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
Fetish Wednesday, December 30, 2009
You know you are turning into a fangirl when…
1. You cancelled all appointments just to finish watching Hitotsu Yane no Shita (Masaya is so sweet! :D)
2. You were rewatching ALL the episodes of Music Station and Hey Hey Hey! on your hard drive when you were supposed to be looking for jobs. (HAHAHAHA I love the Hey Hey Hey! special! The Music Station Super Live with KOH+ was funny too! 8D)
(Psssssst. If you look carefully, Takuya Kimura is wearing platform boots. But why is he still so much shorter than Masha?!)
3. You hate his curls but still can’t wait for Ryoma Den. (AND you dug up information of the hairstylist who cut his Galileo hairstyle. He has a salon in California btw. XD)
4. You roam around Youtube all day long and subscribe to all the videos of him you could get your hands on.
5. You were watching Beauty or Beast days before Common Test
6. You love to hear others praising him. (Nice one Beyonce! :D)
7. You bought a magazine (that contains a 2000 words interview) even though you could not understand a single Japanese character.
8. You tune in to Suzuki FM and TFM radio programmes every weekend, even though you do not understand anything. (You just laugh when he laughs. -.- The live performances are great though! :D Acoustic Fukuyama! :D)
9. You ask all your friends going Japan to grab his CDs for you, even though you have all the songs already (SORZ illegal).
10. You know he is probably the number 1 pervert in Japan but it doesn’t bother you at all. (His coloured jokes are… legendary. -.-)
1. 《方向感》 - 1976 2. Another Works - Fukuyama Masaharu 福山雅治 (CHECK! :D Thanks Eelyn! :D) 3. 《東京にもあったんだ》 EP - Fukuyama Masaharu 福山雅治
書
1. 聖女的救濟 - 東野圭吾 2. 伽利略的煩惱 - 東野圭吾
電影
1. Alice In Wonderland 2. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus 3. Blue Mansion 4. Sherlock Holmes 5. Never Let Me Go
演唱會 1. Superband 縱貫線告別演唱會
就醬而已 :D
--愛做夢的傻瓜--
9:38 AM
黎明之前的黑暗 Wednesday, December 23, 2009
在我的世界裏沒有希望只有絕望
你把踐踏別人的自尊心作爲樂趣
把我講得一文不值，心裏暗爽
像颱風襲擊一樣把我的希望一一破滅
在起跑綫上就勸我主動放棄、投降
你口中的我缺點一大籃，優點一個都沒有
以前拉中胡，說我是在濫竽充數
後來踢足球，調侃我說我應該一直蹲冷板凳，上場一分鐘都輪不到我吧
你說我粗心，不靈活，笨
不善于溝通，不能與人相處
還說我做不了那些需要技能或需要跟別人講話的工作
只適合做那些不需要大腦，一個人封閉起來的工作
那你的意思就是我只能儅清潔工，對嗎？我問到
那種工作你也做不了
那我能做什麽？！
…… [沉默]
你的意思就是讓我天天癱在家裏，是嗎？
沒有！我希望你趕快出去賺錢！我看……你去應徵那些工廠操作工的職位
……
你也很喜歡評論別人多麽的差勁
然後附加一句：
可是他應該還是比你厲害吧
或
至少比你好一點
……
[輕聲] 那我還有存在的價值嗎？
--愛做夢的傻瓜--
10:05 AM
編造故事的高手 Sunday, December 13, 2009
沒想到你這麽狠毒
原本只是不想多談那些和我無關緊要、與你不曾相識、毫無瓜葛的某某的私人生活
有必要那麽八卦嗎？一切純屬你的猜測，毫無實際的憑空猜測
單凴道聽途説和級豐富的想象力絞盡腦汁、想方設法編織出的故事
將狗仔隊扭曲事實的伎倆發揮得淋漓盡致
簡直能和水果周刊比美
可是你始終不肯承認自己的高談闊論有多麽的荒謬
一直以來都很討厭你隨波逐流、人云亦云的態度
做人怎能這麽沒主見？
曾以爲你只是很小心眼，
現在竟然連那麽惡劣、可惡的字眼都說得出口
不要每次都把搞砸的事賴在別人身上
爲了擡舉自己不惜踩在別人的頭頂上
很過分耶！
看看鏡子裏的你，好好地反省吧！
還有，不要把近視眼作爲藉口！
-氣-
Edit to add: 最近我好憤清哦，寫了一大堆吐槽文 =。=
--愛做夢的傻瓜--
8:15 PM
You're Beautiful/Handsome Thursday, December 10, 2009
This may sound incoherent, because I am typing in the same way as I talk.
Okay, I need to defend myself. Just to clarify things a bit before everyone thinks I’m a weirdo. But seriously, it just seems wrong to ogle at a bunch of boys, init? I’m not a pedophile! I guess that’s the main reason why I gave up on Detective Gukuen Q after 1.5 episodes. It felt so wrong to watch a bunch of kids running around pretending to be Sherlock Holmes, and the cast of 15 year olds makes the drama seem… juvenile.
That’s why, I am alright with the A.N.Jells (HAH angels), precisely because they are all older than me, and the charismatic lead is 3 years older. :D Still, it is a tight fit (the female protagonist is merely one year older, dear me), and I am beginning to feel old (?!!), as it dawned on me that the current batch of idols seem to match my age or are even younger than me. -.- SERIOUSLY. While I stay at home, gawping at the screen, wasting my life away as an Otaku (or Hikikomori, whatever that means), people of my age are out there in the real/reel world competing with adults, exposed to stardom, living their dreams. It unsettles me.
N’uff of that. Anyway, the past 3 days were spent on watching You’re Beautiful (as if the whole world doesn’t know already). I’m quite proud of myself this time round, well for one I am watching this without the tingling feeling of guilt at the back of my head (I have this peculiar habit of getting addicted to dramas during exam periods), and more importantly, I actually watched this drama in chronological order, without skipping right to the final episode halfway through to see how the ending plays out (as I ALWAYS do. Yep I love spoilers. :D) Isn’t that an amazing accomplishment! Incidentally, it is also the only show I’ve watched without rooting for one character right from the beginning (think Zhong Zong, Koda, Snape etc). Perhaps this is so because all the characters are likable, be it the demure Shin-Woo, the cute Jeremy or the cool Tae-Kyung. Well if I really HAVE to choose, I would go for Tae-Kyung, Jeremy a close second. Shin-Woo doesn’t appeal to me, as in the case of his parallel, Ji Hoon, from Boys Over Flowers. WELL at least I find Shin-Woo alright, and at times even pity him; hated Ji Hoon in BOF. Oh and Manager Ma’s hilarious antics and wild imaginations never fail to crack me up! :D And President Ahn’s (in)famous lines, ‘Go go go!’, ‘Fantastique!’, ‘JACKPOT!’. Some credits must be given to UNEE, cast as the supposed villain in the show [nicknamed ‘fairy’ by the fans for her ahem beauty and HEH ‘gentle soul’. (Wassup with all the mystic references, anyway? We’ve got 4 angels, and now there is a ‘devil-fairy’. Corny!)], does not piss me off too much, since all her attempts to expose Gu Mi Nam fail in the end, thanks to the protection by the ‘angels’ (or rather, A.N.Jells =.=).
Although the drama is full of clichés and parts borrowed from other shows, it manages to put a twist to all these clichés to make it a refreshing watch. Sometimes, I even get the vibe that the script writers are trying to poke fun of the clichés. The parodies are classic, MadTV style. The show manages to capture the current idol scene in Korea rather accurately, IMHO, like the mass of anti-fans, the need for publicity and exposure, the crazy fans, and most hilariously, the slash fanfics of the trio!!!!!!!! They actually re-enacted the whole scene out of a slashfic of the orginal A.N.Jells hahahahaha! (Not that I like slash fics, but I love reading good Galileo and Snape fics.)
I love the rabbit-pig! It is so adorable. Loved it when Tae-Kyung did the operation on two different soft toys to get the hybrid (a symbol of Gu Mi Nam, since he calls her rabbit-pig, after two animals he hated). His punch kiss was cute, and loved it whenever he smirks/pouts/twitches his mouth. Jeremy is so adorable, and it was heartbreaking to see him cry. Well Shin-Woo… Didn’t feel much about him (reasons stated above), yes he is nice and all, but lacking that bit of charisma. Prefer him strumming the guitar on stage. THAT’S WHY I find YAB much better than BOF. 2 is company, 3 is crowd, and 4 means that the last guy has a non-existant and non-consequential role in the drama, which is so pointless. And the lack of parallel storylines make YAB even more endearing (didn’t like the Kim Bum’s character Yi-jung’s side story with Ga-eul, thought it complicated things way too much). It enables more plot development in other aspects, like the crazy fandom and the hilarious spoofs/crazy imaginations of Manager Ma, Jeremy, Tae-Kyung and Mi Nam! LOVE it when Tae-Kyung smiles or thinks out loud or draws on a piece of blank paper with his pencil. The classic was Gu Mi Nam (Gemma) with fireworks appearing over her head, and the cherubs in place of naked men.
I don’t like idols in general (A.N.Jell is an idol group), nor do I like idol dramas much. BUT I enjoy being an onlooker, standing at the sidelines laughing at the bunch of idols (stars as Gemma calls them – her Thomas, Julian and David XD) and taking a glimpse of their colourful lives (as opposed to my boring one).
Okay I think I will rewatch it some other day, as I do for all the dramas I like (Galileo, Good Luck!!, Beauty and Beast, DCJ, BOF… you name it :D). But I don’t really feel compelled to watch the dramas by the same few actors/actresses. Maybe only the ones with Jung Geun-seok (the male lead)? XD
BTW: read from dramabeans that Jung Geun-Seok and Park Shin-hye (Gu Mi Nyu/Gu Mi Nam) were heavy contenders for the roles of Gu Jun Pyo and Geum Jan-di in BOF! Now I wonder how it would turn out if the pair replaced Lee Min-Ho and Gu Hye-sun… (BTW their recaps are great, spent one whole night reading through all their YAB posts.)
WOW look at the polls! Apparently BOF is not faring well, init? You’re Beautiful is leading in all the polls by a large margin, great job! (:
Likes _____________________
MayDay
Sodagreen
Tizzy Bac
831
1976
Cheer
FIR
Ayue
Wonfu
縱貫綫
Fukuyama Masaharu
Johnny Depp
and all his movies
CSI NY
CSI Miami
numb3rs
x-files
Severus Snape [HBP]
Agent Smith [Matrix]
Zaizen Goro [GWT]
Harry Bosch books
Pendergast books
Green
Black
Precious Words _____________________
Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Gilbert Grape was Finding Neverland in the Chocolate Factory, pretending to be a Pirate called Donnie Brasco with Scissors as hands. while dancing with Corpse Bride.
(Psssssst. If you look carefully, Takuya Kimura is wearing platform boots. But why is he still so much shorter than Masha?!)
