I'm soooo tired. I couldn't sleep last night cause it was soooo cold in my room, and it seemed so loud. I wake up this morning all grumpy, and decide to investigate. There's some construction on our building going on, and I guess they needed to take the screen out of my window. When they did that, they didn't close the window all the way!!! DUMB.

In funnier news, my brother almost got arrested. Thank goodness he wasn't carrying any dope. Just his Barnes and Noble card. HAHAHAH.

*Edit*
So I've been thinking about whether or not I want to watch "The Passion of the Christ." Part of me wants to, because I think it will really bring to life something that in many ways is really just a story to me. And, because I respect Mel Gibson's artistic vision and principcle in making the film he wanted to make. That said, I also don't want to watch this movie because I hear it's horribly violent, and I'm not a huge fan of watching violence, no matter what the context. I've been reading a lot of reviews and commentary (I figure, hey, I know the story-- how much can they really spoil?) and I'm still split. And here's another thing- I'm a little turned off by all the publicity, and the big spectacle this film has turned into. Church groups buying out theaters, "bring a friend" events, etc. It's almost as if watching this movie has become a measuring stick of how Christian you are-- if you're a Christian and you don't watch this movie, you're not a good Christian. If you don't like the movie, you're not a good Christian. And that bugs man. I think if I watch it, it'll be by myself, in the middle of the afternoon. If it's as powerful as people say, I think I'd prefer to experience that on a really personal level.
Here are some reviews/articles from my favorite new websites.
New York Times review
Chicago Tribune review
Chicago Tribune commentary
Newsweek review
Time Magazine review
Roger Ebert review
Washington Post review
Article on Truth and Fiction in The Passion

Why am I so interested in this? Because it's an intersection of the secular and non-secular world, it appeals to my faith and interest in Jesus but appalls my wimpy threshold for violence, it involves the Christian herd mentality that I hate but sometimes buy into, and because it's become not just a movie, but something that has brought up religious conflict and challenged societal beliefs. And that's interesting.
My take on the most controversial movie of the year.

Back from LA! Left LA yesterday at 12:30 PST, arrived in DC at 10:30 EST. Loooong day. But I had a great weekend.
Friday was a great day! Hung out at the Santa Monica Promenade with Byun, David, Sarah Yu and Sarah Wilczak, then headed out to West Hollywood to see the relatives. Got some momma cookin', then met up with Susan and Ankur. Met up with Byun and Co., and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Britney, Salt and Vinegar chips, Irish Car Bombs, trying to sober up Susan-- good times.
Went to my cousin Hyunhee's wedding on Saturday. It was rainy and yucky all day, but the wedding was still great. Small, sweet, lots of family. And Hyunhee was beautiful and happy. Highlights: my little niece Seoha sweetly throwing rose petals, dad running across the church lawn, Sarah catching the bouquet, giggling caught on tape, seeing so many cousins at once. Congratulations unni!
So that was my weekend. It was great seeing family and friends, and getting away for a weekend.
Dudes. I am so ready for winter to be over.

Blog from LA! WOOO! It is currently 12:05 AM PST, which means it is 3 AM my time, which means I am butt tired. Loooong flight, but luckily I slept a large portion of the long-ass Chicago-LA leg of it.
Wanna know what sucks? This weekend in LA, forecast is for RAIN. The one weekend I come to LA, it's rainy. Boo on rain! Rain on Hyunhee's wedding day sucks! Cmon skies! Lighten up!
Wanna know what's awesome? Driving down the street and having an InNOut Burger right there!!! Yeah!!!
I'm staying with my buddy Susan-- my best friend since freshman year of HS. Good times are in store. OH YEAH.
Good night, good night. Looking forward to a good day of friends and family tomorrow.

Today is Wednesday! Yay! I'm going to LA tomorrow!! Yay!! My cousin is getting married, so the whole fam, and a bunch of extended fam, are all gonna rendevous and celebrate in LA. And I'm excited to leave cold cold cold for some (hopefully) warm warm warm.

I looooove three day weekends. Have I mentioned that? I do. This weekend was great. Did a whooole lotta nothing. Highlight: eating pho on Monday night. Yummmm.

I've been watching FAR too much TV lately. Gotta work on that.

Time to get some work done!

Hey if you're reading this and it's before Saturday Feb. 14th midnight, go to this link:
http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/perfectproposal/waw/poll/poll.html
and vote for David and Sarah. Don't know them personally, but they are friends of friends. Help them win a free wedding!

In honor of Valentine's Day, I present to you a conversation I just had with my brother:
minsoolove: Roman Holiday and Casablanca
hyu: ooooh
hyu: i heart roman holiday
hyu: i've never seen casablanca
minsoolove: dude.
minsoolove: it's my favorite movie, and you've never seen it.
hyu: yeah
hyu: sorry
hyu: no slight on you
hyu: i'll watch it with my future husband
minsoolove: Hannah, I don't want to be rude, but that means you won't be watching it any time soon.
hyu: thank you phil, for that touching reminder of my singleness
hyu: i feel like bridget jones
minsoolove: I'm just saying, you should watch Casablanca sooner than later.
minsoolove: because it is a good movie.

Saw "Miracle" this weekend. LOVED it. I'm a sucker for inspirations sports movies. And this was a good one. It was intense and thrilling and I was really rooting for Team USA. The hockey scenes were great, and even though I knew how the game would end, I was still on the edge of my seat. And I too must mention Mark McGrath on "I Love the 80s" talking about the game, and how Jim Craig was searching for his dad, and how they all got up on the medal stand, and how bitching awesome the whole thing was. Is that a tear in your eye Sugar Ray? Yes. Yes it is.

Okay, here we go. So the Democratic presidential primary season is almost over, so I thought it was about time I gave my endorsement. If you've talked to me about politics the last couple months, and since I talk about politics a lot, that's probably a lot of you, you probably know who my candidate is. Disclaimer: This is just one girl's opinion. Feel free to disagree. Hey, feel free to think that I'm an idiot. But since this is Hannahs Brain Online, I figure I can write whatever I want! So don't send me no hate mail.

Last fall, I was talking to Ankur about the Democratic nomination, and he was talking about Dean, and how Dean was gonna win it. And I told him-- don't count out Kerry. I have a feeling about him, I think he's not as dead in the water as you think he is. And voila! What do you know! I called that one, baby. And I'm throwing my support behind him. Here's why:

It's not that I think Kerry is the most amazing candidate on the face of the earth. But for me, all along it's been about electability-- who has the greatest chance of beating Bush. I actually really like(ed) Dean, just because of what he stood for. I appreciate his fervor, and his efforts to appeal to Democratics on a really grass roots level. And, I think his efforts and beliefs as a Washington outsider, above the politics of Washington, in principle are a good thing. But dude- look at Jimmy Carter. He got elected on that basis, but then he couldn't get anything done. But more than that, it's the fact that he's only been the governor of VERMONT. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on Vermont. I lived with a Vermonter for a year. But I don't think governing one of the smallest states in the country necessarily gives someone the policy experience on a national level to be an effective president. Not to mention his utter lack of experience on any type of foreign policy. But props to Dean for trying. And for putting a fire under the asses of the Democratic Party.

As for the other candidates, I like Edwards, but I think he's too young, and honestly, I really don't know much about him. Clark-- I think he's be a great president, especially because of his military experience. But speaking of no domestic policy experience, the man has never held an elected office in his life. There's being a Washington outsider, but that's just a little extreme. Be a senator for a couple years Clark, get some experience, let's see how you do in being effective on that level, hell, run for city council. Then we'll talk.

So now we're down to Kerry. Once again, the big reason I'm rooting for Kerry is because of electability. Which I know isn't exactly the most passionate, idealistic, keeping it real way to look at things, but having someone other than Bush is just that important to me. Kerry's got experience at a national level. I think there's confidence in what he's done, and his ability to get things done with Congress. I also think he's got the foreign policy experience, working on foreign relations committees, leading the efforts to normalize relations with Vietnam. And the military experience-- I've always thought that was crucial. In a time when national security and military issues are so important to the country, I think his service really gives people confidence in him, and it's definitely something average Americans can respect. I think it's really a symbolic thing. But I am encouraged by his anti-Vietnam protests, and I think that perspective will be helpful in dealing with our future in Iraq.

Now, I know Kerry is not the most inspiring, ideal candidate. And, he looks like Treebeard. Which is a good thing for some people, and a weird thing for others. But since I've been saying since, oh, October, I think Kerry has it in him to beat Bush. Or at least give him a run for his money. Dean's too crazy, Edwards is too young, Clark is too inexperienced. So go John Kerry. Don't f*** it up.

One more thing. I'm looking forward to an exciting race in the fall. It's democracy at work, at it's best. So people-- be a part of that! VOTE!!!! If the state that decided who would be the next president of our country had a difference of only 500 votes between the top candidates, isn't it obvious that every vote does matters? That's my HannahYu public service announcement for the day. Paid for by HannahYu for President.

NewtonLi is funny.

Buddyboy64: hannahyu. you are very important to me
Buddyboy64: i love all graduates
hyu: you jerk
hyu: don't try to butter me up
Buddyboy64: what do u want me to say?
hyu: i want some hard facts on why i should vote for you
Buddyboy64: beacuse i represent the people
Buddyboy64: i play it real
Buddyboy64: i dont steal parts of John Edwards speech and make it my own
Buddyboy64: like Andy does
hyu: you play it real... but do you keep it real?
Buddyboy64: i keep it real too
Buddyboy64: very real
Buddyboy64: i represent the good in society
Buddyboy64: and the good in people
hyu: oook newton
hyu: i'm trying to call my sister so i can get her advice
hyu: cause she's not endorsing anyone, and i want to know her opinion
Buddyboy64: hannah
Buddyboy64: are u going to let sarah run ur life?
hyu: newton
hyu: i just want her advice
Buddyboy64: ur old enough to choose for yourself
hyu: as a classmate of yours
Buddyboy64: i have been to DZ many times last quarter
Buddyboy64: i love all DZ girls
hyu: well
hyu: that's good
hyu: sarah feels an alliance with andy kim
hyu: cause she was in small group with him last year
hyu: and she says she's never had that with you
hyu: so she doesn't know
hyu: but newton asked for her endorsement first
hyu: hmmm
Buddyboy64: see, andy's friendship is circumstantial
Buddyboy64: its because of small group
Buddyboy64: I care about Sarah
Buddyboy64: and Hannah
Buddyboy64: and any other biblically named woman
hyu: ok
Buddyboy64: God bless
Buddyboy64: its people like you that give this world a fighting chance
Buddyboy64: awesome
Buddyboy64: and i agree with you on Janet J's breast

Boobs. I would just like to say that I stand behind Janet Jackson and her right breast. Yes, it was a stupid publicity stunt. But judging from the reaction, you'd think she'd ripped off her shirt and shimmied her naked breasts at an elementary school assembly. While distributing crack cocaine. People! It was a breast! Of all the things in this country that are newsworthy, that deserve attention and concern, Janet Jackson's right breast should not be way up there. Fine whoever needs to be fined, and then let's move on. Also, let's not crucify Janet. She made a mistake. But we're all still part of a rhythm nation.

Highlight of my weekend: dinner Sunday night with Joy, Sylvia and Laura, eating, laughing, chatting and seeing Janet Jackson's right breast. Also, flashbacks to elementary school when she busted out "Rhythm Nation." We are a part of a rhythm nation....

It's raaaaining. Yuck yuck yuck.

For about an hour this morning, we weren't allowed to leave our building. There was a suspicious package at the corner, so the police, more police, and Secret Service were all out there investigating. Preeetty crazy.

Just finished reading Seabiscuit. Excellent book. I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, and I could give a crap about horseracing, but this book just sucked me in. It moved well, was really interesting and engaging, and had me at the edge of my seat. Who's gonna win? Go Seabiscuit! Boo War Admiral! Goodness. Next up: I'm finishing "Tolkien and the Great War" and am about to start "Me Talk Pretty One Day."

More to come later. Still need to give the Hannahs Brain Online Democratic Presidential Nominee endorsement.