So, I recently decided to go and cut my hair short. I didn't realize until afterwards that there were already several people at my school with a similar haircut...

...and that there were actually anime characters that had that kind of haircut too. My parents joked that I looked like someone out of an anime right after I got the haircut. I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not, because I certainly don't want to imitate anime characters (well, except for if I ever cosplay, but I'm not going to be cosplaying everyday, now am I? :\ ). As much of an otaku as I am, I don't expect to ever come near to the awesomeness of an anime character. But it has been kind of funny having a different haircut. I've been told by two people already that I look "KAWAII DESUUU", both of whom said it in a very bad accent on purpose.

Anyways, although Miku Hatsune is not an anime character, she seems to have gotten a haircut as well. Check out the song "Fleeting Reality":



I like this song pretty well, actually. And it kind of gives me a Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica vibe at times (starting around 2:32, when she whips out the sword...Miki Sayaka anyone?) And speaking of which, I just heard that all the Madoka girls have had recent victories in the Saimoe competition...Well, except for Akemi Homura. Sadly she was eliminated early on because she faced off against Misaka Mikoto.

Back to the Vocaloid songs. Here's a Gakupo song that snagged the #10 spot on the most recent Vocaran. Miku always dominates the Vocaran, but it's nice to see the other Vocaloids getting some attention too. (VY1's song "Cyber Thunder Cider" just popped up again on the Vocaran. I think it's because the song was revealed to be the demo for VY1 in Vocaloid3)



And here's a Luka song. How could I resist? I've always been a fan of Luka voice-wise :p



I should not neglect to mention two Vocaloid songs that have been very popular recently. The puny amount of Japanese I know has unfortunately grown rusty from disuse, so I'm afraid I don't know the English name of this song. All that I do know is that I don't like it very much. Sorry to those of you do, but I can't manage to love this song. :\



What I do like is this song: "Senbonzakura" or "Thousand Cherry Trees" or whatever you want to call it. And there was a big surge of Nico Nico utaite singing it a while back (mostly guys, even those this is a Miku song... o_o;; ).



Well, let's end with the last, but definitely not least: #1 on the vocaran! This is what I believe would be called "Talkloids": having the Vocaloids "speak" rather than sing. I can't understand that much of what they are saying (blame it on my lack of Japanese knowledge again) but it looks amusing anyhow.

Labels: 211, fleeting reality, gakupo, hatsune miku, luka megurine, music, ranking, senbon zakura, songs, talkloid, vocaloid, vocaran, カゲロウデイズ, 千本桜, 御手繋ぎ

I consider myself to be a big fan of the singers on Nico Nico Douga, yet somehow I didn't find out about Clear and Nero's album "Second Impact" until two months after it came out... -_-;; Oh well, better late than never. I'm actually more of fan of Nero than Clear these days...Clear seems to be much more popular, though. D:

Anyways, here's a sampling of the songs from "Second Impact":


Also, it turns out that I managed to miss a single released by PointFive (.5), a group made up of 5 NND singers (Clear, Amu, Miichan, Dasoku, Asamaru...Let me know if I missed anyone). The title of the single is "Kimi Reflection". There's essentially just three songs there. I do like the song "Risky Game" (originally a Miku song, if you want to look it up).



One last thing I missed in August: Danceroid did a dance cover of the Uta no Prince-sama song...I thought all the dancers in Danceroid were girls? Well, it looks like fun anyhow. Both the cross-dressing and the dancing. xD I highly doubt I could ever find enough otakus to do group dancing, singing, or cosplaying, though...

Labels: clear, danceroid, kimi reflection, music, nero, nico nico douga, nicovideo, pointfive, second impact, singer, uta no prince-sama, utaite, utapri

That's how I've been feeling, at least up until about now. Having no 1st period did give me a little more time to sleep, though unfortunately the last few days my insomnia has returned and I've been tired all over again. Now that I have a presentation coming up for history class, various tests next week, and a small (but still annoying) project for literature, things are starting to go downhill. But at least I've been finding tiny things to entertain me lately.

I bumped into one of my friends after school the other day and we went over to her house for a while. I figured I'd do some homework, but when she suggested that we play some Super Smash Bros. Brawl, well, the paper and pencils went away and the Wii controls came out. It's been ages since I played it, and for some reason I find it as pleasurable as ever to kick, punch, slash, and blow up other people (or creatures, depending on the character). Guess I didn't have as many temper tantrums when I was younger because I satisfied all my violent urges while playing video games. It eventually got pretty chaotic while we were playing Brawl, though, because we set up a special game in it where all the players were:

- Clear (in other words, transparent, so we were pretty much invisible on stage)
- Flame-breathing
- Flowers on our heads (these flowers continuously make us suffer "damage")
- Super huge It was all I could do just to stay alive. I didn't even know where I was half the time and I died about every five seconds. My friend was quite good at the Special Brawl and survived to the very end.

While I was returning home from her house, I saw an interesting bumper sticker on someone's car. It read:

"Sarah Palin 2012 The world's going to end anyways"
...Well, if it wasn't going to end before, it certainly will now.

And then today something pretty funny happened at lunchtime. A girl was sitting on a bench, just minding her own business, and then two guys ran over. One of them showed her his school photos and said, "This is a scientific survey. We need your response. Are these stupid or sexy? She didn't say anything and went back to doing her homework. The guy holding the pictures said to the other guy, "See? Did you hear that? Sexy!" as they walked away.

There's one thing that really has NOT amused me recently, though, and that's the clubs at my school. Almost all of them have club meetings on Thursday at lunchtime. Since one of my friends already managed to convince me to join the business club she's in, and it meets on Thursday, I am now severely limited when it comes to the clubs I can join. Of course, I could still join the guitar club, gay/straight alliance, and French honor society like I wanted to, but how in the world could I go to all those meetings? Just attend one club meeting per month so I can go to every club? I think that's too much trouble. Thank goodness the photo club meets at brunch and the art club has meetings on Tuesdays, so at least I might be able to participate in those.

Anyways, I feel like sharing some of the music I've heard lately, so here's a recent VY1 song that I've liked a lot.

 

 Oh, and a singer on Nico Nico Douga recently covered the song. I can't decide whether I like the song better when it's sung by a Vocaloid or by a real person.

 

 Also, here's some songs from the band Supercell. I didn't find about "Perfect Day" until recently even though apparently the video was already out as early as March...Then again, I was never really actively following Supercell and only really listened to some of their older songs, such as the Miku songs Ryo composed years ago ("World is Mine", "Black Rock Shooter", and "Love is War") and "Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari" (ending theme to Bakemonogatari. Has anyone seen that anime? What did you think of it? I've been meaning to watch).

 

 Ryo used Miku again recently to make the song "Sekiranun Graffiti". I have no idea what Miku's doing flying around the sky and what's up with that Niagara Falls type thing, but here, enjoy the video anyways.

 

 By the way, I read somewhere that Nagi, Supercell's vocalist, was actually the Nico Nico Douga singer called "Gazelle". Is that true?

Labels: clubs, gazelle, music, nagi, nico nico douga, perfect day, sarah palin, sekiranun graffiti, super smash bros brawl, supercell, video games, vocaloid

I'll start off by wishing Gakupo a happy 3rd birthday! For those who haven't heard of him, Gakupo (or Gackpoid, as he is otherwise called) is a Vocaloid from Internet Co. His voice was provided by the singer Gackt. Gakupo doesn't get anywhere near the amount of attention that Miku does, which is a mighty shame. Doesn't seem like that's going to change anytime soon, though. D:


Image by もち＠マイピクｵﾅｼｬｽ on Pixiv

Anyways, to the topic I've been meaning to write about. These days I've gotten into jpop/jrock again... It's mostly because I've been watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (which is the 2009 FMA anime; unlike the 2003 one, it follows the manga's plotline, I believe). I was reluctant to watch it because it was long (64 episodes drives me insane if the anime isn't really good) and because I wasn't sure whether I'd like it, but nowadays I'm finding that I do enjoy shounen anime (a little unexpected considering that I only read shoujo manga). Then again, I am a big fan of the Ao no Exorcist anime, and now I've discovered that FMA:B may soon become one of my favorite animes too. I actually watched sixteen episodes of FMA:B without stopping at one point, which for me is really rare behavior. Now I understand why the FMA animes got such high ratings on MyAnimeList.

Anyhow, though, I do like some of the music in this anime - more specifically, the first and second endings.

"Uso" by the band SID:



"Let it All Out" by Miho Fukuhara:



I started seeking out some of the other Japanese bands and singers I like, and managed to find my favorite version of the song "Hemisphere", which is the opening to the anime RahXephon (which I've never actually watched, but if you have, let me know what you think of it). I used to have MAKI's version on my playlist, but it got removed by whoever put it up, so I don't have it anymore.

"Hemisphere" by MAKI:



The more famous version, "Hemisphere" by Maaya Sakamoto (I like this one too, but I'm more used to hearing the MAKI one because I heard it first)



I've also gotten really into Yuki Kajiura's projects lately. Yuki Kajiura is a composer who is in charge of the singing groups FictionJunction and Kalafina. (FictionJunction did the song "Parallel Hearts" for Pandora Hearts, if that rings a bell. And Kalafina sang songs for Kuroshitsuji, Kara no Kyoukai, and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica)

"Magia" by Kalafina:



This came out more than a month ago and I kept forgetting to mention it, but I saw some artist called Nem's Garden had released an album called Moratorium on the Oricon charts one time (Generasia's wiki has the Oricon rankings on it). I decided to look it up on Youtube and discovered that Nem's Garden is actually comprised of many of the singers on Nico Nico Douga, such as Dasoku, Clear, Nero, Miichan, Amu, Gero, Faneru, Jack, and Asamaru. Here's a video that includes a preview of each song. You can probably find most of the full versions of the songs on Youtube.



And just a few days ago, Clear sang another song.



Nowadays, though, my favorite NND singer has got to be Hanatan. (I'm still a big fan of Valshe, of course, and Nero as well, but Hanatan is just amazing.) Back in June she released an album. Here's a PV of a song she sang.

"Bamboo Leaf Boat" by Hanatan:



That isn't my favorite song of hers, though. I love her cover of Imitation, which is originally one of Miku Hatsune's songs:



And also her cover of Aitai, which is originally a GUMI song:



I gotta say, no matter how much I like Vocaloids, they can't compare to real voices. This is the original version of Aitai by GUMI. It's not bad, but I definitely prefer Hanatan's cover.



She has sung other songs, like "Palette", "Cendrillon", and "Romeo and Cinderella", which you can find on Youtube.

Labels: birthday, cover, fma, fullmetal alchemist, fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood, gackpoid, gakupo, hanatan, japanese, music, nico nico douga, vocaloid, yuki kajiura

Well, of course, it should really be spelled "craze", but I felt like using alliteration. :p

Korean pop, or k-pop as it is often called, seems to have become quite popular in the last few years. It also seems to be a trend (even if it is unintentional) for people who were once obsessed with anime to turn their interests to Korean dramas and bands. It's not a bad thing necessarily, though I must say it made me feel both sad and proud. Sad because I felt like the race of otakus was dying out (though actually that's not really true at all, from what I've seen on the Internet lately), and proud that I wasn't following a trend. The second part's funny, considering that I'm probably missing out on a lot of good things because I try not to do what everyone else is doing. (I guess that was part of the reason I picked Weight Training instead of Dance. I didn't want to add to the stereotype that girls take Dance and boys take Weight Training. But then again, I actually do want to try Weight Training.) After getting disappointed by the Twilight series, I lost faith in what's popular with the general public. Though I'm starting to jump back on the bandwagon again, particularly since I've watched a couple of popular anime (Durarara, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica) and found that they were actually quite good.

Back to k-pop. I haven't really listened to too much of it. I've tried, but I'm not usually all that fond of hip hop and dance music (I have the feeling I've misidentified the genres, but whatever). There are a few groups that I do like, such as DBSK (which has, unfortunately, split up, though a few of the members made a new group called JYJ, I think). Maybe I should listen to more of it. The other day, Shiroi showed me a few songs, such as a DBSK acapella, and also, to my surprise, some Japanese songs sang by K-pop groups. It's pretty cool that they can sing in too languages. But then again...have you heard any of those Vocaloid songs which are supposed to be in English, but the lyrics don't make any sense? I heard this Luka song the other day that was saying something about German alcohol, I think. I guess the composer's knowledge of English was a bit...lacking. Maybe it's just because Asian countries seem to enjoy putting English words in their songs and on their products, even if they aren't exactly sure what it means?

As for actual Korean songs by K-pop groups, thefalse-tto introduced me to Pinocchio Danger and Nu Abo by the group F(x). In particular she pointed out the girl Amber, who has now been added to my growing list of women/girls that I admire. For some reason I really like tomboyish girls and girly-looking guys. But besides that, it turns out Amber is actually Taiwanese-American and from California (I assume from around Los Angeles, since that is apparently where she got picked up by SM Entertainment).

Speaking of Los Angeles, I'd sure like to go there - not because I'm planning to audition to become a k-pop singer (though I actually would like to try if I had a larger vocal range), but because of Miku Hatsune's live concert at Anime Expo... Right now all the tickets are sold out, but I really hope there will be more. I'm thinking about going there if more tickets become available. (True, since Miku is a Vocaloid, she's just going to be a hologram and I could probably watch the concert on Youtube later, but I've started to think that a concert is a totally different experience from listening to music by myself. After all, you're surrounded by tons of people who love the same thing that you do.) This is one of the times that I feel frustrated about living in the suburbs. It's rather far from the action sometimes. (But there was a convention a lot closer to where I live, I guess I couldn't gone to that one...The price and the fact that finals were coming up threw me off, though...Still, would've been nice to look at the merchandise and see people perform at the convention.) Oh well. When there's a will, there's a way. I'll have to see about getting to LA.

Labels: amber, anime, anime expo, california, concert, convention, english, f(x), japan, k-pop, korea, languages, los angeles, miku hatsune, music, otaku, trend, vocaloid, weight training

That's the name of the anime that I just finished not too long ago. I found out about Macross Frontier in a different way than I usually do. The typical ways for me to find animes are:

1. A friend recommends them to me
2. Wikipedia browsing (I visit the Wikipedia page of a studio or a voice actor that I liked, and look at what other animes it/he/she produced or acted in.)
3. I see some nice fanart of the anime on the Internet and eventually become curious about it

That 3rd method is how I found out about Vocaloid, by the way. And one of my friends told me she thought it was an anime, so I went looking for the episodes on the Internet. Read more »

Labels: alto saotome, anime, characters, fanart, gumi, macross frontier, may'n, megumi nakajima, music, ranka lee, sheryl nome, songs, vocaloid, vocaloids, wikipedia, youtube

Some covers of Vocaloid songs that I found on Youtube and liked. Do listen to them if you have the time.
Read more »

Labels: aimou, akahitoha, cover, dancer in the dark, electric love, gumi, hatsune miku, hirari hirari, luka megurine, meltdown, mozaik role, music, sing my love, singing, songs, sweet devil, tori no hito

I always seem to be addicted to one thing or another...Such has been the pattern since I was a young girl. Most of the addictions I had were having to do with video games and other electronics.

Anime (which led to japanese pop and rock)
If you count Pokemon and/or Sailor Moon, then I first watched it before I was in kindergarten (I remember watching Pokemon with a preschool friend of mine). I think I was the most aggressive about watching anime during 6th and 7th grade; I kept watching in 8th grade, though not nearly as much. And after going into high school I haven't had as much time for it. But I still managed to get some in here and there.

Pokemon games (which led to other video games)
Started when a friend introduced me to them around 2nd grade or so. I was obsessed up until about 8th grade, where I lost interest for a while, but had a few phases of readdiction to an older Pokemon game, LeafGreen. (Unfortunately, I have since fallen off the bandwagon and I am no longer actively keeping up with Pokemon. All I know is that Black and White are supposed to come out soon, and that there's some dude called N with green hair who seems to be popular.)

Neopets
First played it in 1st grade, made account but never got rich and kept forgetting the password. Finally stuck to one account and worked very hard on it. I did accomplish a lot, but now I don't think it was worth the time because I no longer do much on Neopets (got too busy in high school and didn't finish the most recent plot). Probably not going to pick it up seriously again, but who knows?

Nutrinopets (which led to role-playing and graphics)
Actually was bored by the site at first, but returned some months later and decided to become more active. I was invited to a club, and that's how I discovered the forums of the site. It used to be quite active, but I saw people leave and move on with their lives as time went on. The site went down when I was in 8th grade and it's not here anymore. It's through Nutrinopets that I discovered role-playing, graphics, and my obsession with big numbers, particularly when it comes to forum posts (I had well over 20,000 forum posts, though sadly it's all gone to waste, but I'm glad that I no longer have the obligation to visit the site).

Gaia Online
Another forum; I think I was addicted to this before I got into Nutrinopets, actually, but I didn't stay on Gaia nearly as long. I think that's how my childhood innocence got spoiled. Got my first taste of seeing lots of swearing and more inappropriate stuff. -_-;; Mostly I just liked to make money and get items for my avatar. My account got deactivated because I was too young, and I had trouble getting it back once I did turn 13. I still go to Gaia sometimes, but it's really not that interesting to me. :\

The Sims 2 and 3
I really enjoy things that I can customize and control at my will, so making virtual people achieve things was pleasing to me... (If only it were that easy in real life to become a master chef, buy a huge house, or be friends with with 30 people... Though the third one's already too much work in video games XD)

Crunchyroll
Originally joined the site because they had an anime episode that I was having trouble finding elsewhere on the Internet. Abandoned my account for a long time before a friend of mine encouraged me to become active on the site. I don't have a very positive view of the site anymore (though I haven't completely quit because I'm too attached to it D: ). There's really a lot of people there, though, as well as many talented graphics-makers.

DeviantArt (which led to PHOTOGRAPHY!)
Another site that I was inactive on at first, but later became a frequent visitor. I started out only posting graphics, but then I decided to put up a few of my old vacation photos, and eventually photography became the main focus of my gallery. I'm grateful to DeviantArt because I probably wouldn't have been inspired to get into photography without it.

Youtube/Vocaloids/Nico Nico singers
A friend of mine suggested some Vocaloid songs to listen to (I believe Magnet was one of them; I forget the rest. But Magnet was the one that stood out to me; although it's not my favorite song, I know more of its lyrics than any other Vocaloid song). I knew about Vocaloids from seeing the artwork (particularly on Zerochan.net) and I'd listened to one or two songs of the Vocaloids before, but I guess those songs weren't very good since I hadn't liked Vocaloids back then. I'd thought they were too robotic-sounding and that I preferred "real" Japanese singers. Then I was made aware that there are actually members of the site Nico Nico Douga who make covers of the Vocaloid songs: basically, they sing the Vocaloid songs themselves and put it up on the Internet. They're quite talented and some have actually become professional singers. (Just see Pico, he's even got his own Vocaloid based off of himself now!) Well, you already saw my Valshe spam. I'll probably post more videos of the Nico Nico singers' music in the future.

I've had a bunch of other mini-addictions as well, to series such as Angelic Layer, Sola, Ouran High School Host Club, Pretear, Skip Beat, Durarara!!...and to video game franchises like Harvest Moon, Super Smash Bros...I wonder, will I ever break free from this cycle?

I can already feel myself being sucked into it again. I've seen two websites for the Dollars. It's a fictional group from the series Durarara!! but people have taken it upon themselves to make an actual site. There's a Dollars forum and a Dollars BBS. (If you don't know the password to get in, just ask me or whoever else you know that's a Durarara!! fan) You may realize that many of the sites I frequented in the past were sites with active forums. I've always preferred forums to chatting (chatting is too fast-paced, a bit harder to multitask), and I can't help but be attracted when I see a forum that might suit an otaku like myself.

I probably won't join the Dollars, at least not yet, because of the amount of users (not quite enough...it seems like the size is like Nutrinopets was when it was waning in activity, and I don't really want a repeat of the past). There is another prospective that looks very good to me, Vocaloid Otaku. It's a forum focused on Vocaloids and it's more active than the Dollars forum...If I join, though, I'm bound to get addicted and waste even more time on the Internet, which really is not in my best interests. It's so tempting, though! It would give me an excuse to make graphics (I could make myself an avatar with a matching signature banner). And making new accounts is always interesting for me. I'll hold back for now.

Labels: addiction, anime, crunchyroll, deviantart, dollars, durarara, forum, gaia online, internet, music, neopets, nutrinopets, otaku, pokemon, the sims, video games, vocaloid, vocaloids

I think that the song Soundless Voice is originally sung by the Vocaloid Len Kagamine, but this song is better known as being sung by Valshe, a Japanese singer who I believe debuted on Nico Nico Douga. I got into Valshe's music after hearing Soundless Voice.



I'm a big fan of her because she can sound female or male depending on how she sings. For instance, she sings the female (Luka) and male (Len) parts in Symmetric Target.



Anyways, here's more of her singing.













In Yume Sakura, Valshe does the male part (Len) while Choco does the female part (Rin).



And here is a song called Imitation Black, sung by Clear, Dasoku, and Valshe (Valshe does Len's part, she's the highest voice out of the three). It's mostly Clear that you hear in this song; I think he did a good job with this one.



Sorry, I'll stop video-spamming now (the videos weren't uploaded by me, anyhow D: ). I needed an outlet for my fangirling.

I really wish I had a larger voice range, I can only sing at medium-ish pitches (hard for me to go high or low, and I have to use a higher, quieter, weirder-sounding voice to hit higher notes; I think it's called a head voice?). And even then my voice doesn't sound like I thought it did (tried recording it with my cell phone and I am not pleased with the way my voice sounds x_x). I hope that I'll be able to expand my range by practicing at home in the shower, but somehow I get the feeling that my voice is going to be my like my height, something I wish I could change...but can't.

Labels: japan, japanese, kagamine, len kagamine, luka, luka megurine, megurine, music, nico nico douga, nicovideo, range, rin, rin kagamine, singer, songs, soundless voice, valshe, vocaloid, vocaloids, voice

It's a pretty famous musical, and I have a video tape of the film version; I watched when I was very young, but I don't remember what it was about. The only thing I do remember is two of the songs: My Favorite Things and Do-Re-Mi.

I've only got the basic tunes in my head, I don't know the lyrics by heart. But it's easy to find them on the Internet. If you weren't sure which songs I'm referring to, maybe seeing the lyrics would help...

My Favorite Things

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

Do-Re-Mi (this is just part of the song)

Doe, a deer, a female deer
Ray, a drop of golden sun
Me, a name I call myself
Far, a long, long way to run
Sew, a needle pulling thread
La, a note to follow Sew
Tea, a drink with jam and bread

But anyways, I don't intend to be talking about the musical for this entire post. I've been wondering lately about how exactly a person would judge a song. Is it the lyrics or the sound that determines how "good" it is?

In one of my classes, Writing for Publication (it's basically a class preparing you for journalism), we listened to some songs by the singer Adele, because we were practicing writing reviews. The first song we listened to was Crazy For You. Both the song and lyrics are pretty clichéd. I don't mean to single out Adele, since there are many songs and many singers who don't have creative lyrics, but it still irks me if the lyrics are unoriginal.

I suppose that could be part of the reason why I listen to mostly Japanese music. If I don't understand what they're saying, I'm not able to insult the lyrics, so I'll only concentrate on the sound. That doesn't really work anymore, though, since I do understand some words here and there, and eventually I might be able to understand what they're saying...

Maybe sometimes it's best that I don't know. I recently listened to Spice!, which is a song for Len Kagamine (a Vocaloid; don't want to make this post too long, so look it up if you want to know what Vocaloids are). I thought it was a pretty good song, and today I was searching it up on Youtube. I clicked on a video and it said that it was flagged as being inappropriate for some users. It really surprised me. I hadn't noticed anything inappropriate about it.

I did a bit of poking around, looked at the English translation of the lyrics, and saw some other videos of the song, and was pretty creeped out. I don't think I'll ever see Len the same way again (he's promiscuous! Ugh!). And talk about a weird coincidence, because in French class, we just listened to a song about a guy who was cheating on his wife. I had quite enough of songs about polygamy.

Sorry for going on so long, but I just want to mention that there is one thing about Len Kagamine that I'm looking forward to, and that is the Append. I've heard that Len is getting an append (it's like an update/addition to the voice...I'm not good at describing it), called Append Cold. Click here for a sample. (Amazing had 8,000 views already after only one day...) Even though I don't have any Vocaloid software, I do want to hear more of Len's Append.

Anyways, here's a fanart of Len's song, Spice!. (It's not drawn by me. XD)

Labels: adele, append cold, coincidence, crazy for you, do re mi, do-re-mi, japanese, len kagamine, lyrics, music, my favorite things, player, songs, sound, spice, the sound of music, vocaloid, vocaloids

Since the beginning of this school year, I've taken to studying while playing piano so that I can save time. One of my teachers has said time and time again that students shouldn't multitask, but I feel like playing piano and reading information at the same time helps me to think better. Sometimes I come up with good ideas while I'm practicing piano, so I like to keep my binders propped up on the stand that you're supposed to put the piano sheet music on. Problem is, when I put pencils on there too, they have a tendency to roll off or get knocked off.

The pencils fall into this crevice between the cover for the piano keys and the main structure of the piano. I can never get them out after they've fallen in, so I had no idea for a long time what had become of my pencils. (I assumed that at least they hadn't broken the piano, since it still seems to work fine.) It was only recently, when I happened to drop another pencil in there, that I made a bigger effort to try and get into it. I saw where the pencils had fallen, but I can't reach it because my hand is not small enough anymore (ironic, since my hand is quite small, it hasn't grown for several years, and I had thought I would be able to fit it). And we don't have anything that is both thin, flexible, and hard that we can grab the pencils with and pull them out. I wonder if they'll stay in the piano forever. Perhaps someday someone else will come to own this piano, and they'll open it up and see those pencils inside. Something that was once of not much importance could become artifacts for future generations to find.

But there are more treasures than just objects to be found in the piano. Learning to play piano is frustrating in the beginning, and it can be painful in the end too (if your hands were somehow made unable to play piano in the future). I really think, though, that there's a lot to be said for playing a musical instrument. You will have to practice a lot. You can't give up as soon as you think "I can't do this, I'm just not good at it." I think that it's good to have something to strive for, to work towards perfection. Perfection may not exist, but you can keep improving yourself and get as close to it as possible. And your goal when you're playing an instrument may not be the same as mine or someone else's. What I hope to do is play beautifully, and to show my emotions through the music. I don't know if I've reached that stage or if I ever will. But I'll keep trying. I don't want to let go of the piano. Not the way I did with the flute and cello. I can't play either of them anymore.

I don't think you ought to keep playing an instrument if you really don't enjoy it, though. There is no way to be certain that you won't eventually come to like it, but if you want to quit, go ahead. Even if you come to regret it later, it ought to be your own choice. I remember meeting a girl who said she didn't really like to play piano, but her mom made her do it. Why? Because the mother think her daughter will be embarrassed later when she's the only one amongst her friends who can't play the piano. It's fine to be proud of your musical skills as long as that isn't the reason you're playing... I really don't think you ought to play an instrument for the sake of pride. Play because you enjoy, play because other people enjoy it, play to relieve stress, play because you want to get better at it...But please, don't play just to save yourself embarrassment.

Labels: artifacts, bad habit, choice, enjoy, fall, future, giving up, ideas, learning, lost, motives, multitasking, music, pencil, piano, pride, struggle, studying, treasure

For language arts class, I needed to pick a classic to read, so I went to the library in search of a book that could be considered a classic. It is too bad that I read Little Men last trimester, since that would count as a classic. Unfortunately, the library's teen section's books had been moved elsewhere. I was easily able to locate the fiction books, but I couldn't find the classics at first. Finally, after some wandering, I found the classics section and started browsing.

I eventually decided upon The Story of My Life, written by Helen Keller. I really didn't know much about Helen Keller before now, besides that she went blind and deaf from an illness and that she was taught by a woman named Anne Sullivan. Apparently the "breakthrough" for teaching Helen words was when she felt running water on her hand and Anne Sullivan spelled out water into her hand.

One of the things that I found interesting was that Helen Keller once got into trouble for plagiarism. She had written a story which she called "The Frost King". Her friend, Mr. Anagnos, liked the story very much. Apparently someone saw the story Helen had written and remarked that it was very similar to another story called "The Frost Fairies". Helen did not remember having read that story, but apparently she had, to have written something similar. Helen said that Mr. Anagnos then believed that Helen and Ms. Sullivan had deceived him and tried to earn his favor with "The Frost King", and so in the book Helen said she was saddened to have lost his friendship.

Being creative is a pretty difficult challenge in this world. Sometimes people become famous because they were simply lucky enough to be the first to come up with an idea that becomes popular. Skill is of course still a factor in being successful (but not necessarily the biggest part; I am sorry if you are a fan of the Twilight series, but I found it rather bland for the most part) but you may still be able to get readers even if your writing is not the most sophisticated.

Sometimes people will get the same idea as you, and you have to fight to be the first to get it out there. If you are second, you'll be accused of copying them, even if you hadn't meant to. And sometimes you might accidentally write something that has actually already been put out there. Or it could be like with Helen Keller, forgetting that you had actually seen something before, and confused it with your own imagination.

I heard something mentioned on the radio as well. You also have to be careful if you're a musician. Someone on the radio said, "It either has to be completely original, or really, really good." If you have a song with similarities to other songs, you'll get attacked by people. It's pretty challenging to be creative. Keep that in mind if you think, "Oh, this is so overused," or "There's just no creativity anymore." I fear that perhaps all the good ideas are getting used up, like our Earth's resources...That would be a real shame, so I hope it is not so. But who knows?

Labels: accident, books, classic, creativity, first, forget, helen keller, ideas, inspiration, language arts, library, little men, music, originality, plagiarize, race, song, the story of my life, writing

When I was on my school trip to Yosemite National Park, I spent quite a bit of time with a classmate from 7th grade. We had been friendly then, but not particularly close - we don't eat lunch together or have any of the same classes, so the most we really did during this school year was wave when we saw each other. However, on the Yosemite trip, I was in the same hiking group as her, and since that made her in the same rotation as me, I stuck with her whenever I could. (After all, I couldn't really stay with my cabinmates what with them being in a different rotation.)

Well, one day, she asked me a question out of the blue, which she had thought up spontaneously, "Do you know what the difference between a main friend and a best friend is?" It was one of the oddest questions I'd ever been asked. I'd never heard the term "main friend" before.

The girl considered main friends to be people who you spend time with on a regular basis - your usual group of friends - while she thought of best friends to be people who you were with practically all the time. She said that she hadn't really ever had a best friend. She asked another girl the same question that she'd asked me and got pretty much the same interpretation.

I, however, had a different opinion. I agreed with what "main friends" are, but I thought "best friends" were not necessarily the people always by your side. I thought best friends were people who you could really trust, who you really felt in tune with. People who you feel you can always be yourself around and they'll still like you for it. (Which begs the question: If you put on a mask when you're around your friends, are they really your friends at all?) The girl who asked me the question says she thinks that the two people who were my cabinmates were my best friends. Are they? I hold them in high esteem and I am with them every day (well, besides the weekend). In her definition of a best friend, they are my best friends. I would like to call them my best friends in my definition too, but I'm still considering which of the friends I have had are really, really best friends.

Anyhow, something interesting went on at school the other day. There were assemblies during the day because the son of one of the teachers was visiting California for a performance. He is part of a group of musicians called the 5th House Ensemble. There are a total of 10 musicians, but we only saw 3 of them since 7 were not available to come to our school. The teacher's son plays the piano, while the two other people who came played the cello and flute. They talked about how music is connected to imagery, and they played us some pieces. Then they asked us to pick the picture that we thought best suited the music out of four options.

The options were:
- A picture of nighttime and two people dancing
- A picture of a dog wearing a little costume
- A picture of a cafe at nighttime (it was a painting by Vincent Van Gogh)
- A picture of...Well...It was rather abstract.

Unfortunately, many students thought it would be funny to pick the picture of the dog, even though it really had little relation to the music (the music was dark and brooding and intense, and perhaps the fourth option would have suited it best). But I suppose the kids should have their fun while they're young and have more chances to.

The last piece played by the 5th House Ensemble was a song that is supposed to make you feel like you're underwater. (Sadly, I don't remember the name of the composer, though I believe the part of the music we heard was called The Sea Nocturne or something along those lines) Performers of this set of music put on black masks, shine blue light on themselves (today's performers just showed an animated image of the ocean), and use their instruments in odd ways. The cello can produce a sound that is somewhat like the sound seagulls make. Glass can be placed inside of a piano and a chisel can be used to hit it, but we didn't get to see the fancy stuff with the piano because it only works with a grand piano and the school only has a stand-up kind. I'd like to try it at home, but the piano player said it wasn't a good idea, and you'd have to do it a special way anyhow to avoid damaging your piano.

Their profession is great. They can do what they love and make money off it. While I was at Yosemite, the chaperone and hiking group leader encouraged us to follow our dreams, and not take on a job that we feel like we have to, such as for money's sake. And they said that if you can get a job that you love and that pays you a lot, then that's great. (But of course there's a lot of cases in which you can't have both.)

Labels: 5th house ensemble, best friend, career, dog, dreams, friends, friendship, imagery, instrument, job, main friend, money, music, ocean, people, picture, question, school, van gogh, yosemite

This is a phrase that I learned from orchestra, which I used to take back in 6th grade. I think it was on a wall hanging that my teacher had.

Music didn't used to be a big part of my life. Sure, I'd always heard classical music and the sort of music my dad listened to (John Denver, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, and so on). And I started taking piano around the age 5 or 6. But at first it wasn't a big deal for me. It grew in importance only after time passed.

We would take music just maybe once or twice a week in elementary school. Mostly we sang, but occasionally we got to play the drums or xylophones, and I always loved that. I thought it was fun - it was something I didn't get to do often, unlike piano, which I had to practice everyday, and I was frustrated by playing piano. I had already accomplished my original reason for starting, which was playing the song Fur Elise (it's really not that hard a song, but it's pretty famous). I was not too good at controlling my temper (and I'm still having trouble in that regard...) so sometimes I would get violent and try to punch the piano or scratch it. Usually resulted in me getting hurt. One time I got mad at Bach (sorry, Bach, but I can't say I'm the biggest fan of your music) and tore part of my book. Not a good idea. Now I can't really put it back together.

I wasn't really a prominent singer either. I suppose I wasn't the worst (no matter what you think, there are always people better than you and always people worse than you, simply because we're all different, and anyways, how good your life is also depends on how you perceive it) but I wasn't the best, either. I mean, I couldn't hit certain pitches and I just really hate it when I'm trying to sing something and it sounds off tune and messed up. I suppose maybe if I practiced very seriously I could improve it, but I'm a lazy person, and anyways I wasn't really considering a career as a singer.

But in seventh grade, I started to listen to music. If you've watched anime, you've probably noticed that there are opening and ending songs, and there's also insert music you might hear during episodes. After a while I started a playlist, and that's when my exploration of music really accelerated. I didn't even listen to English songs much before, but then I started listening to music in Japanese, and even a little in English and Korean. (No French yet, I'm afraid, but maybe someday I'll try it out)

I didn't used to enjoy playing the piano so much, but now I do. I feel like it's a way to unwind at the end of the day by hearing something nice that you yourself worked hard to create (by practicing all these years). And it's a good way to relieve stress, at least for me. I think music is how people who can't necessarily put their thoughts into words express themselves.

I feel guilty because I used to be so mean to my piano. I was often frustrated by not being able to get a certain part right or not being able to play loudly enough (my hands were small - and they still are - and I didn't have much muscle strength). It seems funny now, because I hear the younger students of my piano teacher have trouble making a loud sound on one of her pianos, but I thought it was fairly easy. I suppose they'll be able to handle it when they're older.

My piano has always been there for me, ever since I first obtained it so many years ago. It's always been sitting in the same spot, patiently waiting for me to play it. If I were to tell my problems to it, there is no risk of the piano telling anyone else or being repulsed by what I say. (Though it might look a bit funny, if I were talking to an inanimate object. There are psychologists near my house, after all.) That does make me concerned, though; if I go to college and I can't live at home since it's far away, what can I do about the piano? Should I have it moved? (But if I lived in an apartment or dorm, it'd probably take up too much space.) Or do I have to give up playing the piano? The latter choice seems painful. (I don't want to have to buy a stand-up piano just for when I'm away from home, however, so I don't see what I can do about it.)

Not long ago, I read a bout called A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban. It's not a difficult book to understand, but I thought it was pretty nice. What piqued my interest was that the main character plays the organ. I've never played the organ and have always thought of it as an antiquated instrument seeing as I've only really seen it in old churches and other historical, touristy buildings. Apparently, the organ needs to be turned on and various rhythm styles (this leads me to think it is actually kind of like a keyboard...). I've never met anyone who has played the organ, so I'm really curious about it.

Labels: a crooked kind of perfect, anger management, anime, bach, best friend, book, challenge, college, expression, fur elise, instrument, moving, music, organ, piano, school, self, singing, strength, stress

Last week, in math class, we watched a video called Donald in Mathmagic Land. It's an old Disney movie featuring Donald Duck which shows how math shows up in our lives.

The movie showed how music is actually based off of math. I believe it was Pythagoras, whom the Pythagorean Theorem is named after. He found out that to go an octave higher, you simply divide the length of a string in half. Different lengths of string would create different sounds/notes (C, D, E, F, and also the sharps and flats) Pythagoras's discovery then became the basis for the instrument we know as the harp.

Also, the film showed how math is used in nature. Many flowers had five petals, designed to look like a star, or a pentagon. And snails and other animals with shells had a spiraling shape, which is also mathematical.

Even people who play pool (otherwise known as billiards) use math. There are little markings all along the perimeter of the pool table. Some experts use those markings to decide how to shoot, and it also helps them to see where the ball will go.

It's a little hard to explain it in words. If you're bored one day and have a half hour of time, I suggest you go on Youtube and search for "Donald in Mathmagic Land". It seems that the movie can be watched on Youtube. It's pretty good considering that the movie was from 1959 or so.

Enough about mathematics itself...And on to math class. My teacher said that this morning he walked by and saw some students doing PE. They were having their pull-up tests on the metal bars we have at my school. He said that at our age, we're supposed to be at our athletic prime, and so he found it funny watching people who look buff struggling and struggling to do a single pull-up. They would strain and kick their legs but they wouldn't go up. But at least there were some people who could do lots of pull-ups, which sort of made up for it. Apparently, one guy said, "I'm so proud that I have a ripped friend," since one of his friends could do 15 pull-ups.

Lately, my dad has been really busy at work. He's practically working two jobs since he's still doing his old job and kind of doing another job too. He doesn't want to be a manager anymore. I was outraged because I think that being a manager is a good job. Before, my dad didn't seem to work much and he was being paid a reasonable amount. But my dad says that now his company is really getting their money's worth out of him since he's really working hard. I'm kind of worried because he looks tired. That's why I think he should go back to being a manager, just that, like the old days, so he can be relaxed.

My mother is also having troubles with work, but a different kind. She was moved downstairs (her cubicle used to be on the second floor of her office building). Now she's right near the door, which is both convenient (shorter walk to and from her car) and also annoying. There is a vent or something above her cubicle which has air coming out of it. My mom complained about it but it still seems to be blowing (she hung up something and it moves because of the breeze). She says she can't concentrate at work because of the breeze. Unfortunately, she hasn't been successful in getting to move to a different location yet.

The last time I visited my mother's office, we were going back to the building after lunch when we saw a person smoking. It was pretty close to the door. Ironically, there was a sign on the door that said "No Smoking within 20 feet of the building" or something like that. But the person was not that far from the building. I hope the smoke from his cigarette is not blowing into the building when the door opens... After all, it's bad enough to smoke, but it's much, much worse if you smoke in a place with other people. If you made a bad decision and start smoking, it becomes your loss, but if you smoke around other people then they could get lung cancer when they've never given into peer pressure or somehow or other picked up a cigarette.

I am still finding cigarettes around the school. It's probably not from the teachers because one of my old teachers says that if you smoke, you've pretty much ruined your chances of becoming a teacher...At least at elementary school, and perhaps also middle school. Where did the cigarettes come from, then? Is it from those people who come here on the weekends? (I didn't know those older boys who play basketball smoked, but you never know. We find old Gatorade bottles and gum stuck to benches...) I find it unlikely that middle school students would be smoking, but there are always snakes in the grass...

Labels: air, billiards, building, cigarette, disney, donald in mathmagic land, job, manager, middle school, movie, music, pool, pull-ups, pythagoras, school, smoking, strength, teacher, work, youtube

Goldfish crackers. The wonderful, smiling cheesy snacks. One time I saw a package of Goldfish and the part with the ingredients even said "Made with Smiles". As crackers go, I think Goldfish are really cute.

It seems like they don't always have smiles, though, despite their claim. If I can't get enough to eat from the rest of the salad bar, which is one of the lunch lines at my school, then I add in some Goldfish. I was studying them and I realized some of them seem to be faceless! What a shame. Those Goldfish must have a rough time in life, having nothing but a blank expression.

But then again, smiles aren't always heartfelt, are they? I remember having read in books how characters would smile, but the smile wouldn't "reach their eyes". It was only a smile of the mouth. Not a true smile. It kind of reminds me of smiling for photographs. If I don't really feel like smiling, but I still have to, my face looks awkward in the picture. It would look right if a person was caught while really laughing or smiling, though. I don't really like to take pictures on purpose because of it. I think it's better to take photos of life in the moment.

Sometimes it can be hard, going through each day. I still have to be strong. Most of the time I feel like I need to keep my troubles to myself and pretend everything is okay, when really inside of me it's all turmoil. And there are times when I feel like I have to let someone know, or I'm going to explode, and I try to let it show through my emotions, body language, and such visual signs, but I don't know if anyone is able to pick up on it. Most of the time it's okay. I can still make it through each day, one after another. And I can even enjoy myself. But I wonder how long it will be before my vase, filling up with all my worries and doubts, will start to spill the water in it.

Then again, this could be just another challenge of life. Perhaps it's something I'll grow out of. Just as some people who are allergic to peanuts lose the allergy when they age, I suppose there are some problems that will cease to be problems when you experience more things, different things, significant things. I wonder if how someone acts is influenced by nature or nurture. Are you born a certain way? Can you change it? Or are things just not meant to be changed? Is it a mix of both? It's still a mystery.

Since I just mentioned allergies, I thought of something strange. I just went to my mom's friend's house yesterday. The last time I visited them was a few years ago. Back then my mom's friend's daughter hadn't gone to college yet, and their cat was in the house. Now they have a different house, and the cat is in the garage. Apparently, my mother's friend's wife and her daughter became allergic to cats. Did they change cats? Or did they develop new allergies? I think that's really strange. I thought that once you got used to something, you would be less likely to be allergic to it, not more likely.

I'm going on to some other news now. On Friday, the musical electives at my school - choir, orchestra, and band - performed. The schedule was very wacky in order to make room for the three assemblies (since there are a lot of students, it's better to have three different performances, and one third of the non-performers attend each one). I attended the first assembly, where the choir, beginning strings (orchestra), beginning band, advanced orchestra, and advanced band performed.

The advanced orchestra performed the music to the film Spirited Away, which made me really happy because I really like that music. I think two years ago I heard it performed by the advanced orchestra at that time. And I'm a fan of the Studio Ghibli films. The other music played by the advanced orchestra was Palladio, which is apparently the music to a De Beers diamond commercial. Even when I heard it, I wasn't able to think of the commercial...Was the commercial really old? Like from 1993 or something? Or do I just not watch much television? D:

Labels: allergies, cat, change, crackers, de beers, diamond, emotions, expression, goldfish, mask, music, orchestra, palladio, photography, problem, school, smile, snacks, spirited way, strength

Recently I attended the birthday party of one of my friends. It wasn't actually her birthday, but I think she decided to have it early since her birthday is during the winter break. I was looking at the light fixtures in her house and thought, "Hmm, they look kind of Japanese."

The pattern is like the one in the above picture (which is a "shoji lamp", apparently) except the light was kind of a flat rectangle, and it was on the ceiling. I did see some pictures sort of like the lamp I'm trying to describe but nothing quite right.

And then there were other lights that looked sort of like what I saw when I was in Japan. I couldn't find the right picture for that either. But I saw those kinds of lamps in my hotel rooms when I was in Japan. Perhaps there are such lamps in people's homes too. I'm curious about it, but I doubt I will get the chance to return to Japan soon. (I wanted to go again so I can see Hokkaido, and the Sapporo Snow Festival, but it's in January and I have school. Ugh, school. A lot of good cruise ship routes are only during the months when I'm in school so I can never go)

Well, my friend does not have Japanese lineage, as far as I know of, but I believe her father had been in Japan for a while, so maybe he was fond of Japanese-style things and decided to buy a house that had such features in California. That's why my friend knows that if a few letters were taken out of her name, then her name would be the Japanese word for flower. Speaking of which, I didn't think my name really had a meaning (besides famous cities being named after me - though the truth is that I'm named after the city), but then I looked it up and apparently my name is from Old English and means "wide meadow". Hmm, not bad.

While I am on the topic of Japan...Sometimes I take a look at the bonus features on anime DVDs. I've watched an interview with Yui Makino and a day in the work on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (that one featured Aya Hirano, who was Haruhi's voice and sang the opening and ending songs - note I am talking about the original anime and not the re-release). I thought that their singing sounded different from their normal speaking voices. Do people always sound different when they sing than when they are just talking? I've been curious about it ever since.

Speaking of music, I started watching an anime called Da Capo, and now I'm on the second season. (I think the name Da Capo is cool since it is a musical term) When I was watching the opening sequence I listened to the song and realized that it was strangely familiar to me. In fact, I discovered it was a song on my playlist. ("Sakurairo no Kisetsu", sung by Yozuca*, #37 on the playlist at the bottom of this page)

Also, Abba must be after me for some reason. My playlist is on shuffle and autostart so it automatically picks a random song on my playlist. Two times in a row, when seeing my playlist, I was given an Abba song. (Yes, I know, Abba is old and isn't even singing anymore nowadays, but I thought they were sort of catchy. I guess I really am an old person after all.)

I learned something about Harrison Ford recently. Harrison Ford played Han Solo in Star Wars and was Indiana in Indiana Jones. I had never known for all this time that he was an actor in Star Wars until my dad told me...I guess I'm not that knowledgeable about actors. (Refer to my post in June 2009, "definitely hunting season for drivers", there's a part about my lack of knowledge about Angelina Jolie there)

Labels: abba, cruise ship, da capo, harrison ford, haruhi suzumiya, hokkaido, indiana jones, japan, japanese, lamp, meaning, music, name, round, sapporo snow festival, shoji, star wars, sydney

My mother seems to think all the gifts that I pick out are pretty much useless. I missed some of my friends' birthdays, so I figured I should just go get Christmas gifts for them. I went shopping today and picked out a few things. I think the items were somewhat useful but my mom thinks they are impractical, especially because of the cost (though we had coupons, so it wasn't so bad). When we got home, my mother started digging through our old stuff...The main reason for that was my dad's work - they were having a "White Elephant" event. That's where the workers bring in a gift and the gifts are mixed up and handed out to people. Last year my dad brought in a singing bird (not a real bird!). It was a nice thing that we got from my dad's friend's daughters, but we never really used it, so it was better off in someone else's hands.

Anyhow, while my mom was looking through our old stuff she discovered various things we never even touched again, like goodie bags from parties. She deemed it all useless things that money is spent on. I think it's necessary, though, because for one thing, it's good for the economy (especially in these not-so-stable times), and for another thing, it would be really sad if no one got gifts, right? Even if the gifts weren't particularly helpful, or cost too much to be "worth" it, it's still good that people can give gifts to each other. I mean, a gift isn't only something material, it can also make you feel like people do care about you (unless it's a gift that was insulting or showed no thought).

I really am a packrat, though. Sometimes my family tries to clean things - especially the dining table, which gets heaped with newspapers, random scratch paper with math diagrams, food dishes, and the objects that are always there, like the napkin holder. My dad complained about how he wants to throw things out, but I always insist on keeping them, so he ends up having to stash it all elsewhere. Then when we're actually trying to find something we have trouble finding it. But throwing it away seems like a waste to me. It's better we keep our trash out of the Pacific Gyre. (That's a trash heap in the Pacific Ocean, I believe. I heard it was the size of Texas...Talk about scary.) And did you know what I heard once? The two things on Earth that are visible from Outer Space are the Great Wall of China and a garbage dump in New Jersey. Wow.

On to some other news. Today, since I was at a local mall, I stopped by at Coldstone Creamery. It is still, and will remain, my favorite ice cream store. I heard some noise, so I found the source of it...A band from an elementary school was playing Christmas music on a lower level of the mall. I realized that it could even be my elementary school because my band teacher in elementary school was there. I could recognize the music because I had played it myself, several years back. It's so weird not to be playing band anymore. I know I wouldn't be good at a wind instrument because I can't breathe that well (though I don't have asthma), but still. Sure does bring back memories of the old times.

Lately, the weather has been funny. It's quite cold - in fact, my mother said it was ten degrees colder than it usually is (well, at this time of year, in this area, I would assume). It even snowed on the nearby mountains, which was really pretty. It's been either foggy or cloudy these days and so it rains often. The fog makes me confused about the time of day since it covers up the sun. I end up getting up late some mornings because of it (not schooldays, I have to get up as normal then). I also get shocked at how dark it is early in the evening. I suppose I have to get used to it. The winter hasn't even "officially" started yet, I think. So there are still a few more months to go. I figure the summer will also be extreme to balance out the unusually cold winter. Probably it'll be roasting and no one except for those cyclists in matching suits will even try to go outside.

Maybe I should go travel somewhere in the summer, to get away from the extreme weather. What kind of place would have mild weather? I would like to go to Europe - like Barcelona, Spain, or Venice, Italy - and a cruise ship would be preferred, but we still haven't made up our minds. You always need to book these kinds of things way ahead of time so I suppose I have to make a decision so we can go somewhere in the summer. I decided to stay home this winter break, which is rare for me. But I don't want to spend money on traveling anymore because I end up getting airsick, carsick, or seasick from it. XD

Labels: band, christmas, coldstone creamery, elementary school, europe, gift, junk, mall, music, outer space, snow, summer, time, trash, travel, vacation, weather, white elephant, winter

"Homemade" movies have been coming together around me. My piano teacher and my parents want me to record my piano playing. My teacher says that I can share it with my children when I'm older (since when you get older, you can't play some songs anymore. Lack of strength? Lack of skill? I dunno). My parents just want to send my music to my relatives in China so they can ooh and ah over it. So my family has been using our new (sort of) camera to record the songs that I'm playing currently. I keep laughing or getting nervous, though, and so I don't think any of the recordings were really as good as I can play if I'm feeling good. Oh well.

And then my piano teacher actually arranged for her top students to have their songs all recorded and put together in a DVD. We would dress up - like dresses, or perhaps a suit if you're a guy - and then we'd go to her apartment, and one of her students recorded us, and then he made it into a DVD. I just got the DVD. The cover picture is nice-looking. But all the piano players and the teacher have their picture in black and white, so it made me feel like I'd already died and it was a memorial DVD. D:

One time I was reading Fruits Basket, and in one of the novels, I was looking at the fan art section in the back. (I don't know if the original Japanese manga has a fan art section, but I know the English manga does.) Actually, I think there was someone from the town where I live. It was amazing. I guess it's a small world after all.

It was the Moon Festival recently. I had forgotten until my mom told me. (But really, it's late this year. I thought it was normally in September) Some of my parents' friends came over to our house because of it. Apparently, one of the families (there were two, though one person was missing because he was sick) had another friend who owned a cat and a dog. They went over to the friend's house, and then their son (who was also at my house, but didn't do much besides play his DS) was bitten by the dog. The dog wasn't even vaccinated since their owners thought it "wasn't necessary since the dog never left the house". And the cat was crazy too, trying to attack people. I guess that's why my parents' friends are against dogs going unleashed in our town. If they already can cause trouble when they are leashed, then having them unleashed would make it worse. But I think it would be cool if there were places dogs could run free, and maybe "touch upon their wolf heritage" or whatever. I mean, I heard there are places where there are beaches for dogs to run free. It would be cool if someday I could have a dog and go there.

I was taking some photos at home and one of them came out kind of weird. I spilled some soup at dinnertime once so I decided to take pictures while I had the chance. When I had the flash on, the photo turned out kind of interesting. (Click to enlarge photo. It's really big!)


This blog has already been running for a whole year. In fact, the anniversary was only a few days ago, on September 30th. Let's toast to the future of the blog! (Unless you want it to go down. If so, I don't even know what you're doing here. o_O;; )

Labels: anniversary, black and white, blog, cat, Dogs, dvd, fanart, fruits basket, homemade, manga, moon festival, movie, music, photography, piano, record, songs, vaccination

For a while I've been looking for my old paintings from last year's summer class - in particular a small oil painting of the coastline. So I was bored and went upstairs (there's only one room which we basically stuff things into, everything is downstairs...) and walked around. I thought I saw some papers in a box and looked inside it. I discovered some of my old artwork...And especially that one that I really liked. I wonder if it's okay to scan paintings. (If so, I'll try and get my dad to scan the smallest one)

Also, I found the Ippon Demo Ninjin video! I talked about it in an earlier post. So here's the link to the video.
Ippon demo ninjin (いっぽんでもにんじん) The whales are especially funny. Once they finish counting the first time, watch the whale. He seems to be dancing on his tail and he turns from side to side, though the other objects/creatures always face towards you.

My playlist had been getting way too full, so I started clearing out songs a little bit and now I just have 194. Oftentimes we listen to music and talk about it in my painting class. (I suppose it's more relaxing than having to work in utter silence...) One of my classmates made a CD or two for the teacher and we listen to her CDs as well (I think she buys songs from iTunes? Using her brother's money XD). Anyhow, some of the artists include Jack Johnson, Cold Play, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, The Cars, John Lennon, and various others whose names I have forgotten.

Which reminds me, there's a guy in the Beetles called Ringo Starr. I always wonder why he took the name Ringo as his first name for his stage name (Richard Starkey is his real name, and he is still alive...). I mean, I thought "ringo" mean apple in Japanese...(But I don't blame him, because apples are very cute fruits.)

The weather around here has turned hot again and it's really bothering me. I end up sweating a lot but I don't want to turn on the air conditioning or the fan because I am wary of the environment...But I suppose eventually I'm going to be so frustrated I will turn on the fan. D: It used to be nice weather only a few days ago, too...But now it's really, really hot outside and I bet I'm going to start losing sleep again. :( And right when I was starting to feel "healthy"...What a shame.

Recently I went to Jamba Juice. I rode there on my bike with my dad and we used a coupon so we could get two smoothies for the price of one. There were some suspicious young people near the store. One of the guys seemed to be trying to show off muscles (if he actually had any XD) and also there was a girl who sometimes ran into the parking lot and was chased by a guy in glasses. Anyhow, I thought they were creepy (even if people near the 7-11 probably act like that) and I was pretty relieved when they left.

Labels: apple, discovery, ippon demo ninjin, jamba juice, japanese, lost and found, music, oddity, painting, people, playlist, ringo starr, sleep, smoothie, song, stage name, suspicious, weather, whale

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