The last week has been terrible but finally something good happened today. Thank you, Shy. I really needed that.

@темы: little treasures

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Deka Wanko

I haven't been posting here lately so I almost forgot I'm supposed to make posts about the stuff I watch. I watched this one in 2014 but I could never bring myself to screen it and make a post.

I knew about this drama for over a year but I wasn't interested enough to actually watch it. I knew exactly what it was - a light-hearted, low-humoured drama with average to poor acting. And of course an episode of glorious crossdressing. But in the end I enjoyed it more than I thought. Clearly it was mostly due to liking the main lead. It's a rare case that I would not get annoyed an the heroines much less that I'd actually like them so this was a good surprise. I really liked Tabe Mikako. She's cute but in a natural way, she's modest and sweet. She really looks like a female version of Massu. Also the Lolita fashion actually looks good on her (on Tegoshi too). I actually forgot why it's bad to like actresses - I get overly protective of them and it irritates me to see them doing romantic and sexual scenes with guys I don't like.

So though I didn't like most of the cast and the plot was really lame I still had fun watching it. By the time I got to the NY Special I was really looking forward to it and I quite enjoyed it. Also the Kiri/Wanko dynamics was nice and I like that it actually develops in the special. Well, kind of. Kiri is still in denial and Wanko is oblivious. You almost want to see more of them.

Rating: 7.

@темы: dorama

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There are days when you feel good and inspired and strong and then there are days when you feel tired and lonely and bitchy and weak. Like today. The mistake is deciding the latter is the real you. I really wish someone told me this when I was a teen. Even now, when I know the truth I still get caught in the trap sometimes. I still hesitate "but isn't this how it is, really?" It's ok, we'll get through this, dear.

@темы: myself, musings

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Christophe is so healing as always...

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Today I learned a very important professional within the field have praised my work but I didn't feel a trace of joy. Yet, one comment on my video or fanfic can make me happy. What is wrong with me?

@темы: myself

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Закрытая запись, не предназначенная для публичного просмотра

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One thing I just realized about Japanese rock is that not only most musicians copy the Western sound, they also copy Western themes. Not saying this is bad, most of my favourite artists do that but some really overdo it. I mean getting pissed at Christian god is not cool, Hyde. Leave him alone, let white people deal with him. Find your own thing.

Rock music is about getting pissed at something and it feels like the Japanese find a hard time finding appropriate targets. They don't really have a problem with religion, government or even ecology. I laughed when during Soukon Shige asked to put White Riot on. Seriously. The funny thing is the most criticism about Japanese society I've even heard in 9 years came from Tegoshi. The way Japanese people don't know how to have fun, the way they criticize anyone who wants to stand out, the excessive formalities in relations - those could be actual topics for angsty cynical songs. Why not use those?

@музыка: HYDE - FAITH

@темы: musings, J-Rock

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Kaguya is released and all is well...

@темы: TegoShige

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Закрытая запись, не предназначенная для публичного просмотра

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2014

A lot of people really hate 2014. So obviously it wasn't all sugar and rainbows but it was an amazing year for me. A lot of shit went down and we got even poorer than before but I gained something that no money can buy.

The first half of the year was full of ups and downs. But I always had NEWS by my side and I had a job I loved. Completing an almost full season felt great. I pretty much lost all social life by January. It was a little odd how I've felt a lot more support from people miles away, who have never seen my face than from those who I once considered friends.

I also started a winning streak of giveaways. I won 5 of them. They were just cards but for me it meant that much more. I wasn't used to winning, I never won anything but now I feel like I can win, like it's a natural thing. But most important of all happened on July, the Tanabata. My wish came true and all of a sudden I felt some kind of inner peace and harmony. I was almost afraid to believe it, it seemed too good to be true. But half a year later I'm still strong and confident and filled with reckless unreasonable joy. It wasn't magic, it was me working hard day after day, year after year. Today I feel like I know who I am and while I'm not quite sure where I'm going I know it's a good place.

Thank you, 2014.

@темы: myself

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The 2014 Totals

Site of the Year: tumblr, weibo.
Obsession of the Year: NEWS
Movie of the Year: ??
Series of the Year: Orange is the New Black and Masters Of Sex
Dorama of the Year: 3 nen B gumi Kinpachi-sensei 6
Anime of the Year: TIGER&BUNNY: The Rising
Concert of the Year: Utsukoi, 10ve
Documentary of the Year: Miss Representation
YouTube Channel of the Year: LastWeekTonight
Variety of the Year: ItteQ, Shounen Club Premium, Ippuku
Game of the Year: Marvel Heroes
Book of the Year: Asian painting and Vadim Zeland
Boom of the Year: History
Fuck Up of the Year: shaving a patch a skin off my leg
Quote of the Year: --
Acquisition of the Year: LED keyboard, Shop Photos
Discovery of the Year: Blu-ray
WTF of the Year: Running into my First Love
Person of the Year: Tegoshi Yuya, Kato Shigeaki, John Oliver.
Meeting of the Year: Paola
Artist of the Year: NEWS
Album of the Year: ??
Disappointment of the Year: Windows 7, JYJ Concert in Tokyo Dome 2013
Music Disappointment of the Year: Alice Nine - Supernova.
Other events: Fucking World Cup, Farewell, Alice9 Channel!, 4x9, Giveaways and of course Russia fucks up everything.


Soundtrack of the Year: Maria Mena - I Always Liked That, Fall Out Boy - Alone Together, Alt-J - Tessellate, Ellie Goulding - Lights (FK Remix), NEWS - Greedier, NEWS - ONE, NEWS - BE FUNKY!, NEWS - Nantoka Naru Sa, Kato Shigeaki - Dreamcatcher, Tegoshi Yuya - Lovin' You, Masuda Takahisa - Remedy, NEWS - Kaguya, Alice Nine - SEVEN, Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse, Ken Arai - TALK 2 ME.

New blogs: shigemasuftw
Achievement of the Year: I made it to 28! And finally felt whole, healthy and happier than I ever was. Learning to heal myself, finding my femininity and feeling like I can win. Also having my most stable job up to date.
Pairing of the Year: Tegoshige

Statistics

Dramas:
The Good Wife
Rookie Blue
Orange is the New Black
Masters Of Sex

Shitsuren Chocolatier
RESCUE
Hokaben
Gekidan Engimono - Car Radio ga Owareba
Karei naru Spy
3 nen B gumi Kinpachi-sensei 6
Resident~5-nin no Kenshui
Troubleman
Deka Wanko

Some of the Best Movies:
Dareka Ga Uso Wo Tsuiteiru
Kakure Karakuri
Shabake

Silver Linings Playbook
Nativity!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Games:
King's Bounty: The Armored Princess
Jade Empire
Marvel Heroes
Neverwinter Nights 2 (dropped)
King's Bounty: The Dark Side

Fanvideos finished:
Alone Together
Who’s That Girl?

Fanfics finished:
And the Door Opened...

Other: NEWS project.

I also translated stuff, subbed stuff, made a ton of gifs, and much more.

This year only took about 13 pages. Last ear it was 21 and the year before t was 42 I think.

@темы: Totals

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It took me way too long to understand that homoeroticism is deeply connected with misogyny.

@темы: issues, musings

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Marvel Film

I've gone more than an extra mile in my line or work. Within the last month I watched 12 Marvel films. So I decided I might as well make a post for them and rate them. Since they are purely entertaining movies my system of rating shall be simple.

Legend is as follows:
- lame
- ok
- mildly entertaining
- Good

MORE

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X-Men -
X2
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: First Class
X-Men: Days of Future Past

Already wrote 2 posts about these so.

Spider-Man

Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

The first film was pretty good. Chris Evans made a great Human Torch. He's hot too. And then there's Jessica Alba, the only actress I actually like.

The Incredible Hulk
Thor

Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Iron Man
Iron Man 2

Iron Man 3

Marvel's The Avengers

The whole series is pretty good. Hulk was actually quite disappointing. Despite Edward Norton and Tim Roth. I dunno, just didn't do it for me. Thor was kind of lame. BUT two stars for the awesome graphics. Really pretty. Captain America was ok. Bonus for historical setting and Chris Evans. Again. The Iron Man was definitely the best. You just can't not love the character. I suppose it would have been better to watch the movies in a due order but oh well.

запись создана: 13.07.2013 в 00:07

@темы: movies, Marvel

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Merry Christmas!

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On colonization of Africa and Christianity

I never really knew how Africa was colonized. I knew about the slavery but I never imagined it was nothing compared to the nightmare that began in late 19th century. Clearly Christianity also played a significant role in that process. Here's a great post about it.

www.facebook.com/notes/teekay-akin/king-leopold...

@темы: issues

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I'm so jealous of people who have a good relationship with their siblings. I never had that. When I was little I was bullied, when I got a bit older I was ignored and then as I entered my teens she suddenly decided I need her guidance and that I'm doing it all wrong. She always made me feel like there's something wrong with me and words cut like a knife.

You know like you sometimes get bullied at school? It hurts and it gets to you and it eats at your confidence no matter how strong you are. But one day you graduate and it stops. But imagine the bully is your sibling. They pick on you on a regular basis and when you're down on your knees and your life falls apart they come to you just to say "It's all in your head. You're so full of yourself. It's your fault and mother's for spoiling you." You tell yourself they don't mean it but it doesn't work. And you're not only supposed to tolerate them, you're supposed to love them.

@темы: family

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It's December 22 which means the longest night is over. We've made it, my friends.

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I'm a Genius (Again) or How To Rehash OOC

Last night I learned a trick. Actually, I've been thinking about that for awhile but I only did it last night.

I've been missing good fanfiction since the TVXQ demise about 5 years ago. I mean sure there were some good ones from time to time but not nearly enough after the abundance I was used to. The Alice Nine fandom had very little to offer. Aside from all the teenage crap there were only a couple of authors who could write well but somehow nearly all of them always went very OOC. I know everyone has slightly different take on things but a lot of the stories were so unimaginable that I was simply unable to enjoy them. With NEWS there was even less to read. However, to my surprise almost all the stories I did read were pretty good. But for my OTP I exhausted all resources very quickly. Then recently an awesome idea came to me. I remembered some of the OOC stories that were quite good and miraculously the characters in them corresponded with my current OTP a lot more than they did to the characters they were written for. Now, I know, it's a bizarre idea. I've see some girls do that a couple of times. You know, taking a HP fic and changing the names... it was awfully dumb. But then if you take bad!fic you can only get bad!fic. "Drastic times call for drastic measures" I thought last night and gave it a try. But... it worked. IT FUCKING WORKED! Fitted like a puzzle. I already did this to about 5 fics and looking for more. This is cheating and there's a bit of an aftertaste but I don't care. I got a bunch of stories, good stories. Christmas came early.

@темы: fanfix

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Women's Rights in Japan

I have been confused with blatant sexism in Japanese society but lately I've been reading about Japan's history and I realized that women's movement had very little success there prior to American occupation. Some basic facts that I learned:

The Security Police Law of 1900 forbade women, who had no vote, from even attending political meetings, or taking political science classes. Traditional means of birth control were forbidden as Japan encouraged population growth after losses in the 1905 war with Russia. The highest achievement expected of women was to fulfill the ideal of “good wife/good mother.” Women were granted the right to vote only in 1946 and that was basically the initiative from the occupying forces of the United States. In fact before the 1946 constitution women hardly had any rights to speak of. Beate Sirota Gordon was the woman who drafted the parts of constitution devoted to human rights. She said: "Japanese women were historically treated like chattel; they were property to be bought and sold on a whim."

The Revised Civil Code of 1898 stated that a woman who commits adultery is subject to divorce and up to two years in prison. However, a woman was unable to divorce her husband if he committed adultery. A woman was divorced and sent back to her family not only for bad health or barrenness but disobedience, jealousy, and even talkativeness.

As of 2013, The Equal Employment Opportunity Law in Japan does not prohibit sexual harassment at workplace. The problem of sexism, discrimination and underrepresentation is old and very relevant. In the lower house of the Diet, women hold only 8% of seats, with 19% in the upper house. In a global survey of women in parliaments, Japan ranked 123rd out of 189 countries. In 2011, 4.5% of company division heads were female, up from 1.2% in 1989. But relative to other countries the numbers are still dismal. Of the most senior, executive-committee-level managers in Japan, 1% were women in 2011, according to a regional study by McKinsey. The equivalent figure for China was 9%, for Singapore 15%.

Although abortion laws were adopted and amended many times since 1941 the birth control pill was legalized in Japan in 1999.


Reference:
www.economist.com/news/briefing/21599763-womens...
www.womeninworldhistory.com/sample-193.html

@темы: issues