this field I’ve been watching all sorts of things like documentaries, song covers, drama shows, vlogs, and even webtoons. I have the tendency to live blog my feelings (which is something I hope to curb come 2013!) and I was quite surprised that my tweets were able to influence people into watch things that I was interested in. It is because of this that I was inspired to compile some of the most interesting things I’ve watched in the past few weeks so that you too can join me (and many others) on the road to educational procrastination!

I will start off with something more lighthearted –

Webseries / Animation

Bravest Warriors

If you know of Adventure Time, then you might be familiar with Pendleton Ward. The creative mind behind Finn and Jake also has his own weekly webtoon Bravest Warriors, which you can watch on the Cartoon Hangover channel on YouTube. Quoting Wikipedia.org:

Bravest Warriors is an animated web series created by Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward and produced by Frederator Studios. The original pilot aired on Nicktoons Network’s Random! Cartoons on January 10, 2009. The animated series began streaming on Frederator’s Cartoon Hangover channel on YouTube from November 8, 2012. The series follows four teenaged heroes-for-hire as they warp through the universe to save adorable aliens and their worlds using the power of their emotions.

It is pretty interesting and they also release some cool behind the scenes footage! It’s pretty neat if you’re like me when it comes to being interested in animation and storyboarding. Here’s their BTS for episode 1:

RWBY

Okay, technically RWBY isn’t even released yet, but the moment I saw the preview pictures I was an instant fan of it — even before I found out that Monty Oum was behind it! Putting aside my talent-crush for Monty, the whole feel of RWBY is just really intense and I am really looking forward to seeing what it’s all about. Despite being unreleased, RWBY already has quite the following with numerous fan cosplays, art, and predictions floating around the web — and rightfully so. You’d be able to understand once you watch the video. If you don’t watch the trailer in HD, I will judge you. You should also check out Mr Oum’s other works, they’re mostly featured on his YouTube channel. You may also be familiar with his work with Rooster Teeth, where he is the lead animator for Red vs. Blue!

The Mockingbird Song

I feel that Katy Towell is quite well-known in the web animation scene, but just in case you haven’t seen The Mockingbird Song yet, then here it is! You should also check her other marvelous work on her YouTube channel. “Agony” is also one of my absolute favourites!

Paperman

Ok so I actually haven’t seen the Paperman short yet even though I have been fangirling about it for over a month now. When I first saw an article about it on ItsArtMag.com (It seems they have since taken down the post) I just immediately fell in love with the animation and art style. I hope they’d release a full movie in this style soon.

Vlogs

When I need a good laugh or when I just feel like looking at life in another person’s eyes, I watch vlogs. I follow a number of “well-known” vloggers so I’d assume that you already know of them so I won’t list them here, so instead I’ll be sharing some other people that I feel could really use some more recognition! Also I realized that I like watching boys’ vlogs???? Should I be concerned? Well I guess it’s ok since most of the female vloggers I know kind of make me feel uncomfortable. There’s just something about listening to a girl talk about her love life/outfit of the day/”what’s in my bag” videos that disheartens me from subscribing to them.

Chonny

Although I stumbled on his channel because of his KPop reaction videos, his random videos really put a smile on my face. Sometimes I even end up staying up a little later than usual since I keep clicking on his videos lol

Shimmy

I just recently subscribed to Shimmy so I don’t really know what to say??? Hahaha! His videos are pretty entertaining of course, so you should give it a try He had a travel vlog on Korea too so yeah that kind of lured me in as well hee hee

Swoozie

Okay so Swoozie isn’t exactly an “unknown” vlogger but I haven’t seen any of my friends talk about him so I might as well put him in here. From his videos I could say that he’s a pretty cool guy with a lot of interesting stories to tell!

Luan

Probably the first vlogger that I really liked. He’s got an awesome character and he’s not just really entertaining but pretty insightful* as well. For my younger readers, you might not want to watch his videos if you’re a little sensitive on strong language!

TV and Movies

An Unexpected Briefing

This is technically an advertisement but!!! It’s really fun to watch. It’s basically a Hobbit-themed airport safety procedure sequence. Awesomesauce.

America’s Worst Tattoos

I have a lot of friends who are interested in getting tattoos, but I don’t think they understand the weight of this decision. This show gave me a couple of laughs, but it also made me realize just how many people out there probably have it even worse.

My Boss, My Hero

I couldn’t find any legit trailers of this show for some reason, so here’s a (funny) short English-subbed clip instead! You can see my blog posts about it here. My Boss, My Hero is a Japanese drama that follows a 27 year-old Yakuza who was tasked by his father to graduate high school else he would not be given the title of the gang’s boss. Aside from being entertaining, it really made me ask myself: Why do I go to school?

Silenced/The Crucible

Quoting the OP:

Based on the original by writer Gong Ji Young, this movie is about a true story that happened in Gwangju, about a teacher who was newly appointed in a school for the deaf, and reveals to the world the secret violence and tragedy that had been going on in there.

This movie is deeply moving and haunting. It shows that real life doesn’t come with happy endings.

Documentaries

Miss Representation

You can watch the full documentary on vimeo. Watching the documentary really made me realize how little opportunities women have in society today. It’s a sad time to be a woman, but it doesn’t mean that it should stay this way. We’ll have to fight for our rights and for the rights of our (future) daughters. It’s going to be tough, but it’s not impossible.

Seoul Fashion Week: K-Pop to Double Eyelid Surgery

Vice releases new documentaries practically every day and you should check them out. A few favourites of mine would be their interview with a Cannibal and TheReplyGirl on YouTube. This particular one gives an interesting insight on Seoul culture. I think the title doesn’t give it justice, and despite the criticism towards this documentary, I think it’s quite a good watch.

Korean High School

This is an ongoing documentary project, but you can watch the full-length trailer on their website. Having had Korean roommates and friends I could really see what this documentary is trying to put across, and if you’re just generally interested in finding out what it’s like for high schoolers there, you might want to check this documentary and maybe even help them out in some way.

Songs and Covers

Nicholas Cheung – Tribute Medley

I’ve known of this cover for over a year now but whenever I recommend it to someone, I always get the same reaction — “Wow.” It’s an amazing medley of Joe Hisaishi (Ghibli OSTs) and Skrillex songs.

Audrey, Georgina, & Gamaliel – Heaven by Ailee

Their pronunciation may or may not be off but I must hand it to Audrey, that girl has some amazing vocals. These Indonesians are really talented and their other covers are pretty amazing too!

Manila Luzon – Hot Couture

Manila Luzon was a part of RuPaul’s Drag Race and yes, you’ve guessed right — this talented babe is part Filipino. Clearly I could only dream to be as fabulous as Manila.

Becky G – Die Young (Ke$ha)

I already liked Ke$ha’s song on its own, but I must say I like Becky G’s cover of it even more. For a 15 year-old she’s got some undeniable spunk!

Juliana Richer – Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)

One of my favourite Justin Timberlake songs covered and arranged in such a beautifully emotional way.

Hope you found my video recommendations interesting! I understand that there’s an incoming storm to the Philippines and I hope that everyone will stay safe and make the necessary preparations for it — not just through packing your things or stocking up on food but also mentally and emotionally. I just hope that no one dwells on the negative sides of the storm just yet! Maybe you could watch a video or two to take your mind off it as well? I guess what I’m trying to say is that it won’t be good for you to focus all your energy on the storm. What will be will be, and if you lived the next days of your life just fixated on your fears, you will soon look back at that time and think, “Wow, that was a lot of wasted energy.” Or worse — knock on wood, should it be your last days, I doubt you would feel happy about not being able to live your final moments in happiness but instead in distress. Take care and God bless, my prayers are with you all!