"To be a man..." (Shin-chan's wisdom)

Ha ha, I think this boy is genius! OK, not the most politically correct, maybe... But, who cares??? Just love, love, love Shin-chan...

I want a dog like this to be my pet-driver...

Ha ha! This is so cool! I could not believe when I read this on the web today: this woman in Mongolia crashed while teaching her dog how to drive! How crazy! How cute! How...

Me too, me too! I want a dog who knows how to drive, because I don't! See, instead of having the dog in a leash, it could drive me around in a car! Brilliant! Well, that lady in Mongolia, she surely knows how to drive; maybe the only problem here is that she is not a very good trainer, mhwahahahaaa!

(Aw dear... This made my day... What's next??)

If we only knew the breed, huh? Perhaps a Labrador or an Alsatian would have scored better, no?

Little things (and changes)

Here are some little things I love:

- The murmur of the wind through the trees (not tempest-woooooooohhhh but rather nice-afternoon-tsch-tsch-tsch, which means rather "breeze" than "wind" maybe!);
- Sunset lights;
- Cool temperatures (16-17 degrees);
- Wind chimes (goes well with the nice-afternoon-tsch-tsch-tsch, like a complimetary pling-pling-pling) ;
- Ramen noodles;
- Summer snails, always being very careful not to thread on the little things, since they look so cute and, ehr, relaxed!

(It 's being like this today! Had noodles at lunch time - and the other stuff!)

Today there was the official announcement in SITA that our office in Dublin will close. We will be made redundant. Last day is November 30th. I must say I feel quite relieved that they actually (and finally) announced it in a proper way, because we knew - non-officially - for some weeks already and oh boy, that was torture!

I must also say that I don't like changes and risks, but in some case a big shake may be very welcome - as a way of not remaining stagnated, accommodated, or frozen in a space and time cocoon.

In my case I must think about what I really want to do, since I am not very sure yet of that! I have been working for these companies for quite some time and never really stopped very much to think if that's what I really wanted: Pan American (2 years), American Express (9 and 1/2 years), SITA (6 years). And there you have 18 years of my life, gone without me being sure if that was worth the effort.

Some things I would like to do:

- Maybe work as a contractor;
- Have time to do some courses on Graphic design applications;
- Definitely go to a good HTML course;
- XML maybe (as well);
- Japanese course maybe (very tempting);
- Sit down and re-start drawing;
- Finally get/renew my Gym membership and start exercising again to see if I get more energetic and bring some movement to these limbs;
- Read, read, read;
- Start selling stuff on EBay as well.

The breeze is still "breezing". I feel relaxed.

Country Roads (from "Whisper of the Heart")

This was found on Youtube and taken from Hayao Miyazaki's "Whisper of the Heart" (aka Mimi wo Sumaseba), one of my favourite movies. I have the soundtrack and just love the Japanese version of "Country Roads" when Shizuku starts singing it, so shyly at the beginning and then becoming more and more confident.

The English lyrics can be be seen in the video above, but here are the Romaji lyrics if you wish to karaoke!

Kantori Roodo (Country Roads)

Kantorii Roodo, kono michi
Zutto yukeba
Ano machi ni tsuduite ru
Ki ga suru Kantorii Roodo

Hitori botchi, osorezu ni
Ikiyou to yume mite ta
Samishisa oshikomete
Tsuyoi jibun wo mamotte ikou

Kantorii Roodo, kono michi...

Arukidukare tatazumu to
Ukande kuru furusatou no machi
Oka wo maku saka no michi
Sonna boku wo shikatte iru

Kantorii Roodo, kono michi...

Donna kujikesou na toki datte
Kesshite namida ha misenaide
Kokoro nashi ka hochou ga hayaku natte iku
omoide kesu tame

Kantorii Roodo, kono michi
Furusato he tsuduite mo
Boku ha, ikanai sa
Ikenai Kantorii Roodo

Kantorii Roodo, ashita ha
Itsu mo no boku sa
Kaeritai, kaerenai
Sayonara, Kantorii Roodo

Mousehunt tonight!

Mousehunt was the super-funny film we watched tonight. It was not our first time watching it of course, but it's so cute and so funny, that I can really watch it over and over again. Mark did not watch it until the end though. He likes a lot of films, but he does not quite appreciate watching them lots and lots of times. Unlike me, he he!

Amazingly versatile Christopher Walken plays a very good character here: Caesar, the wacky exterminator, who tries to end our adorable mouse's career in the old house.

So, that was what we saw tonight. I expect to watch something else tomorrow, after we come back from Dundrum for some shopping. Meanwhile I will be going to bed now and try and have a nice sleep. Last night it was quite bad, for I had a terrible migraine and could only get some sleep around 5am... And of course I slept for most of the day today, such a waste!

Kero-baby: cuteness alert!

She must be the cutest baby on the web! I was searching for Keroro on Youtube and there she was! Under doraemonyeung's profile, who must be the proudest relative/parent ever! So adorable!

(By the way, she is singing, or attempting to sing, the Keroro's opening theme for the 1st series, that you can hear in the background, sung in Chinese. Super-lovely! Aaaaawwww...)

This weekend's flicks

Yesterday... March of the Penguins. One beautiful piece of cinematography about the emperor penguin's struggle for survival in the whites of Antartica. Even better was the documentary included in the DVD's special feature: "Of Penguins and Men", showing all the hard work behind the cameras. An adventure not to be missed.

Today... Lady Vengeance. A Korean production about a woman in search of vengeance and justice. Wonderful photography and soundtrack, and brilliant actors. Dark sense of humour and some quite melancholy moments make of it a piece of perfect and delicate balance. You should check that out.

Extremes

Sometimes I think if I am not a bit weird or what. I have two antagonic sides co-existing inside me.

One is the "I-adore-all-things-cute" side or, most specifically, kawaii. The other is the complimentary "But-I-love-horror-flicks" one. Meaning that people can listen to me digressing and going all "aawwww" at the latest Hello Kitty gimmick and - ten minutes later, literally - going all excited about that new JHorror release where hairy ghosts come out of toasters, for example.

Those two things live inside me like an old Stevie Wonder's song: "in perfect harmony". Although they may seem a bit incompatible to the world around me. That is why I so much identify with Momotchi and Tama-chan, from my beloved Keroro Gunso series. They are characters of "extremes". Taste-wise and pesonality-wise too. I have a bit of their mood swings as well (Mark knows well about it!). I can be in cute-mode now, and the next moment become a venomous harpy! Ha ha! Of course I am exaggerating a bit here, but yeah, you can picture it...

Cute stuff I love:

- Sanrio characters, especially (and above all) Hello Kitty;
- Pucca;
- Morning Glory's Babu and Blue Bear;
- San-X stuff:
- Cute maneki neko;
- Nici stuff;
- Cute Asian makeup brands such as Majolica Majorca, Anna Sui and Lavshuca.

However, there are "cute" stuff I seriously dislike because they look tacky, passé and utterly mind-numbing, such as:

- Some kinds of Teddy Bears (eg, Care Bears and several greeting card ones);
- Barbie dolls;
- Bratz;
- Teletubbies;
- Anne Geddes baby pics;
- Ads where dogs and little babies talk with silly adult voices (eg, Andrex toilet rolls where a lovely and playful Labrador puppy sounds like an old drag-queen, Pampers etc...)

As for the Horror, I must say I am quite proud of my collection of DVDs! Mostly Asian films, because their approach of horror is not only "cleaner" but also deeper, and mostly impressive. Stylish even. And, the Horror I dislike is stuff like Re-animator and Infection for example. They are just plain gross. Period.

Notes: There is no such a thing as a JHorror film where a hairy ghost comes out of a toaster, of course! They normally come out of TVs and bathroom sinks, but not toasters - at least for now; one can only hope...

Also, I recognise this whole cute thing is a bit subjective. I know that, for some people, Hello Kitty may look abominable and Care Bears adorable, for example. Or drag-queenish labrador puppies may sound like the epitome of cuteness... Who am I to say? Anyway, it's all too personal in the end, no?

Finally, the above picture with Momotchi and Tama-chan I got in the super-cool Keroro's Korean website! Worth checking (and bookmarking) it!

Wish List!!!

Mark just found out that a new Hello Kitty mobile phone is being released this month: it is the BenQ Siemens AL26 Hello Kitty. Pink, cute and slim. It is a sliding phone too, which is what I want for me next! Need to have it! I don't know if it will be available here in Ireland. If not, I can always get it on EBay, because Mark checked it would work here with no problem, no matter where we buy it!

I knew the OKWAP Kitty one, made in Korea, which is cute and comes with lots of extras (straps, purse etc). However the design of the BenQ looks prettier and less bulky. The OKWAP is quite expensive on EBay, even after more than one year of its release. It must be a good phone, but I will wait to see where I can get the BenQ. As for the extras, I have more than enough straps and cute purses to use with, so I would not really need it.

Father Dougal's Three Wishes

Thanks to YouTube, here is a scene of our all-time fave "Father Ted". Father Dougal must be one of my dearest characters; he is so silly you can just love him!
I could not find my really favorite scene though, the one about the Spider Baby in the Fun Fair...