The Grudge

Tokyo peeps: make sure to catch the movie "The Grudge," which is the American version of the Japanese horror movie "Ju-On." At first I made the mistake of renting Ju-On, which wasn't very good at all, but The Grudge was a little better (the director for both films is the same guy, I think it's a cultural/language barrier that made the Jap movie inferior in my opinion).

Anyway be sure the catch The Grudge because I'm sure the sights of Tokyo will be familiar, and the experience of being an ex-pat in Japan amusing.

I have a copy to mail you when you get back to Japan, if you haven't seen it yet.

the tokyo shimbun

shimbun : newspaper

i will be posting some interesting facts and trivia about this strange place and culture every now and then. i will be doing this because i think everyone will find it amazing how different japanese culture is from american culture. but no matter how weird their ways are from what we are accustomed to, it has its benefits sometimes. and eventually you realize turning japanese isn't such a bad thing after all.

fact 1:

the japanese never use their first names in public. after highschool or earlier, it embarrases them to be called by their first name in public. they write their last names first and if writing in "romaji" (roman alphabet), they spell out their last names in capital letter. let's say a persons name is TANAKA Hiroki. you must call him Tanaka-san. also, during a conversation, you must never use the words "you" ("anata"). instead, the person's name is substituted. example of a conversation in nihongo translated into english:

me: hello, tanaka-san.
tanaka: hello.
me: how is tanaka-san?
tanaka: im doing fine.
me: has tanaka-san been busy this week?
tanaka: yes, very busy.

you should never use "san" on yourself. this is a huge faux pas. let the others address you as such. and, when saying the words "me" (watashi) in a conversation, you usually point and touch the tip of your nose.

the exorcism of emily rose

has anyone else watched "the exorcism of emily rose"? katakot, especially the part when the entity first came to her. it's like manang rozen's experience in baguio, and the haunting of brenda in philam. hafraid ang hakwang!

i can just imagine it: all of us shielding our eyes and screaming at the same scenes. sabay tawa.

Just what you've been looking for....

Found this while I was grocery shopping today. Enjoy!

This is the Day

well you didn't wake up this morning
cos you didn't go to bed
you were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
the calendar on your wall is ticking the days off

you've been reading some old letters
you smile and think how much you've changed
all the money in the world
couldn't buy back those days

you pull back the curtains and the sun burns into your eyes
you watch a plane flying across the clear blue sky
this is the day your life will surely change
this is the day when things fall into place

you could've done anything if you'd wanted
and all your friends and family think that you're lucky
but the side of you they'll never see
is when you're left alone with the memories
that hold your life together like
glue

you pull back the curtains and the sun burns into your eyes
you watch a plane flying across the clear blue sky
this is the day your life will surely change
this is the day when things fall into place


posted by dre

julamis ever

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aguy!