CAT5

Photography is still going for me, but recently I took up water coloring.... by recently I mean yesterday. 
This was meant to be Taehyung from BTS, some kind friends said they knew right away it was him... but to me he turned out looking like a blue haired sad guy.
 
 

THIS
But it's not just men. It's women, too. It's everybody.
 
Most people simply do what they were taught to do, whether they learned directly or indirectly. And I'm not talking about academics - I'm referring to how we're being taught to live in general.
 
When you look at society as a whole, particularly western society - it's clear that what we're doing isn't working...that what we've been learning (and subsequently acting out) isn't good enough. We live in a society that perpetuates, encourages, and even rewards dysfunction. So is it any wonder that we're all depressed, anxious, and stressed out of our minds? These are things WE'RE ALL affected by.
 
This also raises the question: What and how are we being taught? Do we even have the tools to better educate ourselves? If so, what are they?
 
....
 
Ya know, I've gotten shit for saying negative things about feminism before, as people are quick to assume that anti-feminism = anti-woman or anti female-empowerment, which is absolutely fucking ridiculous. But I'm of the opinion that all of these different social movements can go...be it feminism, men's rights activism, red pill, MGTOW, black lives matter...whatever the fuck. They all appear to be well-meaning movements on the outside, but as they say, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" - and ultimately, these movements seem more like dysfunctional solutions to a misdiagnosed problem. It's like trying to cure a cancer patient with cyanide. Meanwhile,  they actually have AIDS . Sure, your *intentions* may be to cure the patient (which is great), but your actions are just introducing more toxic elements to an already deteriorating structure - the cause of which has not been fully explored. So from what I can tell, the real problem seems to be much deeper...and it transcends both men and women, black and white, rich and poor, etc.
 
Whatever it is, it effects society as a whole. And society isn't some nebulous thing. It does exist outside of us, yet we all make up society individually as well. So if men are lost (and we definitely are), would that not also imply that the whole is lost as well? So all I'm saying is that perhaps we should endeavor to take a more balanced and holistic approach to viewing and scrutinizing these important social issues, instead of blindly entertaining all of these divisive ideologies that constantly pit one group of people against the next. Meanwhile, the whole suffers. How is society going to get anywhere if the right leg is constantly at war with the left? The body needs both of them to walk properly.
 
And so I'm glad that @Zeus brought that point out, because it offers an additional perspective (without demonizing other perspectives) and shows that there's often more going on beneath the surface than we might be willing to explore. These are complicated issues.

This is dope! Naruyoshi Kikuchi did a *somewhat* similar Japanese folk/Latin fusion song for the Gundam Thunderbolt OST that I thought was fantastic:
 
 

Sadly, can't find their stuff on Spotify anymore. Buuut people really should check them out! It's a fusion of Japanese folk music and Latin American elements. 
 
 

THIS
But it's not just men. It's women, too. It's everybody.
 
Most people simply do what they were taught to do, whether they learned directly or indirectly. And I'm not talking about academics - I'm referring to how we're being taught to live in general.
 
When you look at society as a whole, particularly western society - it's clear that what we're doing isn't working...that what we've been learning (and subsequently acting out) isn't good enough. We live in a society that perpetuates, encourages, and even rewards dysfunction. So is it any wonder that we're all depressed, anxious, and stressed out of our minds? These are things WE'RE ALL affected by.
 
This also raises the question: What and how are we being taught? Do we even have the tools to better educate ourselves? If so, what are they?
 
....
 
Ya know, I've gotten shit for saying negative things about feminism before, as people are quick to assume that anti-feminism = anti-woman or anti female-empowerment, which is absolutely fucking ridiculous. But I'm of the opinion that all of these different social movements can go...be it feminism, men's rights activism, red pill, MGTOW, black lives matter...whatever the fuck. They all appear to be well-meaning movements on the outside, but as they say, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" - and ultimately, these movements seem more like dysfunctional solutions to a misdiagnosed problem. It's like trying to cure a cancer patient with cyanide. Meanwhile,  they actually have AIDS . Sure, your *intentions* may be to cure the patient (which is great), but your actions are just introducing more toxic elements to an already deteriorating structure - the cause of which has not been fully explored. So from what I can tell, the real problem seems to be much deeper...and it transcends both men and women, black and white, rich and poor, etc.
 
Whatever it is, it effects society as a whole. And society isn't some nebulous thing. It does exist outside of us, yet we all make up society individually as well. So if men are lost (and we definitely are), would that not also imply that the whole is lost as well? So all I'm saying is that perhaps we should endeavor to take a more balanced and holistic approach to viewing and scrutinizing these important social issues, instead of blindly entertaining all of these divisive ideologies that constantly pit one group of people against the next. Meanwhile, the whole suffers. How is society going to get anywhere if the right leg is constantly at war with the left? The body needs both of them to walk properly.
 
And so I'm glad that @Zeus brought that point out, because it offers an additional perspective (without demonizing other perspectives) and shows that there's often more going on beneath the surface than we might be willing to explore. These are complicated issues.

Made an account a couple days ago and have been scoping out the place, so maybe I should finally post an introduction. I was very much into VK in college, something like a decade ago. I still listen to songs off and on again but lately I've been checking out all sorts of bands and feeling nostalgic so here I am. It just makes me really happy that some of my old loves are still around/have returned like Psycho le Cemu, cali≠gari, and Plastic Tree.
 
Aside from from that, my great loves are dogs, anime, and books. I work at a public library and read all the baking books and graphic novels I can get my hands on. I love planning crafts for programs and the teen anime club which I co-host. Really, I just like making anything so cosplaying is another hobby that suits me perfectly. Current favorite book is Annihilation and my favorite movie is From Dusk Till Dawn.

And a quick question while I'm here! What's the stance on necro'ing threads? I saw the, "don't necro old threads unless you are providing new, updated information" line in the rules. Is there a limit to how many threads I can respond to in rapid succession because I'm that overly talkative type as you can tell from this introduction?

Same here. Since my youth, I've always gravitated towards music that was melancholy and moody (cinematic/dramatic as well), and it's quite a curious thing.  It really makes me wonder what the driving force(s) behind our music tastes are. (granted, I enjoy plenty of different kinds of music, but I would say this is one of the key areas for me)
 
Anyways, here are some of my favorite "sad-sounding" J-rock songs:
 
 
 
 

Same here. Since my youth, I've always gravitated towards music that was melancholy and moody (cinematic/dramatic as well), and it's quite a curious thing.  It really makes me wonder what the driving force(s) behind our music tastes are. (granted, I enjoy plenty of different kinds of music, but I would say this is one of the key areas for me)
 
Anyways, here are some of my favorite "sad-sounding" J-rock songs:
 
 
 
 

Agreed. Been a while since anyone posted in here, but whatever. I always find myself strangely drawn to sad music, even though I'm not particularly sad very often.
I've been listening to this song a lot lately. I first heard it ages ago, but I've been playing it on repeat recently. It's just so touching and emotive... plus, the video is gorgeous, as per usual with Moran.
This is one of the reasons I love music so much. Anything that can make sadness a desirable emotion is truly beautiful to me.

🔥🔥🔥🔥

How about...this album pales in comparison to the output on Hallelujah?
 
Honestly, some hooks were great, but holy shit -- Yusuke cannot top the songwriting on Hallelujah or Zeitgeist, no matter how much he screams.

I've given ANGELS a few listens and it is spectacular! My favourites are BAD DREAM, DOWN TO HEAVEN, and Close to me (although the chorus sounds like Kobayashi's singing "colostomy, colostomy" which is weird). My least favourite is Everything, as I expected, but it's still a decent song.
 
The truth fact is this:
Hallelujah < Rhapsody in beauty = Elegance = ANGELS < zeitgeist
 
Hallelujah wasn't a bad album by any means, I'm just almost never in the mood for it. The album's saving grace was 黒い虹. Still though, zeitgeist is still their best album to date. Rhapsody was also great, but the one thing standing in its way of perfection was the last track.

The camera on my phone is trash, but my elder showcased some of his art over the weekend, and this was one of my favorite pieces! Dope!!!
 

mods?

The camera on my phone is trash, but my elder showcased some of his art over the weekend, and this was one of my favorite pieces! Dope!!!
 

Me breaking the chain of cute people pictures  Pose inspired by the master of poses himself, Tatsuro 😂
 
Also today one of my course mates from my Korean classes was like  "how's high school ?" and I honestly felt so happy haha.
 
 

OHHHHH OMGEH SO KYUT ❤️ U LOOK CUTE BRUH
 
Also, I didn't know we had a thread like this here~~~ So I shall also post a selfie ouo
Here, pls appreciate me with mah glasses here also on a side note, I think I gained some cutie weight so my cheeks a bit a chubby and I LOVE THEMMM i wuv my chubby cheeks uwu  ❤️ 

 
Also, wanna brag cuz I just recently got contact lenses so hereeeeee ouo i can now see without having to wear glasses sdbjfbadskjnk

Lion tribe
 

That lookout place next to the Golden Gate Bridge ft. Me.

Lion tribe