Always wanted to learn Japanese...

Ok, here it is...the easiest way to learn the Japanese alphabet. Project LRNJ has created a "retro-style rpg" in order to teach the basic Hiragana (Japanese alphabet). It is retro so it kinda suck in graphics, but who cares because it teaches you very quickly to recognize the characters. In fact, your life depends on it in this game.

Review: Memoirs of a Geisha

I promised a review of Memoirs of a Geisha and here it is. This film is a beautiful and emotional portrayal of a period in history that is often overlooked in favor of the samurai and ninja movies or the horror and techno films that Japan is so well known (and loved) for producing. The film begins with a scene that is spoken in Japanese without the convenience of English subtitles. However, no words are needed to understand the gravity of the scene. Young Chiyo and her sister are sold by their father to a man who delivers them to a Geisha house. Here Chiyo is kept, but her sister is passed over. Later we learn that she has been sold to a pleasure house. The two try to escape together, but Chiyo has an unfortunate accident and is brought back to the Geisha house. Her sister is never heard from again. This begins the story of Chiyo and her ascent from a young peasant girl into a glorious and most famous Geisha.

I’ll leave out the details of the rest of the movie so as not to spoil it for anyone who has not seen it. However, I will give my brief comments on the film as a whole. From the moment of the opening scene until the final scene I found myself fully engage (a true feat for a movie runtime of 145 minutes). It is often times difficult to endure the uncomfortable theater seating with movies expanding to a near three hours these days, but this film made me forget about my seat and the theater and the rest of the audience in favor of its beautiful representation of early to mid-century Japan.

The gorgeous scenes filled with beautifully colored kimonos were starkly contrasted with the horrendous, emotional conflicts of the young women fighting there way to the top of the Geisha world. This film has a most excellent villainous. She is horrifying and awe inspiring in her antics to keep Chiyo from out shining her own beauty. My one complaint is that the last scene is too abrupt. Again, I will not spoil it, but I’ll only say that for a film which is specific in its intent to climax at a certain point, it would be nice if that moment is stretch out longer than the thirty (or so) seconds that it lasted.

As far as all the negative press that this film received (regarding its Chinese actors in a Japanese film) I say ignore the talking heads and view the film for yourself. After all it won three Oscars and had another eleven wins and thenty-three nominations. If you love movies about Japan and want to watch something really worth your time than this is the film for you.

Memoirs of a Geisha

As I am a big fan of all things Japanese I'm now off to watch this movie. Then I'm off to a party. I'll let you know how the movie is if I can remember after the party.

Water into Beer?

What would you do if you turned on your tap to find not water, but beer flowing? I know a lot of people who become instant beer gluttons. Anyway, for the full story click here.

BlogMad

I've recently joined BlogMad and have been surfing the ocean of blogs listed. Now I'm short on patience and quick to put down a site if it doesn't capture my interest in about three seconds; however, there are a few sites that enslaved me to read beyond the title. One of these is the blog of AtariBoy by Andrew Nesbitt. He has what I would consider (in my shortly earned expertise) a well designed site: simple, good color palette, and pleasing to the eye. As I am still new to blogs, and even newer to creating a blog template (I had an immense amount of help implementing this design) I do know what I like and what I would deem to be a nice design. Generally speaking, white backgrounds are appalling. When I see a blog with a generic white background my eyes immediately shift to the count down and I anxiously await the opportunity to click on the next number leading to the next random blog. So please take that into consideration when creating your blogs. Stay away from generic templates. Get some help with design. Read a book or two and/or talk it over with a competent graphic designer. I’m lucky enough to have one living with me. All that said, I’m still working on learning HTML, CSS, and Flash all in the hopes of being able to design nice sites. Hope this helps!

Pop Culture Pandemonium

So last week...on American Idol, the top twelve contestants were chosen. I disagreed with a few of America's decisions, but how can I argue since I didn't vote. However, after this week's performances of Stevie Wonder songs it is clearly obvious that Kevin cannot sing at the caliber of his contemporaries. His "puppy" qualities are wearing thin and if the decision were mine, I'd vote him off. What do you think?

My PersonalityDNA

Want to know more about me? Check this out, it's a link to my personality dna:

My Personal Dna Report

Bleach

So as I was saying the other night, I have decided to do some Manga (Japanese graphic novel) research. I decided to begin with a series called Bleach. Bleach was first published in Japan in 2001 in the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. I chose this particular Manga based on a conversation a few guild mates in World of Warcraft had one day. (Yes, I used to play World of Warcraft and will probably go back to playing it once the new expansion pack comes out). Anyway, it sounded intriguing. The Manga was so popular that it was next produced as an Anime (Japanese Animation). Currently I have read the first two episodes of the Manga and watched the first episode of the Anime. According to Weekly Shonen Jump website:

“The most popular manga magazine (collection of assorted manga stories) in Japan is Weekly Shonen Jump, the birthplace of the greatest artists and stories. Weekly Shonen Jump sells approximately 3 million copies every week, to ages ranging from elementary school students to adults — in a country with half the population of the U.S.”

That is a lot of magazines. What seems amazing to me is that the number of adults in Japan who read Manga far exceed the number of adults in the U.S. who read any type of graphic novel or comic book. And it is the average businessman (and women) that read manga in public, on trains while commuting to their profession business, without embarrassment or shame.

Here is the short description from the Weekly Shonen Jump website of Bleach, interestingly it is the identical description that appears on the back of the Manga:

“Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family, but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits, and along with Rukia, who is slowly regaining her powers, it's Ichigo's job to both protect the innocent from Hollows and to help the spirits themselves find peace.”

The web url’s for both Weekly Shonen Jump and the Official Bleach (in Japanese) website are listed below:

http://www.shonenjump.com/mangatitles/b/manga_b.php

http://www.j-bleach.com/

(a cool website if only for their splash page since I do not read Japanese)

Enjoy these sites; I’ll be back with more thoughts on the episodes themselves later.

Searching for a topic...

Well here I am, all geared up to write; and yet, without a flavorful topic. Yeah, I'm looking for something in which to sink my teeth. I am tossing around a couple of ideas: 1. Manga, 2. Something other than Manga, but equally interesting, fresh, and hip. The problem with taking on a topic such as Manga is that it is a Japanese art form translated for an American audience, a teenage American audience. I am American, but not teenaged. Another problem is I have never read a Magna; I have only seen a few Anime based on an original Magna. The next major problem is that I would need to research the subject to find current opinions on the subject and to illumine myself to a particular angle which I could tackle. But as Magna is decidedly saturated in Japanese culture I would assume I need to educate myself more regarding Japanese culture. I am not completely ignorant of Japanese culture. I lived in Japan for two years while serving in the Navy. And I read a few books about Japan when pursuing the possibility of teaching English there after college. So I guess this is why Magna seems a likely subject, because of my fascination for Japanese culture and my lack of knowledge and understanding of Japanese pop literature. If anyone knows of some good sources please inform me of them. Thanks, hope to write more on this subject soon.

American Idol: Who Let The Dogs Out?

Have you ever stopped to notice how much American Idol is like the Eukanuba Dog show? In the show ring contestants are divided by sex, brought into a ring, and made to perform. Dogs have handlers; American Idol contestants have managers. Dogs have groomers; American Idol contestants have fashion/appearance consultants. Dogs have trainers; American Idol contestants have vocal coaches. In the end, both are judged to find the Best in Show.