Blog's Birthday

Tomorrow, 28 March 2007 at 6:37 AM Eastern Time, this site will reach its first anniversary.

It's been a rocky year, with massive computer crashes, personal sorrows and disasters, and the tragedy in Oh Ji Ho's life.

There have been devestating natural events, and nasty political ones.

Through all of it, you have been steadfast. I want to tell you how appreciated you are.

VERY!

Thank you all for making it worthwhile. I've come so close to closing this site at times, but when I think it over, I'm glad I didn't.
Hyacinth

Oh Ji Ho - Back in Korea

Whoops, did I get caught with an unforgivable typo? Sorry.

Okay. I see some of you have been coming back repeatedly, waiting for words. Melville, N.Y., we are in the same time zone, thanks for coming so faithfully. I see you've been dropping by. And thank you Las Vegas. Hawaii too. You guys are the best.

Oh Ji Ho has been in Japan on "vacation" (rest trip I would say). I learned of it this morning after tracking down a translation of an online article in a Korean news search page. Whew! Finally a small break in the Great Wall of Silence.

That isn't all I have to tell you.

Someone I am acquainted with from Hawaii is now either enroute to, or has arrived in, Korea for a visit. It is possible she will be able to gather good information about Oh Ji Ho, as to his health etc.

It is also NOT impossible that she would be able to speak with him personally by phone. I don't know. I do know if it were me, I would break down doors to see him with my own eyes to be sure he looked okay; not the way he looked last spring. But then, I'm a maniac.

Joshing aside, I am focused on only one Korean actor. This one. She heads a club dedicated to Korean dramas. There are many people her members like, and no one actor is discriminated against, or favored above others. They're all welcome to visit when in Hawaii, and they'll all be welcomed with open hearts.

Oh Ji Ho's return to Korea does not mean he will be back in the thick of things. That is something we will have to wait and see about.

He still needs the visible proof of our friendship and support. His birthday is 14 April. Birthday cards would be very nice. The more countries that are heard from, the better he will feel about his fan base. He needs us.


Now...the International Oh Ji Ho Fan Club is open to take applications for membership. The first members signed up will be made happy by receiving free membership for a full year. The annual dues are low. They are $15.00 USD. Not bad, right?

You can place an applicaton by clicking on the link to the right that tells you to.

Simple.

Right?

I don't hear you.

Right?

Ah, that's better.

So, that's it for the moment.

I send you all, my heartfelt affection,
Hyacinth

So..what are you waiting for? Go sign up. Hurry. 30 freebies will go soon. Some are already gone.

Good Morning,

It is still morning here, at any rate. My StatCounter here is leaping. You are coming here for information. I understand why.

I w1ll post some data after 1:00 PM US Eastern Daylight Saving Time (UDT).

Is there a volunteer among you who will do some translating for me so English speaking viewers can read things that are popping up in news posts?

I hope so. I will be grateful.

Hyacinth

Oh Ji Ho - A small bit of news.

Dear viewers,

I've gotten word through a few proxies that our letters and cards have indeed reached Mr. Oh safely, and that he has expressed his surprise and appreciation for the support he has received from all of you, from all the corners of the world.

From Dubai to Dublin, from Jakarta to Jerusalem, from New York to The Netherlands, Japan to Jamaica, Cairo to California, you have come out to cheer him on.

Allow me to take a liberty I would not ordinarily take, that of speaking for another, to say on his behalf, thank you.

I myself thank each and every one of you. You are the jewels in the crown of this effort. Without you, nothing happens here.

You are my energy, and you are the source of the passion that keeps me burning bright, even when I’m too tired to see.

Some of you have sent me in the direction of photos, some of you have written touching things that went straight to my heart, many of which have found their way to the front page here. For these efforts, I thank you.

At this time I still urge you not to let up in sending cards, or simply worded little notes, that will continue to show your support.

When it gets to the point where it’s a little bit boring…that’s the critical moment.

Just think of yourself as representing 100 people that feel the same as you, who all stop visibly supporting Mr. Oh at the same time.

Think of the gap that leaves in the mailbox, then pick up your pen, and scribble a line, just saying, “Hello Zio, how are you today?” Or, whatever you would ordinarily say.

For this, I thank you.

Always,
Hyacinth

Here's a little laugh.

And a big one.

Click images to enlarge.

Just when I think I can't go on much longer,

something like this comes along. Two people left comments on the same subject, and I really needed them.

Here's what they said, and also, what I said to them.
****************

Mailyn said...
"Hello there, I am one of the mentally unstable people who, thank god, hasn't decided to end their lives.

I agree with you 120%.

NOBODY should be held accountable or responsible for a SUICIDE. It's absurd. It's something the person did in a very low moment when they most certainly were not thinking straight. That cannot be blamed on absolutely anyone. TONS of people break up, get dumped and lots worse things [rape, murder] happen everyday to millions around the world yet not all decide to end their lives no matter how sad or bad things are.

If anyone else out there thinks otherwise they must be crazier than I am.

My heart goes out to the poor family and the very sad woman who thought that was the best way.

My sympathy also goes to Oh Ji Ho because I also believe that people should have the right to work and that shouldn't be taken away for something they have no control over.

I follow TONS of artists from all over the world but Asia [esp Korea] is by far the worse when it comes to handling "scandals" since they seem to break more careers than anywhere else where things tend to blow over soon enough and the person is back in action.

Coincidentaly out of those countries I follow celebrities of [Greece, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, India, Thailand, China, Taiwan, England, and a few more] seems to me they also have the record for more suicides amongst young celebs nowadays.

It's just a sad state of things.

LOVE your blog. Am linking it now!


Oh and fuck anyone who thinks it's cool to call you names and shit because you are exrecising your RIGHT to defend whoever the hell you want."

\m/(~_-)
3/13/2007 6:43 PM

My response:
Dear Mailyn,
Your comment is a huge dose of anti depressant; I can’t thank you enough for it.

I am a strong proponent of free speech, but there are times when that free speech becomes an assumed right to go on the attack.

I have to admit I’m guilty of doing it myself on occasion, but I rarely get as personal as I did with the party I addressed in the letter to Invisible Commenter. In truth, I could have been brutal to a fault, but can’t drop to that level here out of respect for all the people who come to this site regularly. They don’t need to hear the harangue.

Your comment which supports my piece on loyalty to a cause, is filled with clarity of thinking, and also with a whole lot of savvy as to the state of affairs I am addressing these days.

The ham fisted fashion with which Mr. Oh is being handled is appalling beyond reason. The Korean style seems to be execute first, and ask questions later, if at all.

Any agency with a set of cojones, and loyalty to the consumer; in this case, Mr. Oh, would do all they could to keep their customer satisfied. They’d do all they could to squelch the bad press, they’d do all they could to crank up the efforts to slap vicious netcretins where it would hurt the most, in the pocket, by supporting any effort existing to catch these b****rds, and see that they get fined up the kazoo for harassment.

But then, I’m talking about cojones here…what a waste of my time, since I seem to be one of the very few with a set, and I’m a female.

Never let it be said that I accused his agency of having cojones.

So thank you again for the time you took, and thank you again for the moral-support, and thank you for the link too.

Warmest regards,
Hyacinth
************
Anonymous said...
You go, girl! :)

Tho' I'm not sure exactly what the "Invisible Commentator" said... doesn't really matter. This entire post... very well said! Thanks!
3/14/2007 4:13 AM

Hi Anonymous,

I appreciate your support here more than I can say.

I want to take this opportunity to mention I am very well aware that not all Anonymous comenters are bad guys.

I have only one regret about the comment that was posted. I failed to keep the original text of it. I was under the impression it would be in my e-mail, but the setting for comments I was using here at the time it was made, were not geared to forward the entire text to me.

Damn, damn, a thousand times damn.

However, I more or less paraphrased what the person wrote.

I was accused of thinking that (may be slightly misquoting here) ‘…your precious Oh Ji Ho is a perfect angel…’ etc.

You’re intelligent. You can get the jist of what it said from my response.

In appreciation of your appreciation, thanks again,
Hyacinth

Oh Ji Ho - An Evolution of Loyalty

I want to express my attitude here on the individuals who spend unrealistic numbers of hours on the internet spreading hatred.

They do it on the basis of race. They do it on the basis of religion. They do it on the basis of social standing. They do it on the basis of financial success, or lack of it. They do it on the basis of gender, sexual preferences, physical appearance, nationality…you name it, there is always someone who will hate you for it. That’s just the way it is.

This site, in English, was started for the purpose of bringing Oh Ji Ho to the attention of the western world. While he was well known in his own country, a relatively small number of people were aware of him in western countries.

There's always been a nucleus of individuals who were followers of “foreign” entertainments and cultures. They are a small group per capita in terms of an entire population, and often specialized in their pursuits. For example, persons who are interested in Japanese literature, or film, may have no interest in British or Russian efforts.

In this day of mass communication, the narrow focus becomes broadened. When I lived in New York, I went to a theater that specialized in foreign film. There were certain countries whose works bored me, and others that I loved. I tended to spend my time only on that which had become familiar and dependable. I missed out on a lot of very excellent work because of it.

Today, I love Asian movies. Korea has turned out some fine works, many done by independents, over the years. But I love pre 1997 Hong Kong movies more than I can say. And now I’m gearing myself to start checking out Taiwan works.

Are you seeing what happens? Because a means of easy discovery has become so readily available to me, I can explore the whole world. Something triggered it for me.

In putting this site up, my intention was to trigger awareness. It was that simple.

But the event that catapulted him into the spotlight was not his rise to fame as an entertainer in his own country, and the fallout because of the attention of K-Drama fans all over the world, it was because of one specific very prejudicial sounding article that broke the news about the suicide of a woman linked to him.

Later it was discovered that he had not been truthful at first, about his relationship with her. It was then that the netcretin crowd went wild, smelling blood like the sharks they are, and the feeding frenzy was on.

I have reached a certain point in my thinking about the entire situation. I do not care if Oh Ji Ho didn’t tell all immediately. I do not care if he callously “dumped” a woman because he got more famous suddenly. If someone commits suicide because of a break-up in a relationship, it has more to do with an unstable mental state, and a lack of self esteem and confidence, than it does the break-up.

I don’t care if he is not a nice man. I don’t care if he has warts on his rear end.

I do care that someone has had his means of livelihood taken away from him in his own country, because of his private life.

And if you wonder why I care, it’s this: He is not a head of state, he’s not a priest, he’s not a serial killer, he’s not a lunatic poisoning the water supply, he’s not a fanatic flying planes into buildings.

He’s just an actor. He’s not important anywhere in this world for any reason larger than that he is an entertainer.

Oh Ji Ho doesn’t hold the lives of millions in his hands as do heads of state that declare wars, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. He’s just a person who wants to work as an actor.

Every human being in the world has the right to work at what they want to work at without being judged and denied employment on the basis of his or her personal life.

There have been remarks made about me that I am an overzealous fan. That’s as insulting as telling me I’m fat.

I am defending this man’s right to work in his chosen field. In doing so, I am calling attention to a condition that is all too common in Korea where celebrities are concerned. I am, by proxy, defending the workers of an industry. It didn’t start out that way, but that’s what it has evolved into.

If I come out swinging a baseball bat at the heads of netcretins, I consider my self to be leveling the playing field. The achievement of balance is a beautiful thing.

Dear anonymous commenter,

I guess you're what we'd call a neitzen. Well, let me ammend that. Nice people would call you a netizen, what I'd call you I won't put up here out of respect for my readers.

You say that you have first hand information that Mr.Oh is a liar, that he's lied a couple of times. Hmmm. But I notice you don't nave a name, you have no relaible source to quote, and you seem to be someone who could really use the advice, "get a life". Get off the web, go see a shrink. You're a warped individual who could really use some help before your bowels get into such a twist, you'll never be able to relieve yourself again. You'll drown in your own feces.

See the advantage of moderated comments? AND, I even have a record of every isp number that enters this site.