Twitter Gems, part 14

SNSD's attempt into the Japanese market

To be honest, I must be the last person to know of the existence of So Nyeo Shi Dae, better known as SNSD, in the English speaking world (read: Malaysia) within my peers. This is not to say I was completely unaware; I just never put any thought into their existence.

Now and then some of my acquaintances would talk about a Korean girl band, but for the most part they never actually registered in my consciousness, as I have virtually no interest in Korean pop culture.

Their existence only came to light when 少女時代 （しょうじょ　じだい）, as they are known in Japan, debuted in Japan with their dual-lingual song "Genie" both in the Korean and Japanese languages. Me being me (read: a passive outsider into the Japanese entertainment industry), their appearance in the Japanese entertainment rags made me do some research. And I was amazed.

They're apparently quite big in East Asia, with record deals in Taiwan and fanclubs in Hong Kong. Entire web portals are dedicated to them in China, and even in Malaysia anecdotally they command quite a following. As I put forward their existence to real-life acquaintances, virtually all of them had heard their songs or are actively following the activities of 9 Korean girls (according to Wikipedia).

(It was also at this time I met Mr. "SNSD is a evil conspiracy by the Korean national broadcaster to "steal the hearts of young boys" and stupefy them into dreaming and fantasizing regarding one particular member". I have no idea who he was referring to. They all look the same to me)

I'm not entirely sure what the attraction of them is, other than dancing in a way that makes me conclude that they are the Asian female version of Michael Jackson, if there was ever one.

As I dug deeper, I was met with incredulous looks by parties who were apparently mystified at my total ignorance and lack on knowledge at what was billed as the next big thing in the so-called Korean wave after Bae Yong-Joon. (Even I know Yon-sama's effect of Japanese housewives and female members of my extended family. If you think Konami is a tourism genius, the Korean drama Winter Sonata has practically created the Korean tourism market in Malaysia) If they were that big, how is it that I only heard of them after SNSD's attempt into the Japanese market?

With regards to their dual-lingual song "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)", I found it fascinating studying it from a multilingual perspective. While I know virtually no Korean, and my grasp of the Japanese language is minimal at best, the little I heard made me conclude that the Japanese version sounded awkward, and personally the Korean only sounded better because I know nothing about the said language.

It was also a real study reading the Mandarin translations of the Korean and Japanese versions of the song. I didn't expect them to be similar,. but I was quite surprised at the variations done to fit the melody (is there even one?) of the song. In reality the meanings of the 2 versions are actually quite different.

On 4 Oct 2010, 少女時代 released their Japanese version of "Gee", which has been described as the song that propelled them to success in Korea and East Asia when released in 2009. Having heard the original Korean version prior, my impression of the Japanese adaptation was that it sounded the bloody same. I actually had to strain and concentrate to pick up the Japanese. And even then it sounded awkward.

Looking at the lyrics, there are way too many Korean sounds. (Seriously, "チンチャチンチャ"?!) Half the song sounded more Korean than anything else. And I'm now convinced that "Gee Gee Gee Gee Baby Baby Baby" is actually Korean. (Maybe there might be something in the conspiracy after all...)

I've come to the opinion that cross cultural entertainment attempts never work. Has everyone forgotten "The jungle of hope" in Form 4 English literature?

OreImo and Index appear on Nihon Keizai Shimbun

Image from Windmoe.

The 26 Sept 2010 edition of the Japanese business daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun run a full page (!) ad with two of the (northern) winter's most anticipated characters: Kousaka Kirino from OreImo, and Index from To aru Majutsu no Index 2.

Steve from the Emory University anime club has kindly translated the (supposedly) inspiring text extolling the working masses to keep their spirits up. To be fair, things have not been looking good for the Japanese economy. No thanks to a maritime dispute which has escalated to a de facto embargo on the export of rare earths metals.

Still, could be worst. Like cross-players on the front page.

Twitter Gems, part 13

Of all the Visualarts/Key anime adaptations, I've cried the most in CLANNAD. The R1 DVD's should come with a rating of "T": Tissues needed.

Angel Beats - ep 08

Oh Yurippe, if only programming was so simple. And if only people could be manipulated so easily. Point and Click.


My mind says that Evil Tenshi is wrong, but why does it feel so right?

The BGM this episode was top notch. The fighting scenes have their mood set by Track 11 of the Angel Beats! Original SoundTrack if anyone is asking.


Yandere Yurippe is also fine too.


This is probably the first time I've seen sliding down a rough slope and using gravity (with nothing else but standard school shoes) actually work as a means of movement down a crater.

The number of low angle shots in this ep provided plenty of opportunities to savor Yuri's Zettai Ryouiki. That said, overall it was a confusing ep (with rather dark humor) and hard to come to any meaningful discussion and analysis.

Nanoha cookies

Oh, do tell!

RM27 for 8 cookies is not that all unusual when you start talking on a per unit basis. The silence in between partaking and munching of the cookies on the other hand is priceless. :D

Spin City, part 2

The Australian, 22 September 2010

Of all the stories to run on the front page. The WCC also made it to The Australian's Australian IT supplement on Tuesdays. While I am not a journalist, I have to say something about News Ltd's reporting.

Some of the criticisms in the said article are warranted, such as low attendance. The reality is that WCC is rather dry compared to the "[more] fashionable social media events" which are more spontaneous. Its really men in suits here and academics talking about their research and can be very academic.

However, to take pot shots at the (Labor) Queensland government by means of its ICT minister is really low. The reality is that most of the presentations are usually thinly participated. Even big names like Richard Stallman and Graeme Wood (To be fair, the Brisbane Times also pounced on the speech) had more empty seats than people.

That said, I have seen e-government presentations in WCC where the crowd spills out of the room. But that wouldn't make for good stories to pander to the Right's prejudices would it?

To put all this into context, see this: Unfair and unbalanced: how News failed to fell government.