'Tis the season!
Jan. 8th, 2011 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
topazeraOkay, I know it's been a while since Christmas but since I'm rather slow on the draw: I wanted to do a post on my favorite Christmas "gifts"! Here "gifts" reads as the little things that made my holiday season and includes a lot of televised things. As that's how I roll. :D
Gift #1: The sunrise on Christmas Day, as seen from my bedroom window.
The ladies of Kohaku!
I've watched the first half of Kohaku and other than all the sweet Arashi and the artists I already knew I liked, my next favorite part was the enka ladies! They were so awesome. The first lady in this picspam was SO CUTE when she was doing her victory signs in front of all these happily dancing people. There were also ADORABLE older folk dancing behind her! I particularly liked watching the older gentleman in red and the baa-chan with the red and white polka-dotted neckerchief. They were so into the dancing and having so much fun. AUGH, SO SWEET! But my favorite was the last lady shown here! First of all, she was surrounded by twirly background dancers and Ai-chan in an amazing outfit and dorky, dorky TOKIO and yet she still stood out! And then halfway through the song she was like, "Yeah! I don't need this outer kimono! Check me out in my badass festival clothing with my bare legs! :D :D" Her smile was AMAAAZING and her fist pumps were inspiring and OH, I JUST LOVED HER. (The other two women are here for their incredible dresses but I could have included so many others too!) I was really entertained by all these performances while at the same thing thinking I could be watching Kohaku from the 1940s. I'm not sure if the Japanese respect for elders or senpai/kouhai system plays into it but it seems like they've managed to preserve some really traditional styles alongside all the modern flash. I enjoyed watching Kohaku about a hundred times more than the half an hour of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve I watched. That seemed like about 30 seconds of the ball dropping and then endless watching people kiss/watching the Backstreet Boys/watching Carson Daly making fun of the Backstreet Boys and feeling like I never left the 90s/watching irritatingly polished hosts and more musical guests playing in a very club-like atmosphere. While I'm sure a large part of it is that something like Kohaku is novel to me and I'm not overwhelmed by the Japanese version of commercialization on a day-to-day basis, I still thought there was something more pure and genuine left in their celebrations. ♥
Expanding my JE love!
I've been watching a whole bunch of V6 stuff in the past two weeks! I thought it was kind of unfair that I was decently familiar with all of JE from SMAP on except them! Especially when they had always looked talented and I've loved Sakamoto inexplicably for a long time. As expected, they are PRETTY GREAT! It's kind of interesting to look at a group with such a wide age gap, after spending so much time with the younger generation. While I kind of hate the original idea of Tonisen vs Kamisen, I do love when idols have faced adversity in their path to stardom and all the omg-are-we-ever-going-to-debut, omg-they-are-pushing-the-kids-more-than-us Tonisen went through is actually now appealing to me. And I really love what it became eventually after they all felt on an even playing ground and Sakamoto started to loosen up. XD They seemed to cast themselves as a family more strongly than other groups with their Sakamoto-papa and Nagano-mama and all the "kids". I just really eat up that sort of thing. XD And while I'm still Tonisen biased, I feel like I'm getting to know and like everyone now! I'm pleased that Okada seems to have his own little world, I now can imagine why him and Nino were so close much better. V6! ♥
Decorating my person!
I got this bow on one of my Christmas gifts and I immediately stuck it on my head. XD However it really wasn't sticky enough to stay so before we went to my uncle's house that day, I pulled off the sticky pad and slid a wire under the bow's staple and then twisted it onto a headband. It was so cute and so easy to wear my bow all day! Plus now I can just twist it off and replace it! I'm totally doing this to more bows. :)
Feet no longer cold!
The only thing on the list that cost money, socks from my mom! They are nice Smartwool ones to actually keep my feet warm and coincidentally I had looked at this same pair online and thought they were really cute. ♥ Man, you know you are getting old when you're SUPER PSYCHED to get socks for Christmas! :DD
All Arashi on the end-of-the-year programs!
ASALKFJD;GDFKG;ALKGJ!!
Summary: I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. There aren't even words. They make everything they do adorable and dorky and entertaining, they can never take over too many end-of-the-year shows for my taste. In fact, I really missed them at Countdown this year. Boooooys!♥
On the 2nd Day of Christmas (1997)
!!!! OMG, I have been looking for this Christmas movie for so long! For the past seven years, whenever they aired "On the 2nd Day of Christmas" on Lifetime (hahaha, I know!), I've tried to be there to watch! But this year it was only showing on their dumb movie network, so I went on a search online! After a torrent that took two days to download and then was overdubbed in Russian, I found a copy! I was so thrilled! I'm so watching this every year now. I don't care that it's not a classic, it is my favorite Christmas movie.
Summary: Trish (Mary Stuart Masterson) has to work on Christmas Eve... and by that she means, working the holiday crowds as a pickpocket with her seven-year-old niece, Patsy, as her accomplice. Unfortunately for them, they're caught by a sharp-eyed mall security guard, Bert (Mark Ruffalo). Rather than have Patsy spend the holiday in police custody, Bert reluctantly agrees to be temporarily responsible for the pair. Which means they will instead be spending the holiday with him in his tiny apartment.
Okay, first off, I do not claim that this isn't a totally cheesy movie. I watch dramas so I am pretty much a lover of all things cheese. However I will also never be convinced this isn't also a TOTALLY DELIGHTFUL movie. :D First of all because there's excellent chemistry between the leads but also because there is some charming writing along with the over-the-top stuff. Highlights include: handcuffs, snark, lots of domesticity including grocery shopping, grabby hands (Trish) and invasion of person space (both), bickering, teamwork, and makeouts. A++ CHOICES, RIGHT? I'm totally thinking of uploading this and pimping it so anyone who searches for it will be able to find it. ♥
Baby Baby on SCP 2010.12.24
SERIOUSLY. SERIOUSLY. This felt exactly like a Christmas present made for me. Subaru, Tatsu, Yasu and Maru playing alongside Taichi and Nagase? Playing Baby Baby from their album? BE STILL MY BEATING HEART. Please see THIS EXTENSIVE POST for my reaction to it! Summary: *_____*
Gift #1: The sunrise on Christmas Day, as seen from my bedroom window.
I've watched the first half of Kohaku and other than all the sweet Arashi and the artists I already knew I liked, my next favorite part was the enka ladies! They were so awesome. The first lady in this picspam was SO CUTE when she was doing her victory signs in front of all these happily dancing people. There were also ADORABLE older folk dancing behind her! I particularly liked watching the older gentleman in red and the baa-chan with the red and white polka-dotted neckerchief. They were so into the dancing and having so much fun. AUGH, SO SWEET! But my favorite was the last lady shown here! First of all, she was surrounded by twirly background dancers and Ai-chan in an amazing outfit and dorky, dorky TOKIO and yet she still stood out! And then halfway through the song she was like, "Yeah! I don't need this outer kimono! Check me out in my badass festival clothing with my bare legs! :D :D" Her smile was AMAAAZING and her fist pumps were inspiring and OH, I JUST LOVED HER. (The other two women are here for their incredible dresses but I could have included so many others too!) I was really entertained by all these performances while at the same thing thinking I could be watching Kohaku from the 1940s. I'm not sure if the Japanese respect for elders or senpai/kouhai system plays into it but it seems like they've managed to preserve some really traditional styles alongside all the modern flash. I enjoyed watching Kohaku about a hundred times more than the half an hour of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve I watched. That seemed like about 30 seconds of the ball dropping and then endless watching people kiss/watching the Backstreet Boys/watching Carson Daly making fun of the Backstreet Boys and feeling like I never left the 90s/watching irritatingly polished hosts and more musical guests playing in a very club-like atmosphere. While I'm sure a large part of it is that something like Kohaku is novel to me and I'm not overwhelmed by the Japanese version of commercialization on a day-to-day basis, I still thought there was something more pure and genuine left in their celebrations. ♥
I've been watching a whole bunch of V6 stuff in the past two weeks! I thought it was kind of unfair that I was decently familiar with all of JE from SMAP on except them! Especially when they had always looked talented and I've loved Sakamoto inexplicably for a long time. As expected, they are PRETTY GREAT! It's kind of interesting to look at a group with such a wide age gap, after spending so much time with the younger generation. While I kind of hate the original idea of Tonisen vs Kamisen, I do love when idols have faced adversity in their path to stardom and all the omg-are-we-ever-going-to-debut, omg-they-are-pushing-the-kids-more-than-us Tonisen went through is actually now appealing to me. And I really love what it became eventually after they all felt on an even playing ground and Sakamoto started to loosen up. XD They seemed to cast themselves as a family more strongly than other groups with their Sakamoto-papa and Nagano-mama and all the "kids". I just really eat up that sort of thing. XD And while I'm still Tonisen biased, I feel like I'm getting to know and like everyone now! I'm pleased that Okada seems to have his own little world, I now can imagine why him and Nino were so close much better. V6! ♥
I got this bow on one of my Christmas gifts and I immediately stuck it on my head. XD However it really wasn't sticky enough to stay so before we went to my uncle's house that day, I pulled off the sticky pad and slid a wire under the bow's staple and then twisted it onto a headband. It was so cute and so easy to wear my bow all day! Plus now I can just twist it off and replace it! I'm totally doing this to more bows. :)
The only thing on the list that cost money, socks from my mom! They are nice Smartwool ones to actually keep my feet warm and coincidentally I had looked at this same pair online and thought they were really cute. ♥ Man, you know you are getting old when you're SUPER PSYCHED to get socks for Christmas! :DD
ASALKFJD;GDFKG;ALKGJ!!
Summary: I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. There aren't even words. They make everything they do adorable and dorky and entertaining, they can never take over too many end-of-the-year shows for my taste. In fact, I really missed them at Countdown this year. Boooooys!♥
!!!! OMG, I have been looking for this Christmas movie for so long! For the past seven years, whenever they aired "On the 2nd Day of Christmas" on Lifetime (hahaha, I know!), I've tried to be there to watch! But this year it was only showing on their dumb movie network, so I went on a search online! After a torrent that took two days to download and then was overdubbed in Russian, I found a copy! I was so thrilled! I'm so watching this every year now. I don't care that it's not a classic, it is my favorite Christmas movie.
Summary: Trish (Mary Stuart Masterson) has to work on Christmas Eve... and by that she means, working the holiday crowds as a pickpocket with her seven-year-old niece, Patsy, as her accomplice. Unfortunately for them, they're caught by a sharp-eyed mall security guard, Bert (Mark Ruffalo). Rather than have Patsy spend the holiday in police custody, Bert reluctantly agrees to be temporarily responsible for the pair. Which means they will instead be spending the holiday with him in his tiny apartment.
Okay, first off, I do not claim that this isn't a totally cheesy movie. I watch dramas so I am pretty much a lover of all things cheese. However I will also never be convinced this isn't also a TOTALLY DELIGHTFUL movie. :D First of all because there's excellent chemistry between the leads but also because there is some charming writing along with the over-the-top stuff. Highlights include: handcuffs, snark, lots of domesticity including grocery shopping, grabby hands (Trish) and invasion of person space (both), bickering, teamwork, and makeouts. A++ CHOICES, RIGHT? I'm totally thinking of uploading this and pimping it so anyone who searches for it will be able to find it. ♥
SERIOUSLY. SERIOUSLY. This felt exactly like a Christmas present made for me. Subaru, Tatsu, Yasu and Maru playing alongside Taichi and Nagase? Playing Baby Baby from their album? BE STILL MY BEATING HEART. Please see THIS EXTENSIVE POST for my reaction to it! Summary: *_____*
