Sometimes You Just Wanna...

This must be how Mark Cuban is feeling right now. $250,000 later, and still no payback. Better luck to the Mavs next year. Now Mr ex-Glove and Zo can retire peacefully. I hope this success early on in Dwayne Wade's career doesn't screw him up and turn him into another Kobe (off the court).

Anyhoo... the picture is from here. Now why didn't I think of this before? It's so cute and sadistic... and practical too. Think of the possibilities with the small Gund bears or Beanie Babies!! Too bad I don't have any stuffed animals, or USB flash drives, around here to experiment with.

Mega Japanese Drama Review (Part 1)

Since my last drama posting back in October, I've racked up numerous hours watching many more drama series... probably enough to study for GMAT even. I've slowed down my pace a lot lately, in order to give my somewhat-neglected anime collection some lovin' as well. This is part 1 of my super duper mega Japanese drama review. Or should I say, great Japanese dorama review super go! (^_~)

Sutaa no Koi -- About the unlikely love story between a commoner ("salaryman" in Japanese lingo) and a famous movie actress. It's somewhat amusing. It's still a mystery to me how someone like Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (the man who plays the commoner) is able to be in a popular group like SMAP. Okay acting; okay plot; an average drama; good for one-time viewing. My first run-in with Kyoko Hasegawa, who's not even in a lead role. ~drool~ -- (5/10)

Hana Yori Dango -- This highly-anticipated series fizzled. HYD was originally a popular shoujo manga that was first adapted as anime, then drew the attention of drama fans when it was done in live-action in a Taiwanese series called Meteor Garden. Now, Meteor Garden is known for its bad acting. I dare say that even I can do a better job than some of those people. It was the plotline that kept Meteor Garden alive. I'm not going to try to explain the insane popularity of MG in Asia.

Anyways, for the Japanese HYD drama, the story was shortened into a 9-episode series, and the actors for the F4 (Flower 4, yes the name is quite gay, but it's from comics aimed at high school-aged girls, so what'd you expect?) are pretty bad looking, except Shun Oguri, who plays Hanazawa Rui. I felt that they rushed a perfectly good story and compressed it into only 9 episodes. The casting was just horrible. It's sad to say that even I am bigger and better looking (IMHO) than the dude who plays Tsukasa Doumyouji (Jun Matsumoto). Of course, since I was following this series as it was being aired in Japan, I didn't have the advantage of using reviews to filter out bad dramas. Well, the reviews are skewed positively by crazed teenage girls making comments like, "JunMatsu is sooo cute! He can really act!" Okay, I'm going to shut up before JunMatsu fans tear me another one. -- (5/10)

Hoshi no Kinka -- This is a sad drama about how a deaf and mute (and pretty too) country girl falls in love with a doctor from the city. She goes to search for him in the city, after he fails to return as promised -- only to find out that he's suffered a memory loss-inducing head injury. One-sided silent loving in secret has never been so good. Not only can Noriko Sakai sell albums (back in the 90s anyway), she can act expressively and convincingly as well. -- (9.5/10)

To Heart -- Decent acting from Tsuyoshi Dohmoto (I liked him much better in Summer Snow), which was more than negated by the usual big-eyed, pouty-faced, air-headed, gag-inducingly-cute Kyoko Fukada. I just don't really like her, mmmkay? Oh yeah, the story is so-so. -- (5.5/10)

Kamisama, Mou Sukoushi Dake -- The title translates to "God Please Give Me More Time." With a title like that, I got suckered into watching another Kyoko Fukada drama. The story is mainly about a girl who makes one wrong choice and contracts HIV. The drama deals with heavier topics like AIDS and the moral issues of enjo kosai (compensated dating, where high school girls date older men for money [link to special feature on Time Asia]). The plot is decent, but it was frustrating to watch because the characters just kept doing stupid things and end up hurting each other and causing more pain/anguish. I felt like smacking them, a lot. And everytime I see Kyoko Fukada's airheaded character running in the show, I envision her getting hit by a truck (and thus ending the series prematurely). (¬_¬) I just don't think she's capable of playing any type of role other than the cutesy, "innocent" ones I've seen. This drama also features Takeshi Kaneshiro in the typical long-haired, brooding, I'm-a-complicated-badass-so-you-can't-understand-me role. I really liked the opening theme. It's a rock anthem called "I For You" by Luna Sea. -- (7.5/10)

My Little Chef -- Average drama about a amateur chef who can create wonderful dishes at a French restaurant. The whole drama is full "tell me how you feel and I'll concoct something extraordinary even though I am no trained at all" (think Azuma Kazuma from Yakitate Japan). Plenty of close-ups of French food. It reminds me of an unholy union between Food Channel and dorama. It was highly recommended by my coworker, who loves to eat. Go figure. -- (6/10)

Great Teacher Onizuka -- Another one of those dramas adapted from manga/anime. I first watched this series 4.5 years ago, during Thanksgiving 2001, when I was depressed about something, and it really cheered me up. I got to rewatch this for one of my drama night viewings. I love all the outrageous things that this passionate ex-hoodlum-turned-teacher does to help his problematic students to gain their respect. His quirky style is just funny as hell (doesn't the picture look like he's giving you the bird?). It's episodic at first, but the ending is very satisfying. Great inpirational drama, great comedy. The final episode had viewer rating of 35.7%, which just might be one of the highest in Japanese TV history. -- (10/10)

Heat Up, 3-2

Yeehaw. Heat up 3-2 against Mavs.

I know Dallas is favored, but I'd still like to see the Heats win. The Mavericks' roster is deep and talented. They'll have plenty more chances at the title. The Heat's time in the sun is extremely limited, so if they don't win now, who knows when they'll get back to the finals again. Here are a few reasons....

Alonzo Mourning: One of the best centers back in the 90s, before he was diagnosed with some kidney disease and forced into early retirement. He luckily had a successful transplant and was able to return. The dude's playing with one kidney, literally, and on borrowed time. Give him a ring already.

Gary Payton: Took a paycut last year to play with the Lakers, where his dream for a title collapsed. Took another paycut this year to play with the Heats for a shot at the title again. Used to stick to oppononts like the "Glove", but when you see the likes of Jason Terry blow past him these days in the Finals, Payton looks more like a spectator. Though, you still have to give him credit for coming up with some big-time geriatric shots in at the end of games 4 and 5. Give him a ring already, before the old man breaks his hip or something.

Mark Cuban: He's the owner of the Mavericks. I just don't like him that much, for some strange reason. So, I'd rather root against his team.

Shaq: Well, he's just Shaq/Diesel/Superman. This 300lb gorilla has put up enough bricks (especially at the free throw line) in his career to build the Empire State Building. What he lacks in free throw shooting skills, he makes up for in finesse. Yes, I realize that "finesse" and 300lb just don't really go together. The closest comparison would be with those dancing hippos in Dumbo. You get the idea. I like his no-look and behind-the-back passes.


Air Wade

Behind the Scenes at Disney World

I read this article earlier. I didn't know that Disney gives "behind the scene" tours of Disney World.

Link to article

I'm especially entrigued by the Epcot Seas Aqua Tour, where you get to dive in Epcot's Living Sea exhibit. I really want to dive amongst the rays, sharks, and turtles and put my license to good use.

I also find the Magic Kingdom tour fascinating. Did you know that all the trash cans in the park are connected by a network of pneumatic tubes that sucks all the waste to a centralized location, where everything is hand-sorted (to filter out personal belongings that got tossed accidentally and recyclables) before the combustibles are burned to generate 1/3 of Disney's electricity? 1/3!!

So, anyone wanna go? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Some Fun Links

Monkey Chow Diaries -- A [crazy] man decided to go on a diet consisting of only monkey food for a week. It's dirt cheap, it's nasty, and it makes your poop smell bad. Freaking hilarious. He keeps a short diary about each day, and even has daily videos on youtube. Great entertainment value.

Nerdy wedding vows -- Written with the constraint of pi and phi. Love is irrational.... har har.

Spanish Castle Optical Illusion

Love to Eat and Travel -- Some random site based in bay area that shows some of the attractions around, and even places to eat.

Earthquake!

O_o

In all my years living in California, I was never one to be bothered by earthquakes. I'm a heavy sleeper -- dead to the world and oblivious to all distrations. Heck, I even slept through the rumblings of the Northridge earthquake back in 1994 (at about 45 miles away from the epicenter of the 6.7 magnitude earthquake), when things were really rattling.

And yet I actually felt one this just now and that woke me up. I was in the middle of a dream where I was trying to find a number 2 pencil for a test when the quake occurred. I thought maybe it was a nightmare, then realized that I actually heard the rattling of the lampshade of the lamp sitting on my night stand. The lampshade was clearly not a part of my dream.

A quick visit to the US Geological Survey website just now confirmed it. It was an earthquake at 5:24AM with magnitude of 4.7. The epicenter was near Morgan Hill/Gilroy, about 30 miles away from me.

I must be getting old. Aight, back to bed (hopefully).

Utada's New Album

Utada's new album, Ultra Blue, came out today in Japan. After listening to the tracks, I feel a bit disappointed. It seems like she's still in her "experimental" mode, much like Exodus, her US CD from two years ago.

I feel that the style of Ultra Blue is just a bit... different... than what was on her three other Japanese albums. I can't say that I like it as much as her other Japanese CDs, but the music is still pretty original. I guess you can call it refreshing. Here are my favorites from the album:

Passion -- Theme song for Kingdom Hearts 2. It's practically embedded in all promo videos of KH2. I've heard it so many times that I'm starting to enjoy the song a bit.

COLORS -- It was first released as a single like 2 or 3 years ago. Catchy tune. I think it's the first song where I felt her style started to change. Probably the last great (according to my tastes) song from her.

BLUE -- Another catchy song. Much more palatable than the other new songs on this album.

Be My Last -- The single for this song came out last fall. I really like the melody, but it's a shame that her vocal talent isn't quite on par with her compositional talent.

I'm sure this CD will do well in Japan. Her legions of Japanese fans have been waiting for four years since her last album (not counting Exodus), and already bought out most of the tickets to her summer tour. Toshiba-EMI isn't likely to screw up the promotional/marketing efforts like what Island Def Jam did with Exodus in the US (or rather, what they didn't do). I still hope that she'll stop being so experimental and maybe put out something decent soon. In the mean time, I'll stick to Deep River.

Ultra Blue -- 6/10 (7, because it's Hikki, and I like COLORS)

Ratatouille > Cars

Pixar's Cars opened yesterday. As much as I have been looking forward to it, Cars just doesn't seem nearly as interesting as the earlier Pixar films. Instead, I shall look forward to their next film, called Ratatouille, due summer of 2007. It's about a Parisian mouse who only wants to eat good food. The teaser trailer looks very promising. And dang those HD quality trailers sure are drool inducing.

Link to trailers

Places to Go

I get antsy from time to time and feel like doing stuff... something... anything... So I started reading up on things happening around the bay area and places to visit. Here's a shortlist of some things that caught my attention:

Museums:

This is a limited 3-month engagement at the Legion of Honor up in SF. Only 1 of 3 total stops and includes 50-some Monets from various collections around the world. Normal admission price to Legion of Honor is $10, which gets you access to a decent museum with works from Rembrandt, Monet, El Greco, Kandinsky, and other crap that I don't care much about. They supposedly have one of the casts of Rodin's Thinker. It will cost $15 for access to the Monet exhibit as well. So it's like $5 for the Monet bonus. It's not common to have this many Monets in one place, aside from the Musee Marmottan in Paris and MFA in Boston. I like impressionist paintings... I'm so there.

Stanfurd (rhymes with turd) is so rich, they have their own fine arts museum. The Cantor Arts Center has the world's second largest Rodin collection (first being Musee Rodin in Paris). Free admission makes it a sweet deal. Go for the Rodin Gates of Hell and Burghers of Calais, and maybe stick around for the free art in the center (don't know if it's any good though, so I expect to be disappointed).

Pictures from France -- Revisited

I finally got a bunch of pictures developed from my trip to France four years (already?!?!) ago. Since I started using digital cameras, it's not often that I get around to developing any of the pictures. While putting them away in my photo album, I came across a few pictures that I especially liked, or that I thought were interesting. They sure brought back great memories. Kinda makes me want to take a trip somewhere.


I was lucky to get this shot, given that I had zero knowledge of photography at the time (not that I know anything now... only that taking good pictures takes some luck and mostly skills that I have yet to pick up). I somehow managed to deploy my tripod and get this shot, while trying to rush back to the tour bus.


Street performer. This picture somehow reminds me of one of those pictures you'd see in a camera booklet.


The whole village of St Paul de Vence was paved with this stuff.


Annecy, a postcard-esque lakeside town.


French Alps, in mid-June.


Rose Window from the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

The back story: I had a tripod with me that day and decided to take full advantage of the tripod and night-shot ability of my camera to capture the famed Rose Window in all its un-blurry glory. Security came over (luckily it was after I took this shot) and kindly informed me that tripods are not allowed inside the cathedral. I was to either put it away or go outside. Somehow I missed the sign(s) stating this restriction earlier. =T At least I didn't get kicked out and they didn't confiscate my camera or anything. I'm guessing that they do this in order to prevent visitors from taking ultra-sharp pictures.... so that they can sell sourvenirs with their own nicer pictures.


Spiral staircase inside the Arc D'Triomphe.


Probably the n-th picture taken of the "Winged Victory of Samothrace" at the Musee du Louvre. Below the statue, there were throngs of tourists (especially short Asian tourists). Luckily I was "relatively" tall and had a clear shot.

SF Conservatory of Flowers

I had the chance to take a mini trip up to SF this Saturday to visit the Conservatory of Flowers. I was feeling restless and wanted to go somewhere, and was able to find willing accomplices. =) Since none of us has been there before, we thought that it might be worthwhile to check it out, and see what it has to offer.


Beautiful day for touristy stuff. That gap used to be me, before I stopped to take this picture.


Water lily.


More water lilies.


If this plant could move, you'd be breakfast.


They claim it's a "double coconut". I think it's an elephant's behind.


The "evil brain" plant. It looks like something from a videogame that just begs for a few holy hand granades.


The vines on this tree had interesting texture.


It must suck being a butterfly in a human exhibit. Look at its tattered wings.


This one liked the wall more than flowers.


Their website claimed "hundreds" of butterflies in their exhibit. I doubt that it was in the hundreds. Maybe if you counted these little fellas.

Frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed by the lack of butterflies and varieties in their so-called exhibit.


Taking decent pictures of butterflies take some patience and luck. They don't like to stay in one place... especially with little kids running around.


Some turtle-looking plant/tree.


Group shot! Minus one, since I didn't have my tripod with me.


Pretty orchids at the exit/entrance.


"Huh huh... Is he taking a picture?"


The "we were here" shot.


Shot of SF Conservatory of Flowers


I took the chance to play with a circular polarizer filter. The sky gets a nicer blue color.