Rusks? How boring!! You must feed the baby POMEGRANATES!! Actually no... you must first throw the pomegranates at the baby until it chooses to burrow through the pomegranate like the little larvae spawn that it is!!!

Soulseek is always my favored option for finding more obscure music and albums... although I wouldn't say Yo La Tengo are entirely "obscure"... still yeah... Soulseek is good for getting musics: http://www.slsknet.org/

Didn't really get a chance to listen to much of or play the new album by 'em on my radio show since I'm on hiatus now... but it did come into the station and I got to hear a little bit of it. Sounds pretty nice!

This show aired in 1990 in the US (the full series aired from 1989 to 1991 in Japan) and I was born in 1977... so I was 13 at the time... but I'm 32 now. Yeah, a majority of the people around here would be too young to have seen this show, I suppose.

Either way... as for the show being interesting or not... I found it pretty interesting at that age. It had a nice way of reproducing the experience of playing one of the Dragon Warrior/Quest games (I had played all of them on the NES at that point). It also had a nice "flavor" to it that's hard to describe. The textures and line quality used in many of the show backgrounds and even the characters had a really nice rough fantasy feel to them.

There's a few times in the show the hero is saved from near death by various means (life stone, magical cloak, another character sacrificing themselves,  etc...) but it's never to the point like in Dragon Ball where he completely dies and is brought back. There is one part where the hero seals a dragon made of water that Tiala had summoned up. He falls into fever and spends several episodes in somewhat of a coma. They revive him later with use of the Padekia Tree leaf, that Daisy and Tiala cooperate to get. I kinda' liked this though since it relates to the games... in Dragon Quest IV there's a similar scenario with Cristo (Kurifuto) falling into a coma from a fever and needing the Padekia Tree leaf, which the hero's party retrieves. There are actually tons of references and names that cross over in this show. It references things from pretty much all that games at the time (I, II, III, IV).

Overall I think it had an interesting story and pacing to it as much as any of the games did. You have to remember that the character design was the only thing handled by Akira Toriyama... so while you might try to draw comparisons between this and something like  Dragon Ball Z... there's really no comparing them. Earlier I had just finished watching the last of the 42 episodes. In my opinion, that's not too long, right? It has a defined start and finish and never really drags at getting there. Nothing like some other "shonen" genre shows that take 100s of episodes and never really end.

In some ways I'm a big dork for this kind of nostalgic stuff though... so you'll have to excuse me for feeling such a fondness for something like this. It was a really big inspiration for my early teenage self, yeh.

I don't think anyone's legal system is trustworthy enough to feel comfortable with something like the death penalty. Really, it just seems uncivilized and barbaric for us to be killing people off for crimes, even if they did kill someone else. The best thing to do, in my view, is to keep that person locked away and try to get them to achieve some productive work in a setting where they can't hurt others in society. Even violent sadistic killers, I'd rather see them locked up rather than killed by the state. We should see ourselves as above killing our fellow humans, even if we abhor who they are and what they've done.

I used to do a lot more in the ways of drugs and things back when I was in my teens... weed, opium, lsd, mushrooms, speed, etc... my desire to really use any of that stuff has totally vanished these days. I used to smoke cigarettes from time to time but I've also since given that one up (although it took me considerably longer to get over). These days beer and other boozy pleasures is pretty much my one vice (asides  from coffee).

Even with booze I haven't really touched in the past month. Chugging down pain-killers due to dental extractions and releated dental work kinda' makes me weary of drinking anything. I guess it's a good sign if I can go for long stretches like this without it though. I might have a couple drinks with a friend tomorrow night (pretty much off the painkillers now other than occasional Tylenol and Ibuprofen pills)... gotta' celebrate a little before leaving for Japan.

I'm curious to try some of the local Japanese style booze n' liquor when I get over there though... that oughta' be exciting... might lean more towards the liquor though... my friend who went to Japan previously told me that beer is generally much more expensive over there compared to other alcoholic  drinks.

As a DJ of a weekly radio show for 12 years, I've been trying to listen to a lot of new and interesting music generally. Lately, with my studies in Japanese language getting more focused, I've been seeking out a lot of the more obscure and interesting bands I can find in Japan. I'll post for you a list of some highly recommended Japanese bands that  I've been into recently.

The Tenniscoats - amongst the more muted and subtle stuff that I like. Here's a wiki entry on 'em: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenniscoats


Maher Shalal Hash Baz - similar in nature to the above mentioned band. The discordant elements mixed with beauty, it's good... I think: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maher_Shalal_Hash_Baz

Kimitaka Matsumae - This guy has done a variety of video game music and commerical tunes... but he's also got some really "balls out experimental" type stuff that's freaky, weird, and fun to listen to. Looks like the shares up at the Mutant Sound blog are still good for "Anata Wa Kitsune" one of the best places to start if you're looking to see how crazy this guy can get in his music: http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2007/03/kimitaka-matsumae-you-are-fox-1-4-cds.html

Shugo Tokumaru - Back to kinda' the more subtle and folky domains of the first two groups I posted... although his stuff is more polished in sound and has some interesting production incorporating electronic type elements. I'd highly reccomend picking up his album Exit or Night Piece. His MySpace page is here: http://www.myspace.com/shugotokumaru

Halcali - Alright, I gotta' break across genres and post something more "fun" I guess... this is a female hip-hop duo who's music is really catchy and enjoyable. Start with their earlier album Halicali Bacon and go from there, I'd say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halcali

Rip Slyme - Another Japanese hip-hop group... also really fun sounding music: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Slyme

The Moools - (pronounced kinda' like "moles" with a drawn out "o" sound... not how you would initially think "ooo" would be pronounced. Yeah, I've butchered this one on the air myself... oh well). Japanese indie band that I've seen play three times in Olympia, WA (where I've been living up till now). They played twice at the Yoyo A Gogo Festival and once at a house show I went to. Really great sound to them. They have a MySpace page here: http://www.myspace.com/moools

Hidari - This is a pretty upbeat and fun sounding indie rock band from the Kansai area of Japan. They incorporate some fun and playful electronic synthy type stuff into the mix. Originally a line up of three Japanese fellows... now it's two Japanese guys and one guy who came from the college I've been attending (The Evergreen State College) and came to Japan on a similar exchange  program as the one I'm going on at the end of the month now. They have a site here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidari

Hi-Posi - A Shibuya-kei style group fronted by Miho Moribayashi. While a few things I've heard by them leave me a little "blah"... generally most of what I hear from them is really great and enjoyable to listen to... so don't give up on them if the first few tracks you hear don't catch you, is what I'm saying. The webite for Hi-Posi is here: http://www.hi-posi.org/

(a note on Shibuya-kei in general) - Mentioning the above band leads me to think it would be good to mention other Shibuya-kei genre bands in Japan. There are too many for me to go into... but I've generally found a lot of music in this grouping of bands that make me really happy. Some of 'em are: Capsule, Takako Minekawa, Plus-Tech Squeezebox, Pizzicato Five, etc... Here's a wiki entry that might explain things more for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibuya-kei

Yann Tomita - This man is a genius, plain and simple. Working as a composer and producer of music... he's got some really beautiful, funny, original, and just plain odd releases out there. If you're into weird cutesy stuff his release by The Doopees "Doopee Time" is pretty insane and almost frightening at times. His other cds "An Adventure in Inevitable Chance", "Music For Astro Age", and "Music For Living Sound" are also well worth obtaining for the gems of sound within. I'll post a discogs page here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Yann+Tomita

Nobukazu Takemura - This guy has some wonderful electronic/experimental type stuff. His stuff also has a sort of wide-eyed childhood innocence to it all. He's the founder of the Childisc label that also puts out some other interesting Japanese electronic artists (like Suppa Micro Pamchop). "Hoshi No Koe" on the Thrill Jockey label is a good place to start with him (that where I started at least). His collaboration with Aki Tsuyuko (another great musician) titled "Songbook" is a fun one to listen to. Wiki page is here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobukazu_Takemura

And there you have it... I'll just stop there since that's a lot to focus on at the same time. I will mention... if all the "modern scene" is getting you down... perhaps you could track down some good tunes from older Japanese performers worthy of a listen like Meiko Kaji, The Peanuts, Kyuu Sakumoto, Arai Yumi (aka Yuming), and the like...  Either way, I hope these above suggestions, links, and descriptions are helpful and informative for some of you seeing new and interesting stuff that Japan has to offer!

i just watched blue velvet again. it was good. i think i'll talk about it some more later.

Blue Velvet is pretty damn great! It's likely up there with some of my favorite all time movies.

The film you should really all see by Lynch, however, is Eraserhead. For people  who want to grasp at a kind of coherent story, it's pretty out there and gone in that field. It is, however, a brilliant little package full of all the things I love about David Lynch films. It's stark and gritty, surreal, and almost "symphonic" in it's use of sound. Not that there's any orchestral music in there... that's not what I'm saying... but the way random noises and environmental sounds play together with sparse organ music... it's really beautiful, I feel.

His later films Mulholland Drive and such... they're alright... they never grabbed me quite as much as his earlier work on things like Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, and Wlid At Heart though... still... a brilliant film maker, yeh!

One word of advice... sometimes it's good to avoid trying to "understand" a film... sure understanding plot and character can be a rich experience for a viewer... I won't deny that... but in some cases, like Lynch's films, I think it's much more appropriate to seek to "experience" the film. Kind of like how you would experience a trip to some new and interesting spot of scenery... or an instrumental concert of music. You're not always scrutinizing every detail or what the things you see/hear "mean"... instead you're often just happy enough to experience their texture and how they "feel", no?

P.S. - Hundley, the film "Jacob's Ladder" is directed by Adrian Lyne. As far as I know, David Lynch had no involvement in that. It does have a similar surreal and frightening feel to it though, so I suppose I could see where you'd make a connection between the two.

I don't know if anyone else here was like me in this way... but I have fond memories from when I was a 13 year old kid watching the series of Dragon Quest cartoons that Saban had brought over as "Dragon Warrior". It was broadcast in the abysmal time-slot of Sunday morning via a Seattle based station KTZZ (I imagine it was broadcast in other locations as well, but I do know it was limited in where it was seen). Despite this I made it a point to attempt to watch/tape every episode I could while it aired. I still have some of those old glitchy VHS tapes from that time.

As fond as my memory of this show was, it's punctuated by the tragic event on the week following the broadcast of the 13th episode. I tuned in as usual (this time from my grandmother's house where I was visiting that day) and readied my tape to record the episode.... and then... nothing... absolutely nothing... it had been canceled! For a kid that age, something like this is pretty heartbreaking.



I later discovered that there were a number of problems leading to this. The time-slot gave the show bad ratings and Saban had failed to credit the famous character designer Akira Toriyama for his work... it all lead to the show not seeing it past the 13th episode (amusing that this coincided with my age at the time that I discovered the show).

Either way, I've seen a few episodes of the series past this point on scattered VHS rentals at Asian rental shops... but I've never been able to see the whole series. I was excited when I heard that the whole series was being released in Japan in a boxed set of DVDs and then crest-fallen when I noticed the price tag for that set was well over $300.



Then just recently, I noticed something up at a popular anime torrent site I check from time to time. The series was being put up in english-subbed torrents (http://animesuki.com/series.php/1496.html) it's only one episode but the video quality is great (as it is taken from this DVD set). Then I noticed another thing... scrolling down on the actual torrent page that the Anime Suki entry linked to (http://frenchies-subs.edwardk.info/) I saw that there were torrents for all the episodes in the show! They were subbed into French... but since I've been studying Japanese (just finished my third year in college and going to Japan to study for another year at the end of this month) I didn't find it too hard to follow.

I have to admit, clicking on the 14th episode after watching the first 13... It made me feel like I was that age again, a giddily happy emotion to equal the depressively disappointed feeling I had back then. So yeah, if there are other old fans of the series around like me... I hope you find this as welcome news. Or maybe some of you out there who never heard of this series can enjoy it now. Still, it would be fun to see some discussion around this show here.

Oh yeah, and for those of you who don't want to hassle with the torrents right away... and maybe just want to peek at a few episodes... there are some lower quality streamed copies up of the first 15 episodes (French-subbed) on Veoh currently: http://www.veoh.com/search/videos/q/Able+Yuusha

Definitely didn't live up to the book... then again... what movie ever does? The pacing was pretty hurried and poor... but the look and feel of it was nice. I'd recommend the movie to people, sure... I'd just urge them to also read the books if they haven't yet. That's one thing I'm hoping this movie will do... get people into reading the books! Oh, and for those that don't have time for reading these days... there are pretty good audio drama versions of the books available that you can put on your ipod or such!

Currently watching old episodes of "Fun Moomin Family (Tanoshii Muumin Ikka)" via Nico Nico Douga... as well as whatever else I can find via that site.

Reading some issues of "Yotsuba to" and "Ge Ge Ge no Kitarou" in Japanese that I picked up.

Getting into Japanese language and culture studies in college has gotten me all nerdy into that kind of stuff lately.

Well... liking Japanese cartoons certainly does provide one with ample opportunities for free entertainment, seeing as how many fansubbing groups and torrents fly about on the net for that kind of thing these days. It also has the effect of keeping me feeling like a kid to some degree even at my age... don't know whether to feel good or bad about that... usually I tend to just revel in that dorky side of myself though. Cartoons are fun!

Arg... If only I had more money to toss around these days. I really want that "Colonel Sweeto" PBF book, for sure!!

I also really want the second collection of Moomin comics that Drawn and Quarterly have released in a collection (http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/shopCatalogLong.php?st=art&art=a43cd43019761a). Got the first one already... As much fun as going back to college is... I do miss the $$ that I got back when I worked full time.

I was horribly sick during the week long Thanksgiving break we get at the college I'm attending now. Spent all my time either in bed or on the computer... in that period of time I wound up watching the entire series via YouTube... part of me wishes I would have spent the time downloading the actual episodes... but still, even at YouTube quality it was pretty damn enjoyable to watch. I loved the character designs and the whole thing had a kind of feel as if it were a clever parody... yet at the same time completely sincere and serious in it's jest.

I didn't really notice the lower quality of the 4th episode until I read about it in reviews later. Maybe watching it on YouTube laid out sick had some kind of effect on my critical skills though. I notice the difference in that episode now... but still, it wasn't THAT bad, eh.