Welcome to awesome

Dragon Blade + Dragon Blast booster box openings

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:14:00 +0000

Very pleased with my haul of EXs, especially the Rayquaza :D
Too bad I didn't pull any full arts :(
If any of you havn't seen the fullart version of Ho-oh, it's flippin impressive to say the least. The Japanese prints have the added brilliance of being textured by some insanely cool printing process. It'd be cool to see just how they make these cards.

Solid Snake & Cyborg Ninja Arts Kai figures

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:53:00 +0000

Two new Metal Gear figures from Square Enix's Play Arts Kai line. The level of detail on these figures is amazing!

Both figures are currently retailing for 4390yen at AmiAmi since they are having a 24% off special.
Personally I'm keen to buy the Solid Snake figure, although both look great.

"Cyborg Ninja" Action Figure [ami ami]
"Solid Snake" Action Figure [ami ami via Tomopop]

All Blacks hold off France to win Web Ellis Cup

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 11:10:00 +0000

The All Blacks have finally done it! The All Blacks have finally done it! After 24 years of heartbreak they have beaten France 8-7 in a Rugby World Cup final of great theatre at Eden Park tonight.
To all those haters who doubted Stephen Donald, STFU!! Donald, you sir are a champion !!!!

Live & Documentary - Chatmonchy "Naruhodo"

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Chatmonchy are going to release a Live & Documentary DVD/Blu Ray on the 7th of Decemeber
The prices are as follows:
●DVD KSBL-5975～5976（2枚組）　5,040円（税込） / 4,800円（税抜） **2 discs at 5040 yen
●Blu-ray KSXL-16（1枚組） 5,565円（税込） / 5,300円（税抜）** 1 disc 5565 yen

Here's a copy of the tracklist:

Disc.1＜全国ツアー“YOU MORE 前線”2011.6.22＠中野サンプラザ＞
・桜前線
・レディナビゲーション
・少年のジャンプ
・シャングリラ
・謹賀新年
・バースデーケーキの上を歩いて帰った
・草原に立つ二本の木のように
・青春の一番札所
・Boyfriend
・バスロマンス
・涙の行方
・染まるよ
・真夜中遊園地
・Last Love Letter
・拳銃
・余韻
・Enc.1 ここだけの話
・Enc.2 風吹けば恋
・Enc.3 ハナノユメ

Disc.2＜全国ツアー“YOU MORE 前線”ドキュメンタリー＞ (doucmentary)

※DVD・Blu-rayは、同内容を収録となります

Source: http://www.chatmonchy.com/info/

Perfume’s ‘Spice’ & ‘JPN’

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Perfume have announced recently that their next single will be released on the 2nd of November ( http://www.perfume-web.jp/ ) .

The single has been entitled ‘Spice’ and will consist of スパイス and GLITTER in addition to the instrumentals.

Regular Edition Cover

: Limited Edition Cover

A 90 second preview of the song GLITTER has been uploaded for your listening enjoyment and to make the whole GLITTER experience better, this clip doubles up as a demo movie and an ad to promote the Dance Contest that Perfume is hosting. The finalist receives the opportunity to dance with Perfume on October 29, 2011. o.0

On November 30, Perfume fans can go crazy when the 4th studio album entitled ‘JPN’ hits store shelves. 13 tracks including all the previous A-side singles that have come out as of late will be released in this LP. Those singles include:

不自然なガール (Fushizen na Girl)
ナチュラルに恋して (Natural ni Koishite)
VOICE
ねぇ (Nee)
レーザービーム (Laser Beam)
微かなカオリ (Kasuka na Kaori

No album art has been released from what I can tell, but you will be hearing from me again regarding Perfume before this album is out on the street. If you are interested in getting the limited pressing of this album, be sure to visit your favourite online retailer soon before all the reservations are sold out.

Android - Icecream Sandwich and Nexus Prime

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:21:00 +0000

Just minutes ago Google and Samsung officially unveiled the latest Android OS, Icecream Sandwich and the first phone to come with it, the Nexus Prime.

Not too seure about this Nexus phone... It seems too large and unattractive design-wise but the OS is what I'm interested in. From what I saw on the YouTube stream of the event my impressions were that the presentation came across as quite awkward (perhaps they could take some lessons from Apple in this regard). Inspite of this I was impressed by what they showed of ICS. In particular the contacts management seemed very cool, allowing for social networking wites to seemlessly interact with your contact list. As far as features go, Android have provided nothing short of brilliance however, as far as the UI and general look and feel I think Microsoft's Mango OS has the upperhand. The downside of Mango ofcourse is the lack of apps so at this stage I'm leaning towards and ICS phone.

For a more comprehensive coverage of the features, go to http://www.engadget.com/ for their press conference coverage from Hong Kong.

The Galaxy Nexus has been given a release date of Novemeber 2011 with NTT Docomo as the carrier in Japan.

It'd be interesting to hear how you all feel about Google's latest OS, IceCream Sandwich and how you think it compares with the competition.

Sources:
http://www.engadget.com/
http://www.youtube.com/

Artist of the month: Mass of the Fermenting Dregs

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:59:00 +0000


Mass of the Fermenting Dregs was formed in 2002 in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, with the original all-female lineup of Natsuko Miyamoto, Chiemi Ishimoto and Reiko Gotoh. Following Reiko’s departure from the band in October 2007, the band toured with the official lineup of Natsuko and Chiemi, with various musicians serving as a “support drummer”. Their breakthrough came at the 2007 “Road to Tarbox Audition” competition held by EMI Japan, which put the band in contact with noted American record producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, OK Go) of Tarbox Road Studios. With Fridmann producing, they recorded two tracks, I F A Surfer and Bears (ベアーズ), which appeared on their 2008 self-titled E.P. In 2010, support drummer Yoshino Tsutomu became an official member of the band, prior to the release of their major label debut album.^[3]

The PV above is for a track, "Kono Supiido No Saki E(このスピードの先へ, tr. After this Speed), from their 2009 album 'World is Yours'

If you ever get the chance to watch them perform live don't miss the chance, they are the real deal here.

You can purchase most of their tracks on itunes etc but it's worth buying the physical copy as the album art is awesome! (plus you'll be supporting the artists more this way than the measly share they would gain from digital sales.

Links:
http://www.motfd.com/english/

http://www.motfd.com/archives/news/

How to watch Japanese TV

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:28:00 +0000

I've been using this for a while now but hadn't gotten around to posting about it (some of you probably already know about this too).

The quality is by no means perfect but it is watchable at Youtube quality. It isn't recordable but its probably the best means of watching free LIVE STREAMING TV from Japan.

Channels include: TBS, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, and Fuji TV + many others which appear from time to time such as that music video channel called Space Shower tv and animax.

In addition to the tv channels, you are able to listen to most of the major radio stations such as FM-Tokyo.

Another good thing is that this prog. is small and light on memory load and did I mention it's FREE.

Get the program from the official site here: http://www.v2p.jp/video/ (Current version is 3.17 so the interface is significantly cleaner)

= Fuji tv
= TBS
= NBS
=TokyoMX
= TV Asahi
=TVTokyo

To get an idea of what's on TV check out these TV guides:

Yahoo Japan http://tv.yahoo.co.jp/vhf/tokyo/realtime.html

On TV Japan http://www.ontvjapan.com/

Artist of the month: 9mm Parabellum Bullet

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:24:00 +0000

9mm Parabellum Bullet

9mm Parabellum Bullet is a rock band formed in March 2004 from Yokohama, Japan. It consists of; vocalist and rhythm guitarist Takuro Sugawara, guitarist and backing vocalist Yoshimitsu Taki, bassist Kazuhiko Nakamura, and drummer Chihiro Kamijo, who came up with the band's name. Piano pieces included in some songs are performed by Taki, while the characteristic shouts are provided by Nakamura.

The name of the band is fitting b/c these guys just love to play fast and their music hits you like a bullet straight to the face.

For a band whose music is rooted in speed metal/thrash/hardcore punk they have become relatively popular in the mainstream Japanese music scene.

Probably b/c despite the manic guitars, and occasionally screamed vocals, there is quite a bit of melody to their songs. And you can't deny that as musicioans, these guys are tighter than a pair of Ecchan's jeans on Konishiki.

I watched these guys play live at Shibuya O West a year or so back. Unfortunately, it wasn't a "one-man" so they only played 5 songs but it was like watching a bull rampaging full speed through a china shop destroying everything in it's path. It was simply awe-inspiring.

Here are some Youtube links to give you and idea of how they sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnAqgrpj94Q&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuFndHZ-xrI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OrK_CWMSQg&feature=related

OFFICIAL 9mm Blog: http://9mm.jugem.jp/

Rugby World Cup 2011

noreply@blogger.com (T_Hawk) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:59:00 +0000

By now I hope most of you have at least heard about the Rugby World Cup that kicked off in Auckland, New Zealand. Besides some embarrasing public transport SNAFUs, the actual opening ceremony went extremely well.

So far the tournament has been thrilling with teams like Japan, coached by ex-All Black John Kirwan, giving France a real fright and even having a chance to win the match and cause a major upset.
Yesterday Wales should have been the winners of their clash with South Africa but they only just missed out.

Fans are certainly in for a treat this year with all teams putting up a splendid level of tenacity.

For those of you keen to follow, here is the link to the official RWC 2011 site:

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/