Written on: 18/03/18
As we were touring around the city of Liverpool, my friends and I came across a gentle elderly man who was surrounded by several art pieces — ranging from drawings, sketches, mosaics. Some of his works takes several days, or weeks to complete; but each was carefully crafted with the very finest of details. He offered us each the chance to take home one of his artworks that he had sketched on to postcards, and offered to sign it.
Strangely enough, for each individual piece, he said:
“I’ll start scribbling, and you tell me when to stop.”
…
An original poem, inspired by a good friend who sent me a comic strip about self-compassion after I confided in her.
Open,
Open enough to not raise suspicion
But vague enough to run if needed
Like a game of chess or checkers
You’re always thinking of the next step, letting this current one pass by
Always been this way, hasn’t it?
Popping your head up from above the waters
F
L
A
I
L
I
N
G about
You scream, you say your peace, you yell till you’re hoarse
Or maybe you just have enough strength
to gasp
For a moment, you revel
revelling in the fresh air that is unattainable below waters
Yet the moment you are noticed / someone…
It was a Tuesday
The fresh-faced college kid went to catch up with her cousin brother
Who’d just returned
From jolly ol’ London
They went back and forth
Exchanging their life experiences since they saw each other last
Bonding over their odd sense of humour and each other’s anecdotes
Sharing laughter over plates of sushi
All of a sudden he brings up a question
A part of her unravelled slightly despite its well-kept seams
He asked her about what happened in the past —
those years he had missed out on
the years they were hidden from each other
She…
We are all made up of the people we’ve encountered, everything we have experienced. Little parts of these people and places has shaped us, moulded us into who we are. The good, the bad, the pretty, the ugly — it all stems from how we respond to the situations we are presented with.
I am reminded of Kintsugi: a Japanese art of attaching broken pottery pieces back together with gold.
All of us may have accumulated various cracks over the years: from heartache, disappointment, failure, grief, despair. …
During Revolt Festa 2021 weekend, Oda Tolsrod, Revolutionaries’ Publishing Director, gave a presentation entitled BTS and the book revolution.
Filter was introduced on BTS’ 2020 album, Map of the Soul: 7, as Jimin’s solo track — his pride and joy. When Jimin performed the song live during their Map of the Soul ON:E online concert in October of the same year, he blew ARMY away with his intricate choreography, focus, and varying color schemes.
When Map of the Soul: 7 was released, Filter quickly shot up the charts. It ranked #1 on Amazon US for three consecutive days. As of April 2020, Filter set another record by being the fastest Korean solo song to surpass 40 million streams in…
The BTS rap line performance of UGH! staged as a part of their Map of the Soul ON:E concert was everything fans had hoped for — and more. This analysis explores the highly anticipated first performance of UGH!, and discusses the strong connection between the lyrics and staging, showing how the two compliment each other and work in unison to create a powerful performance.
The backstory of UGH!
RM, Suga, and j-hope use UGH! to criticize a society where people hide behind anonymity while using their anger against others. UGH! represents their frustration with malice-filled anger.
Breaking generational patterns
Can feel
Lonely
When something has been the ‘norm’ for generations
It feels intimidating to speak up
Scary even
You feel like you’re the crazy one —
And a society that is not open to change would support that notion
Could we blame society?
The ‘norm’ was what kept people in their place
To not touch the system, to not keep anyone accountable
All in the name of so-called ‘peace’
When breaking generational patterns
Though it may feel like you are grasping around in the dark
I would like to remind you
That you are progressing, still
…
I first heard of Almond when BTS members RM, Suga, and J-Hope were seen reading it during their reality series In The Soop. RM and Suga agreed that this book was “well-written” and “an interesting read.” This piqued my curiosity, which led me to search its synopsis and a translated version of the book.
Almond is Won-Pyung Sohn’s debut fiction novel. The English translation was done by Sandy Joosun Lee.
Almond follows the story of a boy, Yunjae, who was born with a brain condition called alexithymia. In the Author’s Note, it was clarified that alexithymia refers to “the inability…
A year ago, I wrote on how it was baffling that the Recording Academy had not acknowledged BTS despite their Map of the Soul: Persona album breaking multiple records. Records not just for each track making it to the Billboard charts, but also a music video that broke Guinness World records.
A year later, 24th November 2020 —
as per the reaction of four of the members above, it was announced that BTS are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance!
(The complete list of 2021 GRAMMYs nominees can be accessed here.)
In this article, I will be breaking down:
- …
Lily Low
“No darkness, no season is eternal.” | Writes about mental health, music, current issues, life, poetry, and faith. | On Instagram & Twitter: @lilylowstar
