This evening, Guo Lu, Rachel and I went to see the CJS [Center for Japanese Studies in Umich] screening of 幸福の黄色いハンカチ [Shiiawase no kiiroi hankachi or The Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness].=) The lead actress in the show, 桃井かおり [Momoi Kaori], is visiting Umich right now so this was one of the events they had planned.=) There was a Q&A session after the movie which was rather interesting.=)
A 1977 film, it really reflects the era, from the clothes to the kind of car they drove and the places they saw.=) It was in the 1970s I think, when Japan was in the midst of development and advancement.
The film is basically about a roadtrip started by this random guy [Kinya, played by 武田鉄矢, Takeda Tetsuya] from Kyushuu who goes to Hokkaido to see life anew. However, the movie skews a bit from him and we eventually find out the main plot of the story. At the port in Hokkaido, he meets a girl [Akemi, played by Momoi Kaori] and they start travelling together. At the same time, the camera focuses on this random dude [Yusaku, played by 高倉健, Takakura Ken] and you wonder why they keep zooming in on him? Eventually, our 3 friends randomly meet! And thus begins a mini road trip around Hokkaido with 3 strangers who discover more about each other along the way. The main plot develops with Mr Random, Yusaku who is actually an ex-convict who was just released from prison. We slowly delve into his past and his story which is probably what inspired the title. It's basically a story of a man who wonders whether he should return to his wife, whom he insisted on divorcing after entering the prison, who might POSSIBLY be waiting for him.=) And of course, there's the growing feelings between the other 2 characters.^_^
While not brilliantly shot [I thought some scenes were rather randomly amateurish.O__o], I think this has a nice story flow though it'd have been nice to see more development from Kinya and Akemi who are basically supporting actors in this whole endeavour to return Yusaku to his home in Yubari, Hokkaido.=) Also, seeing how undeveloped most of Hokkaido is makes me wonder if its the same now? It's not so much undeveloped as it is just covered with farmlands. Also, Yubari [where Yusaku is from] is a coal mining town and I wonder how many of those are left?
It was a very nice film to watch with occasional comedic scenes that had everyone laughing in unison.=) Although it has by no means any high ideals or great and memorable scenes, and there are definitely several flaws, it is an enjoyable movie that captures the feelings of the actors very well and showcases some good Japanese cinema. I highly recommend it!
Trivia: It won the first Japanese Academy Awards for Best movie, Best Director, Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, etc.^_^ Not bad huh?
The Q&A session after the screening of the movie was rather illuminating.=) I really admire Momoi Kaori for the way she handled the crowd! She was funny or serious, depending on how she wanted the crowd to react but she seemed to have this presence and sincerity.^_^ Very nice. Plus, I totally couldn't tell she's in her 50s!!! O__o! I really want to see the film she directed tomorrow but I don't think I have the time.(T_T)
On a separate note, the stupid fire alarm rang just now.-___-" I twitch! And the worst thing is, there's a snow storm watch up on weather.com for Ann Arbor tomorrow. I love snow and all, but its not terribly fun to walk in the horrendously strong winds.xP
Oh! And I must declare renewed love for Tsubasa and xxxHOLiC.xD xD xD SO GOOD. I love CLAMP! *squeals* cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : teens Hamasaki Ayumi] [mood : ^_^] [food : something better than what I'm getting now]
Here I am on a cold, windy Thursday afternoon attempting to enjoy the warmth that is NOT my room.-___-" Damn the heater. Why isn't it working!
I just returned from a yummy and filling lunch with my Japanese classmates at University Cafe, a Korean place less than 5 minutes from East Quad. Just walking there was tough.. The wind was so STRONG!! All of us were screaming away.xD Haha. Mmm. Korean food! I love Asian food! ^_^ Rice makes me fall asleep but I love it anyway. Ahaha. I think it was a nice change to eat out instead of crawling to the dining hall and weeping over the food again. I'm definitely never doing the 13-meals a week plan ever again.xP
Anyway, Guo Lu and I decided to slack off after dinner yesterday and watch Shinobi!!!
It's basically about 2 groups of ninjas who are sworn enemies but the 2 to-be leaders of the clans have fallen in love! Oh horrors. You can imagine much ninja fighting [a couple of useless deaths and a couple of very cool deaths] and much love story cliches to reveal themselves in the course of the movie.
It is based on a manga of the same name but is a much pared down version. And much much prettier. Starring the gorgeous Nakama Yukie [of Ooku and Gokusen fame] as Oboro, the granddaughter of the leader of her clan, the Iga as well as Odagiri Joe [of Mushishi fame] as Gennosuke, the grandson of the leader of his clan, the Koga. The movie is FILLED with eye candy! ^_^ And of course, there's the gorgeous scenery to contemplate as well as the cool ninja moves.=)
On the whole, the storyline is pretty dumb because I think they took out many of the smart elements from the manga in order to not have a very long and convoluted movie that is 5 hours long. The characters also don't appear very intelligent and our poor Oboro [the leading lady I might add] is portrayed as beautiful but absolutely useless until she reveals her secret skill, the Eyes of Destruction [破幻之眼, it sounds so much cooler in Chinese]. Then poor Gennosuke is portrayed as a completely ineffective leader who is righteous but not terribly bright nor skillful at leading people. Despite the rather tragic storyline [that redeemed itself by being at least quite cool], I thought the acting was rather good and the shooting angles were nice too.
I love Nakama Yukie. She's gorgeous! *_*! And she has a beautiful, quiet way of gazing at people. Dies. Haha. And of course. Odagiri Joe is completely goodlooking. ;) Haha.
The soundtrack was rather appropriate though nothing to shout about, except for the theme song. The theme song is HEAVEN by Hamasaki Ayumi.=) SUCH a gorgeous song! =D =D =D It's a really very nice song... Ayumi occasionally releases one of her more brilliant songs like this one, or SEASONS or teens. They actually show that she can sing!
[edit] Now that I've found the video on Youtube, here's the HEAVEN by Hamasaki Ayumi PV with singalong subtitles! ^_^
It's a fabulous song. Please listen to it! ^_^ And the PV is one of her more inspired ones.. /[edit]
Anyway, I'm glad I watched Shinobi.=) It wasn't the best show I've ever seen but it wasn't too bad and watching Japanese movies is always a fun activity.
Beside the distraction of Shinobi, I've also discovered the joy that is Crossword Puzzles! ^_^ With the iGoogle application, I added the New York Times Crossword to my homepage and finished it!!! YAY! Okay. Actually, Xiaowei and I finished it together.=D So fun! Haha. I'm now determined to do one every week! And play Sudoku too to stimulate my sadly deteriorating brain.^_^
Alright. I really should get started on my work. ^_^ I hope everyone is well! cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : HEAVEN Hamasaki Ayumi + Glow in the sun D] [mood : ^_^ Korean food!] [food : Bulgogi Stirfry!]
cch: Lazy.
Jiamin: Well. They only offered that low fat version so yay! ^_^ I've come to the realisation that it is not the combination of strawberry and banana that I dislike but the richness of the Orange Julius version that I dislike.=P I never liked creamy things remember. Haha. I think the panda is adorable too! xD
It's been a BEAUTIFUL day in Ann Arbor! ^_^ Granted it was rather cold and the wind was rather strong but the sun was beaming down on us and that's always a good thing! In fact the blue skies now have me in a fabulous mood and I'm all ready to tell everyone about our Thanksgiving trip to Washington, DC. Oh sunny blue skies! How I wish you could beam down on us all the time!
Warning! This post will be FILLED with food photos because I love food. And full of scenery and stuff because I love that too. Please don't give me grief about it.
We flew off on Wednesday afternoon and arrived in DC in the evening. Just in time for a spot of Singapore tea! ^_^
We started off on a VERY positive note with fabulous ondeh-ondeh [a Nonya kueh made from a pandan glutinous rice skin filled with molten gula melakah (a kind of rich brown sugar that is amazing) and then coated with freshly grated coconut]!!!
The gorgeous gula melakah oozing out. SO GOOD. xD xD xD I never really liked gula melakah on its own and neither do I like coconut much, but in ondeh-ondeh, gula melakah and coconut take on whole different meanings...
Then of course, we had to stop stuffing ourselves with ondeh-ondeh in order to make space for dinner!
VEGETABLES!!! Such a happy sight!
Ayam Tempra! ^_^ It was slightly spicy but so so delicious with rice.
A yummy bowl of Cantonese soup always makes me happy!!! ^_^ Here we have lotus root and pork rib soup. YUM.
And here we have steamed rockfish. FISH!!! STEAMED PROPERLY!!! I couldn't be more pleased.=) The fish they have in the dorm is absolutely awful.
The next day when Christl had arrived to join us, we headed for the zoo to take advantage of the fabulous weather! It was Thanksgiving and it was HOT!!! xP The sun was blazing down and there was a light breeze in the air. Perfect!
Near my aunt's house, the fall colours were showing themselves in their full glory!
The cutest little kid EVER in the National Zoo at the Asia Trail if I'm not wrong..
The National Zoo!
KYAA!!! SO CUTE!!! xD xD xD Sleeping Pandas = Cutest things ever!
Of course, there were other animals too but I'm totally biased so..^_^ Pandas it shall be!
So huggable!
A gorgeous green colour that Christl squealed over.=P
After going to the zoo, we went back to my aunt's house for a yummy Thanksgiving lunch! ^_^ And no.. We were not planning to follow the American tradition of eating a GIANT Thanksgiving meal in the afternoon.
NOODLES! It's my dad's favourite Noodle King noodles.=)
And lo and behold! xD WANTON!!! =D =D =D I shall prod Guo Lu into making jiao zi for me.xD xD xD
And of course, we have gorgeously green blanched vegetables lightly dressed in a oyster sauce/soy sauce based dressing. Yummy!
And what else do you have with wanton noodles but char siew? =D =D =D YUMMY. I love the char siew at my aunt's house. It's amazing stuff.
After lunch, my aunt took us around the sights by car and then dropped us off at the National Cathedral.=) The winds were picking up and was soon gusting along very strongly..
The Cathedral in the afternoon glow.
The winds were creating havoc when we tried to take photos. Urgh! When I checked the weather report, the winds were supposedly gusting at up to 60-70km/h!!! FAINTS!
I'd been to the National Cathedral before but never the inside so this was a wonderful experience! I love visiting beautiful churches and cathedrals... ^_^ And there's such an aura of calm.
They have absolutely beautiful stained glass windows.=D
One part of the seating area and the main altar.
The sun was shining through the stained glass windows and creating a beautiful colour-play on the walls of the cathedral. Oohhh. PRETTYY.xD
Can you imagine getting married in this place? *_*!
In the crypt of the Cathedral, there are a couple more chapels for prayer.
The view of the cool fall colours from the top of the Cathedral.^_^
The sunset over DC... So gorgeous.=)
You can see the Blue Ridge Mountains from the top of the Cathedral! I didn't take a photo because it wasn't very clear.. But I did take a photo of the sights in Washington DC! ^_^ The Washington Monument and the Jefferson memorial [I THINK] stand proudly.
And an awesome cloud hangs silently in the air...
One of the towers of the cathedral.=)
Outside the entrance to the Cathedral Gardens. The wind was so strong, you had to fight against it to walk..xP
The gorgeous sunset in Washington DC with the flag in the background and the peace cross in the fore. I thought it was the celtic cross though? =S
After looking around the gardens, we returned to the house for our Thanksgiving Dinner!!!
On the way back, we passed the Orthodox Greek Chruch and they were putting up Christmas decorations. The smell of fresh pine trees is.. absolutely amazing. *_*! It's so fresh and sweet and.. Now I know why they have the phrase "pine fresh scent". Haha.
DINNER!
Green beans sauteed with sambal!
In place of turkey, we had braised duck!!! YUMM!!! =D =D =D
And giant prawns! Not those horrible things they call shrimp.
And of course, we had to have SOUP! Glorious soup! This time, it was chicken and watercress.=D
We ended off with pie!
Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie from Whole Foods. A yummy end to a great Thanksgiving meal! ^_^ I actually like pecan pie now.=D
The day after Thanksgiving, we trailed after my aunt, visiting various Washington homes to see how all these functions happen.=) The first one was in this seriously rich old lady's home and involved "political Washington" so to speak while the next one was in Georgetown and had a more artsy crowd.^_^ A real eye-opener to say the very least. I am so inspired to get rich. Ahaha.
The day after that, we went to visit Rebecca [who came to our home before] and her family and had lunch with them. Then we went to do the museums!
It was a beautiful day so we got a great shot in front of the Capitol.
The Washington Monument was also gleaming in the sunlight, against the clear blue sky.^_^
Our first stop! The National Gallery!! =D
The National Gallery is filled with art from all over the world and my favourite part is always the Impressionist paintings. This time though, we came to see a special exhibition!
Turner is a prominent British artist from the 1700s-1800s or something. I can't quite remember. But he is AMAZING at drawing light, like sunlight, moonlight, etc. So absolutely gorgeous. I love his watercolours.. He can really manipulate the colours well. xD xD xD No photography was allowed though... Most unfortunate. But you really cannot capture his work in a photo. Just like all other artists because well.. It's not just a 2D painting.
After being chased out by the guards, we went over to the Natural History Museum which was open late that day.=) Of course, we went to the gemology exhibition before I spotted this Nature Photography exhibition. I'm glad we went in because it was really good!!! ^_^ Here are my top picks!
The winner in the Animal Antics competition. =D So cute!
Adorable.=) Polar bears!
This is the most AMAZING photograph of landscape I've seen.. It doesn't even look real!!! O___O! It was shot in Arizona or Nevada, I can't remember which.
And this is the cutest little baby fox ever!
After the museums, we headed for Georgetown for a spot of shopping and then a great Vietnamese dinner! ^_^
Mmm! Fresh spring rolls, Cha Gio, Roast Quail [so good!] and vegetables!!!
My entree: Grilled Pork Bun! =D Yummy!
The next day, we went for brunch before sending Christl to the train station.^_^
Brunch was at Peacock Cafe! It's located in Georgetown on one of the roads just off the main shopping belt.
Jiamin would be so proud of me! I had a banana-strawberry-honey-skim milk smoothie. YUM! =D =D =D Were I to make it on my own though, I would omit the milk and add more strawberries. Hehe! But maybe milk in it is good for calcium.. Hmm..
I had an omelette with mushrooms, onions, peppers and cheese! Yummy! But I stole some of my aunt's French Toast and it was DAMN GOOD. Omg. I'm totally ordering French Toast if I should ever go back!!! The strawberry maple syrup sauce is an amazing complement!
When we got back to the house, I couldn't resist and ran outside to take photos of the Red Maple.=D =D =D It's so pretty!
It makes pretty scattered leaves too.^_^
My brother and I went part of the way to the train station with Christl, then went to Dupont Circle to the Krispy Kreme!!! ^_^
Somehow, tons of people like Krispy Kreme and I have yet to figure out why. Don't you think apple donuts from Apple Farms taste SO much better?
These Krispy Kremes are freshly glazed, glistening in all their sugary glory.
And these were too cute to resist!!! My friends made short work of these.=)
I treated myself to an Apple Cinnamon Krispy Kreme for the road.
^_^ Washington DC was great fun! I'd love to see the museums again and I've already made plans with Guo Lu to see the museums here in Ann Arbor! ^_^
The term is drawing to a close and Thanksgiving gave me an opportunity to think about what I have to be thankful for. It is, after all, a time to show your appreciation for what you have right? =)
This was a really long post and I think I shall stop now. Haha.
cheers *[-witchstone-]*
[music : Kingyo Hanabi Otsuka Ai + Daybreak's Bell L'arc~en~Ciel] [mood : ^_^] [food : GRANOLA!]
My Emotible!
starry-eyed: filled with such youthful hope and optimism that one's eyes twinkle even when it's dark
Wish List
ie: motivation to save money!
- clothes
- shoes [heels! boots!]
- the perfect tote
- coats/outerwear! [Soïa & Kyo, Burberry...]
- Gackt - nine*nine
- Gackt Photobooks:
1 The Gift The Sixth Day & Seventh Night Tour Document (2004)
2 Crescent Photobook (out of print)
- Cookbooks!
1 Thomas Keller The French Laundry Cookbook
2 The Nobu Cookbook
3 Emily Luchetti A Passion for Desserts
4 Alice Medrich Pure Dessert
- Anime/Manga
1 Rurouni Kenshin
2 xxxHOLiC
3 Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-
- Proficiency at Japanese!
- Learn French for Food!
