EDIT: It's better to watch the SMAP and Goemon trailer videos in a larger size -- they're small here to fit inside the blog template.
I haven't done very well on my updating schedule . . . . I guess I haven't done much that was very post-worthy recently. August is summer break (for the students, not the teachers), so I've been taking a little time off here and there. It's very hot. Very, very hot. I'll try to take some pictures during the break of local sites.
Anyway, in the meantime, here are some Youtube videos I enjoy, if you happen to be bored.
I was in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo last weekend, and this video was played on a big outdoor TV screen. Everybody was mesmerized. I think it's because most of the video is in one cut. If you don't know (there's a good chance you don't), SMAP is an unusually long-lasting, popular group in Japan. They're basically a boy band (but are no longer boys). SoftBank (English words are cool! Let's put some together!) is a popular cell phone company.
The guy with the stupid hair (second from the right) is my favorite (because he has stupid hair). Here's the video:
My favorite Japanese musician is Eguchi Yosuke, though. Actually, he's primarily an actor, and hasn't made music since the 90's. But as a foreigner, I think I'm allowed to ignore those facts, and pretend his music is still cool (if it ever was to anyone else). Here's a 90's-tastic clip of him singing on Japanese TV.
Eguchi Yosuke no longer has girl hair, though. I think he's gotten handsomer with age. He was recently in a big-budget movie called "Goemon" (based on a video game). I saw it in the movie theater. My verdict on the movie? Well... the trailer is pretty exciting! How 'bout that trailer? Good trailer, Yosuke!
After a year of not having any Japanese TV (because for some reason our apartment building can't receive over-the-air signals), I finally signed up for cable (although the "cable" we pay for just gives us the channels that are normally available with an antennae, nothing extra).
There are some creepy kids' programs and weird variety shows, but I've yet to see anything I like as much as the batsu game, or "Don't laugh" game that I've seen on Youtube. Basically, comedians/tv personalities are put into a confined environment, usually for 24 hours, and have to try not to laugh, despite weird traps that are set up for them. In the clip below, they're in a fake high school. The video is out of context, but you can see that the punishment for laughing is... probably not something American TV stars would put up with.
Okay, new real post and photos coming soon... I promise.
