Right now, I am currently addicted to the main theme from the film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence composed by Sakamoto Ryuichi. To me, it’s one of those songs I hear all the time, and I know I have heard this somewhere . . . but regardless, this song is so pretty. I just discovered the composer and the title of this song mere few weeks ago, and I’m glad I did. Just in time for the end of the year. This song has this hopeful and optimistic feel to it that it actually lifts up my spirit. Right now, the world’s all suffering from the financial troubles. I hope by the end of next year, it will be somewhat stabilized.

Anyway, I hope 2009 will be a great year for everyone! To the world and to us at Ningin!
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Tags: film, music, sakamoto ryuichi

Or so says this article. But then I read this article and go HUH . . .

I can understand the reluctance from South Korea’s side. I can sort of understand how some South Korean officials do not want everything to be “Japanised”. However, I can’t help but think, uh, sorry South Korea, but Japanese mangas, novels, and etcetera intrigue me more. Heck, even this entry just sort of proves from my side of the world that Japan rocks in certain areas. I admit that I am more biased towards Japanese product and media than I will of South Korea’s, but I’ll blame that on my Japan-oriented hobbies.
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Tags: china, great britain, japan, manga, nintendo, sony, south korea, the beatles, video game

According to my dad, I’m living my third childhood because I went to Gyobo book store at Gwanghwamun today to look for Boxcar Children and The Baby-Sitters Club books. Well, I didn’t succeed in that department, but I did see this sexy looking thing.

It was sexy until I saw the price. 48,000+ won. Which translates into about $36. But then compare that to $27 when you convert the price from 2500 yen. Um. Yeah. I know $36 is about the average price of an imported artbook, but my mind still thinks of June 2008’s conversion rate of 900 won to a $1 and thinks this is a $50+ book. Plus I only had about 60,000 won on me, and I was not going to spend all my money at once like that.

But still! It looked sexy. At least the cover did. Since it was in the plastic wrap, I couldn’t flip through the book to see if it’s worth that price. Then again, imported artbooks are so expensive. Once again, I ask myself, why must I have expensive hobbies!

Tags: artbook, book, boxcar children, dollar, economy, final fantasy xiii, finance, gwanghwamun, gyobo moongo, jongno-gu, sejongno, seoul, south korea, the baby-sitters club, video game, won, yen

After many months of depriving myself of this fun (mostly because my throat and sinuses were stricken by some disease), I finally went to a no rae bang (private karaoke rooms) with a friend. Actually, it was a really long and freezing day. I had to haul myself to Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu for an errand, and then I waited for my friend in a coffee shop in my neighbourhood. When she arrived we went to another coffee house/bar to have dinner. Then we decided to go to a no rae bang since we couldn’t go last time due to my sinusitis.

We went to the one we always go to, paid about $9-10 bucks for over an hour, and sang our hearts out. Whenever we go, we sing a bunch of weird combination of songs. Here’s a list of what we sang and of what I can remember.
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Tags: amuro namie, blondie, boa, deep purple, dong bang shin gi, eagles, eurythmics, gangnam-gu, gloria gaynor, guns n' roses, itaewon-dong, japan, karaoke, mariah carey, no rae bang, queen, rock band, seoul, south korea, system of the down, the carpenters, video game, x japan, yeoksam-dong, yongsan-gu

Just mere hours ago, I had a Daewoo TV. Now that I have a new JVC TV, I just realised something: I own nothing that’s Korean-made, with the exception of my cellphone. Hahaha! Seriously! If I put all my electronics together, these are what I have:

* JVC TV (Nicknamed: Pita = Pain in the Arse)
* Hitachi VHS
* Panasonic DVD Player
* Panasonic Stereo
* Nintendo SNES
* Nintendo GameCube
* Sony PlayStation 1
* Sony PlayStation 2

No Korean-made products. I find it very ironic considering where I live. On the flipside, I love my new (well second-hand) TV. HOMG. Playing video games on it will be a very smexy experience. I already tested it out with one game and am absolutely floored by the big, crisp graphical and audio output.

Tags: gamecube, hitachi, japan, jvc, nintendo, panasonic, playstation i, playstation ii, snes, sony, south korea, video game

When Jerry posted this it reminded me of Nick and Sam Henline. These two performed a Nintendo Medley duet on the piano at their talent show and won first place. The medley consisted of songs from Mario, Zelda, and Kirby. Later, they also did a Legend of Zelda Medley. A copy of their sheet music can be found here and click on the cut to see their performances.

I’m thoroughly impressed by their talent. Makes me want to find someone to play video game music duet on the piano now!
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Tags: kirby, mario, music, nick henline, nintendo, piano, sam henline, video game, zelda

I’ll never forget the first time I played Pump It Up! Pump and DDR were the fad, but since Pump is a Korean-made machine, they were more abundant in arcades than DDR. Because of that, I was exposed to Pump more than DDR, so I’m more biased towards the machine. I remember for about three years, I was addicted to that game. I’d go spend 300 to 1000 won to play this at various arcades. I wanted to master some of the popular songs, but some were just too much for me. However, I enjoyed it!

Now with my new job, I’m at a place where they have a Pump machine, where I can play for free. For the last two months, I have been playing the songs I played before with fondness. Slowly, I’m able to make my legs and body get used to playing the songs I like as many memories come flooding back to me.
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Tags: banya, clon, ddr, japan, novasonic, pump it up, sechs kies, south korea

Considering all the recent Korean celebrity suicides, especially those who came out as GLBT, I’m glad Hong Seok Cheon didn’t take that route. He’s still alive and kicking, and the most recent news about him is that he published a book. The book’s called Design Your Own Restaurant, and it “celebrates his successful transformation from suddenly-out-of-work actor to restaurateur”.

Hong, an actor back in the 90s, came out gay in 2000, and not surprisingly, his sexual orientation wasn’t accepted among the general Korean population. That affected his acting career, so he began to open a series of restaurants — the first one being “Our Place” in Itaewon.

It’s a shame how he gave up acting to do this restaurant business, but from what I read, he’s happy with his current life, and that’s all that it matters. I just hope more GLBT Koreans can see that suicide isn’t the only option for being who they are. Actually, what I really hope is for Korea to become more accepting of GLBT, but considering recent events, the light in the tunnel’s really dim. However, like Hong, I’d like think a bit more optimistically about my home country — even if I am a natural pessimist!

Oh and one of these days, I shall check out “Our Place”. I live in the area, so I may as well go!

Tags: book, glbt, hong seok cheon, itaewon-dong, restaurant, seoul, south korea, yongsan-gu

Sometimes I wish I had a cheaper hobby. As much as I love video games, they really suck my poor bank account empty. It doesn’t help when I have the internet telling me what games are coming out in United States and what games are released in Japan, which I hope some of them do see English localisations! A girl can dream! Now I just need to conjure up more money for these games that interest me in 2009. It’s going to be another expensive gaming year.
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Tags: adventure, ar tonelico ii, console rpg, final fantasy xiii, gyakuten kenji, japan, little king's story, nds, playstation ii, playstation iii, playstation portable, professor layton and the demon's box, puzzle, shimomura yoko, sigma harmonics, star ocean: the last hope, star ocean: the second revolution, suikoden tierkreis, united states, video game, wii, xbox 360

If there was one word to describe my gaming style, it would be this: sporadic. I play when I’m in the mood, and with that you can find me playing a game that was released in 2003 right now in 2008. Yes, I do not follow what’s mainstream, but with video games, I sort of try, and I succeeded this year with the DS — again that’s with a “sort of”. Come to think of it, I own three other systems, but I don’t think I touched any of them this year. Oi. Anyway, here are the games that were released in 2008, that were actually played in 2008, not necessarily beaten, and what I consider to be “best” or more like “personal favourites”. The list is in the order by the games’ release date.
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Tags: adventure, apollo justice, chrono trigger, console rpg, final fantasy iv, gyakuten saiban iv, hanekoma sanae, hotel dusk: room 215, my japanese coach, mystery case files: millionheir, nds, otome, phoenix wright, princess debut, professor layton and the curious village, puzzle, rhapsody: a musical adventure, the world ends with you, time hollow, trauma centre: under the knife ii, video game