Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Amazing.


Charice Pempengco - an amazing young woman from the Philippines performed today on the Ellen Degeneres show. I had seen her a little online - either on Veoh or YouTube, but she was so amazing I have to share. Here you can watch the performance on Ellen. Charice is so tiny but has an amazingly huge voice. I hope that she can garner enough attention to get a recording contract and and be a source of pride for Philippians everywhere. Check her out !

Here's her official MySpace page.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Who knew? Not me!


Apparently Robin Williams is a big Neon Genesis Evangelion fan. Did you know this? I didn't. He is apparently trying to help the production of the live-action film. I struggled with understanding the series when I first watched it - then again it was back in high school and I watched the sub-titled version on a tiny 4x6 screen. Anywho. Thought it was interesting!


Tuesday, October 16, 2007

I forgot!


I could have sworn that I wrote about this when I first found it. But, now I HAVE them! Earlier this summer I found that some cool folks in Japan created scented pencil leads. I splurged recently and purchased them for myself from my favorite online Japanese stationary supplier www.jpens.com. They have three scents. The first one is Healing it smells like Lemongrass. Refresh is the second one and smells like lemons and limes. Positive smells like roses. My only gripe with them is that you literally have to sniff the leads or the packaging to smell them. I was hoping that as you write you could smell them. Maybe I use them wrong. Who knows. Either way they are good smelling and fun. Maybe someday Pentel will bring them to the United States. For now, they are happy in Japan knowing they won Stationary of the Year. Yummy!

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e

Maki Horikata - Mizuki Ashiya
Shun Oguri - Izumi Sano
Ikuta Toma - Shuichi Nakatsu
Too many others - Too many GREAT characters!


The live-action Japanese drama based on the manga by Hisaya Nakajo was AWESOME. I loved the entire cast. I was surprised by the up-staging of Sano (Shun Oguri) by Nakatsu (Ikuta Toma.) I don't know if it was just the acting (quite possibly) or if it was the actor or character. I absolutely loved Nakatsu. I found myself wanting Ashiya to choose Nakatsu instead of Sano. But, I'm getting ahead of myself - aren't I? I really aught to give you a run-down of the plot first, shouldn't I? Ok here goes. The story is about Ashyia Mizuki (Maki Horikata), a female American student who secretly enters an all-boys academy in Japan. The reason for her deception is to help the object of her affection/obsession/whatever return to participating in the high jump. The reason she feels the need to help him varies in all three different tellings of the story (the original manga form, the Taiwanese drama and the Japanese drama) but, nevertheless she goes all the way to Japan to help Izumi Sano (Shun Oguri) return to the competing in the high jump he once loved. Along the way, she befriends Nakatsu Shuichi (Ikuta Toma) and the rest of Ohsaka High School. The Japanese version of this show varied completely from the Taiwanese version, let alone the manga. I've enjoyed all three, but the Japense live-action was very passionate and fun. I laughed really hard at some of the parts, which was refreshing. I think the casting was really good for this show. Dr. Umeda was really great. He was attractive and cold, but compassionate towards Mizuki. The three main characters were wonderful. I still like Shun Oguri as Rui Hanazawa better though. My biggest issue was the casting of Kyo Nobuo as Masao Himejima (Oscar M. Himejima) He looked funny and WAY too old to be a high school student. Don't get me wrong, over time I came to love him, but in the manga he was such a pretty boy and Kyo Nobuo really isn't. One of the biggest differences I noticed was the ending. I don't know how the original story ends (in the manga) because the English version isn't done printing yet. (We're on volume 17 or 18 I think) But the Taiwanese version was left wide-open, while the Japnese version had a definite end. Not that they didn't leave room for a special or season two. It is a company based on ratings after all. But, if you are looking for a laugh and lots of passionate acting check out this drama. It's definitely worth the time to watch it.

Oh - did I mention the yummy factor? The amount of attractive young Japanese men in this show had me swooning like a school girl. If I had been on the set, I probably would have fainted.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Nerd Heaven


I watched a short film/documentary today. It was called Akihabara@Geeks. I loved it. Despite the fact that I had to watch it in English and listen to voice-overs for the Japanese people it featured. I loved it because as bad as my obsession seems to get with all things Asian, it will never get as desperately sad as some of the poor guys featured in this film. Don't get me wrong, I get the need to look for emotional satisfaction through alternative means when friends are few and hope for finding that "perfect someone" are dismal. But, these guys need to get a life. One of the main people featured was OBSESSED with cute anime girls. Kawaii-bishoujo. He spends money that he needs for food on things he really has no use for or needs, replacing his faith in God with pictures of cutely drawn 2-D people. The other people in the film have a little more to their lives, but they spend about 85-90% of their lives in the little town of Akihabara. I will most definitely be making a visit to Akihabara when I finally make it to Japan. I love anime. I love gadgets and tech-related things. I most of all want to visit a maid cafe and converse with the women who make their living dressed in sickeningly-sweet maid outfits and serve food and drinks guaranteed to make diabetics shake in their boots at the mere thought of them. I laughed at first at the seriousness of these men (because the only women featured, were the maids and they really didn't have such an unhealthy obsession with things as the men in this particular film did.) and their obsessions. Then I thought more seriously about the damage they are doing to themselves and their already lacking social skills. One of the men managed to get married - but not until he was 35. His wife doesn't take any interest in his passion and amicably bows to her husband as he continues his nitro-computer building. I think that there is a lot more to learn about the people who frequent this small niche-dependent part of Japan, so my final opinion is reserved for later scrutiny. But, if you haven't yet seen this film, check it out. I rented it from Netflix, so it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to find.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I'm back! (With a story)

My computer might have died for a bit, but I'm back! Sorry if you happen to read this on a regular basis. . . Here's an interesting tid-bit. A person mowing their lawn in Japan happened to see a few katydids hustle for the bushes while they were mowing. Little did she know - the rascals were special! Usually katydids are green or brown, these little fellows are psychedelic! The science-folk seem to think that they are an albino and extreme-version of the brown-type katydid. Now, with all three colors together don't they look neat?

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Real-life Coffee Prince

If I'm hitting my target audience, chances are, you've heard of the MBC hit Coffee Prince. It seems the trend has moved from Japan, to this show, which features attractive men serving a mostly female clientèle. This is not only in the host-clubs I've previously told you about, but there are small cafe's all over Japan that each have a different theme, or play to the attractiveness of their servers. It seems that with the plot of the Korean drama Coffee Prince, they've managed to get this idea to the general public of Korea. So, now stores are opening up over the country. One such restaurant is called "Walking Slowly" and features current models of the company Modelline.


Aren't they cute? I want to go! Unfortunately, this kind of blatant ogling of people tends to fall into the politically incorrect area of our country, so we'll never see interesting shops like this in the States. Guess I'll just have to travel abroad!

Korean Chicken Invades America!


Just kidding. There seems to be a recent trend starting in the greater New York area: Korean-style fried chicken. Yum! According to the article the current stores are ready to target a broader audience that includes Hispanic, African Americans and Caucasians rather than just Korean-Americans. Hopefully one will pop up in my area!

Friday, August 31, 2007

F4 disbands, tears fall, hearts break.

Taiwanese sensation: The F4 (or Flower 4) are officially going to disband in October, according to CRIEnglish news. The band actually started as part of a Taiwanese drama series based on the Japanese manga Hana Yori Dango (Flowers Before Boys.) The F4 have enjoyed enormous popularity in the last 7 years, and each member has good prospects to maintain their celebrity status on their own. Good Luck Guys.

JYP - in New York?

Producer/singer JYP (Jin-Young Park) has set his sights on the US. In the recent events it's a bit surprising. His biggest star, Rain, has announced his split from the music "mogul" upon his return to Korea. Yet, JYP decided to continue with his own plan to try and make a go of it in New York City. Apparently, he has a little trainee under his wing, ready to test the waters with him when he gets there. I don't know about anyone else, but I wonder if there is going to be a bit of a power struggle when he gets here. Rain has already announced his intentions of making his album hear in the next year, and he will be coming to the US after settling things with JYP and signing with another company. I wonder how this news will affect both parties. Apparently, Billboard is taking notice of JYP, as he was on the cover of their most recent monthly magazine issue. Check out the full article if you are interested - here.

(I actually like his vocalizations in Rain's music, I'm not sure how much I'll miss them though, we'll have to see in Rains' first album without JYP)

Fair or Unjust?


Jacky Zhu, of Taiwanese band 183 Club fame, is in the news again. After being fired from Jungiary earlier this summer, Jacky is back in the tabloids facing a "pot problem." I was shocked. Not about the fact that he has a "pot problem," more about the fact that they have such a negative outlook on this. I really do understand the differences in common celebrity behavior an tolerances of that behavior in the US versus China/Taiwan. But, is it really something that they have to force him into rehab for, and take him into another embarrassing bout with the media? I guess that I'm just so American that I don't see this as a major problem. No, I don't smoke pot. I don't have any wish, or need to. But, that doesn't mean that I see it as such an unforgivable act. There are rumors that he was using ecstasy while abroad as well. Ecstasy, on the other hand, scares me. I know that a wide majority of the youth in my country have experimented with this and other "recreational" drugs, but I don't think that this drug is safe at all. It's manufactured in unsafe and dirt locations and you never REALLY know what you are taking. So, if it was ecstasy and not marijuana I understand the scandal a little more. I have friends, and family members who have, or do use marijuana and I have to admit, I don't think that it's that bad. ::sigh:: I might be inviting controversy to my front door with this one, but I have to express my wish for the hard smack-down on poor Jacky to stop. He is a Canadian-born Chinese. He sees things in much of the same light that I do, so I suppose he is having a hard time living up to the standards that Chinese people generally expect their celebrities to adhere to. He already lost his position in the band, and his contract with his management company, now he is in trouble with the law because of drugs. I hope that he can swim through this mess and get out on the other side and reclaim his position in celebrity society. His voice is great. I hope for the best for him. Good Luck! Jaiyou!

Rain Plane!

So, if you've been following along, you know that I'm a Rain fan. I found this while cruising the vast abyss of eBay last night.

A miniature model of the private jet Rain used for his "It's Raining - World Tour." I would buy one, but I am currently 'between jobs' so I don't have spare money. I thought it was a bit strange, but I saw that there are models of all kinds of planes in the same vein as this one, so I just kind of think it's interesting now. Up, Up, and away!!

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Great Happiness?


The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Theif is a documentary by Jake Clennel. Thanks to Lisa over at TokyoMango for this video. I watched it the other night and I was appalled, fascinated and intrigued by the entire thing. If you click on the link you can watch the entire film with sub-titles. If you know nothing about Japanese culture, I'll give you a quick run-down. There are bars in Japan that are called Host Clubs. Generally, they are a bunch of attractive men, entertaining women. Not like a strip-club, but a little higher-classed clientèle are generally in attendance. The men tell jokes, sing karaoke, and talk to women who pay by the hour for their attention. There are, of course the opposite of these clubs for men, but they are even more varied. Women's clubs tend to favor to sexual needs more than the Host Clubs, but not always so. There are even bars that are just cosplay. However, this documentary is a pretty realistic view into the lives of the men who work there, and the women who come to see them. I was unaware of the symbiotic relationship that the workers and the clients had. The women are basically local prostitutes that have taken on this line of work in order to afford going to see the hosts. It's a round-robin type of life that seems draining, physically and emotionally. I don't know where the cynicism starts for the hosts, but I do feel sorry for them. They all say that they really want to fall in love and find the "right girl" but that being a host has had a numbing effect on them, and they don't know when to trust their feelings anymore. And the girls are falling for guys who know how to woo women professionlly and have no intentions of dating, or marrying any of them. So the process goes round and round - where will it end?

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

I couldn't think of a title for this entry. Eri Murakami (25), was a popular model in Japan until she died on July 8th. Murakami had been feeling ill for awhile when she went to the doctor and discovered she had cancer. I was going to just pass this article by on Mainichi as a sad result of nature, but then I read further and was dumbstruck by one particular quote from the author:


"Murakami was not informed of her condition -- an approach not unheard of in Japan -- and she had hoped to resume her showbiz activities after recovering, the office said."


How is this possible? You can perform an operation on a patient without telling them that why or how they're sick and need the operation? Did the doctor with hold the information from her, or did her production/management company? I don't get Japan sometimes. I learn things like this and it starts to really bother me. Hopefully they will fix the problem in the future, and I hope Eri Murakami rests in peace.

Leaky Reactor


Another side effect from the devastating earthquake that hit Niigata Prefecture yesterday is that nuclear radiation was leaked into the ocean. I would be a bit freaked out but they explain it away in this statement:

"About 1.2 tons of water apparently leaked from a pool containing spent nuclear fuel in the No. 6 reactor that was not working at the time of the temblor. The water contained 60,000 becquerels of radiation, equal to the amount contained in six liters of radon hot spa water, and is not harmful to the health of people." --Mainichi


If you ask me they were actually pretty lucky, considering that they were only 9 kilometers from the epicenter of a high 6 earthquake. In case you haven't read it, the death total is up to 9 and the injured is somewhere around 930 people.

Snow White and the Seven Jet Li's?


A report is out that Jet Li has signed up for a movie with Natalie Portman for Disney Studios. Apparently a futuristic twist on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Jet Li is protecting the evil Queens mirror. Sounds funny. What do you think?

P.S. - Like my picture? I made it at work in Paint. LOL

Monday, July 16, 2007

Strong love.


On Friday, a trio of women set out from their native island of Sado to re-create the arduous journey of a local heroin. Omitsu, is a local folk-heroin who crossed the Sea of Japan to find her lover on the mainland. The women, all in their 20's used traditional tub-boats and wore traditional clothing, for their crossing. It took them 24 hours to paddle their way across, with a couple of fishing boats watching over them. The women were glad to be the first to complete the crossing in over forty years. This takes a lot of nerve to accomplish in the first place, but imagine that they also were facing the possible arrival the typhoon Man-yi. Good job ladies!

(Thanks Lisa, of TokyoMango for this tid-bit. I missed it in my Mainichi readings.)

Disaster strikes Japan






In the wake of typhoon Man-yi, Japan was hit with a devastating earthquake. The earthquake hit when the faults slipped early on Monday, July 16th, 2007. Niigata prefecture was hit the hardest, with 7 reported deaths and hundreds injured people. Houses were destroyed and landslides occured in great numbers. The local power company had to shut down their nuclear reactors after a fire broke out in an electricity transformer. TEPCO reports that there was no radiation leakage. Trains were de-railed in various areas, causing all the bullet trains to be shut down and other area's were suspended. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, left his campaign trail to return to Tokyo in order to better handle the disaster and direct aid to the affected areas.




Credits to Mainichi for the photos.

Friday, July 13, 2007

My Everyday

You might be interested to know where I wander on the great wide internets everyday.
Tokyo Mango is an awesome blog about Tokyo life, random Japanese toys, gadgets and news bits. Lisa Katayama is brilliant!
I'm on Myspace bloggin' bout life (Jenanime is EVERYWHERE BWAHAHAHA...),
I'm on http://www.alivenotdead.com/ checking out the lives of Kelly Hu and Daniel Wu. (Haha rhymin')
http://www.clotinc.com/ is another good haunt, hip-hop culture of Hong Kong and China at it's very best! Lots of cool people blogging and representing!
The original Edison blog I read for info on what he's been up to.
Japanese News
Korean News
Chinese News (I've got to stay up to date!)
JAME keeps me on my toes with Japanese music releases.
Of course, Strapya has new stuff everyday. Yuuki keeps a nice blog that I check too.
Obviously, there are a lot of other places I find things, but this is the list of ones I go to religiously. Enjoy my secret stash of cool spots!

Extreme Opposites


A day after his wedding, Bao Xishun met the exact opposite of himself: He Ping Ping. A man applying to be the Guinness Book of Worlds Records shortest man. Standing at a mere 28.74 inches tall, he must appear to cower before Bao Xishun. Xishun, is the worlds tallest man, standing at 7.74 feet tall. I wonder what their impressions of each other were?

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Oh NO!


Ok, so if you read my blog at any kind of regularity, you KNOW my feelings about re-makes. I just started to tear up because of this one. The stupid people in Hollywood are remaking my favorite Hong Kong romance Love Undercover. The original stars my FAVORITE Hong Kong actor Daniel Wu, and my favorite Hong Kong actress Mirium Yeung. I'm sorry if you like re-makes, but this is so depressing. I have no faith in the American producers because they either change the story, or don't bother giving credit to the original story. The American's need to start coming up with their own stuff, and stop steeling from the Asians. Full story here.

*Edit* ::sigh:: I also found out that they are re-making the Stephen Fung film Enter the Phoenix. Daniel starred in that one too. Too bad he won't get any of the credit for the movies, Daniel OR Stephen. Am I making too much of this?

New World Record!


The Chinese are pretty excited by Guiness World Records, and happen to hold quite a few. The newest one is set for jump-rope. Yep, three thousand Chinese folks got together with three thousand jump ropes and jumped away for three minutes. The Changsa natives broke the previous record of 2,474 Hong Kong people set in 2005. Jump! (Did I ever mention that Edison Chen set a Guiness World Record too? NO? Well, he did.)

It's about "Time"


The new Arashi album is out! I received it this morning via Fed-Ex from YesAsia. (Being the crazy die-hard fan that I am, I pre-ordered it so it shipped quickly.) Now, it’s not as revolutionary as the new Edison Chen album, but it’s still wonderful. To me, Arashi represents a different side of my musical tastes. It’s the left over remnants of being an N’Sync fan that allows me to love them so whole-heartedly. I don’t have a favorite song on the album yet. I love the single “We Can Make It” that’s from Matsu-Jun’s Bambino drama. But, I have a tendency to over-play my current favorites, so I’m a bit burnt out on that track. The rest of the album flows nicely and has the traditional perfect harmonies and Sho-raps. I bought the limited edition with solos from each member. I’ll admit, I don’t particularly like any of their voices separately. I love their harmonies and the songs they sing together so much more than when they sing solo. It’s funny, because most of the time I’m the opposite. But, I digress. Once I’ve listened a few times, I’ll update further, for now, check this album out in all of it’s J-Pop glory!

1 – Oh Yeah!
2 – Love So Sweet (Hana Yori Dango Season 2 Opening Theme)
3 – WAVE
4 – We Can Make It (Bambino Theme)
5 – Firefly
6 – Taiyou no Sekai
7 – Carry On
8 – ROCK YOU
9 – Cry For You (I really like this track)
10 – Love Situation
11 – Kaze
12 – Be With You
13 – Life
14 – Aozora Pedal
(15 – Everybody Zenshin is only on the normal edition CD)

Bonus Tracks (Limited Edition only)
1 – Song for me (Satoshi Ohno solo) (Fun - techno beat)
2 – Friendship (Masaki Aiba solo)
3 – Niji (Kazunori Ninomiya solo)
4 – Can’t Let You Go (Sho Sakurai solo)
5 – Yabai-Yabai-Yabai (Matsumoto Jun solo) ((Hey - I actually really like this one))

Allow Me to Introduce:



It’s here, and it’s amazing. EDC’s new album: Allow Me to Re-Introduce Myself is amazing. Free from constricting and cookie-cutter management Edison Chen has found himself a new life. With the album hitting #1 in Taiwan and #2 in Mainland China, it is obvious that the general population agrees. It’s hard to believe that with such negative press, and disapproving views, the man has been able to prove them all wrong. Of course, fans have never doubted his ability and have been waiting patiently to see what the man can present us free of strings and using nothing but his own talent and ingenuity. I waited very impatiently to receive my copy of the album from YesAsia in today’s mail. Where was the dang mail-man (no, I’m not being politically incorrect, he’s a dude)? When finally I spotted him pulling into the drive and ripped open my package to find my EDC album. It’s the first one I've had the pleasure to actually OWN. The rest are downloaded from fans wanting to share the love. His music is hard to find. L If I had my camera with me, I would have taken pictures of it. My initial favorite is track number 1: 记得我吗? The song begins with a traditional Chinese instrumental introduction, much like what is heard during a Lion Dance at festival time. There is a female vocalist (once I get it translated, I’ll let you know more) singing part of the chorus, but I love the music. My good friend, Yixuan said that it means “Remember Me?” and it fits. I hear Edison saying it too. I’m sorry this took so long to post; I got caught up in life! But, if you are looking for an album that is up-beat, and has lots of soul – BUY this one. It’s worth it. I will be truthful; I download a lot of my stuff from fan-sites. But I buy the important ones. I am beyond glad that I bought the new Edison Chen album, it’s great. The CD case itself is designed to look like the Alienegra camo only in blue. I love it. The case is held together with little Chinese straps and is just too adorable. The CD is printed to look like an old record or LP. The printed material is on a nice paper, with lots of Chinese calligraphy and traditional drawings of EDC inside. But, don’t take my word for it – get it for yourself.

Track Listing:


1 记得我吗? (My Favorite)
2 拳头
3 Act Like u Know (Very Powerful song)
4 精神分裂
5 泪
6 是我
7 凌晨1:37
8 My Baby (For Vincy!)
9 又一年
10 不可能

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Cunundrum

I love Hong Kong film. Jackie Chan is one of my favorite actors. Yes, he is sort of silly, but that's his role for a lot of his movies. I think anyone willing to do all their own stunts like him is really brave. That's why, when I try to watch his movies in the United States, it drives me crazy. They dub them all. Yes, some of them are Jackie's voice now that Jackie speaks English so well; but to re-name the movies and put crappy voices on the movies drives me nuts. I watched Police Story (1) and it was in it's perfect Cantonese glory. The stunts were AMAZING. You have to take into account that it was made in the 1980's and they did it on a 2 million dollar budget. Modern day movie's re-create scenes from it. I loved it. Police Story 2 was good as well, but when you get to Police Story (3) it's renamed "Supercop" and they act as if the story isn't a continuum of something else. The fourth one was called "Jackie Chan's First Strike." Ka-kui disappears. I don't know, it's a cultural thing, I just wish they'd learn to appreciate the originals. So - to watch or not to watch is my question.I think I'll just buy this from YesAsia and save myself from the horror! 32.00 for the entire set. You can't buy two of the bad dubs at Best Buy for that...


Current obsession.

Rain




No, not the water that falls from the sky - something much better. This singer/actor/celebrity is pretty amazing. He's number 1 in 8 different countries. (Korea, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, China ((Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan)), Vietnam and Cambodia.) He is currently filming Speed Racer in Germany, playing the part of Taejo Togokhan. His recent attempt to reach into the North American market has been plagued with complications. A Beatles cover band and their production company sued him for his name and ended up losing the case; allowing Rain to use his stage name in the U.S. However, the lengthy law suit cost him all of his scheduled concerts and the different concert halls and promoters are now seeking legal action against Rain and his production companies. It is uncertain whether or not the concerts that were originally post-poned will ever actually see the light of day. For now, I remain one of many faithful "Clouds" and hope for the best. As they say in Korea: Aja! Fighting!

晚安,宝贝 Wan An, Bao Bei (Goodnight, Darling)


Small as it is, I just understood my first full lyric in Mandarin!


Wo ai ni, xiao bao bei. = I love you, little darling/baby!


Hooray! I'll be translating before you know it. Hehehe.


Thanks Nicholas!

Massively Expensive Purse

I found this picture awhile ago, and never remembered to write about it until now. Awhile back, there was a large jewelry show in Japan and this was one of the pieces. All I can recall was that it cost 200,000,000 JPY (Japanese Yen.) Which, if you aren't aware of the exchange rate for USD to JPY is about $1,642,160.92. So, if you happen to be a billionare with some spare change in your pocket - why not pick this up for your girlfriend? Or me, for that matter, I could wear it for a day then sell it and be super rich!


On the same note...

I found a picture taken somewhere (so specific - I know!) in Japan of a GIANT golden unchi. If you have more information, feel free to share. But for now:

Unchi Light


I've mentioned the strange belief that Unchi (poop) is believed to be lucky in Japan. Here is a new little cell phone strap from toy maker Epoch. It's a 2" light-up Unchi, that comes in yellow or pink. Whenever I see pink "unchi" it makes me think of a pink soft-serve ice-cream, so it's not that icky to me. I only found one picture of it, and I don't know what the other versions look like, but I will update when I find out more. Perhaps Strapya will pick this up and sell it?


Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Creepy and Disturbing


Albeit for a good purpose, this story just weirds me out. A group of scientists in Seoul have figured out how to clone dogs. Yep, so the story I just wrote about a bit ago could mean lots of heart-marked puppies! Not really. The program is restricted by the South Korean government to only use the stem cells of the countries elite drug-sniffing dogs. Any way you look at it though, they are re-creations of something living, which to me is just bizarre and pretty wrong. I understand the idea's and theories behind cloning; if something is good, a copy of it will be just as good. But, you have to wonder where the line between what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable is drawn, and who draws it? So, I sit and ponder the possibilities and follow myself in theoretical circles.

<3


This little guy was born in May to a breeder in Japan. He is not for sale, although I feel that he would reach astronomical prices if he were to be put up for sale. Not only is he already featuring many "rules" of cuteness (being small, little beady eyes, looking over his shoulder at you) he has his very own HEART! Yep, that's a real mark on this tiny cuddle buddy. His name is:

Heart-kun!

Couldn't you just eat him up?

Monday, July 9, 2007

Honesty is the best policy.


I would have to think pretty hard before doing what this guy did. Especially at his age. This extraordinary gentleman of 66 from the Chubu branch of a concrete recycling company actually TURNED in $55,000 (apx. USD) worth of gold he found on the job. He just traipsed on over to his local police box and said "here you go - give it back to the rightful owner, please!" Or I assume something of that affect. Now, honestly, how many of you out there would just hand this on over to the police without thinking of keeping it for yourself and figuring out a way to use, or sell it? I don't know the law in Japan, but it's not like he stole it, and it WAS in the trash, so isn't it his now? I don't know, but this man should get some kind of honesty award. Six months and 14 days from now, the gold COULD go to....the factory. Not the honest old sir that brought it in! Oh, well. Japanese folks - check your stash, maybe it's yours!


Friday, July 6, 2007

Would if I could...




So, there is this book. Not just any book, but a charity book for the recovery of the 2004 Tsunami victims. It's also a photo book of Leslie Kee's work. It happens to have 300 Asian Celebrities in it too. I blushed at some of them, but I believe it's art, and that you don't really see in everyday life. I desperately want this book - but the original price was just under $300.00USD, and they don't have any available because it was limited to 7,000 sales copies. There's a copy on e-bay right now for about 495. Seriously - sell it for what you got it for and a little extra, keep the little, give the rest back to charity! Anyway - the book contains some racier photo's, but most of them are just gorgeous representations of great Asian entertainers. Such as: Gackt (!), Daniel Wu (made me blush) , Aaron Kwok, Cyndi Wang, Shu Qi, Wentz Eiji, Teppei Koikei, Edison Chen (yay!) and a world of others. So, if you manage to find it - pick it up for a good cause and try to just enjoy the photography.

The photos are obviously taken at the actual exhibition. All credits for the original work go to the amazing Leslie Kee.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Yuck.



So, I love the fact that Japan has a tendency to learn, change and adapt many things from other cultures. Usually they are improvements, such as technology (tv's, cell-phones), but sometimes they are utter failures. This is one such case. Where-as Americans are used to many flavors of yummy ice cream produced by Ben & Jerry, Haagen Daas, and many other wonderful companies, there are a few companies in Japan destroying this American favorite. Here are some of the (no other word is appropriate) disgusting flavors I found out about.

Soy Sauce (was on the top for icky flavors of the list - but so many more of them are worse), Pit Viper (!), Indian Curry, Pearl (with real Pearl chunks!), Oyster, Salad (Pickles and red peppers included), Charcoal, Miso Ramen, Chile Pepper(one big one sitting in there..), Risotto Cheese, Sea Salt, Grated Yam, Cypress Tree, Cream Cheese (might not be too bad), Squid Gut (ugh), Squid Ink, Rice Straw, Miso, Char-grilled Seaweed, Hot Spring Water (hopefully not used!!!), Garlic (Brand named: Dracula), Genmai, Pickled Plum & Shisho, Collagen Lemon ("like eating a sweet bone."), Tomato (ketchup anyone?), Yakuzen (Herbal Remedy), Potato, Raw Horseflesh (usually used for DOG FOOD), Goat (goat's milk with a taste of real goat!), Whale, Shark Fin (also a popular soup in China), Abalone, Seaweed, Deep Sea BRINE, Spinach, Sesame/Soybean/Dried Kelp mixture, Lettuce & Potato Mix, Wheat, Curdled Bean, (Hahaha you'd think we'd be done by now...) Silk (yep, the same stuff as your fabric), Chicken, Black Beer (mm), Shochu (Potato Alcohol), Red wine, Tulip, Cherry Blossom (might be ok?), Fish, Octopus, Squid, Ox Tongue,((None of these are "flavored" they are the real meat!)) Sweet Potato, Fried Eggplant, Crab, Corn, Kashihikari Rice, Wasabi (Spicay), Shrimp, Eel, Nagoya Noodle, Chicken Wing (Mm bones in my ice cream), Miso bean paste, and last but not least: Cactus.


So, if you really want to try something exotic head to the (not-so-local) grocer's freezer and nab some nasty Japanese ice cream. (I'm sure they must have something normal, right? Right?))


Thoroughly disgusted, I remain yours,

Jenna


Mmm. Horse meat...
As they say: "Pass-u"

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Rain!


I made my first .gif file! Hooray! It's of Rain / Bi.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Korea Movie Review: 200 Pounds Beauty

Kim Ah Jung - Hanna/Jenny

Joo Jin Mo - Sang-Jun


Hanna, the main character is an overweight woman living with a secret crush on her boss. He is the producer for Ammy, Korea's newest up and coming singer. The only hitch? Ammy can't sing. Hanna does all the singing for Ammy behind the scenes. Desperation and negativity drive innocent Hanna to undergo full-body plastic surgery to change her appearance. Once she is "beautiful" she makes her own debut as "Natural Beauty" Jenny. Can Jenny stand up to the pressure, and will Sang-Jun fall for Jenny, and not for Hanna? You'll have to watch to find out!



This movie was amazing. I cried when the subtitles started repeating themselves half-way through my first viewing. (I've watched it more than once now!) ((And, yes, sad as it is, I still need subtitles for most of my Asian-media watching)) But putting all this aside, 200 Pounds Beauty was a stunning movie for me. I (obviously) am a woman of the bigger size, and I found this movie refreshing. Yes, Hanna attained her goals through plastic surgery, but if you pay attention, a lot of hard work went into her transformation. And, if you REALLY pay attention, you'll see the deeper side of this movie. It's about finding out who you really are, and coming to love that person, no matter what.