For once I actually managed to get done what I absolutely wanted to, namely finish the maps and updates related to Chapter 4 of the FF XII walkthrough *whew* I've also finished playing that section of the game and am now in the middle of 5.1; I've also completed the map of the Giza Plains (rainy) including icons and now it's just a matter of having it ready for upload and adding the lists, which I hope to do during the upcoming week

I've started taking caps from Kurosawa's "Drunken Angel". Because now my screen resolution is so high, and because of the DVD's and film's particularities, I'm taking caps manually instead of using vlc's built in system. Which means it takes more time, but the quality is there - I hope! Below the cut is a first batch: some will be added in the review and the post of selected caps I shall make at bamboo_house, but I've also taken a few extra of Toshiro Mifune for long_halloween - because a girl can never have too much Mifune in her life *g*

Speaking of hot Japanese males: I've spent the best part of this week trying (in vain! most of the time) to get my brain focused on something else than the avalanche of Masaya Kato-related news: the preview of his latest photoshoot for "Uomo", which came as a bit of a shock seeing as its publication wasn't announced on his official website (although that in itself was nothing compared to the shock of how friggin' amazing he looks in that one, even by his standards). And right on its heels came the movie news: of course, there's that huge "Sakura Sakura" project which shooting is apparently starting any day now, but that's been announced a while ago. Before that announcement though, there had been rumours that he could have an appearance in another, somewhat pan-Asian, movie (I think the director is Korean). Only a teaser page for the official website of that movie ("Sayonara Itsuka") has surfaced and it looks like instead of a mere appearance, he might actually have one of the lead, at least if the fact that his name appears fourth in the listing is any indication o_0 And now it seems he's just shot a part in yet another movie, for now entitled "Umizaru 3" (now, the whole Umizaru franchise, be it manga, tv series or movie, is not exactly my cup of tea, but if I understand correctly, they are very popular in Japan)

And of course, he's on stage at the end of the year. Does he even vaguely remember the meaning of the word "holiday" anymore??????

( Drunken Angel caps - part 1 )

Damn, I thought summer at work would be slow - and I was well mistaking! But at least I can look forward to a week holiday next week! I'm only gonna be gone for a day to Lyon - I'm planning to stay in Geneva and around the rest of the time. But I'm actually quite looking forward to be abe to just be at home without the stress of work always around the corner *g*

I got started on Japanese lessons with teachers, which is a huge step for me. So far I had learned everything on my own, but I figured I had come to the limits of what I could learn that way - I really felt lately that I needed to start using the language beyond just passive comprehension if I wanted to get to the next level. So I've looked at the possible options and online school was definitely the only feasable one, both because they are more flexible in terms of schedules and because of the costs involved

I've enrolled at JOI (that is "Japanese Online Institute") and so far I have only praise for their system. You don't pay any fee to enroll and you can test their lessons system by taking three 50 minutes classes for 900 Yen (that's around $9 - for all three!), then the price depends on how many lessons you buy in advance, and whether you want private classes or take classes in groups (of maximum 7 people). I've bought 20 tickets and paid an average of $8 per lesson for group lessons. Teachers have all been very nice and helpful , and I can already feel the improvement as the grammar points I go through with them really stick with me, instead of being forgotten after a day or two as it had been the case when studying the same material on my own.

I've started at Beginners level 1, which is for people who already have some basics (you don't need to be able to read kana or kanji though), but I know they even offer introductory classes for those who have no previous knowledge whatsoever, and lessons go all the way to advance (for people who are studying at JLPT 1 level - the equivalent of Advanced/Proficiency Cambridge examination for English as a foreign language)

Oh yeah, and a few things I've promised and actually got done:

Japanese magazines: Shel'tter Summer is available for download - post is comm-lock, but if you're not a member yet still interested, leave me a comment and I'll email you the download link. Madame Figaro Japan and interior design/zakka mags are next up (hopefully I'll have something ready sometime in the next two weeks)

movie reviews: the review for the second movie in the Sasori series is up here, with an alternate version including some more caps over at AW; I've also watched the first in the Yakuza Papers series, as well as received the Red Cliff part 2 Japanese LE box - planning to watch that one during the holidays *g*

Oh yeah, and the Masaya Kato related stuff: I've posted the videos (not hi-res, but the quality is decent enough) of all three of his interventions during his appearance in Downtown DX last month on Youtube - you can watch them all from my account page. I've also posted all the caps from KiraKira Kenshuin over at nekomi815 and huddlebubble's forum in seperate threads for each episode - I'm posting all the links below the cut.

Oh yeah, and he appears in this month's edition of Uomo - again! - so expect new mag scans pretty soon (saw low-res preview at a girl's blog yesterday morning and let's just say I couldn't focus properly at work for the whole day.....)

( this way for the goodies )

Sorry for not giving news in so long. Just been busy really *s* Between work, crossing fingers for Federer at Wimbledon (try typing while you do that, I dare you! Oh, and while I'm at it: Dear Roger, thank you for the wonderful fortnight and for this great victory but please, no more 4 hours+ thrillers in finale, I had stomach cramps the whole evening and my nerves were all but shot for the following days. Thank you.) and getting somewhat back at Ancient Worlds (sort of, really, I'll see where this whole thing gets me). Oh yeah, and I'm back in the saddle for the FF XII walkthrough which I have abandoned somewhat over the last couple of months....

Anyhoo, a few things that I am about to/ have ticked off my list:

- I'm almost done with scanning the latest issue of Shel'tter which should be online this weekend

- The review for Red Cliff part 1 is online (thank you Beth for the beta-reading!), along with the picspam (here for the complete - but access-restricted - one and there for the somewhat smaller, but public one)

- Just posted the picspam for the second installment in the Sasori (Female Prisoner: Scorpion) series here (I'll make a smaller, public picspam alongside the review when I have that one ready)

- Started translating the first book in an illustrated history of Japan series. I am still wondering if it will be worth making longer summaries of what's in there, but at any rate, I'll posting short notes in English about it and the first one, on Paleolithic Japan, is here; threads will change according to the period, but I'll post links here anyway

- Am currently posting Masaya Kato picspams from the KiraKira Kenshui series over at a chinese discussion board dedicated to him. But the access is public so I'll post the complete list of links (there's one thread per episode) here if anyone wants to have a look ;-)

Oh yeah, one of the other things I've been busy with IRL is that I found out early this month that Nara (Nara Prefecture, Japan) will celebrate next year its 1300th anniversary of becoming capital of Japan. They will hold events throughout the year. And since it's been a while I've been thinking of going to Japan within the next few years, I thought I might just change my plans and go a bit earlier than first planned *g* : Nara was definitely a place I wanted to visit (I am a history geek, after all) and it will be easy to travel to Osaka and Kyoto from there. I will probably stay in that area for a week and in Tokyo for another one - at least that's the early plans I have in mind

Already posted the screencaps of Female Prisoner #701 - Scorpion here. It is however for members only: if people are interested, I might post them somewhere where everyone could have access though

I am currently writing the movie review which I'll probably have up by tomorrow; I'm also looking forward to watch the following movie in the series, Female Prisoner #701 - Jailhouse 41, which is the movie that got me started on the series in the first place. And of course there's also Red Cliff part 1, now that I've got it with English subtitles (as well as the Japanese guide book, he!)

As for other news, I was sad to learn that David Carradine had passed away; I've never actively followed his carrier but I've certainly enjoyed everything I've seen of him....also giving me pause of course is the anniversary of Tiananmen Square, or rather the way the Chinese government is trying its hardest to supress the memory. Not that it is surprising in any way, but it is a sad reminder that, while a growing part of the population has access to the "capitalist" way of life, some things will not change as easily. More than the issue of democratization though, what pains me the most is the way parents and family of those who've died must suffer in silence, and that's just not right

And because I want to end this post on a lighter note:

Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman and James Bond together on Broadway - this time it's confirmed!

All it took was a trailer (that of Jackie Chan's "Shinjuku Incident", which is out in some areas in Asia and will be out in Japan on May 1, the same day as "Goemon" and Wolverine, dammit!) and an email and video files exchange with a friend to send me back into Masaya Kato (Japanese actor, former model - and still does some modelling on occasion - probably first came to attention in this part of the world with his role in Christophe Gans' "Crying Freeman") frenzy mode and looking for some of his harder-to-find movies and tv series

As a result, I finally got to see the Yakuza flick "Agitator" by Japanese director Takashi Miike (of "Audition" and "Ichi the Killer" fame). It was so much better than what I had hoped for, in particular since I don't even enjoy half of Miike's work (mind you, with an output of 6-8 films per year, that still makes a lot I do like to watch). Actually, it falls just short of being a small masterpiece - although I'm reserving definitive judgement for when I get to see the Japanese cut (the international version is *only* 150 minutes, while the Japanese one is 200!)

I'm actually waiting on that longer version (hopefully it should be in the mail on its way here) to write a full review, but I can already point out of few things. In terms of storytelling, Miike's rarely been so coherent and subtle, and although very realistic, with few scenes of great violence and with none of Miike's fancy 'n' flashy tricks in sight, I found it to be actually much more ambiguous morally - and therefore much more interesting, not to mention, at times, poignant - than most of his more violent and fast-paced stuff. And Masaya Kato is almost unbearably hot in this (btw, as much as I adore Hugh Jackman, I think some actors outside western countries are woefully omitted in these so-called sexiest/most beautiful/blah blah blah lists), although the hotness - luckily! - takes a backseat to his acting abilities: I know the role was supposedly tailor-made for him, but it is also extremely demanding, yet he manages to convey a multitude of nuances, whole emotional landscapes with something as simple at times as a slight nod (typically in the birthday scene in the first few minutes). Also, he and Takenaka (who incidentally, also stars in "Shinjuku Incident") have this great interaction that provides most of the emotional weight to the story (plus Takenaka manages to actually lighten the mood on a couple of occasions)


So here are a few caps I've already taken from Agitator, plus a few others I've taken for a friend who sent me a video of Kato's appearance in Downtown DX (a Japanese tv show) last October (when he was promoting the Samurai 7 stage adaptation).

I think I can smell icons. Yep, I definitely need some Kato icons asap (why I haven't done any yet is beyond me, now that I think of it).....



( Shirtless hotness - but still work-safe - this way )

Eek! Right, just realized I haven't posted the link to the trailer: here you go *g* And now, off to the last series of screencaps:

Yeah, I know it's the middle of the afternoon, yet my emo says tired: what do you want, I *am* tired. I guess work is taking it's toll. Luckily, the law firm I'm working at is closing its offices between Christmas and New Year, a week during which we're only required to work one day. Which means almost another full week of vacation paid. It almost makes worth all the extra-hours I made there lately :p

I'm very happy to say I'm back to buying more books, DVDs and the like, at last. I don't know about you, but I have periods when I'm just not interested in much, or when I feel guilty not to have read yet all the books, seen all the movies and listened to all the CDs I have. Well, that's over, and I treated myself with a few DVDs to start off with: I bought at a shop near the office the Kung-Fu Hustle special edition. I know there isn't such an edition of the great movie released officially in the US so far, but you'll find the Hong Kong one on ebay, certainly. If you haven't seen it yet, you don't know what you've been missing, that's a lot of fun, maybe the funniest 2005 release to me. But it also remains, at core, a Kung-Fu movie, and a great one at that. The fights are nothing short of a blast, succeeding in remaining entertaining for both people who love traditional kung-fu movies, and those who've only seen that art in american ones, like Matrix.

I've also bought myself a couple of books; unfortunately, those are french books, and I don't know if (read: I doubt) there have translations out there......I shall however review them as I complete their reading :-)

Ok, now back to the Memoirs' screencaps: here's the follow-up to yesterday's post: