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*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:
21
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, twice. First time, 6 weeks, summer of 1998, Nagareyama-shi, Chiba-ken. Second time, Fall 2001, 4 months, Nagoya, Aichi-ken ^.^v
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
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
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, etc.
Contact:
e-mail: jun_inohara@hotmail.com
AIM: HikaShin
Yahoo: jun_inohara
ICQ: 146249241 (nick is "Jun")
Layout: v. 6.0! Done by Jenna, as it says at the top ^.^ It's of V6! Top row Sakamoto, Inocchi and Nagano, bottom row Okada, Gou and Ken ^.^ My boys!!
Links:
+Nagoya
+Nanzan
+Last Time
+Anipike
+Pitas' Main Page
+J-Ent
+Sengoku o togi zoushi
+Amemura
+AnimeNet
+WGN Radio
+Nakajo Hisaya
+Yamada Nanpei
+Engrish
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Monday, September 30, 2002 :: Comments []
X Continued
After I got home Saturday I took a shower and headed over to Hyejin's. She has a good room at Atkin-Colby (the international students dorm)...it's on the top floor at the end of the hall (which means people aren't going past it all day) and it has one hell of a view! Her roommate was out, so I got to steal her chair for a while, and we watched 3 more episodes of X.
It's funny, because while I'm by no means a great fan of X I'm quite enjoying watching the series, even if I want to bash Kamui over the head and knock some sense into him. I felt bad for Hyejin when Subaru and Seishirou came in....she loves Tokyo Babylon and kept commenting on how sad the story is (I haven't seen it, but I know enough about it to be able to agree ^^;;). I'm also quite pleased that I'm following the story pretty clearly. No subtitles on this, mind you, and while I'm freakishly used to no subs when I watch Japanese dramas, I'm not so used to it with Japanese anime....and honestly, the majority of dramas I watch...well...they're like shoujo manga ^^ You miss a few things and they'll catch up to you later because the story isn't that hard to follow :P
Anyhoo, she also treated me to dinner, although we had to trek from Atkin over the the Watterson Tower food court (about a 10 minute walk) because the cafeteria in Atkin-Colby was closed. A bit of advice...don't get the pork tenderloin....tender it was not...but I was happy with my orange juice and chocolate chip cookie >D
Btw....I really like Akuma de sourou. Honestly, it's a pretty typical shoujo manga story, but for those of you that know me well (or even those that don't :P) cliche manga stories rarely tick me off, especially shoujo manga love stories *Lol* I just have a real zest for them. For me, it's the character's that are the pivotal element in a story, and even if I can guess what's happening before it occurs, as long as I like the characters I'll go headlong into it ^^
The basic plot of Akuma de sourou is that this girl named Kayano really likes a classmate of hers named Kamijou. When she finally gathers enough courage to give him a love letter, she does so with her eyes closed, and he actually walks right past her, so that her letter ends up in the hands of a kid a year younger than her named Takeru. Well, of course at first glance we're to think Takeru's a jerk (Which is why you immediatly have to like him :P you know automatically he is the real love interest here, not Kamijou) She gets so flustered she runs off, leaving her letter behind...and not long after a copy of it ends up on the chaulkboard of her classroom. It must have been Takeru, right? (hee hee...sore wa himitsudayo ^^) To make matters worse, Kayano's mother announces that she has become engaged...and in true shoujo manga style who is she engaged to? Yup, Takeru's father (who's also the chairman (??) of the school)! bwahahaha...and wackiness and "plot twists" ensue from there. So as you can see....pretty typical shoujo fare, which means I love it :P I love the style this is drawn in and I really like Kayano and Takeru (honestly, I will always love that name...ever since first watching Bokura no Yuuki ^^;;)...it's a fun series and I really recommend it to those of you that are shoujo manga fans ^.^v
Ohhhhhhh yeah ^^;; I've been forgetting to mention. If you think there's nothing good on tv, I highly recommend Monk which stars Tony Shaloub and is on the USA Network on Friday nights (at 10:00 or 10:30...I forget). They also re-run it at another time....which I forget as well ^^. It's about a detective with OCD...sounds stupid, but it's a fantastic show. I've only seen about 3 episodes thus far, but I really enjoy it!
Oh, I nearly forgot ^^;; The newest issue of Inuyasha I dunno what to think about ^^ Kikyou's been "killed" and IY's not taking it well...poor Kagome...I wish I could read the next chapter now ^^;; gya-
anyhoo, must get my chinese HW done ^^;;
Saturday, September 28, 2002 :: Comments []
Michi ni mayotta
So, although traffic sucked massively once we reached the suburbs, we made it to Mitsuwa in pretty good time, arriving around 6:15, which left us a good 45 minutes to look for stuff before Kira and her friends were supposed to arrive. It was then that things got interesting >D We managed the directions pretty well for a while, but then got turned around and essentially got completely lost....we even ended up on a road that ended at Lake Michigan, which was really not where we needed to be. So we drove around, called her dad and eventually made it to the theater, although we knew already that we'd missed the 7:45 showing, and the next one wasn't until 10:30....but luckily voting was on my side (*glares at Megan* and 3 out of 5 of us decided we wanted to hang around to see the movie, instead of going back, doing karaoke and going back to Kira's. My mentality was that I'd come all that way to see a movie, and I was going to see it *Lol*
So between 8:30 and 10:30 we wandered around this art supply store and then headed to get something to eat at this little bakery/cafe/place-thingy, then wandered around the Cost-co World Market for a bit and headed to the movie. I was happy to see a new version of the trailer for Treasure Planet and I still think it looks fantastic. If it only lives up to half my expectations I think I'll still be happy. It also had the trailer for Harry Potter although I've seen it already, so it wasn't as big a deal and the trailer for Tuck Everlasting which is based off the book. I'll have to go re-read it, because for some reason I just have always remembered really disliking it...but the trailer has inspired me to give it a second chance (although maybe AFTER I see the movie, so I don't compare :P).
Anyway, the movie was great. Of course it was great. This is a movie I adore whole-heartedly. ^^;; Kira, I feel kinda bad....'cause i think Kendall (that's her name, yes? ^^) either missed the point with Haku/Chihiro's relationship....or maybe you have to be more familiar with Miyazaki's movies? I dunno, because when they talked about "ai no chikara" and all that, it's just....about as pure and and good as you can get, you know? It's nothing to do with lust or anything, it's just loving someone completely and purely ^^;; And I think that's plausible. I dunno...maybe it comes from reading Phillup Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy where the characters are about the same age and being acutely familiar with Miyazaki's and Ghibli's films ^^;; Ah well! I hope you guys liked it. I really recommend a second viewing. Like Meg and I said before, we liked it the first time, fell in love with it the second. Of course, those first two times were without subs, so it could have been something we missed that caused that *lol*
Anyway, I thought it was kinda funny as we were leaving the theater when some people in front of us were commenting "Yeah it was Totoro!" when they showed the Ghibli logo.....o.o I just thought most Japanese anime fans were more familiar with Miyazaki/Ghibli works....maybe I'm wrong ....cause these people seemed really surprised. It's been the logo ever since Totoro was released. *shrug* oh well ^^;;
Anyhoo, as to what I got @ Mitsuwa....I bought Da Pump's "All My Love To You"...I know it's not new but it's one my "3 ga getsu" songs....that is, it was a single released during my time in Nagoya, so those songs are pretty special to me ^^;; and I also bought Panicrew's last new single "Basketball"...stupid name, good song :P And on the manga end, I bought 5 volumes of a series called Akuma de sourou, #11 of W Juliet, and two volumes of another series called Hioushirabyoushi....haven't really read those first and last ones...so hope I like them >D (hey, I took a chance with Nanji nayamu koto nakare and loved it and that was 4 volumes I bought "blind"), and the newest issue of Hana to Yume
Anyway we finally got back to Kira's around 2:30 and basically went straight to bed, and when we got up in the morning, we basically left pretty quickly....except.... we left our pillows at your house =_= So the next time we get together or meet at Mitsuwa we need those back >D I'll have to go buy a new one in the meantime *Lol*
So yeah....the newest issue of HanaKimi O_______O So Mizuki told Sano about Nakatsu saying he liked her, right? ^^;; Well when it comes down to her Sano tells her that he likes her no matter if she's a boy or a girl >D WOOOOOOOO!!! Well, he tells her this after she says "I'm kind of girlish, aren't I?"....So of course she's really happy about it, even if he said it "only as a friend" (which she thinks....grar...honestly...some real kokuhaku-ing needs to go on in this series :P)....Honestly though, I'm afraid this is just a sort of "here-stupid-fangirls,-take-this-little-tidbit-and- chew-on-it-for-the-next-4-volumes-while-I-drag-this-story -out-longer-and-empty-your-pocketbooks-while-I-wait-even -longer-for-Sano-and-Mizuki-to-scrounge-up-their-courage-and-finally-admit-something-to-one-another" kind of situation!!@_@ What is a fan to do but bite the bullet and keep apace I guess =.=
Oh yes, I read an article here that talks about Sakamoto (of V6) in the re-run (short, only a few performances) of "Footloose", which he did for a while last year. I'm glad that the review is basically pretty good ^_^v I would have loved to see Sakamoto do this musical, especially because I love both V6 and musicals in general :P If they made a sountrack out of that cast, I'd LOVE to have it!! ^^;;;;;;;
should go for now :P
Thursday, September 26, 2002 :: Comments []
It's Good To Be Home
So while the majority of the viewing public was, I'm sure, drooling over what events would unfold on Friends (don't get me wrong, that show goes a long way back with me, and I was looking forward to it :P), but what I was really waiting for was the premiere of Scrubs which is, IMHO, the best comedy on TV. ^^ When we left things last spring, Jordan (Dr. Cox's ex-wife) had basically let everyone's secrets out of the bag which created all these rifts among our little group. So of course the premiere was about getting this problems worked out.
It doesn't sound so serious, but putting it bluntly: I adore JD (AHAHAH *flaunts group picture with Zach Braff*) and Dr. Cox and I love the mentor-mentee, father-son-esque-type relationship and it killed me for the season finale last year to end the way it did ;.; because I'm weird like that and when I like a series I genuinely care about the characters. But now everything's OK again and I loved it when JD says at the end "It's good to be home" ^____^ cause that's kind of what you feel like, you know? All is right with the world again, and all that :P As much as I love tension and plot twists, I love it when all is right again, right FARAH?!?! :P^^;;
Also tuned into the series premiere of Good Morning, Miami which was enjoyable, if not fantastic. Charming enough to tune into next week, I think. It's weird though, because the actor that plays the main character played Cliff on West Wing last season. Cliff, if you don't recall, was a short-term love interest of Donna's toward the beginning of last year. So even though he's adorable, all I can think is "accck! CLIFF! nooooooooo!!!!!" *Lol*
So turns out we will be going to see Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi with Kira tomorrow, as well as a couple of her friends. It's going to be a tight schedule tho *lol* I have a class from 9-10, I work from 10:30-2:30, then a class at 3:00 which I'll leave early from. We leave here at 3:30 to make it up there before 7:00, which should be okay even if traffic gets horrible. Anyway, if we can, we're planning on going to the karaoke place that's "behind" Mitsuwa. And this is a place with Japanese songs....because honestly, that's the only way I find karaoke fun, since I've sung songs in English all my life already *lol* I'd rather go do Japanese karaoke at this point. Anyway, so from there we'll go back to Kira's spend the night, go to her Japanese class with her...which should be pretty cool ^___^ We have to make it back here by 3 p.m. Saturday though, because Megan has to work! :P Anyway, am really looking forward to seeing it, even though I saw it in Japan ^^;;
Wednesday, September 25, 2002 :: Comments []
~20 Hours in America
Two blissful, wonderful, Evil Amy-less hours of the season premiere of my favorite show The West Wing. It's stupid to say, but it was primarily set up for this first half of the season, when the election is the hot topic. Storylines set up:
1.) The election (duh :P)
2.) The Qumar (sp?) issue
3.) Sam staffs the Pres. since Josh is stuck in Indiana, and realize how chaotic it is, but also that that is where it happens and says something about having to "get back in there"...which is a not too subtle way, IMO, of Sam (and Rob Lowe, the ass hat (thank you Tacchan for that word :P)) of exiting the show in the spring.
4.) Big Brother to replace Simon
5.) The hiring of a secretary to replace (finally) Mrs. Landingham
Elaboration:
1.) What's to say? Bartlett vs. Richie. Speeches, set-up for the specific platform, whimsical discussion on being the better man and doing the better, hard thing. Typical (wonderful) fare ^_^
2.) So we all know that Bartlett ordered the assasination, and Qumar is now re-opening the investigation. Thing is, they've figured out it was the US the ordered, but are trying (for reasons I'm not sure of either because I didn't pay close enough attention or I really am as poor at understanding politics as I thought) to make it look like someone else did it (I think *.* someone help me out if I missunderstood this), Israel, I think. So the US is in a tight spot now.
3.) If you're a fan of The West Wing you've know for some time now about Rob Lowe's whole deal about not getting a raise and so is quite possibly (although I thought I heard some vague thing about it being possible he might not) leaving the show in the spring. It was during the episode when Bartlett gave Sam and Toby these chessboards and Bartlett comments that someday Sam is going to be president, and in tonight's ep he staffs the president during the day, which is apparently normally Josh's job. Well, he decides he only did one good thing that day (he as in Sam) but that at least one good thing was great and that he "had to get back in there"....which is an obvious very beginning on the storyline that will, unless Rob Lowe changes his mind, lead Sam's path out of the the West Wing and into the Oval Office. It really sucks, because I adore Sam (and I truly loved him to death tonight when he said he loved Josh like a brother ^^;;;;;;;) but am so upset with Rob Lowe. I suppose I understand, but at the same time I don't. grar
4.) This was great! Or the end result was great ^^ CJ asks Charlie first, then Sam, and goes through several people, right? Well, after a dinner that the president goes to, CJ arrives back in her office where Simon's "Big Brother" kid is waiting (christ I can't remember his name =.=) and CJ says she hasn't found anyone yet but that she'll keep looking, and the kid makes a rather biting remark. He makes this mistake with Charlie in the room and I swear to god, Charlie verbally bitchslaps this kid. It was amazing! Probably my favorite part of the entire episode was this small 30 seconds. He basically gives the kid an ultimatim....Honestly it was fantastic.
5.) Lily Tomlin as Mrs. Fitterer (sp?) is going to be great, because she's eccentric. She's somewhat like Mrs. Landingham (that is, she won't take the president's crap :P) but has a more biting tongue.
The other major plot point in this ep was the explosion of two pipe bombs at a swim meet, which I imagine might be West Wings version of Sept. 11? I'm not entirely certain, but it sounds like something that won't be only covered in tonight's ep ^^;;
Anyway, over all I was pretty happy with this ep. It was solid West Wing. I think the only thing I'm really upset about is that near the end of the ep Donna and Josh wasted a perfectly good dance floor U____U But I'm very happy to have it back on, despite Rob Lowe and despite Evil Amy ^^;;
Monday, September 23, 2002 :: Comments []
Nightcrawler
Tee hee >D Just finished watching the third season episode Nightcrawler of this show and I'm giddy >D S&MK is a lot like Passions for me: a guilty pleasure, except that S&MK is...well...a much better show >D You won't find devil babies, walking dolls, or the Crane family wandering around it. :P But anyway, Nightcrawler is one of those kind of eps, where you're just waiting for the gratuitous WAFF-y moments, and woo, did I get them *Lol* It was a great episode >D yay Amanda! Yay Lee! Yay them both!
So I almost feel left out.....but not much :P Everyone's been talking about Kingdom Hearts forever, and now here's my brother playing it like there's no tomorrow. I know I simply wouldn't have the patience for games ^^;; RPG's that is. I'd just get frustrated and want to know the story now and not have to go through all that stuff :P Some things I have endless patience for, but I don't think I would for RPGs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not turning my nose up at them. Hardly. I admire people that have the patience for it! I'd just have to sit there saying, "Yeah, but I want to see the next part this minute!" ^^;;
I'm quite relieved to have two tests and my Chinese quiz out of the way ^^ I got an 88% on my Citizens and Governance test, and I think I did a pretty good job on my Word Arts: Music test today ^^ Just have one more hurdle: my Japanese quiz :P the kanji'll be fine, it's the translating that's hard!
Lauren, yay to you for winning!!! bwahahaha! I knew you'd beat your mom!! You've got the tenacity for it >D Enjoy your reward!!!! *Lol*
Just two days until the season premiere of The West Wing! I can't wait ^___________^
Sunday, September 22, 2002 :: Comments []
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! The West Wing won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^______________^ WOO!
Sunday, September 22, 2002 :: Comments []
"At the underneath of the sakura"
>D So Talia and I sat and listened to the entire Hanazakari no Kimitachi e 2nd drama CD. Now, I'm not stupid enough to say we sat there, listened to the Japanese, and got every word. Ohhhhhh noooo. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been too hard for me to figure out, but I wasn't feeling adventurous yesterday, and so we went here, printed out the translation, and read along with it. It's nothing too special. A side story about these seven mysteries of Osaka Gakuen, one of which is the story of this boy and girl that fall in love but the girl dies (actually she's killed >D) and the guy's spirit hangs around, not really knowing this girl is dead (he went off to war, see ^^;;) and ends up "borrowing" Sano's body, taking him over for a while, and says all this stuff to Mizuki whom he thinks is this old love of his named Shizuka >D but of course after all is said and done Sano doesn't remember much, but it's cute and funny and amusing....and pretty damned HanaKimi-like ^^;;
Anyway, so I'm thrilled to find out that Sen to Chihiro is playing with subtitles as well ^^ All this time I've been saying "I wish they did it like they do with movies in Japan and run both versions!" ...and low and behold they are! Hot damn ^^;; I'm especially thrilled that my favorite reviewer Nick Digilio, as well as every other review I've read of it has been glowing. Of course I think it's fantastic, but it's nice having that reiterated. I'd love to call in to Nick's show tonight to comment on it ^^ I'm really glad that when my friends here can see it, they can see it how it should be seen, even if the voice actors chosen for the English language track are pretty good. I'm wondering if it won't turn up here at the Normal Theater. When Mononokehime had it's American release it played there, and I think Sen to Chihiro probably has a wider release than it did, or will if it doesn't already.
So Meg sent out a money order to get Mukodono which is a Nagase Tomoya drama from last year (spring 2001, IIRC) and is supposed to be pretty enjoyable if not fantastic. It's looked cute to me, and I wonder why we never rented it last year...but oh well, we'll see how it is! Of course, we still have Risou no Kekkon, Narita Rikon, and Asunaro Hakusho to watch....and Meg even still has both Psychometrer Eiji's to watch! So why exactly we are getting yet another drama with so many in reserve I'm not sure, other than that we want to make sure to get it when it's readily available ^^;;
So yeah....I'm missing Japan ^^;; It's weird. I've always loved fall in Illinois ^^ The smell, the feeling...and I still do,....but now it's kind of tainted with "Hmmmm about this time last year I...etc...etc..etc." ^^;; I find it kind of odd that even though I stayed with a host family (the BEST host family a person could get ^^) I felt a lot more independant in Japan than I do here. I'm not sure what contributes to that either. I mean, here I have a car and I can drive anywhere in town I want, there I had the bus and subway that could do the same thing. So that aspects no different. I suppose it's just that I wasn't around my real parents, you know? Grar....I was talking with mom the other day and she mentioned how in the past for the most part Meg and I never mentioned about wanting to get out of the house (that is, move out). In fact, for well into our college expriences, none of us Thompson kids felt an overly strong sense of "MUST MOVE OUT", and I think being in Japan really made that kick in, even if I felt it somewhat before I left anyway. That and the fact my parents don't exactly create the best "stay at home atmosphere" considering the fact they don't like each other, don't talk to each other unless they have to, and remark on the other to us when the other isn't around. So while I love my parents, am not wholly unhappy with being at home, I also don't want to be there. But I refuse to move out into any apartment here in town, because then I'll feel like I'm stuck here O.o Crimeny, graduation, terrifying though it might be, and JET can't come fast enough!!!
Almost forgot to mention that PBS is re-running the Ken Burn's documentary The Civil War starting tonight! I'm soooooo excited! I've never seen the whole thing, but the bits and pieces I've watched were both fascinating and incredibly interesting. I'm looking wholly forward to watching it this week! I can't wait to hear that music!
Friday, September 20, 2002 :: Comments []
Not a complete failure
Well, I don't think so, at any rate. I took my first test in my Citizens and Governance class....and I don't think I did freakishly bad or anything. I'm not sure I got an A on it though ^^;; I know, I know, someone should have been studying a bit harder prior to taking the test >D
Melissa, the CD actually covers up to when Kaine asks Mel to marry him ^^ So actually we never hear the wedding or anything. Sorry! I'm pretty sure there's a second CD (not that I have it or anything >D) which would probably include that ^^;;
Kira....oooooooohkay....what about next Friday? I work until 2:30 and although I do have a 3 p.m. class, I could skip it or leave halfway through or whatever. Meg and I could drive up there, meet you, see the movie, spend the night maybe? Then we could come home Saturday morning (I don't work and Meg doesn't work until 3 p.m.)....maybe we could even go do karaoke if it stays open late? What time is it shown on a Friday, do you think? I'd really like to bring my friend Talia too, but she's going to her homecoming so I'm not sure if she could ;.; Anyway, let me know if Friday's viable >D
Thursday, September 19, 2002 :: Comments []
Drama CD Take Two
So got the first Hanazakari no Kimitachi e drama CD from Hyejin today (she came over for lunch)! woo! Really, I love how Mizuki, Sano and Nakatsu sound >D It's like the held auditions for the perfect people and BOOM they just showed up! Haven't had a chance to listen to it too closely yet, though, so any real comment on the content will have to be saved until later.
Melissa, btw, if you'd like a copy of the New York New York just let me know and I'll see what I can do ^.^v
So I think Megan was about ready to murder the cable company this afternoon. When Scarecrow & Mrs. King came on (hey, make fun of us all you want. It's a damned fun show to watch :P) and we turned the tv on....all we got was snow! As a result of some irritating problem with the cable company, we only got the second half of the episode, and missed a pretty good exchange of lines earlier on in the episode U__U TCI, I hate you.
Elizabeth I think you need a twin! *Lol* While I do write out sad stuff, it'd be ten times worse if I didn't have my sister to mull over it with 24 hours a day *lol* But I understand about not writing certain things. Certainly everything doesn't get written in here ^^;;
Wednesday, September 18, 2002 :: Comments []
Mooncake
So in Chinese class today my teacher (who is, incidentally the mother of someone I went to high school with, although she was a grade below me ^.^) brought a mooncake, since the Moon Festival is coming up (our closest version is the Harvest Festival) and cut it up and shared it with the class. This one was made of bean paste and I believe there was egg in it. It tasted....well I could deal with the taste of this much better than I can deal with red bean paste that's used in Japanese snacks. I'm not sure if this was red bean paste too, but it tasted slightly different and I was able to deal with it ^^;; The funny thing was, all I could think about the taste was that it tasted like this shop downtown called "Other Ports" smells >D I know that's a weird thing to say, but Meg thought the same thing too. This shop smells like incense, etc., so it's not like it's bad or anything...merely...interesting ^^;; It made me wish I had tea, especially green tea. It would have counter-acted the taste nicely.
I finished listening to the first drama CD of New York New York and I've decided that while I like the choice of voice actors for Kaine and Mel, I'm glad I was able to get a copy of this from a friend and didn't have to buy it myself. The reason is because they skip huge chunks. This CD goes almost through to the end of the second volume (tho they don't include the last chapter), but they skipp a lot of really, really adorable scenes between Kaine and Mel, and even leave out important info in certain bad but important parts of the plot (ex. where Mel has to go for supplies from his job and the place gets held up and something, erm, none to pleasant happens to Mel). It's a good thing I'm pretty familiar with the manga or I'd have lost myself more than a few times (I sat and read in the manga along with the CD). I understand that they have to leave stuff out, and that most people buying the drama CD have already read the manga but in way I felt cheated ^^;; I also found it amusing that although Mel is the one that cries the most in the manga, in the CD it's really Kaine you hear more at it >D
Dear lord, I just read on J-ent that Yamashita Tomohisa (who's a Johnny's Jr.) was attacked O_O Some weird ass guy tried to throw some kind of chemical in his face but missed. I mean, I'm not exactly Yamapi's biggest fan (I like him Long Love Letter but not a great deal else) but yikes! How freaky! I can just imagine the Jr's sites today, probably flooding with worry over his condition :P
OMG!!!!! This is so great!!!!!! The West Wing will start showing in Japan on NHK-G starting October 11!!!!!! WOOOOOO!!! Read it here. I think that's fantastic!! Granted, it'll be on at 11:00 p.m. at night but still! I just wish I knew what kind of cable package you have to have in Japan in order to watch NHK-G because then I'd urge my host parents to watch it....but I don't remember that NHK being on our tv (and believe me, I was quite familiar with the channels our cable included ^^;;) !! It's going to be called The White House apparently, which is fine with me :P
Well I guess I should go study a LITTLE bit ^^;;;;;;;;; ja!
Tuesday, September 17, 2002 :: Comments []
New York, New York
^______________________________^ teeheeheheheeeeeeeeeee ^^
heeeeeeeeeeeeeheeeeeeeeeeeee ^^
Ok...lemme put a coherent sentence together ^^ Or attempt to. That little outburst there is because my friend Hyejin just gave me a copy of the first drama CD of the manga New York New York, which is one of my favorite manga of all time (and, incidentally, a douseiai story. Some people might refer to it as a yaoi, which it's definetly not, and the character's are too old for it to be shounenai...so ^^)....kya *giddy* And I think Mel and Kaine's voices are pretty well suited to the characters ^^ I just sat down and began following along in the manga ^_^
Oh, and I got my new contacts! Christ do my eyes feel GOOD! It's been a long time since I've had ones that doesn't have any crap calcium built up on them! ^____^
okay, I'm just going to run around in joy now ^_^
Monday, September 16, 2002 :: Comments []
>_______________< I just spent 2 1/2 hours translating something for my independant study and my computer decides to, pardon my language, fuck with me and make the second half of it disappear!!!!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!! Good thing I don't think Thomas-sensei is expecting me to turn a translation in, but ARGH, I spent time on that >_______________________<
Monday, September 16, 2002 :: Comments []
Ue o muite, arukou....
Okay there's no real reason for that subject heading ^^v
Melissa I never have said that I'm really glad about you going back to school ^.^ A friend of mine is hopefully going back in the spring, and it just makes me really happy for her, and I'm happy for you that you can go back ^^v If everything goes correctly, and knowing my luck it won't >D, I should graduate next spring. =.= soooo scary!!
So I just recently discovered that Skoop on Somebody (a Japanese group I really like) was actually just called "Skoop" until their third album, back in 1999 O.O I'm unclear to me as to why they changed their name, and it's not a particuarly big issue, I just find it interesting ^^;;
Tacchan I'm sorry you're having all the trouble regarding Homecoming ^^;; But I give you free reign to bitch and complain and whine as often and as profusely to me as you wish ^^;; I know I would want someone to vent to ^_^
Just one more week until shows premeire ^_____^ That means new The West Wing and Scrubs!! Woo!! I'm so excited. I'm really feeling that season 4 of WW will be great, albeit Rob Lowe's decision. Of course, that's mostly the hopeful, WW-obssessed side of me speaking ^^;; As good as some episodes were last year, on the whole I didn't enjoy them as much as the first two seasons, especially whenever Amy showed up. As good as it was to really see how a relationship could be affected by politics (Between Amy and Josh):
1.) The Pro-Josh/Donna side of me screamed in anger and
2.) Sorry, but she's just a cold, alienating feeling character.
and i'm dying to find out how Scrubs ends up. Last year's season finale tore my heart out. Poor JD especially ^^;; I'm planning on trying to catch Wake up Miami, American Dreams and Push, Nevada for the new shows. ^^ Hope they're good!
Sunday, September 15, 2002 :: Comments []
Can YOU say "Chequamegon"?
It's the name of the national forest in north western Wisconsin in which my family's cabin is located on Moose Lake. Looking at it, I'm guessing most people won't pronounce it correctly because half the time looking at it, I forget myself :P I hear it enough, but every time I look at it, I almost forget the right way to say it ^^ Anyway, it's Sha-wah-meh-gon for those of you interested or not.
Anyway, so left with dad on Friday to go to our cabin. Scott, my eldest brother, was in a race called the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival. It's a 40 mile bike race through the woods and along the roads of Wisconsin's north woods. There was also a 20 mile shorter race. What I discovered that I did not know about bike racing, was that people compete on tandem bikes too. AND they compete tandem in a mountain bike race. That concept I found interesting and somewhat amusing, when I watched them go by and around corners in the woods ^^;; Call me closed-minded, but I thought it was funny looking ^^;;
Anyway, we went to cheer Scott on. We being Mom, Dad, Val, me, and Larry (a friend of Scott's that rides with him a lot). Dad and I left around 10:15 Friday morning and picked up Val on the way (mom, scott and larry having left Thursday). When we got to Ladysmith, dad had to drive around. See, a few weeks ago it was hit by a completely out of nowhere tornado, which is really unusual for the area. there was a lot of damage done, but I don't think anyone was killed. Well, this is a town we go through every single year, and we wondered just how badly it had been hit. It's actually the first time I've ever seen the damage done by a tornado first hand, even though I myself live in tornado country. It's pretty shocking stuff to see. You really just can't believe it.
Anyway, we made it to the cabin shortly after 7 p.m. where Mom and Scott had dinner basically waiting. So we pretty much hung out at the cabin until bedtime ^^
Got up around 8:30 and headed out around 9. The beginning of the race was in Hayward, and I have to admitt, it was pretty exciting ^^ There were about 1700 people in the 40 mile race. Scott's race. It was pretty cool when they started and 1700 bikes zoomed down Hayward's main streen so quickly. Or rather, the first 500 or so did...after that the people behind we a bit slower than those in the front, so it slowed considerably by the time the final person got going ^^;; From there we headed to a county road called OO (double-oh) to catch the riders in the middle of the race. I think we must have wait a half an hour or more there, before Scott finally came by.
From there we headed to Cable, where the finish line was located. The 5 of us, however, stopped in a bar and grill to get a quick drink, and I ended up eating lunch (and had pepsi, you all know I'm no drinker :P). Eventually though, we made our way to the Telemark Resort (by which is located a very small airport that's suitable pretty much only for small planes like Cessna's ^^;;) which was the actual site of the finish line, although it's near to Cable. There we waited more than an hour. Closer to 90 minutes for Scott to cross the finish line, although I had my CD player and listend to seVen so I was a happy camper. It wasn't really all that boring as I had thought it might be. It was interesting to see all the people come in from the race, see what shape they were in, watch their friends or family come to congratulate them for finishing, etc. ^^
When Scott finally finished (I bought a t-shirt, btw. A red t-shirt embroidered with "Chequamegon Fat Tire" and a bicycle on it) we went to a place called the Sawmill Saloon for another drink (I had pepsi :P) and then headed back to the cabin, since we planned on going out to eat at Famous Dave's (a pretty locally well known restaurant up there, and elsewhere I think ^^) and of course Scott wanted to be clean. During that time I finally decided on a place to bury North's ashes. It's near our fire pit, but not TOO near, beneath a tree....and the gravemarker we have pointing north ^^ I burned the box the ashes came in, because I didn't really feel it was appropriate to re-use it, and I burned the card that says basically "to the best of our knowledge these are the ashes of your dog" because I figured it matters very little at this point whether it's really North or not, you know? It's all basically for closure anyway ^^ Anyway, I'm very pleased with the place I chose and how it looks and everything ^^;;
So we went out to eat, and we had this platter of a bunch of different stuff (BBQ ribs, chicken, corn bread muffins etc.) that was so big they serve it to you on an over-turned garbage can lid >D I took a picture. That's right. I took a picture of it. In the middle of the restaurant. Filled with people, on a Saturday night. >D Larry and Val kept commenting that it's the Japanese culture rubbing off on me =.= which I thought a tad tactless. I've been a big picture taker for the last 4-5 years O.o Anyhoo, mom, dad and I headed home while Larry, Scott and Val went to the casino for a bit. :P When they got home they made a fire and we all piled around it for a couple of hours, which was pretty nice. I actually crawled into bed REALLY early...10:30 or so!
And finally we came home today ^^ I gotta tell you. 8 hours alone in the car with your parents, who don't really like each other anymore and you don't have your sister there to distract and talk to you can be pretty....well...damned boring. Thank god I had a book with me (Tanya Huff's Summon the Keeper, IIRC. Good book. Read it ^^).
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!! ^_________^/
:: Comments []
Thursday, September 12, 2002 :: Comments []
Three Day Tour
^^;; I'll be gone Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (until evening). My family, minus Meg is going to our cabin. One because my eldest brother is in a bike race up there, and two because we're going to bury North. ^^ Meg has a test tomorrow, and as a result can't come with us. I'm terrified I'm going to end up "forgetting" North (as his ashes are currently in a nice tin box on top of our room desk ^^;;;;; Wouldn't that be just great and completely not shocking? ^_- Speaking of North, today is one month since he died. Hard to believe O.o It seems like it just happened, and at the same time like it happened forever ago.
Yes, Elizabeth I'd be quite happy to drool over any Japan pics you could supply me with! :P
Anyway, will be back in a few days ^.^v
Wednesday, September 11, 2002 :: Comments []
Where were you...
It was only a week into my semester of studying abroad in Japan. Japan is 14 hours ahead of my home time zone, in Illinois. It was night. I'd finished writing in my journal just after 10:00 p.m., so I imagine shortly after that I took a shower. When I came out, my host dad pointed to the tv and said I should watch. For a long time I couldn't quite figure out what had happened. I know by that time the first plane had already struck the first tower, but even with my host family changing the language on the tv to English, I couldn't quite grasp just exactly what occured. In fact, even when the second plane hit the other tower, for a long time I thought all it was was some kind of computer re-creation of what happened to the first tower. I can't remember what I thought that night, as I watched the towers burn, and fall sometime later. I wish I could remember how exactly I felt. I remember my host family changing the language on the tv back and forth between Japanese and English, I remember glueing my eyes to the tv. I remember being stunned...that somehow this event put thousands more miles between me and the US. I suppose in a small way, it made me feel more alone. America has experienced terrorism...1993 at the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City of course....but nothing like what happened this time. I don't think it completely hit me, because when my host parents suggested I should get some sleep, sometime after midnight, I did go to bed.
The next morning, September 12 for me, but still Sept. 11 back home, I remember getting to school, seeing Katherine and asking her, "Did you hear what happened?". Sometime that morning, between classes, a bunch of us were packed into the audio/visual library on Nanzan's campus, watching a TV that was tuned into CNN. I remember teachers coming in with sheets of paper, finding any and all of us who were American to make sure we filled out this paper that would be sent to the United States Embassy, so they'd know exactly where we were. I remember that chilling me, thinking, "This is necessary?".
We got e-mails and other sheets of paper from our universities back home, telling us that we shouldn't go out in large groups and to avoid places where large numbers of Americans gathered. The irony here is, Nanzan is basically the place in Nagoya where there is the largest # of Americans in one place. That day, if I remember correctly, was the very first my friends and I went downtown to Sakae. I felt, at least, that what had happened in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania wasn't going to scare me into not doing what I wanted.
I remember my mom e-mailing me (to this day I wonder why she didn't call my host family's house) asking me if I could even do anything about dying my hair black, as if there were no other qualities that would point me out as being American.
My host family's house is directly in the landing flight path for the airport in Nagoya, and when I say you can hear the planes fly over, I mean it. They were low enough that standing outside you could often easily see the numbers on the bottom of the jetliners as they came in. For the first week following September 11th, it was practically silent. Incredibly eery, when you know the reason behind it.
For the next two weeks, I watched very little but CNN. The Friday after it happened, there was a memorial service in Nanzan's chapel, which my friends and I went to. It was packed which local media. It makes me sad that the reason this blonde head of mine was ever on Japanese tv was because I attended that service. Other students were quoted in the newspaper.
In the year since September 11, 2001, I've listened to, read, watched just everything I can. I was thousands of miles from home, from America, last year. No matter how much I've taken in, I don't think I'll ever fully understand what it was like to be in America that day, and believe it or not, it makes me sad. I watch programs and I feel my throat choke in pride in my country, for the sadness for all those that simply went to work that morning and died, from all around the world. I feel angry when people say we're saying "Poor America" when it was so many other countries, too, that lost people.
I also find it hard to take the sentiment that it's being made a big deal. Maybe if it were years down the line already....but it's not. It's still fresh in our minds, and it deserves, if only to remember those that died that day, those who were heroes, those who were unjustly killed. Sure we've been thinking about it every day since then, but I think in most minds the first year anneversary of anything is an important mark. Things may be no different in reality on September 12, but I think deep down most people may be able to breath a small bit easier after the one year anneversary has passed.
Can't think of much more to write though. I wish I could be in NYC tomorrow, at Ground Zero, but I'll be here.
Saturday, September 7, 2002 :: Comments []
X
Hyejin came over today, around 1:00 ^^ We set up her laptop and lifted the speakers from our computer in the basement and plopped in front of the screen for a few hours, watching X. It's good for me because I've never really had much interest in this series. I used to read it "back in the day" when it ran in Animerica and I saw the movie long before most people, but I never developed an accute interest in the whole FuumaXKamuiXKatori etc. etc. etc. thing ^^ So watching it for me was kind of like just being able to watch something I really have nothing invested in, which means I don't have expectations ^^;; So while I don't love this series, I certainly enjoyed watching it. It's gorgeous for one thing, and the fact Kamui is, IMHO, a dumbass (I know, I'll give him more than 6 episodes to get some sense knocked into him. Characters who are distant for no reason but the crap out of me, and his hasn't been present enough for me to put up with his crap for long) evened out by the other characters who are really likable (Arashi, Sorata, etc.). The catch is, with anything I'll watch with Hyejin, is that they're not subtitled, which is actually good, I think ^^ No matter how much I love listening to Japanese, when I have subtitles, I do tend to pay more attention to them, rather than the language. So a chance to watch stuff that're not dorama is nice ^^;; And the fact I understood more than I thought I would was comforting >D
She also burned a copy of a bunch of drama CDs ^^;; Unfortunatly, we both forgot about changing the title on her computer from Japanese to English for the HanaKimi and Love Mode ones, so they don't work, and she'll have to make a new copy for me. But there was other stuff she put on it that works fine, because the titles were already in English ^_^ It was really nice of her to do that. Hyejin's really nice ^.^ It's great...*lol* My mom asked her what she thought of my room, and I think mom was expecting her to think it's weird, but that backfired! bwahahaha! boo yah, mom! :P
One interesting thing I noticed was that as I was taking Hyejin back to the dorm and she said "Bye" to my dad, she then asked me if it was okay just to say "bye" to him (because he's an older adult) and she was telling me how, in Korean, that's a big no-no....which just got me thinking how interesting comparing languages is. Of course, I've thought that for quite some times, but there are instances where it makes itself more clear than others.
Turns out my mom bought the issue of the Chicago Tribune which includes a CD-Rom covering the first 10 days after September 11th. In the very begining you can a few clips from WGN as they were just getting the news, but I'm thinking that's all you hear. I hope not. Ever since that day, I've been wondering how WGN handled it, because I've listened to that station my entire life and greatly respect the people there....so I've always wondered what it was like to listen to it that day.
Thursday, September 5, 2002 :: Comments []
Marker
Uncle Dave brought over North's grave marker today. It looks fantastic. I'm so happy we decided to have it done. It's this big, invinsible looking cream-colored rock and on the face of it my uncle and cousin carved this big compass. South, East, and West are all represented by letters, as on a normal compass, but North is spelled out, in honor of our puppy ^^ It looks so great, and will be such a nice tribute for North. We just don't know exactly where we're putting it yet at the cabin. Everywhere we think of seems like there's a problem. Near the lake we think no, because we're afraid of flooding (which is rare, but did happen last year), near the cabin we think no because we may one day expand the front of the cabin, and several other places. Well, we have a week and half to decide. We're going up there next weekened for bike race my oldest brother is in, so we have to decide by then ^^;;
Wednesday, September 4, 2002 :: Comments []
I've Got the Blues
Haha, literally. It's what we finally settled on naming the new dog ^^;; None of us could decide on anything, and then I briefly remembered that David Duchovny's dog was named Blue, and mentioned the name, and it just sort of ended up being that. I didn't mention it because I'm any big fan of his, I just thought it was an interesting name for a dog (I can't stand the idea of mundane names for any dog I'd have). So I think it's fun ^^ But then Megan tells me that it turns out Blue is also the name of at least one dog of Miyake Ken's *Lol* So by sheer conincidence, we have a V6 connection we didn't even know we had :P He's awful at climbing and descending stairs, though. Racing greyhounds never learn, nor need to, this kind of thing, so they don't really know how. So he's made it up and done a couple of times on his own, but it's really going to take him a while to get the completely hang of it. Ganbare Blue!! ^.^/
So was watching eps of "MST3K" with Tacchan >D ahhhhhhh it's really been years since I've sat down and watched eps ^^ I think I forgot how hilarious that show is, especially when you're watching it with friends ^^;; Must remember to watch it more often, ne? ^^;;
anyway, must quote this:
Guy in movie: You really do think there's a devil of some kind around here, don't you?
Crow (quipping): yes, I've seen his food cake.
HAHAHAHAH!! *was amused*
Monday, September 2, 2002 :: Comments []
seVenth time's a charm
So went to Mitsuwa on Saturday with mom ^^;; We also took along my friend Motoko (whom I met some time ago, but she just arrived here in August to go to ISU for the year) and a friend of hers from Korea named Hyejin, who is also a big fan of Japanese anime and manga like myself ^^;; She was sooooooooooooo nice, and her Japanese is fantastic. I really admire her because she's self taught. I can barely manage speaking and I've had classes the whole time I've been learning ^^;; She's actually a grad student here, so I was the youngest person on the trip up there. Motoko's going to be 24 on Thursday, and Hyejin is 25 by western counting. Anyway, it was a lot of fun, although I think by the time we got home all of us were really tired. Anyway, I'll just go through what I got really quick:
Hikaru no Go 18 (god that little pull-out is GORGEOUS!)
Alice the 19th 4
Sensei 9-11
I'll 8
Clover 13
Weekly Jump 40
Betsucomi 9
Hana to Yume 17
seVen (V6's new album! woo!!)
Earth Harmony/"World Needs Love" (^^;; It's a song done by w-inds, Flame and Folder 5....shut up, it's nice sounding :P)
That's about it, except for the stuff I got for Talia, which is pretty much just volumes of Koucha Ouji (I really think she has more of it than us now >D).
Anyway, Sunday Mom, Dad and I went to see Greyhounds. We went mainly to look at two of them, currently named Slim (a female, who's dark brindle) and Target (a male, who's reddish-fawn colored). There was a stalemate for a while yesterday, because mom really liked the female and dad and I really liked the male. We felt that the female was just way too timid, and wouldn't be very good for our family. So in the end, we decided on "Target", although all of us agree that the name doesn't suit him, and have been racking our brains for a better one since last night ^^;; Mom's going to go pick him up tomorrow ^_^/ yay!!! I can't wait to get him home! Especially because I spent 3 hours cleaning the basement and the kennel! *lol*
Wee, thanks Elizabeth for that bad-ass temple pic! As I told you, it currently resides as my computer's wallpaper and it looks great!! Makes my desktop look less cluttered, if you'd believe it ^^ Much more calm *lol*
Crimeny! I nearly forgot to mention that I met up with Kira at Mitsuwa, as well as some of her friends whom I hadn't met before ^.^ Honestly Kira, we gotta actually meet for some amount of time, instead of just at Mitsuwa, ne? *lol* But it was fun even for the short amount of time! Wee~~~~
Saturday, August 31, 2002 :: Comments []
Mmm...Archiveage. (I was bored and taking a break from homework, so sue me. *PLEASE DON'T. I AM POOR. I HAVE NOTHING OF VALUE TO YOU OH GREAT COW*)
~ Saru
Friday, August 30, 2002 :: Comments []
Never Subject Yourself...
......to the movie The Sweetest Thing. Mind you , I didn't rent it. My brother's girlfriend wanted to see it because of how bad she had heard it was....but lord...I don't think any of the reviews panned it well enough. There are simply no words to describe how...bereft of anything remotely entertaining or charming or...well of anything note this movie is. It's just....seriously there are no words! DON'T, I repeat DON'T watch this movie! Even for MSTing factor!
Yay! ^_^ On the tape of Music Station I rented, Skoop on Somebody performed "Sound of Spirits". It's a great song, and I really do love Skoop on Somebody as a group ^.^ Plus Spitz performed....and I've decided I've seriously neglected ever really looking into songs by Tube ^^;; I've seen them a couple of times on Music Station and liked their performances, but never looked up their songs. Stupid me ^^v Had to put up with Kat-tun though....they kinda freak me out, and I'm not sure why >D I guess I expect Jr. units to be....younger looking *Lol*
Mom and I are going to see some Greyhounds this Sunday, spefically two of them, who are currently named Slim and Target, though lord knows we'll likely change the name once they get to us. Slim is a dark brindle colored female and Target is a fawn colored male ^^;; Meg and Mom have been throwing names around all evening, and no one can agree on anything :P Which isn't shocking....thank god mom agrees that "Harley" isn't a Greyhound name, which is the name she's wanted for a dog for a long time.
Oh yeah, ^^;; I was looking at a list of the Top 40 Worst Japanese Shows ^^;; they didn't give the top 5, but they gave the rest....and I thank god nothing I've ever really liked is on that list ^^ The only thing remotely close is KamiCen's PuPuPu which I can't say I liked, but was entertained and amused bye, even though it wasn't good *Lol* The other thing I noted was Ikebukuro West Gate Park, which I've never seen but have heard all kinds of things about, both good and bad and nothing in the middle *Lol*
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My Japanese Dorama List
My manga list as well!
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
+Serge
+Cali
+Kevin
+Levi
+Jenni
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