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Reflections

K-Pop, K-Dramas, Demon Hunters, and More: How Hallyu is Rocking the World

The year is 2025, and there’s one particular frequency that is – undeniably, unquestionably – dominating the dial of pop culture: Korean media. Now, this isn’t exactly new news. The world has been seeing the swell of Hallyu (Korean Wave) for almost fifteen years. You may recall the impact of PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012, which for many Westerners was their first exposure to K-Pop. But within the last few years, the momentum behind Korean media and culture that has rocked international sensibilities has felt more like a supernova than a wave, shattering Western media borders and shining its light in…

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Music

The Black History of Sea Shanties

The incredibly catchy tunes and lyrics, these folk songs have garnered so much attention. But like with all things on this blog, it’s the story behind sea shanties that interests me the most. Specifically, the black history and influence on the sea faring tunes.

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Music

Music to Quarantine To Pt. 2

Throughout the pandemic, especially, creating playlists and discovering new music has been hugely helpful and cathartic for me. So in light of this, I’ve created Part 2 of my quarantine playlist (you can find Part 1 here). My hope is that maybe this playlist will help any of you who may be going through stress and anxiety right now, or who even just want to discover some new songs. So you can get in the zone, immerse yourself in your feelings, dance along, sing along, or decompress — whatever you need. Above all else, be sure to be kind to yourself.

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Reflections

Summer Playlist

Though many of my favourite artists have typically been creators coming from diverse backgrounds, lately I have been trying to make more of a conscious effort to discover more BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ voices, and discover more art created by marginalized groups in general. It’s imperative that the momentum from the #BlackLivesMatter protests and presence on social media is continued and does not die down, because we are nowhere close to being finished fighting the fight. In the continual aim of amplifying melanated voices, I’ve created a “Summer Jams” playlist on Spotify that predominantly includes songs from some incredible BIPOC and queer musical artists!

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Music

Music to Quarantine To

We can’t believe it’s already May! These last few months have been odd, to say the least, for everyone around the world. Whether you are living in a place that is currently on lockdown or have been practicing social distancing, the “new norm” that many of us are dealing with hasn’t been any easy one. I admit that even for me, though I spend all my time at home currently, some days I’m less motivated than I’ve ever felt before. Self-isolation can be incredibly anxiety-inducing, which in itself can be mentally and physically exhausting. That said, I’m feeling much more…

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Reflections

International Women’s Day Recommendation List

Happy International Women’s Day! Being as we are two women who run this blog, we are very unsurprisingly huge advocates of female representation and celebration. Too often we find ourselves writing posts about the lack of women in many fields of the media. Recently we talked about the lack of female creators and actors at the Oscars, along with a generally dismal lack of diversity of any type.  Though we are resistant to the idea of reserving the recognition and acknowledgment deserving by women to just one day, we are not opposed to using the opportunity to spam the world…

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