Official scan, edited by <user name="nijibug">
Hey, what's a good song for an enthusiastic young male voice, age 8-12?

Because I think I might send in a last-minute audition for the Phoenix Wright Musical... and maybe try out for Cody Hackins .___.

Demo song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bL5b3arGSg (The Samurai Always Wins)

Auditions are 30 seconds a cappella, so think of something with a good melody.

Thanks in advance, everyone~ = =

*continues to ponder as the deadline draws closer*
Saya & Chihaya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
(via [personal profile] shimizu_hitomi)


Official site: http://kongzi.sina.com.cn/en/index.html

Not getting my hopes up. Remember the stunt they pulled with that sad excuse for a Mulan live-action? Yes, it's still painfully fresh in my memory...

But if anything, the movie site is worth checking out. The main page (once it loads after 2 eternities) is a scrolling, panoramic picture. It's neat to find all the characters. And... *sobs* I'm hopeless, I know...but the costumes. I-I can't resist the costumes don't hate me I'm weak!

ETA. Yes, they do in fact have multiple pages on the props and costumes (weapons, musical instruments, vehicles, artwork, clothes). But by some cruel twist of fate, I can't get this page to load for me. Perhaps I should try another browser...
From the 2010 remake of 红楼梦



from "I'll Be There" (Phoenix and Maya duet), which, for the record, I've just looped 6 times. ♥

THIS
SCRIPT
IS
GENIUS

So, yeah, for those who missed it, [livejournal.com profile] artemis_elric and I split and bought the first two Ace Attorney games. And we are currently both madly obsessed with the fan production Phoenix Wright the Musical. *___*

*skips off to loop "It's Gotta Be The Butz!"*
Official scan, edited by <user name="nijibug">


You could make demotivational posters out of the things [livejournal.com profile] ryouhora says ♥
Tsukishiro & Saya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
Because I know I'm not the only FMA and Darker Than Black fan in this neck of the woods.

Ok. Kimblee's doin the talking.

The world just might explode from the batsh*tsexy )

Two things, guys:
1) I refuse to believe that I'm the only one who can see them working as a team. These guys resonate with each other...! *whimpersob* ; 3;
2) If I were still inclined to write fic — correction, crossover fic — I WOULD TOTES BE ON THIS LIEK YOU HAVE NO IDEEAAA~
Sand Dance logo (Chinese) <user name="sand_dance">
If you watch either my deviantART gallery or [community profile] sand_dance, then I owe you an apology in that you've already seen these sketches incorporated into larger, completed works. But I generally don't post complete works here to avoid redundancy, so here are the "works-in-progress" in their original form.

Long time no Sand Dance sketch dump )

Apologizing again to my overlapping dA friends who saw this days ago...
So, after making Sailor Katara (see comments for Sailors Toph, Azula, Mai, Zuko, and Sokka!) on the spur of the moment, I couldn't stop until I had turned my brainchildren into Sailor Senshi, too.

SAILOR SENSHI OMAKE! )
Cover of Kongsegouyu, unknown artist
Dear Philomela,

Thank you so much for this information and for the blog posts. You really lifted my spirits and made my day and with impeccable timing, too. I was feeling quite discouraged because my translation progress is so slow at the moment (too many interruptions) and when I'm discouraged it's hard to see the meaning in what I'm doing. Your enthusiasm for both series and your great post about quality children's literature really lifted the weight from my shoulders and made me laugh. And then to read all those posts from people who love Balsa and Moribito and Magatama as much as me and who care about whether or not these books are in print and even see the value of translated literature. Wow!!! Please tell them how much it means to me to know that people are reading and enjoying these books. It makes the long hard slog of producing the English version well worth it. So keep on blogging and moderating those fan groups. You have a lot more influence than you think and so do the people who are posting.

Here is some good news just received last night from Cheryl Klein. (And you are right: she really does care about the books and she was a fantastic editor to work with).

Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness was selected as a Batchelder 2010 Honor Book!! This came as a complete surprise to me. I never imagined they would select a book by the same author/publisher/translator two years in a row. Obviously, some people recognize it as a very good book and that's very encouraging!!! I don't know how much effect it will have on sales but it certainly can't hurt.

Here's the American Library Association's list of award-winning books. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/2010medawardwin.cfm


With many, many thanks!

Cathy
Thanks everybody. :] We'll get Moribito back in the running yet. ♥
Hoshi no Kaabi Ep 39 screenie
via [livejournal.com profile] ynotswim (see relevant post here):

Google search suggestions tweaked to take a cheap shot not at the Chinese government, but at the Chinese people.

(This is my own screenshot. You can try it yourself if you don't believe me.)

Proof that results have been manipulated )

When Google made its threat to pull out, Chinese people flooded Google with support.

I seem to recall that my last post on this subject was entitled "Fight the mechanism, not the people".

Well, wasn't I generous. Didn't I have blind faith. I didn't call your bluff, Google, and even went so far as to assume you had good intentions all along. But when it comes down to it, marketing strategy is marketing strategy. This? This is plain dirty.

Don't dress up economics in morals you don't even value.

Some food for thought )

For more info on the current situation:
Assessing Google's showdown with China: Does it make sense?
Google denies leaving China, sees talks
Tsukishiro & Saya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
I learned through the grapevine that Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine has decided to put the Moribito series on hold.

To quote directly from editor Cheryl Klein's email, which can be seen here:
"Unfortunately, sales for the first two volumes of the series have not been what we hoped, so we do not have plans to publish another book at this time; but we are keeping a careful eye on the numbers, and we hope that the situation might change in the future."
Am I surprised? No. I'm not in the least bit surprised.

When the first Moribito novel was debuting in English, a major concern shared by the publisher, the editor, and librarians was that publishing a Japanese novel relied too heavily on the existing otaku culture. I remember reading a rather enlightening exchange between a middle school teacher and Moribito's American editor. The teacher had showed Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit to one of the girls in her class who was really into manga, and she responded, "No one wants to read something like that". And when asked what girls these days liked to read, the student held up a terrifyingly pulp, shiny, and shoujo example. I don't remember the title, but I'm sure it was something like, "This Generation Is A Lost Cause".

Am I disappointed? Yes. I'm devastated.

I realize we need to be realistic. When you say a fair portion of young people nowadays are fascinated by Japanese culture, that is a gross misnomer. It has been proven time and again that when you actually present this intended audience with a piece of culture it is rejected or ignored. It's pop culture these kids are enamored with. They don't want your art or folklore. They want your self-absorbed self-inserts and impossible romantic interests. They don't want role models. They want escape.

I've never felt so old before. )

I wrote to Cathy this afternoon after I found out Moribito had been dropped. She is currently translating Hakuchou Iden (The Swan's Strange Legend/The Shadow Prince) for Viz, which in the light of things is very uplifting. If it really comes down to economics, maybe Viz (Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, etc.) has the resilience to throw their lot in with small, not-so-lucrative ventures like publishing classics*. Let's hope they don't change their minds.

When it comes to translation, I've always been critical of Viz and in awe of TokyoPop. Have you read their licensed manga? Makes you think Viz translators work on an assembly line in substandard conditions or they really just don't get paid enough to care, whereas TokyoPop translators must be authors and poets and artists. This is why I read my Viz manga online; scanlation qualities are on par with the "professional" translation and you get better image quality.

This is also why when I learned that Takeru was licensed by TokyoPop, and reviewers said the translated script is fantastic (I'll take their word for it!), I made the decision to purchase the entire series legally. It's been a while since I've been motivated to spend money like that.

But what can we do in this day and age? Support good writing, support good translators. God knows they're going extinct, fast.

* ETA. Yeah, I just realized. Viz may have Naruto, but Arthur A. Levine's got Harry Potter. I don't know. Oh wait, scratch that, I do. In an interview, Cathy divulged that one of Viz's editors "had read Dragon Sword and Wind Child when she was young and had loved it. When the editing team tried to get a copy for review, they found that the majority of library copies had been stolen, which actually made them more interested in the book, indicating as it did how popular the book was" (SWET). So there you go. More of a personal investment? Whatever brings us the Magatama trilogy works for me.
Cover of Dragon Sword and Wind Child 1st printing cover, artist Dan Burr
Takeru

I started reading the gaiden first, because I found it while running my routine search for Magatama trilogy news. The names Oguna and Sugaru turned up (major characters from Hakuchou Iden), and I looked up the manga out of curiousity.

Oguna no Takeru

Turns out the name and character similarities are pure coincidence, but the storytelling is something else! Featuring a bird-masked, avenging shadow prince more than worthy of his name, it follows his self-imposed exile from the kingdom that his father conquered through lands that lie on the brink of defeat. Within Prince Oguna are clay pipes from Earth Master Sugaru which sustain his life, physical embodiments of his conscience struggle. All the characters are highly motivated. The story itself is epic, but I found the individual ploys used in battle to be delicate, clever, and satisfying.

(Gwahh the clay and bird motif, the trickster tribe, trust and sacrifice, and aaahh everything is hitting my Sand Dance buttons just right. *bliss*)

Like Pet Shop of Horrors, Oguna no Takeru (and hopefully the rest of Takeru manga) proves to be another case that really puts the novel in "graphic novel"; the art is by all means excellent although the style is not my cup of tea (for example, Prince Oguna is too bishounen and often too Sasuke emo for my taste, yet that doesn't take away from how cool I find his character), and in terms of story and — for lack of a better word — cinematics, there is nothing more I could ask for. ♥

Hopefully more on Takeru now that I've finished reading the scanlations of the gaiden and will get into the main storyline! *rubs hands in anticipation*

Based on what I've seen so far, I'd heartily recommend this series to fans of...
Hero (film, Zhang Yimou)
Redwall (novels, Brian Jacques)
Tales of Magatama (novels, Noriko Ogiwara)
Saiyuki (manga, Kazuya Minekura)
Seirei no Moribito (novels & anime, Nahoko Uehashi)

For more info on Takeru:
http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/takeru-opera-susanoh-sword-devil-vol-1-and-2-review

To read Oguna (standalone side story) online:
http://www.mangareader.net/1161/oguna.html
Cover of Kongsegouyu, unknown artist
This is not a criticism, it is a reminder.

In response to Google's latest stance and the company's intention to withdraw from operation in China, I hope to offer a little of my personal insight on the situation.
"Google's threat to end its operations in China over censorship and computer-security concerns could embarrass communist leaders who crave international respect." (Yahoo News)
Here is the assumption — that Chinese leaders are concerned with the way they look to the rest of the world. I don't disagree with this, but the assumption has no weight to it unless we ask how much do these leaders crave international respect? And in what form?
"The possibility of Google leaving China, [Hecaitou] said, would send a message to Chinese leaders intent on imposing greater restrictions online. Or at least he hoped it would." (The New York Times)
This is my point. If Google's purpose is to make Chinese authorities rethink censorship, will pulling out of the country accomplish that? You can only hope.

Google's stance strikes me as a very American one. Let me expand on what I meant by that statement before my fellow Americans all leap for my throat and strangle me for being a red traitorous commie bastard. During the latter half of the 20th century, the United States favored the use of sanctions against certain countries in hopes to contain the spread of Communism as well as to starve it out of those countries that harbored the Communist form of government. Emphasis on the word "starve". We're familiar with the "commercial, economic, mental, physical, emotional, and financial embargo" that the U.S. imposed on Cuba (Wikipedia), the former Soviet Union (American Foreign Relations), China (Economic Cold War), and North Korea (Global Policy Forum). For the most part, these embargoes, some of them continuing on into the present day, have accomplished the effect of making these countries' citizens very poor and very, very hungry.

(For the other part, it has taught a new generation of Americans that Russian, Chinese, Cuban, and North Korean people* are dangerous and mean us harm.)

Sanctioning a country, cutting it off from global trade, has the expected outcome of crashing that country's economy and tormenting your run-of-the-mill person living there who — given that there's a centralized government in place, hence the sanction come on let's be intuitive here — can't really do a thing about it. Except starve and die in large masses.

America's aim in all of these cases was the byproduct of the sanction, which was the impact it would hopefully have on the folks in charge of the aforementioned countries. Or maybe America hoped all the very hungry people would somehow put together a full-scale revolution. It doesn't matter. Both hopes are naive and unrealistic. In the first case, America has to rely entirely on these leaders' consciences, that seeing their people suffer would make them want to have a 180 degree attitude change. In the second case, at least from my experience, hunger makes people weak and more inclined to go to sleep and sometimes never wake up and less inclined to overthrow a very powerful government.

I'm not making a ludicrous claim here, am I? Please by all means correct me if I am.
"If Google pulls out of China, the door may close permanently." (Abc News)
Let me wrap up this horrible extended metaphor and get back to my point. I'm wondering right now if Google's action (not intention, action) is essentially one of protest or one of abandonment. For those who don't know, only 30-something percent of Chinese netizens use Google; the dominant search engine in China is baidu. If the government makes nothing of the international pressure that ensues, wouldn't Chinese netizens simply be abandoned to a more absolute sphere of censorship?

(I know the old unspoken adage, don't ask questions you don't already have the answers to. How embarrassing to blog about an issue when you can't offer a better solution! Talk about losing internet street cred. Good thing I don't have to worry about that. I don't make a dent on the internet, and I don't have to believe what I'm told. So I'll try actually asking a question that I want answers to.)


* Mothers, fathers, grocers, schoolchildren, firemen, taxi drivers, window cleaners, painters, piano tuners, archaeologists, linguistics professors, fishermen, mailmen, preschool teachers, athletes, babysitters, dancers, fashion designers, gardeners, hairdressers, librarians... You watch out for those communist librarians! They're packing heat and like to eat your unborn children.

For more information...
Financial Times
Seeking Alpha
PC World
U.S. Department of the State
Saya & Chihaya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
Downloaded Gackt's Re:Born (Dec 2009). I haven't listened to this guy in years, he hasn't released a studio album in years. Hey, we're even :'D

Really, though, I owe it to Darker than Black fandom, through which I ended up following [livejournal.com profile] csg_dear4life, who is in my mind uncontested #1 Gackt fan ♥ and she made me want to listen to Gackt again sooo badly.

Apparently Gackt is hopping the auto-tune wagon now? Hm. (I'm not too crazy about auto-tune, especially not considering it's a processor for patching up bad vocals and I'm a fan of Gackt's actual ability to sing.) But he still writes those heartrending melodies I remember so well. My favourite track on the album by far is "Oblivious (Faceless Angel)", which I will put on loop in the morning and just write to. It sounds like the lovechild of "Last Song" (2003) and Sesshoumaru's character song "Gou". I really like the energy in "Flower" too; although it drags a little in the middle, Gackt resuscitates the song admirably and brings it right to the end. Aw, and his Engrish is every bit as endearingly wince-worthy as I remember~

See, Gackt initiated me into J-Rock, and he's one artist I'll won't ever need to beg to never, never change. He is completely immutable. ♥
Tsukishiro & Saya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
It's C-Pop night.

Finally got my hands on JJ's latest album, 100 days. My initial motive was "Pfft! JJ wrote a Twilight song! This I have to hear..."

So after the film noir intro track, "Twilight", it turns into this sappy, mediocre ballad, "Obsession":
Let those blood-red lips thrill this pale white person,
Like an empty town, we need love for our beautiful transformation
Kiss until our gazes entangle, embrace until our souls tremble
The emergency exit's on fire, can't close it, my heart's going thump thump thump

There's no way I can control, make myself endure
And not breathe in the apple fragrance of your skin
And something else about ears and shoulders and locusts(?!) and oh yeah oh yeah oh yeah and...I can't be hearing this right I am feeling so nauseous...

At this point I had to run to the basin and throw up my dinner. Then I proceeded to delete this song along with half the tracks on the album and swore for life that I would disown JJ Lin, pretend he never happened, raaage disbelief betrayal etc etc when —

I paused with my mouse over this song... )
Tsukishiro & Saya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
via [livejournal.com profile] xblkdragonx

Manga-ka Mori Kaoru at work — prepare to be floored by the details —

There are 6 process vids in all )

I was introduced to the mind-blowing art and singular story of Otoyomegatari ("A Young Wife's Tale") last summer via [personal profile] telophase's manga rec. I wholeheartedly recommend this ongoing series to those who enjoy josei/historical/ethnic manga, as well as anyone who wants to try something new. (Scanlations available on mangafox.)
Oguna & Tooko (Hakuchou Iden 2), artist Miho Satake
I used my facepalming Yao icon twice in a row; I feel like I owe my f-list something happy! XD

Guess what I found in the mail today!

Christmas card from [livejournal.com profile] flames05! ♥

Q___Q (I-I had no idea you were mailing it from Germany! Now I feel guilty that it cost you so many euros orz)

Make sure you see the artwork in her gallery — it's amazing. She's also a fan of Darker than Black, Bleach, and the Gundam, Tales of, and Ace Attorney series. So definitely drop by vanilla-rain on dA and give her a watch!
Artist unknown, text added by <user name="nijibug">
I feel like one big runny nose. One big disappointing runny nose. (And I know there ought to be a comma somewhere in there. Please don't ask me to think right now...)

[personal profile] penumbra/[livejournal.com profile] shorelle, happy birthday. And I'm sorry I haven't got anything ready for you but — BUT — I get out of class relatively early today and by all means, I'll have something for you then. ♥

DAMMIT IS THERE ONE FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY I'M NOT GOING TO FAIL AT THIS YEAR

To business.
From James Marsh @ Twitch Reviews:

"Mainland Chinese Cinema is one of the few industries where the women, onscreen at least, genuinely command more power than their male rivals and one would assume that such an iconic role as Mulan would be served appropriately. What we get here, however, is a film devoid of passion, whose message, rather than supporting a woman's ability to do a man's job, is more interested in preaching the importance of individual sacrifice for the "greater good" yet again. Mulan's identity, suffering, sacrifice and achievements as both a woman and a military tactician are barely acknowledged and the film quickly becomes just another war film, lacking any discernible sense of scope, drama or importance. And there isn't a talking dragon to be seen anywhere."

Mulan live-action was a flop. I'm not going to see it. You shouldn't go out of your way to see it. ([livejournal.com profile] firebird_88 reports to save us all the trouble.)

Remember my predictions of the good vs the bad? Well.

What were they thinking? How could it have gone so wrong? )
Saya & Chihaya (Sorairo-Magatama), artist Miho Satake
Artist: JS
Album: 此生最美的风景 | This Life's Most Beautiful Scene
凡尔赛玫瑰

鸢尾花的气味 murano的酒杯
左眼角孔雀蓝眼泪
公爵或者侍卫 再尊贵再卑微
都要倾倒在她的美

宫廷的晨昏金迷纸醉
何须在乎昨是今非

凡尔赛玫瑰 销魂蚀骨的香味
混合著暧昧和心碎 最高贵的颓废
凡尔赛玫瑰 她的心究竟给谁
沉溺在欢愉和後悔 是凡人不能体会的绝美

假面具的舞会 裙摆缎带点缀
大键琴繁複的低迴
若能有幸遇见 带我远走高飞
我就是凡尔赛玫瑰

世间的荣华 短暂易碎
霎那快乐才是最珍贵

凡尔赛玫瑰 销魂蚀骨的香味
混合著暧昧和心碎 最高贵的颓废
凡尔赛玫瑰 她的心究竟给谁
沉溺在欢愉和後悔 是凡人不能体会的绝美

像是幽谷里轻舞的蝴蝶
神话中禁忌的诗篇
让你越痛苦越情愿沦陷的无邪
Rose of Versailles

Fragrance of the lily, Murano wine glass
A peacock-blue tear in the left corner of her eye
Whether duke or soldier, highborn or humble
All will fall to her beauty

Twilight in the palace is all drunken gold fans a-flutter
Why bother with what is here today and gone tomorrow?

Rose of Versailles, her blissfully bone-corroding scent
A melange of doubt and heartbreak, the noblest decadence
Rose of Versailles, to whom shall she offer her heart?
Indulging in delight and regret, no mortal may partake of such perfection

A bal masqué, swinging skirts and satin brocade
The elaborate harpsichord echoes back in low tones
Should we chance to meet, fly me far from this place
I am the Rose of Versailles

Glory in this mortal frame is fragile and short-lived
Grasping joy is more precious than anything

Rose of Versailles, her blissfully bone-corroding scent
A melange of doubt and heartbreak, the noblest decadence
Rose of Versailles, to whom shall she offer her heart?
Indulging in delight and regret, no mortal may partake of such perfection

Like a butterfly delicately dancing in the dell
Like a forbidden poem from a fairy tale
The more you suffer, the more you are willing
to perish for love of this innocence

Haven't translated in far too long. I'm feeling the rust.

Listen here )
Cover of Kongsegouyu, unknown artist
"Our hearts go with you where you go..."
Sung by the Guosim tribe (Pearls of Lutra). Mixed voices.

Spent my entire New Year's Eve whipping these up for Redwall Animation Studio... )

You know, there used to be a time when I dreamed about writing musicals. Now I can't even remotely fathom what I was thinking. :\
From the 2010 remake of 红楼梦
(full-size if you click it)

I'm disappointed. I couldn't crank out a couple of significant pictures I had planned for the end of the year. Well, maybe in January then.

All thumbs June & back are from the old gallery I abandoned and whined about. Feel free to ask if you want to see the full version of any picture and I'll link it to you.

That 1st-sentence-of-each-month meme I've been saving... )

February 2010

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