I’m about to finish watching Stories By Rabindranath Tagore, which has some episodes directed by Anurag Basu— an anthology of some of Tagore’s short stories. One of my favorite episodes has been Mrinal ki Chitthi (ep19), which stars Amrita Bagchi. I’m usually really good with faces that I see in other movies, but I honestly just vaguely remember her face in Phobia and Meri Pyaari Bindu. I must be getting old.
GINZA has just published a piece titled REDI no Shozo (レディã®è‚–åƒ, Portrait of a Lady) by Tomoko Kurose; and two black & white shots by Yasuhide Kuge. It’s a rare interview because it’s actually readable in Google Translate, lol. She talks about taking photos (she’s bad at it), what feelings she gets shooting movies and working on stage, how she perceives herself, a bit on her childhood, her work on voice-acting for animation… some talk on Penguin Highway and her speech for the Japanese Academy Award win where she talked about movies and being bullied.
Amy the celebrity-endorsements-don’t-work-on-me is back XD and must reveal that now I drink much more caffeine than before (I blame Turkish coffee) and I’ve been drinking Soju. Damn it, Korea. And I begin talking about drinks because Yu-chan has a brand new sponsor in Asahi for their Asahi Mogitate (アサヒもãŽãŸã¦) campaign. “Mogitate” means “fresh-picked,” and it’s the name of their new ‘ready-to-drink’ (RTD) product— Chuuhai aimed at women. The err… Drinks Association in Australia (?) has a really explanatory post on Asahi’s road to design the perfect RTD that women (and men) want to buy.
I didn’t know the beer market in Japan had been shrinking. This is first news to me. Recommended watch: The Birth of Sake. Also, you gotta read about the Japanese whisky market and prices. Japan and their collectors’ stuff.
Chuuhai, on the other hand~~~
I do wonder if Yu-chan still sponsors Kirin xD
Here’s the most recent one titled Mogitate and Summer Veggies Curry (ã‚‚ãŽãŸã¦ã¨å¤é‡Žèœã‚«ãƒ¬ãƒ¼)
I’ve been watching NHK’s asadora, Hanbun Aoi (åŠåˆ†ã€é’ã„。), intermittently like I always tend to do. At first, Mei Nagano made me think of a grown-up Ashida Mana which made no sense… even though Mana-chan is enormous and the last time I saw her it made me feel like those parents who watch their children turn into teenagers in horror. lol
But now I was watching the most recent episode of Tsurube no Kazoku ni Kanpai (é¶´ç“¶ã®å®¶æ—ã«ä¹¾æ¯) on NHK Premium, and she was featured wearing an up-do samurai bun, white baggy clothes; so relaxed, enjoying her snacks, a dip of her feet in onsen water, greeting fans and playing other young girls. Dorky charisma, yo~ It takes a special ability to have people younger than you to “kawaiiiiiiiiii” you so sincerely. LOL