Nihonjin kanojo boshu-chu...NOT!!!!

Too bad they don't have big-ticket rewards right now...

2009-11-25T21:13:52Z

My Coke Rewards is rolling over into 2010.Nowadays(for at least a couple years),they no longer give any dates on the MCR infoboxes on actual Coke product packaging anymore...

Turns out Suncoast and FYE are set to almost completely disappear from the 916 completely after New Years.I actually witnessed the liquidation signage at the Sunrise Mall Suncoast first-hand.Maybe if there's anything good left a few weeks from now...

Happy birthday to Kazuya Nakai(who turns 42),Saori Yumibe(who turns 32),and Mai Hieida(who turns 23)...

Pocket Monsters episode 4 uncut

2009-11-24T20:02:29Z

That one samurai Poké-trainer sounded like he could've been voiced by the likes of Ai Orikasa,Minimi Takayama,or another otokoyaku seiyuu.I had completely forgotten about Yukiji.As for ~~Jessie~~ Musashi and ~~James~~ Kojiro,that 'looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again' is replaced by a simple 'THIS SUCKS!' based on the first 4 uncut episodes...

Happy birthday to Akio Ohtsuka(who turns 50),Fumie Kusachi(who turns 40 and has largely vanished from seiyuudom since Fancy Lala),and Miki Maruyama(who turns 22)...

While 'Super Bowl Shuffle' is listed...

2009-11-23T20:19:33Z

...at least Allmusic doesn't list any team fight songs...

Happy birthday to Yoshino Takamori(who turns 46)and Ai Iura(who turns 32).On the subject of the former,I'm just 4 episodes into Fushigi no Umi no Nadia though Hama-hama likely doesn't show up until later on...

Japan and 'puro amefuto',part 1

2009-11-23T05:20:05Z

I only found the name by accident while reading through the weekly NFL injury status reports recently,and I actually thought that Haruki Nakamura was actually born in Japan.While there has yet to be a Japanese-born player to play in a regular season NFL game,Masafumi Kawaguchi and Noriaki Kinoshita have both participated in NFL training camps and preseason games...

Someday,I'll get into Eyeshield 21...

Happy birthday to Bon Ishihara(who turns 54),Keiko Aizawa(who turns 46),Junko Minagawa(who according the most reliable English sources turns 34),and Mitsutaka Itakura(who turns 33)...

Not much of a music video watcher nowadays,surprisingly...

2009-11-21T21:18:53Z

...but I wonder if anyone else remembers VH1's Pop Up Video.Fact bubbles would pop up at various points of the video(s)...

Happy birthday to Mari Mishiba,Naoko Watanabe(the latter two whom both turn 50),Maria Kawamura(who turns 48),Yumiko Shibata(who turns 45),and Yuriko Yamaguchi(who turns 44).On the subject of the latter,I wonder why she and Kappei are co-guests of honor at this One Piece-centric event,lapi...

Yet they didn't offer express shipping...

2009-11-20T20:53:30Z

Well,Room Service finally came 2 days ago,yet over the weekend the seller notified me that I should have already received the CD.However,the CD was only set out on Monday according to the shipping label.Considering that the product shipped from one warehouse to another before it got to me,the timeframe was well off-target...

Happy birthday to Bin Shimada(who turns 55)and Takeshi Kusao(who turns 44)...

Thought they stopped carrying it,but...

2009-11-20T06:05:01Z

Somehow,I found the latest Newtype at Oto's video for the first time in a long time(at least a year).Turns out according to one of the video shop clerks,a young lady who actually reads the Japanese Newtype has been always beating me to the punch though she has been too bogged down academically to make it there in recent months.As for the contents of this particular issue,there is a brief section of the new Uchuu Senkan Yamato movie(featuring the voice talents of Kappei-sama and others).Additionally,I've noticed that both seiyuu feature secions("Voice Actor/Actress Spotlight" and Megumi Hayashibara's "Speaking in Character")have been discontinued,while The Official Art Of... has been renamed Creation Archive.As for ongoing series,Before Green Gables is obviously one of the few anime series that would be safer in the hands of Not-4-Kids-or-Adults Entertainment owing to a suspect Japanese voice cast,lapi.They've wisely picked up the similarly-flawed Dinosaur King,so I can't see why they can't pick this up as well,lapi...

When at the main store,I noticed that they've started stocking some varieties of imported Japanese Kit-Kats.Also,I noticed that a certain cute looking clerk that has been there for a year and a half was actually still there(and rang me out).It had been months since I had seen her,and I feared that she was no longer there...

Happy birthday to Yuuko Sasaki(who turns 48),Eriko Nakamura,and Chiaki Ohsawa(the latter 2 whom both turn 28)...

Record feature on Real Player

2009-11-18T19:53:12Z

Regordless of Real Player version,the 'record' button doesn't always activate.When it does,it isn't always on sites I'd expect(i.e.,YouTube,Veoh):watching a promotional 'dub' trailer at Toei Animation Europe for Futari wa Purikyua Splash Star triggered it.Only after that I went to YouTube and it worked.Not uncommonly,some videos that I like end up involuntarily disappearing from YouTube(regardless of whether WM Converter can convert them or not)...

Happy birthday to Kiyoshi Kawakubo(who turns 80),Chinami Nishimura(who turns 39),and Minori Chihara(who turns 29 according to English sources,JAWP currently doesn't give a birth year)...

Already,the Prez is doing quite a few things right...

2009-11-18T05:34:06Z

I can't understand why some are fussy about the fact that Obama had the heart to bow to the Emperor and Empress of Japan.All he did was something customary even though his predecessor didn't necessarily follow this.Patriotism doesn't have to be synonymous with arrogance...

While I was both delayed getting off of work and making it to bed last night due to a "security system error,"turns out Thursday has a more favorble forecast(for the purpose of making that routine trip to Oto's)as the rain won't come till well after dark...

Happy birthday to Gorou Naya(who turns 80),Yoshito Yasuhara(who turns 60),Saori Sugimoto(who turns 45),and Ryoutarou Okiayu(who turns 40)...

FOX 40 weathercasters...

2009-11-16T20:12:09Z

...stop trying to move up the chance of rain to the daylight hours!Even KCRA3,News10,and CBS 13 all have chances of rain but only after dark.I need to get to Oto's to reload!

Happy birthday to Masato Hirano(who turns 54),Jin Yamanoi(who turns 47),and Maya Nishimura(who turns 22)...

keeps fingers crossed for Mother Nature (part 1 of ∞)

2009-11-16T05:52:26Z

Sometime this week(Tuesday or Thursday),I've gotta swing down to Oto's to replenish depleting stocks of Japanese treats to bring to work for snack breaks.However,forecast models for those two days are rather dicey;but in the case of Tuesday nothing is expected to fall from the sky until at least sunset and even that Tuesday/early Wednesday system is lamb preceding a lion of a system for later in the week,and I'd still rather venture all the way there and back on transit than for my folks to even set foot into that sacred market.Not to mention that some co-workers think I go there for 'pick up' purposes...

As long as the Indianapolis Dolts and New Orleans Aints don't simultaneously 18-0 their way into Super Bowl XLIV,all will be well with the world.Such a feat sjhould be reserved for a future 49ers-Raiders Super Bowl,lapi...

Happy birthday to Kaneta Kimotsuki(who turns 74),Midori Katou(who turns 70),and Yoshiko Akiyama(who turns 44)...

New LJ mobile glitch...

2009-11-15T06:44:12Z

When trying to log on and post during breaks today,I kept getting those wretched 404's(even on a mobile browser).The login page loaded up fine,but hitting 'submit' produced that dead-end...

That Futari wa Purikyua Splash Star handheld came via EMS a half-hour before my alarm clock was due to go off this morning.Only the 2 main characters have dialogue in this moon-shooting game(no,not that type of moon-shooting),but at least it(game and decorative artwork)only reflects the first 13 episodes,lapi...

Happy birthday to Satomi Koorogi,Atsuko Tanaka(the latter 2 whom both turn 47),and Aiko Okubo(who turns 28)...

As dead as it's been at work lately...

2009-11-14T06:52:13Z

...it was a delight to accidentally observe a uniformed CVS/pharmacy employee pick up a prescription at my store(one of their competitors,no less!)last night while behind the main counter.I occasionally see big-box employees shop at my store,but if only I ever observe a Walgreens employee conduct business that helps my company(their competitor,as well)...

Hadn't been able to pull off this feat in almost a year and a half(after suddenly struggling Sunrise Mall lost its Borders Express),but I manage to both skip by Borders and squeeze in a trip to the Barnes and Noble by Arden Fair(for new manga).Speaking of the latter mall,I never knew that Johnny Rockets was that overpriced...

Happy birthday to both Mayumi Asano(who turns 40)and Mao Kawasaki(who turns 23)...

Haven't really thought too much of this,but...

2009-11-12T19:58:18Z

Emperor Akihito recently commemorated 20 years on the Japanese throne.I hadn't thought too much of this,but he's already outreigned the emperor Taishou by some 6 years...

Happy birthday to Banjou Ginga(who turns 61),Hideyuki Tanaka(who turns 59),Hiromi Ishikawa(who turns 48),and Aya Hisakawa(who turns 41 and actually does a halfway decent male voice even though she hasn't commonly been cast in such roles)...

eBay feedback glitch

2009-11-12T07:08:34Z

Currently,eBay is experimentally tinkering with the way buyers can leave seller feedback.This beta format relies on simple questions and a rating,but gives buyers the option to leave normal feedback afterwards.Just a while ago,I couldn't even leave beta feedback on a purchase(non-Japan-centric)because a server glitch lead to a dead-end error when I hit the 'submit' button.After a few failed attempts,I went to an alternate link on My eBay that opened a new browser window and allows the user to leave normal feedback(positive,neutral,negative)on multiple transactions.At least that worked...

Happy birthday to Miho Yamada(who turns 36 and may have a`rezu admirer(j/k)),Tatsuhisa Suzuki(who turns 26),and Kanako Sakai(who turns 23)...

Internet radio USB's

2009-11-10T20:01:56Z

I've seen them not only in Fry's ads but also in some mail-order catalogues I've received on occasion.Supposedly you can listen to thousands of radio stations from all over the world just by plugging the device into a USB port and having an Internet connection,but are there are so many seiyuu radio shows that I wouldn't know where to start,though some Japanese radio stations don't have an online presence yet...

Happy 31st birthday to Akemi Kanda...

Forgot the event she won,so I coudn't state this earlier...

2009-11-09T19:58:44Z

Congratulations to Miki Andou on winning the 2009 NHK trophy...

As inadequate as transit is locally,at least it hasn't been strike-prone as it has often been in Philly...

Happy birthday to both Akiko Takamura(who turns 87)and Naomi Shindou(who apparently turns 37 though I have some doubt since she didn't surface as a seiyuu until a decade ago)...

PCSS crack:Obscure,but not always expensive...

2009-11-09T07:20:38Z

I stumbled onto,bid on,and won(uncontested)a Futari wa Purikyua Splash Star handheld LCD video game.The price before shipping:99 cents from a Japan-based expat.It looks like one of those shoot-em-up games...

Happy birthday to Minoru Inaba(who turns 58),Shunsuke Takamiya(who turns 54),and Asako Dodo(who turns 42)...

A fluke find on eBay,part 1 of ∞

2009-11-08T04:45:41Z

A recent Buy It Now win arrived in my mailbox today:a Sacramento Regional Transit system map from September 1983.It would be a few more years before the first light rail line would open(construction was just about to begin back then);and even 15 years ago,the system was quite a bit different from when that map was published:Some streets no longer have any routes running on them,while on the flip side some not-yet-developed areas lacked service back then.Though I've started using RT to any extent 13 years ago,I remember they used coaches that have been long out of use...

Turns out the Yona Yona Penguin site does confirm the full cast list given in JAWP,but you have to check the individual character descriptions...

Happy 79th birthday to Osamu Saka...

Seems that Kappei's now being heard primarily in movies...

2009-11-06T19:41:22Z

Though the full cast list is given not on the official site but rather Japanese Wikipedia,the forthcoming Yona Yona Penguin seems interesting.The josei_seiyuu cast looks decent as well...

Happy birthday to Akiko Takeguchi(who turns 67),Masashi Hirose(who turns 62),Nobuo Tobita(who turns 50),Katsumi Toriumi(who turns 46),Kae Araki(who turns 43,though some sources in the past errantly misstated the birth year as 1963),Fujiko Takimoto(who turns 42),Rumi Shishido(who turns 36),Mayumi Shintani(who turns 34),Hiroshi Iida(who turns 33),and Ryouta Iguchi(who turns 28)...

Didn't catch the whole 2009 Fall Classic,but...

2009-11-06T06:21:38Z

Congratulations to Hideki Matsui on being the first Japanese-born major leaguer to be named World Series MVP.I'm probably in the minority concerning the world's most legendary baseball team,but I consider myself Yankee-neutral.I'm just glad that the teams feared by dodgers_suck and thecubsuck failed to reach the 2009 World Series...

Happy 50th birthday to Minako Arakawa...

J-shops online

2009-11-04T19:49:01Z

I've ordered from J-list in the past,though it's been ages since I last ordered from them(it had to have been before my first trip to Oto's though the latter has never carried imported Japanese Kit-Kats).Sooner or later,I ought to order something from Fujisan.They seem to have a lot of Japanese books,including some national and regional atlases of Japan.Maybe the Kinokuniya e-store supports searching via ISBN number...

Happy birthday to Tarou Arakawa(who turns 53)and Yuuko Mizutani(who turns 45)...

Old e-mail addys...

2009-11-04T06:06:56Z

About a dozen years ago,I got my first e-mail addy on Hotmail.Within a few years,it got so spam friendly that I abandoned it because it allowed only so many filters and/or blocked senders.For a similar reason,I eventually abandoned a lycos.com mail addy after a few years.What they failed to back then,Yahoo! Mail did:it created a separate folder for bulk junk mail that didn't count towards storage limits,which is why that one is the oldest that I still actively use on a regular basis.Of course,though GMail is a relative youngster compared to competing services,they've gotten it right from the get go in respect to such mail.I may re-enter ~~Homail~~ Hotmail with a new username,but I'm wary since it didn't filter junk or offer more than 2 MB of storage space back then...

Working on Halloween night,I actually rang out someone in a HomeBase uniform.Though I doubt he actually worked there(since he looked younger than me),he must have had connections to someone who did work at that long-defunct chain that thrived until Lowe's and Home Depot came along...

Happy 33rd birthday to Touko Aoyama...

Maybe I'll get a code-free DVD player one of these days...

2009-11-02T19:41:46Z

Well,Center Color has arrived,and it seems that all pressings come with a region 2 DVD with a pair of PV's.Strangely,I haven't played very many DVD's on this(nothing imported yet),and I can play this once and play a region 1 title afterward safely without a lock hazard because I haven't yet experimented with out-of-region stuff.Maybe J-list and YesAsia still carry region-free players;as even if Blu-Ray players can play DVD's,I'm not certain how they'll treat out-of-region DVD's...

Happy birthday to Hiroshi Arikawa(who turns 69),Akira Ishida(who turns 42),Naomi Wakabayashi(who turns 34 and voiced both sea creatures in Puyo Puyo Fever),Kumi Sakuma(who turns 33),and Akira Tomisaka(who turns 31)...

Maybe the mobile version is in its infancy...

2009-11-02T05:54:09Z

Randomly accessing some mobile versions of certain transit sites(CTA,the Big Apple's MTA),the timetable schedule links suggested that Adobe Acrobat Reader may have a mobile version.Turns out it does alright,but it isn't available for all mobile devices yet.Besides,not all municipal transit agencies have a .mobi yet either...

Happy birthday to Eriko Hara(who turns 50),Eriko Kigawa(who turns 32),and Atsuko Enomoto(who turns 30).Speaking of the latter,thank goodness there hasn't been any of thos suggestive 'Mai Day!Mai Day!Mai Day!' posts at precure in a long time,lapi...