More drug-induced goodness from Studio Ghibli, and some seismic stuff goin` down in the hood, yo.
01.08.26
・01:57
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Music o` The Entry: "Agehachou", Porno Graffiti
おはよう、みんなさま〜guess what? Sho is feeling like crap again. But that`s not unusual, so we`ll get on with it.
Yes, today Yuri and I went to go see Sen to Chihiro, the newest Hayao Miyazaki movie (he`s responsible for things such as Totoro, Nausicaa, Mononoke Hime, and others, as well as being one of the most respected anime people in Japan. Anime people, gotta love my super-technical terms, booyah). I did indeed call Ei-chan (I think I woke him up, actually ^^;;), but he was busy with...something, so we went ourselves, to the show in Kobe via Sannomiya (三宮, for your necessary Hankyu-line kanji lesson, Misha). Stopped by お母さんの英語学校 first to procure some cash, where we were very enthusiastically introduced to the advanced English class...oy, you KNOW it`s not a good thing when the teacher says she`s "heard so much about you!"...I always get suspicious when someone says that, SUCH a loaded statement, でしょ？ Still, it went well, and off we went. We ended up getting there quite a bit early, which is a good thing, because Sen to Chihiro (go to http://www.sentochihiro.com if you`re curious about the movie, though beware, it`s in Japanese) is wildly popular right now, and people were already lined up outside the theatre. Had to show my student ID card from the States to get the student discount (so it only cost me 1500 yen instead of 1800, holy crap T_T;;), they seemed mildly amused at it. Was slightly surprised by the actual theatre itself, the rooms are quite small, and it was bright white. Another difference are the seats-there are no cupholders, and the incline is quite subtle, no stairs or anything. As the same in the US, we got to watch previews, including the one for the Final Fantasy Movie, which isn`t released here until 09.15 (also note that L`Arc`s "Spirit Dreams Inside" has not come out here, to my knowledge-it certainly hasn`t been getting any play on either the Oricon or Yusen channels, which I listen to constantly), and some other stuff. Finally, it started-before that, I must mention that Sen to Chihiro has a gorgeous soundtrack-it`s not as epic or grandiose as Mononoke Hime`s, where within 5 minutes of the film`s beginning, I announced to TheWiseOne (I think he`s been mentioned on here before, he took me to jr. prom) that I would not survive without this CD, but it`s quietly beautiful-lots of sad piano pieces, which thrill me so. I probably won`t purchase it here, due to the fact that a brand new Japanese CD ranges between about 2930-3200 yen, which I don`t feel like spending currently...still, if it sees domestic release in the US, I`ll definitely pick it up. As for the movie itself, smashing, in true Studio Ghibli style, although I have never liked the combo of traditional animation paired with CG stuff, and this is no exception. It was done better than I`ve usually seen it, but I still don`t like it. The title itself is a play on words-in the movie, the main character Chihiro`s name is changed to Sen, and the majority of the story takes place at a massive sento, a public bath, thus 千と千尋。 わかる？ よし。 The movie...as a non-fluent viewer, was somewhat confusing, but I understood fairly well-it must be taken into account that this is probably the most incredibly strange LSD-induced movie I`ve ever seen (well, perhaps not LSD-that honour is definitely awarded to Yellow Submarine, which honestly IS an acid trip-"It`s a pair of kinky boot beasts!" Gods, that quote will resound forever in my mind...), even beating out the frenetic orgy of glee that is Moulin Rouge-yes, it`s that bizarre. I can`t really explain it, but if you know Hayao Miyazaki, then you know what I`m talking about-this is weird crap, boys and girl-I must`ve said "Nande kuso?!" about a million times throughout the entire thing. Still, it was lovely-I highly recommend you all see it, if you have an opportunity to in any form or fashion. I don`t know if it`ll make it to the US, though with the recent flood of localized anime being shown on public TV ::cringes::, plus with anime movies like Pokemon, Digimon, and Mononoke Hime coming over, it`s possible, especially since Mononoke Hime got stellar ratings from all the critics. Not nearly as bloody as Mononoke Hime, just...weird. God, I wish I had some screenshots-you get the fruit of the gods that makes people puke, those freakish green chanting bouncing heads, Yubaba...weirdness. I liked Haku, bishounen dragon-boy, he rocked. So yeah, it was good fun.
After that, we bummed around Kobe a little bit, ended up eating lunch around 4 something at a Makudo, because we`re cheap and evil women. On the train back, had a close encounter of the hen na ojiisan kind (that would be "freaky old man", loosely, for those of ye not familiar with the term)-HOW DO I ATTRACT THESE PEOPLE?! ARGH!! Seriously, he was sitting on the bench across from us and down, and for some reason he just kept STARING at Yuri and I-just staring. We were both quite aware of it, and nervously tried to continue our conversation in English (we always speak English exclusively on the trains because there`s little chance people will understand) while NOT looking at him...until said freaky old dude gets UP and walks OVER, waa~y out of his way to us, standing close enough for my foot to touch to his leg. ちくそ。 By now, we were majorly freaked out, and didn`t know what to do, so just stumbled over our words, trying hard not to look at him despite his constant assaultive gaze...luckily, at the next station (we took the local train because we suck) some of his friends got on, so he abandoned freaking us and blissfully went away. I swear, what IS it with this nation?! I have met so many more seriously freaky (like, in a scary mental-patient escapee way) people here than in the US...and what`s with the deranged salarymen and me? Yes, naturally, my Salaryman Meter was going nuts...then on the way home this guy on his bike just stops and stares...I SO wish there had been a pole for him to run into, I would`ve howled. Yes, I am looking forward to being my usual anonymous non-descript self again in the US, I must say. Ye gods, it`s ridiculous.
So yeah, that was today`s Kobe adventure. After that, we came home and kaasan informed us that we`d go out to eat Italian tonight...although before that she mentioned the airport tax to me. Crap. Okay, here`s a note to all prospective travellers to Japan coming in through Kansai Int`l Airport (I dunno about Narita, I know Itami doesn`t do this)-if you want to leave, they`re gonna charge you about in the tune of 3900 yen (that`s very roughly $35, yo) to freaking GET ON YOUR PLANE. Personally, I think that`s BS, but oh well, I`m not the Japanese government, now am I? This is a very bad thing, because Sho is MAJORLY low on funds-we`re talking like, less than 2000 yen low ^^;; (that`s less than $20 US)...also, I found out that okaasan is working the day I go back, so Yuri and I get to ride on the illustrious Airport Limousine (just a big ol` charter bus type contraption) to Kansai. Yay. Had to contact my parents, so tomorrow I get to go to Frente and get money, やった！ Wahaha, I get to shop once again! Deus bless Visa, amen and forever. So yeah, we went out to dinner, and it was good-I dined on mozzarella pizza, on which the sauce did not taste like bile for once, and a slice of chocolate layer cake (I`m sure those of you who know me are gasping in shock or horror, heaven forbid Sho eats something like that. Don`t worry, it`s back to my standard oh-so-healthy diet when I return), plus I found something that`s proving to be the undoing of me at this blessed second-a coffee/espresso/cappuccino machine. OH YES. Needless to say, I happily enjoyed the latter two, while both お父さんとお母さん complained about how it was too strong-oh, my sweet sweet caffeine, how I love thee. Well, I did at the time. You see, as we all know, Sho`s stomach is quite the temperamental bastard, and it does not like copious amounts of caffeine, no matter how much Sho`s head may enjoy it, and is currently letting me know just how much it dislikes it. いたい >_<〜...still, it was lovely have my beloved espresso again, it makes me grad. After that we made the rounds to Yuri`s relatives houses for me to say my goodbyes, first to Brian`s host family`s house (you know, the whole Akihisa/Takuya "OH YES/I WAS GAY" thing. Uh, yeah. ::coughs::) then to Yuri`s aunt and Yukihiro`s house, where I got to have their cat Ru-chan gnaw on my hand, it was ever-so-smashing-I`ve missed having Aisrael put pretty new scars on my arms, so I felt quite at home having Ru-chan (yes, the same name as Yuri`s dog) show her...affection. Besides, compared to Aisrael, it was nothing-that cat bites freaking HARD.
Came home, finally, and I went and laid down, feeling crappy crappy crappy. Got up at 10:15 to go downstairs and watch PopJam, featuring Gackt, Morning Musume, the Kinki Kids (I still find it hysterical that they were involved with that orgy scandal, their name positively BEGS for it. And yes, I do know why their name is "Kinki", I`m just being a stupid American, humor me), 19, Namie Amuro, GLAY ::dies::, and some others. Needless to say, it`s kind of obvious why I watched it *cough*GACKT*cough*. Unfortunately, he didn`t sing, dammit-I was hoping for some "Sekirei" goodness, especially after having to sit through Morning Musume ::shudders::...oh gods, those children have NO redeeming qualities >_<...it was rather amusing, they had one of the 13-year-old Musume girls have a "date" with Gackt, who promptly informed her that his 461-year-old self had never dated a 13-year-old before. Yes, if any of you have seen interviews with Gackt, you know he`s a freak-he acts like he`s estranged royalty, for the love of everything cheesy. Still, he`s a gorgeous freak, so I happily drooled. Too bad he didn`t perform, I wanted to see him dry-hump his guitarist again (hooray for slashy ex-visual kei vocalists!). Heh, weirdness, in the "Rebirth" album book, he calls them "Gackt`s Family"-I told you, the boy`s freaky. Sure, he may be pretty poppy now, but he certainly doesn`t act like it, compared to the other people on there ^^;;. GLAY was...GLAY. Passable, at best-I honestly do NOT see why they`re so wildly popular. They`re not terrible, but nothing about them strikes me as wonderful-I`ve only heard one song of theirs that I actually like, the rest are quite forgettable. Still, I was encouraged by the fact that Teru wore a kilt over his pants and that Takuro(? わからへん、only know Teru because he`s the vocalist, Jiro because his pout is plastered everywhere all over the freaking country, and Hisashi, because his hair usually rocks) wore a dress. Sure, with pants underneath, but it`s still a dress~...I`m pissed, next week on PopJam they`re having Shingo Mama (like, Shingo of SMAP`s psycho spin-off band; the child is insane, I like that in a man) and Ryuichi Kawamura. Bloody hell, why can`t I get stuff like this in the US?! ARGH. I forcefully reminded Yuri that she is so taping this, plus Hey! Hey! Hey! for me...oy.
Oh, another fun note during PopJam-it was briefly delayed for Sho to get to experience her first earthquake, how delightful! No, seriously, I`ve never been in one before-they`re always having them in Seattle and saying they can feel them over in the city I dwell in, but I think it`s a steaming pile of some sort of waste, but I definitely felt this one. I was laying down in the chair, glaring at Morning Musume, when I suddenly felt majorly dizzy...then I noticed the TV shaking, and heard noises. I jumped up to feel the floor rock under me, and called quickly for Yuri, not knowing what to do. She rushed down the stairs, mildly freaking because it was shaking a lot worse upstairs (naturally), but by then it was all over and an emergency newsflash came on. The epicentre was apparently in Kyoto, and registered a 4, and there was a tsunami; over in Hyougo-ken (my prefecture) it was a 3. So no, no damage to the house, any property, or any person in this household, it was just mildly entertaining. Nothing like the Great Hanshin Earthquake that wrecked Nishinomiya on my birthday in 1995 (funny, I watched it on the news...who would guess that 5 and 6 years later I`d be IN Nishinomiya?), but still fun nonetheless. Although it did screw up traffic naturally, and the shinkansen had to stop running...so yeah, this trip has been highly enlightening-not only have I had a wealth of cultural experiences, I also got to add typhoons and earthquakes to my severe weather phenomena list, in addition to all the tornadoes, hurricanes, and whatnot already there-how special I feel! So yeah, if you hear about it on the news or stuff, don`t worry, we`re all cool here.
Oh, fun news of the day-apparently, some member of SMAP got arrested and subsequently quit the group. Yuri and I saw this on some guy`s newspaper when we were on the train back to Nishinomiya and were musing about it, drug charges perhaps? It turned out to be a freaking traffic violation for ILLEGAL PARKING. WTF?! ::falls on the floor and has a seizure:: Sorry, this doesn`t even DESERVE comment...
Dunno what I`m going to do tomorrow-I want to go karaoking again (for the 6th or 7th time) before I leave, but it`s expensive on the weekends, so Yuri and I are going to go on Monday (I`ve been practicing Malice Mizer`s "Beast of Blood", yeehaw), plus Monday is going to be the Day of Fate ::insert drumroll::. So I don`t really have anything to do tomorrow, besides go to Frente to get cash, go shopping for friends and relatives, call Akihisa (we got home too late, didn`t want to interrupt his getting laid) because I want a sumomo (very very tasty alcoholic peachy/apricottish type thing, love `em to death), and...packing. Yeah, I gotta start finally. ::wry smile::
Still worrying to death about seeing Soba. I really wonder if this is such a good idea. It shouldn`t really matter, seeing as this is highly final-I will NOT be seeing him again after this. I dunno, there`s just so many things that could go wrong...Yuri and I are practicing my Japanese, what I`m going to say. Thus far, it sounds something like "I know I said I wouldn`t see you again, but please forgive my selfishness. I`m leaving tomorrow, and it`s too painful for me to leave in this condition, so I came to say a proper goodbye...thus, arigatou and...sayonara." Sort of. Dunno exactly what will pop out when I actually DO speak to him, could be quite different ^^;;...what I`m scared of is when I get there, if he`ll even SEE me-I want to tell Ueda to tell him just to come out, not necessarily tell him precisely why...and I don`t know how he`s going to react to me, after the letter -_-;;...there is NOTHING I hate more than uncertainty and the fear it produces, I swear. But I`m going to continue in this, regardless. I wish there was some way I could I see him with a 2-way mirror, where I could see him and he`d be oblivious to me...oy. Sometimes I wish my imagination weren`t so vivid and creative >_<...
Oh well, I need to scoot-oh, here`s a nice quote from one of the more recent always-bizarre conversations between Yuri and I: "I`m a fucking AWESOME Samaritan!" Uh, don`t ask, it was an English idioms lesson gone horribly wrong ^^;...talk to y`all tomorrow, after Sho`s merry little shopping day. I leave you with a quote from that stupid "Lifetime Respect" reggae song that will not quit playing:
ISSHO ISSHO NI DE KUDEYA〜！！！
You have to yell this as loud and obnoxiously as you possibly can (it`s the only part I know, besides where he says "SEX". Aren`t I great?), and coupled with a slightly drunken and equally loud and grating version of Tommy february6`s "Everyday at the Bus Stop" (solo work by the girl from the brilliant green), it`s ALL good baby, yeehaw. Night, minna, things are started to get less and less coherent...
chronos
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