i'm not afraid of a little boredom

Never thought I'd say this but I just got back from the expensive (for me, at least -_-) Mnet Ultimate Live Asia Tour in Singapore featuring Mblaq, Miss A, 2AM, Beast and 2PM (performed in that order). I want to spazz and recount my experiences but I'm also a bit lazy to organise my thoughts so I'll just blabber randomly for now.

- Firstly, it was a super last minute decision. I didn't want to go because I didn't want to part with almost $200 for kpop. But my sister was going alone and I felt bad not accompanying her so 1 and 1/2 hr before the concert, I decided to stop being so wishy washy and got my ticket. (Turns out, concerts are way more fun with company)
- We arrived 30 min before the show was supposed to start and luckily joined a queue that started to leave for the concert hall in 10 min after we arrived. It was a speedy process (thank god) because all the pre-concert updates I got from fb and everywhere else made it sound so stressful and complicated! What with people queueing the night before or early in the morning just so that they can get priority queue(?) which I find extremely weird since it's an entirely free standing concert which as the name says you're free to stand anywhere you want regardless of where you were when you were queueing. Plus, everyone paid for their tickets for the same price so, priority what?
- I didn't regret going though. Probably because if I didn't go I would probably be wondering what a kpop concert would be like for the rest of my life. And I can say this now, I am never ever going to a kpop concert where it is free-standing again. Yeah, especially when we have people who have been there since morning and then, it's hot (even with air-conditioning coz everyone's so close together) so you get all sorts of odour. :/ And by the time 2PM (last act) came out I was dead tired. Plus, I am not short, but there were a lot of tall people around and then you have the girls with banners and cards and everyone with their phones and cameras up in the air and altogether, it does not make for a good view.

- Anyway, the concert itself was awesome! The performers were great. I absolutely enjoyed 2AM's set the most which was surprising coz they were the ones that I was anticipating the least. But I didn't realise how sing-along-able their songs are! And I was standing next to some passionate 2AM fanboys so it was a lot of fun. I was singing my heart out - wrong lyrics and all. And since they were the 3rd act, the crowd was still pumped but also pretty chill since they're a ballad group and all, so there weren't a lot of pushing and scrambling as compared to when Beast and 2PM were performing!
- Also we got to see 2PM and Beast up close! Gorgeous people.
- 2PM was probably the most interactive, they were all over the stage which is great! I was slightly disappointed though. Their's was the set I was looking forward to the most but it happens to be the set where my view was obstructed the most. I almost smacked a girl's cardboard sign off her hand but alas, it was a few centimeters out of reach.
- I was probably the crazy fan out there especially when I was the only one jumping my ass off and dancing to the songs when people around me were more concerned with their cameras and recording the performances. I might have stomped on a few people's feet in the process though. Whoops.
- Of course there was the mandatory whiny fangirls encounter. *shrugs* Idk, it's a concert, so expect to get pushed. It's free-standing so no one owns any space. People who get all ~territorial~ in a mosh pit is ridiculous. The last mosh pit I was in was in a ska gig and there were loads of pushing, shoving and dancing but I had a whole lotta fun. People were falling down but there will always be hands reaching out to pull you up again in a split second. I guess the mosh pits of a ska/punk rock gig have this sense of unity within them which is not exactly the case with a kpop concert. Oh well. I guess this is what you get when the "visual" aspect of the concert is as important if not more than the "audio" aspect. So people are more concerned about being as close to their oppars to get a chance to make eye-contact and/or touch them as opposed to simply enjoying the ~live music~ (which takes priority) in other types of concerts.

I think I'm done blabbering for now.

Did anyone else experience any kpop/jpop concerts before? This is like one of my firsts so, I guess it's exciting to finally be able to have input from ~real life~ experiences. Heh.

edit: Oh! and one more thing, I think I might appear in a few girls' (and boys') fancams! Oh gosh, I mean I hope I didn't accidentally video bomb any, but like I swear me jumping and moving about everywhere must definitely have gotten myself some unwanted appearances. None of my real life friends knew about this trip and I plan to keep it that way but urgh, it's impossible to deny my inconsistent but embarrassing kpop obsession if there's video evidence now!

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me

Yesss! I'm so excited for this! Norwegian Wood is one of my favourite books from Murakami and this film have Matsuyama Kenichi, Rinko Kikuchi AND The Beatles! Definitely on my list of to-look-forward-to-films.

I know I have been MIA for the most part. I have been reserving a post for some drama ranting but I haven't been able to bring myself to start writing about it. Also, my short attention span is getting shorter and is making it impossible to finish any dramas or books lately. So basically I've started watching tons of dramas both Korean and Japanese but have yet to complete any which is the main reason for stalling any sort of update. But despite that, I have finally stumbled upon a drama that I can confidently say that it has grabbed my attention and I'm absolutely in love with and that is the new Japanese drama, Mother. I'm currently at ep 6 and already has cried a total of 3 times. It's also visually beautiful but the biggest attraction for me is the genius child actress they have in it. So freaking adorable and convincing. I'm on the prowl for the 7th episode and beyond right now so that I can finally finish a jdrama series in the last 3 or 4 months.

A weird revelation: Although I am presently immersed in K-pop, what got me into Asian pop music and entertainment (well, mostly Japanese and Korean) was actually not-so-mainstream/indie Japanese bands like Cornelius, Mono and Envy (to name a few). I am not sure how I managed to veer off the path that way but it could possibly be this simple interest with anything Japanese be it low or high culture. It's a long journey how I got to where I am. lol. I haven't been keeping myself updated with "cool" music but I stumbled upon this trailer for a documentary on Japanese indie music called Live From Tokyo and it's looking and sounding great. I probably won't be able to let go of K-pop (even if I wanted to) anytime soon but I guess I should at least keep myself updated with these interesting yet obscure bands. I have yet to be fascinated by any Korean indie music though (maybe k-pop's too huge of a force to allow any other creative music to surface).

Live From Tokyo Trailer from Lewis Rapkin on Vimeo.

On another note, I went to watch Florence and the Machine, The xx, Andrew Bird and Cat Power all between late January and early February. Some of them were absolutely brilliant while some (well, one) were a bit underwhelming. I could do a separate post but at the rate I am updating this thing, that'll probably be lost in the list of things I want and suppose to do but never will. School on the other hand is freaking me out. I am graduating soon and I am nowhere near finished with my FYP. I feel like I can perform better when I've got nothing to lose but it feels like I've got so much at stake, high expectations to meet that I'll probably just disappoint everyone and myself at the end. I need to think less and do more work but argh, I wish I have at least a little ounce of self-discipline programmed into myself to follow any plan.

Ever since mid last year, I've been sort of occupied with Kpop (specifically 2PM) and basically neglected any sort of J-entertainment that I used to be occupied with pretty regularly. So anyway, today I randomly watched some Kanpani episodes and all the love and adoration I have over Kanjani8 started to rekindle. Lol. 2PM may have basically taken over my attention recently but after watching those Kanpani episodes, Kanjani8 is still my favourite Asian boys.

I mean, I think it's amazing that a TV station gave a group of 7 Kansai boys a 15-minute show that airs every week which has absolutely no point whatsoever. Seriously, Japan gives their Idols a whole lot of freedom in terms of what they do on air, it's cool. I've only watched a few episodes and they were all so hilarious and all they do is attempt these ridiculous challenges such as eating a series of cold food in a designated amount of time (ridiculous reactions ensues) or catching a tissue with a pair of chopsticks or guessing the function of weird looking Japanese inventions or give answers to random questions and make sure no two members give the same answers and loads of other weird make-no-sense type of challenges where in the process they bicker amongst one another, be complete failures in the world's most simplest tasks or just be in a mess of weird eito situations. The best part is, like 90% of the time, they fail the ridiculous challenges and almost every single episode that I've seen, the boys end the show covered in flour. Urgh, K8, you are so awesome. I'm beginning to think the show's purpose is to satisfy the production staff's desire in seeing the boys be punished over...basically nothing. And to think that their average age is 25/26, and the 3 older members are almost 30 is amazing. I need to start getting myself updated with these guys. Also all the new Ryo-related news and updates is starting to get me excited.

Ok, enough talk. Here's an episode where Subaru is an absolutely freaking idiot in deciphering visual images and equally horrible at creating visual images hence, sabotaging the groups' chance at getting answers correct. The show is very self-explanatory and with a basic knowledge of Japanese you'll get through the show just fine although of course it would be so awesome if there's some kind subbing group out there who could sub these shows and share them with the masses without putting fire-lit hoops that we have to go through to get them which is unlikely gonna happen. Meanwhile, I love the reactions of whoever has to decipher Subaru's drawings, he's so terrible it's amazing. Also, I fail to mention earlier how hot Yoko has been looking lately with that floppy black hair of his; it makes him look much younger than he is.


Part 2
Alternative link: Here

Edit: FAIL. Most of the Kanpani videos on youtube has been put to private. This is one of the reasons why I've neglected any J-entertainment show. They're so inaccessible and non-user-friendly-ish. Prft.

[reposted from my other journal]

20-Year-Old Model Daul Kim Is Dead

Wow. So basically one of my favourite models and favourite people has just died. I'm still shocked and trying to process this. I frequent a lot of random blogs and her's is one of them, I read her blog like almost everyday coz I can relate to it alot and she's hilarious and she has very cool weird interests. I love the way she writes. It's kinda broken and disconnected yet it makes perfect sense and then you get this random posts where she reveals what a depressive and perverted person she is among her other loud and opinionated entries and I love that too. I think what I relate to the most are her entries about loneliness and it's like I get this moments of great depression too but there's nothing I can do about it but go on with life and put a smile on my face and pretend things are cool and then I forget that I'm depressed and then like the weather in Singapore, my mood changes and I am sad again. I guess what's inspiring is how I know how she feels and yet she can still do so much in life so when news of her death broke and how rumours are going around that it's a possible suicide, I was shocked and disappointed. It is so freaking random that wow, life can really be random and unexpected and like you really don't know what goes on in someone else's head. And it's like if this could happen to her, it could happen to me too? You could be fine but then no one is free from feeling completely hopeless, and helpless and feeling completely alone and I pray for myself and the people I care about that we'll never crumble under all that emotion up to the point where nothing in this world could lessen that burden.


Daul Kim, you will be missed. T_T

Also, this Tuesday marks the end of my 1st semester of my last year in school. I have an exam for my Forensic Science module and also a presentation on my final year project(FYP) on the same day and this news basically distracted me from doing any form of studying. Prft.

Oh and, hi everyone. I know it feels like I've disappeared from the face of the Earth in this journal but I'm gona start updating and checking out the friends list more often once this semester ends. I apologize for the depressing entries. Hah. Till then, goodbye.

Today has been depressing. Basically, a member and leader of my favourite kpop boyband, 2PM, the only thing I've been obsessing with lately, has left the group.

It's just all so surreal, I still haven't stomach the news yet. 4 days ago he was still the leader of 2PM and now, he's not. Seriously. What. Just. Happened. I don't even know. It's terribly heartbreaking.

I've voiced my opinion on this before. I still think it's ridiculous the online-hate-parade Jay is getting all from a silly (and yes, very retarded and ignorant) message he posted on myspace 4 yrs ago. I can't believe something so trivial that was meant for his friend (hence, the language I suppose) was used against him which resulted into one big mess of I-don't-even-know. I had not experienced nor witnessed such a thing before. Because I wasn't really a fan of any kpop group until 2PM so, I hadn't exactly take note of what Korean netizens are capable of and boy, the power they seem to possess, it is ridiculous.

Bleh. I feel embarrased to say this but that whole thing was emotionally exhausting. So many things occuring one after another in such a short period of time. I am glad I had school and real life issues to deal with but now that I'm home and I see all these articles, it's making me feel a bit depressed again.

This feels like that Uchi-suspension-kick-out-of-News-and-Kanjani-8 shit and the whole waiting-for-Uchi fiasco which I have been indifferent to coz I have no emotional attachment to Uchi and News and I am fine with K8 the way they are so. I never thought I'll be experiencing a similar situation. I guess this is what I get for laughing at people who were emotionally attached to Uchi and 8-membered News/Kanjani8.

Meh...I've lost one of my main source of online-entertainment. I think I was about to get into Kpop a bit too deep and the forces above know it'll be bad for me so they took 2PM away coz they want me to focus on my final year of Uni. Hm..makes sense, but argh, no way, too soon, I say!

Hi.

• My 4th and last year of school has begun. Time to put on my thinking cap and start working.
• I am still into 2PM. But the obsession is dying out (I hope -.-). I love my shortlive kpop obsessions.
• My obsession with Kanjani 8 (basically the only JE/Jpop thing I follow) is dying and the only thing that keeps me updated with them is through enshinge's Recomen transcripts. Recomen is still hilarious and am thrilled to know that they're releasing a DVD soon. I enjoyed the bonus clips of their 47 DVD (I have to confess I didn't watch the concert version except for some clips of some songs, my love for them is selective, don't hate me). I'm sure the offshots for this concert will be as entertaining as well.
• I am so thrilled how I am not the least bit interested in G Dragon's new album. I love his new hair though. But not because it's him, it's just that I've always had a thing for platinum blonde hair. meh.
• Kings of Convenience on the other hand are releasing their new album and it is sounding great!

Will probably not update as often since I'm suppose to concentrate on my final year project as of now. I'm still around and reading though. :D I hope everyone's doing well.

Till much much laterrr

Hello journal, it's been awhile. This journal was initially meant to track my obsession with Japan (both the low and high cultures); Jdramas, Kanjani8, random JE clips that are amusing, etc. But for the past month or more, I have been denying how this obsession seemed to be cooling down from an obsession to just occasional interests that I check up on occasionally, hence the lack of updates. Instead I've been into whatever 2PM has got to offer, mostly coz they're funny and also coz clips of them accompanied with sub-titles are so highly accessible that I just can't help it.

Anyway, I finally got around to finish some dramas that I've started before the Great Jdrama Break(GJB) that I created for myself in order to study for finals and meet deadlines, where I stopped watching any new dramas. So here's an update for myself.

Arifureta Kiseki
I really really liked this. My adoration for Kase Ryo has multiplied after watching this. Like I've mentioned before, the drama is really...chill, for a lack of a better word. It is such a simple love story; no ridiculous love triangles, or crazy evil step-mother or crazy jealous ex-girfriends or...you get the drift. The characters are relatable and the problems they encounter are believable and somewhat honest. Arifureta Kiseki, if I remember correctly, means Ordinary Miracles and the drama is certainly about ordinary miracles. The dialogues are interesting as well. You'll get the funny, realistic bickerings between the family members (I really enjoy the dynamics of the Tasaki(Kase Ryo) family; so funny but so heart-wrenching) justaposing the thoughtful text messages exchanged between the 2 main characters. Overall a well-written, well-paced, well-acted human/romance drama. Those who enjoyed Haikei Chiechiue-sama, like myself, would love this too.

Aaand, that's it. Hah. So much for a drama update. I thought I've been watching quite a bit but then I realised I never really did finish any of the series. I just kept on watching a new one instead of continuing with an old one. Let's see, unfinished dramas I've watched recently,

- Voice
I am currently at ep 8. I stopped watching this during the GJB and haven't got around to continuing it. Well, let's be honest, it is kinda boring. The only reason I've been watching it is coz I like watching the 5 main characters interact with each other. They really are an interesting bunch, the stories within each episode? Not so interesting. I don't know if I'm gona pick it up again. I feel like I'll prolly end up watching only the bickerings and Eita-being-a-dork moments and fast-forward through the actual drama.

- Pride
This is only my 2nd Kimura drama(well, not really since I didn't actually complete it but I'm gona put it as 2nd coz I almost completed it?). I know, I fail as a former-Jdrama-junkie. My first Kimura drama was Kazei Nare Ichizoku which was awesome, but let's not talk about that here now. Anyway, I'm at ep 8 before I stopped. I don't know how or why I had a sudden desire to watch a very typical romance drama but I did, so I took the opportunity to start this. And then halfway through it, I realised I couldn't take the predictable storyline any longer. It is as typical as any typical romance drama can get. I even got tired of rolling my eyes at the expected plot twists. However, I have to give points for the faster-than-expected pacing of the drama, as in, I didn't need to utilise the fast-forward button, at least I don't remember using it so much. I can totally see why this series was a big hit though; gorgeous cast, likable main characters and it's not so slow either. But, urgh, not for me I guess. Typical romance dramas are not my thing afterall.

- Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
I really enjoyed watching this. The only reason I stopped this was coz of the GJB, I'm gona start watching the rest of the series soon. Apparently, there is a Korean remake of the drama which is currently really hot. I watched bits of it and it does look really good and funny which makes me want to get on this series asap before I get hooked on the Korean one coz I have this sense of loyalty towards Abe Hiroshi who is the star of this drama (the Korean lead looks like he's playing the character as well as Abe). I guess I like those love stories that doesn't look like a love story, coz that's what this is. Abe Hiroshi is hilarious in this, playing this eccentric and stubborn character who can't seem to settle down because he's too difficult to deal with. And the situations he gets himself into, are hilarious. The other casts are pretty brilliant as well. No JE pretty boys here, but there's Abe and Tsukamoto Takashi! I haven't even finished this yet and I already think this is gona be a good drama, plus it has to be good for it to be remade into a Korean version (that seemed to be doing really well) eventhough there weren't any pretty boys in the show.

That's pretty much all I have for now. Gona go watch some dramas now that I feel like it, I haven't been having the desire to watch dramas in such a long time. Finishing Arifureta Kiseki has rekindled that flame a bit. :D
Till much later.

It's been awhile since I've been excited for a drama. I'm so excited for this!


It is looking cool. The animation somehow reminds me of the opening of the film Party 7, which is as crazy as a film can get. It seriously is.


I don't remember finishing the whole film so I can't say much about it, but doesn't it look crazy?

I have to confess I am neglecting my favourite 7-member idol group from Japan (Kanjani 8) for the other new favourite 7-member idol group from Korea (2PM) and the latter has even slowly pulled me into the world of kpop which before this has been a big mystery and the only kpop groups I was aware of was DBSK, SuJu, Big Bang and Wonder Girls. Well, it is a bit different now.

Anyway, less talk, more rock: 2PM in Vogue Girl.



I am too lazy to look for the actual photoshoot pictures and re-upload them here but they're very pretty to look at. :)

That's all I have for now. lol.
Till much later.