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wStuff You Don't Wanna Know But Are Reading Anyway |
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I dunno how you found this, but alas, here you are. So enjoy the frightening fruits of my troubled little brain.
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wFriday, December 28, 2007 |
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feeling: many things
listening to: Duel Jewel - Hanauta
End-of-the-year meme!
Year in Review meme: Go to your Calendar and find the first entry (excluding memes) for each month of 2005. Post the first line of it in your journal, and that's your 'Year In Review'.
I'm sure whoever wrote this song didn't intend for it to be depressing. I guess I should try to post something? I tried to make a ringtone of this song, but the awesome bass line didn't come through very well so it just sounds like random guitar and drum noise blaring from my phone... *sad* So for some reason I'm posting here even though everything I've tried to do with my three Blogger-hosted blogs since they "improved" it has somehow gone wrong or given me idiocy. What the? Been doing a lot of thinking lately. Here's something I've been meaning to do for a while purely for the sake of reference: reviews and/or synopses of all the J-dramas in my collection. IT IS DONE. Seems I only post here when insomnia strikes anymore. Ahh, Recomen. Just because I never have anything to say here anymore, don't feel like being productive, and haven't done one of these in forever... I haven't been able to do the year-end meme for my blog yet because I didn't have any posts yet in December, so now I do. :D
Well, that was... yeah.
So the holiday season is pretty much done. For some reason I got more into it this year than past years. Exhausting and stressful for the last couple weeks, but a lot of good came of it all. I guess that's what it's really all about.
Remember when I said I'd have a job by the end of the year? Heh. Look what happened. Now I'm not sure if it's too late to go through the necessary applications and interviews only to have to request half a week off for the February tour right after starting somewhere, possibly giving a horrible first impression, or if I'd be better off maybe putting my resume out in the week or two before the tour and hoping to get an interview or two in the week or so after I come home and hopefully be starting somewhere within the month of February. I really should've started all this about a month ago to beat the New Year job hunting crowd, but... well.
Yeah, I'm tired of spitting out excuses. That's all they are. I don't know why I haven't done anything about it yet. I really don't. I can't wait to have spending money, not to mention a savings built up toward going to Japan in the near future, and I'm tired of just waiting and hoping for the next freelance translation job to come to me (9 times out of 10 it never does). I'm just a coward, I guess. The problem is that every time I start to think about it, I get discouraged for not having taken care of it yet... and when I get discouraged, I've automatically trained myself to think about something else, which amounts to running away from the problem. I can't seem to break the cycle.
And now the pressure is REALLY on. Not just because of the tour, but because apparently it's been confirmed that Miyavi is planning a world tour. Who wants to bet the American leg will take place within one week either before or after the BLOOD tour I still can't afford? The little brat has a nasty habit of giving RIDICULOUSLY short notice before doing things like this. I guess fans of J-rock (and Japanese entertainment in general) are expected to have a forest of money trees growing in their backyards.
In other news, I NEED MORE MISO SOUP AND INSTANT TENSOBA. Holy gjkdldaksj, that was yummy.
In other other news, someone on the Taiji Project friends list randomly bought me a one year paid account and extra user icons this morning. o________o *flump* What on earth am I going to do with all that? I don't know enough code to design a layout, I don't have the creative knack for making icons... and um... what else do paid accounts come with that TP really doesn't need? I almost feel bad for accepting it, but it's not like I had a choice... and of course I'm grateful, I just don't know what to DO with it...
*combusts*
Maybe I could hold a layout and icon set design contest and award the winners by translating a song or brief text or video selection of their choice. >>
Oh, and Duel Jewel's new album is cool - as expected. Even after, what, two years now, I STILL can't believe how massively those guys have improved since Lapidary. Flabbergasting. Is that a word? Who cares?
*is done rambling*
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 12/28/2007 12:30:00 AM
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wThursday, December 20, 2007 |
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feeling: meh
listening to: and a paaaartridge in a pear treeeeee
I haven't been able to do the year-end meme for my blog yet because I didn't have any posts yet in December, so now I do. :D
*/blatant meme-filler*
Because I was feeling wild today, I had a bowl of miso soup for lunch. THIRTY CALORIES. A WHOLE BOWL OF SOUP. Yeah, I know it's meant to be a side dish, but a bowl of soup is a meal enough for me.
I totally went nuts at the oriental grocery store near Microcenter the other day. And no, none of the stuff I got was candy. :o Well, except a thing of honey lemon tea hard candies, but hard candies don't count. Also got...
~Single-serving box of mild curry (I've been craving curry for some reason)
~The instant miso as mentioned (three servings, so two remain for later occasions)
~Chicken & abalone flavored udon (the flavor combination was too weird to resist)
~Instant tenpura soba (THEY MAKE INSTANT TENSOBA? *HEART*)
~Those dried flavored soba noodles for crispy snackage
~Cheese pan and melon pan (yay!)
~Barley tea, roasted green tea, and apple green tea (probably won't even like them, heh... but I had a reason, which will be named at the end of the list)
~A pair of pretty black chopsticks that come in a pretty black case with cranes on it (yay, no more running out of utensils!)
~A wooden keychain of a tiger lying down
~Two simple-yet-ridiculously-cute kitty mugs - one sort of pale grey with a smiling kitty face painted on in dark blue (was actually part of a set that included all kinds and sizes of dishes and stuff with the same kitty design, but I have no use for those) and a plain white one with a little kitty perched on the rim looking inside the mug - and when you follow the kitty's line of sight into the mug, you see that she's looking at a little fishbone painted inside. *squee* So yeah... two new mugs. Got all that tea so I'd have something to drink from them. :p
I almost got a maneki neko bank too, since I've always wanted a maneki neko statue and this looked just like one... but I had to stop myself somewhere. >>
Also went to Microcenter next door, where a few of my Christmas gifts were purchased. ¬_¬ I finally get Sims 2 (pets edition) for PS2, as well as another Atari anthology that includes both of my parents' favorite games as well as several others we had for the old Atari that doesn't work anymore. Also found a Sonic the Hedgehog anthology for PS2 in the used section, so now I can play all the old Sonic games from the Sega generation (even ones I didn't have before *_*) even though my Sega is burnt out. <3
Even found something to put under the tree for me in Toys R Us - a big squishy floppy white tiger plushie that, unlike most of my plushies, is the PERFECT SIZE AND SHAPE for both cuddling and using as a pillow substitute. <3333 Been looking for a white tiger like that for AGES.
Speaking of Toys R Us...
...ok, background story for this one. Our church introduced a new ministry at the beginning of this year called chapel pals, where all the kids in the church (infant through high school) fill out a sheet with various info about them, general stats, school stuff, hobbies, likes/dislikes, etc... and they're paired up with a randomly selected adult, but not told who their assigned adult is. The main point is for the adult to spend the year supporting their assigned child through prayer, but they're also encouraged to get them little anonymous gifts on an occasional basis (birthdays and holidays mostly) throughout the year.
So my mother signed up for this dealie, and she was paired up with a little girl named Ava who turned four this year. I should also note that she is the older sister of the little girl I bonded with at Bible school this year, and both of those girls are the MOST ADORABLE CHILDREN ON THE PLANET. And anyone who knows me knows I won't often say that about any child. >> But they are just sickeningly cute little babydoll angels. Seriously.
ANYWAY. So my mother bought little gifts for Ava throughout the year. Ava is the epitome of girly-girl, who loves the color pink and princesses and ponies and all the things little girly-girls love. So most of the things mom got for her naturally involved pink, or stuffed animals (she loved the little white stuffed kitty with the pink ribbon), or Barbie, or Disney princesses... girly stuff.
Well, last night was the Christmas dinner at church, and it was decided that the kids would finally be told who their chapel pals were as they received a final Christmas present from them before being paired up with someone else in 2008. So a few weeks ago, mom got Ava some kind of Cinderella Barbie doll from Kmart, since she happened to spot it on a regular shopping run and didn't know if she'd have a chance to find anything else before the dinner. But then a matter of days later we ended up going to Toys R Us... and when I found my white tiger plushie, she found this pink and white stuffed dog with soft shaggy fur-fuzz and a pudgy little nose and floppy ears, and upon seeing it BOTH of us automatically thought of Ava. Mom fell in love with this dog. >> But she refused to get it because she'd already gotten the Cinderella thing. So after about 10 minutes of debating with herself, she put it back on the shelf, claiming she already had the Cinderella doll and pouting all the while.
So I picked up the stuffed dog myself and put it in the cart for her. She didn't argue anymore. >>
It's not like either toy was really big or expensive - maybe $10 each. And I reminded her that the Cinderella doll was from Kmart, so she could easily return it anytime; but this was Toys R Us, almost 2 hours away from home, so she'd probably never find a toy as perfect as this stuffed dog ever again.
Sooooo in the end she put both toys in a big ol' Dora the Explorer gift bag (Ava's a fan, of course) and presented them to Ava along with dad at the dinner last night. And without any provocation from any grown-up, she looked my dad straight in the eye and sincerely said "thank you" and then gave both of them a hug. Did I mention she's a little angel? Most other kids need to be told "What do you say?" before they thank someone for a gift, and when they do it's always rushed as they scurry back to their seat to tear into their new goodies. But yeah, I dare say Ava was the happiest kid in the building as the clutched her Cinderella under one arm and her stuffed dog in the other as the night went on.
Anyway, point of the story. All of this made me briefly consider signing up for this chapel pal thing. Briefly. But I decided not to, because I'd only be interested if they'd pair me with Ava or her little sister. It'd be so easy and so much fun to spoil either one of them, and I adore them both already so if not kept in check I'd probably end up going a little crazy with the random gifting thing. ¬_¬ But it's more likely I'd end up with one of those older kids that hardly ever even shows up for church, or one of the teenagers who really doesn't care about that stuff or anything else that church entails and only signed up because their parents made them (or to get free gifts). In which case I wouldn't really be able to get into it at all.
I guess I wouldn't mind getting one of Ava and Gwyn's twin cousins either... two year old Carli would be ok, I guess, or her infant brother (you can't go wrong buying ANYthing for an infant)... but oh well. The odds are heavily stacked against my preferences, and if I get stuck with a kid I don't know and can't get into spoiling, I know I'll just lose interest and then I wouldn't be living up to what I signed up for, and I'd be a horrible person for shunning a youth just because s/he wasn't one of my favorites.
...God, this is the weirdest rant I've ever posted. It's all Gwyn's fault. She made me all melty at Bible school. I really don't like kids. *pouts*
Now to decide whether I should play Mario or do some fansubbing... cause hey, it's the Christmas season, and who really does anything productive during Christmas season, right? *referring specifically to the art projects I'm supposed to be doing for the pastor, job hunting, moneymaking, achieving things, etc*
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 12/20/2007 01:48:00 PM
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wSaturday, November 24, 2007 |
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feeling: tired and headachy
listening to: nothing anymore
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
*snerk*
Wow. I just finished listening to an edition of the weekly half hour radio show hosted by Aiba Masaki of Arashi. In the beginning his co-host was introducing the song they were about to play, which was called Love So Sweet, but he messed up and said Love So Sweets, which led to Aiba picking on him endlessly for the rest of the show. Then at the end of the show came the usual "This has been Aiba Masaki, until next week, byebye" sign-off... in which Aiba SAID HIS OWN NAME WRONG. Aiba Masashi.
Oh the irony. I hope co-host guy spent the rest of the day point-and-laughing at him for that.
Ok, now that people are most likely staring at me wondering what the heck I find so amusing about this and why they should care (they shouldn't, by the way... I just needed the laugh), I will now return to silently grumping over my headache.
"You know it's all over when you can't even say your own name right..."
~Aiba Masashi Masaki
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dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 11/24/2007 11:38:00 PM
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wFriday, November 23, 2007 |
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feeling: STILL full
listening to: Ricki-Lee - Love is All Around (don't ask>
I really, really suck. With the way things are going, and considering how insane December is for me, it's looking less and less likely that the vow I made a couple months ago to get a job by the end of the year will be happening. Starting when I made that post and for a few days to a week or so afterward, I was about as motivated as I've ever been - I immediately started a new up-to-date resume, but got essentially nowhere because I needed a list of scholarships and other honors and stuff I received for/during college. Talked to the parents about it, but it was at least another week by the time I got a list of my scholarships... and still didn't have the college honors and stuff. Like, I know there was some kind of... key club? or whatever it's called, that I sent for membership to... and got some award in my last year that I actually had to dress up and go to a banquet to receive... and maybe a couple other things. We never got those compiled, and after a couple weeks I totally lost my drive.
I had even spent those couple weeks of motivation actually being productive while I waited for that resume info. Did a TON of DnA fansub work, spent more time in Photoshop than I probably did in the entire year before that, actually FINISHED a Photoshop project, was doing regular kanji review and study every day or close to it... and even a couple more things I'm forgetting. By now? I've spent the past few days doing nearly nothing but sitting around watching videos and staring into space, with the occasional monotonous, skill-less fansubbing spurt. The drive is totally gone.
Every now and then I'll think it's back, and pick up the Photoshop stylus or stare at my resume doc file or the list of scholarships sitting on my desk next to me... but then just... nothing happens. I hate when these sudden slumps hit me. There wasn't even any reason for it; it was just gone one day.
So now the year is very quickly coming to an end, and the next BLOOD tour begins on February 1, which means my first flight will probably take off before January ends. And where exactly am I going to get the money? Even if I manage to become employed between now and then, what kind of impression would it make if I show up the first day and have to request two or three days off for just a couple weeks afterward? And if I haven't even had time to get a paycheck by then? I'm not going to go broke by February, but I'm not going to have enough for the three flights it'll take to follow BLOOD on tour, either. I really, really suck. Ugh.
Anyway, sorry for ranting. Moving on.
Thanksgiving. Good God, my father outdid himself this year. For the past several years he's been the one to cook and host the dinner for his side of the family (and my mom's parents tend to drop in later for dessert), and he generally starts working on desserts the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving and takes Wednesday off work so he can spend the entire day cooking, then gets up no later than 6 am to get the turkey in the oven and finish the cooking in time for the meal at noon. We end up with enough food to feed an army, and since only about 8-10 people eat it, we have leftovers for every meal of every day for no less than a month. Every year.
This year dad actually made slightly less food - one less bowl of stuffing >> - but I think he was in top form quality-wise. That was EASILY the best turkey I've ever had in my life. Even the white meat was juicy and rich and even better than the dark meat, and I have never preferred white meat in my life. His made-from-scratch gravy also rocked, and the big fat noodles, and the two different kinds of rolls weren't even scorched this year. :P And he was beaming with pride all day over his homemade vanilla ice cream, which he is convinced is the best he's ever seen (and this man has spent time in Germany and Switzerland).
But from among the entire dinner and all the desserts he spent 2+ days making - including the ice cream, death by chocolate cake, carrot cake, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin roll, and peppermint chocolate log - the hit of the day by far was the dessert that was made with no more than two ingredients, a mixer, and a few melted Hershey bars, which I ordered him to make (thank you, thank you).
Oreo truffles, people. Oreo truffles.
AJK;GKJASGJAKGF SUGAR HEAVEN.
So who wants to stop by this weekend and help get rid of some leftovers?
...Wow, that was probably my dippiest blog post ever.
I am going to remember to do my kanji practice tonight. I AM. If I don't I will hit myself. Hard. And not have dessert tomorrow. And you have NO IDEA what a threat that is if you haven't tried these Oreo truffles. >_<
*shuts up*
comment! (2)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 11/23/2007 12:48:00 AM
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wWednesday, November 14, 2007 |
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feeling: ick
listening to: the jellyfish song... shut up
Just because I never have anything to say here anymore, don't feel like being productive, and haven't done one of these in forever...
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I don't remember... probably a snarl at the scab on my chin
2. How much cash do you have on you?
nada :p
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
four
4. Favorite planet?
it's not a planet anymore... *pout*
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
some telemarketer thing
6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
I like them all... but I've had a thing for the TRAX - Paradox one for a while
7. What shirt are you wearing?
my 101 Dalmatians sweatshirt that's probably a good 12 years old and the comfiest thing I own to sleep in
8. Do you label yourself?
not if I can avoid it
9. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing?
I'm only wearing socks
10. Bright or Dark Room?
somewhere in between... extremes hurt my eyes
11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
don't know her... found this on a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-etc's LJ friends page
12. What does your watch look like?
I haven't had a working one since college
13. What were you doing at midnight last night?
either timing a D no Arashi fansub or sketching fruitlessly
14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
so long ago it's not saved there anymore
15. Where is your nearest 7-11?
heh, I don't know if we have one that's actually called that
16. What's a word that you say a lot?
...dork?
17. Who told you he/she loved you last?
Kitty
18. Last furry thing you touched?
my cat
19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days?
Mylanta and Prilosec
20. How many rolls of film do you need developed?
none, I went digital *gasp*
21. Favorite age you have been so far?
year 22 was pretty good...
22. Your worst enemy?
motivation... we hate each other's guts and refuse to come within striking distance
23. What is your current desktop picture?
Miyavi
24. What was the last thing you said to someone?
"No, just looking for the Benadryl"
25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be?
million bucks... call me realistic
26. Do you like someone?
sure
27. The last song you listened to?
Tekkon Kinkreet ending theme
28. What time of day were you born?
12:10 am
29. What’s your favorite number?
4? I dunno
30. Where did you live in 1987?
a blue trailer in my grandparents' backyard on Rt. 35 (lol, my childhood sounds so redneck)
31. Are you jealous of anyone?
no single specific person, but yes... won't go into that... takes too long
32. Is anyone jealous of you?
*snort* I hope not... they'd have to be pretty pathetic...
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened?
getting a haircut with my mother
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
grr at it and complain to a worker in the location it's in, if it's actually in a location (as opposed to on a random sidewalk or whatever)
35. Do you consider yourself kind?
I don't know... I'm just here
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
nowhere, ouch
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Japanese *sigh*
38. Would you move for the person you loved?
yeah
39. Are you touchy feely?
depends on the... uh... err... well, it depends on something
40. What’s your life motto?
Murphy's law
41. Name three things that you have on you at all times?
a shirt, pants, and my alumni ring?
42. What’s your favorite town/city?
one I've never been to, I'm sure
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?
a burrito lol
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
a letter? no idea... but cards are another story
45. Can you change the oil on a car?
never tried it, but I can add a fresh quart when it's low ¬_¬
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
uhh... the first part of that question is relative
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry?
as in myself, personally, on a familiar basis?... 3 or 4 generations... but my dad once made it a project for several years to compile a family tree as extensive as he could make it, so if I wanted to go back further I could
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy?
what constitutes fancy? >>
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now?
sort of, but I'm not sure what... head? neck? back? skin?
50. Have you been burned by love?
sure, here and there
comment! (0)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 11/14/2007 02:34:00 AM
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wSaturday, October 20, 2007 |
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feeling: left behind thanks to my own cowardice
listening to: nothing
I have discovered that my biggest regret is not spending my last spring quarter in Kobe. That was the single, huge open door that I didn't walk through. What was I thinking? That could have been the beginning of everything, and instead it suddenly feels like I've wasted the past three years entirely. Not in terms of working for BLOOD and the relationships I've forged and stuff; I still could've done all that. But I have no excuse for the fact that I still haven't been to Japan.
That's it. Before this year is over, I WILL have a job. I WILL rebuild my savings. And next year, I AM GOING to Japan. During March would be nice so I could see the sakura in bloom, but that's only a month after the BLOOD tour... and I guess I don't wanna get too ambitious right off the starting blocks. Problem is, I've been sitting on those blocks for three years...
Now to go start making a resume that's better than the crappy and severely outdated template-style one they made us do at the end of high school.
Oh, also, there's another new drama review in that one post down there somewhere.
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 10/20/2007 12:18:00 PM
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wSaturday, October 06, 2007 |
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feeling: better
listening to: Aiba Masaki and his (ex-)manager sneezing :P
Ahh, Recomen. Gotta love it.
...Actually, suddenly I don't feel like posting here anymore. >> Suffice to say that today has been a very, very annoying day, but at least now I've remembered how to laugh thanks to aforementioned Recomen mp3s and some Arashi variety show hilarity.
And now, remarkably, I'm feeling tired. The past few weeks have been ridiculously insomnia-laden, as I haven't fallen asleep a moment before 6 am since sometime last month and am awakened by various things throughout every morning and spending most of every day feeling like crap but still not sleeping at night... etc etc.
Anyway, main point of this was really just to point out that I added a new drama review to this post, and while on that note, remind Kitty to browse through that list and pick one or two or a few that she wants to watch when she comes here next week. :P Or I'll throw a pile of DVDs in front of you and make you eenie-meenie-minie-mo again. >>
Anyway... wee-hoo... maybe I'll try bed...
(And look, every paragraph in this post started with A. Sad. >>)
comment! (2)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 10/06/2007 02:51:00 AM
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wTuesday, September 18, 2007 |
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feeling: ?
listening to: Arashi - Pikanchi Double
Heh, it seems this blog has become a journal of... well, as the Japanese would call it, "my boom." I get into spells of keeping update logs here of whatever it is I happen to be most into at the time. For almost a year it was my D no Arashi translations; now, it's my D no Arashi fansubs. Wow, I'm a geek.
So now I've had the weird idea to describe my fansubbing process, even though I know no one really cares and it's not like I need to keep an instruction sheet because I obviously know how to do it now. >>; I could style it as a tutorial for other aspiring fansubbers, but I think there are enough of those out there already; of course I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without them *bows to Nya and Stormy Team fansubbers*. But what can I say? I'm weird.
So my subbing process has the following steps: scripting (I named that one myself >.>), timing, typesetting, quality checking, and encoding. This doesn't count the translating stage since I finished all those beforehand; the scripting stage is where I take one of those translations and sort of reformat it into a script that can be timed, with the dialog broken into pieces that will show up as individual lines in the final product. For example, a block such as this...
VO: The five Arashi members will act as the reporters for Document Press Arashi to present thorough documentaries on things that you often hear about but practically never see in real life - such as the moment when the bandages are removed from a patient who has undergone cosmetic surgery. They'll also report on things we only realize we want to see after hearing about them, like what's inside the box on a policeman's bike. They'll present thorough documentary reports using these two themes.
...turns into this:
VO: The five Arashi members will act as the reporters for Document Press Arashi
VO: to present thorough documentaries on things that you often hear about but practically never see in real life -
VO: such as the moment when the bandages are removed from a patient who has undergone cosmetic surgery.
VO: They'll also report on things we only realize we want to see after hearing about them,
VO:like what's inside the box on a policeman's bike.
VO: They'll present thorough documentary reports using these two themes.
By, the way, that's from the first episode, and VO stands for voiceover. And scripting is fairly quick; it takes about as long to fix one script as it does to watch the episode it goes with, maybe a little longer.
Anyway... the finished script then enters the timing stage, in which I load it in my subbing software (Sabbu) along with the soundtrack wav ripped from the respective episode, an set the exact times for each line to specify when they will pop up in the video. This is the longest and most menial part of the process, but it's weirdly addicting. Once you get moving, continuing is as easy as just selecting the next section of audio, hitting the capture button, and repeating until complete. This is the stage that gets exponentially harder when the guys get into their habit of talking over each other, which means I get a lot of overlapping lines. Brats...
So after timing I move on to typesetting, which is just as menial but a little more fun since it involves pretty colors. >> I open the timed script in Sabbu along with the respective video file so I can see what each line will look like when it pops up on screen, and set the font type, colors, sizes, positions, etc. Along the way I've learned a few pretty fun tricks to play with in this stage, like splitting a line of text horizontally into multiple colors and skewing a line diagonally (tricks that can be seen in some of my fansubs from ep. 18 onward >>). Anyway, typesetting is probably the quickest stage (besides encoding), but my method takes a little more time since I assign different font colors to almost everyone who appears in an episode, and also use varying sizes and positions for random notes and whatnot that pop up throughout the episode. Also, the main font I use doesn't include certain special and unicode characters, so whenever a ~, °, ♥, or anything like that pops up, I have to duplicate the line it's in and assign a different font to it (usually Arial) to make it show up. The drawbacks of freebie fonts...
Anyway, this gives me a complete softsub file, which I can view in WMP or Media Player Classic to watch over the episode and make sure everything looks right (quality check) before encoding. Encoding is the easy part - I just load the video in VirtualDub, set the compression to the latest DivX codec, add my logo and the softsub file, and save it as an avi. Then I send if off to my quality checker, and when she gives me the OK, I let it sit in its folder and forget about it until the time comes to upload it and share it with the rabid fangirl masses. :P
Oh, and because I'm weird, I do all this in blocks of five episodes each - meaning I transfer five raw episodes from my DVD-R backup to my Fansubs folder, then fix all five scripts, then time all five scripts, then typeset all five scripts, then encode all five scripts, then transfer the next five raw episodes from my DVD-R... etc.
As for current progress, I am just over halfway through timing episode 31. And this five-episode block is gonna be funnnnn cause it's where the Ni no Arashi project begins. *snicker* Nino's an evil little brat.
...I guess that's it for my fansubbing process. Now it's 4:30 am and I'm still wide awake... I knew I'd regret that afternoon/evening nap. Grr.
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 9/18/2007 03:41:00 AM
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wThursday, September 06, 2007 |
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feeling: stuffy
listening to: pleeeease get the Hana Yori Dango 2 theme out of my head...
Seems I only post here when insomnia strikes anymore.
This time it's mainly because I seem to have finally come down with some kind of... thing. Not a cold, but an annoyance. Just enough to keep me awake but not enough to take decongestants or anything else. But the other reason was that I was hungry, and when you have an ulcer and an empty stomach churning with acid just looking for something to digest... yeah, I needed kibble. But I wasn't about to go downstairs and wake everyone up rummaging around, and all I have in here is candy. So here I sit while I wait for the sugar to wear off enough to let me sleep.
I was doing so good this week too, going to bed before 4 every night getting up by noon every day...
So bleh. What's to talk about?
The fansub hobby is coming along quite swimmingly. 21 episodes are completed, two more after that are softsubbed but not encoded yet, and I just spent 15 insomniac minutes or so getting much of the typesetting done for #24. Been releasing two per week over at my translations journal for a few weeks, and more than 200 people have requested download access. I've been checking the video streaming sites I know of too - Youtube, Veoh, Crunchyroll, etc - and haven't seen anyone trying to upload them there. People seem to be quite happy with them quality-wise too, so I guess all is going well.
And now I'm actually thinking of fansubbing a movie. >> Downloaded one the other day that apparently no fansubber has laid claim to yet, though it's in high demand... and I watched it to find that I literally understood a good 98% of it the first time through. It's really an extremely simple movie though; all these people begging for subtitles probably wouldn't really need them if they'd just pay attention. Plus, if I do it, it'll almost have to be in softsub form since everyone just had their first chance to grab the first high-quality DVD rip over the past few days... and I much prefer hardsubs.
Oh well, I'm sure it's all a moot point since someone will probably jump on it before I'd get a chance to anyway. It wasn't even that great a movie, really. >> I just sort of amused myself with the idea of subbing it.
Anyway, in a massive subject change, apparently my nephew needs glasses. For some reason this amuses me. I can't help thinking he might look kinda cute with them.
Also been thinking lately about stuff that I've been dying to act on for... like... ever, but just haven't yet because I'm a lazy no-good or whatever. There are steps I want to take, but still more steps I need to take first to get there; destinations I want to reach, but I have yet to face even the first crossroads. If I don't get moving soon, roads will start to close one by one until I'm stuck at a dead end forever. But my feet seem to be cemented to the ground somehow...
*twitches out of wax-philosophical mode*
Well, that was fun. >> Now it's 6 am and I suppose I really should try to sleep again.
comment! (0)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 9/06/2007 05:38:00 AM
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wSunday, August 05, 2007 |
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feeling: sore
listening to: Last Exile - Cloud Age Symphony
Well, I just glanced to my left and found Strife dead. I was fairly sure he wouldn't make it through the weekend, honestly. He's been in somewhat sad shape for a few months, but then he took the fastest nose-dive I've ever seen, and only lasted one week in the condition that Sekiray and Phoenix both lasted in for several weeks to months. But maybe it's better that way. He didn't suffer as long.
I couldn't see anything visibly wrong with him, and from all the signs he showed, it just looked like old age. But... accelerated? Like I said, I never saw a betta age that fast. And I've only had him for a year and a half... I don't want to think that it was because of the filtered 5 gallon tank I had him in... it was my first time using one and he did remarkably well in it for a few months. But I don't know... I don't think I'll be using it again until I can figure out what might've gone wrong and fix it.
But for now, Strife is better off. He was my dream fish for a while there... now he's just a dream. Don't let Phoenix and Sekiray bully you around up there, my little pussy goth boy.
Anyway... I was stupidly awake until 6:30 am last night/this morning trying to figure out how my subbing/timing/encoding programs worked. Then I discovered that I'm gonna have to go through all 117 of my translation texts and rework them into softsub script form so they can be loaded in my timing program ready to go. That's not such a big deal... but the timing is quite tedious. I suppose it'll go faster once I get used to it, but as of now... heh. I just spent about 5 hours getting halfway through episode 1. And this will just give me the softsub file, which will then go into the typesetting and encoding stages before the hardsub is complete. Now I see why fansubbers work in teams. >>
On the plus side, two of the three episode translations I couldn't finish before are now finished, and my watermark/logo is done too. And he's quite cute, if I may say so.
Back to timing... *ignores backache*
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 8/05/2007 01:24:00 AM
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wWednesday, August 01, 2007 |
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feeling: tired but not sleepy
listening to: nothing
IT IS DONE.
Well... sort of. I have finished translating the entire D no Arashi series, 116 episodes (117 including the un-numbered special after 39). Except for those three blasted episodes that contain, like, ONE WORD that I'm unable to make sense of due to either background noise or muttering. But I'll figure out what to do with those one way or another.
So now, technically, I can start hardsubbing anytime. However, there are a few things I want/need to do first...
~Finish those three bloody episodes with ONE WORD that won't make sense. Will probably require posting on a help forum. -_-
~Come up with a Taiji Project logo (got one in mind already, just a matter of details and making it).
~Figure out how to embed said logo in my videos. VirtualDub?
~Pick a font.
~Come up with the necessary disclaimers and whatnot to include in each video subbed.
So yeah. Wonder how long all of that will take me? -.- On the other hand, since I know I've been busting my butt on these for months, and also know that their security is compromised (see previous post), maybe that'll be enough motivation to keep me moving along... *pokes self with electric cattle prod*
I also can't help wondering where I'm gonna get my Japanese practice now. >> I still watch a lot of the variety shows and stuff, yes... but it's not really the same. Translating DnA forced me to hone my listening comprehension, increase my vocabulary, learn how to look up things I don't yet understand, etc. Maybe I can start translating Mayonaka no Arashi as a sort of light side project when the fansubbing process gets too tedious or whatever. I say "light" because it was their very first variety series, which means it's pretty old and nobody really pays as much attention to it these days. It'd be cool if I could change that. I think it's much more interesting than all these drooling fangirls give it credit for. Plus it's only 38 episodes, which is no big deal compared to the 116 I just did.
In the meantime... that Clubbox I found the other day has rekindled my interest in Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen, which is a family-oriented, animal-themed weekly variety show that has sort of earned legendary status in Japan over the years. It's just so darned fun. And yes, I'd adore it even if Aiba Masaki weren't a regular member. ¬_¬ Seriously, he doesn't do much on it anyway compared to everyone else. The whole show is just a blast. And the one girl in it who's renowned as the most devoted animal lover of the group is named Becky and she's adorable. <3
Anyway... ok... now I think maybe I'm finally tired enough to go to bed. Maybe. Hopefully. Pleeeeeeease. The last few nights sucked.
[edit: never mind... 6:30 am and sleep isn't happening... but at least I've managed to use this time to play with VirtualDub a bit and figure some things out *struts*]
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 8/01/2007 04:46:00 AM
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wThursday, July 26, 2007 |
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feeling: twitchy
listening to: a five year old monster screeching downstairs
GAH. I'm an idiot.
I woke up today after leaving Soulseek on overnight to find that someone downloaded ALL of my finished D no Arashi translation files. All 110 of them. I sent a message begging her to not share or post them elsewhere, but she was offline by then and gah... who can tell what lows people will stoop to anymore?
It's my own fault for keeping the bloody things in my shared folder, though. I even realized that a couple weeks ago, but didn't move them when I first thought to, and now someone's yoinked them and will probably keep them in her shared folder for other people to steal, and from there... *spazzes* Pleeeeeease have some respect, people... I've put almost a year into these darn things...
So now I have a checklist of the things I need to do to TRY and keep this from happening again, and to keep other people from taking credit for my work. Two are already done, of course. I've already messaged the user who took them and begged her for decency, and I also moved the files to an unshared folder. Next I need to start uploading the files to my translations LJ in a friend-filtered manner so that I can at least say they were on MY computer and MY accounts before anyone else's (and also for backup purposes). Also, I guess I'm gonna have to... *cringe* join the Arashi fandom... to keep an eye on the users-only forums and communities wherein translated goods tend to be restricted. Ugh, fangirl central. -_- Can't hurt to keep an eye on Youtube for translated DnA episodes either. And finally, I need to get my butt in gear and finish these last 6 episodes ASAP so I can start hardsubbing before anyone else tries it. >>
*sigh* I'm an idiot. After a million losses and close calls, you'd think by now I would've learned how to keep my files safely stored...
On a related note, I've started using the Korean p2p site Clubbox to grab some videos that don't seem to be available anywhere else (Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen being top priority *.*)... but apparently it's point-based, so I need to get points somehow if I want to download anything in decent time. ¬_¬ But I guess that's kinda convenient, because if I understood right you get download points for uploading files, so when I get my DnA hardsubs done (and any other hardsubs I might attempt), I can upload them there. It does seem fairly exclusive and secure compared to other methods of sharing. Probably because it's all in Korean and most people can't figure out how to use it. >> It took me months just to reach the point of creating an account...
Soooo that's that. In other news, my nose hurts. *pout*
comment! (2)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 7/26/2007 04:59:00 PM
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wSunday, July 15, 2007 |
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feeling: in between
listening to: BLOOD - L'Irreparable
Here's something I've been meaning to do for a while purely for the sake of reference: reviews and/or synopses of all the J-dramas in my collection. Expect it to get longer over time, since I plan to add reviews of new dramas as I acquire and watch them.
I'll be referencing my handy dandy checklist of My Dramas stored in my Jdorama.com profile, and thus going in order by year of release... not that that'll make a difference to anyone, but like I said... reference.
Love Generation
Ah yes, the first drama I ever 1) downloaded, 2) saw with subtitles, and 3) became obsessed with. By today's standards it's not even anything spectacular; just a typical love story between two headstrong young people, Teppei and Riko, who meet on not-so-friendly terms, find themselves working in the same office, and end up falling for each other. Of course there are other elements to beef up the storyline, but nothing really original - office parties, arranged marriage meetings, Teppei's former love interest popping into town, etc. I guess it's all in the execution, because the two leads are played by two of the most famous, versatile, and accomplished actors in the Japanese industry, Kimura Takuya (a member of SMAP who was voted sexiest man in Japan several times) and Matsu Takako... and they do an AMAZING job. Matsu Takako especially. I so fell in love with her after seeing this series. >> So yes... not a terribly original or complex drama, and might not stand out as much as many newer series (it aired in 1997), but it easily ranks high among the classics.
Bokura no Yuuki ~Miman City~
...Wow. I wasn't expecting this series to engage me so much. All I knew was that it was old and something about a city run by a bunch of kids where all the adults had disappeared. As it turned out, all the adults were dead - killed by a microbe carried on a meteorite that landed in the city, infecting everyone in it and mysteriously killing everyone over the age of 20, leaving at least 300 kids to fend for themselves. To make things worse, the government has lied to the rest of Japan, announcing that an earthquake killed everyone in the city - and they secretly keep the kids quarantined within the city using military force. The rations they provide are meager at best, and that's pretty much all they provide - no medical care when a child is sick or injured, no changes of clothes, no sympathy whatsoever. And if any child misbehaves, their instructions are "shoot to kill." Children are sick, starving, screaming in fear, being bullied and robbed and stabbed by the older kids, fighting, shooting and stabbing each other, dying... and the adults "protecting" them only grow more and more oppressive. It's dark, dismal, depressing, and it sucked me in so fast my head was swimming. And for a bunch of kids, the acting was pretty good too. The two leads were played by Koichi and Tsuyoshi of KinKi Kids, and a couple of other regular faces were played by Aiba Masaki and Matsumoto Jun before Arashi even existed. They were so tiny. AND JUN WAS ALREADY AN AMAZING ACTOR. *dead* ahem... Anyway, yes. I was impressed by this one. Depressed, but impressed.
GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka)
Ok, honestly? This drama didn't do much for me. I feel left out or something. >>;; This is like, the most famous and highest-rated J-drama of all time, but it just didn't do much for me. Maybe my expectations were too high or something, I dunno... maybe if I had seen the anime first I'd appreciate it more... But anyway, this was basically the granddaddy of the "school drama" genre, and it's been the inspiration for countless others that came after it, like the two Gokusen series and Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru, both of which will be reviewed below this. It's about a former delinquent who becomes a high school teacher and uses his understanding of troubled kids and the situations they get into to save them from all kinds of scrapes and get on their good sides. Of course one of the side stories is the romance between him and a female teacher in the same school, and interestingly (maybe), these two leads got married in real life after working together on GTO. That actress, by the way, is Natsushima Nanako, one of the most loved modern actresses in Japan; in terms of other dramas I've seen, she was also in both Hana Yori Dango series and Majo no Jouken. Another familiar face in GTO is a very young Oguri Shun before his voice changed. :P Ah, humble beginnings. He has since become one of my favorite actors, and will be mentioned many more times below.
Akimahende!
Heh, this one was sort of fun in an old school kinda way. Reminded me of Love Generation and Wedding Planner and all those other "old" dramas, as opposed to the newfangled teenybopper manga remakes that have been all the rage lately (nothing against those, of course). Akimahende is a relatively simple story about a woman in her 50s(?), Katsura, who is in love with a man who runs some big company and is always traveling; he proposed to her before leaving Japan on business, but she decided that she should get to know his four kids before entering the family, so while he was overseas she joined the Aoki household as a housekeeper. The kids are all spoiled brats, of course - the oldest daughter is a model and married to a perfectly sweet man from whom she repeatedly decides to divorce just because she's selfish; the second daughter is having an affair with her married boss at the bank where she works; the only son is a high school prodigy and in line to inherit the family business, but of course he doesn't want to; and the youngest daughter is just reaching puberty and all the joys that come with it. Katsura has her work cut out for her with only three months to get on all their good sides by the time their father returns home.
It's pretty well-acted, with some pretty well-reputed actresses playing the two older sisters and a very young, up-and-coming Suzuki An as the youngest sister - and the high school son was played by Ninomiya Kazunari before Arashi even existed. The lady who played Katsura had a really annoying voice at first, but once you get used to it, it just feels right for her character and you stop noticing it. Oh, and the kid who played Keita was adorable, whoever he was. >> No complaints about this drama. Quite amusing, though the humor is a little more grown-up than the likes of Gokusen and Hana Kimi.
Majo no Jouken - reviewed here.
Summer Snow - reviewed here.
Mukodono
I quite like this drama, actually. It's... cute. Not cute like Kimi wa Petto, but still... cute. It centers around Yuu, a pop superstar who is as polished and cool as they get on the outside but a completely geeky klutzy goofball in private. Yuu wants to marry a sweet girl named Arai Sakura, but his manager refuses to let him lest he break the hearts of his millions of adoring fans. Also, Sakura happens to have a very large family, which Yuu adores since he hasn't known any real family since he was very young... so someone suggests that Yuu marry into the Arai family, adopting their name and living with them and the whole nine yards. That happens early in the series, so the rest of the drama focuses on smaller stories that happen to the members of the Arai household - especially Sakura's sisters and nephews - and how Yuu helps each one of them and earns their affection and respect. And of course, Yuu has to do all this while struggling to keep the public from finding out that he's married.
Of course, this is another series that is totally held together by its actors. Mukodono has several extremely accomplished actors to look out for. Yuu is played by Nagase Tomoya, who comes from the pop group TOKIO, which is produced by Johnny's & Associates, which also produced SMAP, KinKi Kids, Arashi, Tackey & Tsubasa, KAT-TUN, NEWS, and several other idol groups who have produced excellent actors that I've probably reviewed in this blog. Sakura is played by Takeuchi Yuko, who is quite simply adorable. Utsui Ken plays the father, and he's also played many other famous father and grandfather roles; he's probably the most perfect choice I've ever seen for that sort of thing. Yuu's manager is played by Tsunku, who produced Morning Musume and all those other Hello!Project girl groups (he's quite amusing too). Sakura's older nephew is played by Aiba Masaki - surprise, it's another Arashi member! >.> My favorite of the five, at that... even if he's not the best actor... *cough* Annnnd Sakura's younger nephew is played by Kamiki Ryuunosuke, who is THE CUTEST CHILD ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Ahem. Seriously, he's the most amazing child actor I've ever seen... and to familiarize some of you, he did the Japanese voice of the giant baby in Disney's Spirited Away. Oh, and Koyuki, who played Sumire in Kimi wa Petto, has a small role in this series too. Sooooo... yes. Another fun little drama made even better by an excellent cast.
*cough* Moving on.
Hero
Heh, I only got this one because it starred Kimura Takuya and Matsu Takako as the lead couple again. It's another old one, and one I don't remember too well, so this review will be much shorter than the one above. :p Basically they both work in the same... eh, some kind of law enforcement office. Prosecutors, I guess. But Kimutaku's character is a former delinquent who comes into the office with all these wild ideas and methods that the stiffs in the office, including Takako's character, just don't understand. And of course as the series progresses, these two entirely different people fall for each other. This one doesn't focus as much on the love story as it does on the situations that the prosecution office(?) faces, though.
Wedding Planner
Oh dear. My first drama ever, viewed in raw Japanese on the International Channel (back when it was called that). This one actually doesn't have much of a reputation in the J-drama universe, but it'll always be my first, I guess. It's basically about a bridal company, the people in it, and the people whose weddings they put together, but it focuses just a wee bit more on Toru and Kanako, two members of the group who just can't see eye-to-eye on anything and then end up falling in love in the end. But each episode has an entirely different central story; each member of the bridal company gets one, and there are a few others for some of their more interesting clients, and even one for Kanako's son Taku (played by Kamiki Ryuunosuke again!)... and they're all quite touching in their own way. As for other actors... Toru is played by Yusuke Santamaria, one of Japan's most famous comedy-drama actors, and Kanako is played by Iijima Naoko, another very accomplished and eye-catching actress. Oh, also, the bridal company's photographer is played by Tsumabuki Satoshi, who starred in Orange Days, another one I've reviewed here before.
Gokusen - reviewed here.
Kisarazu Cat's Eye
Um. Yes. ANOTHER Arashi member. ¬_¬ Sakurai Sho this time. Anyway... heh, not much to say about this one, actually. It's about this group of guys who are on a baseball team, but the sort-of leader of the group finds out that he's dying of cancer, so they all decide to form a group of basically cat burglars, just to give the guy a few last jollies and commit some "noble" deeds (in fun but illegal ways, of course) before he dies. I don't know much about the cast, except Sakurai Sho (learned that he's not as great an actor as Jun or Nino >>), and Narimiya Hiroki also had a small role... oh, and one interesting casting choice was Yamaguchi Tomomitsu, a famous TV comedian whom I came to know through Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen, the zoo-themed variety show that Aiba Masaki also appears on regularly. Anyway... yeah. Not much else to say about this series. Except I like the ending theme far more than I really should. u_u
Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru
Another school drama, another former delinquent who becomes a high school teacher for a class full of delinquents, and another Arashi member appearance. Talk about a drama with potential. Unfortunately though, it didn't quite live up to it. I did enjoy it, but it just... didn't quite convey what it wanted to, I think. Hard to explain. Anyway, I've already summarized the story, so... Aiba Masaki of Arashi (in his pretty long-silky-black-haired stage >>) has a semi-small role as another teacher in this school, and one of the ringleader types in the featured class is played by the kid who played Minami in Gokusen, who's looking much prettier in this series. >> He's established himself as quite a capable actor by this time, too. Wonder why I don't see him around much... Anyway, yeah. Another series that's enjoyable enough, but not very unique (VERY similar to GTO and Gokusen, in fact) and a lot of lost potential. I'd watch it again, though.
Stand Up!!
Heh, mostly this drama was just an excuse to bring together four of the most popular young male actors in Japan to play the lead roles: Ninomiya Kazunari, Yamashita Tomohisa, Narimiya Hiroki, and Oguri Shun. Yes, they've all been listed in this post before - many times. >_> Anyway... they play four high school boys, attractive, but each kinda loser-ish in his own way, who are renowned in their school for being the only virgins left in their class. So they decide to dedicate themselves to getting laid before they graduate. >.> But since they're kids and they don't really know what they want, in the course of the series, they bounce back and forth between wanting to remain "pure" and wanting to slam the brains out of any chick who'll give them the time of day.
It's not as dumb as it sounds, honest.
Anyway... Ninomiya plays Sho, the main character... and don't ask me to remember the other three guys' names. But their childhood friend Chie comes back into town, and somehow she ends up staying with Sho's family, rejoins their little circle of friends, etc... so in the end it's more about their friendship than the whole getting laid ASAP thing. Though of course, with the return of Chie, naturally there are some crushes involved before it's all over with.
High points of this drama? Well, Nino is still an amazing actor. He was hilarious as the awkward, puny, loser-ish Sho in this series. And Narimiya Hiroki is just a big irresistible bundle of spazztastic goodness. *cough* Chie's actress grew on me too, but that might've been because I caught her months later appearing on a separate TV show and she was all cute there. And how cool is this - Becky, my favorite regular on Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen, is even in this drama. :D Oh, but the best part of this drama was... er... this sound effect they used at strategic moments when something amusing but significant happened, or when you'd expect to see a big sweatdrop appear on someone's head, etc. It was like... this squeaky, record-scratchy thing mixed with a single drum beat. Oh, lord, best sound effect ever. I need to rip it and set it as my Windows error message tone or something. *plots*
Otherwise... eh, like I said, it WAS funny... and the lead actors were well-cast. Otherwise, honestly, not too much to call special about the story. And the ending was disappointing... or something. But I'd recommend it for the dork-driven humor factor.
Itsumo Futari de
Another one of my very first dramas, seen in raw Japanese on TV long before I found it subtitled for download. It's another fairly typical love story, but this time it centers upon Mizuho, played by Matsu Takako (:D), an aspiring novelist who moves to Tokyo to pursue her dream. While there she runs into a childhood friend, Kenta (she calls him Hachi because he was her "loyal dog" when they were kids, like the famous dog statue Hachiko), who is doing quite well for himself as a TV variety show writer. Through not-too-surprising circumstances, she ends up crashing in his quite fancy apartment and staying there, since she hadn't made any living arrangements in Tokyo before moving there. And, yes... within a few episodes, they fall in love. But of course Hachi refuses to realize it and goes chasing after some other chick instead, breaking Mizuho's heart. Will he come to his senses? Will they find each other? Etcetera! *cough*... yes, actually, it is a pretty nice little series. Just pretty typical too. But sometimes that's a good thing.
EDIT: Ok, I started rewatching this yesterday, and I was so amused by all the familiar faces I saw in JUST THE FIRST EPISODE, that I had to edit this. Hachi's little brother is played by Eita, who was also in Orange Days and Kimi wa Petto. His girlfriend is played by Hirayama Aya, who was in the movie Tokyo Tower with Matsumoto Jun (and had a guest appearance on D no Arashi, the series I fansubbed). Tsukaji Muga of the comedy duo Drunk Dragon, who were once regulars on that zoo-themed variety show I adore to an insane extent, plays one of Mizuho's coworkers... and the other half of Drunk Dragon, Suzuki Taku, appears in one later episode as some kind of vulture journalist. Even the creepy/sleazy guy who plays the newscaster Hachi works for has appeared in a couple other dramas I've seen (he was creepy/sleazy in those too). It's amazing how many people I've gotten to know in the Japanese showbiz industry since I first saw this series in 2003.
Yoiko no Mikata - reviewed here.
Kimi wa Petto - reviewed here.
Pride
Again, not much to say about this one. It stars Kimura Takuya (again), who plays a star hockey player. Yes, a hockey story... mixed with a love story. Basically his character is 100% devoted to hockey and doesn't really believe in love. Oh, how quickly that changes. It only takes him a few episodes to fall for this chick who doesn't know a thing about hockey and only came to that fateful game (and the fateful victory party held in the team's honor afterwards) because her friends dragged her there. Interestingly though, she's played by Takeuchi Yuko, the sweetheart of Mukodono. So yeah... they meet by chance at that party, they meet by chance again later, one things leads to another, they fall in love, her ex comes back from traveling abroad and wants her back... drama unfolds... you know. But yeah. That's Pride.
Orange Days - reviewed here.
Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai o Sakebu - reviewed here.
Hana Yori Dango
Ahh, yes. Now we're getting to familiar titles. This was easily one of the most popular dramas of the past few years, and really, it IS quite good. I'm not sure how well it compares to the anime or manga that it was based upon, but I still enjoyed it. The basic story: Makino Tsukushi comes from an extremely poor family, but they've put all their hopes in her and sent her to an extremely rich and prestigious high school. This school is practically owned by four students, the sons of some of the richest and most powerful families in Japan. They call themselves F4, and they're quite honestly a bunch of jerks. If any student crosses them in the tiniest way, they hang a "red tag" in that student's locker, which makes that student the target of such harsh bullying that they almost invariably end up quitting. Well, guess what. Makino Tsukushi tried to defend her one and only friend from an F4 attack, and she got a red tag for her trouble. But she refused to run away, and instead stood up to the leader of F4, Domyoji Tsukasa, over and over. They hate each other's guts and are constantly at each other's throats. Meanwhile, Tsukushi has noticed that another F4 member, Hanazawa Rui, might not be quite as big a jerk as his F4 reputation gives him; he inadvertently helps her out once or twice, which causes her to develop a crush on him. But at the same time, Tsukasa has taken a twisted sort of interest in her, and eventually decides to pursue her for love instead of bullying. But oh, what a klutz he is at all this "love" business. Honestly, he's a big jerk and a total idiot. But he's also a goofy dork. I mean, come on. Hummingyay. >.> Sooooo, yeah... you can guess what eventually happens, right?
But the makers really went all-out on this drama, and though the end result was quite worthwhile, it makes me wonder just how well its sales managed to counter the massive debt they must've incurred. I mean, all the enormous mansions and fancy cars and designer clothes and fine jewelry worn by essentially everyone who appears on screen, including extras... all 100% real. It's full of highly acclaimed principal actors who probably cost them a pretty penny, too. Everyone fell in love with Tsukushi's actress, Inoue Mao, after this series came out. Except me. >> Sorry, she was just a little too exaggerated for me. But the two "minor" F4 members are both played very well by up-and-coming actors who are just starting to gain popularity. Even Tsukasa's sister is played by the very highly acclaimed Matsushima Nanako (from GTO and Majo no Jouken). But the real stars are the actors who play Domyoji Tsukasa and Hanazawa Rui - respectively, Matsumoto Jun and Oguri Shun. Both have made big names for themselves lately, huh? But they deserve it. They're both amazing actors. Jun especially gets to shine in this series, as it gave him a chance to show his sadistic side. But also his dorky side. Hummingyay. >.> However, the series loses a few points because some characters, namely Tsukushi's family and Tsukasa's mother, just completely rub me the wrong way. Can't stand them, can't enjoy scenes that are too heavy on them. But then, I suppose in the case of Tsukasa's mother, that was intentional... can't speak for Tsukushi's family though... but anyway, overall, Hana Yori Dango is a fun one to watch, and I'd recommend it.
Kiken na Aneki - reviewed here.
Nobuta o Produce - reviewed here.
Ai no Uta - reviewed here.
Densha Otoko
Now, this is one very unique and very popular drama that I think pretty much anyone could enjoy. It's based on a true story too. It centers around a typical otaku guy who's riding a train home from Akihabara one day and rescues a beautiful young woman from the advances of a drunken pervert. She's so grateful that she insists on getting his address so she can send him a thank you gift, and a few days later he receives it - a pair of fancy expensive Hermes brand teacups. Now, this otaku guy communicates with dozens of other otaku on an online forum, where his online buddies nickname him "Densha Otoko" (Train Man) for his heroics on the train, and they nickname the girl "Hermes" after the cups she sent him. They also give him advice and support as he realizes he's falling for Hermes and wants to see her again. So this basically turns into a love story between the ultimate classic feminine beauty and the ultimate geek.
But what makes Densha Otoko a success is the way the story is presented. Many of the interactions in each episode take place between "Densha Otoko" and his online buddies, and it's just really unique how they all contribute to the story while finding the courage to better their own lives thanks to the courage they received from "Densha Otoko." Some of them are a bit... extreme in their otaku-ness, but that's what makes them great. Again, another very well-acted drama. And Oguri Shun has a small role in it. Can't go wrong. :P Anyway, yes... this was another drama that had all kinds of hype surrounding it, and it didn't let me down. Very cute story, very unique presentation, and very fun.
Gokusen 2
Not much to say about this one after reading my review of Gokusen. It's just a sequel series. A few years have passed, Shirokin High has closed down, and Yankumi is accidentally employed to teach at Kurogin High, where she's once again given a class full of delinquents and has to find a way to get them all through graduation while keeping her mafia background a secret. The mafia part doesn't come into this one nearly as much, though; heck, the whole nation found out about it in the first Gokusen series anyway. But yeah... for the most part this series follows the same pattern as the original Gokusen. Students hate Yankumi, Yankumi doesn't give up, student gets into trouble, Yankumi saves student with impressive fighting skills and pretty speeches, student starts to respect Yankumi, repeat with other students until they're all one big happy delinquent family.
Of course, most fans of this drama only like it because the two classroom leaders are played by KAT-TUN members Kamenashi Kazuya (he was in Nobuta o Produce, and I'll admit he's a decent actor) and Akanishi Jin. They and their two or three closest buddies are acted well enough, sure, but they just don't live up to the main group in the first Gokusen. Matsumoto Jun alone acted circles around them all in the first Gokusen, and he even had the backing of Oguri Shun, Narimiya Hiroki, and... uh, the guys who played Minami and Kuma. While Kuma did return for a minor role in Gokusen 2, the series just didn't have the same spark without them. It was enjoyable enough to watch, sure, but... just another case of lost potential, I suppose. All the usual Gokusen patterns were starting to feel a little cliche by the end. I'd watch it again though, probably. I just liked the first series better.
Yasashii Jikan - reviewed here.
Nodame Cantabile - reviewed here.
Hana Yori Dango Returns
Yes, another sequel/continuation. MUCH more successful in that way, though. Maybe only because there was still plenty of HYD manga/anime to follow that the first drama series didn't touch on yet, but still, for a sequel series this was really well done. A LOT happened in it, which made it feel considerably longer than it was... but it was all carried out well, I think. Except I was really starting to hate Makino Tsukushi after a few episodes. >> And the whole Umi arc was pretty annoying too... and I wasn't too fond of Shigeru either, really, but she didn't bug me nearly as much. Fortunately though, none of these were enough to destroy the series, and it all came together in the end. I have to admit I enjoyed it greatly. Even if the ending was so utterly disgustingly OMGWTFYAYHAPPY that it nearly gave me a toothache... e_e
Of course most of the central characters and actors are the same, but I once again have to commend Matsumoto Jun on his amazing acting. Believe it or not, I'm not too fond of him as a person >>... but I know a good actor when I see one. He really was 100% cut out for the Domyoji role - no one else could pull off both sadistic psycho jerk AND goofy dork at the same time. The only lines that didn't feel 100% real were the ones he had to read in English. :P And there was one particular scene in... episode 8, I think, or something like that... where he seriously conveyed a million different emotions and wrapped up a dozen crucial story devices with a single look. It didn't last more than a second, but... I can't even describe it. It was perfect. Anyway, ahem... Oguri Shun got a little more attention in this series than in the first one, which was cool. Even the other F4 characters finally got to enjoy a little limelight. Like I said, a LOT happens in this series. But for all its annoyances, which I even tend to think were intentional on the part of the writers... I have to say they did a very good job fitting it all in.
Haikei, Chichiue-sama
Translated, "Dear Father." I'm sort of still figuring out what exactly this drama was getting at. O_o I mean, it was good and all... but there were so many different stories going on at the same time, I never figured out which one was supposed to be the main plot. It's hard to even give a synopsis without working in each and every side story. But basically... Ninomiya Kazunari (YES, AGAIN) plays a young chef in a cozy little old-fashioned shop in a cozy little old-fashioned town. He is the main character, Ippei, and this fact is pretty much the only constant plot component in this series.
Let's see... the first potential plot story is introduced in the first episode, when Ippei is told that a new apprentice chef will be joining the shop, and Ippei will be in charge of him - and also share his tiny apartment with him. And this apprentice turns out to be a loud, annoying, crude young guy (he's honest, and he means well; he just isn't really aware that he's annoying). The next potential plot story is the inspiration for the title, "Dear Father" - Ippei doesn't know who his father is, and the narration he provides for the drama is recited in the form of a letter to the father he's never known, and part of every episode is devoted to his quest to find him. Another potential plot is when Ippei runs into a girl who's fluent in French and basically falls in love at first sight; another is about the shop being in danger of shutting down in favor of new modern buildings being constructed in the area. There are still half a dozen other stories, and twice that many side characters with stories of their own, and they ALL manage to be worked into every successive episode.
Yet, somehow, it doesn't feel overly rushed or busy. That alone impresses me enough to call this a well-done drama: SO many different stories, SO many people involved, yet it all feels smoothly paced and well-balanced. It's just... hard to figure out exactly what the "point" of the drama was, I guess. But maybe there wasn't one. x_x I don't knooooow.
Proposal Daisakusen - reviewed here.
Bambino!
This was probably the most unique series I've seen yet. It's about a young man named Ban Shogo who aspires to be a great Italian chef. In the beginning he's a college student working with his fiancee in a little Italian place in a small town, where he's the head chef and all their customers think his food is just the greatest in the world - so of course he's developed quite a little ego. Then the owner of this little restaurant tells Ban he's sending him to a much larger, much fancier Italian restaurant in Tokyo for spring break, so he can "get his feet wet" and learn what it takes to be a real Italian chef. So Ban goes off to Tokyo and joins the busy kitchen in Trattoria Baccanale - and the first pasta order he makes goes crashing to the floor in his rush to keep up with the other chefs. So he's promptly demoted to kitchen assistant, fetching ingredients and washing dishes and struggling to keep up and not trip over himself or anyone else. His confidence is thoroughly shattered and he's forced to start over from scratch in his quest to become a chef - from the status of a bambino (baby).
It's hard to classify a genre for Bambino... it's not quite comedy, but not a totally serious heart-wrenching melodrama-fest either. The story might have been a bit predictable, but I loved how they showed the contrast between the bustling kitchen and the relaxed atmosphere of the dining hall, and yet again the low-key, tired but relaxed feeling hanging over everyone after another day's work is done. The directing was excellent in that way. Pretty good acting too - I especially loved the head waiter Yonamine and the head pasta chef Katori (he was also the poofy guy in Kimi wa Petto :D). Ban Shogo was played by Matsumoto Jun, who fits that cocky-yet-awkward young guy role perfectly. The girl who played his fiancee annoys me though... but fortunately her role was relatively small. >> So overall it was a fun drama to watch. It also made me hungry. All the time. =_=
Tantei Gakuen Q - reviewed here.
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e
Otherwise known as Hana Kimi, and another drama based on a manga and preceded by a Taiwanese drama series. I watched the Taiwanese version first, and it felt like it took FOREVER to watch. The story moved slowly, there was a lot of repetition and a LOT of talking... and it was just... slow. Of course, it was 15 episodes long and each episode was 70-odd minutes long, but still. I enjoyed it, it just felt so slow.
The Japanese version, however, is the complete opposite. The pace was so fast, I'm sure I would've been lost if I hadn't watched the Taiwanese version first, and I'm sure having a good handle on Japanese also helped. There was constantly something or other happening, humor both subtle and blatant, and with such a huge number of characters involved, it felt a bit crowded at times. There were quite a few characters whose names I didn't even manage to learn by the end (but I did remember Sekime :P). I wouldn't really call any of these things demerits against the drama, though - I enjoyed it greatly. In fact, I spent much of my viewing time laughing my head off, especially during the first few episodes. People who like fast-paced humorous stuff would find it perfect.
I should get to the technical details before this gets rambly... >> Fortunately the story can be summed up in a couple lines: Ashiya Mizuki was a Japanese girl living in America, and she saw a Japanese high school high jumper named Sano Izumi on TV one day and began to idolize him, so she decided to dress as a boy and enroll in the all boys' school Sano attended in Japan. Of course Mizuki likes Sano but Sano is a moody jerk who hates her guts at first, but they end up being roommates so she clings to him and makes it her mission to make him start high jumping again, etc etc. There are TONS of side stories and side characters making things interesting (or at least busy), but the best one is Nakatsu Shuichi, the most openly goofy character in the series who becomes Mizuki's best friend, and soon falls in love with her before learning that she's a girl. And oh, the ensuing OMG I'M GAAAAAAY angsty goodness. :P (That's a joke - Nakatsu Shuichi doesn't even know the meaning of the word "angst.")
Obviously the story has potential. >> I couldn't even describe every detail of what makes the series so bloody fun. This thing is too long already. But much of that is thanks to Ikuta Toma, who played Nakatsu Shuichi and did an EXCELLENT job in the role. Actually ended up thinking I should find some other dramas he's been in; he might be the next to join my favorites list along with Matsu Takako, Nino, Matsujun, Narimiya Hiroki, Oguri Shun... oh, yes, Oguri Shun plays Sano. And he's pretty perfect for the part, really. I don't think he got to display as much versatility as he's capable of, but hey... it's only one drama. He's still ideal for the quiet, moody type. The girl who played Nobuta in Nobuta o Produce did very well as Mizuki too... not to mention the newcomer who played dorm leader Nanba Minami, and... well, most of the other guys in the dorm. But good lord, Ikuta Toma. Total riot. Must see more of him. And surprise surprise - HE'S A JOHNNY'S BOY. >_> They're everywhere...
Yamada Taro Monogatari
Oh, God. SUGAR ALERT. Seriously, this drama was so... happy. Not disgustingly happy like the end of Hana Yori Dango 2, though. More like... dorky-happy. The kind of happy you can laugh at. Except at the times when people are so happy they're crying, of course.
It's a pretty simple story about Yamada Taro, a high school boy who's attending a somewhat prestigious high school and is known as one of the two princes of the academy since he's always head of the class. Everyone assumes he's this mysterious rich boy, heir to the throne of his own country, etc etc... when in reality he lives with a family of 8 in a crumbling one-room shack and is lucky to eat one good meal every day. No one bothers to ask, so he doesn't bother to tell... but he's very friendly and easygoing, so he would if anyone tried. Anyway... the other of the two "princes" in the school, Mimura Takuya, is just the opposite; he actually IS rich, and a bit on the moody and stuck-up side. At first. But for some reason he takes an interest in Yamada Taro, follows him around, and eventually decides that he's worthy of his friendship. He sounds like a jerk, but he's actually just kinda... bored and lonely, and not entirely satisfied with his cushy lifestyle... and he turns out to be a good-hearted guy and a great friend.
So, mostly, this drama is about their "adventures" together - add in the obligatory girl who has a crush on Taro until she finds out he's poor, and that's pretty much all there is to the plot. Not too deep, maybe a bit young, definitely designed to be eye candy for fans of the two lead actors (Nino and Sho of Arashi >>)... but it's amusing. Of course, Nino is still an amazing actor and just seems to perfectly fit any role he's given, and as expected he makes a perfect Yamada Taro as well. And I have to say Sho's acting has improved considerably since Honey & Clover; he made a much better Takuya than I was expecting.
Of course, since I'm a geek, my favorite parts of this drama were the little subtle Arashi jokes they threw in. Like the aspiring movie director chick telling Yamada/Nino that she'd go to America and film a war story with him as the star someday... Yamada's obsession with hamburgers (NOT gyoza :P)... the air guitar competition... and best of all, Ohno making a brief appearance in the final episode as the "okama taisho." *rofl-ed profusely*
Anyway... yes. Mostly this series is simple and dorky and made for fangirls. But it's still well-acted, well-directed, well-reviewed, great for a laugh, and... well... warm and cute, in a boxful-of-puppies sort of way. Or something. Yamada Taro is just so bloody friendly and dorky and full of happy sappy love for everybody under the sun. >.>
I'm shutting up now.
Binbo Danshi - reviewed here.
Zettai Kareshi - reviewed here.
Maou - reviewed here.
The Quiz Show - reviewed here.
Gakkou ja Oshierarenai! - reviewed here.
Ryusei no Kizuna - reviewed here.
Uta no Oniisan - reviewed here.
Mei-chan no Shitsuji - reviewed here.
Love Shuffle - reviewed here.
Aaaaaannnnnnd... THAT'S THE END. Now I'm tired. >> Time to go try to sleep for 3 hours...
comment! (0)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 7/15/2007 01:17:00 AM
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wMonday, June 04, 2007 |
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feeling: ...
listening to: the AC vents rattling
Been doing a lot of thinking lately. Nothing really important or interesting, though. But for my own purposes I'm going to rant out some of it here. This will be long and rambly, so you've been warned.
It's been a month now and I'm still without my old hard drives, so my translation project/obsession is still on hold. I could pick up on episode 85 and go on from there, and be that far ahead when I do get my old data back, but I still have that niggling paranoia that I might not get them back in the end at all. And if I don't, all the work I put into those 84 episodes would be a complete waste, and picking up from 85 would seem senseless. But now it's looking like I probably won't get them back for at least another 2 weeks, probably more like 3, since next weekend the parents will be heading to Toledo for a few days and dad won't be here to accompany me to Microcenter and make sure my naive technologically-impaired little self doesn't get ripped off or anything.
So in the meantime I've really, really, really tempted to fill this free time by translating and subbing another of Arashi's variety shows, specifically the only one I managed to get fully backed up on DVDs before my old computer died. It's their very first program, and on the plus side it's only about 29 episodes long, but on the other hand the format is really unusual so it seems like it might be a little more difficult. But the more time that passes without my DnA obsession, the less I care. e_e If all goes well (that's a BIG "if") I could finish the actual translations within a month... course I have no idea how long it would take to make hardsubs out of them after that, and I guess that intimidates me too.
Plus, I guess in the back of my head I know that I really need to get a job soon. It seems like every time I think I've finally bled my savings dry, something comes along and bails me out for another month or two... like my "agent" in Japan finding me a paying translation task for his graphic design company, as happened last week. But it's still only barely enough to make my student loan payments every month, and it's really no excuse. There are always things I want to do and buy that I just don't have the liberty to and haven't for several months. I got lucky with my new computer and the new(er) car that was just added to our garage last week. Even smaller things are beyond my means... like making little shopping runs when there's some specific food or clothing or toy that I want, not relying on the mercy of my parents when they do their bi-weekly shopping. And of course the bigger things... I missed J-rock Revolutions and TWO chances to see Miyavi play live in the states, after making the decision years ago that if Miyavi ever came here, no matter which state or what the cost, I would go see him. I want to attend BLOOD's Mexico tour in November, largely for Liz Kido's sake as she has been insisting that I come so we can finally meet. And of course the next time BLOOD comes here, and if Suicide Ali ever makes it to the US, I need need neeeeeeeed to be there. And the biggest and possibly most insane thing... I want to go to Japan. REALLY want to go to Japan. On some kind of regular basis if possible, like every few months or something. On one hand, having a job would make it difficult to take the time off for trips like that, but on the other hand if I have no money then none of it is ever going to be more than pipe dreams anyway.
Plus, as mom continually reminds me, possibly even more important than the money is having health insurance. So, yeah. I really have no excuse.
Anyway, back to the original topic... I guess since I know I'm going to have to get a full-time job soon, I feel like I need to get these translations done as soon as I can, before I lose my daily free time. I know it's not a "need" at all, just a hobby... but it's become sort of a passion, I guess. And I learned during the March BLOOD tour just how much it helped me improve my Japanese in comparison to the August tour, so at least it's somewhat productive. Besides, what's the point of spending half a year translating EIGHTY-FOUR episodes and then not doing anything with them?
And there was more I was going to ramble about, but I suddenly lost interest, so I guess that will be it for now.
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 6/04/2007 07:01:00 PM
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wSunday, May 20, 2007 |
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feeling: ...
listening to: get Michael W. Smith out of my head, please...
I guess I feel a bit less averse to posting here since I got my archives fixed. Wasn't liking how every new post pushed another one off the front page and it couldn't be found again since the archives were gone, but now that they're back they should stay there for all to see. Not that anyone's probably interested enough to actually use them, but still. Blogger also seems to have fixed the login stuff so it actually remembers me when I check the "remember me" box, instead of forcing me to log in twice, once for Blogger and once for Gmail, every time I come here... so that makes things easier. All I need to fix now is graphic-related stuff. So maybe I can ease up on my personal Blogger boycott and start posting here again.
Haven't been wanting to post much at LJ lately anyway, for some reason. Can't really explain why. I doubt anyone there would notice anyway.
Anyway, I watched the first half of some crazy Japanese movie called Shimotsuma Monogatari on AZNTV last night. I wanted to see the whole thing but I was already falling asleep long before it even came on at 2 am, so I'm surprised I even held out through one hour of it. I hope it'll be on again sometime in the future so I can finish it. But yeah... from what I saw it was very, very weird. The main character is this girl named Momoko who had a tough upbringing in a gangster town and who has this twisted obsession with the Baroque period which, long story short, leads to an addiction to cute and frilly (and expensive) lolita clothes. For someone so cute on the outside, she is a strange, twisted little beast on the inside. And over the course of the movie she meets a girl named Ichiko who's part of a biker gang. Ichiko is nasty and vulgar and crude as they come, but at least she's upfront and honest. I'd trust her more than Momoko, seriously. Momoko is whacked. Anyway... what drew me to the movie was that Ichiko is played by Tsuchiya Anna, an actress I've seen a few times in one of my favorite Japanese variety shows, Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen. Always thought she was sorta cool.
And this sucks. All week I've been feeling sleepy and worn out and ready to crash by 1 or 2 am no matter how much rest I got at night, but tonight, the one night when I want to feel tired early so I can sleep for a few hours before getting up early for church, I'm wide awake. My biological clock sucks.
I really could've used the extra couple hours of sleep tonight too, I think. Not looking forward to tomorrow at all. Dad and I are in charge of junior church, it's graduation Sunday and I know at least four graduates who will be undertaking various festivities in the course of the day, bringing certain people into town that I rarely see anymore, for better or for worse... and yeah... I just have a feeling it's all going to be terribly awkward. Can't I just hide in bed all day?
Oh well...
Thought there was something else I was going to put here, but as usual I can't remember what it was, so I guess that'll be it for now.
comment! (3)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 5/20/2007 02:11:00 AM
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feeling: tired
listening to: Final Fantasy X OST (<3 kitty!)
I really need to do something with this blog's template to bring back my archives. I'm starting to miss browsing through my five years of blogging history. The posts still exist on the Blogger servers as I can read and even edit them on my dashboard, so if I could just figure out the coding for archives... I'm sure there's a way, I'm just too lazy to try to figure it out.
And I'm not sure why I'm so tired right now. I slept the heck out of last night and didn't get up until 11:30. Weird.
But anyway, I figured I should make the grand announcement here too, just because. I got a new computer last week. But I'm still waiting to get the stuff from my old hard drives back, so there's not much on it yet as I'm not willing to cram it too full of songs and videos and then have to figure out later how to organize it all between three hard drives, etc... yeah, I'm weird and make no sense.
I miss my video translating obsession like crazy. I was just minutes away from finishing episode 84 when the old computer croaked its last croak. I know I could pick up again with ep. 85 if I really wanted to (85 being the second of those "two most hilarious things that have ever been shown on television EVER" that I rambled on about two posts ago), or I could make a guess as to where I left off on 84 and finish it up and move on... but for some reason I'm holding back until I have ALL my translation files at my fingertips again. Don't even ask why. I don't know either.
So in the meantime I've just been re-watching some episodes that I've already translated, and re-watching episodes of their other variety shows that I managed to back up on DVDs. Also been tinkering with FFX quite a bit while I wait for my files to come back. Kitty even came down for a few days to hang out and did a lovely job of taking my mind off things. Not that that was the only reason I wanted her to come... >> but it worked out that way too. And it didn't take long after I came back from my computer hiatus before a certain Asian graphic designer started bombarding me with urgent translation jobs again. The last one he needed finished within an hour. *glare* Probably won't get paid for them since they're all just two or three lines each... but oh well. It makes me useful, sort of.
Otherwise I've spent a lot of my unwanted idle time just thinking about various stuff. Realized a few things about myself and life in general as I keep going back over (and over and over) my own history, and even the histories of others around me that I really had very little or nothing at all to do with. Nothing worth talking about openly, really, just random whatever that pops up when the mind is idle... too much of it to ever begin ranting out even if I wanted to, anyway. All I can say in sum would be this: it's funny the way life works. But that's common knowledge, right? Like I said, not worth talking out...
Now I think I'll shut up and go to bed. No idea why I feel so tired at only 1:30 am, but I guess considering I need to find a permanent job in the next couple months, sleeping early can't be a bad habit to get into. I wonder when the OSU transcripts I ordered will come in so I can move on to the next step of getting a resume out...
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 5/16/2007 01:30:00 AM
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wThursday, May 03, 2007 |
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feeling: annoyed
listening to: the jellyfish song... we'll leave it at that
What the? Ok, has Google finally managed to completely pwn every other webhost in existence or something? I swear NOT A SINGLE WEBSITE is loading for me tonight except Google and, conveniently, Blogger. Those with Blogger accounts should know why that's such a convenience. But yeah, I have tried to view a zillion other pages and nothing. Huge database pages, forum pages, small homepages, petsites, journal pages, email hosts, Japanese pages, even Russian pages... and NOTHING. Except Google and Blogger.
Or is it just this laptop suddenly developing a bias toward Google and its minions? I wouldn't know since it's THE ONLY MACHINE AVAILABLE TO ME RIGHT NOW.
Do I appear tense? >> My computer's been out of commission since Saturday and I've spent every minute since wanting to kill things. Not only am I painfully bored without it, but I've also realized that I'm essentially useless without it too. I've already lost a couple translation jobs, I can't take on new ones because this laptop is worthless, I can't even do any of the activities that allowed me to practice my Japanese and thus improve my odds of doing actual translations well. I can't do or practice or contribute ANYthing on a machine that can barely run two programs at the same time and only occasionally spares the decency to let me check my email without crashing the browser. Sad when these things happen to make you realize that not only your entertainment, but also nearly every ounce of your personal value, revolves around a computer.
True, in short spurts throughout some days I find opportunities to use the parents' computer downstairs, which is sort of halfway in between the power of this laptop and my own computer. But I can only use it when they're not using it or the office desk it's set up on. My parents both do a surprising amount of office-type work in there, really. And occasionally I use it after they've gone to bed, but I don't like to because it tends to keep them awake. Not my fault their keyboard is so ridiculously old and rattly. *mutter*
But yeah... not doing that tonight because mom has to get up early in the morning to visit a doctor somewhere and have her shoulder joint broken open. Sounds gruesome, huh? But I guess they determined that the problem was a frozen joint, which means a bunch of little adhesions sort of like cobwebs have formed between the ball and socket of her shoulder joint and locked them together, resulting in lots of immobility and pain. Of course that's going to continue for a few weeks as she recovers from this, but hopefully in the long run it'll help. It's been bothering her for a couple years, so I guess a few additional weeks are a small price to pay if it's effective.
Wow, I really got rambly there.
But again, point is, I WANT MY INTERNET. Stupid technological world. If you're going to strand me on this miserable little laptop for weeks or even months, at least leave me with more of an internet connection than Google.
I'm sure it's just this laptop, but what the heck could've happened to this laptop to make it do that? I'm confused. And annoyed. And grr. I want my computer back.
comment! (1)
dragged from Becky's stream of consciousness at 5/03/2007 03:02:00 AM
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