I think there's something wrong with Mitsui's chin...

Really? Has Hello! Project become so cheap that they can’t even afford a good graphic artist to make attractive album covers for them? I think a cat could throw together better covers than THAT. Of course covers aren’t the most important part of a single release, but it’s reflective of how much effort Tsunku and Friends™ want to put into their products.

I looked sort of like that when I first saw the covers, too.

I have only two things to say on the Naichau Kamo song and PV.

1. First and foremost, making pouty faces does not make for a good PV. Pouty faces might be cute on puppies, and they may make a three-year-old look sad, but it doesn’t do anything on 15-20 year olds except make them look like idiots. Even you, idols. I suppose  that’s why Hello!Project idols don’t act very often – because they can’t look sad.
2. The song is nothing new. It’s more generic Hello!Project; idols trying to be sad and angsty in a video and song (when we know they can’t pull it off). They can’t do that! They can’t act cute and happy for eight solid years, then try to be badass in a matter of months. Morning Musume has to stick with the awful personality they’ve created because that’s how people think of them. If they try to be anything else, it looks stupid. If they wanted to alternate between cute and angsty (like Ayumi Hamasaki, for instance) they shouldn’t have gone to such extremes in the first place…

I hope that was understandable, it was a little hard for me to explain.

In better news, Berryz’ 18th and 19th singles are pretty good.

(Actually, those releases probably aren’t news to you. But they are to me. XD)

So there was this guy and he talked kind of strange and he had a round face and despite his comedic act, he was positively charming and entertaining.

I figured out his name and went on a search for more of his movies.  The next one I saw was Notorious, a Hitchcock with film-noir flair – the complete opposite style of Bringing Up Baby, but a great performance by him. (I watched that today in his honor.  It’s my favorite movie.)

Then came Holiday and The Philadelphia Story and Arsenic and Old Lace and Indiscreet and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House and North By Northwest and a few others…

"Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."

The more I saw of him, the more I respected him. For his stellar acting, his undeniable class, his great humor.  For whatever performance I think is his best, he’d probably want to improve on it.  But that’s okay. It’s just an example of what a kind, humble, down-to-earth guy he was.  If there is anyone in this world who doesn’t like him, well… I’m just at a loss for words.  He’s just one of those actors who it seems impossible to dislike.

It got to the point where I admired him so much that I could say, “yeah. He is my favorite actor.”

That’s why I named my stuffed parrot after him. The parrot is Parry Grant.

The actor is Cary Grant. Real name: Archibald Leach.

Sadly, he’s not with us today to celebrate his 104th birthday. But he lives. He lives in his movies, his quotes, his photographs…

Happy Birthday, Cary.

Favorite picture ever.

]]> http://aiwish472.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/happy-birthday-archie-leach/feed/ 0 hanabira❀ HAYYY. Favorite picture ever. http://aiwish472.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/im-crying/ http://aiwish472.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/im-crying/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:04:22 +0000 aiwish472 http://aiwish472.wordpress.com/?p=245 ]]> I just read the news about Iida Kaori’s child.

This is so sad. I cried before even reading the entire article.

The music of Hello!Project has been a source of comfort to me when dealing with a loss in the family. Prehaps you have experienced something similar.

Now, it is time for us to offer comfort to Kaori, her husband, and their family.

We never knew his name.

Rest in peace, child.

What’s next, Morning Musume?

I mean, C-ute music? No thanks.

Just as I was wondering how much longer it was going to be before Melon Kinenbi and Kei left…

Oh Kei, you and your beautiful voice…

Even Abe Natsumi. NACCHI! And Yuko! The Queen Bitch of H!P! All of my favorites are GONE.

Here’s looking at you, Yossie…

Hold on…does this include Mako? But Mako just returned!

They had better get careers elsewhere, or else…

*furious rage*

They just don’t have it anymore. Pretty much everything H!P releases is boring or generic-sounding.

I think Tsunku is out of ideas.

Maybe I’ll buy Yuko’s “MEGA BEST.”

Speaking of purchases, perhaps there will be a big sale of all the Elder Club’s stuff on Yesasia. [/sarcasm]

This calls for a little picspam of some Elder Club members. To cheer you up.

I would make it longer, but it’s time for me to eat dinner. Ja ne.

~~

Okay, so I was really angry and hearbroken earlier, but the more I think about it, the less I care. I was losing interest in H!P anyways, and taking my music tastes elsewhere, most notably, to the world of non-Hello Project!Idols, as well as J-Pop and K-Pop that doesn’t include H!P.

And there’s nothing we can do about it.

~

I’m not happy about the firing super-graduation by any means, but seriously, if I must be upset about something, shouldn’t it be about an issue that actually matters to the world? :/

I say, be more productive than this!

What on earth just happened?

I knew something was wrong when those “MEGA BESTS” were announced.

I am in a complete state of disbelief.

More later.

Instead of doing something 40s, or even 50s – which would have been totally bitchin’ – they did something 70s – which wasn’t really a thrill for me. I’m not exactly a fan of the 70s.

I was secretly hoping that Morning Musume would release a 40s-themed song. The last time they did that, all the way back in 2001, it turned out to be one of their best songs yet. If not that, they could have worn shirtwaist dresses or pencil skirts with cardigan sweaters on the cover of their next album. Wouldn’t that be adorable?

But no – instead, Morning Musume wore psuedo-disco dresses and sang Pink Lady’s song from the 1970s – Pepper Keibu.

Pepper Keibu is okay, but nothing more. The song is catchy, but I know it will get old after a few listens – it’s really repetitive…

The outifts suck, the PV sucks, but what can I ask for?  A Hello!Project outfit isn’t a Hello!Project outfit unless it’s strange/fluffy/ugly or in this case, shiny. Morning Musume hasn’t released a decent PV in years, so I’ve given up on that one.

And…their next album will be entirely cover songs. Didn’t W do that for their first album in 2004? Why, yes, they did. W is great, fine. But I don’t like it when every song on an album is cover songs. Maybe if they had a few really good ones, it would be okay. But I like to hear new songs as well, and I’m sure you do too.

On Berryz’ new album, I like Happy! Stand Up and Baka ni Shinaide, and…that’s it. I would like Real Love too, if it wasn’t a Risako solo. I think Real Love should have been a Maasa solo, since MAASA ONLY GOT TO PARTICIPATE IN ONE GROUP SONG AND NEEDS MORE LOVE.

…

Oh! I secretly like Yuke Yuke Monkey Dance, but only when I’m making graphics. I listen to all the crazy songs when I make graphics.

Other than those few songs, I consider 5 (FIVE) to be rather mediocre. The fourth album was so much better.

I hope that Berryz and Morning Musume’s future releases will be something to look forward to, unlike these.

Idols are normal people just like you.

Just keep telling yourself that. XD

Eri’s made me laugh, I pop joints a lot too.

How does Gaki play with her eyelashes? That sounds like it hurts. D:

But people probably say that about Eri/my habit, too…

Geez, Ai, you’re so boring…

Kidding.

So see, everyone has their faults~

Since there’s so much I’ve missed, I’ll be splitting this entry up into multiple pieces. I’ll begin with one of my favorite groups…

So what’s up with Milky Way?

Let’s start with the costumes of their new single, “Tantataan!”

Whoever decided those outfits won, fire them.

…

No. Fluffy marshmallows with clouds and bows =/= cool.

They look a bit better on the cover…

Yuu is normal; Koharu's on crack, like always; Sayaka says, "Don't fuck with me..."

^____^

While the costumes are a bit of a disappointment and the single cover stirs a variety of reactions, I’m impressed with the song. It’s a change of pace for a Kirarin Revolution group, singing a slow-tempo song instead of the typical hyper and upbeat tune. Koharu still sounds terrible, but is a tiny bit better. Sayaka needs work, but she’s nowhere near as bad as Koharu. To be frank, she’s really not that bad: oddly enough, I like her voice. Yuu outshines both of them, though. The more I hear her, the more I wish she was chosen instead of Aika. Oh well. Shikata ga nai, as the Japanese say.

That said, Kikka’s versions of “Anataboshi” and “Sansan GOGO” are definitely the best. That goes without saying. She has the most pleasant voice and is certainly talented.

I also enjoy Saaya’s versions, even if they aren’t fantastic. What can I say…Saaya is one of my favorite H!P members, and my favorite egg. Ever. But like I said earlier, she needs more vocal training. Of course, Sayaka is still fairly new to singing after doing backup for three or four years. I think her level of singing ability is understandable, and she has time to improve.

(Oh, and just for the record, I didn’t bother to listen to Kusumi’s solo versions nor the other songs on Kirarin Revolution Song Selection 4. )

Up next: Reactions to Berryz Koubou’s new album and the new Morning Musume PV.

And today is her birthday.

She was born Betty Joan Perske in New York City on September 16, 1924. Her parents divorced when she was a child. After losing touch with her father, she dropped the “Perske” and changed her last name to “Bacal,” which was her mother’s maiden name.

Her first acting job was on Broadway in the 1942 show Johnny 2 X 4. She was 18. She went to California with her mother later, hoping to become a movie star.

Before acting in any films, Bacall also worked as a fashion model for various magazines.

Howard Hawk’s wife, Nancy, spotted her on the March 1943 cover of Harper’s Bazaar, and Howard gave her a screen test. She passed, and began earning $100 a week. Her first name was changed to Lauren and an extra “L” was added to her surname.

Her first role in the movies was in 1944 as Marie “Silm” Browning in To Have and Have Not.

Her work on this movie was critical to her development as a star.

It was during the production of this movie that she got “The Look.” During filming, she would get nervous and her head would shake. She kept it still by tilting her head downward and looking up.

Nancy Hawk’s dressed her in more stylish clothes, and her voice was trained to be lower, sexier, and more masculine. It became one of the most distinguishable voices in Hollywood.

More importantly, she met co-star Humphrey Bogart while acting in To Have and Have Not.

And their relationship began.

He wrote letters to her, talking about how much he loved her and how he wanted to protect her.

In Bacall’s autobiography, she talked about how she went out in the rain at 3 AM to see him.

He was old enough to be her father – she was only 20 and at 45, he was 25 years older.

But together, they proved that age doesn’t matter.

They got married on May 21, 1945, and had their honeymoon at Malabar Farm in Lucas, Ohio.

They had two children, Stephen and Leslie.

The two of them also starred in three more movies after To Have and Have Not - The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo.

In the 1950s, she starred in only 11 films. Lauren was picky with what films she wanted to act in, but she earned favorable reviews when she did act.

Her films in the 50s include How to Marry a Millionaire, Written on the Wind, and Designing Woman.

During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Bacall was only seen in a handful of films. She did, however, begin acting in the theatre again. The productions she starred in included Cactus Flower (1965), Applause (1970) and Woman of the Year (1981).

Applause was based on the 1950 movie All About Eve, starring Bette Davis. Bacall was a big fan of Davis’, and met her several times.

Woman of the Year was based on the 1942 movie of the same name, starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. Bacall was close friends with both Hepburn and Tracy. (Fact: In September 2006, Bacall was awarded the first Katharine Hepburn Medal.)

Since then, Lauren has rarely been in the news. Although she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award for The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). Films she made in the 21st century include Dogville and Birth, both with Nicole Kidman.

Every fan’s story is different. I first saw Bacall in The Big Sleep during the beginning of my classic film phase, when film noir was my ichiban. I was slowly becoming more and more interested in the actors and actresses of that time, and after seeing more movies, both with and without her, she became my favorite actress. (It’s awfully close, though. ) I couldn’t give you a list of reasons why. Don’t you know how that is, when you just like someone because they’re such awesomesauce?

Spam of pictures follows.

DROOOPYYYYY.

AAH OMG <3. Boat ftw? I think it’s cute. XD

Not as cute as that…♥ ^

No other elderly person can pull off that look, that way. EVER.

^That picture makes me want to see Bright Leaf.

LULZ.

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, Lauren. I hope you see many more to come!

Back when I first started, AK was called “Thoughts.” Yeah… I was seriously at a loss for good titles that day. A few months later, I changed the blog’s name to Amasugita Kajitsu, after my favorite Nacchi song.

I’m happy that I blog. I feel that I’ve improved in my writing ability, but maybe not. I don’t think I’m a great writer or anywhere near close to being one. However, I hope that by being able to write more about what I like, and not having restrictions or having to follow prompts, I’ll be able to get better as time goes by.

Between now and September 15, 2009, there is one thing in particular I’d like to improve on:

Write longer entries/be more comprehensible.

Sometimes, when I read what I’ve written – whether I wrote it yesterday or months ago – I feel like I didn’t make my point clear. I want to cut to the chase, but be more in-depth at the same time. Less beating around the bush, more “this is what I have to say, and this is how I’ll say it.” It’s great if readers think about what I’ve written, but I don’t want to leave them thinking, “wait…what’s the point of this? What is she trying to say?”

There are a few other things in addition to that, but I’m not going to go into detail about them. (It wouldn’t really make for a very interesting blog post, now, would it?)

So happy birthday, Amasugita Kajitsu. Ice cream and cake, anybody?