|
Monday, September 29th, 2003 :: Comments []
A New Look At Seme and Uke
Listening to: Hadashi no Mirai/Arashi
I know, not exactly a subject line you'd expect from someone like me >) But the other night, Meg and I were explaining to Masanari why exactly it was that female fans of Japanese animation and manga had a thing for douseiai/yaoi/shounen-ai stories. Eventually we got into explaining the "all-important" terms seme and uke at which point Masanari said something I don't think I'll ever forget:
Masanari: Well to me seme and uke are like offense and defense!
.......................XD!!!!!!! Ah, if it were appropriate here, I'd say something like "From the mouths of babes"...but clearly we're all too old for that old adage :P Still though, it had Megan and I dissolving into laughter. Probably the best way I've ever heard it put =) Although he meant it in a completely non-sexual way >D
Anyway, speaking more of Japanese. I e-mailed my former Japanese teacher a few days ago in regard to writing recommendations for Megan and I for JET, and the e-mail I received made me laugh out loud. I never thought he had such a sense of humor:
Thompson-san-tachi,
It would be a pleasure to write recommendations for me. I'll tell the people at JET that you can walk on water.
Sensei yori
>D! Apparently one or both of us has become Jesus at some point in time ^____^ *lol* But I highly appreciate the sentiment!
Speaking of JET...the application is a pain the damned ass. Almost everything has to be in triplicate T______T and there's no Office of International Studies to make sure you don't mess something up O.o Woe is me.....
Anyway, in closing...if you feel like you need to read something that'll make you want to hit your head on the table repeatedly, click here. It's a debate in a forum I had just recently. Feel free to tell me if you think I was incorrect, although I'll probably disagree with you >)
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 :: Comments []
Kizuita koto...
Listening to: Nothing ^^
I was surprised to notice something last week during my Japanese lesson. My tutor went to ask her husband about a word, to help clarify it, and she called him "Toshio". It kind of surprised me, because for the most part I've noticed married couples (particuarly those who have been married a while and have children) tend to call each other "Otousan" and "Okaasan". Certainly both my first host parents and my host parents in Nagoya did this, as well as Meg's. It was nice though, to hear this. Although, come to think of it, I have always heard her husband refer to her as "Misato", but I guess I never really put two and two together until last week ^^;;
So it turns out we were extremely lucky the Brad Paisley concert was last night. Overnight, a big storm blew in and dumped so much rain on central and east-central Illinois that they couldn't even open the Farm Progress Show today, let alone hold the Montgomery Gentry concert that was scheduled for tonight. So, the country music Gods were looking over us, I think *lol* I'm 22 and last night was the first time in my life I've gone to the concert of a singer I really liked!
It's amazing. I think the goat worked O___O "The goat??" you ask? See, years ago, the story goes, a guy tried to get into Wrigley Field (home of the Chicago Cubs) with a goat and was refused entrance. Because of this, he said he was placing a curse on the cubs, and ever since then, they've not won a World Series (in all fairness, they also hadn't won one prior to that since 1908).
So, something like a month ago, WGN radio host John Williams, started talking about a way to reverse the curse...particularly by cursing the Houston Astros who are their rivals in their division. However, for all the talking, the plan didn't seem to be panning out, as various things kept getting in the way. But a few days ago, a couple of Chicago fans did indeed take a goat to Houston, all by themselves and tried to get into the Astro's ballpark.....but were refused (which is the key here...if they'd been allowed in it would have ruined the whole thing). So then they pulled out some piece of paper, read something or other, and went on their way....
....The Astros lost their next two games.....and the Cubs are still winning! The goat is WORKING, I tell you. The Cubs are in fine form to clinch the division, I think! It's an exciting time to be a Cubs fan!! =D
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003 :: Comments []
Mud on the Tires
Listening to: Ain't Nothin' Like/Brad Paisley
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Went to see Brad Paisley at the Farm Progress Show! GOOD LORD, it was great ^O^ Hontou ni honmono datta!!!!!!! ^O^/ Mada shinjirarenaiyo!!!! ^_______________________________^
Sunday, September 21, 2003 :: Comments []
Insert Title of Blog Entry Here
Listening to: Hadashi no mirai/Arashi
Meg, Masanari and I met up with Kira and Rachael Saturday, and along with two of Kira's other friends, headed to Great America. The original plan had been to get there around 3, with about 4 hours to ride rides...but we didn't get there until 4:30. No big deal really, as we got to go on Raging Bull a couple times, and I finally got to ride Superman, which was fun, but in no way exceeds Raging Bull in the "fun to ride" category. Masanari graciously went with JJ and Esther (Kira's friends) on another ride, and because of the that Kira was able to take us on a couple rides (she had a medical pass thing that allowed her to take 3 other ppl with her :P). So thank you, Masanari!
Headed back to Kira's to pick our car up, and we all meant to go to karaoke ^^ But Kira was tired, so Meg, Masanari, Rachael and I drove back down Mitsuwa way, found a Denny's and had dinner, after which we checked into the Holiday Inn across the street. With 4 people it was a very cheap $16 a person.
This morning we made our way through Mitsuwa. Only bought a single, two manga (Itsumo joutenki 1-2), plus the newest issues of LaLa and HanaYume that Mitsuwa had. So I spent less than I thought I would...although I kind of wish I'd bought the second half of the Musashi booklet, as well as the final volume of Remote (which has a lot of fanservice, but I'd like to know how the manga ends as compared to the drama). Ah well, I really need to be saving money right now anyway, as I'm working so much less ^^;;
^____^ Well, The Emmies just did right by me by giving the Best Actor in a Comedy series award to Tony Shaloub for Monk....now if only it win's Best Comedy, and West Wing wins Best Drama, I'll be an even happier girl.
Well, best be off to read my stuff for Japanese Society and Culture ^_^
Friday, September 19, 2003 :: Comments []
Brad Paisley Here We Come!
Listening to: the tv
w00t! So we're all clear for Tuesday evening and going to see Brad Paisley perform at the Farm Progress Show near Henning! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! It'll be the first time we get to go see a performer we really like in concert ^O^ So we're uber mecha super excited ^______________________^/
So the other day, I hear my brother playing one of his games on his PS2, and all of the sudden I swore I recognized the song. Turns out he was playing Chaos Legion! Now, those of you that know me know I am by no means a game person. Far from it.
But, Oshio Manabu's group Liv's last new single before Are you alive?, was used as the theme song for that game! Furthermore, Oshio Manabu acted as a seiyuu for one of the characters ^^;; Although the game my brother was playing was of course dubbed *shrug* so no hearing Oshio Manabu as a seiyuu :P Still, I about freaked out when I heard the song playing *lol*
I finally got the new JET application. It's completely ridiculous though. I had to mail the embassy in Chicago to get the address for the new site! The one linked on JET's homepage is still for last year's application, and yet other country's homepages have the new one. It's ridiculous. Someone, somewhere, is obviously not doing their job properly!
Wednesday, September 17th, 2003 :: Comments []
Finally, an Update!
Listening to: Are you alive?/Liv
Woo, more than a week without a real update! I feel like my fingers should be stiff from not writing or something :P
Anyhoo, Masanari arrived last Monday and accompanied Meg and I too our Japanese Society and Culture class, where in the second half we watched Shall we Dance? (which I've seen probably 6 billion times now :P).
Speaking of the Japanese Society and Culture class....in the scant few weeks we've been in class, Meg and I have somehow become the "asian specialists". In a way I kind of feel bad, because I know there are a few other people in the class who have Japanese as their minor (now it's an East Asian Studies minor, but I imagine, like us, they were around before the change was made). In other words, there are, theoretically, other people in the class who know a thing or two about Japan. However, they also haven't raised their hands and spoken up, so while I do feel kind of bad, it's also a lot of fun.
I know, I know. So I seem like a know-it-all snob. Feh, whatever. :P It's one class for one semester, and while I've been able to give info, I've absolutely been learning things too, as well as adding depth to what I'm already familiar with.
Going back to last week. We arrived at the cabin Tuesday evening without any problems. The work my uncle did in the kitchen looks fabulous! Honestly, that cabin is like wine :P It just gets better with age. Of course, the family has to do the work, but whatever...poor analogies aside, I wasn't too certain when I saw pictures that I'd like it all that well. However, I was pleasantly suprised when we arrived. Having taken out the wall, it really opened things up....although I'm a bit irked that he took the wall out across from the tv, too, so there's nothing there to lean up against and you have to watch the tv from across the room (although it's a very small room)>
Wednesday was uneventful, just a trip to town, shopping, going to Trembly's...lunch at Madeline's. Basically just a chance to enjoy being up there, which is a pretty easy thing to do ^^
Thursday we got up ridiculously early to head to Bayfield, a small (but pretty and quaint) little town on the shore of Lake Superior. We'd bought tickets the previous week to go tour a lighthouse on one of the Apostle Islands (which are clustered around the area where Bayfield is located), this time Sand Island. Meg, Mom and I had been to another a couple of years ago and wanted to see another. However, shortly before we cast off, the captain announced that the waves around Sand Island were too dangerous to let us off there and even if things were quiet enough to let us off when we got out there, there would be no guarantee of the same when they came back to pick us up. So instead we'd go out, look at the lighthouse and come back.
It was pretty fun, at least on the way out *lol* We'd made a bento the night before (a real one :P onigiri, tako shaped hot dogs, yakisoba, eggs and all!) and ate that, took pictures of the lighthouse, enjoyed the scenery from the top deck. It was the way in that was mind-numbingly boring :P For some reason, I hadn't brought my book with me, and really had no other form of entertainment, and I think the three of us at that point just weren't in the mood for conversation *Lol* So while Masanari sat up on the top deck Meg and I pretty much slept the whole way back (more than an hour) :P Still, it was a lot of fun and worth the money spent ^O^ Plus I got half of it back since we couldn't land.
Friday we took Masanari to the Musky :P Hayward (the town nearest our cabin) is home of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, but to the average tourist/summer person (mind you, I'm not a tourist :P My family's been going up there too long to be called that) it's better known for the 4 story tall fiberglass Musky that's located on it's grounds. You can climb the stairs inside it and look out it's mouth over the grounds and part of Hayward. I swear, I'm 22 and still can't believe this thing >D
From there we went to a friday night fish-fry at Lost Land Lake. Lots of fun, great scenery, although the food selection could have been better. Coleslaw, fish and potato fries aren't exactly my idea of a well rounded meal.
Saturday we took Masanari horse-back riding, which he'd never done before. But, as with everything he does for the first time, he did really well ^_^ He also got to ride one of the nicer looking horses there. Somehow, Meg and I both got what were probably the homeliest horses in Wisconsin. Not very nice to say, especially considering my horse (Blaze) had one of the smoothest gates....so I suppose I can't complain :P Plus it's fun to go there, even if in the span of a couple years, the price has gone from $20 to $25 O.o I remember when I was 11 or 12 and it was $11.50!
Got home Sunday, after what seemed like a drive that lasted forever! But on arriving home, we found our tickets for the Farm Progress Show waiting! WOOT! Not so exciting, you think. But it's not farm stuff we're going for. No, no, we're going to see Brad Paisley perform! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!!! ^_______________________________^
Tuesday, September 16, 2003 :: Comments []
Will have time to update tomorrow...until then, go here for Meg's updated blog :P
Sunday, September 7, 2003 :: Comments []
Hiatus This Week
Listening to: the tv
Will be gone from Tuesday through Sunday ^^ My family and Masanari (who's visiting here for a few weeks ^________^) will be going to our cabin on Moose Lake in northwester Wisconsin ^____^ FINALLY, I get to go there this year. Every summer I get "cabin fever", meaning once summer hits I start pining for the Northwoods :P And because Meg and I took our trip to Nagoya and thereabouts this summer, I wasn't sure we'd be able to get the time off at all. But as it worked out we did, so even if it's not exactly high summer, that I'm going at all is enough ^_^
The one big bummer is that apparently my older brother won't be going. Initially this was because he'd decided he maybe wasn't in shape for the race, and was going to back out anyway (not even go to cheer on his friend who is also entered in the race). I was really irked by that. Here's something we've looked forward to going to for months now (in the theory we'd get the time off) and it's one of the rare times of the year my whole family enjoys being together :P and he just backs out. Not even considering he had other people to consider.
However, as it turns out, my sister-in-law is having some complications with her pregnancy (the doctor ordered her to a week of bedrest) so obviously it's only appropriate and right that my brother remain home. I'm still not sure if his friend (who went last year) will be going. Ah well, it's going to be a blast nonetheless ^^;;
So anyway, will be gone...and as we don't have a phone line up there, the computer and blogging are out of the question :P
Friday, September 5th, 2003 :: Comments []
Miyamoto Musashi
Listening to: Niji/Fukuyama Masaharu
Finally finished this book by Yoshikawa Eiji on Wednesday. It's a great read, even if you have no real interest in Japan itself. As I said before, it's got something for everyone, and you get a bit of a history lesson while you're at it. Not that I consider it a completely accurate portrayal of history by any means, but I think it's given me a better idea of how people might have lived back in the time of the end of the Ashikaga Shogunate and the beginning of the Tokugawa Era. Even if it is a novel, the people and places mentioned are real, and I imagine that the portrayal of political struggle and uncertainty was, if not 100% accurate, at least a reflection of the times :P
So watched the documentary on A&E tonight that I mentioned in the previous entry: Seven Days in September. I highly recommend it. I know many people are, at this point, probably sick of seeing images of That Day but I also think, as is so often said in this program, that the out-pouring of compassion and comraderie and togetherness shown that day can be a rare thing, and something worth remembering, if nothing else.
As September 11th nears, I'm reminded that if you go and look in my journal (not this blog, I hadn't yet started one yet that semester in Japan) there is appallingly little written in regard to the whole thing. I can't even recall how I really felt at the time, although I remember watching CNN (which was part of my host family's cable package) almost exclusively for the week and a half folling, and getting irked (though I never voiced it) if someone asked to change the channel. And I remember fearing myself that I would come home to a frightened America (and granted, to some extent we were and still are, but not in the way I thought it might be).
My mom still stresses what it was like, though. She tells me how she slept down here in the basement (where our family/tv room is) for 2 weeks after, that the tv was almost never off, how frightened she was not just for the country, but for us so far from home. It's from what she says, practically more than anything else, that makes me think I can grasp what it must have been like to be here then.
I know, I know....I've written all about this before...and most people think I'm weird for even wanting to try and grasp it. But then I think about the friends I have that were there in Japan with me, and how it registers even less with them, but...I dunno...I guess it's like how guys who served in a certain war all have war stories and they all understand how another guy feels...all the terrible things he saw, heard, may have had to do himself...and there's understanding and comraderie, and I think it bothers me that in a certain respect, I can't share that with the people who were here that day.....
Anyway....made reservations for this place we want to take Masanari to in Wisconsin when my family goes up to our cabin. Meg and I have been teasing him about it >D because he has no idea about where we're going, and both she and I have been pretty tight-lipped about clues :P So he'll just have to wait and see, but I'm really excited about it, because it's something Meg and I want to do anyway, but we love getting a chance to share aspects of places we love with other people ^O^...however! I can say if we have the time we want to go to Morgan Falls/St. Peter's Dome...it's Wisconsin's second tallest waterfall, the hike is nice and we haven't been there in years. Actually, we've never hiked to the top of St. Peter's dome (from which, on a clear day, you can see Lake Superior I've been told), so if we have the time, I'm hoping we can do it.
Thursday, September, 4th 2003 :: Comments []
T__________________T
Listening to: Nothin'!
So I made the mistake of re-reading Nibiirogenshikou (by Konami Shouko) and went wandering around the net seeing if volume 3 had been finally published, which of course it has. And apparently it's the last volume, which is both nice and irksome. Nice because I don't have to worry about collecting a great deal of volumes, irksome because I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get my hands on this last one :P If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. While I haven't enjoyed the two other manga of hers I've read (Bokutachi Otokonoko and Kamakiri), I adore this one ^^;;
Anyway, on a somewhat dimmer note, the bank Meg and I go to was apparently robbed this morning, mom tells me, and the person who held it up said something about a bomb (<--can't confirm this, will have to wait for tomorrow's paper). Which is just perfect as I was planning on going to deposit my paycheck tomorrow T______________T Although I guess tomorrow would be the perfect time, right? :P How often does the same bank get robbed two days in a row? Honestly though, if I'm going to deposit money, I think I'll do it from an ATM for a while.
Oh, there's a documentary being broadcast tonight (I'll probably blog again after I watch it) on A&E called Seven Days in September. Probably not very difficult for any of you to figure out the subject matter. There's not a doubt in my mind we'll tape it, and sit ourselves down and watch it. At some point in the next week I'll likely be reflecting on 9/11, as others are likely to, and in a bizarre way I'm looking forward to this program. By that I mean that in the past two years despite the horrific thing that happened that day, that the way people reached out still takes my breath away with pride for the people of the US. It's something we don't experience often, and see even less of in our news. Anyway, it's on at 8 (central time) this evening. ^^;;
Monday, September 1, 2003 :: Comments []
"Useful" Bits of Wisdom
Listening to: Natsu no owari/Moriyama Naotarou
So yesterday my brother felt it his duty to pass on a nice, little "pearl of wisdom" to my sister and I. He said to Meg: "Someday, you'll realize love is bullshit".....
Well, thanks, brother mine, for that piece of advice from your oh-so-"experienced" life. It seems he has it in his head that because Meg and I tend to squeal and gush and fawn over our Japanese dramas, or our shoujo manga, or books we're reading, that somehow we have it in our heads that relationships are supposed to be all flowers and candy. Inexperienced in regard to dating someone I might be, but I'm not stupid. I don't think things in life are supposed to be perfect. That's what dramas, shoujo manga, and books are for. But "bullshit"? Talk about someone who's given up too soon in life. In my opinion, things are only like that on an individual basis. It's like Matahachi in Musashi. No matter what he did, he simply couldn't pull his life together and make something of himself after the Battle of Sekigahara (haha at least as far as I've read). All the while Musashi is studying the sword and becoming a legend. So for which person is life "bullshit"? Seems to me love and relationships are no different and can't be applied like a glittering generality to all people. Just because he can't make a relationship work means I'm doomed? I don't think so, brother mine, not by a long shot.
Nevermind the fact it pisses me off that talking with my brother is not "talking". He likes to impart other bits of wisdom (or so he thinks it is) as if he has a right to do so. It's unsolicited and unwanted, and in my opinion bullshit in general. That he seems to think he's so much more profound, and wise because he's had a more difficult time of things is insulting. That he thinks he even really knows a single thing about me is even more so. He has no idea what kind of person I am other than what he chooses to see. Maybe the same can be said for me of him, but a person's actions speak as much as words, and kind and brotherly are not two words I would not use to describe how he acts in regard to my sister and I. If I'm treated as childish and silly and immature, I have very little inclination to make my words more than just enough to get out a reply. T_________________T
Ugh.
|
|
*Thanks to Jenna for putting the pic up for me and basically single-handedly making this layout for me!!!!! Sankyuuuuuu---^.^v
Archives
Comments, please ^_^v
Name:
Jamie
Age:
22
Interests:
Japan, Japan, Japan. And reading :P My world revolves around things Japanese
I am also a complete and utter addict of the tv show The West Wing, and a Josh/Donna shipper 100% ^_^v
Ever been to Japan?:
Yup, three times. First time, 6 weeks, summer of 1998, Nagareyama-shi, Chiba-ken. Second time, Fall 2001, 4 months, Nagoya, Aichi-ken ^.^v And finally, summer 2003 for a 10 day trip(Nagoya, Kyouto, Nara, Gifu, Mie)
Manga:
Okay, here goes, in no particular order:
Mars, Kanata-kara, Hikaru no Go, Inuyasha, Sekai de ichibandaikirai, Hanazakari no kimitachi e, New York New York, Massugu ni ikou, Itazura na Kiss, Gertrude no Recipe, Bleach, Koucha Ouji, Nanji nayamu koto nakare, Hot Gimmick, Mekakushi no kuni, Psychometrer Eiji,
and a TON more!
Fav. j-pop groups, in no particular order:
V6!, Yuzu, Porno Graffiti, Spitz, Kiroro, Misia, Something ELse, Fukuyama Masaharu, Chemistry, Gospellers, Kuwata Keisuke, Skoop on Somebody, Arashi, Kinki Kids, SMAP, Matsu Takako, Exile, Panicrew, Tokio
and again, a ton more
Fav. Japanese dramas:
Long Vacation, Virgin Road, Meguri Ai, Love Story, Namida o fuite, Aishiteiru to itte kure, Nemureru Mori, Koi wa aserazu, Bokura no Yuuki, Beautiful Life, Summer Snow, Long Love Letter, Asunaro Hakusho, Perfect Love, Team, PS Genki desu Shunpei, Hitotsu Yane no Shita 1 & 2, Oishii Kankei, Itazura na Kiss, Mukodono, Kimi wa Pet! etc.
Contact:
e-mail: jun_inohara@hotmail.com
AIM: JunInohara
ICQ: 146249241
MSN: sueyoshi03@hotmail.com
Layout: v. 9.0! Done by Jenna, as it says at the top ^.^ It's from the fantastic manga series Nanji nayamu koto nakare, which I highly recommend ^o^/ The girl is Naru, and the guy is Chiaki.
My Japanese Dorama List
My manga list
My j-poplist!
This gif of Jamie ddr-ing was made by Amy and it was edited from the ddring bunny. YAY AMY!
Friends:
+Kiripin
+Katherine
+Megan
+Talia
+Lauren
+Hilo
+Jenna
+Amy
+Chloe
+Melissa
+Giro
+Kris
+Annie
+Joy
+Kira
+Elizabeth
+Rachael
+Masanari
+Serge
+Cali
+Kevin
+Levi
+Jenni
+Sumudu
+Jenny
Links:
+Nagoya
+Nanzan
+Yoridori
+Masanari's Page: Serendipity
+Pitas' Main Page
+Inspired inkings
+Inspired Inkings: Manga Forum
+J-Ent
+Sengoku o togi zoushi
+Anime-Forums
+AnimeNation
+WGN Radio
+Nakajo Hisaya
+Yamada Nanpei
+Uta-Net
+Engrish
|
|
