
Oh hoh… teasing photo for those who wanted Shunji Iwai + Yu Aoi back together. xD

As you probably know… or didn’t – Yu’s latest play with Satoshi Tsumabuki, Minami he, opened in Tokyo… had some dates postponed (at least) due to the Earthquake, and I think it’s safe to say that it’s done with its running.
There were interesting thoughts on it – hint: only read one review, which you can check by going through the Minami tag – and I ran into this poster for it, which is the closest some of us got to this play xD

Hmm, I had planned a batch of Yu Aoi related posts that meant something, but I couldn’t find the photographer’s name for this photoshoot. And I even tried different ways… like her name + journal standard + photographer in English and Japanese, and ended up in Chinese websites xD
Did I tell you that my last Chinese lesson was professions? LOL
Anyway, this special project was a collaboration between Journal Standard and Yu Aoi for last December.

Triple threat post!
Kate Winslet + Kate Winslet’s hair + Mario Testino x)
I gotta say I love that haircut, and my shortsightedness has never been able to imagine Kate Winslet would rock such a haircut. But wow, plus~ Mario Testino.
Always said I like his portraits more than his fashion photography, but then again I’m not into fashion. Unless it’s totally fierce, they look fake to me. I usually hate them.
But these? *swoon*
Pure fierce~

Heh, heh.
You know I love hair. And I love The Sounds (not as much as I used to, but still like them). Plus, she looks very rocking, even if it’s the same coloring… I just like the emphasis on the hair xD

I have another confession to make.
As you may have already figured out, I grew up in a time when there was barely any stability. When things settled down, we had about 4 or 5 networks, usually broadcasting local productions.
But there was also syndication.
American television loves syndication, they ensure making a living with it. What’s a better example of syndication than… Baywatch. Yup, that’s my confession. I grew up with Baywatch. Especially the first season and the second… maybe the third. They re-ran those seasons a lot those years, so I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them more than once.
So when I was like 5 or 6, we would all watch the show — most likely for different reasons LOL — since we kids liked going to the beach, we would always joke that our local lifeguards looked like they had floatability devices inside them. We would laugh, and move on.
Then there was Shauni. Before there was Stephanie Holden… Shauni was the only girl in the cast — pretty sure, I could be wrong. I was Team Shauni! As a kid, I don’t know why I thought she was awesome. She seemed nice, no problems — I’m seeing a pattern here — and she had Eddie xD
I just realized I’m a crazy shipper… almost since I was born. LOL
Anyway, time passed. Country got better, we got cable. Sony had just launched their signal, and were re-running Baywatch. Browsing channels, there was this episode – or was it a movie? – of Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood. Ha! I didn’t know what a bordello was at the time. I didn’t speak any English, all I remember saying was “Hey! That’s Shauni!” And I watched it. The memory of it — me watching that — is hilarious.
So yeah, I like Erika Eleniak.
Very much like on the other tales, I was browsing channels and ended up on Sony. What a surprise it was to see Erika Eleniak on the latest season of Desperate Housewives. Color me surprise. Even if I have stopped watching the show, I… for a split second or more, considered watching the show again. Then I didn’t when I found out it was a one-ep gig.

There’s a pretty personality-insightful making-of article in regards of Taiwan’s first and brand-new Boi-band, who in their second single Super Lover are urging a pretty lady to not give up on love.
I think I’ve finally figured out who is who. Ha!

First, there’s leader Jin Tai (the one with the glasses). Then there’s Qiu Qiu the former dance instructor (top third on the left), Milk is the one with the blueish tones on her hair, Chris (? Zi Lun?) (the one with the humping face), and finally Chiao (Qiao) the one with the blond hair.
And I’ve already picked my favorite. LOL
Today, while watching Chinese news — yes, I know… hardly unbiased opinion — I saw that China had deployed military airplanes, cargo ferries, and commercial flights in order to mobilize over 35k people out of Libya.
While violence and unrest is rampant, and expats from everywhere in the world are trying to get out, and people outside are “celebrating” freedom of speech, people are left without jobs, and families are left without income. Chinese expats have been uncommunicated with their families since the unrest began, waiting in the airports that have no running water.
Now, they’re back home.

When trying to look for the news to post, googling “China” to check the latest news from there, I only ended up seeing negative items. I ended up with Xinhuanet.com and by looking for “China Libya” I found some tiny articles from the West barely mentioning this.
I thought it’s an important news item to highlight.
There’s been a recent item talking about Gou’s lowering ratings, and mostly pointing out Juri Ueno’s miscasting or her lacking experience in period dramas.
Of course, I cannot form an opinion on whether Juri’s use of Japanese is appropriate for the era or not, and neither are most of us. However, I do understand why it would turn people off.
I cannot for the life of me, however, understand why would people say they don’t understand Juri Ueno playing a 10-year-old version of Gou, when for the past few Taiga dramas it’s been used. I just began watching Taiga dramas just a few years ago, and I do understand why it would throw people off. It’s weird to you, I get it.
You cannot say Ueno is miscast as a 10-year old when Masaharu Fukuyama played a much MUCH younger version of Ryomaden at the beginning of the show, Satoshi Tsumabuki played a much younger version of his character in Tenchijin, Hideaki Takizawa (Tackey from Tackey & Tsubasa) played pre-teen Yoshitsune when he was 20-something…
and obviously, Aoi Miyazaki (and Eita) played little kids early on Atsuhime, as well as playing them as 40 or 50-ish year-old people.
Also, I want to admit it. I don’t feel passionate enough about Gou. I love Juri, Asami Mizukawa and Rie Miyazawa, I do. But I’m not feeling the story. The three sisters, though they married very important people, feel like simple pawns in the story instead of being the players.

It felt different in Atsuhime.
They made Atsuhime interested in history, learning, and go strategics. She was constantly sent to places, and did things on her own to change her purpose in there. In the show, she was sent to be able to control the Shogun, to disintegrate the Ooku… yet, when she marries into the family, she sets to protect her new family. It’s conflictive.
It was engaging. It was good.
And this is me telling you I like Juri Ueno more than Aoi Miyazaki.
Plus, you don’t need to be a kid to play a kid convincingly.