Is this goodbye?

I've been on and off considering moving to a new home blog. Every once in a while I get this deep revelation of sorts where I wish I had a Twitter account with followers or an anonymous blog that people actually visited so I could share my pearls of wisdom. Alternatively, I could just have a private, online journal seeing as, let's be honest here, it's about the same in terms of the number of people reading it.

Anonymity aside, I feel that this blog is my designated "fangirling" blog. And now that that phase of my life has seemingly passed, perhaps it is just time for this blog to stagnate as well.

Now the real dilemma begins... choosing a name for my new blog. :\

I should be sleeping...

But instead here I am, at my laptop, contemplating the fate of my blog(s).

Since my fangirling tendencies seem to have calmed down for the moment, I was wondering about what I should do with ~blurry eyes~. I started this blog for the main purpose of attention whoring fangirling, as no one IRL really wanted to put up with my verbal diarrhoea about effeminate manchildren running around in make-up. As it turned out, this blog became a good ego boost; shameless as it is, I do sometimes read old entries and bask in the awesomeness that is my writing think that maybe I was somewhat semi-decent at formulating a coherent sentence. So I would like to continue blogging, I just don't know what to blog about. This blog is public (and will probably remain as such) and I'm not really one for posting openly about my private life even if practically no one reads this.

On a similar note, MSN Spaces (or whatever it was called) finally closed this week. I used to write in my blog there back in 2005 and 2006 but eventually stopped. I didn't even know MSN was shutting it down until earlier this week, so luckily I was able to download all my entries as well as transfer them over to Wordpress before that happened. Which again creates the dilemma of what do I do with it? Should I use it? Or should I simply leave it with my old entries solely for the purpose of nostalgia and storage?

I suppose it'll all come down to two things: whether I have time for blogging, and whether I have anything worthwhile to blog about. Perhaps this is good motivation to pick up a hobby?

On the bright side, I actually posted before the end of the month! Way to go me!

Self-imposed obligatory monthly post

So I'm clearly half-assing this whole blogging thing. Yet again, the entire month flew by without a single post... in fact, without more than five seconds of a mere thought of a post. Go me.

I think my fangirling days have officially come to a momentary end. My desktop wallpapers are no longer Reita *gasp* and I barely even listen to any of my prior fangirl-triggering music anymore.

But you know what that means. I have to edit my 'about me'. Which requires thought. And energy. And wit.

Damnit. Should have stuck to fangirling.

First post of the year. What.

How is it that I managed to not post anything until 31 days into the new year? Clearly, I should have made blogging more regularly my new year's resolution.

As it turns out, my brief obsession with the GazettE was, well... brief. I don't follow any news about them at all, aside from major things like the Tokyo Dome concert (and by that I mean that I know that it even happened, not actual details) and the Heresy fan club closing its doors to international (i.e. non-Japanese) members/applicants. I still like their music, I just don't fangirl over them anymore until I see Reita being all sexy as always.

I suppose the same could be said for SS501; I don't really follow them anymore, though I would say I'm a little more interested in their current endeavors than I am in the GazettE's. Speaking of which, the SS501 members are finally becoming more active, albeit individually. E.g., Park Jung Min recently released his first solo single album (he is looking FINE these days, btw) and Kim Hyung Jun is going to have a second season of that progamer show. I'll probably watch it, as long as it's as lulzy as the first season.

I also started listening to Park Hyo Shin recently; omg, that man's voice is just... I don't even have words for it. Unfortunately, he got drafted for the military last year December so we won't be seeing anything from him for a couple of years. To be honest, I'm not much of ballad lover but the few songs that I do love from him are awesome.

Man, I gotta started doing my obligatory monthly updates earlier so I don't have to rush. Or maybe just post more often than once a month.

Listening to right now: Edwin McCain - I'll Be

Happy holidays~

Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!

Still need to come up with some New Year's resolutions to fail at again. In the meantime, a relaxing picture of palm trees...

Flo to the rescue!

I recently played the game Diner Dash: Sizzle and Serve for the DS and let me tell you, that game is hella addicting! Either that or I just have no self-control. Basically, it's about a woman, Flo, who quits her boring and stressful office job to open her own restaurant. Which apparently entails waitressing at (and saving?) a number of different restaurants before opening her own dream restaurant. Although seemingly monotonous, this game becomes surprisingly challenging and does manage to hold your (or at least my) attention throughout. There are different types of customers all with their own little quirks and paces, as well as different "freebies" that the restaurants eventually offer to their patrons which really just make your job a whole lot more complicated and hectic than it already was.

Which makes me wonder if Flo really thinks that this job is any better than her office job where she was doing basically the same thing (catering to the whims of other, highly demanding people) except that she didn't have to run around like a chicken without a head in her previous job. But whatever floats your boat, right? Follow your dream and all that jazz.

All in all, I really enjoyed the game and managed to unlock all the unlockables and essentially finish the game. So when I realised that there was a sequel, Diner Dash: Flo on the Go, I practically squealed with excitement at the prospect of more waitressing happiness. Until I actually played the game.

Flo on the Go is a massive step down from Sizzle and Serve. The graphics are worse, the music is lame, gameplay is less responsive, the upgrade system is barely flexible, and it's hard to tell what the heck is even going at each table. Probably the sole redeeming change was that you don't have to switch the screen between the waiting area to the dining area (though admittedly this actually made Sizzle and Serve somewhat more challenging). Granted, I only played through the first level (but each level has 10 stages) and the first stage of the second level but I doubt that it would've gotten much better. Especially after the introduction of the "love-bird" customers who apparently refuse to sit at tables with more than 2 seats and will suck each other's faces off if you leave them alone for too long. Um, what?

Overall, I am highly disappointed in Flo on the Go. However, Sizzle and Serve is significantly better as well as ridiculously addicting.

Listening to right now: Standing Egg - 사랑한다는 말

The sole October post... huh?

I can't believe an entire month (and more) has passed since I last posted anything here. For some reason I kept thinking that I had posted at least once in October but I guess my sense of time is worse than I thought.

Life's been so busy that I really haven't had much time (or spare energy) to follow up on... anything, really. I have some idea of what's been going on with different bands and such but no time to really fangirl over any of the news.

Oh, but there's roughly a month and a half left before the GazettE releases their new single, "PLEDGE". I wasn't too much impressed by their last two singles, "SHIVER" and "Red"; they weren't bad (in fact, they're quite catchy and I've looped them quite a bit) but they also weren't amazing. The B-sides were a bit more interesting but even those didn't hold my attention quite as much as some of their previous singles have.
I am also really, really, really hoping that Reita gets rid of that extra piece of cloth that he has wrapped around his forehead. Something about it just doesn't suit him, aside from it just looking plain silly.

Speaking of visuals though, I also hope that the "PLEDGE" PV is more interesting than the last two. Both "SHIVER" and "Red" must have had the same director or something because there was the same annoying jerky-I-don't-want-to-focus-on-any-one-thing-in-particular thing going on. "Red" was definitely not as boring a PV as "SHIVER", although the cameraman needs to learn that there are more members in the GazettE than Ruki, Aoi, and Uruha. Like seriously, Reita and Kai got practically no face time. Although, Reita looked so damn tired in the few shots he did have that maybe it's actually a good thing.

Guess I'm just gonna have to cross my fingers for an awesome single/PV this time around.

Listening to right now: ONE OK ROCK - Liar

Let's brew!

So instead of studying for my 6 hour exam like I should have been, I ended up watching the Korean drama 개인의 쥐향 [Personal Taste]. I found it pretty amusing, although at first there were a few too many characters whose eyes I wanted to claw out just because they were hella annoying. Somehow the writers managed to redeem pretty much ALL the characters, save for one (in my opinion), but the one character I was fairly conflicted about throughout the whole series was Han Chang Ryul. That's pretty much all I have to say about the drama, since I watched it a couple of weeks ago and my memory is crap, lol.
Oh. But I never knew how FINE Lee Min Ho is. o_O

I also watched the anime もやしもん [Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture] which has been around for a while (2007) but I never got around to watching until now. Basically, it's about a boy named Sawaki who can see microbes with the naked eye; not in a oh-look-spores-like-under-a-microscope kind of way but rather in a chibified and ridiculously cute kind of way. And they can talk. Yes.
Needless to say, I fell in love with the so-called main character of the featured microorganisms: Aspergillus oryzae. Since this is centred around agricultural microbiology, the microbes that appear are usually fungi, sometimes bacteria, and very rarely viruses. The only viruses I recall explicitly being pointed out were rhinovirus and influenza. But then of course, we could get into a whole debate about whether or not viruses are actually "alive", right?

What really motivated me to finally watch the Moyashimon anime was the fact that I happened to see that they recently (this year, in fact) made a drama adaptation! After finishing the anime I started the drama but so far I've only watched the first two episodes. It's interesting, and obviously a bit different from the anime (e.g. Sawaki's best friend Kei takes a leave of absence right from the get-go; this made me very sad). The microbes also seem to be much more vocal and in general noisier than their anime counterparts. I have yet to decide how I feel about the various character portrayals, so we'll see how it goes after a few more episodes.

Listening to right now: SID - 「すぐ傍で」

Oh, the irony

I mentioned in a previous post that I was thinking about going to one of the US Dir en grey/Apocalyptica shows this year. Happy to say, I made plans and did indeed make it to the venue. Right after Dir en grey finished playing.

T_T

As it turns out, my master planning skills did not take into account a number of various scenarios that ended up happening, thus resulting in my absolute disappointment at not being able to see Dir en grey perform. To be fair, everything that happened was completely unavoidable so that actually does make it a little better.

And I did get to see Apocalyptica perform so it wasn't a total waste. Not to mention that they were totally badass and rocked out on those cellos so hard. I also was not expecting such hot eyecandy to be flaunted before me. I'm quite happy that I got the opportunity to see them that close up but it's a little sad that there weren't more people at that particular venue because they definitely deserve more love.

The one thing that's really kind of depressing, despite the fact that I'm really not that big a Diru fan, is that the venue was pretty small and there weren't that many people (at least not for Apocalyptica's set). So I could see the band ridiculously clearly and when I think that I was this close to seeing Diru that close up... yeah, I kind of die a little inside.

All in all, it was a worthwhile experience and it was awesome watching Apocalyptica's performance. I'm sure Diru will come back, and when they do I hope that I'll have the opportunity and the funds to actually see them this time, preferably in a venue as small as this one.

Listening to right now: the GazettE - Without a Trace

The stigma against visual kei

It's always interesting to see people's reactions to visual kei. I happened to show a Shoxx magazine to a couple of my friends and their reactions were something like a mix of shock, disgust, denial, and dislike. What was even more interesting though, was my own reaction to their reactions. Mild annoyance and discomfort aside, I was surprised. I guess I've been exposed to visual kei so much for so long that effeminate men wearing make-up and girly clothes just seem so normal, lol. What also helps though is knowing that it's a style that is (technically speaking) specific to a particular genre of music. I've begun to realise that people who are not acquainted with visual kei, and who only see pictures in magazines, automatically assume that this is a lifestyle that these men adopt. That they run around everyday in their crazy make-up, flamboyant outfits, and highly styled hair. Which in turn seems bizarre to me because who would really do that?

It also seems to be hard for people to understand why anyone straight would 1) choose a profession where they would have to dress like that and 2) actually like the artists who do this. Apparently because a man chooses to dress like a woman (though in reality it's usually androgynous) it must mean that he's gay. Or wants to be gay. Or is in denial about being gay.
Of course, cross-dressing in Japan dates waaaaay further back than visual kei. Kabuki, anyone? Not only that but sexuality and orientation markers are viewed/interpreted differently in Japan than it is in, e.g. some Western cultures. And just because a man engages in so-called homosexual behaviour does not automatically make him gay anyway. Gay-for-pay, anyone?

I'm going off-topic here, lol.

The whole point of this post was not to go into the finer details of sexuality and culture or to lament the fact that all my friends now think I'm a freak for liking cross-dressing/androgynous Japanese men but just to say that it's interesting how desensitised I've become to the whole notion of visual kei. It's a completely normal style in my eyes, and I am no longer shocked or disgusted by VK bands (with a few exceptions). I've always found the androgyny in VK to be fascinating and attractive, not only because of the omg-guys-dressed-as-girls-woohoo-feed-the-fangirl factor but also because of the make-up, the outfits, and just the style in general. Not to mention that photography plays a large part; I'm sure if I saw J-rockers prancing down the street in all their VK glory I wouldn't find it quite as attractive as a well-taken picture. Maybe, if they were really, really far away?

Listening to right now: DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop)

Get well soon, Ruki!

It seems that Ruki, the vocalist of the GazettE, has a viral throat infection of some sort and so he was unable to finish the encore at their live on Saturday. They've also cancelled the next 5 concerts in their tour in order for Ruki to recover, etc.

I love the way that Kai (the drummer) put it in his blog entry about this; that the others' instruments can be replaced indefinitely but Ruki's instrument, his voice, is irreplaceable.

It's unfortunate that they had to cancel so many concerts (being in the midst of planning my own trip for a concert I can understand the frustration of fans) but I hope that Ruki gets better soon and shows an even cooler and stronger image than before! ^^
ルキさん、がんばってください！

Take the love train~

I don't usually listen to J-pop boy bands (e.g. those of the Johnny's Entertainment variety) but for some reason I am ridiculously and hopelessly addicted to KAT-TUN's song "Yorokobi no Uta". I had bookmarked the PV on Youtube a while back but I never went to back to it until this weekend. And it is literally almost the only song I have been listening to all weekend.

It's nothing spectacular, and imo they didn't need six guys to sing it since they all kinda sound the same anyway except for maybe the rapper cuz you know... he raps, but omg it's sooo catchy. And totally fun to sing along to as well.

I've never found the KAT-TUN guys to be that good-looking (except Kamenashi Kazuya because I've seen him in dramas) but the more I watch them, not only in this video but others as well, the more I find them to be quite charming and cute in their own somewhat dorky ways. In addition to their personalities, it probably has a lot to do with their clothes and hairstyles, too. (Remember my Superman analogy?)

It's really too bad that I don't like most of their other songs that I've heard so far. -_-;

Listening to right now: KAT-TUN - Yorokobi no Uta

Edit: Perhaps "take da luv train" is a more accurate title, lol.

I wanna be a rockstar!

This video is made of so much win. How could I not post about it?

Kid's putting his heart and soul into it too, like totally rocking out, lol. I sense a future Youtube attention whore in the making. He's so cute though!

There are apparently other videos of him but I'm too lazy to check them out now... if they're anything like this one, then there's bound to be cuteness overload and endless lol-ing.

It's like an addiction

I was thinking about starting another blog, specifically for more personal entries (since this one is more or less just for fangirling and general interests, and the other is solely for creative works). I mean, it's not like hordes of people even read any of my blogs so what would really be the point of starting another one? It's quite simple really.

Hello, my name is Kryz and I am an attention whore addicted to blogging.

Also, I've found that my blogs are compartmentalised much like the rest of my life. A blog for fangirling, a blog for poems, a blog for personal entries. It truly reflects my need for organisation in my life.

Though, to be honest, my penchant for multiple blogs is a little more complex. Initially it starts off with my need for anonymity. Sometimes the attention whore part of me takes over and I make the blog public (this was the case with words laced with a little hate; shameless plug, hoho). In other cases, the blog is public but remains separate and completely secret, simply because it's easier to become someone else when no one you know is watching, and when you don't have loads of baggage weighing you down. And finally, it's because some people don't give a shit about my fangirling and would be more likely to read my entries if they maybe contained some nekkid pics had something to do with my life (this is debatable).

Multiple blogs also allow me to write in multiple styles. I can slip into different personas depending on the blog; for example, I write much more colloquially here and use more emoticons and the like to express myself, whereas on words laced with a little hate I adopt a more mellow, reserved style simply because of the nature of the blog.

I've been wondering if I should just link everything together though, except that I would lose the anonymity of that secret blog's name. Not only that, but then everyone would know the dirty, dirty things I do in secret, lol.

Listening to right now: FTIsland - 첫눈에 알아

P.S. This post has been sitting as a draft since Saturday, lol. I ended up not even editing it to make more sense.

This is the love of a fan

I'm really amazed at the love and dedication of fans. And no, this isn't sarcasm.

Recently, the GazettE announced that they would be having their tour final at Tokyo Dome. For those of you who don't know, to perform at Tokyo Dome is pretty big. Tokyo Dome is Japan's largest concert hall; if you play there, you know you've made it. And to play there when you're a VK band? Even better.

What truly blows me away is that I've read about so many overseas (I'm referring to mostly American) fans who have never been to Japan or even traveled, some who have never even left their side of the USA, who are sucking up their anxiety and saving up their moolah just to share in the Tokyo Dome experience.

I'm sure this sounds ridiculously trite because it's a concert, how hard could it be, right? Think about it. Japan is on the side of world, so first off it's expensive. It's also the day after Christmas but it takes about 14 hours to fly to Japan, not to mention that 26th in Japan can still be 25th in the US (this is really only applicable to those who celebrate Christmas, of course. Though it being the Christmas season also means that plane tickets are ridiculously pricey). Most of these fans don't speak a word of Japanese. Okay, maybe a few words. Like "konnichiwa", "sayonara", "kawaii", and "yaoi". The hotel pages might be in English (maybe), but the avenues through which you obtain the concert tickets are most definitely not.

It's hard being a non-Japanese-speaking fan of a band whose biggest (and most catered for) fanbase is Japanese-speaking. And as much as I make fun of fangirls even though I am quite obviously a huge fangirl myself, I have to admire their devotion to the bands they love. I can still call them crazy, but I can admire them too.

And man, I would TOTALLY be there at Tokyo Dome with them if I didn't have a good reason not to be.

Listening to right now: the GazettE - 奈落

"Hello, darling. Fancy a drink?"

I finally watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I'll admit, I spent the first 10 minutes trying to remember what the heck happened in the first 5 books/movies and if I had even seen the 5th movie (I know, my memory fails).

Overall, the movie was good if you don't compare it to the book. I think this is fairly obvious since the majority of movies-adapted-from-books don't seem as good if you've read the book first. Of course, seeing as I have read the books, it's kind of a given that I would unintentionally make comparisons. But I really only have two beefs with the movie. One is that the movie is much more tame than the book in terms of action. This is understandable because there are time constraints, general flow of the movie, potential of overloading/confusing the audience, etc to keep in mind.
The other is that there is so much (too much, imo) emphasis placed on the personal relationships of the characters. Yeah, it makes for some great scenes but I found that it took away from the overarching plot line of "Harry Potter trying to kill Voldemort". It almost lightened the movie a bit too much when it should be a mostly dark, depressing film.
(Just for the record, I don't remember the books. If I remember correctly, J.K. Rowling did spend a significant amount of time developing the personal relationships but think about it in terms of percentages.)

One thing that I was really impressed with was the cinematography. The shots were amazing; the composition, the detail, the feel... if nothing else, this alone would have made it a good movie. And even though he didn't play a huge part in this movie, I was probably the most impressed with Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) cast-wise.

I enjoy the Harry Potter movies, I really do. But I think that anybody would benefit greatly from reading the books, even after watching them (I think I read the first book only after I watched the movie). For one thing, the books are great. And I find that reading the books, either before or after, makes everything fall into place that much more cleanly.

On a side note, the LEGO Harry Potter game looks ridiculously cute. And I would like to visit the Harry Potter theme park in Florida if I ever get the chance. Previews are a wonderfully great marketing tool.

Listening to right now: SS501 - Unlock

P.S. I chose probably one of the most trivial quotes from the entire movie as my title, lol.

Something a little different

I was on Youtube the other night checking out a song by Cécile Corbel that she did for the new Ghibli movie, The Borrower Arrietty. I was curious about her since she's obviously not Japanese but she was singing the song in Japanese. Turns out that she's a celtic harpist and singer from Brittany, France.

A little more random link-clicking and I came across this video. It's the music video for one of her songs called "La fille damnée" and the song that I am currently completely addicted to. The lyrics are interesting, and sound like something you would hear in an old folktale. I don't usually go for such high voices (and to be honest I didn't really like the first couple of songs I listened to) but she sings really beautifully and delicately, and I love her voice in this particular song.

Unfortunately, I keep listening to it over and over again so it'll probably lose its novelty by oh, say, Monday?

Listening to right now: Cécile Corbel - La fille damnée

Aoi, why do you tempt me so?

I've been occasionally checking Aoi's twitter (and the translated tweets on someone else's account) and it seems that he's been experimenting with replying to (or RT-ing... I don't really know) random people's tweets.

OMG. Total fangirling moment right there.

Perhaps this is a just another prod in the back from the powers that be to get a Twitter account. I mean, just think, what if by not joining Twitter I'm missing out on the chance to potentially befriend and subsequently marry Aoi or maybe even Reita if by chance Aoi then introduces me to him omgomgomg get a personal reply from Aoi?

Of course, the fatal flaw in my grand scheme is the fact that my Japanese skills are practically non-existent. And Aoi's English skills probably even more so. Although, a few of his latest replies were in English.

I wonder how massively fangirlish I would look if I joined Twitter and every single one of my tweets were to Aoi?

Listening to right now: the GazettE - THE INVISIBLE WALL (btw, this is quite possibly one of my favourite PVs from the GazettE. I am ridiculously fascinated by Ruki.)

I heart SS501

So it seems that I've been really out of touch with K-pop lately... so much stuff has happened in the last few weeks. Like SuJu's Shin Dong getting engaged. What? When was he dating? Gotta give the man props though for managing to keep his relationship under wraps.

SS501's former agency, DSP, also released an MV for their song "Let Me Be The One" (which is actually a cover of an Andre Mieux song). The MV is really just a compilation of various clips from performances, backstage, etc but it's so touching. Coupled with the ballad, it almost feels like a foreshadowing of SS501 breaking up. There hasn't been much news about their current situation in terms of signing with new agencies (aside from Kim Hyun Joong) or about anything related to them, really.

I usually try to keep my fangirling thought processes on the down-low but I'll admit that I will actually be very sad if SS501 disbands. They may not be the most talented group out there, or the most popular, but they are the only K-pop group that I have consistently fangirled followed ever since getting into them (which admittedly was not that long ago). Watching them makes me smile, especially when they're together.

I mean it's not like if they break up I'm gonna sit in a corner and cry or anything, and it's supposedly highly unlikely that they'll break up. But the "Let Me Be The One" MV has such sad clips that it just puts you (or at least me) in that kind of mood/mindset. SS501, 화이팅!

Listening to right now: SS501 - Let Me Be The One

P.S. I figured it out... the D'espairsRay song "LOVE IS DEAD" reminds me of the 1984 song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive. And consequently every cover or song that sampled it made thereafter.

Cellists and... rock?

Dir en grey just announced their North American tour for this year and I'm considering going to one of the shows. I haven't really listened to them in like 5 years so I'm a little skeptical about going through all the trouble of traveling to see them, not to mention that I'd also be doing it by myself. On the other hand, it would be a great experience to see them live, regardless of whether I'm familiar with (or even like) their newer music.

They're headlining with a Finnish band called Apocalyptica which consists of 3 classically trained cellists and a drummer (according to Wiki). I admit, I was intrigued and so I'm looking them up on Youtube right now. Their music is quite interesting; I like it. To be honest, before I Googled them, I was expecting some kind of stereotypical power metal or heavy rock band with tonnes of screaming and whatnot. I'm pleasantly surprised that they're totally not, and they kind of make me want to go to the concert even more now.

There are a few other upcoming concerts that I'm also considering: Yoshida Brothers, D'espairsRay, and VAMPS.

I first heard a Yoshida Brothers song back in April on Pandora but I never went out of my way to listen to more of them. So I listened to a bunch of their songs today at work, and I wouldn't mind going to see them live except that their dates/venues aren't quite as convenient for me.

I've heard a few D'espairsRay songs but I never really got into them. I recently heard one of their more recent songs, "LOVE IS DEAD", and it's rather catchy although it reminds me of some old song (maybe 80's era?) that I can't quite put my finger on. Again, however, the dates and venues are somewhat inconvenient for me.

And last but not least, VAMPS. I'm not a big fan of their music but Hyde is <3 so I would totally go see them just to be a little closer to fulfilling my dream of touching him indecently see him live. This one is still a bit far into the future so I haven't checked yet to see how practical it is for me to go.

So far the Dir en grey concert is looking to be the best bet here, so I better start looping their songs like crazy to force myself to love them brushing up on their latest songs.

Listening to right now: D'espairsRay - LOVE IS DEAD