I am too lazy to sort
Nogizaka46 3rd Album, 「生まれてから初めて見た夢 」, “The Dream I Saw the First Time Since I Was Born.”
Get it.
Got it.
I don’t think the new songs are as good as their first two albums. The songs sound too much alike. The only saving grace is that there are some funky units, member pairings, that make for some interesting songs. I’m always up for alternative member units.
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/生まれてから初めて見た夢-complete-edition/id1235381199?l=en
Watched Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. This was the funnest trailer. I can’t wait.
The use of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” is just perfect. Cate Blanchet’s Hela is also awesome!
It was in my head towards the end of the work week. It’s an off Friday. I’m trying to fill the circles. I should start working on the cycling aspect of my resolution. I’m going to break out the bike.
So I did. And I went to an easy ride: the airport loop.
It was a hot day for May yesterday so I tried to get out early. I left my house at 9 and arrived at 9:30. I quickly pulled the bike out of the truck and started turning those pedals. I went counterclockwise around the airport. That way you avoid the hill. But you are still punished with the other hill past the school which is an easier hill to go up. I thought.
As I road through the trees from the parking lot, I felt uncomfortable. I had decided to wear my mountain biking stuff rather than nice tight spandex. It’s a 3/4 pant and a shirt. But I was feeling hot already. And annoyed. One thing being that I chose to ride the Kona. She’s a single speed so I was hoping that I had something in the legs for the hills. How hard could it be? I used to do this all the time!
Was I wrong? Or what? It’s not that it wasn’t hard. It’s that I was old and am not young so that which I did when I was younger is a bit more challenging as I am older. It’s only really been about 7 or 8 years, but there is nothing in these old man legs. I thought the squats I was doing for the gorilla workout would’ve helped, but that was 3 months ago. Power is not found.
I emerged from the trees and into a warm sun. This is when the clothes started bothering me. The 3/4 knickers style sucks and I wish I was in tight spandex.
As I cranked the pedals, it was easy because it is flat at that section. Yet when the road rose up, the cadence got slower. If I kept the cadence up the ride was simple and smooth. As the cadence dropped, I had to find some power in the legs to drive the bike forward.
Then came the school hill. I was following behind some couple with the baby carriage attachment. They slowed thinking that I could power through them. I did but not for very long. I think they thought I could ride. I couldn’t. So I let them pass me on the hill.
As I wound my way around the airport, all I could think about was what a bad choice the Kona was. I should’ve had the crutch of having some gears. I thought I was physically ready for this considering I was trying to exercise regularly all year. Now I know I wasn’t really pushing my physical boundaries, but still I thought I was stronger than I had been the last few years.
I knew around the 4th mile that it was going to be a long ride. In my younger days, I would’ve done this loop in 45 minutes. I did this in an hour with a few breaks in between. I hate the thought of that.
I really need to start riding some more with dedication. I said I was going to try for 200 miles this year. I hope somewhere within those miles I find my legs again.
Filipinos are a funny lot — queer in the original sense of the word. Lots of things to ponder about the culture. Things that have developed from years of colonialism. Things that have developed from years of Catholicism. Things that have developed from the inequality between the land owners and the workers.
It is like that. Sometimes we forget. We get reminded about it once in awhile.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/?utm_source=twb
Ramen. I can go for some now. I wish America embraced it like we’ve embraced sushi, but I know some people who don’t believe soup is a meal. Ask Jerry Seinfeld.
Anyhow, don’t watch all these videos or you will be craving some ramen. But if you do so happen to watch and then crave some ramen, hit me up and we’ll go looking for some around town. If we don’t find any, let’s go to Japan.
Nows the time to put music on the blog. Got to move those dead Nogizaka46 videos off the front page and further, further, further away.
I’ve been watch Chef John from Food Wishes cook. I like this guy, because he has cooked a lot of soups. I like soup. It’s an easy thing for beginners to cook. Even Chef John says so. I must’ve seen twenty of his soups and it makes me feel like I could step up my soup game. Maybe I will. Maybe I will.
Let’s all go cooking!
This always happens. Always.
Get a new one? No! Let’s just fix it up!
Until the next time…
Your Name 「君の名は」 was a big hit in Japan last year. It was close to dethroning Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, as the most successful anime in the land of anime. The writer/director, Makoto Shinkai, is well regarded as an anime director himself. He’s done some very notable anime particularly 5 Centimeters Per Second, so the success of this film isn’t surprising. If you watch it you’ll know why you’ll be surprised.
The film starts off as a body-switching tale. The male protagonist, Taki, wakes up in the body of Mitsuha. He’s out of place not only in body but in setting. He’s a city boy of Tokyo. She lives in the country. Little does he know that she wakes up in his body. Slowly they get to know that these things are happening and they begin to work around their limitations. She gets him a date with the hot senpai at work. He makes a mess of her hair. Eventually, affection develops between the two such that he wants to see her live.
Then there comes a twist, which I don’t want to spoil, but needless to say the film changes direction. It goes into some action mode and some sadness that had me thinking that I don’t want it to end that way.
I really dug this kind of movie. I did like 5 cm/s, but this is on a whole another level. It does rival Spirited Away with its themes and all. I like that Shinkai is romantic. I like that in my anime. I wish you should see this classic. It didn’t get an Oscar nomination, because Funamation, the distributor, really botched this roll out. The film has been out there since last fall, but they didn’t show it except for a small showing to qualify for the Oscars. It should’ve been a bigger movie in the US. I hope you get to see it sometime.
4 of 5 stars.
