Snack-gate Update 2

Received letters and/or emails from Aldi and food product company. More apologies and offers of refund and replacement, which we did. We got the snack package, as promised, with dried fruit mix (yum), mixed berry mix (this actually should be almonds, but we prefer this anyway), and wasabi mix (which isn't just wasabi peas, but a trail mix with other stuff, and it turns out my mom doesn't like this one... whoops.) So that was nice, and we used the box and included shipping label to ship the Fusia trail mix bag with the chunk of machinery in it back to them. And that's the end of it, I believe. We're still shopping at Aldi and eating its products. And hopefully they'll pay more attention to quality control. ;P

Snack-gate Update

Finally got a response to the complaint today.

First, a rep from Aldi called. They received the inquiry, are sorry this happened, and are now looking into it. The guy, Mike, actually thanked me for including photos (heh) and said he didn't know what it was exactly. He asked me to describe the incident, the package, and the object. He said he would pass it along to the maker of the product, which would get back to me soon. He also asked how my mom was doing, and I told him she felt better but still has a bit of rash around her chin (she's sensitive to allergies, but some foreign inedible substance is the only cause we can think of). He said he would send my mom a letter so that she can go to the store and get both a replacement and a refund. He ended by saying we can call him if we had any other questions and concerns or if we didn't hear from the other company in a week.

Then a few hours later, I got a call from a rep from the manufacturer/distributor (America Food Import something). He apologized a lot and asked the same questions. He also asked for the product code so that he could find which batch it was and when it was made. I gave him the code from the bag, and I asked if there had been any other complaints like this. He said no, and that they didn't know there was anything wrong or missing from their packaging plant, which is in Minneapolis, Minnesota (I asked).

Apparently, this had never happened before and they were all as curious as we were about what the object was and how it ended up in the bag. ^^; But, he said based on the photos, he thought it looked like a piece of a bucket. I said, "what?" He explained their factory has buckets that pour the different snack mix pieces into one place. (I still don't know what it is. o_0) He asked if we still had it, and when I said yes, he requested for us to send it to them so that the plant can find out more. They're going to send a prepaid box for us to package it all in and send back to them.

In addition, he wanted to send us a replacement for the product. The problem is that they don't make the Asian trail mix often (special/seasonal item), so he named a few of the other snack products that they make and asked me to pick. I said dried fruit mix, I guess? He said he would actually like to send us 3 bags, so I also chose salted almonds and wasabi pea mix. He'll send it all tomorrow.

So that was a good, appropriate response. They were both nice and took the issue seriously, sounding genuinely concerned that they might get sued with customer satisfaction. And even though this is a big "points off" moment, we'll still shop at Aldi and love it. In fact, Mom just did so today. ;P

Surprise Snack Attack

Last Wednesday, I bought a bag of Fusia Asian Trail Mix for my mom who loves this snack mix. But when she opened it and started snacking today, there was something in the bag she did not like. She found a broken piece of machinery in the bag!!

She had eaten about 1/4 of the bag before she discovered the chunk of some factory equipment. We have no idea what it is, looks like a piece of plastic and metal tube. A couple of hours after she stopped eating, she started feeling dizzy and unwell. :( [Update: A few hours later, Mom started getting a rash around her mouth and chin. Not sure if this is related, but we can't think of what else could have triggered it.]

We love Aldi and its products, and we don't want to cause trouble, but this is a serious health hazard. I wrote to them and asked them to please look into this issue and check their factories' quality control! ><

A few more pics of the offending mysterious object:

Park Jung Min x Song Hye Myung scandal

My first reaction to the she said / he said scandal was o_0?!

I feel so bad for JM. After a year of problems with CNR, the last thing he needs is a scandal right before his Korean comeback. I thought it was going to be just another "Are they dating?" netizen rumors based on their friendship from collaborations on Royal Avenue, Destination, and Not Alone. But it was so much worse. She said many things that painted JM as a cold, manipulative man who used her.

Obviously I side with JM (not just because I'm his fan but also because I seriously think he may just be gay ^^;), but she sounded genuinely hurt, so giving her the benefit of the doubt and feeling sorry for her pain, I'd say it was all just a big misunderstanding. I imagine it'd be easy to fall for and think you're in a relationship with JM when he's so friendly, sweet, almost cuddly with his friends (male and female). And I'd understand if you suddenly felt abandoned and betrayed when he becomes unavailable because he's busy (drama in Taiwan, dispute in Korea, debut in Japan) or he's feeling kinda low and keeping to himself and his family (I do that). Ironically though, I thought it strange that he was seen hanging out with friends (including SHM) more often than with his SS501 brothers, so actually I sympathize with her frustration and loneliness, missing him as TripleS do. >_>;

But! Some people have pointed out that she has no reason to go public with this private matter after all this time, espeically right as JM is planning his comeback. It may be a bit cliche to blame the big bad agency that JM left and sued, but honestly, I am a bit wary of angry execs from powerful companies like Comic Ritz which can make or break a career if they want to. =X

In any case, no one knows the truth except them, but I like that JM responded to the scandal like a gentleman and didn't humiliate or insult her like she tried to do to him. His new agency could've called her a liar, attention-grabber, or crazy woman, but they calmly chalked it up to a misunderstanding. JM admitted they were close friends, apologized for the misunderstanding, and took the high road, focusing on his music and his fans.

I really hope they can work it out as mature adults and stay friends. And I wish for JM's comeback to be successful and not negatively affected by this sensationalized news. *sigh*

Well, shit.

Got into a minor car accident today, and of course, it was my fault. --______--;;;

(personal entry, just skip)

The Dark Knight Rises - A

Despite insanely high expectations for the conclusion of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy--and although dampened by the horrific tragedy of the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting--The Dark Knight Rises proved to be just as epic, exciting, and emotional as fans hoped. Grade: A.

When plans to watch a midnight screening of TDKR fell through, I thought about watching it the next morning, but then I woke up to the tragic news about the Aurora shooting and was extremely saddened by the senseless attack and loss of life. I teared reading the stories of the victims, the 6-year-old girl, the Navy officer, the girl who had survived one shooting only to die at another, the man who died on his birthday and right before his first-year anniversary, and all the other lives. And reading about the shooter's life didn't help make sense of it but only raised more questions. It's hard to wrap one's head around something like this, but I think these express my sentiments best:
 

via @GeorgeTakei

via @DevonCanales

But although my anticipation for TDKR was overshadowed by a somber mood (and admittedly, some worry over safety), I still felt I had to go see it opening weekend, so I went with my sisters on Sunday. Many of the film's images and themes on terrorism, armed civilians, and society at war were particularly resonant, as Nolan intended to write about "things that worry us today", but what struck me the most at the end was how he showed the core of what made Batman (or, "anyman") such a compelling story and such a great hero (see above).

Nolan said his goal for TDKR was to combine the romanticism of Batman Begins with the crime thriller of The Dark Knight, and I think he was enormously successful. TDKR mixed BB's evocative sense of myth and legend grounded in reality with TDK's intense drama and disturbingly poignant questions on human nature, society, and justice, and then raised it all up several notches. Although it was 2 hours and 45 minutes long, and did seem, well, long, it didn't feel like it dragged or was over-indulgent with either action or angst. Rather, to me, it felt like I was watching a mini-series where everything was important, well-done, and high-quality, just longer (like Lord of the Rings: Return of the King). Once again, I must praise Nolan and his team for the smart writing of the complex plot with an emotional backbone, on an intimate to epic scale. I'm still amazed with their ambitious vision and the genius execution.

Tom Hardy's Bane was powerful and impressive. I love how Nolan and Hardy played Bane's immensity as well as his intelligence, which make him one of the most dangerous in the Rogues Gallery. The character has never felt more real to me. I wasn't as tense and terrified as I was with Heath Ledger's unpredictably twisted Joker, but I agree with the comparisons that say both villains are frighteningly charismatic in awe-inspiring performances.

I had been skeptical ever since Anne Hathaway was cast as Catwoman, and even more so when I saw her 60s Batman (the television series) look with long brown hair, cheesy mask and ears, and thigh-high boots (with steel stilettos, no less). But, I am pleased to be proven wrong. Hathaway and her catsuit both work really well within the movie. I still would have liked to see Catwoman with short black hair, cat-eye goggles, and combat boots, and especially more sexy Bat/Cat chemistry, but for Nolan's Bat-world, I am satisfied with Catwoman.

I also enjoyed Marion Cotillard's Miranda Tate and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's John Blake. Really good performances and characterizations. (But I was rather miffed that I figured out a major twist a bit early because of one small throwaway detail I read in a minor casting article months ago. >< I had been so careful to avoid news and spoilers, too!)

TDKR has a big cast in a big story, but what I liked best was how it brought it back to Bruce/Batman. With BB, I had been a bit disappointed that Nolan's Bruce more heavily (albeit realistically) relied on Alfred and Lucius for detective work and inventions. Then I thought TDK didn't have enough of "my" Batman, as it focused on the head-to-head confrontation with the Joker. But with TDKR, I felt like it returned to the heart of Batman and his strength as "just a man" but a badass one. (Yes, I cried at the end. ;)

I didn't walk out of the theater with a big smile and lots of excitement like with Avengers. I walked out with a sense of closure and deep affection, thinking, "This is why I love Batman." But it's impossible to say which is "better". Both have fantastic writing, directing, and acting, but with such different tones they might as well be different genres. I was right when I predicted that Avengers would be the perfect fun superhero team movie, while The Dark Knight Rises would be the perfect epic hero film. They're both the best.

But since I love Batman more than any other superhero, I'm actually more critical of Bat-movies than Marvel movies, which I take at face-value without much background or attachment. And I have to say, after all the anticipation and expectations, I have absolutely no complaints about TDKR. It tied up all storylines, completed all character arcs, met all expectations for spectacle for the eyes, stirring of the heart, and stimulation of the mind, and was a fitting conclusion to TDK trilogy. It was, quite possibly, the best Batman movie yet.

On Sexism in Media & Society

Just found the most eloquent explanation of sexism in popular media and society.  It's in response to the attempts of women to draw attention to it to improve the situation and the backlash by some men who claim sexism is no longer an issue or that misandry is just as prevalent in media as misogyny. But it is a wonderfully apt analogy for all prejudice and the slow change within the social consciousness.

Black_Heart wrote:

If everyone was influenced by and took material from all entertainment as legitimate courses of action for real life, our society couldn't function for obvious reasons. If no one was influenced by anything in entertainment at all, I think we would be at just as much of a loss.

LadyM replied:

Well, here's the thing. It's not so much about any one piece of literature/art having a direct effect (although that does happen on occasion). Like, I feel like you're conceptualizing this as "the idea is if a guy watches one sexist movie he will go home and slap his girlfriend", and that's not really it.

Imagine there is a mosaic made up of one small piece of tile. Except by definition that's not really a mosaic, is it? A mosaic has to make up a bigger picture, made from smaller things.

But let's say five more tiny tiles are added to the mosaic. Then twenty more. A hundred. A thousand. Ten thousand. Now you have enough tiles to make a mosaic. Any one of those tiles is nothing more than a little bit of colored ceramic, and yet when you put them together you can form a definitive picture.

That's what our society is like. That's what our ideas of "normality" and gender relations and race relations and heteronormativity are like. They are built out of a million tiny things. So maybe one video game featuring Syldanian Six-Boobed Slut Warriors or whatever will not have much effect on society. The thing is, there isn't just one video game like that, and that isn't the only place the idea that women are objectified. When people criticize Hillary Clinton's appearance (because male politicians are such hotties, right? Not bloated, liver-spotted, fat old men) . . . that is a little piece of tile. When a comic artist draws kidnapped male Justice League characters in tied up but non-sexy poses, while the kidnapped female Justice League characters are tied up like they're getting geared up for a video session of "Bondage Sluts III" . . . that is a little piece of tile. When someone tells a sexist joke . . . that's a little piece of tile. Look in the comments section of any online news story about a woman being raped and you will find more little bits of tile.

And the defense is always "Well, my piece of tile isn't at fault! It's Society!" It is indeed society that predefines the mosaic, based on the piece of tile that were placed by previous generations; but it's the individual pieces of gossip, art, expectations that fill in that mosaic. Unlike a real mosaic, old bits fall off quite frequently, forgotten by a new generation. Sometimes they are replaced by a new piece that is about the same as the old one; sometimes they are replaced by a new one. Sometimes there's a lot of new pieces at once, like in the 1960s when a bunch of activists took hammers, beat the crap out of that mosaic, and stuck a bunch of new pieces on to radically alter the picture. The point is, if no one starts changing those tiles, small as they may be, the overarching image will never change.

*slow clap* Very well-said, LadyM! Thank you!