Category: Art

  • Osen-san Will Keep on Going…

    OsenBut she made me cry. LOL’ What started as a funny (almost goofy) ride about yummy-looking food from Isshouan, ended up as something that made me cry xD No? Weren’t the last two episodes of Osen so nostalgic?

    Maybe it is because my family owns a restaurant as well… and I’m so not-very-much like Osen-san T-T Sadness, NE?

    But I do! I do appreciate GOOD food! I appreciate good everything… taking the time to do something~ I do with design… I may not be the Osen-san of design, but I worry for it… and am scared of ‘the times’.

    Because now I have to compete with $100 websites, and have to convince and fight for a client that websites are only for them. Okay, I may not call a button “Button-san,” and I certainly can’t drink as much Sake as Osen… and oh yeah, did I mention I can’t cook to save my life? LOL’ But I treat each of my projects like an Isshouan dish~ With time, and dedication.

    In the end, is all about learning… connecting, and passing it on. Please, don’t let good things go by just because other things seem more convenient. Hontou onegai shimasu. *bows*

  • Seo Taiji is Back!

    Rejoice! After a few years absent from the music scene (at least mine…), Korean musician Seo Taiji (서태지) is back with a new single… and and new album, of course! Oh yeah, and a new video… ;)

    I remember that my friend Jenny, back in DD school… she sent me Seo Taiji mp3s (See! Thank Kamisama for mp3 transfers), and I was instantly hooked. I was surprised to know that my other Korean friend was also a fan, because these two friends couldn’t be more different xD Anyway, Just about a year ago, I ended up buying his 7th album Issues, which is now out-of-stock in YesAsia.

    I don’t know when the full new album will be out, but I’ll keep my ear open. xD Gosh, so many releases now~~ Luckily, Amy does not buy Singles~~~ I’ve only bought EPs, but not Singles, not yet. xD

  • Another VMA 2008 – What Happened to Breakthrough Videos?

    Okay… did any of you ended up thinking this was missing something? For sure, and improvement from last year.

    (more…)

  • Missed East Village Opera Company in Lima?

    Because I did. Malditos promotores! How on earth am I supposed to find out people are coming if you don’t bombard me with printed stuff on magazines, newspapers, cable commercials, or even a pityful data addition at Eventful. (more…)

  • Ueno on Acting, LF, Love + Marriage

    Juri Ueno - Nikkei Entertainment MagazineAwww, Juri-chan! I was reading a post over at the boards, and found that Yuuki provided a link to an English-translated  Juri Ueno interview for the latest issue of Nikkei Entertainment Magazine. Juri can be so charismatic~~ LOL’ but apparently it only works on girls. Let’s face it, girls~~~ Boys or most of boys have RUBBISH taste in women… case and point all those guy magazines, such as FHM. Here’s the chart~

    Juri Ueno - Boy and Girl Charts

    It’s a really insightful interview in which she discusses her latest film (GuGu), her acting in Nodame, Last Friends~ Here are some quotes;

    “Rather than films, I grew up watching variety shows most of the time (laughs). Refining or adorning myself, I still don’t have much interest in that area. But in this era, the scope of what being ‘an actress’ is have widened greatly haven’t they? In the olden days, being an actress means you have to be beautiful and ladylike else it won’t be possible. Now, there are even roles like Nodame, and because of that, even someone like me is able to be one (laughs).

    […]

    Being married probably won’t effect my focus towards work but at the moment the image of being alone is stronger. […]

    Scans and complete article translation, here. ^^

  • Eve and Portman Make 1st Run in Venice

    Well, couldn’t find stills of Eve, but apparently the debut of Natalie Portman behind the director’s chair is doing pretty good, with the first reviews being positive. **EDIT**

    Eve - Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara
    Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara in Eve, Natalie Portman's directorial debut.

    Read about it at NP.com~~~

  • Marit Larsen and The Chase~~

    This might be old news to some, but it’s news to me… and the more people blog about it, the better~ I just read over at Marit’s MySpace that her 2nd studio album as a solo is almost done and that it will be called “The Chase”. The first single is already up on her profile, and it’s called “If a Song Could Get Me You“.

    I love her music! So head over there and give it a listen if you haven’t heard her music~ Such a fusion of magical sounding pop with a folk countrish vibe. She’s got an innocent sweet soudning voice that mixes well~~ xD And you know, her last album (her solo debut, “Under the Surface”) was great… and even too short an album! Whenever I put it on my disc player, I have to repeat it at least 3 times. xD

    Anyway~~~ to top it all off, Marit has also posted 3 home-made video versions of the song… one on the train, the other on a green grocery store, and one last walking through escalators in a subway station.

  • Some Teasin’ from Hayato Ichihara

    hayato-ichihara-personal-photobook

    So… Hayato Ichihara also has a Photobook of his own. It came out in 2006 and it features photos by Yoshiaki Sugiyama of a 19-year-old Hayato… there’s even an image reminding us of his debut of All About Lily Chou Chou (in which he shared the screen with Yu Aoi)~~

    Well, you can get his Photobook in here:
    beNippon.com [minimum shipping $8 I think…]
    YesAsia.com [free shipping when reaching $90 for International orders, and cheaper for US, Canada, etc]

    The book features 90+ pages of Hayato being silly, included rabbit costume photos (like the one on the cover), making faces with an oba-chan, and even a naked butt…. LOL’

    But don’t worry, it’s not only fun and games~~ there’s also some artistic shots of Hayato wearing his traditional Japanese clothing, some with a tux, and some very cool black and white shots. And I will be posting a teasing image… no, it’s not the butt. It’s a really nice shot of Hayato in Japanese outfit running up a stony set of stairs~~~

    Hayato Ichihara - Personal Photo Book Scan

    As with Yu’s Travel Sand scan, I’ve added some photo and PB credits~~ It’s a wallpaper sized 1680x1050px, there’s also a more ‘squarer’ version of it (fullscreen one sized 1280×1024) if you are interested. Just leave a comment either here or Flickr.

  • Are You Ready to Love NY?

    It wasn’t long ago that Lima got the chance to watch Paris, Je t’Aime – and though the shorts are not perfect, they are very enjoyable. They also had a really nice cast put together that included Natalie Portman, Juliette Binoche, Elijah Wood, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maggie Gyllenhaal, heck~~ even Ryan Phillippe. LOL… and with an interesting list of directors that included Cuaron, the Coen and Gus Van Sant~~

    Apparently, the collection of short films were pretty successful, so as Hollywood does what Hollywood does best~~ Now we’ve got New York, I Love You… and there’s a Teaser because apparently there might be a screening at TIFF. Here it is~~

    I was excited about NY, I Love You. I was… but this teaser~~ some of the actors, they’re not on my good list of actors~~ in fact, they are in my list of actors I should skip. LOL’ Though, I’ve probably made exceptions. Anyway, and the music. I like the music… I do. But I thought they could pick tracks less familiar, because at the moment it makes me feel like I put my iPod on shuffle.

    Also… 2010, will you be ready for Shanghai, I Love You? Or should that be Shanghai, Wo Ai Ni??? xD

  • People Love’em some Juri!

    Kobe Collection - Juri Ueno - Aug 2008xD Oh yesh, they do~~~

    Now that Olympics are over, I can slowly return to my current obsessions… so I stopped by the forums, and *le gasp!* How did I not find out about this sooner????

    Juri-chan won Best Supporting Actress at the 57th Japanese Drama Academy Awards.

    YAY! GO FOR JURI! OMEDETTO GOZAIMASU!!! ^+^~~

    Also, seems like Last Friends swept awards by winning Best Supporting Actor for Ryo Nishikido (WTF? I need some Eita lovin’), Best Directors, Best Script, Best Drama, and BEST THEME SONG~~~

    Go Utada Hikaru!!! Hope you have a fun party with Kuma-chan xD

    You can read a little bit more about the results in the Juri Ueno Live Journal Community. They also have the awesome photos of Juri’s last public apperance at the Kobe Collection, which happened yesterday in Japan… just click over here.