Thai ad from a network provider, dtac.
narration at end of video:
Stay offline some time to embrace your surroundings. Use the phone just as necessary.
now that's what i call service from the heart.
Showing posts with label muses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label muses. Show all posts
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
10 things I love about Japan
1) the Land of Manga and Anime
no matter where you turn, there's always something greeting you in anime/manga form. whether it's people reading the latest manga magazines at the convenience stores, a poster, or even an anime character strap dangling on someone's mobile.
2) Mobile phones!
probably 80% of the population owns a flip mobile. but what is different is the variety of colors to suit each individual person, and the different mobile straps dangling from each mobile. even full-grown men have a strap or two, so you know it's not just the ladies. it's a culture!
3) Service
Japan has by far the best sales service among all the countries i've been to. the people are polite and patient, they really try their best to help you find what you want. and even if you end up not buying anything, they don't lose their smiles and waves you goodbye. you would feel compelled to buy something just to make their effort worth!
4) Disneyland!
thoroughly enjoyed myself there, even with the unexpected rain in the afternoon. i haven't had the chance to try all the rides in Disneyland, so a second trip is definitely warranted. it's no wonder you can keep going back there. definitely the happiest place on earth.
5) Kyoto
it was a hurried 3 days that we spent in Kyoto, which is hardly enough to really explore the place, so i would love to go back and walk through it more thoroughly. i love the architecture, where you can see glimpse of olden japan surrounded by the much newer buildings.
6) Mt Fuji
another place where we had lots of fun. though we couldn't see Fuji-san in its fine glory, clouds totally covered the peak on the 2 days we were there, we totally enjoyed the onsen stay at Kawaguchiko's Sunnide Resort. highly recommend everyone to stay there and enjoy the scrumptious dinner provided. the onsen is a definite must-try, and make your money's worth by going for a morning dip before breakfast!
7) Food
aside from the slightly expensive pricing, the food is delicious. well, except for natto. tried it on my last day there. ugghh. totally agree that it is not everyone's cup-of-tea, mine included. other than that, most other food items were delicious, even the rice taste different. YUMMY!
8) Akihabara
our trips to Akihabara, 2 days in all, saw me and ah gu going back with tons of stuff in our hands. whatever we missed on the first trip, we made up for it on our second trip. ohohohohohoho. but that also means we came back with more than our cupboards can take. =P
9) Ghibli Museum
if you're a Miyazaki Hayao fan, you must go to the museum to feel the magic. the only complaint i have is not being able to take photos inside the building. there's like 101 things i would love to snap photos of! other than that, just by seeing the mock-up of Miyazaki-sensei's animation studio, you will realize how much effort he puts into his hand-drawn animation. the latest Ghibli film, The Borrower Arrietty, has been out in Japan cinemas since July. i can't wait for it to be released in Singapore.
10) Vending Machines
where you can find hot drinks on an especially cold day! very important to have that bottle/can of ocha in your hand! of course, there's vending machines for meals, ties, cigarette and almost everything under the sun. vending machines are also important at restaurants where you just have to give the service staff your meal tickets and hot pipping food will be served to you without the hassle of having to converse to service staff with your minimal japanese.
photos in my next post~
no matter where you turn, there's always something greeting you in anime/manga form. whether it's people reading the latest manga magazines at the convenience stores, a poster, or even an anime character strap dangling on someone's mobile.
2) Mobile phones!
probably 80% of the population owns a flip mobile. but what is different is the variety of colors to suit each individual person, and the different mobile straps dangling from each mobile. even full-grown men have a strap or two, so you know it's not just the ladies. it's a culture!
3) Service
Japan has by far the best sales service among all the countries i've been to. the people are polite and patient, they really try their best to help you find what you want. and even if you end up not buying anything, they don't lose their smiles and waves you goodbye. you would feel compelled to buy something just to make their effort worth!
4) Disneyland!
thoroughly enjoyed myself there, even with the unexpected rain in the afternoon. i haven't had the chance to try all the rides in Disneyland, so a second trip is definitely warranted. it's no wonder you can keep going back there. definitely the happiest place on earth.
5) Kyoto
it was a hurried 3 days that we spent in Kyoto, which is hardly enough to really explore the place, so i would love to go back and walk through it more thoroughly. i love the architecture, where you can see glimpse of olden japan surrounded by the much newer buildings.
6) Mt Fuji
another place where we had lots of fun. though we couldn't see Fuji-san in its fine glory, clouds totally covered the peak on the 2 days we were there, we totally enjoyed the onsen stay at Kawaguchiko's Sunnide Resort. highly recommend everyone to stay there and enjoy the scrumptious dinner provided. the onsen is a definite must-try, and make your money's worth by going for a morning dip before breakfast!
7) Food
aside from the slightly expensive pricing, the food is delicious. well, except for natto. tried it on my last day there. ugghh. totally agree that it is not everyone's cup-of-tea, mine included. other than that, most other food items were delicious, even the rice taste different. YUMMY!
8) Akihabara
our trips to Akihabara, 2 days in all, saw me and ah gu going back with tons of stuff in our hands. whatever we missed on the first trip, we made up for it on our second trip. ohohohohohoho. but that also means we came back with more than our cupboards can take. =P
9) Ghibli Museum
if you're a Miyazaki Hayao fan, you must go to the museum to feel the magic. the only complaint i have is not being able to take photos inside the building. there's like 101 things i would love to snap photos of! other than that, just by seeing the mock-up of Miyazaki-sensei's animation studio, you will realize how much effort he puts into his hand-drawn animation. the latest Ghibli film, The Borrower Arrietty, has been out in Japan cinemas since July. i can't wait for it to be released in Singapore.
10) Vending Machines
where you can find hot drinks on an especially cold day! very important to have that bottle/can of ocha in your hand! of course, there's vending machines for meals, ties, cigarette and almost everything under the sun. vending machines are also important at restaurants where you just have to give the service staff your meal tickets and hot pipping food will be served to you without the hassle of having to converse to service staff with your minimal japanese.
photos in my next post~
Monday, 8 November 2010
tired but fulfilling
i'm back from japan.
it has been a great 2 weeks being in the land of my dreams and i thoroughly enjoyed myself.
photos will be coming up pretty soon, together with a list of top 10 things i love about japan. from real experience!
^_^.``
it has been a great 2 weeks being in the land of my dreams and i thoroughly enjoyed myself.
photos will be coming up pretty soon, together with a list of top 10 things i love about japan. from real experience!
^_^.``
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
What hides behind Apple marketing campaign?
from Mobile Geek Inc, What hides behind Apple marketing campaign?
some abstracts,
"...People love everything what is easy and intuitive. This is the reason, why Apple went so high and succeeded so much presenting iPhone to world. It is obligatory to admit – iPhone brought a lot of new inventions and ideas to mobile phones business. It was great step forward in technology and future of portable devices. And it still is...
...With the statement and game presentation Apple killed many well-known brands. Brands, which were with us, we could say, forever: Nintendo and Sony PSP. But it’s not everything...
...It is all good, people would say, Apple products are good devices, which fit the customers’ lifestyle. But it is not true.
Their device don’t FIT customers’ lifestyle. They CREATE it. They FORCE it. They make customers DEPENDABLE on them. They make people Apple products slaves.
Apple is filling every, even the tiniest, niche in the market and replacing already existing products, services, the same killing other brands. That is what the risk is, competition is competition.
But not here. Apple, with their “amazing, magical and remarkable” products addicts people to their devices and CREATES their lifestyle.
Soon there will be no place for individuality in the world: everybody will be using iPhone to call and text, iPod to listen to music and play games, iMac to work and AppleTV to watch television.
Is this how you want your world to look like?
Wake up and look into the future..."
and you thought i was the only one who doesn't like Apple.
some abstracts,
"...People love everything what is easy and intuitive. This is the reason, why Apple went so high and succeeded so much presenting iPhone to world. It is obligatory to admit – iPhone brought a lot of new inventions and ideas to mobile phones business. It was great step forward in technology and future of portable devices. And it still is...
...With the statement and game presentation Apple killed many well-known brands. Brands, which were with us, we could say, forever: Nintendo and Sony PSP. But it’s not everything...
...It is all good, people would say, Apple products are good devices, which fit the customers’ lifestyle. But it is not true.
Their device don’t FIT customers’ lifestyle. They CREATE it. They FORCE it. They make customers DEPENDABLE on them. They make people Apple products slaves.
Apple is filling every, even the tiniest, niche in the market and replacing already existing products, services, the same killing other brands. That is what the risk is, competition is competition.
But not here. Apple, with their “amazing, magical and remarkable” products addicts people to their devices and CREATES their lifestyle.
Soon there will be no place for individuality in the world: everybody will be using iPhone to call and text, iPod to listen to music and play games, iMac to work and AppleTV to watch television.
Is this how you want your world to look like?
Wake up and look into the future..."
and you thought i was the only one who doesn't like Apple.
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
google documents
after months of monitoring air tickets, we (moo moo, birdy and me) are finally booked for Japan in mid-Oct!!
well, we would have waited for prices to go even cheaper, but there was a certain situation with birdy's boss and her block leave.
long story, too difficult to summarize.
in any case, the important bits are,
- a long MSN mass chat session that had all of us awake until 2am,
- everyone was on the Thai Airways website,
- passport details were exchanged,
- moo moo's credit card was flashed,
- tickets were booked,
- and we will be ready to fly come Oct 20th.
the MSN session also included meow meow who, though not joining us for the trip, yet stayed up with us since she was leave last week and didn't need to wake up early. (fyi, all of us were late for work the next day. =P)
but really, i'm supposed to be blogging about the wonders of the google documents function in gmail, and being able to share documents with others.
it's been a long time since i've planned any itinerary that is not solely done on my own, so it's really fun to do this together with the other two.
and if we all happen to be viewing the itinerary together, we can even see what the rest are up to and what they are updating.
and start spamming each other in the same document. HA!
*coughs*
ok, so this function has been up for ages.
but i'm new to these things.
indulge me. =P
Moo Moo spams: I think its more amusing that we were using an excel spreadsheet uploaded to google docs like twitter when we're both online, can use either 1) MSN or 2) the chatting thingy in google docs.. =.="
ok keeping Birdy updated is probably the only excuse i can think of..
well, we would have waited for prices to go even cheaper, but there was a certain situation with birdy's boss and her block leave.
long story, too difficult to summarize.
in any case, the important bits are,
- a long MSN mass chat session that had all of us awake until 2am,
- everyone was on the Thai Airways website,
- passport details were exchanged,
- moo moo's credit card was flashed,
- tickets were booked,
- and we will be ready to fly come Oct 20th.
the MSN session also included meow meow who, though not joining us for the trip, yet stayed up with us since she was leave last week and didn't need to wake up early. (fyi, all of us were late for work the next day. =P)
but really, i'm supposed to be blogging about the wonders of the google documents function in gmail, and being able to share documents with others.
it's been a long time since i've planned any itinerary that is not solely done on my own, so it's really fun to do this together with the other two.
and if we all happen to be viewing the itinerary together, we can even see what the rest are up to and what they are updating.
and start spamming each other in the same document. HA!
*coughs*
ok, so this function has been up for ages.
but i'm new to these things.
indulge me. =P
Moo Moo spams: I think its more amusing that we were using an excel spreadsheet uploaded to google docs like twitter when we're both online, can use either 1) MSN or 2) the chatting thingy in google docs.. =.="
ok keeping Birdy updated is probably the only excuse i can think of..
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Sanji character essay by hsiuism
a wonderfully written character essay written by hsiuism on the one and only Sanji.
this even tops the one i read 5 years ago by Sabo-chan.
while you can read the whole essay here, below are a few of my favorite parts,
Intelligent, Rational, Curious, Introverted by nature, Theatrical
Sanji demonstrates from a young age that he wants to know about his environment and the world around him. His dream is to find All Blue, the ocean where all the fish from the four known oceans come together in one place. It's not hard to read the symbolism of this dream: unity, origin, all-encompassing knowledge. Sanji likes things to make sense. He'll stick around to hear someone's background story, try to make peace during an argument before it escalates, and call for a moment to figure out a puzzle. Despite how he normally interacts with women, when Nami and Robin - the two most rational, logical members of the crew - are making some serious point, Sanji listens and contributes with equal sincerity, a point that's been played up in the anime (Sanji's interaction with Robin in Movie 7 are especially interesting).
Basically compassionate, Sympathetic, Nurturing, Enjoys feeling part of a team
If the guilt complex makes Sanji critical, it also makes him protective. He looks out for weaker teammates, male and female. Putting aside personal shipping preferences, I like that, in the anime at least, Sanji will shield Nami from heavy winds/waves with his own body, and I liked in the episode when the crew met Brooke, that Nami was hiding behind Sanji's back. I choose to read these scenes not that Nami needs protection, but that even though she finds Sanji to be insincere and a pain, she trusts him as a safe presence during times of danger. One doesn't cling to Luffy because Luffy doesn't feel fear like normal people, and as for Zoro, he sees fear as a weakness. But Sanji will let you have space to be afraid.
He extends this kind of protection, slightly modified, to Usopp and Chopper too. He doesn't coddle them the way Nami tends to coddle Chopper, but he doesn't try to force them into a single ideology of manhood either, the way Zoro does. Sanji lets people have their space, and I think he recognizes you can be a "man" and still have insecurities, and that there are more than one type of valid masculinities.
Sanji expects people to perform according to their abilities, and recognizes that people have different skills. He encourages people to be better, but he doesn't ask them to be what they're not. In Alabasta, he basically threw Chopper to the wolves (pretending to be Mr. Prince), but it was the first time really that Chopper really asserted himself. Sanji supports Nami when none of the other boys will - while Luffy grumbles about the Waver, Sanji cheers Nami on, and it's a nice moment because Nami truly is in her element. Sanji has faith in Robin and follows her onto the Puffing Tom without even knowing the backstory. And he explicitly says to Usopp, "There are things that I can do that you can't, and things that you can do that I can't." That is basically one of the great morals of this series: we need other people because there are some things we can't do on our own. It's ok to not be able to do everything.
I think one reason why it's Sanji who imparts this to Usopp, and not the other way around, is because Sanji comes into the series already knowing and understanding weakness, in a way that Luffy and Zoro do not. He knows how it feels to confine oneself to a location and to get into a habit of staying, like Chopper. He knows how it feels to have a silly dream and have everyone laugh at it, like Usopp. He knows how it feels to hold back, and how it feels to be helpless. Sanji has the physique and athletic ability to compensate for psychological insecurity, but he doesn't scorn or underestimate those who don't.
thank you hsiuism for this great essay!! ^_^.``
this even tops the one i read 5 years ago by Sabo-chan.
while you can read the whole essay here, below are a few of my favorite parts,
Intelligent, Rational, Curious, Introverted by nature, Theatrical
Sanji demonstrates from a young age that he wants to know about his environment and the world around him. His dream is to find All Blue, the ocean where all the fish from the four known oceans come together in one place. It's not hard to read the symbolism of this dream: unity, origin, all-encompassing knowledge. Sanji likes things to make sense. He'll stick around to hear someone's background story, try to make peace during an argument before it escalates, and call for a moment to figure out a puzzle. Despite how he normally interacts with women, when Nami and Robin - the two most rational, logical members of the crew - are making some serious point, Sanji listens and contributes with equal sincerity, a point that's been played up in the anime (Sanji's interaction with Robin in Movie 7 are especially interesting).
Basically compassionate, Sympathetic, Nurturing, Enjoys feeling part of a team
If the guilt complex makes Sanji critical, it also makes him protective. He looks out for weaker teammates, male and female. Putting aside personal shipping preferences, I like that, in the anime at least, Sanji will shield Nami from heavy winds/waves with his own body, and I liked in the episode when the crew met Brooke, that Nami was hiding behind Sanji's back. I choose to read these scenes not that Nami needs protection, but that even though she finds Sanji to be insincere and a pain, she trusts him as a safe presence during times of danger. One doesn't cling to Luffy because Luffy doesn't feel fear like normal people, and as for Zoro, he sees fear as a weakness. But Sanji will let you have space to be afraid.
He extends this kind of protection, slightly modified, to Usopp and Chopper too. He doesn't coddle them the way Nami tends to coddle Chopper, but he doesn't try to force them into a single ideology of manhood either, the way Zoro does. Sanji lets people have their space, and I think he recognizes you can be a "man" and still have insecurities, and that there are more than one type of valid masculinities.
Sanji expects people to perform according to their abilities, and recognizes that people have different skills. He encourages people to be better, but he doesn't ask them to be what they're not. In Alabasta, he basically threw Chopper to the wolves (pretending to be Mr. Prince), but it was the first time really that Chopper really asserted himself. Sanji supports Nami when none of the other boys will - while Luffy grumbles about the Waver, Sanji cheers Nami on, and it's a nice moment because Nami truly is in her element. Sanji has faith in Robin and follows her onto the Puffing Tom without even knowing the backstory. And he explicitly says to Usopp, "There are things that I can do that you can't, and things that you can do that I can't." That is basically one of the great morals of this series: we need other people because there are some things we can't do on our own. It's ok to not be able to do everything.
I think one reason why it's Sanji who imparts this to Usopp, and not the other way around, is because Sanji comes into the series already knowing and understanding weakness, in a way that Luffy and Zoro do not. He knows how it feels to confine oneself to a location and to get into a habit of staying, like Chopper. He knows how it feels to have a silly dream and have everyone laugh at it, like Usopp. He knows how it feels to hold back, and how it feels to be helpless. Sanji has the physique and athletic ability to compensate for psychological insecurity, but he doesn't scorn or underestimate those who don't.
thank you hsiuism for this great essay!! ^_^.``
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Sanji look-a-like
dunno why it took me 3 episodes to notice this.
the other guy is Satou from Working!!.
uncanny similarities? or total rip-off?
there's also some rumors and speculations that Sanji might be the first Strawhat crew to be located!!
YAY!!!!
i really hope that's true.
more screentime of Sanji!!!!!
the other guy is Satou from Working!!.
uncanny similarities? or total rip-off?
there's also some rumors and speculations that Sanji might be the first Strawhat crew to be located!!
YAY!!!!
i really hope that's true.
more screentime of Sanji!!!!!
Friday, 16 April 2010
Hijikata VS Hijikata VS Hijikata
disclaimer: this is purely based on looks. not sword techniques.
in Peacemaker Kurogane.
in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto.
in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.
ok, this is a little more difficult to decide.
in the end, even though i've never seen the anime before, i'm going for Peacemaker's Hijikata Toshizou-san.
because while i still like my pretty boys, i can't resist asexy manly man.
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
and finally, Okita Souji in the next post.
in Peacemaker Kurogane.
in Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto.
in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.
ok, this is a little more difficult to decide.
in the end, even though i've never seen the anime before, i'm going for Peacemaker's Hijikata Toshizou-san.
because while i still like my pretty boys, i can't resist a
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
and finally, Okita Souji in the next post.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Saitou VS Saitou
disclaimer: this is purely based on looks. not sword techniques.
in Rurouni Kenshin.
in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.
no prizes as to which one i prefer.
Hakuouki's Hajime Saitou-san wins hands down!
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
next up, Hijikata Toshizou.
in Rurouni Kenshin.
in Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan.
no prizes as to which one i prefer.
Hakuouki's Hajime Saitou-san wins hands down!
MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
next up, Hijikata Toshizou.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Nodame Finale
as i've been expecting all along, Chiaki's dad didn't appear at all in the Finale.
it did irked me as i've previously blogged about, but the last episode sort-of made up for not extending it to a 24-episodes series.
i thought it was very fitting that they ended with Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, which Chiaki and Nodame performed in the very first episode in Season 1. thankfully, they did a totally different arrangement and not use the same one from before.
and yes, i'm still hoping for another season or at least an OVA. like i said, there is the Opera-hen side story that is currently under-going in KISS magazine, so not that they would have a lack of materials to work on.
for now, we can just wait for the second movie and the unaired episode that will be bundled with the first DVD that will be shipping out on Apr 7.
it's titled "Mine to Kiyora no Saikai" ("Mine and Kiyora's Reunion"). not sure whether it will follow the manga story, but at least it redeems pulling Kiyora out from the Finale series.
it did irked me as i've previously blogged about, but the last episode sort-of made up for not extending it to a 24-episodes series.
i thought it was very fitting that they ended with Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, which Chiaki and Nodame performed in the very first episode in Season 1. thankfully, they did a totally different arrangement and not use the same one from before.
and yes, i'm still hoping for another season or at least an OVA. like i said, there is the Opera-hen side story that is currently under-going in KISS magazine, so not that they would have a lack of materials to work on.
for now, we can just wait for the second movie and the unaired episode that will be bundled with the first DVD that will be shipping out on Apr 7.
it's titled "Mine to Kiyora no Saikai" ("Mine and Kiyora's Reunion"). not sure whether it will follow the manga story, but at least it redeems pulling Kiyora out from the Finale series.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
UP in Best Picture running
there's 10 movies nominated for Best Picture this year, with a good mix of drama, action, comedy and suspense.
that also includes UP.
it isn't gonna win Best Picture. not with the rest of the power-packed movies that are in the running. but i'm glad it got the recognition. cos it really is one of the best movies released last year.
and it obviously has the highest chance of winning the Best Animated Film, which it is also nominated for.
anyone wanna guess how many awards Avatar is gonna sweep up??
mark your Oscars night on 7 March. (SG live telecast on 8 Mar @ 9am)
that also includes UP.
it isn't gonna win Best Picture. not with the rest of the power-packed movies that are in the running. but i'm glad it got the recognition. cos it really is one of the best movies released last year.
and it obviously has the highest chance of winning the Best Animated Film, which it is also nominated for.
anyone wanna guess how many awards Avatar is gonna sweep up??
mark your Oscars night on 7 March. (SG live telecast on 8 Mar @ 9am)
Monday, 18 January 2010
Haiti Earthquake
a friend of mine was asking around the office today about pooling donations for the Haiti earthquake.
i'm rather ashamed to say that though i've prayed (during last saturday's YF program) for the earthquake victims, i've not taken the more practical step and help by giving monetary aid.
there's tons of NGOs who are collecting donations through their websites. i've listed a few of them at the sidebar of the blog.
i've just taken that step.
what about you?
i'm rather ashamed to say that though i've prayed (during last saturday's YF program) for the earthquake victims, i've not taken the more practical step and help by giving monetary aid.
there's tons of NGOs who are collecting donations through their websites. i've listed a few of them at the sidebar of the blog.
i've just taken that step.
what about you?
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
new stands
daddy finally managed to find raw material (acrylic) and has made new stands for me.
previously,
now,
i have no idea why it still seems like there's not enough room.
trying to squeeze everything to one side so that i don't have to shift much when the new gashapons come.
previously,
now,
i have no idea why it still seems like there's not enough room.
trying to squeeze everything to one side so that i don't have to shift much when the new gashapons come.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Hagu VS Hagu
it's really difficult to bring Hanamoto Hagumi to live-action.
after finishing the dorama Hachimitsu to Clover, between Narumi Riko (dorama) and Aoi Yuu (movie), i much preferred Yuu-chan as Hagu.
Hagu almost always gave off a spaced-off/innocent feel.
while Riko-chan (left) can pull off the spaced-off look, she looks too mature to give off that innocent feel, while Yuu-chan (right) had that "look" the moment she appeared on screen.
ironic, since Yuu-chan was 21 when she was cast, whereas Riko-chan was only 16.
but as i've said, it's already difficult to bring Hagu to live-action. i should be grateful that there were at least 2 actresses who could personify her.
other thoughts,
there were many parts they didn't cover, most importantly the scene where all 5 of them spent the day looking for the four-leaf clover, which was instead replaced with Takemoto searching for it alone.
they slightly twisted the ending and didn't use the real reason why Hagu chose to stay with Shuuji. but i guess it would be weird since the Shuuji in the dorama was much more a father figure-like character, even compared to the anime, and has never in any way, indicated that he loves Hagu like how Takemoto and Morita does.
it was obvious that Ikuta Toma did a better job as Takemoto than Sakurai Sho. not that i'm being particularly biased, but i always thought Sho's smiles look a wee bit forced.
they totally left out Morita's past and focused more on the romance between him, Hagu and Takemoto.
i love the dorama Nomiya and Miwako!
especially Miwako who is played by Takizawa Saori. she fitted the role perfectly, looks and all!
i have never been a fan of Kashiwabara Takashi (柏原崇), but gosh! he looks good as Nomiya.
they extended Romaiya-sempai's (who only appeared in the OVA) role in the dorama. the interaction between him and the guys are always funny to watch.
if i were to pick my best cast for Hachimitsu to Clover, these would be my best choices,
Takemoto Yuuta - Ikuta Toma (dorama)
Hanamoto Hagumi - Aoi Yuu (movie)
Morita Shinobu - Narimiya Hiroki (dorama)
Mayama Takumi - Osamu Mukai (dorama)
Yamada Ayumi - Seki Megumi (movie)
Teshigawara Miwako - Takizawa Saori (dorama)
Nomiya Takumi - Kashiwabara Takashi (dorama)
it was difficult for them to squeeze both seasons into 11 episodes, but overall, the dorama wasn't all that bad.
it could have been better if they were given more time, but at least they didn't try to put in things like Morita's past and do a half-hearted job of it.
repercussion of watching the dorama:
as my memory of the anime had become fuzzy over the years, i've taken to watching bits of the anime to see what the dorama missed out.
bad mistake!
it only made me wanna do a marathon run of the entire anime again. maybe with the somewhat disappointing Fall season, i might just have the time to do it soon.
after finishing the dorama Hachimitsu to Clover, between Narumi Riko (dorama) and Aoi Yuu (movie), i much preferred Yuu-chan as Hagu.
Hagu almost always gave off a spaced-off/innocent feel.
while Riko-chan (left) can pull off the spaced-off look, she looks too mature to give off that innocent feel, while Yuu-chan (right) had that "look" the moment she appeared on screen.
ironic, since Yuu-chan was 21 when she was cast, whereas Riko-chan was only 16.
but as i've said, it's already difficult to bring Hagu to live-action. i should be grateful that there were at least 2 actresses who could personify her.
other thoughts,
there were many parts they didn't cover, most importantly the scene where all 5 of them spent the day looking for the four-leaf clover, which was instead replaced with Takemoto searching for it alone.
they slightly twisted the ending and didn't use the real reason why Hagu chose to stay with Shuuji. but i guess it would be weird since the Shuuji in the dorama was much more a father figure-like character, even compared to the anime, and has never in any way, indicated that he loves Hagu like how Takemoto and Morita does.
it was obvious that Ikuta Toma did a better job as Takemoto than Sakurai Sho. not that i'm being particularly biased, but i always thought Sho's smiles look a wee bit forced.
they totally left out Morita's past and focused more on the romance between him, Hagu and Takemoto.
i love the dorama Nomiya and Miwako!
especially Miwako who is played by Takizawa Saori. she fitted the role perfectly, looks and all!
i have never been a fan of Kashiwabara Takashi (柏原崇), but gosh! he looks good as Nomiya.
they extended Romaiya-sempai's (who only appeared in the OVA) role in the dorama. the interaction between him and the guys are always funny to watch.
if i were to pick my best cast for Hachimitsu to Clover, these would be my best choices,
Takemoto Yuuta - Ikuta Toma (dorama)
Hanamoto Hagumi - Aoi Yuu (movie)
Morita Shinobu - Narimiya Hiroki (dorama)
Mayama Takumi - Osamu Mukai (dorama)
Yamada Ayumi - Seki Megumi (movie)
Teshigawara Miwako - Takizawa Saori (dorama)
Nomiya Takumi - Kashiwabara Takashi (dorama)
it was difficult for them to squeeze both seasons into 11 episodes, but overall, the dorama wasn't all that bad.
it could have been better if they were given more time, but at least they didn't try to put in things like Morita's past and do a half-hearted job of it.
repercussion of watching the dorama:
as my memory of the anime had become fuzzy over the years, i've taken to watching bits of the anime to see what the dorama missed out.
bad mistake!
it only made me wanna do a marathon run of the entire anime again. maybe with the somewhat disappointing Fall season, i might just have the time to do it soon.
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
return of J-drama
ever since K-wave came to sg and caused the decrease of j-dramas on local TV, the only ones i've been watching faithfully are either Kimura Takuya's shows, or any random ones that catches my interests.
well recently for the past 2 years, i've been somewhat hooked on watching the less serious and more comical j-dramas. many are adapted from popular manga series and usually showcase lots of up-and-rising young stars.
although the japanese always have adapted manga into live-action before, it wasn't until the recent years in which we see this sudden influx. i think they finally saw how successful the taiwan market has been in using this to promote their new actors/actresses.
between the japanese idol dramas (日本偶像剧) and taiwan idol dramas (台湾偶像剧), i very much prefer the japanese ones. it might just be plain biased, but i much prefer to watch manga adaptations in their original country and language.
so anyway, here's what i've watched over the last 2 years. have included various links to the dramas and cast so i don't have to do any summary.
disclaimer: as usual, only very biased opinions ahead.
Yamada Taro Monogatari (贫穷贵公子)
the very 1st idol-drama i watched. the japanese version was way funnier than the taiwanese version. the guys and kids were also much cuter.
starring Arashi members Ninomiya Kazunari (二宮和也) and Sakurai Sho (櫻井翔), together with Tabe Mikako (多部未華子) whom i always think resembles doreen alot.
Proposal Daisakusen (求爱大作战)
i couldn't resist the cute guy that looks like Takuya (Yamapi), so ended up watching this, which was quite funny given all the back-to-the-future stuff.
starring Yamashita Tomohisa (山下智久), Nagasawa Masami (長澤まさみ) and a favorite veteran actor of mine, Fujiki Naohito (藤木直人).
Nodame Cantabile (交响情人梦)
of course, i only knew of the existence of the live-action only after watching the anime. this j-drama needs no introduction here since i practicallyswoon rave about it every time something new pops up.
there will be 2 more live-action movies coming up soon (within the next 6 months) and the final anime series will be airing in Jan 2010. the manga will also be ending its run in Spring 2010. big year for Nodame in 2010!
starring Ueno Juri (上野樹里) as our beloved Nodame and Tamaki Hiroshi (玉木宏) as wonder-whiz Chiaki.
Zettai Kareshi (绝对男友)
the very 1st show i watched that stars Mizushima Hiro, although i didn't really thought much about him then. only watched it cos it was an adaptation of a Watase Yuu manga. had doubts on how they could pull off the whole robot lover thing but i think Hayami did a good job as Night.
starring Hayami Mokomichi (速水もこみち), Mizushima Hiro (水嶋ヒロ) and Aibu Saki (相武紗季).
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (偷偷爱着你/花样少男少女)
i've blogged about this before. and really, this is a fantastic adaptation. so much better than the taiwanese version which was much too whiny and had too few cute guys.
Ikuta Toma was the best person to bring Nakatsu to life, and Hiro was much better than the taiwanese Nanba-sempai. though i wonder why both the taiwan and japan versions made Sano so emo, cos he's really not supposed to be like that.
starrring Horikita Maki (堀北真希) who did a great job as Mizuki, Oguri Shun (小栗旬), Ikuta Toma (生田斗真) and of course Mizushima Hiro.
Yasuko to Kenji (暴走兄妹)
seeing Hirosue Ryoko acting as a ex-gang leader was kinda weird at first cos i could never picture her as anything but polite. hilarious nontheless, especially her confrontations with Masahiro's character.
starring Matsuoka Masahiro (松岡昌宏) of Tokio, Hirosue Ryoko (広末涼子) and Tabe Mikako once again as a daydreaming high school girl.
Mei-chan no Shitsuji (我的帅哥管家)
finally finished this on monday night. not as light-hearted as the rest, cos there were lots of scheming and back-stabbing involved. but i still got to see Hiro in a butler uniform for most of the time, so i'm still relatively happy.
starring Eikura Nana (榮倉奈々), Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru (佐藤健).
---------------------------------------
and against my better judgement, there's still many more which i'm trying to find time to watch, aside from all my unfinished anime and various movies.
listed in order of importance,
1) MR BRAIN - Takuya and Hiro all in one show. YUMMY!
2) Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey x Clover) - Toma! i've heard that it's quite good. let's hope it's comparable to the anime.
3) 1 Pound no Fukuin (1 Pound Gospel) - romantic comedy about a young wrestler and a young nun. hmm.
4) Code Blue - Yamapi as an aspiring flight doctor. can it hold up to the other medical series Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji?
5) Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji (Season 4) - incidentally, as i was browsing through the dramawiki webpage for Kyumei, i discovered that there's gonna be a 4th season starting in 11 Aug. yeah!! i love this show!
6) VOICE - another Toma show.
7) Majo Saiban -Witch Trial- - yet another Toma show.
hopefully, i'll have at least watched half of what i've listed by the end of the year. =P
for anyone interested, go to DramaCrazy.net. link also provided in sidebar.
well recently for the past 2 years, i've been somewhat hooked on watching the less serious and more comical j-dramas. many are adapted from popular manga series and usually showcase lots of up-and-rising young stars.
although the japanese always have adapted manga into live-action before, it wasn't until the recent years in which we see this sudden influx. i think they finally saw how successful the taiwan market has been in using this to promote their new actors/actresses.
between the japanese idol dramas (日本偶像剧) and taiwan idol dramas (台湾偶像剧), i very much prefer the japanese ones. it might just be plain biased, but i much prefer to watch manga adaptations in their original country and language.
so anyway, here's what i've watched over the last 2 years. have included various links to the dramas and cast so i don't have to do any summary.
disclaimer: as usual, only very biased opinions ahead.
Yamada Taro Monogatari (贫穷贵公子)
the very 1st idol-drama i watched. the japanese version was way funnier than the taiwanese version. the guys and kids were also much cuter.
starring Arashi members Ninomiya Kazunari (二宮和也) and Sakurai Sho (櫻井翔), together with Tabe Mikako (多部未華子) whom i always think resembles doreen alot.
Proposal Daisakusen (求爱大作战)
i couldn't resist the cute guy that looks like Takuya (Yamapi), so ended up watching this, which was quite funny given all the back-to-the-future stuff.
starring Yamashita Tomohisa (山下智久), Nagasawa Masami (長澤まさみ) and a favorite veteran actor of mine, Fujiki Naohito (藤木直人).
Nodame Cantabile (交响情人梦)
of course, i only knew of the existence of the live-action only after watching the anime. this j-drama needs no introduction here since i practically
there will be 2 more live-action movies coming up soon (within the next 6 months) and the final anime series will be airing in Jan 2010. the manga will also be ending its run in Spring 2010. big year for Nodame in 2010!
starring Ueno Juri (上野樹里) as our beloved Nodame and Tamaki Hiroshi (玉木宏) as wonder-whiz Chiaki.
Zettai Kareshi (绝对男友)
the very 1st show i watched that stars Mizushima Hiro, although i didn't really thought much about him then. only watched it cos it was an adaptation of a Watase Yuu manga. had doubts on how they could pull off the whole robot lover thing but i think Hayami did a good job as Night.
starring Hayami Mokomichi (速水もこみち), Mizushima Hiro (水嶋ヒロ) and Aibu Saki (相武紗季).
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (偷偷爱着你/花样少男少女)
i've blogged about this before. and really, this is a fantastic adaptation. so much better than the taiwanese version which was much too whiny and had too few cute guys.
Ikuta Toma was the best person to bring Nakatsu to life, and Hiro was much better than the taiwanese Nanba-sempai. though i wonder why both the taiwan and japan versions made Sano so emo, cos he's really not supposed to be like that.
starrring Horikita Maki (堀北真希) who did a great job as Mizuki, Oguri Shun (小栗旬), Ikuta Toma (生田斗真) and of course Mizushima Hiro.
Yasuko to Kenji (暴走兄妹)
seeing Hirosue Ryoko acting as a ex-gang leader was kinda weird at first cos i could never picture her as anything but polite. hilarious nontheless, especially her confrontations with Masahiro's character.
starring Matsuoka Masahiro (松岡昌宏) of Tokio, Hirosue Ryoko (広末涼子) and Tabe Mikako once again as a daydreaming high school girl.
Mei-chan no Shitsuji (我的帅哥管家)
finally finished this on monday night. not as light-hearted as the rest, cos there were lots of scheming and back-stabbing involved. but i still got to see Hiro in a butler uniform for most of the time, so i'm still relatively happy.
starring Eikura Nana (榮倉奈々), Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru (佐藤健).
---------------------------------------
and against my better judgement, there's still many more which i'm trying to find time to watch, aside from all my unfinished anime and various movies.
listed in order of importance,
1) MR BRAIN - Takuya and Hiro all in one show. YUMMY!
2) Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey x Clover) - Toma! i've heard that it's quite good. let's hope it's comparable to the anime.
3) 1 Pound no Fukuin (1 Pound Gospel) - romantic comedy about a young wrestler and a young nun. hmm.
4) Code Blue - Yamapi as an aspiring flight doctor. can it hold up to the other medical series Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji?
5) Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji (Season 4) - incidentally, as i was browsing through the dramawiki webpage for Kyumei, i discovered that there's gonna be a 4th season starting in 11 Aug. yeah!! i love this show!
6) VOICE - another Toma show.
7) Majo Saiban -Witch Trial- - yet another Toma show.
hopefully, i'll have at least watched half of what i've listed by the end of the year. =P
for anyone interested, go to DramaCrazy.net. link also provided in sidebar.
Sunday, 3 May 2009
post-BKK trip
things i managed to do there,
shopping - not freakishly mountainous, but we managed to get what we went there for, dresses, shoes, lingerie
thai massage - the moment we touched down, we went to the massage parlour beside Asia Hotel for our thai massage.
eat cheap food - no bird's nest this time, but we ate lots of seafood and shark's fins at hongmin.
more massages - we really went for a massage everyday. had foot massages on the 2nd & 3rd day, rounding up with a thai massage after chatuchak on the last day.
all in all, except for the 1.5hr delay in our return flight, it was a very fruitful & enjoyable trip indeed.
^_^.``
shopping - not freakishly mountainous, but we managed to get what we went there for, dresses, shoes, lingerie
thai massage - the moment we touched down, we went to the massage parlour beside Asia Hotel for our thai massage.
eat cheap food - no bird's nest this time, but we ate lots of seafood and shark's fins at hongmin.
more massages - we really went for a massage everyday. had foot massages on the 2nd & 3rd day, rounding up with a thai massage after chatuchak on the last day.
all in all, except for the 1.5hr delay in our return flight, it was a very fruitful & enjoyable trip indeed.
^_^.``
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
BKK
well, i'm off to BKK tomorrow morning.
even though it's still not 100% safe, at least the "state-of-emergency" has been lifted.
things i wanna do there,
shopping (of course!)
thai massages (of course!!)
eat cheap food (AKA sharks' fin, bird nest)
more massages (hopefully)
i can't wait!
even though it's still not 100% safe, at least the "state-of-emergency" has been lifted.
things i wanna do there,
shopping (of course!)
thai massages (of course!!)
eat cheap food (AKA sharks' fin, bird nest)
more massages (hopefully)
i can't wait!
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Thursday, 22 January 2009
state of my walls
how my room, or basically, how my walls, has evolved over the last 4 years since i came back from tassie.
Year 2005
my walls were full of posters, the curtains were drawstring type which accumulated lots of dust and were impossible to clean.
i was also sharing room with my sister so the room seemed so much more smaller, with her mattress on the floor and the extra fan and something else i can't remember beside my table.
fast-forward 3 years later...
Year 2008
in between the 3 years, i managed to,
1) get my room back (i.e. my sis also finally got her own room)
2) got a new bed and mattress, together with new chest of drawers
3) changed my laptop from a toshiba to my current Sony Vaio-C.
4) changed my curtains to easy-to-wash cloth ones.
5) repainted my walls
i was intending to blue-tack up all my posters again after the repainting, but you know how procrastination totally messes up your most well-thought plans?
*shrugs*
anyway, i kinda like my walls empty now.
fast-forward another year...
Year 2009, 1 week before CNY
and in less than 1 year, i've done another revamp,
1) gotten rid of both of the wall shelves that you saw in the previous 2 photos
2) replaced it with my pride and joy IKEA cupboard holding my gashapons, figurines and manga
3) replaced my old and quite possibly very dirty table with another IKEA product.
and just last week, i've repainted the slab of wall behind my bed a glorious purple.
the whole point of this entire post is really just to show my pretty new feature wall, which is a rich HARMONIOUS PURPLE color.
it was really just to cover the ugly drill marks holes that were still left behind from the wall shelves that were taken down in oct.
yes, it has been that long. i told you procrastination messes you up.
anyway, cos papa didn't have any of the wall paint left from previously, it was either blue-tacking up some posters to cover the holes, or buy wallpaper, or buy paint.
so painting it was. plus, i've always wanted to do a feature wall.
i painted 75% of it myself, so i did feel quite accomplished. mama bought everyone new curtains for CNY, so i have new purple curtains to go along with my new wall too.
^_^.``
so let me side-track alittle here...
the SELF FIX shop @ JP has the coolest machine.
did you know that paint colors don't just come in tins now? when i was at the counter choosing colors, i had my doubts on whether they had the color i chose from the color palette. cos the counter looks really small and doesn't seem like it has much stock of anything much.
so when i told the person my decision, he just asked me for the color code, took a tin of white paint, keyed the color code into the computer and place the tin at the dispensary area.
and just like coffee coming out of a coffee machine, the machine dispensed the correct amount of primary colors to give me my harmonious purple.
in the tin goes into another machine that vigorously shakes the tin to mix the paint contents.
! ! !
i was like,
"WOW!
is it just me? or does everyone know this already?"
now you don't have to worry about the paint shop not having the color you want.
that's pretty neat stuff.
Year 2005
my walls were full of posters, the curtains were drawstring type which accumulated lots of dust and were impossible to clean.
i was also sharing room with my sister so the room seemed so much more smaller, with her mattress on the floor and the extra fan and something else i can't remember beside my table.
fast-forward 3 years later...
Year 2008
in between the 3 years, i managed to,
1) get my room back (i.e. my sis also finally got her own room)
2) got a new bed and mattress, together with new chest of drawers
3) changed my laptop from a toshiba to my current Sony Vaio-C.
4) changed my curtains to easy-to-wash cloth ones.
5) repainted my walls
i was intending to blue-tack up all my posters again after the repainting, but you know how procrastination totally messes up your most well-thought plans?
*shrugs*
anyway, i kinda like my walls empty now.
fast-forward another year...
Year 2009, 1 week before CNY
and in less than 1 year, i've done another revamp,
1) gotten rid of both of the wall shelves that you saw in the previous 2 photos
2) replaced it with my pride and joy IKEA cupboard holding my gashapons, figurines and manga
3) replaced my old and quite possibly very dirty table with another IKEA product.
and just last week, i've repainted the slab of wall behind my bed a glorious purple.
the whole point of this entire post is really just to show my pretty new feature wall, which is a rich HARMONIOUS PURPLE color.
it was really just to cover the ugly drill marks holes that were still left behind from the wall shelves that were taken down in oct.
yes, it has been that long. i told you procrastination messes you up.
anyway, cos papa didn't have any of the wall paint left from previously, it was either blue-tacking up some posters to cover the holes, or buy wallpaper, or buy paint.
so painting it was. plus, i've always wanted to do a feature wall.
i painted 75% of it myself, so i did feel quite accomplished. mama bought everyone new curtains for CNY, so i have new purple curtains to go along with my new wall too.
^_^.``
so let me side-track alittle here...
the SELF FIX shop @ JP has the coolest machine.
did you know that paint colors don't just come in tins now? when i was at the counter choosing colors, i had my doubts on whether they had the color i chose from the color palette. cos the counter looks really small and doesn't seem like it has much stock of anything much.
so when i told the person my decision, he just asked me for the color code, took a tin of white paint, keyed the color code into the computer and place the tin at the dispensary area.
and just like coffee coming out of a coffee machine, the machine dispensed the correct amount of primary colors to give me my harmonious purple.
in the tin goes into another machine that vigorously shakes the tin to mix the paint contents.
! ! !
i was like,
"WOW!
is it just me? or does everyone know this already?"
now you don't have to worry about the paint shop not having the color you want.
that's pretty neat stuff.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
if there was...
...a big kinokuniya store at the new JP extension (now known as JP2), there would be no need to go down to Orchard.
seriously.
the new extension is not juz HUGE, the amount of shops inside can rival 2-3 other heartland malls combined.
seriously.
to name a few, there's Aussino, Four Leaves, Burger King, Challenger, Blum, Joop, M)phosis, Ding Tai Fung, Adidas, Hur, Pretty Fit, etc.
even as of now, there are still some shops that aren't opened yet. so when everything is really up and running, probably within the next week, JP is gonna be packed with loads of people.
not that it ever lacked people in the first place.
it helps that the it is also easy to walk around. no winding passages like VivoCity, just long straight rows of shops that are easy to walk about it.
so seriously, if there really was a kinokuniya in JP2, who needs to go down to Orchard.
i can't wait to go through all the shops soon!!
seriously.
the new extension is not juz HUGE, the amount of shops inside can rival 2-3 other heartland malls combined.
seriously.
to name a few, there's Aussino, Four Leaves, Burger King, Challenger, Blum, Joop, M)phosis, Ding Tai Fung, Adidas, Hur, Pretty Fit, etc.
even as of now, there are still some shops that aren't opened yet. so when everything is really up and running, probably within the next week, JP is gonna be packed with loads of people.
not that it ever lacked people in the first place.
it helps that the it is also easy to walk around. no winding passages like VivoCity, just long straight rows of shops that are easy to walk about it.
so seriously, if there really was a kinokuniya in JP2, who needs to go down to Orchard.
i can't wait to go through all the shops soon!!
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