The Future's Crap, The Future's Brown
29 February 2008
According to some news reports, the world ended at 1:03am GMT on 27th February 2008. For at that precise time, with the epicentre in a small market town in Lincolnshire, Britain's largest earthquake in 24 years caused havoc across the country. Chimney pots fell from roofs, bricks and masonry tumbled to the street, and a massive one person was ever so slightly injured. Within moments of the earthquake all the news channels were bombarded with reports of tremors. All day on Wednesday people were giving accounts of their night of terror.
Here's my view about that night's event summed up in three words: For God's sake! It was a tiny earthquake. Measuring a measly 5.2 on the Richter Scale it wouldn't even have registered in a country like Japan. But here in England people were quaking (pun intended) in their boots. The best bit was when some stupid teenager uploaded his own analysis of the quake on YouTube. His expert opinion? Global Warming... Global Warming!? How much of a misinformed, moronic arsehole must you have to be in order to come up with that conclusion. Proof you shouldn't talk crap about things you don't understand. It makes you look like the biggest prick this side of the galaxy. I, for one, am glad I finally got to experience an earthquake (however small it may have been). I've been dreaming about being in one for ages (don't ask me why). I can't wait for the next one.
I want to take a moment now to vent my frustration at my ISP. I've been using Orange Broadband since summer last year and from the beginning it's been a major headache. The only reason I went with them was because I'd come to know Orange as a company with good customer service. However, that was years ago. Now some director at the top of the ladder has gone and pissed all the good work down onto their customers below. I'm really at the end of my tether regarding this company. It all happened because I'd gotten two months behind on my line rental. They suspended my broadband connection last Sunday morning without warning. I didn't even know I owed them any money until I called to find out why my Internet wasn't working. I tried to pay them by debit card but they were having none of it. Credit card or Direct Debit only. I asked them if they could send me an invoice so I could pay by Bank Giro Credit. Their response? Piss off (or words to that effect). Now my only option is to either open another bank account or use a prepaid credit card that charges you when you top it up.
The way Orange have treated me during all this has been severe bullshit. Not only did the NOT inform me of my outstanding balance for two months, they didn't even bother to tell me they would be disconnecting me. No letter, no phone call, not even a fucking e-mail. This coming from a company that's supposed to pride itself on customer service? It's absolute toss. Now they're actively trying to stop me from paying my bill. All the while I'm stuck with no goddamn Internet connection (not that the broadband I had was reliable any way). I'm completely livid. First chance I get I'm leaving this bollocks-excuse for an ISP. You'd have irritated me less by just stabbing me in the back with an ice pick. Useless bunch of muppet-tosspots.
You know the funniest thing about this? There's some bloody conspiracy trying to stop me from publishing this news. I tried to type up a letter of complaint last night and for no reason at all, just as I was trying to save it, my laptop crashed on me. Then today, as I was writing an e-mail to my friend to explain the situation, the e-mail client decided to crash and delete my message. This can't be coincidence. Any minute now a brick will come flying through the window and hit me on the head, thus rendering me unconscious and causing amnesia. Little bastards.
Posted byHocchan at 5:48 pm 0 comments
Woah! Balance Is Everything
23 February 2008
If you're a regular reader you may have noticed a different look to the blog. It all came about after I learned some new skills with GIMP v2.4. One thing I never understood was the concept of 'masking' until I read a tutorial on how to do it. After a few trial runs I managed to get the hang of it. It's all quite simple once you know how. I also wanted to try out some custom brushes while I was at it. They're a lot of fun to mess around with. The end result was so good I decided to make it my main header picture. It wasn't all plain sailing though. My first file got messed up because I saved it in .psd; which GIMP didn't know how to handle properly. I had to start over from scratch and make it again. Thankfully, the second version turned out a lot better. I'm pretty pleased with the new look. I've been spending hours the last couple of days trying to make new forum signatures with my newly acquired knowledge. None of them have been any good, save for the one below. I need more practice...
It's almost time for me to return to the world of Final Fantasy XI. I'm waiting until the beginning of March before going back. I'll have been gone for two months by then. The break definitely did me a lot of good. The end of last year wasn't very enjoyable to say the least. Pretty dumb to keep playing a game that makes you bored or irritated, right? I'm leaving past events behind and going back completely refreshed. I want to set some rules for myself this time to prevent the same thing happening again. Luckily the next version update is arriving in early March so that'll give me a lot of new things to do. Hurrah!
There's not much to report in the world of Hello! Project that hasn't already been covered by a million other people. All that needs to be said is that I'm loving the new Berryz Koubou single (and Tokunaga Chinami), the recent Kamei Eri 'scandal' is pure bullcrap, I'm sad to hear Uta Doki! will be coming to an end, and I wish I had lots more money so I could order one of those custom photobooks from Photobook On Demand. Oh well, at least I've got Haromoni@ to watch tomorrow morning, yay! I'll try and find more interesting things to write about for my next entry. It's become rather difficult to think up new ideas lately. Must be a sign of decreased brain activity.... It's all Test the Nation's fault! Damn you, Anne Robinson and Phillip Schofield!
Posted byHocchan at 8:41 pm 3 comments
Aa Niigaki-san Kiite Kudasai
17 February 2008
I've discovered something quite surprising. I've found myself looking forward to Haromoni@ each and every week. Lately the 'MouTube' sections have really got me hooked. There are some pretty amusing clips to be found on it. The best ones are probably the videos the girl make themselves. This week's episode was pretty good. It started off with a performance of Seishun! Love Lunch. I absolutely love this song! It's so jolly and bright. It's a song that I never get tired of no matter how many times I put it on repeat. Plus Niigaki Risa looks positively adorable in that outfit she's wearing.
The first video of the show features a group called 'Cube' doing various keepie uppie tricks with a football (that's FOOTball, not soccer ball, since you kick it with your FOOT). Apparently they performed in front of 50,000 people in the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They were fairly entertaining, I'd give them 7/10. Next up was a guy doing a juggling act with one of those cup and ball toys, only the balls weren't tied on with strings. It had a nice Taiko drum beat to it. I heard something about the Guinness Book of Records but didn't fully understand what they were saying about it. Not a bad video, 7/10 again.
Then a kid did some paper-cutting to produce a butterfly and the Chibi King. Good skills but not particularly entertaining, 5/10. The next video was slightly better. It featured a skateboarding doing some jumps and flips in a skate park. I'd give him 6/10. After that came a video of some wild boars jumping over vaulting horses and balancing on car tires. Not a fan of the animal tricks so only 4/10 for this. What followed was a hilarious gag involving a play on words. First a guy made a cigarette disappear, then the next guy made a pen disappear. Finally, the guy at the back held up a piece of paper and repeated the trick. Only he took off his cap and revealed his balding head, hahahaha! You see, the word for 'hair' and 'paper' are pronounced the same. Therefore, he made his hair disappear instead of the paper. A bit of a cheesy joke but it was well performed. I loved it, 8/10.
I didn't quite get the next video. It was a guy doing an impression of someone. As I don't know who it was meant to be, I can't really judge how good it was, 4/10. That was followed by a woman placing a rubber glove over her head and inflating it until it popped. Not very funny in itself, but it's the bit that followed that made it amusing. They asked the girls to try inflating the same type of glove (though not whilst wearing it on their heads). Most of them couldn't do it but Koharu and Aika managed to get theirs quite big. Aika's glove inflated so much the others couldn't help backing away in fear of it popping. Thankfully, for them, Aika gave up and it deflated with not so much as a whimper. 4/10 for the video, 8/10 for the studio reaction.
There was a boy who did a trick with a spinning top on his tongue but it wasn't very interesting or impressive, 3/10. The guy who did the twirling with various objects was good though. He was a former baton twirling world champion. First he twirled a broom (they called it a mop but I swear it was a broom), a walking stick, and a couple of leeks. The end of the video was amusing when a woman rode past in the background on a bike, accompanied by the ringing of the bell. Impressive act to watch and the ending was brilliant, 8/10.
Finally, we got to a Morning Morning video featuring Niigaki Risa imitating Kojima Yoshio's 'Oppapii' gag. Except she did it all in Korean. She also wore a traditional 'Hanbok' dress whilst doing it. It really looked good on her. The gag was about her addressing Tsunku with an informal greeting, followed by a comment about how her name can be read Aragaki. I don't really find the original comedian to be that funny but when Niigaki Risa does it it's a lot more entertaining. Might be highly biased but I give it 9/10! The following video was of Kusumi Koharu doing an impression of Hirai Ken singing Ookiina Furu Tokei. I think Yoshizawa Hitomi did a much more accurate impression of Hirai Ken so I wasn't too impressed with this. Only a 6/10 for me.
As they were on the subject of impressions, Risa brought up the fact that she can do an impression of Lin Lin. The whole arm flapping was hilarious and seemed quite accurate. Not content with one imitation, Sayumi stepped up and did her version too. This one was a lot more hyper but just as funny. It must have been embarrassing for Lin Lin but I think she took it well. It followed on nicely to a video from Lin Lin doing a continuation of the Air-??? skits. This time it was a Sumo match. Not as good as the previous ones but not bad. I'd give it 7/10, if only for the defeated sumo lying on the floor bit.
We're finally onto the last video but it's another disappointing animal one. This one features a monkey from a small restaurant that can dance and bring drinks to customers. I'd give it 6/10 at best. And that was the end of the show. They voted on their video of the day which was the keepie uppie footage from the beginning of the episode. A small preview of next week's show and it looks quite good. The girls seem to be wearing some new outfits and Tanaka Reina is dressed up as a detective. I can't wait!
Posted byHocchan at 7:20 pm 3 comments
Hand Made CITY
15 February 2008
The Autumn 2007 Morning Musume concert DVD was released a few days ago and I watched it last night. Having been slightly disappointed with their Morning Curry and Sexy 8 Beat concerts, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this one or not. Thankfully, I liked it a lot more than the previous tours. It seems like the small stages are here to stay for the foreseeable future, something that I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it gives a more 'intimate' feeling to the concert, but on the other, it's not the same energy output as a big arena. Still, they've made good use of the space that's available. The current nine member line-up makes for an easy formation of 3x3 plus a Viyuden member each. The costumes this time around were a lot less 'wacky' than previous tours. Well, unless you count that odd yellow and green combo in the encore. All that fake fur must have been bloody hot to wear whilst dancing...
The concert opens with Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! Bomb Girl which is an OK song but nothing special. However, the next song is Mikan which sounded so damn good it sent chills down my spine. It really does sound awesome when performed live. As if that wasn't enough, it's followed by Hand Made City which rocked so much the hall almost collapsed. It's probably my favourite performance from the DVD. After introductions they perform Kacchoiize! Japan, Please! Jiyuu No Tobira and Kanashimi Twilight. Then came one of my all time favourite MC sections of any concert ever! A short segment consisting of Michishige Sayumi asking Tanaka Reina, Kamei Eri, Jun Jun and Lin Lin a question about Christmas. Sayumi did brilliantly at shooting down everyone's answers. The best bit was definitely the "Wow-oh wow-oh wow-oh wow-oh...ne?" thing she did to Reina. The look she gave to the camera was unbelievably alluring. It probably infuriated Sayumi-haters but for me, it was pure heaven.
Up next was Kusumi Koharu with Chance! from Kirarin Revolution. Whilst Koharu is normally too 'hyper' for my liking, I have to say it works quite well in a concert. The costume change halfway through the performance was superb to watch. After Koharu's song we had Jun Jun and Lin Lin performing the fifth generation classic Sukina Senpai. They could never beat the prodigiousness of the original but I think they did a decent job of it. Shanimuni Paradise followed, along with Ikimasshoi! and an MC section with Niigaki Risa and Takahashi Ai. Then we had the Viyuden part of the concert. I'm not particularly a big fan of theirs but it was enjoyable enough.
The puppet VTR was pretty amusing. I particularly liked the Miyoshi Erika reactions and Ishikawa Rika's 'Happy!' finish. The costumes for the next few songs (Gyutto Dakishimete, How Do You Like Japan?, Shabondama and Nature Is Good) were my favourite outfits of the night. Another short MC section and we're onto the last three songs (Ambitious! Yashinteki De Ii Jan, Go Girl ~Koi No Victory~ and Love & Peace! Hero Ga Yattekita), followed by the encore of Hello To You ~Hello! Project 10-shuunen Kinen Theme, Onna Ni Sachi Are and Bon Kyu! Bon Kyu! Bomb Girl again.
Overall, I'd rank this concert as one of the best. I felt it was a nice return to form for Morning Musume and it reminded me how good the current members are. It's going to be a good year for them, I can feel it!
Posted byHocchan at 8:46 pm 0 comments
Tottemo! Suggoi! Mecha! Chou! Subarashii H!P Ranking Battle!
11 February 2008
OK, maybe I overdid it a bit with the title there but I'm just excited to have something to post about. Paul Thomas over at Hello!Blog (a blog that I've read almost religiously since discovering it) has very kindly done another popularity poll. Only this time he's included Berryz Koubou and ºC-ute into the mix. I didn't get to participate in the last one so this is a nice opportunity for me to take part. I filled in all three group rankings but I'm only going to post the Morning Musume one here. I don't really follow Berryz Koubou or ºC-ute closely enough to make an accurate judgement regarding those members.
1. Michishige Sayumi - This was pretty much a foregone conclusion considering how many pictures of her have been featured here lately. She's really captured my attention these last few weeks, especially after that New Year's episode of Haromoni@ that involved the wig. The weird thing is, I never used to like Sayumi very much. I found her narcissistic nature very annoying. But having seen her voice training session in the sixth generation auditions my view of her changed dramatically. There's definitely a lot more to this girl than many people first believe.
2. Tanaka Reina - Reina would have easily been in my number one spot if it wasn't for Sayumi's recent rise in popularity. She's just as good looking as Sayumi and has an interesting personality. Her accent also adds an extra dimension to her character. It's a shame her Yankii persona has mellowed out recently, I think that was one of her best charms. However, there's no doubt that Reina will stay high in my rankings list for a long time to come.
3. Niigaki Risa - Gaki-san! Probably one of the best nicknames in the history of Morning Musume. Gaki-san has always been one of my favourite members. Her extremely 'genki' personality and smile never fails to lift your spirits. I love her current hairstyle, it just suits her so well. She's quite similar to Abe Natsumi, in that they both have a very caring attitude, sort of like a older sister to everyone.
4. Kamei Eri - She just narrowly beat Jun Jun for 4th place thanks to her Eric Kamezou character from Maido Arii. Eri's always been a bit of an odd one for me. Sometimes she really stands out, other times she's not really noticeable. I think her quirkiness is her best feature. That episode of Hello! Morning with her and Fujimoto Miki at a crepe stand has got to be one of the funniest things ever.
5. Jun Jun (Li Chun) - This is quite a surprise. One of the newest additions to the group has made it into mid-table. She reminds me very much of, well, me. Kind of quiet but can come out with some rather absurd comments or reactions. Out of the two Chinese members she probably stands out more. I knew I was right to have faith in them.
6. Lin Lin (Qian Lin) - She seems a lot more reserved than Jun Jun but I think she'll become a lot more confident as time passes. She can be quite funny at times and her 'Bacchiri' phrase is addictive to say. I have high hopes for her in these coming years. Gambare!
7. Takahashi Ai - I feel slightly guilty for putting one of the core members so far down the list. I just feel she's lost a lot of her character by dropping her Fukui accent. I'm not sure she's quite assertive enough to be the leader but she seems to be managing well. Her Doi Takako impression is quite good though!
8. Kusumi Koharu - Hmm...I have trouble getting to like Koharu for some reason. It's not as though I dislike her for any particular reason. I just get the impression she's trying too hard sometimes. If she'd be a little less energetic I think she'd make a better impression.
9. Mitsui Aika - I feel Aika's been a bit hard done by. She's had lots of opposition from western fans during her auditions which I felt was totally unfair. Then her addition to the group was slightly overshadowed by the arrival of Jun Jun and Lin Lin. I do hope she develops a strong persona for herself soon. She's still quite young so there's plenty of time yet.
Well, there we have it. That's my current ranking for the moment. There's not much to say about the other two groups. The members of ºC-ute were a lot more recognisable than Berryz Koubou, thanks to their awesome single Tokkaiko Junjou. Yajima Maimi did a superb job of the speaking lines in that song so she's top of the ºC-ute list. I'm one of those people that can't stand Sugaya Risako so she's firmly at the bottom of the Berryz Koubou. Other than that, it was really a case of who stood out the most in my mind.
Posted byHocchan at 5:36 pm 2 comments
Kokoro No Tabi
10 February 2008
It's no good, I'm still stuck in the doldrums. This stagnation has also spread to my daily life. Once again, I'm aimlessly drifting without a goal to aim for. It would be nice if university started sooner but it's still over 217 days away. I'm having trouble occupying myself in the meantime. I'm becoming quite restless and things are starting to get on my nerves. I find myself constantly bored and in need of stimulation. It's akin to being a budgerigar trapped in a cage with nothing to do everyday. It's slowly driving me insane!
I could find myself a job but employers seem to be against hiring me. I've tried for several vacancies, jobs that really anyone could do, only to be turned away because I don't have any experience. Since when do you need experience for being a cleaner?! It's extremely frustrating. How do you get experience if no one will give you a chance in the first place? I'm losing the will to try any more.
Thankfully, there are still enough small distractions to keep me sane. I'm watching episodes of Hello! Morning every night, Haromoni@ on Sundays, and Edison No Haha on Fridays. But those are only temporary stopgaps. I need to find some sort of hobby or goal to keep my occupied. I've thought about trying to get fitter by riding my bike again. The days have been quite sunny lately and it'd make a nice distraction for an hour or so. Whatever I decide, I'll need to figure it out soon or I might become stark raving bonkers by March...heh heh...HahAhaHAhaAAaA!
Posted byHocchan at 11:00 pm 2 comments
Hyacinth
08 February 2008
I've hit a wall. A very high wall with no ladder in sight. I'm currently in the throes of a writer's block. I keep logging into Blogger only to find myself staring at a blinking cursor for ages before giving up and going elsewhere. It could be that there's not really much happening at the moment. But I've managed to overcome that hurdle before and write a fair amount about nothing in particular. I can't seem to achieve that at this point in time.
Imagine being stuck in a deep, slippery-sided trench. You fight to climb up the sides but you keep slipping back down. And with each effort you exhaust yourself that little bit more, lessening your chance to get out. Slowly, you sink deeper and deeper into the mud until there's no escape...no escape from the empty darkness that is your mind.
Posted byHocchan at 11:41 am 1 comments
