Well, my poor rose garden was neglected last summer, so I've been really active in it this year with weeding, arranging new bedding, fertilizing, propagating, and preparing to replace a couple of roses that didn't make it through our Massachusetts winter. Some years back I planted a Hybrid Tea named Saint Patrick was supposed to give yellow/green flowers, but I was never all that enamoured of its performance. Actually, it was my only Hybrid Tea as I really prefer Old Garden Roses for their strong fragrances and beautiful flowers. After Saint Patrick failed to make it through the winter, however a new "mysterious" rose bush has appeared in it's place. What happened is that the rootstock survived, and now I have a new plant from that. Most likely this is a Dr. Huey--as that is the most common rootstock used for roses, and the bush fits that description. 
So this is the mystery rose in question. I'll know for sure if this is a Dr. Huey once the flower opens tomorrow. As it stands, I'm about 99% sure already though. Sadly it's only got a slight fragrance, but the flowers I've seen pictured are lovely. It's more than welcome to take Saint Patrick's place.
- Mood:
accomplished - Music:Itsuka no Summer by Aiba Masaki
A cast capable of twisty goodness! Left to Right: Kaname Jun, Kuriyama Chiaki, Matsuda Ryuhei, Kohinata Fumiyo, Konishi Manami, Namase Katsuhisa
Of the bazillion dramas I followed this winter (something like 11, which is quite a lot!) this was easily my favorite of that season. And there were a couple of truly good shows this winter. Sadly, it received the second lowest ratings of the season... though viewer satisfaction at D-addicts was pretty high and Matsuda Ryuhei won an award at the 56th Television Drama Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Yashiro Heita. (Kohinata Fumiyo deserved one as well, because he was amazing!)
Ashita no Kita Yoshio is a hard drama to peg... it's a twisty psychological drama, a mystery, a comedy, a human drama, a bit of a romance, and above all a soul satisfying story.
- Mood:
hot - Music:Mayonaka no Boon Boon
L to R: Shinobu (Sato Yuuichi), Shun (Suzuki Hiroki), Kazuya(Izawa Yuuki), and Mitsuru (Miura Riki)
Okay, I'm a longtime fangirl for the manga by Nasu Yukie and the anime OVA. While going through the summer fansub map, I nearly fell out of my chair when I ran across this. The No-brand Heroes are getting the live action treatment on Tokyo MX, and the series is set to premiere in July! DoReMii has already picked this up to sub. So now you know exactly which title I'm most looking forward to this coming season. (Sorry, Ohno and Toma! I 'll be watching Maou too, though. hehe... I've got about 8 titles already on my summer watch list... ^.^;)
I think this series could really do well as a live action adaptation, and something about it just seems perfect for a summer comedy. Maybe there is a natural affinity between ikemen and the summer season.
Summary:
After his brother and only living relative marries Kazuya's first love, he decides to move into the dorms of the prestigious Ryokuto Academy to preserve his sanity. He's assigned to live in Greenwood, an ex-asylum full of the weirdest students at Ryokuto. The story revolves around four students, their families, and their friendships. Follow the quirky exploits of Kazuya, who if he didn't have bad luck would have no luck at all. Shun, who looks and acts exactly like a girl. Mitsuru, the ladies man who has no luck with the ladies. And Shinobu, the cool and manipulative Student Council leader... who might have the strangest family of them all. With a little luck, Kazuya will not just survive the insanity of Greenwood but also discover a second chance at love.
Anyhow Greenwood's a very quirky romantic comedy, and it's so slice of life most of the time that the creators have both lots to draw on and lots of leeway with the plot. I think having real people in the roles might help ground the characters and story for those who found the manga/anime a bit too over the top, but it should be fun and funny all the way through. It looks like the characters are going to be pretty accurate from their casting and photos so far, and with Greenwood that's biggest part of the equation right there. After that the love story and family stories should be a pretty natural fit even with whatever changes it takes to bring Greenwood to life.
- Mood:
bouncy - Music:Fragile by Sting
I'll keep this spoiler free. It's a bit different from the old movies, since they are referencing B movies of the 50s now instead of the 30s, but in most ways it's still the same too. Campy comedy, some touching scenes, some great action. I'm already looking forward to seeing it again.
Speaking of all things Indy, I found this the other day and had to share. So what about the sidekick that we didn't see this time? With much love to Shorty!
Short Round and the Quiet Call of Desperation
Short Round and the Sting of Obselesence
LMAO My entire family has been quoting the final line in that second one since last night. I think I need to celebrate with an Indy related mood set...
- Mood:
nostalgic - Music:Raiders March by John Williams
You just can't love everything. So I've come to my first series drop of the spring season--a show I really wanted to like. Zettai Kareshi: Absolute Boyfriend.
I'm only a casual fan of the manga, so I was not only expecting changes but also felt there was actually room for improvement. With the characters aged up into their twenties, there seemed to be a good opportunity for the show to actually do a decent job at bringing the story to life without whitewashing the entire plot to target young teen viewers. Yeah, right.
- Mood:
aggravated
Yasha original airdate: Spring 2000 opening theme: Desert Rose by Sting 
Is there seriously anything better than hot twin geniuses?
Yeah... hot twin geniuses, a hint of shounen-ai, some good scifi, and plenty of awesome story and action! Before I ever enjoyed the mindgames between Light and L, I was already a fangirl for Yasha!
- Mood:
horny - Music:Memories by Within Temptation
"Kurikaesu Haru" His latest release under 244 Endli-x. Love this song. I seem to sing it a lot, and his voice sounds lovely as always.
A good ol' Kinki Kids song! I just love Tsuyo-chan's hair like that.... and the deflowering metaphors give me a grin too. "Jounetsu"
Ah... the purple suit. The JE crack lyrics. The butt wiggling. The crazy codpiece. It can only be, "The Rainbow Star".
Beautiful singing, and the appearance of the white dragon. "Sora ga Naku kara"
My favorite version of my favorite Kinki Kids song. "Anniversary" from Font de Anniversary.
- Mood: ecstatic
- Music:Kurikaesu Haru - 244 Endli-x
I was just on Wannabe Fansubs forum, and what I had begun to believe was impossible has finally been announced. (Yeah, I know I'm slow.) There is animation in the works for more School Rumble. Looks like we're going to be getting at least another OVA, though I'm seriously hoping for more.
Harima Kenji! More Harima!
Seems we're getting school trip and some good Eri X Harima parts of the story. *waves my Flag* Hmmmm... I'm gonna have to celebrate this somehow in true fangirl fashion....
*Begins nefarious plotting*
- Mood: dorky
Sometimes I just need some serious strange in my television viewing... and when I can find strange and hilarious in one place, I'm a happy gal indeed. Konno-san is off to a great start in fulfilling that need this season. The series, which just started on Mar 7th, is sceduled to run in 12 episodes of 9 minutes each broadcast over six weeks. The first two episodes are available RAW at D-addicts here:
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/torrents.p
Konno-san appears to be a series with very little dialogue, which is great since it's not subtitled into English. Instead it relies heavily on highly visual comedy vignettes narrarated by a very deadpan Japanese voice over. The overall effect is like watching a National Geographic documentary about one fabulously weird highschool student. The series is based on a manga by Yasuda Hiroyuki and revolves around the adventures of Konno Miyuki and her friends. Konno-san is played by Yoshitaka Yuriko, who also plays Shinobu in Ashita no Kita Yoshio. Since that is my favorite series of the winter season, I knew I had to check this out!
( Serious Screencapping and Summary of Eps 1 & 2..... )
- Mood: amused
- Music:Breath - I Love You
My interest in all things Potter has been flagging for a long time, so I decided to take the 85 weeks of inactivity on my LJ as a sign. Since the series ended this summer, it seems to be a great time to change this journal to reflect more of what I'm doing in my spare time these days. The odd Potter ficlet or smutlet could still pop up from time to time, but I don't expect to finish any previous fics or do anymore Potter AMVs.
The new journal title is taken from the title of KinKi Kids' debut song back in 1997. The English translation of the song is Glass Boy, but the same words also mean Glass Boys--which fits pretty well for a journal that will probably feature a number of male Jpop idols and actors among its reviews.
I just got home from three weeks of business back in Arkansas. While gone my birthday presents from my folks were shipped by Yes Asia, so I'm enjoying them a month after the date. LOL
I got the Special Love edition of KinKi Kids' Phi CD with the extra DVD of their 10 year anniversary concert from this July. The performance was great, and I'm still digging on the new music. My favorite songs from Phi are:
Love in the Phi
snapshot
the EDGE of the WORD
Unchanged
Hito Hira
Losing Control
BRAND NEW SONG and Eien ni are a bit weaker to me despite being the actual singles from the album, though I enjoyed the most recent performances of Eien ni more than the initial ones. It feels like poor Koichi is being forced to sing at the edge of his range on that song, but he at least he sounded less strained at Year's Best.
I also finally laid my hands on Tsuyoshi's photobook from last year--Shojiki I Love You. Mom wasn't sure if Yes Asia would be able to track it down, and it's the reason why the order didn't even ship until nearly 2 weeks after my birthday. It's worth the extra wait! The format is adorable, and it's full of luverly, luverly pics. If I can find a way to scan it without damaging the binding, there are a couple of photos that I really want for a wallpaper. Yeah, Tsuyoshi is easily my favorite musician/actor/idol.
Next time I'm going to start posting reviews, pictures, and summaries for some Jdramas.... including ones that are not subbed, older, and not as easy to find information on. Or I might finally give Alli that partial review of Arashi's Nipple Fetishes. ~.^;
- Mood: artistic
- Music:Unchanged by KinKi Kids (Tsuyoshi solo)
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