Looks like many people who are watching Pride for the first time are smitten. Many of them will search the web for related info during the two days the drama is being aired. I can tell from the visitors who come in here. The keywords they googled are Pride, Halu or Takuya Kimura.

Well, I did say the show is a must-watch even though some episodes were heavily censored. Don’t you just love it when Halu kissed Aki’s eyelid? Now, remember the number of times he did that because it has an important bearing on what is to come next week. Anyway, this week’s is great because we finally see Halu saying “aishite ru” (I love you) to Aki. I so love the scene where he kissed her fully on her lips at the door. I also want leh…

I sometimes wonder how his female co-stars feel after being initimate with him onscreen. I mean that guy oozes so much sex appeal… which is why dramas like Pride, Good Luck and Beautiful Life with romantic storylines tend to do better rating-wise. People just love to see TK in love no matter how cliche the plot is. So his recent drama Engine didn’t do as well, even though the story is neat. And the choice of his female lead is VERY important. I liked Tokiwa Takako in Beautiful Life but oooh…Takeuchi Yuko is even better because she is sooo kawaii! But not Matsu Takako please. I don’t fancy that girl and they’ve acted together way too often.

I wonder whose voice they used as Halu’s in the Chinese dubbing? It’s awful! Well, if your TV has dual sound, please, please, change to the Japanese language because Halu sounds really sexy.

Okay, here are some of the earliest comments made about Pride in 2004 taken off from channel smap forum.

Sorry darling…..but right now I am so heads over heels in love with someone else….
no no, not kimra…but HALU HALU HALU HALU HALU~~~~~~
I LOVE HALU~~~~~ He is so charismatic!!!!

Report is up fast ! I guess you caught the HALU virus!
Muhaaaaaa love ya report~ I am just waiting to see how this smug will slowly give in to cute aki…
actually beneath this smug’s kakoii & complacent self is just a child, probably that’s why Anzai asked him not to get involved in a replationship….
If aki’s boyfren comes back……he’ll probably be shattered!

WE WERE BORN TO LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!
SATONAKA HALU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I tell you – the man just sizzles.

Anyway the overall combo in Pride is just smashing. The cast is cool, the song is inspiring, the romance is bittersweet and of course Halu rocks. Maybe… Must be!

A site with detailed synopsis for those interested. And you can also read my other posts about TK here.

Something about this article isn’t very right to me.

TOKYO — When a nearly 6-meter-long tentacle was hauled aboard his research ship, Tsunemi Kubodera knew he had something big. Then it began sucking on his hands. But what came next excited him most — hundreds of vivid photos of a rare giant squid in its natural habitat deep undersea.

Observing a giant squid in the wild for the first time, Kubodera’s team captured photos of a 8-meter-long, purplish-red sea monster attacking its bait nearly 900 meters undersea, then struggling for more than four hours to get free. The squid pulled so hard on the line that held the shrimp bait that it severed one of its own tentacles.

“It was quite an experience to feel the still-functioning tentacle on my hand,” Kubodera, a researcher with Japan’s National Science Museum, said. “But the photos were even better.”

While the discovery of a giant squid the size of a bus is truly fascinating, the act of discovery wasn’t so desirable. Sure, observe all you want in the name of whatever but can’t you people at least leave the squid intact in its natural habitat? Did the giant squid prey on you? Hey, we live on land, and the squid in the deep sea. It’s not bothering us and no studies have indicated that squids are vicious. So leave it alone, tentacles included! And if sqids are better looking, I’m pretty sure some squid lovers would now be protesting vehemently. Some creatures are just born unlucky, on top of being bulky and ugly.

I’m also curious. Since Japanese are known to love live seafood, was Kubodera secretly yearning to taste the tentacle?

Read my other post on splashing aliens here.

I was rocked by this piece of news I came across.

China’s godfather of electric rock Cui Jian assaulted Beijing with his loud and angry wall of sound in his first officially sanctioned concert in the Chinese capital in 12 years.

Some 10,000 fans gathered in the Capital Gymnasium to hear the 44-year-old perform the latest versions of his songs, many of which have been banned by a government wary of Cui’s social and political criticisms.

“It was 12 years ago that I last performed here just after the release of the ‘Balls Under the Red Flag’ album,” the Beijing-born classically trained musician told the crowd.

“If we have to keep on waiting then maybe they will let us come back and play here again in another 12 years.”

Cui has enjoyed a rebirth this year with the release of his fifth studio album “Show Your Colours”, dedicated to the pitfalls of China’s unprecedented urbanization, and a videotaped concert performance that was aired on state-controlled television in February.

The easing of restrictions against Cui’s angry rap-inflected rock has come as the government shows an increased awareness of the commercial value of modern music.

My first encounter with Chinese rock music was actually 20 years ago with Cui Jian’s “I Have Nothing”. This is the song that became the anthem of the Tianemen Square protests in 1989. I remember I loved to play this song over and over again although I have no recollection of how I got acquainted with his music at all. It couldn’t be my friends because none of them listened to such music and it couldn’t be my family too. My mum was in fact very amused at my choice of music then, saying that Cui Jian sounded like a chanting monk.

Whatever it was, his songs appealed to me intensely back then, and I particularly found his lyrics very inspiring even though I was totally ignorant about the political connotations. I have since learnt that the song articulated the general sense of betrayal protestors felt, as reflected in these lyrics:

I am giving you my aspirations
And my freedom too.
But you always laugh at me
Because I have nothing

I also learnt that Cui Jian would often perform the song at concerts with a red cloth wrapped around his eyes. This supposedly symbolizes the majority of people in his generation having been raised with a socialist idealism that merely masks the widespread government corruption and favoritism that really dominates daily life.

So it was after all, a blessing that I couldn’t relate to the real meaning behind the lyrics.

The left side of my face is now burnt and smarting. The skin is red and raw. “Mummy pain pain,” said my son when he saw me at the door just now. I look like a FREAK now and I don’t know how I can go for my dental appointment scheduled later. I think I better stay indoors for the next few days.

Well, I just did a laser treatment to get rid of the pigmentation or more precisely solar lentigo on my face. This is apparently a common problem for Asian skin and the best way to get rid of it permanently is through laser. I had wanted to do this treatment earlier but was worried about the effects and the costs. But having heard from some friends who did it, I decided to venture forward now. Yesh, for vanity sake.

The doctor who did my face started off explaining my condition and the process of treatment. I was concerned about the downtime and the pain. Apparently, my face would be down for a week but I should have better skin after one to three treatments. It was not painful, the doctor explained. “Like rubber band shooting on the skin,” he said. So I decided to brave it and agreed to be burnt. It was burning all right because that was what I smelled during the entire process. Not painful. Just a smarting feeling on my skin.

The lasered area is now raw but it should dry up in about three to four days’ time. Hopefully, I can make a public appearance in a weeks’ time. Good thing my next assignment won’t happen till next week…

If the results are good, I will probably treat the right side of my face too. I think this is cheaper in the long run vs what I’ve been spending on those non-miraculous whitening creams. Oh, come on… who doesn’t want good looking skin huh? Anyway, getting rid of those annoying age spots on my left face is part my 2005 resolution, even though *ahem* I’ve only just added it in.

It’s another quarter before 2006 but these are already out on the shelves. To remind us that another year is drawing near. To remind us that we should plan ahead. To remind us that we should not drift by each day, each week and each month aimlessly. And, to remind us that we’re getting older.

Well, even in this digital age where one can simply click on a PC screen to schedule an appointment or record timetable on a PDA, these are still popular. Somehow, planning on paper, while old-fashioned, is still preferred by many.

I used to be very fickle about planners. I’ll buy one and soon regret when I see something prettier. But with age, I seem to be able to settle for functionality rather than appearance. (Wiser, I hope.) So while there are many attractively designed planners this year, I am happy to settle for a plain black executive planner from Ugrade, the same as the 2005 planner I have now. It’s good as long as it allows me to pen down my commitments, and for me to schedule my work. I really don’t need anything too fanciful that would detract me from my main purpose.

So why do I like planners? It helps me manage my work. It allows me to be organised. It lets me plan ahead. And more important, it helps me maintain a balance life.