| For once, the rainy season is living up to its name |
[Jun. 30th, 2009|05:40 pm] |
In Hiroshima right now, and after ten days of sun (and a major tan) in Kansai, we're finally getting to see the rainy season. Not that it's a bad thing: Miyajima in the rain, with mist covering the mountain tops, was very spectacular.
Tomorrow, we drive through Nagoya to catch Cirque du Soleil, then on to Tokyo. Thursday will be another Takarazuka first - standing in line at silly o' clock for same-day tickets ^^; Keeping my fingers crossed that we do get them.
It's halfway over already, eleven nights down and ten to go. I have a feeling I will be coming back, often. |
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| Kyoto update |
[Jun. 26th, 2009|10:11 am] |
Flea markets are dangerous, just so you know. I'm now the owner of a rather overpriced yukata that I fell in love with ~_~ At least it's really good quality.
I also did an unashamedly fannish thing and got up at crazy o' clock to go Shinsengumi hunting. The actual headquarters/museum are only available for viewing by appointment (in Japanese), but I found the Mibu temple and the building itself. There was a pair of Japanese tourists there and we exchanged furtive looks as we bought the maps of old Kyoto.
Now, to see Rainbow Bridge :> |
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| Elisabeth: Moon Troupe demachi report |
[Jun. 20th, 2009|11:14 pm] |
The actual show report will take a few days, or until I get back home (because it only gets better from here), but we did end up staying for our first demachi.
(For the non-Takarazuka: demachi is official stagedooring. When the stars come out, they take letters from their fanclub members, but they generally don't talk to other people, and you're not allowed to bother them. Not so much with the Kevin Tarte style of "who wants to glomp Krolock? :D)
( Demachi report )
( And this would be what never happens at demachi ) |
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| Obligatory notice |
[Jun. 18th, 2009|05:52 am] |
Off to, literally, other side of the world. Back in 3 weeks (July 10). Will, hopefully, check in intermittently throughout, but can't promise anything.
Fwee. |
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| T minus 2 and packing |
[Jun. 16th, 2009|11:32 am] |
I'm almost entirely packed for Japan. Thank goodness for Google Street View, because I get to shadow-walk my way everywhere as a dry run before actual travel. It's going to be... fun? :)
Internet availability is pretty sure, but due to the sheer amount of stuff to see, I'll be limiting online time to skipping through the f-list. Anything that requires my attention should be emailed. (No texting, please, my roaming plan's extortionate.)
And once I get back from Japan, I may very well be buying a flat and getting a driver's license in the same month. Fun?
In the meantime, have a coloratura falsetto Abronsius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8GKlvByZDI |
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| T minus 8 |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|02:10 pm] |
In 8 days, I'll be on a plane to Japan. It's only just starting to hit home.
The postcard offer is still open (though actual postcard sending may be from Poland, since the last few days of our trip will be particularly hectic). Thus far I know we're meeting ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mayoini in Osaka, a friend from secondary school in Nagoya, and utena1409 in Tokyo. Some other people may come out of the woodwork, and since ladyoz is taking her laptop, we should be mail- and LJ-capable for meeting arrangement purposes :)
Now, to sit on someone before we end up seeing not only her, her and him, but also her, her and her... ;) |
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| Update from the bunker, and Angel Voice |
[Jun. 2nd, 2009|10:52 pm] |
My exam is on Saturday. That would be the exam that tests, in six-hour, 240-question detail, the encyclopedic knowledge contained in 6 books that together run well over 3,000 pages. Thank gods for Schweser Study Notes is all I'm saying. And study leave.
Last-minute studying is made all the more fun by infection-related vertigo. For some reason it's worse when I'm in front of a computer, so that's added motivation to look at a page, not a screen ;)
And just in time, my study aid came in the mail. I had a *cough* copy of Maki Ichiro's graduation CD Angel Voice album before, but it was a much-copied cassette tape version with distortions. It's much better in original CD format. And it showcases Ichiro's voice in such good songs - everything from an otokoyaku-transposed Ich gehör nur mir to female-register Beauty and the Beast theme, with everything else - Luck be a lady, It's a wonderful world, Unchained melody and other standards - chosen to show off the warmth and quality of her voice. It stays up to repeated playing very well.
(Not to mention the Phantom of the Opera with Ichiro!Erik and Hanafusa!Christine. Why do I like Mari Hanafusa best in her first combo?)
Sunday is freedom, and possibly madness. |
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| Cupcake rescue needed! |
[May. 21st, 2009|09:37 pm] |
Does anyone have an idea how to make icing or frosting that isn't very sweet?
I just made dark chocolate cupcakes that are sinfully delicious, but also rather sweet. I had an idea for orange icing, but anything with the usual amount of sugar in it is out.
So what can I spread over the chocolate that will fit and be tart rather than sweet? Can be refrigirated, and since I'm serving them tomorrow, I can buy ingredients as well. |
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| Eaten by work again |
[May. 12th, 2009|07:07 pm] |
Three weeks until my exam, and I'm nose-deep in studying. (And planning for Japan.)
In the meantime, have Pretty von Krolock:
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| Star Trek |
[May. 8th, 2009|11:39 pm] |
700 Trekkers gasping in delight in unison is a unique experience.
New movie gets it. It's not the old series (and it has an excuse to be), but oh, it's good fanfic :D
(Also, I want a Spock. And a Kirk. And a Bones. And a Star Trek icon.) |
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| X-Men Origins: Wolverine |
[May. 2nd, 2009|07:31 am] |
I saw Wolverine yesterday and I was very entertained. No, it's no Dark Knight - but it doesn't have to be. Instead, it's got a plot, a rhythm (I wasn't bored once, and there was just enough action not to confuse), and surprisingly superior acting.
I also have a new person to keep an eye on. Taylor Kitsch was so lovely as Gambit that I may need an icon or three (and a browse through Wolverine/Gambit fanfic in a month or so). Daredevil, smart, trying to be badass but ending up doing the right thing - that's my Remy ♥
I was also impressed at how, for superhero action fare, the movie handled diversity without it being an in-your-face politically correct littany. I was especially wary of how it would treat the single prominent female character, but they got the perfect combination of not making her an unnecessarily badass action heroine and giving her her own agency. For better or worse, Silverfox was in control there.
(And there are baby X-Men. Who I need to watch on slow-motion and identify, because the only one I got 100% was Pietro Maximoff.)
So yes, the kind of superhero movie you can go watch and be entertained by, very like X-Men and X2. bwinter seal of approval ;) |
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| A note on Dreamwidth |
[May. 1st, 2009|08:39 am] |
Dreamwidth is officially open for business open beta, and you can buy accounts if you don't have an invite code :)
I'm not moving - there's possibly a "yet" there. I will be reading my f-list on DW, and I may take advantage of an account there to post Takarazuka material (I really need to start doing systematic reviews of things I watch). The dealbreaking features for me will be importing my LJ f-list to DW (to integrate both reading lists) reliably and seeing DW come out of open beta while continuing the no-ads mantra. Six months, let's say?
And I have four DW invite codes free to a good home :) First come, first served! |
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| Adventures in wiki editing |
[Apr. 27th, 2009|10:20 pm] |
*falls over* I have a newfound respect for anyone who edits wikis. Still, after over a year from my first attempt at it, and with only a little hack, the Seal of the Bourbons page at the TakaWiki is all mine :D
(I'll add the play summaries later. Falling over now.) |
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| Trudging on |
[Apr. 23rd, 2009|01:52 pm] |
Just noticed it's been almost two weeks since my last entry. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I'm just busy. There's work, there's the looming exam (ack!), I'm still doing Nordic Walking at least four times per week, and writing.
In what time I have free, I'm making my way through the published version of jo_graham's Hand of Isis. A full review upcoming once I finish (up to the Ides right now), but I can already say that whatever irked me before is gone now. And I may or may not have offered to do a plushie of another incarnation of Isis/Charmian *eyedart* |
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| Easter baking, and complaints about silicone |
[Apr. 9th, 2009|10:36 am] |
Easter's around the corner, so yesterday I did my first baking run, making babas.
The thing is, I bought a set of silicone baking pans a while ago, and I'd only tried out the muffin ones before. The bundt/baba pan looked perfect - it's just the kind of fiddly, easily adherent cake you want to be able to peel out of a form.
Only it stuck like hell, with half of it breaking apart. And the half of it that didn't, was nowhere near as crisp as it should have been.
Thankfully I was making two anyway, and I had my trusty metal pan. But a question for the baking subset of the f-list - is this just how silicone pans are, or just cheap ones? Or is silicone only suitable for muffins?
( Lemon baba recipe ) |
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| A really, really good amateur Krolock |
[Apr. 6th, 2009|08:44 pm] |
Unstillbare Gier is the favourite song for amateur musical singers to record on Youtube - probably because it has less hard notes than Music of the Night ;) Imagine my amazement when I found a 20-year-old at a Gymnasium concert who's actually good. And I mean better than some Krolocks I've seen in actual professional productions. I think I've got a newbie to keep an eye on:
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| Takarazuka: El Halcon (Star, 2007-2008) |
[Mar. 22nd, 2009|09:46 pm] |
Takarazuka is my mainstay for when I'm feeling down, but not every show is a gem. Since I've just giggled myself silly through El Halcon, I think it is one.
Fans of From Eroica with Love will recognise Tyrian Persimmon, Klaus's ancestor, and let's just say the show starts with the baby Tyrian stabbing the man who raised him as a son to facilitate the escape of the pirate he suspects is his real father. It gets downhill from there, because there's seemingly no depth Tyrian won't stoop to (though I admit Aran Kei looks very at home when throwing women on a bed and pinning them there). The revue has lovingly adapted Yasuko Aoike's penchant for creating memorable backup teams for her heroes, and therefore Tyrian gets not one but two male sailors who keep being posed in typical musumeyaku worship poses, and Asuka's Gilda has her posse of girl pirates.
But I have to admit I'm on the side of Luminous "Red" Benedict. Let's see - he's noble, rash and needs a knock on the head. He has a crazy pirate mentor, and he manages to "kidnap" Tyrian's ward only to get tackled by her as she giggles about (I think) how cool he is. (I believe this would be where Eroica gets his enthusiasm from.) And oh, Hoshigumi have so many lovely actresses there - Yuzuki Reon and Kazu Ryouka work beautifully together, it's such a pity that Kazu's retiring just before Chie becomes top. Other people I'll definitely keep an eye on are Suzumi Shio (she does anger very well) and Tenju Mitsuki - just a baby, but she's got the otokoyaku fire in spades.
The show is... more on crack than From Eroica with Love, which is an achievement. It chiefly earns this distinction via the appearance of the disco-dancing Queen Bess.
( Clip from the prologue, which does a good job of introducing all characters ) |
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| It's alive |
[Mar. 10th, 2009|02:57 pm] |
Just a quick note to let people know I survived Oberhausen, albeit with a damnable cold. In point form:
- Cologne and Düsseldorf are both pretty. And wet.
- The Roman-German museum in Cologne remains as amazing as ever.
- According to the guy in the theatre box office, Jan Ammann broke his leg.
- However, Kevin Tarte was not in good form on the Hamburg proshot. Now, he is. The difference is dramatic.
- I got to make him snicker onstage and got a picture with him at stagedoor.
- The Oberhausen run of Tanz der Vampire just got extended to January. And it's worth it.
Now, not to fall over at work. It's going to be a challenge. |
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| Notice of absence |
[Mar. 4th, 2009|10:14 pm] |
And with everything and vampires, I forgot to mention that I won't be around this weekend :) Tomorrow afternoon I'm heading to Oberhausen via Düsseldorf, seeing the requisite dancing vampires, and coming back on Monday around noon-ish. No mail access due to mobile roaming fees. |
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| One of the two fic-fests I await eagerly |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|07:18 am] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) lgbtfest is running again this year! This is a wonderful issue-focussed fest that last year resulted in two fics I'm rather proud of writing, as well as a busload of material to read :) The general quality's insanely high.
Prompt submission is running until March 3, with prompt claiming from March 5 to 10. Now if only someone would submit the prompts I want... *hopes quietly for a Rose of Versailles one, because fyrie would kill me* |
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| Winter is beautiful |
[Feb. 24th, 2009|02:34 pm] |
We've had over a month of full-on, beautiful snow this year, more than usual - it's more common to have sleet or hard clumps of grey ice littering the streets, depending on whether it's too warm or too cold for fluffy snow. I took shameless advantage of it with my camera.
The first batch of photos is from Kiermusy again, the pine forest near the village.
( Four more photos from the forest near Kiermusy )
And these are from a recent walk in the Lasek Bielanski park.
( Snow-covered trees ) |
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| A good weekend for musicals |
[Feb. 23rd, 2009|09:49 am] |
After the last few weeks, I really welcomed an off weekend. Due to several packages and events, it was better than I expected :)
First, the Elisabeth programme from the Toho production is absolutely gorgeous. While Maki remains my firm favourite, both the new Elisabeths look more than up to the task. Alas, my DVD of the first act with Komu and Yamaguchi is just half a full stage shot (no zoom and lots of obscuring heads), but the one of Kaname and Takeda is a good full-stage shot and features both acts - she handles herself very well, though her voice will always be Kenshin to me.
(And I have the Mizu-Tonami chirashi for Zorro! Three of them :D)
I also watched Rose of Versailles: Oscar (the 2006 Snow Troupe version, Mizu!Andre digest), which I think may warrant its own post, just because of how strong Komu's Oscar is, and how well they get through the madness that is the poisoning scene. With a crystal pegasus and assorted pink and glitter, this was a good antidote to the movie I watched just before that - The Nightmare Before Christmas. Which got bonus points for a Jack Skellington being voiced by a guy who did both Phantom of the Opera and Abronsius. (Yes, I watched the English version first. Then just the songs for the Japanese dub, because I adore Masachika Ichimura.)
And then, of course, this morning. Oscars. Hugh Jackman. If you haven't seen the clips of his opening number, or the medley with Beyoncé (who would make a stunning Velma Kelly), please do. They're all over Youtube, anyway :) |
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| Childhood flashback, dear heavens |
[Jan. 31st, 2009|09:22 am] |
See, this is how you do a dodgy children's anime right. They kept the pig. And oh, Gan-chan's pretty, I see now what the Arashi fans are on about :D (As is Doronjo. As I said, done right.)
This is the last cartoon I can actually remember playing at with my peers. We were eleven, and Above Such Things, but all someone had to say was "Yattaa, yattaa, Yattaaman!" to reduce us to giggles. |
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| I have not fallen off the face of the planet |
[Jan. 24th, 2009|08:13 pm] |
I've just noticed I haven't posted in two weeks. As usual, this means work's eating me alive. And amusingly enough, of my New Year's Resolutions I'm doing the best with exercise, which means less weight already, but also 45 to 60 minutes less in the day. Studying isn't going badly, but writing, thus far, is mostly of the Morning Pages kind, letting out steam and stress.
And I'm watching the news about the newest Elisabeth production with... bemusement. Not only will Sisi be taller than Death (which has happened before), but it looks like it'll be equivalent of Sandor Nagy playing Sisi to Szilveszter Szabo's Death. It'll be - interesting.
But hey, she's cute. And I need to look for this concert while I'm over there: 【ニコニコ動画】I have a dreamコンサート「オスカーワイルド」０１ |
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| Livejournal matters |
[Jan. 6th, 2009|07:23 pm] |
However I may personally feel about the LiveJournal staff layoffs, there's an official statement about them now.
Most of LiveJournal revenue is in rubles. Their labour costs were in USD. Economically, it's a textbook move, especially since they already have a Russian technical and product development team - who are paid less.
Best of luck to everyone involved, especially those who got the bad news :( |
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| Happy Holidays! |
[Dec. 23rd, 2008|12:35 pm] |
I'm off to the seaside, and a happy winter holiday of whatever flavour to all :)
Also, Yuletide stories go up in two days. I ended up writing three full-length ones and one stocking stuffer, which is rather a lot, especially since almost all of it was written since Friday. And yes, there is one story that does not have my signature scrawled all over it, in a new fandom to boot. Can you guess which one it is? |
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| OMGYuletide |
[Dec. 20th, 2008|11:41 am] |
Despite some real-life events (which in the end, turned out not as badly as they could have), I managed to finish my main Yuletide story on Thursday and just uploaded it. I'd offer goodies to people who guess which one I wrote, but all in all, this is the story that has "Beth Winter" plastered on it in mile-high letters. Trust me.
I have one stocking-stuffer written already, and am eyeing more. Somebody stop me.
(Also, I'll be away from December 23 to 28, but the new keitai has a good web browser and email client.) |
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dizzy