So November has finally come, and "Talk Like Singing" has made its major debut in the US!

The basic plot of the story is about a man named Tarlow, who can't seem to talk. No, it's not that he can't talk, all he can do is sing and dance! Dr. Dyson, who calls himself "the best psychiatrist in Japan," and Dr. Nimoy, a linguist, try to figure out what causes Tarlow to talk through singing so that they can cure him of these strange symptoms and help him to live a normal life.

That said, the musical is a good mixture of a play and a musical. It is not a grand scale musical, like "The Phantom of the Opera," but it is modest and very cute. The Skirball Center has a moderate-sized stage, and thanks to the personality of the musical, the audience feels closer and more interactive with what's going on on the stage.

The singing and acting is great, dancing is just appropriate - not too fancy, not too little. The songs are very catchy and easy to remember and follow so that by the end of the musical, you would be humming the melodies on your way home!

I was interested as to how a Japanese musical would be able to reach out to the American audience. Would they be singing in and talking all in English? Jay Kabira, who plays the role of Dr. Dyson, is apparently bilingual in both English and Japanese, so he does a great job of narrating in English throughout the musical and of being a middleman. Some songs are entirely in Japanese, but with the help of the English narration as well as the acting, one can get an idea of what's going on. (Although, I can't really speak for others, as I know the language and knew what they were singing.) However, the musical does a great job of using different methods of translating. For example, Dr. Dyson would act as a translator and translate to the audience what Tarlow is saying. This method works great, because the musical also serves as an "academic presentation" of Dr. Dyson's "lifetime work" concerning Tarlow, so Dr. Dyson is always talking to the audience directly and explaining what's going on. Another example would be the use of posters as subtitles and electronic banners. And of course, the actors sing in English on a few occasions, although I'm sorry to say that it was harder to understand when they were singing in English... However, when they were talking, their pronunciations were pretty alright. Dr. Nimoy (Keiko Horiuchi) was a little shaky, Dr. Dyson's male assistant (Shinya Niro) was pretty good, Tarlow (Shingo Katori) was surprisingly great, and Dr. Dyson was, of course, almost perfect. I have heard that Shingo has been involved with English, such as hosting a regular show in English and putting out an educational books on conversational English.

Anyway, the show is a little more than 1 1/2 hours and less than 2 hours with no intermission. Compared to the first night that I have gone, the actors seems to have adjusted to the new stage and performances, so their acting was a little more relaxed and natural and even improvised on a few occasions. However, because they have been performing everyday from the 12th, their voices seemed a little raspy and unstable. They still gave a great performance, but I am a little worried about their voices!! I hope they take care and perform wonderfully to the very last day!

So yesterday, after the show was over, my friends and I decided to wait for Shingo to come out from the building to see him off. There was already a huge group of people wanting to do the same thing. While waiting, some of the staff starting walking out at random intervals. At one point, Shinya Niro walked out and away from the building. The people were waiting for Shingo, so they just clapped a little bit for Niro and stayed at the spot. One of my friends said, "Why isn't anybody talking to him? I'm going to talk to him." FYI, she's a student from Chile who doesn't know Japanese. She ran off, me and my other friend decided to wait, but guessing that it would take longer for Shingo to come out, we ran after my Chilean friend. She had actually gotten a hold of him and was talking, so we joined in. We exchanged greetings, shook hands, and talked a little. My Chilean friend thought that Niro knew English, because his monologue in the musical had been impressive, but he only knew very simple English, and I acted as a translator. But I was so excited and happy and nervous that my Japanese came out so shaky! His acting was amazing in the show, and I had become a big fan after watching it! Niro was very nice to give time to talk with us, but we couldn't take pictures - his agency didn't allow him to do that :( Now that I think about it, I wonder if I could've gotten a signature instead? Why didn't I think of that!

We all walked back to the crowd, and then my Chilean friend exclaimed, "Hey, aren't those the band members?" FYI, a six-piece band plays the music for the musical. We said hi, shook hands, and talked. We only saw the trumpet player, percussion player, and the drum player, but that was exciting enough! They said that they were part of a music group in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. Their performance was what made the musical, so we all gave our compliments. They didn't have any agency restrictions, so they were very kind to take pictures with us!

Drummer                            me          Trumpet        Percussion

Too bad I didn't have my camera... My cell phone camera is so crappy!! But I'm happy I have this as a souvenir! One doesn't have many chances to express their appreciations directly to the actual people who made the performance, so I am very grateful for this opportunity!

Anyway, they left, and we waited for Shingo. He did come out, but we were so far back that we couldn't really see him... Besides, he slipped into the car that was waiting for him and left the scene. But I saw him wave to all the people, so I guess that's good enough.

I'm going to watch it again today with another friend, who is a HUGE fan of Shingo. Maybe we'll get to see him better tonight! I know it's geeky, but I can't help it!

For the past week or so, I've been obsessed with the following three items:

1) RED LIPSTICK

I don't know why, but there's something about a powdery pale face, dark hair, black outfit, and red lipstick. Will be checking out M.A.C within this week to take a look at the colors Red She Said, Russian Red, Diva, and So Scarlet (and other shades of red). 

2) OXFORD FLATS

I do have oxford heels, but the heels are like 6 inches. CanNOT wear them on a daily basis. I'm leaning towards black, but a very dark brown pair would be nice as well. I was considering an ivory pair, but I'm afraid they'd get dirty too easily. As much as I'd love to check out Aldo (as I've seen a couple of pairs that I like), my friend told me that Korea has more of a variety that are more fashionable - not to mention cheaper too. So, I'll be waiting until December. Hopefully I'll be able to wear them around in the winter without getting frost bites on my toes. 

3) BLACKBERRY (not Blueberry) 

Although I had been wanting an iPhone for a very short while, I had given it up because of terrible signal reception in my neighborhood. Nowadays, I've grown distant from iPhones and have grown a liking for Blackberries. 

First of all, those QWERTY keys. I HATE TEXTING WITH THE TRADITIONAL KEYPAD. Things are worse now that my not-so-new-anymore phone has an amazingly stupid system (actually, no system at all really) when it comes to texting. I guess that's one thing that I miss about my Sprint phone - the phone would remember previously inputted words and automatically replace them.

Second of all, Internet and e-mails. Of course, most Blackberry users tell me this is both a blessing and curse, because work follows them everywhere. I get their point, but nowadays I realize more and more the importance of promptly receiving & replying e-mails (especially when work schedules are constantly changing - film shoots, recording sessions, etc.) - and I can't always have my laptop with me to check my mails...

Third of all, it just looks cool - in a very different way from an iPhone.

But. BUT. Why I can't immediately switch phones and services:

- I don't know what my early termination fee would be. The fee decreases over the months, but I forgot the exact details - and I started my plan in July. I guess I'll have to ask. 

- Blackberry phone plans are a bit on the expensive side for me. But then, I shouldn't complain about that - it's a BLACKBERRY. And I guess I'd rather pay an extra 20-30 bucks to get a better deal, because I pay 60 something dollars for a basic and crappy phone plan.

-I bought a 500GB external hard drive this afternoon, because I'll be working on a huge sound editing project... so I am off limits to spending money for a while, other than living expenses... Boo.

This is when I wish I had a part-time job... Hopefully I'll be able to get some paying gigs after my first project...? :S 

This is what Burger King in Japan is selling for a limited time.

A Whopper burger dedicated to Windows 7.

7 hamburger patties that weigh 113 grams each...

I wonder if you can even open up your mouth wide enough to take a bite... Yikes!!! 

Anyway, the poster also states that each day, these Windows 7 Whopper burgers are only 777 Yen (a little less than $8) for the first 30 customers who order this. According to my friend who is in Japan, this menu is pretty popular! 

But... is the launching of Windows 7 such a big deal that Burger King would dedicate a Whopper burger...? Or is Microsoft so confident about this one that they have gotten Burger King to do it? I don't know, did anyone try out Windows 7? 

After a rainy day full of foley recording and a delightful lunch at The Hummus Place, my friend and I decided to treat ourselves to a movie. We had both wanted to see "The Informant!" and it was about to go down from the theaters, we were off to the cinemas.  

Love the poster. 

I had wanted to see this movie ever since I saw the trailer. I love Soderbergh's Ocean's series!

Matt Damon plays the role of Mark Whitacre, who becomes the informant for the FBI to investigate ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) for their scheme of price fixing. Damon gained 30 pounds for this film, and I must say that I was pretty... amazed... whenever I saw his belly and his behind. You are a professional, Damon. You are. Anyway, his acting was superb in this film, and there are talks that he may have his chance at the Oscars - we will see. 

This is Mark Whitacre himself. I wonder what went through his mind when he saw this. 

Story was fun, acting was great, music was tastefully composed. The characters are each so strong and individual that they really add to the comedy without needing any forced humor. There may not be any fancy gadgets or jaw-breaking technologies, but it's an awkward yet entertaining "spy" movie. It'll also give you nostalgic moments to remember the days when computers had green letters on a black background, cellphones were the size of a walkie talkies, and beepers were IN. 

As someone who wants to work with animation, I decided that I really need to broaden my repertoire, whether it be films, animated films, or animation series. Because our school has a pretty decent media center, I decided to make full use of it - after all, I'm paying all those bucks! I've been watching many classics, especially Hitchcock's works, but recently, I've been watching more animated works.

As a starter, I've been watching works of Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary animated film director. His "Princess Mononoke" and "My Neighbor Totoro" are probably the most famous and well-known works in the U.S. Although I've already watched 4 or 5 of his works, I decided to start over and watch his entire works. 

I decided to watch something I hadn't seen before and thus started with "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984). 

The basic story is this: 

Much of human civilization and the Earth's original ecosystem were destroyed by the "Seven Days of Fire" 1,000 years ago. Ever since, both land and sea have become polluted - the Sea of Decay, a toxic forest of fungal plants, has been slowly encroaching the Earth. Giant insects, particularly the Ohmu, protect the Sea of Decay, and there has been endless battle between humans and insects.

Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, is an intelligent, brave and warm-hearted girl, who has an unusual gift for communicating with animals, including the Ohmu. She seeks to truly understand the nature and origin of the Sea of Decay and the polluted land. 

One day, an airship crashes near the Valley of the Wind. It was carrying an embryo of the God Warrior, which is an ancient biochemical being responsible for the "Seven Days of Fire." Soon after the crash, the powerful state of Tolmekia, headed by Princess Kushana, invades the valley. She is driven by the ambition to destroy the Sea of Decay and the insects by using the God Warrior. 

Legend has it that a mythological figure in blue will appear surrounded by a sea of gold and reunite the people and nature. Nausicaä, with her comrades, seeks a way to stop the Tolmekians and their destructive plan. 

This story was originally a manga series, which was serialized from 1982 to 1994. 

<Cover of the manga series. Nausicaä windriding on her gilded craft, with an Ohmu right behind her.>

The film is based on the first 16 chapters of the series. 

First off, Joe Hisaishi's music for this film is beautiful. Although I am not a big fan of the old school synth used throughout the film, that doesn't change the fact that the music is amazing. Besides... I do admit that the textures of the synths fit well with the exotic and unknown qualities of the Sea of Decay. (And I'm pretty sure those synths were considered modern during the time.)

Anyway, to my knowledge, this film was the start of Miyazaki and Hisaishi's friendship, and they have worked together ever since. It's not an exaggeration to say that Miyazaki's films are not complete without Hisaishi's music. Although Miyazaki's artwork and storyline are amazing by themselves, I think - and most would agree - that it's Hisaishi's music that really makes his works so distinctive and special. Hisaishi's melodies, harmonies and orchestration - his musical colors are perfect for Miyazaki's watercolor sceneries and simple but deep storytelling. 

I love all of Hisaishi's music for Miyazaki's films, but I must say that there's something particularly about this music which I cannot bring myself to describe. It's just so... beautiful. It describes so well the world that exists within the story. It is fragile yet strong, it is like listening to an old and ancient tale - it just simply takes me away. 

I love how Miyazaki describes the fine line of relationship between human and nature - their interdependence and the importance of mutual respect for coexistence. He also makes you reflect on humanity and human nature. As with many of his works, the protagonist is a young girl who is brave and courageous, strong-willed yet warm-hearted. It is truly amazing how he sends a powerful message to the audience, regardless of age, gender and race, through his storytelling and the main character. The feeling that I always get after watching his works is hope, warmth of heart, happiness, and a bright future. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why his works are so loved. 

It is thrilling, it is beautiful, it really touches your heart. Highly recommended. (And, as always, watch it with the original Japanese dubbing. No offense to the American voice actors. :S Although, I was very impressed by Uma Thurman's voice acting. And I was extremely surprised that Shia was Asbel. Yes. Shia from Transformers. Umm.... Didn't really like his voice acting... Sorry, Shia...)