J-actor mini-bio: Itoh Misaki

Name: Itoh Masaki (Itou Masaki/Ito Masaki) Real Name: Anzai Tomoko Birthday: 5/26/77 Height: 5'7" (171cm)

Where do I know her from? Densha Otoko, Gokusen, Taiho Shichauzo (You're Under Arrest), Maison Ikkoku (live action drama), Ju-on: The Grudge

Tell me some more! Besides acting and modeling, Misaki is qualified to teach kindergarten. She also has a license to be a social welfare officer. Despite it being rather uncommon for Japanese celebrities, Misaki has drivers license as well.

What is your opinion of her? At this point in time, I've only seen a couple of her series. She seems to do well playing a "typical" quiet Japanese woman. I have yet to see her in a role where she breaks the rules or is more forceful with her feelings. It would be interesting to see her try out some different types of characters.

Music review: They Might Be Giants - Hearing Aid

Artist: They Might Be Giants Members: John Linnell and John Flansburgh Album: Flood Release date: 1/5/90

Lyrics: Frosty the supervisor Lives by himself Sometimes I feel sorry for him Usually I can't

I've turned off my hearing aid Don't say the electric chair's not good enough For king-lazy-bones like myself

More coffee for me boss 'Cause I'm not as messed up as I want to be

I've turned off my hearing aid Don't say the electric chair's not good enough For king-lazy-bones like myself

Because Because About the song: Flood is one of my favorite albums. All of the songs on it are catchy and completely insane. So we have Hearing Aid. It's a very basic song about a worker (most likely an office worker) who hates his job and his boss so he just stops trying. The music for it is rather repetitive and the lyrics are sung in an almost bored voice. This isn't a great song. It isn't even the best song on the album but it is still an interesting song.

Ashop Commerce

If you have an online business where you are selling products, you really need a good ecommerce software package. Your customers will find it easier to use your online store if you have a shopping cart on your site. Not only will it be easier to navigate your website but it will be easier for your customers to keep track of their purchases as well. I can't count the number of times I have clicked on a product more than once, forgetting that I already did. With some good shopping cart software, your customers will be able to re-read their list of purchases to make sure that they aren't buying something twice or that they accidentally clicked on the wrong item. There have been a lot of times that I have passed by an online store because they didn't have a shopping cart. It is inconvenient to have to fill out an order form to fax or email in before figuring how how the payment will be made. Ecommerce software would be the best way to make sure that your customers can easily purchase things from your online store.

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America's Most Smartest Model - Episode 2

Oh, this is definitely my new crack. I wasn't planning on writing about this every week but the models are just begging me to make fun of them. So it looks like I have a new weekly feature on my hands. America's Most Smartest Model - When Will They Ditch Mandy Lynn? This week the models were put into boy/girl pairs. For their first challenge, the models had a Jeopardy!-inspired game show where they would win items for their second challenge, a photo shoot. No one knew who Jackie Kennedy's designer was and I think it was American!Rachel that thought that Napoleon's last name was 'Pierre.' Amazingly, it was Mandy Lynn who answered that question correctly. In the end, it was Pickle and Australian!Rachel that got the most stuff for their shoot. Poor Jesse, who keeps getting picked on for being heavier than the other models, and Erika got nothing more than some body paint and a bed.

For the second round, the teams got to use their l33t model skillz. The only things they could use were the things they won in the first round. If you didn't win any makeup, then you got no makeup. It definitely made things a little more interesting. There was a professional photographer there to help them and he helped Mary Alice choose the best picture from the lot. In my opinion, Jesse and Erika should have done more with their body paint. There are SO many things they could have done but they barely did anything. Needless to say, their picture ended up on the bottom of the pile. Despite a late-night blow-out, Andre and Lisa managed to wrangle their differences into an amazing picture. Alas, Mary Alice didn't like the "violence" portrayed in the picture, choosing Pickle and Australian!Rachel as the winners of the round.

While I won't tell you who got kicked off, I will let you know that, somehow, Mandy Lynn is still around. I think that Mary Alice, who seems to make most of the decisions about who gets to stay, knows that Mandy Lynn is the one bringing in the ratings. She's the reason people will watch. It's unfortunate because she doesn't BELONG on the show. Yes, she had big (probably fake) boobs but she is a total airhead. (In the knowledge round, she said that GOP stood for Governor of Presidents!) This is supposed to be about being smart and pretty. I hope that Mandy Lynn gets kicked off soon. I'll continue to watch after she's gone. Sadly, I think she'll make it way farther than she should. OK, she's already made it way farther than she should. Hopefully she'll get kicked off next week.

Jmovie review: Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru

Title: Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru Also known as: I'm in love with my little sister Release date: 1/20/07 Genre: Romantic Drama Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Eikura Nana, Yuuta Hiraoka, Komatsu Ayaka Plot: Yori (Matsumoto Jun) is in love with his twin sister, Iku (Eikura Nana). He tries to forget Iku by sleeping with his classmate Tomoka. Now the twins need to choose between their forbidden love and a normal life. What is good: The dialog isn't too bad. What is bad: The extraordinarily long dramatic pauses. Overall rating: C- Overall: I knew little about this movie when I turned it on. I knew it was about incest between twins and that it starred MatsuJun and Komatsu Ayaka so I expected a decent dramatic movie. Sadly, I was mistaken. This movie is filled with extremely long dramatic pauses. All of the characters take a good 5 - 7 minutes to spit out one line of what they want to say to each other. Eikura wasn't very interesting as Iku but that may be a problem with the character and not the actress. I suppose if you are a fan of MatsuJun, you'll want to watch this movie. Just don't expect anything wonderful from it.

J-actor mini-bio: Kubozuka Yosuke

Name: Kubozuka Yosuke Birthday: 5/7/79 Height: 5' 9" (177cm) Weight: 121 lbs (55kg)

Where do I know him from? Strawberry on the Shortcake, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Great Teacher Onizuka, Long Love Letter

Tell me some more! In 2004, he survived a 26 meter (approx. 85 ft) fall from his apartment balcony with only minor injuries. This has been rumored to have been a suicide attempt due to his declining popularity. Supposedly he had glorified the use of marijuana and was active in movements to legalize the drug. It has also been rumored that he is prone to violent attacks and repeated suicide threats.

What is your opinion of him? I've watched quite a few of his series and I think he is a really good actor. He has a bit of the 'boy next door' vibe. If the rumors about him are true, I hope that he got some professional help. He has been making a comeback in movies since his fall. I really hope this means that he has given up his bad boy ways and learned how to behave properly.

Music reviews: AZU and Takeuchi Denki

Last week I ordered two brand new singles from artists I've never heard of. One of them was JEWEL SKY by AZU and the other was knock!knock!!/do not disturb! by Takeuchi Denki. Both were released on October 3. JEWEL SKY is actually AZU's second single. (Her debut single was titled CHERISH.) The title song is up first. Sadly, this song is quite unremarkable. It's not particularly catchy and every time she sings "Jewel Sky," it sounds like she's saying "Cherry Sky." I found it to be rather disappointing since it's THE song for the single. Next up is SO WONDERFUL. While the music here is slightly more interesting than the previous song's, it is still a rather bland song. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't an early 90s pop song that sounds exactly the same. The last song on the single is Kimi ni Yomu Uta. This ballad is the worst song on the CD. There isn't a lot of variety in her boring vocals and the background music barely exists. Based on this single alone, AZU just doesn't have what it takes to be a pop star. Her voice is pretty but there doesn't seem to be any real talent backing that up. Almost anyone could have sang these songs and came out with the same results. She's going to need to push herself a bit more if she really wants to stand out from the crowd.

Luckily, I also purchased Takeuchi Denki's new single. We are treated to knock!knock!! first. With a semi-reggae feel to it, this song is completely different from any other Japanese artist I've heard. In the beginning, I wasn't sure how to feel about the song. However, after a few minutes, I fell in love. do not disturb! didn't let me down either. The all-English song keeps up with the feeling from the knock!knock!! but adds a little more funk to it. This is definitely something I can add to my musical library and not worry about growing tired of it. A mini-DVD was included with the two-song single. There is not only the PVs (promotional videos or music videos, as we call them in the US) for both songs but there are also the TV spots advertising the single as well as a documentary on how the single was produced. I haven't had the chance to watch the entire documentary yet but everything that I did watch was narrated in English by a Japanese woman. This was slightly distracting due to the mispronunciation of words. Hopefully I won't let that bug me so much when I finally get a chance to watch the entire thing. After hearing the music and watching parts of the DVD, I am really interested in hearing more of Takeuchi Denki's music. I'm going to pick up their mini-album as soon as I can and I'm dying for a full-length album to appear.

Paintball is cool?

I've always been interested in trying paintball. Though I've always been scared off by getting hurt when the paintball hits you. Yes, I know you wear gear to protect your squishy parts but people say it still stings to get hit. So every once in awhile, I go looking at paintball guns and debate how much of a wuss I am. I should probably note that I suck at regular shooting games. Laser tag? Yeah, I suck. Duck Hunt? I swear the ducks cheat. Maybe I was never meant to play the cool games. I'd probably do better with something like that paint throwing thing that Kat (Julia Stiles) and Patrick (Heath Ledger) played in "10 Things I Hate About You." Though they did have those cool spyder paintball guns.

To look cool or to play cool?

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Jmusic review: Gackt - Farewell

Artist: Gackt Album: Diabolos Release date: 9/21/05 Video link: Gackt performing Farewell and Future on the televised version of his Diabolos tour

English translation by Mina-P: A silver crescent moon flutters down into my parched heart In this night without any moonlight, you tell me "you can walk even alone" Those words you gave to me, with kindness and warmth Turned the tears back into a smile on my face that was hung in dispair

When I'm sad, if I close my eyes, You're by my side

You refused to show your tears as you bid farewell And you gave me your same kind smile I will never forget that warmth

I smile even as the tears flow Even if this road comes to an end I'll unfurl my wings for you

The broad back that disappears into the fallen drops of the moon Teach me once more why I keep walking

I can keep walking without turning back Because you are always by my side

May my tears never spill over again Because I have decided not to go back Because that is the promise that we made that day

Even if the tears gather, the rain will wash them away Because if I ever get to see you again I want to be able to tell you that I surpassed you About the song: Gackt always has at least one song on every album that has very strong orchestrations. Farewell is one of those songs. Both the music and the lyrics give the impression of growing strong. The verses of the song give a feeling of sadness and loss but when the chorus kicks in, Gackt's voice gains strength and you can almost feel the forcefulness of the lyrics. In the background, the drums and guitar back this emotion up. During the verses, the guitar is almost nonexistent while the drums build up to the chorus where the guitar really takes over, giving the lyrics the wings they need to fly forth. This really is quite a powerful song.

America's Most Smartest Model

I generally don't watch a lot of reality television. However, as I was flipping through the channels last night, I came across the absolute best title for a reality show: America's Most Smartest Model. After a quick look at the show description and seeing that it is co-hosted by Ben Stein, I decided that this was a show I had to watch even though it might make my brain explode. So I got all comfy and settled in for the 90 minute premiere episode on VH1. This is now my favorite reality show. (Sorry, Beauty and the Geek.) We are introduced to the hosts, Ben Stein and Mary Alice Stephenson, and the 14 models. Of course, the models are all very pretty but that is not why I am here. I want to hear them be stupid!

Somewhat surprisingly, there are some very smart contestants. Daniel is working on his doctorate in Psychology, Jeff was an electrical engineering major before he dropped out of college (while that doesn't sound good written down, the guy is rather smart), Australian!Rachel graduated college in 3 1/2 years with honors. To offset the smartness, there are contestants like Playboy model Mandy Lynn and American!Rachel.

The first challenge the contestants are dealt is a spelling bee. All of the words in the bee are fashion/model related. Easy words like 'blue appear in the first round but then the difficulty level hits the roof. Most of the models are eliminated in the second round. One of Mandy Lynn's words was 'collagen,' which she spells correctly before telling the camera that her lips are not collagen, they are silicone. Oh, Mandy Lynn, you are so the win. I believe it was Brett that won this round, giving him an "edge" for the next challenge.

For the second challenge, the models had to walk and talk. While walking the runway, they would be given a category (such as "Types of Trees") and they would have to name as many things in that category as they could. I thought that some of the categories were fairly difficult. I don't know that I could name a lot of Elements on the Periodic Table off the top of my head. Mandy Lynn, once again, won my heart and the title of Trailer Trash Princess by repeating the same four objects in her category "Things That Are Round." (For those that are curious, her list was 'balls, cherries, balloons, tires.') Daniel won this challenge and immunity from getting the big ol' boot.

I won't give away who got tossed out of the competition. Though I will tell you that it was not Mandy Lynn. By all accounts, it should have been Mandy Lynn. Ben Stein should have tattooed "Moron" on her forehead and kicked her out. However, he likes her big boobies and Mary Alice thinks she can fix Mandy Lynn. I don't have that much confidence in her. On one hand, she really does not belong in this competition. On the other hand, she is probably the most entertaining of them all. So rock on with your stupidity, Mandy Lynn. As society has proved, all you really need is a big set of knockers anyway, right?