Heishiro Shoten

Sun, 13 Feb 2005 10:31:15 GMT

So there's this new indie move out. It's called Ong-Bak. Yeah, it's Thai. Take some friends, have some drinks and go see this movie. It probably changed my life or something. If I had to explain what it was about, without giving it all away, I would have to say that it is about the journey of a young man, from a dirt-poor (literally) village, and his experiences trying to--no, no; it's an existentialist metaphor about a village boy trying to get a little head. Bottom line, this is the funniest movie I've seen in years. I can hardly remember a time when I laughed this hard. It's kind of a shame, they could have made so much money on merchandise if they had sold Budhha Bobble-heads. I would have bought one. Awesome fight scenes, taxi cab street madness, powerfully moving story (LOL), French punk-rap (wtf?) and head-rolling laughter. You could feel the power of the Karma Police at work here.

Friends
Drinks
Ong-Bak

The weekend isn't over.. GO!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/ong_bak.html/

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 22:51:43 GMT

I came across this today and I don't ever want to forget it:

Insane Cat w/lips, Plus $5.00, to good home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply to: anon@craigslist.org
Date: Wed Sep 29 16:43:23 2004

The posting pretty much says it all -- this cat (beautiful charcoal gray color, beautiful coat, beautiful eyes, and lips - yes, lips - do all cats have these?) showed up at our house, we've kept her for a long time, and simply can't keep her any longer. Plus, she's insane.

Sweet as pie in the house, but when she gets outside, she terrorizes certain cats in the neighborhood, chasing them onto the roof of our neighbors house and cornering them until we throw rocks at her to get her to stop. Typically we don't get her to stop, but we do get the neighbors pissed off. No biggy - we don't like our neighbors. In fact, feel free to take them too.

She also likes to walk under cars, in full view of the drivers, just as they are ready to pull out of the driveway, forcing them to get out of the car, get on all fours, and see where she went. When they do, she smiles with those damn lips of hers. Her name is "Baby Gray," but she also goes by "Crazy Lips."

Did I mention that she's insane? The only cat in the neighborhood ever to be maced by the mailman. OK, that's not true, but only because the mailman couldn't get to her - she was under his truck, smiling away.

Yours for free, plus we'll give you $5.00 and our eternal thanks.

this is in or around Santa Monica
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2004 craigslist

There's a cat in my neighborhood that's the exact same way. The apartment manager put a notice up in the washroom and on the bulletin board telling people to leave the cat alone because it had obvious signs of being kicked. lol...

Today is Dilbert Day

Thu, 02 Sep 2004 18:50:40 GMT

I just found out today that the Dilbert Comic Strip originated at the company I now work for. SBC was still Pacific Bell at the time, but the author, Scott Adams, apparently worked here some years ago and Dilbert, himself, was born in this very building. I'm even more amused by this because Steve and Hitesh were so fervently trying to pursue a life more like Wally's. We actually had a discussion once on who was most like Wally in the office. That's when the saying started going around, "What would Wally do?"

Hitesh: What would Wally do in this situation?
Steve: Wally would just ignore the situation until it eventually resolved itself.

According to Webster's, Scott Adams sat at cube 4S700R (4th Floor, South Wing, 700 Block, Cube R), which, to my surprise, is exactly 3 floors up from where my cube is right now. A bunch of us are going to do a walk-by this afternoon to see if there's a Dilbert shrine up there or something. I am going to lift up a standard and set an example for all of the Wally's in corporate Amercia.

New Movie Tuesday

Tue, 22 Jun 2004 12:36:00 GMT

Two new movies this time around, I'm still in progress of watching the 3rd. First up we have...

Touching the Void

This is a relatively new, independent film, directed by Kevin Macdonald. It just came out on DVD last Tuesday. The movie a reinactment of the true events of a climb of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes which occurred in 1985. You meet the two climbers, Simon and Joe who are mountaineers and live for the trill of it. You need to know that this is a snow climb. The mountain is in the middle of nowhere, literally. There are no people around for miles. The path to get to the mountain is so severe that you can't take animals or vehicles to the base. They had a couple mules with them at first but they couldn't take them the entire way. The climb to the summit of the Siula Grande had never been done before, despite the efforts of several climbers. Simon and Joe, both in their prime, felt they were better than the others and made the trek up the mountain side. The movie takes you up the mountain with them as they make the climb. It got to the point where I actually started to feel cold just watching them. They make it to the summit of the mountain after a difficult climb but they have run out of gas which powers their heating device to melt snow into water, which is essential for climbing in general. In their case, they were able to eat snow for some hydration, but if you've ever tried it, you know that eating snow sucks, especially in the cold. You're freezing, so is the snow and it doesn't really melt in your mouth, so you really do end up eating it. And when you're thristy, snow does NOT cut it. As they made the trip down the mountain, they ran into one problem after another until they're both staring death in the face. I was telling Ira about the movie last night.

Shoten: They didn't run into severe problems until they started coming down the mountain.
Ira: Yeah, it's always coming down that's the hard part, isn't it?

Yeah, we would know. When we went climbing some years ago, I fell off on the way down and broke my leg. I don't want to reveal too much about it, for those of you who will actually see it, but there is something that happens in the movie that really pisses you off. One of the guys does something and it gets really bad, especially for Joe. One thing I learned when climbing with Ira is that you can't do it with just anyone. At least, I couldn't. I've done some climbing since my fall, but nothing too serious. Climbing is just fun to me, it's not my passion. I'm not trying to die in that mess. But when I fell, I knew that Ira would help me. I knew that no matter what happened, he wouldn't leave me and he wouldn't stop until we were both safely off the mountain. I knew this because I would have done the same for him. I don't care what I would have had to go through, I could not have left that mountain without him. I swear, if it meant dying myself, I would have died trying to save him if he needed it. I don't understand how anyone could go climbing with anyone that they don't have *this* kind of trust and love with. To do anything less is a huge mistake, in my opinion. It's possibly worse than going alone. Anyway, you might be able to imagine some things that they went through but you won't know the extent of it until you see this movie. It's so powerful and it makes you feel, so strongly, the peril of these two men. I've never seen anything like it.

If you are anything of a climber, you have to see this movie. Even if you're not a climber, you'll be able to appreciate it and the movie will still move you. I highly recommend it.

Today I saw The Terminal.

There is something about this movie that stops it from being perfect - from being better than Cast Away. It's the fact that some sections of the film are really not believable. That bothers me so much because this film is otherwise flawless. There is definitely a line you can cross where the feel-good fluff becomes so blatantly unbelievable that you turn sour. Despite all of that, this movie is hilarious, it's munificently touching and it's absolutely inspiring. You begin with Viktor Nivorski, played by Tom Hanks, who is making his first trip to America. He encounters some problems as he tries to pass through US Customs. Because of a coup in his homeland, his country is temporarily declared as unrecognized by the United States. By law, he has to be assigned to stay in this country until the situation is resolved, but he has to be confined in his current location because he cannot enter open American ground. Seeing this movie made me really excited about the trip to LA in a couple weeks. I can hardly wait to go through the madness that is the airport. Nivorski becomes a resident of the terminal lobby and eventually finds shelter in a closed gate where he creates a make-shift home. He encounters loads of problems as you can imagine. Not to mention that he is consistently being monitored by the airport enforcement, consisiting of people who are trying to get him out of their hands. Nivorski relies on his wit to survive and meets a lot of interesting people along the way. And that's about as far as I should go. This movie was directed by Steven Spielberg, which I didn't know until I saw his name in the credits. At the very end, you see the credits are signed by the actual staff, it was pretty cool. While I did have some problems with this movie, it was excessively entertaining. It was pretty long. With the trailers and credits, I was in there for about 3 hours but I wasn't bored for a minute. It's a great family movie. There is hardly any cussing, no nudity or sex, and nothing I noticed that was questionable for children. So get that husband of yours to take you and Emilia to the movies, Gen!!! I'm going to see this movie again next weekend, with a different crowd. It's that good. It's definitely one of the best movies I've seen this year and the best movie I've seen this summer, above Shrek 2.

By the way, has anyone seen Shrek 2 and NOT liked it? I can't find anyone IRL that hasn't liked it. Even Ira and his construction-worker groupies loved it. Yeah. o.O; I think it's all about Puss in Boots. Just thinking about him makes me smile.

I'm currently working on Nora Inu (Stray Dog) and Mada da yo (Not Yet!) by Kurosawa. Nora Inu is pretty darn long. I ran out of snacks while watching it, so I inevitably got too tired to stay awake to finish it. Perhaps this morning I'll finish it off. We'll see.

-10

Ikea

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 07:45:59 GMT

Steve was talking about some cool places to check out in Emryville yesterday, so I went to check it out. Couple hundred bucks at BestBuy to get myself caught up in the wireless arena. And then I went to the Ikea...

Now I'm thinking, "What kind of dining room set defines me as a person?" The Haparanda sofa group with the orange slip covers by Erika Pekkari. The Johanneshov armchair in the Strinne green stripe pattern. The Rislampa/Har lamps from wire and environmentally-friendly unbleached paper. The hand-blown green glass dishes with the tiny bubbles and imperfections, proof they were crafted by the honest, simple, hard-working, indigenous peoples of... wherever.

Yes, everything at Ikea is cheap. That is, of course, until you start buying everything. And then it's not so cheap.

-10

GSBCMail!?

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 12:12:25 GMT

When I logged in to my SBC Yahoo email account today, I got a messaging indicating that I had an increased storage with the "new" Yahoo premium mail program.. thing.

SBC Yahoo has increased their email storage to 2GB.

Wow. o.O;;

Uhm. >.>a

Ok.. O.o

New Movie Monday ...Tuesday

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 11:59:01 GMT

Last night we went to see The Chronicles of Riddi..zzzzz... I actually *tried* to go to sleep at one point. But I couldn't sleep because I wasn't tired. ...hahahahahahahaha!

Ira suggested that I see Pitch Black before we go see it. So, I did. It was okay. The special effects really didn't fit the movie though. It was like.. the space ships and the space scenery were pretty cool looking if you had found them on some site or something. The way they handled having 3 suns was pretty lame. I think Dersu Uzala must have had a higher budget. Hey, they had a *real* tiger on their set.

So yeah, The Chronicles of Riddick.. Go see it if you feel like you have to see it to believe everyone when they say how BAD it really is. But don't complain when you find out that everyone was right, afterall. Otherwise, just don't see it.. unless you're really tired and looking for new and creative ways of falling asleep.

In other news, I've experienced another Kurosawa film: Dersu Uzala.

This movie is THE SHIT.

First of all, it's a Russian movie. It was filmed in Russia and the entire story is in Russian. It's almost not really a Kurosawa film, but really, who are we kidding? Kurosawa wrote the screenplay for this movie. IMDB is saying Kurosawa directed it but I think I saw someone else in there. I did notice the telephoto lens effects in the movie, so he probably was involved in the direction, at the very least. He has written just screenplays before, though.

In any case, the results are in and the all-knowing (moronic) Kurosawa reviewers are wrong. (And if I hear that man pronounce Kaede, "kay-ite-ee-day-ee" again, I'm going to smash something.) I was reading some articles on Kurosawa by these people that claim to have seen all of his films. This one in particular, who's pronounciation is so bad, it makes you wonder if he's been watching the films with Mute on, stated that after Aka Hige, Kurosawa doesn't protray any more heroes in his stories. The clear distinction being that all films after Aka Hige are in color, which made it an interesting concept! Anyway, Kurosawa's heroes are never quite your average hero but they're not anti-heroes either. A hero in a Kurosawa film is a man like Aka Hige. He is very wise, insightful, compassionate and does what he can to help people. My point being, this man went out of his way to say that after Aka Hige, there would be no more heroes in any Kurosawa film. I would also claim that Wantanabe Kanji is also a Kurosawa hero, although he starts out as an anti-hero and becomes a real hero by the end of the story. [Mitsuo.. Mitsuo.. *slap!!*] After having seen Ran and, some years earlier, Rhapsody in August, I had pretty much accepted the claim and was coming to terms with there being no more heroes in a Kurosawa film. Now I'm wondering if this guy had ever seen Dersu Uzala, because Dersu himself is unquestionably a Kurosawa Hero.

The story is simple enough. It begins with a Russian man, we later come to know as Vladimir Arseniev or "Capitan" inquiring about a grave. "It's a friend, you see. A friend," he tells this man at the site. We then take a look into Vladimir's past as he recalls a time when his project work was to survey this certain area of Russia and do a topographical study. He had a small crew with him as he marched over the mountains and hills. One night, while the group is camping for the night, a small man emerges from the darkness and joins the group by the fire. He is Dersu Uzala, a hunter in these parts of the forest. He lives in the wilderness, making his way from place to place. He endearingly refers to Vladimir as "capitan" and never speaks his real name. Vladimir asks if Dersu will guide the group since he is familiar with the area. Dersu replies, "Me think necessary." Dersu speaks Russian well enough to communicate with everyone easily but his words are a not educated. They soon discover that not only is Dersu familiar with the area but he is vastly insightful on life in the forest; his senses are keen and his actions purposeful. Dersu is Asian, so his appearance throws off the Russian crew. Apparently, Chinese in the area turned out to be pretty commonplace, as you progress through the story.

Dersu and Vladimir develop a very strong bond during the trip. When the two get seperated from the group, Dersu's wit and experience save Vladimir's life. When the survey is complete, Vladimir and his men head back to the city. He asks Dersu to come to stay with him but he declines, saying that his home is in the forest. A few years later, Vladimir is sent out to survey more of the land and he passes through some of the area he covered with Dersu before. The entire time they are in the forest, he is hoping to see Dersu again. Eventually, one of the men reports to him that a smallish Asian man was asking who the captain of the crew was. Vladimir realizes that this has to be Dersu and runs off to find him. He eventually catches up with him and they spend hours talking and catching up on the past few years. Dersu is exactly the same as Vladimir remembers him. Dersu joins up with the new crew as they explore the depths of the wilderness, experiencing dangerous and adventurous times. Vladimir at one point states that it was during this season that he experienced some of his most fond memories of Dersu. There is a scene where they're just taking pictures of everyone and it's funny to see how Dersu reacts to everyone and how quickly everyone takes to him.

Later in their trip, they encounter a tiger, which had been following them for some time. Dersu eventually takes a shot at it, trying to scare it away, and hits it. As the tiger runs off, Vladimir reassures him that he didn't hit it because it ran away but Dersu says, "No, when hurt, tiger always run until die." After that incident, Dersu was no longer the same. He became irritable and captious. Vladimir begins to notice that Dersu's sight is getting weak. He eventually discovers this himself and says that it is happening because he killed the tiger. As their survey draws to a close, Dersu begins to panic because his ability to live in the wilderness will be diminished without his sight. Vladimir invites Dersu into his home again and says that he will take care of him. This time, Dersu respectfully accepts and becomes a guest in his home for some time. Dersu grows fond of Vladimir's son, Vova and tells him all about life in the forest and the things he has seen. Vova has a strong admiration for Dersu and a fascination. Over time, Dersu discovers that he can't deal with the rules of city life and describes living in a home as living in a box. He asks if he can return to the hills to live out the remainder of his days. Vladimir doesn't want him to go, especially with his diminished sight, but ultimately realizes that a man like Dersu could never be happy in a city. He gives Dersu his own riffle, the latest model of it's kind and tells him that it's easy to fire, even with poor sight. Dersu accepts this greatfully and returns to the hills.

Some time later, Vladimir recieves a note asking him to come into the forest to identify the body of a man, people were told he knew. When he comes, he finds Dersu's body under covers as men are digging a grave for him. The inspector is collecting information on the situation. Vladimir said that there should have been a new model riffle with him when he died. The inspector thinks on this for a moment, after telling Vladimir that nothing was found with the body. He then says, "Ah, now it becomes clear. The attacker must have wanted the gun and killed the man to get it." Vladimir lingers in silence at Dersu's grave and recalls the time they spent together, there in the forest.

It's so sad, the ending!! Poor Dersu! Do we live in a fucked up world or what??? I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It really was a delight to watch. I am definitely recommending this film and give it 4 stars!

-10

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 10:44:24 GMT

Happiness
Is just a word to me
And it might have meant a thing or two
If I'd known the difference

Emptiness
A lonely parody
And my life, another smokin' gun
A sign of my indifference

Always keepin' safe inside
Where no one ever had a chance
To penetrate a break in

Let me tell you some have tried
But I would slam the door so tight
That they could never get in

Kept my cool under lock and key
And I never shed a tear
Another sign of my condidtion

Fear of love or bitter vanity
That kept me on the run
The main events at my confession

I kept a chain upon my door
That would shake the shame of Cain
Into a blind submission

The burning ghost without a name
Was calling all the same
But I just wouldn't listen

The longer I'd stall

The further I'd crawl

Ө^1:1
The harder I'd fall
I was crawlin' into the fire

The more that I saw

The further I'd fall

Ө^2:1
The lower I'd crawl
I kept fallin' into the fire

Into the fire

Ө^3:1

Suddenly
It occurred to me
The reason for the run and hide
Had totaled my existnce

Everything left on the other side
Could never be much worse that this
But could I go the distance?

I faced the door and all my shame
Tearin' off each piece of chain
Until they all were broken

But no matter how I tried
The other side was locked so tight
The door, it wouldn't open

Gave it all that I got
And started to knock
Shouted for someone
To open the lock
Just gotta get through the door

And the more that I knocked

The hotter I got

Ө^4:1
The harder I'd knock
Just gotta break through the door

Gotta knock a little harder

Break through the door

Ө^5,6:2,1

Break down the door

Gotta Knock a Little Harder
Mai Yamane - The Seat Belts
Future Blues

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 10:05:06 GMT

ギラッとした君の目に
ドキッとした昼下がり
シャキッとした俺の体
まるで試されてるように

ツンとした君と空気に
ゾクッとした恋心は
ザラッとした砂を噛み
されるがまま夜になる

そろそろ自慢のくちびるで
ワインを飲ませてくれないか
満月の夜に結ばれた

男と女は永遠さ

激しくLady
Ah gimme your love
妖しくLady
I need your love

たまに見せる淋しげな目が

嘘か本当かわからない
素直にLady
Ah gimme your love
感じてみてLady
I need your love

君のしぐさに振り回されて
夢中の愛は俺の中で踊る

サラッとした髪をとき
ツヤッとした肌をよせ
言葉遊びをするように
君は俺をもて遊ぶ

駆け引きは強い君の中
過ちは弱い俺の中
好きなだけ楽しめばいいさ

Ө^1:1

Ө^2:1

たまに見せる優しい笑顔が

Ө^3:1

君のしぐさで俺を殺して
その一瞬が何より幸せさ

闇の中踊る抱きしめて踊る
何度でも踊る

永遠に踊る

Ө^4:3

吉井和哉　編曲
THE YELLOW MONKEY
作詞/作曲

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 08:17:16 GMT

I'm strange
and you're strange
Don't want
you to change
No way

How can
I explain
Flyin' to the sun without a plane
when you're here?

And don't you worry 'bout me babe
'Cuz I'm right here for you to say

Hope you know you inspire me
You're a flower and I'm a bee
I need you

All this you do for free
Give me hope and I can see
You're so true

Ө^1:1

All the day
All the time
You and I
know why
You're the waves of my ocean
Here's my ring and my devotion

Ө^2:1

You're strange
and I'm strange
Don't want
You to change
No way

Ө^3:1

Ө^1:1

Don't you worry 'bout me babe
'Cuz I'm right here for you to say

You're So True
Joseph Arthur
Album Single

Gmail

Thu, 10 Jun 2004 07:16:50 GMT

Wow, Gmail is cool stuff. We just sent a few hundred MB of files around the office. It's really efficient and fast. Still in beta stages but you can get on the sign up sheet at http://gmail.google.com/gmail/help/about.html#email.

-10

New Movie Monday ...Wait it's Tuesday now

Tue, 08 Jun 2004 09:34:08 GMT

This weekend, I saw Ran - Masterworks Edition DVD. The kanji used for Ran means "chaos", "disorder", "war", "riot". That pretty much sums up the movie in 4 words. This movie was made in an unusual time in Kurosawa's life. Keep in mind that he was in his 70's when he directed this film. This movie has no heroes. It has no one you really want to admire. There's almost no one you LIKE in this film. Kurosawa had already made an attempt on his life by this time and you can see in his films that he has an increasing dark view of the world, where terribly bad things happen to everyone. After his film, Aka Hige (Red Beard), his view of the world had changed and it is strongly visible in the characters that play in his movies.

If I had to summarize the point of this movie, I would quote from the dialogue itself:

Kyoami: *shouting up at the sky* You are truly cruel and a trickster!! Are there no gods or Buddha?! Tell me, is it so much fun to watch men weep?!
Tango: Do not blaspheme!! It is the gods who weep for they cannot save us from ourselves! Man prefers suffering over joy, pain over happiness.

The film is very dark. Kumonosu Jou is the only film I've seen of Kurosawa's that had this much dark intensity, but Ran surpasses even that. It begins with the the old warrior Ichimonji Hidetora, who is overlooking the lands he has domniated over the years, with his 3 sons and 2 greatest rivals. During this time, he falls into sleep and has a dream where he is all alone in the whole wide world. When he awakens, he is overtaken with joy seeing his beloved sons at his side. After giving it some thought, he makes a decision to allow his oldest son, Taro, full control of his empire. This seemingly rash decision surprises everyone but only his youngest son, Saburo, has the never to speak his mind. It was Hidetora's wish that his sons would unite under his banner and take up his place as the leader of the Ichimonji clan. Saburo indirectly implies that this is a foolish dream because he knows the hearts of his brothers and how they are impaired by greed. His defiance evokes a great anger in Hidetora and he banishes him from his house, cutting all ties with him forever.

(Points of interest: Hidetora was 70 years old at this point. Many people theorize that Kurosawa reflected his views of loneliness in Hidetora's dream. There seems to be several connections between the character and the man.)

As Taro begins to take over his father's role, Hidetora begings to find his actions disrespectful. As things get worse, Hidetora is so offended by Taro that he decides to take his men and leave for Jiro's (his other, middle, son) castle. When he arrives, he is greeted with contempt and ultimately decides to leave Jiro's castle before coming in.

It is at this point that Hidetora begins a descent into madness as he finds that his sons have plotted to kill him by setting up an ambush at one of his first castles.

(Points of interest: The castle used in the massacre scene was very carefully and elaborately constructed by Kurosawa's team. This set cost approximately $1.2 million to create and it is, after the massacre, *literally* burned to the ground. What's worse is that, this set which cost so much money to build, fell in flames, only captured on film for a few quick shots. You don't see more than a few seconds of the castle burning, at a time. One of the most famous scenes of the movie is when Hidetora descends the stairway leading up to the castle, after all of his retainers have been slain. This scene could only have been filmed once because the castle was really burning when he came down. Nakadai Tatsuya, who plays Hidetora, only had one chance to get this part of the film right. If he screwed up too many times, the castle would have been too far burned and unusable. From what I've read, he was able to pull the scene off in one take. Kurosawa ruthlessly shows us these small clips of his vastly expensive set, going up in flames. Only a man like Kurosawa could pull such a thing off.)

Hidetora literally walks out of the castle, a mad and confused look engraved on his face. None of the soldiers dare attack him out of fear or shame. While at the castle, Taro is shot in the chest and dies forthwith. His brother Jiro is notified by Kurogane, the man who claimed it was a stray shot from the tower but really pulled the trigger himself. Kurogane serves his lord and wants Jiro to be the absolute ruler of the Ichimonji house. Behind the scenes, Kaede, originally Taro's wife, had been scheming to destroy the house of Ichimonji because they took away her home and her family. If there were a real warrior in this film, it would be Kaede, whose unrelenting vengeance and scheming succeed in bringing down her foes. Kaede ends up marrying Jiro, even though he already had a wife. She tries to get the men to kill her but she is saved by Kurogane, who doesn't take orders from Kaede. Jiro, who ends up being the most treacherous of all three sons, assumes the power of leader and tries to use Saburo to find his father and put an end to him, once and for all. Hidetora is taken care of by his old advisor, Tango and his jester, Kyoami, who desperately seek shelter for the Great Lord. They try to convince him to return to his youngest son, Saburo, who declared before that he could never betray his father. Hidetora, in his madness, refuses because he had banished him some time ago. Eventualy, Saburo comes looking for his father and his men find him wandering the planes aimlessly. Saburo's embrace and words pull Hidetora out of his madness and back into sanity. As they are traveling back to Saburo's keep, a stray gunman takes a shot at Saburo and kills him. Hidetora, now hurt beyond words, immediately dies from this loss, leading up to the dialogue I quoted earlier.

It could be said that nothing GOOD happens in this story. There is only chaos, betrayal, corruption and deciet. It's a really dark film but when you look at all the unique characteristics of it, you're able to appreciate it as a real work of art. I am recommending this film but I don't know how to grade it.

I also finished the last of the Samurai trilogy about Miyamoto Musashi. These films were not directed by Kurosawa but I thought I'd check them out anyway. First of all, they're really bad. They're in color. They acting is pretty poor in almost all characters. Mifune Toshiro probably does the best job but even his acting is pretty shotty. They story is overplayed and uninteresting for the most part. It was worth seeing for some background on Musashi but aside from that, not really. Each movie was terribly episodic and cheesy. "Watch as Miyamoto Musashi drives women across Japan to fall madly in love with him!" "Will Otsu-san ever catch up with Musashi? Will Akemi get to him first? What about that old woman who was trying to get her freak on? Will Kojiro steal all the women instead? Find out on the next episode of, Samurai!" -_-

I did learn where the names for Roketto dan came from, though. I was pretty amused by that. During the last battle, I kept shouting: "Musashi!" "Kojiro!"

-10

Fri, 04 Jun 2004 10:08:00 GMT

She said,
"I've gotta be honest, you're wasting your time if you're fishin' round here"
And I said,
"You must be mistaken, I'm not foolin'. This feeling is real."
She said,
"You've gotta be crazy! What do you take me for, some kind of easy mark?"

You've got wits, you've got looks, you've got passion but I swear that you've got me all wrong

All wrong

All wrong

But you've got me

I'll be true
I'll be useful
I'll be cavalier

I'll be yours, my dear
and I'll be-long to you if you just
let me through

This is easy as lovers go
So don't complicate it by
hesitating, and
This is wonderful as loving goes
this is tailor-made
What's the
sense in waiting? And

I said,
"I've gotta be honest, I've been waiting for you all of my life
For so long, I thought I was asylum bound
But just seeing you
makes me think twice
And being with you here
makes me sane, I fear
I'll go crazy if you leave my side"

You've got wits, you've got looks, you've got passion but

Are you brave enough to leave with me tonight?

Tonight

Tonight

You've got me

I'll be true
I'll be useful
I'll be cavalier

I'll be yours, my dear
and I'll be-long to you
if you just
let me through

This is easy as lovers go
So don't complicate it by
hesitating, and
This is wonderful as loving goes

This is tailor-made
what's the
sense in waiting? And

This is easy as lovers go
So don't complicate it by
hesitating, and
This is wonderful as loving goes

This is tailor-made
what's the
sense in waiting? And

This is easy as
lovers go
So don't complicate it by
hesitating, and
This is wonderful as loving goes

This is tailor-made
what's the
sense in wai~ting?

As Lovers Go
Dashboard Confessional
A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar

Fri, 04 Jun 2004 06:11:18 GMT

Like the perfect ending
It won't be too long
'Til everything I've ruined
has seen me gone
In time I pray you'll forgive
Now you know the man I am

Can you forgive me?

I fall
like the sands of time
like some broken rhyme
At feet no longer there

If only I could call the rain to melt and wash away the pain you feel
I would
You gave yourself to me and showed me what the truth could be
For that I say, thank you

This was
my life
It never made much sense
to me

With every lie that I lived
part of me would fade
Into this empty shadow I've become
And now I feel so numb
I no longer know myself

But I still know you

I call
and there's no reply
Like some phantom cry
on ears too far away

I close my eyes and watch as my life passes by the only thing I see
Is you
For all the times you walked the line for me and standing by my side I say
Thank you

Here lies
my life
It never felt that real
to me

You'll always mean
so much to me
And there's no reply
And there's no reply
You'll never know
how much you meant to me
And there's no reply
And there's no reply
You'll never know
how much you meant to me

If only I could call the rain to melt and wash away the pain you feel
I would
You gave yourself to me and showed me what the truth could be
For that I say, thank you

I close my eyes and watch as my life passes by the only thing I see
</i>Is you</i>
For all the times you walked the line for me and standing by my side I say
thank you

You in
my life
It all meant so much more
to be

No Reply
Steve Conte, The SEATBELTS
Lyrics by Tim Jensen
Music by Yoko Kanno

Wed, 02 Jun 2004 13:28:00 GMT

Sitting here at my desk, I suddenly recall Sanjurou and Takashi Shimura. It's amazing how he looks unrecognizably different without his mustache. He's the kind of guy that you're likely to imagine was born with one.

Doctor: It's crowning--I can see the head! ...It must be a boy!
Nurse: o.O
Doctor: Well, I mean.. he's got a mustache...

In every movie I've seen him in, he's had this mustache, except Sanjurou. When I saw him I thought he looked familiar but I was sure it wasn't really him. I mean.. no mustache! Then I did a look-up on the cast on imdb and sure enough: Takashi Shimura - Kurofuji. It's a really small part considering the whole movie but still. o.O

Mitsuo.. Mitsuo.. *slap!* >.>

-10 -I wonder if *anyone* will get this... evar....

Just taking a brief moment to say...

Sun, 16 May 2004 23:53:20 GMT

There should be some sort of agency that is charged with the duty of making sure films like Troy do not get released to the public.

That is all.

-10

New Movie Monday

Mon, 03 May 2004 18:36:32 GMT

Two more movies of interest this past week. I'd be reviewing three if I could find that one Netflix movie I lost. >.> Up this week:

Kakushi Toride no San Akunin, "Three Villians of the Hidden Fortress", the American title of this film is "The Hidden Fortress"

Tengoku to Jigoku, "Heaven and Hell" The American title of this film is "High and Low", which is a fair translation to the title. The kanji for "ten" is often used to refer to sky, high, above. Similarly, the kanji for "ji" is often used for below, beneath, down. In either case, the title is perfect for this movie.

These are both excellent films! I'll start with Tengoku to Jigoku since it was the first one I saw. Remember that movie Ransom, with Mel Gibson and Gary Sinise? It's like that but more. First off, this movie was made in 1963 so it's got all the classic Japanese actors of the time, a bit older than we've seen them before. Namely, we see the star of the movie, Toshiro Mifune in a more mature, established role. Toshiro-san is like the Jim Carey of Japan during this time. In every role I've seen him in, prior to this one, he plays a slightly disturbed, childish, BIZARRE man. His role in Tengoku is much more mature and sophisticated, he's a top shareholder in one of the largest shoe manufacturing companies in Japan. You find out that he's somewhat dispised by his peers for his visions of quality and durability as opposed to profits and gratification. He's a very respectable man and plays a very powerful force in this film. As Gondo-san, played by Toshiro, is working through his daily grind from his large house on a hill, high above the rest of the city, he gets a call from a mysterious person saying that he has kidnapped his son and will kill him if a ransom of 30 million isn't paid tomorrow. I particularly loved how the kidnapper is almost polite to Gondo-san and uses kind speech instead of sounding forceful and desperate. That little extra, "Sore jaa, Gon-do-san~" at the end of each call he makes was particularly amusing to me. As Gondo-san and his wife are trying to figure out what to do, Jun, their child walks into the house looking for his friend, Shinichi. Disturbed and relieved when he see Jun is safe, Gondo-san figures that the kidnapper took Shinichi, Jun's friend instead of him. Of course, Shinichi's father, the chauffeur, walks in at this time, looking for his son. Gondo was instructed by the kidnapper not to call the police but he proceeds to do so at this time because he knows Shinichi's father won't be able to pay the ransom. The police arrive under cover some time later and work with Gondo's family and Aoki, Shinichi's father, to develop a strategy.

The movie further develops from there as Aoki pleads with Gondo-san to pay the ransom to save his son's life, ultimately asking him to give up his position at his company and all his wealth. What I loved most about this movie was that it went much much farther than I expected. This movie teaches us very valuable lessons like, you cannot kidnap a child in Japan without being terribly smart because the ENTIRE police presinct will be on the case to track you down. Later on, we get to see the people behind the crimes, particularly, the mastermind behind the crime. My favorite scene is when he enters this night club wearing these very large, very reflective, very SUSPICIOUS sunglasses. He goes straight to the bar and awaits his partner in crime and picks up his goods, but not before a quick jig on the dance floor. Oh and there are black people in this movie as well. You can easily tell because they're 2' taller than everyone else in the room. They're also the only ones dancing with any real significance.

This movie was GREAT. One of my favorite Kurosawa films yet. It's a bit long-winded because the story goes much further than you would expect, but it is certainly worth it. It ends on an unusual note, not really sure of what to feel. Had it happened to a lesser man, he might have been broken by these events, but Gondo-san remains a strong and noble character throughout. Oh, and don't mess with Bos'n. He's a tough old bird but he's got a heart of gold too!

Next up we have Kakushi Toride no San Akunin. Literally translated, it means Three Bad People of Hidden Fortress. This is a classic movie. This movie also stars Toshiro Mifune in a serious role. He plays the General Rokurota of the Akisuki clan. This movie is your basic Prince and the Pauper story. It is told through the eyes of two of the most shameful, lowly characters you can imagine. The Akisuki clan is taken down by their rivals and the survivors are forced into captivity and made into slaves. This is how we meet Tahei and Matakishi, the two peasants who sold their homes to join the war and only found a series of misfortunes one after another. The remaining strength of the Akisuki clan is the suriving Princess Yukihime and her General Rokurota. They set out to flee their lands to rebuild the clan, stumbling into Tahei and Matakishi. Rokurota uses them to help them move their gold, promising them an equal share once they get to safety. They make for the borders of Yamana to escape their common foe and find various troubles along the way. Tahei and Matakishi, only concerned about themselves and their share of the gold, complain on end the entire way. They often find themselves repeating the same talk of remaining friends before fortune smiles upon them, for a moment, when they turn on each other and let their greed get the better of them. They're so pathetic that you can't help but laugh at their situation and their attitudes.

Of particular interest to me, this movie features Takashi Shimura. Takashi-san is my favorite Japanese actor of the mid-1900's, possibly my favorite Japanese actor of all-time. Whenever you see him, you recognize him right away but his presence on screen. He's an amazing actor! His role is pretty minor in this film but the few times you do see him, you can feel his power on screen. This movie had a lot of memorable scenes and spectaular cinematography. If you get a chance to watch it, pay close attention to the way the scenes are shot, noticing the things the director is having you focus on and how he uses the backgrounds and foregrounds to concentrate or dither your attention.

You can pick up these movies on Netflix or buy them on Amazon or any place fine DVDs are sold. ^^

-10

New Movie Monday~

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 22:43:33 GMT

2 new movies added to the list. First up, Kurosawa Akira's Kumonosu Jou ("Spiderweb Castle") aka Throne of Blood. (wtf?!) (It's obvious where they get the name "Throne of Blood" from this film but come on.. TRANSLATE the title, don't change it!) Kumonosu Jou is Kurosawa's, Japanese, version of Macbeth. It's got your basic Macbeth concept going on with feudal Japan setting. It's loud, it's dramatic, it's Macbeth for crying out loud. It was an interesting version with a cultural spin. This movie is widely acclaimed as the best retelling of Shakespeare's original, ever. I thought it was good. I don't think I'll ever watch it again and I don't expect I will buy it, but it was definitely a great movie worth seeing. I'm still kind of hung over from Rashomon, which makes this movie pale in comparison, in my humble opinion. I honestly thought it was a great film but ultimately I have very little say about it, except that the spirit giving the prophesy in the Kumonosu mori was HORRIBLY freaky-looking. He reminded me of someone in my family but I can't narrow it down. He also reminds me of the lady living upstairs in my apartment building. It makes those frequent trips to the mailbox all the more interesting. If I see her sitting in a wooden shack outside in the bushes, spinning a wheel and thread, you may never hear from me again.

Next up, Bound. As far as I can tell, this is the first movie written and directed by the Wachowski brothers. If you see it, you will pick up on the Matrix feel almost instantly. Everyone has this "Trinity" feel to them, especially Corky, who just might have made a better Trinity than Carrie-Ann Moss if it weren't for that mouth.. This film is famous for it's lesbian love scene, which was orchestrated by a woman, famous for her lesbian erotica, from what I've been told. It's the music. You feel like you're watching a Matrix spin-off. If you like the background music in the Matrix, great. I found it to be entirely too loud and ultimately boring and distasteful, so, to me, the music in this film was more of a nuisance than anything else. Repugnant! As for the movie itself, I give it a J: It was good, I mean.. whatever. After watching the movie, I caught the trailer in the bonus material. The trailer made the movie seem more interesting than it really was. I hate that. Their application of the mafia was a bit crude and the character Gino, who is supposed to be the head of an Italian "family" (for those of you who know what that means), was laughable. It probably didn't help that I saw The Godfather last week, again. I mean, let's get real folks... it takes more than a tacky hat, 200 extra pounds and frequent usage of the word "capish" to make a mafia leader. That death scene was a riot though. Let's make the big guy fall back in slow motion, just for shits and giggles! You could almost see the rig they had holding his body up as he fell. Hilarious! Now that I think of it, everyone pretty much died in slow motion. They were definitely working on their slow-motion effects in this movie, which is interesting because it was one of the trademark factors in The Matrix series. But those Wachowski brothers, they love their Goth garb and sunglasses, that goes without saying. Oh, and Joe Pantoliano stars in this movie as well. He was Cypher in The Matrix. He plays a slightly hairier character in this movie but only slightly. This one I watched twice but um.. Yeah..

And that is my weekend movie review. Do it wrong. Not at all. Or do it right.

Tuesday Afternoon

Wed, 21 Apr 2004 00:25:25 GMT

So I'm sitting at my desk and drinking some bottled water when I notice the label. It's not a new label or anything, I just never paid any attention to it before. It reads, "Crystal Geyser Celebrating 25 Years 1997~2002." Uhm.. this water is 2 years old? >.>a

OD, have you guys gotten Photoshop CS or anything CS from Adobe? It seems that it is not yet my time to know the goodness that is Photoshop CS. Ruri sent me a copy last week. The manilla envelope it was in had a stamp that said "DO NOT FOLD." Of course I find it folded up and crammed into my mailbox when I get home. When I opened the package, the CD was cracked in half.

Cracked in half.

Do you know how hard it is to crack a CD in half? You can't just bend it until it snaps, they're pretty flexible. I have tried destroying those AOL CDs you get in the mail every now and then and I was never able to crack one in half. (I did seriously maul a few of them up with my Exacto&tm; knife though. So I have one half of CS here and one half at home. It's my inspiration, it links me to the other half of Photoshop when I'm at work or home and gives me the power to create amazing artwork and designs.

Okay that's bullshit, it doesn't do squat! He tried to send me another copy but got "No Such Address." Apparently, I moved my entire apartment without moving the rest of the building and changed my address without realizing it. Anyway, it's on the move again. Third time's the charm right? What I *really* want is Photoshop CS for Mac but I'm missing:

A mac.
Photoshop CS for mac.
The money to buy them both.

I have a mac but it's a laptop and it takes 10 minutes to start up. Not to mention it often runs iTunes with a little lag. Yeah I won't be putting CS on that thing. The hard drive is 20 gigs and I think it has 2 free. I have a LOT of mp3s on that thing. Damn Tetsuei just got a new powerbook. His dad bought it for him. I met his dad once. I asked him if his dad would buy one for me too. He laughed...

-10

P.S. I know this water isn't really 2 years old! d=

Ameba's the word

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 20:40:32 GMT

I don't know who had this number before me or how similar it is but lately I've been getting a lot of wrong number phone calls. Today, someone actually called for Ameba. Ameba. Like amoeba?! I'm waiting for an important call today and I get amoeba...

I decided to hit up Lee's for lunch. The Lee's Memory of the day is as follows:

It is okay to mix salad and fruit bar for same price! :)

I just... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

-10

Movies

Mon, 19 Apr 2004 18:01:51 GMT

I've been going through the old Kurosawa films lately. Some of them are just okay and some of them are fantastic. My two favorites up to this point are The Seven Samurai and Rashomon. If you haven't seen Rashomon, I'd really recommend you track it down and give it a shot. The movie was made in the 50's and it's such a creative story. The cinematography is incredible for such an old film, they really make you feel like you're part of the movie. It's the kind of movie that grabs your attention within the first few minutes and has you thinking the whole time. Somebody could be lying and somebody could be telling the truth. They could all be lying but could they all be telling the truth?

"I even heard the demon living here ran in fear from the cruelty of man."

Yojimbo was okay. He used his sword like twice in the movie and the first time was like for 10 seconds. The plot was okay but I didn't really care much for it. Ikiru was interesting but also really depressing. If you're borderline depressed and want to watch a movie about changing your life and making things better, don't see this film. :D The amazing thing about Ikiru was how similar it seemed to modern day America, at times. FYI, all of this movies feature Shimura Takashi. You may have noticed him in some Godzilla films. He's been doing film since the 30's and I think he was a really fantastic actor. He is the lead samurai, Shimada Kambei in Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai) and my favorite character in Rashomon, who's name was never revealed. He is also the main character in Ikiru, Watanabe Kanji. His character is really extraordinary. The thing I really found interesting about the film Ikiru was that although everyone recognized his incredible will, no one was able to emulate him, despite their efforts.

I've got quite a few Kurosawa films left. My top recommendations so far are Rashomon and Shichinin no Samurai. Treat yourself to something different. ^^

Last night I got together with Kata and we went to see Kill Bill Vol.2. It was very different. ^^ It was good and the ending was cool, but if you were expecting this movie to be much like the first volume, you will be disappointed. It's like they put all the action in Vol.1 and everything else in Vol.2. It really could have been one long movie with a lot of editing but it turned out okay. This volume shows a lot of what you see in Tarantino films. They're not in a rush to get through scenes. They take their time to make coversation between the characters look more natural, as opposed to going from line to line with no pauses for thought. The fight with Elle was pretty good. It was eye-catching, to say the least. A testatment to the fact that there are things worse than death. It was good to get closure on this movie and good to see the complete backstory. It was also great to see Pai Mei. I think I laughed everytime he fondled his beard. I've been doing the motion myself since yesterday. Sometimes you wish life was just a low-budget Chinese film. Things would be so much easier then. ^^

-10

P.S. Yay, my car is banged up! But I got the taxes covered! "<money> <Can I have it?>" "I'm pretty sure that if I were Christian, I would never be Catholic." "We'll give you a call on Monday. Until then, feel free to call me anytime."

Thu, 15 Apr 2004 22:48:53 GMT

Deer LiveJournal,

Do ewe remember me? Hao long has it been since we've last conversed? Days and knights have passed between my thoughts of you. It feels like much thyme has passed between then and now and yet it feels like no time at all. Sometimes, when I close my ayes I feel like I'm back in the place I used to be. But is my life sew different now? I tend two think so but sometimes I wonder. If I didn't say something now, what else could eye do to remember you? What else could I do to remember mi?

-10

Yeah

Thu, 16 Oct 2003 02:46:34 GMT

Lately

Fri, 10 Oct 2003 20:26:12 GMT

I've been on a book-buying frenzy. I've been getting books about topics I never really though I'd be interested in but I'm glad I am. Now I need another bookshelf..

I dyed my hair again. It looked a bit copper at first because the highlight "crèamè" shit was a lot more potent that I thought. I finally got my blue contacts too. When I went to go vote on Tuesday, this girl at the polling place goes, "Is that your natrual eye color?" So I said no. She replies, "Oh, well it's BEAUTIFUL." Right.. If my skin were lighter, I'd look like a total white boy with all of that stuff. I did the hair for a special reason but the contacts coming this week was sheer luck. Mwa-haha. :3

I've been watching a movie every night before I go to bed. Last night, Ringu, the original Japanese movie inspired by the novel. (The Original Japanese Novel.) I don't think it was more frightening or scary than "The Ring". But I blame that on budget. However, I think Ringu made more sense than The Ring. It's still a total mystery as to what the hell it's really all about but at least at the end of Ringu I was able to say, "Okay.. Now I almost get it." I really like how they involved some non-human influence and this odd connection to that power and a TV, especially a TV that's turned off; like it's a window to another dimmension or something. The movie was fundamentally the same except for a few changes in the SETTING and PLOT. But oh well, they were both good. The night before last, I saw Interview With the Vampire, another book made movie. Personally, I think it should have been called Interview With A Vampire. I think it would have tied into the story better, believe it or not. "The Vampire" makes it seem like Louis is "THE" vampire or something when.. he's just not. He probably is one of the coolest vampires though. Right up there with D. (I don't care what he calls himself, he's still a vampire damnit.) The night before that, Scarface. It was just.. don't see that movie... I mean it was okay but it wasn't like The Godfather or anything. I.. I'm glad I saw it because now I know.. Just.. I don't recommend it.. Anyway, tonight will be "Leprechaun in the Hood". I finally found it at Blockbuster and it wasn't checked out. Nathan and Bryan both rave that it's the greatest film this century--moving, powerful, insightful, a true masterpiece! So I figured, I should just break down and watch it. I expect that I will not be disappointed. Tomorrow, Seven, then Confidence. Then.. I have to go get more movies. It's a pretty fun thing to do though, and I'm now on a first name basis with the Blockbuster staff...

Still haven't beaten Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. I've gone through so many jobs and freed nearly all the lands that the normal jobs don't even get posted in the pubs anymore. Marche is an idiot. He's cruel and selfish. Ritz needs to figure her shit out and stop him. Of course, she won't stand a chance against my clan... I could rip her head off with just my white mage. That's.. scary... That whole concept frustrates me. It's Final Fantasy Tactics, you're not supposed to HATE the character you PLAY. Ramza was never like this. -_- Let's not talk it out or discuss a course of action, let's just destroy the fucking world and hope for the best. =\

I'm thinking of moving to San Francisco. My uncle owns an apartment complex out there and I think he'll be able to get me in cheap. I don't know what Stacy is going to think about that. She keeps changing the subject everytime it comes up. Really should talk about that today.

ASP.NET! I'm actually learning it. I called OD last night about this problem that I was toiling over for days. Of course, OD figures it out in 2 minutes. It was one of those things where you just have to ask someone else because you're so immersed that you can't see the obvious. Well anyway, I found another problem almost right after we got off of the phone. Fortunately, I was able to figure that one out and now it's all making sense. Once I figure out the syntax to manipulate strings, I'll be dangerous.

I think I have a small fracture in my right tibia. I busted my brow open again last week. And by some incredibly weird turn of events, I got lacerations just above the elbow on both arms which really hurts. Too bad I can't go to the doctor anymore.

Oh, and one more thing: Remember Samy Jenkis.

Memories are enough to live your life by

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 10:19:39 GMT

I just finished watching Memento. If you haven't seen it, get it this weekend and just.. watch it. It's a few years old, it's got Carrie-Anne Moss (aka Trinity) and it just... blew me away. Damnit. Jason really does know his movies.

Last week, I tried to fight Baphomet with a GM Novice, level 1, just to see what I could do. The junior spawn mob hit me with some dark spell and I suddenly wasn't taking 1 dmg any more. I hid for a moment and Baphomet got bored of getting hit by someone he couldn't see and teleported away. I never saw him again because the map was so big and I think I died when trying to switch equipment in a sting mob or something.

I went to the optometrist today and found out that the doctor I've been seeing for 3 years isn't who I thought he was. Well, his name isn't what I thought it was anyway. I'm baffled how this mystery eluded me for 3 years. What was his real name again?

Today I had a vision, like the ones in Escaflowne, only more destructive to me or.. someone. I was standing in line to pay for lightbulbs at the register in Target and saw the Man-Faye checking out at a register beside me, wreaking hellish nightmares on the little kids in strollers. I bet Hitomi never saw anything that scary.

I am the few extra weeks in Jack's vacation. I'm loving and hating it.

I'm looking at the clock and it says 3:11 AM. Shouldn't I be sleepy?