//JUNK! 2.0 // still fangirling like crazy//

Volta

2007-06-08T04:41:00.000-07:00

OK, so I finally feel up to writing something semi coherent about Björk's latest album, Volta. I'm a rabid Björk fan, and I have been since age eleven. Her music has been always with me, and it's a big part of my life. I was so excited about the release of Volta, I somehow managed to get it before it hit the stores (the original copy).

I also must say, I've listened to this record more than a hundred times, at home, at work, while driving, while in the shower, etc. The first time, it threw me off. It sounded like nothing I had heard from Björk before (and that's saying a lot). Because of all the hype about Björk's return to her "pop" origins, I had been expecting a Post like album, full of catchy tunes, quirky beats and Björk's voice at its fullest. Fortunately I wasn't entirely wrong.

My first thoughts were: Wow! The lyrics are just way too direct, and what the fuck is with all the horn thing anyway?. After a (rather patient) couple of spins, it all started to make sense. The simplicity of lyrics such as "Wanderlust", "My Juvenile" and "I see who you are", became beautifully emotional and romantic, unlike anything Björk has ever delivered before.

Björk's voice is simply wonderful, full of expression and purpose. The horns, percussion and the awesome production work, mostly by Timbaland and Mark Bell, blend to create a futuristic, steampunk like atmosphere, especially in songs like "Vertebrae by Vertebrae" and "Wonderlust". "The Dull Flame of Desire" is just an special kind of awesome, it's a duet with Anthony Hegarty of Anthony And The Johnsons, that is so, so beautiful, I'm sure it will become a classic. Then there's also "Declare Independence", a crazy, extremely upbeat track much in the vein of "Pluto", only crazier, angrier and with a heavy Atari Teenage Riot influence.

I think Volta is quite comparable to Vespertine. It has a very grandiose, slightly world music like sound, and it's also a little preachy. However, in Volta, the contrast between the magnificent, the preachy and the intimate creates a whole new beauty. While I love to blast "Wonderlust", "Vertebrae by Vertebrae" and "Declare Independence" in my car, "My juvenile" and "I see who you are" both have made me cry at some point (yeah, I'm an emotional bitch. So?). Volta is just that kind of special.

Hm. This "review" isn't very coherent after all. Just go buy/download the damn thing and see for yourself. After all, any album that introduces a new musical instrument (the reacTable, in this case) is more than worth a listen.

#@*&%#!!!! = This Month

2007-06-06T04:53:00.000-07:00

Oh God!
The school has been sucking the life off of me for the past month. May is officially the Japanese School Month of Death. I hope I NEVER have to go through it again. As you can see, I'm very eager to quit my job. The kids are cute and I have lots of funny stories to tell my friends at parties, but that isn't enough to help me stomach the adults' idiocy and rudeness.

The teachers can be fun to be around, but they are still just big bratty, bossy, stupid and dependent children. The headmaster is just one bipolar fucker; he is kind and sweet one day, and then the next he becomes Jinpachi* for no reason. If I'm going to take shit from people, at least I want to be able to laugh with them (as opposed to just laugh AT them) sometimes.

* Tekken 5's evil boss of death.

That's is why I want to quit this job before it completely destroys my will to go back to Japan. I'm trying to convince myself not everyone there is so idiotic they can't manage to properly use their own Japanese bank accounts. I also hope not all Japanese people are unable NOT to drive their stupid cars into walls every other day of the week, but it's getting progressively harder.

I was reading a couple of articles by Dr. Masao Miyamoto. Joudama recommended them, and they are very enlightening as to why the average Japanese person doesn't seem very inclined to use their brain: They have absolutely no creativity and no personal opinion. Check it out, it's well worth the read:

* Castration - The Major Goal of Japanese Education and It's Relationship to Government Deregulation

* Castration, the HIV Scandal and the Japanese Bureaucracy

Anyway. I can still use a couple of new stories to entertain my friends over drinks. I can also still enjoy the ichinensei's* uber cuteness, so it's gaman** for a couple of months.

*elementary school first year students
** you're fucked. Suck it up like a man, in Japanese

OMG!!!

2007-05-03T05:27:00.000-07:00

Tori Amos American Doll Posse is out!! I'm not even streaming it before I get it. I would ruin the surprise!

And Björk's Volta is ou next monday!!!! OMG!! OMG!!!

EARTH INTRUDERS we are the earth intruders
we are the sharp shooters
flock of parashooters
necessary voodoo

(more to come)

Excuse the babbling! I'm just WAY too excited!!

Life hates me!

2007-04-30T07:01:00.000-07:00

We still don't have Internet access at the school!!! It's driving everyone up the wall. I can't get my drama fix!!!
Anyway, it's a good thing my "to watch" list was long enough. Here are some of the last shows I've seen:

>> Goong!

Aw, this Korean drama is so sweet!! It's a very typical Cinderella-like tale (which seems to be rather common in KDramas, anyway) However, this story is cute, angsty, funny and touching ad VERY romantic. This is my favorite KDrama, the acting was surprisingly decent (KDrama acting does tend to suck a bit) the main character, Shin Chae-kyung, is absolutely perfect in her role.
Besides, The drama's art direction is so gorgeous, this show is worth watching if only because of that. I totally recommend it.

>> It started with a Kiss

And, keeping up with the non-Japanese drama trend, I decided to give a Taiwanese drama a try. I must admit I was wary of them, since my first (and only) experience had been with Peach Girl, a drama that sucks so bad it should have its own category. However, I'm glad to say I was pleasantly surprised.

It started with a kiss is, much like Goong, a teenage-oriented drama, with lots of cuteness, sexual tension and the ANGST!!! which to me is just perfect, cause I'm a real sap. However, unlike Goong, the production was only so-so, and it made the show look a bit low-budget. This is not detrimental in any way, though, because it's the story and not the aesthetics what keep you watching.
The show has some very remarkable merits though, the boys!! they are SO hot! I felt like a pedophile for a while, until the power of the internetz enlightened me with the fact that all the actors are all older than me. Now, with total peace of mind I can introduce you to the utter hotness of Jiro Wang, feast your eyes and remember to thank me later.
Last but not least, there's the uber cute Xiang Qin, a pretty much hopeless girl. She is dumb, pathetic and clingy, she isn't even pretty! At first glance, this would totally be the character I'd like to beat to death with a stick. Only, I adore her!.
Seriously, how could they make such an irresistibly endearing character with so few redeeming qualities, it's way beyond my understanding. So, I just gave in and felt the love :P

There's something I like about non-Japanese dramas. The actors are all over 20 years old, which is cool because it makes me feel, well... not old. Although, sometimes this results in some funny fuck-ups (see Delighful Girl Choong Hyang or Sang-Doo, Let's Go to School)

More on that later.

[BGM: Japanese people running around, pretending to be busy]

OH lookie!!

2007-04-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

All of this means, I actually have internet access again!! yay!

Ouran High School Host Club rules all things!

2007-01-22T09:41:00.000-08:00

My super nice friend, Raul, lent me this series to watch it with my boyfriend. I was a bit skeptical at first because it's been a bit of time since I last watched anime that I truly enjoyed (One Piece being one of the few exceptions). But he said I would enjoy it, and heck, it was free anime. Who am I to complain?

Many hours and many episodes later I can truly say:

Ouran High School Host Club IT'S PURE AND UNADULTURED CRACK

Seriously!! I'm an old school yaoi fan (been fangirling for SHIT! almost ten years now!!! I just realised that. *Dies*). But lately I only enjoy the really good, classic stuff. Ouran High School Host Club has all the good things of classic yaoi/shounen ai stuff, onlyit's not really yaoi at all. It even pokes fun at the Japanese Yaoi fans. It's absolutely priceless.

Here's a stolen summary. (I'm lazy and I have internet, bite me.)

"Ohran Academy is a high school which rich people go to, but Haruhi is a common girl who won a scholarship. Because her mother died and she has been reaised only by her father, she isn't interested in fashion, and she acts like a boy.

One day, she happens to enter the Host Club(*) room, and breaks an 8 million yen vase. Because her family is not rich, she cannot afford to pay for the vase. The leader of the club ordered her to gather 100 guests as setoff against the debts. In this way, Haruhi become the 7th member to host girl students.

(*) Generally, the ?Host Club? is a nightclub for ladies where male staffs serve female guests sitting next to them."

Taken from:

Yes, the plot device is not all that creative, and high school anime is OLD news. But this series is funny, quirky and EXTREMELY CUTE.

The host club features all the yaoi stereotypes, so we get the Prince boy, Tamaki, The wild boy, Mori, the cool boy, Kyouya, the really gay twins, Hikaru and Kaoru, and the by far more disturbing stereotype, the shota/loli con boy, Honey(or pedophile affection target, for the uninitiated).

All of them, except for Haruhi, or course, are also super mega rich, a la Hana Yori Dango. Thus we get the silliest, most impossible settings that lead to utterly insane situations. Haruhi, like Tsukushi in Hana Yori Dango, is the only connection to earth this series has, and the contrast makes it all even funnier.

Of course, since this is a shoujo series, EVERYONE eventually falls for Haruhi, in one way or another. Her main admirer is Tamaki, the prince, who likes to think he is a father figure to Haruhi and get hilariously jealous when anyone else eben looks at Haruhi. This part of the story is quite typical, but still really fun to watch.

The music is also great! The opening is your standard pop tune, only with much edgier and with awesome production. The ending is a cool rock song. Here, have a try. (I'm generous, aren't I?)

Here's also a cool fansite: http://ouran.krysyuy.net/

So! Indulge your inner fangirl and squee like crazy watching this series. I command you to do it!

[TvDrama] Review: Korean Drama - Sang Doo, Let's Go to School

2007-01-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

After watching a couple of hundreds of Japanese high school dramas, I started to get bored of watching the same thing time and time again. Thus, I got adventurous and decided to try a Korean High School Drama.

The story summary seemed inocuous enough, and the main character, Sang Doo, was more than hot enough. All my basic requirements for enjoying a drama were met! (hey, I don't watch high school dramas in order to gain enlightment, you know)

What could possibly go wrong?

A lot, really. I grew up watching venezolan and mexican soap operas, which must, and I can't stress this enough, MUST ABSOLUTELY feature at least a starved, blind person who lives in a dump, a stolen baby, an accidental abortion, a car crash, a murder, and a stabbing. With all that, you'd think I was pretty much prepared for any cheesy, overly dramatic stuff television threw my way, right?

No such luck. Sang Doo's story was a pain to watch. I'll now cut & paste & edit someone else's plot summary so you know what I'm talking about:

"Growing up as the best of friends, Sang Doo and Eun Hwan make lots of lasting memories during their shortened high school years. When Eun Hwan's family goes into bankruptcy, debtors rush into their house to grab all of her family's belongings away. When somebody takes her fathers old record player, Sang Doo goes after the guy. In a physical fight, the man falls off the bridge and enters a coma. Eun Hwan, not knowing this, runs away from the town.

Sang Doo goes to jail, returning to find out that his family and Eun Hwan have left him. Years later, he becomes a gigolo(with his uncle) in order to raise the hospital bills for his sick daughter, Bori. Eventually, he meets Eun Hwan again as a
high school math teacher. In an effort to never lose her again, he returns as a high school student (to finish his last years of high school) and gets placed in Eun Hwan's class.

In numerous funny yet heart-touching moments, Sang Doo vows never to become a gigolo again. Yet, his past deeds have caught up with him, and he is soon sought after by the police. Eun Hwan's boyfriend, Ming Suk, also does not want to let go of Eun Hwan. First love is something beautiful yet painful to these two lovers, who have reunited after ten years to find out that everything is not the same anymore."

Taken from D-Addicts' Drama Wiki

That's only half the drama. I mean, actual dramatic stuff. There so much more. For instance, Sang Doo's daughter, Bori, has leukemia; Eun Hwan and Sang Doo's were both adopted when little; Eun Hwan unadvertedly causes her dear puppy to die while waiting in the rain for Sang Doo in the rain; Sang doo get beaten up all the time, etc.

I didn't mention any of the hardcore stuff because I don't want to spoil the series for you. But trust me, the characters spend 90% of the drama either crying, threatening to murder people and/or kill themselves, playing the hero (I will sacrifice myself for everyone's sake!!) or bitchslapping one another. It's so crazy there's no way to really get involved with the story. But then again, how could you? Ludicrous!

There is also one MAJOR display of stupid in this show: Eun Hwan and Sang Doo keep having flashbacks to their happy school days, suppousedly ten years ago. BUT! the director didn't even bother to make the actors change their hairstyle, so Eun Hwan and Sang Doo look as ridiculously old and stupid teenager wannabes. Apparently, in Korea, you can look ten years younger just by wearing glasses. Nice, huh?

But there must be something good to this series, right?

Sure, there are quite a few good things:

Rain (Bi)'s acting is actually quite convincing. His character was the only one I could empathize with, which sucks because he had all the shit coming his way. Bi is also unbearably hot.

The show has some really touching scenes.

Sang Doo and Ming Suk's weird rivalry/friendship relationship is cute. Both of them are also very hot.

The music is awesome!! Here, have a try:

Popium - Beautiful Thing
Popium - Silver Lining
Baram Sok Eu Ro, by Lee Jung Yul

So, let's summarize. This show sucks. Bigtime. However, it can be highly entertaining, unless you plan to take it seriously. Otherwise, the hot men, good music, terrible acting and the inordinate amounts of cheesiness should at least keep you amused :).

My job rules

2007-01-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm at work right now. A few minutes ago I was pouring myself a cup of tea when a familiar sound comes to my ears:
"Daite, daite, daite senorita. Tsuyoku, tsuyoku, tsuyoku hanasanaide" Yamapi's Daite Senorita!!

I checked myself everywhere, to see whether I had left my mp3 player on, but the sound came from outside. Surely, a classroom is playing the Daite Senorita single quite loudly.

So now I'm going translating insurance papers with Yamapi as background music. I oficially have the best job ever. After I'm done with this, I'm so hunting down the kids to share some Yamapi time.

By the way! Go to my mp3 site, Almost Crimes if you want to listen to Daite Senorita and much more Yamapi goodness.

BGM: The Non-sucky version of Yubiwa - Yamapi

[TvDrama] Review: Kurosagi

2007-01-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

Kurosagi is Yamapi's latest drama, here's DramaWiki's summary, cause cut&paste is easy and I'm lazy.

"Based on the hit manga series by Natsuhara Takeshi and artwork by Kuromaru serialized in Young Sunday magazine. Kurosaki, aka Kurosagi (Yamashita Tomohisa) is a swindler who targets professional swindlers. He defrauds money and gives it to the victims. His father was once set up by a swindler and planned a family suicide. Kurosagi managed to save his life but lost his whole family.
The swindler was Katsuragi Toshio (Yamazaki Tsutomu) ? the mastermind of all crooks. Despite knowing what Toshio did to his father, Kurosagi buys information off of him to capture other swindlers. Is there a way to free our world of swindlers?"

I finished watching the drama yesterday and I think it's pretty good. The story is intriguing, if a bit exaggerated, which is to be expected from a manga adaptation. The swindling cases quite fun to watch and the characters are pretty well portrayed. I really liked the love/hate chemistry between Tsurara and Kurosaki, which has nothing to do at all with the fact that I want to see Yamapi and Maki Horikita together ever since Nobuta o Produce, nothing at all!

That said, I think this is, overall, a very good drama. It does have VERY cheesy parts, such as Kurosaki's family murder flashbacks, which suck and are played over and over and OVER. The whole "I must avenge my family" premise is also old and overused, but it does create a quick background for most the characters. However, The drama is really pretty, graphically speaking, and the opening song "Daite Señorita" is ALL KINDS OF AWESOME!! as is Yamapi's dancing in live performances.

You should give Kurosagi a try, it's a good series to watch. And just in case you need any more convincing, this guy is in the show:

I know, I know. I should have started with the picture. My bad

BGM: Yamapi (Tomohisa Yamashita) - Daite Señorita

My family tree

2007-01-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

I was playing with photoshop a while back and came up with this:

Isn't my family cute? I wanted to add mom and dad, but I don't have any pictures of them right now (I'm at work). Canela is our latest addition to the family, but mom isn't very happy with her. We picked her up about two months ago and she is very sweet, but also VERY destructive. She loves chewing on stuff, playing with shoes and eating paper. She also has an ongoing feud with Miyuki, my older dog, which leads to a lot of peeing on unappropriate places. Although, Canela is so cute she might get mom to like her. Eventually.

And there's also Miyuki. She is eight years old, very grumpy and spoiled rotten. But she is so cute we can't help ourselves. She used to be even more destructive than Canela back in the day, but mom has conveniently chosen to forget about that. In the photo, Miyuki is watching Nobuta wo Produce with me. She was glaring at me because I kept spazzing about Yamapi :P

And last but not least, there's Penguin and me. Penguin is my boyfriend. He is the loveliest human being ever and I <3 him with all my <3. We share what's probably one of the nerdiest, silliest relationships ever, but we are both happy with it cause we are very speshul like that.

And!! That pic of me is not very representative of my actual self. This is more like what I actually look like:

We miss you, Goro

2007-01-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

The school has a dog. His name is Goro and he is a awesome. However, he got lost last Thursday and he hasn't come back. I printed signs offering a reward for him and the Junior (henceforth Dn. Adrian) posted them all over. We were all very concerned, or so I thought.

It turns out that the security company, which is actually guilty of letting Goro escape, is not taking any responsibility and is not doing any searching. That means, other than the signs, we have nothing to rely on.

And the best part: Kouchou sensei (the headmaster) doesn't really care if Goro comes back. He also thinks the reward I offered is too high (it was normal, especially considering Goro's breed is expensive)

This pisses me off immensely, as they are treating Goro as though he was a piece of furniture. The only one who is truly concerned is Dn. Adrian. Goro is really sweet, well behaved and loving, and I miss him very much.

Sweet Potatoes

2007-01-22T09:31:00.000-08:00

Some days I really hate my job.

Some others I just love it.

Today the kids baked sweet potatos st school. They were all very clumsy and I'm almost sure one kid got burnt.

One of them brought me weird looking potato, but he looked so expectant, I just had to eat some and say the mandatory "oishii!!", and the potato wasn't really bad, so I could actually look like I meant it. The kid looked so happy I couldn't help to eat the rest of the thing. It tasted much better after that.

First things first

2007-01-22T09:30:00.000-08:00

The mandatory introductory post:

Let's see. My name is Paola, I am from Chile and I'm a 23 years old Japanese and English translator. I graduated from the University of Santago last December and I'm currently working as a Secretary/Translator/Mother in an Overseas Japanese School.

While I'm not actually in Japan, I feel almost completely foreign most of the time. It's only two Chilean people in the whole school, so we are pretty much "Gaijin" during our working hours. This is both tiresome and incredibly funny at the same time.

My grammar and spelling are really bad, but since I studied English, I might as well use it. Plus, I get tired of speaking Japanese the whole day.

I'm an only child, which means I'm spoiled rotten. I try not to let it show too much, though. I also have a boyfriend and a dog called Miyuki. She is the sweetest thing ever.

I'm a HUGE anime, manga, Japanese drama and JRock fan! I'm also into RPG (yeah, that Dungeons and Dragons shit) and do lots of nerdy stuff. However, I also love fashion and gossip and shopping. I also have the most unassuming face ever.

So, that's me. From now I'll be writing about the funny things that happen around school, my nerdy hobbies and my nerdy life. I'll also do a lot of fangirling. Thus, Beware!!

Oh! and here is a very beautified version of what I actually look like (I'll post real pictures at some point)

BGM: Kouchou-sensei's yammering on the phone

Oh my god! I've got labels/tags and my life is so much happier now!

2007-01-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

Wow!
This is just so good.

I was thinking that, as much as I like this blog, its tag system such a pain in the ass it keeps me from updating as much as I want to (posting the same shit 3 or4 times and then editing each post is NOT fun).
I'm dying to try this new system! I hope it works as well as it promises.

Oh, Blogger, I love you so.