The clear blue sea of the Atlantic..

あの夏も海も空も
Saturday, January 9, 2010

Sometimes I wonder, would I still like Masha if he was not a musician?

I think the answer is no.

His acting is okayy, flawed but not too bad.

I can’t comment on his radio programmes since honestly, I don’t get what he says. Japanese sounds like utter gibberish to me most of the time haha.

His photography skills are rather decent for an amateur without professional training.

But without his music, he is just an average (albeit good looking) ojisan. XD

It’s not merely that he is a singer, composer, lyricist, producer, or that he is able to play the guitar (very well, in fact), the harmonica, drums… The melody of his songs are beautiful, and his lyrics are rather inspiring, in addition to his deep, soothing voice. XD

Recently I begin to see a link between the celebrities I am fond of. All of them (Johnny Depp, Masha, Alan Rickman etc.) are still not used to their star status (and never will, I presume) and downplay their popularity. Depp has always been telling reporters that he does not find himself charming at all, and Masha is extremely low-key and shuns the limelight. :D Mehhs why do I find this common trait of theirs so mesmerizing?!

Oh this is just one of the many Masha songs that I love. But I reckon this is the best version of あの夏も海も空も. :D

--愛做夢的傻瓜--
11:37 PM

Joker!Masha
Friday, January 8, 2010

...And I succumbed to temptation, oh dear.

That I temporarily forgot the fact that I don't understand Japanese words. =.=

So there, bought the Joker!Masha magazine without second thoughts.

Kino is becoming my second home.

Oh dear me.

--愛做夢的傻瓜--
5:47 PM

Rationality Wins
Thursday, January 7, 2010

In the end, rationality won.

(Okay maybe not. XD)

Perhaps due to the upcoming taiga Ryoma Den, I was greeted with a shelf of Masha magazine covers when I entered Kino. :D

Initially I was tempted to grab a music magazine featuring our dear ‘pin-up boy’ on the cover page, boasting an exclusive interview with TEH MAN, but I resisted. :D But while I was struggling with my inner self, a fangirl/fanwoman picked up a stack of Arashi magazines and placed the whole lot of them on top of the pile of Masha magazines! Ooi, I know he is an ojisan but is he really THAT insignificant, you otaku! (Meh it’s like me slapping myself, no? XD)

Oh and I spotted a Japanese comics magazine with a caricature of Ryoma-Masha! XDDD I totally lunged myself at it LOL.

And just as I was about to make my purchase, spotted 3 other Masha magazines (??!!!) on the first shelf, together with the Ryoma Den Intro book. I think the Japanese ojisan reading a news periodical at the shelf was staring at me as I browsed through the magazines, apparently not understanding a word, but excitement written all over my face HAHAHAHA.

As I poured through the books, unable to make up my mind, I remembered the magazine I have with the 2000 words interview that I have not touched since erhhh September 2008. So I reluctantly let go of the 4 magazines.

Rationality won.

Afterwords, went over to the Chinese section and found Galileo’s Worries (!!) while picking up another Higashino Keigo book loosely translated as The Beautiful Weapon. Really, the faint green and white cover was so easy to miss beside the dashing red book.

So in the end I bought the two books above. Only two books. XD

Galileo’s Worries, as the title suggests, is a collection of short stories on Manabu Yukawa, also called the Weirdo Galileo by his colleagues and peers, and his investigative prowess - using physics to solve unexplainable crimes. (Yes, very similar to numb3rs.) Yep! It’s newly released and we could finally see the Higashino Keigo’s Kao Utsumi in action! And she is sooo different from the drama-Utsumi. So much cooler and smarter and less annoying oops. Most of the stories are not released on the goggle-box yet, so it’s worth a read. Now looking forward to The Saint’s Retribution (聖女的救濟) traditional Chinese version, due to come out by the end of the month in Taiwan. :D

But frankly speaking, I don’t like the Galileo books as much as his other works. [I’ve always thought he injects too much lovey dovey moments between Yukawa sensei and his ex-classmate Kusanagi Shunpei (much like the interactions between Holmes and Watson) that keeps slashers happy.] I thought Midnight Sun’s Journey was better, and Riverside Murder was epic. Yeah there are the others, like Fate, Letter, Doorway of Murder etc. I love the twists that come in the last few pages (or sometimes even the last page) of the books. Higashino Keigo is really a master at depicting the dark side of human nature. Thumbs up, yeoh!

That said, I am addicted to Galileo fan fictions. Most of them are pretty good, really, some even surpassing the original series IMHO. There are those novel-length fics with complicated plots and elaborate criminal methods, and there are others that are less than a thousand words but speak millions. I loved Harry Potter fan fics, but the good ones are so few in numbers and so hard to find. Galileo fan fics are mostly pleasant to read. :D

The Ryoma Intro book is an interesting read. It is not a picture book as I initially thought. In fact it’s rather wordy towards the back. And it contains a lengthy interview HAHAHAHAHA. Translator, anyone? XD It’s fun to look at the relationship chart though. There are so many characters in the drama so it’ll prolly be rather hard to keep tabs on who-is-who once the show begins, especially if I’m watching the keyhole quality video without subs. But seriously, he was married to one woman and loved by three others?! Lucky dude. XD Most interestingly, 4 of the main actors are from Beauty or Beast! :D Especially Watanabe Ikkei gosh! Masha and Watanabe-san collaborated not just in Ryoma and BOB, but in Galileo too! This guy follows me everywhere, I even spotted him in Liar Game and Trick2. =.= (Okay I looked up his name on wiki, apparently he starred in 11 dramas just in 2007 alone. -.-)

OH I just scanned through the names of Ryoma’s production team. The screenwriter wrote the Galileo, Hero and CHANGE scripts too. Figures.

So yep, really excited about Ryoma. Let’s go! :D

--愛做夢的傻瓜--
9:24 PM

Final Words

Let’s talk about the last day of 2009.

Initially wanted to stay at home watch Kouhaku Utagassen at home (HAH I’m such a recluse) but of course I didn’t in the end.

This year’s countdown is awesome! :D Spent it at Stacey’s house with the two. XD The concert was secondary - it wasn’t exactly amazing or whatsoever, most of the artistes put on mediocre performances that we love to bash. XD BUT it’s the company that counts; I don’t remember the last time I spent my new year with anyone (My parents would be asleep by 11. Yeah, they are becoming old. -.- Not that I mind, since my mum has a knack of interrupting me at the most crucial moments i.e. when MD/Sodagreen/Cheer performed. =.=)

So the last few hours of 2009 were spent watching Taipei最High Countdown Concert. Here are some of the highlights (The WOOHS and BOOHS)

BOO #1: Fahrenheit’s performance was painful. Our dearest temperature boyband was so obviously lip-syncing that they didn’t bother to hide the fact. So why on earth were their earphones on in the first place? Come on, if you can’t sing, at least dance something decent, but nope, their moves were as horrendous as their voices. Somebody was lagging by a beat throughout the three dances, and I couldn’t figure if was deliberate or they are just plain lousy what. So of course, much mouth-lashings ensued. It was fun. :D

BOOH #2: I have a problem with Ding Dang’s producer. It’s not that she is bad because she CAN sing. But what’s the deal with her miniskirt and beyonce-inspired dance beats man? Her ballads were much, much better. Please, just let her voice be the focus. Forget about the dances. And Ding Dang, time to grow up and leave the protective arms of Mayday.

BOOH #3: The Running Show, or whatever it is called. What the hell is it supposed to be? Going around smashing people’s heads with cardboards and paper is art?! Well then I guess I just can’t appreciate art.

Some parts were so boring that me and Stacey were looking through the photos in our phones HAHA. Yes, I am a fangirl below all the facade. And I am proud of it WOOH! Strange that it is only limited to Japanese and our western buddies.

WOOH #1: Shuhui likes Hebe. And frankly I do find her pretty and rather good as a singer. And why are all the older songs so much better than the newer pieces? When 美麗新世界 was played we all perked up HAHAHA.

WOOH #2: 小鬼 put up a commendable performance. Good one there. Yoga’s rendition of Eason’s song was great.

WOOH #3: The MCees’ performance! :D We have the 食尚玩家 bunch and 瓜哥 X 藍心湄 duo dancing to the music. Their combined Sorry Sorry imitation was LOL!

WOOH #4: Was dozing off throughout the show (I’m still growing I need sleep! XD) but when TEH FIVE appeared (at around 11pm) I instantaneously became wide awake HAHAHA. Helps to have 軋車 as the first song, no? XD We were yelling and jumping/dancing (?!) with the music (sorry auntie and neighbours!) HAHA can you imagine, I did that all by myself for the past few years while trying to keep my excitement down in order not to wake up my sleeping parents?! Yeah it was really anti-climatic. And their performances last year wasn’t exactly fantastic because someone was waaay out of tune HAH. So yesterday was GREAT in my book (of lonely new years). Apparently it was a rehash of the DNA concert, and even the effects are the same. DANG, I swear selling away my DNA ticket was my biggest regret last year. (Okay besides not studying as hard as I should have for my prelims and As.) DANG THE As.

So as I was saying… Monster’s solo was great! Stone’s guitar wasn’t working well because we couldn’t hear his solo melody all the bass beats. Yan Ming’s solo was oh-kay, but I really miss the sight of him the five. BUT there was no Masha solo. Strange neh. I was anticipating it ‘cos I’ve heard much good stuff about it. Naturally, Ms. Teo was pissed. :-O (We are so biased. XD Rather, we discriminate against someone HAH)

And when I heard RSHH goosebumps formed and the world seemed to come to a stand still and it was just the melody, the lyrics and me. (HAHA quit the melodrama, woman!) Have you gotten the feeling before? I think the lyrics really describe my current state of mind. Am I worried about what is going to happen tomorrow? Of course. Do I fear what lies in store for me in the future? Yep. Yes, t’was freedom at last for me when As were over, but then the uncertainties and dread hit me. Where next? What next? I don’t have any answers yet. But for now, at least I know that I decide my mood, nobody can take that privilege away from me. XD

I REALLY HAVE TO GO FOR ONE DNA CONCERT THIS YEAR! RAHH.

SO-SO: The Lee Hom performance after midnight. Admittedly, I don’t dig his looks or go for his ballads. But then again, my tastes have always been questionable (though I beg to differ, really).

SO that’s all for the lengthy rundown of the countdown concert.

After that I was practically sleep walking siah. Read 怪獸家點名 in Stacey’s room while the two watched Family Outing. :D Oh I do love to stare at the guitars! I managed to finish the book (skipping through the last few pages) and joined them watching the show (and falling asleep because I have little patience of watching shows from beginning to the end. Short attention span sorz.) Eventually I dozed off at around 4/5 when we were watching some talk show with the 8 people Japanese boyband.

The next thing I know, I woke up at 9 on 1st Jan, 2010 in Stacey’s room.

Checked out the Kouhaku videos and CDTV Masha cuts. I think his curls are growing on me, finally. Who is exciting about Ryoma! -waves arms- For Kouhaku, Masha was singing in the heavy snow in his hometown, Nagasaki (near Ryoma’s filming location), outside a Ryoma-era pavillion! The overall effect was wow.

Yep that kind of sums up the last few hours of 2009 and the first few hours of 2010. Thank you Stacey and auntie for the house and food and hospitality! :D

HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

--愛做夢的傻瓜--
9:22 PM