Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Rest in peace.

As stated over at the Blog-Tick Phenomenon, this is a dark summer for music.

I apologize for having nothing amusing to say on this particular occasion, but sometimes even I can't be snarky.

You may remember that I posted about Kagrra, an amazingly innovative band with a truly unique sound and appearance. They are definitely among my favorites.

I am greatly saddened by vocalist Ishii's death, which I feel horrible for only having learned about today. The cause remains unknown, but that's not important right now. What's important is that the world has lost a truly brilliant man whose absence in the music community is a great, great loss.

Cayce at the Blog-Tick Phenomenon provides a much better post about this than I do, and for that I apologize to everyone reading this.

Again, I fear I am the last with the news, but X-Japan's Taiji has also passed away. Those who are fans of X-Japan and/or hide know that X-Japan has had its share of tragedy in the past--it seems brutally unfair of the universe to inflict more upon them now. In this case, I'll let Yoshiki's statement take over, because I really cannot do anything like this justice. (It's in English.)

More locally, Amy Winehouse has also passed away. I was not familiar with her work nor her personal life, but there appears to be a truly disgusting and pervasive nonchalance expressed in regards to her death. There is no excuse for this.

I am not a religious, or even a spiritual person, but as always, I think the dead deserve our reverence, even if only for a moment. All three of these musicians contributed to their respective fields in ways we will not soon forget.

Always take the time to remember those who have passed on. They deserve that much, at the very least.

I apologize once again for sounding so trite and rehashed, but unfortunately, I am not well-equipped to deal with this sort of tragedy in written form.

This is Edo, signing off.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Ah, that's it. (あっ、それだ。)

Well, I've come to realize why it is so difficult for me to produce regular content as compared to, say, Joe Schmoe personal blogger elsewhere on the internet.

(I do not actually know if there is a Joe Schmoe blog out there somewhere, but if someone does find it, feel free to link in the comments. Because I am nothing if not willing to waste time on the internet.)

The problem is, these people post about their lives. Their average, daily lives. Because people are interested, and still read despite the fact that they aren't, say, doing intensive reporting on this bad or that TV show.

And I say, why can't I do that? Why can't I serenade you with tales of my thrilling sedentary life, spent job-searching and attempting to discover just what the hell I'm going to do with myself?

Probably because I haven't ingratiated myself yet for you lot to care. That's why.

So alas, I'm in a pickle. I've become rather sick of posting about random Japanese cultural topics, because I'm sure that at least fifty percent of my audience (at present) is related to me by blood and would read my blog if I suddenly developed an interest in writing full-length editorials about yak-herding in Mongolia and just how one should best decorate a yurt to make full use of available natural light.... and therefore I'm not even catering to the masses when I spend hours writing up nice, detailed posts about my favorite bands/TV shows/crossdressers/ridiculous puns that make no sense when you think about them, really.

Thus begins the reign of the supremely inconsequential, yet, perhaps, slightly amusing to you, my very, very specialized readers.

I really don't know why you're even here.

So. Today's thought.

I think that Ai (from DEATHGAZE) has an absolutely stunning voice. Deep voices in general tend to make my toes curl, as it were, but his is something else.

I mean really.

And now I present evidence:


Muzicons.com

The regular version of this song is pretty good too, but the piano is just... prettier.

A music critic, I am not.

I'm not sure why I think the rain cloud correlates, but I have a limited selection to choose from. Give me a break here.


Muzicons.com

You wouldn't think a song titled "The Stench of Death" would sounds so nice, would you?

I admit that's probably a slightly loaded translation, but I like the irony of it.

Especially since at least fifty percent of you can't understand the lyrics. Thus, beautiful mood dissonance. For those of you can can understand... oh, just play along, please.


Muzicons.com

And no, don't know what that means. If I had to understand what a song's saying to like it... well. Let's just say that I'd have to hate everything Imai's ever written.

... and what the heck. It's my blog.

I really like this video.

For the faint of heart, again, this is not for you. Stick with the three songs above, and for the love of your poor eardrums, don't click play.



I still think that Ai looks nicer with black hair, though.

And you really don't get the full experience until you see how ridiculously flamboyant he is on stage. Not to mention overheated--man wore long sleeves at both lives I attended, both of which had me sweating in the audience without the help of burning stage lights and nearly so many layers. But then, I guess that's what makes you a true V-kei band, eh?

This is Edo, signing off saying "nyer nyer, it's my blog, I can do what I want."

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Edo's Crash Course in the English Language: Lesson One

WARNING: POSSIBLY FUTILE AND DEFINITELY AGGRAVATING LINGUISTIC RANT AHEAD.

So it's a bit of a divergence, shall we say, from my regular fare. Nary a reference to Japan, land or culture, in sight. (Yes, I thought of the pun, considered it, and ultimately discarded it. You get no points for spotting it second.) But according to my blog's description, located conveniently to your right at this very moment, this blog is, in fact, dedicated to all of my (subjective terminology) interesting thoughts.

Quite frankly, you people should take what you can get. Look at that update schedule. Yeesh.

Anyway, on to the main event.

It may be quite obvious to you, my devoted readers, that the English language suffers abuse on a daily basis. Yes, some liberal-minded linguists argue in favor of evolution, speaking favorably of the constant flow and change of a living language and, quite frankly, being a bit too loosey-goosey for my tastes.

Thus, I have decided to begin a series (which I assuredly shall wish to append and embellish during the entirety of my English-speaking life, despite a lack of ambition or will to do so in actuality) detailing some... points of contention. Lessons, if you will, for those less... precise than I.

Feel free to bandy these about, refer agrammatical friends to this post, or simply roll your eyes and move on to the next entry. (Of course, should you be inclined to do something not in this list, please do not let my limited time frame and lack of effort limit your creativity.)

Lesson 1. "Literally" vs. "Figuratively"


I'm quite sure that this was brought to my attention via a third party, but unfortunately I have no idea what or who said third party actually was. Such are the failings of the human mind, alas. However, despite the lack of originality in this original complaint, my feelings are not diminished in the slightest.

It seems that our good friend, "literally," is being abused.

You see, we speakers of the English language often use metaphor, simile, and hyperbole to pepper our speech and make conversation more interesting for all parties involved. English speakers are not alone in this habit, but let's keep the subject here in my native language for the sake of simplicity, and because I have no idea if this problem has ventured outside of the Anglocentric world.

Now, when we use these aforementioned forms of speech, we are, by definition, not speaking literally.

Example: The frustration caused by my constituents' apparent semantic confusion made me see red.


This sentence expresses how the speaker's frustration causes her to feel no small amount of anger. "To see red" is a well established phrase in the English language meaning, of course, to become angry, or, on the more extreme end, to lose control. While the phrase's origins are debated, one can safely assume that most people (excluding perhaps certain synesthetes) do not actually see red when they become angry.

Thus:

Example: I literally* saw red when he told me I had to work overtime with no extra pay.


Unless the "he" in question was waving a red cape during his less than savory edict or the speaker herself has a rather distressing neurological problem that would be best discussed with her local neurologist, her use of "literally" is blatantly incorrect (and, coincidentally, infuriating) in this situation.

Now, one may argue for hyperbole. I argue that "literally" is then butchered and loses all meaning outside these shoddily constructed formations that would be better left on the side of the road than in any respectable individual's lexicon.

"Literally," after all, is very important in modern language, specifically because so many phrases can be interpreted as either literal or figurative. Oftentimes these phrases aren't meant literally, and would be quite silly in any sort of literal interpretation (the colloquial "what's up?" comes to mind), but there are occasions when the addition of "literally" is vital to the listener's understanding of the speaker's intent.


Example: That migraine injection was a literal pain in the ass. (Implication: the injection was given to the speaker in the buttocks.)

In this case, the speaker uses the word "literally" in order to convey that, while the shot may have been a figurative "pain in the ass," it was also a literal one as it was administered, we can assume, to the derriere.

However, if we abuse "literal" and "literally" as in the penultimate example above, sentences like this will become absolutely meaningless, and we will be forced to invent (or allocate meaning appropriately to) a new word entirely to serve the semantic gap where "literal" has so recently been unceremoniously yanked.

In short, take a moment to think before embellishing your sentence with a meaningless "literally." Some of us need that word, sans meaning bastardization.

And yes, I know some of you may have read contemporary articles concerning this very issue, some even going so far as to say that "literally" has had its meaning morphed into "not literally" in common conversational usage. Apparently some even cite an example in The Great Gatsby, but I fail to see how improper usage of a word once in the early 20th century makes its continued misuse any more valid today. After all, they thought that heroin was a great cough syrup in the early 20th century, so let's just say it's not the best time for intellectual hindsight. (Besides, I hate The Great Gatsby.) Frankly, I'm just not ready to see "literal" suffer the same fate as "inflammable", dear readers, not yet.


This is Edo, signing off hoping that she wasn't too pretentious to bear this time around.

... ok, ok, I admit, this topic is just a little too "out there" (not to mention infuriatingly preachy and irritating) to let the post slide into publication without a little something for my devoted readers who are less-than-interested in modern linguistic debate. I apologize, dears, and present this peace offering.



How can you be mad at me after DJ Ozma, after all?

And since I think the live version really gives you a better feel of the song and just how interactive it is (despite its lack of helpful lyric subtitles)...



If you've only time for one of these videos, I recommend the latter. Unless, of course, you have some interest in a (very) brief interview and banter of debatable wittiness on Utawara. Then... you should probably make the time to watch both.

(Unfortunately AVEX, stingy bastards that they are, took down the original live video I wanted to show you. Thus, you get the version with... inexplicable alien/robot Ozmas. Oh, well.)