31 October 2012

my little obsessions ~ anime characters

when a child I used to say I have no favourite colour, I didn't like to choose my favourite movies or books, and choose something I prefer in general. I still believe that every thing on Earth has its good and bad points, advantages and shortcomings.
I believe the same now, but surely I can name a few types that are of greater interest for me
'lady' type
why I call this type 'lady' is that 'twas called like this on a website themed 'learning Japanese via anime and manga'. there were some 8 or 10 types of characters who 'uttered' phrases in particular 'situations'. for example, greeting a person would be polite 'hello' for a girl, 'welcome back, master' for a butler, some exclamation for a delinquent or an archaic expression for a samurai. 'lady' was an elegant girl looking like a real lady from a rich family, who used polite expressions with not-so-polite grammar forms indicating her sense of supremacy. whom I remembered as soon as I got to know this type was Kanzaki Sumire from 'Sakura Wars'. I wonder if Tomizawa-sama is especially good at voicing 'lady' type? though Hino Rei isn't the lady as she was depicted on the website, and didn't speak like one, I believe she was of this type, too
'lady' type, another one
I would think that 'tis my subjective opinion if not for the fact that my friend agreed with me. apart from 'ladies' who are truly ladies, and 'ladies' who behave with the same arrogance, there are also young girls who can be extremely polite and seem to be very kind, but have something in them that makes me think they have 'second nature'. sometimes I would use words like 'varmint', 'guileful' and 'canny' to describe them - better to say, mixture of these, but creating a positive meaning as the result. such is Alicia from 'Aria', for example. close to her is Todoroki from 'Working' who is far from being cunning, but behaves similarly. if this can tell you anything, I would name interjections like 'ara-ara' of Alicia's and other exclamations as their signature
to be continued

аниме-воспитание. часть 1 ~ это дело нелегкое

не было печали... теперь первоочередная задача - откопать захватывающее, увлекательное аниме, которое отобьет у 12-летнего ребенка желание смотреть "тетрадь смерти" или "дворецкого" только потому, что они до сих пор слишком популярны. с другой стороны, концепция "не советовать то, что сам не смотрел" вынуждает либо хорошо копаться в просмотренном, либо задуматься о просмотре lost universe

morning sky

I don't know if the picture conveys it, but the morning sky today is extremely beautiful

переводческие каверзности. часть первая ~ не суй вилку в розетку при детях, плохому научишь...

такое ощущение, что я скоро буду ходячий справочник всяких "нужностей". сегодня вот опытным путем выяснилось, что и японцы не дураки, свое знакомство с половой системой не скрывают и части электрической цепи, то бишь части разъема, называют аналогично нашим "маме" и "папе". только вот сразу видно, где мораль выше. это у нас электрический сэкас возможен только между членами семьи, пускай и семьи штепсельно-розеточной, а в Японии - пожалуйста, разврат и бесчинства, ибо они эти вещи кличут オス "самец" и メス "самка". ведь главное что? главное, чтобы стрела крана при этом работала, вот.

29 October 2012

my little obsessions

I wonder if this can be called 'moe'...
when I was small I claimed to like flowers like roses or lilies, which seemed very beautiful to me... 'tis not that I dislike them now, but I came to understand one thing. there is certain grace in any flower. 'tis also great when there are a lot of flowers together - this is why I prefer large bouquets of small flowers to a single rose
chrysanthemums were the flowers I like lest of all, together with asters and other flowers with lots of small petals. asters may not have changed their impression on me too much, but chrysanthemums I think to be really elegant. 'tis probably Japanese traditional prints what influenced my opinion, but whatever it was, I have noticed in chrysanthemums how the petals have that nice curve near their tips. isn't it admirable?

28 October 2012

my humble opinion on heidi.

heidi. is a very special band to me. I spent 2 or 3 weeks constantly listening to them when in Osaka - while dressing up and putting on makeup in the morning, while going to school, while having a walk in the streets, while shopping somewhere, while sitting in a train, while going anywhere else. I listened to their songs again in winter when I suddenly felt I missed their sound. I listened to them again this summer, exactly a year since I discovered them - which a very strange thing for me, as I usually avoid listening to the same artist during the same time of the year. I listened to them again in September when they released a new album. then I reviewed my heidi. playlist and added several songs both from the new album and from the ones I already knew, making it almost twice longer (25 songs versus 13), and being really surprised at how I failed to appreciate several their earlier songs considering them too plain
and I don't get bored with them. there were cases when I listened to a playlist created some time ago and just clicked 'next' and 'next', never listening any song to the end. sometimes I dropped an old playlist in the middle, or listened to only 1 song I wanted. heidi. is different. I return to them again and again. and probably will do this for a while
after I liked heidi. so much, I thought I might study their genre affiliation and search for similar artists. I  downloaded nagoya kei. I tried recommendations of jpopsuki system, last.fm and musicwn.com. I found only 1 band who released only several songs which have the sound relatively comparable to heidi.'s throughout all their discography. what the only conclusion I might draw from this fact? heidi. has its unique style which genre determines only partially
therefore, I see no meaning in describing every song like I did previously. this is what I put into my playlist
  • hakuchuumu
  • CLOVER
  • hakana hana
  • Fly
  • Shinda sekai
  • Last Piece
  • Sentimental
  • Natsu Ichizu
  • synchro
  • meiteki
  • mirai no hate
  • Heaven
  • KODAMA
  • mugen loop
  • =
  • Sora no Tenjouga
  • Kodou
  • Gekkou Showtime
  • Chaser
  • SIXTH SENSE
  • twilight town
  • another fish
  • landscape
  • kumorizora ni wa renmoyou
  • kanata
I would divide all the songs I like into 3 groups. the first one includes those songs that make people describe heidi. as nagoya kei - dark ones, with dark melody and lyrics, such as 'shinda sekai', 'kodou' or 'mirai no hate' - the former even has the theme in its title. in the second group I would put their very opposite - there aren't a lot of them, light songs, calmer than the usual ones, even tender, I daresay. they are 'sora no tenjouga' and 'kumorizora...', and also 'ao no sekai' which isn't among my favourites, though. and the last group are those I love most, those that strike my mind and make me unable to stand still. what is really unusual, most bands start as inexperienced indies of bad quality and I usually skip their first albums, but with time they polish their style and skills and become really memorable and unique. this happened, for example, with 'Art-School'. heidi.'s start was much better. 'hakuchuumu' is from their second single, 'tis the 4th song they released, but 'tis the song that I love most and no later song of theirs can beat it, there only are some that equal. I would underline 'Last Piece', 'Heaven', and 'another fish' 
probably 'twould make some sense to make a special list of pieces that don't belong to the groups described, such as 'hakana hana', '=' - an interesting instrumental, and 'twilight town', which are very, very stylish

conclusion
I love them... I wonder if I this feeling will change?
the worst thing is that you still hope. you tell everyone you're a realist, you persuade yourself you are, you analyze, you make conclusions, you face the reality, you know exactly what the true reasons, factors and consequences are, and you decide how to deal with them - calm, composed and cold-blooded
but somewhere inside you the hope is still alive, even if you pretend it died long ago

humankind in progress

just a pic I found in my report about artificial intellect
I couldn't find the same image in the web that would be as big as mine, so I am uploading this. the problem is, most similar pictures don't have the last figure in the right, which is the most... hm... interesting

my humble opinon on Suga Shikao

after watching Tegamibachi opening several times I decided that Suga Shikao creates unusual and stylish music. after reading about him in jpopsuki and seeing tag 'jazz' I decided this is exactly what I was looking for - something cheerful, with jazzy sound, but not the classic interpretation of it
well yes, there are some jazz influences in his works. the problem is... I didn't like even a single piece of his. not even one song. Tegamibachi opening theme is good, but only as an opening. also, 'planetarium' has a nice instrumental part in it, and 'real face', being absolutely unlike the usual style of the artist, sounds nice. the other songs left absolutely no impression. they are not interesting enough to listen to them attentively, and they don't create enough mood for me to use them as 'audiobackground' while I do some work. they are just... boring. if these are the theme songs for 'XXXholic', then I have another reason to abandon the idea of watching it
going to delete the whole folder. I wonder, why 'hajimari no hi' is SO MUCH BETTER than anything else in Suga Shikao's works?

Соционические мысли. Часть какая-то там...

При первом прочтении описаний ТИМов, особенно когда они проанализированы по функциям или описаны с использованием  множества примеров, каждый из них в голове так ярко запечатлевается, что кажется - уж ни с кем не перепутаешь. У каждого есть свои сильные стороны, которые нужны и полезны обществу, помогают ему в повседневной жизни, проявляются особенно заметно в критической ситуации и очень приятны его окружению. Есть и недостатки - вот же они, все описаны, их только нужно преодолеть, и будет тебе идеальный человек - отличник, спортсмен, чемпион (или как там?). А ходит вокруг...
Куча посредственностей, безликих и нетипируемых, объясняемых соционическими масками и прочими обстоятельствами, живущих в плавном, ровном течении времени - именно его ведь и стоит винить в том, что ТИМов у них вроде бы и нет.
Самое ужасное - когда начинаешь задумываться о себе. Вот он я, протипированный, как минимум, самим собой и друзьями, а может быть - коллективом экспертов. Все сильные и слабые стороны налицо, все признаки и характерные особенности известны... И все-таки... не принадлежу ли я все к той же массе маскирующихся, универсальных, никаких?

translation! Kiriya-sama's interview about her First Concert

it started when I was searching for a big 'Amore e Musica' poster to use as my Google Calendar background. the light blue and white colours used in it look very soothing to me. the necessary image being only in 2 variants among the search result, I noticed a few photos yet unknown to me. they were obviously post-graduate ones, but I had never seen them before, which meant some new events happened and I knew nothing of the sort and new articles and interviews appeared
suddenly all my doubts vanished, and the feeling of being absolutely tired and unable to do anything yielded to the urge to translate. a hundred and something of translation pages of official work and some Takarazuka-related articles I have translated recently may seem too unimpressive to enable me to say I have gained a huge experience, but certainly I have made some progress which made translating this time considerably easier than before. probably, 'tis the very process of translating that made me feel so cosy - seeing Kiriya-sama's smiling face, reading the same kind of articles, using the same range of vocabulary was something that helped me to understand there hasn't really been THAT much of a change, compared with the time before Kiriya-sama's graduation or the period right after that. the article isn't too small, but I coped with the task at only 2 laps, though with a forced pause of 3 days between. this is good. this is somewhat... ensuring... 
there are a few things I failed to understand - such as the 'first challenge' for Kiriya-sama, as if 'twere her first concert in life...

here 'tis, the original article
The former Takarazuka Revue  Moon Troupe Top Star Kiriya Hiromu's First Concert 'Amore e Musica - Dream Is Endless...' raised the curtain on October, 12 (Fri). We asked her about her feelings during the rehearsal.
Kiriya Hiromu, who mastered all the three arts necessary for a performer - singing, dancing and acting, - graduated from Takarazuka Revue in April. 'It has been 5 months since then, but I don't feel like it has been that long, maybe, because of my busy daily life. I realised that I had graduated only after my new life in Tokyo started. Now I have mixed feelings - on one hand, I am almost itching to perform on stage, but on the other hand, I am a little scared.'
It isn't a rare thing for a Takarasienne to hold concerts, but for Kiriya this will be the first challenge. 'This has been my cherished desire for a long time, and I am very happy that I am able to make it come true. I want to show this feeling on the stage.' she says. 'Amore e Musica' means 'Love and Music' in Italian. After listening to a song of the same name by Russell Watson, an English tenor, deeply impressed Kiriya chose the phrase for the concert title, and she explains her feelings - 'I want to convey the splendour of music and of the love I have received from all the spectators.'
It was also the original idea of Kiriya that the orchestra should play live on stage. Considering other songs than 'Amore e Musica' in the programme Kiriya says 'I want to sing songs that the audience would know very well,' and she included into the concert numbers from the musicals she played in and original Takarazuka songs. Moreover, our interest in the concert cannot cease after her statement - 'I also challenge myself with songs that give the feeling like - what if I try to sing this?'
Sakai Sumio, who is responsible for the concert organisation and directing, music supervisors Yoshida Yuko and Kuratomi Shin'ichi, choreographers ANJU (Anju Mira) and AYAKO, and the others, can be called an 'All Takarazuka' staff, which is promising. 'Rather than suddenly showing a new image, I wanted to cherish my origin which is the Kiriya who owes everything to Takarazuka and thus to move forward. This is why I asked for help those people who already know me. I think, the audience who became my fans when I was a male role player will be able to enjoy the concert without any sense of discomfort.'
On the other hand, it is likely to be a fresh spectacle for the audience to see 4 male dancers also participating in the concert. 'When we hold hands, I sometimes turn my hand palm up and make other mistakes which are a pattern that a person with a male role player experience can easily slip into. This time there is also a scene when I am lifted, but still I feel more at ease when it is me who lifts someone.' Kiriya says, her smiling face showing no worries.
Aiming for the future of an actress, she will reconsider the artistic skills she has been fostering up until now. The concert seems to become a performance that reflects the natural Kiriya she is now. Kiriya Hiromu First Concert 'Amore e Musica ~ Dream is Endless' will take place in Aoyama Theatre from October 12 (Fri) to 14 (Sun).

26 October 2012

тихо сам с собою я веду беседу ~ больше на паре заняться было нечем

после того как Нюта ушла с пары, я продолжила играть в крестики-нолики против себя самой. вообще-то я считаю это бредом - играть в шахматы или в любую другую игру в одиночку, какой бы сложной она ни была. оказалось, это занятие гораздо веселее, чем я думала. я три раза выиграла у себя, причем два из них - ноликами, а крестиками - только один. хорошо быть придурком - элемент неожиданности сохраняется, даже если твой противник - ты сам

22 October 2012

my little thoughts ~ translating from the beginning to the end... is it that hard?

yesterday I was tired and sleepy, but I had to make my English language home task which was to translate two paragraphs from a speech in English into Russian so that it would be absolutely grammatically-lexically-etc. correct. even though I was not in my best condition, I made it to the end and the result was almost twice as long as the original text. I wasn't frustrated, nevertheless. I knew I made a readable equivalent which, I hope, was as far from loan translation as it could be in the whole

when I just started watching anime with subtitles, those were of course in Russian and any would do for me, as I was still too inexperienced in translating from Japanese to judge them fully. with time I got to understand what characters say and the first object of my objections (haha, salt is salty) were the honorifics left untranslated. switching to English subtitles enabled me to choose, as the most popular things were and are usually translated by at least 2 groups. at first I thought 'what a waste', as my sense of 'justice' made me feel that translation-and-subtitles-making forces are allocated in an unfair way, because while several subtitles projects for one and the same anime are in process other worthy things are overshadowed
honorifics being the first and the main criteria of me judging which subtitles to leave and which to delete, I started paying attention to other things. in 'Dantalian' only 1 phrase made me change my mind as 'twas translated fully and comprehensively in only 1 variant out of 3 or 4 I downloaded, and then I noticed some other moments were also better in that version. I already imagined that in order to choose the best subtitles for me I need to compare several variants of translation of one moment where the original text contains at least some difficulty or interesting point which shouldn't be ignored in the translation
however, I see now this criteria is too much for the modern translators. sitting here and complaining may seem mean of me while I do no subtitles myself, but at least the process of translation is well-known to me, and I do have my own principles. one of them is, and I believe, would be good for other translators, that the translator's pride and knowledge should be directed to perfecting the translation, but never become the means of showing off
therefore, my new principle of choosing the best subtitles for me is much simpler than the previous ones. 'tis all words that have translatable meaning being translated. 'onii-san' or 'baka' written in romaji in English subtitles piss me off. proper names that obviously MUST be translated but are translated only once in a special note inside the subtitles or in a separate .txt file - piss me off. translating the word using the only meaning you know when 'tis obviously another word, simply being an homonym, or a word that sounds similarly - pisses me off. translating the sentence hearing only half of the words and imagining the others as you like, when the meaning is absolutely the opposite - pisses me off
blog posts and subtitles are different. one can entertain him-/herself as much as he/she wants in private life, like I do, using a few Japanese words I like, but subtitles are made for all people, not for those who know a dozen of widespread words in Japanese and are happy every time they recognise them, never bothering themselves with the idea to sit down and just learn the Japanese language they claim to like so much
I remember 3 years ago I wrote in my former blog - I don't understand 'Sengoku era' or 'miss Kaoru'! I want 'Sengoku Jidai' and 'Kaoru-dono'!
I was exactly at the stage that every learner of a foreign language passes, when 'the more foreign words - the better' seems to be the best thing. silly, foolish, little-girl-ish me

21 October 2012

tremendous birthday party

'tis funny how people who spend so much time with you fail to notice that there are things you like or dislike, never remember what they heard dozens of time, and still claim to know you better than you know yourself
we are complete strangers, after all

19 October 2012

'tis hard

...5 minutes after the performance of the new Moon Troupe started, one of the spectators came out to the hall. when asked why, she said - 'I am going home, because it is hard to watch Moon Troupe without Mrs Kiriya!' 

having a friend who works in Takarazuka doesn't mean I watch every singe performance for free or get behind the curtains or know all the rumours about the members. it only means I know some stories of general character about what is going inside. this story is what she told me in her last e-mail
and this made me finally admit what I have already started to shape. I used a lot of words and wrote huge posts about how I felt, but this fits better
辛い
'tis hard


17 October 2012

Takarazuka monthly calendars. Oct 2012 ~ happy birthday to me

if I were in any mood for joking I would say that these wallpapers are a present for my birthday but since this is simply bad taste and not even a slightest bit funny... just posting them
let me be honest. the B one is ridiculous. I can't see why they needed to put Yuzuki-sama and Ranju-sama together...

my humble opinion on Kiriya-sama's first concert 'Amore e Musica'. Quatre Reves shopping. thoughts on the new Moon Troupe

it took me a few moments to realise I was not in Takarazuka. then it took me a few minutes to understand I was watching Kiriya-sama live, on the stage. it also took me several numbers to decide whether I like it or still cannot accept it. the full comprehension of what was going on came probably when the first set of numbers finished and a short break with talk session started. 'the same Kiriya-sama, the same gestures and movements, the same walk, and of course the same voice. 'tis her that I see...' I thought. and this made me comfortable and calm
I don't think there is any need for comprehensive analysis here. to start with, I would never be able to say anything bad about the concert. from general perspective, on the other hand, there was nothing I could be dissatisfied with
the concert consisted of several blocks - opening, love and music, prayer, passion, the native place of heart, memorable musicals, and songs of love - dream is endless
well, an opening is an opening. I would rather include the title song - 'Amore e Musica' - in the opening also, but 'tis in the section 'love and music', the rest of it given for 'standard jazz numbers'
'prayer' is probably my favourite, because Kiriya-sama's perfect taste and sense of music made two masterpieces out of famous songs - 'Ave Maria' and 'Nella Fantasia', both in original arrangement
'passion' speaks for itself and I only need to add that this section included dancing also which was unbelievably hot... >___<
'the native place of heart' and 'memorable musicals' are actually a Takarazuka corner full of great hits which I couldn't listen to without tears. I wasn't able to see SP or Studio 54 live, but I heard my favourite songs at least. even though 'twas not in Takarazuka...
the last part consists of great hits like 'Caruso' which was absolutely beautifully performed by Kiriya-sama
and of course 'My Way' is the best. I am not sure whether Kiriya-sama's voice got better after much singing (same as mine, haha), or she was previously saving energy to make a gorgeous finale, or 'twas my imagination, but her last notes were marvellously strong and full of sound
if I am not mistaken, there were 3 'encores'. each time I was already saying goodbye to her, but the curtain raised again and again. I wiped my tears with a tissue after 'My Way' and never cried during the rest, wanting to carve in my memory everything I saw. my eyes were still a bit red, however, when I looked at myself in the mirror in the toilet several minutes later. I didn't mind it
when we came to Quatre Reves on Saturday I realised one thing. even though my support to Takarazuka and Moon Troupe hasn't vanished, my heart doesn't belong to it anymore. my original intention was to buy only 3 DVDs of Kiriya-sama there, but when I looked into my purse I understood I could afford something else. after doing 2 or 3 circles round the shop I took a mirror and 'Algiers no Otoko' Le Cinq. I didn't want Ryuu-sama's Top Star goods, though I have to admit there was a cute pendant, not the one with a smiley. I didn't want any calendars, though they were advertised here and there, and I didn't want any stills. I didn't buy Kageki with Asumi-sama on the cover, and I didn't buy RomiJuri or Spring Snow programme. the only thing I regret not buying is the 'Takarazuka Oldies' CD, but I decided not to search for it. the new Moon is something I will follow closely and probably sympathize with, but 'tis no longer my obsession. no longer my 'native place of heart'

15 October 2012

My trip to Tokyo. Part 2 ~ the great October. day 4th

Monday, the 15th of October

9.40
we're already packed and leave the hotel. bye-bye

11.13
now we have a bit more than 1 hour - and a lot of money - to spend on Ameyoko

12.27
出発! Keisei main line limited express doors are closing

13.59
eating tasty icecream from a vending machine in Narita airport

14.45
still have time and money to spend. the last shopping attempt in Japan

15.15
hurrying to the gate already, no time for duty free >___<

20.55
landed in VVO. we're back to the country where I need to zip my handbag properly

14 October 2012

My trip to Tokyo. Part 2 ~ the great October. day 3rd

Sunday, the 14th of October

12.00
Outside Aoyama Theatre
Ok, I am already in the line, so I will buy something to drink inside the theatre

12.20
In the Theatre
A small pack of juice for 300 yen??? Wow...

12.25
Where is the Silver Bridge? Oh... I am in Aoyama Theatre

12.30
The curtain is raising... She is so beautiful...
'Ave Maria' in ethnic arrangement and a tango made of 'Aranjues con tu Amor'. Huh, 'tis Kiriya-sama. There couldn't be no surprises in the concert
Takarazuka corner. Crying several times
A short break - Kiriya-sama talking with the supporting vocalists. 'While in Takarazuka, I have been lifting many different people, but today I was lifted. As you can see, I am a woman!' or '酒井先生は僕に...もう、卒業してるのに!また自分のことを「ぼく」って...酒井先生はワタクシに...' The audience cannot stop laughing. This is why I love her
On 'Kitsch' she went to the audience! And the projectors from the backstage almost blind me
Several songs performed in duo with one of the supporting vocalists. Their voices mix so beautifully. It could be a duo with Aono-sama... no, I mean, I just imagine...
'Too Darn Hot' performed by the three girls of the back vocal and 4 dancer guys. This is cool. Kiriya-sama, perfect choice. You couldn't let your supporting artists be bad... Though no one of them can ever be compared with you

14.15
I have just began to relish the show, but 'tis already 'My Way' which means the concert comes to its end. Blue and gold sparkles fall down on Kiriya-sama. 'In my last Takarazuka performance I was only given the last line, but today I sang it all, I am happy!'

14.20
Three curtain calls. Title song performed again. Unforgettable

14.30
walking slowly away from the theatre. did it really happen?

15.00
it began raining. we don't have an umbrella. guess I will use my scarf to cover my head... somehow, eating jagariko under the roof of the building we were passing by when we felt the raindrops, is really nice

16.00
entering Yoyogi park. mohawk-coiffured guys are dancing to 90s jrock just right to the entrance. takoyaki set of 8 balls cost only 500 yen. adults, children, teenagers play different games. two girls are playing harp, and 3 guys are doing robo-dance only 3 metres from them. fountains, a small wooden bridge, rose garden. huge soap bubbles. a team of maid- and lolita-dressed girls are are practising their dance, maybe for some concert or party in school or university?

18.00
Takeshita street is bright though the evening is already dark. cheap and cute clothes everywhere!

21.00
creapes! mine is with kiwi and cheese cream, and U-chan bought a mix one with different fruits and berries

22.00
I am glad the Shimadaya supermarket is open until 11 in the evening. unexpectedly found shrimp tempura. today's supper will be 'musubi', though. we bought it in Shibuya after I spotted the shop while passing by

13 October 2012

My trip to Tokyo. Part 2 ~ the great October. day 2nd

Saturday, the 13th of October

12.00
Minamisenju
'tis very warm outside. I don't even need my jacket now

12.30
access to Tokyo International Forum is restricted now
but we can have a nice walk in Yuurakuchou area instead

13.00
Quatre Reves
Kiriya-sama's DVDs are here!!! Ohhh, the trip was worth of all the trouble...

14.00
Ginza
'tis so lively and the weather is so nice! U-chan, thank you for proposing to go here!

15.05
The clock on the Wako main building stroke 3.  The chime was cute! I didn't know there would be any sound...

16.00
Nippon terebi building
The huge clock machine reminds me of Howl's moving castle greatly! a woman passing by said to her companion - アニメに出るみたい. I take it she meant 'they look as if they appeared in an anime'

16.15
We are actually on the second level, not on the ground. The floor here is wooden or made of stone, and there are a few wooden and stone benches. The sun is bright. A man walked by us and a cat followed him. He talked to her (it just seems to me 'twas she)

16.20
The man is passing by again. The cat follows him. As if they were having a walk together

16.25
The man and the cat are making the third circle around the ground. They are really having a walk. Like friends. They are cute

17.05
Kaminakazato
Kyu-Furukawa garden is closed already. This is strange... I was sure they work until 6 or 7 in the evening...

17.50
Ikebukuro
Finding Sunshine City is not as easy as it seems...

18.00
Sunshine City
There are so many shops... With so many great things...

18.10
Sunshine Aquarium
Wow! 'tis smaller than Kaiyuukan of course, but the atmosphere is great!

19.00
Blue, then green or red or violet... Water drops falling down with different speed, rhythm and height. We eat M&Ms and watch the little fountain show

19.30
The observation desk is on the 60th floor and the elevator goes there in approx 60 seconds. Maximum speed of 600 metres per minute. My ears ache

19.40
Though there is no open air balcony, we can enjoy the view through the window glass. Sky Tree is beautiful from this great distance

20.10
Sunshine City
Yellow tights. I don't know what to wear it with, but I asked U-chan to buy it to me for my birthday...

20.20
Found a shop with Ghibli goods! Marina's wish will be fulfilled!

20.40
Minamisenju
I can't feel my feet. Hope I will be able to walk tomorrow...

12 October 2012

My trip to Tokyo. Part 2 ~ the great October. day 1st

Friday, the 12th of October
Local time

12.30
Vladivostok
Registration completed

13.00
Passport control passed. Almost an hour and a half to wait
this is the new Vladivostok International Airport. great. first I see that the cafe sign obstructs the view of the 3rd gate sign. 'tis visible when you stand close
but absolutely unnoticed when you are far
and the other great thing is the toilet. WC pan is there, and toilet paper, too, but don't imagine you would be able to position your buttocks comfortably because the paper holder is HUGE and it GETS IN THE WAY

14.55
we're in the air

15.30
this is all we get for lunch in the plane. huh, Aeroflot is obviously experiencing hard times. and the back of the seat in front of me is broken

14.30
Narita airport
We landed...

15.00
...but the way to the building itself is long!

15.34
JR
There are some problems on the railway. Our train is delayed... We needn't have run so fast

16.50
Because of the same problems we have to change for a local train...

17.50
Juyoh hotel
...and though we left the airport half an hour earlier than we intended, we came to the hotel only 10 minutes before the estimated time


19.00
Kuma-san ramen
Real ramen! The soy sauce type

20.00
Asakusa-?-cho-me
We can see Sky Tree from here... Unexpected

20.30
A friendly old man in a local supermarket talked to us and showed us the way. I like it when we meet kind Japanese people

21.00
AKU-SOKU-ZAN - and your new haircut is ready!

21.30
local Banxy? ^.^

22.00
heeey, this is what we wear in Japanese-style inns! ^___^

09 October 2012

this is not funny again ~ unlucky me

one of the worst things that can happen when you search for a particular artist is that he/she/they have the same name (or stage name) as somebody else
finally I found a website with previews of the songs of Rinko and of course, she's not the Rinko I want
the voice I love is from 'Barbarian on the Groove' album 'Dragon Valley - Misterio'

my mascara experience. part 1 ~ unexpected, huh?

'how is your new mascara?' girls use to ask each other. and nobody asks how your old one is. meanwhile, the older the mascara, the easier 'tis to see whether 'tis worth of what is costs or not. newly bought mascara, still liquid enough and the brush being in complete order, cannot tell you anything. old mascara, multiplied by hours of wearing it, having it windswept and/or deformed by sunglasses - this is the true thing to look at
what I want to do now is to make a compilation of different kinds of mascara I use. currently there are 3 of them, but the list will be prolonged. probably, not without help of my friends who would lend me their mascara ^^` as I don't have some types I want to describe anymore

Kanebo Coffret d'Or long power mascara, waterproof, brown, length
price - approx 3000 yen
at first I was aiming at another Coffret mascara, also brown, but a darker one. this one is BR-25 while I wanted 26. unfortunately, there wasn't any off-the-shelf, so I was offered this one. since 'twas brown I decided to risk and bought it, though the price was considerable...
if you're both lucky and accurate you can get pretty good thin lashes. I admit I made a poor photo, but the lashes in the left corner (of the eye) are really long. because of the brown shadows 'tis hard to see, but they are
I mean, really thin. the shape is something like this
but if you're not....


there are lots of 'problematic' places. the lashes go to different directions, the tips are disgustingly 'fat', instead of smooth curves there are either straight lines or... indescribable shapes...

advantages of the mascara - waterproof. you can wear it in rainy days
disadvantages - waterproof. removing it will cost you a lot - I mean, both your efforts and your poor eyes... well, now that mine is almost half a year, I need to special makeup removers, 'tis enough to wash my face with facial wash two times

Pupa Diva's Lashes, black, volume
price - I think it cost me 300 roubles, or a little more. pretty cheap, I believe
this was the last cheap mascara I bought. as no length is promised, there is no length. and though volume is promised, there is no volume either... >___<
this is the best out of what I got 
 it looks good from a distance, but looking closely... upper lashes short, lower lashes crooked, to say nothing of the 'abundance' which is usually the effect expected from a 'volume' type
and the bad variant is this one
 in the morning I thought 'twas satisfactory, but in the end I disliked it greatly. for me when a mascara makes lashes group into triangles 'tis is really annoying
to be continued...

05 October 2012

links. Tudou Tsukigumi 'Takarazuka Oldies'

first is mamotte agetai by Manaki
this is like a new side of her to me. I loved her voice from the very beginning, but I thought she is always just a small cute girl and sings the same way. now I see I was wrong. she is sweet but not a luscious pretty-pretty. if she is like this, probably she will really be a strong musumeyaku of Moon Troupe...
you can easily see - or better to say, hear - that not any cover on a good song will be good... what I love in Takarazuka covers is that they never spoil the original even if the vocalist and arrangement is completely different
cover by some unknown to me cute girls
cover by Onitsuka Chihiro which I don't consider a very good one, but it shows respect to the original, and at the same time sounds like another song and has a lot of Onitsuka's style in it

original Yuumin's version

katte ni shiyagare by Ryuu
though her version is different from the original, I believe this was the right choice for Ryuu's voice. compare if you like 

Sawada Kenji's version

04 October 2012

не учите меня жить, лучше помогите материально

в то время, которое моя подруга называет "годами бурной молодости", я очень любила всякие тесты. часть этой любви сохранилась и сейчас. иногда попадаются действительно интересные и удивительные вещи, а иногда...
обожаю тесты, в которых тебе задают вопрос "сколько у тебя детей?", ты выбираешь вариант "более четырех" и в качестве результата получаешь: "ты многодетная мать!"
вот и здесь - на вопрос "как вы себя чувствуете, когда просыпаетесь?" ткнула в картинку с зевающей девушкой и на выходе читаю - "утром вы с большим трудом отрываете голову от подушки". ну или на вопрос "что вы хотите изменить в себе" выбрала картинку с белым халатом и стетоскопом - вуаля, "возможно вам не очень понравится эта идея, но было бы хорошо начать вести более активный образ жизни". спасибо кэп!

вот эта схемка конечно интересная
с интроверсией они попали - тут вообще трудно промахнуться, если я ни разу не выбирала картинки с компанией друзей или шумной вечеринкой. с сохранением энергии более-менее - вообще-то этот признак как раз и зависит от -вертности, наскока я зна. с реализмом уже интереснее. как-то раз один наш преподаватель начал фразу "интернет в России все еще относительно..." и хотел добавить "свободный", но я успела вставить "дорогой", на что он сказал мне, что я практичная. ну, видимо я практичный и реалистичный первоквадровый интуит, как-то так
больше всего повеселило, что на диаграмме надпись "стакан наполовину пуст", что подтверждает мой негативизм, но буквально через пару минут... "вы всегда сосредоточены и уравновешены, даже когда дело касается успеха. Ваш стакан наполовину полон, и вы будете только рады наполнить его доверху!" о как. я противоречивая личность, я всегда это знала
ну и в самом конце
вот. похоже, это очень прогрессивная и нестандартная система. сделают вас всех счастливыми. а кто не захочет - того в бараний рог свернут