This is Nina. She is a mother, wife, and daughter. Last September, Nina was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. After 7 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, the cancer went into remission...
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Over the weekend, my friend Carol posted “before” and “after” photos of herself using the smartphone photo app Cymera. Unlike most western photo editing apps, this Asian app (I’m pretty sure it originated in Korea, since its homepage is hosted by Cyworld) allows you to make numerous beauty edits, many of which are obviously catered for the Asian standards of beauty: large eyes, slim face, and clear, smooth skin, just to name a few.
Everyone — including myself — who commented on the photos said that she looks better in the “before” version. I added that apps like these must have contributed to the increase of ulzzang‘s (the second definition’s the most accurate) in the recent years.
Nonetheless, I was intrigued. I knew that apps like Cymera existed, and that they are quite popular in Asia. (Xiaxue openly admits to using apps like this to “photoshop” herself before posting them online.) However, I had never tried one out for myself. What’s more, Cymera has an English interface and is readily available in the Google Play Store and iTunes!
Here’s my first try at using Cymera. The effects I used were: Big Eyes, Slim (makes your face slimmer), Makeup (false lashes and blush), and Cover Spots (makes your face clearer and smoother).
I wanted to pop in to give you a weekend update! First up is Aerin's developmental delays. Many people have been asking about her (a big thank you for your concern!), and the reason why I haven't written an update is because there hasn't been much progress. The state of NJ organizes its early intervention program by divisions that consist of 3-4 counties, and the one for our county doesn't seem very efficient, at least not in these initial stages. The number that the doctor gave us (which was confirmed via the web) is nothing but an answering service; they take down your information and tell you that someone will call you back within 2 business days. And even then, I haven't...
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If you grew up in Korea, or in a Korean household, you may be familiar with a children's show called 뽀뽀뽀 (Popopo). According to its Korean Wikipedia page, it first aired on May 25, 1981 and has been in syndication since. The show was probably most popular in the 1980s; I remember setting aside time every day to watch the educational variety show, full of skits, animations, songs, and dances. A scene from 뽀뽀뽀's 30th Anniversary Special, which aired in 2011 (source) Here's where the story gets interesting. Starting from a very young age, I was able to see that the many puppets featured on the show were NOT human. Nothing special, right? I also believed they were living, breathing creatures. Again, this is not atypical of a...
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According to Google Analytics, about 1/3 of the visitors to this site are on a mobile phone, while around 10% of my total traffic stem from tablets. And I imagine that these numbers will continue to get higher with the advancement of technology, decrease in prices, and wider adaptation of mobile devices. When I first set out to design this current WordPress theme, my original plan was to make it responsive. A responsive design changes the layout of a page depending on the size of the screen. (image source) However, I was too eager to get a new template prepared that I did not thoroughly study up on the method I said "Screw it" and took the easier route of a static design. As more and...
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