8 posts tagged “new york city”

I'm really not dead!

Real life has taken priority and I'm in the process of sorting everything out. My 2.5-month-stay in New York City has ended and I'm now home. Though, it's (highly) likely that I'll be returning to NYC next year, this time for taking up a job offer.

Now, I'm trying to figure out how to get an apartment in Midtown Manhattan or Upper East Side without going bankrupt from the outrageous rent. Even though I won't move until around summer of next year, I still need to begin research on how to land an apartment for under $1500 a month. Is it even possible for Midtown and Upper East Side, two of the highest cost areas of NYC? How about with southern exposure, laundry, (elevator), doorman thrown in? Should I put up an looking-for-roommate ad? >_<

I swear I'll get back to blogging about beloved J-Rock soon. Just... let me figure out my life right now. ^_^;;

Hah, another report already? This has little to do with J-Rock, but I feel like posting here anyway since a few of my readers are probably DEATH NOTE fans. This report will be spoiler-free. So, it's safe to read even if you don't know anything about the DEATH NOTE plot developments, be it the manga version, anime version, or movie version.

The New York premiere of DEATH NOTE I and II took place in Japan Society on Sunday, July 8, as part of the 2-week-long New York Asian Film Festival. The tickets to the event were sold out completely and the movies drew a pretty diverse crowd. The audience ranged from fresh-faced 15-year-old high schoolers, to hip 20-something-year-old girls, to smelly 40-year-old otakus (I had to sit behind two of them), to frail 70-year-old grandmas (I'm not kidding!). I honestly don't know why the old lady was interested in the event, maybe she was just bored and had nothing better to do?

The movies were kicked off by director Kaneko Shusuke giving a brief introduction. When I say brief, I do mean BRIEF. He came onto the stage to the cheer of the audience, said a total of 2 sentences in English along the lines of "Thank you for coming. I hope you enjoy the movie." He sounded rather nervous and stuttered a bit. But, points to him for effort! Right after that, he bowed and left. I stared after him and thought, "Huh, he gets right to the point." He didn't waste any (of the audience's) time, that's for sure.

So, the 2 movies were shown. I won't get into any details about that since everyone knows what watching movies are like. Though, I only have a tiny rant:

If you're tall, PLEASE DON'T sit all the way in the front and block everyone else's view! Bloody hell, my neck hurt from straining to see over the tall guy's head.

/end rant

I've never read the DEATH NOTE manga or seen the anime. According to my friends who went with me, the movies deviated a lot from the original manga. I, pesonally, was rather pleased by the ending. It was appropriate and concluded satisfactorily. However, I thought that the plot may have relied too much on L's genius.

L: *says something no one could possibly have known*
Me: "How in the freaking world could L have known that?! He wasn't even given the clues to reach that conclusion."
Friend: "Because he's L. He knows everything."
Me: *huffs* "That's not convincing!"

There were a number of plot holes that just didn't make sense. For someone who doesn't know the story, I had to make several leaps of faith and just pretended the plot flowed so I could move on. But honestly, that's a sucky way to follow a story.

Anyway, Kaneko returned to the stage for the Q&A and was joined by Norman England (thanks Norman, and sorry I forgot your last name before), personal friend of Kaneko and played one of the FBI agents in the first movie. The two of them sat in the center, while the interpreter and the moderator sat on the sides. I'm going to summarize whatever I remember from the Q&A below. I don't guarantee the accuracy of the answers (or questions, for that matter) since my memory's no where near perfect. The answers were often given by both Kaneko and Norman.

Why did the movies use Red Hot Chili Pepper's works as theme songs?
Red Hot Chili Pepper's bassist, Flea, loves manga. We sent the DEATH NOTE manga to him and he liked it so much that he told us we can use the band's songs.

What was it like directing the 2 movies?
I operated under a high-pressured time crunch. I had to make the 2 movies back-to-back without ever taking a break. I started the 1st movie in February, and it's already been decided that it will open in theaters in June. For the 2nd movie, it was to open in November. By the time I began on the 2nd movie, the script had already been written and it was one-and-a-half months before filming. I looked over the script but didn't like it. So, I had to re-write the script from scratch and was able to miraculously finish it in time for filming.
Norman: Whenever I visited the DEATH NOTE movie sets, I thought the best thing was the massive amount of candies spread everywhere. They even got candies not found in Japan like Tootsie Pops. The staff was gracious enough to allow me to steal some from the set. But actually, the Japanese staff were so serious about their work that no one took the candies, except me.

What were DEATH NOTE manga fans' reactions to the movies?
We had gotten mixed views. Overall, more people liked the 2nd movie for its ending. Most fans agreed that in the original manga, the plot had lost much of its momentum after the loss of a certain character. I decided not to follow the manga exactly to ensure good movie pacing and story-telling. I took liberties with certain details and molded the story in my own fashion. The fans generally had a positive reaction toward that.

I heard that there's going to be a new DEATH NOTE movie. Can you tell us more?
Yes, this movie will be a DEATH NOTE spinoff that goes into L's backstory. It tells what happened to L before the events of DEATH NOTE I and II took place. The movie will be directed by Nakata Hideo, who directed The Ring movies. He's my senior/junior (sempai/kouhai, I don't remember which!).

The actor of L got really popular because of the movies. Can you tell us more about him?
Yes, Matsuyama Kenichi has become one of the top young actors in Japan. When we began filming the 1st movie, I remember him being really nervous on the set. But once the 1st movie was released and gained enormous success, Kenichi became more confident of himself.

Will you direct any more kaiju movies?
*Kaneko facepalmed at this question* If I get to create my own story and universe, then yes, I'll direct more. However, kaiju nowadays only appeal to a niche market, even in Japan. Kaiju movies therefore are based on established franchises to guarantee a certain level of revenue. Because the copyrights of these franchises are held by large media corporations, only they get to decide whether there will be new movies made and who gets to direct them.

Okay, those are about 1/3 of the total number of questions asked. I only remember the ones that stuck out to me. Sorry! And the only reason that I remember the kaiju question was because of Mr. Volt, since he expressed his admiration for Kaneko for his kaiju movies on a previous post. When I heard the question, I thought to myself, "Ah, Mr. Volt would probably be interested." So, I actually paid attention to Kaneko's answer. :D

So, the Q&A lasted around 45 minutes and the signing followed immediately after. I handed him my program for the Asian Film Festival and he signed the DEATH NOTE pages, right on his own biography. Hah, and I actually remembered enough Japanese to ask him if it's okay for me to take a picture with him. Yay for that~!

And that ended my Sunday at the New York premiere of DEATH NOTE movies. ^_^

Wow, this is the first live report I've ever written for this blog. Before we begin, for an explanation of the significance of this BOREDOMS concert's timing (07.07.07.07:07), see the concert information site. Happy 七夕!

By the way, no actual pictures from this evening because I was a retard who brought a camera but forgot the memory card at home.

To tell the truth, I almost didn't go to this event. At 4pm today, my friend and I were trying to decide between the live and the Museum of Sex while standing at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge (Manhattan side). We flipped a coin and the Boredoms won, so off we went onto the Brooklyn Bridge.

Once we reached the Brooklyn side, we saw that a small crowd of people already gathered at the observation platform on the bridge looking down at the park. I sidled up to them and glanced down: cool, the 77 drum sets were all set up and... oh shit, the line went around 2 blocks! This is what happens when you have a free outdoor event. Everyone and his mother comes. Even though I RSVPed, there's no freaking way I'm going to stand in that looooooooong line to get into the park in the blistering New York summer heat. I know next to nothing about the BOREDOMS, so I owe them no allegiance. I considered the situation and came up with the following possible plans of action:

A. Turn back and go to the Museum of Sex.
B. Watch the concert right there on the bridge, but the sound's going to be garbled because of the zipping traffic on the bridge.
C. Go to the adjacent park that's only 1 alcove away along the East River's Brooklyn waterfront. We won't see crap, but we'll hear very well.

Guess which one we ended up picking? So, we got off the bridge, cut right through the line, and entered the adjacent park. We could see the crowd gathered for the live right across the water. To make sure we got within good hearing range, we carefully picked our way over the river-side rocks and took a seat there. For those of you who've never been to Brooklyn Bridge Park before, the picture below gives you a good idea of our vantage point. It was taken very close to where I sat today. That extension of land you see right before the bridge was where the concert took place.

So, we settled down on the rocks and waited for 7:07pm to arrive. As the starting time edged closer, more people joined us on the rocks. It turned out that the park reached full capacity and the people still in line were turned away. We actually saw 3 guys break through the park gate and make a wild dash for the live area while 5 cops chased madly after them. We all cheered for them, but the cops wouldn't give up. 1 guy got tackled right before he was able to flip over the barrier. A shame, truly.

Anyway, the live started promptly as the hands of my watch hit 7:07. A roaring tide of drumming swept across the waterfront to the cheering and applause of the audience. The intensity picked up and Eye's shouting echoed over the waves. This was my first time listening to the BOREDOMS's performance. I was honestly surprised by how... elusive their music is.

I have difficulty properly describing the music. The melodies of the songs, if you can even call them that, were formless, hard to put one's finger on. The sound was driven mainly by the tribal beat, the relentless pounding of the 77 drummers. As I stared at the light from the setting sun sparkling over the rippling waters of the river, I kind of entered a strange sort of trance. "Light, ripple, orange, pretty, yay~!" I swear I wasn't high on anything. Somehow the music put me in an odd mental state. It was psychedelic, trance-inducing, and slightly creepy at the same time.

Most of the audience sitting on the rocks with me had their eyes closed and nodded to the beat as the music shifted and morphed around us. Sometimes, it sounded like a plane taking off, other times, it sounded like ocean waves crashing against jaggy cliffs. As the sun dipped further below the horizon, the Manhattan skyline took on a glow against the reddish sky. The Brooklyn Bridge lit up and beamed its spherical light fixtures at the shore. The cool night breeze picked up a dash of river water and wrapped around us soothingly. Surreal? Yes, it was.

I almost forgot about the pain in my hindquarters from sitting on the sharp, hard shore rocks, but alas, I had to leave before the live ended because my friend had to return to New Jersey in time. As we walked back to Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge, we once again passed by the observation platform. A sizable crowd now lined the area. One girl in a pink shirt actually climbed onto the railing and if she hadn't held on to the bridge cable, would have flung herself into the air. The effect of the music up on the bridge was actually very interesting. One can hear everything just fine, but the whooshing of the speeding cars transformed the sound and gave it another dimension. It was a unique integration of noise and music.

From up in the air, I could see that the park was packed. The 77 musicians performed in the very center while the audience crowded around them, forming a circle. The audiences, all of them, inside the park itself, on the shore rocks, and on the bridge, formed a fascinating gathering today.

We eventually turned away and continued our walk back, toward the glittering Manhattan skyline as the sound of the BOREDOMS gradually faded behind us.

I was at the Brooklyn Bridge Park yesterday and noticed on one of the flyers on the wall that BOREDOMS will be playing at the park on July 7. Admission is free and the event will start at 4pm.

Saturday, Jul 7, 2007
4:00 PM

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, the legendary Japanese avant-garde rock band the Boredoms will debut 77 DRUM on 07/07/07 on the lawn of the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park. The band will lead 77 drummers in a once-in-a-lifetime performance. 4pm until dusk. FREE! RSVP required: http://www.viceland.com/77boadrum/

Location:
Lawn, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park

Contact Information:
Shannon Mayers
718-802-0603 x19
smayers@bbpc.net

I haven't decided whether I'll be going yet. I have a "date" on that day and it all depends whether he'd be willing to go with me. :D

I'll be attending this year's New York Asian Film Festival for the New York premiere of "Death Note" and "Death Note: The Last Name" on July 8. The movies' director, Kaneko Shusuke, will be introducing the films and conducting Q&A and signings.

It's still not too late to purchase tickets for this event! If you live in the area and are remotely interested, definitely go! Show the director some NYC love, hmm?

What does this have to do with J-Rock? Ehh... Nightmare sang the opening theme song for the anime? And BUCK-TICK contributed one song to its tribute album?

Good enough!

I'm leaving tomorrow for NYC. Not sure how often I'll be able to update this blog from next Monday on. I can either be struck down by work and be dead throughout most of the upcoming weeks. Or, work won't be too bad and I can continue to write in here regularly. Or, maybe I'll be so distracted with hanging out with old friends and going out that I won't give an arse about updating here. We'll have to see.

Though, I'll try to write during the weekends.

Wish me a safe flight.

As for that Dir en grey live in NYC, I've no idea if I can make it. If I do, you can expect a live report from me. Again, we'll see.

Well, according to the manager's blog, Gazette is now in New York for making the upcoming album! From the photo posted in the entry, it looks like they're in the Downtown West vicinity, probably the TriBeCa or Chelsea neighborhoods. Anyone would like to go Gazette stalking? (I'm kidding!)

I'm flying in to NYC this weekend. It feels like coming home; it's been a long time. I'll be hitting the Met, Battery Park, and of course, Chinatown among other old favorite haunts when I was a teenager roaming the streets. Mmmm... green tea ice cream. I miss the Ice Cream Factory in Chinatown. And let me see if I can still find my old New York City Public Library library card. *is a nerd*

Of course, there's also window shopping. I have a feeling that I'll be doing this a lot since I'll be staying right on Fifth Avenue this summer. :D or is it D:?

I'm so sick of being stuck in my current Hicksville location.

We get no international cultural events here, let alone any possibilities of J-Rock concerts. When the highlight of the year in this little town consists of only Dave Matthews Band and Justin Timberlake, it's just freaking sad (and hm, we got The Rolling Stones last year). In fact, this entire state is out of loop when it comes to diversity and international culture. The population's interests here are just so homogenous, it drives me nuts.

Such frustration inevitably leads me to lament about no longer living in New York City. I moved away 2 years ago, though I still consider myself a New Yorker. NYC is one of the most ass-kicking cities when it comes to diversity. The city offers so many resources and opportunities that cater to everyone's interests and tastes. I miss those afternoons of fun browsing in Chinatown with a green tea ice cream cone in hand (from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory near Bowery, of course), those detours to Asahiya, Kinokuniya, and Book Off for regular dosage of Japanese entertainment (though such detours always guaranteed that I wouldn't find a seat on the train going back home), and heck, I even miss those street/subway performers you often find in busy districts and subway stations. (Speaking of which, I heard that the MTA got a new batch of shiny trains in for some of the subway lines. Awesomeness.)

In comparison, the town I currently live in has absolutely nothing. For Asian entertainment needs, I must rely on online shopping sites like YesAsia, but I can't do a thing about the lack of cultural events. I really need to move to some place bigger and more diverse in the next two years or so, or I'll die of jealousy whenever any major (and non-major) act from Asia decides to make an appearance in the US (in some city not anywhere close enough to my state to make a trip worth it). Since I've already lived in the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, I think I should give the West Coast a try. San Francisco and Los Angeles, I'm looking at you!

That brief stroll down memory lane gave me a craving for green tea and red bean ice cream. But god, there are no such things within a hundred miles. ;____;