Random Thread ~Usagi-Chan ☮ Tūsurī~

[Zunu]

Merry Christmas everybody!

Spoiler: show

Moh no mom mo

[Spaghetti-Western]

I hope everyone is having (/had) a Merry Christmas!

I saw a meme going around about WHAMAGEDDON, where you see how long you can go without being forced to hear this song (people don't go to the shopping mall as much these days tho). You just got WHAMED(?)



Is this the idoru version?

[Zunu]

Nksk trolling us in the new Study Abroad:

[boinsie]

Glad your mom's doing better, Moh!

[Spaghetti-Western]

Why You Need to Go to Osaka




Why You Should Leave Your Smartphone at Home



Edit:
I only just recently discovered that Abroad in Japan started doing a podcast a couple years ago, it's pretty interesting. Also, when Covid hit some other characters from AiJ started their podcast called Trash Taste and it has become one of the most popular podcasts on YouTube, apparently.

I almost went to Osaka once but I was too sick.

About photography, sure a smartphone can be a good entre into the hobby, and it's a great tool, but some people could benefit from trying out a real camera. With the advent of full-frame mirror-less cameras going big it seems like it's a good time for budget conscious shooters to pick up the old gear for cheap. I'm thinking of getting a D700 (yeah, it's really old, but full-frame and cheap) to replace my even older DSLR. I like the optical viewfinders and "pulling focus" manually.

I guess idols are under instruction not to show off expensive toys such as cameras. Phones - well, a girl's gotta have a phone! I spotted Haachin wearing an Omega on her wrist the other day It looked fine on her.

[erilaz]

^ The extent of the free drinks that I got in Osaka was limited to the one that I got in my hotel's bar, thanks to a token that I was given at check-in. Even though I stayed in Osaka for a week and managed to do a decent amount of sightseeing and shopping there, I mostly used it as a home base for day-trips out to Kyoto, Nara, Takarazuka, Himeji, and Hiroshima. I didn't make any effort to experience the Osaka nightlife.

I'm not really into going out drinking and clubbing, though. Maybe I'll go to a pub with a group of friends, but the DJ-and-dancing club scene isn't for me. (And it wasn't even when I was the right age for it.) Long-time members of this forum will of course know that I go out to see live music by artists I like, even if I'm alone, but AFAIK no bands that I particularly wanted to see were playing while I was in Osaka. I would have LOVED to see Shonen Knife in their hometown!

Speaking of live music, I went to a concert at the Warfield in San Francisco last night, my 21st live music event this year. The headliners were Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew, mainly performing Talking Heads music, but the opening act was X, my all-time favorite American band.

I guess idols are under instruction not to show off expensive toys such as cameras. Phones - well, a girl's gotta have a phone! I spotted Haachin wearing an Omega on her wrist the other day It looked fine on her.

That reminds me of a Japanese TV show from about ten years ago, where they were comparing the total cost of the clothes and accessories that the celebrity guests were wearing. Michishige Sayumi, though looking stylish, was near the bottom, with her outfit totaling somewhere around ¥20,000. Actress/comedian Tomochika was the only celebrity on the show who dressed less expensively. On the flip side, Tsunku's outfit was the most expensive, mainly because he was wearing a watch that cost as much as a new sports car.

[Spaghetti-Western]

Yeah, I'm more into "relaxing times" these days as well. It's just the part of me that thinks I'm still in my 20s that wants to go party. I'm not really a live music guy these days either.



Shonen Knife is cool

@erilaz, how's your Japanese these days? I'm thinking it's pretty good because you seem to travel a lot (... and you know Latin? )

OK, I guess we're moving on to Happy New Year's Eve!

Would it be an extreme faux pas if I posted more Xmas music? Here's a sultry, relaxing times version of the Moritaka song above

Spoiler: show

[erilaz]

Shonen Knife is cool

I love them. I've seen them in concert 19 times, starting with their first San Francisco show, way back in 1991. Eagerly waiting for them to come back to the Bay Area; they haven't been here since before COVID (August 2019).

@erilaz, how's your Japanese these days? I'm thinking it's pretty good because you seem to travel a lot (... and you know Latin? )

I haven't been to Japan since 2015, when I went to Berryz' last concert, and I'm sure my Japanese has atrophied a bit since then. I've never managed to get much better than bare-bones conversation in any event, and my kanji reading level has never been better than that of a third grader. I can function as a tourist without resorting to English, I can find what I'm looking for in a Japanese music store, and I can chat with fellow fans about H!P, but don't expect me to understand an unsubbed Japanese movie or discuss politics or philosophy. (Honestly, don't expect me to discuss philosophy in any language.) I was still able to make small talk in Japanese with the members of TsuShiMaMiRe when they were in San Francisco last month, though, and that's what matters.

As for Latin, I took two semesters as an undergrad and two more in grad school, but that was a LOOOOOONG time ago!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hung out with some of my old college friends yesterday, but for New Year's Eve I'm just relaxing at home with all four DVDs of Hello! Project COUNTDOWN PARTY 2014 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~. 懐かしい〜！

[Amped]

Happy New Year!! can you believe it's 2024?

[Spaghetti-Western]

I haven't been to Japan since 2015, when I went to Berryz' last concert, and I'm sure my Japanese has atrophied a bit since then. I've never managed to get much better than bare-bones conversation in any event, and my kanji reading level has never been better than that of a third grader. I can function as a tourist without resorting to English, I can find what I'm looking for in a Japanese music store, and I can chat with fellow fans about H!P, but don't expect me to understand an unsubbed Japanese movie or discuss politics or philosophy. (Honestly, don't expect me to discuss philosophy in any language.) I was still able to make small talk in Japanese with the members of TsuShiMaMiRe when they were in San Francisco last month, though, and that's what matters.

As for Latin, I took two semesters as an undergrad and two more in grad school, but that was a LOOOOOONG time ago!

I hear you, it seems like Japanese is a bit of a slippery language - like a fish. For me, the problem is that there is just so much information in English, and besides my daily doses of kawaii there isn't much need for Japanese in my life. People my parents' age always said "the best way to learn a language is to get a girlfriend that speaks it natively." But really we shouldn't seek to use people, and we should approach romance with a more sincerity than that, in my opinion.


Well, it looks like the earthquake wasn't too bad, but not a nice way to spend New Year's Day - gantan.
https://japantoday.com/category/nationa ... ng-tsunami

7.6 is a strong quake. The Kobe quake was a 6.9, so this was had 5 times more power.

Happy New Year!