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Culture News

Posted in NYC, Seoul, Tokyo on November 27, 2008 by illdielaughing

What a world we live in.

 

  • hotel-india-burning
    INDIA - Terrorist attacks in India. 80 dead and upwards of 250 wounded. Grenades went off and machine guns were fired in Mumbai at two five-star hotels. Notice how terrorism is apart of our everyday lives but no one seems to take it seriously any longer, unless they themselves lose an appendage or a life. NYTimes.  

     

  • eb84a4ec9db4ec85984
    KOREA - Ok So Ri is being accused of adultery, which she is guilty of, but the prosecutors want to give her 18 months in jail. Ok So Ri says that anti-adultery laws are unconstitutional but the court ruled that, nope, it’s not. (Oh but it’s pretty unethical). So she could very well go to jail. Korea, you are archaic, get with it, you can’t put someone in jail for cheating on their husband. So many people do it, she just got caught and her bitter husband wants her to suffer for it (he filed the suit). Korea Times. Read more »

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Japan’s Box Office

Posted in Box Office, Tokyo with tags , , on November 26, 2008 by illdielaughing

November 22-23

redcliffposter

  1. Red Cliff – John Woo film starring Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro, based on the events of the Battle of Red Cliffs. This film raked in 3.2 million
  2. I Want to Be a Shellfish – Remake of a 1959 film and book adaptation starring Gokusen lead Nakama Yukie. –> 2.6 million
  3. Happy Flight – Shinobu Yamaguchi comedy film about flight attendants –> 1.6 million dollars
  4. Suspect X – The film extension of the drama Galileo gets just over a million dollars.
  5. Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! Okashi no Kuni no Happy Birthday (2008) – The bubbly cutesty anime films rakes in .974 million

Interestingly all the films in the top five spots are Toho productions, except for Red Cliff which is a joint Toho-Towa project. 

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Big Bang’s Number 1 Album [Review]

Posted in Music, Tokyo with tags on October 21, 2008 by illdielaughing

Here we go again. Big Bang’s latest English-language album. Will I enjoy this? Hmm, beware, here there be a completely honest and opinionated review! Ohhh, Halloweeeeeen….. Haha okay, I’m done. But read my review of Big Bang’s Number 1.

 

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“Number 1″ teaser

Posted in Music, Tokyo with tags , , on October 2, 2008 by illdielaughing

Credit: mochaballad

I love Aimee Lee and Shaun Evaristo’s choreography. But I have to see the full to see if I love this video.

And the more that I think about it, it’s smart for Big Bang to record albums in English even if it’s for the Japanese market. The Japanese market accepts English language songs because of the American market. Big Bang didn’t do the DBSK thing and rival Johnny’s but they put them selves into a completely different sect of the Japanese market. 

Anyway, this preview made me happy but I am impatient to see more.

P.S. WTF is with G-dragon and that furry hat? Well I can’t complain because at least the rest of his style is in a good place.

And I’m loving the Aimee/Taeyang action in this video. Maybe they’re trying to encourage Taeyang to get a girlfriend. And I know the youngens didn’t like the booty smacking, but come on guys, Tae Yang needs some hands on training.

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Thank You, Big Bang, for “Number 1″

Posted in Music, Tokyo with tags on October 1, 2008 by illdielaughing

“Number 1″ is Big Bang’s first single from Japanese LP “Number 1″. Woot. 

Credit: YBGY

I wasn’t feeling this song when it first started and then Taeyang’s hook saved me from turning it off, followed by Daesung coming in with a smooth chorus. 

The lyrics for “Number 1″ aren’t impressive, but they are much improved from the days of Daesung “being inside you” and Gdragon calling all the people “bologna”. And honestly at least I can understand what they’re saying. I mean that’s a feat on it’s own and a testament to Big Bang’s improved English and/or my improved listening comprehension.

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Avex World Audition

Posted in Auditions, Tokyo with tags on September 11, 2008 by illdielaughing

For those of you who are more into Japanese entertainment, Avex, one of the biggest record companies in Japan which harbors artists such as, Koda Kumi, DBSK and countless others, is having world auditions.

You can apply to be a singer, actor, model, dance team or composer. 

Singers must be unmarried and 7 to 24, and able to sing in Japanese. (I don’t know if you have to be fluent however).
Dancers must audition with a team with 10 or less members. 

Nationality doesn’t matter, if you’re under 20 you need permission from your parent. 

The Auditioning process ends November 28, 2008. 

You can mail in or go to Japan (but just mail in guys if you don’t live in Tokyo)

There are four rounds for this audition, the final round being held at the Avex Offices in Tokyo.

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There are also US auditions

San Francisco, CA - October 25th and 26th
Los Angeles, CA - November 8th and 9th
New York, NY - November 15th and 16th

So you have YG in NY, SM all over America and Avex reaching out to the world. Who’s ready to be a star?

 

ALL DETAILS ARE HERE! And if you live in the US and want to go to one of the auditions above go HERE.

Actually just go to both links!

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Choi Ji-Woo in “Lovers in Asuka”

Posted in Seoul, TV, Tokyo with tags on July 30, 2008 by illdielaughing

The overrated Choi Ji Woo is set star in the joint Korea-Japan production of Lovers in Asuka. 

This production is really a vehicle for the Hallyu Wave and since the Hallyu wave first hit Japan full force in Choi Ji Woo and Bae Yong Joon’s melodrama Winter Sonata Choi Ji Woo is the obvious choice to star in this drama. The shooting starts in September in Nara prefecture, Kansai and Choi Ji Woo is clearing her schedule to prepare. I’m confused as to how much you have to do to cry on cue.

Look for this drama in December.

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Johnny’s Entertainment Threatened by DBSK

Posted in Music, Tokyo, WTF? with tags , on July 29, 2008 by illdielaughing

We knew this.

But now we know for a fact that Music Station isn’t allowing DBSK on as guests. Music Station wasn’t explicitly stated by the source, S-Diary (a blog by a Japanese staff member of DBSK), but it’s been inferred by the things he’s written about the issue of DBSK not being allowed on certain shows. 

This just reflects why my Japanese friends hate the Japanese music industry. Johnny’s controls way too much, they know that pre-teen and young teen girls have little to no common sense, bad taste in music (let’s be honest with ourselves guys, you remember the days -_- ) and a strange obsession with malnourished pretty boys. Johnny’s, who only lets boys into his entertainment company for that very reason, controls the boyband music scene and casts a lot of their boys in dramas (like the miscast Maou). I generally see Johnny as this guy that grossly overestimates his importance and can not deal with competition, especially legitimate competition like DBSK. Read more »

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Lolitas, Threesomes and Fobby Engrish: News Bites

Posted in Seoul, Tokyo, WTF?, ^_^ with tags , , , , , on July 28, 2008 by illdielaughing

Slow couple of days, but some stuff has happened that I have to blab about.

  • I, unfortunately, saw So Hee’s ass while watching her perform to Beyonce’s Freakum Dress for her adoring young female fans and pedophile male fans. Yay for fifteen year-olds asking other people to get their freakum dress on and yay for little people with dumpling faces trying to entice her fans with very nearly flashing her vagina. (Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s wearing underwear).
  • Han Geng is going to star in a Chinese drama. Good for him. 
  • Jun Jin passed out from overworking yesterday. I think Korean entertainers should relax and stop working so much, especially if they make crappy music. 
  • Seo Taiji is making a comeback–or on his way back. July 29th sees the release of the first single from his 8th album, Foetus. Wonder what that means. Go to Seotaiji.com. He’s giving away tickets.
  • I’m writing for Seoulbeats! Look forward to my articles there under the penname “illdielaughing”.
  • “World Star” Rain is releasing an album in Asia in october. This will be his first album away from JYP. I don’t know how that’s going to sound but I wish him luck because his “world star” status is, well, a lie. In related news, Rain had the nerve to dance with hair like this. Rain, please, you are not some cowboy on the frontier, come back to your senses and dress with some panache. (And stop doing interviews in English!
    I love how his translator sneakily tells him what the person is saying in Korean. My favorite question and answer? Interviewer: “Did you learn any German?”  Rain: “It was beautiful. Yeah.” 
  • Japanese boyband Arashi’s Satoshi Ohno is being accused of smoking marijuana and having a threesome–by a Japanese trash mag. People are going crazy, fans are crying, police are threatening to arrest him, Johnny is passing an elephant. Guys, relax. There is no proof besides pictures of Ohno, fully-clothed, with two girls. This seems like a stupid rumor created by assholes and even if it was true…who cares? (Yes, I know marijuana is oh-my-god huge in Japan). What’s sad though is that whether or not it’s true this news is getting pretty international. I first read about it here. 
Well, news is rather depressing isn’t it?

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Hyun Bin in Japan for Photoshoot

Posted in Tokyo with tags on July 25, 2008 by illdielaughing

Hyun Bin was in Japan for a photoshoot. What it was for I’m not sure but it doesn’t seem to be for a magazine because the shots are so unorganized. The only common thing about them is that they were all taken in Japan. 

I would love to know what’s going on.

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