Keroro again... (he made me cry!)

Well, yesterday I finished reading "Sgt. Frog" vol. 10, and as ever, it was super-cool. It ends up with, with, how do they call it?... a "cliffhanger", no? Yeah, something like that... And now, the next volume will be issued in July only, so I am quite anxious to see what's gonna happen. It's a critical moment for the Platoon, so, I am waiting to see.

But the thing is... Keroro made a sad speech by the end of the book and, as a result, silly-me here even cried. Then I turned the page and read the rest. Guess what? It was a joke! Yes, he made that speech as a joke. And I - the very silly, pathetic reader - believed him, got moved, cried, but actually the "stupid Frog" (as Natsumi-chan would call him most of the time) was JOKING!!!! Gyaaaahhhh... Fine, fine, OK. I almost forgot it is a comic book, funny-ha ha, but seriously... He was SO convincing...

(I have a problem: sometimes I get a bit too involved!)

Adorable Amphibian Invaders

My latest manga passion is "Sgt. Frog" ("Keroro Gunso", ケロロ軍曹 ), by Mine Yoshizaki. It's cute, it's funny, it's clever... Sometimes while in the office I start counting the hours to come back home and read more of the books - see what the Sargent and his comrades will be up to next. As Natsumi-chan would wisely say: "these guys are up to no good..."

The artwork is fantastic and the plot quite simple: Sgt. Keroro is a diminutive green alien from planet Keron that looks pretty much like a frog and has plans (of sorts) to conquer the Earth (called "Pokopen" in Keronian). He is found and subsequently "adopted" by the earthling Hinata family:

- Fuyuki-kun - the weird boy who likes UFOs and the occult and who actually finds Keroro;
- Natsumi-chan - Fuyuki's elder and bossy sister;
- Aki-san - the Mother, a manga editor, the "sek-see" character of the series.

Their names (the Hinatas) are all related to the seasons and you can see signs for them in their bedroom doors: Winter (Fuyu, for Fuyuki), Summer (Natsu, for Natsumi) and Autumn (Aki, for Aki-san).

Gradually, new characters are introduced in the series, namely other Keronian aliens, such as...

- Tamama Nittohei - the black, cute one, with a slightly problematic double personality disorder and irremediably devoted to his "Mister Sergeant, Sir" (and candy, all things sweet);
- Giroro Gouchou - another amazing alien, the red one, very belligerant (apparently) but who falls in love with Natsumi-chan and kind of "adopts" a very cute kitten found in the Hinata's garden on a rainy cold afternoon;
- Kururu Souchou - the yellow one with crazy eyes, the genius of the platoon, inventor of crazy weapons and appliances that should help in conquering the so-coveted Pokopen;
- Dororo Heichou - the blue alien Ninja who ends up falling in love with the planet and its inhabitants;
- Angoru Moa - Keroro's cute niece, powerful enough to cause earthquakes and destroy planets at a whim. She is also in love with her "uncle", and has Tamama (Tama-chan) as her arch-rival (though she doesn't realise that herself!). Lady Moa is also known as the "Lord Of Terror", although nothing in her sweet, docile appearance would suggest that.

As for Keroro, he is green (d'oh!), hyper-active and easily distracted and performs the Hinata's household chores as determined by Natsumi-chan. He could even suffer of attention deficit disorder or something. While he should really be actively involved in plans, reports and strategies for control of Pokopen, the only thing he can possibly think about is buying and assembling Gundam plastic models!

Of course, there are other supporting human characters:

- Momoha Nishizawa, the rich girl who is terminally in love with Fuyuki-kun and also has a split personality like Tama-chan;
- Momotchi's butler and mentor/secretary, Paul Moriyama, who is an older guy and a very interesting character;
- The poet and handsome rebel Mutsumi Saburo, aka 623 (this time, it's Natsumi-chan the one in love with him!);
- Koyuki-chan (the pretty Ninja girl who befriended Dororo and who is in love, yes-yes-yes, with Natsumi-chan) etc etc...

The series is great fun and only God knows how much I identify with Fuyuki-kun's character: the outsider in school, looking for UFO's and ghost stories, super-shy and not good at PE at all! I was pretty much like that while in school, weird and always finding excuses for not attending those unbearable PE classes, ha ha!

My favourite character though is Tama-chan. He's got the cutest eyes and expressions and, in spite of his split personality, is mostly lovely and well-mannered and polite. Tama-chan is also the younger of the aliens, and has a little tail, a tadpole tail (they are froggies in the end, no?). Aw! and he calls Fuyuki "Fukki"!! Ain't that just adorable???

And lastly, another funny character, which does not appear much, but I thought was hilarious: the Ghost girl (or Grudge girl), who lives in an abandonned room chez Hinata. She is a bit of a piss taken on the recent Japanese horror films, I think, and the idea is just excellent. I expected however they would use her a bit more. Let's see how it comes up in the next books, though.

Do as Infinity (arrived today!)

I just received this fantastic double CD from DAI (Do As Infinity) from CDJapan. It also comes with a DVD containing clips from all featured songs. It is a real pity they are no longer together, but this special compilation is a treat for all their fans.

I think I already have most songs in other DAI's CD's, and I especially love "Fukai Mori" (end theme for InuYasha), and "Yesterday and Today". This is a must-have indeed! I am delighted.

The clips on the DVD are just gorgeous, everything looks like a dream, and all very well produced. Van Tomiko has an exceptional voice and a catchy presence, as do Owatari Ryo and Nagao Dai. They are all so beautiful and talented! All in all, this is an excellent product, with beautiful, top quality presentation, and I am very happy with my purchase. Could not recommend it highly enough!

I only wished they had also the clip for "Raven", the ending song for the horror film "Uzumaki" - a very strange film, based on the (also very strange) manga by Junji Ito.

(I have published this mini-review in the CDJapan website, by the way.)

Shura no Hana, Lady Snowblood...

I bought two mangas some days ago, ie, volumes 1 and 2 of "Lady Snowblood", by Koike Kazuo, illustrated by Kamimura Kazuo, and edited by Black Horse.

These have been written in the early 70's and became very popular in Japan at the time. Immediately after their publication (73, to be precise), the film "Lady Snowblood" ("Shurayukihime") was released. This is one of my favourite films, which 30 years later would strongly influence (or rather inspire) Tarantino's "Kill Bill". "Kill Bill" by its turn was primarily inspired by the manga itself, which is pure pulp.

I love "Kill Bill", and think it's great fun to watch. However after seeing "Lady Snowblood" I must say the former pales in comparison with the latter (the "original"). In this sense I nowadays see "Kill Bill" pretty much as a rip-off of "Lady Snowblood", with due respect to Tarantino and his work. But yes, even the camera shots seem like copies of "LS". Well, I believe "Kill Bill" may be a tribute of sorts to "Lady Snowblood" manga and films, but then again, I am not a film expert to say.

Tarantino used the two famous and astounding songs from the original, "Urami Bushi" (aka "My Grudge Blues" ) and "Shura no Hana" ("Flower of Carnage"), both sung by the gorgeous Kaji Meiko - who is also the star of "Lady Snowblood", this pretty and gloomy flower of Hell, white snow tinged with blood and moonlight.

The manga is very graphic. Lots of violence and sex. Mark thought the violence was a bit over the top, but we must agree that Yuki was a professional assassin, thus, she would do that for a living. She needed money (lots of it) to pursue her revenge, her family grudge.

He also thought she was taking her own clothes off all the time, however it's not her doing that in fact - but her foes, of course, who also try to rape her every so often. He restarted reading it and quite liked in the end. Caution here: if you don't like violent plots and scenes that some few people would certainly classify as "hentai", just keep clear of these books.

In the other hand, if you love manga, and are a fan of either "Kill Bill" and/or "Lady Snowblood", please grab your copy now.

Yuki, our Lady Snowblood, looks gorgeous as well in the books, however sometimes the body proportions do not seem quite right. Most of the time, she looks quite realistic and with a truly beautiful, almost angelical face, as well as the other characters and scenarios, which are very well drawn. No "big eyes" though, or cute magic girls and talking animals! Everything looks and feels quite real here.

To buy the books, you can go to my favourite manga site, JustManga. They deliver everywhere and have the best prices. To buy the films and CD's, go to Amazon or CDJapan, making a search for Kaji Meiko (Japanese form) or Meiko Kaji (westernized).

Now you may ask: which is more violent, books or film? I must say definitely the books.

"Crimson roses have their sharp thorns.
I don't want to hurt you, but I have to stab you with my thorns
Burning, it's burning,
It keeps on burning within my grudge blues"

From "Urami Bushi" - "My Grudge Blues", sung by Kaji Meiko

Persocom!

Mark and I bought this Toynami Chi doll last Sunday while in Temple Bar! That was in the Forbidden Planet shop. They also had InuYasha dolls, the next item in my wish list, he he! Isn't she adorable???

Chi must be the most lovely manga character, from Clamp's Chobits - one of the first manga series I read (the 2nd to be precise), and fell in love immediately. Clamp is a great female group of mangaka. I adore everything they write and draw, especially Chobits and Cardcaptor Sakura, which was my very first manga series by the way...

Fashion and Beauty Ignominies (Part 2)

I forgot to mention some other ignominies in my previous post. And these may be the worst. Ever.

- "Teint d'Orange" effect: it means "orange's complexion" effect. Namely, when one's skin acquires the colour of a fruit - orange. Or a vegetable - carrot. Or an oompa-loompa. Not very natural. And we humans come in a fantastic, beautiful range of colours: from deep ebony black to pale, almost blueish white, passing through warm and cool shades of delectable browns, mysterious olives, peaches and cream, flawless yellows, roses, autumn earthy shades, golden, copper and bronze skins, neutral beiges, sallow beauties etc... But no oranges. Not a glimpse of an oompa-loompa. Or a green Martian, for that matter. So, people love fake tans. Fact. But fake tans risk to turn us into orange, tangoed beings. Looks weird. It's a little crime against beauty. And diversity.

- Ornamental Fish Syndrome: now, I must point out I am not against plastic surgery. If you have the money, the guts and if it will make you happier and improve your quality of life, go for it. Most important is to find a very good surgeon. What I am against here is a bad, unprofessional practice with dodgy results. The Ornamental Fish has eyes that pop out, an unchangeable inquisitive expression, and lips that also pop out. The "inquisitive expression" consists of eyebrows bordering the hairline (yeah, "up there"), simulating an air of frozen, constant surprise: "Ooooohhh"... And foreheads that do not move. Excessive face lifts, botox injections, restylane, you name it. Looks bad. Plain bad.

- Breast enhancements: as above, but this time the breasts popping out. Who says bigger is better? Can be very bad for your back. Carnival in Rio is where you can see all these atrocities. On parade. From ornamental fish to big-is-better. Again, I am definitely not against it. I just think the humongous, fake, heavy effect is a no-no. It's great if you can lift it up when it gets saggy, or correct it if necessary or if it annoys you somehow. But the obviously fake big thing is completely out, in my humble opinion.

Well, that's it for today. I don't want to sound like an inquisitor or anything. Just sharing my opinion on these things, and whenever we are bombarded with celebrities' bodies and crazy beauty fads. I don't know...

Ah well, I am tired now. Had a bad night, and Mark too. Now we both got a headcold and are taking our Lemsips. Bleeeaaarrgghh...

Hasta la vista,

a.

Fashion and Beauty Ignominies

I may sound a bit pretentious here, but while resting at home these days, I started to think about these little "crimes" of beauty and fashion that make me really freak out, and worry a bit, and question my very own standards, blah blah. Don't take me wrong though. Maybe I am just not very tolerant, but these things drive me nuts. I must say I am not quite the fashionable lady either, I am too basic in what I wear: jeans, floaty boho skirts, boots or sandals. Things like that. And I dislike anything that is tight, flashy or that clings onto my figure. However I consider these things to be quite elementar and, when I see them, I probably make a funny face and start to wonder how the heck, and why, and with which purpose they are "carried on".

What are they? Let's go then.

- White shoes: I can perfectly understand Kathleen Turner's character's behaviour towards this little piece of fashion heresy in that brilliant flick "Serial Mom". Agreed and signed-off. If I were that psycho, would probably have done the same.

Alternative: nude, buff coloured shoes. Never white. Puh-leease.

- Thongs, tangas, g-strings: how low can people go? I mean literally. Not metaphorically low here. These are not meant to be seen over the waist of your jeans. Or are they? No V-signs, no straps or lacy bits popping out. This is a no-no. Definitely. Well, that's how I think, at least. Not elegant.

In Brasil (they are oh so irreverent there!) they call these "dental floss", easy to see why, no? I don't think it's very hygienic either. And not comfortable. If a normal pair of knickers can become hell if they get - sorry for being so explicit now - "stuck" between one's buttocks, I cannot figure how knickers that are purposedly designed to really stick in there may be of any comfort. Rather a self-inflicted punishment.

Are they really supposed to eliminate VPL's (aka "Visible Panty Lines")? Don't think so. I've seen many a lady walking in front of me with, let's say, linen trousers and thongs underneath. Were they hiding anything? Afraid not. Actually it only made things worse, especially those with cellulitis in their buttocks. Very wobbly, very visible, very hypnotic almost. To hide anything (including panty lines), go for a Spanx. Hide, conceal, tuck - everything in one package. And they will not stick "there", uninvited. At least.

Alternative: boyshorts. These are low-waist knickers, and super-comfy. You can even get cute Hello Kitty ones. The best. Ever. Period.

- Clothes that are too tight: hey, clothes are meant to be worn comfortably. Ideally, they should be one's very own "official" size, maybe 1/2 point larger (if that's possible). Never buy smaller sizes thinking "I can always lose some weight and that will be perfect". No. Forget it. Easy to alter your clothes than alter yourself, right?

- Very short tees + very low waisted trousers or skirts = very apparent belly, not very composed look.

- Trousers dragging on the streets: a phenomena very common here in Dublin, especially among teens and young adults. The seams get awfully dirty, black in some cases, several shades of gray in others. Again, not hygienic at all. Think about it: it means you carry home all those unwelcome guests (bacteria in general, fecal coliforms more specifically etc). It does mean if these bacteria were homeless before, now, thanks to this new transportation method, they can find a home. Yes, dragged directly to the peace of your home! And your body! Seriously now: who wants that? Yeuck...

- Visible Lip Liner and Very Visible Lip Liner: whoa, whoa, whoa... Stop there. Who wants to look like Batman's arch-enemy??? Hhhhmmmm... Afraid not. Light to medium-coloured lips with a seriously darker contour. That is freaky. Why not something the same colour of the lipstick? Or nude? Or just lipstick, lipstain, gloss, whatever, with no lining? Why... why not???

I once went to the Clinique counter in a very hip department store here in Dublin. The sales rep (how could she dare, tell me?) had indeed such visibly-lined-lips. Scary. She was a nice, young blond lady and started to talk to me through those l-i-p-s. I only had eyes for them, which seemed big, and bigger, and biggest. However, I could not quite hear what she was saying. All I could see was the lips, horribly magnified and lined, muttering some unintelligible words right to my face, slow-motion. The sound of these words? Think about a female Dart Vader. Or a Warlock. Or the Big Boss on that scary video-game. I just showed her a piece of paper with the name of a product scribbled on it, could not even talk. That was it. Spooky.

Alternative: skip lip liner, or go for the nude ones.

I guess that's it for today. I know I sounded quite nasty, but maybe I am in a bad mood, being sick and all. Sorry if by any chance any of you-my-17-readers just love the looks, but I needed to talk about it, vent a bit...

Good night/time to inject myself,

a.

A Southpark character? No, just my new haircut!

Thanks to my lovely grand-nephew Afonso, I got to know this cool little website: Minijuegos.

There you can build your very own Southpark character, or make yourself into one! So, this is what I might look like if I lived in Southpark!

It's quite cold here at the moment, that's why I am wearing a scarf. Also the hair is what looked more like my new haircut.

I love the links Afonso sends to me, they are always so cute!

Visit to my new neurologist

On Monday afternoon, I had an appointment with my new Neurologist, now in St. Vincent's Hospital - no longer in Beaumont.

I wanted this change because I met both consultants from SV's and liked the way they approached the subject, and the researches they are involved in. I must say I did not like Beaumont very much. They all seemed a bit "distant" (consultant and assistants) and, besides, it was a bit too far away from where we live. The place was also a bit gloomy, and they had MS Clinics only once a month. Long waits too, tons of patients. Then I asked them to transfer me and so they did.

Well, I did not see the consultants yet - that will happen on 18th September. But I saw dr. Lisa Costello, who is a Neurology researcher there and she was quite nice. They also seemed to spend quite some time with the patients there, more than in my former Hospital. She asked me if I wanted to participate on a research they are doing there about T-cells, immune system and the possible causes of MS. I agreed. They took me for blood tests, I did not feel well because they really needed quite a lot (for the routine exams plus the DNA tests for the research). But then, the nurse took me to a room to rest and I was OK. Mark always with me, of course, he's such an angel...

Results of my visit were:

- Fatigue: there's no much to do about it, since I already tried all medications that could help (Symmetrel and Provigil) and they did not help me (as they do not help much people either, only a 20-30% chance of success, she told us). The last resource would be to start exercising. Only problem is to find some energy to start it, but hey, I always wanted to do some yoga. Now is time for that. Mark wants to go for yoga classes with me as well, so he can improve his flexibility. So...

- Aspartame and MS: she never heard about it (some crazy emails a friend of my Mom sent to her, blaming my addiction to Diet Coke as the culprit for my disease), and definitely there is no relation. I asked previous consultants and my GP and they said it's bullshit anyway. But you can imagine how my Mom pestered me about it: "I always told you Diet Coke was no good, blah-blah-blah and blah..."

- MRI scan: I will need a second one, since the time I've been diagnosed when I had the first. I did not like that idea much, because I would prefer not to see (or to know about) any changes that may have occurred with my lesions. But that's the praxis there. She will organise an appointment and let me know through a letter.

These are the news. I haven't been feeling good since yesterday and am home today. It's 6pm now, and after sleeping most of the day, I now feel a bit better.

Hasta la vista then!
a.

Barbie Barbarism

I found some infamous pictures of my childhood some weeks ago, while in Rio. When I was young (maybe until I was 6 or 7, something like that), I had the worrying habit of destroying my dolls. Most especially, Barbie dolls.

I used to be very cruel to them. Cutting their hair with scissors, bending their legs until the wires showed off, taking their head off and throwing it to our Alsatian dog, Ziggy - who loved to chew on them.

My parents were horrified and thought I was a little psycho. Of course they brought me to the doctor, a child's psychiatrist. But I was "normal", in the end. This kind of behaviour was (or is) more common than one could imagine. When I grew older though, around 11 or 12, I had a Barbie with lots of clothes and shoes. I really liked that when I was a bit more grown-up. And never threw her to any dogs. But gave her away eventually, to some little girl, when I became too "adolescent" for barbie dolls. I especially liked those little shoes!

Anyways... Whenever I committed those "barbicide" acts, my Father used to say that he would never get me another Barbie, ever again. But then, the next week or so, I would come to him and say: "Dad, I want another Barbie". He would of course say no, reminding what I have done last. Then I would say: "I promise, I will not do it again. I swear!", and weep a bit. He would not resist and naturally would get me another one that same day! And guess what??? Yeah... The same crime would repeat itself. That's what my Mom told me. I don't remember all that, of course. But that's how things were. I was very spoiled. My Dad would fall for anything. Not my Mom though!

Mom can't remember very well what the Doctor said, but it was something like (me) testing how far they would go in their love for me. They would buy me a Barbie, I would destroy it and ask for a new one. And this was a cycle. Other dolls would suffer the same destiny, including the Italian baby twins that Betinha gave to me once. It seems these were gorgeous, my Mom and Betinha still remember them. They were hiding in a wardrobe, I found them, and did the same old nasty trick.

I never did that to my stuffed toys (animal toys) though. If I had a kid and if that kid were into this kind of stuff, I would be very worried, of course. Would do the same as my parents did (bring him or her to a specialist nonetheless). But it did not last for very long. I redeemed myself later on!

Well, I found the pics from that time. You can say I was planning something nasty by the look on my face and the way I hold the doll! In the 1st picture, I also have a little Japanese doll wearing a Kimono - that one was not destroyed!