Now that I have a few friends I can afford to do this XD this is just an excuse so I can use that banner XD

If you want to friend me:
I'd be happy about it. It would be nice if you left a comment here, but I've kind of given up on people doing that ^_^;

If you want me to friend you back:
Makes me happier, but please leave a comment here. I won't if you don't ^_^
Tell me a bit about yourself, how you found me, why you think we should become friends, anything you want.
And once you asked me to friend you, don't forget to friend me ^_^

I mostly write in English. Italian (Japanese, or any other language I see fit) might sneak in sometimes though.
Most of my posts are public. Locked posts are mainly me ranting. Entire Italian posts will be filtered.
Some media posts will be locked from now on, too.

If you're looking for my subs:
-, Last Friends
-, Mao


yoroshiku onegaishimasu~

Sorry for being MIA lately m(_ _)m
Here's another old one.

Please do not re-post. Feel free to link back to my journal ^_^
Re-posting allowed at Yamashi Forums only, by tete1212
Originals from bbs.shidamirai
Special thanks to kiddyn @Yamashi Forums

Note: the word "miraiiro," as you might have noticed, is a game of words, since "mirai" also means "future." So the journal title might be interpreted as, "color of the future," or "Mirai color" (as in the color that is Mirai).




Report of the birthday party at the Shida residence, where the watermelon cake made its appearance ♪

( An adult's privilege )

T/N:
Sorry it took me a while to post miraiiro again. Things have been kind of hectic. And unfortunately, I won't be posting anything new for at least another week m(_ _)m

Double post because it seems people are shy ^_^

querbeetsubs is still looking for timers for this summer jdrama season.

You might have seen from the fansub map @DA (or from the announcements post in the community) that Querbeet is planning to sub the following dramas this summer:

☆ Orthros no Inu (Takizawa Hideaki, Nishikido Ryo, Yaotome Hikaru);

☆ Karei naru Spy (no official site available yet, but Japanese wiki lists the following cast: Nagase Tomoya, Fukada Kyoko, Anne, and -recently but needs confirmation- Mukai Osamu & Akanishi Jin);

☆ Otomen (Okada Masaki, Kaho);

☆ MW dai-0 sho (Tamaki Hiroshi, Sato Takeru, Tanimura Mitsuki, Koide Keisuke) <- This is a special drama (a story, not a behind-the-scenes special) to air before the movie "MW."


If you've got some free time this summer and would like to help out in subbing, please leave a comment here, PM me or qnhu, or drop by the community and leave a comment there: querbeetsubs. Experience in timing preferred.
(Querbeet might not need timers for "Orthros no Inu" though. Please consider the possibility of working in another of the listed dramas ^_^;;)

Querbeet is a fun place to be at. I've never been part of any other group, so I don't know how it is elsewhere. But I've found working with Querbeet really a nice experience.

Looking forward to your comments. Otherwise, I'll start pinging single persons whom I know have experience in timing *evil laugh* Yep, you should start getting worried XD

If you have any questions or doubts, just write me ^_^

Interview from MW official website.
Please do not re-post. Feel free to link back here.
Contains slight spoiler. Nothing you couldn't imagine from the trailer though. Spoiler posted in white font so you don't have to read it if you don't want to ^_^
Spoiler bit dedicated to the one and only zsuness




( thoughts, impressions, regrets, relief )

What Director Iwamoto Hitoshi had to say about Yamada Takayuki:

( he goes to the limits of his work )

EXTRA

What's the meaning of "MW"?
There are several opinions behind the meaning of this symbol:
Some theories suggest it being the initials of "Man & Woman" or "Mad Weapon." Others think it's taking one symbol "M" and reversing it "W", thus suggesting the "cynicism of values always having the potentiality of turning over."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And just to have fun, poll ^__^

Poll #1418918 Meaning behind "MW"
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

What do you think/hope "MW" means?

I'm in a good mood today because I found out that I have tomorrow off -since it's Saint Ranieri's Day in Pisa woohoo *insert stupid victory dance*

So, after a useless afternoon nap, during which I didn't rest not one bit, here's another entry from Miraiiro ^__^ This one took me a bit longer; so many kanji I didn't know ^_^; This is another reason I like to do this sort of thing: learn kanji!

Please do not re-post. Feel free to link back to my journal ^_^
Re-posting allowed at Yamashi Forums only, by tete1212
Originals from bbs.shidamirai
Special thanks to kiddyn @Yamashi Forums

Note: the word "miraiiro", as you might have noticed, is a game of words, since "mirai" also means "future". So the journal title might be interpreted as, "color of the future," or "Mirai color" (as in the color that is Mirai).




This week, it's the confession of actress Shida Mirai on the way to learn lines.

( I do it best when I'm locked up in the toilet )

My poll doesn't seem to be attracting much attention: 12 votes till now, 8 of which telling me I should just keep things the way they are. hmm I must admit I like the idea of having a community of my own for this sort of thing.
I'll keep the poll open a little longer, see if anyone stumbles on it by accident XD

Since I don't know if I can post anything this coming week, here's an extra treat for Shida Mirai's fans ^_^

Please do not re-post. Feel free to link back here ^_^
Re-posting allowed at Yamashi Forums only, by tete1212
Originals from bbs.shidamirai
Special thanks to kiddyn @Yamashi Forums




After becoming a high-school student, early to bed, early to rise! Mirai-chan's healthy life style is all about...

( What a nasty kid )

Please don't forget to vote in my poll at the bottom of [ this post ].
Thank you ^_^

Thanks to an anonymous comment on a previous post about Shida Mirai, I came to know that Mirai-chan has a weekly journal published in a magazine (I don't know the name of the magazine).
I was asked if I could translate this weekly journal. I have no idea if I can make such a promise, but in the mean time, here's -what I think is- the latest published journal of hers.

Please do not re-post. Feel free to link back here ^_^
Journal scans from bbs.shidamirai




Mirai-chan who has entered a hip-hop club. There's a reason, a wrong impression...

( チェキラッよ！ )

Since I've finally posted a translation post in so long, I would like to ask your opinion on something I've been thinking about lately.
I think most of the people adding me do so mostly because of the translations I do/did. I have a feeling you don't care much about other stuff I write about ^_^; Plus, translations seem to have become a bit messy without order in this journal.

So, it's one of two options: Either I keep posting my translations/subs/TV-show summaries in this journal, while maintaining a list for easy access at the top, OR I migrate anything that has to do with translations to another dedicated journal (community?).

What do you think? Please tell me what you think would be more convenient ^__^
Thank you.

Poll #1415281 Dedicated translation LJ/comm
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None

Should I make a journal/community dedicated to my translations only?

Is there an English major on my flist?

Punctuation is a pain, especially when I keep forgetting rules and mixing up punctuation marks.

First thing I'd like to get out of the way, is the quotation marks. What's so hard about quotation marks!? you might think, and here it is: punctuation inside or outside?

I read that punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks, but is that true also when you use them to separate or underline a word?
Examples:
Ex1)
Did you just say, "xxx?" OR Did you just say, "xxx"?

Ex2)
It's "that," right?
What do you mean "that"? (Should a comma follow "mean"?)

Also, when you repeat something someone else said adding a tone of shock, doubt, or ridicule:
Person1: We're just mapmakers.
Person2: "We're just mapmakers"?


Thank you for any help you can give me ^__^

I just got this email from Panini Comics.

The Licensing Machine, divisione del gruppo Panini, è orgogliosa di annunciare il lancio Europeo di uno straordinario evento web per la seconda attesissima serie di FullMetal Alchemist: FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
L’evento, che coinvolge non solo YouTube ma anche alcune delle maggiori televisioni Europee che già avevano trasmesso in TV la prima serie dell’anime, prevede che a partire dal giorno 16 Maggio si possano vedere in streaming ed in anteprima Europea, sottotitolati in 11 lingue differenti, gli episodi originali giapponesi in alta definizione della serie Brotherhood.

Nel corso della prima settimana saranno disponibili contemporaneamente sul canale web http://www.youtube.com/FMABrotherhood e sui siti delle TV partner i primi 7 episodi della serie. Nelle settimane successive e, a partire da mercoledì 27 Maggio, sarà on line un nuovo episodio alla settimana. Un' occasione imperdibile per gli appassionati del genere ed una grande sfida per Panini: per la prima volta in assoluto sarà infatti possibile vedere tramite web in tutta Europa, con la differita di soli 3 giorni rispetto alla programmazione televisiva giapponese, episodi ufficiali in alta qualità audio, video e sottotitolati.

In more English words,

The Licensing Machine, part of the Panini group, is launching a YouTube channel for the second season of FullMetal Alchemist: FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood.
It will be a European premiere, available both on YouTube and websites of partner TV channels who have joined this project. Starting May 16 (Saturday), the first 7 episodes of FMA will be available in streaming with subtitles in 11 different languages, HQ audio and video.
The following episodes will be available starting May 27, one episode per week, and only THREE days after they were aired in Japan.

The text above says that it's available for Europe though >.< Nothing about the rest of the world. And actually, that kinda makes sense ^_^;;

YAY PANINI! \(^o^)/

Info from Panini Comics. All images and logos belong to their respective owners.

Sorry flist for double post, and for keeping another Italian post public. This is to everyone who is curious about the Sakura restaurant, therefore I'm leaving it public.

Grazie ad un mio amico, sono riuscita a scannerizzare il menù del ristorante Sakura (Livorno, Via Pieroni 23/25). Questo è strettamente per rendere le informazioni riguardo a questo ristorante più a portata di mano di tutti.

Ci sono andata sabato, 19 aprile. Il posto era affollato, quindi conviene prenotare.
Dal lunedì al venerdì a PRANZO, ci sono menù fissi di assaggini che variano tra gli €11 ~ €15 (maggiori info nelle immagini).
Rispetto al ristorante Zen di Pisa, il menù offre più scelte.
Il luogo è piacevole, e in generale siamo stati serviti bene. L'unica cosa è che ci consideravano poco quando abbiamo finito e volevamo ordinare il dolce ^_^;;
Purtroppo, non sono mai stata in Giappone, quindi non potrei fare un paragone, ma i piatti che abbiamo ordinato ci sono piaciuti molto.

MENÙ
[ FRONT | INSIDE (menù+prezzi) ]

Ristorante Sakura
Via Pieroni 23/25 (Piazza Grande) - Livorno
Tel. 0586 885 008 | Cell. 333 576 2008

Thanks to kangpae for the scans.
Please do not re-post. Feel free to link here ^_^

Especially for the wonderful zsu-chan ♥ (zsuness)

( Everything about him is cute )

---
Personal note:
To people who've been friending me lately/wish to friend me:
Please make sure you read this post ^_^

Nino!? NINO!?

( YOU'RE NOMINATED! )

And while we're on WOW news:

☆~ During the greetings session for Yamada Takayuki's latest movie, "Kamogawa Horumo," it was announced that the movie will also have a US release!
The date is still not known, but it seems to be sometime next fall.
Cities scheduled for screening include, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York.

Edit: some pics from the greetings session, taken from sanspo:
( Harvard horumo? UCLA horumo!? )


☆~ Crows Zero II will have a few 3D screenings around Japan!
I want to see an Oguri Shun jumping at me, too! (>.<)

First weekend for Crows Zero II, which started screening in Japanese theaters on April 11.
The top three at the box office were:

1☆ レッドクリフ ＰａｒｔⅡ－未来への最終決戦－
(Red Cliff Part II -The Final Battle that Leads to the Future-) (FIRST WEEK)
2☆ クローズＺＥＲＯⅡ (Crows Zero II) (FIRST WEEK)
3☆ ドロップ (Drop) (FOURTH WEEK)

"Yatterman" dropped to position #4 on its 6th week.

[ info ]

Don't you just love it when several of your faves work on the same project? ^_^
Yeah ok, Tamaki Hiroshi isn't exactly on my fave list, but he's ok, so I'm still happy ^___^

From Tokyograph:

The band flumpool has landed a major movie tie-in. They will provide the theme song for the live-action film based on Osamu Tezuka's manga "MW." [snip]

"MW," directed by Hitoshi Iwamoto, stars Hiroshi Tamaki and Takayuki Yamada in a thrilling story involving a chemical weapon.

flumpool's theme, titled "MW ~Dear Mr. & Mrs. Picaresque~," uses a new arrangement of a melody taken from a song from the band's indie days. The sound is said to be an up-tempo rock number. The single's release date has not been set yet, but the movie is scheduled for a July 4 release.

And speaking of idol melange, thanks to resha_ueda-san's post on ikuta_toma, I came to know that Toma had an appearance in Oshareism (dated 2008.10.05)! That's becoming one of my fave shows!! I immediately DLed and watched. As expected, it got me cracking all the way through!
Oguri x Toma, Jun x Toma, and Tomapi! They were all just so precious!


Question: What is Toma-kun's weak point?
Yamapi's answer: His weak point is me!

It seems tomalicious subs is working on it, so if you haven't watched that ep yet, I hope you can soon ^___^

Oh right! Was about to forget yet again to PROMOTE TWO COMMUNITIES:

...yesterday before sleepiness got over me;
MIYU has come back to life! The tech guy came, dismantled, and re-assembled... All in 30 minutes!

( my laptop is all over the table >< )

So let's see; important things that have posting priority:
♪~ Some DVDs available for pre-order at CDJapan
♪~ Kodo: Japanese percussion (taiko) group around Europe in Spring/Summer
♪~ Preview of my travel log: A certain list of items purchased during my trip, at a paradise called Kinokuniya! Do you have any requests?

DVDs

( A lot of DVDs coming out! )

Speaking of movies, Crows Zero II will start screening tomorrow.. erm today. Well, April 11th!!! XD

MUSIC

( back to traditional Japanese music: TAIKO (there's a PV under here )

I'm trying to go to the May 15 performance, since it's the closest one to where I live.
Qualcuno vuole andare a Firenze con me? (Maggiori info e biglietti sul sito del Teatro Verdi).

Now, I wonder if this is what most of you will skip directly to read XD

MAGAZINES

( Kinokuniya <3 )

So that's that. My room's a mess, 'cause I'm still trying to clean it up. My legs hurt, which means spring is finally here. Oh and I live far away from the area struck by the earthquake; so, thank you to all who asked, I'm doing fine, and so are my family and friends ^_^

And thanks to nana_komatsu7 I discovered that between April 24 and May 2 there will be the 11th edition of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, where Yatterman will gain its first screening in all of Europe. "okuribito" will also make an appearance. Now if only somebody had invented those Star-Gate-like transporters...

Extra note: my travel log entries will be locked. Just to let you know ^_^
Thank you for reading this far ^__^

I'm late. But I guess it happens to the best of us!



If you still haven't clicked on the link, do it now! I didn't have time to make graphics or translations for his bday -since I was without a laptop till 2 days ago- but at least I managed to make a layout!

Credits:
original code: refuted, edited by me
css guide: cartonage
bg & separator: me!
bg image: TV Japan (Dec.-Jan.), watchful21
fo banner: tenjostyle
mood theme: viridian_icons

The text is from the part Yamapi wrote for the song, "Share".

Best viewed using Firefox @1280x800 res (I need to make a minor adjustment if you have a bigger resolution).

A huge thanks to tenjostyle who helped me get started and choose the colors ^_^

I wanted to write a more decent post, but please forgive me. It's almost 1:30 am, and I gotta get up for work tomorrow morning ><

So, enjoy the new layout. If you have suggestions don't be shy ^_^
I'll write again soon, with much more interesting info ^__________^

TADAIMA~

Left sunny San Francisco to come back to rainy and windy Italy >___>
I miss SF! I wanna go back T__T

So, after my Rome-Pisa flight got canceled, and the next one got a couple of hours of delay, I finally got home around 9:30 on Sunday evening, after about 35 hours of travel O__O I never thought I could be capable of resisting so long XD

I found my NEWS and Arashi calendars waiting for me at home. Finally got a look at them. I was hoping for a table calendar, 'cause I already have 2 other calendars that need hanging up since January, but are still in their boxes since I have no idea where to put them ><

I haven't contacted tech support for my laptop yet. Will do today.
All I did yesterday was sleep and tidy up a little XD Then I went to bed at 1 am, but woke up at 2, then 2:30, then 3!! And on until 5:15, after which I just couldn't fall asleep anymore, so I picked up my book and started reading, hoping that would bring me some sleepiness, but it didn't work! I ended up reading till 6:45, then got up and got ready to go to work.

The lovely tenjo-chan (miss you~ <3)informed me of NEWS' new single when it was announced, and told me to get the LE immediately. I didn't even read what the hell was in the LE, I just promptly went to CDJapan, ready to order! But the LE was out of print already T_T I'm hoping they re-stock, which has happened often. Actually, it's more like I hope they re-stock by today, 'cause I've got a coupon that expires today XD I'd given up on using it, but then this came up! I WANT THAT LE SINGLE !!!!
But with the laptop gone, I can't even stalk CDJapan's site for when they re-stock ><

A lot's happened, and I took many pictures. Hopefully I'll be able to write about it all soon.
2 weeks seem short, but as I set foot in Italy on Sunday morning, I felt it had been ages since I'd left, and all of a sudden it was like I left a glamorous life to come back to routine. It was not a pleasant feeling ^_^;

A few things I've learned in the past 2 weeks, that I think everybody should know of:

1) Never listen to anyone who tells you not to upgrade your warranty! Especially when it comes to laptops. I'm never gonna make that mistake again.

2) Before entering a shower you're using for the first time ever, look down to check if it's equipped against slipping. I didn't do that at the Quality Inn at O'Hare (Chicago), and ended up slipping and hitting my leg on the side. I still got the bump, and it still hurts.

3) If you go down to the Piers in San Francisco, NEVER EVER eat at Fishermen's Grotto!! I'm sad to say this, since it's also an Italian restaurant, and actually looking at other plates, and hearing other opinions, the quality is pretty good and the prices reasonable. Unfortunately, what I had to eat made me sick all the remaining day, and left me with nausea throughout the next day as well. Something in my plate wasn't exactly "fresh".

4) Don't trust bestsellers. They're not necessarily good, even if they get good reviews from famous and important magazines/newspapers.

That's enough blab. Here's hoping my next post will be from my laptop *fingers crossed*

Oh, thank you for all the comments and adds. I can't quite reply right now, since I came back to over 700 emails! ^_^;; Will do as soon as I can. Meanwhile, hugs and cookies to everyone for your support and patience ^____^ And for actually reading all my nonsense XD

Btw, anybody watched Ponyo? Wanna go today or tomorrow!

My laptop died.

It suddenly switched off on its own this morning while my dad was using it, and it refuses to switch back on. I have no idea what's wrong. Have already contacted support, but I don't know if they'll be able to do anything while I'm still in the US.

I'm now writing from my brother's computer, but am leaving tomorrow to San Francisco, where I will have no computer access -unless I ask my boss to use his ><

Most of you probably don't know this, since we weren't friends back then, but this is actually my second laptop. Around November 2007, the first one died. That was a big blow as well. I bought this last March. I'm really hoping I won't have to buy yet another one since I was trying to save up to go to Japan soon T__T

I'm trying not to think about this, but it seems my mind just keeps wandering back to it T__T

Anyway, I have no idea what I'll do next week. Can't work, can't sub, can't study, can't translate. Can't attend most of the meeting's working groups, because I have nothing to do with them. Looks like I have a forced vacation. One might think, "Forced vacation? In San Francisco!? What else could you want!?" I know, but still...

Sorry for the rant. And please be patient with me till I figure out what will happen with my life from now on! I'm serious; my work, study, and 95% of hobbies all depend on PCs!! *sigh*

So much for spring cleaning...

Are you stuck at home packing a suitcase on a Saturday night?



I am ^_^; Always loved packing suitcases, but this time it's different.
Packing for 2 weeks; spending the first week in freezing weather (7~8°C), and the second in spring weather (16~19°C), makes packing slightly tricky. Especially if you have relatives filling over 70% of said suitcase with gifts to take with you! ^_^;
Oh well, it means I'll have a lot of empty space to fill with all sortsa stuff I can buy there (^_^)V It should be sales season in the US right now. Plus, I have a feeling I'll spend a lot of time in J-town in San Francisco XD

All this to say,


Not that I've been very active lately ^_^;
First week, I'll have little/no connection. Second week, I'll be at an internet meeting thing, so connection shouldn't be a problem ^_^ Maybe I can finally start that travel log! XD

I'll try to take lots of pics. And while I'm gone, be good. Don't plan wild parties, or burn the house down ^__^ And remember...

...April is just around the corner!

If anything wild happens -like smn actually noticing that Yamapi has been having no activity whatsoever lately- please please PM me or comment somewhere here <3

Finally, a Japanese restaurant was opened in my hometown, Livorno!
The name is, Sakura. It opened last Saturday. Location: Via Pieroni, 23/25 (Piazza Grande) on the McDonald's side.I've obviously haven't been there yet, but it looks promising. Though, yet again, waiters and cooks seem to be Chinese, but I'll hold off judgment till after I've tried it ^_^

Price: I'd say affordable. Not cheap, but not too expensive.
Dress code: Not sure, but looks casual.

So, any foreigners looking for a Japanese restaurant in Livorno, now we have it! ^__^

If, on the other hand, you're looking for a quick sushi fix, there's always the Sushi and Art Food place (aka sushi bar) near Piazza della Repubblica ^_^

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

È stato aperto sabato scorso il primo ristorante giapponese a Livorno.
Nome: Sakura. Luogo: Via Pieroni, 23/25 (zona Piazza Grande, lato McDonald's). Tel. 0586 885008.
Per arrivare a Piazza Grande dalla stazione ferroviaria, basta prendere l'autobus 1 oppure 1R, che percorre il tragitto in 10-12 minuti. Ci sono anche il 2/2R, che però fanno un giro un po' più lungo.

L'atmosfera già all'ingresso è molto orientale, ma si nota subito un particolare: le bacchette poste verticalmente al lato del piatto. Quello è il modo di apparecchiare dei cinesi. I giapponesi pongono le bacchette orizzontalmente davanti alla persona. Quindi, come lo Zen a Pisa, camerieri e cuochi cinesi (anche perché li ho sentiti parlare e non ho capito una singola parola XD).
Comunque, il menù è promettente -anche solo per il fatto che ha alcune cose diverse dallo Zen di Pisa! XD I prezzi sono simili, penso. Non e economico, ma nemmeno caro. Ciò che uno si può aspettare da un ristorante del genere ^_^

Quando l'avrò provato, se mi ricordo, scriverò le mie impressioni ^_^


Comunque, rimane sempre disponibile anche il Sushi and Art Food (sushi bar) vicino a Piazza della Repubblica ^_^

Edit 2009.05.03:
Maggiori info (menù+prezzi) qui