This is one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I'm very proud of it.
Btw, if you want to read the original story, サンタクロースがさらわれちゃった by ライマン・フランク・ボーム, Lyman Frank Baum (of Oz fame) in Japanese or in English, feel free and maybe you can save Santa.
Anywho, Happy New Year everyone. This is a 門松 Kadomatsu or Gate Pine, a common decoration used to adorn the entranceway to your home for the first two weeks of the New Year whereupon it is then ceremoniously burned. The central portion of the kadomatsu is formed from three large bamboo shoots and is bound with a straw mat and newly woven straw rope. As you can see, mine is made from balloons and will grace my front door until the wind blows it away or until January 15th, whichever comes first.
明けましておめでとうございます｡ (Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu or Happy New Year.)
Meaning: When my friend Rob went back to Canada, he left me a bunch of stuff in a huge bag which he recommended I give away to friends and students. I finally got around to perusing the items and 90% of it is crap, some of it are goodies that I'm pretty sure I gave him at one point and there is some cool junk that I am nabbing for myself. (He also gave me a rice cooker and a CD player, two items that I requested.)
I am just going to present it without commentary and let you analyse: (a) the mind of Mr. Rudolph and (b) why he left it behind...
So Rob being the magnanimous guy that he is, intended that these items be given to the poor (which is why he gave them to me to redistribute.) The man is like a modern-day Robin Hood, that's what he is!
Speaking of Robin Hood, in Japanese, ロビンフッド translates as Robin Food as there is no HOO sound in Japanese, only FOO. I saw the Ridley Scott movie last night and was amazed as how closely it resembled an old cartoon I used to watch as a kid.
The score was terrific, rousing yet not constant like some recent movies. Here's a sample of it.
Robin himself was portrayed by Scott's favourite Aussie bad boy and I managed to find a clip of his but it was unembeddable. Click here on Crowe to view it.
One of my favourite characters of all time is Friar Tuck. The best portrayal ever was by Ronnie Barker in Robin and Marian but Mark Addy was pretty good too. Here's a sample.
Little John was suitably tall for the role, portrayed by the nasty guy from Lost, Canadian Kevin Durand.
Prince turned King John was even nastier. At one point he almost redeemed himself from his evilness but thank goodness his true colours shone. Check out Oscar Isaac.
I really enjoyed the movie last night but I feel if Ridley Scott had only combined Alien with this movie, it could have been so much better!
I just got back from watching Tron Legacy and Robin Hood but had to walk home so I'm a little too tired to write a review right now.
So instead, here are some videos featuring Dancing Darth & a Suave Stormtrooper stepping out.
I popped into a used goods store today and there staring me in the face was a DeAgostino binder that eluded me in its initial run (2002-2004.) As an added bonus, there were actually two binders for the price of one (Alex, don't read this, I found your Christmas Present!) Unfortunately it didn't include any actual fact files and is just a vanilla binder...but what a binder!
There's a very nice front & back cover and the interior artwork includes a timeline of the
スターウォーズ series and a map of the スターウォーズ Galaxy including a close up of the
コルサント and コレリア runs.
One of these days, I should use these binders and actually put some paperwork in them...one of these days.
As an added bonus, here is a wonderful YouTuber of the Star Wars theme. Remember Bill Murray's rendition on SNL? Masato Shimon's version is far better, including a Cantina disco tune.
I have a confession to make. I have never seen an episode of the Gundam Cartoon all the way through. Furthermore, I don't know much about the mythos except it appears to be Arthurian knights in robotic suits. But I can say, that I like the look of the goods...even when they're in the shape of bears!
Apart from the above Pepsi premiums, I also espied two triceratops that little kids can ride on. I immediately regretted that I am about 50 kg over the weight limit!
