Free Animes and Expensive Movies

30th January 2008, Wednesday

A rather uneventful weekend had passed as the Lunar New Year trickles in...
Had the advanced reunion dinner with my in-laws and the same usual affair of charcoal-cooked steamboat, roasted duck and the shenanigans between her household.
The main attention was given to the girlfriend of my older brother-in-law, whom we only got to acquaint that very day.
Seemingly a nice girl and tolerant to his ludicrous nature and chain-smoking.
It of course helped when she is a bit older than he is...seemingly same age as his elder sister, my wife...

The region was shook by the news of the passing of former Indonesian president, Suharto, the man more affectionately known as "Bapak" for his adoring citizen; the man that held his term for a good 30 years and was responsible for economic stability to the world's most populous Muslim nation.
But also create the aura of corruption for the country & notorious genocide in East Timor and was duly forced to step down in 1998.
Weeks after his ailing health deteriorated, his days were numbered as he struggled to survive in the hospital with multiple organs failure.
He eventually succumbed to death on Sunday as the nation mourned...
To me, Suharto perhaps helped Singapore to be what it is today as he stopped his predecessor, Sukarno to invade our island, then a part of Malaysia.
But it is also in 1998 with all the uproar and chaos in Indonesia, that I had a wretched time in the Navy, when we were put on high alert....

On local front, the design for the new Sports Hub is finalized as we look forward to a brand new National Stadium and a region for the excellence of sport as well as where La Tendo makes their name..heehee

Cathay Organization today stated that they would be hiking their movie tickets price by $0.50 to a dollar, making them the most costly to catch a show in cineplex during the weekend at $10.
They even have the audacity to charge 50 cents more for what they labeled as "blockbuster" movies starting with "Iron Man"... guess we will miss the tasty pop corn sold at the Cathay cineplexes... I am sure the rest of the cinema organization will increase their prices duly soon...bummer...
Continuing the trend of escalating prices of everyday things (except pay of course)...life is getting harder

Meanwhile the rather long courtroom fiasco between Odex and Pacific Internet with regards to the revelation of the names of the latter's clients who's IP addresses were checked to show records of downloading anime fansubs had ended yesterday when justice prevailed.
The judge claimed that Odex been a sub-licensee has no right whatsoever to force Pacnet to reveal the ID of their customers.
This surely brought a huge cheer in the anime-loving netizens who had loathed the anime distributing company to the core by now.
However the new twist is that the judge gave them a leeway by allowing the Japanese anime studios or companies who hold the license for those series to do the witch-hunt instead.
The episode continues and let's see how the development will be while at the meantime many local anime fansite or blogs are back to full glory with anime reviews...
Personally I felt I came unscathed from my anime cold turkey and now really can live without it.
Plus I felt the line-up these days are basically make use of recycled materials or mere replicas of older series, nothing groundbreaking in the scene... things are kind of jaded and at the downturn as some claimed.
To me I felt manga still holds the true essence of the story and anime consistently tarnish the supposedly great series...
So maybe I will stay off anime as the weekly routine of waiting for a new episode of an anime had left me bored for now....

Finally my American superior, the lving joke known as the Shitty Green Pants had been on vacation for a fortnight now. Rumors said that he is having a rendezvous with his father in Kenya where the wild safari is famous...
However it is also now a boiling point with political unrest... I wonder if he would be embroiled in the chaos in the African nation and *touchwood* perished...
Then again we felt he will survive anything being as obnoxious as he is....we'll see...

Japanese word of the day: 高い~ta-ka-i~(Expensive) We are becoming more & more like developed metropolis such as Tokyo & New York where movie tickets or cab rides cost a fortune

World Class Public Transport and the Lunar New Year

24th January 2008, Thursday

On Monday morning, at the thick of the madness of rushing for works, there was a disruption of train service between Tanah Merah & Pasir Ris MRT stations, causing a lot of inconveniences for the Eastern-based commuters as well as those heading to perhaps Tampines Business District.
I thought being in the North and taking the Northwest line to work, I should be safe from being affected...
Boy was I wrong...

When I alighted at Jurong East to transfer to the east-bound train, I felt something amiss with when the platform was 3/4 filled with fellow passengers, most probably from earlier arrivals.
The mass continued to build up as more and more arrivals from the Central line, congesting the platform to a state that we had an army of disgruntle and flabbergasted commuters, wondering why the train from Boon Lay took so bloody long to arrive.
Beside me were a bunch of Chinese teenage boys, in their usual crappy shenanigans, assuming they are the only victims while behind me an auntie theatrically showing her dismay while calling someone on her mobile.
My NDS was my only salvation in the midst of this human agglutination and the sun merciless beating down didn't help sooth the matter and of course aggravated it.

Soon the trains arrived, and slowly managed to appease some of the earlier passengers even though it incur the wrath of those alighting who had to fight their way through the massive crowd, clogging their passage, all eagerly wanting to get into the air-conditioned carriages...
There had been calling for showing public graciousness but under such circumstances everyone is resorting to transform to that ugly persona we Singaporeans are famous for...even myself lost my cool as people starting hustling me at the back.

I got to the office by 9 I think when it could be half an hour earlier...
It didn't cause much disruption to my work routine (and fortunately I am still earlier than my bosses to step into the office) but the whole affair didn't go really well with me and surely the same sentiments shared by commuters affected by the same episode as well as that in the East...
Complains were duly sent to the papers or other mode of media (forums included) and SMRT shown very little effort to apologize but matters little if they do...

With the hike in cab fare and the irregularity of buses with regards to their timing, MRT still provides the most reliable form of public transport and millions of us depend on it for the sole mode to work.
It is not surprised with they adopt this "ya-ya (arrogant)" attitude because they and Singapore Transit holds the monopoly in public transport here and we can't do nothing about it...
A world class public transport system? Far from it...

The only solution is bear with it if possessing your own car is not a viable or economical option (with the ERP gantries, traffic and unruly road users out there as well as the price of petrol, it's shuddering to even work out the charges on the calculator of owning a car).
Just endure the shit day in day out till you got numb of the situation, but try not to lose your sanity along the way.
Be optimistic and regard that there are far worse transport systems in many cities around the world...
Or simply lost yourself in your book, game, music on the train and do not give a hoot about anything happening around you...
It's sad to live in this non-compassionate society, but what choice do we have?
Maybe when we all learn how to fly or teleport....

2008 had been ominous as we all felt it...
Stock markets are facing a bull run, oil prices rising, food prices also on the hike due to global warming, HDB flats can sell to as much as a million locally and inflation is inevitable as the Monetary Authorities predicted...

The Lunar New Year is not gonna be as jolly as of the past years as everyone felt the brunt of the whiplash effects of the combined above-mentioned...

My missus and myself had yet to plan out the potion of the pie we had set aside for red packets money which remained the same as the year before...
I think it would be good that we stick with the sum we had distributed last year but it seems like we cannot recollect how much we actually dish out...
With other expenditures need to account for with the festive season, I am bound to spend a bit more again this time of the year while dreaming of the performance bonus will follow in the month of March instead of May...

Even Mighty Mouse can alleviate our woes in the year of the Mouse....

To tighten the purse strings, I rejected going for a group lunch with my colleagues which is initiated by the Beautiful One... a ploy supposedly to cement his "role model" status by building the camaraderie among our group with Shitty Green always claim to have factions (and actually do)
They suggested Dempsey Road..seemingly a happening stretch now for dining and wining and perhaps gay-making....
BY who felt that the area might not have anything for her to consume plus not feeling too comfortable with Mei Nu as well as certain personnel of the lab, was first to worm out of the lunch
I followed suit, perhaps with the displeasure of the residential gay-boy, written vividly on his face...

To conclude with a sad note as if it wasn't depressing enough, the new Joker for the forthcoming Batman film, "The Dark Knight", Heath Ledger was found dead in his New york apartment 2 days ago...
Really sad that a promising young actor (just 28 even younger than myself) from Down Under would end his life (postulated to be because of drug abuse as he prepared for a role as a drug addict) in such tragic manner, just as his career is taking flight with notable performances in "Brokeback Mountain", "Ned Kelly" and sure a rave rating for his portrayal of Batman's insane nemesis...

Japanese word of the day: 輸送 (Transport) Would really appreciate a bamboo helicopter like those Doraemon always provided to Nobita

On a field of clovers and nauseous audiences

22nd January 2008, Tuesday

Before I start, this post might contains some spoilers for the film, so if you are wanting to catch it (which I highly recommend to anyone who want something much contrast to your usual blockbuster movies), please refrain from reading this post.

After 85 minutes of bracing oneself to endure the shaky condition of a digital viewcam, it was a wretched ending that got the bunch of teens behind us to hurl vulgarities for a $9.50 waste...
I am not surprised with their hostile reception over "Cloverfield" because it surely isn't a movie the average Singaporean who had always had taste for big blockbuster with major explosions (i.e. Michael Bay) or senseless comedies or horror flicks.
On the surface, "Cloverfield" seems to be a perfect monster/disaster movie which the papers labeled as "Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project (because of the video camera similarity)" which incurred the interest of many unsuspecting viewers.
However this movie is far from what we perceived it to be.

It began as a trailer before Transformers when we caught a scene we thought might be some New York yuppie story with a bunch of friends sending another off for his overseas work stint before an earthquake hit the East Coast of the States, only to be realized that it is something more ominous than the seismological phenomenon.
The scene ended with the the prominent head of the Statue of Liberty been dismembered and hurled towards where the protagonist stayed.
There was no title or who's responsible for this altogether, just a mere flash of "January 2008".

This on itself got many buzzing about this movie till later on we knew it was a creation J.J. Abrams, the director of "Mission Impossible III" and the next Star Trek movie as well as producer of hit tv series like "Felicity", "Alias" and of course his recent success in "Lost" (which I am still a fan of despite been leaving many faithful audiences "lost" with the myriad of storylines which kept growing).
Abrams got the idea of creating a monster that terrorizes the States just like the cult figure of Godzilla.

While some fanboys in the States had been trying to scavenge on whatever clue there is on the film before it's official release.
The producers didn't embark on any major publicity campaign for the film like almost all major blockbusters these days and there were just a few viral websites which really didn't give us much clue about the movie and most important the creature that was terrorizing Manhattan.
It got the netizens discussing fervently on how the creature would look like weeks before the official release of the film and some even tried their best to doctor the short trailer to highlight that Cloverfield (the creature name given by the government in the film) bears a tail.

Over in Singapore, only true film buffs like my buddy Foo was kept in tab of the development and in turn perk my interest in the movie while the rest of the island remained in the dark of the movie except for the occasional TV trailers and advertisement on the papers of a decapitated Statue of Liberty.

The 2 of us tried to rope in the rest of the Wrecking gang with our partners (my wife was sold easily since she loves the Godzilla franchise), but in the end only TW could make it, a decision he live to regret later.

On the Sunday afternoon at AMK Hub Cathay, there was no sellout crowd but still 3/4 full as we raised some eyebrows when a pair of parents brought their toddlers into the cinema.

The movie began narrating how Rob, the lead had developed a relationship with the beautiful Beth and how she seemingly rejected his interest by bringing a guy-friend to his send-off party, organized by Rib's brother, Jason.
The video camera was first held by Rob when he was at Beth's apartment, then Jason en route to get the food for the party and finally Hud, Rob's buddy who remains the only cameraman for the entire misadventure.
In reality, it is to be noted that T.J. Miller, the actor portraying Hud is indeed the cinematographer for the movie as well.
Talk about keeping the budget down... as well as employing an entire cast of unknowns and without any soundtrack to add realism that it was a home-made video.
The movie sells on the realism part with regards to how normal citizens of New York react to the alien (it seem to be) invasion rather than how the President and military dealt with it in all other movies of this genre.

So we have Hud and the gang running around for safety as Clovie created immense havoc in New York and but mid point, it can be rather gut-wrenching as people who suffer from subtle motion-sickness might not be able to take it.
I had warned the gang that it might resemble remotely to our self-made travel video "Tokyo Wreckers" in terms of the whole shakiness.
TW was one of the victim of this alternative film shooting and he admitted he was badly affected halfway through the movie.

As for the monster itself, after the 1st half hour or so was seen with the tail wrecking the Brooklyn Bridge, killing Jason.
Later on we have a better glimpse of the amphibian-like creature in news clips before the characters encountered in the crossfire between Clovie and the army.
It has a roar which resembled a banshee screech and that of Godzilla, it seems like it possessed several limbs and a face as butt ugly as the Predator's mother.
Then it has an army of parasites that resided on its skin and began to disassociate from their host and starting to terrorize the citizens of New York, mice & men alike.

There were several technical problems or issues that I dislike (I actually didn't mind the puke-incurring moments)
As like many movies there had to be product placement..In this case it's Nokia... Rob was using a Nokia mobile and seemingly it can get the regular transmission despite the chaos and most probably destruction of the signal stations. Then there was the big ad in the train station as well as if it didn't sell the brand loud enough.
Beth, who Rob vowed to save despite the adversities was actually a wonder woman.
She had a steel rod pierced through her chest ribcage, perhaps just missing the heart, but seems to be able to prance like a pony after the gang managed to pull her out off the sticky situation.
She then survived a really serious helicopter crash (well the rest survived as well) and most probably survive the bomb blast in the end.
The handheld camera seems to be indestructible as well after Hud had dropped it time and again; the lens didn't even crack after the heli accident.
I don't even want to talk about the lifespan of the battery which is way unbelievable.

In conclusion, "Cloverfield" is a movie either you love it or hate it, and no in-between I suspect.
It added reality bites in such out-of-the-world calamity and left fans crazy about the background of Clovie and what happened after the tape.
Seemingly there is a 4 part manga serialization on Shounen Ace in Japan, which is a splendid way to entice the Japan market, which is a prequel to the event, giving us an insight of how the monster came about.
Director Matt Reeves also suggested a sequel...more nauseating adventure in store?

Japanese word of the day: 吐き気~ha-ki-ke~(Nauseous) Perhaps my days in the Navy help me with the motion sickness but I still can't read on the bus for sure

Luckless Shanghai Night

21st January 2008, Monday

As the winning numbers were called out at the concluding part of the final segment of the lucky draw, my heart accelerated the pounding while I had the faint hope that my lucky "number "177" could clinched that home theater system I had my eyes on...
In the end it went to a bald, Caucasian deputy director of the company who earlier also won something for being the best dressed male participants of the Dinner N Dance this year.
To sum up the injustice about the supposedly-impartial lucky draw, another deputy director, a lecherous and seedy character who tried to hook up with Sigeeta the year before and took prowled on every single opportunity he could to attain physical contact with female contestants of games he was assigned to present the awards and was eager to pick up conversation with another colleague, Shulin later on the night, picked up one of the top prizes as well...

There was completely no luck or whatsoever for me this year making last year's thumbdrive looks so much prestigious...

This year's event was held at the Hilton Hotel along Orchard Road and makes one wonder if Paris would makes an appearance...
Paris didn't but Shanghai came in full fledge as the unexpected surge in registration for the DnD mere days before the actual party meant there were a good 180 staff (including invited guests) made their presence felt especially with many bother to dress up in their Shanghai bests including ladies in cheongsam and guys in a Mandarin-inspired top though I thought the classic 1930s Shanghai should be highlighted with the close mafia fashion.

BY pulled the plug at the last minute to get her hair done in the afternoon, meaning I had to brace myself to be in the same vehicle with His Beautiness with the high probability of him "checking my gear".. Nothing of that sort happen as we tried to beat the manic traffic jams leading into the city on a Friday evening.
The ballroom was filled by the time we got there...

A little performance by the hardworking recreational club who should feel satisfied with the attendance and how everyone had enjoyed themselves and harping over the games and the good food which are a stark improvement to the year before.
The games were also switched to mass participation rather than random sabotaging of your colleagues which BY was jittery about the entire night.
There were also performances by those who entered the talent contest which HB had cajoled and coaxed me to join over the span of November and December last year which I snubbed simply because I felt I am void of any credible talent at this point of my life.
Our resident scrooge of the lab, J3nny who had been part of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra did a short snare drums performance which not many cares about and she hastily left in shame after that.
It wasn't much surprise that most vote went to the Chinese guy who wrote a song with Chairman Mao's famous poem.
He also beat off the contest from a Malay colleague in his true Malay crooning with participation of a popular Indian receptionist.

Then there was the long service award from which I was one of the recipients for my 5 years in the organization despite merely here for a year and a half.
Surely my happiness level here is much profound than my previous employment.
So in the end, I didn't left home empty handed but some vouchers and a cheque as a reward for my long service...and of course a plaque which cost no more than $20 for sure from Queenstown Shopping Center.

The entire event hosted by a seasoned host able to carry the weight of the event on his own till 11 or so as the grand prize of a Canon DSLR camera was awarded to a lucky PRC colleague of mine...
Way more justifiable than those who are at high posts and earning so much more than our petty renumeration.

The crowd scattered when the lights dimmed, the scented fog was spewed and the disco ball orbiting in synchronization with the DJ's turntable...
The ballroom which held the dinner was much smaller than last year's but the crowd on the dancefloor was much more pathetic than we had anticipated.
I had wanted to leave as I could hitch a ride home but it seems like my French supervisor wanted to de-stress on the dance floor, so a few of us obliged.
However after some awful dance numbers with jumbled sequences (i.e. techno followed by retro followed by Latin and a mere interlude of R&B which Shulin requested), we were disillusioned that the DJ was any good at all and decided to call it a night, stuffing some leftover desserts along the way...

Japanese word of the day: 服(Dress up) I will try to dress up for next year's theme, perhaps will aid me to win something good by then...

Truly 幸せ!!

18th January 2008, Friday

When you are in the midst of a group of suit-wearing Japanese government officials and businessmen who have very little command of English and you wonder what right you have to be at this occasion, the only bst option you can adopt, digging yourself with the food galore....

Last evening, I attended this "14th Kagoshima & Singapore Conference" with the "Kagoshima Food Fair and Business Meeting" held at the Japanese Association.
The stipulated dinner timing was 6.30pm which is a little early, even by my standards.
I though by taking Bus 74, I should be able to reach Adam Road from Bouna Vista in the matter of half an hour in good traffic condition.
But there was a mad jam at Maju Camp for those attending RT I supposed and then the series of educational institutions which stalled the bus at almost every stop.
I finally got to the building I had passed by for years (with my frequent visits to Serene Center in my comic collecting days as well as the fact that my buddy TW was living along Bukit Timah Road in the past0, but never had the chance to really go in and have a look.

Karen, like myself, a non-member of the Kagoshima Club which is fronted by Vincent and Miyano and was responsible for the reception and ushering assistance, was also held up in the traffic as she made her way down from the East.
Together we sneakily sashayed our way into the ballroom which at that point had the governor of the Kagoshima City giving a speech and kick start the dinner party.
I was a little under-dress as somehow my absent-minded friend didn't highlight to me the part about jeans are not allowed...

I did spotted a few familiar faces in the form of Weixian, Loke and Jackson who were steward members of the club and comfortably mingling among the Japanese guest.
Speaking of mingling, I was invited because I had a certain degree of fluency in spoken Japanese (by local standards) but only did spoken to a certain Nagamoto-san who is the chairperson of the Kagoshima fishery association and sponsored the array of sashimi on display.
Karen, who is very reserved about speaking Japanese despite now in her advanced level, had more opportunities to converse with some of the Japanese on show though had problem comprehending the other party..Perhaps their distinctive Kagoshima dialect (ben) is quite baffling by our standards...

But the main focus of the night has to be the food been paraded...
Brought in exclusive for this event, on show was some foodstuff which cannot be found locally (like the beef) or would cost a bomb to savor that authentic taste.

Headlining the show has to be the Wagyu beef for the Shabu Shabu...
It is quite easy to differentiate the Wagyu from the ordinary ones with the color and texture...
Before I hit the Shabu Shabu, many people were already harping over it especially Jackson who made his base around that corner.
I had the pleasure to savor just one piece of the Wagyu and it was well worth my trip...
The meat just melt in your mouth and you wonder if it is beef at all!

As mentioned, there was a selection fo sashimi available with tuna (otoro), squid, amberjack, yellowtail and herring but once again it is the otoro that gives me the thrill... Wanna have that in Sakae Sushi...wait long long also don't have... I supposed in Singapore context, you can only consume that in high-class Japanese joints and even so it might cost you up to hundreds of dollars for a few pieces....

The Kagoshima people also prided their fruits which is renowned for their sweetness since they were cultivated on the rich lava soil of the famous volcano,Sakura-jima.
While the bright red strawberries were a letdown in terms of saccharine value, the melons didn't disappoint.
Cut in cubes on the slices, the melons were constantly been snapped up by the patrons and I was fortunate to get myself two slices and when the sweet juices glided down my tastebuds, it sent me to the climax of my gastronomical orgasm!
Also on display was the famous Kinkan, a mini Mandarin orange which we took a handful back when the party came to a close.

Other notable cuisines were Keihan, merely chicken rice submerged in Japanese tea soup, at strange way to consume this local delicacy.
There was tempura, caramel sweet potato, tonkatsu stew, eel (unagi) and Imo Reimen, a new product of a cold noodle made from sweet potato.
They had been serving the diluted Shochu the entire night since Kagoshima is a hotbed for this alcoholic beverage.

We didn't even touch on the other buffet table which had Japanese style siew-mai, oden, takoyaki and some local food like sweet-and-sour chicken which of course was neglected in front of this line-up....

At the end of the affair, I had to be very grateful with Vincent for the invitation and immersed myself in that "shiawase (blissful)" feeling as I took the bus home...

Japanese word of the day: 優美(Delicacy) Think I had hundred dollars worth of it in my digestive system last evening.

A Weekend to Keep Wondering About

14th January 2008, Monday

It had been a weekend for everyone to wonder about what it could have been...

With Mom & Dad heading to spent a romantic weekend in...the casino in Genting Highlands, we had been wondering would be able to survive without their importance stature in the households...
Perhaps they would be wondering if Lady Luck will be shining over them for a windfall.

Residents of Boon Keng, Kallang and Toa Payoh must be wondering if LTA would install ERP gantries soon just by their doorstep at their carpark.

Hilary Clinton must be wondering what a miracle it would take to beat Obama to win the rights to run for the U.S. President as a Democrat representative...

In Taiwan, the Democratic Progressive Party must be wondering what they had been doing wrong for the opposition Kuomintang can receive such a landslide victory for the places in Parliament.

Newcastle Utd must be wondering how they could shipped 6 goals to my beloved Devils at the Old Trafford, mere days from sacking their gaffer, Big Sam Allardyce while Nicholas "The Incredible Sulk" Anelka must be wondering how his Chelsea career would have take off if he had nipped in a debut goal 3 minutes into his substitution.

On a more personal note, Foo must be wondering how JJ Abrams' "Cloverfield" can perk his ailing interest in commercial Hollywood films...

BY must be wondering how to resolve her 1001 doubts about the upcoming Dinner N Dance includhing what to wear for the dinner, when she should appear, what prize she can get for the lucky draw, when should she leave and how should she leave if she won the massive LCD TV...she really wonders too much...
Meanwhile His Beautiness wonders how he can put up another sparkling display in terms ot sucking up the bosses and fellow colleagues with the appraisal just across the horizon.

CS must be wondering what luck he has gotten with a new superior which enabled him to usurp an irritating Indian senior who is nothing but an empty vessel yet makes the most noise usually about my buddy's incapability (wonder why most senior at work is shite)

Karen wonders how on earth her 3rd form class had became such problematic incarnations and she was so stressed out, that she had problem falling asleep on Sunday night.

Chan wonders how he had blew a big fortune on a Playstation 3 as well as a compartible high resolution LCD TV yet without the luxury of time to play it sufficiently.

Ferris wonders if he should just quit his time-consuming job which suffocates his personal life and not having enough time to accompany his missus and indulging in his favorite resin kits.

The younger Ching must have wondered how come we had gave him a PSP as a birthday present but not included a memory stick after he had sooth down from the extreme exhilaration.

EK wonders how he kept mixing up "Malaysia" where he visited on Saturday with "Japan" in his conversation.

Vincent wonders what makes a team click for his WCCF expedition for the upcoming Japan trip.

In conclusion, I wonder how I still suck big time in badminton despite playing the game for the past 2 years or so...to a state I am accustomed to losing...

Japanese word of the day: 驚異(wonders) Don't you wonder how fast it is that half the January has passed and yet we didn't felt a thing?

Oricon Top 100 for 2007 ~Too many Johnnies~

10th January 2008, Thursday

A couple of weeks back I did a review on the J Pop scene of 2007 and how each single released over the span of 12 months in the Japan music scene ultimately boils down to how they sell...
And the Oricon chart is the national gauge of sales of music single, album, DVD, console games etc and the ultimate benchmark on the music trend in Japan over the year...

After the X'mas-New Year break, the good people of oricon finally tabulated the top 100 best-selling singles of 2007 which I will dissect and give my view upon ...

The Top Ten

"Sen no Kaze ni natte" as expected take the top notch for successfully remaining in the weekly top 30 for a good 3/4 of 2007 since it surprise surge into popularity after his performance in Kohaku 2007.
The next few weren't much a surprise with their connection with popular doramas.
Although "Tsubomi" was a surprise to be high up at No. 3 to me.
From this point it is quite blatant that the Johnny's Associates has invaded the chart as they did for the past 2 years (No. 1 in 2005 was "Seishun Amigo" from Shuji & Akira while No. 1 in 2006 was "Real Face" from KAT-TUN).
With Akanishi's return, KAT-TUN's popularity was better than ever though I felt their 2 hits shouldn't have beaten the likes of Kuwata Keisuke and Mr Children
Meanwhile Kanjani 8's "Kan-fuu Fighting" was a dark horse and support the claim that the Kansai-based group is now one of the bigger seller in Johnnies.
NEWS, with their return after a year hiatus did reasonably well though I was quite surprised "weeek" made it to #10 considering it was released in November.(of course "Keep the Faith" which was released 2 weeks later did a much better sales record).

11 - 26

Was quite disappointed that "Winding Road" didn't make it into the Top Ten, much due to the Johnnies... Utada's "Beautiful World/ Kiss & Cry" should had done better as well and was expecting GReeeeN's "Ai Uta" to do better as well.
Once again a lot of Johnnies here with the Heisei-born group Hey Say! JUMP beating evergreen B'z and the likes of Utada and Bump of Chicken for #14
Sad to say no sight of L'Arc...and surprise surprise no Ayumi as well... Only Exile to show for the Avex group.

27 - 41

Finally my beloved Laruku only making #33 with their 2nd last single of 2007 much due to it being the OP track of Gundam 00.
Koda Kumi, a steady performer for 2005 & 2006 only managed #29 with "Freaky" while fellow Avex divas Otsuka Ai and Ayumi lag behind...Otsuka's "Peach" was supposed to do better due to the dorama but I was wrong
"100 Man kai no Kiss" help Glay to have a decent showing in 2007 and Dreams Come True's nice ballad "Aishiteru no Sign" help resolve some pain they felt for the year as well.
Can't believe the theme of hit anime, "Lucky Star" manage to edge Ketusmeshi who were holding #2 spot just 2 years back..Expect YUI to make it to Top 20 next year though the 2 singles here are really chart-hitter quality.

42 - 57

Orange Range's downward spiraling career could be worse if not for "Ikenai Taiyo" which did better on the mobile download chart for sure.
"Oshiri Kakiri Mushi" the irritating anthem of 2007 nearly overtook them.
The first sight of Enka (演歌) with Mizumori Kaori's "Hitori Satsumaji".at #47
Amuro Namie who had an almost non-existent year especially the latter half made her presence with "Baby Don't Cry" at #48; which was still a better showing that Nakashima Mika with "Life" at #57.
Fukuyama Masaharu who too had a quiet year music-wise contributed the theme of "Tokyo Tower" the movie with "Tokyo ni mo Attanda"

58 - 73

RSP's "Lifetime Respect", Shonen no Kaze's "Suirenka" and Funky Monkey Babys' "Lovin' Life" enjoyed high download rates on the mobile and are very popular with the young people in 2007 but seemingly not selling enough...

74 - 89

aiko could only land the 77th spot with "Hoshi no nai Sekai" while Yuzu's "Haru Kaze".notched #78 and I was puzzled their collaboration effort Golden Circle didn't made the chart.
AAA had several top ten hits for the past 2 years but it was their theme song for Kamen Rider Den-O to enable them to reach Top 100 with "Climax Jump".
Tokio's "sorafune" was one of the major hit in 2006, and continued to sell in 2007, surely their biggest hit ever. Sadly their follow-up singles didn't do as well.

90 - 100

KOH+'s "Kisu shite" and Kuwata's "Darling" should do better in next year chart after being released in December.
Remioroman who had such massive hit "konayuki" which stretched from 2005 to 2006, had an appalling showing at #97 with "Akane sora"

Some obvious absentees include Rip Slyme, Monkey Majik, acid, Ikagari Monogatari and a host of visual kei bands which I think done pretty well this year including Sid, Gazette, Nightmare and of course Dir en grey.

At the end of the day, the Johnny's boybands are really overwhelming. I have no qualms against them but felt they should have give others a chance to blossom on the charts but I doubt this trend will subside anytime soon...Till 2009...

Japanese word of the day: あまり ~a-ma-ri~(Too Much) While the Johnny's Associates took the scene by storm, where's the musume of Hello Project?

~~Beauty World~~ Cha! Cha! Cha!

7th January 2008, Monday

Reeling from the Monday blues, as I kicked start my first 5-days work week in weeks...
Without anything scheduled to be done plus a late turn-in after catching the full 3 and a half hours long "Music Station Super Live 2007" surely made me wobbly and woozy this sunny Monday morning...
Upon my work desk is the nifty little gay gifts from his Beautiness from his recently-ended Hokkaido escapade...looking forward to see his photo gallery without his round table of gay knights of course...
Hoping for a fast-moving yet glitch-less week before another weekend....

The past one was quite satisfying...Spent the Sunday doing what I set out to do and after clearing some gunk from the heat sink of the CPU, my PC seems to be working fine (*fingers crossed*) for now till perhaps CS would be free to just overhaul the system...

The highlight of the weekend was of course my first taste of local theaterworks when me and the missus headed to the Esplanade for the afternoon matinées session of the grand Wild Rice production of "Beauty World", a 20th anniversary renascence...
I started the morning, taking part in a mere 20 minutes of an actual 2 hour-long badminton session, indicating how blatantly late I was to arrive at Clementi Sports Hall...
Still no sight of Chan who had been enigmatically evict himself from the clique's gathering since the opening of the new shop I supposed, but the newly-weds were here after a great absence with Lisa finally sparring with us as in the past she would be playing with her own friends...
After 2 straight losses despite pairing with Ferris and petrified with how our favorite half spring chicken had its price hike, I followed the rest to Kallang since my original plan to visit KKnM at Sunshine Plaza was abandoned, knowing that the item I had intended to buy most probably wouldn't be here since it was still holidays in Japan...
We had discussed the possibility of a Hong Kong trip and the China administrative region offers us the best of what our interest lies with regards to the short traveling distance, as well as enough of selection to cater to our otaku needs at a slightly more affordable range I supposed... Although everything is still in the air but if I am at the helm to steer the ship, it should be a fruitful voyage alright...

Left La Tendo to meet my spouse at the lobby of Esplanade where a crowd had been rousing to be entertained by Singapore's 1st and perhaps most famous musical...
Our seats are located at Circle One, at the 2nd level tier despite paying for the most expensive seating...we were rather late to make the reservations...
We have a clear view of the entire stage doubt it would be hard to really see the actors in their full glory less sporting any pimples or rash if any...
The show starts promptly at 2.30pm as about 90% of the crowd are sitting comfortably, getting into a fit of applause when the ensemble started singing the Beauty World theme which seems to be an ear worm once the show ended...
What really caught my eye in the beginning from the great vocals, dedicated performances and shimering stage costumes is the the props and backdrop.
The cabaret was this grand 2 storey stage prop which one will wonder how long it takes to get it up including a winding flight of stairs on the left and a spiral flight on the right. On the 2nd level, the maestro got the band jingling the tunes the entire show and they should be known as the unknown heroes of the production I supposed.
On the ground floor is a bar which is adjacent to an impressive mini stage with mirrors on the rear as well as a door with an emblem of the traditional Chinese godly creatures of dragon and phoenix. Another impressive prop is a roof scaffold which holds a globe with "Beauty World" in full glory including stars which actually twinkles. This was where Ah Hock and Ivy would fall in love with each other.
There was also an array of removable mini prop which is slided from both ends of the stage which include the dressing room of the cabaret, Rosemary's boutique and Ah Hock's dormitory etc.
The array of props, the rustic architecture of several backdrops as well as the elegant stage costumes with some glistering and blinding us even on upper tiers surely gave us a resounding feel of the 1960s in Singapore.
All the more impressive that it was a Canadian guy who came out with the designs...

The repertoire of songs composed by Dick Lee was easy on the ears yet crucial to the flow of the story...
I have not seen the original therefore couldn't differentiate which are the new additions but Ivy's boyfriend from Batu Pahat, Frankie Wong Fei Hong's anthem to profess his love for her is the most notable with the boyband-style "my ahahah..Ivy"

Of course the cast did a fine job with the shoes of the likes of Jacinta, Margaret Chan, Koh Cheng Mun, Tan Kheng Hua & Lim Kay Siu to fill...
Newcomer Elenor Wong who took the lead role of Ivy surely was convincing as the petite, demure M'sian girl while Denise Tan who had received quite some crass word for her deejaying role in a local radio station looks abit rotund as the top girl of Beauty World but was excellent to portray the unscrupulous Lulu.
Darren Tan, the overall winner of the Project Superstar 2 wasn't too convincing with his acting but he tried his best. But his singing prowess showed as he crooned the English numbers with ease as the usual Chinese songs.
Frankie who is enacted by a relative unknown, Dwayne Tan was hilarious as the nerd who was smitten with love while Rosemary, Ivy's pen-pal across the Causeway was played by Alemay Fernandez whom I had no recognition of as well.
The ones that drew the most attention have to be the twin alumni from "PCK Pte Ltd" with Fly Entertainment boss, Irene Ang as Wan Choo, the Cantonese-speaking cleaner and Neo Swee Ling as the Mama-san of the cabaret...
The remainder of the supporting cast and chorus are up to their roles as well, just wonder how they are going to repeat the same routine for so many shows for the next fortnight...already Irene made a slight blooper but I supposed it's a norm in theatres...

Overall an enjoyable 2 and half hours (with 20 minute interval break) and an eye-opener to the local drama scene as well as Esplanade of course....

On a more solemn note, one of the funniest man in local Chinese TV, the man more affectionately known by his stage name, MC King passed away on Friday at the young age of 40 due to some surprising respiratory complications...
Condolences to his family and loved ones...and thanks for all the entertainment you brought to us over the years!
Once again life is unpredictable, live everyday to the fullest...surely is the wisest words...

Japanese word of the day: ミュージカル(Musical) Ok..I am not ready to watch "High School Musical" anytime soon...

Continue that Inauspicious Trend

2nd January 2008, Wednesday

The mood for work is stifling at best especially with the long break.. BY conveniently took an extra day of rest with her usual running nose problem while the great thing is no sight of the Beautiful One...perhaps buried in the snow of Hokkaido, naked with his hubby....
I'll just assimilate myself smoothly into the work mode, back to my prime before I left for my hiatus though it was nearly impossible without BY who was supposed to process a plate of samples for me prior to my ignition...
Talking about smooth transition, as expected, I needed a bit of time to get back to running a full 20 minutes on the threadmill once again...

As the title implies, the first day of 2008 continued the same old trend prominent in 2007 which had chronically plagued my peaceful everyday life...
Days before I played a DVD (let's just say I got what I deserved for watching a bootleg) and was flabbergasted by how frequent the scenes skipped...
But I am one to not concede defeat with my technological tools' malfunction and kept repeating the taking out of disc, wipe the surface clean & replay sequences till the disc seemed unplayable...
I didn't felt it was down to my five and a half years old home theater system till when the missus wanna catch a Japanese dorama while doing something else then I discovered the DVD player just couldn't play a disc no more...regardless it being authentic, ripped, bootleg or mere CD...
She kept insisting that the laser head reader(if that is what you call it) being clouted with dust accumulated over the years and suggested we get those cleaner kit...
I do hope the problem lies in that and not that the part just die on me like many other gadgets of mine over the past year...namely:

Obituary of the Unfortunate Dead Gadgets

1. My Canon Ixus Digital Camera - the death was well documented and much grieved about... My wife's Nikon Coolpix was a capable replacement and somehow I am more inclined for better photography that is if I have more stable handling of course.
2. My audiotechnica headphones - Bought in February, busted around 6 months later..Have to blame more rough handling again...Doubt I'll waste anymore money on new headphones anytime soon till come the new Japan trip I supposed..heehee
3. PC - It's been a year in the making and the auto shutting down finally caught on my nerves and I was glad CS had isolated the problem and the resolution should be in the matter of days I hope...
4. The Wireless router - Served us for a good 4 years or so, and we thought it would last forever but a few occurrences of cutting off the broadband connection was followed by the ultimate death before the replacement came in days ago...
5. My missus' Canon Digital Viewcam - CS wanted to borrow from us for his Krabi trip and prompted us to check on if after not touching it since our wedding..Somehow the DV tape loader is stuck or something..Fortunately we can use SD card for replacement...not that we take much home video these days also

There you have it..a year full of gadgetry misfortunes for yours truly who truly would be gutted when my tools are down without rhymes or reasons and it just burnt in the back of mind to resolve the issues and I would not sleep well at night when I do...

I do hope I can salvage my home theater system and this ill-boding curse will put to an end... Then perhaps its time to get a Playstation 3 to double up as a high quality blu-ray-DVD player? heehee

On a chirpier note, the air tickets for the February trip has been secured and overheard on the news on radio this morning that the brand new Terminal 3 would be in operation from the 9th this month and with Singapore Airlines as their main tenant and will shift some of their operation including direct flights to Japan, it seems highly likely we will be departing from there...

Japanese word of the day: 不運(Unfortunate)Oh yeah not to forget my watches..but it's more like a battery flat issue