Giant Shopping Cart

A local grocery store in Zebulon, NC offered rides to all their employees. Little did they know it was a shopping cart.

Negative View Image

A magnifying application on my cell phone had another unique feature of taking a negative image. Much to my wife's surprise.

Death by Coke Use

It was a tragic death. After a long battle with drugs he finally croaked.
Just remember, doing Coke kills.

GACKT - Episode.0 (Full Version)

[PV] GACKT - Episode.0 (Full Version) [HDTV] by wonderful-life1989

Episode.0 (Words and music by Mathru)

そう俺は夢を掴む者　

Yes, I live to seize my dreams

野望のため刀を赤く染める

With ambitions, I drench my sword in crimson.

戦国の世が世であるから何を犠牲にしても天下を取る

In this world of Sengoku, I’ll take the country no matter what the sacrifice

何もかも省みずに故郷の母にも手紙書けず

No time for regrets, not even time to write to Mother back home

己の未熟さを知り　気付けば体は血に染まった

I learned my own callowness, and before I knew it my body was soaked in blood

残酷な戦の痕　俺たちは破れた人

With scars from the cruel battles

We find ourselves defeated

敗者には救いさえもなく　無情に雨は降り注ぐ

Nothing left for losers, not even salvation

Mercilessly, rain keeps falling down on us

墓標に夢は露と散る

On our tombs, our dreams scatter away like dews

遠く向こうから聴こえてくる優しく悲しい旋律

A gentle and sad melody from afar

少女が何処かで歌ってるようだ

I hear a girl singing from somewhere

透き通った声が響きわたる

Her crystal voice fills the air

ふと涙零れ落ちた

Suddenly I shed a tear

故郷が思い浮かんだ

A vision of home appeared in my mind

歌声が僕に気付かせた

Her singing made me realize...

平穏が一番大切だと

That the most precious thing is peace

もし生まれかわれるなら

If I can be reborn

この声の少女のように

I want to exist like this girl

歌声で人を救えるような存在になりたいと思うんだ

Who has a singing voice that heals

今の俺がそうであるように

Just like I am [being freed] right now

誰かの重荷を外せたなら

If I could free someone from their burden

嗚呼

Oh...

After School

After School is a South Korean girl group under the label of Pledis Entertainment. The group had their first performance alongside label mate Son Dam Bi in 2008 and their official debut occurred on January 2009 with the song "AH!". The group became popular with the release of their hit single, "Because of You", which attained #1 and a triple crown on SBS's Inkigayo. After School went on to win various awards at the Billboard Japan Music Awards and the Seoul Music Awards. Recently they kicked off their Japanese activities by collaborating with Japanese singer Namie Amuro; featuring in the song 'Make It Happen' for her collaboration album.

Namie Amuro - Make It Happen (feat. After School) (2011)

WANDS - Sekai ga owaru made wa....

Translation

Until the World Comes to an End

Now I’m all alone in this big city
I feel empty, like I’ve been thrown away
If what we had until we knew too much about each other
Was love, then maybe we should sleep forever instead?

We’ll never be parted, until the world ends
That’s what I prayed for thousands of nights
Why is the sparkle of that time I can’t go back to
Breaking my worn out heart?
A fleeting love…this tragic night

And as we long for answers
We lose something we can’t replace
In this town full of greed
Not even the stardust from the night sky can light me up

Tell me, before the world ends
These flowers in full bloom are a suitable catastrophe
We’re all wishing for eternity but none of us believe in it
But we’re surely dreaming of tomorrow
Fleeting days and this tragic night

We’ll never be parted, until the world ends
That’s what I prayed for thousands of nights
Why is the sparkle of that time I can’t go back to
Breaking my worn out heart?
A fleeting love…this tragic night

This tragic night





Another rock band, ACID used the song on one of their CD's

China Fukunaga 福永ちな

After Mikie Hara , China Fukunaga is my next favorite Japanese Idol.

Name: China Fukunaga 福永ちな
Birthday: July 28, 1981
Birthplace: Aichi prefecture, Japan
Profession: Model and gravure idol
Height: 160 cm
Weight: 45 kg
Measurements: B90 cm, W56 cm, H83 cm
Blood type: O 

Canadian Hockey

Full story and pictures click here.
After losing game 7 at a score of 4 - 0, the Canadian fans or simply any Canadian citizen as seeing that if the stereo type are true that all Canadians eat, breath and sleep hockey took to the streets to express their outrage at losing to a non-Canadian team. To add insult to injury, a team from a country that is still waking up to the realization that Hockey is a professional sport.

Even when an American team wins there is a large gathering of people celebrating with little to no damages. The fans of the losing team just drink their sorrows away. Granted, to lose by by that margin is embarrassing but not enough to do what the Canadians did to their own city. American have had riots but those were related to social injustice like Martin Luther King Jr.s death or the LA riots from cops pulling over a man and beating him. All sports are entertainment but to destroy an entire of a city over losing a game is nuts.

Okinawan Lunar Eclipse

In this photo taken by Kenji Tabata, the moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse as seen from Naha, Okinawa early Thursday, June 16, 2011. The total lunar eclipse was also visible in most parts of Asia but the Okinawan people were truly blessed to witness the full effect of the lunar eclipse.

FMA Jean Havoc - Thirsty

I modestly gave the idea to my wife the idea to draw this picture while I was laying in bed one day.

Link to her post as well by clicking here.

Protecting Nature

The Secret to Understanding The Opposite Sex

Ten ways to better understand;

 Women

1. 
   
2. 
   
3. 
   
4. 
   
5. 
   
6. 
   
7. 
   
8. 
   
9. 
   
10. 
    

Men

1. Nude women
2. Alcohol
3. Nude women bringing them alcohol
4. Sports
5. Nude women playing sports
6. Cars
7. Nude Women in Cars
8. Old Fashion home cooked meals
9. Nude women serving it
10. Taking a nap.

WANDS - Ashita Moshi Kimiga Kowaretemo

Wands was a Japanese rock band formed in 1991 as a three-member group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wands_(band)

Ashita Moshi Kimiga Kowaretemo
Even if Tomorrow Dies

"Call my name,"

That voice of someone calling

The deep sadness of the darkness

Your pale skin fills me with light

Without knowing if it was black or white

I wonder if this type of love is old-fashioned?

For the entire day

We just waited for the sunrise

Even if you could shatter tomorrow

I won't run from this place

It cures the fatigue of my body

Your smile

Lonely heart,

Feelings beyond my control

It's like a wide hole has opened

Unable to control myself, I became angry at something

"I can't forget that love"

That's what you had said when we first met

Your face hides your true intentions

Is there any redemption for me?

Even if you could shatter tomorrow

I guess that I'd still keep wandering

Loving you, I discovered for the first time,

That fear of losing you

Even if you could shatter tomorrow

Even if I should lose my sight

We'll start walking

In those times, when we were at peace

It's a ghost of you

Yu-Gi-Oh! closing

Yu-Gi-Oh! opening

Green Lantern

Another picture my wife drew recently.

Solar Flare Erupts, Creating Spectacular Images

Scientists said that the event won't have a significant impact on Earth, although it will deliver a "glancing blow" to the planet's magnetic field late June 8 or June 9, NASA said. 

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/08/solar-flare-erupts-creating-spectacular-images/#ixzz1OjrpjdiR

Mikie Hara Trading Card

Another friend of mine from Shizuoka-shi who knows I really like Mikie Hara sent me a card from his collection. Needless to say I was very happy.

Asian Idols websites

The wonderful people who are looking at my blog have been mainly focusing on Japanese Idols like Mikie Hara. Below is a few links to websites I visit from time to time.

http://reallycuteasians.com/

http://www.asianchicki.com/Index.aspx

http://jp.pureidols.com/

Heo Yun Mi

http://www.asianfav.com/

http://www.japansugoi.com/wordpress/

http://jappydolls.net/

Ayaka Sayama

Fan-Made Anime-Inspired Dr. Who ドクター・フー

Anime fan Paul "Otaking" Johnson, a professional translator in Sheffield, England, is streaming the above video onYouTube. The video is the culmination of over two years of work to create an unofficial anime-inspired adaptation of the BBC's Dr. Who science fiction television franchise. (Johnson bears no relation to Toshio Okada, the "OtaKing" who co-founded Gainax.)

When ANN previously contacted Johnson for comment, he cautioned that the short isn't an episode or full story, but rather a short "'what-if' trailer." He also acknowledged the influence of anime from the 19980s and 1990s such as Project A-Ko, Bubblegum Crisis, and Macross on the art style.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-06-04/daily-video/fan-made-anime-inspired-dr-who-finished

Namie Amuro Does Opening for "ONE PIECE"

 Namie Amuro will provide the opening theme for the popular anime ONE PIECE, starting March 27! The track is title “Fight Together” and is expected to be an upbeat tune. So far there has been no announcement of a physical release.

In Shonen Jump, Namie commented:

I love ‘ONE PIECE’ as a comic and as an anime, I even read it when on tour. I’m honored to be doing the theme song this time around.

2011年度第１弾シングル「NAKED/Fight Together/タイトル未定」から
テレビ系アニメ「ONE PIECE」主題歌として好評オンエア中の
『Fight Together』を6/1から早くも着うた(R)配信決定！

安室奈美恵が7月27日にニューシングル「NAKED / Fight Together / タイトル未定」をリリースすることが決定した。

4月27日に発売された初のコラボレーションベストアルバム「Checkmate!」が、オリコンウィークリーチャートで2週連続1位を獲得した安室奈美恵。待望の新作は、3曲それぞれに大型タイアップが付いたトリプルA面シングルとなる。

1曲目の「NAKED」は、安室本人が出演していることで話題のコーセー「ESPRIQUE」CMソング。この曲はプロデュースに大沢伸一、作詞にVERBAL（m-flo）を迎えた、安室らしいダンサブルな楽曲だ。2曲目の「Fight Together」はフジテレビ系アニメ「ONE PIECE」の主題歌。テレビでは4月からオンエアされており、6月1日から着うた先行配信も行われる。そして3曲目の新曲（タイトル未定）にも大型タイアップが決定しているという。こちらの内容は近日中に発表されるので、続報を待とう。

なお、安室は今作のリリース直後、7月30日より全国ツアー「namie amuro ARENA TOUR 

Japanese Trading Cards

A friend of mine in Tokyo sent me a few cards to add to my collection. I usually receive BOMB, Juicy Honey, AKB48, Race Queen or Produce Premium type cards but this time he sent me some SRQ Memorial cards. 

Mikie Hara Honey Flashes to Mystique - JEFusion

Video news: http://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/ann/geinou/geinou_mov/contents/detail/0361/

News Articles: MikieHara Honey Flashes to Mystique - JEFusion

http://mantan-web.jp/2011/05/31/20110531dog00m200029000c.html

Gravure idol Hara Mikie has transformed herself into the shape-shifting mutant “Mystique” from the Marvel Comic series, “X-MEN“!

The model showed up at the “X-MEN: First Generation” event at Toho Twin Towers building in Chiyodaku, and she said she was very excited to tranform into the character.

Egawa Etsuko is the special make-up artist who worked on Hara’s transformation for three hours. Egawa has previously worked on other films’ special make-up, including Ghost Busters and Captain EO.

Hara noted that it was her first time doing this type of special make-up and that she didn’t expect it to take so long. When Egawa was finished, Hara was really surprised with the finished look because she had completely changed.

Also, four lucky fans were chosen at random to be transformed into “Mystique” (only the face) at the event.

グラビアアイドルで女優の原幹恵さんが31日、米ハリウッドのSF大作映画「X-MEN」のセクシーミュータント、“ミスティーク”にふんし、全身真っ青の特殊メーク姿で登場した。東宝ツインタワービル（東京都千代田区）で行われたシリーズ最新作「X-MEN：ファースト・ジェネレーション」（マシュー・ヴォーン監督）のお披露目イベントで、「どんどん変わっていく姿に興奮しました」と満足そうだった。

　ミスティークは遺伝子の突然変異によって特異な能力を持ったミュータント（突然変異体）の一人で、自在に変化する青い素肌でどんな外見の人物にも瞬時に変身できるという特殊能力を持つ。原さんの特殊メークは「ゴーストバスターズ」「キャプテンEO」などの作品にスタッフとして参加したこともある特殊メークアップアーティストの江川悦子さんが担当。細部までこだわった

　原さんは「特殊メークが初めてでどんなものかわからなかったので、3時間も（メークの時間が）かかるとは思わなかった」とすっかり変わった自分にびっくりした様子。また、映画のキーワードにちなみ「原さんは彼氏に対しては“共存”と”“支配”のどちらか」という質問には「共存したいですね、支配したいというのもあるけれどできないので」とチラリと本音ものぞかせた。

　また原さんは会場に集まった40人の中から抽選で選ばれた4人のファンをミスティークに変身させると称して無表情のまま次々と青色の塗料が付いた手でビンタし、次々とファンらの顔を青色に塗っていった。

　映画は、遺伝子の突然変異により超人的パワーに目覚めたミュータントたちの苦悩と活躍を描いた「X-MEN」シリーズ最新作。今作はこれまで語られることのなかったプロフェッサーXと宿敵マグニートーの若き日にスポットを当て、X-MEN誕生にまつわる知られざる物語を壮大なスケールで描き出す。

　映画は6月11日から全国公開。（毎日新聞デジタル

My Wife's Artwork

Recently my wife was ask to do the artwork for a dōjinshi  book. There was to be a huge event at the time of the release of the book in Tokyo but those plans were put on hold due to the earthquake and tsunami's on March 11, 2011.