Cousins Day!

Mood:

Yay for cousins! I've always lived so far away from mine. But, things like facebook help us connect. Wish I could physically visit them more often. Maybe in the future...

Tried to find the next translated episode of Cartoon KAT-TUN. (Hard to find them after DramaCrazy shut down.) Ended up skipping about 10 of them. And it was only a snippet of an episode. Maybe I'll be able to find a full episode next time. They did a parody of Gokusen, and introduced a celeb named Becky. She's half British and half Japanese. Very interesting. I think I've seen her in several current Japanese ads. (Thanks to a youtube channel I'm subscribed to that shows current ads every couple of weeks.)

Tried to watch the new anime called Free!, but thought it was kind of boring after about 7 minutes.Plus, the voices didn't quite fit. Using female voices, instead of male ones for teenage boys. I know that some anime use female voices for really young male characters. When done right, that's ok to me. But, when it's used for teens, it feels weird.There were a lot of weird comments about it though. It's a swimming anime, where the guys are into swimming. A lot of male viewers were complaining about how 'gay' it was. I don't think it was 'gay' at all. There were some guys who said they liked it, and that they loved that it was a sport themed anime, or were swimmers themselves. I think some guys just get jealous or something. If it was a bit more exciting and they had picked better voices, I would have been very interested in it.

Instead, I started watching Nodame Cantabile. I had watched the Jdrama a couple of years ago. Oddly, I'm noticing how close the drama was to the anime. I love the story, and to see it in a different 'light' is interesting. The animation isn't the best, at least for the first episode, but the rest of it looks good. I'll see if I'll keep it next time. The drama might have followed too closely, and it might be like watching everything over again. We'll see.

Played my clarinet. Did the rest of the tunes from my advanced solo book, some Duke Ellington tunes, some Gershwin tunes, and part of a classical tune from another advanced solo book. (This time the solo book is all classical, and the one before had mixed genres.) Was pretty good. Got a little flustered with some of the more difficult pieces. But, I think that was normal.

日本語

Today, I studied more of the kanji, 身, compounds. 身分 or みぶん (mibun): social position, social status. 身の上 or みのうえ (minoue): (one's) future, (one's) welfare, (one's) personal history, circumstance. 身勝手 or みがって (migatte): selfishness, egoism. 身の回り or みのまわり (minomawari): (one's) personal belongings, (one's) vicinity, everyday necessities. 全身 or ぜんしん (zenshin): whole (body), full-length (e.g. portrait), entire body; systemic. Next time I'll do more compounds for it. 

Youtube:

A hilarious Gintama amv mostly centered on Sougo:

2 hilarious moments from Azumanga Daioh:

National Butterscotch Pudding Day!

Mood:


One of my favorite types of pudding.Actually, I love butterscotch in any form. Good stuff. Too bad we don't have any in the house.It's also Talk Like a Pirate Day. Also, in Japan it's Respect for the Aged Day or Keiro no Hi. 


Watched the last special for Nodame Cantabile. It was really good. The only bad thing was the last part wasn't up.So, I missed the last 10-15 of it. But, I read in some of the comments that Chiaki finally kisses Nodame. About time! He wasn't being honest with himself most of the time. Nodame's first recital at the castle was pretty funny, nice, and interesting. Her dress wouldn't fit her, so she decided to wear something like Mozart's outfit, since she was playing Mozart. She even made people laugh at times. She added a song at the end. But, did a great job. She was getting a ton of offers after her performance. It was cute that when Chiaki had gone back to Japan on tour, he 'secretly' wanted to buy Nodame a ring. But, he didn't know her size and was talked into buying a necklace instead. My guess is he gave it to her at the end. I'll miss their hilarious antics, and the emotional heartfelt moments.I still strongly recommend this series!


Ao no Exorcist was just too awesome!I read that this Sunday might be the last episode. It can't be.Feels like they've just started. And, at least Yukio finally got to know the truth about his mother and Satan. Plus, they just opened the gate to the other world (maybe permanently?). So, there's no boundaries anymore. Maybe this is just the end of the season. A lot more believable if it is.A lot of shows end their seasons on or around their 24th episode, so makes sense. Almost done with translating the next sentence about the cherries article in You Maga.

Yesterday, I started a cute anime called Ikoku Meiro Croisee or Crossroads in a Foreign Labyrinth. It's basically about people coming from 2 different cultures and trying to understand each other. It takes place in the 2nd half of the 19th century, when Japanese culture was starting to become popular in the West. A young Japanese girl, Yune, accompanies a French traveler, on his journey back to France. And, offers to help at the family's ironwork shop in Paris. Oscar's nephew and shop owner Claude reluctantly accepts to take care of Yune. They slowly start to learn about each other's culture and come to an understanding. There's actually quite a bit of French in this series. They even have the episode titles in both Japanese and French. Very cool to someone who studied French, and is studying Japanese currently. This seems more 'real' with the many cultural differences and the time period, compared to most animes. Yune's so cute, and tries to understand as much as she can about French life. She already knows French, but is afraid to speak it in front of actual French speakers. Very interesting, and has a lot of potential.

Also started Beelzebub on Saturday. I got tired of Sket Dance. They seem to just do the same type of jokes over and over again. Gets old.So, noticing how popular this series is, I decided to test it out. It was hilarious and bizarre!I can see why it's so popular. Not sure how it can be a long on-going series. But, I only know from the 1st episode what it's like.Tatsumi Oga is a first year student at Ishiyama High School. It's a school for delinquents, where he's called the 'strongest juvenile delinquent'. One day while sleeping next to a river, Tatsumi sees a man floating down it. Tatsumi pulls him to shore and the man splits in half, revealing a baby boy. This boy, Beelzebub, is the son of the demon king. And, Tatsumi, along with Beelzebub's demon maid Hilda, has been chosen as the one to raise him. This baby's crazy! He'll electrocute people when he's angry, bored, or in some form of distress.He likes to pee a lot, too.


Did some cleaning today. Swept and mopped my bathroom floor. Wahoo! Watched D no Arashi. I'm really liking this series so far. The stories are interesting. This time they did documentaries on a transgendered woman, and on a mangaka (manga author/creator/or artist). The transgendered woman's name was Marie. She wanted to know if things had healed correctly after her surgery about a year ago. Turned out everything from the x-rays of the chest up, looks like any other woman would. The only thing that looks different from a woman born female, was a metal object down below. It's to keep things open. It was interesting. For the mangaka, they wanted to see what it was like to be around him 4 hours before his deadline. I don't think that was too wise.But, it's actually their fans that suggest these things. It's whatever gets the most points each week. The only thing I haven't liked so far is the parts on the guy who calls himself 'the largest man in Japan'. That's difficult to watch, I'm sorry.I can take the plastic surgery and prosthetics segments, more than I can take watching the segments on him. I'm open, but that's just unhealthy to watch.

Gintama was really nice this time. I like when they do stories like these. Gintoki was thrown in jail by an 'evil' warden. His cellmate had kept writing letters to his son for years. And, pretty recently he started getting responses back every week. So, he would write everyday, and then the warden would mail it, and give him the next letter. And it went on like that for a while, until Gintoki showed up. He eventually found out that the warden was the one replying to the old man. And, that the old man's real son died 10 years ago. He never knew. This warden was considered evil and extremely violent. It shocked everyone towards the end that he would even think of helping the guy out. Or give him some form of hope. Those letters were what kept the old man going. At the end, the prisoners rioted and beat the crap out of the warden. Gintoki comes to the rescue just in time. Then, once things settled down, he retired from being the warden. But, just as he was about to hobble out, Gintoki told him to see the old man. Since the old man finally earned the right based on good behavior to see people, and to get his sentence reduced. The old man knew the warden's scheme the entire time. But, I don't think he knew about his son actually being dead. The warden promised to write more letters to him. And the old man turned into a father figure for him. This was one of the few episodes that showed how wise Gintoki is. He seems like an idiot, but that's just a front. I like that about him. Without him 'meddling' with things, the warden would still be abusing prisoners and the old man would have never known the truth. And, the prisoners wouldn't have had such a positive role model.


Finally got to playing my clarinet again.This time I played some more of the songs in my new solo book, a couple of Jewish tunes, some Beatles songs, and finally some Duke Ellington songs. I decided to play in a different area and way. Instead of sitting on the bed, I sat in my chair in a different place, towards the end of my bed. Sitting on the bed, made me feel like I had sloppy posture for playing. I kept sliding, too. I also added my book lamp to my stand so I can see better. Although, the new area has more light. It echoes more too. Felt kind of funny.But, I think I played pretty well. Makes sense, since I had better posture, I could see, and heard myself better. Yay!

In Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge, a group called Gossip was introduced. They're considered an 'observation' group. They don't directly do anything to the authors. They administrate any info they can to encourage killing the Queen. Iwai and Kiri went to an orienteering camp with the rest of the school during Golden Week. Someone tried to drown Iwai. But, when she woke up she assumed she was in the high school's cabin lounge. But, there was a threatening letter left on one of the doors addressed to her. She seems to be trapped there. Earlier, Kiri was hoping Iwai would confess her love to him, but when she didn't he ran away from her. He doesn't think she shares the same feelings now. And he ended up moping around the next day. So, he wasn't with her to protect her. Not that he'd have any motivation to do so. Sad.


deviantART faves: Belgium Waffles calendar Theme 86 Stuffed Pretzels Just Be Happy I did not make these! First, a pic of some really good looking Belgium waffles. Second, possible calendar with Prussia from Hetalia in the background. Nicely done. I think it would be cool as a calendar. Third, a funny comic featuring the artist's oc's. Fourth, as it says, stuffed pretzels. Really good looking. They're stuffed with banana, chocolate, and cheese. Another great thing from an artist I watch. She always posts the recipe links in the author's comments. Fifth, a really cute LOLcat. 


Youtube:
Sougo and Hijikata, from Gintama, directing traffic:

Fitting tribute to Toshi, from Gintama:

Another hilarious Gintama amv:

Perfect amv for the Benizakura arc in Gintama:

Yamazaki's, from Gintama, anpan (azuki/red bean bun) phase:

Gintoki gets his Valentine's Day chocolate, from Gintama:

Oatmeal Day

Mood:


Which ends tomorrow. I love oatmeal.In almost any form. By itself, in cookies, soups, etc. Used to have it every morning, but now I'm more hooked on cream of rice.It's also National Macadamia Day. I'm not entirely fond of the nut, but it can be good when mixed with things. Hey, I guess to celebrate, people can have an oatmeal and macadamia cookie. That sounds good.


We're finally getting our burst of summer this weekend!Yesterday, it was in the high 70's. Today, low 80's. Yay! I even got a little sunburn yesterday. Although, that's easy to do with my skin... I burn so easily.I never really tan. I'm either pale/yellowy or burnt. Go me. 

Watched the first special of Nodame Cantabile. The whole special's apparently cut into 2 parts, and I finished the first. It was hilarious and emotional.Might have even been greater than the series, if that were possible. They actually went on location to Paris and Vienna. The French people were actually dubbed at certain points, because they thought the audience would tire out from reading the subtitles. Very interesting.They still let out plenty of French. I understood a lot of it. The orchestra was actually a real orchestra from the area. This part was centered on Chiaki, and him winning a conducting competition. I like how Nodame tried to learn French. She met a guy named Frank at the dorm that both her and Chiaki are staying at. He's an otaku and was watching a French dubbed anime. It just so happened to be her favorite anime. She knew it by heart in Japanese, so she just went over and over the French dub. He had a ton of anime paraphernalia in his room. Odd thing is, I know most of the animes they were from.Her mom gave her a weird French study book. When Nodame and Chiaki were at a restaurant she read, "Help! Call the police! He beats me at night!" in French. It was one of the funniest moments.The waiter gave a terrified look at him. And people stared. Also, when she greets people she keeps saying she's Chiaki's wife. I love her character!Bizarre, funny, and somehow reminds me of some of my friends. Next part will center on her.


Went to a Bar Mitzvah yesterday. We knew the family pretty well, so it was nice to go to. They apparently didn't remember that we were coming, and had to rearrange the seating for lunch. It wasn't a big deal, but it was odd.The Bar Mitzvah kid did great. I think the only thing he stumbled on was some of the English. Which is kind of funny. Shows you how nervous he was. There were a lot of people. A lot of them we knew. Some we haven't seen in a long time. Mom wasn't doing too well, but she managed. 


Lunch was outside. There was nothing over the tables, so we had the sun beating down on us. Which is probably why I got burned. I tried to juggle 2 plates of food, so Mom didn't need to get up. It was difficult carrying it back to her.There were burgers, potato salad, Dorito's, and something else that's not coming to mind. The condiments for the burgers were a bit difficult to maneuver with. They used spatulas instead of spoons or something. Hard to get anything. Anyways, it was an alright lunch. Nice to talk to people at the table, too.Eventually Mom left to sit under a covered table. Dessert was Candyland themed. A big cake with yellow and white frosting, starbursts, lollipops, chocolate coins, etc. All shaped like a game board. And for some reason, there was 2 chocolate milk bottles in the design. It was an ok cake, not the best, but ok. Got like a sugar high after that.


Everyone was worried about Mom.Her cancer marker has skyrocketed.Her doctor is taking her off of the current chemo, and once she recuperates, he'll start her on a new one. Yay.


Worked a lot on organizing my dessert recipes. I think it's the biggest section now. It all sounds like it'd be fun though.At least to try. There's lots of cakes, pies, cookies, puddings, pastries, etc. It sounded good just looking through it. It'll be an adventure. My brownies came out awesome! It was a mix, but I could have over baked or under baked it. Easy to do with brownies. But, they came out nice and chewy. Almost like fudge. It feels good when I create something like that. And, the fact people actually like it, is even better.


Almost forgot! I blew the shofar this morning. First time this year. Took a while to get a note out. It was very high pitch, and managed to hold it for a long time. Hopefully, I'll be able to do it tomorrow, too. 


Also, finished Zettai Kareshi. It was so sad! There's a special, though. Night essentially died, so I'm not sure what they can do with a special. Although, now she's with Soshi in Paris. So maybe it's their trip there?