Category: Art

  • The Thomas Beale Cipher by Andrew S Allen

    A mystery colorful version of a Film Noir that meets Pythagora Switch (1).

    To be honest, this short could easily have gotten an Oscar nod… dunno if it was eligible this year, though. Maybe next time? It’s definitely stylish, and if it holds clues… worth repeat viewings xD

    The film contains 16 hidden messages that hold clues to the characters’ secrets. Eight are fairly easy requiring only a close eye. Six are moderately difficult using various encryption methods. Two are extremely difficult requiring a genius mind to decrypt.

  • Minami he (To the South)

    So… you don’t live in Tokyo? Or you live in Tokyo but don’t have the time or money to spend a couple of hours in the theater? Well, tough luck!

    Yu-chan’s at the theater in her brand new play with Satoshi Tsumabuki, as previously reported.

    Tsumabuki portrays a seismologist named Minami who is station at the foot of the fictional Mt. Buji, a volcano that is getting ready to erupt. Aoi portrays Amane, a woman found wandering the slopes of Mt. Buji. The only thing is she may not be Amane at all. Aoi’s character keeps changing the story of who she is, where she comes from and even what her real name is.

    via J-Film Pow-Wow (Chris MaGee’s awesome, non?)

    Check J-Film Pow-Wow for more information and a photo where Yu’s on the side looking different. Then there’s a video of Yu-chan commenting on the play, and inviting all of us (who can’t go) to see the play.

    But it’s not embeddable, so head over here for the video.

    But really, even if I were in Tokyo… and I had the time and money to go watch Yu on stage, it’d be for nothing! Because I’m not fluent in Japanese. It’d be like a wasted seat on someone who would just stare O_O and that’d be creepy.

    So… is anyone going? And does anyone want to share their thoughts on it?

  • Conductor by Alexander Chen

    I remember in school we studied the London subway system’s map. Simplified… easy (not really), but immensely easier than New York… according to a friend who’s been to both cities anyway.

    You can see how the New York simple (is not) the subway system works…

    [iframe src=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/19372180?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ffffff” width=”560″ height=”315″]

  • Old BiBi Interview with English Subtitles

    I think this is the only video of Bibi with English subtitles. It’s short, barely three minutes of it… but makes me miss BiBi circa her NOW/WOW albums… which reminds me, gotta review those.

    [iframe src=”https://www.tudou.com/v/_H6cID-4vsU/v.swf” width=”480″ height=”400″]

    Her last bit singing gives me the shivers.

    From the last few performances she’s done, something is amiss. Her voice is quite not right, and I think it might be due to the production of her last album.

    *sighs*

    Forgive the lack of updates, but then again… you do know there’s YAM, right?

  • Yu Aoi – Yogashiten ~ Daisuki Sweets – Best 88 ~

    I guess I could translate Daisuki Sweets to Sweets that I Love (the best).

    There’s a new special issue by Magazine House that has just been released. My understanding is that it’s got write-ups on Yu’s favorite pastries, and stuff like that. I even read something about her grandma’s banana bread?

    Obviously, this is to promote her upcoming film Yogashiten Coin de Rue, which opens on February 11th.

    (more…)

  • The Best Mistake I’ve Ever Made: Sholly

    Ahh fandom… NSFW fandom.

    Shane and Molly have Asian fans! It figures~ I wonder if some pairings are more popular in each region just because of cultural preferences. The fact that Shane wanted to become a better person… more studious, more knowledgeable for Molly is what sold me on the pairing. I also think it’s a very Asian thing xD

    Plus, they’re hot… but Shane and Carmen was hot– but too much drama.

    I liked they used a song by a Taiwanese singer called Joanna Wang. She reminds me of the style of those easy listening tracks by Kendal Payne, or those tracks used so often in Grey’s Anatomy xD And the ending of the video, so sad.

  • Wow, That Was Good Casting: Grilled Cheesus

    I really meant to post this sooner.

    Remember that Glee episode in which we have a flashback of Kurt as a kid with his dad? That was amazing casting, and just to test my theory, I screencapped some bits and showed them to my mother. Her verdict? She thought it was really Chris Colfer as a kid!

    So kudos with the casting on this one:
    Eric Dawson, Carol Kritzer & Robert J. Ulrich ~~~

    (more…)

  • Yu Aoi x Ayumi Ito for H Magazine

    Please, I finally have found out about this photoshoot. I didn’t really recognized Ayumi Ito on this, since I wasn’t really THAT familiar with her work when I found the pictures, and I was probably too embarrassed to ask anyone about this shoot… because, the photos actually make me feel kind of uncomfortable LOL

    And you know I wouldn’t post photos just for posting. I wanted to know, and I finally figured it out.

    Whenever I see Yu-chan sharing a photoshoot with a co-star — usually male — it’s weird, like really awkward. I always thought it was a Japanese thing… have no chemistry, or barely touching your co-star. It’s something that worked with Ninomiya in that Tekkon photoshoot, because it’s him… and he’s pretty much sexless to me. LOL

    I have no idea if it’s because Ayumi Ito is really REALLY awesome, and that Yu Aoi really gets along with her, but this photoshoot made me re-think my whole “it’s a Japanese thing” theory. Maybe it’s because Yu-chan feels more comfortable doing this stuff with girls — because there’s no sexual tension… or if she doesn’t get along with most her male co-stars. Or maybe it is a cultural thing, and it’s wrong in Japan to see her getting cozy with her male co-star for a shoot~~~

    Anyone can explain? Enlighten us~~~

    (more…)

  • The Best Performance on NHK’s 61st Kouhaku? DREAMS COME TRUE

    I’m not even a fan, but woman knows how to work that stage. She certainly knows how to close a show! On a very VERY long new year night… imagine having to download 11Gb to watch a roughly 6hr show, Jpop duo DREAMS COME TRUE was the most memorable number of the night — which includes a giant tsuru (crane), and a rock n’ roller tongue-wiggling ojiisan,

    [iframe src=”https://you.video.sina.com.cn/api/sinawebApi/outplayrefer.php/vid=44605592_1463781897_Z0LkG3M5B2LK+l1lHz2stqkP7KQNt6nkjWy3vFqlLQdeQ0/XM5GdZtsH5SzfAtkEqDhAQJw5dfsj3h8/s.swf” width=”480″ height=”370″]

    Are you kidding me? A marching band (the Kouhaku Marching band) with a lead singer jumping in a kimono? That’s an automatic win. xD Plus, Ikite yuku no desu (生きてゆくのです) is super catchy, the performance just brings it to the level of memorable.

    This is the best I can do for the moment, the only clip I’ve been able to find. If/when I find something better, will re-post. Now, if NHK was smart, they’d be posting the Kouhaku performances on their own site for embedding, instead of taking down the performances that make it online…

  • NHK Taiga Drama Gou 15sec Tease

    OMG, how time flies!

    Gou begins this Sunday!! And it’s supposed to be a 70min. episode.

    Please, that clip of Juri possibly crying… and possibly pulling at each other’s cheeks, I’m going to be crying and laughing with this… just like when Atsuhime aired.