Shadow puppets! FTW!!


(That makes more sense to people who are watching Power Rangers RPM. And if you're not, why aren't you? It rocks!)

Last Thursday I was coming back from the gym around 9-ish, and realized that's the first time in longer than I can remember that I was driving in the dark. Thanks to the commute (and my hours as a reaction to the commute) and the time of year, I go to bed while it's still light out, and I get up after the sun's up. I'd never consciously thought about it before, but I miss the dark! The days are getting shorter and I'm happy, happy, happy about this!

Methinks I would do poorly living in Alaska.

The Asian Art Museum is doing a series of events in conjunction with their exhibit, Lords of the Samurai July 9-19 they will be having special kyogen presentations. Anyone interested in going? It's from noon to 4 PM, so I'd suggest a weekend -- maybe Saturday or Sunday, the 18th or 19th? Thoughts?


For those who keep track of these things, Obon is coming up. San Jose's festival will be next weekend, the 11-12th, with Mt. View's being the following weekend.

Genba Girl just noticed that several of the locations are listed in the final episode's end credits. How have I missed that so far?

(Really, I gotta get me more appropriate Ultraman icons.)

There's a very short preview trailer for the new movie up on the official Ultra Legend homepage.

(A side note for those waiting for the next pilgrimage temple: I haven't forgotten, and will resume again. A combination of plums and it being my turn on Fail!Watch leaves me will little free time in the evenings.)


Speaking of plums (as I was parenthetically)... For anyone in the area who wants ripe, fresh plums, speak up now. I have a tree full of them and they're falling fast.

More details setting out, the most important of which is:

Giant Monster Battle Ultra Galaxy Legend movie is planning on an international release!

Needless to say, I will SO be there on opening night.

If anyone wishes to do anything to annoy me, now is a good time because anything you say or do to me right now ends in my mind with "and a new Ultraman movie is coming soon to a theater near me!" Really, that's about all that's surfacing on my radar.


Other details:

Confirmed cast include all the main regulars for Ultra Galaxy, Igarashi Shunji, Kurobe Susumu, and Moritsugu Kouji. To which I say: Not going to have another opportunity to play Hayata, huh? And: So looking forward to seeing what Mirai thinks of Oki. (Though I suspect they'll deny me that meeting. Alas. Though Oki will, of course, fangasm over Moebius showing up. And probably die of fanish glee over going to the Ultra no Hoshi.)

Confirmed staff:

Directed by Sakamoto Kouichi.
Written by: Okada Jun'ya, Kashiwara Tatsuo, and Kobayashi Yuuji

Sakamoto Kouichi, as I mentioned in a previous post, is producer and director on the US Power Rangers series'. I suspect choosing him as director is in part because they want someone with experience producing for international markets.

Okada Jun'ya was production supervisor on UG:NEO.
Kashiwara Tatsuo hasn't done much of anything that I recognize.
Kobayashi Yuuji has worked on Ultraman series since Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy, as well as writing for Garo and Gekiranger. I suspect his job is to take the ideas of the other two and transform them into a workable screenplay.


As madsqueeble posted, this movie will be featuring the following Ultramen: Ultraman, Seven, Jack, Ace, Tarou, Zoffy, Moebius, Hikari, Ultraman King, Ultra Papa, Ultra Mama, Leo, Astra, 80, Yulian, Neos, UltraSeven 21, and Ultraman Boy. *sweatdrop* There will also be 32 nameless Ultramen, bringing the total count to 50.

Many people suspect one of the 32 gumbies will be the lead in the next Ultraman series. I tend to agree with the rumors. It's about time they get around to doing a real new Ultraman series. (No, the two Ultra Galaxy series don't count in my opinion. Lack of Ultras + too freaking short!) Also, the staff lists so far aren't telling me what most of Tsuburaya's core staff have been working on.


*waits impatiently to hear what came out at the cast appearances at the World Hobby Fair yesterday*

Your regularly scheduled pilgrimage will be interrupted today by some breaking Ultraman news.

( Cut for folks who don't care about new Ultraman releases. Folks who do want to make with the clickie. )

I framed my diploma over the weekend, and hung it in the library. I'm a bit surprised by how pleased I am to finally have it. I didn't think it had mattered to me.

Daiso has small ceramic statues of the Seven Lucky Gods. I got myself a Benten, and she now sits in the library, my incense pot in front of her, with my name tag from eBay and a paper lantern behind her. On the table in front of her is the playbill from the Ultraman stage show I saw this last trip, and hanging on the wall over all this is my diploma. That corner of the room makes me happy every time I see it.

Ultra Galaxy movie?

*flat stare*

Really, Tsuburaya. You can't do better than that?



At least if that's the case I don't care if they have it in theaters by the end of the year. Though for being an Ultra movie that has a chance of making it into a theater near me I was kind of hoping maybe it would be a movie I would actually want to see. I'll go watch it if you give me the opportunity, but I shall likely scowl a good deal first, and make comments that if it was marketed properly, the first Mebi movie would likely do quite well in the States.

Here's hoping that when the official announcements finally go out they will be ones that have information that makes me happy.


Edit: Okay, now that the >official announcements have gone out, I'm less with the cranky and a good deal more with the squee. As with the last one, this is a movie I never thought would happen, so it just existing makes me happy. And with the last one, I figure no matter how it turns out, I will find value in it.

10 seconds off the lead with The Robot out and Petter just has to bunge up the car!?

*sigh*


Still, not a bad performance considering he's running a three year old Citroen.

I was remembering this morning with nostalgia the Chichibu 34 Kannon pilgrimage. I wished I could do it again right now, but really it's impossible. Then I thought, I haven't written up my memories of the trip. Why not do a virtual pilgrimage? Visit each temple again through my memories and photos and notes from my books. And so I begin. I'm not sure if I will manage to write something every day. I know I won't do all a day's traveling each day -- after all, it took a day of walking it. I can hardly relive an entire day in significantly less time. But the point of a pilgrimage isn't to rush through it as fast as possible. The journey itself is the point of the process, rather than just arriving at the destination.

And so today I begin the virtual pilgrimage with temple #1: ( Shimabu-ji )

The subject does say it: you have been warned.


Interesting rumors floating around toku-land this morning -- all unconfirmed, from sources that, while reliable, are also not exactly what I would call insiders. One of them I think unlikely, unless by "end of year" they mean next year. (boo-hoo. Oh wait, I'm planning on being in Japan around years' end next year as well.) One of them I think would provide a plausible explanation on the "so, really, what have you been doing lately?" musing I've been having, and so I'm slightly more inclined to give credence to. All of them I expect to get no reliable information on for a couple of weeks, and so shall say nothing further on them other than: gee, I hope they're true 'cause that would be cool!


As I said, not very informative. I'z works with what I'z given.

The sound of rain hitting the leaves of the tree outside my window was thoroughly delightful.


I was going to blog about J-dramas I'm watching currently, but I seem to have run out of time. Ah well.