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I prefer to discuss politics through my novels, but I am truly dismayed these days. Twice last week alone, speakers at McCain-Palin rallies have referred to Sen. Barack Obama, with unveiled scorn, as Barack Hussein Obama.

Never mind that this evokes -- and brazenly tries to resurrect -- the unsavory, cruel days of our past that we thought we had left behind. Never mind that such jeers are deeply offensive to millions of peaceful, law-abiding Muslim Americans who must bear the unveiled charge, made by some supporters of Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, that Obama's middle name makes him someone to distrust -- and, judging by some of the crowd reactions at these rallies, someone to persecute or even kill. As a secular Muslim, I too was offended. Obama's middle name differs from my last name by only two vowels. Does the McCain-Palin campaign view me as a pariah too? Do McCain and Palin think there's something wrong with my name?

But never mind any of that.

The real affront is the lack of firm response from either McCain or Palin. Neither has had the moral courage, when taking the stage, to grasp the microphone, turn to the presenter and, right then and there, denounce the use of Obama's middle name as an insult. Instead, they have simply delivered their stump speeches, lacing into Obama as if nothing out-of-bounds had just happened. The McCain-Palin ticket has given toxic speeches accusing Obama of being a friend of terrorists, then released short, meek repudiations of some of the rough stuff, including McCain's call Friday to "be respectful." Back in February, the Arizona senator apologized for the "disparaging remarks" from a talk-radio host who sneered repeatedly about "Barack Hussein Obama" before a McCain rally. "We will have a respectful debate," McCain insisted afterward. But pretending to douse flames that you are busy fanning does not qualify as straight talk.

[...]

They may not have been able to hear the slurs at the rallies, but surely they have had ample time since to get on camera and warn that this sort of ugliness has no place in an election season. But they have not. Simply calling Obama "a decent person" is not enough.

DJ rewind:

The McCain-Palin ticket has given toxic speeches accusing Obama of being a friend of terrorists, then released short, meek repudiations of some of the rough stuff, including McCain's call Friday to "be respectful."

[...]

[P]retending to douse flames that you are busy fanning does not qualify as straight talk.

[...]

Simply calling Obama "a decent person" is not enough.

In other words: fuck that "credit where credit is due" bullshit. There's a damn good reason why John McCain's (largely mythical) "honour" has evaporated quicker than your 401k and his reputation is now mired in negative equity.

Glenn Greenwald breaks it down:

The mass accusations of “terrorist” and “Arab traitor” against Obama didn’t just get randomly blurted out by a few hard-core, isolated ideologues. Rather, that is exactly the message being spewed systematically from McCain and Palin themselves (“pallin’ around with terrorists”), their parade of ads, and the coordinated efforts of opinion-leaders on the Right. Even veteran campaign reporters for whom Balance is a religion have been acknowledging that the McCain/Palin rallies are unique in their mass-crowd vitriol and intense rage.

One half-hearted, insincere attempt by McCain to restore some of the lost moral capital with his original base (a divestment that, according to Jamison Foser, has been greatly exaggerated) should not be immediately rewarded with a plate of cookies and a pat on his balding pate.

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

http://www.jrockrevolution.com/forum/showthread.php?p=210122#post210122

myv is so funny: " (FYI again, im not gay.LOL) "

Buy the book!

Soul of the Night Video

The video was created by Anne Cain, one of the hottest yaoi artists here in the west.

Character design by Anne Cain : clicky : for large image

Interview with co-creator Barbara Sheridan...

1) What inspired you to write the book?

Barb--We became intrigued by the history and life of the vampire Kiyoshi who was originally supposed to be the minor character/vehicle for our Mr. Shu to become a vampire in the early chapters of The Dragon's Disciple.

2) Name the best sex scene in the work and explain what about it makes it so hot.

Barb--I'd say it's the one early on when Kiyoshi is just becoming "addicted" to the violent/passionate nature of the assassin Shu. The vibe Shu radiates awakens the vampire nature he's kept suppressed for two centuries and gets him so worked up that he takes Ryuhei with a passion that borders on violence.

3) If the book was a color---which color would it be and why.

Barb--Why shiny shiny gold for Ryuhei's favorite haori jacket of course!

4) Which character do you most resemble and why?

Barb--Gobei--a snarky miserable little beast.

5) Which character would you bed? (^_^)

Barb--Ryuhei hands down--he's the man when it comes to bedroom performances, gay/bi and otherwise.

Recebi hoje a notícia de ser um dos 13 seleccionados.

Amanhã na inauguração será divulgado o vencedor deste concurso, apareçam...

Bruno Paiva

Neste dia 26 de setembro, uma oportunidade única de ver em São Paulo ao espetáculo de dança da premiada Companhia de Dança Tradicional Japonesa Kikunokai, um grupo que une dinamismo e inovação para apresentar um espetáculo rico, baseado na dança clássica e na arte folclórica japonesa.

A sua formação permite com que, em uma única apresentação, o espectador viaje pelo mundo da dança japonesa, indo do teatro Kabuki, passando pelo Noh e pelas apresentações de taikô (tambores japoneses), com passagens pelas ricas danças folclóricas do norte ao sul do Japão, de Hokkaido a Okinawa.

Que tal viajar então? A apresentação acontece no Teatro Alfa com ingressos por R$ 40,00 (coisa rara em tal teatro).

As informações completas sobre o espetáculo e a companhia você vê aqui

Gårdagens confession gick väl bra. Ehh. Det var väl ömsesidigt och lite smått pinsamt efteråt men ja..I did it! Typ. Vi får se vad som händer näst. Inga spekulationer.

Idag ska jag och Helena på Kabuki. Yay! Jag funderar på att skippa skolan. We'll see. Fück. Jag hatar när jag inte gör saker ordentligt! Typ plugga inför prov. Vill jag faila eller?

Opened in 1966, the National Theatre of Japan consists of 2 theaters, with the large one with seating of 1,610 and the small theater with 590 seats.  Below are pictures of the Large Theater lobby.

Nihon Buyo performances last between 15 to 60 minutes in duration, with about a 5 minute intermission between performances.  There are no reserved seating and most people go in and out of the theater during the intermissions.  Below are pictures I took during one of the intermissions - obviously no pictures or video are allowed during the performances.

Nihon Buyo is a traditional Japanese dance - the others are Kabuki (which is probably the most well known), Noh Mai and Bon Odori.  The Japanese Dance Association Inc defines Nihon Buyo as:

Nihon buyo is Japanese dance. However, unlike forms of Japanese art more closely associated with daily life (Shinto ritual kagura, local art transmitted across generations, bon folk dances, minyo folk songs, for example), nihon buyo is an independent performing art intended for the stage.

Embodying elements of performing arts which originated earlier, such as “bugaku” (ceremonial performance of the Imperial Court whose origins are traced to India and Central Asia) and “nohgaku” (noh theatre and its origins), and incorporating the refined essence of a range of folk arts, nihon buyo can be described as a “treasury” of Japanese art from ancient to modern times.

Over a history of nearly four centuries, nihon buyo acquired its many faces, represented today in kabuki buyo based in the kabuki theatre, kamigata mai and kyo mai traditionally performed in more compact, tatami-matted zashiki spaces, and sosaku buyo or creative, original dancing.

We attended a specific performance by my wife's friend's friend, who was kind enough to invite us.  After the performance, we had the privilege to go backstage and met her.  Backstage, she was interviewed by the Voice of America because she was originally born in Taiwan, it is very unusual for performance to be non-native Japanese.

Below are pictures of an empty 12 mat tatami dressing room.

Finally, a picture of the ticket, programme and some gifts we received from the performer (seems backwards, we should be the ones giving the gifts, not the performer).  It was a unique experience watching Nihon Buyo and we had a great time at the show.

We reached Tokyo at around 3.00pm - we took the train back to Minami-senju to pick up our luggage from the hostel we had stayed in earlier. We would be staying in a different place since the hostel didn't have any rooms for us for that weekend. It turned out that the new place was only a 10-minute walk from where we were. We dropped off our luggage at the hotel - it was an interesting place with a modern design but the rooms were still the traditional Tatami-style Japanese rooms. The room, however, was tiny - it was probably the size of a walk-in closet in a standard suburban American home! :) We weren't too concerned since we planned to be out most of the time and would use it only to sleep.

We really wanted to get a taste for the Japanese performing arts while we were there. Our guidebook informed us that the Kabuki-za in Ginza offered tickets to single acts of a kabuki performance, along with headphones providing English translations. This seemed too good to pass up - so we headed for Ginza to catch the act that was to begin at around 6. The line was already snaking alround the side of the building - a ticket official came round to tell us that the tickets we'd get were standing-room only. We were determined to get a glimpse of the performance, even if we had to stand for two hours!

We rented the ear phones which provided English translations - best money spent ever! :)  The theatre was pretty big; we had seats in the upper balcony area behind the very last rows. The balcony section was packed, mostly with foreign tourists eager for a taste of Japanese theatre. The curtains opened and the act began. The stage decor and sets were lavish, as were the costumes and make-up worn by the actors. The music score was provided by an orchestra that sat off-stage. The story was one about 4 thieves that get into some trouble with the police, with several melodramatic twists and turns along the way. The actors enunciated the dialogues very forcefully and dramatically. It was a thoroughly enjoyable performance - parts of the plot reminded us of Hindi and Tamil films we'd seen in our childhood. The act wound up with a fight scene where one of the heroes fought 10 men all at one time, on the rooftop of a temple - this was so like a Rajinikanth movie that R & I speculated that this was the reason why there are claims of his films being wildly popular in Japan ! :)

DESAYUNO Y GUÍA SUPLENTE

Marc y yo decidimos probar el desayuno japonés. Nos traen una bandeja que contiene: Sopa de miso, pescado, arroz, verduras, tofu, alimentos irreconocibles varios y un papel con instrucciones

de cómo comer el arroz con las algas. No somos capaces de acabarnos ni la mitad! A esas horas de la mañana es imposible que nuestros estómagos resistan el probar cosas tan raras, además medio dormidos es muy difícil coger los palillos…..jeje.

A las 9:30 nos recoge Toko, una guía suplente que estará con nosotros solo hoy, y menos mal! Sabía yo más cosas que ella de lo que visitábamos, no entendía casi español y por supuesto tampoco lo hablaba! Se dieron situaciones cómicas:

1. “Toko, llévanos a un restaurante japonés a comer!” – Y nos llevó a una rosticería francesa!

2. En un restaurante NO turístico (es decir todo en japonés, sin nada de inglés) especializado en bolas de arroz, le pedimos que traduzca y nos enseña una carta escrita en japonés y nos suelta…: “elegid!” (pero bueno! ¿Que quiere que elijamos? ¿El tipo de letra más bonito?)

VISITAS

1ª) Templo Senso-ji

· Visita típica en Tokio

· Funciona como templo de la comunidad de Asakusa

· Segunda pagoda más alta de Japón (5 plantas).

· De religión Budista

Cabe mencionar que para entrar a un templo hay que seguir un ritual:

1. Atravesar Torii (puerta sagrada).

2. Purificarse en el “Chozuya” (pila): hay que enjuagar primer la mano izquierda, luego la derecha y finalmente la boca (escupiendo luego el agua).

3. Ir a la “Haiden” (sala de adoración del “Kami” Dios del templo).

4. Hacer ofrenda.

5. Rezar

El templo está bien pero la guía no explica y hay turistas por todas bandas y por supuesto

souvenirs y recuerdos (en el propio templo venden!). Tanto comercialismo le hace perder un poco la magia y para colmo, no se me ocurre otra cosa que sacar un papel de la fortuna y…..MALDICIÓN! Me prevé muy mala suerte para un futuro! Dicen que si esta predicción se cuelga, se anula la mala suerte. Así que salgo disparada a colgarla.

2ª) Santuario Meiji Jingu

· Santuario sintoísta

· Construido por el emperador Meiji.

· Situado en Shibuya-ko.

Nos purificamos de nuevo y entramos. Este templo también tiene altar, caja para ofrendas y fortunas. Al tratarse de un templo Sintoísta, para rezar hay que seguir un pequeño ritual: Hay que colocarse delante del altar, dar 2 palmadas para despertar al Dios que está borracho de “sake” y luego inclinarte y rezar (después de haber echado la ofrenda claro está).

En este templo también hay un gran árbol “sagrado” donde vive un Dios y la gente escribe sus deseos en una tablilla y la cuelgan (por supuesto todo es negocio y hay que pagar 500 yenes).

3ª) Palacio Imperial

Parada no digna de mención ninguna. Nos llevan a la entrada principal del Palacio donde viven el Emperador y su mujer (y por supuesto sus 2000 criados y médicos). No se puede ver nada más, no nos explican nada y el calor es insoportable. La puerta del palacio es muy pequeña, está mal pintada y toda vallada. La verdad es que impresiona bien poco.

HORA DE LA COMIDA

Nos vamos al céntrico barrio de Ginza. Después de presionar a la guía y dar vueltas muy perdidos acabamos en un pequeño restaurantito especializado en bolas de arroz. Nos cuesta todo una miseria (no llega a 2 euros por persona) y el menú incluye: dos bolas de arroz, sopa de miso, verduras y la bebida.

4ª) TEATRO KABUKI

El Kabuki es un género de teatro tradicional japonés que nació en la era Edo y donde son muy importantes la música, el baile, el maquillaje y el vestuario de los actores, que solo pueden ser hombres aunque representen papeles femeninos.

Tenemos entradas para ver dos representaciones de Kabuki en el importante teatro “Kabuzika”. Entramos a las 14:45 y salimos a las 17:50 después de casi morir del aburrimiento. Supongo que el teatro es muy entretenido si lo entiendes (está en japonés antiguo) y sabes de que van las historias. Lo poco que pudimos entender fue de chiripa y preguntándole a la gente, ya que nuestra guía Toko no colaboró en nada y no se nos informó de que se pueden alquilar audio guías con la traducción de las obras (altamente recomendado).

La primera obra trataba de un carpintero que encuentra a un niño huérfano y lo ayuda a encontrar a su madre que resulta ser una Geisha endeudada que para pagar tiene que hacerse amante de un viejo. La historia es muy bonita y los decorados impresionantes. Mientras intento seguir la historia voy observando como la gente se queda dormida! Y no solo mis padres y vecinos sino incluso los propios japoneses!

La segunda obra, que tratas de samuráis que van a salvar al pueblo secuestrado por un monstruo, ya no hay quien la aguante. No tiene decorados, la música consiste en gritos y tambores, berrean mucho y no se mueven del sitio! Aun se entiende menos que la otra y tras hacer grandes esfuerzos por mantener los ojos abiertos, acabo jugando al móvil.

TOUR NOCTURNO

Tras cenar en una taberna típica japonesa (no para guiris) en Ginza (los primeros no hay quien se los coma todo crudo, pero los segundos son pinchitos de tempura y están riquísimos!), realizamos la última visita del día: Tour Nocturno.

Subimos al “Roppongi Hills”, un edificio altísimo con mirador en la planta 60, en la azotea, museo, bar, y aquarium. Las vistas son preciosas (a pesar de ser a través de vidrios). Se ve la noria de Odaiba y la Torre de Tokyo iluminada.

Kabuki - Centro de Arte, comemora o seu 1.º aniversário no próximo dia 13 de Setembro. Se for ao seu site, este, saberá o que ali se passa, e o conceito que está na base das múltiplas acções e eventos ali desenvolvidos.

Vale a pena. Iremos divulgando as suas actvidades.

"Um ano não parece muito tempo; são somente 52 semanas, 365 dias, 8760 horas, num contínuo e obstinado objectivo de tentar gerir este, mais vosso que nosso, centro de arte, a tentar levar até si a mais criteriosa formação e as actividades e espectáculos mais inovadores e experimentalistas. Quase sem apoios, não foi tarefa fácil. Em nome da equipa do Kabuki, o nosso obrigado a todos os que frequentam este centro, pois são vocês a razão do nosso trabalho. Parabéns para nós também!

Nesta noite de festa para qual estão desde já todos convidados, preparámos um programa que é no fundo, uma espécie de espelho daquilo que se passou aqui durante o último ano: um concerto de Timitiminono, um concerto dos Box of Blues e a estreia de um espectáculo de teatro denominado “Cartas de Amor” de Ricardo Bargão.

Tudo com estrada livre!
Para uma noite de aniversário, não se podia pedir mais!"

Em Setembro, dia 13, (e por aí adiante!), não perca uma (ou várias, muitas) idas ao KABUKI. Terá uma maneira calma e introspectiva de iniciar a nova temporada, e de vir conhecer a nova decoração do Kabuki – Centro d’Arte.

Depois do dia 13, e mesmo se lhe for impossível lá ir, ficará na expectativa de ver durante este mês :

EXPOSIÇÃO]
Nuadictos] - Vários artistas]
até 23 SET - Kabuki Galery – Entrada Livre - Segunda a Sábado das 14 às 23 horas

Desenho de modelo vivo é o exercício do desenho da figura humana (corpo humano), na presença de um modelo nas suas várias formas e posições em nudez integral . A execução deste tipo de desenho pode ser de uma forma simples (com carvão, por exemplo), ou mais detalhadamente, usando lápis ou outros tipos de ferramentas de desenho. Branca Cavaco, Filipa Gonçalves, Pedro Aguiar e Pedro Rodrigues desenharam durante meses os actores e bailarinos que costumam trabalhar com o Kabuki, sob a orientação de Carlos Farinha e Gilberto Gaspar. Esta exposição representa o culminar desses meses de investigação.

CONCURSO/MOSTRA]
Arte nos Anjos]

Arte nos Anjos é uma mostra/concurso de artes visuais com periodicidade anual e temática obrigatória, contemplando em anos alternados a modalidade de pintura e a de fotografia. Esta mostra é organizada pelo Kabuki – Centro d’Arte em cooperação com a Junta de Freguesia dos Anjos e pretende ser um incentivo para que os autores emergentes se comecem a inserir no mercado da arte.
Em 2008 a modalidade é pintura e o tema é «Os Anjos em Lisboa». Participa enviando os teus trabalhos até 15 de Setembro.
Info e Regulamentos - Tle 21 099 41 42 Fx 21 093 61 90

AD LIB TRIO]
12 SET– 22h00
Kabuki Café.Concerto
Entrada: 5,00 €

O Ad Lib Trio constitui um cruzamento interessante entre o universo erudito e o da música improvisada associado ao Jazz. O seu repertório tem sido recebido entusiasticamente pelo público, ao contactar com esta particular formação, que reúne Violino, Guitarra e Percussão/Baixo Eléctrico. Os concertos propostos pelo grupo assentam sobre uma visão globalizante da música, na perspectiva de que, embora a globalização produza homogeneidade cultural, produz simultaneamente a consciência da diferença. Surge assim este lugar comum, a migração estilizada de diferentes tipos musicais, cujo resultado se revela esteticamente sugestivo, no sentido da experiência do exótico.

www.adlibtrio.com
http://www.myspace.com/adlibtrio
http://adlibtrio2007.hi5.com

Concerto]
SWORDSWING]
19 SET– 22h00
Kabuki Studio
Entrada: 5,00 €

Swordswing. amplificar os autores da lusofonia. Spoken-word? Palavras a gingar… Música. Palavras. Canções? swordswing. jazz, rock, electrónica, pop, house, Berio, Hendrix…em síncopes de palavras, caídas no destino da cadência… swordswing. Ritmo e poesia.

Palavras de Herberto Helder, José Craverinha, Luiza Neto Jorge, Miguel Torga, António Cícero, Álvaro de Campos, anónimos…
António Lopes Gonçalves @ guitarra, programação /João Pedro Costa @ voz, efeitos / Dora Fidalgo @ voz, percussão, palavras / Miguel Costa @ baixo, voz / Zt @ bateria, percussão, electrónica
http://podcast.diporg.com
www.myspace.com/swordswing

E para não alongar mais este post", em breve anunciaremos os cursos a iniciar em Setembro.

KABUKI

KABUKI CENTRO D’ARTE - RUA NEWTON, Nº 10 B (METRO ANJOS) – 1170-276 LISBOA
TELEF. 210994142 FAX 210936190 - GERAL@KABUKI.PT

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

Mas é uma cooooisa mesmo... Make so perfect!!!

I really have a good time the David Mack series Kabuki, especially the most recent story arc, The Alchemy. I recently read the storyline before it in trade format, Metamorphosis. The Art was fantastic, although the storyline didn't always seem suited to the storytelling and the art techniques used. All the clever techniques also got a little tiring to read after the first 150 pages, but still, this thing is highly recommended.

turning down water for air cover, originally uploaded by jamesyuill.

yo!
check out the beautiful new artwork for my album turning down water for air.
done by the wonderful Alexandra Ferrarini aka. Kabuki
The Album is set to come out on Moshi Moshi at the end of October
word

Bandō Tamasaburō V is a Kabuki actor and one of the most famous onnagata (actor specializing in female roles) currently. Watch his Sagi Musume (Heron Maiden) and one of his interviews.

Sagi Musume (Heron Maiden) Summary:

The set is a frozen pond in the middle of Winter. The music from the geza is the classic sound effect for falling snow. The spirit of the heron appears on a platform, dressed in white, solitary and silent. This dance is a series of transformations, done through costume changes using either the bukkaeri or the hikinuki techniques to switch the roles. The first change turns the dancer into a young maiden in love, dressed in a beautiful red kimono, who dances the joy of love in a lively atmosphere. Her love is a short one and the next section of the dance is no more about happiness but sadness and jealousy. The dance is getting darker and the final change brings back the spirit of the heron, who frantically dances, depicting the torments of hell and pleading for pity. The highlight of this section is an ebizori pose. Then the heron maiden collapses on stage, bringing the dance to a close. (Source)

Helpful commentary in English might ease the interpretation of the performance.

Part 1.

Part 2.

Part 3 (Finale).

[via Kabuki: Sagi Musume (Japandit)]

This next video is from an anniversary of the famous taiko group Kodo.

This is the beginning of the first half of "Amaterasu", filmed in May 2006 in Tokyo. Tamasaburo directed the performance and co-staged with the Taiko group Kodo. He plays Amaterasu (sun goddess) while Fujimoto Yoshikazu plays Amaterasu's brother Susanoo (god of sea and storm).

The next clip is an excerpt of the 1995 film "The Written Face (書かれた顔)" by Daniel Schmid where Tamasaburo talks about being an onnagata.

Some quotes:

"I try to portray an ideal image of woman in the same way a male writer describes feminine feelings from a standpoint of a man. I do not represent a woman, but I suggest the essence of a woman. That is the nature of onnagata, isn't it?"

"I have nothing to say, that is why I act and dance. Which is where everything I wish to express can be seen."

I thought about writing a blog. I know I still have to finish up the kumdo and Korea reports but that was the last thing I wanted to think about. To be honest going from being interesting, attractive Siobhán that everybody in Korea wants to meet to normal Siobhán in Dublin has been a bit depressing.

With all of that swimming around in my head and unable to attend kendo training (nobody's fault) I faced the prospect of spending the entire day sitting at home doing...nothing. Yay.

I didn't really feel like leaving the house but I had arranged to meet Catriona and would have felt too guilty about cancelling. Some of you reading this don't know Catriona. She's been my friend in Trinity since day one, literally. That first dinner in the Buttery after First Year registration where we somehow managed to find each other... For the past three years we've stuck together. There have been times when she's busy with TCD Publications and I'm busy with the Japanese Society or kendo. Somehow though, we keep coming back together. It's good to have a friend like that, especially on a day like that.

This post is for Catriona: thank you for cheering me up! ;)

The plan for the day was to make sushi, using some of the ingredients from my glorious win in the Toru Cup *cue Motson-style smug celebration* but it took us along time to get there. When I arrived at Catriona's, Amy (who was in Helsinki at the kendo champs) was there too. What followed was a loooooooong session discussing boys, bitches and boys, broken down into the following statistics based on the 3 participants in the conversation:

*66% are in love

*33% are loved

*66% have a job

*33% can do their job

*100% are a bit weird at times

*66% are weird in a good way

*33% are racist

*66% spend too much time giving each other sly looks

*100% are gossips

*33% relied on 33% to keep themselves sane while talking to 33%

*Possibly 66% but definitely 33% went too far

Once all that important business was out of the way, it was time to make dinner. As I had brought most of the ingredients, we went to Tesco to buy the bare essentials: vegetables, canned fruit and Yakult (my favourite and recommended by Shinji-kun at the Embassy). Unfortunately, when we returned to the flat, we realised that I had forgotten to bring the lovely sushi rice - d'oh! Amy agreed to go and get some. After all, the whole point of a group dinner is that everybody contributes, right? The instructions were: white rice, long grain if normal isn't available. We were presented with Basmati. Oh well. Time to experiment... And time to take photos!

 -> Catriona and Amy prepare for some Sushi action!

-> Meanwhile, I get stuck into the Yakult...Yoisho!

Of course, there would be no point in attempting any kind of Japanese cooking without the guidance of Japan's most famous top-class chefs...

->Yoisho!

->Amy had to leave early. Fortunately, I had another Yakult and Pineapple Hichew

 -> Yakult #3

-> Basmati...

-> Add vinegar powder to rice. Make sure you focus on the camera rather than the food, thus making a big mess Siobhán-style

-> Stirring requires deep concentration

-> おいしい!!!!

-> Catriona liked my bamboo. First step of kendo conversion complete!

Hmmm...It's now Sunday and yesterday has become two days ago...but I'll carry on...

-> More Yakult....yoisho!

-> The TCD Japanese Society and SMAP: Where would we be without them?!?!

Next, we decided to create a little atmosphere with candles. I, unfortunately, looked like a weird vampire thing (Kaname-sama!):

Things were going swimmingly when all of a sudden it hit me - the whole thing was a complete farce! If we were trying to create a Japanese meal with a traditional atmosphere, what on earth were we doing sitting at the table?!?! We quickly shed our shoes and relocated to the floor. It was a bit like being back in Korea!

Of course, no Japanese meal is complete without a traditional Siobhán kabuki dance (if you didn't know, I'm a kabuki expert. I've been to a Miyavi concert.) Soon, everybody got involved!

For more photos of SMAP X SIOB, see Facebook (hopefully).

For now, I'll leave you with pleasant thoughts of sushi and SMAP: a guaranteed two positives. One to cancel the negative and the other, just to have a positive (a prize if you get that reference.)

Love,

Siobhán xxx

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1499953&w=425&h=350&fv=]

So now we're on to Sunday.

As usual, the day was dominated by church ("chuh-chi") as the Koreans say. It was actually quite a lot of fun though as the kids were putting on a variety show for their parents. We spend the morning getting ready after a very short kiddies service, which sure beats the adult one. As Geonmo is the leader of the taekwondo group and their master took a liking to me, I hung out with them all day. The master is a strange guy...I'll talk more later when I put up a photo. Everything had a tenuous religious link but most of it was just feel-good stuff for the whole family.

 <- These cuties were reading some kind of letter I think. I couldn't understand enough to figure it out though.

The following are taken from the taekwondo rehearsal. Unfortunately my camera died before the actual show so I can't show you their uniforms. You should recognise Geonmo by now, but he's wearing the white top with black sleeves and is the focus of the photos:

This is the video of their rehearsal. Geonmo won't be winning any prizes for his dancing, but his taekwondo itself is great. Especially those kicks! -

Next to practice were two girls performing the Wondergirls' "Tell Me" dance. If you don't know it, it's from Korea's most popular girl-group. Both the song and the dance were huuuuuuuge last year. If you think this pair are good, you should see me do it. I'm the best, yo.

This is the master and I (I can't remember his name). He's brilliant, I really like him. He's a bit strange, I thought I had another goblin-prince on my hands because he looks odd too. But he's a lovely, lovely man. He's 32 years old so I suspect he's not long out of the army (all Korean men have to do a mandatory 3 years before they're 30). He's tough but loving towards the kids. With me he was eager to speak with me as much as possible and make sure that I was comfortable, had water, had lunch, etc. He gave me every possible means of communicating with him once I return home. Once I remember his name, I definitely will :)

(I look awful!)

As the show was about to start, the boys put on their oh-so-cute uniforms:

The concert itself was great fun. One thing that surprised me though was the attitude of the parents. Whenever I had school concerts or whatever, everyone's parents came and they all stayed for the whole thing. It's  a deal - you watch other people's kids and they watch yours. Here however, people came and went as they pleased. Often it was too noisy to hear the children. Nobody else seemed to mind though, maybe it's the done thing. I thought it was sad though.

After church we went to get my beautiful hanbok! Ooooooh, it's gorgeous! Lucky for me, the traditional colour for girls is bright pink. Hooray! Putting it on is a fairly complicated affair and it's bloody boiling when all the layers are in place. I love it though. It was a really, really hot day, so I look awful in the photos. You're just getting the bare minimum to get a taste of what the hanbok looks like:

<- Ta-da! Sohee and I being very Korean.

We were all in a festive mood so we started jamming some yodel music. Both the kids yodel in a choir so we put it to good use. Sohee played the accordion, Geonmo played the guitar. I played the spoons and performed a kabuki dance to a traditional yodel song. Marvellous.

We had cheap Japanese food yet again that night and proceedings drew to a close.

Love,

Siobhán xxx

ถ้าซีจำไม่ผิดก่อนหน้านี้ เจ้า QRio ฮิวแมนอยด์ที่แสนน่ารักเคยมาเที่ยวเมืองไทย เพื่อเปิดงาน

ICT ที่อิมแพค ซึ่งต้องบอกว่า มันเป็นนวตกรรมหุ่นยนต์ที่เยี่ยมยอดมากๆ เห็นทีไรรู้สึกชื่นชมทีม

พัฒนาของทางโซนี่ทุกที 

ที่ซีหยิบเรื่องราวของ QRio มาเล่าให้ฟังกันอีกครั้งก็เพราะว่า พอดีไปเจอคลิปมิวสิควิดีโอที่รีมิกซ์

การแสดงศิลปะรำพัดญี่ปุ่นที่เรียกว่า Kabuki ของเหล่าฮิวแมนอยด์ตัวจ้อยเหล่านี้ ซึ่งต้องบอกว่า

มันเป็นเทคโนโลยีที่น่ารักมากๆ ค่ะ หวังว่า คงถูกใจเพื่อนๆ นะคะ

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I'm tired of always having to contradict my emotions whenever my feelings are being forced up and down in this roller coaster motion. I'm always doubting my position that I'm in, whenever you are thought of in my mind - and the more I try to overcome the situation, the more complexity is added upon it. I'm always going to be placed aside, no matter what is going on or what isn't going on. There's no room for me in your life and there wasn't any room in there to begin with. I'm glad that we were able to go through conversations on the same level, but I'm sensing that there's something that is holding back your emotions. Perhaps it's the incidents in your past, or how others have treated you. Whichever it is, I'm sorry that I'm not good enough to be thought of in your mind like the people from your past.

There comes a time where I would have to pick myself up from every unstable emotional stage that I place myself in. I don't understand myself, how I ended up in the position to begin with. Maybe the thought of actually being able to share my world with you was too good to be true. Too good to even be thought of in your own time. I'm not sure what to think of anymore, but just giving up hope. I tried my best, risked being yelled at, but what I do isn't enough anymore, and that's alright. I understand, and I'll leave you to your own decisions and the path you choose to take towards your own future - whether I'm in it or not.

Note: I haven't been updating this blog lately because I've been kind of busy. Here's a few things that you've probably missed out on. The week that I actually got to go out, G took me out to go eat at Olive Garden. The week after he drove down to pick me up from Annie's house. We went to go to Boomers, and he beat me at the first round of mini golf. I ended up beating him back on the second round and we went to go on the Go Kart. The last person I needed to pass was G, himself, but he wouldn't let me pass so he beat me at that. I knew he wanted to go on the bumper boats, but I despised getting wet. Eh, we went on the ride anyways and I soaked him 3x times more than I wanted too. He wanted to go rock climbing after wards, so I sat out drying out his shirt and my own clothes for a while. He almost made it to the top until he slipped and fell. After that he took me to Bella Terra and we ate at Kabuki, even though he can't eat raw stuff. I ordered the veggie roll and the cucumber roll. He ordered the bbq ribs. We ended up late to the movies and we watched Wanted, even though I watched it before. The whole day was worth: $100, but the shared laughs were priceless.

Yesterday I drove up to LA to go to his house. Turns out my navigation was wrong. It only takes me 15 minutes to get up to LA, but then again I drove really fast. I almost tipped over my car because I went too fast at a turn, and it scared me to death. I eventually got to his house where his German Shepard almost ate me alive. I woke him up and we hung out in his house until 1 (I was actually playing with his Maltese, Mafan, and falling asleep). He drove my car and scared me twice in it. Once before the movies (we watched The Mummy and he took me to go get lunch at Cha) and once after when we were going to the T-Mobile store. Ah, changed my phone number and everything was all good afterwards. It ended up taking me 14 minutes to get home after that. From a full tank to half a tank in one day.