Tuesday, June 23, 2009

journey of natty gann

1985: John Cusack, Meredith Salinger, and a beautiful wolf. A very sweet movie about a girl looking for her father and finding adventure along the way, The Journey of Natty Gann, does not disappoint in emotion nor in music. I have had snipets of this score probably since my university days. Finally, finally, it has been released in a 2,500 limited edition from Intrada Records. Words do not express the wonderful themes from James Horner in his prime. I ordered it straight away.

anyone want to fry an egg?

I know it is usually July when I start to complain and that the heat wave has spread across the country but this is ridiculous.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

deux ans avec Harry


It was two years ago, almost to the day, that I started Harry Potter in French. Today, I finished the last book with a sense of accomplishment as well as sadness that once again, Harry Potter has come to the end.


There are two reasons that I began this journey. The first and foremost is that I adore the Harry Potter series, its characters, the wonderment and fantastic story telling that each scene emits with each word. Not only that but rereading again, in any language, only serves to relive those favorite moments of mine.


The second reason was improve my French. With each read came comprehension, vocabulary, the ability to answer questions both written and orally. There is no substitute for this amount of learning and the fact that it was with books that I enjoy immensely only helped to enhance the experience. The French translation is beyond impressive. The fabricated names and spells were creative and sometimes better than the original English. And no detail was left out or glossed over.


So it is with a bitter sweet memory that my days of Harry Potter in French are over. I know that I will return once again in the future. Maintenant, au revoir Harry et merci pour tous les souvenirs.

Monday, June 15, 2009

anime songs on repeat

Okay, here is where my very bizarre fancy for anime and geeky love of languages rear their ugly heads.  On repeat this week are five anime songs of which I am learning the words, the Japanese words that is.  One is from Miyazaki's Spirited Away called "Itsumo Nando Demo" which translates to "Always with You".  I already know this song by heart  and in learning it, learned how to make the sounds from the romaji translation.  From there I went on to learn the "Princess Mononoke Theme Song" and the "Tatara Women Work Song" from Miyazaki's Mononoke Hime. However, with my recent purchase of Origin: Spirits of the Past soundtrack, I want to learn two more songs sung by Kokia, a popular pop artist and opera trained Japanese singer.  The first is the opening song called "Chouwa Oto (with Reflection)" and is very fast with complicated vocals.  The second is "Ai no Melody" which is just very very long. But I am eager to be able to sing without the words in front of me so I can hear it over and over in my head alone. Only then will my heart be satisfied.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

shonen sunday anniversary stamps

The latest stamp from my postcrossing.com trading.  This is Pro Golfer Saru, a Shonen Sunday weekly manga part of the 50th Anniversary of Japanese Comic Books for Boys collection.

I take the plunge into blu ray

Another birthday rolls around.  Every year I typically splurge on something.  This year was no exception.  My home theater has been lacking for some time.  The only true HD that I see on my beautiful 42" plasma is through the cable box.  Even my xbox 360 is connected through component and not the hdmi of which it is capable.  I also run most of the audio through my boring DVD player so that it will play on its cheap speakers. 

Well, it was time for an upgrade and I went the whole way up.  I chose the Sony DA2400ES which is an upper mid range receiver with four wonderful hdmi inputs and 7.1 capability.  I chose Energy 5.1 Take Classic speakers but am still debating how to hook up the rear speakers because there is no place to hide wires in my apartment.  I am considering the Rocketfish wireless rear system but have decided to put that on hold though it is on sale at Bestbuy.  Finally, I chose the LG BD390 blu ray player which has internal wireless capability so I can stream from my network server and even from netflix watch instantly. 

I also bought my first blu ray disc. Sword of the Stranger which will be released this Tuesday. Finally, I splurged on an imported CD of Origin: Spirits of the Past which has two of the best songs that I listen to over and over.