First day of school - now it feels like the new year! Mid-January, I was thinking that I was missing school just a teeny weeny bit, but come yesterday, when I received the text said (I quote), 'Pl report to JC/MI on 27 Jan 11 at 07:30am', I felt so tired. School.........

I can count on two hands the people I know from before in my JC man. Okay, I was really tempted to say one hand, but one of my new year resolutions was to be more honest, so... Looks like I'm off to a good start! Except that I'm pretty friendless in school right now. I SHALL BE SOCIABLE AND MAKE FRIENDS TOMORROW AT SENTOSA.

My 2011 resolutions! I'm more optimistic about 2011 than 2010, and 2010 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And I know it's almost February, but like I said, when you're a student used to having school start on 2nd or 3rd January and have no other life, only the school year matters. Let's just pretend I'm following the Chinese calendar. Chinese new year is in single-digit February (3rd and 4th... I think).

So, resolutions (not confirmed yet  Okay I only added that so that I don't have to look at this one year from now and regret)

2011 RESOLUTIONS.

1. Be more sociable. Smile more. Stop making dumb excuses for not going out with friends - unless they're going to Vivocity when you stay at the other end of the train line.
2. Stop making dumb and useless lies. It just wastes brain space because then I've to remember everything.
3. Be a more caring person. Smile more (again). I greeted the security guard this morning! Achievement of my life (okay no). I'll be nice and give up to my seat to people on the bus/train. And if I can't tell if they're old/pregnant enough, I'll stand up and move somewhere else to save both of us embarrassment. This works really well in theory, but I've tried it before and it's really awkward.
4. Sleep, read and exercise more. I will try to sleep for at least 8 hours on weekdays and 10 hours on weekends. And I will exercise until I become fit. Whenever that is.
5. Do well in JC1 so that I don't get retained and hopefully do really well. Maybe I should try out for top student. ^.^
6. Don't get a Facebook account, though I doubt it'll be as popular in 2011. How popular can it get?!
7. Touch my toes. Forget it. Some things are better left untouched. (IS THIS HOW YOU USE THIS PHRASE)

Photo from here.

Sawajiri Erika in final stages of divorce, wants to continue as an actress

Actress and singer Sawajiri Erika (24) was in Tokyo yesterday for an event held by her sponsors, Tanako Yuri Beauty Clinic. There, she announced that she was in the final stages of divorce with her husband,  Takashira Tsuyoshi (46), whom she had married in January 2009. Apparently, they had been settling their affairs through talks in the past three months.

She cried and said that although she does not have any projects on at the moment, she wishes to continue working as an actress/singer again in Japan. (Sanspo)

Sato Takeru's blog - photobook "NOUVELLES" is out

-------------------Photobook is out---------------------

posted on 23 January 2011, 20:39

To everyone who came to the high five event for the relaease of my photobook today, thank you very much.

I received a lot of power from your smiles and felt very warm.

I will do my best again tomorrow. Once again, thank you very much.

If you have not seen the photobook yet, please take a look as there are lots of good photos.

I had a happy time today.

Now, at 21:00, the second episode of winter drama Fuyu no Sakura is airing. ☆ (original)

--------------------------------

Additional info: The photobook is titled "NOUVELLES" and is Sato's third photobook. A high five event was held in Shinjuku, Tokyo on the 21st to celebrate.

From Shirota Yuu's blog - translation FAIL

I was bored so I decided to attempt translating Japanese celebs' blogs, and I'm starting with Shirota Yuu. Here goes.

-------------------Everyone, nice meeting you for the first time-----------------

posted on 21 January 2011, 23:56

Everyone, nice meeting you for the first time (初めまして, hajimemashite)


Actually, it's been decided that I will have a new manager. My manager has changed from Tsuchi-san(?) to K.


I look forward to working with him/her. (どうぞ宜しくお願いいたします dozo yorishiku onegai ta shimasu)


Today, I had an interview/photoshoot with the magazine "with".


**Okay, I really don't understand this next bit. It seems like he'll be working with "with" for another two years, or has already worked with them for two years, or something along that line. UGH.**


"with" is released on the 28th of each month, so please buy it! (original)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matsumoto Jun in Code Blue?! The million dramas I want to watch.

I just discovered the existence of this drama starring Nino and Sho!

The very brief synopsis as found on DramaWiki...

Yamada Taro, a freshman on a scholarship at Ichinomiya Private Senior High School, is high-achieving, strikingly handsome, and truly athletic and seems perfect. But he is actually extremely poor. The story humorously portrays Taro, who tackles problems that occur because of his poverty, and his six younger brothers and sisters.

Now I can't wait to watch this drama! And there's one of my favourite child actresses, Yoshida Riko, in it. Okay, she's the only child actress I really know, since I usually don't take notice of child actors except her and the cute little boy from Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (and I thought that drama had a long name).

But I'm kind of stuck in the middle of Natsu wo Koi wa Nijiro ni Kagayaku (this drama really needs a shorter name), which puts me in a bit of a quandary. I'm wondering if I should continue with NatsuNiji or just watch the other dramas, and I also have a ton of books that I want to read.

And I need to watch Byakuyakou and Densha Otoko and possibly finish watching Smile, though I can't find the videos for the later episodes anywhere. And school hasn't even started yet! How do all those smart, atheletic, TV and computer game addicted kids who know about everything ever survive.

List of dramas I should remember to watch soon before school starts:
-Yamada Taro Monogatari
-Byakuyakou
-Densha Otoko
-Proposal Daisakusen
-Code Blue

Oh, and look what I just found at the Code Blue DramaWiki page... Matsumoto Jun?!

I don't know if you can see it, but if you click the image it should appear larger. (sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't, I don't know why)

Arashi, Arashi, as kids (I feel so lame)

Matsumoto Jun, who seems more interested in stuffing his face with cake than looking at the camera.

Ninomiya Kazunari.

Sakurai Sho. So cute!

Ohno Satoshi and his elder sister.

I came across Sho and Nino's photos and thought I'd do a complete set, but I couldn't find any of Aiba's kiddy photos. (they're probably somewhere in my flickr account though) So, to make up for the loss, more Nino!

Sakurai and Nino's childhood photos from here and Jun's from here. I "recycled" the other photos from last time so I lost the sources. And in case you're wondering why I'm doing this, it's because there's no news (as far as I know) and I don't want to lapse into another round of not updating. I've been reading books a lot lately. It's been so long since I've read book after book for hours and I realise how much I miss books and reading. I'm probably one of the few teens that could survive a world without internet... Or maybe not.

Akanishi working on US album

Akanishi Jin (26) kicked off his Japan tour on Friday with the first of three concerts at the Saitama Super Arena. On the same day, it was revealed at a press conference that he is releasing a solo single in Japan this March, and he plans to release his debut U.S. album this summer. 

Akanishi's single "Eternal," scheduled for March 2, will be his first release since signing a global contract with Warner Music Japan. The single's B-side will be his song "Murasaki." 

Currently, the singer is working on his debut U.S. album. He is reportedly aiming to release it on July 4, which is his birthday and is Independence Day in the United States. It is said that he is mainly self-producing the album, but he plans to get participation from some big-name artists in the American R&B and hip-hop scene. It is also said that Akanishi may release a single in the U.S. before the album. 

Akanishi was in the U.S. from January 2 to January 10 of this year to do some production on the album. 

Currently, his artist name is expected to remain as "Jin Akanishi," but there is a possibility that it may be modified for the American market. 

There are plans for a U.S. tour after the album's release, followed by a tour in various Asian countries. (Tokyograph)


I was going to go out and it started raining. What is this.

O-level results are out, I submitted my JC application form and all I have to do now is hope that I'll get into my first choice. My L1R5 was 11 raw, but I failed my Higher Chinese so I could only get two bonus points from CCA, which makes it 9. Hey, Chinese lucky number! I don't even know what to say about my score because it's so unsurprising. It's like upper average (how do you phrase this) but I'm sure I could have done better, so I guess I feel bad about it. And it sure doesn't help that I know very well that I didn't study enough! But at least I didn't get 20+ and have to go to poly because I really, really don't want to go to polytechnic. I don't care if it's cool or poly grads earn more, I just want to do A-levels and show everyone that I have brains! And non-Singaporeans, if you don't understand what I'm talking about ("Huh? Raw L1R5? CCA?!), feel free to skip to the next paragraph or skip this post altogether, though the fact that you're reading this probably means that you've just read the entire paragraph.

And I changed the look of my blog! I don't know why the header is so enormous but there you have it, I finally changed the layout! Don't know why I'm going on and on about it even though it's one of the pre-set blogger template things.

The electrician is coming to fix something so I've to turn off my laptop, but till then, sweet dreams!

Arrested - manager of club Akanishi Troop visits

The manager of a bar Akanishi Troop frequents has been arrested for blackmail. Akanishi Jin, Yamashita Tomohisa, Nishikido Ryo and some of their other friends often drink at a popular club called "alife", which is situated at the Nishi-Azabu district. However, reports by Nikkan Gendai claim that the manager of that bar, along with a few other employees, have been arrested. And in case you're wondering how this is really related to Jin, Yamapi and Ryo, it's not.

The club is known to be popular with celebrities. The supposed "blackmail" involves some female university students and reportedly took place in September last year. (Azashi)

This rumour is 1. weird, 2. completely unrelated to Akanishi Troop and 3. doesn't seem true at all.

92 million yen for wrongly jailed man

A Japanese court on Thursday awarded $1.1 million (S$1.4 million), the maximum possible compensation, to a 64-year-old man who spent 17 years in jail after being wrongly convicted of a child's murder.

The district court in Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, awarded 92 million yen (S$1.4 million) to Sugaya Toshikazu for his suffering and to cover his legal costs in the case, a court official said.

Sugaya, who was sentenced to a life term in 1993, was cleared of his conviction after a genetic test re-ordered in 2008 found the DNA evidence against him to be flawed.

The compensation of 12,500 yen per day in jail is the highest amount allowed under Japanese law in such a case, the official said. (The Straits Times)

Ayase Haruka and Fukada Kyoko to star in "Himitsu no Akko-chan" movie

Actress Ayase Haruka (25) will be starring in a live-action version of "Himitsu no Akko-chan" as the main character, Akko. Fukuda Kyoko (28) also has a leading role in the movie, where she plays Akko's nemesis.

"Himitsu no Akko-chan" is a popular manga and anime. The original manga was published in the 1960s and the original anime ran from 1969 to 1970. The anime has been remade several times since then, twice on TV and twice as an anime film.

It is understood that the live version starring Ayase and Fukuda will be released in December 2011. (Entame)

Ohno Satoshi and Koda Misono often meet up in Roppongi

According to Tokyo Sports, Arashi leader Ohno Satoshi (30) has been meeting up with singer-songwriter Koda Misono (26) often in Roppongi area of Tokyo. Koda Misono is the younger sister of singer Koda Kumi. The article states that the two started meeting up with each other towards the end of last year. It is still unclear if the two are dating. Koda Misono has appeared in some of Arashi's variety shows, like VS Arashi and Himitsu no Arashi-chan. (Entame)

SMAP and Taylor Swift sing "Mine" and "You Belong With Me"

Happened to chance upon this at aramatheydidnt! I'm not a big fan of Taylor Swift or SMAP, but it's entertaining enough. :)

Hi (: I'm selling Liz lisa eyes falsies. Wonder if you're interested? (: Or any of your readers are interested? :D hehe. Cheapest in town, 1 time charge and No Waiting Time as its Instocks! :D http://lizlisa-instocks.blogspot.com! :D I don't use fake eyelashes. :3

HI .
hi.

So Akanishi Jin did left KATTUN ?
Yes, he did! He's held quite a few concerts in the US since then, and they seem pretty successful.
On my blog: http://andwewonder.blogspot.com/2010/07/akanishi-jin-to-leave-kat-tun.html and on Tokyograph: http://www.tokyograph.com/news/id-6357

I'm now pretty confident that the second and third "questions" were "asked" by the same person because of the space before the punctuation. (you can't really call 'hi' a question, can you)

Don't let my attention to such petty details get the better of you, ask me a question! (or two!)