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Goofing Around with Cymera [Plasticizing Myself]

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.

cymera

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).

cymera_before_after

Mishmash

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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Casting Disney’s Animated Characters

A few days ago, GeekTyrant shared a list of actors and actresses that should play the live-action versions of Disney’s classic animated characters. 

The fantasy casting, originally created by Super Super Kawaii, includes many big names like Brad Pitt and Scarlett Johansson, and the vast majority of the thousands who have seen the list seem to be in agreement with the choices. (This, however, is purely based on the massive amount of reposts and small number of negative comments. And from my experience, the internet usually isn’t too kind to those who post opposing opinions. 😉 )

Personally, I only agree with about half the choices. And even then, the assessment may be flawed due to two reasons:

  1. The original creator of the list failed to label the pictures with the respective actors and actresses’ names. And I have no idea who some of them are, so I’m purely going by looks.
  2. I’m not super-familiar with some of the movies on the list. For example, I only saw Hercules once and I don’t remember much from it. So once again, the only deciding factor is physical.

Shall we begin?

Here’s The Little Mermaid:

disney_real_life_casting_little_mermaid

The casting of Ariel is a big NONONONONO for me. I have nothing against Amy Adams, but I could immediately think of another amber-tressed actress who not only possesses Ariel’s innocent, wide-eyed look, but can also bring the sass: Kate Mara.

kate_mara

Childhood Disappointment

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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The Pixar Theory

Internet nerd John Negroni has blown my mind. While the idea that all Pixar movies exist within the same universe isn't entirely new, he has taken it a step further and postulated The Pixar Theory: a detailed proposition that all Pixar characters are part of the same universe, backed up by a believable timeline that incorporates all the movies into one narrative. The first movie in the timeline is Brave, which he points out provides an explanation for animals and inanimate objects that talk. Centuries later, the animals from Brave that have been experimented on by the witch have interbred, creating a large-scale population of animals slowly gaining personification and intelligence on their own. There are two progressions: the progression of the animals and the...

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