Otanjoubi Omedeto!How old is Ohno-kun?

Click me! (credits to yui7.wordpress.com or Yui and crystalove87@lj) I don’t know who owns the pamphlet so please tell me if it’s you.

Weee! Happy Birthday Ohno-kun! Haha. I think from today on I’ll call him Ohno-kun.

Yey! Ohno, the beloved leader of Arashi celebrates his birthday today! And what is his age? (HIGHLIGHT THE NUMBER BELOW!)

29

And yet our beloved Riida is still youthful, young at heart, and happy! Hmm… It has been 10 years since Arashi was formed, and he was 19 back then.To celebrate his birthday, and as a little present, I made a Ohno graphic which I don’t know what to describe. Yes, it may be a wallpaper but the size isn’t right. But it doesn’t matter. If you think it’s very nice then arigatou gozaimasu! It’s very simple and easy to make.

Wish: I wish that he’d continue to smile and be gentle towards the other members of Arashi. I hope he’ll continue being their invisible leader, that although he may not show leadership visibly he does so through his singing, dancing, and affectionate character. Ohno -kun, your voice is great! Sing more inspirational songs and always keep Arashi together. And please limit your fishing so your skin wouldn’t get darker. But if it’s your finest hobby amidst your job then enjoy such a nature-loving hobby!

That’s all for today! I have a lot to do next week . That’s why, Ganbarimasu!

Current thought: Patty, my sister, failed a test today in Chemistry because it was so hard (predicting – chemical reactions). But almost the whole class failed so it’s a little okay.

Tomorrow’s Ohno’s birthday! ^_^

I’m really very busy right now but I still want to make a quick post for Ohno – just to announce that November 26 is his brithday! Otanjoubi omedetou, Ohno-kun! Should I celebrate?

Ahh… what more can I say… currently watching My Girl the making (PV) giggling and thinking about how to do the certificate Tata requested. Ha…and next week will be a very busy week even though it will be our intrams. But no matter what, smile always!

After November I’ll be changing my layout to…perhaps Aiba-kun? Or Arashi Christmas theme? I’ll try to change the format and the layout so it wouldn’t be redundant. But even so, I love this layout – and the Ohno banner too!

Tomorrow I’ll post longer for Ohno’s birthday!

Happy Birthday! (I’m sure Chinen-kun will celebrate too!)

Aozora Pedaru (Blue Sky Pedal)

 I was thinking about Arashi songs that fans usually mention, those that I haven’t heard before. I thought of Aozora Pedaru and found the PV (promotion video – music video) of the song. I know this is a little bit old for me to comment about it but I would really like to share this to others who don’t know about it yet. At first I didn’t like it because there were girls in the PV which usually doesn’t happen in Arashi’s PVs. But as it progressed I found out that it was like a minidrama and the story in the PV is so touching and wonderful. Aozora Pedal is the theme song for Sho’s movie, Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey and Clover), where he was Takemoto, an art student, who fell in love with Hagumi, a very shy yet talented girl in the art school. Going back to the PV, although it isn’t new I found it very interesting and a must-see PV of Arashi not only because of its uniqueness but also because the song (and the meaning) was wonderful. There were also conversations inserted in the video which really made it like a minidrama.

Here’s the link: Veoh (w/ translations – it’s a little bit slow but you’ll understand the conversations ^-^)

It was about the friendship of 5 boys (Arashi) and 3 girls who were renovating a shop for their business. One of the girls really liked Sho and only her friends and Jun know about it. After they finished making the front sign “Aozora,” they had a barbeque party and after some time, fireworks. It was Sho who was assigned to buy them. Motivated by Jun, the girl goes with Sho and after a while confessed her love to him. He got rejected by Sho and felt really down after the fireworks were lit. The PV opens with Nino telling the others that Sho is coming; they were having a reunion. It was mentioned by Aiba that in the end it was only the boys who were able to manage Aozora because the girls were very busy. So, we can see that the PV showed the past and present, the past being the beginning of the shop.

I really liked the PV and the song together. I was able to relate with the girl’s unrequited love by Sho. The girl was very beautiful, too. I was really touched because I could relate to her situation. When the girl was rejected by Sho, I really felt so struck and I pitied the girl. I’m always afraid of rejection so as much as possible I try to avoid situations like that. But I know that I wouldn’t be able to avoid them so I have to go with the flow.

There’s nothing more I can say. I really love the Aozora Pedal PV and I really recommend it to my friends. You might sympathize with the girl, too! I did, and the story left a good impression on me. Watch it too!

Before I end this post, I would like to say that it’s Christ the King today! Happy feast day!

Current music: Aozora Pedal

Current concern: a lot

Current prayer: to pass all my important entrance exams and get a high grade

The Amazing Matsujun’s Secrets in “Smile”

Okay. Before I start another one of my ramblings, I’ll start with the blog update. I have a new friend blog in the blogroll! Adri-chan of adriatastic.net! Thanks for adding me!

To be an actor is VERY HARD unless you are a pro. But even the pros find it difficult. To be able to produce tears, to look real on-screen, and to be convincing – these are very hard to do, right? In Jun-kun’s award-winning drama, Smile, we see A LOT of crying scenes. Have you very wondered how he does it? He was really good and had to show very powerful emotions. What I will share are just bits of the articles from Ore-sama. It was an interview of Matsujun in Hibi Mousou, a television and film magazine in Japan. Without further delay…

Matsumoto Jun’s Thoughts Behind Every Crying Scene in Smile! (just bits)

 > Loneliness – I channeled what it would feel like to be completely alone.

> And what it’s like to lose people you love, if all your friends stopped calling. And you have no one to eat yakiniku with. Or drink with. And how I always have to eat over the sink because there’s no one else to eat with.

> Growing up, people always made fun of my features and how I looked. (Yui: Aww…poor Jun-kun!)

> For my fifth birthday I asked for a pony and I got a firetruck instead.

> All I wanted was a pony! A PONY!

> And no one understands how hard it is to be me. The other day Aiba stole my prettiest pair of socks-

> And I get terrible backaches all the time-

> Michael Jackson’s dead?

> One time I got this fanletter in the mail and it was about how I was such an inspiration to people all over the world and how I was really cool and awesome and everyone wanted to be me and how I light up everyone’s life and make it worth living and how they think Japan sucked before I was born because it wasn’t nearly as awesome and cool and even though there were sad things in the world, my talent and work and smile made everything okay and happy again and how people will work hard and try their best and smile because of me.
And then I realized it was addressed to Sho.

YUI: Jun-kun has very many sad events in his life and these have helped him to be sensitive and emotional. Thinking of events in your life that made you feel sad and lonely helps in giving you emotions especially in producing tears. But there’s also another tip in acting: put yourself in the place of your character. This is one of the best ways to be able to show correct facial expressions and body movements. Crying isn’t just about producing tears – it’s also about showing the emotions of your character. You don’t really have to shed tears if you as your character does not need to.

I shared this because I’ve always liked acting although I don’t get the chance to act at school (always director, narrator, scriptwriter). Sigh. I want a change of roles… Anyway, crying is REALLY HARD. As I have said above, you have to get the right emotions and be your character. And to be able to produce tears, like Matsujun, you can think of sad things. This should get you cleansed and relieved from the bad feelings. Crying releases the negative emotions!

Going back to Jun-kun – He is a really great actor. He really worked out every scene in Smile very well. Well, that’s Matsujun, a hardworking person.

I hope this post helped those who are into acting and are needing tips in acting. Matsujun must be a really good help to you! He was to me! I have many sad events in my life too. Well, that’s all for today.

Current Mood: sad -_-

Current agenda: finish notebooks

Current Music: STEP AND GO – Arashi

Someone who looks like Chibi Ohno

Yes, there is someone who does look like a baby Ohno. He’s my cousin. Her mother, my aunt, according to my sister, is 1/4 Japanese. I do think so too. I’m not that close to my cousin’s mom because she’s always in Japan. Now, what do you think?

These were taken last November 1 and 2 in Pangasinan. When I see him and the river, I remember Ohno and fishing. LOL.

Now here’s Baby Ohno…

change417@lj Myojo200908

What’ya think?

New Header! Advance Happy Birthday to…

otanjoubi omedeto!

Oh-chan! Hai! It’s our beloved Ohno’s birthday! But it’s acutally on November 26. Since he’s turning 29, and I love him as I love all of them, I made this header to celebrate it.  It is self-titled with the subtitles, “Just as I am,” that describe who he is. I wanted to title it with words that describe him as someone who is talented although he may not be smart. But I thought that it was his name that made him just as he is.  Anyway, let me focus on dear Riida (leader) this November. It’s his 10th year in Arashi (as leader too).

I did my best with the layout. It was supposed to look better than that but…ah…. limited layout options on wordpress. I had to make 1024×300+ into 740×192. Tsk. But I hope that everyone finds it nice. I picked out the best images I had of him since it is a special month for him. Let me give you a short description of him.

Our dear Ohno is the leader of Arashi. It was because of a janken in a tv show. View it here.  Sho and Ohno had a janken (rock-scissors-paper) to determine who will be the leader – the Keioboy (Keio university student) or the eldest? Ha! Ohno won – and looked quite confused too. The name Riida and Captain retained and he became Arashi’s official leader.I think it was not by chance that Ohno won in this game. Although he does not show his leadership or authority (even the other members say so!), his presence really made them feel warmth, as said by Aiba. View Aiba’s letter here. (You might cry!)

“Ohno-kun – Even though you have not done anything that is like a leader, your presence and personality has always made one feel warmth.”

The last Arashi member I noticed was Ohno. I thought that he was someone I could laugh at and make fun because of his personality and very dark complexion. And I am so sorry!!! Little by little I began to notice and love him too. Now, after Nino he’s my second favorite (but Nino will always be my ichiban  <3 ) Although he may not be that smart or good in talking as the other members, once you get to know him, you’ll definitely love him. He does have that warmth as Aiba said he had. And he’s funny too. As I’ve known from a fan’s comment on some site, he/she said that Ohno is funny without having to do so. LOL. Very true indeed.

He also proves to be a good and adorable Riida. He is a Mama’s boy and good in singing and dancing. He is credited to be one of the best dancers/best singers in Johnny and Associates. His voice… very very amazing. Please try to hear it if you haven’t. And his dancing? Also superb. The hardest steps is very easy for him to execute. And about being the Mama’s boy, yes, he is very close to his mother. His kaa-chan fixes his room and buys his things and will not sleep until he comes back home. Awww! He loves his mother very much and is very close to her. See how adorable Oh-chan is?

Riida is kind-hearted too. In Arashi’s ranking, where the Arashi members themselves will rank each other on different subjects, Ohno ranked 1 in the purity of heart category. Arashi takes care of their leader and loves him so much.

I love and admire Ohno-kun. He might not be so smart, but he is talented: singing, dancing, drawing, arts, radio show DJ, choreographer, acting (best actor!) etc.  There is so much more I could say, but I’ve said all the best things about Ohno as much as I can. What I hope for is that you had fun reading this little article dedicated to the beloved Riida of Arashi and was able to appreciate him.

Otanjoubi Omedetou, Ohno-kun!

Current music: My Girl (Arashi)

Current concerns: Oedipus school play finalization, and cheering costume

A Hopeful Vision of the Future

Believe

Thank you for many visits! Alhtough it’s only 200+ I’m happy because I got to add another friend on the blogroll: Claudine! She’s my classmate when I was in 6th Grade. She is now in a different school. We’ve been the HTML buddies from then on… (website making was the reason we became buddies) and I was able to find contact her through YM again.

As many of you know, I have applied to the top three universities in the Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, and University of The Philippines. I am currently applying at the University of Santo Tomas. I’ve took the exams of the first three and how hard they all were! I am not sure if I will pass, but I just pray to God to help me do so. Since there’s no exams coming up these weeks I envisioned a situation in the future that I know I must leave in the hands of the Lord.

I thought, “What if I passed Ateneo (w/ scholarship) and La Salle?” I would of course choose Ateneo since I’ll have a scholarship and as I’ve seen in rankings Ateneo has higher standards. But the problem is, I love the course in La Salle all the more – International Studies Major in Japanese Studies. I don’t just like the course because liking Japan is my hobby or something like that. I want to study a culture, learn a new language, and study history and literature, my favorite subjects in high school. I like the course very much – and La Salle is a Catholic school.

Another situation is, “What if I didn’t pass Ateneo and passed La Salle?” I might study in La Salle and trust and leave to my Dad the very costly education there. I originally did not plan to apply, but their special program attracted my father to the school. La Salle offers a trimester system where you can graduate in three years. But P50,000+ every other month?  My Dad said that as long as I pass he can manage.

Ha…. and I really want to pass and study there. although I want to take the opportunity to study at the very prestigious Ateneo – national hero Jose Rizal’s high school. This is what makes me uncertain.

In spite of all these twists, I know that prayers and complete confidence and trust in God will fix everything. And I’m sure he will guide me in all of my dreams and aspirations. He is so good! I want to trust and believe in my dreams and reach for them. It would be all right for me if what happens is that I’ll study in Ateneo and continue my favored course in La Salle – a total of seven years of study. Well, if that’s what you love doing, right? 

But more than anything else, I hope to pass the universities first! May the Lord guide me and bless me.

On Arashi’s songs: I like Step and Go. This very inspiring song fits my current situation. And the PV is so SUGOI!

Current Music: My Girl (Arashi)

Current project: Cheering costume design and Physics assignment (very hard!!!)

credits to change417@lj for the pic

Congratulations Arashi and Arashi fans! / Our Classroom is a Former Museum!

Omedetou Arashi!

Yes. I can’t help giving this post two titles. Well, I can’t even relate yet what happened to Pangasinan during November 1 and 2.

Congratulations Arashi and Arashi fans for winning the Channel V Battle of the Pop Japan vs Korea! We [since we voted for them] won! Ah! Their victory is our victory too since we did our best (and not to mention took much time to check the voting page out] to win the battle. And… our Arashi won vs Kat-tun. Ah… this is just perfect for their 10th anniversary, huh?  To overreact, I would say I have toiled for a month just to make sure they win and reach that position! What memories I remember…oh the tension and excitement too. But in the end I knew they’ll win over Kat-tun. I never doubted they will win over the other great contender. This victory in Channel V will no doubt promote them internationally. And don’t forget, at Nov. 14 – Arashi’s discography will be shown on Channel V! It was supposed to be last month, but it was moved and Utada Hikaru’s discography replaced them.

Next topic – we moved into a new classroom, and no joke – it was a musem before. Well, only a little musem of the school in honor of its generous founder, Dona Margarita Roxas de Ayala. The change of classroom was caused by the fear of the school that another flood may come later and damage important documents in the offices on the first floor. And so we had to move down to the first floor. But it was fine; although the classroom was very small, a little dark, and  had just one aircon for forty plus students, I can still bear it. At least we didn’t have to go a long way upstairs!

The fourth year students had to bear this trouble and cross. But we have to understand that that is for the common good. I just hope that Miss Caubic, our principal, will have a soft heart for her to provide us more convenience. It was really sleepy inside! Yey! 10th post!

Before I end this post I’d like to share some screencaps from Arashi Challenge Week Nino as guest in a food/cuisine program.

Arashi Challenge Week

Current Music: Crazy Moon ~ Kimi wa Muteki [again] and Arashi songs Orgel Version

Current Mood: dizzy – I don’t feel well

Current concerns: January play script, assignments, palaspas project, Student Assembly, student council projects, new layout for YnJ

Halo Halo in Japan?

Tabe Mikako

The title might have surprised you; to me the commercial did. I opened youtube to search for something and what I saw in the recommended videos in the homepage was Tabe Mikako’s CM. Since I like Mikako-san very much, I watched it. I was surprised by her Ministop CM when she said, “Haro Haro ga?” (Japanese do not have the letter ‘L’)  I was nothing but, “Ehh? Ehhhh?! Hontou ni?! Hontou ni?!” There’s halo-halo in Japan? And in Ministop Japan?

I was so happy when I watched it because halo halo is a Filipino dessert. To have halo halo in Japan is very amazing. When did halo halo get popular like this? I never thought that it was even eaten in Japan! Me and my sister were smiling when we found out about it. To all those who don’t know what halo halo is, here goes:

Halo-halo (from Tagalog word halo, “mix”) is a popular Filipino dessert that is a mixture of shaved ice and milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans and fruits, and served cold in a tall glass or bowl.

The halo-halo in the CM looked really good, and it did look like halo-halo.  I wrote this post because I wanted to be proud of the Filipino delicacy which is halo-halo. It’s a very sweet dessert, and can be bought just around the neighborhood. And about Tabe Mikako-san, I really like her. She’s my favorite Japanese actress not only because she has this simple beauty but also because she’s not rebellious. I respect her very much. I came to know her through Yamada Taro Monogatari which is one of the funniest J-Drama’s I’ve ever seen.

Going back to the topic, I feel very proud  of halo halo. It’s delicious. I hope many more will love the sweet dessert!

ARASHI UPDATE: It has been known through the Arashian community that Arashi won the Channel V Battle of the Pop: Japan vs Korea! Banzai! The results will be aired on Nov. 2 from 2 to 5 pm on Channel V. I feel very proud of Arashi! Yey!

Smile – Matsujun (A Review)

Smile

This will be my first little review for Yui no Jukkou. With that the blog will serve its purpose. I hope people will appreciate my review and gain insights through this. I know Smile was aired months ago for me to review, but its worth it, ne? When I first heard of Matsujun playing the role of a half-Filipino, I was overwhelmed with abundant excitement! I was saying to myself, “Of all nationalities, why Filipinos?” This is great! This is really quite unordinary and a must-watch for me! Also, just after Ihave heard of the title, I already sensed and knew that it was called “Smile” because we, Filipinos, are known for our bright and optimistic smile. And the first words of the drama, “I have a dream,” sums up the movie with the title, too. Proud to say, Filipinos are dreamers; we have goals in life that strengthens us.

Smile is a fresh new drama of our dear Matsujun. In the 11 – episode drama he portrays Hayakawa Vito, a half-Filipino half-Japanese who has dreamt of owning a restaurant of his own. He experiences many difficulties in his life- the discrimination of others on his being half, a false accusation, and not having both of his parents anymore. He meets Mishima Hana, played by Aragaki Yui, a mute beautiful girl who likes him and helps him in whatever way she can.Actually I haven’t really finished the drama, but the first episode was too touching already! Why? It was because Vito suffered from discrimination. Moreover, tears were building in my eyes because Smile praised the Filipino virtue of smiling even when problems come.

A character also said that we have beautiful eyes! But when a yakuza-like man shouted, “Filipino yarou wa you,” which means “Filipino bastard” to Vito, it made me sad. In spite of this unacceptable remark on Filipinos, and rather than discontinue Smile, I am still eager to watch it. I understood that every hardship that Vito, which represents Filipinos, has, is reality. Smile has a social message and it shows what is really happening – the discrimination, the gangs, etc.

   

   
Smile, by Matsumoto Jun and Aragaki Yui, is not your ordinary J-Drama. Definitely not! Matsujun acted so well in Smile you can’t help crying when he suffers. He deserves an award for this. And he was so cute with his shining smile! I think he was tanned for this role because he was so dark. Gakky (short for Aragaki) had interpreted her character well, too, and complemented Jun’s character. The plot and the title was great too. It provided a paradox (hardships + “smile”) to the problems in the story. Lastly, the theme song was very touching. It’s nice seeing Jun-kun smile and trying to be Filipino-like. Thank you for accepting this role Jun-kun! It really will have a great impact if it was aired in GMA.

  

But more importantly, SMILE teaches us good values, shows us the truths of our time, and has even complimented our Filipino race. It teaches us true friendship  that disregards any nationality, reaching for our dreams, and believing with hope. I won’t summarize and tell everything. I leave the rest to your watching it. I hope that after watching it we will be more proud of being Filipino and ’smile’ always. Jaa, mata ne.

                                                                           

 

 

 

screencaps credits to dramacrazy.net

My Current Music: Crazy Moon – Kimi wa Muteki – Arashi