シンプル・イズ・ベスト

The July Post

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 15:32:10 -0400

Nino has been the banner for 2 months (June and July)! @_@ July was quite busy and add to that my laptop has been converted into a paperweight (well not really, but for my tasks, yes), so there was hardly any time nor immediate means to be able to update.

***

Went to Shea Stadium last Sunday. I finally had the chance to wear a poncho in a baseball game and see the tarp actually go on top of the infield during a rain delay. It was REALLY pouring. And you'd think looking at my gameday ticket that says "Mezannine Level", I'd have a roof over my head. Well--no. On any other nice, sunny day it would've been great seats. It wasn't one of those days. 'Twas fun, though. If it wasn't the Mets I was watching and it was the Yankees instead (or if it was Tom Glavine pitching for his 300th win--that's today I think), I probably would've sat out the rain until the umpires would call the game.

***

Back to fangirling...I'm glad that Jun will finally get his turn in a Mago Mago Arashi again next week. I love Ohno and Aiba to pieces, but it's about time Jun did an episode again now that he doesn't have any dramas going. It's been ages! And hopefully this time around, Jun will participate in Oedo Hakenden. ^^ He and Nino have not been in that segment yet!

Also...I found this on someone's blog ages ago and tried it. It's from http://www.memegen.net. There's no direct url, but if you go to memegen and search for [Johnny's entertainment school], you'll find this one. I think there are a couple, but this one is probably the best one in my book haha. Just for kicks. ^^

Who's in your Johnny's Entertainment class at school? by Wendy


Class President:
Class Clown:
Class Bully:
Class Failure:
Teacher's Pet:
Your Best Friend:
Your Boyfriend:
Total Classmates:	28

Yappari, Sho as the boyfriend XD.

Time to go! Enjoy your August. Oh that means it's Jun month. Hmm. Which picture of Jun should I use for my August banner?

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The June Entry

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:50:19 -0400

First of all, I'm writing this with the very few minutes I have left til I leave from work. My computer at home is breathing its last few breaths so I have to buy a new one pretty soon. ><

Ahh. June is almost over, ne? But that means summer is still here. It's amazing that in another part of the world, they're experiencing winter right now. Hope everyone enjoys and stays safe in whatever season they're having at the moment. ^^

***
The June banner celebrates the June birthday boy from Arashi:

Arashijunebanner2

The ringtone for June is the intro to Fight Song by Arashi. The song that it was based on, Rakuen (translates to Paradise in English--correct me if I'm wrong though as that is Jim Breen's translation), is pretty nice. Think of the tune of Fight Song with a slower, very raw, Reggae-ish feel. But what really charms me about the song is how cute the lyrics are. I'm used to Nino's emo lyrics, but Rakuen is different. It's quite a happy song. ^^

***
Honey and Clover Movie
based on the manga by Umino Chika

The story revolves around 5 people attending an Art School called Hamabi University. A sophomore named Takemoto (Sho Sakurai) who isn't the most talented student yet has a heart of gold. He falls for a freshman named Hagumi Hanamoto (Yuu Aoi), the meek art genius who's the niece (actually she's the daughter of the cousin) of the Architecture Department Director, Shuuji Hanamoto. The other characters are equally (if not more) interesting. Takemoto's dormitory neighbor, Mayama (Ryo Kase): the senior student who is head-over-heels in love with an older woman who happens to be his boss for his part-time job. Yamada Ayu (Megumi Seki), a junior majoring in ceramics, who is head-over-heels in love with Mayama. Finally is the mysterious Morita Shinobu (Yusuke Iseya), the super-senior who's in his 8th year in school despite being an art genius. He is also greatly admired by the quiet Hagumi.

First of all, I give kudos to people who take the challenge of making manga storylines into a 2-hour live action movie. I think many people who follow manga are very rarely happy with movie adaptations. I think drama adaptations, though not all encompassing, have a lot more success than a movie as they have a lot more time in their hands. 2 hours is simply not enough time to show the progress of emotions and relationships of the lives involved in a manga series.

What I liked:

- The looks of the characters--quite close to their manga counterparts
- The university setting
- The scene when Takemoto first sees Hagu-chan

What I didn't like:

- Some characterizations are off (many complained about Morita--but it is a hard character to portray, I have to say)
- The storyline is (as expected) very compressed

Therefore, despite lacking in many different areas, I give the movie some leeway. Plus Sho's in it. 2.5/5 stars.

If you haven't done so, I highly recommend that you watch Honey and Clover the anime. It's really good, especially season 1. Probably one of the best animes I've ever seen in my opinon. I used to wonder why everyone was so crazy about Honey and Clover as the drawings seemed so saccharine (at first, I had a hard time thinking that Hagu-chan is older than 10). Underneath is a beautiful story about 5 characters who you can't help but feel attached to, despite their individual flaws.

***
That's about it for now. I'll try to update more when I find the time.

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The (late) May Entry

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:12:00 -0400

Firstly, here's a shameless plug--for all North American Arashi fans...final day for sign-up is today! Don't miss it!

http://arashiaroundamerica.blogspot.com

Yay!! ^^v

****

Finally got around to posting the May entry. This is going to be quite lengthy. I don't think I've updated in a quite a while. ><

There's a couple hours left of May so I'll post right now how my May banner has been for the past month.

Mayarashibanner2

My May ringtone has been Kitto Daijobou. Actually, the intro rap to Kitto Daijobou, so you can only hear Sho in the ringtone. But I love the intro! So I'll have that until the end of the month.

***
I know I'm behind with all the fangirling about this...but...I got my Arashi Around Asia DVD last Saturday after I got home from my morning dentist appointment. It's a fun watch, though I wish it had English subs. Since it's "international" I'm surprised it didn't have more languages attached to it like Chinese or Korean or Thai. In my opinion, English is good to throw in there since it's used widely (yes I am biased since I use English on a daily basis, so I'll take the heat for that ><).

Anyway, I watched the DVDs through already, but once I give it another go, I'll do a review after my second viewing.

***
I also bought Letters From Iwo Jima DVD the other day. I recommend it even to non-Arashi / non-Nino fans (as I've said before). It is a very poignant movie that definitely earned all the accolades it had in various reviews like the one in the New York Times (the name of the writer escapes me at the moment, but he could only say good things about it). It's disappointing it wasn't as hyped up as Flags of Our Fathers. It's definitely a must-see. For me as cliche as this sounds, the movie isn't just a story about a war of two countries, but a struggle of the individual and his homeland.

***
Speaking of movies...I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End last Friday with my little cousins (I really shouldn't say little because the other kid is about taller than me already ><). I actually liked the movie. I was a little rusty on the details from the second installment, but otherwise, it's pretty good. ^^

***
Arashi fans have been laughing out loud at the latest Shukudai-kun. Saw it yesterday and yes, Jun's facial expressions are priceless in that episode haha. I think Jun has loosened up tremendously as he's grown older. I'm disappointed that Nino didn't try any of the food. Would have loved to see his reaction hehe.

Something not too funny, but definitely interesting. Look at this bracelet here:

Picture 6

He got that from a Native American turquoise jewelry-maker. I dunno if you guys have watched that special when Sho went to Las Vegas, NV, but here's pictures. He semi-made it hehe.

It's been around two years since he got it. That's nice of him to still be wearing it. ^^

Video credits: tenshi_angels87.livejournal.com // arashianfiles.orgfree.com

***
Next month (err, tomorrow hehe) is Nino month since June 17 is his birthday. Nino banner, Nino song for ringtone...all that good stuff. :D

***
Later!

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The April entry...

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:54:39 -0400

Yay! It's April. New month means new Arashi theme. This month is Sakura Sake. Thus, my current personalized banner is from the pv :) see below.

April Arashi Banner

Also, I'll soon be setting up my ringtone with the aforementioned song. Listen to it below.

***

April also means I can start using my 2007-2008 Arashi calendar. Mr. Sakurai is the featured picture of the month.

Speaking of calendars...is anyone willing to sell their 2006-2007 calendar? I can't believe I didn't get it. Although I wasn't an Arashi fan back when they released that, so I can't complain. ^^;;

***

Oh, April = baseball season!!! It started last Sunday with the Mets playing against the Cardinals (of which the Mets won). And yesterday my Yankees held their home / season opener against the Devil Rays. The Yankees won as well.

My sister and I are going to the Mets home opener on Monday. It's unthinkable, ne? We're Yankee fans, but we're going to a Mets game?! Haha. Actually, I've watched baseball games without the Yankees playing in it. I'm a baseball fan and I enjoy watching a baseball game. And the Mets is a New York team, so I don't see any reason to root against them. I've said this too many times before: It's not that I love the Mets less, but that I love the Yankees more! ><.

***

April is a very busy month for me, ja...Ganbaro!!!

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Ever wondered why my vox...

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 16:37:22 -0500

is titled「シンプル·イズ·ベスト」(Simple Is Best)?

Inspired by an episode of Jouka Machi where Nino gives his daruma a title.
Here's the clip. From MMA #67 - Jouka Machi. Douzo.
Video source: arashianfiles.orgfree.com

Simple Is Best

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The post-Oscars frustration...

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:13:19 -0500

It was my goal to watch ALL the nominees for Best Picture in this year's Academy Awards before Awards night itself. And I did. In the order of when I saw them...

1. Letters From Iwo Jima (in a special premier last November)
2. Little Miss Sunshine (DVD)
3. The Departed (DVD)
4. Babel (DVD)
5. The Queen (in the theater last Saturday)

Here's what I'll have to say about the whole deal with Best Picture on last Sunday's Academy Awards:

<rant>

I saw The Departed on DVD two weekends ago. And it wasn't a good movie. Given, I'd seen Infernal Affairs before already so I was a bit spoiled, still...I can't believe The Departed won Best Picture and Best Director. It was such a macho-ized, American-ized, Scorsese-ized Infernal Affairs. It was basically the same movie, but worse. Why didn't they just show Infernal Affairs on the big screen here?

Even if I hadn't watched Infernal Affairs beforehand, I don't think The Departed is that great of a movie. I have no idea why only one out of the four Academy Award winners for the movie, the scriptwriter (and for good reason), acknowledged Infernal Affairs.

</rant>

Letters From Iwo Jima was my choice for Best Picture. Compared to the other contenders in the category, I thought Iwo Jima had REALLY good chances.

Best Picture because (aside from Nino being there ^^), seriously, it really is a good movie. The cinematography, the story, the characters...everything played a huge part in the movie. Another Eastwood classic. It definitely satiated my tastes in a movie, so in the Jean Awards, Iwo Jima would win Best Picture. I'll bet you, years from now, we won't be talking about The Departed. We'll be talking about Infernal Affairs which The Departed was based on. We'll be talking about Letters From Iwo Jima which was the superior movie over The Departed. I'm sorry, I just couldn't stand the fact that that movie won an Oscar. I feel like Infernal Affairs should've won an Oscar, too.

All right...despite my annoyance with the butchering of Infernal Affairs by the movie The Departed--I will admit it's tied with second as my pick for Best Picture. The other movies were just--not good enough for Best Picture. I think if Iwo Jima was more hyped up and shown in more theaters before Oscars night, it would've gotten top prize. However, that's where The Departed ultimately won--not in the quality of the movie, but how much it appealed to audiences. And yeah, maybe because they said either: "I think we've given Eastwood and Spielberg too much already," or "Ahh, fuck it, give Scorsese an Oscar already."

Tied with The Departed as my second pick for Best Picture would be Little Miss Sunshine. An awesome movie that's enough to make you laugh and cry. It had that indie feel, didn't it? A very good movie that reminded me of Stranger Than Fiction (surprised this movie didn't receive an Oscar nod). The little girl was amazing. She really did deserve that nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The Queen was my personal third. It was simple, yet quite interesting. It wasn't dragging and we see a speculative look at how the Royal Family dealt with Princess Diana's death. And I love the Welsh Corgis. Who can't love a movie with Welsh Corgis?

Babel was my least favorite of all. Such a weird movie, even for me. Too deep to understand. I'm the type to critique on a movie (similar to literary criticism) rather than just watch for entertainment. I like it when there's symbolism and symmetry to movies. I guess Babel had that kind of audience in mind--but really--I got lost watching the movie. It was an ambitious production tying up different people, etc. Honestly--it was confusing, dragging, and lacked cohesiveness.

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R.E.M.'s At My Most Beautiful

nobody@vox.com(splatteredjeans) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 10:30:38 -0500

At My Most Beautiful

I didn't even know they had a video to this one. Beautiful song.

At My Most Beautiful
R.E.M.

I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
a way to make you smile

I read bad poetry
into your machine
I save your messages
just to hear your voice.
you always listen carefully
to awkwards rhymes.
you always say your name.
like I woulden't know it's you,
at your most beautiful.

I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
a way to make you smile

at my most beautiful
I count your eyelashes secretly.
with every one, whisper I love you.
I let you sleep.
I know you're closed eye watching me,
listening.
I thought I saw a smile.

I've found a way to make you
I've found a way
a way to make you smile

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ricaah

Lyrics source: http://www.msu.edu/~ovittles/lyrics/atmymostbeautiful.htm

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