It's weird to be back at school again. Yesterday I moved into my new apartment and have spent most of yesterday and today running around doing all the necessary errands, getting the stuff I need, cleaning the place up and unpacking. When I first got here the place seemed pretty spartan, but now that I've spruced it up a bit and placed my things around it looks a bit better. I have a nice amount of space in my single room (bedroom)...about 168 sq. ft. I think, plus a kitchen and private bathroom that I share with my one flatmate.
We've been getting along well so far, and he and I are both in the strange position of having come back after a year abroad so we don't know what's going on or how things work anymore. ^^; It doesn't help that because we're in our final year we don't know anyone from the lower two years and all our friends from the upper years have graduated. It's kind of depressing really...I don't feel as familiar with things here anymore so it makes me want to just get this year over with and move on already. Like a lot of people I know who've just come back from abroad we found ourselves saying, "What am I doing here?!"...even though several months have passed it's still hard to adjust to life back here not to mention the university lifestyle. Ironically the bathroom light stopped working as soon as dark fell on our first night here, so we ended up having to use flashlights to take showers and stuff, which was odd and a pain but manageable...at least the water pressure is ok. -_-lll I filed a work order so hopefully they'll come fix it soon.
Another saddening fact is that one of my favourite professors has gone off to Japan to do research so he's not gonna be here this year...I always loved his literature classes cause it was always the same group of people taking it so we all got to know each other well and would have really fun discussions and accumulate all these inside jokes. Well, despite that my classes seem interesting albeit rather challenging this semester, so I'll probably be kept busy and have to work hard to keep everything together. I'm taking some cool courses like Culture and Mental Illness, Anthropology of Gender, and of course, Readings in Contemporary Japanese Literature. ^_^v
Haha, I stumbled on a bunch of super cute, hilarious vids on youtube the other day while I was bored and trying to keep cool in this absolutely awful heat. The first is a little song about going to the convenience store featuring a host of jrockers including Miyavi, Kyo, Toshiya, Ruki, Reita, Aoi, Uruha, Kai, Kaya, etc. so you can try to spot them all while you watch. It's so adorable and everyone's roles were chosen really well (my personal fave has to be the moment with Aoi though...they call him おやじ!!! lulz).
What makes it even funnier is the fact that I can totally relate to like, half the stuff in this video cause my friends and I would go to the Family Mart near school almost every day...the やんちゃ kids bumming around in front of the conbini, the sketchy guys standing there reading the mags, the various kinds of steamed buns, the way they hand you the change, and yes, even paying for things worth less than 1,000 yen (=$10) with a 10,000 yen ($100) bill. (I've actually done that multiple times...I'm a horrible person, I know...^^;) *sigh* I honestly really miss Japanese convenience stores...they rock! And it's so true, when you've got nothing to do or time to kill, going to the conbini's always the way to go.
I also found this set of really well-made videos with little manga-esque versions of the GazettE members talking with the audio from some of the best moments of Reita's Radio Jack program. One is tongue twisters w/ Ruki and the other Aoi's epic "Angelina". I think the other uploads of those airings got taken down by the rabid PSC deleting team or whatever, so it's nice that these are still up, plus it's even better with cute chibi expressions. (・ω・)
And lastly this clip from an arm wrestling match between the members of vistlip where defying all logic, the winner Tohya is forced to perform a "sexy dance" with just clapping for background music. I have never witnessed so much utter FAIL in a dance before...it is the most horribly un-sexy dance you could ever imagine...it's just plain freaky and weird! ^_^lll All the other member's screams of こわいな！ 怖っ！！ are seriously funny though...I think he just wanted to get back at them. The members of vistlip are such amusing people. :D
OMFG, I WAS SO THERE! I'm totally in this video somewhere!!! (But having trouble picking out the back of my head amongst the crowd, since I have dark brown hair too -_-;) Aaaah, brings back such good memories!
I can't wait to see Merry's new DVD of the under-world [GI・GO] tour, which comes out today, by the way...I wonder if there will be more footage from this live on it? The info said they'd be including video from the rest of the tour, and Namba Hatch was one of the bigger stops. Well, if they have this footage I'm sure they filmed the whole performance, so hopefully they've included some more. <3
Once again in keeping up with all the activity in the visual kei world I've fallen behind in posting about releases from the British indie music scene. I keep meaning to write about some of the amazing releases that have come out this year, but I always get side-tracked. ^_^; One album I've been enjoying a lot recently is 'Two Suns', the new cd from Bat for Lashes (fronted by Natasha Khan). It's her second album and a beautiful piece of work, keeping the mystical, natural, almost tribal sounding elements of the unique style that made her stand out on her first album 'Fur and Gold', yet introducing a new side to the strange, fascinating world she's created through her music. While the imagery of 'Fur and Gold' linked it strongly to the earth, 'Two Suns' feels more like a floaty journey through the glittery cosmos, expressing a shining, transparent elegance through sound. Here's some of the best tracks off it that really exemplify this: 'Pearl's Dream' MV 'Glass'
'Two Suns' is a very calming, subtle album that has unexpected hidden strength and reveals new layers of depth with each listen. Natasha Khan possesses a very special artistic sense and enchanting penchant for fantasy that really sweeps you away. Since first appearing on the scene in 2006, I've always considered Bat for Lashes a stand-out among a group of innovative young British indie artists that are putting out some of the best, most interesting music in the scene right now. They're using unusual instruments that have long been neglected to make modern music that embraces the issues of the times while weaving in a bit of mythical glamour that's reflected in their creative, fashion-forward outfits and artwork.
I saw DISTRICT 9 last night, a new sci-fi film with a touch of horror presented by Peter Jackson and directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp. I thought it was excellent...very refreshing and intriguing compared to many of the recent sci-fi/action movies that have come out recently, most of which contain more mindless, grandiose special effects-filled battles than real plot and substance. DISTRICT 9 is not only entertaining and suspenseful, it presents a novel circumstance involving alien refugees that provides some serious food for thought.
It uses the aliens to bring forth questions about ethics, morality, discrimination, exploitation, and racial tension. Their situation is eerily reminiscent of that of some human groups in the world today, whose predicaments are frequently overlooked by the media and international community. The concept of using aliens as stand-ins to discuss real life occurrences in society has been used before by other sci-fi productions (e.g. Star Trek), but DISTRICT 9 puts a new twist on the genre and invokes a very personal, emotional struggle within the conflict between humans and aliens. So long as you don't mind a bit of splatter and gore, I'd definitely strongly recommend this movie!
This is kinda late on my part since the news came out in the spring, but I just found out Murakami Haruki's famous novel Norwegian Wood (a favourite of mine) is being made into a movie! Aaand Toru, the lead role, will be played by Matsuyama Kenichi~! <3 UWAAAAAAHHHH, I'M SO EXCITED! XD I can't wait to see it when it's released fall 2010!
Norwegian Wood is one of Murakami's best novels and I think Matsuyama Kenichi is absolutely perfect to play the shy, serious character of Toru. He's brilliant at expressing that kind of emotional role with deep issues hanging over the character and lots of inner struggle. I believe of any young actor, he is ideal for this piece and will certainly be able to do the story justice.
Aaah, first the awful news about Jasmine You, and now this announcement has been released by X JAPAN saying that Yoshiki will soon be undergoing some pretty serious sounding surgery! >_< He's had physical health problems for a long time, but they say his condition recently worsened and has interfered with his music creation so he's decided to get this operation done to hopefully try and fix it.
I really hope Yoshiki gets through it ok...I don't even want to contemplate the possiblity that he might not be able to recover fully or something worse happening. I mean, I can't imagine him not being able to make music, it's just so integral to him personally, and he'd probably be crushed. :'( Plus, if anything happened to Yoshiki, probably THE most important and famous figure in visual kei, it would be a horribly hard hit for all the fans, especially at this time when the shock of the loss of Jasmine You is still so fresh and rippling through the community. Then again, I don't want to get ahead of things and invite bad occurences or make things even more depressing, so I'd just like to wish Yoshiki all the best for his sugery and the road to recovery ahead. I hope he gets well soon and can make a happy, less painful return to music aided by the support of fans.
Today a very shocking, terrible, and truly saddening announcement was made by Versailles. Though he'd just recently taken time off to rest due to bad physical condition, it appears bassist Jasmine You has passed away. He died on August 9th in the early morning, but the cause has not yet been stated. On the OHP they wrote that this was very sudden for everyone including the other band members and their staff, and for the time being they will be postponing activity. They say once Jasmine's family grants their permission more information surrounding this situation will be reported.
I'm sure all Versailles' fans are nervous about the future of the band, but I think they deserve to take as much time as they need to decide how they will deal with this tragic occurrence and move forward. This is so unbelievably unfortunate and sad...I don't even have the words to express it. He was so young and there wasn't any indication that he was fatally ill or unwell despite his pause of activity...it's such an awful loss. I give my condolences to Versailles and his family and hope Jasmine You is always remembered fondly. From all that I saw and learned of him via band interviews and video footage, he always seemed to have an upbeat attitude and was a funny, beautiful person with or without the exuberant costume and makeup.
Here is the original message from the OHP:
２００９．８．９ 更新 「Versailles」より緊急のお知らせ
兼ねてより体調不良にてお休みをいただいておりましたJasmine Youですが、８月９日未明に永眠いたしました事をまずここにご報告させていただきます。あまりに突然な出来事に、メンバー・スタッフ共に今はまだ茫然と現実を受け入れることで精一杯です。
詳しい事がわかり次第、ご遺族様の了解を得たうえでご報告をさせていただきますが、ファンの皆様もどうか冷静に受け止めて頂きたく存じます。
また、現在発表されております活動に関しましては、当分見合わせていただきます。
alice nine. came out with their new single 'Hana' this week, and I have to say after the disappointment that was 'Vandalize', they seem to be picking up again. The only songs I found notable on that album were 'Rainbows' and 'The Beautiful Name', which wasn't extraordinarily spectacular but the pretty lyrics sort of made up for it. Aside from those tracks the album was fairly dull and homogeneous. Before 'Rainbows' was released I'd grown tired of the bland, repetitive and formulaic songs the band was churning out. Despite their stylish, good looks and impressive, high-quality pvs the songs themselves were always a let down. 'Rainbows' was a spark of hope amidst that slump and I had higher expectations for the 'Vandalize' album, but when it turned out just like all the other stuff, I was even more disappointed because it was clear they could do better.
And what could make an excellent song even better but a hot, well-filmed, beautiful pv? I was really impressed this time around, because although alice nine.'s had nice-looking, quality pvs for a while now, they were often overshadowed by the blandness of the song or Shou's incessant cam-whoring ways. Sometimes I swear half the video is just shots of him waving his arms and sticking his face into the lens. XD lol But it seemed this time the other members got slightly more reasonable amounts of exposure and playtime, which is nice. Shou's still the focus at the center of the cage/table with the band surrounding him, but of course that's not gonna change anytime soon. >_> I really liked the 'SLEEPWALKER' pv in particular because not only is it absolutely beautiful and elegant, it smoulders in an sexy, understated way and the members look drop dead gorgeous in it. ^_^
Recently I've tried out some new, exciting recipes. Last night for dinner I made Kashmiri kofta (a type of Indian meatball), baingan bharta (an Indian roasted eggplant dish), dal, and cucumber mint raita (yogurt dip), all of which we ate with a huge piece of Afghan bread. The Afghan bread was surprisingly similar to some Turkish breads, with a firm, dry texture that's good for dipping in sauces. It was my first time trying them, but the Kashmiri kofta were amazingly delicious...I didn't have any ground lamb so I substitued with beef, marinated it in yogurt and spices, then fried them with some more spices and whipped yogurt. Baingan bharta was simple but tasty, you roast and chop the eggplant then cook it with ginger, onions, cumin, chiles, and tomatoes. The cucumber mint raita was very cooling and went really well with the heavy meat and spicy eggplant. By the way, if anyone's interested in recipes I'll gladly post them.
On another note, for lunch today I had a craving for Japanese "Napolitan" pasta, so I took a crack at it. It's one of those strange Western-style dishes that you only find in Japan...basically it's pasta with sausage, green peppers, onions, (and mushrooms if you like) in a ketchup based sauce. Sounds absolutely gross and is in no way good for you, but despite thinking that I tried it while in Japan and developed a strange liking for it. Perhaps it's an acquired taste, but it's very popular over there...I get the impression it's like one of those dishes you've eaten since you were a kid and still love as an adult. Anyway, if you ever visit Japan and go to a Western-style or Italian pizza/pasta restaurant there, you'll see how Japan does amazing bastardized pastas of all kinds. They combine native ingredients like roe, nori, soy sauce, kabocha, dried fish, squid ink, etc. to make entirely new dishes, but also do delicious versions of fresh Italian seafood pastas that you rarely find in other countries outside Italy.
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