and then in thirty seconds time

momentarily @ 2011-02-20T09:51:00

2011-02-20T09:51:20Z

Someone, link me to Pandora Hearts, I want to catch up with this series.

ALSO: anyone whose comments I haven't replied to, I WILL DO, I just need to stop being ... slow. And lazy. And being all 'THAT REQUIRES THOUGHT.......'

But yes. Pandora Hearts. Please to be telling me where I can read this online so I can work out where I stopped reading it.

Thank you, darlings.

momentarily @ 2011-02-11T14:33:00

2011-02-11T14:33:59Z

WOW, hi there, LJ. It's been a while, huh? Uni's been busy, I'm in my final semester (which is all sorts of terrifying), and I have a shit load of work to do. But I'm doing my best! lmao after all of the concerns from last year, I definitely feel better about things this semester/year. I've not even been ill once so far, which is a sharp, sharp contrast to how things were when I was in the house last year, which is nice.

I'm also slowly getting back into fandom again, but I won't even lie, I have no idea what's going on with the fandoms I used to be in (like, say, ARS...). Although I did watch Gantz the other day, and spent like, the whole movie cringing at the dubbing bc a lot of it really was awful.

SO, FLIST, ENLIGHTEN ME AS TO YOUR ACTIVITIES. Or anything else of note. I feel so behind... Also, if any of you have plurk and I haven't added you or sth, LET ME KNOW X(

―I have a vague plan with regards to after graduation ― which doesn't involve JET, for the record ― but I am thinking that, as long as I can save enough money, of going for a two~three week-ish holiday in Japan early 2012? Either Jan/Feb time, or Golden Week and the surrounding weeks. If anyone reckons they'll be in Japan around that time or ... wants to accompany me or sth, LET ME KNOW.

momentarily @ 2010-11-20T21:21:00

2010-11-20T21:21:33Z

'sup, LJ. It's been a good while since I've paid you any attention.

I won't lie, I haven't looked at my flist in a good month or so :c I've only really used it to post my SHEER HAPPINESS AND JOY at the news of a Pulp reunion -- speaking of which, if any of you beautiful people are going to Wireless Festival in July next year, let me know! By this, I mostly mean 'if you're going to the July 3rd event, let me know'. Pulp are headlining, I'm going, if you're going, we should totally meet up for pre- and post-festival drinks and general Pulp enjoying revelry. Or something (I can seriously not be the only person on my flist going to this, can I? I KNOW MOST OF YOU GUYS AREN'T EVEN BRITS, BUT GODDAMN. THERE'S GOTTA BE ONE PULP FAN AMONGST YOU ALL.)

Now, that aside, enlighten me! Tell me something awesome about your lives from the past month, or coming up! Or spam me with stuff! It's all good. I've been out of the loop :c

re: dissertation. It's sorted, I have a topic, it's all good. University is hectic, and I have never-ending amounts of work which I like to whine about at any given opportunity. ALSO, any of you folks have a HTC Wildfire? Tell me all about it. I might get one.

momentarily @ 2010-11-10T17:42:00

2010-11-10T17:42:08Z

Wireless 2011: anyone going?

momentarily @ 2010-11-09T21:41:00

2010-11-09T21:41:53Z

pulp are reforming

PULP ARE FUCKING REFORMING

momentarily @ 2010-11-01T14:36:00

2010-11-01T14:36:50Z

I'm being a bit rubbish at checking LJ at the moment, so if anyone wants to get in touch with me, you're probably better off PMing me, emailing me (if you have my email address), or catching me on AIM.

momentarily @ 2010-10-20T17:11:00

2010-10-20T16:11:26Z

So, I've been trying to think of more dissertation ideas, and I've thought of three so I'm going to try and grab a prof. tomorrow or Friday who specialises in the subject and ask what they think. During my Japanese lit. class today, the topic of dissertations came up (...some of us were complaining) and our teacher was like 'well, he's not a specialist on Japan, I don't understand how he can say yes or no to some of these' and when a couple of us offered examples of what he'd rejected, she was just like '...yeah, I don't see how those aren't topics.'

But hey, what can you do?

#1 Romanticisation/fetishization of history.
Obviously, on a larger scale, there's the complete glossing over of WWII and the atrocities committed as a part of that (and the whole textbook debacle) that Japan is infamous for, but on a lesser scale, there's the rise of レキジョ in recent years. I'm not sure if there's a 'question' in there, but it's something to ask about. A friend mentioned about cults (for example, the dragon princess thing) and suggested possibly linking them, so it's something to think about?

#2 Discrimination in Japan, particularly towards individuals who don't fit into the heteronormative ideal? I mean, like, as a whole MtF isn't hugely accepted, and yet Haruna Ai is really popular, right? And going back, Japan has a rich history of men crossdressing for the arts, be it born out of a desire or need to stop prostitution (kabuki, not that it helped) and so on and so forth, and the existence of okama bars, and how accepted they may or may not be.

#3 Isn't something I'm completely sold on doing, but feminism and women's rights in Japan and the western influence on it? Like, compare the relative attitude of and towards feminism pre- and post-restoration, and also pre- and post-WWII with the American occupation and how the west has (or hasn't, as it may well be) affected the rise of feminism. I mean, I know there are clauses in contracts with certain companies that effectively limit the wages and positions of female employees (I can't remember the term for it unfortunately 8() and yeah. I don't know. Of the three, this does feel like the more viable topic though? To me, at least, although at least two of the other topics I threw at him on Monday felt viable to me, so who am I to say.

Ahaha, and I just checked the specialisations of a couple of the teachers, and you know how he rejected the ideas on the link of pop culture and international relations? S.K specialises in "The emerging power of the East Asian Actors in international development", and as for left wing politics in Japan and its popularity/lack of, I.H specialises in "Cultural theory, especially psychoanalysis and Marxism."

Just. I don't even know, man. I know he 'knows what he's doing', but it really doesn't feel like it, you know?

momentarily @ 2010-10-18T16:28:00

2010-10-18T15:28:47Z

So, the dissertation co-ordinator threw out every single idea I presented him with, and wasn't even the slightest bit helpful. He was just like 'come back next week.'

Wonderful.

I have to completely rethink everything and I have no idea what I would even do instead of the ideas I had before.

momentarily @ 2010-10-17T21:52:00

2010-10-17T20:52:51Z

anon meme.

momentarily @ 2010-10-10T14:33:00

2010-10-10T13:33:44Z

The Observer's got a few interesting articles in it today. One's on inequality in British schools -- a report's just been published on the matter, the other on the EDL forging links with American Tea Party activists.

I'm not going to lie; I hadn't really heard of the EDL (English Defence League) before. Apparently they want to combat the '"Islamification" of British cities'. Pamela Geller is a fan, apparently -- "I share the EDL's goals... We need to encourage rational, reasonable groups that oppose the Islamisation of the West."

But it's okay, she says she's not anti-Muslim, you guys! Where do these people get off?

It sounds as if the EDL are overtaking the BNP's spot due to the fact that the BNP isn't really organised at all and. Ugh. It's kind of sickening, actually. It's quite an interesting article, but seriously, Britain? Seriously?

I know that, chances are, they won't garner much support but the fact that they have any support and are viewed as something of a threat is really quite ... concerning?

OTOH, there was an excerpt from Jonathon Powell's book which was quite interesting. It's been the year of political books, apparently. I meant to read some of them, but never got around to it. Maybe next year.

The rest of today will be spent sorting out stuff for next week (Sheffield on Thursday! Need to email Kirsty back), and doing work. Like every other day of the week. sob.

momentarily @ 2010-10-08T20:07:00

2010-10-08T19:07:13Z

BECAUSE I AM BORED AND PROCRASTINATING FROM WORK.

ICON TRADING MEME
my thread here

Icon trade meme; request away, if you want.

momentarily @ 2010-10-08T18:15:00

2010-10-08T17:15:37Z

sunrisecandy -> momentarily.

momentarily @ 2010-10-06T17:40:00

2010-10-06T16:40:16Z

I WELCOME OUTSIDE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS.

Dissertation ideas:

1. Pop culture influence on politics + international relations (+ domestic policy? too broad?)
see: SMAP -> China perf. cancelled in light of Sino-Japanese tensions increasing over Senkaku etc. etc.

2. Whether pop culture is a reflection of modern values or whether it directly affects modern values
see: spread of variety shows, manzai etc., regional differences --> Kansai vs Kanto etc.

3. The popularity/lack thereof of left-wing politics in Japan and why
see: rise of nationalism and extremism, conflict with China and Korea, compare pre- and post-war period

4. How being an island nation has affected and/or formed its national identity
see: ????

MEETING: Dr. Ian Caldwell, Oct. 18, 14:15

Supervisor preferences:
pop culture focus:
1. Soyeun Kim
2. Irena Hayter
3. Caroline Rose?

politics/international relations focus:
1. Caroline Rose
2. Kweku Ampiah
3. Soyeun Kim

momentarily @ 2010-10-05T12:42:00

2010-10-05T11:42:05Z

The "What I've always wanted to tell you" Meme

Yeah, I totally don't have anything of remote interest to talk about at the moment.

momentarily @ 2010-10-04T00:01:00

2010-10-03T23:01:02Z

So, stuff is quite awesome at the moment. This year is going to be exceptionally tough, but it seems like it will be quite fun, too.

ALSO, if rumours are to be believed, apparently the professor who taught me for Religion in Japan last year is acting as a historical advisor to the Hollywood version of 47 ronin featuring Keanu Reeves due out in 2012.

How awesome is that?

-- lol what (that's him, btw).

momentarily @ 2010-10-03T11:09:00

2010-10-03T10:09:52Z

Quick! A meme!

I am so tired. And I have a lot of work to finish. I've only been back a week 8(

I have to summarise a load of articles on the Senkaku Island dispute for tomorrow, I need to read an article/short essay thing on primary school education in Japan and answer some questions about it, translate a couple of passages from a book, and work on a group presentation for Friday. I also have an essay to do, but that's for week three.

momentarily @ 2010-09-25T18:58:00

2010-09-25T17:58:51Z

Stephen Fry to be Mycroft in the Guy Ritchie film! As an entity, I prefer Moffat/Gatiss' Sherlock, but good lord. Stephen Fry. I have to see this film just for him.

momentarily @ 2010-09-23T21:43:00

2010-09-23T20:43:22Z

So I tried watching Glee. I know, late to the bandwagon and all.

I enjoyed it at first, but then -- I'm only on episode 13. I figure that I'll watch the entirety of the first series at some point -- some of the problems really started to get on my nerves. I mean, it's not a bad show by any means but :|

"Wheelchair". That was the title of the episode, wasn't it? When they wanted to get a bus which was wheelchair friendly so they could all travel to Sectionals together. I thought the fact that at first, none of them particularly cared about Artie's plight was, unfortunately, realistic enough (although somewhat bothering; one of my close friends in secondary school needed a wheelchair some of the time, and sticks the rest. She -- and us as a result -- referred to them as '(her) crip sticks'. But I digress. The fact is, she was my friend and if we had been in a club such as that, I like to think I -- and we as a group of friends -- would have cared slightly more than they did at the fact that my friend was going to miss out on something that was, ultimately, quite a fun part of the day. But hey, different people, different reactions.)

However, the bit that really got me was the fact that after spending x amount of time in a wheelchair as part of an effort to understand what Artie and other wheelchair users went through on a daily basis, Finn later gets a job pretending to require the use of a wheelchair.

As was pointed out on my plurk, teenagers are stupid (by and large; so is the public), but after what they had gone through, I'd have expected them to be a little more aware, you know? Not to mention, of course, the fact that it was never mentioned again. There were, apparently, no repercussions of fraudulently claiming a disability and using it, as an able-bodied individual who already has plenty of advantage over a disabled individual, to get a job.

That just. It bothered me. It really annoyed me. I KNOW, IT'S GLEE. IT'S HARDLY REALISTIC. But for the love of god.

And then there's the fact that, with the exception of Rachel, who is Jewish and Puck, who is (part?) Jewish, all of the minorities are reduced to two-dimension 'characters' with some apparently incapable of speaking. At least, that's what I'm led to believe.

It wouldn't be quite as bad if Glee hadn't brought attention to it with the episode where Sue separated the minorities into one (her) group to point out the disparity, however it all soon returned to the status quo.

Also, Kurt annoys me. This, I think, is less to do with his characterisation and more to do with the fact that various facets of his personality remind me of an acquaintance. It's not a great comparison and thus leaves me going 8| at him rather a lot.

Rachel, I just want to backhand, NGL. Not just for the fact that she's horrifically full of herself and incredibly self-centred, but also for the fact that when she thinks that authority is doing something that it shouldn't be doing and isn't catering enough to her whims, she'll turn round and go 'I HAVE TWO GAY DADS AND THEY'RE VERY WELL CONNECTED--'.

Also, why don't we get to see these two gay dads? (ASIDE: Unless we do and I haven't got that far in the series yet). For a show that's supposed to be remarkably good with diversity (or so certain circles seem to say), it's not doing a particular stellar job. Although, I do like Kurt's dad quite a lot, and as much as Kurt may irritate me at times, I love the scenes with Kurt and his dad.

That said, I do think that Quinn's pregnancy has been handled quite well (at the point I'm at, anyway).

EDIT: Also, I watched The Special Relationship the other day on iPlayer. Martin Sheen is kind of fantastic. I never thought I would enjoy historical political dramatisations quite so much. I haven't seen The Queen though. I've seen The Deal.

Yes, I am something of a geek, why do you ask :|

momentarily @ 2010-09-22T18:49:00

2010-09-22T17:49:48Z

Last night's This is England. I thought it was really good, actually -- even if the last few minutes were somewhat shocking. I was browsing around and I read a few comments on the ol' web wherein people were unimpressed at how TIE'86 is basically a kind of bad Shameless, or something -- I've never watched Shameless, so I can't comment -- and also how it was all obvious (re: Trev and Kel/Lol's Dad), but I don't know. I don't think that somehow invalidates a good show.

Yeah, 'good' is subjective, but at the end of the day, a show like This is England isn't there to keep people guessing. It's not whodunnit or a show wrapped up in twists and turns all over the place. It's a remarkably straight forward piece of telly and berating it for that fact seems pretty ridiculous. That's like going to watch oh, I don't know, Sherlock and going 'BUT I WANTED TO KNOW WHO THE CRIMINAL WAS AT THE BEGINNING 8('. Completely nonsensical.

But! I am curious as to how they're going to wrap everything up next week -- if they're even going to try wrapping all of it up. Obviously [SPOILERS] will have something to do with it.

But oh lord, Shaun and Smell. Shaun barking like a dog. Lol's being a bit of bitch to poor Woody though, bless him. And Milky being all '...' when Woody was venting and jklgdg Milky and Woody are kind of awesome and adorable together, can I just say. The ending aaah.

I hear there are rumours of a This is England '90 though. Well, more of a 'it would be nice to do.'

Friends Cut

2010-09-22T00:11:11Z

I was thinking the other day that it's about time to clean up the friends list. I've added a few people recently (hello to you), but at the same time there's a fair number of people on my flist that I no longer talk to, or that I've drifted from etc. etc. OTOH, I know I'm shit at commenting. It's something that is a rather long WIP.

In the same vein, if you, by any chance, want to remove me and weren't sure whether it would cause any hard feelings: go ahead. It won't.

There's no point in keeping anyone added if all they're going to do is boost numbers on a silly little profile page.

If you think I've removed you by accident (it happens!) or you'd rather I hadn't for whatever reason, just let me know.

momentarily @ 2010-09-21T13:37:00

2010-09-21T12:37:06Z

Man, one of these days I will totally stop whining about finances and everything ever. I am sorry to like, everyone on my flist that has had to put up with my months of whinging about ~life~.

OTOH, I have long been of the opinion that money is utterly ridiculous and that we should switch to a barter system 8| Of course, I'd be no better off then since I'd suck at bartering. However, my years at university -- of which, only my first year was spent in relative comfort and during which I had no financial concerns whatsoever -- have made me realise that it truly is no wonder that so many students end up dropping out because they can't afford it.

The only reason I haven't dropped out due to financial difficulties is because, whilst my parents can't afford to help me as such, they're willing to take out loans to help me out. I am so indebted to my parents it's not even funny any more.

I can't help but wonder if there isn't a better way for the government to sort out this university-finances mess -- and yet they claim that 'too many' students are going to university.

Yesterday, I had a whole LJ entry written up about the Manic Street Preachers, their new album, and the most moronic statement I read in a review about them compared to the rest of their peers re: 90s Britpop (in that they've established themselves as the 'kings' of Britpop). Now, I like MSP, I do. They're not my favourite, but I do like their music. However -- and not to diminish what they've achieved in the slightest -- wouldn't one of the reasons for their success compared to their contemporaries be down to the fact that they've been around longer?

The article specifically mentioned Blur, Oasis and ...I believe Pulp. I don't know if they mentioned Suede or The Verve, but if you look at that like, some broke up a decade or more a go. "But Blur are still going!" Yeees, but they broke up in 2003 and then reformed relatively recently. Oasis are really the only group that's comparable longevity wise (however, I'm not a fan of Oasis and will definitely agree that the Manic Street Preachers trump Oasis and that will be an entirely biased view).

Still! This is England '86 is on tonight! Looking forward to it.

re: something that most of my current flist will probably have no clue of 8(

2010-09-19T13:03:18Z

After a long while of paying little to no attention the visual kei scene at all, I decided to have a browse round of current bands and the like (in part spurred by the fact that I hooked up one of external HDs last night and got all nostalgic over some of the music on it) and... Well, obviously times and music change but man. The music is so different these days and totally not what drew me to the VK scene in the first place.

I mean, objectively speaking, I know Matina, Key Party and the like were no less 'contrived' (in a sense) than PSC and whatever record labels are around at present, but there was just something about the mid-late 90s/early millennium sound that makes me like it so much more than the vast majority of what's around today. I know part of it is inevitably 'I've grown up a bit' and also that, now, I'm no longer of the 'target age range', if you will. But still. It makes me sad :|

Also, oh god, this will sound completely terrible of me, but in parts -- as with the music scene as a whole -- I feel that the internet has been a help and a hindrance to VK. There was something immensely satisfying about finding other fans of that little group that you stumbled across entirely by accident on Visunavi or VKDB. Now it seems something of a given that those fans are out there and that you will find them and I DON'T KNOW. IT JUST FEELS DIFFERENT 8( And, I don't know. With the style change, the scene also feels more shallow. Maybe that's just, again, more to do with me and my perception of it and how that's changed, rather than VK/indies as a whole. (Side note: I really dislike the current VK fashion, which doesn't help. I know, it's hypocritical of me to go on about how much more shallow it seems and then complain about the looks jfldkg.)

That said, I remember when I first got into VK, I would read all these comments by older members of the scene lambasting the current scene and how it had all gone to hell and saying basically everything I've just said, and I'd think 'what, no, these bands are great. How can they not like them?!' -- and now here I am :|

Although, it's nice to see that indie groups remain as much of an incestuous scene as ever dklg even if I no longer recognise half the names popping up.

momentarily @ 2010-09-16T15:29:00

2010-09-16T14:29:43Z

GOOD NEWS, ALL IS WELL IN ACADEMIA LAND

for the time being but pssht

momentarily @ 2010-09-16T13:03:00

2010-09-16T12:03:08Z

Oh my God. Please tell me that someone else is watching This is England '86.

momentarily @ 2010-09-15T19:59:00

2010-09-15T19:00:00Z

I just had an email from Dr. Nordby about my exams and I have a meeting with her at three tomorrow. She wanted to check what modules I passed last year but she seems to think that I should be able to continue on to my final year, and we just need to sort out what I need to actually do next year, so fingers crossed!

My parents are also amazing jgkdl I -- Yes, I have my problems with my family. My family is remarkably dysfunctional at times and I've frequently remarked at how amazing it is my parents are even still together at this point, and I make no bones about how my brother can be a monumental dick but at the end of the day, I wouldn't change them for the world. When you end up in a situation like this, it really is ... lovely to be able to talk with my parents like that.

/saps all over the place

I bummed around darlosworld a bit after I got my exam result though, which was nice.

And right now, I have a bar of Cadbury's Caramel, and it is delicious.

BUT UH F-LIST. TELL ME SOMETHING AWESOME. Or spam me with awesome things. EITHER OR.