Cosplay? Comics? Games? Japanese stands? Where?

PISA?!!!!! O____________________O [click click]

this is a first! I just found out and it's this weekend >< The cosplay competition is actually the Italian selections for the European Cosplay Summit O___O Hope I'll be able to go have a look at what they're doing.
In the meantime, I have a Japanese dinner planned tomorrow with my ex-Japanese course buddies ^__^

So, I have a lot to do, and nothing to do. You know that feeling, right? Like, in your head you know you got loads of overdue work, but somehow can't manage to pinpoint one thing to do XD

Scandals!
What's with this Naohito scandal >< The playboy image doesn't fit him at all. I wonder how this will affect his creer from now on T__T ( if you don't know what i'm talking about )

And the Pi x Yuu rumors have come back again >__> People have nothing better to do (and apparently me neither, since I go around reading that stuff XD)

So... Johnny's. So many solo projects going on this summer ne~ For some reason I got fired up most about Okura's solo concert. Wanna go wanna go wanna go ><

Change of subject: ( some other stuff I feel like babbling about )

Enough already. I've written way more than I thought I would.
Tomorrow is Yasuko to Kenji!! Remember it's at 9pm Japan time (which means 1pm UTC).

Have to start translating CB. Somehow don't feel like it though XD
By the way, I'm doomed XD Now, every time I watch some Japanese drama I start thinking how I'd translate the lines XD

PS. sorry to all my friends. I haven't been around much lately. I get shivers just thinking of checking out my f-page >< If I start going back in time I'll never finish reading XD But I'll try my best to keep up with you guys <3

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do you think I can add fansubbing / translating as volunteer work I've done ?!! XD no? how about I put it in the past work experiences section then!! XD

On another note... I realized...
there's a cute guy working near my office XD
Funny thing is, he's come by often 'cause he's on good terms with my colleague. But I only noticed him yesterday, 'cause it was the first time I saw him up close (we ran into each other in the hallway).

I hurt my tushi the other day XD

It's June. Tegoshi is in my calendar <3 I like his poses ^_^

I've finally been able to continue reading Rurouni Kenshin. For a while volumes weren't available. Now it's taken over me all over again. I'm @ Vol.20 -the story behind Battousai.
I ♥ Kenshin.

I got a wonderful letter yesterday. When I remembered it today while walking to the train station, tears pooled in my eyes and I couldn't help feeling to happy and blessed ^_^
Thank you so much.

I've done a little something in the past couple of days. It's LF-related. Nothing major. I'm waiting to hear an opinion from a friend before I post. Please look forward to it ne ^_^

 
Yesterday, 10 pm, kitchen, TV turned on to some channel following up on election news. Results already known, voice from TV creating only background white noise as I read the latest from my friends page on my laptop....... one word sticks out..

"You tachi"

I'm still reading my fpage, my mind automatically slowly replays the sounds it's just heard to realize the word that was just said by the TV presenter was, "aiutaci". And that is the ONLY word my ears caught.

1.5 seconds later I realize what my brain has just done all on its own. And once again I shudder at how JE has actually totally invaded my mind O____________________________________O

 
uwaaa~ otsukare atashi (^__^)
shoot me now for coming up with certain ideas XD
Hmmm, are you curious as to what I'm talking about? Yes, it's got to do with that "sub" tag. Alright, the episode was upped on d-addicts since Friday, no one volunteered to do softsubs (hardsubs will be done by Kioku Fansubs).. so I thought, "I wanna try!". Did I give enough hints? I wanna scream RYO-CHAN, but that's just too big a hint XD

So, yes I did. I did softsubs for the first episode of Last Friends. It was my first time ever; translating a drama and typesetting.. I'd already had a little experience with timing. So, if you decide to give my subs a try and have any suggestions or criticism please do tell ^^

So, I did the timing using the 704x396 DivX6 AVI uploaded on d-addicts.
It's a .ass file. Plays with media player classic and zoomplayer (from Combined Codec Community). Couldn't get it to work with VLC. Anyone know if .ass files don't work with VLC?

Credits are in the subs (please don't remove them), but:
-, Original script: どらま・のーと弐
-, Translation, timing & typesetting: suketeru

Download link: mediafire.com/?mkzmx2ebmmc
Don't forget to give the sub file the same name as your AVI file (except for the extension of course XD)

There are a coupla spots which I didn't translate 'cause either I couldn't tell what they were saying or I just couldn't bother XD It was just 3 tiny spots, and the talk was insignificant to the story (less than secondary people were doing the talking XD)

a coupla comments:
( ok they turned out to be more than just a couple XD )

Now, onto a little news:
-, I still haven't gone to vote. Going tomorrow. Gotta take my granny too.
-, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the next Miyazaki Hayao film, will open in Japan on July 19. The trailer will run in Japanese theatres starting April 19 [source: Anime news network]
-, Kurosagi -the movie dropped to position #6 in its 5th weekend (5-6/april) [source: 映画大好き].
-, I want some news about Yamada Takayuki, but all I keep getting is gossip about his ex, his kid, and apparently his new gf _o_ I want a new drama!! XD

My ranting:
( delusions, dreams, and.. definitions )

By the way, about the subbing thing. I wanted to give it a try, that's all. I can't guarantee I'll be doing any other episodes. Hmmmm I wonder if anyone would be willing to do the timing ^^;

Edit2: thanx to nodokuto who's tried the subs with the 1280x720 version of the video and told me it appears to be working properly ^^

Rating for the first episode of Last Friends in Kanto region: 13.9

I'm writing about this all over the place aren't I !!!! shoot my brain for thinking it was Yamapi day XD (BBC link)
damn i want a hot Yamapi pic to put up with this post, but i got nothing on this pc ><

On another note, Arashi's new album seems to have been announced. But SOMEONE TELL ME! why is it that everytime CDJapan sends me an email about a limited Arashi single or album, and i immediately go check it out, i find it's already sold out !?!!!! same thing happened with Step and Go LE, which by the way seems to have magically reappeared now on the shelves! what, am I supposed to wait a coupla weeks AFTER the release to get the limited edition? it doesn't make sense !!!

changing topic again, and going off fandom:
SOMEBODY TOTALLY HIT ON ME LAST NIGHT !!! XD the PBR dude i call him, cuz he was holding a PBR can, and i think he was totally out of it. why am i saying this? 'CAUSE! it was the first time that i was hit on in such a way, let alone in a bar!

PBR dude: Come outside with me.
me: sorry?
PBR dude: come outside with me.
me: what for?! (yeah ok, sounds dumb, but dude i didn't know what to think!)
PBR dude: for the same reason you'd be interested in any other guy.
me: oh, I don't think so. sorry
PBR dude: ...
handshake

O___O anyho, as i said, he looked out of it. either slightly stoned or slightly drunk. but he was cute ^^

BUT, if we wanna talk about cute, and I mean REALLY GOOD STUFF, gotta go to the Fogo de Chão on Chestnut Street in Philly. One of the waiters is so yummie ^^ kinda reminds me of Chase in Dr.House, but better XD ok before people start thinking i'm pervy, when i say yummie i mean really cute face, and beautiful hands (which i noticed when he poured me some water). fortunately he was mainly around our table for some time. unfortunately, he disppeared all of a sudden and i didn't get to see him again D: (small note, Fogo de Chão is NOT cheap T__T)

rant mode = off
OH! FORGOT THE BIG NEWS: THIS IS MY FIRST POST FROM MY NEW LAPTOP ^^ my beautiful Dell Red ^^ Core 2 Duo T7500, 13.3", 2.5 KG, 3 GB RAM, 250 GB HDD, GeForce 8400M, remote control, digital thumb print reader (couldn't careless about this last bit, but it's there!) so, yey ^^

Just a quick update to say I'm still here XD I'm behind on news again T__T

My listen-to-nothing-but-pacific phase turned into listen-to-nothing-but-Time !! XD I can't believe I didn't give that album enough credit when it first came out *complete fail* it was a weird period, I didn't even listen to it properly till a few weeks ago. And I loved almost every song on it ^^ yeah, it's tough to beat the record only NEWS (with pacific) has been able to achieve till now - me loving every single song on the album from the first listen ^^

I thought of this when news of Ohno's art show came out, but never got around to writing it. Arashi members have an interesting record of firsts within JE XD
Ohno - first to have an art exhibit
Sho - first to graduate university, and host a serious show, covering important events (elections, volleyball,..)
Nino - firsto to co-star in an award-winning movie
MatsuJun - first (Japanese I think) to be included in the list of beautiful persons (in 2007) in a western magazine (I can't remember which one it was ><' but it was an important one XD)
Aiba - first to have lions chasing after him and kangaroos kicking him where it hurts !! XD

interesting list, no? XD any other firsts for them you can think of ?
actually, thinking about it at the time made me feel quite proud of being a JE fan. An idol is someone you can look up to, someone you can get inspiration from, no? I'm sure a lot of people would criticize the use of the word "idol" to describe those guys, I myself would rather use another word to refer to them, but until such a word is found, I'm proud to say I'm a fan of those idols ^^

I LOVE TAIYOU NO NAMIDA!!!! XD and the PV is awesome ^^
on the other hand, Step and Go didn't excite me as much.
It's strange; overall I tend to listen more to NEWS, but Arashi are better at giving me joy and excitement when I watch them perform or host programs ^^ Yeah, NEWS are slowly getting there, ne ^^

PERSONAL HUGE NEWS!

I'm going to the US! now, the date of my departure sounded weird. I was sure I had something going on that day... it took me a really long time to figure it out! *OMG total fail* I'm leaving on March 8 _o_ why why why T_______________________T I hope I'll be able to get my new laptop before I leave so I'll be able to fangirl whenever I can find a wireless connection XD
anyho, I'll be back in Italy on the 17th. Going to a "dweeb fest" XD I'm not feeling too confident to tell you the truth, but I'll do my best to try and fit in. Oh right, I'm talking about a computer scientists' gathering to discuss some internet stuff XD (you don't need me to bore you with details). anyho, the trip is paid for so that's good. I still have to pay for my hotel and meeting registration beforehand (which will be later reimbursed) but that's a LOT of money -considering I'd only have a coupla months' pay in my bank account ><' at least I managed to get a credit card (;;^_^A
I might be able also to meet up with some highschool buds, and, most importantly, my bestest ever friend since we were like.... I can't remember XD maybe 7 or 8 years old. yay ^^ haven't seen those people in a REALLY long time ^^

Oh, yesterday I watched the last 20 of the top 100 songs of the '90s.
#3: Backstreet Boys with I Want It That Way
#2: U2 with One
#1: Nirvana with Smells Like Teen Spirit

^^ yeah, that's acceptable I guess -though I was stunned to see BSB in #3! Mmmbop was #20, Enter Sandman somewhere in the top 10, along with Hit Me One More Time.. hmmm, can't remember any other entries XD Oh, Sinead O'Conner!!! yay ^^ Nothing Compares to You! the PV was amazing O__O

Yamapi's graduating soon !!!! (^0^) I gotta work extra hard too to graduate as soon as possible. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~i it's not easy though. I'm stuck and I have no idea which way to move T__T Yamapi, watashi no chikara ni natte kudasai ^^

Off to format my C: partition. That is, my windows partition. If you don't see me back soon, it means I totally ruined something XD

Can you tell I had a Japanese lesson recently? (yesterday to be precise XD)

Just an etymological curiosity.

矛盾

reading: mujun
meaning: contradiction; inconsistency
kanji:
-, 矛: (hoko, tokari) means long Chinese spear
-, 盾: (tate) means shield.

So, how is it that their combination gives the meaning of "contradiction"? O__O

According to a Chinese story, there was a merchant who sold spears that could pierce through ANY shield. The same merchant also sold robust shields that could not be penetrated. That's how it came to have that meaning XD


OT:
Yesterday I drooled over a 1TB external HDD that cost €170 (approx. $250). THAT is not normal XD (keep in mind that a 360GB external HDD goes around €80 (approx. $117). of course, my 500GB was totally special and I have no idea how I was able to actually find one at the price I paid -which I obviously can't remember XD).

OMG! i FINALLY got my notice yesterday to go get the CDs at the post office. "what CDs?" you might ask. Unbelievable but true; NEWS' "pacific" and "weeeek" !!! i got them this morning, but haven't opened the package yet, 'cause i'm at the CS department right now o(><)o. I was nstarting to get a bit worried, seeing as CDJapan sent me an email on November 5th saying they had shipped my order. Apparently, the package was stuck at customs since November 29 XD so, it took 24 days for the parcel to arrive to Italy, and then another 22 days from customs (probably in Milano) to my city (Livorno) -_- I also had to pay 12.58€ -around 18$- for customs to get those CDs ><.
I DON'T CARE! they're here for christmas!! this is my xmas present. I'm so happy! can't wait to open it and listen to the original CDs (since i've only listened to the mp3s till now. sorry, after one month passed i just couldn't wait any longer !! XD)

BTW, i was surfing CDJapan. I knew that purchases there always counted towards the Oricon charts, BUT i found out that it's only since Novembre that they've become an official Oricon contributor. [link].
That got me curious about the rankings... for the month of Novembre, pacific is at #2.... who's at #1? who dared snatch the #1 position?!!!! I couldn't believe it when i saw it. BSB!!! -_- oh well. Both Arashi and NEWS are in the top 50 for the year's album charts. that's good ^^

Wow I've accumulated some stuff to write about didn't I ?!! (;^_^A
Right, let's get to it.

image for reference

Scan credits: agtoro/boku_nari_no.
Click on image to be transferred to bigger size and other goody scans (including the Ryo scan posted below this section). ^__^
EDIT: aya_takarai has posted another, slightly better quality of those scans. You can find them here.

( translation of Koyama-Ryo-Massu on TV Guide Oct 20-26 )

( NEWS RUSS-K Winter CM )

( Ryo chan is cheating on Yamapi O_________O )

PERSONAL STUFF FOLLOWS, so you don't have to read if you don't want to ^^
( going crazy )

I'm growing fonder of Andrea kun each day! Lately he's been giving me more reasons to update this journal ^^
This was actually supposed to be a different kind of post, but I guess I'll just bulk everything in one single entry ^^

First things first: SCANS! YUI in October's Oricon Style.
( details,credits,thumbs,previews and archives.. all under cut! )

The REAL post was supposed to be a simple update to mention that
I FINALLY HAVE A DECENT LAYOUT
(best viewed at 1280x800)
( watashi no LJ ni PRODUCE o shimashita yo ^^ )

Next update. I've added romanization to the Music Station rankings I posted last time. I'm also slowly uploading the bits with the talks and live performances of the episode's guests. It's all in this post. I only have 2 videos uploaded right now, so if you're interested in the others check back later ^^. All performances uploaded.

Onto other stuff -aka my life!
( nail polish )

CHANGE OF SUBJECT: ( Heroes )

TOTALLY RANDOM:

I WANT TO FOUND A NEW FANCLUB!
I don't know when I started admiring this person, but the more I got to know him, the more I admired him!! He's super smart, knows a lot about a lot, is gentle, fun to be around, a child at heart, has a cute face, is a good friend and an AWESOME professor!

I'm reading "Cell" by Stephen King. It's been a while since I last read any of his novels. Maybe that's why I'm finding this one a little boring ^^; even though things seem to be picking up now. There's this Johnny character in there. First time I read that name I was like, "What is Johnny san doing in a Stephen King novel?! O__O" LOL
( tiny interesting quote )

ARASHI is still in the top 20 on Oricon Chart!!! #16 to be precise. After more than 1 month of their single's release, being on the top 20 isn't usual, ne!
What's bugging me is Akikawa Masafumi still in top 30. It's kinda irritating, I have no idea why!

I LOVE PRODAI OST! ^^v

-23 DAYS TO NEWS NEW SINGLE AND ALBUM

You can now watch this dorama in streaming on Veoh.com thru links provided at SARS Fansubs (obviously subbed by SARS ^^). That is the only reason i actually watched this dorama!




IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE:
at SARS Fansubs you can also find stream links of "Hana Yori Dango 2 -Returns". well, till now only eps 04 & 09 are available.

back to "Kami sama.."
SYNOPSIS:(taken from SARS)
Consists of 12 TV Episodes. A touching love story about a girl Kano Masaki (Fukada Kyoko) who contracted HIV after selling her body in order to earn money to attend a concert of a famous music composer/producer Ishikawa Keigo (Kaneshiro Takeshi). After the concert, Keigo saw Masaki chasing his van. She was drenched, and thus Keigo took her to his apartment, where they spent the night.

MY THOUGHTS:
as i said before, the fact that this dorama was available in streaming, therefore did not require me to occupy any disk space to download -plus the fact that i was a bit bored- is the only reason i watched it. reading the synopsis didn't encourage me much to watch it. but then, a few days ago, while surfing the net, i happened upon many comments saying that it was some people's favorite dorama, that it was really nice and such. so i said, what the heck, i'll give it a go. from the very first episode it got a negative judgment by me. but i continued watching anyway, whenever i had a little time and didn't know what to do. the last episodes ended up being background sound while i was doing other things -mainly 'cause i'd get bored from watching !

**SPOILER WARNING**

- so, all SHE does is whine, cry, run, and scream. and the actress is so not good at crying.
- all HE does is run after/for her. this dude smokes too much!
- the SINGER is a pain in the neck that does nothing but repeat the same concepts, and HE is so stupid he can't actually figure out what she's doing and keeps trusting her. she is the same actress that did the main teacher character in both Gokusen. i didn't like her even then! it took me sometime to figure out it was her; here she has a totally different look, she doesn't wear glasses, and in the first eps has very curly hair. i noticed it was her 'cause of her voice.
- mother and father. their characters were strangely built. like, they care, but they don't do anything about anything! and what on earth is the whole father-always-blames-mother-for-everything thing!?!
- PLOT & SCRIPT:
aa the main victim has been seated ^^ so i'm thinking those guys never heard of a little something called condom. anyho, there are many points that do not make any sense (of course i've totally hit Shift-Del on my brain cells that contained them!) example i remember:
him: don't have the baby.
her: bla bla bla, whine whine whine
him: you remember my ex? she died bearing my child
her -in a high pitched, angry voice- : so what you think i'm gonna end up like her !?!
now is that the reaction you'd have when the person you love that has never opened up to anyone and has finally fallen in love with you tells you sth like that !?!
example 2: i don't know much about aids, but i never thought one would die .. suddenly. maybe i didn't understand the last scene..
example 3: you've decided to follow your loved one from Japan all the way to the US. he says"if you decide to come, be at the lobby by 15.00" .. HUH ?! like dude;
1) if i decide to go i'd call !
2) even if i didn't decide to go i'd wanna go and say goodbye, don't you think ?

the script lacked fantasy.. it was monotonous, always repeating the same things over and over. do people really refuse to rent you an apartment 'cause you have aids? that was a first (among many in this dorama).

all in all, this dorama contained so many cliché scenes, the whole plot was so forced so that the story would always have a sad mood all the time. plus, all the "coincidence" bump ins, all the misses, and dude, if you don't want him to see you then don't just freeze there and stare at him!

oh oh another example came to mind:
her: you're my FRIEND right? (actually used the word: tomodachi)
him: yes.
a coupla hours later she sees another girl kissing him and her world crumbles. i was like, what? didn't you two just say you were friends?

the ONLY one i was sad for was the good friend that loved her secretly and stuck beside while she seemed to not careless, even after she found out .. Isamu kun was an ok character and actor.

**END OF SPOILER WARNING**

i guess you can quite clearly tell that i DID NOT like this dorama AT ALL.
BUT, if you like sad love stories you might want to give it a shot. afterall, many other people enjoyed it. some liked the soundtrack as well (i didn't ^^)

i'm just not into this meaningless kind of love story. at first i thought that since it was about a girl that had aids, it might give one some insight and inspiration, but it didn't. at least not for me.
at one point i thought, maybe i just don't like love stories, or sad stories, or sad love stories.. but i don't think that's true 'cause:
1) i liked "Taiyou no Kisetsu" which is a)sad, b)love story, c) sad love story
2) i liked other doramas which had a somewhat sad mood at some point (i was actually more saddened by "Nobuta wo Produce" than this!).
it's still true though; i'm not much into love stories. but if they have a good plot, good ideas, some kind of msg to give out, then i don't mind ^^ (*side note: Yamashita san's next dorama is a love comedy)


phewww that was long. i had to get it out of my system ^^

CHANGE OF SUBJECT:
i went out for dinner yesterday with my grandma, uncle and his family. we went for chinese. and this time was one rare one in which i ordered the exact perfect amount of food for me ^^ i was happy. i hate to eat too much, and that often happened at the chinese restaurant.
my meal: vegetable dumplings; white rice; toufu with vegetables (carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bamboo); soia cream for dessert with green tea. yummmmm my cousin said that whenever we go out to eat i always order things that are totally diferent than the others but which are interesting. i liked that comment ^^ it's boring to order always the same, or similar things, ne ^^ plus, i really luv toufu ^^

uwaaaaa i've got so many other things to write, but i'll stop here. i hate long posts, and this has already turned into one ^^


** today's quote: "Young boys should never be sent to bed.. they always wake up a day older"
- James Barrie in Finding Neverland.
this was my fave quote for a really long time ^^

**icon: Haruhi from "Ourak Koukou Hosuto bu". can't remember where i got it from. gomen

kesa mezameta toki iroiro kangaegoto ga atta. mazu ha, henna yume o omoidashita.
flashes of a dream i had last night were the first thing on my mind this morning when i woke up. there was mom, dad my sis and i in the car; dad not paying attention to the road; my friend randa; her mom (who in real life is russian but apparently changed to chinese in my dream!); arabic, italian and english were the languages spoken; i missed sth..
after a few seconds of flashbacks, some words filled the space in my head; "..nakamatachi ha, kitto ima mo soba ni iru kanjiru.." (= ..friends, for sure even now are close i can feel it..). these are words from Arashi's "Hero". why they were in my head? at first i didn't think about it, but now, as i'm writing this, some -unwanted- reasons come to mind.

yesterday i got up earlier than usual 'cause i wanted to be tired at night so i can go to bed early. i have absolutely got to fix my "daily routine" -actually, just the times i get up and go to bed. ironically, everytime i decide to go to bed earlier i end up going waaaaaaay later than usual, and so end up being really tired and getting up later the next morning. >.<


** avatar: Asami sensei, doushita?! Asami sensei from "Long Love Letter" (after he found out that **MAJOR SPOILER BEGIN** Ikegaki died **MAJOR SPOILER END** --> highlight to read)

** today's quote: random phrases i hear; they either make me think, laugh, or simply sounded nice when i heard em.
TODAY's QUOTE:
"screwed up feelings in a screwed up place and a screwed up time doesn't mean that YOU're screwed up!" -Happy Harry Hard-on (from Pump Up The Volume)

"sore ha, totsuzen, arashi no you ni" o minagara atarashii hyougen o kikimashita; "kao ha hiroi".
kao = face;
hiroi = wide
so, what? "the face is wide"? NOPE; "he knows a lot of people"! quite interesting i must say.

another thing i really liked -read during yesterday's lesson- is: "tsukuranakereba naranaku narimashita". i guess this can't be classified as being a single word, but logically i figure it should be! it's simply a conjugation of the verb "tsukuru":
tsuku-ru = to make
tsuku-ranai = not make
tsuku-rana-kereba = if not make
tsuku-rana-kereba-naranai = if not make, not be of use = must make
tsuku-rana-kereba-naranaku-narimasu = to become that must make
tsuku-rana-kereba-naranaku-narimashita = it has become that must make

super cool ^^ i think a coupla hours would pass before i'd be able to put together sth like this during a conversation !


~~ side note: still waiting for the JLPT4 results. last year they got to my senpaitachi around mid-march. guess no point in waiting.

** avatar: Takizawa Hideaki, taken from img i found in some Takizawa fan page. i think it was the old Takizawa-Hideaki.Net, but i'm not sure (^^;)

** can't stand: this is my first "CAN'T STAND" entry. today's is: ITALIAN TV. programs so suck. useless nonsense all the time; lunch, snack time and dinner. i don't like to watch TV, but those few times i have to come in contact with it are always torture!