DBA!

It has been years since I've had a Drunken Blog Alert! Let's see what I can come up with. First up, today has been my first day off in a few weeks since I took over as a sub for a friend's Eikawa lessons. Needless to say, I'm quite exhausted from doing so and if you ever hear me complain about my current job as an ALT with Elementary school kids, you have my permission to remind me of what else I could be doing! On the plus side, the topic was body parts and ailments, so it gave me an opportunity to contort my 進撃の巨人 (shingen no kyojin) into various painful positions. "My knee hurts!" "I have a stomachache!"

Best moment of the week. In a day where I have to teach several kids of various ages, the first lesson with a group of 5 7-year old girls were thrilled to contort my Titan into various painful positions (I see some potential chiropractors or serial killers in these gals). The next three classes with older boys and girls were too squeamish to touch my Titan and pointed instead.

This meme describes my daily mood over the last 11 days.

Apart from work, I haven't had much energy to accomplish much, so I've led a rather reclusive life of late. I did pop into the Game Center next to Movix the other day.

I landed these two knock-off Jurassic beasts for only 300 yen! (That's three tries to score two prizes.)

At the Mall Game Center, this figure of Blue cost me a bit more, but still less than 1000 yen.

Last night, I scored this jacket. The poster above the display had a sexy anime couple so I expected the garment to sport the same characters. Nope! This is what it looks like.

Still, it's a nice jacket, though a tad snug. If anyone can identify the anime in question, let me know.

I had a bit of time before Solo, so I popped into a nearby Book Market. There were several otaku goods for sale but the only ones that I dropped my cash for are as follows:

This Shin-Godzilla larva was half the price I usually see it go for, so I snapped it up. There were two others at full price, but I balked at paying that. (Added bonus. When it was rung up, an extra 10% was knocked off.)

I also scored this Kubrick Indy. It was sans packaging so I'm not sure how to pose it, but it seemed to have all its attachments. Dan-da datta, dan dataa. Dan da datta, dan ta dan taa ta...

I also scored this Bobblehead Penguin for only five bucks. I thought I'd broken its umbrella, but as a Facebook pal noted, the brolly was snapped before I got my mitts on it.

Waughh!

In Gatcha news, I espied this Jurassic World machine and I dropped my 300 yen to see what I'd get.

I scored Blue. It was much larger than I expected so I plan to try for the whole set but this machine was empty!

The whole reason for this drunken rant started with tonight's dinner and lecture. It started with salmon sashimi yet alas, this is the only pic I took.

The rest of the meal was very Canadian and delightful though I didn't snap pictures as I ate. Note: the soup was Green Peas. This allowed several "Green Peace/ Give Peas a Chance" jokes to follow.

The lecturer was a dude I'd never met yet he was pretty cool. He joined us for a few brew after the ado. (I may hit him up for a job if I ever tire of my current gig.)

There was a string quartet during dinner. When they played the National Anthem, Alex and I (and one Japanese dude) stood and sang along. For their encore, they played the anthem again and, this time, they insisted that everyone stand for it. Once again, I sang along and a few of the photographers snapped or filmed my oration. Full disclosure: I did NOT sing the latest PC lyrics for I have not yet learned them!

Since I started my ramble, I've managed to consume three different Chuhai. So Cheers to all of you who have stuck it out this far!

My next entry may be composed in a slightly more sober state though I'm sure it'll be just as incoherent.

Titanic Music.

Just a quick reminder to everyone out there that the sequel to Attack on Titan (live version) opens this weekend. (I wonder if they could convince Celine Dion to do a song for them?)

The last movie had a few tunes by Sekai no Owari.

One of the group has a clown fetish. I had one of these clowns but I gave it away to a worthy cause.

Here's a few samples of their music.
It's my Auntie Hero (x2).





 At the 45 sec. mark, SOS!



It's the End of the World (roughly translated as Sekai no Owari) as we know it. Here is their interpretation of their band's creation.



This is a playlist of the music by composer Shiro Sagasu for the sequel.

01. Le Soleil d’Or
02. War Song
03. Masterplan, Metalopera
04. God have Mercy
05. Rise up, Rhythmetal
06. The Original Sin
07. Boule de cristal, piano
08. For the dead
09. Die die die die!!
10. Temper the wind
11. Orchestre, lent
12. Deuxième ouverture
13. Rise up
14. War, politics and power
15. Attack of Titans
16. Orchestre, géant à l’est
17. ATM, Rhythmetal
18. Orchestre, apogée
19. Golden Sun
20. Boule de cristal, epilogue d'orchestre version complete
　 【Hi-Res Only】
21. Mercy, metal, mercy【Hi-Res Only】
22. L’Obscurité Profonde【Hi-Res Only】

Here is #10:



...and with lyrics:



I'm fairly certain that this will be a more powerful soundtrack than before. I'll let you know after I see the movie...

Take Your Pick.

Just a quick post to show you what I've been taking in on my tea lately. These cute little K-ON guitar picks come with your pick of Green Teas, bitter and slightly less bitter.

For those of you who need to know who is whom, here's a handy guide for you:
Red: Hirasawa Yui
Blue: Akiyama Mio
Yellow: Tainaka Ritsu
Pink: Kotobuki Tsumugi ("Mugi")
Green: Nakano Azusa

You can possibly play a guitar with these picks but their actual use is as a "Touch Pen" stylus for your Game Boys or X-Boxes or whatever the latest gadget is. I tried it on my iPhone and I can't get it to work. Good luck with yours...

Oh, and in case you're interested, you can get a big can of Mitsuya Cider with a picture of one of the cuties from Madoka Magica.

And it's only a buck. Enjoy!

For The Record

While leafing through my Raiders' mag, I noticed an advert for the
レイダース/失われた聖櫃アーク) オリジナル・サウンドトラック (Raiders of the Lost Ark Original Soundtrack.) My copy is sitting in a locker in Ontario (I brought over Star Wars & Jedi but I have yet to haul all my records to this side of the pond.)

Here are the tracks:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Flight from Peru
3. The Map Room: Dawn
4. The Basket Game
5. The Well of the Souls
6. Desert Chase
7. Marion's Theme
8. The Miracle of the Ark
9. The Raiders March
1. レイダース
2. ペルーからの飛行
3. マップ・ルーム、夜明け
4. バスケット・ボール
5. 霊魂の井戸
6. 砂漠の追跡
7. マリオンのテーマ
8. 聖櫃の奇跡
9. レイダース・マーチ
(42:01)

It just so happens that my co-conspirator, Dave Lowe, in this Blogathon posted a copy of the vinyl version on his blog recently.

But did you ever see the cassette?

Happy Fake Birthday!

I flamboyantly flogged my phony festive foundation on Facebook and fortunately found a few friends follow-up.

Yes, once again, it's St. Michael's Day which means that it's the anniversary of my fake birthday. Click that link to learn all about my childhood woes regarding my birthday and the date upon which it was celebrated while aged 6-12 (Michaelmas.)

To celebrate today, let's take a look at some of the stuff on YouTube that glorifies my angelic namesake...
Let's start with a Symphonic Impression of St. Michael by Ottorino Resphigi (no I don't know him either, but watch the clip, you might learn something.)

Watch me kick some Lucifer butt with a flaming sword!

Wow, a speed painting of Archangel Michael (with questionable music.)

Finally, in preparation for Friday's Countdown to Halloween, (a month-long-all-Halloweenie-daily-post extravaganza), here is Michael kicking some Angel but in Legion!

It's Hammer Time!

I finally got to see アイアンマン2 and though not a good Iron Man movie, it was a good Comic book movie. Not enough screen time for the Golden Avenger but lots of Downey as Stark hamming it up.

Best parts: Scarlett as the unnamed Black Widow kicking major tail.
Stan Lee as Larry King.
Cheadle took over from Howard as the Rhodey less travelled.
Every time Nick Fury showed up.
Tony's dad as Disney.
Pepper got to show her acting chops by whining a lot.
Senator LARRY SANDERS!!

Mickey as the unnamed Whiplash with a bit of Titanium Man thrown in.





I do believe he got his accent from this:



Worst part: Every time Rockwell as Hammer was on the screen it was cringeworthy...I know he was supposed to be arrogant and annoying but he was REALLY annoying.

On the other hand, I did like the music used throughout, a modicum of Metal and a dollop of Disco is a recipe for awesome. Do you remember this song in the movie? I sure don't...



All in all, a good movie, not a great one. Definitely getting pumped for the Avengers though!

Cherry Poppin' Daddies!

If you are in the neighbourhood on the night of the 25th, Echophonyk is holding one of its rare Saturday events. Though the folks from this post's title won't be making an appearance, the sentiment is there. C'mon down and enjoy some post-sakura music without having to freeze your buns off. All the usual suspects will be there, plus a guest appearance by DJ Mokugohan in the wee hours! See:
DJ MIXTURE （UK) DJ NORI (JAPAN) DJ TAKA (JAPAN) DJ PINK KARE (COLUMBIA) DJ TATER (USA) DJ DITA (JAPAN) DJ MOKUGOHAN (CANADA)!

Flog your name over to the guestlist and enjoy a cheaper price than this, DOOR一般入場：2000円（1DRINK）

GUEST-LIST ゲストリスト：1500円（1DRINK）ゲストリスト価格で入場ご希望の方はイベント前までに下記メールアドレスへお手数ですが、お名前・お電話番号を明記の上送信してください。 If you would like to enter with guest list price, please let us know your name and telephone number before the party to the e-mail address below.

Surf on over to: Echophonyk or Shaft for more info...

For The Record.

When I was home at Christmas, I packed a carry-on bag with 2 dozen records with the hopes of either joining the ranks of the Echo DJs or selling them off. My Japan-side collection is now up to 25 albums (apart from the several that DJ Mokugohan* has scammed off me including a White Album that has actual white vinyl) including my beloved Pink Lady. The covers wouldn't fit entirely on my scanner, so you'll only see part of the album. See if you can guess the titles or artists. Some may be easier than others. (As always you can click on the pic to enlarge it.)














































































































































Turnabout is fair-play and this Batman album was scammed from Mokugohan's collection: I couldn't resist its siren song.

*BTW, DJ Mokugohan will make a reappearance for the next Cherry-Picking Echophonyk on April 25th. Should be smoking!